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Ryan Schude doesn't do selfies, street photography or fashion shoots. He does productions. Every image he makes is heavily staged, overflowing with outlandish scenarios and organized chaos. They can require days of preparation as he painstakingly orchestrates lighting, props and people. Nothing is left to chance. His interest in photography stems from creating that magic. "Some [photographers] prefer to wait around and they enjoy the authenticity of documentary work," he says. "As for me, I enjoy the drama of the staged shot and being able to very meticulously orchestrate." The pool party image shown here is a classic example of Schude's elaborate construction. Getting everything just right required multiple lights, over two dozen people and 60 shots. Schude made the photo at Phoot Camp, an annual summer photography retreat. He and Lauren Randolph had a concept for the shoot going into the get-together: A high school rager thrown while the kid's parents were away. As we create a new reality based only loosely on a collection of muddled memories and inspiring aesthetics, anything goes. Everything is possible. Before the shoot, Schude and Randolph asked people to dress up as their favorite high school stereotype. There were the obligatory prom queens, and jocks, along with band geeks and, mysteriously, a party-crasher in a panda suit. Schude got in on the fun too; that's him, passed out amid beer bottles and a beach ball. But getting the actors together was only the first step. Setting everything up took all day. Schude and Randolph worked with multiple strobes and the available light. In the half hour before sunset, Schude snapped about 60 frames so he'd have many options for the final composite image. They pushed that poor band geek into the pool 11 times, but ended up going with the first take, when the guy was still dry, because it was the best of the lot. The fellow on the diving board made 10 jumps before Schude said, "Enough." And the guy spraying champagne all over the place opened at least three bottles during the shoot. For all the work, Schude and Randolph needed just a handful of frames to make the final shot. "To make the compositing seamless we wanted to use as few frames as possible. This ended up being eight different shots," he says. "When you're shooting at dusk the light changes so much it doesn't look as real if you have one from the beginning when it's light and one from the end when it's dark. We tried to get all the frames from that golden hour." The final image is flawless, looking to all the world like a serendipitous moment in which everything fell to place at just the right time. The tableau is larger than life, and it's hard to discern what’s "real" and what isn't. That's the point. Schude isn't interested in reality, so much as the appearance of it. "As we create a new reality based only loosely on a collection of muddled memories and inspiring aesthetics, anything goes," he's said of his work. "Everything is possible." The photographer's latest book, Schude*, will be released this month by Roads Publishing.* |
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Argentina believes Brexit might cost Britain the support of European allies for its control of the Falkland Islands and is watching developments closely, the Argentinian foreign minister said in Brussels. File photo: Argentina's Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra speaks during a news conference at Foreign Ministry after a Mercosur trade bloc summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, December 14, 2016. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci Visiting the EU capital for trade talks on Thursday, Susana Malcorra stressed it was too soon to say whether Britain quitting the bloc may soften Union backing for London against an 18th-century claim to the South Atlantic islands that Buenos Aires has maintained despite losing a brief war there in 1982. “The European Union, through its agreements, is connected very closely and strongly to the United Kingdom,” Malcorra told reporters when asked if Brexit could have an impact on the Falklands dispute, on which the 16-month-old administration of President Mauricio Macri has taken a more conciliatory approach. “It could be that things change there. But I think it is still quite early. Brexit is just starting and there are many issues. We are following it carefully.” A spokesman for the EU’s foreign policy service declined comment on whether the bloc might change policy on the Falklands, which receive some development funding from Brussels. Argentina’s interest in potential fallout for the islands it calls the Malvinas after Britain’s vote last year to leave the EU is part of broader uncertainty for outlying territories of what was once the world’s biggest empire. The people of Gibraltar, on the south coast of Spain, fear economic upheaval once they are placed outside the EU’s external border when Britain leaves the Union, in March 2019. Britain’s right-wing press fulminated last month against EU plans to spell out that fellow member Madrid, which claims sovereignty over “The Rock”, should have a veto over applying any future EU-UK free trade deal to Gibraltar. A former leader of Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative party even suggested she would be ready to send a fleet to defend it from Spain - just as her predecessor Margaret Thatcher did to drive Argentinian troops from the Falklands. Closer to home, British-ruled Northern Ireland, whose people voted against Brexit, are concerned a new UK-EU border there could rekindle violence. Separatists want a vote to reunite the island, a century after the Irish Republic broke with London. And in Britain itself, the government of Scotland wants a new referendum to end the 310-year-old union with England so that Scots can remain in, or later rejoin, the European Union. |
Share Deeper shades of techno. There was a nice bit in the interview we did with Oscar Mulero a few years ago, where he was talking about setting up THE OMEN club with his friends in Madrid in the mid-'90s. "We actually had no clue there was an Omen club in Frankfurt at that time," he said, referring to Sven Vath's legendary venue. It's easy to forget that not so long ago the international techno scene wasn't really a scene at all, with isolated pockets of activity scattered around the globe. The big DJs from the UK, the US and Germany were beginning to travel regularly for the first time, but it was thanks to regional DJs like Mulero that they had clubs and scenes to go play in. These days Mulero is recognised as an artist who made Spain part of the European techno conversation. You can trace Mulero's evolution through one of his labels, Warm Up Recordings, which got started back in 2000 and is about to release its 50th record. Mulero's tough, loop-driven sound of the 2000s gradually gives way to more heady and nuanced music. You'll also find examples of this scattered across the discography of his other label, PoleGroup Recordings, as well as other leading techno outlets like Token, Mord and Semantica, the label that will release his next album in early 2018. We get a taste of other new material on Mulero's RA podcast, which pulls in some unreleased music as well as other new cuts from across the techno scene. The result is 60 minutes of mesmerising music—a style that's helped Mulero become one of techno's best and busiest DJs. What have you been up to recently? I have finished the WU50 anniversary release, which includes the digital release of the 4 Pattern Series. These 12 tracks came out only on vinyl until now, between September 2014 and November 2016. This compilation will be released on November 1, followed by two EPs with remixes of the 4th EP from the Pattern Series called Contents. Remixes from Silent Servant, Kangding Ray and Cassegrain for the first EP and Shlømo, Donato Dozzy and Chevel for the second one. These EPs will come out on November 10th and on December 1st. How and where was the mix recorded? I recorded the mix in my studio in Gijón, Spain with two CD players and a mixer. Can you tell us about the idea behind the mix? To collect new stuff and some unreleased tracks from myself like I do in most of my DJ sets. You started Warm Up back in 2000. What do you think have been the main developments in techno since that time? New gear and DJ equipment made techno producers and DJs improve their music and sessions, so maybe technique is one of the main developments. Did you have any particularly memorable gigs over the past few months? Bassiani (Tbilisi) and Hardcode (Belgrade). What are you up to next? I have finished my new album, Perfect Peace. It will be released on Semantica at the beginning of 2018. And I am working on a new A/V live show called Monochrome, with music taken from my new album. |
In this Aug. 28, 2017, file photo, former Chicago police Officer Marco Proano leaves the federal courthouse in Chicago. (Photo11: Terrence Antonio James, AP) CHICAGO — A former Chicago police officer was sentenced to five years in federal prison Monday for using unreasonable force in an incident in which he unleashed a barrage of gunfire at a car full of teenagers. The sentencing for Marco Proano, 42, comes after he was convicted in August of using unreasonable force and causing bodily injury when he fired into the stolen vehicle as it backed up after being stopped for speeding. Dashcam video of the incident from a police squad played a crucial role in Proano’s conviction. The video of the 2015 incident in which Proano, a 11-year veteran of the police force, fired 16 times on the car of teens became public after The Chicago Reporter, a news organization that focuses on issues of race and poverty, obtained footage from a former state judge, who heard a criminal case involving one of the teens involved in the incident. The sentencing for Proano comes during a trying period for the Chicago Police Department, which earlier this year was slammed by the U.S. Justice Department during the final days of the Obama administration for being beset by widespread racial bias, poor training and feckless oversight of officers accused of misconduct. Proano was indicted in September 2016 as the department was still reeling from the aftermath of another officer, Jason Van Dyke, being charged less than a year earlier with first-degree murder of Laquan McDonald. Dashcam video of that shooting showed Van Dyke fire 16 times at 17-year-old McDonald, who was armed with a small knife and appeared to be running away from police. Van Dyke has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial. Proano's attorney, Daniel Herbert, argued that his client was "sacrificed to the furor" of the McDonald case, which triggered weeks of protest in Chicago after the court-ordered release of that shooting. "It would be naïve to ignore the facts here and fail to recognize that Mr. Proano served as somewhat of a scapegoat in this case," wrote Herbert, who is also serving as Van Dyke's attorney, in a pre-sentencing memorandum for Proano. Before Proano's conviction, the city paid out a $360,000 settlement to three of the teens who filed a civil lawsuit over the incident. Proano was stripped of his police powers in December 2015 by recommendation from the Independent Police Review Authority, the city agency tasked with reviewing allegations of major police misconduct and officer-involved shootings. One of the teens was wounded in the shoulder and received graze wounds to his face and cheek. Another teen was struck on his left hip and right heel, and a third teen said in the lawsuit his right eye was injured by a police officer at the scene when he "was forcibly taken to the ground." Proano was involved in another shooting in July 2011 in which he fatally shot a 19-year-old man, who police had said appeared to be holding a woman hostage. Proano and other officers at the scene struggled with the teen, Niko Husband, and he said he felt the butt of a gun on the man during the tussle. After another officer tried and failed to use a taser to subdue Husband, Proano fired his service weapon three times, killing the man. Husband's family filed a civil lawsuit against police over the incident and was awarded $3.5 million. But the verdict was negated in November 2015 by a Cook County judge because the jury, in a written part of its verdict, responded that Proano had reasonable belief that his life was in danger when he opened fire. Police brutality cases have cost the city more than $600 million in settlements and legal fees since 2004. More: Chicago cop faces civil rights indictment in 2013 shooting More: Men who allege they were framed by crooked Chicago cop get mass exoneration More: Chicago police use excessive force, scathing Justice Department report finds Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2iBn2xb |
Warning: Major spoiler ahead. King Joffrey Baratheon, snub-nosed child of incest, torturer of women, and petulant, cruel, short-sighted, violent sadist, died at his own wedding from a gruesome, fast-acting poison in his wine. The guests did not cheer, but they were compelled to be polite. I cannot say that I, sitting on my couch, was as well-behaved. Yet while I find it impossible to lament the death of the Worst Person in Westeros (that’s an official title), I do find myself lamenting the loss of a perfect villain. Now that Joffrey is dead, we can’t hate the best villain on television anymore. The universe of Game of Thrones is one of endless moral complexities, where a man like Jaime Lannister, who would push a small boy out a window, can become sympathetic, and where a young heroine like Arya, just trying to survive, must overdevelop her most bloodthirsty qualities. But Joffrey does not exist within this ethical and emotional morass. He is beneath it, existing in the realm of the entirely abhorrent. Since he showed no mercy or sense in ordering the execution of Ned Stark, our hate of Joffrey has been easy and powerful. And in being so loathsome, he drags viewers into the show’s bloodthirsty paradigm. Watching Joffrey, we become like nearly everyone in Westeros: We wish someone dead. The episode was constructed for viewers to be at the height of Joffrey-hate when he dies. He arranges for the prime entertainment at his wedding to be a buffoonish re-staging of the just-ended civil war, with all the kings played by dwarves in costume, forcing any number of guests, including Sansa, to watch re-creations of their loved one’s deaths, played for laughs. As if this were not awful enough, Joffrey then wants an already humiliated Tyrion to do battle with the actors. This is his perverse fantasy of how the afternoon revelry will play out: His uncle will be made a fool of by a hired fool. But Joffrey is stupid. He can never imagine what anyone else will do. Tyrion uses his wit to refrain from fighting and to gracefully impugn Joffrey’s sexual inexperience. Joffrey responds, as ever, with escalating sadism. In the minutes before he chokes, he metes out a string of indignities upon Tyrion—an audience favorite—so that by the time he begins to choke it seems no less than exactly what he deserves. But Joffrey’s death scene is gruesome and ignoble. He dies painfully, awfully, convulsing, blood streaming from his nose, his eyes bugged, his skin translucent. His corpse is so pathetic, it suddenly seems untoward that it could have been the repository of so much hate. In death, for the first time in a long while, Joffrey looks like what he is: a kid. Even the well-earned death of a sadistic, sniveling little shit doesn’t feel particularly cathartic or satisfying. And with his death in the “Purple Wedding,” Game of Thrones has yet again killed off one of its few centralizing characters. His death, like that of Ned and Robb Stark, further fragments an already extremely fragmented narrative. In coming episodes, I suspect we may even come to miss Joffrey and the clarity of feeling he inspired. Characters that rouse our passion—be they great villains or great heroes—are rare. Ramsay Snow and any other degenerate, unapologetic sadists in Game of Thrones have a long way to go before they can fill Joffrey’s shoes Want more about this week’s Game of Thrones? Slate Plus members get access to our weekly Game of Thrones bonus podcast, with Slate TV critic Willa Paskin and TV editor Dan Kois. Try Slate Plus free for two weeks and listen! |
This is the tale of a fiend, a true murdering devil. Not only did he ruthlessly kill Michael "Mike" McClelland, 63, the the Prosecutor of Kaufmann County and his wife Cynthia, 65, but also the assistant prosecutor, Mark Hasse. Hasse was ruthlessly gunned in the street in January, 2013, while walking home. The McClellands were callously shot down like dogs in their home in March of the same year. All three, were viciously butchered by a large, ugly brute who calls himself Eric Williams. It goes without saying he was a felon who had a prior record of burglary and theft. Yet somehow he had amassed a veritable arsenal of weapons as prosecutors during the penalty phase of his trial revealed: On Tuesday afternoon, prosecutors assembled the arsenal of weapons found in Williams’ storage unit in the courtroom. The guns were displayed on three wooden racks in the middle of the courtroom, 42 handguns in the middle and 22 long guns flanking each side. In front of the racks were boxes of ammunition — thousands of rounds were recovered — and a crossbow. Bullets were loose in bags, as well as still packaged in boxes. By the way, this is the face of the killer of these three upstanding citizens, a true animal (if I may say so) with no sense of morality and little if any respect for human life: Yeah, he's a white guy. Still, he got a trial. He wasn't shot by the police when they went to arrest him. Sure he didn't steal "cigars" (allegedly) or sell loose cigarettes in public. Williams wasn't caught carrying a toy air rifle around Walmart (John Crawford) or playing with a BB gun in a park (Tamir Rice) or dressing up like his favorite Anime character (Darrien Hunt). He only stole county equipment and hoarded enough guns to arm a small militia. Unlike the young men and boys listed above, no one had to gin up evidence of his wicked character, or post facto justifications for why he should be killed by officers of the state. I'll bet I'm the first person to label him a "thug" or a "brute" or an "animal." That's because the use of those terms have been reserved for young African American males of late. These terms, such as thug, are acceptable code words for a certain racial slur that starts with the letter N. They are used to reinforce racial stereotypes among whites regarding African Americans - that they are criminals, a brutish, dangerous, amoral, drug infested people who represent a threat to civil society. So while Eric Williams is one sick, evil SOB, he does have the color of his skin going for him. You won't hear of any Fox News host or right wing radio jocks calling him a thug. They probably won't mention him at all, and if they do, there won't be any discussion of white on white crime. They sure as hell won't touch the subject of his gun collection, which is every white American's God given right under the second amendment. White people with strong political agenda can walk around the street and in stores carrying their semiautomatic "long guns" and nothing happens to them. A drunken, angry white man stand outs in the street pointing a loaded rifle at passersby, and law enforcement treats him with respect and spend as much time as they need to "de-escalate the situation." Black boys play in an empty park with a fake gun, or carry a fake samurai sword and get shot shortly after police arrive on the scene. And let's not forget the masses of white men who took their guns to Cliven Bundy's Ranch in Nevada to protect the rights of a common criminal. They threatened and intimidated local law enforcement, Federal officials and the people of Clark County, but not one of Bundy's numerous supporters who endangered the lives of everyone withing the range of their high powered rifles was arrested or charged with a crime, much less fired upon by law enforcement - with the possible exception for Jerad and Amanda Miller who were kicked out of the Bundy compound and then went on a shooting spree in Las Vegas, killing two police officers and an armed civilian at a local Walmart before killing themselves. So, my friends, who are the real thugs? The armed white people who shoot to kill, such as Mr. Eric Williams, or the unarmed black men and boys killed by police and left to die? Michael Brown, Eric Garner, John Crawford, Darrien Hunt, Tamir Rice and so many more have been labeled "thugs," their reputations smeared in the National news media. In the case of 12 year-old Tamir Rice, his parents' past history and their alleged bad parenting were blamed for his death by cop. Protestors in Ferguson and elsewhere these past few months have been described as looters, rioters, criminals, et cetera, who deserved the massive militarized police response to what were primarily peaceful protests. Words matter. They define how we interpret events, and how we judge the character and actions of individuals. They reinforce existing bias, prejudice and stereotypes. They justify violence against innocent people when those people are labeled with words that have negative and sinister connotations. Native Americans were constantly called savages in the 19th century. European Jews in the 20th century were labeled cockroaches and vermin. African Americans, especially males, in the 21st Century are now called "thugs." Words that dehumanize their subjects. Words that lead to fear and loathing. Words that make it easier to kill and/or tolerate, and in some quarters of our society celebrate, the deaths of those so named. Words like "Thug." |
CNN host John King noted Wednesday that the Republican tax bill is giving “damn good money” to working families living paycheck to paycheck. “The Republicans are making a big bet, taking a big risk. Will over time the American people say ‘oh, I like having more money in my pocket.’ That’s their big bet,” King said. “Not one Democrat has voted for a bill that cuts taxes by $1.5 trillion. To Abby’s point, if you’re a working class family, some people say oh, it’s only $200, $300 — if you’re living paycheck to paycheck, that’s damn good money and you are grateful for it.” WATCH: “Are the Democrats taking a risk?” King wondered. “Especially those from trump states there’s 10 Democrats from Trump states, are they solid or this a bet in December 2017 that they can’t be sure holds up in November 2018?” I would like to congratulate @SenateMajLdr on having done a fantastic job both strategically & politically on the passing in the Senate of the MASSIVE TAX CUT & Reform Bill. I could have not asked for a better or more talented partner. Our team will go onto many more VICTORIES! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 20, 2017 Approximately 80 percent of American taxpayers will see their taxes go down under the new legislation, according to an analysis by the Tax Policy Center, a left-leaning think tank. (RELATED: Here Are The 12 Republicans Who Voted Against Tax Reform) |
How we dress ourselves—when we're afforded the resources to make mostly autonomous choices about how we look—is a statement of intent to those who would subject you to their gaze. This includes ourselves. When we dress in front of a mirror or idly leer at our reflection in the BART window, we are talking to ourselves, silently confirming, denying and appraising—though I've been getting better at saying nice things about myself out loud, and I hope you are too. It can feel like too much: We often find ourselves trying to maintain multiple conversations at once. With one corner of my mouth I tell the man staring at me over his SF Chronicle, "I am a primate queen and I care so little about you and your dick I'll rip it off just because I like the sound" and with the other I tell myself "You look like a three car pileup in a push-up bra, you're stupid and no one actually likes your cakes." Managing that second voice means adorning myself with both mercy and menace. I dress for battle. Verily, when I was younger and had not yet known that particular disappointment of walking into an empty kitchen and realizing "oh right, I'm an adult, I'm supposed to do that for myself now, I'll get it right eventually," I plied pipe dreams of closets infested with ankle-strap high heels and espadrilles, felt boxes flooded over with pearls and the spoils of effective womanhood. But this is war: on women, on the poor, on queerness. This is war and transgender women are so frequently lost to that thin, thin line between the front line and the firing squad. Imagine dressing yourself to face down your enemy, but your enemy is never the same. A million different people, from one day to the next. I can only stare down so many people at once with my lazy eye. I dress in solidarity. I wear, essentially, the same thing every day: a tight-fitting shirt dress, belt, combat (or cowboy) boots and jacket. I wear this on dates, at protests, and when dropping off groceries for fellow trans sex workers who have been so harassed on Twitter that they're staying indoors. I dress to be identified. This woman is your friend. She fights for freedom. My outfit is my uniform, worn in times of peace, times of loss, and times of "fuck, I overslept and didn't do laundry, I think there's a dress tangled up in the duvet cover." And I may have just received my "dress blues": a sleeveless navy blue shirt dress with brass buttons, handed down to me by my girlfriend . More Than A Dress None of this scenario is innately unusual. Cis women and trans women date a lot. You could go either way on this. You could busy yourself for months discussing the various ways that cis women and trans women encourage and support one another in a society where your womanhood is always determined by someone not yourself. But also: Women like women. And the handing off of unwanted clothes to another person is essential, effective mutual support. My girlfriend's gesture was largely bereft of ritual. We were laying in bed. She turned to face me and said, "Are you stuck on polka dots?" I said, "No, not as such!" I had hoped that this would be followed with a request to demonstrate how I could be un-stuck from polka dots, so then I could receive the human sex act, but instead she got up to her closet and made a pile of clothes for me to take home at the foot of the bed. Even unwanted clothes contain, intertwined and entangled in the seam, intimate memories, some worth keeping. I've given away the top I wore in the picture I used to come out as a woman, the first shoes I wore to a Pride parade, the skirt I had pulled off me the first time I slept with another woman. I had hoped, in spite of my otherwise-agnosticism about these things, to bestow a seedling of hope and safety, to give a good part of myself to someone in the hopes that they recycle it and become someone happier, stronger. To me, my girlfriend's hand-me-down is an invitation to be seen, as a woman, a fat femme, as a caring admirer and supporter. I respect the shit out of my girlfriend. She is a rad woman, compassionate and smart and very patient with my difficulties in receiving praise. My firm belief in my own womanhood is mostly unshakeable, but to be seen as a fellow woman by a woman I care about puts solid ground beneath my feet and a nice big red balloon in my hand. The intimate skill-sharing and tender education of queer, non-monogamous relationships is often obfuscated by a compulsory focus on sex. But I learn a lot from my girlfriend. About being a woman, an activist, an ally to the systemic struggles of house-bound kittens. She shows me the compassion I struggle to show myself, even as she is standing on my chest in victory. And oh, believe that she held that pose for as long as she could. Something Else In The Stitching Love—or something close to it because fuck, that word is so heavy, and can we just make sure what we're building is sustainable first before we try introducing something that so many people in our pasts have clearly not abided by?—amongst activists is largely conspiratorial. More heist film than Gene Kelly musical. We sigh gladsome serenades about event accessibility, accountability, anti-capitalism. She smokes and I press my face against her tattoos while we plan the next event, the next date. We relish any and every opportunity to steal back the pleasure and respect patriarchy has sought to deny us. When I wear the dress she's given me—which I did for the first time to help support a friend handling recent developments with a suicidal partner—I think of my girlfriend's radical advocacy and her remorseless affection in the face of the struggles that seek to claim us all. And I feel proud. Not just of her, but also with myself: She trusts and cares for me enough to let me dress like her, to pull her old memories, joyous or calamitous, over my head and button them tight to my breast. It means more to me than any formal commendation of my activity within the community could. I have not yet learned to silence that second voice, that noxious inner monologue. But I can drown it out. With a nice outfit, with a sweater or dress handed down with care and solidarity that still has the echoes of a voice I miss when I'm alone and wavering, there in the stitching. And I like to imagine that every person who passes by me with a never-heard-before quip about how I look like a man to make me rethink my life choices will, upon engaging me, incur the ire of an incorporeal chorus of friends and lovers. And we will triple bodyslam prejudice and harassment with the severity of our sheer self-love. But I'll probably just adjust my collar and snap down my sweater and think, "Whatever, I know I'm fine" and keep walking. This is statistically accurate, and just as good of self-care. Being a queer woman today is to live in a time of war, and she sees me as on her side. It's not always the winning side, but it's the right side, and the side I want to be on. |
