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Tom gets a call from extreme sports athlete RAD MCKINNEY on his grinding DVD series! All the Coen Brothers movies are ranked BEST to WORST! Plus, what is the MOST OFFENSIVE SONG ever? MUSIC HEARD ON THIS EPISODE Artist Song Album Label Link Artist Simon Doom Song Roseate Album Negotiate With The Monkey EP Label Self Link GET Artist Ultimate Painting Song (I've Got The) Sanctioned Blues Album Green Lanes Label Trouble In Mind Link GET Artist Kelley Stoltz Song When You Forget Album Circular Sounds Label Sub Pop Link GET Artist Benji Hughes Song ? Take You Home Album Songs In The Key Of Animals Label Merge Link GET Artist Kurt Vile Song Red Apples For Tom Scharpling Album Kurt Vile / Steve Gunn Parallelogram split LP Label Three Lobed Records Link GET |
From Nature Asian pollution delays inevitable warming Dirty power plants exert temporary protective effect. Jeff Tollefson The grey, sulphur-laden skies overlying parts of Asia have a bright side — they reflect sunlight back into space, moderating temperatures on the ground. Scientists are now exploring how and where pollution from power plants could offset, for a time, the greenhouse warming of the carbon dioxide they emit. A new modelling study doubles as a thought experiment in how pollution controls and global warming could interact in China and India, which are projected to account for 80% of new coal-fired power in the coming years. If new power plants were to operate without controlling pollution such as sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ) and nitrogen oxides (NO X ), the study finds, the resulting haze would reflect enough sunlight to overpower the warming effect of CO 2 and exert local cooling. But this effect would not be felt uniformly across the globe and would last only a few decades. In the long run, CO 2 would always prevail, and the world could experience a rapid warming effect if the skies were cleaned up decades down the road. “The paper highlights the fundamental inequity and iniquity of anthropogenic climate change: ‘enjoy now and make others pay later’,” says Meinrat Andreae, an aerosol expert at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, Germany, who was not involved in the work. In fact, he says, dirty coal plants could be seen as “a very primitive form of geoengineering”. The study, which is under review at Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, builds on a well-established idea. Global temperatures were relatively stable in the decades leading up to the 1970s, even as fossil-fuel consumption shot up. Then industrialized countries began curbing SO 2 and NO X to reduce acid rain and protect public health — and temperatures increased rapidly. The latest work, led by Drew Shindell at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, looks at how the climate effects of air pollutants and greenhouse gases could play out over time and geography. read the remainder at Nature h/t to Leif Svalgaard |
Dungeons and Dragons was originally designed as a departure from traditional wargames, to allow the control of individuals instead of large military units. This created a whole different type of gaming, but generally the two modes of play aren’t terribly compatible with each other. So what can you do if your players get involved in a war, commanding other soldiers into battle? There are generally two ways to do this. You can either use the rules a game system has provided for you, or make modifications to that ruleset in order to make bookkeeping easier. Considering most role playing combat systems are designed to easily accommodate tens of units as opposed to hundreds, the second route seems easier, but the first route is still doable in certain scenarios. Among games I’ve played, there is one system with easy rules for large combats and for command of others, and that is Savage Worlds. The Savage Worlds ruleset has very easy and accessible rules for very large combats, as well as for having player characters issue orders to their followers. The mass combat system is as fast and loose as the rest of the system, which also makes sketching up 50-75 NPCs or more relatively easy. Additionally, rules-light systems such as Risus tend to take to these sorts of encounters well, as the command of others is abstracted just as much as any other skill challenge in the game. However, some may want a more detail oriented system, and subsequently a more involved combat. If you want to make things very involved, I say go for it. There will be a lot of prep work necessary, but most heavyweight systems like Dungeons and Dragons, GURPS, or Exalted have all the necessary rules to work out a situation with many, many combatants. If you can abstract it to, say, a few hundred NPCs, and can either resolve their actions quickly or with a computer, it’s feasible. However, this would certainly be an entire session worth of material, and not something to be done regularly. If you wish to run massive battles with any frequency, it may be a better investment of your time to play a game designed for it, like Warhammer. The second way to run a combat like this is by modifying rules. The key here is trying to balance two things: the impact the players have over the outcome of the battle, and the amount of actual combat you want to model. If you were to run a 100 person battle as I described above, you’d need to make some assumptions as to given character’s actions in a given space, which is actually fairly straightforward in combat: attack, or retreat. Even if you have more actions than that you’ll generally have fewer actions than the player characters, making it easy to simplify. Instead of running the NPCs, track a few key things: where there is combat taking place, how many combatants are there, modifiers that give either side an edge, and who is winning. Most game systems will already have environmental modifiers in place, so you can use those wholesale. In addition to that, some basic modifiers for how well-rested an army is, how well equipped they are, and any sort of bonuses for morale will probably provide as much detail as you’d need while still using an abstracted system. Each turn, sides will take casualties based on who is “winning” (this can be a player’s leadership roll, it can be an abstracted version of a combat turn, or even two opposed rolls with some of the modifiers listed above), and the “commander” can decide whether to press forward, retreat, or some other action if that’s available to him. The ultimate level of detail is up to you, but the most important thing is that whoever plays the “commander” sees some effect of his actions: if you’re just going to look for an outcome, it doesn’t really matter how many dice you roll. Role Playing Games are not typically designed to run large combats, in fact their design was intentionally turning away from just that sort of game. However, there’s still enough wargaming pedigree in most games to keep the occasional climactic mass battle reasonable. Though some systems are simple enough to handle it, most games can have their rules adapted to maintain the drama of a huge battle without the headache of bookkeeping for a huge army. [tags]role playing games, game mastering, dungeons and dragons[/tags] |
Ready to fight back? Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. Fight Back! Sign up for Take Action Now and we’ll send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and we’ll send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Travel With The Nation Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Sign up for our Wine Club today. Did you know you can support The Nation by drinking wine? Sometime soon, certainly by the late-June conclusion of its present term, the Supreme Court will tell us its decision in Harris v. Quinn, arguably the most important labor law case the Court has considered in decades. Harris has already generated a great deal of attention and worry in labor circles, and nearly as much enthusiasm and celebration in pro-business ones—reflected in the extraordinary number of friend-of-the-court briefs filed by advocates on both sides. The case threatens the existence of the “agency shop,” a bedrock institution in American labor relations—one relied on in the most successful recent union organizing, and that is decisive to the health of public sector unions. Here’s what Harris is about. Ad Policy In American labor law, a union wins the right to be the exclusive collective bargaining representative for workers in a particular unit by demonstrating its support by a majority of the workers in the unit. But the law also imposes a duty with this right. The union must represent all workers, union members and nonunion employees alike, when it negotiates and administers collective bargaining agreements. Thus it is theoretically possible for nonunion employees to capture the benefits of collective bargaining won by their union colleagues (often at considerable expense) but pay nothing for it. Unions typically seek to limit this free-rider problem by negotiating clauses requiring all unit employees to pay their “fair share” of the union’s costs —for union members, this is done through dues; for nonunion employees, by some calculated “agency fee.” Along with capturing needed resources, these clauses send a cultural message: if not of solidarity then at least distaste for free-riders. The Supreme Court has long recognized the legitimacy of such fair-share/agency-shop agreements, in the private as well as the public sector, within limits. The limits are that unions may compel nonunion employee contributions only for the costs of negotiating and administering collective bargaining agreements. The costs of all other union activity—new organizing, lobbying, public education, elections, etc.—are deemed “nonchargeable,” meaning that they are paid by nonunion employees at their discretion. Which brings us to the plaintiffs in Harris v. Quinn—a group of nonunion Illinois homecare workers employed by the state and represented by the National Right to Work Committee (NRTWC) Legal Defense Foundation, which argues that all public sector agency shops should be declared unconstitutional on the grounds that they violate the First Amendment’s prohibition against state compulsion of political speech. All public sector bargaining is intrinsically political, the NRTWC lawyers claim, since it affects state budgets. And if public sector bargaining is a kind of political speech, no state can order anyone to pay for it. Now, the NRTWC has argued for years against union security and for the sanctity of what we’ll call the “right to free-ride” (RTFR), although it prefers the term “right to work.” Such arguments have already persuaded the legislatures of twenty-four states, most recently Michigan, to enshrine this “right” in their private sector labor laws. In Harris it aims, in one fell swoop, to misuse the First Amendment to nationalize this success for the whole public sector. It’s going for the “kill shot.” NRTWC success here would be a disaster for labor, particularly for the public sector unions that traditionally rely more heavily on agency shop agreements. It is certainly possible to form a union, even a public sector one, in most RTFR states. But you can search long and hard before finding more than one or two with any real power. Blame human nature, or capitalism’s corrosion of the soul, but the truth is that most workers will eventually take the opportunity to free-ride on a union’s work if it is offered, especially if the union is already weakened because some of their fellow workers have chosen this route. Governor Mitch Daniels demonstrated this truth years ago in his overnight conversion of Indiana’s public sector into an RTFR zone. Within a couple of years, the revenue from represented workers in public sector unions was down some 80 percent. We see it today in Wisconsin, as the effects of Governor Scott Walker’s RTFR act sink in. AFSCME’s revenues are already down 60 percent. The Harris plaintiffs build on these and other state-led efforts to destroy public sector unions. But they also draw some sustenance from the Court, in particular its 2012 decision in Knox v. SEIU, where Justice Samuel Alito offered the Court’s opinion. Before Knox, the law allowed unions to simply offer nonunion workers an opportunity to decline paying nonchargeable costs and then bill those who did not take it. Knox scuttled this opt-out tradition for an “opt-in” regime, requiring that unions get individual consent to payment from each nonunion worker affected—for unions, obviously, an onerous business. Before reaching this conclusion, Alito went on at some length about the importance of guarding nonunion public employees from union attempts to compel their speech, and derided fair-share agreements in light of the First Amendment as an “anomaly.” The Knox decision contradicted much of what the Court has recently said about the First Amendment rights of government employees (or, in Citizens United, shareholders). But it advanced a project now embraced by much of this Court: the curbing or dismemberment of public sector unions. At oral argument in Harris, at least four justices (Alito, Kennedy, Roberts and the ever-silent but reliably reactionary Thomas) appeared quite prepared to take the next step in that project, as suggested by the NRTWC; a different four (Breyer, Ginsburg, Kagan and Sotomayor) clearly did not. And so, somewhat remarkably, the future of public sector unionism seems to rest now in the mind of the nation’s most famous, combative, witty, right-wing and self-styled constitutional originalist, Antonin Scalia. Hardly a big friend of labor, Scalia actually rejected the NRTWC’s current argument nearly a quarter-century ago, in an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part with the Court’s decision in Lehnert v. Ferris Faculty Association (1991). There he affirmed the logic of fair-share agreements, even in the public sector and the full light of the First Amendment. Having required unions to serve nonunion employees alongside their members, Scalia argued, the state had to support at least limited fair-share, since not doing so would make the basic unfairness of free-riding “not incidental, but calculated, not imposed by circumstances, but mandated by government decree.” Labor is hoping that Scalia will stick to that thinking in Harris and fully and firmly reject the NRTWC’s argument. But in truth, nobody knows what he, or some jerry-rigged majority of the Court, will do. It might accept part of its argument, perhaps excluding agency shops from Medicaid-supported homecare or other “nontraditional” sorts of public employment but preserving the institution elsewhere. Or it could, indeed, accept it all. What’s certain is that many on the right, including several on the Court, tremble with excitement at the prospect of delivering the NRTWC’s kill shot. And that has labor very, very nervous. |
Image Source This is what ill be working on and hopefully be finished with the end of the summer. September 13th is my goal to have most if not all of this done. Projects and Goals for this summer: Finished spring goals then time go onto summer goals. Custom CMS that will allow Posting to Steem and Golos front ends included with a blog. Custom wordpress plugin to allow seamless ability to post to steem / golos front ends. My own website with a Steem / Golos feed custom blog with resources for the block chains. Finish my own version of Squeek / Screem relaunch in a timely manner with mobile apps. Might be set up for both Golos and Steem block chains. Tipping solution that works with Steem connect currently going over the details. Finish designs i have for Golos and Steem front ends I'm working with. These are my goals for the end for the summer whether or not i get them done is a whole other thing. Cheers to progress, but let me know some of your summer goals are this year. |
BTW, I’m not saying that Black female characters can ONLY be written by Black Women. Just that we should be given the opportunity. Especially because it’s so rare. I have no problem with people from different walks of life writing stories about people who are different from them. That’s how you get to understand others. You can’t exactly say people of colors voices are being heard when people of color aren’t even the ones writing the voices behind the characters. Having Diversity in comics is more than JUST throwing a POC in a story or having a POC taking up the mantle of an established hero for a short run. It’s about the voices behind the scenes too. We’ve seen what happens when there aren’t a diverse group of writers behind a story that’s about POC (I’m lookin’ at you OITNB). I’m sure Bendis will be great on this series, but I want more POC writing comics. It’s just as important. |
National roll-out of UC was due to begin in October 2013. But problems with IT systems meant that major changes to the implementation timetable were made in July and then again in December 2013. Currently, UC claims are still limited to 10 Pathfinder Jobcentres. New claims are not expected to be extended to the whole of Great Britain until 2016; and the bulk of existing claimants will not move over to UC until 2016-17. Commenting, Dame Anne Begg MP, Committee Chair, said: "Only 4,280 people were claiming Universal Credit by December 2013 and the majority of these claims were of the simplest nature. By comparison, in the same month, 1.22 million people were claiming Jobseekers Allowance. This demonstrates the scale of the challenge still facing the Government in trying to implement UC by 2017. "Whilst it is right to ensure that the system works properly before extending it, there is a difference between cautious progress and a snail’s pace. Given the excruciatingly slow pace of roll-out to date, it is hard to see how the most recent implementation timetable can be met." The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is trying to resolve the IT problems by developing a new “end-state solution” for UC IT which will eventually replace the IT system currently in use in the UC Pathfinders. This is costing £25-32 million to develop up to November 2014, with no indication of how much more it will cost in the long-term. And it will only be clear that it works once it has been tested at scale. However, it is still some way from being tested on the first 100 claimants. The Government should provide more detail on what the end-state solution means in practical terms, including how much it will cost, when it will be ready to test on the first claimants, how it will be extended, and when it is expected to be fully implemented. The current "twin track" approach to UC IT development also means that the Government is still spending money on the existing IT being used in the Pathfinder while the end-state solution is developed. The Committee Chair said: "The money wasted on Universal Credit so far – £40 million on IT software that now has no use and £90 million on software with a useful life of only 5 years – is a matter of deep regret. It is vital that DWP learns the lessons of past mistakes. "At the same time as developing the "end-state solution" the Government intends to spend £37-£58 million on further developing the existing IT system. Given the small number of people currently claiming UC, the Government should consider whether it would be a better use of taxpayers’ money to abandon further development of the existing system and focus solely on the end-state solution. "Despite the millions being spent on the end-state IT solution it is still not clear when the system will be ready or even how it will work. It is still not ready for testing on the first 100 claimants, and we have no indication of when it will be possible to test it on a bigger and more representative group of claimants." The Report’s other conclusions and recommendations include: Scrutiny of Universal Credit The Government has hampered the Committee’s scrutiny of UC implementation by not providing accurate, timely and detailed information. It is not acceptable for the Government only to provide information about major policy changes when forced to do so by the imminent prospect of being held to account in a public evidence session. DWP should set out how it will improve the frankness, accuracy and timeliness of the information it provides to the Committee on UC implementation. "Effective select committee scrutiny depends on the provision of accurate, timely and detailed information by government departments. DWP has not always provided this to the Committee in the case of Universal Credit. The serious problems with UC came as news to us when the National Audit Office published its highly critical report last September, because the Government had not told us about its own concerns about UC, and the actions it had taken to address them, during 2012 and early 2013. On two occasions, the Government has made public the details about major changes to the timetable for UC implementation only when forced to do so by the prospect of oral evidence in front of the Committee. This lack of openness and transparency is not acceptable. We do not, as the Secretary of State suggested, want to run his Department. We do, however, expect to have access to the information we need to scrutinise it effectively." Supporting vulnerable people to adjust to UC The Government has set out in the Local Support Services Framework (LSSF) how it envisages support for vulnerable people being provided in partnership with local authorities, housing providers and the voluntary sector. However, there is a lack of detail on how the LSSF will operate in practice. DWP should ensure that detailed information about the operation and funding of the LSSF is set out when the final version is published in autumn 2014. "The fundamental problems with Universal Credit have understandably dominated recent public debate. But how vulnerable people will be supported through the transition remains a key concern. The Minister stated that how support would be provided for vulnerable people was almost as important as Universal Credit itself. But like Universal Credit IT, it is still far from clear how this will work in practice or what funding will be provided for it." Local Authority funding Delays to UC implementation mean that local authorities will now administer housing benefit for much longer than anticipated. DWP needs to provide local authorities with clarity on the funding that will be available in 2014-15 and 2015-16 to cover this additional cost. "Local authorities, which were expecting new claims for housing benefit to have ended by April 2014, will now be administering it as a separate benefit until at least 2016. It is impossible for them to know how to handle their housing benefit departments until the Government clarifies what funding will be available." Further information Image: PA |
