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Pentagon officials believe 44 Afghan troops visiting the U.S. for military training have disappeared in less than two years because they wanted to live and work illegally in America, Reuters reported Thursday. Though this is a tiny portion of the roughly 2,200 Afghan troops who have come for such training since 2007, it does raise embarrassing questions about security after the Obama administration has spent billions of taxpayer dollars on the program, which was meant to help the U.S. gradually leave the costly 15-year Afghanistan conflict. Republican president Donald Trump has been highly critical of the Obama administration's apparent failures to screen individuals coming from largely Muslim countries in the Middle East, and Republicans may see the report as more evidence to support their hardline immigration stance. An unnamed U.S. defense official said though other foreign troops sometimes disappear, the regularity of the Afghan troops going missing is "out of the ordinary" and should be a cause of concern. However, they added there is no evidence any of the individuals have committed crimes or present a threat to U.S. security. Eight Afghan soldiers have been designated as absent without leave (AWOL) from their assigned military bases in September alone, Pentagon spokesperson Adam Stump told Reuters. He disclosed that the total missing since January, 2015 is 44. "The Defense Department is assessing ways to strengthen eligibility criteria for training in ways that will reduce the likelihood of an individual Afghan willingly absconding from training in the U.S. and going AWOL (absent without leave)," Stump said, reassuring soldiers are always vetted before entry into the U.S. that they have neither committed any human rights violations nor are affiliated with radical militant organizations. |
Ready to fight back? Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. Fight Back! Sign up for Take Action Now and we’ll send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and we’ll send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Travel With The Nation Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Sign up for our Wine Club today. Did you know you can support The Nation by drinking wine? November 22 is of course the fiftieth anniversary of the Kennedy assassination. I haven’t read all 1,000 books about it, but I have five favorites: Ad Policy Don DeLillo, Libra “We will build theories that gleam like jade idols,” says DeLillo’s surrogate, a CIA historian writing the secret history of Dallas. “We will follow the bullet trajectories backwards to the lives that occupy the shadows, actual men who moan in their dreams.” In the novel, two CIA veterans of the Bay of Pigs seek to arouse anti-Cuban sentiment by organizing an assassination attempt by a Castro supporter. But in their plan, the assassin—with an identity “made out of ordinary pocket litter”—will miss. DeLillo, as John Leonard wrote in The Nation, “is an agnostic about reality.” Stephen King, 11/22/63 When Jake steps thru the secret passage in Al’s Diner in Maine, it takes him back to 1958; can he stick around and change the course of history by stopping Oswald before November 22, 1963? And what if he discovers that the conspiracy theorists were right, and JFK was shot by someone else? Eight hundred and fifty wonderful pages of time travel romance and adventure in a world where the food tastes better and the music is more fun—and where history itself resists change, with all its might. Robert Caro, LBJ: The Passage of Power chapters 11–13 The assassination seen through LBJ’s eyes, one car back in the motorcade in Dealey Plaza: after Oswald’s first shot, Secret Service agent Rufus Youngblood shouted, “Get down! Get down!” Then LBJ “was on the floor, his face on the floor, with the weight of a big man lying on top of him,” as the two cars sped toward Parkland Hospital. When they arrived, Agent Youngblood said, ‘I want you and Mrs. Johnson to stick with me and the other agents as close as you can. We are going into the hospital and we aren’t gonna stop for anything or anybody. Do you understand?’ ‘Okay, pardner, I understand,’ Lyndon Johnson said.” Norman Mailer, Oswald’s Tale Mailer in his reporter-researcher mode: at age 70, he spent six cold months in Minsk, where Oswald had lived with his Russian wife Marina for thirty months starting in 1960. Mailer interviewed fifty people and used the KGB’s tapes from Oswald’s bugged apartment to paint a vivid picture of the dullness and misery of their lives. Mailer said he started “with a prejudice in favor of the conspiracy theorists,” but he found Oswald to have been a lonely Marxist megalomaniac and an angry loser. In the end, Robert Stone wrote in The New York Review of Books, Mailer had to conclude that “absurdity and common death gape far wider beneath us than high conspiracy, tragedy, or sacrifice.” Vincent Bugliosi, Reclaiming History An encyclopedia of assassination conspiracies, with each and every one refuted, “revealed as a fraud on the American public.” One thousand six hundred oversize pages, plus a CD with 1,100 pages of notes, written by the legendary criminal prosecutor. “No group of top-level conspirators,” he argues, “would ever employ someone as unstable and unreliable as Oswald to commit the biggest murder in history, no such group would ever provide its hit man with a twelve-dollar rifle to get the job done, and any such group would help its hit man escape or have a car waiting to drive him to his death, not allow him to be wandering out in the street, catching cabs and buses to get away, as we know Oswald did.” Read about the bloody origins of Veterans Day. |