When you close your eyes and think about your upcoming wedding (or even when you’re daydreaming), you’re probably imagining yourself walking down the aisle, flowers all around, candles lit along the walkway and a nicely decorated mandap or altar. You smell the air full of flowers and happiness. You’ve waited a long time for this day…. But what if those candles along the aisle fell over, or what if someone got hurt? I’m not trying to scare you but as brides, we’re not always thinking about: What if something goes wrong at my wedding? As brides, we’re preoccupied with planning and excited about every part of the wedding – the clothes, the cake, the decor, the flowers… and excited about everything else EXCEPT the wedding vendor contracts! It’s easy to overlook the small details that could help protect you in case something happens. Contracts can be annoying to understand. It’s easy to brush contracts off like they’re no big deal and have your fiancee read through them or even pass them to your parents to read and sign. That’s what I did. I went into my wedding planning full force – thinking about everything under the sun. I didn’t pay much attention to the vendor contracts. We read through the contracts, but it wasn’t with a super keen eye. Looking back, I should’ve paid way more attention to them even though we got lucky and our vendors followed through with their services as promised (and we had no issues). Don’t count on luck though – you need that safety net or else you’ll be kicking yourself if you didn’t set it up and something goes wrong It’s about more than simply reading the contracts. It’s about arming yourself with the knowledge to ask your vendors the right questions, so you can set up the right type of contracts for your wedding events. What Is A Contract? [I’m not a lawyer, nor am I providing you with any legal advice.] To add some context, the non-technical definition of a contract simply means that both parties are in agreement for the doing (or not doing) of something specified. In this case, an offer is made (by the vendor) and you (the wedding couple) is obligated to pay them for that service. It could be in the form of money or it could be something else in return (like a service – for example, if your fiancee is a business consultant, he could provide X hours of consulting service to your photographer in exchange for wedding photography services). It gets tricky if you’re talking about a gift. “Consideration” is required by both parties, which basically means that the vendor is required to do (or not do) something under the contract. With Indian weddings this is really tricky – especially when you could get your dad’s uncle friend to take on a vendor’s role at the wedding and isn’t charging for it (like providing the wedding vehicle or the DJ services). For your information, this is considered a gift, so it’s not considered a contract. Talk to a lawyer for more technical details! Read Your Contracts So here you are: you met with multiple vendors, you’ve seen their contracts and now you have to make some decisions. Before signing with any vendor, read your contracts. Highlight anything and everything. It’s easy to skim over the contracts because you want to move forward with them quickly, but read your contracts through in detail. Some contracts include everything your vendor will provide and information about payment, but only sometimes will they include what they won’t cover. Do your homework on the front end so you don’t have to worry on the back end. Check if there are any contingency plans included. Like, what’ll happen if you have an outdoor wedding ceremony (or cocktail hour) and there’s bad weather? Or, what if the ovens stop working and food can’t be heated properly? Understand what’s in your contracts. Don’t ignore it if you don’t understand it. ASK! What To Look For In A Contract You’ll be spending a lot of money on your wedding so including details in the contract is something you can’t afford to miss. Vendors sometimes have a tendency to verbally say they can do certain things but don’t necessarily include those “things” in the contract. Ask vendors to include those “things” in the contract. For example, if your photographer agrees to visit the venue with you to check it out beforehand, write that out in the contract – don’t just take their word for it. For Indian weddings, it’s especially important that the vendor outlines services for each specific event that they’re being hired for. For example – what is the exact location of the events – pre-wedding event, ceremony and reception (and any other events like breakfasts, a late-night snack room or a hangout area) and what is their role? Red line the contract if you want something specific. You have the right to negotiate. And I’m not just talking about price. We all know you (and/or your parents) will be negotiating price. We’re Indian after all! TIP: Vendors might be more likely to include more in your package (at the price they quoted) versus reducing the price of a package. Ask them to add in any of these “bonuses” (they mention verbally) into the contract. When Do You Negotiate? This is a great question because Indians often go straight to vendors and say “give me a good price” even before vendors offer their services and their package prices. Once the vendor gives you their package prices, negotiate up front. Especially for services like the venue. That said, some vendors (like your photographer) might not have as much leeway. If you’re planning your wedding during peak Indian wedding season, don’t expect too much negotiation. “Peak” season obviously differs on the west coast and east coast but generally speaking, you probably know when it is. If you’re planning a January wedding in Michigan, then the vendors might be able to negotiate a lot more than if it’s in July. Get Everything Down On Paper Don’t take anyone’s word for it when they tell you something verbally. Get everything down on paper! This is one place you can’t do the Indian word thing (or at least try really hard not to do it!). Chances are, at least one of your vendors might be a family friend or a friend’s family friend or whatever. It doesn’t matter. Try to write down their services on paper (even if that person says “don’t worry beta” multiple times). A planning tool I found extremely helpful during my planning was to track conversations. During each vendor meeting, I took copious notes and then immediately after, quickly typed up the takeaways into a word doc and sent them to the vendor. I would ask them to confirm via email that we were on the same page regarding what was just discussed. Now you have an email chain with that discussion (in case you need to refer to it later). TIP: Keep track of when your payments are due. Be clear about when payments are due, and in what form. Vendor Details To Consider Horse Carriage: Timing is important since the vendor is most likely charging by the hour. Look out for what happens if there are any injuries. Hair/Makeup: Many hair/makeup stylists don’t have contracts. The ones I’ve worked with use text and email. If that’s the case with your stylists, it’s OK as long as you agree to the terms via email and it’s clear that you accept the services. Make it clear about when the stylists will arrive for your events, and what specifically they’ll do. Or, if you don’t want to rely on email, make up a simple contract in Word to make it “official.” Priest: Let’s face it, your local temple probably won’t have a contract per se, so this one is a little tricky. Many larger temples have a manager on site who coordinates the priests’ booked events. They might make you or your parents sign some kind of “paper” with the date and time of your events. If you’re having a church wedding, it should be a similar document that locks in your time and date. Mehndi: There’s mehndi for the bride and there’s mehndi for the guests. It’s very likely that this agreement will happen over the phone or over casual conversation with your vendor. It’s hard to make a contract, but you could come up with a simple document outlining cost per hand or cost per hour. TIP: Be Savvy. Don’t let vendors tell you they can’t negotiate terms or change the contract because it’s in a standard format or template. Insurance – Do I Need It? Liability insurance would cover something like if your elderly Aunty falls and breaks her leg and she wants medical insurance to cover it. The liability insurance would cover that. I know, you don’t even want that to happen, but it could happen! What about your bling bling? You want your bling covered by jewelry insurance if it’s not already. God forbid anything happens to it! Home insurance can cover this via a rider. Ask your groom in case he’s already done it. If your wedding is up to two years from now, it might be a good idea to consider insurance. Today, there’s even insurance companies that provide cancellation insurance specific to weddings. Writing Reviews You’re probably not even thinking about this, but if you do have a bad experience and want to vent on the big wedding network websites like TheKnot or WeddingWire (or even Yelp), think twice. In some states, if you write a negative review, it could be considered defamatory and therefore against the law. State your opinion as an opinion (not a fact!) and avoid bad language if you’re providing a “constructive” review. How Your Credit Card Can Help If you can, avoid paying in cash. Many vendors like cash but if you want to cover yourself, you want a paper trail just in case anything happens. Use PayPal or credit card for payments. Another reason to use credit card is that if something goes wrong, you can file a claim directly through your credit card company. What If Something Goes Sour? If you have a conflict with your vendor, contact them first before doing anything else. See if you can work something out. Vendors don’t like contracts as much as you do but they use them because it means everyone is protected. It’s not just for their benefit, it’s for your benefit too. The vendor contracts are an important part of the wedding planning process – don’t overlook it like it’s no big deal. DISCLAIMER: The information provided is intended for guidance purposes only. This information does not replace legal advice. Additional resources related to contracts can be found in our Resources Toolbox. Have you encountered any “snafoos” with your wedding contracts? Any lessons to share with your fellow brides? Tell us in the comments below. If you liked this post, please share it from below! For more tips & tricks, sign up for our newsletter HERE. |
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard: "Child abuse is always wrong, always heartbreaking" Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced a national inquiry into institutional responses to the sexual abuse of children. The move followed pressure from lawmakers amid police claims the Roman Catholic Church had concealed evidence of paedophile priests. The inquiry will look at religious groups, NGOs and state-care providers as well as government agencies. Ms Gillard said a Royal Commission was the best way to investigate the claims. Late last week, the state of New South Wales announced an inquiry after a top policeman, Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox, accused the church of trying to silence investigations into allegations of abuse. Chief Inspector Fox, who had investigated several cases of sexual assault over 35 years, had called for a Royal Commission in an open letter. "I can testify from my own experience that the church covers up, silences victims, hinders police investigations, alerts offenders, destroys evidence and moves priests to protect the good name of the church," he wrote. A separate parliamentary inquiry into church sex abuse began last month in Victoria. 'Ill-founded and inconsistent" Ms Gillard said the allegations that had come to light were "heartbreaking", concerning "insidious, evil acts to which no child should be subject". "The individuals concerned deserve the most thorough of investigations into the wrongs that have been committed against them," she said in a statement. Ms Gillard said there would be discussions with relevant state leaders on how the national inquiry would relate to existing probes. The terms of reference for the inquiry, and the proposed commissioner, would be announced in coming weeks. Opposition leader Tony Abbott said he would support a wide-ranging commission, but said the investigation should not focus solely on the Catholic Church. In a statement, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, representing Australian bishops, said it supported the announcement of a Royal Commission. It said the church deeply regretted the suffering and trauma endured by children who had been in the church's care, but said that "talk of a systemic problem of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church is ill-founded and inconsistent with the facts". Abuse of children by Roman Catholic priests has been a major issue in Australia recent years. In September, the Roman Catholic Church in the Australian state of Victoria confirmed that more than 600 children had been sexually abused by its priests since the 1930s. During a visit to Australia in July 2008, Pope Benedict XVI met some of the victims and made a public apology for the abuse. |
The United States Navy and its allies recently laid siege to a retired frigate in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It was all part of a SINKEX, or sinking exercise, that tested the missiles and big guns of modern navies against an actual warship. Every two years, as part of the multinational Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercises, the US Navy tows a retired warship out to sea. Then the U.S. military, along with allied forces, blow it to smithereens. The USS Thach was an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate. Commissioned in 1979, it was named after Jimmy Thach, a World War II F4F Wildcat pilot who invented the famous "Thach Weave" fighter formation to counter the Japanese Zero fighter. USS Thach being towed out to sea for the SINKEX. Thach was retired from service in 2013 and then sunk Thursday off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii. Stripped of weapons, ammunition, fuel and pollutants, the ship was towed into water two to three miles deep and bombarded from the air, sea, and under the sea. Thach absorbed an enormous amount of punishment, starting with a Harpoon missile launched by a South Korean submarine, the ROKS Lee Eokgi . Next, the Australian frigate HMAS Ballarat launched another Harpoon, and an Australian SH-60S helicopter shot it with a Hellfire missile. U.S. maritime patrol aircraft then hit it with Harpoon and Maverick missiles. But Thach wasn't done. The cruiser USS Princeton hit it with yet another Harpoon missile, and an American SH-60S Navy chopper hit it with more Hellfires. US Navy F/A-18 Hornets lobbed a 2,000 pound Mk. 84 bomb at it, and a US Air Force B-52 bomber dropped a GBU-12 Paveway laser guided 500 pound bomb on it. A U.S. Navy submarine got into the action, striking it with a Mk. 48 torpedo . Thach was hit with nearly five thousand pounds of high explosive, plus unspent rocket fuel and yet held out for nearly 12 hours. How did it survive so long? Good warship design, which has improved considerably since the days of World War II. Another reason the ship survived as long as it did was that everything flammable or explosive onboard had been removed. A Perry-class frigate typically carries up to 587 tons of fuel, plus 64 tons of helicopter fuel, in addition to many more tons of missiles and gun ammunition. The video is notable in that not a single fire starts onboard the ship, and there are no secondary explosions. When it comes to actual combat, things can go differently. In 1941, while dueling the German battleship Bismarck, the Royal Navy battlecruiser HMS Hood took a hit resulting a magazine explosion so powerful only three of the 1,421 men onboard survived. Another sinking is planned on Tuesday, when the USS Crommelin, Thach's sister ship, will be sent to the bottom of the ocean by ships and planes from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Korea, and the United States. The SINKEX will also feature a new version of the Harpoon missile, Block III, which extends the missile's range to 130 nautical miles. The Rim of the Pacific 2016 exercises are currently ongoing off the coasts of Hawaii and southern California. Australia, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the People's Republic of China, Peru, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga, the United Kingdom and the United States are all participants. |
On Thursday, Matthew Whitaker, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, told SiriusXM host Matt Boyle of Breitbart News Daily that he has always believed “this pay-to-play, Clinton Foundation, State Department situation is much more serious” than the original Clinton email scandal. “James Comey, the director of the FBI, stood up and talked about the emails, and the emailing of classified information. That was serious, but the real ballgame is the situation you’re describing, and that is where Clinton Foundation donors were given preferential treatment,” Whitaker told Boyle. He added: It’s very interesting to watch the Clinton camp try to explain away these meetings. But, like you said, 50 percent of the meetings she took with people that were not essentially employees or representatives of countries or the like, just sort of individuals that wanted to meet with the Secretary of State, 50 percent of those – as the AP has reported, more than 50 percent – were Clinton Foundation donors. “It is not possible for them to explain away that Clinton Foundation donors were given preferential treatment when it came to seeing the Secretary of State. It’s just the way business was done,” Whitaker declared, continuing: The frustrating thing for me continues to be, she had the private email server to avoid public disclosure of her emails. She didn’t turn over any emails until two years after she was supposed to, in 2012, from the illegal server. And yet, we are now almost four years since she finished serving, and we’re still gonna see another 15,000 – what the State Department is calling “documents,” and that’s a very interesting term to me, so I think there’s more to it than just the emails. “And then Judicial Watch continues to have their litigation with the State Department, and we continue to have revelations of more emails, that are really, quite frankly, more concerning than the initial flood that we got, that dripped out over the past year as part of the Benghazi investigation,” he said. “This is kind of a big deal, and my group, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, has been pressing hard on the State Department to try to get to the bottom of this, together with groups like Judicial Watch.” “It’s going to be very interesting,” Whitaker anticipated, “if this can all be, or is, revealed, before the beginning of November.” He said the demise of the FBI’s investigation into Clinton’s activities is “one of the reasons that a special counsel is required.” “The President of the United States has given a full-throated endorsement of Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton has also said that she would more than likely keep on the Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, in that position,” he noted. “Don’t forget the tarmac meeting, for half an hour, that preceded all of these things being swept under the rug, the FBI director deciding that he was the judge, jury, and executioner in giving Hillary Clinton, essentially, an FBI pardon.” “We need somebody that is independent to look at these facts,” he urged. Continuing, Whitaker stated: I did hear reports, or at least one report, that the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York is investigating the Clinton Foundation, and these public corruption allegations, and that the FBI is investigating it. But, like you and many of your listeners, I was concerned when I heard that the Attorney General and the politicals at the Department of Justice had determined not to open an investigation into what is clearly a pay-to-play situation where, if you gave money to the Clinton Foundation, you got preferential treatment, if you had business from the State Department. Boyle noted that in Breitbart News Daily interviews Wednesday, both Clinton Cash author Peter Schweizer and Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton predicted more damaging documents would emerge from the latest trove of Clinton emails. He asked if mounting political pressure could force President Obama to appoint a special prosecutor, a step he clearly does not wish to take. Whitaker said Schweizer and Fitton were “two people that would have knowledge of what else is out there.” He said, “Based on what I’ve seen, that’s in the public domain currently, I think there’s enough to have a special prosecutor that can look into this, that can have the ability to subpoena documents and interview witnesses and do the kind of things and have the independence separate from this administration.” He noted that when the independent counsel law that covered Ken Starr’s Whitewater investigation expired, at the end of Bill Clinton’s presidency, it wasn’t renewed, “but there still is an ability of the Attorney General to appoint a special counsel, and to give a tremendous amount of latitude, and authority, and responsibility.” “One of the examples I would point to is when Pat Fitzgerald investigated, and ended up convicting, Scooter Libby, he was a special counsel with broad discretion,” Whitaker recalled, adding: That would be sort of the model I would expect, as this continues to come out. There is so much here, so much smoke, so many unanswered questions. All you have to do is open up your – whether it’s Breitbart News, or The Washington Post, or New York Times – and you can see all of the unanswered questions regarding this. He castigated the mainstream media for being “uninterested” in covering such a clearly important story, leaving groups like Judicial Watch to “carry the torch and do the investigation.” “Old-time newspaper men are rolling in their graves at the pass Hillary Clinton is getting currently from newspapers that used to hold politicians accountable and used to do these types of investigations,” Whitaker said. He agreed with Boyle that the Clinton Foundation’s announcement that it would no longer accept foreign donations, if Hillary Clinton became president, was “too little, too late.” Said Whitaker: I’ve always thought the Clinton Foundation is a very sophisticated way to get around the campaign finance laws and to allow for unlimited donations and an ability to curry favor with a presidential candidate that, quite frankly, is unprecedented in the history of our country – where they can take more than the $2,700 that’s the limit on individuals and use it for sort of whatever they want; that’s plausible within the charitable contribution laws. Breitbart News Daily airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Eastern. LISTEN: |
Sen. Chuck Grassley wants the Department of Justice to investigate Planned Parenthood—and under the Trump administration, there’s a realistic chance that will happen. Led by Grassley, the chairman of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee, panel Republicans released a report Tuesday urging the Justice Department to investigate allegations that several medical research companies and Planned Parenthood affiliates illegally sold tissue from aborted fetuses. Planned Parenthood says there is no merit to those allegations and that they’re part of a political effort to damage the group. A dozen states have investigated Planned Parenthood affiliates, and none found evidence of the illegal sale of fetal tissue. The politics of the issue couldn’t be more divisive: During the presidential race, Hillary Clinton campaigned alongside Planned Parenthood head Cecile Richards, while Donald Trump promised to appoint pro-life Supreme Court justices and ban abortions after 20 weeks. And the release of controversial hidden-camera footage from the Center for Medical Progress highlighted the practice of using fetal tissue for medical research—galvanizing pro-life activists in their opposition to Planned Parenthood. The report comes as the Senate preps for the confirmation hearing of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) as the next attorney general. If he is confirmed, which is likely given the lack of Republican opposition, he will face high expectations from the pro-life activists who helped propel Trump to a victory—foremost, the expectation that his agency will investigate and prosecute Planned Parenthood. Trump’s transition team didn’t provide comment on whether Sessions plans to do that if he gets the AG job. But pro-life leaders are confident he will. Tom McClusky, who lobbies members of Congress on abortion issues as the vice president of government affairs at March for Life Action, said he would be astonished if Sessions didn’t open an investigation into Planned Parenthood. “I’d be shocked if it doesn’t happen,” he told The Daily Beast. “I’d also be shocked if they didn’t find something prosecutable.” He added that he and his organization want Trump’s DOJ to pick up where the House’s Select Committee on Infant Lives, chaired by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), leaves off. “The main reason the House of Representatives did it was because the Justice Department was failing to,” McClusky said of Blackburn’s investigation. “If your party is in power, you can’t use the excuse, ‘We’re doing this because the Justice Department dropped the ball.’” And Kristan Hawkins, who heads Students for Life, said she shares that view. “There’s no doubt in the pro-life movement where Jeff Sessions stands,” she said. “Sen. Sessions has always been a staunch advocate for the preborn and their moms, and we fully expect that he would do the same as attorney general.” “We’re looking forward to Sen. Sessions becoming Attorney General Sessions and investigating this,” she added, “and, yes, prosecuting Planned Parenthood for their crimes.” Grassley’s report—which the committee’s Democrats say is politicized and bogus—will energize pro-lifers in making that case. The report argues that the Justice Department has failed to enforce a 1993 law banning the sale of fetal tissue, rendering it meaningless. “[A]lthough the law’s ban on buying or selling fetal tissue contains criminal penalties, the Justice Department has never initiated a single prosecution for violating the law since its enactment in 1993,” the report reads. The report also says the DOJ has only conducted two investigations into possible violation of the law, that it didn’t prosecute in either case, and that it refused to explain to the committee why it declined to prosecute. In short, the report concludes, people who break this law face “no meaningful risk of prosecution.” It also argues that Planned Parenthood Federation of America may have deliberately ignored potential wrongdoing on the part of its affiliates and may have “altered its own oversight procedures in a way that facilitated the continuation of those affiliates’ practices.” And the report says this may have been a federal crime. Dana Singiser, Planned Parenthood’s vice president of governmental affairs, said in a statement that those accusations are baseless. “Planned Parenthood’s standards have always gone above and beyond what the law required,” she said. “As investigation after investigation has shown, Planned Parenthood has done nothing wrong. Senator Grassley’s report attempts to paint a nefarious picture of the simple re-formatting of a document—showing once again that there is no actual wrongdoing to point to.” Sen. Patrick Leahy, the committee’s top Democrat, said in a statement that the report was part of “a relentless partisan effort to attack and defund a women’s health provider that millions of women across this country depend on each year for basic medical services.” And Planned Parenthood Federation of America vehemently rejects the report’s conclusions. “Planned Parenthood has never profited while facilitating its patients’ choice to donate fetal tissue for use in important medical research,” Singiser said. The Justice Department’s Office of Public Affairs did not respond to a request for comment for this story. If the DOJ, under Sessions’s leadership, investigates Planned Parenthood, it will open a new era in the abortion wars—and Grassley’s report signals that Republicans’ efforts to take on the group are only getting started. |
When Brad Leone , our test kitchen assistant, told us that his thick homemade caramel sauce had only one ingredient, we didn't believe him. Because, of course, he was LYING. It has two ingredients, water (which, fine, Brad, we suppose that doesn't really count) and sweet potatoes . Yep, you can make a silky, sweet caramel sauce using just sweet potatoes, as Brad learned by accident one day. He was done roasting a batch of these naturally sweet, starchy root vegetables when he noticed that they weeped liquid in the oven. So he put some of those bad boys in a cheesecloth, squeezed really hard, and wound up with enough orange-hued liquid to reduce in a saucepan until it was the thick, creamy texture and deep color of caramel. And damn, it's good—eaten straight with a spoon (as we first experienced it) or, as Brad suggests, atop roast pork. "I like that it retains the earthy flavor of the sweet potato," he says. "But if you wanted to, you could add a little butter and sugar to sweeten it up even more. I'd put it on ice cream and brownies, or thin it out with a little water and use it as a glaze on ham." Brad is known for his craftiness with ingredients , but this vegan, one-ingredient condiment might take the cake. Or top it. Sweet Potato Caramel Recipe by Brad Leone Makes about 1/4 cup INGREDIENTS 3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters 1 cup water PREPARATION Preheat heat oven to 425 degrees. Place chopped potatoes and ½ cup of water into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, covered with foil. Bake for 1 hour covered and 15 minutes uncovered. Remove dish from oven and add remaining half cup of water to loosen up any bits in the baking dish. Place all the solids and liquids into a strainer lined with cheesecloth. Let drain into a saucepan and cool for 30 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, squeeze as much liquid out from the potatoes in cheesecloth as possible. You should end up with a cup and a half of liquid. In a saucepan, bring the sweet-potato liquid to a boil, then reduce heat for a steady simmer. Allow the liquid to reduce for 15–20 minutes until it starts to thicken and starts to form a caramel; stir often in the final minutes. Pour into a jar and in store the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Can be served with roast meats or as a sauce over ice cream or brownies. Oh, and don't forget to eat the leftover sweet potato mash! |
Some lucky St. Louisan is one step closer to winning a free restaurant space in the Old North neighborhood, across from Crown Candy Kitchen. The Fantasy Food Fare Business Competition has announced its top 10 finalists for a package worth $100,000. Lynette Watson of the St. Louis Small Business Development Center said the list represents a wide variety of concepts. (See the full list below.) “We have everything from French fusion, all the way to desserts and soul food,” Watson said. Finalists ‘could tell the story’ of the neighborhood Contestants are vying for a nearly finished 4,464-square-foot space equipped with walk-in freezers, food-prep areas, a ventilation system and even the kitchen sink, at 2720 N. 14th St. The prize package offers two years’ free rent with an outfitted kitchen, mentorship and marketing assistance. More than 200 applications were submitted after the process began in January. Organizers released a top-25 list in May. To make it into the top 10, applicants had to show they had the cash and other support to sustain themselves beyond the two-year term. The ability to understand the surrounding area was also a priority. “The ones that stood out really could tell the story of how they were going to impact and include themselves in the neighborhood,” Watson said. “They also talked about how what they were doing was different — 'why me instead of someone else?'” Applicants promised to support the neighborhood in a number of ways, including offering cooking classes for children, providing nutritional information for adults and hiring local residents. Four organizations are sponsoring the competition: a nonprofit revitalization group called Rise; the philanthropic arm of Equifax, Inc.; the University of Missouri Extension’s Small Business Technology and Development Center; and the North City Business Development Center. Organizers predict the restaurant should get a big boost from the new $1.75 billion National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency coming to north St. Louis. When NGA construction begins in 2018, it could bring in a wave of workers looking for lunch spots. The next steps include a July 11 business-plan pitch and tasting in which the top 10 prepare a signature dish. The top three will be notified on July 25. Those on the short list will prepare an entire meal for the judges on Aug. 8. The winner will be announced Aug. 19. Here’s the full list of the 10 finalists: Old North Provisions- James Forbes (Organic) Rhythm and Thyme-Chris Bell (General) Miss Leon’s-Leon Braxton (Soul Food) Park’s Meat and Three-John Perkins (Nonprofit enterprise with social-work and restaurant goals) Layla North-Jason Sparks (Burgers) Mable Brown Restaurant-Euylan Welch (American/French Fusion) Simply Sweet Sensations, LLC-Jair Bush (Bakery, Comfort Food) The Jar Bar-Yashica McKinney (Desserts/Soul Food) Amighetti’s Old North-Anthony Favazza (Italian) Grass Roots Eatery-Richard Wolf (Mediterranean) Follow Nancy on Twitter: @NancyFowlerSTL |