The blunderbuss is a firearm with a short, large caliber barrel which is flared at the muzzle and frequently throughout the entire bore, and used with shot and other projectiles of relevant quantity and/or caliber. The blunderbuss is commonly considered to be an early predecessor of the modern shotgun , with similar military and defensive use. [2] It was effective only at short range, lacking accuracy at long range. A blunderbuss in handgun form was called a dragon , and it is from this that the term dragoon evolved. [3] [4] The transition from donder to blunder is thought by some to be deliberate; the term blunder was originally used in a transitive sense, synonymous with to confuse , and this is thought to describe the stunningly loud report of the large bore, short barreled blunderbuss. [3] [ not in citation given ] The term dragon is taken from the fact that early versions were decorated with a carving in the form of a mythic dragon 's head around the muzzle; the muzzle blast would then give the impression of a fire-breathing dragon. [4] The term "blunderbuss" is of Dutch origin, from the Dutch word donderbus , which is a combination of donder , meaning "thunder", and bus , meaning "Pipe" (Middle Dutch: busse , box, tube, from Late Latin , buxis , box, [2] from Ancient Greek pyxίs (πυξίς), box: esp. from boxwood). espingole, 1760, France. A French blunderbuss, called an, 1760, France. The flared muzzle is the defining feature of the blunderbuss, differentiating it from large caliber carbines; the distinction between the blunderbuss and the musketoon is less distinct, as musketoons were also used to fire shot, and some had flared barrels.[5][6][7] The muzzle (and often the bore) was flared with the intent not only to increase the spread of the shot, but also to funnel powder and shot into the weapon, making it easier to reload on horseback or on a moving carriage; modern experiments corroborated the dramatic improvement in shot spread, going from a 21 inch spread diameter from a straight barrel to an average of 38 inch spread at 10 yards[8]. Blunderbusses were typically short, with barrels under 2 feet (61 cm) in length, at a time when a typical musket barrel was over 3 feet (91 cm) long.[9][10] One source, describing arms from the early to middle 17th century, lists the barrel length of a wheel lock dragon at around 11 inches (28 cm), compared to a 16-inch (41 cm) length for a blunderbuss.[3] The blunderbuss could be considered an early shotgun, and served in similar roles. While various old accounts often list the blunderbuss as being loaded with various scrap iron, rocks, or wood, resulting in damage to the bore of the gun, it was typically loaded with a number of lead balls smaller than the bore diameter. Barrels were made of steel or brass. An 1808 Harper's Ferry blunderbuss, of the type carried on the Lewis and Clark Expedition A pair of early blunderbuss pistols from Poland fitted with the miquelet lock A recreation of one of Lewis and Clark's pirogues with a blunderbuss mounted to the bow with a pintle. The blunderbuss, and especially the dragon, was typically issued to troops such as cavalry, who needed a lightweight, easily handled firearm.[10] The dragon became so associated with cavalry and mounted infantry that the term dragoon became synonymous with mounted infantry. In addition to the cavalry, the blunderbuss found use for other duties in which the shotgun-like qualities were desirable, such as for guarding prisoners or defending a mail coach, and its use for urban combat was also recognized.[4][11] Blunderbusses were also commonly carried by officers on naval warships, privateers and by pirates for use in close-quarters boarding actions.[12] The Portuguese marines used it widely in the 17th century. Many types of ammunition, including gravel and sand, could be shot in a pinch, but most of the time they were shot using traditional lead balls. The blunderbuss used by the British Royal Mail during the period of 1788–1816 was a flintlock with a 14-inch (36 cm) long flared brass barrel, brass triggerguard, and an iron trigger and lock. A typical British mail coach would have a single postal employee on board, armed with a blunderbuss and a pair of pistols, to guard the mail from highwaymen.[13] One 18th century coaching blunderbuss in another British collection had a brass barrel 17 inches (43 cm) long, flaring to 2 inches (5.1 cm) at the muzzle; it was also provided with a spring-loaded bayonet, which was held along the barrel by a catch and would spring forward into place when released.[7] Spring-loaded bayonet blunderbusses were also used by the Nottingham Police after its formation around 1840.[14] While the blunderbuss is often associated with the Plymouth Colony Pilgrims of 1620,[15] evidence suggests that the blunderbuss was relatively scarce in the American colonies. After the Battle of Lexington in 1775, British General Thomas Gage occupied Boston, Massachusetts, and upon negotiating with the town committee, Gage agreed to let the inhabitants of Boston leave town with their families and effects if they surrendered all arms. While most of the residents of Boston stayed, those who left under the agreement surrendered 1,778 long arms, 634 pistols, 273 bayonets, and only 38 blunderbusses.[16] The blunderbuss did still have its civilian applications, however; the Lewis and Clark Expedition carried a number of blunderbusses, some of which were mounted and used as small swivel guns on the pirogues.[6] By the middle 19th century, the blunderbuss was replaced for military use by the carbine, but still found use by civilians as a defensive firearm.[17][18] |
Your smartphone has the potential to replace nearly everything else in your pockets, so why not your car keys? Hyundai is working to do just that, with an embedded NFC tag that allows you to open your car, start the engine and link up to the touchscreen with a simple swipe. Hyundai outfitted its i30 compact hatch (aka the Elantra in the States) with NFC technology in its "Connectivity Concept" recently shown at its European headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. The idea is simple: Nix the key fob and let your smartphone handle it all. According to the Korean automaker, the driver can swipe their phone across an embedded NFC chip to unlock the car, and once inside, the place the phone in the center console, allowing the car to start, while an inductive charging plate keeps the juice flowing without needing to plug in. "With this technology, Hyundai is able to harness the all-in-one functionality of existing smartphone technology and integrate it into everyday driving in a seamless fashion," says Allan Rushforth, senior vice president and COO of Hyundai Motor Europe. But unlocking and starting the car is only part of a wider connectivity solution for Hyundai. Because the system can recognize different smartphones, it can customize the in-car experience to suit each driver's seat, mirror and infotainment settings. Once the phone is in the console, it links up with the 7-inch touchscreen mounted in the dash, and Hyundai is employing the Car Connectivity Consortium's MirrorLink standard to automatically import contacts, navigation destinations, streaming audio and apps. Despite forging dozens of automaker partnerships, MirrorLink hasn't caught on with many manufacturers yet. That's mainly due to concerns about driver distraction and how certain apps would be ported to the integrated screen, modifying the user interface to suit a more driver-focused experience. But that's about to change as MirrorLink begins gaining momentum. Hyundai and its connectivity partners at Broadcom are working to get this NFC- and MirrorLink-driven technology to market in its next generation of products, with the automaker claiming to have many of these systems in place by 2015. All photos: Hyundai |
NEWS that two teenage boys have been charged after allegedly planning an imminent deadly massacre at a school in South Australia’s Riverland has devastated the community. Police yesterday revealed they had thwarted an alleged plot by two teenage boys to massacre students and staff at a Riverland high school. It will be alleged the duo, aged 16 and 18, were planning to attack the school they attended using guns, knives and homemade bombs, before the end of this school term. The Riverland community is still reeling from the allegations. Local mother-of-three Shayle Reid said she was still unable to comprehend news of the alleged plot to attack the Riverland high school. media_camera Shayle Reid, with daughter Jasmine, said the allegations were “really, really scary”. Picture: Dylan Coker Ms Reid said she was not happy details surrounding the incident were kept under wraps for so long. “I don’t think it’s fair that they’ve kept it from everyone,” Ms Reid said. “It is really, really scary,” she said. “It’s shocking, who would think anything like this would ever happen in Australia.” The Advertiser understands only parents of students at the high school in question were invited to the open forum. The alleged plot has been described as deeply concerning by South Australia’s police minister and unbelievable by senior police. “There is no doubt in my mind that we prevented a catastrophe,” Detective Superintendent Des Bray said. The 16-year-old has been charged with soliciting to murder and the 18-year-old with four aggravated counts of threatening to kill. Police said the pair was involved in planning the attack between June 1 and November 7 this year. “Police will allege they intended to cause harm to a large number of people,” Det-Supt Bray said. “We believe most likely the attack would have occurred, if not stopped, before the end of the current school term.” The matter first came to the attention of police on November 3, with both boys taken into custody soon after. Det-Supt Bray said searches at several properties uncovered knives, homemade body armour and bombs. He said the duo was not going to target specific individuals “but the faculty and students”. “They told some other people about what they were intending to do, and then they told other people,” Det-Supt Bray said. “Soon it became known to quite a number of people. “There is no evidence to show that any other person was linked with this matter, nor did the two individuals have possession of firearms.” media_camera Des Bray describes the foiled attack on a Riverland high school. Det-Supt Bray said it would be “unbelievable to think that this sort of thing could happen in SA”. “I am not aware of us having an incident like this in recent times,” he said. “There is no doubt in my mind that we prevented a catastrophe.” Det-Supt Bray said police believed the pair was “actively planning, it was a real threat, and it was likely it would have been carried out if it hadn't been thwarted by the police and actions of the community”. A community forum was recently held in the Riverland in relation to the incident. The high school’s principal wrote to students and parents about the matter yesterday afternoon to assure them the school was safe. A local community leader said the allegations had “devastated” the close-knit community. “It’s tragic for the school community but it is a one-off situation,” he said. “We are pleased that our community has worked together and avoided this crisis and that’s the good thing that has come out of this.” He urged anyone in the community who had information to contact police. Det-Supt Bray said police took the rumours seriously. “When you hear these sort of things getting bandied about, it warrants police taking it seriously even though it might be rumour,” he said. He said with both teenagers detained, there was no risk to the community and no evidence to suggest anyone else was involved. Det-Supt Bray said police had worked closely with numerous organisations during the investigation, particularly the Education Department and school authorities. “The safety of the community has been, and remains SAPOL’s highest priority,” Det-Supt Bray said. “If there is any risk to the community, SA Police will take appropriate steps to advise the community in a timely manner.” The offence of solicit to murder carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Police Minister Chris Picton said the allegations were “deeply concerning”. “In our state, on the whole, we are fortunate to have a harmonious community but there is always potential for a threat of this nature to occur and so it’s important for everyone to remain vigilant,” he said. “In this case, the police took very swift action to intercept what could have been a devastating situation for this Riverland community. I commend the police for their actions to investigate this incident and their subsequent work to engage with and reassure people in the local area.” Education Minister Susan Close commended the school’s reaction to its community. “At the time of the arrests the school did an incredible job informing parents, making sure a letter went out,” she said. “The high school held a public forum to make sure everyone understood what had occurred, within the limits of what was able to be said, and also that they were perfectly safe and they could re-engage with the school with no problems.” The accused teens have been remanded in custody to face court at a later date. Anyone with information that may be of use to police, and has not already been interviewed, should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. |
July 09, 2013 at 05:56 Tags Articles , Linkers and loaders I'll start with a slightly sneaky but educational example. Suppose we have this code: volatile char src[] = { 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 }; volatile char dst[ 50 ] = { 0 }; void * memcpy( void * dst, void * src, int len); int main ( int argc, const char * argv[]) { memcpy(dst, src, sizeof (src)); return dst[ 4 ]; } It runs just fine and the return value is 5. Now, suppose this is part of a larger project that consists of many object files and libraries, and somewhere within the project there's a library that contains this code: void memcpy ( char * aa, char * bb, char * cc) { int i; for (i = 0 ; i < 100 ; ++i) { cc[i] = aa[i] + bb[i]; } } If the previous snippet gets linked with this library, what happens? Would you expect it to still return 5? Return something else? Crash? The answer is: it depends - the result can be either correct or a segmentation fault. It depends on the order in which the objects and libraries in the project were fed to the linker. If you fully understand why this depends on linking order, as well as how to avoid the problem (and more serious problems, like circular dependencies) then congratulate yourself and move on - this article is probably not for you. Otherwise, read on. The basics Let's start by defining the scope of this article: first, my examples are demonstrating the use of the gcc and binutils toolchain on Linux. Compatible toolchains (like clang instead of gcc) apply too. Second, the discussion here resolves around static linking that's done at compile/link time. To understand why linking order matters, it's first instructional to understand how the linker works with respect to linking libraries and objects together. Just as a quick reminder - an object file both provides (exports) external symbols to other objects and libraries, and expects (imports) symbols from other objects and libraries. For example, in this C code: int imported( int ); static int internal ( int x) { return x * 2 ; } int exported ( int x) { return imported(x) * internal(x); } The names of the functions speak for themselves. Let's compile it and look at the symbol table: $ gcc -c x.c $ nm x.o 000000000000000e T exported U imported 0000000000000000 t internal This means: exported is an external symbol - defined in the object file and visible from the outside. imported is an undefined symbol; in other words, the linker is expected to find it elsewhere. When we talk about linking later, the term undefined can become confusing - so it helps to remember that this is where it comes from originally. internal is defined within the object but invisible from the outside. Now, a library is simply a collection of object files. Just a bunch of object files glued together. Creating a library is a very trivial operation that doesn't do anything special besides placing many object files into the same file. This in itself is important, because a horde of object files is not convenient to deal with. For example, on my system libc.a (the static version of the C library) consists of almost 1500 object files. It's way nicer to just carry libc.a around. The linking process This section defines the linking process in a somewhat dry, algorithmic manner. This process is the key to understanding why linking order matters. Consider a linker invocation: $ gcc main.o -L/some/lib/dir -lfoo -lbar -lbaz The linker is almost always invoked through the compiler driver gcc when compiling C or C++ code. This is because the driver knows how to provide the correct command-line arguments to the linker itself ( ld ) with all the support libraries, etc. We'll see more of this later. Anyhow, as you can see the object files and libraries are provided in a certain order on the command-line, from left to right. This is the linking order. Here's what the linker does: The linker maintains a symbol table. This symbol table does a bunch of things, but among them is keeping two lists: A list of symbols exported by all the objects and libraries encountered so far. A list of undefined symbols that the encountered objects and libraries requested to import and were not found yet. When the linker encounters a new object file, it looks at: The symbols it exports: these are added to the list of exported symbols mentioned above. If any symbol is in the undefined list, it's removed from there because it has now been found. If any symbol has already been in the exported list, we get a "multiple definition" error: two different objects export the same symbol and the linker is confused. The symbols it imports: these are added to the list of undefined symbols, unless they can be found in the list of exported symbols. When the linker encounters a new library, things are a bit more interesting. The linker goes over all the objects in the library. For each one, it first looks at the symbols it exports. If any of the symbols it exports are on the undefined list, the object is added to the link and the next step is executed. Otherwise, the next step is skipped. If the object has been added to the link, it's treated as described above - its undefined and exported symbols get added to the symbol table. Finally, if any of the objects in the library has been included in the link, the library is rescanned again - it's possible that symbols imported by the included object can be found in other objects within the same library. When the linker finishes, it looks at the symbol table. If any symbols remain in the undefined list, the linker will throw an "undefined reference" error. For example, when you create an executable and forget to include the file with the main function, you'll get something like: /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/crt1.o: In function '_start': (.text+0x20): undefined reference to 'main' collect2: ld returned 1 exit status Note that after the linker has looked at a library, it won't look at it again. Even if it exports symbols that may be needed by some later library. The only time where a linker goes back to rescan objects it has already seen happens within a single library - as mentioned above, once an object from some library is taken into the link, all other objects in the same library will be rescanned. Flags passed to the linker can tweak this process - again, we'll see some examples later. Also note that when a library is examined, an object file within it can be left out of the link if it does not provide symbols that the symbol table needs. This is a very important feature of static linking. The C library I mentioned before makes a heavy use of this feature, by mostly splitting itself to an-object-per-function. So, for example if the only C standard library function your code uses is strlen , only strlen.o will be taken into the link from libc.a - and your executable will be very small. Simple examples The previous section can be hard to digest, so here are some simple examples that show the process in action. Let's start with the most basic case, of linking two objects together: $ cat simplefunc.c int func(int i) { return i + 21; } $ cat simplemain.c int func(int); int main(int argc, const char* argv[]) { return func(argc); } $ gcc -c simplefunc.c $ gcc -c simplemain.c $ gcc simplefunc.o simplemain.o $ ./a.out ; echo $? 22 Everything links and works as expected. Note that since these are object files, the linking order does not matter. Object files are always taken into the link. We can pass them to the linker in reversed order and it still works: $ gcc simplemain.o simplefunc.o $ ./a.out ; echo $? 22 Now let's do something different. Let's put simplefunc.c into a library: $ ar r libsimplefunc.a simplefunc.o $ ranlib libsimplefunc.a $ gcc simplemain.o -L. -lsimplefunc $ ./a.out ; echo $? 