We really liked Mirage: Arcane Warfare, but something about the magic brawler didn't pull people in. The all time peak concurrent players in Mirage doesn't even break a thousand according to Steam Charts, and at the time of writing the 24-hour peak is just seven players. "Mirage launch sales were poor," wrote developer Torn Banner Studios in an update posted today. "That sucked, and we know it." In an attempt to jump start Mirage, Torn Banner is making it free on Steam for 24 hours starting September 6th at 10 am Pacific. It's not just a trial: If you grab Mirage on Steam during the 24-hour free window, you can keep it forever. "More than anything, we're disappointed for the players who stuck by us and did buy Mirage—but who have struggled to find people to play against," wrote the studio. "We just want people to play the game we spent years making." After the free promotion, the price of Mirage will drop to $10 permanently. It's clearly a disappointment for Torn Banner, but perhaps the promotion will help the right audience discover Mirage's best qualities. And as for the future of the studio, Torn Banner says it's "doing fine," and that it will "continue to make awesome games in the future." I'm still waiting for Absolver's server issues to be fixed before playing too much more (the patch could come as soon as Friday), so maybe this is good timing for Mirage. |
When Battlestar Galactica aired its first regular-series episode 10 years ago, there were science-fiction TV shows and fantasy TV shows, but you wouldn’t quite call any of them “popular.” Lost was halfway through its first season, but Lost then was only barely a science-fiction show—years away from time travel and alternate timelines and immortal eyeliner and magic lighthouses with magic mirrors. A decade later, genre television practically is television. The Walking Dead brought football ratings to the zombie apocalypse. Game of Thrones taught normals how to pronounce “Daenerys.” American Horror Story and The Strain push dark fantasy as Twitter fuel. Once Upon a Time transmogrifies Disney branded fairy tales into family fun; Sleepy Hollow transmogrifies Superheroes on television used to be animated on Saturday morning or badly acted in syndication. Now there are networks building empires out of superpowered characters—or, in ABC’s case, the characters who occasionally get to hang out with the superpowered characters. Even CBS, the mom-and-dadliest of broadcast networks, is learning to love the weird stuff, building a summer schedule around Under the Dome and Extant. If you’re like me—if you grew up watching The X-Files and Star Trek reruns and even colorful dross like M.A.N.T.I.S. and Strange Luck and Deadly Games—then you can recognize that this is a boom time for genre television. And it’s also, weirdly, an empty time. Battlestar Galactica was a show about space battles and sexy robots and cool people wearing cool uniforms. But Battlestar Galactica was also a show about humanity. And not just in the abstract “What does it mean to be human, man?” way. Battlestar Galactica was a show about suicide bombers and military overreach, a show that constructed whole episodes around provocative ideas and then pushed that provocation past the breaking point: Torture and abortion, security vs. liberty. Showrunner Ronald D. Moore and his writing staff liked to root Galactica in military-political history—there’s a throwaway scene in one episode where Chief Tyrol quotes a Mario Savio speech; there’s a third season episode that some people hate and I love where Tyrol leads a Marxist-proletarian uprising. But Galactica had a way of turning the screws on contemporary America. (Last year, in the midst of the Ferguson nightmare, a quote by Commander Adama started making the rounds.) It’s wrong to reduce a TV show to its themes. And genre fiction doesn’t need to be about anything. If you wanted to generalize widely, you could say that science-fiction/fantasy runs in two directions: Stuff that’s secretly about our world, and stuff that’s about worlds we could never conceive. Both approaches are valid: Room for Heinlein and Star Wars, room for writers who use robots as metaphors and room for writers who use robots because robots are cool. But 10 years later, doesn’t it feel like genre television got popular at the precise moment that it stopped asking any provocative questions? The Walking Dead has a set-up that’s not miles away from Battlestar Galactica, but after a mopey couple of seasons of asking dull questions (“Should we go on living?”) and then responding with dull answers (“He talked about the deer!”) the show reconfigured itself as a low-fat action-fest. I love the new Dead, but you can recognize the lowered ambition every time the show trots out a new blackhatted bad guy (the Governor, Officer Dawn.) And if Game of Thrones ever flirts with topicality, it’s usually an accident, and a horribly misbegotten accident at that. Some of this, I think, is the residual influence of Lost, a show that seemed to provide a roadmap for mainstreaming weird stuff by, essentially, making it as not-weird as possible. Shows like FlashForward and The Event were turned bargain-Twilight Zone ideas into