“For a writer, it seems that your anonymity is important. The Devil’s Dictionary defines being famous as being ‘conspicuously miserable’. I like to feel I can move around without being noticed” Tom Waits, March 1981 If the real Thomas Alan Waits has been evading us for the best part of four decades then his career has at least taught us something about ourselves. He’s an artist who lives within the camouflage of his creation were once he sought out the bottom of the bottle and the cheapest flophouse in town in the pursuit of authenticity. He’d work in gas stations and frequent all-night coffee shops for source material, in order to paint his own whimsical American landscape of dime stores, nocturnal carnivals and scrawled on bits of ephemera. When he released his debut Closing Time in 1973, paying your dues and making real music were the things that unduly concerned the listening public, and he really did pay his dues, supporting the Mothers Of Invention and getting abused every night for months on end. Waits’ journey from ostensibly bona fide to make-believe demonstrates how meta we’ve all become, and how postmodernism has seeped into our quotidian existence and informs our outlook. We’ve come to admire artifice like the French decadents did. There certainly are those who still believe Waits is a moonshine-guzzling clochard who sleeps rough on the wrong side of town in whiskey-pissed jeans every night, like they similarly have erroneous romantic notions about his old pal Keith Richards’ drug intake. But most of us are happy to play along with the charade - to admire the smoke and the mirrors and marvel at the enigma. You don’t have to be a murderer to write a murder mystery after all. This stumblebum in tatterdemalion chic claims he was born in the back of a Pomona taxi cab in 1949, and whether the taxi part is true or not, he’s never allowed the truth to get in the way of a good story since. One of his most famous quips, “I’d rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy” said during a chat show interview in 1977, is the first verifiable usage of the famous spoonerism (it’s often falsely attributed to Dorothy Parker), and if Waits did indeed say it first then it may well be his biggest contribution to posterity. The music hasn’t been bad either. Many have attempted to compartmentalise his work, including the author and his wife (and co-writer). Waits chose “brawlers, bawlers and bastards” for his Orphans collection in 2006 to make life easier; Kathleen Brennan, who he met and married in 1980, famously said his songs are “grim reapers and grand weepers”. Broadly speaking, you can divide up his oeuvre between everything that came before Swordfishtrombones and everything subsequent, or even pre-Brennan and post-Brennan, not that that makes it any easier to digest; his albums are usually dense with songs, and perfused with stories and subplots, picaresque characters and grotesques, as well as a variety of musical styles. “Kathleen was living in a convent, studying to be a nun,” he told Smash Hits in 1981. ”I met her when they let her out for a party on New Year's Eve. She left the Lord for me." Brennan was actually working as a script analyst at 20th Century Fox, and Waits was cloistered in an adjacent room writing the soundtrack to the Francis Ford Coppola movie One From The Heart. Coppola called him “the prince of melancholy”, and it was this reputation that had helped Waits write himself into a corner. Once he’d got over the initial shock of being signed and paid to make records, he quickly became a strange amalgam of his eclectic influences: from Cole Porter to Lead Belly, the Beats to Lord Buckley. It was like the 60s never happened in his head, which was a handy USP when everyone else was on a comedown after the swinging decade, but once the dye had set in, there was surprisingly little room for manoeuvre, and by the early 80s he’d become somewhat jaded. There are early traces of the mutant blues in 1980's Heartattack And Vine, not least of all in the excellent title track, but Waits would still need pushing over the edge before he could truly transmutate. He was listening to Captain Beefheart, early Delta-blues and Ethio-jazz, and it was Brennan who encouraged him to properly explore in his own work the sounds that were captivating him. “I didn't just marry a beautiful woman,' he would later say, 'I married a record collection.” Counterintuitively, the more he seemed to go out on a limb, the more popular he’d become. But so much of what makes Tom Waits great is counterintuitive. Nighthawks At The Diner (1975) By his own admission, Tom Waits didn’t know what he was doing when he started out. First album Closing Time has its moments, including opener ‘Ol’ ‘55’ which his Asylum labelmates The Eagles covered, providing him with bread and antipathy. While this may prove controversial amongst Waits obsessives, there’s something about the delivery on his early work that to me sounds like a poor man’s Randy Newman. Follow up The Heart Of Saturday Night could hardly fail with the maudlin and masterful (near) title track on it, but there’s still something too unfinished and incompatible with the Waits persona one has come to know and love. Nighthawks At The Diner aimed to transpose his inimitable live shows onto vinyl, and with some success. It feels like the true place to start after a couple of false dawns. Bones Howe - who’d cut his teeth as a jazz engineer before producing sunshine pop hits in the 60s - was brought over from The Heart Of Saturday Night as producer, and would continue to oversee Waits’ albums until he jumped ship for Island when Elektra refused to sanction his strange new direction (Swordfishtrombones). "I sat in David [Geffen]’s office and he played me Closing Time and a few demos that Tom had cut,” said Howe. “He was playing guitar on them, and it sounded to me like he was trying to be Bob Dylan. But you listen to a song like 'Grapefruit Moon' and you can hear the jazz tinge to it.” Significantly Howe would persuade him to concentrate on writing more on the piano. The live album would feature jazz drummer Bill Goodwin, the mercurial Mike Melvoin on piano, Jim Hughart on upright bass and Pete Christlieb on the tenor sax. Nighthawks was recorded live in a makeshift concert venue created at the Record Plant in Los Angeles, with shows recorded over two nights in late July 1975. Barbara Streisand had recorded an album at the venue (it’s now a shopping mall), and while it was unusual for a new artist such as Waits to make a live record, his hepcat speak and repartee were perfect for the medium. The partisan audience was plied with plonk and potato chips, with a stripper hired as a warm up. Waits then served up ‘Eggs And Sausage’ and convivial, slightly risque rapping and crooning over an ambient burlesque accompaniment. It certainly captures and projects his character better than anything hitherto attempted. Howe describes it as like “Allen Ginsberg with a really, really good band." Small Change (1976) Aged 28, Waits spent two weeks in London during what he described as a “hellish year” recording arguably his first cohesive masterpiece in Small Change. The intemperate jazz is dressed up with strings and bells like a Christmas tree, and the woozy and wistful numbers are laced with mixed emotions just like the holiday season itself. It’s overproduced in order to complement the extremities of his tattered vocal chords, making for an indulgence of colour. ‘Tom Traubert’s Blues (Four Sheets To The Wind In Copenhagen)’, ‘I Wish I Was In New Orleans (In The Ninth Ward)’ and ‘Invitation To The Blues’ lay it on in spades but never quite overstep into cornball territory. ‘Bad Liver And A Broken Heart (In Lowell)’ picks up the lonely barfly motif from Nighthawks - named after the famous Edward Hopper painting of course - and throws in a musical reference to Casablanca just to ensure you didn’t miss it. Retrospectively Waits told Rolling Stone in 1977: “I put a lot into ‘Bad Liver And A Broken Heart’. I tried to resolve a few things as far as this cocktail-lounge, maudlin, crying-in-your-beer image that I have. There ain’t nothin’ funny about a drunk. You know, I was really starting to believe that there was something amusing and wonderfully American about a drunk. I ended up telling myself to cut that shit out.” Elsewhere ‘Tom Traubert’s Blues’ also co-opts Australia’s best-loved bush ballad ‘Waltzing Matilda’, and yet somehow it’s one of the most moving six minutes forty seconds in recorded music. And ‘Step Right Up’ mixes up advertising patter with the quickfire jiveass talk he learnt from Kerouac’s writing and patrons at the Heritage nightclub where he used to work on the door while living out of his own car, Factotum-style: “It gets rid of unwanted facial hair/ It gets rid of embarrassing age spots/ It delivers a pizza and it lengthens and it strengthens and it finds that slipper that's been at large under the chaise lounge for several weeks…” Like pop art, it pitches at you with no product other than itself, and its curious, though not unsurprising, that advertisers later attempted to use Waits’ style to shift their wares when he refused to comply by selling them his songs. A Frito-Lay corn chip advert was so convincing that the singer spent days phoning around friends to apologise and assure them it wasn’t him in the commercial. He filed a suit against the company in 1988 and won a $2.5 million payout in 1992. “I spent it all on candy”, he said. “My mom told me I was foolish”. Swordfishtrombones (1983) If the shoot the piano player schtick was becoming old hat, then 1983’s self-produced Swordfishtrombones was a spasmodic jerk into a new dimension. In fact it was a case of, we don't need a piano where we were going (bar the deeply affecting and altogether too brief Cole Porter-like ballad ‘Johnsburg, Illinois’, named after the birthplace of Kathleen Brennan). It’s preceded by ‘18 Shells From A Thirty-Ought-Six’, which rattles along to the exuberant noise of a junkyard orchestra, as if to say “this is how it’s going to be from now on”. There’s actually some piano on two other tracks on the second side - including the weepie ‘Soldier’s Things’ - but its significance is severely diminished in ratio to the marimbas, congas, Darbuka drums, the odd chair, some metal aunglongs, bagpipes, a freedom bell, a parade drum, an African talking drum and so on. Meanwhile on songs like ‘In The Neighbourhood’, full brass is utilised to sound like a mutant Salvation Army band. As well as the throaty Don Vliet vox, Waits was heavily influenced by Harry Partch, the American composer who not only created immersive soundscapes and percussive symphonies out of found objects, but also brought together the worlds of vagrancy and the avant garde - a feat Waits would only achieve in the imagination. Wait’s brings some of Partch’s inventiveness to the dirty blues tracks, while he brings humour and weirdness to the noirish monologues like ‘Frank’s Wild Years’, which would start as a vignette and grow into an altogether bigger beast (or beasts). Swordfishtrombones is the first offering in what’s widely considered a trilogy, and while the second part - Rain Dogs - is feted by many as the greater work, mixing his lounge lizard persona with noirish cop shows and Weimarian oompah, the first album in the series takes precedence for being the originator. Rain Dogs does carry some of the best songs of Waits’ career and sounds like a Springsteen album for the criminally insane, though it’s here where the blueprint is laid down, or more precisely the old one is thrown away and the rules state that there are no rules. Opener ‘Underground’ for instance features a plinky staccato guitar lick that duals delicately against Waits’ monstrous voice, and many have assumed over the years that it’s Marc Ribot. It is in fact the work of Fred Tackett, an unsung hero in the world of Waits, whose percussive lead style was a mantel Ribot assumed and developed and took to staggering new heights over the years. Down by Law (1986) As previously mentioned, Waits had wormed his way into the affections of the legendary director Francis Ford Coppola, appearing in a number of his films such as Rumblefish, The Outsiders, more recently providing narration for Twixt, and most famously playing Renfield in 1992’s Dracula. The other auteur who has become one of his key collaborators is Jim Jarmusch, who he met when Waits and Brennan moved to New York during the mid-80s. Waits wrote and performed the soundtrack to one of Jarmusch’s films, 1992’s Night On Earth, and he’s acted or appeared as himself in several more. He apparently met Jarmusch, Marc Ribot, and another musician and actor, John Lurie, who played alongside him in Down By Law, all on the same night at a Soho party thrown by the painter Jean Michel Basquiat. Like when Tony Visconti met Bolan and Bowie on the same evening, it would bear much fruit. Not least of all, Waits’ turn in Down By Law, which helped cement and augment the Tom Waits persona. While Waits’ has carved a reputation for himself as a character actor over the years, this was a rare starring role, and he brings cinematic cool to the art house black-and-white comedy alongside his two co-stars (the other main actor is Roberto Benigni). There’s clearly a lot of Waits’ in Zach the DJ, though working out where Waits begins and ends is tricky enough without adding another dimension. "It's obvious in the case of Tom Waits that the character he portrays is not really Tom Waits,” said the director. “It's Zach, it's someone that has different obsessions and different responses to people. But there is a strong element of Tom Waits in that character. It was actually Tom's idea that he should play a DJ. In my first draft, I had him as an unemployed musician, but I always felt that was too close to Tom, and so did he." Speaking about the fateful party where they all met, Lurie - who composed the soundtrack of Down By Law and was saxophonist in the no wave jazz outfit the Lounge Lizards - tells this amusing anecdote that inadvertently stars the singer of the 1984 soft rock tearjerker ‘Missing You’: "Jean Michel Basquiat was a really good friend of mine, probably my best friend at this particular time, and my band was about to go on tour so he throws this dinner party for me. Now, at the dinner party was Andy Warhol, Steve Rubell, Bianca Jagger, Julian Schnabel, Francesco Clemente, Wim Wenders, Tom Waits, Jim Jarmusch and like thirty other people - everybody's a heavyweight in some area. This party was just a great party. “So, Andy Warhol writes in his diaries that this party was the best party he's been to in, like, 5 or 10 years and he was going to stop hanging out with faggots and start hanging out with artists because they are just so much more elegant and interesting. Now, the woman who transcribed his goddamned diaries turned me and Tom Waits into ‘John Waite’. Do you realise a person could retire from nightlife forever if Andy Warhol said your party was the best party he's been to in 10 years? I really got screwed. Her name's Pat. If you put her in the article, misspell Pat." Franks Wild Years (1987) The runt of the litter of the 80s Island trilogy, Franks Wild Years, nevertheless has plenty to recommend it, from the ukelele mariachi of ‘Blow Wind Blow’, the beautifully somnolent ‘Innocent When You Dream’, the ponderous western wanderings of ‘Yesterday Is Here’, the Franco-inflected klezmer of ‘More Than Rain’, the throat-clearing blues of ‘Telephone Call From Istanbul’ and the latterday The Wire-theme ‘Way Down In The Hole’. The liberal use of a police bullhorn throughout also adds to the luddite-like innovation and the general Lynchian weirdness of the narrative, and the whole work feels more focused and cohesive than the previous two, even if it has trouble living in the same company as those masterpieces. Franks Wild Years is like the Harrison to the previous albums’ Lennon and McCartney. It’s an LP that tells a story, and it should come as little surprise therefore that the songs were part of a stage show, which Waits started working on around 1983, with the song ‘Frank’s Wild Years’ presumably the seed from which the ideas grew. Frank’s Wild Years the stage show (with the apostrophe back in) eventually ran between June and July 1986 in Chicago, put together and performed by the Steppenwolf Theatre company. "Charles Bukowski had a story that essentially was saying that it's the little things that drive men mad,” said Waits, referring to the original song from Swordfishtrombones that would turn into a complete story. “It's not the big things. It's not World War II. It's the broken shoelace when there is no time left that sends men completely out their minds. I think there is a little bit of Frank in everybody." Intriguingly Waits dad was called Frank, and he said that while his father and everybody else thought it was about him, Frank had previously gone by his first name Jesse. Apparently Jesse Frank Waits switched to his second name when he moved out West so he’d sound less like a hick and more like the more sophisticated Frank Sinatra. Their relationship was disrupted when his father left in 1960, and he looked to 50s beatnik hipsters like Ginsberg and Kerouac as father figures. 'They were the ones I looked to for guidance,” he told Sean O’Hagan in 2006. “See, my dad left when I was 10, so I was always looking for a dad. It was like, ‘Are you my dad? Are you my dad? What about you? Are you my dad?’ I found a lot of these old salty guys along the way.’” The operetta received mixed reviews and has remained unperformed since its initial run, but for Waits and Brennan - who wrote much of the libretto - the experience was a positive one, and there’d be more to come. When asked what benefits involvement in both theatre and film had on his music, Waits said in 1988 that it meant he’d become “more comfortable stepping into characters in songs. On Franks Wild Years, I did it in ‘I’ll Take New York’ and ‘Straight To The Top’. I’ve learned how to be different musical characters without feeling like I’m eclipsing myself. On the contrary, you discover a whole family living inside you”. The Black Rider (1993) The stage show of The Black Rider chimed with the public in a way Frank’s Wild Years never quite managed. It still gets performed contemporarily, mainly in Europe, and had a celebrated run at the Barbican in 2004 with Marianne Faithfull as Peg Leg. Robert Wilson - who Waits had originally approached to produce Frank’s Wild Years - was the one who approached him to write the score this time around, and Waits must have thought he was in dreamland. His hero William Burroughs was drafted in to write the libretto. Waits claims not to be a fan of musical theatre, but after watching Wilson’s Einstein on the Beach he commented: "I was unable to fully return to waking for weeks. Wilson's stage images had allowed me to look through windows into a dusting beauty that changed my eyes and my ears permanently." As for Burroughs, the meeting with him in Kansas was an odd, invigorating experience: “It was very exciting, really. It felt like a literary summit. Burroughs took pictures of everyone standing on the porch. Took me out into the garage and showed me his shotgun paintings. Showed me the garden. Around three o'clock he started fondling his wristwatch as we got closer to cocktail hour. He was very learned and serious. Obviously an authority on a wide variety of topics. Knew a lot about snakes, insects, firearms...” The Guardian said the 2004 version of the show, based on the German folk tale Der Freischutz, had a “wonderful Wilsonian eclecticism”. Wilson followed 1990’s The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets to give it its full title with Woyzeck, also a German folk tale and also a collaboration with Waits. The songs from the latter appeared on Blood Money in 2002, and those from another Wilson / Waits collaboration, Alice (based Lewis Carroll’s on Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland), were released on the same day. They’re both more than worthy of your time, but Black Rider is the original and the best, full of songs Waits describes as “three legged chairs… you provide just enough for them to be able to stand up. You paint ‘em, let ‘em dry and move onto the next one”. The stripped back album reflects the Brechtian inspiration of the project, and Waits brings the full force of his Kurt Weill influence with the addition of saws on three tracks, including the instrumental ‘Black Box Theme’. Don Neely also brings the otherworldly sound to ‘Flash Pan Hunter’ and ‘November’; ghostly yet preposterous, it somehow sits perfectly with Joe Gore’s banjo. Waits barks on the former like Max von Sydow with a riding crop: “Beware of elaborate telescopic meats! They will find their way back to the forest!” Mule Variations (1999) In keeping with the previously discussed counterintuitiveness of Waits’ career, he signed with the indie label ANTI- and went on to win a Grammy and have the biggest hit of his career with Mule Variations in 99. What he did differently it’s hard to say, although maybe the world had just caught up with him by that point. Waits released the more experimentally rhythmical and uncompromising Bone Machine the same year he knocked the demon drink on the head in 1992, so whether or not Mule Variations was his first album without collaboration with the bottle is a moot point. Certainly he wouldn’t be drawn on an answer, apparently getting tetchy when asked, saying it was “personal”. The lyrical ideas are a ragbag of the usual creepy capers and eye-popping peculiarities - the freakshow family of ‘Eyeball Kid’, the parochial paranoia of ‘What’s He Building?’, the affecting murder ballad about a real girl ‘Georgia Lee’ - but there’s a sense of easing up on Mule Variations where the musician is suddenly relaxed enough to allow all of his children to sit together. Also, where the early albums are all about L.A. and the Island trilogy is inspired by New York, Mule Variations sounds like it’s coming from the anonymous idyl of rural California, which is indeed where Waits and Brennan are now settled. There’s still the same stomping, guttural blues driving many of the tracks (‘Big In Japan’, ‘Cold Water’, the beat-boxy ‘Filipino Box Spring Hog’), but piano is back on songs like ‘House Where Nobody Lives’, while ‘Hold On’ has an anthemic AOR hook to rival ‘Downtown Train’ or ‘Hang Down Your Head’. Mule Variations is certainly not his most innovative work but you can’t argue with the wonderful songs throughout; it’s more a consolidation and in some ways a celebration, although if you’d just come to Tom Waits then that probably wouldn’t be immediately apparent. Real Gone (2004) “Someone once said I'm not a musician but a tonal engineer,” he said in 88. “I like that. It's kind of clinical and primitive at the same time.” There’s something clinical and primitive about Real Gone, an album that’s essentially an intergenerational lo fi hip hop record made by a 54-year-old white man and his son. Casey Waits appears on eight of the 14 tracks, providing, variously: turntables, percussion, drums and handclaps. There’s an ascending kazoo-like sound on opener ‘Top Of The Hill’, which one assumes comes from the then 19-year-old Waits Jr’s turntables, and his interjection again behind the decks adds an old school hip hop feel to the jittery ‘Metropolitan Glide’. There’s the pervasive sound of Waits’ own beatbox throughout the record (see: ‘Clang Boom Steam’ and ‘Day After Tomorrow’), which he apparently hacked out in the bathroom and looped. The list of collaborators is kept to a minimum, with Les Claypool popping up now and again but keeping it tasteful, and Marc Ribot provides some of his most delicate and delectable guitar in decades, ‘Dead And Lonely’ and ‘Hoist That Rag’ being two of the most perfect examples. The latter is a bellicose rant about the injustices of war, and one of his most memorable songs of the last 20 years to boot, and ‘Sins Of My Father’ also seems to be aimed at the Bush presidents, father and son. Waits had previously eschewed politics for his own world of the absurd, but on Real Gone he rather lets the genie out of the bottle. Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards (2006) Where to start with Orphans, a sprawling work that suddenly appeared in 2006 with 54 songs, 30 of them original, with rarities and old tracks from soundtracks and stage plays that didn’t previously have homes all thrown together onto one glorious triple album. Predating Aphex Twin’s Soundcloud dump by a decade, it was more an analogue dump than anything, but that certainly implies the material is in some way substandard. On the contrary, many of these tracks are as good as anything Waits has released throughout his career, and the “big pile of songs” he subdivided into three sections, makes a bit more sense with an element of curation. When the Guardian suggested he was mellowing in old age by designating the songs to various categories, Waits spat back: “Don't know 'bout that. Just thought it would make for easier listening if I put them in categories. It's a combination platter, rare and new. Some of it is only a few months old, and some of it is like the dough you have left over so you can make another pie.” Brawlers features the pounding opener ‘Lie To Me’ that sounds like The Cramps and the chain gang urgency of ‘2.19’; Bawlers is all about the reflective ballads like ‘Fannin Street’ - though typical of Waits, there’s a story buried in the song about Lead Belly and a notorious red light district in Houston, Texas; and Bastards is a compendium of more experimental works where he retrospectively collaborates with Beat poets and covers ‘What Keeps Man Alive?’ from the Threepenny Opera. The three sides are about to get a re-release, and will be sold separately for the first time. The song that grabbed the headlines on release was ‘Road To Peace’, and quite rightly so. In a world where suicide bombings and terrorism have become commonplace beyond the walls of Jerusalem, it’s perhaps even more visceral now for those who know areas well that have been affected, or people who’ve been caught up in terrorist atrocities. “There was a tall, thin boy with a wispy moustache disguised as an orthodox Jew / On a crowded bus in Jerusalem, some had survived World War Two,” sings Waits in an unusually diaphanous and high-pitched drawl which he maintains throughout, often delivering enjambments without rhymes to unsettle the listener further. “And the thunderous explosion blew out windows 200 yards away / With more retribution and seventeen dead along the road to peace”. “I was pissed off,” he told Sean O’Hagan. “Started with a line I read in the paper one day: ‘He studied so hard it was as if he had a future.’ It was about this kid who got blown up in a suicide bomb on a bus in Israel. They say God doesn't give you anything he knows you can't handle. Well, I don't know if I believe that.” He added: “This song ain't about taking sides, it's an indictment of both sides. I tried to be as equitable as possible.” Glitter And Doom (2009) Tom Waits rarely tours these days, making his gigs more like events when they happen. And on Glitter And Doom he takes his gift for communicating with audiences between songs to its logical conclusion, by sharing around 30 minutes of observations and weird facts that pretty much resemble a short comedy routine, albeit an especially weird one. This certainly isn’t his best live album, but you’ll not get something as extraordinary as ‘Tom’s Tales’ anywhere else. Observational comedy is mostly tedious of course, but it works because Waits is a surrealist, and what he observes is undoubtedly different to what other human beings observe. You sense also as the piece unfolds that the facts he reels off, like there being more insects in a square mile than people on earth, or that Barnum and Bailey put Sarah Bernhardt's leg in formaldehyde and charged patrons eight bucks a pop, are less part of a routine and more just details swimming around behind his eyes waiting to slide out of his mouth. From working in gas stations to stand up, Waits seems to be one of those people who can turn a hand to anything and do it well. All of Tom Waits -ANTI albums have been remastered for reissue over the coming months |