22 Works like a charm. But note what happens if the linking order is reversed now: $ gcc -L. -lsimplefunc simplemain.o simplemain.o: In function 'main': simplemain.c:(.text+0x15): undefined reference to 'func' collect2: ld returned 1 exit status Understanding the linking algorithm outlined above makes this case simple to explain. When the linker encounters libsimplefunc.a , it still hasn't seen simplemain.o , which means that func is not yet on the undefined list. When the linker looks into the library it sees simplefunc.o that exports func . But since it doesn't need func , this object file is not included in the link. When the linker does reach simplemain.o and sees that func is, indeed required, it's added to the undefined list (because it's not on the exported list). The linker then reaches the end of the link and func is still undefined. Note how this doesn't happen in the previous linking order - since simplemain.o comes first, func is on the undefined list before the linker sees the library, so the object file exporting it does get included. This brings us to the most important corollary of the linking process outlined above: If object or library AA needs a symbol from library BB, then AA should come before library BB in the command-line invocation of the linker. Circular dependency The corollary above is an important summary of the linking process - it's certainly much more practical to keep in mind because it's so short. But it makes one wonder - what happens if AA needs a symbol from BB, but BB also needs a symbol from AA? While officially this isn't a good programming practice, in reality it happens quite a lot. But AA can't come both before and after BB on the command-line, right? That's just silly. Wait, is it, really? Let's see an example and start simple. Imagine that instead of simplefunc.c , the func symbol is provided thus: $ cat func_dep.c int bar(int); int func(int i) { return bar(i + 1); } $ cat bar_dep.c int func(int); int bar(int i) { if (i > 3) return i; else return func(i); } These two files depend on each other and get placed into different libraries. If we link them in one order, we fail: $ gcc simplemain.o -L. -lbar_dep -lfunc_dep ./libfunc_dep.a(func_dep.o): In function 'func': func_dep.c:(.text+0x14): undefined reference to 'bar' collect2: ld returned 1 exit status However, the other order does work: $ gcc simplemain.o -L. -lfunc_dep -lbar_dep $ ./a.out ; echo $? 4 Quiz: can you figure out why? Hint: just go over the linking process algorithm with this command-line. What undefined symbols does the symbol table contain when the linker first sees -lfunc_dep ? But this is a very simple case. Let's look at a trickier one. We'll add a dependency to bar on another function from libfunc_dep.a , but one that lives in a different object: $ cat bar_dep.c int func(int); int frodo(int); int bar(int i) { if (i > 3) return frodo(i); else return func(i); } $ cat frodo_dep.c int frodo(int i) { return 6 * i; } We'll recompile all these files into separate objects, and the libfunc_dep.a library will now be: $ ar r libfunc_dep.a func_dep.o frodo_dep.o $ ranlib libfunc_dep.a Here's a drawing of the libraries, with arrows showing the dependencies: Now linking fails no matter what order we list the libraries in: $ gcc -L. simplemain.o -lfunc_dep -lbar_dep ./libbar_dep.a(bar_dep.o): In function 'bar': bar_dep.c:(.text+0x17): undefined reference to 'frodo' collect2: ld returned 1 exit status $ gcc -L. simplemain.o -lbar_dep -lfunc_dep ./libfunc_dep.a(func_dep.o): In function 'func': func_dep.c:(.text+0x14): undefined reference to 'bar' collect2: ld returned 1 exit status To solve this, consider that it's perfectly valid to list a library more than once on the link line; so in fact, we can provide libfunc_dep.a both before and after libbar_dep.a : $ gcc -L. simplemain.o -lfunc_dep -lbar_dep -lfunc_dep $ ./a.out ; echo $? 24 Another quiz: will the same trick work providing -lbar_dep twice? Why not? Using linker flags to control the process As I've mentioned above, the linker has a number of interesting flags that can be used to control the process in a fine-grained manner. For example, circular dependency problems can be easily resolved with --start-group and --end-group . Here's an instructive portion from man ld : --start-group archives --end-group The specified archives are searched repeatedly until no new undefined references are created. Normally, an archive is searched only once in the order that it is specified on the command line. If a symbol in that archive is needed to resolve an undefined symbol referred to by an object in an archive that appears later on the command line, the linker would not be able to resolve that reference. By grouping the archives, they all be searched repeatedly until all possible references are resolved. Using this option has a significant performance cost. It is best to use it only when there are unavoidable circular references between two or more archives. Here's how this helps in our case: $ gcc simplemain.o -L. -Wl,--start-group -lbar_dep -lfunc_dep -Wl,--end-group $ ./a.out ; echo $? 24 It's interesting to note the "significant performance cost" warning in the excerpt above. This explains why the linking process is the way it is. Presumably, linkers could just re-scan the whole library list until no new symbols got resolved. This would eliminate most circular-dependency and linking order problems in the world, but it would also be slow. Linking is already a critical part of the compilation time of large systems, since it looks at the whole program and requires quite a bit of memory. It's better to make it as fast as possible for well-behaved programs (that got their linking order right), and provide special options like groups for the difficult circular dependency cases. There's at least one another linker flag that can help us resolve the circular dependency here. We can use the --undefined flag to tell the linker - "buddy, here's a symbol I want you to add to the undefined list". In our case this makes the link error go away even though the libraries are specified only once: $ gcc simplemain.o -L. -Wl,--undefined=bar -lbar_dep -lfunc_dep $ ./a.out ; echo $? 24 Figuring out why this works is left as an exercise to the reader. Back to the original example Let's go back to the example this article started with. main assumes it gets the correct memcpy from the C library, but the memcpy it gets linked with does something else. Assuming the memcpy here was packed into the libstray_memcpy.a library: $ gcc -L. main_using_memcpy.o -lstray_memcpy $ ./a.out Segmentation fault (core dumped) This is the expected behavior. Since -lstray_memcpy was provided after main_using_memcpy.o on the command-line, it gets linked in. But what happens if the order is reversed: $ gcc -L. -lstray_memcpy main_using_memcpy.o $ ./a.out ; echo $? 5 The program links and works correctly. The reason for this is simple: even without us explicitly asking for it, gcc asks the linker to link the C library as well. The full linker invocation command of gcc is pretty complex, and can be examined by passing the -### flag to gcc. But in our case this amounts to: $ gcc -L. -lstray_memcpy main_using_memcpy.o -lc When the linker sees -lstray_memcpy , the symbol table does not yet have an undefined entry for memcpy , so the object file with the wrong function does not get linked. The linker adds this undefined entry only after it sees main_using_memcpy.o . Then, when it reaches -lc , the object file holding memcpy from the C library does get linked in because by now memcpy is on the undefined list. |
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Speaking in September 2017, claimants told the BBC about the problems they faced The six-week waiting time for universal credit should be cut and be a maximum of one month, MPs say. The Work and Pensions Select Committee said the six-week wait before claimants receive their first payment was causing "acute financial difficulty". It said reducing the delay - designed to mimic waiting for a first pay cheque for a new job - would remove a "major obstacle" to the policy's success. Theresa May has said the government was listening and was making changes. At Wednesday's Prime Minister's Questions, Mrs May defended the concept of universal credit, which she said was a "simpler" system that "makes sure work pays". Universal credit, which rolls six working-age benefits into a single payment, is designed to make the system simpler and ensure no-one faces a situation where they would be better off claiming benefits than working. But it has faced a backlash from some MPs, who fear payment delays risk pushing families into destitution. Conservative committee member Heidi Allen said: "Despite the clear support for universal credit, there is cross-party recognition that the six-week wait does not honour the original intentions of the system. "To truly represent the world of work, the payment cycle must mirror how the majority of people are paid i.e. monthly." The cross-party committee said advance payments could "mitigate some of the unwelcome consequences of the current design of universal credit, but they do not address their underlying foundations". 'Cruel' wait Its report concluded: "The baked-in six-week wait for the first payment in universal credit is a major obstacle to the success of the policy. "In areas where the full service has rolled out, evidence compellingly links it to an increase in acute financial difficulty." Work and pensions committee chairman Frank Field said the waiting period for the first payment was "cruel". "Such a long wait bears no relation to anyone's working life and the terrible hardship it has been proven to cause actually makes it more difficult for people to find work," the Labour MP said. Universal credit has been introduced in stages to different groups of claimants over the past four years, with about 610,000 people now receiving it. Almost a quarter of all claimants have had to wait more than six weeks to receive their first payment in full because of errors and problems evidencing claims. But the government recently approved a major extension of the programme to a further 45 job centres across the country, with another 50 to be added each month. |
Safety Tips for Solo Female Traveler Starottel Ahmedabad Blocked Unblock Follow Following Sep 18, 2017 The world is not a secure place, well not always and everyone needs to take care of themselves and especially for Women who are traveling Solo. The advent of 21st century has brought some equality between men and women. They have to compete for business and jobs and to do that frequent travels are essential. Men, as usual, find it easy to travel and find places to rest and eat but problems are more complex for women, as certain communities and cultures are not yet open to seeing women travel solo either for business or leisure. The media has incited fear among many women travelers in India, though it is misplaced, certain checks are necessary for every traveling female. First and foremost is to find a good Women Friendly Hotel that feels like at home, feels safe and provide all the facilities women want. If you’re traveling anywhere in the world or India, you could use these tips on safety. 1) Do your research As we know, India is a massive, traditionally diverse and ancient country. Knowing beforehand as much as u can about the culture of the place you are going to visit can be a boon for you. It will not only help you mix with the locals but also help you learn new things about other cultures and languages. For eg. In Rajasthan, if you wear tank tops and shorts in temples and other religious places, it is not advisable. However, in certain parts of Delhi like Gurugram, Rohini etc. wearing revealing western clothing is much more acceptable. 2) Be confident and respond firmly Body language has an important role. If you are quite confident you are unlikely to attract unwanted attention. Responding to cat calling or harsh comments about your dress at certain places will invite trouble for a lone female. An advice, wait for an opportunity to inform authorities and police to report trouble. They’re really women friendly in India, even you’ll find most men will help you by going out of their way. 3) Strategies for using transportation There are a couple of strategies for traveling at night. Like, plan your travel in advance so to avoid late night drives and expensive cabs. Try to have someone meet you at the train station or at the airport if possible to save both your time and money. Many business hotels offer free cabs to women passenger for pickups and drops, use it to your advantage. Always inform your friends and family where you are going and stay connected on mobile phone. Note- Before you enter a rickshaw or cab act as if you are speaking to someone and loudly call out the plate number. 4) Always keep your Mobile Phone Handy Carrying a phone is both good for safety and convenience. Also, keep it charged all the time to avoid drained batteries. Keeping a mobile handy with speed dials will save you from trouble and come handy in emergencies like missing a train, bus or losing your way in an unknown city. You can utilize apps like Ola and Uber that keeps your loved ones in the loop of your journeys and provide emergency services. Google Maps and SOS numbers will keep your loved ones informed, always. Note- Use location based apps that ping your location frequently to few numbers, it helps massively. 5) Avoid Mingling with Complete Strangers Taking a lift or a joy ride with a stranger can become a nightmare. In a new place where you’re unsure of local topography and mind sets, avoiding complete strangers to share information or travel will go a long way in ensuring a safety. So much so that, it is recommended that you avoid eating and drinking opened food offered by strangers and even certain people while traveling. If you’re a solo female traveler, coming to Ahmedabad then, Starottel Ahmedabad is the place for you to stay. Offering one of the best roof top restaurant, spa, outdoor rooftop swimming pool and women friendly staff and cabs. |
No music from the Hall of Fame No images Instead post to Instead post to one of these subreddits Artist - Title [Genre] Optional text All submissions of streaming songs and albums must follow this format or will be removed. Optional additional text may only be included after this part of the title. No ALL CAPS. No artist reposts for 30 days if the previous post broke 100 points No clickbait titles or asking for votes Music should stand on its own. If you have an interesting story behind the music, you can add this in the comments or as self-post text. Fridays are text post only Friday is for interesting discussions, not streaming music. If your post is "low effort" or looks like just another way of posting streaming music, then it will be removed. Bad discussion posts are subject to removal on any day. Saturdays are for fresh and original music Dedicated to underground artists, your original compositions, and new releases by known artists. Well known tracks will be removed at mod discretion. Submitters: For original music, use the "I Made This" flair. For new releases, use "New Release". You can select your flair beneath your link after posting. No /r/ifyoulikeblank or /r/tipofmytongue style posts For recommendations of new artists similar to those you already like, use For recommendations of new artists similar to those you already like, use /r/ifyoulikeblank . For help with identifying a song, use /r/tipofmytongue or /r/namethatsong Must link to official artist channels Exceptions are made for exclusive releases or tracks not available on an artist's official channel. No crowd funding sites No links to unauthorized music leaks or promotion of piracy Discussions and Articles should be directly relevant to music, music technology, or the music business itself Articles / Tweets discussing statements by musicians not relevant to their work are not allowed. Articles discussing events in musician's lives are subject to mod discretion. |
LOS ANGELES -- Instead of joining his protester friends on the snowy sidewalk outside the Bureau of Land Management office in Salt Lake City, Tim DeChristopher took a seat inside. In a room milling with oil and gas men who knew one another by sight, he was the unknown in a red parka, registering as a bidder in an auction for the rights to drill on 149,000 acres of federal land. DeChristopher was handed a red paddle bearing the number 70. Half an hour later, he was raising it. "I leaned forward to one of my colleagues and said, 'This guy behind us is just running up the prices,' " said David Terry, a Salt Lake City oil-land man who routinely attends the BLM auctions. "And my friend said, 'Yeah, he's going to get stuck with a tract.' " The University of Utah economics student got stuck with 13. Promising the federal government $1.8 million he does not have, DeChristopher emerged holding leases on 22,000 acres in the scenic southeast corner of Utah. He might have gone home with more had federal agents not led him out of the room after he secured the rights to a dozen parcels in a row, finally just holding his paddle over his head, even between offers. The U.S. attorney is considering charges that a spokeswoman declined to specify. Even before DeChristopher subverted the proceedings, the Dec. 19 auction sized up as one of the most controversial during the Bush administration, whose policies critics have characterized as a bonanza for oil and gas extraction on public land. Opponents of the policies said the 35,000 drilling permits issued over the past eight years reflected the boom in petroleum prices and the administration's zeal to accommodate the oil and gas industry, even on public lands deemed "special" because of their beauty or fragility. "This whole business of 'Drill, baby, drill' totally ignored the fact that we are a well-drilled country," said Dave Alberswerth of the Wilderness Society, noting that by the count of the oil-field services company Baker Hughes, more drill rigs are operating inside the United States than in the rest of the world combined. "BLM's oil and gas program has been just out of control." The parcels that DeChristopher snapped up stand near two national parks and a national monument that environmentalists and the National Park Service warned might be endangered by drilling. The outrage, which rivaled the outcry over the BLM decision to lease atop Colorado's majestic Roan Plateau, was aggravated by the timing: The agency announced the Utah auction on Nov. 4 -- Election Day. Environmental groups answered with administrative filings and news conferences, including a National Press Club event featuring Robert Redford. DeChristopher wanted to do more. "I've been an environmentalist for pretty much all my life and done all the things that you're supposed to do that are supposed to lead toward change," DeChristopher said, accounting for action that, as he tells it, surprised even him. "I've marched and held signs. I've volunteered in national parks. I've written letters and signed petitions. I've sat down with my congressman, Jim Matheson, for a long time. "Ultimately, I felt like those things were only mildly effective. And it was having a very tiny effect on a very large problem." The guerrilla bidding did not go down well with the oil and gas regulars. The companies recommend parcels for the BLM to sell and can hold them for decades if they prevail at the quarterly auctions. |
Baku, September 22, AZERTAC Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and his Afghan counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani praised political relations between the two countries as they met in New York on the sidelines of the 71st Session of the UN General Assembly. The sides exchanged views on the development of the bilateral relations and prospects for further cooperation, as well as fighting against terrorism and other issues of mutual interest. Describing the development of political relations between Azerbaijan and Afghanistan as "excellent", FM Mammadyarov underlined the importance of further enhancement of cooperation through joint efforts in a variety of fields, particularly in economy, trade and investment making areas. Pointing to the large-scale transport and energy projects being implemented in the region with the initiative and participation of the country, Elmar Mammadyarov noted that those projects contributed to the regional cooperation, saying Afghanistan could also take advantage of them in the coming years. Praising the level of comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, Afghan Minister Salahuddin Rabbani emphasized that his country highly appreciated Azerbaijan's support to Afghanistan in a bilateral and multilateral format. |
A new 45,000-sq.-ft. Whole Foods Market will move into a portion of the soon-to-be-closing recently closed Randalls grocery store in the Westchase Shopping Center, landlord Weingarten Realty announced today. The 25,663-sq.-ft. Whole Foods Market that’s been operating in the same REIT’s Market at Westchase since 1991 — just across Wilcrest at 11145 Westheimer — will shutter when the new Whole Foods opens — in 2016. *** A site plan already posted on the landlord’s website (above) shows Whole Foods taking up only a portion of the 74,000-sq.-ft. former Randalls space — an additional 29,056 sq. ft. of it (shown in yellow) is marked as still available. Randalls announced the closure of its store at 11041 Westheimer Rd. last December, confirming earlier reports. Randalls’ lease for the property is up at the end of this month, Nancy Sarnoff reports. Photo and site plan: Weingarten Realty Chasing Groceries in Westchase |