high-gloss procedurals. The new crop of genre shows is generally a lot better. But there’s a weird reductiveness, an adolescent “Get to the good stuff, awready” emptiness. Sleepy Hollow features frequent appearances by the actual Founding Fathers of America…and turns them into the Jedi Council. True Blood started out as a freefloating postmodern Civil Rights treatise, but it kept piling up supernatural elements on the way to a weirdly conservative final act. There’s a weird strain of conservatism underlying all the Marvel shows, too. Agents of SHIELD seemed to be raising its game last season, when it suddenly revealed that the titular omnipresent all-powerful organization had been infiltrated by bad guys. But that revelation didn’t have quite the effect you expected. The show ultimately seemed to argue that the only problem was that the wrong people were in charge. At no point can the show ever ask the obvious question: Maybe it’s a bad idea to have an omnipresent all-powerful organization? Maybe you think genre shows don’t have to ask hard questions. They don’t; but shouldn’t they? At the beginning of Battlestar Galactica, the Cylons were a monolithic all-encompassing evil. But the central drama of the show was how, as time passed, our perspective on the Cylons—and on our own heroes—kept shifting. No other genre show on the air today has managed a moment like Galactica managed in “Pegasus.” To that point, the Cylon Six models (as played by Tricia Helfer) were femme fatale Hitchcock-blondes; but the first time we meet the Six named Gina, she’s beaten and battered, with implications of all manner of abuse. The Cylons kept getting more human; compare that to The Walking Dead, which has turned its characters into numb undead killing machines. Of all the genre shows of the last decade, Fringe came closer than anyone to Galactica‘s ethical complexity—especially in the reality-hopping third season. But Fringe ultimately settled for a safer good-and-evil showdown: Nobody would ever argue that the Observers had their good points. In fairness, you could argue that Battlestar Galactica followed a similar trajectory: The final sequence of episodes trended weird and religious. But even toward the end, Battlestar could still cough up an hour of slipstream morality; the mutiny two-parter is one of the darkest final-season plotlines this side of Breaking Bad. There is hope along the margins. Person of Interest has followed a smarter Lost blueprint, slowly backing up into hard sci-fi territory in its portrayal of a barely-hyperbolized omniscient security state. And after a couple years as a hard-to-find import, Charlie Brooker’s incredible anthology series Black Mirror is the must-watch Netflix binge of the moment. Black Mirror takes a hard look at our weird new hyperconnected era; at a time when most movies and TV shows still can’t figure out how to accurately portray the internet, Black Mirror is practically all alone at the front of the class, making trenchant observations about our contemporary collective madness. At the risk of sounding pointy-headed, Black Mirror has what pretty much every other genre show on television lacks: Intellectual curiosity. And an unwillingness to ever settle for an easy answer. That same curiosity is at the core of another British genre show—and while Doctor Who is too giddy to ever quite get serious, there’s something intrinsically provocative about a fundamentally non-violent protagonist, always searching for a way to untie the Gordian knot without a sword. But weirdly, the only shows that barely resemble Battlestar Galactica now are historical, not fantastical. The Americans stars Soviet spies who think Reagan’s a madman—and imagines a proto-Guantanamo CIA that’s already beyond the rule of law. Weirdly, the real inheritor of the legacy of Battlestar Galactica might be the History Channel’s Vikings, a soapy sword epic that keeps evolving into a meditation on the clash of civilizations. (The Vikings are ultraviolent raiders, but they’re also hippie-liberal progressives; the Christians are law-abiding folk who also vibe fascist.) It will always be hard to live up to Battlestar Galactica, an action-packed space opera that was also a slice-of-modern-life political drama. Syfy tried to recapture the show’s magic twice: first with Caprica, a weird wannabe-treatise on artificial intelligence and digital life that never quite cohered as drama; then with Blood & Chrome, an all-spacefight prequel that never even got past the pilot stage. Last year, Syfy more or less apologized for an era of lighthearted escapist fantasies that didn’t even try to live up to Battlestar Galactica‘s example. But it’s not all Syfy’s fault. Genre television has never been more popular; has it ever been less interesting? ————– Thoughts? Frustrations? Email me at darren_franich@ew.com, and I’ll respond in next week’s edition of the Geekly mailbag. |