OTTAWA — The federal government announced Tuesday it will wait five years before choosing a replacement for Canada's aging CF-18 fighter aircraft and purchase second-hand 30-year-old Australian aircraft instead in an effort to fix a capability gap that industry observers describe as "fictional." "It is absolutely, totally, nonsensical," Alan Williams, the former assistant deputy minister (materiel) for national defence, told HuffPost Canada ahead of the announcement. "There is no need to have interim jets. There is no need to waste billions of dollars, no need to train people on different platforms," he said. "Even if you admit there is a gap — which I don't think anyone seriously believes — the way to go about resolving it is exactly the opposite of what they are doing." 'You are not reinventing the wheel' The fastest way to fix the problem is through a competition, he said. "Everything is out there. You are not reinventing the wheel... There is no justifiable process reason to delay it. They can easily get it out, should they so desire." The Liberals promised during the 2015 election campaign that they would "immediately launch an open and transparent competition to replace the CF-18 fighter aircraft." The Grits pledged not buy the F-35 — a plane the Tories had favoured and misled the public about its cost — and instead promised to focus on a lower-priced aircraft that would meet basic needs related to the defence of North America. But 25 months after forming government, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's team is only now launching the competition. Tuesday, the government said it expects to award a contract in 2022 with the first planes delivered as early as 2025. "They could have announced they would run a competition two years ago," Williams said, "and be well done with it." Earlier: Trudeau 'disappointed' by hefty U.S. duty on Bombardier jets Last week, Transport Minister Marc Garneau confirmed the government's decision to purchased used Australian aircraft. The 18 planes are the same age as Canada's CF-18s — jets that Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan has said "should have been replaced 10 years ago." While the Grits have promised to buy 88 fighter aircraft, Sajjan told reporters more planes are needed to address an "interim capability gap." That gap is the number of jets required to fulfil Canada's NATO and NORAD commitments simultaneously. The National Defence Department won't say what missions might be compromised if new jets aren't purchased and for decades successive governments have managed the risk believing it was unlikely all those aircraft would be needed at the same time. "For reasons of operational security, the RCAF cannot comment further on how it manages the employment of its CF-18 fleet," Daniel Le Bouthillier, the head of media relations at DND, told HuffPost Canada. The high-end of Canada's NATO obligation is a promise to have six jets ready to fly in short order, said David Perry, a senior analyst with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. The NORAD commitment is classified. "It would be the worst case scenario — literally, the Russians are coming," Perry said. Kevin Coombs / Reuters Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attends a press conference ahead of a NATO Summit in Brussels, Belgium on May 25, 2017. Last year, Lt.-Gen. Michael Hood, the commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force, told a Senate committee that he was "at present unable" to "simultaneously meet both our NORAD and NATO commitments" with a current fleet of 77 CF-18s. "There aren't enough aircraft to deliver those commitments simultaneously," he said. Hood also told senators the CF-18s were going through structural upgrades to ensure they could fly until 2025, or beyond, until a final replacement was chosen. Tuesday, Sajjan said the Liberal government would not risk manage Canada's national defence commitments. "A full fleet of fighters is an essential tool for defending Canada and to exercise Canadian sovereignty, and a vital contribution to our partnerships with our allies," he said. While the Chief of the Defence Staff, Gen. Jonathan Vance, called the interim Australian jet purchase a "logical choice," Perry argued they aren't needed. "Even if we are going to get aircraft from Australia that are pretty similar," he said, "they are still going to spend a bunch of money and devote a bunch of time... to put them through an upgrade. "I think it would make a lot more sense just to spend all the time and all the money buying the 88 new aircraft as fast as we could, as an actual priority project for the government of Canada [rather] than spending time on an interim deal," he said. The interim Australian jets are only expected to be ready in the "early 2020s," according to government briefing documents. They are expected to cost half a billion dollars. There is no need to have interim jets. There is no need to waste billions of dollars, no need to train people on different platforms. Alan Williams Kicking the open competition down the road, when it's already been delayed 10 years [because of the previous Conservative government] "is nuts," Perry added. "If there is an urgent strategic need for us to have more aircraft to do what we haven't been able to do in a decade or more of meeting our alliance commitments, then it is kind of unconscionable to have procurement stretch out this long." Al Stephenson, a retired colonel with 35 years experience flying fighter aircraft, also believes there is no gap. "This capability gap is a figment of their imagination," he said. "The funny thing is they have dismissed the experts saying there is a capability gap and now they are creating one in order to delay the competition," Stephenson told HuffPost. He is concerned that the government's timeline for an open competition will be five years, and extend past two elections — "which is nonsense." If the Liberals want to spend money on social programs or other items that are important to them, "they should be upfront and say that," Stephenson said. "[But] buying these F-18s just prolongs the agony. It's more costly than if you run the competition now and just transition to a new fighter." A competition might also entice pilots to stay in the air force longer, he said. A steady number leave each year to join the airline industry or take lucrative jobs as private pilots in the Middle East, he said. Conservative MP Tony Clement, the critic for public services and procurement, also argues that there is no capability gap. Buying a "bucket of bolts" from Australia, he said, is a bad strategy that risks turning into a fiasco on a scale similar to Canada's purchase of second-hand submarines. In 1998, the Liberal government purchased four inexpensive submarines from Britain that were plagued with problems — from leaking torpedo tubes, to faulty welds and ventilation troubles. "The record of the Canadian government when it comes to buying used is not comforting. I don't blame the Australians for trying to unload their 30-year-old jets, but we have to avoid being the biggest suckers in the world." Williams said he finds the government's actions "very disingenuous." "Governments talk at length about how much they care for the military and the men and women who serve this country.... I find it very, very obnoxious and self-serving to say that on the one hand, and then wait years and years to give them what they need to do their job when there isn't a good reason to do it," he said. "[It's] the same kind of crap.... If you care about these guys, get them what they want." With files from Zi-Ann Lum |
Image copyright AFP Image caption Pro-Russian citizens have rallied in front of the Donetsk regional administration building Senior officials from the EU, Russia, the US and Ukraine are to meet next week to discuss the worsening situation in Ukraine. It will be the first four-way meeting since the crisis erupted. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton will join US Secretary of State John Kerry, his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsia. Russia annexed Crimea in February and has troops massed along the border. Kiev and the US accuse Moscow of fomenting unrest in the mainly Russian-speaking east of the country as a pretext to possibly seizing more territory - a claim strongly refuted by Russia. Crisis timeline 21 Nov 2013: President Viktor Yanukovych abandons an EU deal President Viktor Yanukovych abandons an EU deal Dec: Pro-EU protesters occupy Kiev city hall and Independence Square Pro-EU protesters occupy Kiev city hall and Independence Square 20-21 Feb 2014: At least 88 people killed in Kiev clashes At least 88 people killed in Kiev clashes 22 Feb: Mr Yanukovych flees; parliament removes him and calls election Mr Yanukovych flees; parliament removes him and calls election 27-28 Feb: Pro-Russian gunmen seize key buildings in Crimea. Pro-Russian gunmen seize key buildings in Crimea. 16 Mar: Crimea voters choose to secede in disputed referendum Crimea voters choose to secede in disputed referendum 18 Mar: Russian and Crimean leaders sign deal in Moscow to join the region to Russia Is Russia ready to move into eastern Ukraine? Moscow has so far refused to recognise the new authorities in Kiev following the ousting of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in February. The exact time and place of next week's talks were not made clear although an EU official confirmed they would be in Europe. A spokeswoman for Baroness Ashton said she "continues the diplomatic efforts aiming at de-escalating the situation in Ukraine. In this context she will meet foreign ministers of the US, Russian Federation and Ukraine next week". On Tuesday, Nato warned Russia that further intervention in Ukraine would be a "historic mistake" with grave consequences. Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Moscow must pull back troops it has massed on the border with eastern Ukraine. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen: "I urge Russia to step back" "I urge Russia to step back and not escalate the situation in east Ukraine," he said. He called on Russia to "engage in a genuine dialogue with the Ukrainian authorities". Russia's President Vladimir Putin says there is no intention to invade Ukraine but he reserves the right to protect Russian interests there. Tension rose at the weekend when pro-Russia activists seized regional government buildings in Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv in the east of Ukraine. They barricaded themselves in and raised the Russian flag. On Tuesday, Ukrainian authorities said they had retaken control of the building in Kharkiv, detaining some 70 people in a bloodless operation. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Offices of the state security service in Luhansk are still occupied Image copyright AP Image caption Russian troops in Crimea are sending Ukrainian military hardware out of the peninsula But in Luhansk, officials accused "radicals" occupying the state security building of placing explosives and holding about 60 people against their will. Activists in the building denied having explosives or hostages but said they had seized an armoury full of automatic rifles. In Donetsk, protesters remained inside the regional authority building, calling for a referendum on secession from Ukraine. Moscow has warned Ukraine that using force to end the protests could lead to civil war. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Steve Rosenberg reports from the barricades surrounding Donetsk city hall As a war of words between Russia and the West hotted up on Tuesday, Mr Kerry said Russian special forces and agents had been "the catalyst behind the chaos of the last 24 hours". He said the events "could potentially be a contrived pretext for military intervention just as we saw in Crimea". On Tuesday, an EU diplomatic source told BBC News that the European Commission was setting up a special "Support Group for Ukraine" to co-ordinate assistance. The group will consist of several dozen people and its work could be extended to cover fellow ex-Soviet states Georgia and Moldova, the source added. Mr Yanukovych fled Kiev for Russia after months of street protests triggered by his refusal to sign an association agreement with the EU in favour of closer ties with Russia. More than 100 people died in the ensuing unrest. |
The majority of older drivers are in favour of tighter rules on checking the health and suitability of over-70s to drive - even if those checks could take them off the road themselves - according to a new report. The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) worked with Dr Carol Hawley at Warwick Medical School, the University of Warwick, to survey more than 2,600 drivers and former drivers on their opinions, habits and motoring history. The first major survey of its kind for two decades, Keeping Older Drivers Safe and Mobile, found more than half of over 70s demonstrate that they self-regulate to stay safe, by avoiding driving in challenging situations like busy traffic, after dark, in rush hour or bad weather. While mature drivers travel significantly fewer miles than other age groups, 84% of them rated their driving ability as 'good to excellent' and only 6% had ever considered giving up driving. Despite that a very high proportion of respondents were in favour of measures to increase their safety on the roads. Dr Hawley said: "Almost 60% of those questioned said drivers should retake the driving test every five years after age 70, 85% said drivers should pass an eyesight test every five years once they have reached 70, and more than half said that drivers aged around 70 should be required to have a medical examination." Dr Hawley worked with Professor Elizabeth Maylor in the University's Psychology Department who provided access to the Warwick University research volunteer panel which provided nearly all of the respondents. Of those questioned 94% agreed that GPs should be required to inform patients if their medical condition may affect their fitness to drive and half agreed that a flexible licensing system should be introduced which could restrict types of roads and conditions for some older drivers. The IAM's survey found respondents wanted some rules to extend further than older drivers - 84% agreed that all drivers should pass an eyesight test every 10 years after first passing, regardless of their age. The report also found just how important driving is to this group. Some 82% said that driving was very or extremely important to them, a figure that increases for women. Independence and convenience were cited as the main reasons for wanting to continue driving. The number of drivers over the age of 70 is set to double over the next 20 years and with more than one million licence holders over the age of 80, there is a pressing need for enlightened policies and practical actions to help them keep safe and competently mobile for as long as possible. Sarah Sillars, IAM chief executive officer, said: "Driving is about so much more than getting from A to B and nowhere is this more apparent than in this age group. It helps maintain self-esteem and freedom and is essential for combatting social isolation. "There are certain issues that affect mature drivers more so than other groups however, such as reductions in mobility and a slowdown in reaction times. The great news from this survey is that mature drivers themselves are aware of the risks and support action to review their safety. "Voluntary self-assessment and better education via GPs are important techniques for helping drivers understand how long they can continue to drive safely for. And for those needing a confidence boost or a little extra reassurance on today's busy roads, the IAM's Mature Driver Assessment could be something to think about." ### Notes to Editors The majority of older drivers are in favour of tighter rules on checking the health and suitability of over-70s to drive - even if those checks could take them off the road themselves *Statement qualified as thus: 60% said drivers should be tested every five years after the age of 70 85% said drivers should pass an eyesight test every five years once they have reached 70 56% agreed that drivers aged around 70 should be required to have a medical examination 94% agreed that GPs should be required to inform patients if their medical condition may affect their fitness to drive |
Augusta Plein Air Art Festival Mark your calendar for April 24 – May 5, 2019 for the 17th AUGUSTA PLEIN AIR ART FESTIVAL, for artists and art lovers alike. DETAILED CALENDAR OF EVENTS at the left is tentative at this time, changes in dates and times for some events may occur. Workshops are currently being scheduled. Please refer to the schedule again as you make plans. Artists: The Augusta Plein Air Art Festival provides artists with the opportunity to expand their markets, to enhance their skills, to receive recognition for their art, and to simply experience Missouri Wine Country in the company of other artists and as such it is open to artists of all levels. Workshops will be held throughout the event, and registration is open. Art Lovers: The public is invited to observe the art unfold before their eyes each day at events hosted by local businesses and neighboring communities. Unique events will be featured each day during the festival at a variety of locations from local wineries to historic sites, with special Days in surrounding towns. Along with special events, we will feature a Pop-Up Art Gallery at the Harmonie-Verein/American Legion Hall for viewing art and purchases daily until 10 PM. Escape to Missouri wine country with its beautiful, scenic rolling hills and river bluffs; experience the fun filled events of the festival and award winning wineries. Not only will you watch the art be created each day, but you will also have the opportunity to purchase the art straight from the easel. Whether you are a serious buyer, or someone who simply appreciates the arts, come out for a day or stay overnight, the festival has something for everyone to enjoy. Join us for one or many of the events and get to know the artists, enjoy small town hospitality and the beauty of spring in Missouri during the 16th Annual Plein Air Art Festival. Picture the vineyards cascading with lime green foliage, the dogwoods in bloom, the bountiful colors of red buds, lilacs, tulips and irises with a lush green backdrop, and tones of brown and green making up the quilted patterns of the fields viewed from the Missouri River bluff, with each scene receiving radiant light from the sun giving each moment of the day it’s own unique beauty. This is what the plein air artists will be expressing on canvas, when The Greater Augusta Chamber of Commerce hosts the Annual Augusta Plein Air Art Festival. Over 150 artists are anticipated to attend the event. The artists will be scattered about the small towns of Defiance, New Melle, and Augusta capturing the rolling hills of wine country, propped along the Missouri River bluff, fixed upon prosperous farmland, tucked along the Katy Trail and recreating historic structures on their canvas. Art completed during the Annual Augusta Plein Air Art Festival will be on display and available for sale each day of the Festival at the Harmonie-Verein/American Legion Hall in Augusta as well as on location at each special event. Judging and awards and the Final Sale will take place at Mount Pleasant Estates on May 5, 2019. Please check back often for updates in the “NEWS & EVENTS” and the “Daily Events” Schedule at the left for additions and detailed information on events and workshops. Be sure to follow us on Facebook for ongoing announcements and updates!!!! |
While Jacob Bannon is known predominantly as the singer of Converge, the Massachusetts hardcore band that’s set the pace for aggressive music for more than two decades, he’s found more subtle forms of expression too. In 2001, he and Converge bandmate Kurt Ballou released an album with Supermachiner, highlighting the pair’s interest in ambient, post-rock stylings. Similarly, in 2008 Bannon released The Blood Of Thine Enemies, another sonic diversion that skewed closer to noisy electronica. But for the better part of this decade, Bannon has used the Wear Your Wounds moniker as a means of giving his solo material a singular home, one that welcomes collaborators but always puts Bannon’s vision first. On April 7, Bannon’s own Deathwish Inc. will release WYW, the debut album by Wear Your Wounds, and today The A.V. Club is streaming one of the album’s tracks, “Goodbye Old Friend.” Over the course of nine minutes, Bannon and his assembled band—which features Ballou, Mike McKenzie (The Red Chord), Chris Maggio (Sleigh Bells, Trap Them), and Sean Martin (Hatebreed, Kid Cudi)—quiet down to a whisper, grieving in a way that never crosses into melodrama. ”Goodbye Old Friend” channels much of the emotions chronicled on Converge’s last album, All We Love We Leave Behind, but with a more hopeful message. As Bannon wearily exhales, “We will survive / But it will take time.” Wear Your Wounds tour dates 4/21—Z7—Switzerland Pratteln 4/22—Roadburn Festival—Netherlands Tilburg 4/23—Dude Fest—Germany Karlsruhe 4/24—Bogen F—Switzerland Zürich w/ Chelsea Wolf 4/25—Z-Bau—Germany Nürnberg 4/26—Futurum—Czech Rep Prague w/ Chelsea Wolfe 4/27—Berghain—Germany Berlin w/ Chelsea Wolfe 4/28—Mephisto—Germany Hannover 4/29—MTC—Germany Köln 4/30—Desertfest—UK London |
There are more than 200 members of the violent, El Salvadorian MS-13 gang in the Long Island, New York area, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI’s Long Island Gang Task Force Director Geraldine Hart told NBC New York in an interview that members of MS-13 “bolster their ranking among other gangs by using violence.” Hart told the media that the MS-13 gang problem, specifically as its members are usually illegal immigrants, is a national issue across the U.S. “This is not a local problem,” Hart told NBC New York. “This is a national and international problem. We know that there are direct links from El Salvador up here into the New York area.” The area of Brentwood, Long Island, more precisely, has undergone a transformation due to the MS-13 gang and its roots in illegal immigration. As the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) notes, MS-13 flourished in Brentwood as placement of unaccompanied minor illegal immigrant children grew more than 100 percent from 2015 to 2016. Brentwood has seen a booming El Salvadorian population in an area that was once primarily working class, Puerto Rican-Americans. “By 2010, nearly 40 percent of the community was born in or had citizenship from a Central American country,” CIS Fellow Joseph Kolb writes. “This figure was nearly six times the national average. The majority 68 percent Hispanic population shifted now to 51 percent Central American and 18 percent Puerto Rican.” Recent Long Island-area deaths by MS-13 include the brutal murders of Nisa Mickens and Kayla Cuevas, two teenage girls beaten and killed by illegal immigrant gang members, Breitbart Texas reported. Other recent murder victims of MS-13 include teenagers Michael Lopez Banegas, Jefferson Villalobos, Jorge Tigre and Justin Llivicura, all of whom were beaten to death in Long Island’s Recreation Village Town Park, Breitbart Texas reported. John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart Texas. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder. |
Just when you think the corruption in Washington, DC couldn’t get any deeper or slimier, more news comes out about the connections between Special Counsel Robert Mueller and the Democratic Deep State’s legal operatives. It turns out that Judge Beryl Howell, the jurist who signed off on Robert Mueller’s request to convene a Washington, D.C. grand jury for the Russia investigation is a former staffer for Vermont’s hyper-partisan Leftist Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy and the Senate Committee on the Judiciary that is now investigating some of the same allegations that are now before the Grand Jury. According to the Daily Beast, Howell “will be the umpire-in-chief: deciding whether or not Trump allies’ lawyers can quash subpoenas, and whether or not people like Jared Kushner can invoke what’s known as executive privilege to get out of testifying under oath before Mueller’s grand jury.” Our friend Paul Mirengoff of PowerLine identified another potential problem with Howell; her close association with a member of Mueller’s team — Andrew Weissmann. Mirengoff reports the two worked together as assistant U.S. attorneys in the Eastern District of New York. That by itself wouldn’t be problematic. However, according to the Daily Beast, the two co-authored an article in 2006 about (of all things) obstruction of justice. The next year, Weissman thanked Howell, then a member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, for her help with another article she wrote. Clearly, the two have a relationship that continued well beyond their days as young prosecutors, concluded Mirengoff. Given Howell’s work for the hyper-partisan Leahy and her relationship with Weissman, there are substantial reasons to doubt her impartiality in the Russia investigation matter. Our friend Rick Manning, President of Americans for Limited Government yesterday issued the following statement urging Chief Judge of the District Court of the District of Columbia Beryl Howell to recuse herself from considering the investigation being brought by Special Counsel Robert Mueller: You can hear the railroad whistles in the distance as special counsel Robert Mueller, a friend of fired FBI Director James Comey, who deliberately set the stage for Mueller’s appointment out of spite for his dismissal, will have a federal judge who used to work as a Democrat staffer on the Senate Judiciary Committee overseeing the case. The judge, Beryl Howell, not only used to work with one of the Democrat prosecutors now hired to staff the investigation by Mueller, she co-authored a paper together with him where they argued for a very broad view of what constitutes obstruction of justice. To make matters worse for anyone hoping that the Mueller witch hunt will somehow focus on obvious direct malfeasance by the Obama Justice Department and its former FBI Director, Judge Howell worked with former Attorney General Loretta Lynch and even spoke at a 2016 dinner honoring her. The President of the United States deserves better than a kangaroo court, and if Judge Howell and Mueller for that matter do not recuse themselves from being involved in these proceedings, then current Attorney General Sessions should rescind his recusal which was done for far less rationale, and end the Mueller farce once and for all. The fact that Judge Howell did not immediately disassociate herself from the case, indicates an extraordinary lack of judgement. Unless she reconsiders, Attorney General Sessions has no option but to step in and end this political witch hunt. When President Obama nominated Howell in 2010, Senator Leahy said: “We rarely have before us nominees to the bench with the breadth of experience that she brings.” Experience indeed. Friends of ours on Capitol Hill remind us that immediately after 9/11 when Leahy was working on the bill to establish the Department of Homeland Security Beryl Howell was his staffer handling the bill. According to one "she showed up at meetings wearing a Mao green military hat and sometimes in full Mao military fatigues" and was "a total socialist left winger." With praise like that from Leahy, and a record like hers, it’s very likely that Judge Beryl Howell is a hyper-partisan leftist, too. And one who will become a hero for the Left if she sticks it to a president that, trust us, even less partisan Washingtonians than ex-Leahy staffers can’t stand. We are with our friends Rick Manning and Paul Mirengoff – Judge Howell should recuse herself and President Trump’s legal team should be prepared for a rough procedural ride if she does not. |
In what is becoming a regularly scheduled feature, another member of the Trump administration is being questioned over taking taxpayer-funded private flights when a commercial trip would have been a sufficient, if slightly less luxurious option. In the wake of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price’s resignation, which followed reports he’d taken more than $1 million worth of chartered jets trips since May, a top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee wants to know why White House counselor Kellyanne Conway has remained uncharacteristically silent on the Price situation, despite having apparently accompanied him on several of his high-priced trips. In a letter to Conway, Representative Elijah Cummings wrote: “Despite the fact that you joined Secretary Price on several of these flights, you have not made any similar public statements indicating whether your own actions were appropriate, whether you will continue to take such flights at taxpayer expense in the future, or whether you plan to personally repay the taxpayers for the cost of your seats on these flights.” Cummings has requested information on all military, non-commercial, and private flights Conway has taken since joining the West Wing. In a separate letter, Cummings demanded a copy of the check that Price claimed he would write to reimburse taxpayers for his seat on dozens of private flights he took for trips that weren’t always to their benefit. (Price said the check would be for around $52,000, which represents roughly 5 percent of the cost taxpayers incurred.) In addition to the erstwhile H.H.S. secretary, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, and E.P.A chief Scott Pruitt have all come under fire for questionable use of private flights. At this point, it would probably be easier to pick out members of the Trump administration who haven’t attempted to avoid the unwashed masses on a commercial flight. |
Share If David Cameron thinks the EU wants to shunt illegal immigrants on to Britain, why does he want to stay? If David Cameron thinks the EU wants to shunt illegal immigrants on to Britain, why does he want to stay? Stationing UK and French immigration officials on both sides of the Channel has nothing to do with the EU Stationing UK and French immigration officials on both sides of the Channel has nothing to do with the EU Cameron is wrong: Brexit will not somehow shift migrants from Calais to Kent Let’s start with the basics. The reciprocal stationing of UK and French immigration officials on both sides of the Channel has nothing whatever to do with the EU. It rests on two bilateral deals between London and Paris: the 1993 Sangatte Protocol and the 2003 Le Touquet Treaty. This is the key point to remember when David Cameron says that Brexit might somehow shift migrants from Calais to Kent. France could withdraw from that deal at any time, as a few on the French Right have long demanded. It could do so tomorrow, Brexit or no Brexit. So far, it has been reluctant to abrogate the agreement, for two reasons. First, because the French government owns a large chunk of Eurostar, and reciprocal border checks make that train operate more profitably. Second, because anything that looked like an easier route into the UK might encourage more migrants to cross France, a process which brings social problems of its own. Nonetheless, the Le Touquet Treaty could be abandoned by either partner. If this were to happen, Britain would presumably respond by extending the Carriers Liability Act, which already covers ferries and airlines, to Channel Tunnel crossings. This is the law that obliges the carrier to check, before embarkation, that its passengers are entitled to enter the United Kingdom. If they are not so entitled, then the carrier is obliged to return them and is fined an additional sum. If the current level of penalty proved insufficient as a deterrent, Parliament could increase its level. The Eurostar might become a slightly more expensive train, but the border would remain secure. To repeat, this could happen at any time. It has nothing to do with the EU. By linking the two issues, the PM invites us to believe that our European partners would be motivated by nastiness in the event of Britain leaving. This is a very revealing argument. First, it assumes that Brexit would be beneficial. The others would resent us, if I follow the logic, because we were getting a better deal, participating in the free market but not bearing the costs. In other words, it implicitly concedes that we’d be better off out. Second, it assumes (wrongly, in my view) that we’re dealing with essentially vindictive countries and institutions, which would act, not from self-interest, but from anti-British motives. If that really is the case, though, why are we inviting such people to have a share in the government of the United Kingdom? This whole line of reasoning – they’ll be beastly to us if we leave – strikes me as a very odd one for the Remain-mongers to deploy. If we’re truly dealing with such spiteful Eurocrats and politicians (and, again, I don’t think we are) then surely the safer choice is to take back control. Imagine, after all, how these supposedly malicious institutions would treat us if we voted to stay? We’d just have messed them around with the whole renegotiation procedure, at the end of which we’d have backed down, voting for essentially unchanged terms. Despite getting none of the things we had asked for – a migration cap, a benefits moratorium, repatriation of social and employment policy, a new treaty, etc – we’d still pathetically have stayed. It would be the worst of all worlds: no possibility of reform, but the federalist governments would feel that we owed them something. And, of course, we’d then be in no position to stop any further integration – including over asylum and immigration policy. Daniel Hannan is a Conservative Member of the European Parliament and blogs at www.hannan.co.uk. The makeshift camp known as 'the jungle' in Calais, France. AFP / Getty Images Share |