The news that Match Game is being brought back, this time on ABC with host Alec Baldwin, is very exciting. Match Game is the best game show. It’s the perfect blend of being a show you can play along with, while also being entertaining to watch. Of course, execution is also important, which is why the ‘70s version is so wonderful, and the ‘90s version is… best forgotten. Hopefully this new version will be more like the classic one. That comes down to the most important part of the Match Game setup, and what is the calling card of the show. That would be, of course, the celebrity panelists. You need six (and let us hope it is six) people who can play a game well, but also be funny and entertaining. The ‘70s version was loaded with talent, as this top 10 list can attest to. So, naturally, if one has any interest in this Match Game reboot, one is probably thinking of potential panelists they would like to see. This article is no different. Here is an ideal six-person panel for this reboot, based upon the roles set up by the classic ‘70s version of the show. In addition to that, choices were limited to plausible panelists. You can get some notable names on a game show panel, but any name that is too big feels a little pointless to include. Sure, it’d be great if, say, Stephen Colbert or Will Ferrell was on a Match Game panel, but that’s just not going to happen. OK, enough preamble. Here’s a perfect Match Game panel for this modern era. Top Left The top left panel is for, to put it bluntly, some random guy. The Match Game panel was gender balanced, and with two of the male panelists locked in for most of the show’s run, that left one spot to go to a different gentleman each week. There wasn’t any real rhyme or reason to whom would appear in the first chair. You’d get actors, comedians, and Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton (who was surprisingly good). Basically, if it’s a guy, he can go here. Given this breadth of choice, the selection here is Paul F. Tompkins. He’s perfect for an environment such as this, as proven by his regular appearances at the UCB Theatre’s version of Match Game. He’s very quick-witted, sharp and hilarious, and anybody who has ever listened to his off-the-cuff podcast ramblings knows that he can turn that on on the spot. Plus his dapper attire would certainly make him stick out on a panel. While, traditionally, the top left panelist rotated week-to-week, hopefully Tompkins would be a regular part of any rotation. Honorable Mentions: Jimmy Pardo, Andy Daly, Brandon McCarthy (he’s not a future Hall of Famer like Don Sutton, but if any baseball pitcher were to appear on the panel, he’s probably the best choice) Top Center This was Brett Somers seat, which means there are big shoes (or, big glasses, as it were) to fill. Brett was sort of the chairwoman of the panel, in a sense. She was almost always there, and she talked as much as anybody. Brett would dismiss answers, or questions, she didn’t like, and was generally a firebrand. Oh, and she was funny to boot. So what woman can capture the brassy, outspoken style of Brett Somers? Why, Jen Kirkman, of course. Now, hopefully Kirkman doesn’t blanch at being thought of as the new Brett Somers. Brett was, you know, a woman of a certain age, as it were, but beyond that, Kirkman seems like she would be a natural fit on a Match Game panel. Also, much like Brett Somers, Kirkman likes to be fashionable and stylish, and, as a good friend of Paul F. Tompkins, she fits into this particular panel perfectly. Honorable Mentions: Julie Klausner, Retta, Bebe Neuwirth Top Right Charles Nelson Reilly. He was great, but, in this modern era, would we really have another “Charles Nelson Reilly”? The wink, wink, nudge, nudge comedy about Reilly’s sexuality is a bit of a relic of a different time, and, also, we aren’t defining this role as simply the “gay panelist.” However, Reilly was a particular kind of campy comedic persona that is, oftentimes, associated with gay performers. He was also a total delight, and it is a kind of energy that would be really good to keep on the show. The first name that comes to mind is Nathan Lane. Much like Reilly, and let us not forget that Reilly has a Tony, Lane is a Broadway actor, and if you have ever seen him on a talk show, you will recognize how easily he could fill Reilly’s role on the new Match Game. He has a dry wit and has a penchant for sarcastic quips, and would probably be very funny in this context. Honorable Mentions: Billy Eichner (not quite the same kind of performer, but he does a similar thing just much louder), Gabe Leidman, Bryan Safi Bottom Left The bottom left is sort of like the female equivalent of the top left. However, it’s not quite just “a woman.” If they had a very funny, oddball woman, they would put her in the anchor seat, bottom right. The bottom left was more for actresses, often generally attractive actresses, who maybe weren’t so strong at the game. It was usually a landing spot for charming women who just got by on that. Now, they weren’t all bad at the game, but if you were going to find somebody who wasn’t a particularly strong player, you’d find them in this seat. Of course, in this ideal version of the show, we are aim to find some good players. If you want an actress with charm for miles, you can’t do much better than Kate Micucci. She works primarily in the realm of comedy, and alongside Riki Lindholme is the musical comedy duo Garfunkel & Oates. Whatever you think about Garfunkel & Oates, you’ll probably agree that Micucci is amusing during her frequent podcast or talk show appearances. Her main strength is a somewhat cutesy charm, which would work well on a Match Game panel. Based on the episodes of Doug Loves Movies she’s done, she’d bring an energy that people would likely enjoy. Basically, if she did give a bad answer, she could get away with it. Honorable Mentions: Kaitlyn Olson, Natalie Morales (the actress, not the lady from The Today Show), Sarah Burns Bottom Center OK, this is where things get serious. This is Richard Dawson’s seat, and that means we need somebody who is great at the game. Somebody who is going to take this seriously. Somebody who isn’t screwing around. Because, at some point, it’s time for contestants to play for cash, and they need somebody they can rely on. Also, a quick side note that feels appropriate at this time, they better not bring back the Star Wheel for the Head-to-Head Match. The contestant needs to be able to pick who they want. Back in the day, they all picked Dawson, and this needs to be somebody everybody can pick as well. If they can be funny, as Dawson was, so much the better. If you are positing people to fill the role of Richard Dawson in Match Game, and you don’t suggest the name Rich Sommer, Sommer would probably (rightfully) be annoyed. He feels like the kind of person who would be upset to not be mentioned in this conversation. This is why he is perfect for the role. Sommer, of Mad Men fame, is an affable presence, but, more importantly, he is super enthusiastic about games, and takes them seriously. If you have heard him on Doug Loves Movies, or on his own boardgame podcast Cardboard, you know that he loves playing games, and he wants to do well. Rich Sommer would love to be the guy everybody picked for Head-to-Head, and he would be up to the task. He’s the guy you want there when there’s money on the line. Honorable Mentions: Andy Richter (although, given his duties on Conan, he probably couldn’t be a regular like Dawson), Michael Ian Black, Neil Patrick Harris Bottom Right This is, with all due respect, the real money seat, and the one that is the most interesting to try and figure out names for. The bottom right, the anchor chair, the one that gives the final answer, was the home of the likes of Betty White, Fannie Flagg, and the true queen of Match Game (sorry Brett fans), Patti Deutsch. You need a really funny woman, but usually it was also a specific kind of woman. This is the “weirdo” seat. It works to have oddball energy here, somebody who can come up with interesting, weird and delightful answers. Being funny is the number one goal. There is a litany of funny women out there, but when it comes to finding a particularly funny woman who fills the role of the resident “weirdo” on the panel, Chelsea Peretti immediately springs to mind. If you want oddball energy, you’re going to get it from Peretti. However, she could also probably be herself, and be funny, while not completely overtaking the show. It could still function as a game show, and she could still function as a game show panelist, while still being funny in her specific way. Honorable Mentions: Charlyne Yi, Claudia O’Doherty, Kristen Schaal Chris Morgan is not the author of THE book on Mystery Science Theater 3000, but he is the author of A book on Mystery Science Theater 3000. He’s also on Twitter. |
Donald Trump this week expressed mild regret for the comments he made about women to Howard Stern throughout the '90s and 2000s, telling the Washington Post on Wednesday, "I wouldn't have gone on the show because that is the easier way of doing it." Back in 2005, during a greatest hits show, Stern confronted Trump about some of the comments he had made on the program over the years. Trump responded by cracking a joke about the women's liberation movement. "What do you think of the women's liberation movement," said Trump, to laughs from the hosts. "Do you think they're gonna embrace me, will they say, 'he's a wonderful person?'" Earlier in the interview, Trump said the women he discussed on the show no longer speak to him anymore. "They don't speak to me anymore, but it's okay, I don't care," said Trump. "There's billions and billions of people, so if you lose a couple of friends, it doesn't really mean anything." Throughout the interview, Stern played clips of some of Trump's statements on the show and expressed shock that Trump was willing to rank and rate women on the program. "Here you are, prominent guy, you're friends with all the big Hollywood people, and I turn to you and I said, 'I want you to evaluate women.' And you did it," said Stern. |
Hackers allegedly took down the State's official website. A Twitter user named "@YourVikingdom" claimed responsibility for the attack shortly after 2 p.m. Friday. The user posted an image claiming responsibility along with the following message: #Target IN.GOV #OFFLINE #Vikingdom2015 #OpIndiana Knocked it down for @xxdjsethxx :) The action was in response to a tweet by user @xxdjsethxx that read, "Since Indiana's Gov decided to sign the religious bill allowing to discriminate it's time for #OPIndiana to start." The entry included a link to a post by blogger Perez Hilton about Governor Mike Pence's signing of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act on Thursday. Seven minutes later, @YourVikingdom tweeted directly to the state. "@IN_gov enjoy your website being #OFFLINE @Vikingdom2015," they said. "It kept sending me somewhere else when I tried to get to the security job they had posted," Joanne Watts said of her experience using the website during that time. "And when I finally got to it, it kind of went away real quick. And that kind of discouraged me." A spokesperson for the Indiana Office of Technology was quick to emphasize that the site was never taken over, nor was it hacked (at last check, there was no evidence any data was compromised). He described it as a "denial of service attack." That is when an outside person or group inundates a website with so much traffic, its servers can't keep up and the website ends up loading more slowly for anyone logging on. In extreme cases, like Friday, the website won't load at all. The spokesperson said the same group has targeted approximately 34 state, local, tribal and territorial government websites across 21 states since March 16. The website appeared to be back up around 3 p.m. Meanwhile, Twitter user "@xxdjsethxx" - Richard Miller, a Hoosier native - who was cited by the hackers as the reason why they targeted IN.gov, contacted Eyewitness News to say he never wanted that to happen. "What I wanted was for media to bring more attention to this type of story regarding the LGBT community, regarding anyone who could be discriminated against," he said in a video statement. |
Nintendo love to scour the dirtiest, most distant corners of the globe for people pirating their DS software. But do they ever check their TV sets? Because if anyone from Nintendo of America had bothered to watch the latest episode of "Modern Family", they may have seen this kid. "Oh great!", they probably thought at first. "Free advertising!" But the more observant of staffers would have noticed the odd colour of the cartridge stuck in the back of the DS. And then the cartridge's funny shape, smooth on one side, a hole on the other. Yup, the hole where a microSD card goes. Meaning it's very likely the kid (don't watch the show, don't know his name) was using either an R4 cart, or a similar device. We don't for sure - I am also not involved in the show's production - but take a look for yourself. Which doesn't necessarily mean he's a pirate! After all, the R4 isn't just for pirating games; it's also for enabling homebrew, a noble endeavour if ever there was one. Advertisement Not that Nintendo would care to make the distinction. [thanks Greg!] |
An American charity launched this week a 12-year-long experiment in Kenya involving 6,000 people and $30 million to test the potential success of basic income. By the year, 2030, researchers will have troves of data on how basic income has affected thousands. The founders of the New York-based nonprofit GiveDirectly distinguish their basic income experiment from others by selecting people in “extreme poverty” for their study, the early results of which they expect to receive “within the next year or two.” The concept of basic income has few defining factors: Usually the amount of money is small, it’s continual, and there are no strings attached. It allows impoverished people a “freedom, dignity, and flexibility” that other social programs aimed at eliminating poverty don’t allow, GiveDirectly’s founders wrote last year. To test the theory, GiveDirectly has so far worked on a small scale by orchestrating direct cash transfers via cell phone in East Africa. But to prove that unrestricted monetary payments could be successful on a mass scale, GiveDirectly embarked this month on one of the largest-ever basic income tests; providing 6,000 residents in Kenya with a regular income. Rural Kenyans involved in the experiment received their first payment Monday, GiveDirectly announced. Around 6,000 people in 40 villages will, each month for 12 years, get a basic income of a little over $20 per month. Like any quality scientific experiment, they’ll compare the results with a second group that receives the same monthly amount but for only two years. The experiment was supposed to include a third group that gets a one-time lump sum payment equal to the two-year amount, but this part has been eliminated “due to funding constraints,”The experiment’s control group is made up of 100 other Kenyan villages not taking part in the study. Researchers and governments from around the world often debate the best way to end, or at least mitigate, poverty. It’s an issue that the United States alone spends almost $1 trillion each year trying to fix, according to the Cato Institute. The argument for universal basic income centers on the argument that impoverished people use regularly allotted funds to make productive choices for their own wellbeing, as well as their family. Critics of the concept argue that the poor can’t be trusted to use money wisely and that charity resources like food and shelter should be managed by others, if charity is brought up at all. INVERSE LOOT DEALS Meet the Pod The first bed that learns the perfect temperature for your sleep, and dynamically warms or cools according to your needs. Buy Now But GiveDirectly’s founders Michael Faye and Paul Niehaus argue in Slate that basic income is actually a better strategy to help the world’s poor: “It neither introduces perverse incentives discouraging work nor does it mandate work to receive benefits. The system’s simplicity likely reduces the bureaucratic overhead of managing complicated social programs; and, better yet, it avoids the paternalism of many social programs.” GiveDirectly’s experiment is not the first basic income pilot to be conducted. Y Combinator, a Silicon Valley tech start up has been running basic income tests in the United States, and the governments of Finland and the Netherlands have both led trials in their respective countries. However, the universal basic income pilot program in Kenya is unique in both its length of time and reach of people. With this set-up, researchers will have long-term observations that shorter studies haven’t been able to find. GiveDirectly says the experiment should fill in the blanks about how universal basic income would affect people’s behavior when they have long-term economic security; including social dynamics, employment rates, the financial risks people take on businesses, and gender dynamics. GiveDirectly was started by a group of Harvard and MIT graduates who were looking for “the most effective way to give their own money to reduce poverty.” Since then, the team has expanded beyond New York to field offices operating out of Kenya and Uganda. Using their background in economic development, the nonprofit’s founders opted for mobile technology as the most secure an efficient way to get money to those in need. Kenya already widely used a phone payment system called M-Pesa, which made GiveDirectly’s decision to focus on Kenya all the more feasible. For those without phones, GiveDirectly provides households with devices and SIM cards so they can get their phone transfers. Once residents are sent this “mobile money,” they’re able to pay at stores directly from their phones, or exchange it for hard cash. GiveDirectly accepts public donations on its website for any amount, and people can choose whether to delegate their funds for cash transfers or for the basic income experiment. The nonprofit evaluates how much goes directly into the hands of Kenya and Uganda’s residents by calculating the costs of its staff in delivering and raising money. The company estimates that they “put 91 percent of your donation into the hands of a recipient in Kenya and 85 percent in Uganda.” |
OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 29: Washington Redskins helmets lay on the ground during their game against the Oakland Raiders at O.co Coliseum on September 29, 2013 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) By Christy Strawser DETROIT (CBS Detroit) Sources say The Detroit News will no longer use the team name for the Washington Redskins, adding fuel to the long debate about whether the NFL team’s moniker is derogatory to Native Americans. A Detroit News staffer confirmed to CBS Detroit that employees received a memo saying the newspaper and its website will no longer use the team’s name “in routine football coverage, reflecting the growing view that the term is offensive to many Americans.” Instead, reporters were told to describe the NFL franchise as “Washington” or the “Washington football team.” This comes as the federal Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ruled last Wednesday in a 2-1 decision that the Redskins’ trademark protections should be canceled, a decision that ESPN says “applies new financial and political pressure on the team to change its name.” ESPN added that “although the Redskins name and past logos are involved in the decision, the trademarks that were canceled do not include the current Redskins logo.” Team owner Daniel Snyder has refused to change the name despite mounting protests. The News’ decision to stop use of the name follows suit with the Seattle Times, which also said last week it will no longer use the word Redskins in stories about the Washington, D.C., NFL team. The sports editor said last Thursday the name is “absurd, offensive and outdated.” Other newspapers have also stopped using the Indian reference that many find unacceptable, the Associated Press said.. The Times previously had a policy to minimize the use of “Redskins” by keeping it out of headlines and photo captions and limiting it to once per story. Interestingly, this happens a small group of Virginia state lawmakers announced this week they formed a “Redskins Pride Caucus” to defend the Redskins’ football team, according to the Associated Press. At a news conference at the state Capitol lawmakers took turns praising the team and recalling long-ago victories against arch-rival, the Dallas Cowboys. “This is also about making sure that we protect our businesses, and be a voice for them to say ‘we’re not just going to let you get beaten up by Washington,'” said Republican Del. David Ramadan. At the news conference, lawmakers said they did not think the name was derogatory, a view they said was shared by many Native Americans. *The Associated Press contributed to this report. (TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.) |
Arlena Lindley’s boyfriend Alonzo Turner beat her for months and murdered her child — so why was she sent to prison for 45 years? A BuzzFeed News investigation. Photograph by Melanie Buford for The Dallas Morning News Photographs of Titches Lindley sitting above his bed at the home of his father, William Wade, in Dallas. BuzzFeed News Dallas County Sheriff's Department From left: Arlena Lindley and Alonzo Turner. Photograph by Wil Chandler for BuzzFeed Photographs of Aubriana Coke in the home of her grandmother in Monticello, Arkansas. Courtesy of Victoria Pedraza Victoria Pedraza and her daughter. Victoria served in the National Guard. Arkansas Department of Correction Photograph by Wil Chandler for BuzzFeed BuzzFeed Judge Kenneth Watson. Courtesy of Victoria Phanthtaranth Victoria Phanthtaranth and her daughter, Alexis. Watson told BuzzFeed News that he thought about how Phanthtaranth had suffered from repeated physical and sexual abuse growing up in foster homes. And she had already been behind bars more than two years for Alexis’ death. “How much is one person expected to endure?” he said. What troubles Watson is something he acknowledged both in the sentencing hearing and in an interview. Had Mendez just pled guilty, instead of taking his case to trial, he probably never would have learned of the abuse Mendez meted out on Phanthtaranth. “They both would be in right now,” he said, “and nobody would have even had a second guess about it.” Oklahoma County District Court Victoria Phanthtaranth, Freddy Mendez, and their family, before Mendez murdered Phanthtaranth's daughter, Alexis. Texas Department of Correction Years later, White recalled that she was “shocked” when Judge Howard went far beyond the 10-year sentence she had offered. Still, White said she feels that 45 years is plenty fair. Lindley, she said, watched Turner “torture” her only son, “and then she got in her car with her friend to get hair products.” White said, “She deserved what she got.” White did not initially remember that her office had viewed Lindley as a victim, having charged Turner with assaulting her on the day he killed Titches. She acknowledged that many see child abuse and domestic violence as linked, and she said that in many of the cases she sees, the perpetrator has committed both. But, she said, she runs the child abuse division of the Dallas County Prosecutor’s Office, and a separate division handles domestic violence. “Why women stay, and that — I can’t speak to that; I have no expertise in that,” she said. Her division focuses on “only the children.” White also did not recall that someone else called 911 when Lindley hadn’t, but White said that fact didn’t mitigate her sense of Lindley’s guilt. (Judge Howard declined to be interviewed and did not respond to a written question about the 911 call.) A call from a mother would have carried more weight than one from a neighbor, White said, and the fact that someone else phoned didn’t relieve Lindley of her duty as a mother to take action. “In the end,” White said, “she walked out alive, and he didn’t.” Lindley stays in an all-women’s prison off a stretch of farmland halfway between Austin and Dallas. She has been behind bars eight years. Having lost her first attempt at parole, she will have to wait until 2016 to try again. The parole board cited its “nature of offense” rule, reserved for prisoners whose acts were too egregious for them to be granted clemency. Told that many people believe that in a situation like hers, they would do anything to protect their children from abuse, she said, “I was like that. ‘Oh, it couldn’t be me.’ But you really don’t know.” Titches would be 11 years old now. He’s been dead for twice as long as he was alive, so Lindley’s memories are frozen in his baby years — learning shapes and colors on the internet, playing with his Hokey Pokey Elmo. Titches' name is tattooed on the inside of her wrist. View this track on SoundCloud BuzzFeed News |