Gary police are investigating a shooting Wednesday night at a social club for senior citizens. Five people, including the suspected gunman, were shot at the Safe and Sound Social Club in Gary, Indiana. Officers responded to the members-only club Wednesday around 11:30 p.m. in the 2200 block of Broadway in Gary. Police say the suspected gunman is a 23-year-old from Chicago. They believe his motive was to rob people at the senior citizens club. The shooting victims are all men between the ages of 43-76. Witnesses told police that a gunman entered the club and ordered people to drop to the ground. Shots were fired and police say at one point, one of the patrons inside shot the gunman. A former member of the club, Pleas Yates, says it's a place for older people to get together but stopped visiting the club because young people began causing trouble inside the venue. ''In the first place, it should be for members only and if you bring a person in, you're responsible for his conduct, but they changed the rules though and let anybody in, that's where the problem comes in,'' Yates said. In 2011, Safe and Sound Senior Citizen Social Club was raided twice for serving liquor without a license. The owner of the club, in one of the raids, was also arrested and charged for promoting professional gambling. Police have not released an update on the condition of the victims but say that the gunman, who is receiving treatment at a local hospital, is under arrest and will be charged in the case. "They had hoods on like this, you couldn't see their face," said witness Jessie Sturgis. Sturgis says one gunman took off while the other pointed a gun at him and three other club patrons. Sturgis says he escaped through the front door. As he called the police from outside the club, he said he heard several shots from inside. Some of the club patrons hid in a utility closet. E.C. Robinson, 65, a Gary resident, was shot but managed to defend himself and others with his own gun. "He shot him twice, that is when E.C. started shooting back," said one witness. The suspect hid in the bathroom after he was shot until police came and took him into custody. Sturgis said he hopes the shooting will send a message to the younger people who want to cause trouble from Chicago. "We're in Indiana, they [are] from Illinois, they don't know people got permits to carry guns, so bang bang, that is what happened," Sturgis said. |
Hello there! So this isn’t Rachel (sorry for disappointing) but it is a fellow follower from her blogging class who has been graced with the honor of commenting on the blog she has been keeping this past semester. I’ll just be making a few comments about how awesome the site is and then I’ll be on my way. Ok, so I would like to start off by saying that when I first got on to the site, I was immediately captivated by the catchy title for your first post, “what the heck is this blog even about?”. What a great way to engage the audience and to make them curious enough to open the first post. The same energy was kept throughout the rest of the blog which made it fun for me to check it out and less of a chore! As I continued to explore the site, I found it really easy to navigate and I really liked the way the design was kept clean and simple. Images were used when necessary and the videos helped add some spice to the weekly topic. I also thought the blog was kept quite focused. I don’t think it strayed off of the main topic which was to redefine the way we look at and use the internet and the posts were always engaging and entertaining. I also greatly appreciated the amount of detail and how thorough the information was on each post. Examples would be with the interviews done with the “big shots” or best friends, each interview was created differently and something new could be expected with each one. It also came across that the people and questions were asked with a purpose and that some sort of research was done. It wasn’t random, which makes the blog more respectable as a source of information and ideas. The level of personal connection with the topic/ theme was also evident, it was something that stemmed from a personal experience and it made it more relatable to us aka the audience. I was able to connect with different posts and it stirred up my own opinions about the weekly topics which enhances the level of engagement with its audience. And in my opinion, the more one can engage with people, the better results and participation one receives. So I tip my hat to you Rachel for creating a very interesting, exciting, and engaging blog. You have quite a gift in navigating and capturing the positives of the internet, and I encourage you to continue advocating for the great qualities that can be overseen amidst the negative critiques. P.S. I put one of your posts about the 8 tips on Reddit and the link is here. Hope it gets a few ups/likes/re-posts! |
0 SHARES Facebook Twitter Google Whatsapp Pinterest Print Mail Flipboard Kellyanne Conway was trying to distance herself from Roy Moore when she made the blanket statement that anyone who has mistreated a woman or a girl should resign from office, which means that she just called for Trump to resign. Video: Conway said, “Let me say it one last time, the conduct as described is not just offensive and disgusting, it disqualifies anyone who has done it from holding public office. So let me go a little step farther if there’s anyone currently in public office who has behaved that way to any girl or any woman, maybe they should step aside, because, in a country of 330 million people, we ought to be able to do better than this.” If Conway really believes that anyone currently in public office should step down for sexually assaulting women, then she just called for President Access Hollywood Tape to resign. Conway was trying to distance the White House from Roy Moore, but she actually did was make it the official White House position that Donald Trump should resign. No one is really sure what it is that Kellyanne Conway does in the White House outside of lie for Trump on television and ride on private jets at the taxpayers’ expense, but it is a safe bet that she was not supposed to go on national television and boldly state criteria that would require Trump to resign. Kellyanne Conway has always gotten too much credit with some people for how she handles the media. Conway isn’t a great media person. She is a lie machine who sometimes lets the lies get ahead of her brain. His own senior White House adviser agrees that due to the way he has behaved toward women, Donald Trump should resign. If you’re ready to read more from the unbossed and unbought Politicus team, sign up for our newsletter here! Email address: Leave this field empty if you're human: |