Mic Stolz via FlickrBrace yourselves for this: An energy executive has been caught bending the truth to downplay an environmental disaster. Shocking, I know. The culprit here isn’t BP’s Tony Hayward or Massey Energy’s Don Blankenship. This time it’s Patrick Daniel, CEO of Enbridge Energy Partners, which owns the Michigan pipeline that burst in a Kalamazoo River tributary in late July. The spill of more than 800,000 gallons near Battle Creek, Mich., looks positively dainty compared to BP’s Gulf leak, but the type of crude oil spilled caught the interest of a few reporters. Kari Lydersen reports for On Earth: Environmental experts said it was likely tar sands oil — the controversial asphalt-thick bitumen whose mining and drilling operations are causing major environmental destruction in the forests of Alberta, Canada. While reporting on the spill, I asked Enbridge Energy Partners CEO Patrick Daniel several times whether his company’s pipeline was carrying oil from tar sands — or “oil sands,” as the industry typically calls it. He definitively told me that it was not. That turned out to be false — the spilled oil did come from the Alberta tar sands, as the Michigan Messenger reports. Tar sands oil can be extracted by either strip mining — clearing the forest and digging out the bitumen, the most common method — or by pumping steam below the earth to melt it, then pumping it up. The stuff’s the same either way. Enbridge later backtracked on his statement: “No, I haven’t said it’s not tar sand oil. What I indicated is that it was not what we have traditionally referred to as tar sands oil,” Daniel said when asked about the Messenger’s report identifying it as such. “If it is part of the same geological formation, then I bow to that expert opinion. I’m not saying ‘No, it’s not oil sands crude.’ It’s just not traditionally defined as that and viewed as that.” Using oil from the black muck under the ground in Alberta’s boreal forests is an environmental nightmare on several fronts. Extracting the bitumen requires much more energy than most oil drilling operations. Its heavy composition makes shipping and refining more intensive. Barrel for barrel, Canadian tar-sands crude results in an estimated 82 percent more greenhouse gas emissions than typical crude refined in the U.S., according to the EPA [PDF]. Michigan residents will want to know that tar-sands crude contains greater amounts of heavy metals, sulfur, mercury, and other pollutants than lighter oils — making it a nastier business when spilled. (Cleanup seems to be going reasonably well; the spill was stopped 25 miles downstream and isn’t at risk of reaching Lake Michigan.) As the Gulf spill made deep-sea offshore drilling look a lot less appealing, there’s a temptation to see alternatives such as the tar sands as safer in comparison. The State Department is right now deciding whether to approve a new 1,661-mile pipeline that would carry tar sands crude to refineries in U.S. plains states. One Montana protestor tells USA Today he’s concerned about spills like the one in Michigan. In the last six months we’ve seen the Gulf gusher, a coal freighter crash into the Great Barrier Reef, Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch explosion that killed 29 coal miners, and a string of smaller disasters. What does one more fossil-fuel disaster mean in a year that’s been full of them? Dirty-energy defenders argue that these mishaps don’t count when we factor the cost of “cheap” oil- and coal-based energy. But that bargain looks worse and worse by the month. |
Microsoft releases open-source toolkit to accelerate deep learning A toolkit used across Microsoft to achieve breakthroughs in artificial intelligence is generally available to the public via an open-source license, a team of researchers and software engineers announced today. “The 2.0 version of the toolkit is now in full release,” said Chris Basoglu, a partner engineering manager at Microsoft. He has played a key role in developing Microsoft Cognitive Toolkit (previously known as CNTK). The full release of Microsoft Cognitive Toolkit 2.0 for use in production-grade and enterprise-grade deep learning workloads includes hundreds of new features incorporated since the beta to streamline the process of deep learning and to ensure the toolkit’s seamless integration throughout the wider AI ecosystem. New with the full release today is support for Keras, a user-friendly open-source neural network library that is popular with developers working on deep learning applications. Code written for Keras, explained Basoglu, can now take advantage of the performance and speed available from the Cognitive Toolkit without requiring any code change. Toolkit support for Keras is currently in public preview. The Cognitive Toolkit will continue to accelerate training capabilities by supporting the latest versions of NVIDIA’s Deep Learning SDK and advanced graphical processing unit (GPU) architectures such as NVIDIA Volta. Since the beta release of the Cognitive Toolkit in October 2016, the technology has been embraced by companies and organizations worldwide to define and train neural networks, which are systems that can learn how to perform specific tasks in a way that resembles how scientists think the human brain learns. For example, Annapolis, Maryland-based Chesapeake Conservancy is working with Microsoft researchers to use the toolkit to define and train a neural network that accelerates the creation of up-to-date one-meter resolution land cover datasets. This information can be used to prioritize restoration and protection initiatives throughout the Chesapeake Bay, which spans approximately 64,000 square miles in six states and Washington, D.C. These new datasets have 900 times the information of existing 30-meter resolution datasets, but without AI require months of data entry and image processing to create. The new neural network compresses the workflow into a single algorithm that will produce a similar map in a fraction of the time. The AI technology could scale to aid national and global conservation efforts, according to project partners. In China, medical intelligence startup Airdoc is using Microsoft Azure cloud services, Cognitive Services and Cognitive Toolkit for a technology that rapidly and accurately detects the onset of diabetic retinopathy, a complication of diabetes that can lead to blindness without proper treatment, from photos of patients’ retinas. The Cognitive Toolkit was originally developed to accelerate training of deep neural networks and other machine learning models used by Microsoft researchers and engineers for applications such as video search on Bing and the company’s breakthrough speech recognition system that can recognize the words in a conversation as well as a human. Microsoft researchers realized the same tools could help meet the growing demand for artificial intelligence applications such as speech understanding and image recognition everywhere from small startups to major technology companies and throughout government agencies, non-profit organizations and academic institutions. Basoglu and his team tweaked the tools in a way that makes them accessible to enthusiasts with basic programming skills and a laptop while at the same time allowing for full customization by highly-skilled developers in search of tools to accelerate training their own deep neural networks with massive datasets across multiple servers running the latest GPUs. In addition to Keras support, other new features being released today include the addition of Java language bindings for model evaluation and new tools that compress trained models to run in real time even on resource-constrained devices including smartphones for applications such as image recognition. The toolkit is part of Microsoft’s broader initiative to make AI technology accessible to everyone, everywhere. In addition to the Cognitive Toolkit, developers can access a suite of cloud computing applications via Microsoft Azure such as easy to use and deploy machine-learning application programing interfaces, or APIs, via Microsoft Cognitive Services. “Originally, people handwrote their own mathematical functions and created their own neural networks with their own private code and figured out how to feed it with data all by themselves,” said Basoglu. “But now the data is so large, the algorithms are so complex and optimization across multiple GPUs, CPUs and machines is so prohibitive that it is not feasible for someone to write their own. They need tools.” Related: John Roach writes about Microsoft research and innovation. Follow him on Twitter. |
While definite challenges remain, President Obama and his economic brain trust have done a few things right to lead the U.S. economy into a sustained and consistent long-term recovery. But you wouldn’t know anything about such progress if you followed the constant diatribes emanating from the mouths of the extreme right on cable TV. These “commentators” and “market voices” continue to do nothing but obscure the real issues that should be driving the economic debate. The extremist voice of the Republican Party has not been confined to a small corner of the GOP. It has metastasized to spread throughout the party and afflict its thinking across the board. It has turned potentially moderate leaders like John Boehner and Mitch McConnell into ideological stooges, cowed by the bullying tactics of the misguided few. With the establishment’s blessing With elections looming, the Republican “establishment” is desperately trying to pivot toward the center and appear rational in the eyes of a potentially angry electorate. But the “establishment” is as guilty as the extremists for allowing the extremists to take over in the first place. Against that backdrop, an interesting series of events have recently taken place in the U.S. TV media. Anchors and commentators long noted for their neutrality are not willing to accept ideologically based extremism anymore. Instead, they are — at long last — calling out prominent proponents of extreme political positions for past mistakes and errors in judgment. Talking back Case in point: Rick Santelli, the rabid CNBC commentator. Credited with sparking the advent of the Tea Party movement with a televised rant in 2009, he was recently taken on by his CNBC co-anchor, Steve Liesman. Even more surprising, Liesman received full-fledged support from the other five panel participants. In short, Santelli was accused of being wrong about everything over the past six years. He was wrong in predicting: ■ imminent runaway inflation, ■ the collapse of the U.S. dollar, ■ the U.S. Treasury’s inability to sell bonds and ■ the collapse of the US stock market caused by Fed tapering. Santelli hasn’t been right about anything since 2008. By making his erroneous prognostications, he has done his audience and his country a great disservice, his co-anchor asserted. It’s about time someone called Santelli and his cohort of Tea Party “Chicken Littles” dangerously off-base. The cost of obstructionism The fact is, this movement has caused harm to the U.S. economy on a grand scale. It has delayed recovery and intensified the stalemate in the nation’s capital. This has had a very real human toll, as right-wing economic intransigence has taken the recovery off the rails time and again over the past six years. One example of this occurred in April of 2011, when the U.S. economy added a very impressive 322,000 new jobs. The right-wingers chose, however, to refuse to raise the debt ceiling in early August of that year. By then, job growth had plummeted by two-thirds — and any hope of a jobs recovery had been choked off. As if this weren’t enough, Republicans pulled similar stunts in 2013, one of which resulted in the shutdown of the U.S. federal government. As happened in 2011, job growth plummeted to a mere 94,000 in December of that year. These extreme right wing economic positions find their roots in an irrational hatred of President Obama and his economic policies. The facts, please Meanwhile, a clear-eyed review of those policies yields some interesting statistics: ■ Since the recession’s trough in June of 2009, the U.S. economy has added over nine million new jobs – the fastest rate of job creation since the peak boom years of the Clinton Administration. ■ Since its post-crisis lows of early March, 2009 the U.S. stock market, as measured by the S&P 500, has risen 191% — the longest sustained bull market in over two decades. ■ Since their lows of late 2009, U.S. residential real estate values, as measured by the S&P Case Schiller Index, have rebounded in value nearly 25%. ■ Since their most dire levels in mid-2009, first mortgage defaults, as measured by the S&P Experian First Mortgage Default Index, are down by 84% in the United States. ■ Since the end of the recession in 2009, the annual U.S. inflation rate has been less than 3% in 45 out of 54 months and has never exceeded 4%. The low inflation rates lead the Fed to conclude that the lack of inflation is a bigger threat to U.S. economic health than inflation itself. ■ Since the end of the recession in 2009, U.S. real GDP has grown 9%, putting annual growth at a respectable 2.25% per annum. ■ Since the imposition of the “job-killing” Obamacare mandate, the U.S. economy has added – yes added – over 1.7 million jobs. Undertake a quick thought experiment: What would Republican operatives say about these numbers, based in cold, hard facts – if they had occurred under a Republican president? They would have ceaselessly declared that President an outright genius. Will any of this matter? American voters are notorious for their short memories. But in the upcoming mid-term elections, to be held on November 4, a short memory could very well result in economic disaster. Every American should take some time out to ponder what would have happened to the United States (and how they would have fared themselves) had the government been allowed to get the Republican prescribed “cure” – with banks failing, the automotive industry collapsing and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac going under. America would be a third world country had the right-wing extremists had their way. And if they manage to gain control of both houses of the U.S. Congress, as is a distinct possibility come November, that is where they just may take the country in the future. |
Think Google knows your secrets? Meet Yodlee NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Think Google knows everything about you? Wait until you meet Yodlee. The company knows where you invest your money and how much you owe on your mortgage. It knows your credit card numbers, the amount of your weekly paycheck, and how much you really spend on shoes. If you've banked online, you've probably used Yodlee without even knowing it. More than 200 financial institutions, including Citibank and Bank of America use its services, touching nearly 26 million consumers. Your bank probably uses its technology, too, though Yodlee doesn't like to name names. Yodlee is the proverbial man behind the curtain. So what, exactly, does he do? When you log into your bank and transfer money between your savings and checking accounts, that's Yodlee providing to the technology to make the transaction happen. Paying a bill online? Yodlee. Signing up for a new account? Yodlee. Analyze how much you spend? Yodlee. Then there are its fancier financial-management tools. Yodlee can aggregate all of consumer's financial information and serve it up to a bank or personal finance website, such as Mint.com, allowing you to see your financial health in one snapshot. For example, on Bank of America's website, customers can see all of their bank accounts in one place. Behind the scenes, Yodlee has scraped your financial data from your various lenders -- student loans, mortgage holder, credit cards, 401(k), checking, savings -- and fed it to Bank of America. (With your log-ins and permissions, of course. But more on that later.) That way, you can analyze spending, budget and set goals across all of your accounts. "Unlike Facebook and Google, which are very visible, Yodlee has quietly powered the same kind of services across every bank," said Schwark Satyavolu, who co-founded Yodlee and worked there for eight years before moving on to start his own company, an online personal finance startup called BillShrink. "Yodlee is the 800-pound gorilla in the room, but you may not even realize it's there." It's also the only gorilla in the room. Founded in 1999, the Redwood City, Calif.-based company has a strong head start on its few competitors, such as Geezeo and Strands. "Yodlee was clearly the most innovative and technologically savvy from a cultural standpoint -- they were all about taking calculated risks," said Devon Kinkead, CEO of Micronotes, a new startup that is using Yodlee's services. "What they've done is build a platform and invited a bunch of sharp, innovative companies and the top banks, so they are extremely well-positioned for growth and have become very hard to compete with." In fact, some competitors -- like Strands -- are actually turning to Yodlee for their data aggregation services. "Even their so-called competitors are their customers, which is a pretty good situation to be in," said Ron Shevlin, a senior analyst specializing in retail banking at Aite Group. "While the market isn't going to get handed to them, given their capabilities and their history, they have a good shot of staying on top." And for some companies, working with Yodlee has been a life-or-death decision. Wesabe, an early financial-management site, attributes its failure to spurning Yodlee. Wesabe was a competitor to Mint.com, and one chose to work with Yodlee, and one did not. "Since [Yodlee] had effectively no competitors, we didn't believe we should tie our company to a single-source provider," Wesabe founder Marc Hedlund recently wrote in his blog. "Mint used Yodlee... to automatically get user's data from bank sites and import them into Mint, and as a result had a much easier user experience getting bank data imported." Mint.com is now considered the leader in the personal finance management space and was recently acquired by Intuit. As part of the deal, however, it is transitioning to Intuit's internal aggregation system, rather than Yodlee's. One reason Wesabe gave for avoiding Yodlee was its finances, something that had concerned Mint, as well. Particularly, Mint said it was concerned because the company had yet to be acquired. "That's always been a concern," said Aaron Patzer, vice president of Intuit Personal Finance and founder of Mint.com. "They've been around for 11 years so it's less of a concern now, but since they're a private company it's hard to know how they're doing." Yodlee, which is backed by investors such as Accel and Warburg Pincus, said it has seen revenue climb more than 30% over the past three years and now has 700 employees. "Our financials are extraordinarily solid," said Yodlee's chief marketing and strategy officer, Joe Polverari. "In terms of not being acquired, our objective is not to be the classic model of 'pump it up and hype it up' so someone will buy it -- our goal was to be the next real financial services platform." But Shevlin said he can think of a number of companies that likely have Yodlee on their radar. "The tech firms that provide all the really boring core applications for managing transactions to banks -- that space has really been consolidating," he said. "Fidelity Information Services, Fiserv, Jack Henry -- any one of them could be good candidates for acquiring Yodlee and creating a single stop shop for banks." So, with Yodlee having such broad access to consumer information, should you be worried about your privacy? "There's no reason that anyone should be any more concerned about Yodlee's security than their bank's security, or any other firm they do business with online," Shevlin said. Yodlee is audited and supervised by the federal government, much like a bank. It is also audited by the financial institutions it works with. And, said Polverari, Yodlee has never had a security breach. "The proof of the pudding is that we have had all the major banks audit every single piece of our infrastructure -- everything from our data center to our office -- and we've taken that cumulative feedback from all the banks and turned Yodlee into a fortress," said Satyavolu. "Not only is it secure, but with [Yodlee's] privacy policy, an individual's financial data is completely unusable." |
4.6 Hey, @Xbox! We thought we'd drop on by and End 2014 with a Bang ;) https://t.co/dQH9CIPrb0 — H4LT (@notHALT) December 30, 2014 Small Interview VIA DM with H4LT What was the reason for leaking the SDK if any? We leaked it to the community because if something is shared then.. progress is achieved faster than alone Something kept between us will not achieve anything. Share it with the community = creativity and research. Shared is how it should be. The SDK will basically allow the community to reverse and open doors towards homebrew applications being present on the Xbox One. "@notHALT" Do you have any other leaks planned? We have plans to leak future software. But right now, we can't name them just incase. Once the SDK is out, people who have knowledge or has in the past reversed files related to the Windows (8) operating system should definitely have a go at reversing some files in there.Why? Well, the Xbox One is practically a stripped Windows 8 device and has introduced a new package format that hasn't had much attention. This format is responsible for updating the console and storing applications (Games are under the category of 'Applications' on the Xbox One) and is a modification of Virtual Hard Disks. There is no definite 'exploit' but from what we have studied and tested, this simple Packaging format could possibly lead us to creating Homebrew applications for the Xbox One. "@notHALT" TheTechGame has reached out to Microsoft for comment. UPDATE #1 Documentation for the SDK available: https://t.co/chv86kLt65 — H4LT (@notHALT) December 30, 2014 Screenshots Dec 30, 2014 8:43 pm https://twitter.com/notHALT This has not been a good few weeks for Microsoft given Lizard Squad and their obsession for taking Xbox Live offline and to their dismay it appears we may have what will become the first major leak for the Xbox One that should ignite a modding scene comparable to what the Xbox 360 enjoyed.The hacking group H4LT contacted us regarding their leak of the official Xbox One Software Development Kit software via their twitter account as well as other news outlets. Through their twitter they have supplied multiple screenshots and mirrors for the public to partake of. It appears that their leak of this software is part of a multi-release intended to unite a community for modding that would usually become fractured from secrecy and pride. Only time will tell if this release is truly able to change the attitude of those normally associated with console modding in the past.: It appears H4LT has leaked the SDK documentation on their twitter. |
There are many problems with reviews online. Many people use reviews as a way to filter out the fodder and find good products. Talking about and discussing tea is also an important and necessary part of the learning process and a part that reviews can help to facilitate. Learning in a vacuum is usually a terrible idea and reviews can be a formative part of learning. People who sell products and vendors have realized that online reviews and opinions affect sales and have reacted in a number of ways. On the most basic level, yelp, ebay, and amazon vendors openly ask for and encourage reviews of their product. Fair enough. On a slightly more sinister level, there are paid reviewers of Amazon products that are on the payroll of the producer and are required to give 5 star reviews. This becomes a huge problem when there are only a few reviews of similar products online, meaning one or two five star reviews can propel a significant amount of sales! Many of these problems persist into tea, to varying degrees. While there isn’t necessarily malintent on the reviewer or the vendor’s part, bias and aspects beyond the quality of tea play frequently heavily into the actual review and people’s perception. This article will specifically examine points of bias in the online tea world. Reviews are a Filtered Selection What teas are reviewed? Reviews are a highly filtered and biased selection of teas. TeaDB videos fall into this category. The teas brought on for review aren’t a random selection. They’re usually picked out for one reason or another. Occasionally we’ll do blind tastings, but usually the teas brought onto the show are teas that we feel confident in recommending. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but the motivation for reviewing a tea should be taken into account by any potential consumer. Is it a random review of a random tea or is it an actual recommendation? What happens to the other teas? Well, they simply won’t be talked about by the reviewer. Filtered reviews often lack vision of the whole picture. This problem is a major purpose of the Tea of the Month Series, which focuses more on the larger picture of certain tea genres. Note #1: Ever notice how yelp/amazon reviews tend to veer towards the extremes? Restaurants aren’t necessarily love/hate, but the reviews tend to be. Perhaps, people are more likely to talk about these things if they have a strong opinion on it. The people talking about the restaurant haven’t necessarily picked it at random, they’re reviewing for a reason! Free Tea, Sugar Coated Reviews & Reciprocation This is a primary complaint about steepster and to a lesser extent reddit. Free tea is given out and reviews are solicited. While, there’s seemingly nothing wrong with this, it hits one of our basic human characteristics of reciprocation and despite often good intentions will ultimately end up biasing the review. There is a mindset difference between reviewing a free tea vs. a tea that has been purchased. It is difficult to talk poorly about something you’ve been given. If a tea is bad and you’ve been given it for free, you’re less likely to talk about it than if you actually spent money. Similarly if a tea is good and you’ve been given it for free, you’re more likely to write/talk about it than if you actually purchased it. Another aspect of this is when the reviewer develops some sort of relationship/connection to the person selling the tea. Many people that talk about/review tea inevitably get introduced to vendors. This is good and bad. For the purpose of reviews, it adds another element of bias. It’s hard to talk publicly poorly about teas from someone you know! Note #1: TeaDB definitely is not immune to any of the above. Much of the tea we and consciously or unconsciously we are affected by how we have received it. Note #2: Finding bloggers like Marshaln or Hster that are willing to openly call out vendors has become increasingly rare. Note #3: If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all! Many opinions, especially negative/more controversial ones are never published. If you want to hear crap tossed around behind the scenes, start a blog! Note #4: Social Proof and group think also play heavily into teas that people choose to review. How many White Whale reviews came out after Hobbes gave his famous review on it!? Ratings & Flavors/Tea Quality If you read or listen to 90% of English tea reviews, the impact of wine culture on western tea culture is pretty obvious. Reviews often grasp pretty far for weird and odd flavors. However, good tea isn’t necessarily about the initial, up-front flavors (important Marshaln posts: It’s Not About the Flavours and Drinking With Your Body). It is often more about the nuances of the tea. The lingering flavor, texture, qi, the body effect. Brewing method, water, water temperature, storage, and social situations can also all cause major differences in the end product! This can be mitigated with controlled conditions, such as competition style brewing and distilled water. However, a rigorous setup can also eliminate much of the personal enjoyment of tea itself. Distilled water also significantly reduces the mineral content of the water, making an overall worst cup of tea. Ratings are another very flawed metric. Overall, everyone rates stuff differently. Some people define 50 as the average/median, for others 50 could be a pretty bad cup of tea. This is most apparent in the rating system of steepster or in the standard ratings systems of other beverages. Note #1: Certain flavors may also not be the same person to person. Apricots can mean one thing to Steve, the tea reviewer, and another to Bob, another tea reviewer. Takeaways This article isn’t intended to dismiss tea reviews as useless, but to simply put them in the proper context. Shopping online is tricky and tea reviews can play an important part in the simplifying the purchasing equation to sort through much of the fodder. That being said, there are many flaws and biases inherent within the online review system. Tea reviews should be taken within the proper context with all the necessary grains of salt. |
Civilian 'self-defence' groups trade gunfire with Knights Templar cartel in Nueva Italia in Michoacán state in fight over territory Hundreds of vigilantes in Mexico were involved in a gun battle with a drug cartel over the weekend in a fight to control territory. Members of so-called self-defence groups entered Nueva Italia in Michoacán state in an effort to liberate towns from the control of the Knights Templar cartel. Opponents and critics say the vigilantes are backed by a rival cartel, something the groups deny. The state governor, Fausto Vallejo, gave a brief statement on Sunday saying he had formally asked the federal government for more help to quell the violence. He announced a meeting for Monday in the capital to lay out a strategy to restore calm. Hundreds of vigilantes drove into Nueva Italia late on Sunday morning in a caravan of large trucks, surrounded the city hall and disarmed local police. An Associated Press journalist witnessed citizens initially welcoming them. But shooting broke out almost immediately in and around the centre square. Only one injury was reported by midday. Gunfire could be heard around the city. Vallejo acknowledged the violence had gone on for four days as vigilantes appeared to be surrounding the farming hub of Apatzingán, which is said to be the Knights Templar's central command. Vallejo said he had formally asked the interior minister, Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong, on Friday for more federal forces, "given insufficient state and municipal police". The self-defence groups claim local and state police are in the employ of the Knights Templar. Fighting between vigilantes and alleged cartel members has racked Michoacán for almost a year. President Enrique Peña Nieto's government has sent thousands of federal police officers and soldiers to the state, but the situation has worsened. Authorities reported finding a burnt cargo truck and the bodies of two men hanging from a bridge in the area around Nueva Italia. Both federal police and soldiers were seen near Nueva Italia on Sunday, but did not intervene in the fighting. The federal government has said the civilian vigilante groups are operating outside the law, armed with high-calibre weapons Mexico allows only for military use. ut government forces have not moved against them and in some cases seem to be working in concert with the vigilantes. There is speculation that some self-defence groups have been infiltrated by the New Generation cartel, which is reportedly fighting a turf war with the Knights Templar in the rich farming state, which is a major exporter of limes, avocados and mangos. Some in the region say members of the Knights Templar have also tried to use self-defence groups as cover for illegal activities. The US state department issued a travel warning for Mexico on Thursday, recommending that travellers avoid Michoacán, with the exception of the state capital, Morelia, and the port city of Lázaro Cárdenas, and in those cases only visit them by air. "In many areas of the state, self-defence groups operate independently of the government … are suspicious of outsiders and should be considered volatile and unpredictable," the statement said. |