Chandler’s parents suck. I’ve read more than my fair share of articles on Chandler. And some are inflammatory, calling his homophobia the WORST part of Friends, but what the author fails to take into account is Chandler’s dad is an asshole. Of course Chandler’s going to be homophobic, he fears his narcissistic father. How do we know he’s narcissistic? “[Narcissistic fathers] manipulate their children by withholding affection (until they perform), and neglect to meet their children’s needs because their needs come first.” -Mark Banschick M.D., Psychology Today Not only this, but narcissists are known to ALWAYS be the center-of-attention: “Chandler: …he used to come to all of my swim meets dressed as a different Hollywood starlets.“ And the “withholding affection until they perform” explains Chandler’s line in The One with Chandler’s Dad: “Chandler: When I was growing up I played the one on the far left.“ Chandler’s dad is not a good guy. I know we live in a generation of equality and acceptance, but Chandler’s opinion of gay people should not be condemned — especially given his father. Banschick’s article sums up Chandler’s dad, Charles, in a nutshell and it’s all the more reason why Monica’s surprise trip to Vegas for Chandler to reconcile with his father shouldn’t be viewed as loving, but controlling — wanting her traditional wedding. Monica is such an awful match for Chandler and it’s clear that it’s a result of his parents. Speaking of, let’s talk about the mom, Nora Tyler-Bing, for a moment, who is also a narcissist — I’m not just saying that because it’d be convenient. Look at Dr. Karl McBride’s, overview of a narcissistic mom: “They cannot put themselves into your shoes and feel or understand how something might affect you. They can only see how it affects them.” -Dr. Karl McBride, Psychology Today Banschick then goes on to explain that narcissistic moms: “The outside world may embrace her, but you know mom as self-centered, brittle, easily angered and “always right.” She may be loved by her friends and colleagues, but they don’t know the mom you know. You get maternal love now and then, but it’s unpredictable and punctuated by control, anger and a need to walk on eggshells.” No where is this clearer than in The One with Mrs. Bing where Chandler finds out his mother is going to visit him via a Jay Leno interview. “Mrs. Bing: (on TV) I’m leaving for New York tomorrow, which I hate, but I get to see my son, who I love… All: Awww! Chandler: This is the way that I find out. Most moms use the phone.” His friends swoon and adore her, but Chandler could not be more anxious. She says this for public adoration, not for her child. She loves herself. According to Banschick, at heart, narcissistic mothers are insecure and that’s why they need validation from their children (and men) — hence why she’s been married (and divorced) 4 times, and kisses Ross. The fact that Nora didn’t understand or care how it affected Chandler gives more credence to the narcissism. The result of two narcissistic parents is clear, an insecure, anxious, and inferiority-complex-ridden boy. Chandler didn’t pursue a dream job, he had to stay out of the spotlight because “daddy” was hogging it; Chandler didn’t touch a girl’s breast until he was 19 (TOW all the Embryos) because that’s when he MOVED out of his mother’s house! His mother demanded all of Chandler’s affection. Dealing with divorce is one thing — the heated arguments and battling for a child’s favoritism — but dealing with divorce between two narcissists is war. Chandler’s parents are both narcissistic, and the scary thing is, there’s some evidence that Chandler’s dad might not even be gay — he may have chosen to be gay to win against his wife. “Nora: Did you know that I slept with the best man? Mr. Bing: Yes he told me. At least, I think that’s what he said. It was difficult to understand with his legs wrapped around my head.” -The One with Monica and Chandler’s Wedding Otherwise his dad exhibits more qualities of a transgender… But that’s not a door I’m here to open. I want to talk about why Chandler’s soulmate is Kathy and how she helps him conquer the insecurities of his parents; filling the void as the perfect piece. Chandler Muriel Bing 1. Background Family Life To make this analysis more manageable, here are the facts: Chandler’s parents divorced on Thanksgiving when he was 9 (TOW Underdog Gets Away) The divorce initiated because Chandler’s father was caught with the pool boy (TOW All the Thanksgivings) The divorce caused Chandler to wet the bed (TOW the Two Parties) Chandler started smoking at 9 (TOW the Ski Trip) Chandler quit smoking at 23 (TOW the Thumb; Phoebe : You’ve been so good for three years) His mother is a successful erotic novelist (TOW Mrs. Bing) Nora bought Chandler his first condoms (TOW Mrs. Bing) His father is a gay transvestite (TOW Chandler’s Dad) Chandler’s only heirloom is a feather boa passed down from Charles’ father (TOW the Yeti; Chandler : The only heirloom I ever got was a feather boa. Got it from my dad. He got it from his dad. How did I ever get born?) Charles attended Chandler’s high school swimming events dressed as different starlets (TOW Chandler’s Dad) Charles slept with Mr. Garibaldi (TOW Chandler’s Dad) Charles moved to Las Vegas to start a Burlesque show called Viva Las Gaygas (TOW the Embryos) Chandler used to perform in said show (TOW Chandler’s Dad) Charles once invited Ross up to his hotel (TOW the Dollhouse) Nora kissed Ross (TOW Mrs. Bing) Charles kidnapped Chandler after cub scouts (TOW the Ski Trip; Chandler: You know what this is like? This is like when my parents got divorced. Man, I hope Ross doesn’t try to kidnap me after Cub Scouts.) Nora has been married and divorced 4 times (TOW Rachel’s Book; Chandler : My mother spent most of her money on her fourth wedding. She’s saving the rest for her divorce) Both Charles and Nora slept with the best man at their wedding (TOW Monica and Chandler’s Wedding) So with this wealth of information, what do we know about Chandler? How did it affect him? 1. Fear of Confrontation Being a child of divorce, Chandler must have eavesdropped on countless arguments and fights between his parents. After the divorce, the fighting stops because they’ve separated, so Chandler equates “fighting” to mean it’s the end of a relationship. Chandler: Well, y’know, you and me, it had to end sometime. Monica: Why, exactly? Chandler: Because of the weekend… we had a fight. Monica: Chandler, that’s crazy! If you give up every time you have a fight with someone, you’d never be in a relationship with anyone for longer than…. Oh! -The One with the Kips Additionally, this is why Chandler is loathe to get involved in confrontations. Example 1: Chandler can’t fire his attractive co-worker (The One with the Two Parts). Example 2: Chandler can’t end things with Joanna (The One with the Dollhouse). Example 3: Chandler can’t dump Janice (TOW the East German Laundry Detergent; TOW the Candy Hearts; TOW all the Rugby; etc.). 2. Fear of Inadequacy Perhaps most importantly (in regards to dating), Chandler suffers an inferiority complex, always feeling inadequate and second-rate because his parents refused to ever let him feel more than that. Worse, he points out the inadequacies in others because that’s all he knows. He never grew up in a nurturing or affectionate household, instead his parents tore him and everyone else down in an effort to raise themselves higher. Plus, given that Chandler’s dad was wealthy, it’s very likely his friends growing up turned to judgments and ridicule at Chandler’s expense. As a result of all this, Chandler writes people off for their flaws — while being wholly aware of his own. Chandler says it best in The One where Mr. Heckles Dies: Chandler: Look at this. Pictures of all the women that Heckles went out with. Look what he wrote on them. Vivian, too tall. Madge, big gums. Too loud, too smart, makes noise when she eats. This is–this is me. This is what I do. I’m gonna end up alone, just like he did. Joey: Chandler, Heckles was a nut case. Chandler: Our trains are on the same track, ok? Yeah, sure, I’m coming up 30 years behind him, but the stops are all the same. Bitter Town. Aloneville. Hermit Junction…What if I never find someone? Or worse, what if I found her, but I dumped her because she pronounces it ‘supposably?’ 3. Fear of Commitment He fears commitment because he doesn’t want to become a father — specifically, his own. He hates what his father did to him and how his father destroyed his family. In fact, if you take his monologue to Janice as to why they can’t be together, but throw out the “joke” at the end, it sounds like Chandler is talking about his dad: Chandler: I don’t wanna be the guy that breaks up a family, y’know when my parents split up, it was because of that guy. Whenever I would see him I would always think y’know ‘You’re the reason, you are the reason why they’re not together,’ and I hated that guy. -The One with the Giant Poking Device The line I cut at the end there is “And it didn’t matter how nice he was or how happy he made my dad,” but Chandler always uses humor as a defense mechanism and I think he was getting uncomfortably vulnerable. Plus, it makes more sense since Chandler wouldn’t blame the Pool Boy, but identify with him, whereas the vessel for all his fears is his father. To back up this claim (that Chandler identifies with the Pool Boy) check this out: Children of divorce (whose parents’ relationship ends with an affair) often identify with the Other Person: “Daughters will tend to secretly identify with “the other woman” and sons with the “other man.” Daughters want to be the “Apple of Dad’s eye.” If Dad is more desirous of another woman or more interested in something other than the family (like being at the bar), the daughter will, at some point, want to explore this “other world.” The daughter will tend to keep this a secret from mom for fear of being “disloyal” to her. The case is similar for sons.” -Robert Stone, PsychCentral Since Chandler’s dad is a transvestite, he had no male role models outside of his father’s lover: the Pool Boy. This gains credence when you consider the fact that Chandler is the “Other Man” a lot: Example 1: Chandler is one of many “other men” in Aurora’s — the polyamorous exotic Italian woman’s — extensive love affairs (TOW the Butt). Example 2: When Janice and Chandler start dating seriously, Chandler becomes the “Other Man” through Janice’s divorce and Joey makes this clear: “They have a kid together, y’know. They’re a family, and if, I don’t know, there’s chance they could make that work, I know I wouldn’t want to be the guy who stood in the way of that.” –TOW the Giant Poking Device Example 3: When Chandler kisses Kathy, he’s the “Other Guy” who ends her relationship with Joey. More over, Chandler very clearly tried to be in his father’s good graces. He “performed” in his father’s burlesque show, he attempted a figure-skating career, he did the things his father asked for and in the end, Chandler was left to the wayside. The Pool Boy allegedly got his own Pool Boy, but that wouldn’t crush Chandler, rather he pursues the same route by living with his mother instead. What no doubt caused Chandler to see his father for the narcissistic monster he is, is when Charles found another man. The Pool Boy was replaceable and Chandler realized he was as well. With a narcissist, you need to keep feeding their ego, and they are insatiable. So Chandler chose to stay with his mother and evaded his father. The “kidnap me after cub scouts” line shows that Chandler’s father tried to spend more time with Chandler… but Chandler was not inclined to do so because he knew it wasn’t out of “love” for Chandler but because Charles wanted to win his son from his ex-wife; it was a competition. Had Chandler continued trying to win his dad’s affection, he’d probably be a house staff or a butler since his father would never let him succeed. Living with a narcissistic mother however drove Chandler to get a high-paying job and notable career, since Branschick states that narcissistic mothers believe their children’s success reflects well on them as parents. Although this gives Chandler a better life… that’s the silver lining. A sad circumstance to this is that Chandler’s mother didn’t love Chandler any more for choosing her over his father. It boosted her ego, but it’s been said that children of divorce who stay with the opposite sex parent feel resentment from them. In other words, when Nora looked at Chandler, she saw Charles. The last thing Chandler EVER wants to be is his father. His “homophobia” is completely justified — it has nothing to do with gay people, and everything to do with distancing himself from his father. This, combined with the divorce, is why Chandler is afraid of commitment. He saw it didn’t last between his parents, but more over, he doesn’t want to become his father. 2. Chandler’s Relationships When you run the gamut of Chandler’s relationships, there are women he’s awestruck by and women he settles for. The women he settles for are relationships he falls into, i.e. Joanna, Janice, Mary Angela. Chandler is not emotionally invested in these people. (Ginger falls into this category too, once the artificial leg is exposed.) Meanwhile, the women Chandler is awestruck by overwhelm him with beauty, so much so that all he can focus on is the fact that they’re “into” him. His ego is being charged by their looks and, for a time, they remedy his feelings of inadequacy because he cannot believe they are actually allowing him to pursue them… Women like Jade (when Chandler is “Bob”), Nina (co-worker), Susie (Julia Roberts), the Dutch Girl and, to some extent, Jill Goodacre. With those women, Chandler is awestruck, but before these relationships can mature, they’re ended quickly. Plus, if anything, these short-term relationships simultaneously abolish Chandler’s fear of inadequacy… and then validate it. For Chandler’s Soulmate, she must eliminate his 3 fears: inadequacy, confrontation, and becoming his father. The women who Chandler is awestruck by and their relationships are able to mature with him are: Aurora, Kathy, Monica… and Yasmine Bleeth (and Kathy is the only one he turns her off for). Of course each of these women help Chandler conquer his feelings of insecurity — feeling second-rate, unlovable, inadequate, etc. — because they’re gorgeous and they’re interested in him. Which means his other two fears (of confrontation and commitment) need to be conquered. Chandler does both with Aurora, confronting her about their relationship and wanting to be monogamous… but it’s not reciprocated. Meanwhile Monica is such an ill-suited choice. Monica is basically Chandler’s mom: another narcissist who always needs to win: “No you didn’t. Oh and honey, just so you know, now that you’re marrying me, you don’t get to win anymore.“ -The One with Chandler’s Dad 3. Chandler’s Soulmate is Kathy For starters, you would never hear Chandler say to Kathy that he loves her “in spite of” anything; any quirks; any habits; any neurotic OCD. Chandler tried to find flaws in Kathy, but he couldn’t. In The One Where Chandler Crosses the Line: “Chandler: …And now I have seen her naked. I mean at least when I’ve seen her with clothes on, I could imagine her body was covered in boils or something. But there are no boils, she’s smooth! Smooth!“ Kathy helps Chandler overcome his insecurity because she chooses Chandler over Joey — a man Chandler holds in high esteem and loves dearly. The fact that Kathy picks Chandler assuages any feelings of insecurity. Kathy even enhances Chandler’s intimacy with his friends. To become a better a lover, Chandler reaches out to Rachel and Monica. Although usually much more reserved around women, Chandler approaches them for one of his biggest insecurities: sex. Chandler has always feared how well he’s able to perform, and no doubt suffered from feeling second-rate to Joey, but because of Kathy, he overcomes his self-doubt and now has quantifiable proof that he’s a good lover. This conquers the fear of confrontation as well. Finally, Kathy (like Joey) has elements of both his parents: his father’s showmanship (she’s an actor) and his mother’s raw sexuality. Kathy is perfect for Chandler… but it’s the “father” aspect that also makes their relationship fail… and it leads into a bit of a digression. Chandler as Joey’s Adoptive Father Despite the fact that Chandler always feared becoming his father, he becomes a father to Joey, his adopted child (more or less). Before explaining why, here’s the evidence. Chandler supports Joey like he would his own son. He pays for his “school” (acting classes), his rent, his food. He cooks pancakes and explains to one-night stands how Joey’s not one to commit (as mentioned in TOW Ross’s Library Book). Additionally, Chandler helps Joey pursue the girls he’s interested in, be it Kate or Annabelle (TOW the Breast Milk). Chandler takes him to the doctor: for the thing sticking out of his stomach (TOW Joey Loses his Insurance); for his broken arm from jumping on the bed (TOW the Jam); for his snoring (TOW all the Wedding Dresses). And he even refers to Joey as his child in The One with Rachel’s Other Sister: “If I die, you don’t get Joey.” Beyond that, look at highly nuanced scenes like the one where Joey and Chandler are robbed (TOW the Cat). When Chandler comes home to see that all their furniture is missing and (it appears) no one is home, he shouts, “Oh my God!” Then, as soon as Joey makes himself known, Chandler’s reaction is, “Are you okay?” Any other character (Ross, Rachel, or Monica) would’ve asked “What happened?” before asking if Joey was okay. Just look at The One that Could Have Been when Phoebe cries out, “No! No! No!” And Monica’s instinct is “Oh my God, you didn’t sit on my Kit-Kats, did you?” She cares more for herself than her friends – and the argument that “it’s a hypothetical episode” doesn’t hold any water as it’s a character trait of Monica’s (see the canonical episode The One with the Lottery where Monica wishes for money vs Chandler getting a job). Chandler even makes the cardinal “parent-of-divorce” move when he kisses Kathy and causes Joey’s relationship to crumble. Chandler lavishes Joey with gifts by buying new furniture in hopes of “winning” Joey over. Chandler’s relationship with Joey is different from any other Friends-relationship; it’s paternal. It’s no wonder Chandler is so heartbroken when Joey moves out — he suffers as any parent does watching their kid go off to college. Chandler loves Joey (paternally) and part of the reason is because Joey fills the void his parents made. Unconsciously or not, Chandler assumes the role of a father (sometimes mother) to Joey, but the difference is Chandler’s not a narcissist. Chandler provides and nurtures Joey and Joey responds with affection. Chandler can see this as a reflection of his childhood and perhaps, for the first time in years, started to empathize more with his father. Chandler isn’t always gung-ho about helping Joey, he feels the burden of responsibility. There’s a good chance that Chandler felt like he was being dishonest with himself by providing for Joey, but still putting his own needs first — which is exactly what his father did, a wealthy man who cared more about himself than his son. But then… 20 years (to the day) after his parents divorce on Thanksgiving, Chandler has confirmation that he’s NOT his father. Chandler’s “selfish” needs of wanting Kathy are put to the test. Rather than jump out of the box and pursue the love of his life, Chandler honors Joey’s wishes. Chandler put his “son”‘s needs before his own — something his father would never have done. That “box” is symbolic of many things (maybe warrants its own episode analysis). But the reason Chandler and Kathy’s relationship falls apart is, in my opinion, due to his father. In The One with Chandler’s Dad, we learn: “Chandler: I don’t know if I’ve told you this, but he[Chandler’s Dad]’s kinda tried to get in contact with me a lot over the last few years…he’s made phone calls, written letters, he even came to New York, but I always said I was too busy to see him.“ This is Season 7. Kathy was in Season 4. By “few”, Chandler must mean more than 2 years or he would’ve used “last couple years”. I think Chandler’s father tried to contact Chandler while he was with Kathy and this is what caused his insecurities to erupt in a moment of weakness. When Chandler and Kathy break up, it’s completely valid. She’s an actress so her time is spent with her co-stars on-stage — much like his father. The fact that she’s getting hot and heavy with a good-looking guy is probably reminiscent of Mr. Ghirabaldi — who is on the piano at his father’s burlesque show. Charles unravels all the progress Chandler made and you can see all his fears manifest. When Chandler and Kathy breakup in The One with Rachel’s Crush, Chandler’s insecurity comes first: “I-I could see how this could happen, y’know you’re up there every night, you’re naked, touching, kissing.“ Then his fear of his father (the cheating and being replaceable): “Well, you can understand, given how we started.“ And the fear of confrontation and fighting: “Kathy: I’ll tell you what, Chandler, why don’t you call me when you grow up! Chandler: Yeah, well, don’t expect that to happen anytime soon!“ What’s worse is Chandler does realize this. He understands it’s his father that made him regress because unlike every other relationship, Chandler does snap out of it and approach Kathy: “I think this is a good thing. Y’know? ‘Cause we’ve had our first fight, and now we can move on.“ Chandler has never had a fight in a relationship and believed it could progress, but it’s because he’s conquered all his fears and insecurities with Kathy that he feels he can finally move on… Of course, when you accuse someone of cheating on you, project your insecurities onto them, and then use the fact that they cheated because they’re in love with you AGAINST them… it’s not easy to recover. And for anyone wondering, “But Monica reminds Chandler that “fights” don’t end relationships, so how can you say he overcame this?” Chandler and Kathy’s first fight became their only fight because it effectively ended the relationship. Plus, the previous women who dumped Chandler, like Jade and Susie, reinforced his insecurities in the end, much like Kathy. –Fin. For more reviews and detailed Friends’ analysis, visit Doz’s Reviews |