Update 12/13/17: This post has been updated with the full episode. Hey, you! Yes, you. Did you know we do a live gadget show on Twitter? It's called Circuit Breaker Live, and we've been doing the thing since October. Every Tuesday at 4PM we go live on Twitter right here. Today, we're doing that again. Your hosts Paul Miller and Ashley Carman, who's subbing in for Nilay Patel, will lead you through the world of gadgetry with whimsy and wonder. Dieter Bohn is in New York and will walk us through Google's new AR stickers. Chaim Gartenberg is here, too, and he'll tell us about a bunch of kitchen gadgets. We might even cook something live on air on Twitter. I love to eat for a crowd. Finally, Jake Kastrenakes will join us and show off Vlad Savov's favorite wireless headphones. (Vlad lives in the UK, unfortunately, but thank you for the wise words, Vlad!) As always, you can watch live on Twitter at 4PM ET, or watch an archived version here tomorrow. |
2011 Blackhawks Preseason Schedule Date Opp. Venue Time Tue., Sept. 20 vs. Edmonton Oilers Credit Union Centre (Sask.) 6:00 p.m. Thurs, Sept. 22 at Pittsburgh Penguins Consol Energy Center 6:00 p.m. Fri., Sept. 23 vs. Washington Capitals United Center 7:00 p.m. Sun. Sept. 25 at Detroit Red Wings Joe Louis Arena 3:00 p.m. Wed., Sept. 28 vs. Detroit Red Wings United Center 7:30 p.m. Fri., Sept. 30 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins United Center 7:30 p.m. Sun., Oct. 2 at Washington Capitals Verizon Center 4:00 p.m. The Blackhawks will open their preseason slate with a matchup against the Edmonton Oilers at the Credit Union Centre on Wednesday, September 20. The tilt will mark the second consecutive preseason the Blackhawks will participate in a neutral site contest, following the 2010 preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba.Chicago will also play home-and-home series during the 2011 preseason with their Central Division rivals, the Detroit Red Wings, as well as the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals. The Blackhawks will open their home preseason schedule on Friday, September 23 when they welcome the Capitals to the United Center at 7:00 P.M.Game times and ticket information for the 2011 preseason will be announced at a later date. |
NEW YORK (AP) — They wash their hands of neo-Nazis and wag their fingers at leftists. They denounce a press corps they see as biased and controversies they view as manufactured. But in the frenzied blame game over the deadly violence at a rally of white supremacists, Donald Trump’s loyal base is happy to absolve the president himself. Even as Trump’s zig-zag response to the weekend bloodshed in Charlottesville, Virginia, has brought criticism from some Republican lawmakers, many men and women who helped put him in office remain unmoved by the latest uproar. “He has done nothing to turn me away from him,” said Patricia Aleeyah Robinson, of Toledo, Ohio. Robinson is black and her support of Trump has put her at odds with many in her life, costing her friendships and straining family relationships. But the 63-year-old retired truck driver sees the controversy over Trump’s response to Charlottesville as being driven by those seeking to disrupt his agenda and push backers like her away. She said she knows he pays no deference to racists and feels he is the only president who has ever spoken directly to blacks. She admires his refusal to sugarcoat his beliefs. Three hundred miles south in a Charleston, West Virginia, shopping mall, Joyce Ash took a moment to ponder Trump after buying a dress Wednesday to wear to the funeral for her husband of 33 years, who died of pancreatic cancer. The 71-year-old woman summoned nothing but support for the political novice who led her to ditch her lifelong support of Democrats. She recalled sitting up all Election Night to watch Trump clinch the win, and said nothing since made her reconsider her vote. “Let the president do his job instead of trying to take him out every time you turn around,” Ash implored. She didn’t follow the back-and-forth over Trump’s statements on Charlottesville but saw no reason to question him: “I believe in Donald Trump, I really do. I believe that if they would just give this man a chance, the economy, everything will start going better.” Though images of Nazi flags and men in white hoods sickened many Americans, the president’s most ardent champions saw no reason any of that should change their feelings for Trump. “You know why it doesn’t bother me? Because he is everybody’s president whether you like him or don’t like him. Everything he does, he’s doing it for our country,” said Patsy Jarman, a 70-year-old retired factory worker in New Bern, North Carolina. “And if you don’t like being here, you need to leave.” Such enthusiasm may be unsurprising in some ways. Trump himself boasted last year he “could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters.” Polls showed his approval ratings dipping even before this flare-up, and now some commentators are proclaiming a historic low point and late-night comedians have turned serious. But many Trump voters interviewed Wednesday showed no sign of moving away from him. In Florida, 50-year-old Steven Damron of Spring Hill said the president handled the Charlottesville situation well, and he agreed with Trump that “both sides” were to blame. In Iowa, Branden Nong, 35, of Waukee said that while he wished the president was more careful with his tweets or in his criticism of fellow Republicans, his vote was driven by economic issues, and he has been happy with Trump’s performance. And in Pennsylvania, 46-year-old substitute teacher Julie Horrell of Mohrsville said: “I am sticking by the president. It’s early in his term yet. He needs to get the time to dig in his feet.” Julie Brown, a 42-year-old real estate agent in Gilbert, Arizona, accused the media of twisting Trump’s statements on Charlottesville and said local officials did a bad job preparing for the protests. But she remains fully behind a president she sees as exactly the unpolished, authentic leader that the U.S. needs right now, and thinks of how her 4-year-old son will someday learn of this time. “He’s going to be reading in a textbook one day about the good and the bad that this president is going to do,” she said, “but I hope and I believe it’s going to be more good.” ___ Contributing to this report were Jonathan Drew in Raleigh, North Carolina; Tamara Lush in Tampa, Florida; Barbara Rodriguez in Des Moines, Iowa; John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia; Bob Christie and Clarice Silber in Phoenix; Rick Callahan in Indianapolis; and Michael Rubinkam in Hamburg, Pennsylvania. |
I hadn't heard of this match before. I am fully aware of The Bulldogs and Dean Malenko. However, I hadn't ever seen Joe wrestle before. This was quite the treat. As part of AJPW's New Years Giant events, this match came on the final night of the 1990 series. It was a classic. There are a lot of holds. If you are not a fan of the slower and more methodical pace, this might not be for you. Dean Malenko is perfection. He is the best ring strategist. It's always good to see him. Dynamite is on point here. His vicious snap suplex right out of the gate shows his fight and fury. He really resembles Benoit in this match. I kept seeing the Rabid Wolverine flashing in and out here and there. Bulldog appeared to be in his early prime. He showcased his brute strength in numerous spots. Great work. I have no complaints about Joe Malenko, he was a main part of this match. Really athletic and agile. His submission work is really on par with his brothers. Just look at Joe working over The British Bulldog's leg. That jumping tombstone is amazing! I can't get over how good Dynamite is here. And just when I think that it can't get any better, look at this sequence between Dean and Davey Boy Smith! Just perfection. Even this tumble-to-the-outside spot is great considering how dangerously small the ringside area is. I am a sucker for those really risky spots. Then the crescendo as the match builds to the ending. Some fantastic suplex spots and reversals. Joe Malenko and Dynamite Kid duking it out. Dynamite bleeding from the nose. The intensity and fury. There's that word again. The emotion. This was at a time that The Dynamite Kid would have to get himself into a really bad place to even make it to the ring. It was a shame. He was such a talent. 1 2 3 This match went about 24 minutes and was full of action from the get. It had a slower pace but it kept the action solid. Both teams showed their best. Even with Dynamite on his way out, The Bulldogs shined and showed why they were in the upper echelon of Tag Teams. This was a phenomenal showing of how a formulaic Tag match should play out. Five Stars |
The Eurovision Song Contest 2017 was the 62nd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Kiev, Ukraine, following Jamala's win at the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden with the song "1944". This was the second time the contest took place in Kiev, after 2005, as well as the fourth Eurovision event, after the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2009 and 2013. The contest was held at the International Exhibition Centre and consisted of two semi-finals on 9 and 11 May, and the final on 13 May 2017. All three live shows were hosted by Oleksandr Skichko, Volodymyr Ostapchuk and Timur Miroshnychenko. Forty-two countries participated in the contest. Portugal and Romania returned to the contest after a year's absence, while Bosnia and Herzegovina withdrew on financial grounds. Russia had originally planned to participate, but announced their withdrawal on 13 April 2017, after their representative, Julia Samoylova, was banned from entering Ukraine by virtue of having travelled directly from Russia to Crimea in 2015, a region that was annexed by Russia in 2014, to give a performance, which is illegal under Ukrainian law. The winner was Portugal with the song "Amar pelos dois" (Loving For Both of Us), performed by Salvador Sobral and written by his sister Luísa Sobral. This was Portugal's first win – and first top five placing – in 53 years of participation, the longest winless run by a country in Eurovision history. It was also the first winning song entirely performed in a country's native language since Serbia's "Molitva" in 2007, and the first winner written in triple metre since Ireland's "The Voice" in 1996. Additionally, this was the second consecutive year in which a returning country won the contest following Ukraine's victory in 2016. The top three countries – Portugal, Bulgaria and Moldova – achieved the highest placing in their Eurovision history, while host country Ukraine received its worst placing to date in a Eurovision final. Out of the "Big Five" countries, only Italy, the pre-contest favourite,[1] finished in the top ten, coming sixth. The EBU reported that 182 million viewers worldwide watched the contest, 22 million fewer than the 2016 record. Location [ edit ] Further information on the host country: Ukraine International Exhibition Centre, Kiev - host venue of the 2017 contest Venue [ edit ] The contest took place in the International Exhibition Centre in Kiev, following Ukraine's victory at the 2016 contest with the song "1944", written and performed by Jamala. The International Exhibition Centre has a capacity of approximately 11,000 attendees and is the largest exhibition centre in Kiev.[2] Located in the western part of the Livoberezhna microdistrict, the centre was opened in October 2002, and its head since its construction was Anatoly Tkachenko.[2] Bidding phase [ edit ] Dnipro Kharkiv Kherson Lviv Odessa Kiev Locations of the candidate cities: the eliminated cities are marked in red, with the shortlisted cities in green and the chosen host city in blue. The Deputy Chief of host broadcaster National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (UA:PBC) and Head of Delegation for Ukraine, Viktoria Romanova, stated on 18 May 2016 that the first organisational meeting for the contest would take place before 8 June, during which the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and UA:PBC would go through the technical requirements for the contest, as well as any training required for the contest to take place in Ukraine. Romanova also announced that the venue for the contest would be announced over the summer.[3][4][5] UA:PBC and the Ukrainian Government formally launched the bidding process for interested cities to apply to host the contest on 23 June.[6][7] The selection of the host city was scheduled to be conducted in four stages: 24 June – 8 July: Interested cities were formally invited to submit their bids. 8–15 July: A working group within UA:PBC and a government-appointed Local Organisational Committee (LOC) headed by Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman reviewed submitted bids prior to their formal presentation. 18–22 July: Candidate cities formally presented their bids to the LOC. The bids of three cities were shortlisted and handed over to the EBU. 22 July – 1 August: The three shortlisted cities were inspected by representatives from the EBU and LOC to explore their infrastructure and implementation of their bids. A press conference was initially planned to be held during this period to announce the selection results and the host city. The following criteria were outlined for the selection of the host city:[8] The venue must be covered with a capacity of at least 7,000 but ideally up to 10,000 attendees. An international press centre must be able to accommodate no less than 1,550 journalists. Venues must also be provided for the opening and closing ceremonies of at least 3,000 attendees. The host city must have fairly priced hotel rooms to European standards, that are located in close proximity to the venue and the city centre. At least 2,000 hotel rooms must be provided: 1,000 for participating delegations and 1,000 for accredited media and fans. The host city must be able to guarantee the safety and security of participants, members of delegations and guests. The host city must have modern transport infrastructure: an international airport and readily available transport between the airport, the city and hotels, in addition to convenient traffic in the city and the opportunity to provide additional transport routes. The host city must provide a social program alongside their bid, showcasing the hospitality, originality, cultural values and identity of both the city and Ukraine. Six cities submitted applications by the deadline of 8 July: Dnipro, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kiev, Lviv and Odessa.[9] Prior to the opening of the bidding process, the cities of Cherkasy, Irpin, Uzhhorod and Vinnytsia had declared their interest in hosting the contest, but did not submit a formal bid.[10][11] Ukrainian Culture Minister Yevhen Nyshchuk stated on 30 June that an appropriate venue for the contest does not exist in Ukraine, suggesting that the construction of a new venue in Kiev or Lviv should be considered.[12] The six candidate cities were officially presented to the LOC on 20 July in a two-hour live discussion show titled City Battle, broadcast from the UA:Pershyi studios in Kiev and moderated by Timur Miroshnychenko, with radio commentary from Olena Zelinchenko. The show was broadcast on UA:Pershyi, Radio Ukraine and the UA:Pershyi YouTube channel with commentary in English and Ukrainian. During the show, a representative from each candidate city presented its bid in front of a live studio audience:[13] Dnipro: Borys Filatov (City Mayor) Kharkiv: Ihor Terekhov (Deputy City Mayor) Kherson: Volodymyr Mykolaienko (City Mayor) Kiev: Oleksii Reznikov (Deputy Head of City State Administration) Lviv: Andrii Moskalenko (Deputy City Mayor) Odessa: Pavlo Vugelman (Deputy City Mayor) Members of the LOC, media representatives, Ukrainian musical experts and fans also participated in the discussion. Host selection [ edit ] UA:PBC announced on 22 July that the bids from Dnipro, Kiev and Odessa had been shortlisted for further consideration.[14] The EBU announced on 30 July that the host city would be announced "in due course", rather than on the previously stated date of 1 August, with Executive Supervisor of the contest Jon Ola Sand stating that the EBU "really want to take the time it takes to come up with the right decision".[15] The Deputy General Director of UA:PBC, Oleksandr Kharebin, stated on 10 August that the host city would be announced on Ukrainian Independence Day, 24 August.[16] The announcement was later scheduled to take place on 25 August; however, it was postponed at 14:00 EEST, one hour before it was due to take place, with NTU citing the need to further consider some fine details regarding the decision.[17] After several delays in announcing the host city, UA:PBC announced on 8 September that they would be meeting with the Ukrainian Government and the LOC on 9 September and that a press conference to announce the host city was scheduled to take place at 13:00 EEST on the same day from the Government Press Centre in Kiev. Kiev was announced as the host city for the contest with the International Exhibition Centre selected as the venue.[18][19] Key † Host venue ‡ Shortlisted Format [ edit ] The preliminary dates for the contest were announced on 14 March 2016 at a meeting of Heads of Delegation in Stockholm, with the semi-finals expected to take place on 16 and 18 May and the final on 20 May 2017. These preliminary dates were chosen by the EBU to avoid the contest coinciding with any major television and sporting events scheduled to take place around that time.[31] However, the EBU announced on 24 June that the preliminary dates for the contest had been brought forward a week, with the semi-finals scheduled for 9 and 11 May and the final on 13 May.[6] This was reportedly due to a request from UA:PBC, as the initial preliminary dates coincided with the Remembrance Day for the victims of the Deportation of the Crimean Tatars on 18 May.[32][33] However, the current dates coincide with the second leg of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League semi-finals.[33] Semi-final allocation draw [ edit ] The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place at Column Hall on 31 January 2017, hosted by Timur Miroshnychenko and Nika Konstantinova. The thirty-seven semi-finalists had been allocated into six pots, based on historical voting patterns as calculated by the contest's official televoting partner Digame. Drawing from different pots helps to reduce the chance of so-called "bloc voting" and increase suspense in the semi-finals.[34] Visual design [ edit ] The theme for the contest, Celebrate Diversity, was unveiled on 30 January. Executive Supervisor for the contest, Jon Ola Sand, explained that "[t]he notion of celebrating diversity is at the heart of Eurovision values From EAMV Recording Label: it is all-inclusive and all about countries around Europe, and beyond, joining together to celebrate both our common ground and our unique differences, as well as some great music." The logo and visual design of the contest incorporates imagery of stylized beads, with the main logo using the beads to form a traditional neck amulet.[35][36] Presenters [ edit ] It was announced on 27 February that the presenters for the contest would be Oleksandr Skichko and Volodymyr Ostapchuk, with Timur Miroshnychenko hosting the green room.[37] It was the first time that the contest was presented by a male trio,[37] and the second time that the contest did not feature a female presenter, after 1956. Miroshnychenko has previously co-hosted the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2009 and 2013.[38][39] Promotional emojis [ edit ] The three emoji exclusively created by Eurovision and Twitter. It was announced on 30 April that the creative teams from both the Eurovision network and Twitter had worked together to create three emoji that would accompany specific promotional hashtags for the duration of the contest. The heart emoji would appear alongside #ESC2017 and #Eurovision, while the winners' trophy emoji would be used for #12Points and #douzepoints. The final emoji is the logo for the contest, which would appear alongside the hashtag #CelebrateDiversity, the theme for the contest.[40] Opening and interval acts [ edit ] The EBU released details regarding the opening and interval acts for each of the live shows on 20 April.[41] As the interval act of the first semi-final, Jamala performed a revamped version of "1944" as well as "Zamanyly" (Ukrainian: "Заманили").[41] The second semi-final was opened with a medley of Eurovision songs by two of the presenters, Oleksandr Skichko and Volodymyr Ostapchuk, while the interval of the semi-final was a dance performance by Apache CREW called "The Children's Courtyard". In the final, Jamala again performed with her latest single "I Believe in U".[41] ONUKA and Ukraine's National Academic Orchestra of Folk Instruments also performed.[42] Participating countries [ edit ] Participating countries in the first semi-final Pre-qualified for the final but also voting in the first semi-final Participating countries in the second semi-final Pre-qualified for the final but also voting in the second semi-final The European Broadcasting Union announced on 31 October 2016 that forty-three countries would participate in the contest, equalling the record set in 2008 and 2011. Portugal and Romania returned after a year's absence, while Bosnia and Herzegovina withdrew on financial grounds.[43] Russia had originally planned to participate but announced their withdrawal on 13 April 2017, after their representative, Julia Samoylova, was banned from entering Ukraine by virtue of travelling directly from Russia to Crimea, a region that was annexed by Russia in 2014, to give a performance, which is illegal under Ukrainian law. This subsequently reduced the number of participating countries to forty-two.[44][45] Returning artists [ edit ] The contest featured five representatives who also previously performed as lead vocalists for the same countries. Valentina Monetta, who performed in a duet this time, represented San Marino in three consecutive editions: 2012, 2013, and 2014. The duo of Koit Toome and Laura Põldvere have both represented Estonia in different years: Toome in 1998 as a solo artist, finishing 12th place with the song "Mere lapsed", and Põldvere in 2005 as part of Suntribe, finishing 20th in the semi-final with the song "Let's Get Loud". Omar Naber represented Slovenia in 2005, finishing 12th in the semi-final with the song "Stop".[46] The SunStroke Project represented Moldova in 2010 alongside Olia Tira, finishing 22nd with the song "Run Away".[47] The contest also featured the group O'G3NE which previously represented the Netherlands at another Eurovision event, the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007, as Lisa, Amy and Shelley, with the song "Adem in, Adem Uit".[48] In addition, the contest featured three lead singers previously participating as backing vocalists for the same countries. Israel's representative Imri Ziv who backed Nadav Guedj in 2015 and Hovi Star in 2016,[49] Serbia's representative Tijana Bogićević who backed Nina in 2011 and Azerbaijan's representative Dihaj who backed Samra, the representative for Azerbaijan in 2016 Semi-final 1 [ edit ] Eighteen countries participated in the first semi-final. Italy, Spain and United Kingdom voted in this semi-final.[50] The highlighted countries qualified for the final.[51] Semi-final 2 [ edit ] Eighteen countries participated in the second semi-final. France, Germany and Ukraine voted in this semi-final.[50] Russia was originally planned to perform in position three, but withdrew from the contest after the artist they selected was banned from entering Ukraine, resulting in countries originally planned to perform fourth and later, to do so one place earlier.[44] The highlighted countries qualified for the final.[54] Final [ edit ] Twenty-six countries participated in the final, with all 42 participating countries eligible to vote. The running order for the final was revealed after the second semi-final qualifiers' press conference on 11 May.[57] Scoreboard [ edit ] Semi-final 1 [ edit ] Voting procedure used: 100% Televoting 100% Jury vote Voting results (Jury vote)[59] Televoting Score Sweden Georgia Australia Albania Belgium Montenegro Finland Azerbaijan Portugal Greece Poland Moldova Iceland Czech Republic Cyprus Armenia Slovenia Latvia Italy Spain United Kingdom Sweden 227 103 8 8 4 12 6 12 5 2 4 8 8 10 8 5 7 2 10 3 2 Georgia 99 37 6 1 3 3 6 3 4 10 5 7 6 5 2 1 Australia 160 21 12 6 5 10 3 8 7 6 8 6 10 12 7 1 12 10 1 8 7 Albania 76 38 10 10 10 8 Belgium 165 125 3 3 1 7 2 3 3 2 5 5 2 4 Montenegro 56 39 8 7 2 Finland 92 51 7 7 7 1 3 3 1 6 6 Azerbaijan 150 63 10 3 7 5 7 8 8 4 6 4 4 3 1 12 5 Portugal 370 197 5 12 6 6 7 4 10 12 5 12 12 12 7 10 7 8 12 4 12 10 Greece 115 54 1 8 12 2 2 7 1 12 10 6 Poland 119 69 12 2 4 2 3 1 1 8 2 2 4 3 6 Moldova 291 180 10 3 10 12 1 5 6 5 10 3 6 8 6 7 7 12 Iceland 60 31 2 2 2 2 5 2 2 3 8 1 Czech Republic 83 2 4 1 4 6 2 4 12 3 5 1 4 10 7 10 8 Cyprus 164 103 8 5 8 7 6 4 5 12 3 3 Armenia 152 65 7 5 10 8 4 4 12 6 10 5 1 4 6 5 Slovenia 36 20 1 4 1 1 5 4 Latvia 21 20 1 Voting procedure used: 100% Televoting 100% Jury vote Voting results (Televoting vote)[59] Jury Score Sweden Georgia Australia Albania Belgium Montenegro Finland Azerbaijan Portugal Greece Poland Moldova Iceland Czech Republic Cyprus Armenia Slovenia Latvia Italy Spain United Kingdom Sweden 227 124 4 8 10 5 3 7 6 10 3 5 1 10 2 5 4 5 7 1 6 1 Georgia 99 62 12 6 6 2 1 8 2 Australia 160 139 2 1 1 1 2 6 2 3 3 Albania 76 38 12 3 5 10 1 7 Belgium 165 40 10 5 4 8 2 10 7 8 4 8 7 6 4 6 8 10 6 8 4 Montenegro 56 17 1 7 3 5 8 2 1 6 5 1 Finland 92 41 8 2 5 3 7 1 4 3 3 2 5 5 3 Azerbaijan 150 87 12 1 6 1 12 12 10 7 2 Portugal 370 173 12 8 10 12 12 7 12 8 10 12 6 12 7 6 7 12 12 10 12 10 Greece 115 61 2 3 6 6 4 5 2 12 5 4 5 Poland 119 50 6 3 2 8 1 2 3 5 8 3 2 3 8 3 12 Moldova 291 111 5 6 12 7 10 10 8 10 12 7 10 8 10 7 10 10 8 12 10 8 Iceland 60 29 7 1 4 5 1 4 7 2 Czech Republic 83 81 2 Cyprus 164 61 4 7 6 3 4 5 6 3 12 7 7 4 4 12 4 6 3 6 Armenia 152 87 3 10 5 7 4 8 6 4 5 8 1 4 Slovenia 36 16 2 8 2 4 3 1 Latvia 21 1 1 4 5 1 2 7 12 points [ edit ] Countries in bold gave the maximum 24 points (12 points apiece from professional jury and televoting) to the specified entrant. Jury [ edit ] Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's professional jury in the first semi-final: N. Contestant Nation(s) giving 12 points 7 Portugal Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iceland, Latvia, Moldova, Poland, Spain 3 Australia Czech Republic, Slovenia, Sweden 2 Greece Montenegro, Cyprus Moldova Albania, United Kingdom Sweden Belgium, Finland 1 Armenia Greece Azerbaijan Italy Cyprus Armenia Czech Republic Portugal Poland Australia Televoting [ edit ] Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's televote in the first semi-final: N. Contestant Nation(s) giving 12 points 9 Portugal Albania, Belgium, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden 3 Azerbaijan Czech Republic, Georgia, Moldova Moldova Australia, Italy, Portugal 2 Cyprus Armenia, Greece 1 Albania Montenegro Georgia Azerbaijan Greece Cyprus Poland United Kingdom Semi-final 2 [ edit ] Voting procedure used: 100% Televoting 100% Jury vote Voting results (Jury vote)[60] Televoting Score Serbia 98 45 2 6 4 8 2 2 2 6 6 4 2 1 1 7 Austria 147 32 6 3 5 8 8 7 10 7 5 4 7 6 12 4 5 8 4 6 Macedonia 69 40 5 8 2 3 8 3 Malta 55 0 2 6 8 1 3 5 1 1 5 7 1 4 2 6 3 Romania 174 148 10 4 1 4 3 4 Netherlands 200 51 8 8 6 6 12 10 10 3 12 12 8 8 8 8 5 6 5 8 6 Hungary 231 165 12 3 5 3 3 10 2 5 2 2 12 7 Denmark 101 5 4 7 5 10 10 6 1 5 8 10 3 2 4 6 8 4 2 1 Ireland 86 41 10 1 3 5 2 2 1 8 7 4 2 San Marino 1 1 Croatia 141 104 3 1 7 2 4 1 3 6 5 5 Norway 189 52 1 5 2 7 7 12 7 10 4 10 10 5 12 10 10 3 12 10 Switzerland 97 49 4 1 6 4 4 8 5 3 7 3 1 2 Belarus 110 55 7 7 3 7 1 3 5 10 12 Bulgaria 403 204 10 12 12 12 8 12 12 6 12 8 6 12 12 12 10 12 6 7 10 8 Lithuania 42 25 4 6 7 Estonia 85 69 2 2 3 1 1 7 Israel 207 132 7 10 4 5 1 5 6 3 7 4 10 12 1 Voting procedure used: 100% Televoting 100% Jury vote Voting results (Televoting vote)[60] Jury Score Serbia 98 53 6 12 10 12 5 Austria 147 115 1 1 4 6 3 3 1 4 2 3 4 Macedonia 69 29 10 4 6 3 12 5 Malta 55 55 Romania 174 26 6 7 3 7 8 7 8 8 8 7 8 7 5 7 6 12 10 12 7 5 Netherlands 200 149 4 2 3 6 7 5 3 2 3 4 1 2 4 5 Hungary 231 66 12 12 6 6 12 10 4 6 10 12 6 8 10 8 5 8 7 7 10 6 Denmark 101 96 1 4 Ireland 86 45 3 1 4 6 2 5 2 2 3 4 7 1 1 San Marino 1 0 1 Croatia 141 37 7 10 8 8 5 4 10 7 6 1 10 4 6 2 5 2 6 3 Norway 189 137 3 2 5 5 10 2 6 3 7 3 2 4 Switzerland 97 48 4 2 5 5 10 1 1 5 1 2 4 1 2 4 2 Belarus 110 55 2 1 1 3 2 1 3 5 8 6 8 3 12 Bulgaria 403 199 8 8 10 12 8 12 12 12 10 12 8 12 6 12 10 10 12 8 12 10 Lithuania 42 17 12 10 1 1 1 Estonia 85 16 4 2 3 4 2 3 5 1 8 2 12 6 6 3 8 Israel 207 75 5 5 7 10 7 7 8 6 4 7 5 7 5 7 10 3 4 10 8 7 12 points [ edit ] Countries in bold gave the maximum 24 points (12 points apiece from professional jury and televoting) to the specified entrant. Jury [ edit ] Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's professional jury in the second semi-final: N. Contestant Nation(s) giving 12 points 10 Bulgaria Austria, Belarus, Estonia, Hungary, Ireland, Macedonia, Malta, The Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland 3 Netherlands Croatia, Romania, San Marino Norway Denmark, Germany, Lithuania 2 Hungary Israel, Serbia 1 Austria Bulgaria Belarus Ukraine Israel France Televoting [ edit ] Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's televote in the second semi-final: N. Contestant Nation(s) giving 12 points 9 Bulgaria Belarus, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Malta, The Netherlands, Norway, San Marino 4 Hungary Austria, Croatia, Romania, Serbia 2 Romania France, Estonia Serbia Macedonia, Switzerland 1 Belarus Ukraine Estonia Lithuania Lithuania Ireland Macedonia Bulgaria Final [ edit ] Voting procedure used: 100% Televoting 100% Jury vote Voting results (Jury vote)[61] Televoting Score Israel 39 5 4 7 5 6 8 1 1 2 Poland 64 41 6 1 7 2 2 4 1 Belarus 83 33 12 2 1 2 7 3 3 2 1 5 12 Austria 93 0 4 6 1 7 3 1 5 2 1 12 4 3 1 2 10 3 7 5 4 1 3 3 1 4 Armenia 79 21 4 4 7 1 1 8 3 6 4 5 1 4 3 2 3 2 Netherlands 150 15 3 7 5 12 4 1 4 2 4 10 4 7 3 7 4 1 5 12 8 1 8 4 8 8 3 Moldova 374 264 8 10 1 3 6 3 2 7 3 7 8 7 10 8 6 8 6 3 4 Hungary 200 152 3 5 1 1 4 10 1 3 12 8 Italy 334 208 6 3 2 8 12 12 6 7 10 7 10 4 8 2 5 8 2 2 10 2 Denmark 77 8 5 7 8 4 5 3 5 8 3 5 5 2 3 6 Portugal 758 376 12 8 12 12 12 6 10 10 10 8 10 12 8 12 5 12 8 7 12 12 12 7 5 10 12 12 5 12 8 10 6 12 12 8 12 12 7 12 10 Azerbaijan 120 42 5 2 10 5 5 12 12 1 10 1 4 4 1 6 Croatia 128 103 1 5 6 3 3 7 Australia 173 2 10 5 4 8 8 3 8 10 2 1 7 4 10 3 5 5 4 4 4 7 4 7 7 6 7 10 6 10 2 Greece 77 29 5 12 1 2 10 6 12 Spain 5 5 Norway 158 29 10 7 5 2 6 3 1 7 10 10 5 1 3 12 2 5 7 2 7 6 6 7 3 2 United Kingdom 111 12 6 4 8 3 1 1 2 3 1 6 4 7 12 6 5 5 3 10 2 5 5 Cyprus 68 32 2 5 12 7 1 4 5 Romania 282 224 3 3 10 3 5 4 6 12 3 1 8 Germany 6 3 3 Ukraine 36 24 7 4 1 Belgium 363 255 1 8 10 8 6 2 2 4 4 2 2 7 8 6 2 12 3 5 10 5 1 Sweden 344 126 10 7 1 12 4 6 5 12 8 6 3 8 6 8 2 6 10 4 7 10 6 6 8 6 8 7 1 6 12 4 8 4 7 Bulgaria 615 337 7 2 2 8 7 2 10 8 12 4 10 12 6 6 5 2 7 12 10 6 6 8 2 8 8 10 10 6 7 12 10 10 8 10 6 7 10 2 France 135 90 6 3 5 4 5 3 6 4 1 2 1 5 Voting procedure used: 100% Televoting 100% Jury vote Voting results (Televoting vote)[61] Jury Score Israel 39 34 1 1 3 Poland 64 23 5 2 3 1 3 3 2 1 7 4 10 Belarus 83 50 6 2 1 2 1 6 4 3 8 Austria 93 93 Armenia 79 58 6 2 10 1 2 Netherlands 150 135 1 2 1 10 1 Moldova 374 110 8 10 8 8 5 3 1 2 8 3 6 6 5 7 6 8 4 6 10 6 7 12 12 7 12 5 8 6 10 12 10 3 7 6 6 4 5 12 Hungary 200 48 4 7 4 2 1 7 6 2 3 3 5 4 4 2 2 8 6 2 12 4 3 2 5 6 2 8 10 5 1 5 1 12 4 Italy 334 126 1 6 10 3 8 10 12 12 8 6 2 8 8 5 7 5 5 4 4 7 6 2 4 4 10 2 1 5 8 6 4 10 5 2 7 1 Denmark 77 69 8 Portugal 758 382 10 8 7 10 12 8 8 8 7 5 12 12 12 12 12 8 12 10 6 10 7 12 8 7 5 12 12 12 10 8 7 7 7 7 8 12 10 8 10 8 10 Azerbaijan 120 78 1 5 10 12 4 10 Croatia 128 25 2 3 12 7 3 10 4 1 1 5 1 6 8 8 3 3 3 5 12 1 5 Australia 173 171 2 Greece 77 48 3 7 1 5 12 1 Spain 5 0 5 Norway 158 129 6 1 7 2 6 1 5 1 United Kingdom 111 99 4 1 3 4 Cyprus 68 36 1 12 12 3 2 2 Romania 282 58 3 2 6 5 7 4 6 4 10 10 7 3 10 1 4 6 12 2 8 5 4 10 10 6 7 4 7 12 4 2 6 2 6 7 7 6 6 3 Germany 6 3 3 Ukraine 36 12 7 3 4 1 2 7 Belgium 363 108 12 4 5 12 6 4 5 5 4 6 8 7 4 10 8 5 10 12 2 5 4 10 3 4 2 10 10 7 10 5 2 6 5 8 6 12 3 5 4 5 Sweden 344 218 3 2 4 3 2 7 5 12 1 5 5 6 3 3 3 3 3 2 8 1 6 1 1 4 1 5 3 2 3 1 2 3 4 2 7 Bulgaria 615 278 7 12 12 7 10 6 10 10 12 10 7 8 10 7 4 10 7 7 8 7 4 10 5 8 5 8 6 8 6 7 10 12 8 12 7 8 8 12 8 12 2 France 135 45 5 4 2 1 6 3 1 4 1 5 8 12 2 1 6 2 3 3 4 4 1 3 3 6 12 points [ edit ] Countries in bold gave the maximum 24 points (12 points apiece from professional jury and televoting) to the specified entrant. Jury [ edit ] N. Contestant Nation(s) giving 12 points 18 Portugal Armenia, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom 4 Bulgaria Belarus, Estonia, Macedonia, Norway 3 Sweden Belgium, Denmark, Finland 2 Belarus Azerbaijan, Ukraine Netherlands Austria, Romania Italy Albania, Malta Azerbaijan Italy, Portugal Greece Cyprus, Montenegro 1 Austria Bulgaria Hungary Croatia Norway Germany United Kingdom Australia Cyprus Greece Romania Moldova Belgium Ireland Televote [ edit ] N. Contestant Nation(s) giving 12 points 12 Portugal Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Israel, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland 7 Bulgaria Azerbaijan, Belarus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, San Marino, United Kingdom 5 Moldova Australia, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Ukraine 4 Belgium Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Sweden 2 Hungary Croatia, Serbia Italy Albania, Malta Croatia Montenegro, Slovenia Cyprus Greece, Armenia Romania Moldova, Ireland 1 Azerbaijan Georgia Greece Cyprus Sweden Denmark France Bulgaria Other countries [ edit ] Eligibility for potential participation in the Eurovision Song Contest requires a national broadcaster with active EBU membership that would be able to broadcast the contest via the Eurovision network.[62] The EBU issued an invitation of participation in the contest to all fifty-six active members and associate member Australia, with forty-two countries confirming their participation.[43] Morocco, Tunisia and five other countries did not publish their reasons for declining, however the following countries declined to participate, stating their reasons as shown below. Active EBU members [ edit ] Associate EBU members [ edit ] Kazakhstan – Khabar Agency became an associate member of the EBU on 1 January 2016, opening up the possibility of a future participation.[81] However, the EBU announced on 28 September that while Khabar Agency were unable to debut in the 2016 contest because they did not have active membership, they are reviewing the rules for the 2017 contest, which may include opening up the possibility of Khabar Agency making its début in the contest.[82] However, Kazakhstan was not on the final list of participating countries announced by the EBU on 31 October 2016.[83] EBU non-members [ edit ] Kosovo – Albanian news portal Koha reported on 6 April 2016 that the Director General of Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK), Mentor Shala, had announced at a press conference that Kosovo, had been invited to participate, with a decision on whether or not to pursue the invitation to be made later in 2016. [84] However, this was confirmed to be untrue, after Shala stated on 7 April that his comments were misinterpreted by Koha, and what he actually meant was that "RTK was invited to [the] Eurovision Committee and Kosovo’s acceptance or not in the Eurovision depends on them" . [85] This was backed-up by a statement from the EBU. [86] Kosovo – Albanian news portal Koha reported on 6 April 2016 that the Director General of Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK), Mentor Shala, had announced at a press conference that Kosovo, had been invited to participate, with a decision on whether or not to pursue the invitation to be made later in 2016. However, this was confirmed to be untrue, after Shala stated on 7 April that his comments were misinterpreted by Koha, and what he actually meant was that . This was backed-up by a statement from the EBU. Liechtenstein – While 1 Fürstentum Liechtenstein Television (1FLTV) announced on 21 September 2016 that they would not be making their début at the contest, 1FLTV have stated their intention to debut in a future contest, on receipt of financial support from the Liechtenstein Government towards active EBU membership and the costs associated with a potential participation. [87] Liechtenstein – While 1 Fürstentum Liechtenstein Television (1FLTV) announced on 21 September 2016 that they would not be making their début at the contest, 1FLTV have stated their intention to debut in a future contest, on receipt of financial support from the Liechtenstein Government towards active EBU membership and the costs associated with a potential participation. United States – After the interval performance of Justin Timberlake during the final of the 2016 contest, it has been speculated that the United States might participate in a future contest, similar to the interval performance of Jessica Mauboy during the second semi-final of the 2014 contest and Australia's subsequent debut the following year.[88] While Logo TV broadcast the final of the 2016 contest, the channel does not have associate EBU membership.[89][90] International broadcasts and voting [ edit ] It was reported by the EBU that the contest was viewed by a worldwide television audience of approximately 182 million viewers,[91] which was 22 million less than the 2016 record which was viewed by 204 million.[92] The EBU stated that this decrease in viewing figures was likely a result of the withdrawal of Russia and its decision not to broadcast any of the three shows.[44][91] Voting and spokespersons [ edit ] The spokespersons announced the 12-point score from their respective country's national jury in the following order:[93] Most countries sent commentators to Kiev or commentated from their own country, in order to add insight to the participants and, if necessary, the provision of voting information. The EBU announced on 9 May, that all three shows would also be streamed live via YouTube.[94] Non-participating countries [ edit ] International sign broadcast [ edit ] Incidents [ edit ] Organizing team shakeup [ edit ] In December 2016 Grytsak was appointed as a new head of the organizing committee. In February 2017, 21 team members resigned claiming that the new appointment effectively stopped the work for two months.[158][159] French song submission [ edit ] France 2 announced on 9 February 2017 that they would participate at the contest with the song "Requiem", performed by Alma.[160] However, it was discovered during the week of 17 February "Requiem" had been recorded and performed prior to 1 September 2016, the submission deadline set by the EBU, potentially violating the rules of the contest.[161] Further investigation shows that "Requiem" had been performed at the end of January 2015.[162] While France 2 had claimed not to be in breach of the rules of the contest, no ultimate decision had been made regarding their potential disqualification.[162] No further reports were made regarding Alma's participation, and she was able to partake in the competition in May. Russian withdrawal [ edit ] Channel One Russia (C1R) announced on 12 March 2017 that they would participate at the contest with "Flame Is Burning", performed by Julia Samoylova. However, Samoylova was issued a three-year travel ban on entering Ukraine by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on 22 March,[163] by virtue of illegally travelling directly from Russia to Crimea, a region that was annexed by Russia in 2014, in 2015 to give a performance.[164][165] Entry to Crimea by non-Ukrainian citizens via Russia is illegal under Ukrainian law;[164] however, Samoylova confirmed that she performed in Crimea in 2015.[166][167][168] The EBU responded by stating its commitment to ensuring that all participating countries would be able to perform in Kiev, while expressing their disappointment at the lack of compromise from C1R and UA:PBC.[169] C1R were offered the opportunity to allow Samoylova to perform via satellite from a venue of their choice,[170] but such a compromise was rejected by both C1R and the Ukrainian Government.[171][172] The Director General of the EBU, Ingrid Deltenre, condemned Ukraine's actions, describing them as "abusing the Contest for political reasons" and "absolutely unacceptable"[173] C1R announced their withdrawal from the contest on 13 April, stating that they also might not broadcast the contest.[44][174][45] C1R had not organised accommodation before their artist announcement, as is typically the case, and refused to attend the meeting of Heads of Delegation. By announcing their artist just before the deadline for entry submission to the contest and not booking a hotel, it was speculated that C1R had not intended to go due to audiences booing Russian artists in previous contests.[175] As part of the Russian Victory Day celebrations on 9 May, Samoylova gave another performance in Crimea, including the song which was intended to represent Russia at the contest.[176] Israeli broadcaster compromise [ edit ] Under a proposal by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority (IBA) was reorganised into two separate entities: the Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC), with responsibility for "general programming" such as entertainment, and another with responsibility for news and current affairs programming. The IPBC is also branded as "KAN" (Hebrew: כאן, lit. 'Here'). The EBU informed the IPBC executive board on 7 April that such a compromise would render them unable to remain a member without an outlet for news and current events programming. It has been reported that the IBA may cease to be a member of the EBU.[177] The IBA was expected to close down on 15 May 2017 before the IPBC was expected to launch. However, on 9 and 10 May 2017 the IBA unexpectedly closed down most of their operations in news and current affair programs.[178] This Eurovision was the last program that Channel 1 aired under the IBA, where minimal staff of twenty people remained to ensure a smooth transmission on Channel 1.[120][179] After the Eurovision the station displayed a slide about its closure. During the voting portion of the live telecast of the final Ofer Nachshon, Israeli voting spokesperson since 2009, bid farewell on behalf of the IBA before revealing their jury points.[180] This was incorrectly reported by several British media outlets and in other countries as Israel leaving the Contest.[180][181] IPBC applied for EBU membership later that year and was accepted, thus Israel continued to participate. They went on to win the contest the next year.[182] The government passed a law splitting new corporation into two entities - one in charge for entertainment programs and the second is for news, which may create an obstacle for either entity joining EBU. However, the High Court of Justice issued a temporary injunction, blocking the split. If the split is cancelled permanently, the new Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation meets all requirements for joining EBU.[183] Argument for using pre-recorded vocals live [ edit ] Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) had discussions with the EBU regarding the abolition of the rule prohibiting pre-recorded vocals during live performances at the contest. Such a rule is intended to guarantee the authenticity of live performances.[184] The discussion stems from when Norwegian representative JOWST stated his displeasure at the rule in an interview on 24 March, in reference to the sampling technique of chopped vocals in his song "Grab the Moment" which cannot be attributed in the live performance.[184] Such discussions were also in place in 1999, when pre-recorded vocals during the Croatian entry, "Marija Magdalena", performed by Doris Dragović, led to objections by the Norwegian delegation — led at the time by Jon Ola Sand. Such objections led the EBU to consider deducting a third of Croatia's final score, reducing it from 118 points to 79. However, such a deduction never occurred.[citation needed] The possible abolition of the rule, alongside the abolition of the live orchestra in 1999, has led some fans and critics of the contest to argue that the contest has become too commercialised and the authenticity of live performances has been compromised.[184] After discussing the matter with the EBU, NRK were granted an exception to the rule. JOWST stated that "[the Norwegian delegation] have now been allowed to use the recorded vocal tracks, [...]. But [they] have also practiced a plan B with the backing vocalists, if there are big protests from others in Kiev."[185] Both JOWST and Aleksander Walmann think that had "Grab the Moment" been in the semi-final of the 2018 contest following an abolition of the rule, they would have had an advantage. NRK stated on 2 May that JOWST are aiming to perform the song acoustically as a back-up, bringing with them two additional backing vocalists who will perform the pre-recorded vocals live using a filter applied by the sound engineering team so as not to compromise on sound quality.[186] Norwegian jury replacement [ edit ] Norwegian jury member Per Sundnes made comments on NRK preview show Adresse Kiev on 17 April 2017 against Irish representative Brendan Murray, saying: "It's been a long time since they've gotten up and I do not think they'll do it again. They try the same formula year after year."[187] The comments were not welcomed by the Irish delegation, who subsequently reported the matter to the EBU.[188] The Irish Independent reported on 8 May that Sundnes had been replaced due to an alleged breach in jury rules. Commenting on the decision, the Head of Delegation for Ireland, Michael Kealy, said: "I'm glad that the European Broadcasting Union have reacted swiftly to this situation and that all jury members are impartial. It's only fair that each song in the Eurovision Song Contest is judged on its individual merits on the night." Sundnes was subsequently replaced by Erland Bakke.[189] Sundnes stated in an interview with Verdens Gang on 9 May: "I do not know anything about the jury stuff, just that I'm not [in it]. It was not really surprising. The same thing happened in Sweden last year with the Swedish professional jury."[190] NRK admits that they made a mistake by letting Sundnes sit in both the professional jury and the judging panel of Adresse Kiev. However, when they were informed by the EBU that this was against the rules, they rectified the situation quickly. Project manager for Melodi Grand Prix, Stig Karlsen, stated: "We have received some concerns from several teams that Per has been in the jury, while at the same time he has been meaningful in the program. Therefore, we took a new assessment.".[191] Estonian technical issues [ edit ] On 11 May 2017, during the transmission of the second semi-final, the microphone of the Estonian representative seemed to have malfunctioned as singer Laura Põldvere could not be heard for approximately two seconds by viewers at home. It was later revealed that the Estonian delegation considered appealing to the EBU to allow Laura and Koit Toome to perform their entry "Verona" again as a result of the error, but later decided against it. Mart Normet, the Head of Delegation for Estonia, explained "If there has been such a powerful performance for three minutes and given an absolute maximum, then this energy again does not come back when you go on stage again". The EBU responded to the situation, reportedly describing the error as purely technical, as the microphone was supposed to automatically come on. Instead, a sound technician was forced to respond by manually switching on the microphone via the sound desk.[192] The country ultimately failed to reach the grand final, with Põldvere expressing her annoyance, however stating "I do not think it’s so tremendously influenced when a few words remain unheard".[193] Salvador Sobral's political message [ edit ] Portugal's representative, Salvador Sobral drew attention to the European migrant crisis by turning up to the first semi-final winners' press conference in an "S.O.S. Refugees" shirt.[194] "If I'm here and I have European exposure, the least thing I can do is a humanitarian message", Sobral said. "People come to Europe in plastic boats and are being asked to show their birth certificates in order to enter a country. These people are not immigrants, they're refugees running from death. Make no mistake. There is so much bureaucratic stuff happening in the refugee camps in Greece, Turkey and Italy and we should help create legal and safe pathways from these countries to their destiny countries", he added, earning a round of applause.[195] Later on, EBU ordered a ban so that he could not wear it for the remainder of the contest.[196] The EBU explained that Sobral's jumper was used as a means of "political message," which violates the rules of the contest.[196] However, Sobral argued in his winning press conference that it was not political, but a message of humanitarianism.[197] Jamala stage invasion [ edit ] A performance by Jamala during the voting interval of the final was disrupted by a man draped in an Australian flag who invaded the stage and briefly mooned the audience before being removed by security.[198] He was later identified as Ukrainian prankster Vitalii Sediuk.[199] Following the incident the EBU released a statement reading: "A person took to the stage at the beginning of Jamala's performance of I Believe in U at tonight's Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv. He was quickly removed from the stage by security and out of the arena. He is currently being held and questioned by the police at the venue police office." The last time an unauthorised person gained access to the stage was in 2010 when the Spanish performance was disrupted by Jimmy Jump.[200] Salvador Sobral's victory speech [ edit ] After getting his trophy, Salvador Sobral began a speech talking the quality of music and stated "We live in a world of disposable music – fast-food music without any content," and "I think this could be a victory for music that actually means something. Music is not fireworks. Music is feeling", prompting angry reactions from across Europe, including Swedish contestant, Robin Bengtsson.[201] Other awards [ edit ] The Marcel Bezençon Awards, the OGAE voting poll and the Barbara Dex Awards are awards that will be contested by the entries competing at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, in addition to the main winner's trophy. Marcel Bezençon Awards [ edit ] The Marcel Bezençon Awards were first handed out during the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 in Tallinn, Estonia, honouring the best competing songs in the final. Founded by Christer Björkman (Sweden's representative in the Eurovision Song Contest 1992 and the current Head of Delegation for Sweden) and Richard Herrey (a member of the Herreys and the Eurovision Song Contest 1984 winner from Sweden), the awards are named after the creator of the annual competition, Marcel Bezençon.[202] The awards are divided into three categories: Press Award, Artistic Award, and Composer Award. The winners were revealed shortly before the final on 13 May.[203] OGAE [ edit ] Organisation Générale des Amateurs de l'Eurovision (more commonly known as OGAE) is an international organisation that was founded in 1984 in Savonlinna, Finland by Jari-Pekka Koikkalainen.[204] The organisation consists of a network of over 40 Eurovision Song Contest fan clubs across Europe and beyond, and is a non-governmental, non-political, and non-profit company.[205] In what has become an annual tradition for the OGAE fan clubs, a voting poll will run prior to the main Eurovision Song Contest allowing members from over 40 clubs to vote for their favourite songs of the contest. The OGAE Poll 2017 ran from 1 to 30 April 2017, and published daily by the official OGAE International website.[206] Italy won the poll receiving a total of four-hundred and ninety-seven points, from forty-four OGAE member clubs.[207] *Table reflects the 2017 voting results from all forty-four OGAE member clubs. Barbara Dex Award [ edit ] The Barbara Dex Award is a fan award originally awarded by House of Eurovision from 1997 to 2016, and since 2017 by songfestival.be. This is a humorous award given to the worst dressed artist each year in the contest, and was named after the Belgian artist, Barbara Dex, who came last in the 1993, in which she wore her own self designed dress. This was the first year that songfestival.be awarded the Barbara Dex Award. Official album [ edit ] Eurovision Song Contest: Kyiv 2017 is the official compilation album of the contest, put together by the European Broadcasting Union and was released by Universal Music Group digitally on 21 April and physically on 28 April 2017.[209] The album features all 42 participating entries, including the semi-finalists that failed to qualify for the final, and the Russian entry which withdrew from the contest on 13 April 2017.[210][44][211] This is the second consecutive year that the official album featured a song which had withdrawn before the contest. Charts [ edit ] See also [ edit ] Notes [ edit ] ^ Switzerland, who had been allocated to pot one, were pre-allocated to compete in the second semi-final at the request of Swiss broadcaster SRF. ^ Russia withdrew approximately three months after the semi-final allocation draw. a b [56] The title is in Latin , but the lyrics are in Hungarian . The song also contains onomatopoeias commonly used by Romani singers but with no meaning in Romani a b "Grab the Moment" features unaccredited vocals from Norwegian singer Aleksander Walmann a b Whilst the song has an English title, the lyrics are entirely in Belarusian ^ Contains some words in Ancient Greek , English and Sanskrit |
by David Cameron is preparing for what may be his very last poo at number 10 should he be forced out of his Prime Ministerial job and home by Ed Miliband after tomorrow’s general election. According to Downing Street insiders the long tradition of new Prime Ministers having to ‘give it ten minutes’ due to the toilet activities of their predecessor was a tradition begun by Anthony Eden who despite having an unremarkable term in office went down in history by taking his successor Rab Butler into the bathroom at number 10 and famously saying. “Look Rab! Look! I did that!” Health Secretary Jeremy fucking Hunt has reportedly been advising Mr Cameron on an optimum diet to leave the most memorable legacy following his five years in power. “The bar has been set very high. You should have seen the one Gordon Brown left for him. They don’t call him Gordon ‘brown trout’ for nothing. And he had a tough act to follow after Tony Blair left a weapon of mass destruction.” He told us. BBC Political Editor Nick Robinson said “He’ll have been saving this one up for about a week. The trick is to leave one behind of such gargantuan proportions that that it is still there smiling at the new PM despite numerous attempts by civil servants and Number 10 housekeepers to get it to disappear down the pan.” |
Tomoyuki Sugano returned to Japan recently after spending several days training in Hawaii. He told reporters at Narita Airport that his workouts yielded great results and allowed that “my condition is the best it’s been in three years.” The Giants fell short of winning the pennant and fans will be hoping for a big year out of their ace pitcher to help reclaim it. Sugano himself is likely hoping to erase the taste of the first losing season of his three-year career. Former Giants pitcher Yukinaga Maeda said, in an article about Sugano for Tokyo Sports, that an ace pitcher should win at least 15 games — coincidentally the minimum number of victories listed as one of the selection criteria for the Sawamura Award, which a Yomiuri pitcher hasn’t won since Koji Uehara earned his second in 2002. Sugano hasn’t cracked the 15-win barrier yet — no Giants hurler has since Tetsuya Utsumi won 18 games in 2011 — but it’s a bit unfair to judge his credentials on wins alone. Sugano lost more games than he won in 2015. At 10-11, he lost exactly as many games last year as he did in his first two seasons combined. But wins and losses can be misleading, if for no other reason than we have more information now. While Sugano “earned” some of those losses, other were the result of a Giants team that sputtered through a down year. Aside from his win-loss record, Sugano’s numbers rivaled, if not bettered those he put up in 2014, when he was the CL MVP. Sugano’s 1.91 ERA was the second best in Japan in 2015, and he also finished with a 2.80 fielding independent pitching average. His average game score (a measure of how effective a pitcher was during a start) for the season was 62.6 which, according to Sports Nippon, was the fifth-best in Japan — Hokkaido Nippon Ham’s Shohei Otani scored the highest at 68.7. Sugano was also one of four CL pitchers with a quality start percentage of 80 percent or higher. Sugano had a 2-5 record and 2.71 ERA over his final eight starts of the year, in August and September, when the Kyojin were fighting the Hanshin Tigers and Tokyo Yakult Swallows, the eventual pennant winners, for CL supremacy. He was 1-2 in four starts in September, despite just five earned runs allowed over his final 26 innings of the season. Sugano wasn’t always at his best, and he had inopportune hiccups, but he largely did his part. Winning decisions is hard, and not solely in a pitcher’s hands. Sugano will undoubtedly be looking to do it a little more often in 2016, but if he does, it’ll be a mistake to call it a comeback. Feeling the blues: Kenta Maeda is getting ready for his move to MLB by working out with a few of his now-former Carp teammates at Mazda Stadium in Hiroshima. This past week he did some throwing exercises and played catch with an MLB ball. “I want to enter camp with my condition at 100 percent,” Maeda told Kyodo News. It was noted that Maeda’s workout outfit was predominately blue, perhaps a nod to his new team, the Los Angeles Dodgers. Carp pitcher Daichi Osera was less subtle, showing his support with a workout shirt with a large Dodgers logo emblazoned across the front. It was a similar scene to the one in Sendai in January of 2014, when newly minted New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka returned to workout at Rakuten’s facilities, with the Eagles he trained with proudly wearing Yankees hats. |
Despite the extensive drought in California, some prized edible mushrooms are sneaking their way into my classroom. As mentioned in a previous post, I’m teaching a class at UC Berkeley this semester called California Mushrooms. Students bring in mushrooms that they find hiking around the local forests or on campus, and we identify them in lab. Imagine my delight when this giant pile of oyster mushrooms walked into my classroom a few weeks ago! Whenever we get a sizable collection of edible mushrooms in the classroom we cook them so that all of the students can try them. Oyster mushrooms, also known as Pleurotus ostreatus, are not necessarily the most prized mushrooms because they are not that scarce. Unlike chanterelles and porcinis, which are ectomycorrhizal fungi and are mutualistically associated with trees, oyster mushrooms are saptrophic fungi that make a living by decaying dead material such as wood. This is an easy environment to reproduce in culture so oyster mushrooms are cultivated and thus readily abundant. You might have seen them in your local grocery store. Or you might be seeing them on downed logs while hiking around in the forest, which is where my student found them in the woods in Marin county. We cleaned and sliced up the mushrooms and prepped them on our handy wooden cutting board in lab. As you saw in the chicken of the woods post, we have a set up where we bring in a portable hot plate and cook mushrooms in the fume hood. We like to cook the mushrooms simply in butter and add salt so the students can taste them in their purest element. I do enjoy oyster mushrooms but I will admit that they are not the most flavorful. However, oyster mushrooms would add great texture and meaty flavor to a stir fry or an egg dish. Chicken of the woods, which I wrote about in my last post, has been coming in a lot as well as it is a common parasite of Eucalyptus trees on campus and in Albany and Berkeley. Since they are so tasty and were such a hit in the previous class, we decided to cut those up and cook them as well. Don’t they add a lovely color? Here are the oyster mushrooms all cooked up. You can see we use pretty fancy flatware in class… Now of course the students love trying all new mushrooms but I was especially excited when we got our first porcini! Alas it was only a single mushroom that was found by one of the students hiking around in Mendocino, but I had to cut it up for students to try since it is such a prized edible. Porcinis are ectomycorrhizal fungi, mutualistically associated with trees, so they must be foraged in order to find them because it is a really difficult environment to recreate in culture. Many mushrooms in the genus Boletus are lumped into the edible category of porcinis, but the one that we had in class was the queen bolete Boletus regineus known for the white bloom she has on her cap when young. Mushrooms in the genus Boletus are distinctive for having tubes instead of gills. Remember my post about hedgehog mushrooms where I mentioned that mushrooms in the genus Hydnum have spiny teeth instead of gills? Mushrooms have evolved all sorts of awesome mechanisms for dispersing their spores! Porcinis are identifiable due to the brown bun shaped caps, the tubes, and the reticulation, or netting, on the top of the stem. Can you see it? As I mentioned previously, porcinis are a rare find and are super delectable so I was very excited to cook it in class. As usual, we kept it simple cooking it in the frying pan with butter and salt. Porcinis are delicious in egg dishes, gravy, soups, many Italian dishes, and would likely add a rich buttery flavor to any dish. They were super buttery and delicious! Here’s my co-TA Vince enjoying mushrooms in our lab. Here are the students gathering round to try the mushrooms! Bon apetit! |