Let’s talk history for a moment. Before Guild Wars 2 was a thing, before it was even an idea, the team at ArenaNet was working on the third Guild Wars standalone campaign. Like its last two predecessors, Guild Wars: Utopia was slated to feature two new classes, one of which was the Chronomancer. It’s taken quite some time since then, and it’s not in the form anyone might have expected, but the Chronomancer has arrived at last as the first Elite Specialization for Heart of Thorns to be catalogued and dissected. Sure, it took plenty of time, but given the nature of the concept that’s sort of to be expected. The Chronomancer specialization is, as mentioned, limited to Mesmers, employing a variety of time-based tricks like reversing the events of combat and stopping time as necessary. You can read more on the official blog post detailing the specialization, but if you don’t have the time for that, you can watch the video below to preview what it looks like in action. Better late than never, indeed. [Source: ArenaNet press release |
Pakistan’s culture and society have been significantly influenced by diverse ethnic groups living in the country. Punjabis, Kashmiris, Sindhis, Balochis, Siraikis, Pakhtuns and Muhajirs have all contributed to our cultural heritage and art over many decades. The art in Pakistan has also been greatly influenced by various regions in the neighbourhood. Notable influences include the Persian Empire along with the Afghan and Mughal Empire. The colonial regime, more popularly known as British Raj also influenced the forms of fine arts in the country. However, over the decades and various influences, one thing which still remains consistent in Pakistani art is vibrant colours. Bright colours have always been the major attraction and hence, it is no surprise that local crafts and clothing all consist of a wide spectrum of colours. Over the years, ethnic art and crafts have gained popularity on such a large scale that these symbols of trucks have now moved onto objects and clothes. The cultural art with time has not lost its true essence. However, it has matured and popularized worldwide, making it a good business strategy for a lot of common people. Having been spread at such a vast perimeter, the skills of our local people are being put to use in mass production bringing a boost in employment and appreciation. This gallery comprises hand painted items by artist Bina Ali and Anjum Rana. — Photos and Text by Shameen Khan/Dawn.com |
Pope Francis shook up the scandal-plagued Vatican bank on Wednesday, removing four of five cardinals from an oversight body in a break with the clerical financial establishment he inherited from his predecessor. It was his latest move to get to grips with an institution that has often been an embarrassment for the Holy See and which he has vowed to either reform or close. The four cardinals were removed just 11 months into their five-year terms as commissioners, which began under former Pope Benedict, who resigned last February. The changes came as Francis approached the first anniversary of a pontificate marked by austerity and sobriety, underlined by his decision to give up the papal apartments in favour of a modest suite. The new team includes two cardinals - Toronto's Christopher Collins and Vienna's Christoph Schoenborn - from relatively rich dioceses who have had extensive dealings with financial affairs. The others are Archbishop Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's new secretary of state, who will be elevated to the rank of cardinal next month, and Santos Abril y Castillo, a Spaniard who is based in Rome and is a close friend of the pope's. The one holdover was French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran. The four who were not re-confirmed included the former secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. Commentators and some church officials blamed him for lax oversight that led to a spate of scandals during Benedict's pontificate, including the leaking of some of the pope's personal documents by Benedict's butler. Bertone has defended his record saying he was the victim of "anonymous accusations and rumour mongering". Cardinal Domenico Calcagno, head of another Vatican financial department that Italian magistrates suspect of financial irregularities and which the Vatican has asked an outside firm to audit, was also removed. Pope could close bank Francis has not ruled out closing the bank, which is formally known as the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), if it cannot be reformed. The cardinals commission reviews accounts and approves strategy. It acts as a link between the pope and the board of superintendence, which is made up of five lay members from around the world. The bank has undergone major changes since the arrival last February of its new president, Ernst Von Freyberg, a German. His team has closed many accounts and hired an outside firm, the Promontory Financial Group, to help it meet international standards of transparency drawn up to combat money laundering. An Italian investigation into alleged money laundering at the bank is still in progress. The bank denies the accusations. Last month, Moneyval, a monitoring committee of the Council of Europe, said the Vatican had made significant progress in financial reforms but still risked being used for money laundering unless it strengthened internal controls. Last July, IOR director Paolo Cipriani and deputy-director Massimo Tulli resigned, three days after the arrest of Monsignor Nunzio Scarano. Scarano, who worked as a senior accountant in the department headed by Calcagno, one of the cardinals removed and who had close contact with the bank, is currently on trial in Rome on charges of plotting to smuggle 20 million euros in cash into Italy from Switzerland. |
Last week, Hillary Clinton went on the warpath, adding The New York Times and the Democratic National Committee to her enemies list. She accused the Times of covering her email fiasco too much and blamed the DNC for giving her a shoddy data operation. This shooting inside the ship has irked Democrats. Many just want to see her go away, so they can have a clear message when it comes to a referendum on Donald Trump. With Clinton in the spotlight, she only serves as an anchor for the rest of the party, weighing them down from moving forward. Even Sen. Al. Franken (D-MN) said that it’s time to move on from the 2016 election. Over at the DNC, they’re just stunned, angry, and firing back at Hillary’s claim that they were partially to blame for her upset defeat (via The Hill): Allies of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in particular were incensed by Clinton’s criticism of the party apparatus, saying she mischaracterized the committee’s work while needlessly stoking internal divisions. “This is all about the last campaign. And really, what Democrats should be focusing on, and what I think Hillary Clinton should be figuring out, is how do we empower the DNC to have the best data resources to win races this year, in 2018 and 2020,” a former DNC aide said. “Having hard feelings about the data that you may or may not have received in 2016 ultimately is not the reason why we lost.” Clinton surprised Democrats on Wednesday when she complained that she inherited "nothing" from a "bankrupt" DNC after becoming the nominee. Also, Democrats are responding to the former first lady regarding data that it wasn’t that the operation was bad—it was that she didn’t know what the hell she was doing. Moreover, she had all the tools and information of the Obama operation at her disposal (via CNN): David Radloff, the co-founder of the Democratic data and analytics firm Clarity Campaign Labs, tweeted: "Used DNC data on numerous campaigns this year, well managed, efficient, accurate. Real question is who's feeding Clinton bad info and why??" John Hagner, a partner at Clarity, added: "I worked with DNC data every day last cycle, on winning Gov races. It was accurate and up-to-date and I'm grateful for their hard work." Many Democrats noted that Clinton -- just like her opponent Bernie Sanders -- had access to the DNC's data from the outset of her campaign. Therefore, they said, if there was trouble with the data, her staff would have known long before she won the Democratic presidential nomination. Tom Bonier, the chief executive officer of TargetSmart, a Democratic voter-targeting firm, said in using the DNC's data, the Clinton campaign was "absolutely standing on the shoulders of the Obama data juggernaut. There's just no question." Maybe ignoring white working class voters in the Rust Belt was a bad idea. Maybe not having an economic message and being focused on everything BUT job creation was a bad idea. Maybe ignoring Bill Clinton’s advice about reaching out to the white working class, who number in the tens of millions, was a bad idea. All of this leads to a large slice of Obama voters, who flipped for Trump, thinking that the Hillary agenda favored the wealthy, along with not being able to stand her. It wasn’t the data, Hillary. It was you. Again, your loss boils down to you. |
When most runners, coaches, running shops think of the single biggest problem that affects runners- the answer usually points to the most feared word in running – “over-pronation.” However, we told Amby Burfoot (link here) that our years of experience quantifying running mechanics through the use of 3D gait analysis has shown us otherwise. While it’s true that some of us out there may pronate more than others, it isn’t exactly what we’d call an epidemic problem in America. We’ll estimate that less than 30% of runners truly over-pronate (excess motion in the foot) their feet while running. To find the real answer, we need to move up eyes up and look at the hips. About 80-90% of runners don’t extend their hips. What is hip extension anyway? Lifting one knee up to the chest moves the hip into flexion. If you extend the hip the opposite direction (past vertical) that is hip extension. The goal is to do this without extending your back. Stretching your hip flexors to get more motion is the key So why don’t most runners extend their hips? We tend to sit. A lot. We sit in class. We sit at work. We sit in our cars. Cyclists, you spend all your time on the bike sitting in hip flexion. When we continually sit in hip flexion, the hip flexor muscles become tight. So tight that the overwhelming majority of runners can’t extend the hips. “Now wait a minute” – you might say –“I see all my friends and their leg does get behind them when they run – so they must be extending their hip right?” Tight hip flexor muscles cause you to get your leg behind you not from extending your hip – but by arching your lower back. This can cause injury since an arched lumbar spine compromises our ability to use core muscles while we run. This sets us up for a host of leg injuries and also is the most common cause of low back pain in runners. Further, lack of hip extension compromises your running efficiency. As we increase speed, the bulk of the work supplied to the legs need to come from the hips. Well, if you can’t extend the hips, you are missing out on critical force to move your body forward. So how do I get hip extension and is it really that simple? You’ve got improve your range of motion of the hip, and your ability to control the new motion. The best hip stretch is a kneeling hip flexor stretch. Beware though, a lot of the videos on-line show incorrect form for this stretch and you don’t actually wind up extending your hip flexors at all (they stretch the quads). Check out the July 2010 issue of Runner’s World for an article we helped them put together. It shows correct technique to stretch the hips, and some simple exercises to learn to use your new range of motion. Advertisements |
New Zealand's idiosyncratic give-way road rules are set to change. Transport Minister Steven Joyce has this morning unveiled the Government's Safer Journeys 10-year road safety strategy. In a speech at parliament, Mr Joyce confirmed a package of measures to tackle teen drivers. The package will go to Cabinet this month. It includes: * Raising the driving age from 15 to 16; * Requiring novice drivers to have 120 hours' supervised practice before driving alone; * Introducing a zero drink-drive limit for drivers under 20; * Better education; * An investigation into vehicle power restrictions. A second package to address alcohol and drug impaired drivers would go to Cabinet next month. It included compulsory alcohol interlock devices and a zero limit for repeat drink driving offenders. Much of the Safer Journeys strategy has been foreshadowed over a number of months, but Mr Joyce sprung a couple of surprises this morning. He said Cabinet would consider changes to the give way rule later in the year and public input would be sought. The proposed changes would reverse the give way rule, allowing left turning traffic right of way. At T-intersections, where two cars are turning right, the car turning off the main road would have right of way - reversing the status quo. New Zealand's give way rule was introduced in 1977 and holds that a vehicle turning right takes precedence over a vehicle turning left. New Zealand is the only country in the world with this priority rule. The Automobile Association says the rules are a factor in 2560 intersection crashes, and one or two deaths, each year. Some 17 percent of crashes are at intersections. Among the "first actions" for Safer Journeys is a change to the give way rules for turning traffic. Documents say that following Cabinet approval, public consultation on proposed changes will be carried out. "The New Zealand Transport Agency will develop a mass media campaign and supporting resources to introduce the changes," the Safer Journeys document says. There were also changes for motorcyclists with Cabinet to consider measures to improve motorcycle rider training and licensing and require licensing of mopeds. The Government also intended to introduce a power-to-weight restriction for novice riders which would be consulted on through the select committee process. There would be a review of the traffic offences and penalties for causing death and serious injury. The document has baulked at changes to the blood alcohol limit for adult drivers, however. It proposes either lowering the drink drive blood-alcohol limit to 0.05 mg or simply investigating the level of risk posed by drivers with a BAC level of between 0.005 and 0.08. This would be decided either way next month. |
By Cao Siqi Cyber security analysts on Thursday defended China's Internet management after an overseas VPN (virtual private network) company on Wednesday announced some of its users in China have been unable to use the service since an upgrade of the Great Firewall, China's Internet infrastructure. Cyber services should observe the network governance of the country for safety, analysts urged. Astrill claimed in a Wednesday notice that since this year, VPN protocols used on iOS devices, including IPSec, L2TP/IPSec and PPTP, are not accessible in China in almost real-time. An anonymous service support employee said Thursday that only iOS devices were affected while other devices like Macbook worked fine as they use different protocols. "It is because of the Great Firewall upgrade, and unfortunately, we can't tell you the exact time [about how long it will last]," said the employee, adding that the company has other solutions. Many iPhone users were shocked to find that they could not log into their Facebook and Twitter accounts although they have bought Astrill's VPN service. Whether to block VPN services and how to block them are closely related to the country's ability of network governance, Qin An, a cyber security expert at the China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy, told the Global Times Thursday. "Authorities apparently cannot ignore those services as they affect our cyberspace sovereignty. For instance, a shortcut has to be blocked since it could be used for some ulterior purposes although it might affect others who use it in a right way," said Qin. A cyber security analyst previously pointed out that companies running a VPN business in China must register with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and unregistered VPN service providers are not protected by Chinese laws. A free VPN provider fqrouter also said on its official Twitter account on January 8 that the service of fqrouter has officially closed. Separately, VPN Tech Runo announced on January 5 that many of its IP addresses and users in some areas with L2TP protocol have not been accessible in China since December 31. "The Great Firewall is blocking the VPN on the protocol level. It means that the firewall does not need to identify each VPN provider and block its IP addresses. Rather, it can spot VPN traffic during transit and block it," one of the founders of an overseas website which monitors the Internet in China told the Global Times Thursday via e-mail. In recent years, more and more Chinese Net users are seeking alternatives to surf the Internet outside the Great Firewall by using mirror websites or VPNs. Some Astrill VPN users reached by the Global Times Thursday said that the firewall update has also led to a price increase of VPN services. One said Thursday that another VPN service he bought a week ago increased its price by 60 yuan ($9.6) Wednesday to 240 yuan per year. |
Last week, Indiana brought a startling transformation: The primary tactic of opponents of LGBT equality turned instead into a driver of LGBT equality all across the country. Over the past several years, opponents of LGBT equality have pushed so-called “religious freedom” laws as their Plan B since their Plan A – just stopping us from winning marriage equality and nondiscrimination protections – is no longer working. These bills aim to give individuals and organizations a license to discriminate against LGBT people and others, all in the name of religion. It’s a strategy we’ve seen before in the context of race, sex, and reproductive rights. Our opponents have put their all into these discriminatory bills, pushing them in 22 states this year. But last week in Indiana, Gov. Pence made national headlines when it became clear that the “religious freedom” law he signed was intended to authorize anti-LGBT discrimination. The outcry not only prompted a partial rewrite of the law, but it also included a chorus of national business leaders calling for affirmative LGBT non-discrimination protections nationwide. Our opponents’ primary tactic for undermining our equality has instead begun to highlight for the entire country that LGBT discrimination exists and that LGBT people lack the same civil rights laws that protect many other communities. That’s a watershed moment for our movement. This fight isn’t over, since we didn’t get affirmative statewide protection from LGBT discrimination in Indiana, and the revised “religious freedom” law still could authorize people to use religion to discriminate or cause harm, including against LGBT people in contexts like schools and access to health care. But the country’s new understanding that these so-called religious freedom laws are designed to authorize discrimination has helped us defeat similar proposals in Georgia and Nevada, pare back another one in Arkansas, and has made prospects for passage much dimmer in North Carolina and Michigan. And the newly invigorated support for LGBT civil rights laws from the business community gives us hope of passing such laws in states and municipalities all across the country. (We’re also working for the day when the country rises up in the same manner against the ways these religious freedom laws can be used against all women.) The ACLU is proud to have had a central role in this moment, working with allies in Indiana and nationally. The ACLU of Indiana staffed Freedom Indiana, which was the public face of the LGBT rights movement there and led the successful effort to focus national attention on the state’s license-to-discriminate law. And we worked with our affiliate offices in Arkansas, Georgia, and several other states to narrow or defeat similar bills. Finally, we’re working for LGBT non-discrimination protections in Arizona, Indiana, Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. It’s not every day that we can turn a serious threat into an asset in our fight for equality. Last week was a tipping point for LGBT equality that we can all celebrate. |