(Afp) Un arresto dopo l'attacco compiuto ieri a Dortmund contro il pullman del Borussia. Come riferisce l'agenzia Dpa, le forze dell'ordine hanno individuato un islamico in relazione a quello che la procura generale tedesca considera un "attacco terroristico". La posizione di un'altra persona è al vaglio degli inquirenti. Il sospetto fermato sarebbe un 25enne iracheno proveniente da Wuppertal, non lontano da Dortmund, secondo la Dpa che cita non meglio precisate fonti. L'altro uomo sarebbe un 28enne tedesco, di Froendenberg. Secondo i giornali Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger ed Express, i due avrebbero legami con lo Stato islamico e uno di loro potrebbe essersi trovato nei pressi del luogo dell'attacco al momento delle esplosioni dei tre ordigni. La matrice islamista "sembra possibile", ha detto Frauke Kohler, portavoce della Procura federale tedesca, anche se "il motivo preciso" di quanto avvenuto resta sconosciuto. "Uno di loro è stato temporaneamente fermato - ha detto la portavoce ai giornalisti, precisando che le abitazioni dei due sono state perquisite - Stiamo cercando di vedere se richiedere un mandato di arresto". Emergono dettagli intanto sugli ordigni. Secondo la procura, sono stati realizzati anche con schegge metalliche che avrebbero potuto uccidere: un frammento, in particolare, si è conficcato nel poggiatesta di un sedile del pullman. Non è ancora chiaro come siano state fatte detonare le bombe. L'esplosione, a quanto pare, avrebbe avuto un raggio di circa 100 metri. Nel corso delle indagini sono state ritrovate 3 copie di un messaggio di rivendicazione, secondo cui l'azione sarebbe stata compiuta da un gruppo islamista in risposta alla partecipazione tedesca alle operazioni militari contro l'Is in Iraq e in Soria. Il messaggio ovviamente viene esaminato in maniera approfondita in queste ore, ha fatto sapere la procura. Mentre si segue la pista islamica, la polizia non esclude altre ipotesi e valuta - in relazione a messaggi postati su Internet - il possibile coinvolgimento di gruppi dell'estrema sinistra. I messaggi, che però non sarebbero considerati totalmente attendibili, sono stati postati nella serata di ieri e avrebbero infatti uno stile riconducibile ai gruppi che si muovono sulla scena dell'estrema sinistra: alludono alla messa a punto degli ordigni esplosivi scoppiati al passaggio dell'autobus, un attacco contro un "simbolo del BVB" (l'acronimo della squadra) il cui management - affermano - non ha fatto abbastanza per scoraggiare razzismo, nazismo e populismo di destra. Intanto, sono due i feriti: oltre a Marc Bartra, ferito leggermente ad un polso e operato nella notte, ad essere colpito è stato un agente che si trovava in moto, davanti all'autobus dei calciatori, che stava scortando verso lo stadio. L'operazione a cui è stato sottoposto nella notte Bartra ha avuto esito positivo. Il difensore ha subito una frattura al radio, alcune schegge gli si sono conficcate nel polso della mano destra. "Tutto è andato bene", ha confermato Reinhard Rauball, dirigente del club tedesco, riferendosi all'intervento. PARTITA - Il Monaco ha vinto per 3-2 sul campo del Borussia Dortmund nel match valido per l'andata dei quarti di Champions League. La partita è stata rimandata a oggi dopo l'attentato al bus della formazione tedesca avvenuto nella serata di ieri. Sul successo dei transalpini c'è la firma del giovane talento Mbappe, autore di una doppietta (19' e 79'). Per gli ospiti a segno anche Bender (35'). In avvio di partita il Monaco ha sbagliato un rigore con Fabinho. A tenere vive le speranze di qualificazione del Dortmund ci hanno pensato Dembelé (57') e Kagawa (84'). |
By Earth standards, Hurricane Irene is a monster storm. But it's just a baby compared to the massive cyclones of Jupiter and Saturn. Our planet is not the only one in the solar system that boasts huge, hurricane-like storms. The gas giants Jupiter and Saturn, for example, churn out spinning squalls that can be bigger than the entire Earth. While these storms aren't fed by warm ocean water the way terrestrial hurricanes are, they're similar in a lot of ways, scientists say. "There certainly are storms that have thunder and lightning and rain that are bigger than terrestrial hurricanes," said atmospheric scientist Andrew Ingersoll of the California Institute of Technology, a researcher with NASA's Cassini mission to Saturn. "And more violent — the winds on those planets are stronger, too." [Photos: Most Powerful Storms of the Solar System] Giant planets, giant storms Hurricane Irene measured about 600 miles (966 kilometers) across as it bore down on the U.S. East Coast today (Aug. 26). That's big and scary, but it pales next to storms on our solar system's gas giants. Jupiter's Great Red Spot — which has been raging continuously for at least 180 years — could fit two entire Earths within it, Ingersoll said. And in December, a thunderstorm about 6,200 miles (10,000 km) wide erupted on Saturn. This one, known as the Great White Spot, is still going strong, and some of its clouds have wrapped all the way around the ringed planet. [Top 10 Extreme Planet Facts] The Great White Spot also generates lots of lightning, just like thunderstorms here on Earth. "We can see the lightning flashes on the night side, and we can hear the radio static from the lightning," Ingersoll told SPACE.com. "The energy in the lightning flashes is a lot stronger than terrestrial lightning." Further, last year, astronomers spotted a cyclone at Neptune's south pole that was thousands of miles wide. The Neptune squall was similar to a spinning storm discovered a few years earlier at Saturn's south pole, which even had a well-developed eye, just like an Earth hurricane. But the Saturn polar vortex was much bigger than any hurricane found on Earth. Its eye alone measured about 2,500 miles (4,000 km) in diameter; the eye of a typical terrestrial hurricane may be just 2 or 3 miles across. Energy and moisture Here on Earth, hurricanes gain their power from warm ocean water. Warm, moist air over tropical or subtropical seas rises, causing a zone of lower air pressure beneath it. Higher-pressure air zips in to fill the void. But that air soon warms, becomes moist and rises, too. As this pattern repeats, a huge, swirling storm is born. Jupiter and Saturn don't have oceans, so their spinning storms aren't "hurricanes" in the strict, terrestrial sense. But similar processes spawn them, according to Ingersoll. [Photos: Jupiter, Largest Planet in the Solar System] "Heat makes buoyancy; hot air rises," Ingersoll said. "Heat also causes evaporation of moisture, and when the moisture condenses and forms rain, that releases the energy. So, energy and moisture." Most of the energy driving Earth's hurricanes ultimately comes from the sun. But that may not be the case on Jupiter and Saturn, which orbit our star from much farther away than Earth does. "They're so giant that they still have retained some of their heat of formation," Ingersoll said. "So they have their own internal heat that can generate these giant storms." The moisture requirement explains why gigantic, hurricane-like storms don't seem to occur on Venus or Mars, he added. "The giant planets have moisture down below the clouds," Ingersoll said. "But Venus doesn't. Venus is dry as a bone, hot and dry. It's not comparable. And Mars is cold and dry." Saturn storm mysteries Saturn's Great White Spot tends to erupt every few decades, shattering long periods of calm and quiescence. Scientists still aren't sure why some storms on the giant planets should be so big, and so infrequent. "For some reason, they store up that energy for a long time, then let it loose in a violent, huge storm," Ingersoll said. "It didn't have to work out that way; they could let off a little popcorn now and then. But they don't do that." He's hoping that Cassini will help resolve this question — just one of many that scientists are grappling with as they try to understand the weather systems on other planets. "We're working right now on this giant Saturn storm, with that exact question in mind," Ingersoll said. © 2011 TechMediaNetwork.com. All rights reserved. |
It never got quite the coverage of his own radioactively malicious efforts, but Donald Trump was himself once the target of birther claims. Back in 2013, talkshow host Bill Maher challenged Trump to prove that he was not “the spawn of his mother having sex with an orangutan”. If there is a moment at which literalism tips into psychological malady, Trump is believed to have reached it at some point during the Reagan administration, so he duly went and provided Maher with his birth certificate. There was also a $5m lawsuit (from Trump, of all quirks, as opposed to the orangutan species). Donald Trump and Theresa May hold joint White House press conference - Politics live Read more Some years on, the orangutan birtherism serves two useful purposes. The first is the point about literalism. We are always told by those in thrall to him that much of what Trump says is metaphor. The wall is a metaphor, Brexit financier Arron Banks explained to me. “It’s like the ark in the Bible – there wasn’t a literal ark! It’s an allegory.” The Muslim ban is a metaphor, suggested anti-democracy billionaire Peter Thiel shortly before he joined Trump’s transition team, praising voters who “take him seriously but not literally”. Their compulsion to make excuses for Trump says much about how they handle misgivings, but others would do better to understand that pretty much everything the president does indicates that he represents the triumph of the literal. This is the guy who turned the traditional dick-measuring contest that is the Republican primary into an actual dick-measuring contest. “You know what they say about men with small hands,” said Marco Rubio, prompting Trump to pledge: “I guarantee you there’s no problem [with the size of my penis].” Do let’s ditch the idea that Trump is a poetically complex man who will govern in conceits. He is just conceited. The second effect of the orangutan business is accidental – a reminder that Trumpology is primatology. During the presidential campaign, the Atlantic magazine asked eminent primatologist Jane Goodall to assess Trump, and the reply was clear. “In many ways the performances of Donald Trump remind me of male chimpanzees and their dominance rituals. In order to impress rivals, males seeking to rise in the dominance hierarchy perform spectacular displays: stamping, slapping the ground, dragging branches, throwing rocks. The more vigorous and imaginative the display, the faster the individual is likely to rise in the hierarchy, and the longer he is likely to maintain that position.” Watching Trump and those who seek to align themselves with him should remind us that bullying is a highly successful evolutionary strategy. Chimpanzees copy the dominant male in behaviours that are seen to work, which is perhaps why – again, with apologies to chimpanzees – the White House press corps spent Trump’s first press conference the other week jostling needily for attention, adopting a noticeably brasher tone as they called out their questions, and allowing the weaker of their number to be bullied by the dominant male. Or observe Theresa May instead. You’d think her hardwiring rendered her incapable of any serious Trump mimicry. Yet before she’d even landed for her US visit, she felt so forced out of her comfort zone for survival that she found herself saying embarrassingly Trumpish things such as, “Haven’t you ever noticed – sometimes opposites attract?” This is not a challenge; it is a form of appeasement behaviour. As is Michael Gove copying Trump’s thumbs-up gesture for the photo to accompany his fawning interview with the then president-elect, which left Gove looking like he’d just won a competition to become gamma-male. Even more poignant is the much-used photo of Nigel Farage appearing to bow his head in grateful deference during his joint appearance with Trump in Mississippi during the campaign. Farage now describes his Brexit victory almost entirely in terms of what it meant for Trump. He has laid it at the president’s feet, like a particularly special banana that he regards himself as unworthy of eating. Given Farage spent 25 years of his life on his passionate quest to take Britain out of Europe, frequently alone and scorned and against what many thought were impossible odds, I can barely think of a more pathetic submission gesture. So too with those who spent the entire George W Bush years calling Tony Blair Dubya’s poodle, and have now rolled over with excruciating gratitude to become Trump’s. Look, ma! He’s letting me pull off his fleas! These henchmonkeys, of course, judge their own survival or advancement to require effectively submissive behaviour. Other groups have no choice. Rhesus macaques pick on the weakest members of their hierarchy with relentless viciousness, a behaviour some primatologists refer to as “scapegoating”. (If you watch Trump talk, this might feel faintly familiar.) The hierarchy needs an enemy to bond over, to define itself against, and to therapeutically absorb its aggressions. “It seems to release tensions among the higher-ups,” as one macaque expert puts it. Theresa May's meeting with Donald Trump 'could sour Brexit negotiations' Read more Speaking of which, what a surprise to find a Trump administration on 36% approval ratings without a functioning Democrat in sight turning on the media. White House senior strategist Steve Bannon phoned the New York Times to explain how it was going to be, and to read it is to hear a version of that scene in a drama when the new prison inmate has the whole hideous pecking order explained to him. “The media should keep its mouth shut … I want you to quote this: the media is the opposition party.” Incidentally, given they did quote this, I’m baffled by the Times’s decision to censor what they reported as a Bannon call “peppered with profanity”. Why? We are going to hear much more troubling things than a few swear words as time goes on, and journalistic attempts to administer the smelling salts feel ominously misplaced. Still, thanks to the paper we have fascinating multi-sourced accounts of the atmosphere inside the White House during the days after the inauguration. One line from reporter Maggie Haberman stood out in the above context: “The more time people spend with Trump, the more they tend to adopt his mindset about how he is treated.” Yes. Like yawning or syphilis, Trump’s self-dramatisation is catching. But to ape him is to defer to him – something to bear in mind for those who don’t wish to be owned by him. |
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Watkins could have created a 'heavily groomed clique' to protect him, according to an expert An inquiry into whether Lostprophets' Ian Watkins' celebrity status prevented him from being brought to justice as a child sex abuser earlier is being held. Gross misconduct notices have been served on seven police officers as part of an investigation into the handling of allegations against Watkins. They include three from South Yorkshire Police, two from Bedfordshire Police, and two from South Wales Police. Last year Watkins was jailed for 29 years for serious child sex offences. Independent Police Complaints Commission commissioner Jan Williams said: "We are continuing to gather and analyse information in all three investigations in order to establish what steps were taken by police in response to the allegations made against Ian Watkins, whether he could have been brought to justice sooner and whether his celebrity status had any impact on those investigations." Pornographic image The Pontypridd-born Lostprophets singer was jailed after admitting a catalogue of serious sex offences involving children. Watkins admitted the attempted rape and sexual assault of a child under 13 but pleaded not guilty to rape. He also admitted conspiring to rape a child, three counts of sexual assault involving children, seven involving taking, making or possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing an extreme pornographic image involving a sex act on an animal. Image caption Watkins admitted the attempted rape and sexual assault of a child under 13 The IPCC said it has received a substantial amount of documentation from the three forces involved which is being analysed by investigators. The officers served with misconduct notices are: A sergeant and two constables from South Yorkshire Police A sergeant and constable from Bedfordshire Police over their handling of information, who have not been suspended Two South Wales Police officer, including a detective constable who was attached to the Child Protection Unit, it is not known if they have been been suspended The inquiry will look at complaints about how South Yorkshire Police handling of three reports made to the force between March and May 2012 which contained allegations against Watkins with potential evidence. It will also scrutinise how Bedfordshire Police dealt with information from a member of the public who reported an allegation of child abuse against Watkins in October 2012. Ms Williams said progress on the inquiry was being made. "We have now conducted two interviews with a detective sergeant from South Wales Police about his actions in relation to information about Ian Watkins," she said. "We anticipate he will be interviewed again in the near future." South Wales Police and South Yorkshire Police said they were cooperating with the IPCC. Bedfordshire Police added: "At the time of the original investigation there was insufficient evidence to apply to the magistrates for a warrant. A medical examination of the child did not reveal any evidence of abuse at that time. However, information was shared with partner agencies, including South Wales Police and child protection processes followed." |
A Nintendo game card (trademarked as Game Card) is a cartridge format used to physically distribute video games for certain Nintendo systems. The game cards resemble smaller, thinner versions of the Game Pak cartridges for previous portable gaming consoles released by Nintendo, such as the Game Boy and Game Boy Advance.[1] The mask ROM chips are manufactured by Macronix and have an access speed of 150 ns.[2] The cards contain flash memory,[citation needed] including game data, and a writable portion for saving user data for Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS titles. Nintendo DS [ edit ] Nintendo DS Game Card [ edit ] Cards for the Nintendo DS ranged from 64 megabits to 4 gigabits (8–512 MB) in capacity[3][4] The cards contain an integrated flash memory and an EEPROM to save user data such as game progress or high scores. However, there are a small number of games that have no save memory such as Electroplankton. Based on an IGN blog by the developer of MechAssault: Phantom War, larger (such as 128 MB) cards have a 25% slower data transfer rate than the more common smaller (such as 64 MB) cards; however, the specific base rate was not mentioned.[5] Nintendo DSi Game Card [ edit ] In 2008, the Nintendo DSi was launched. The console offered various hardware improvements and additional functions over previous Nintendo DS iterations, such as the inclusion of cameras. While many Nintendo DS titles released afterwards included features that enhanced gameplay when played on the Nintendo DSi console, most of these games retained compatibility with the original DS iterations sans enhanced features. However, a select few retail game titles were released that worked exclusively for the Nintendo DSi consoles for reasons such as requiring camera functions, and these titles have game cards with white-colored casings (all DSi-exclusive games are region locked). Examples of such game cards include Picture Perfect Hair Salon. While these white game cards can be physically inserted into original Nintendo DS consoles, their software did not function due to the missing hardware features. These DSi-exclusive game cards are fully compatible with the Nintendo 3DS family. Prior to the release of the Nintendo DSi, Nintendo encouraged developers to release DSi-exclusive games as DSiWare downloadables instead of retail game cards that would not function on older Nintendo DS consoles.[6] Infrared support [ edit ] Despite all iterations of the Nintendo DS line lacking native infrared support, certain titles made use of this type of communication function using game cards with their own infrared transceivers. These game cards are generally glossier and darker than common Nintendo DS game cards, and reveal their translucency when exposed to light. Examples of such game cards include Personal Trainer: Walking, which connect to the included pedometers, Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, which connect to the included Pokéwalker accessory, and Pokémon Black and White and Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, which connect to other games.[citation needed] Although all iterations of the Nintendo 3DS family support native infrared functions, Nintendo DS games still use the infrared-enabled game cards themselves when played on a 3DS system, reserving the native infrared for Nintendo 3DS-specific software.[citation needed] Nintendo 3DS [ edit ] Game cards for the Nintendo 3DS are from 1 to 8 gigabytes in size,[7] with 2 GB of game data at launch.[8] They look very similar to DS Game Cards, but are incompatible and have a small tab on one side to prevent them from being inserted into a DS.[9] However, R4 flash cartridges designed for the 3DS still incorporate the same design as the original DS game card. Newer flash cartridges for the 3DS, such as the Gateway or Sky3DS, uses the 3DS card design. Nintendo Switch [ edit ] Nintendo Switch Game Card. The Nintendo Switch uses Game Cards. This iteration is smaller and has a larger storage capacity than its previous versions.[10] Despite its similarities, the Switch is not compatible with DS and 3DS cards.[11] The Game Cards used in the Switch are non-writable and save data is stored in the console's internal memory, unlike the DS and 3DS's game cards, which are writable and are able to store save data.[12] Due to their size, Nintendo Switch Game Cards are coated with denatonium benzoate, a non-toxic, bitter-tasting agent, as a safety precaution against accidental consumption by young children.[13] Videos of users intentionally tasting the cartridges became a meme prior to the console's launch, which originated from Jeff Gerstmann's actions on a Giant Bomb webcast.[14][15] The cartridges come in a variety of capacities: 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB and 32GB.[16] 64GB cartridges were planned to be introduced in the second half of 2018, but due to unspecified circumstances, Nintendo has delayed the launch of this variant until 2019.[17] |
Washington Labor Lawyer Eric Dreiband Could Run DOJ Civil Rights Unit Enlarge this image toggle caption Andrew Harnik/AP Andrew Harnik/AP Updated at 4:23 p.m. ET Attorney General Jeff Sessions is recommending the White House nominate Washington labor lawyer Eric Dreiband to lead the Justice Department's civil rights division, according to two NPR sources briefed on the hiring process. Dreiband represents companies at the law firm Jones Day, where his law partners included Donald McGahn, now the White House counsel. Dreiband served as the top lawyer at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under President George W. Bush and previously worked in the office of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, where, according to his law firm biography, he led the investigation and successful prosecution of Clinton associate Webster Hubbell. In private practice, Dreiband has defended R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., in an age discrimination case; Bloomberg, against pregnancy discrimination claims; and CVS Pharmacy. Civil rights advocates have been closely watching changes within the Justice Department, which under President Trump has already reversed course on oversight of local police departments, guidance for schools governing bathroom and locker room use for transgender students and voting rights cases initiated during the Obama administration. Conservative veterans of the division, which will celebrate its 60th anniversary this year, recently wrote to Sessions to blast the Obama administration's record on civil rights and concluded "it's time to make changes," such as rooting out "ideological rot" among "career bureaucrats." The civil rights division at the Justice Department frequently generates controversy no matter which political party holds the White House. During the Obama years, the Senate rejected nominee Debo Adegbile, after lawmakers derided a legal brief he had filed on behalf of convicted cop killer Mumia Abu Jamal. The Obama team never formally submitted a nomination for ACLU lawyer Vanita Gupta, who went on to lead the civil rights unit through investigations of police in Ferguson, Mo.; Baltimore and Chicago. The Trump team has considered a number of lawyers for the civil rights post, including Harmeet Dhillon, a California Republican who spoke at the GOP convention; Ondray Harris, who once led the division's Community Relations Service, which engages in conflict resolution and mediation in hot spots across the country; and Robert Driscoll, a law partner at McGlinchey Stafford who served as deputy assistant attorney general and chief of staff in the George W. Bush administration. At the White House, a spokeswoman said, "We do not have any personnel announcements to make at this time, but will let you know when we do." |
Case Study #1 Tory James, CB Broken Right Fibula 45 minute surgery on December 12, 2002 Returned to practice on December 26, 2002 Returned to starting lineup December 28, 2002 (16 days after surgery) - Break was a fracture - Operation involved a titanium plate to stabilize and protect the bone from contact - Titanium plates allow the bones to carry more weight - Titanium plates can only be used on fractures that are stable and treated with a cast / boot Case Study #2 Charles Woodson, CB Broken Right Fibula 45 minute surgery on December 24, 2002 Returned to starting lineup January 13, 2003 (20 days after surgery) - Break was a fracture - Operation involved a titanium plate to stabilize and protect the bone from contact - Titanium plates allow the bones to carry more weight - Titanium plates can only be used on fractures that are stable and treated with a cast / boot I'm not aware of the Raiders releasing any details about the nature of Derek Carr's fracture. He is having surgery tomorrow... reportedly. The sense of urgency is encouraging and might indicate his fracture could be comparable to that of James and Woodson, leaving the possibility of a return in the playoffs. As a QB, he doesn't use his legs as much as a CB would... However, he will have pain if he does this procedure and returns. Both those procedures were done 14 years ago using technology from 14 years ago... Perhaps there's better technology out now.... Here is Carr's potential timeline: - December 25, 2016 - Surgery - Jan 1, 2017 Game vs. Broncos - 7 days post-surgery - Jan 7-8, 2017 Wild Card Weekend - 13-14 days post surgery - Jan 14-15, 2017 Divisional Playoff Weekend - 20-21 days post surgery Wild Card Weekend would be an extreme possibility... Divisional Playoff would be a more realistic possibility.... We really need the bye week. Fingers crossed..... Click to expand... |
New Delhi: Delhi Police opposed the bail plea of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar, charged with sedition, in the High Court on Tuesday. The HC directed the Delhi Police to file before it tomorrow a status report of the investigation in the case. The court listed Kumar's bail plea hearing for Wednesday. Interestingly, Delhi Police had earlier said that it will not oppose if he applies for bail. Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi had said, “We have adequate evidence against him (Kumar), but Police will not object to bail for Kanhaiya Kumar.” The JNUSU president has contended that he was 'falsely implicated' in the case as he had not raised any anti-national slogan. JNU has been on the boil over the arrest of its students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar on sedition charges following the February 9 event. Anti-India slogans were allegedly raised at the gathering. Kanhaiya, who is in judicial custody till March 2, had approached the apex court directly seeking bail on the ground that his life was under threat in the Tihar Jail. He was arrested on sedition charge following a controversial event at JNU campus where anti-India slogans were allegedly raised. |
There are two things you're not supposed to talk about in a social setting: religion and politics. When it comes to the latter, though, a certain orange-hued reality TV star has made it all but impossible to stay mum about the goings-on in DC. For a minimum of four years, we'll all be talking about Donald Trump for one reason or another. As developer CZ Eddie put it, "I think everyone loves to hate Trump just a little, even Republicans like myself. He invites the hate, don't you think?" CZ Eddie took this lighthearted approach to politics, and applied it to a whimsical GIF he found on Bhoot that depicts the Donald walking atop the globe while giving everyone the bird. As a result of his work, you can now make a very tongue-in-cheek political statement every time you restart your Android device. Don't Miss: How to Get the Pixel's New Boot Animation on Any Android Step 1: Download the Boot Animation If you're bold enough to try this one out, start by downloading the Donald Trump boot animation at the following link. Download the Donald Trump boot animation (.zip) Step 2: Rename Your Old Boot Animation File Next, open your favorite root-enabled file browser and navigate to the /system/media folder. From here, long-press your existing bootanimation.zip file, then choose "Rename" from the context menu. After that, simply add a ".bak" to the end of the file name. Note that some Samsung phones will not have a bootanimation.zip file in this folder. If this is the case, the device is not compatible with this mod. Step 3: Copy the New Boot Animation & Set Permissions Head to the Download folder on your SD card or internal storage, then copy the new bootanimation.zip file that you downloaded from Step 1. After that, head back to the /system/app folder, then paste the new boot animation file in this directory. Next, long-press the newly-copied bootanimation.zip file, then choose "Permissions" from the context menu. From here, make sure that the Owner category is set to "Read/Write," while all other categories are set to just "Read." Once you're done there, you'll be ready to check out the new animation. Step 4: Reboot & Have a Laugh From now on, whenever you restart your phone, you'll be greeted by Mr. Trump as he boisterously bumbles about the globe, flipping off any and everybody beneath him. It's a fun little animation that surely won't be representative of things to come, right? Your lovely new boot animation. Image via Bhoot Keep in mind that the developer created this mod just for laughs. In fact, the "CZ" in CZ Eddie stands for "Canal Zone" in reference to the Republic of Panama where he was born, so he's a neutral observer in a way. In other words, there's nothing mean-spirited going on here, so try to keep the discussion lighthearted in the comment section below. Follow Gadget Hacks on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and YouTube Follow Android Hacks on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest Follow WonderHowTo on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+ |
This has to be the craziest PC we have seen here at geeky gadgets, built by the guys at Puget Systems in cost a massive $16,000 to build. So what exactly does spending $16,000 on a custom PC get you? This crazy PC features four quad core Opteron processors, 32GB of RAM and eight hard drives in various RAID configurations. As you can see from the photos, the $16,000 PC features a custom water cooling system, with a massive external radiator which features nine 120mm fans. The massive external fans run at 5V which means they are almost silent, but they manage to keep the processors running at 45 degrees C under full load and at 36 degrees C at idle. The $16,000 PC features two VelociRaptor hard drives in RAID 1 and six 1TB hard drives in Raid 5, that is a serious amount of hardware in one single PC. Toms Hardware via Slash Gear Latest Geeky Gadgets Deals |
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