At least two Rogers-owned publications have dropped their internship programs, the Star has learned. In a pre-emptive move, interns at Flare and Chatelaine who were either unpaid or receiving a $400 monthly honorarium were let go Tuesday. Sabina Sohail was on her fourth internship when she was let go from Flare. She has an interview Thursday for yet another unpaid position, this time in retail. The Ministry of Labour said it has received no complaints and issued no compliance notices for those magazines or others owned by Rogers Communications Inc., one of Canada’s largest corporations. “Moving forward, we want all our internships to be associated with an educational institution or to be paid,” Rogers spokeswoman Louise Leger said in an emailed statement. As for whether paid internships will be created, the company was “evaluating” its program, she said. Article Continued Below At Chatelaine, interns received $400 monthly, or “transportation and lunch money,” said Diana Duong, who had been an editing intern at Chatelaine for about a month and was let go Tuesday with at least two others. That works out to around $2.50 per hour for a 40-hour work week, far below the minimum wage. The Flare internships were unpaid. Unless they are part of a school program where an intern receives a course credit in exchange for labour, most unpaid internships are not legal under the provincial Employment Standards Act. Still, Duong, 22, said she wishes she had been able to stay at Chatelaine, and blames the Labour Ministry, not Rogers. “This law is made with good intentions and in the end it’s going to be good for all of us, but for the interns in the middle of a contract, we were really happy,” she said. “I learned a lot. The meetings were inspiring. . . . I grew to forget about the money, but I’m lucky because I don’t have to pay for rent.” Last week, the ministry cracked down on magazine publishing, an industry that has operated unpaid internships for years. The Walrus, Toronto Life, Fashion Magazine and Quill & Quire were affected. The Walrus, run by a non-profit agency, and Toronto Life both said paying their interns was not possible given current budgets. Article Continued Below Five unpaid interns were also let go last week from The Grid, owned by Torstar. Sabina Sohail, 23, was on her fourth internship when she was let go from Flare, along with an estimated 10 others, she said. She has an interview Thursday for yet another unpaid position, this time in retail. “I get it. We should be paid. But at the same time, it’s like school . . . you’re getting that experience and it’s more real in a workplace setting,” Sohail said. “I’ve been applying everywhere, but even for entry-level jobs you need five years of experience.” Toronto labour lawyer Andrew Langille said the cancellation by Rogers “raises questions about why some of Canada’s leading companies are refusing to make minimal investments in young workers.” At Canadian Business, also owned by Rogers, interns receive around $2,000 per month, which works out to $12.50 per hour for a 40-hour week. Rogers Media, which includes its magazines division, made $161 million in adjusted profits during the last fiscal year. |
Physicist: Although anti-matter was first experimentally confirmed in 1932, no one has been able to see the atomic spectrum of any anti-elements until December 2016. The problem with anti-matter is that you can’t let it touch anything. If you do: boom. Although, considering that we can only make it a few atoms at a time, it’s more of a “ boom “. Preventing anti-matter from touching things is especially tricky considering how it’s made. Anti-matter doesn’t exist in nature in any great quantities because, like everything else, it’ll eventually bump into something, but unlike everything else, it can only do it once. That means there’s nowhere to find it: you can’t distill or mine anti-matter, you literally have to create it. We do that by slamming particles together. Whenever there’s enough extra energy in one place new particles are spontaneously generated in particle/anti-particle pairs. Typically, when there’s enough energy around to create new matter and anti-matter, there’s also enough energy to send those new particles sailing. After anti-matter is created, you have to slow it down from (nearly) light speed to walking speed and then keep it floating in a hard vacuum using only electromagnetic fields. But electric fields only work on charged particles; neutral matter (which has the same amount of positive and negative charge) isn’t attracted or repelled. At the same time, atomic spectra is generated by electrons or positrons (anti-electrons) in an atom jumping and dropping between energy levels. But as soon as you bring the anti-protons and positrons together to make anti-hydrogen, you’ve got an electrically neutral atom which promptly falls to the bottom of you container and annihilates with all the force of an ant tapping its foot (individual anti-matter atoms aren’t something to lose sleep over). Luckily, many atoms, including hydrogen and anti-hydrogen, have a “magnetic moment”. While they are electrically neutral and unresponsive to electric fields, they do act like little bar magnets and we can use that to keep them suspended. Even so, this is no easy task; just for fun, try suspending a magnet in mid-air using other magnets (you’ll quickly discover that failing over and over until you give up is less fun than it is a learning experience). Not to be deterred by a lack of fun, nuclear physicists cleverly devised a way to keep cold (slow) atoms suspended. The nice, simple rules “opposites attract and likes repel” don’t apply since each atom has both a north and south pole. Instead, we’re forced to rely on a more subtle (weak) effect: hydrogen is “diamagnetic”, meaning that it is repelled by strong magnetic fields. Even so, combining and suspending fresh-from-the-accelerator anti-protons and positrons in a magnetic trap is akin to catching water from a fire hose in a shallow bowl. At CERN the process of creating anti-hydrogen from anti-protons and positrons is about 28% effective. The process of then catching those atoms is about 0.056% effective. Of the 90,000 anti-protons generated in a given attempt, only an average of 14 graduate to being contained anti-hydrogen. Once you’re past all of those minor inconveniences, all that remains is to precisely detect the light from a dozen atoms excited by a laser beam. That’s also really difficult, but only because detecting anything about a sample that small is tricky. The ultimate result, by the way, is that anti-hydrogen has a spectrum indistinguishable from regular, dull-as-dishwater (being a principle component of dishwater) hydrogen. This leaves open the question of why there isn’t more anti-matter in the universe. When we make anti-matter we also make an exactly equal amount of ordinary matter and the same is true of every creation/annihilation process we’re aware of. The expectation is that there’s something fundamentally different about matter and anti-matter that can distinguish between them in a way more profound than “the same, but opposite, y’know?”. What this long awaited experiment shows is that positrons and anti-protons interact with each other in exactly the same way electrons and protons interact (but opposite, y’know?). There are always details and more to explore, so: on to the next thing. For science. |
The 52nd International Paris Air Show (SIAE) is almost upon us. This year’s event held from June 19 – 25 promises to be of unprecedented size and scope with 2,300 international exhibitors, 150,000 trade visitors, 30 national pavilions and about 300 official delegations. It would take years to see everything on offer so Euronews will explore the 130,000 square metres of exhibition space to bring you a some of the most groundbreaking and breathtaking innovations the aerospace industry has to offer. The anticipation for this year’s SIAE is so great that for the first time, exhibition spaces sold out eight months before opening. “We are happy and proud that our show is still very much seen as where it is all happening,” announced Paris Air Show CEO, Emeric d’Arcimoles. “This is because over the years we have always strived to provide our exhibitors and visitors with the best possible business platform. It also reflects how our industry is in excellent health.” We’ll be covering innovations from the farthest flung corners of the industry, from tactical unmanned aircraft systems to solar powered zephyr prototypes but here is a selection of the headline acts to watch out for at the Le Bourget: Airbus and Boeing: the arch rivals go head to head Each year, the question on countless lips is, “which of the powerhouses of the industry – Airbus or Boeing will get the most orders signed?” Airbus overwhelmed Boeing at the 2015 Paris Air Show with orders and commitments for 421 aircraft worth a whopping $57 billion, against Boeing’s 331 aircraft worth $50.2 billion. Then at last year’s Farnborough Air Show, Airbus were again victorious. Boeing had 279 orders and commitments valued at 31.25 billion euros to Boeing’s 182 aircraft orders worth an estimated 23.93 billion euros. Not a bad week’s work in either case, but given that Boeing has been lagging behind in recent years, they’ll be keen to give Airbus a run for their money this time around. The crux of the debate between the two aviation giants focuses on a potential space between the largest narrow-body jets and the smaller wide-body ones, the so-called “middle of the market” where Boeing is studying building a new plane. Airbus versus Boeing: Iran deals the difference in plane battle https://t.co/qAlZWeJ2JT — Reuters Business (@ReutersBiz) January 13, 2017 The Asian Ascent Chinese aerospace industry influencers, as the new kids on the block, will be hoping to leave their mark on this year’s SIAE. Their C919, a narrow-body twinjet airliner made by Comac had its maiden voyage only last month and will be on the market in 2020. Capable of carrying 156-168 passengers, the C919 is intended to take on the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320neo. China’s target markets are in developing markets like Indonesia and Nigeria but their aggressively competitive commercial models mean that their European and US counterparts could soon have a serious contender on their hands. Orders for China’s first homegrown large passenger jet reach 600 #C919https://t.co/lJppvQ7AtRpic.twitter.com/9RZiAAKImc — China Xinhua News (@XHNews) June 13, 2017 Qatar Airways unveil new seating set-up As the commercial aviation market continues to expand, companies are offering more and more imaginative options to blur the barriers between 1st class, business-class and economy. Despite the unrest at home following the Saudi-led blockade which has forced Qatar Airways to run expensive routes via Turkey and Iran, the company has high hopes for the 52nd SIAE. They will unveil a new patented seat design called ‘Qsuite’. They believe it will “bring the First Class experience to the airline’s Business Class cabin” and “redefine industry expectations”. Qsuite features the aviation industry’s first-ever double bed available in Business Class, with privacy panels that stow away, allowing passengers in adjoining seats to create their own private room. In addition, TV monitors on the centre four seats can move to allow colleagues, friends or families travelling together to transform their space into a private suite for four to work, dine or socialise together. The first #QatarAirways aircraft featuring our new Qsuite is coming to Paris Air Show 2017. https://t.co/879wXHblqL#PAS17pic.twitter.com/KjTTm2sXSM — Qatar Airways (@qatarairways) June 14, 2017 With the continuing instability in the Middle East and President Trump’s pumping up of the US defence budget (with an additional 48.22 billion euros), the defence industry looks poised to make considerable gains this year, though not necessarily along the established fault lines the industry has come to expect. Where India was once seen as too closely aligned with Russia, they are now reaping the rewards of renewed collaboration with US-aligned markets. Israel signed a record 1.8 billion euro deal with India and 50% of Israeli defence exports are now sent there. India is turning heads in the international community with its power as both a buyer and a manufacturer, so it is expected that its companies will benefit at Le Bourget. Give us your thoughts We’ll be there for the duration of this mega-event reporting back on what’s new in aeronautics and we would love to hear your thoughts, ideas, and comments in the live blog that runs throughout the Show. |
President Obama's team at the Department of Health and Human Services has a plan to prevent insurance companies from sending out politically toxic cancellation notices by making it easier for companies to modify existing plans without officially canceling them. HHS unveiled the idea late Friday. "We propose that a modification made solely pursuant to applicable Federal or State law would be considered a modification of coverage rather than a product withdrawal," the draft regulation states. "These modifications could include changes required to comply with Affordable Care Act standards (such as elimination of a prohibited annual limit) and changes permitted based on updated standards (such as increasing an annual limitation on cost sharing based on the annual increase in the limit permitted as a result of the application of the premium adjustment percentage)." The law allowed plans that were in effect when President Obama signed Obamacare to be "grandfathered" into the new system, but HHS regulations made it very difficult to retain that grandfathered status. "Once a plan loses grandfathered status, it is subject to all of the other regulations within Obamacare, which is why so many Americans are losing their current coverage," Philip Klein explained in October. The proposed rule would loosen those grandfathering requirements. "We believe these proposed standards will minimize unnecessary terminations of coverage, ensuring predictability and continuity for consumers, while reasonably providing issuers the flexibility to make necessary adjustments to coverage," the proposed regulation states. It's not the first time that Democrats have tried to avoid the cancellation label -- Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., for instance, argued that the "so-called cancellation notices ... help people transition to a new policy" but it might be the most effective. Politico Pulse predicted that the rule "would sharply limit health plan cancellations, just several months after a wave of canceled policies led to a political firestorm that put the White House on its heels." |
Fans of the OnePlus One in India will no longer have to import their phone from the US in the future. If all goes according to plan, the OnePlus One will be officially coming to India. Talking on their official forum, the company indicated their interest in catering to their fans in India, being well aware of the phone's popularity in the country. OnePlus also mentioned that India ranks at number 8 on their web traffic, higher than many of their launch countries. While no official dates were given, the company has revealed its plans on working to get the phone in India. This means not just selling it here but having an infrastructure dedicated to aftersales service, which should understandably take some time. So while it's good news for those in India waiting for this phone, it can take quite a while so if you have an invite you should just go ahead and import it for now instead of waiting. Source Via |
Fine Gael TD Tom Barry has apologised to his party colleague Áine Collins TD for a “disrespectful and inappropriate” incident when he pulled her onto his lap in the Dáil chamber early this morning. Fine Gael General secretary Tom Curran said this afternoon the characterisation of the incident as “horseplay” does not reflect how the party views the behaviour “having seen the footage”. “I wish to make it clear that the instinctive characterisation last night of the incident as “horseplay involving two people” doesn’t reflect how Fine Gael views this kind of behaviour, having seen the footage,” Mr Curran said in a statement. “One deputy’s actions were unwelcome to another deputy. If it happened in any other workplace, it would be unacceptable. That it happened on the floor of Leinster House makes it more so,” he said. The apology made it clear he understood the “inappropriateness and it was welcomed, he added. Earlier Cork East TD Mr Barry said in a statement: “What I did last night was disrespectful and inappropriate. I have apologised to Áine Collins and she graciously and immediately accepted my apology. No excuses, I just shouldn’t have done it” . The embarrassing incident happened as deputies assembled in the chamber around 2.40am to vote on the first tranche of amendments. Mr Barry and Cork North West TD Ms Collins can be seen talking in Dáil footage of the episode. He then pulls her onto his knee. She then gets up and walks away. It was a “silly” and insensitive incident which should not have happened, a Fine Gael spokesman said. The National Women’s Council of Ireland has said there was “a long way to go before politics in Ireland is a woman-friendly place”.Responding to the footage Eóin Murray, the council’s coordinator of its women in politics project said standards should be “even higher” in the chamber. “Any sexist incident sends a message to women that unprofessional behaviour is acceptable in politics. This discourages women from getting involved,” he said in a statement. Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton said told reporters it “was a very important debate and I don’t think we want to get sidetracked by an inappropriate incident”. Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald said: “Last night was a very important debate on critical issues. Let’s not be distracted from that important debate by an inappropriate incident.” Labour senator Ivana Bacik tweeted that the vote offered progress to women but the incident shows a “deep problem with political culture, need for more women in politics”. Referring to the incident, Labour senator Susan O’Keeffe tweeted: “Fortunately, most public representatives know how to behave.... More women in politics would ring change”. The footage received much attention and comment on social media overnight. The incident has also made the news internationally. Huffington Post has the headline: Irish Politician Tom Barry Grabs Colleague Áine Collins During Abortion Debate. The Guardian has the headline: Irish MP apologises for grabbing female colleague. BBC’s website says: TD apologises for Dáil incident. Ms Collins was first elected in 2011 and is a member of the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. She is a qualified accountant and auditor. Mr Barry is also a first-term TD who was previously a member of Cork County Council. |
The discovery of a 13 million-year-old skull shows what human ancestors may have looked like. (Paul Tafforeau /ESRF) To the untrained eye, the area west of Lake Turkana in northern Kenya appears to be barren of anything but rocky hills and volcanic ash. But anthropologists know the Napudet region of the Turkana Basin as a promising new dig site for fossils from the Middle Miocene era, about 13 million years ago. And one professor's persistence there would pay off in a monumental discovery: a rare, complete skull of a baby ape that could give scientists a glimpse at what our common ancestors looked like. The discovery almost didn't happen. When Isaiah Nengo, an anthropology professor at De Anza College in California, sought to assemble a team for a three-week expedition there in 2014, no one wanted to go. “There was nothing useful to be found,” others told Nengo, who also teaches at the Stony Brook University-affiliated Turkana Basin Institute. Map of Africa and Kenya, showing the location of Napudet, where Alesi was found. (Isaiah Nengo) Undeterred, Nengo, who had just spent two years at the University of Nairobi on a Fulbright scholarship, returned to Kenya and gathered a ragtag group of local fossil finders. There were six of them in total, including the camp cook. For two weeks in August, the team dug and found … nothing. Though Nengo knew it wasn't unusual for the site (“You could go for days and days, weeks and weeks without finding anything"), he began hoping to come across some fossil scraps or bone fragments — anything to make the expedition worth it. On Sept. 4, 2014, the team once again worked for hours at the dig site and came up empty-handed. Exhausted and disappointed, the crew packed up and began walking back to their land cruiser, parked about a mile away from where they had been working. One team member, Kenyan fossil hunter John Ekusi, pulled out some tobacco and began rolling a cigarette. “Man, you're gonna kill us with that smoke,” Nengo told him. Ekusi ambled ahead until he was a couple hundred yards away from the group. After a short while, Nengo noticed Ekusi had stopped, and was inspecting something with a familiar fervor. “If you're a fossil finder, you know that look,” he said. “It's like an atomic bomb can go off, and you don't care, you're so focused at what you're looking for.” Akai Ekes and John Ekusi watch as Isaiah Nengo lifts the sandstone block with Alesi after six hours of excavation. (Isaiah Nengo) By the time the group caught up with Ekusi, he had brushed out the top of a fossil. “Almost instantly we knew it was the skull of a primate,” Nengo said. “We just broke into a dance, we were so happy.” What the team later excavated would end up being what is thought to be the most complete skull of an extinct ape species in the fossil record. After more than two years of sophisticated imaging work and additional geological research at the dig site, the discovery was published in the Aug. 10 issue of the journal Nature. According to the article, “younger” fossil finds — those 6- to 7-million-years-old — have shed light on humans' common ancestors with chimpanzees. However, far less is known about the common ancestors of all living apes and humans from before 10 million years ago. “Relevant fossils are scarce, consisting mostly of isolated teeth and partial jaw bones,” a statement accompanying the Nature article reads. “It has therefore been difficult to find answers to two fundamental questions: Did the common ancestor of living apes and humans originate in Africa, and what did these early ancestors look like?” The discovery of the infant ape skull — nicknamed “Alesi” after the local Turkana word for “ancestor” — helps bridge some of those gaps, not only because of how intact the outside of the skull is but for what was preserved on the inside. Experimental setup at the European Synchrotron Radiation facility, used for the high resolution X-ray scanning of Alesi. (Courtesy Paul Tafforeau) In September 2015, about a year after the fossil was excavated, Nengo obtained government clearance to hand-carry the skull from Kenya to the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France. It was, he would later admit, one of the most nerve-racking air travel experiences he had ever had. “I sat with that specimen in my lap all the way until we got to Grenoble,” Nengo said. “It did not leave my sight. If I was in the bathroom, it went with me.” At the facility, which produces “the world's most intense X-rays,” scientists scanned the skull and arrived at startlingly clear 3-D images of the what it held. “We were able to reveal the brain cavity, the inner ears and the unerupted adult teeth with their daily record of growth lines,” Paul Tafforeau, an ESRF scientist, said in a statement. “The quality of our images was so good that we could establish from the teeth that the infant was about 1 year and 4 months old when it died.” At first, researchers suspected Alesi had been a baby gibbon because of the small snout. However, once scans revealed fully developed bony inner ear tubes and the unerupted adult teeth, it was clear Alesi had been an ape. “Gibbons are well known for their fast and acrobatic behavior in trees,” said Fred Spoor, of University College London and the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology. “But the inner ears of Alesi show that it would have had a much more cautious way of moving around.” Alesi's teeth showed that the infant skull hadn't just belonged to just any ape, but one of a previously undiscovered species, now named Nyanzapithecus alesi. Up until then, scientists hadn't been certain if the Nyanzapithecus species were apes at all, or whether they had originated in Asia or Africa. Now, Nengo said, they could conclude that N. alesi had been part of a group of primates that lived more than 10 million years ago, and that they had originated in Africa. “It's always very important to know when you're looking for ancestral lineages which continent they evolved. It helps you to explain the evolution of that particular group,” Nengo said. Alesi provides an important link between apes' and humans' common ancestors and the earliest humans. “To find this little baby that perished in volcanic ash 13 million years ago … it's a glimpse of what our prehuman stage looked like.” Alesi is now back in Kenya. Nengo said he plans to continue fieldwork there and also to use Alesi as “kind of an anchor” for the study of babies and the role of babies in the evolution of apes and humans. “The real work is coming now,” he said. Alesi, the skull of the extinct ape species Nyanzapithecus alesi. (Fred Spoor/Isaiah Nengo) Read more: These boys thought they’d found ‘a big, fat rotten cow.’ It was a 1 million-year-old fossil. Oldest Homo sapiens fossils discovered in Morocco Archaeology shocker: Study claims humans reached the Americas 130,000 years ago |
IMMIGRATION cost taxpayers £18billion last year, according to a new report. GETTY SHOCKING: Brits are put out of pocket by a staggering £18bn MigrationWatch UK claimed foreigners left the Treasury worse off by nearly £50million-a-day. It revealed men and women who flocked here from Europe alone put a £1.2bn hole in the country’s finances. The group said its study smashed the myth that mass immigration put more money into Britain. Desperate migrants found hiding in extreme places Desperate migrants fleeing Syria and surrounding places have been trying to sneak across borders in incredible ways. These include hiding in suitcases and sleeping next to car bonnets 1 / 35 They claim their net contribution was far less than the government suggested because of the amount spent providing services. The report looked at people coming in from Europe and those from other parts of the world. Migrants from Eastern Europe cost us £2.8bn. Calais 'Jungle' migrants move into new wooden camp Calais 'Jungle' migrants have started sewing their mouths shut in a protest bid to be heard by European governments. 1 / 90 AFP/Getty Images Migrants and refugees arrive in the firsst international standard refugee camp Those from elsewhere around the world entering Britain cost £15.6bn. The findings come after the Office for National Statistics revised up the number of migrants last year from 265,000 to 800,000. HM Revenue and Customs had said migrants made a net contribution of £2.5bn. |
Bill Watterson Net Worth is $450 Million <div style="height: 101px;margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 5px;color: #666666;font-family: Helvetica,Tahoma,Arial,sans-serif;font-size: 12px;width: 460px;min-height: 101px;margin: 5px 5px 5px;outline: 0 none;padding: 0;" ><a style="color: #999999;cursor: pointer;text-decoration: none;height: 100px;width: 100px;float: left;"><img style="max-height: 100px;max-width: 100px;" src="http://www.richestnetworth.com/wp-content/uploads/nw_external_images/0e9f4c07c0a72b507a8c230623b31011-150x150.jpg" ></a><div style="margin-right: 5px; float: right; width: 350px;"><h3 style="font-size: 1.15em;margin: 0px 0;max-height: 33px;overflow: hidden;padding-right: 20px;text-overflow: ellipsis;" ><a style="color: #000000;cursor: pointer;text-decoration: none;display: inline-block;font-size: 1.1em;max-height: 20px;overflow: hidden;text-overflow: ellipsis;" href="http://www.richestnetworth.com/bill-watterson-net-worth/" target="_blank">Bill Watterson Net Worth</a></h3><p style="color: #999999;font-size: 1.06em;height: 55px;line-height: 1.1em;margin: 5px 0;overflow: hidden;text-overflow: ellipsis;" >Bill Watterson Net Worth is $450 Million. Bill Watterson is an American cartoonist with a net worth of $450 million. Bill Watterson accumulated his wealth by creating one of the m...<a style="color: #0000FF;cursor: pointer;text-decoration: none;display: inline-block;font-size: .9em;max-height: 13px;overflow: hidden;text-overflow: ellipsis;" href="http://www.richestnetworth.com/bill-watterson-net-worth/" target="_blank">[read more]</a></p><a style="color: #0000FF;cursor: pointer;text-decoration: none;display: inline-block;font-size: .9em;max-height: 13px;margin-top:2px;overflow: hidden;text-overflow: ellipsis;" href="http://www.richestnetworth.com/bill-watterson-net-worth/" target="_blank">http://www.richestnetworth.com/bill-watterson-net-worth/</a></div></div> Bill Watterson Net Worth is $450 Million. Bill Watterson is an American cartoonist with a net worth of $450 million. Bill Watterson accumulated his wealth by creating one of the m... [read more] Profession: Cartoonist Date of Birth: Jul 5, 1958 Country: United States of America What is Bill Watterson Net Worth? How much is Bill Watterson Net Worth? How much is Bill Watterson Salary? Bill Watterson is an American cartoonist with a net worth of $450 million. Bill Watterson accumulated his wealth by creating one of the most popular cartoons of all time, "Calvin and Hobbes." He was born in Washington, D.C. and moved to Chagrin Fall, Ohio with his family as a child and attended Kenyon College in Ohio. |
Here is a recent query from a visitor to GaramChai.com I have a glass beaded necklace . I’m told it could be Hindu but what throws me off is the swaski. I ‘m also told that it was made long before Hitler. What are your thought on it. It has a beautiful peacock on it. – Patricia D. Response from our editor follows Hi Patricia, Thanks for checking in. Yes, this is likely to be a Hindu necklace with the swastika symbol. The symbol is widely used in Hindu culture. Check out the following link to Wikipedia The swastika (as a character 卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious symbol used in the Indian subcontinent, East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is also an icon widely found in human history and the modern world. The swastika is an important Hindu symbol. The word is ancient, derived from three Sanskrit roots “su” (good), “asti” (exists, there is, to be) and “ka” (make) and has meant a “making of goodness” or “marker of goodness”. The icon connotes and reminds the viewer of something “conducive to well-being”, “make good”, prosperity and dharmic auspiciousness. The swastika symbol is commonly used before entrances or on doorways of homes or temples, to mark the starting page of financial statements, and mandala constructed for rituals such as weddings or welcoming a new born. Here is a funny anecdote. We live in North Carolina and after we moved into a new house, my wife decided to mark the good-luck-swastika symbol on our front-door. Our Caucasian neighbor was alarmed and asked my wife if ‘kids‘ from the neighborhood had market the door (?!). She was genuinely concerned about a possible racial angle to this. We explained the significance of Swastika to her and had a good laugh about it. The peacock also has a strong Indian significance and happens to be the national bird of India. (link). The image of necklace you have shared certainly looks likely to be of Indian origin. Enjoy the necklace and check out the Wikipedia post for more details about the symbol’s significance in the Hindu culture. Regards GaramChai.com Editor Advertisements |
For those coming here from the excellent Buzzfeed article on Paul Elam, here are some posts of mine that will give you an even fuller picture of this not only sleazy but dangerous man and the little army of fanatical assholes he has assembled to pester and often outright harass (mostly) women online. Start here: Aside from some of the information Buzzfeed found out about him, nothing is more damning to Elam than his own words. Here are some posts on Elam’s peculiar approach to “activism,” which generally involves harassing individual women. Here’s a post on the phony “offenders registry” Elam and company put up in order to demonize feminists and other women they don’t like by posting unflattering profiles of them alongside actual female murderers and sex offenders. And here are a couple of posts on AVFM’s attempt to co-opt the name and the reputation of the White Ribbon anti-domestic violence campaign: Some posts that quote Elam’s perverse justifications for violence against women: And then there was this: And a few, er, lighter reads on the man: (This last one is about a post he wrote attacking Skepchick founder Watson in which he used the word “whore” literally two dozen times.) And there are more in the archives if you want to search for them. I guess I kind of write about him a lot, huh? Well, for better or worse, he’s the most prominent and influential Men’s Rights Activist out there. For now. Share this: Facebook Twitter Reddit Tumblr Email More Google Pinterest LinkedIn Pocket Print Like this: Like Loading... |
it works okay 1st time i tried this. i was curious about it for the longest time. i found it weird that there are different sizes but i suppose since pimples come in different sizes as well, then that should be okay. the thing is, although it does work, it works well, FOR ME, if my pimple has an eye. or hinog na in other words. otherwise, if i put it on a pimple that is not yet ripe, i have to use it for several days. it still works nonetheless. and i even forget it when i fake a bath the next day. i just remember when i wash my face and feel the sticker stuck there. i only get pimples when i have so i still have a lot left. 6 days ago |
Read Story Transcript With NFL pre-season games underway, concerns over concussions — and their long-term effects on players — is more serious than ever according to irrefutable proof detailed in a study last month. It reveals after examining brains of 111 deceased football players, all but one showed signs of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or "CTE." The degenerative brain disease, caused by repeated head hit, is marked by memory loss, depression, and even suicide. Related: New study finds brain disease in almost all football players tested It might sound shocking, but it's not a new revelation for Dr. Bennet Omalu, author of Truth Doesn't Have a Side. If his name sounds familiar, you may have seen him portrayed by Will Smith in the Hollywood movie version of his story, Concussion. There is no justifiable reason whatsoever why a child under the age of 18 should continue to play these games. - Dr. Bennet Omalu The Nigerian-American forensic pathologist and neuropathologist discovered the condition and coined the term CTE back in 2002. He warns CTE is only one condition of a very broad spectrum of diseases following blows to the head. Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis called the latest medical report on brain injuries from football "alarming," but added that it wouldn't stop him, or his two sons, from playing the sport. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) "If your child plays any of these high impact, high contact, coalition sports and receives repeated blows to the head … your child is more likely to die before the age of 42 through violent means," Dr. Omalu tells The Current's host Megan Williams. He adds that a child has about two to four times increased risk of committing suicide or suffering from a major psychiatric illness, including major depression, by playing dangerous contact sports. "Knowing what we know today, there is no justifiable reason whatsoever why a child under the age of 18 should continue to play these games. These games are potentially dangerous and should be left for only adults." If you love your son and daughter, why would you intentionally expose him or her to the risk of permanent brain damage. - Dr. Bennet Omalu Over 15 years ago, Dr. Omalu faced harsh criticism when he warned the public— and the NHL — of the evidence he discovered pointing to the risks of brain damage associated with playing contact sports. But he's determined to continue to speak "the truth of the facts of science" and believes it's a moral duty for physicians to speak out. Former Tennessee Titans Frank Wycheck accepts that he likely has CTE after 11 years in the National Football League. (Mark Humphrey/Associated Press) "We have always known dating back centuries that in whatever human activity whereby the head is exposed to repeated blows, there is a very, very high chance of brain damage — if not 100 per cent risk of brain damage." It's unlikely the NFL will address this problem, according to Dr. Omalu, but he advises parents to take a stand, saying, "the NFL is not there to protect your child for you." "It is your duty as a parent to ask yourself that question: Do I love hockey more than I love my child? Do I love football more than I love my child?" Dr. Omalu implores. "Every parent loves his or her son and daughter, so if you love your son and daughter, why would you intentionally expose him or her to the risk of permanent brain damage?" Listen to the full segment near the top of this web post. This segment was produced by The Current's Sarah Evans, Samira Mohyeddin and Howard Goldenthal. |
After last week's deadly shootings in Tennessee, a group is stepping up to protect our military. The Oath Keepers kicked off "Operation Protect our Military" Monday in the metro and across the country. The Oath Keepers are a group of current and formerly serving military, police and first responders. The group's motto is "Not on our watch". On Monday, many people driving by the Army/Navy Recruiting Office, 1217 Garth Brooks Blvd., in Yukon saw something different, a man standing guard. The man told FOX 25 he wishes to be called "Every Marine". He served in the Marines and is a member of The Oath Keepers. Out of their own accord, The Oath Keepers have vowed to protect military recruiting offices all over the country. "They do so much for us. They looked out for me whenever I was just a young Marine and it's time for me to pay it back," the man said. The man says the attack in Tennessee made him angry and they had to do something. "From what happened in Chattanooga for our military, our brothers and sisters, to not be armed and to not be able to protect themselves is foolish," the man said. So "Every Marine" is standing guard, keeping an eye out. He says several people have brought him food and drinks. "Basically had the wives of the servicemen here at this recruiting station come up and shake my hand, telling me how much they thank and appreciate me just being here," the man said. He says The Oath Keepers will continue their mission until Congress issues a revision to the carry policy, so recruitment offices can protect themselves. But until then... "We will stand in the gap. We will take the bullets for those men and women." |
Short Bytes: After a long wait, the stable release of Wine 2.0 has arrived. This release also marks the beginning of a new time-based release schedule for this software. Wine 2.0 lets one run Microsoft Office 2013 on Linux and brings support for many new games and applications. The users can download the tool from its website. A fter spending months in development, Wine 2.0 is available for download as a stable release. This utility is shipping after receiving 6,600 individual changes. It’s also being seen as the biggest ever release of this useful software. For those who don’t know, Wine is an open source software that translates Windows API calls to POSIX calls, and allows one to run Windows apps on other operating systems like Linux, macOS, and BSD. Wine 2.0 is the first release that’s made on the new time-based, annual release schedule. This also means that some features like Direct3D command stream, the Android graphics driver, the full HID support, etc., will be a part of the next development cycle. The biggest change comes in the form of support for Microsoft Office 2013, and 64-bit support on macOS. Also, there is support for many new games and applications. The other major changes in Wine 2.0 are related to text and fonts, graphics, user interface, Direct3D, DirectDraw, D3DX, sound and video, internet and networking, internationalization, built-in applications, build environment, kernel, etc. For a detailed set of changes, feel free to read the release notes. Wine 2.0 is available for download from their website. Did you find this story on Wine 2.0 interesting? Don’t forget to tell us your views and feedback. Also Read: Ubuntu 16.04.2 LTS Point Release Coming On Feb 2 With Linux Kernel 4.8 |
Humans aren't the only animals that can recognize themselves in mirrors. All five species of great apes have passed the "mirror test" at some point — by eventually realizing a reflection isn't a doppelganger — and some monkeys have, too. Dolphins, orcas, elephants and even magpies are other members of this self-awareness club. Of course, it's hard to tell what any animal really thinks when it looks in a mirror. A dog may bark or growl at first, but what does it mean when he loses interest? Does he know it's his reflection, or has he concluded that his evil twin is simply stuck in an alternate universe? Scientists look for certain reactions to test this — namely "self-directed behaviors," like using a mirror to groom or to remove a sticker from your face. Still, the mirror test has plenty of critics. Passing it may indicate self-awareness, they argue, but failing it shouldn't imply self-unawareness. It's an inexact science. That said, it's also pretty amusing to watch. The video below doesn't show actual mirror tests in a scientific sense, but it does offer a funny montage of how big cats react to their own reflections. In most cases, they don't seem to like what they see: The video was filmed at Big Cat Rescue, a Florida nonprofit that bills itself as "the largest accredited sanctuary in the world dedicated entirely to abused and abandoned big cats." The facility is home to more than 100 exotic cats, most of which were abandoned, orphaned or rescued from abusive situations. Aside from managing all those cats, BCR produces educational videos about the risks of exotic pets, and pushes for regulations like the newly drafted Big Cats and Public Safety Protection Act. To see what a more formal mirror test looks like, check out the videos below: Also on MNN: Watch: Big cats react to their reflections Lions, tigers and other big cats may be fastidious groomers, but they still don't seem to like what they see in the mirror. |
Supermarket chain Aldi could be moving into Tunbridge Wells. The budget store intends set up shop on a vacant site in Eridge Road, behind the Esso service station. In its pre-application letter, Aldi said a full plan for the the supermarket, and an 80 space car park, should be submitted Tunbridge Wells Borough Council before the end of the year. Aldi is hiring apprentices Two neighbouring buildings would need to be demolished as part of construction. The firm's letter was published on the council's website last week, just days before the launch of the town's new Poundland store - which will open its doors in Grosvenor Road tomorrow. Earlier this year people in the town expressed mixed views about Poundland's plans to move in, with many saying a more "up-market" Waitrose store would be more appropriate. But 974 of 1,309 people who took our poll in April said they thought Poundland was right to move into the area. A further poll asked readers to choose between Waitrose and Poundland for the Grosvenor Road site. Out of 761 votes, 444 chose Poundland. |
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