Only a handful of the academy trusts paid at least £850,000 to take over new schools paid back any of the cash, despite not opening a single school, Schools Week has found The Department for Education (DfE) hands out one-off payments of up to £100,000 under the Sponsor Capacity Funds grants to help organisations establish academy trusts to take over struggling schools. Schools Week found in November that 17 organisations had received the grant in 2013/14 but were yet to take over any schools. The DfE said any spending of the grant is approved by officials and it aims to recoup any unspent funds. But a Freedom of Information (FOI) request shows only seven organisations handed back any of the grant in the last three years. The money recouped totalled £457,536. The disclosure supports our story last year that found many organisations awarded the cash spent their money and time trying to takeover struggling schools, but were hit by various hurdles. For instance, the National Youth Agency – which was given £79,225 – had three bids to take over pupil referral units turned down. It was not listed in the trusts that handed back cash. Five organisations handed back part or all of their grant in the 2015/16 financial year. One of those, the North East Schools Trust (Nest), featured in our story in November. The organisation was given £84,425 to takeover a school, but government figures show £72,681 was paid back. One of Nest’s founders was Sarah Monk, a director of school improvement provider at Avec Partnership. She did not respond to a request for comment over the new figures. But she previously told Schools Week the organisation withdrew from being a sponsor because it conflicted with the work of Avec, which supports other schools becoming sponsors. Janet Downs, a campaigner for locally maintained schools, said the process was “careless if the DfE awarded the money before it had decided whether the trusts were suitable sponsors”. The DfE said grant recipients were assessed as having potential to be great sponsors, but the main factor was finding a sponsor right for a specific school. A spokesperson added: “Sponsored capacity funds support sponsors to build their capacity to take on and turn around failing schools so that they are ready to do so when the need arises. The vast majority of sponsors who have received the fund now sponsor schools.” |
White House spokesman Sean Spicer on Monday continued to dance around questions of Russian meddling in U.S. elections and ties to the Trump campaign, even as he insisted that there was nothing left for anyone to investigate. “I think Russia’s involvement in campaign activity has been investigated up and down,” Spicer said at his daily press briefing. “The question becomes, if there is nothing further to investigate, then what are you asking people to investigate?” President Donald Trump has rejected the conclusion reached by multiple U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia hacked emails in order to wage an influence campaign in Trump’s favor. “The president has said time and time again that he has no [business] interests in Russia, and hasn’t talked to people from Russia for years,” Spicer added. Hours earlier, Trump had answered a question about his campaign’s ties to Russia by telling a group of insurance company CEOs, “I haven’t called Russia in 10 years.” In fact, Trump traveled to Russia just four years ago, to host a Miss Universe beauty pageant. Meanwhile, the revelation of contacts between Russian officials and Trump’s former national security adviser, Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, led to Flynn’s firing last week. Despite these recent developments, Spicer insisted there was no need for any further investigation into the matter, and he rejected calls by some Republican lawmakers for a special prosecutor to look into the ties between the Trump administration and Russia. “A special prosecutor for what?” Spicer shot back, when asked about the demands from Capitol Hill. “How many people have to say there is nothing there, before you realize that there is nothing there?” But even as he insisted there was nothing to investigate, Spicer admitted he “can’t say unequivocally” that members of Trump’s campaign were not in contact with Russian officials. He also admitted that the White House went to great lengths to discredit reporting on these contacts by journalists, including an effort to arrange calls earlier this month between journalists and top administration officials as well as members of Congress willing to knock down a New York Times story about contacts between the Trump campaign and senior Russian officials. “We were pointing [the journalists] to subject matter experts who understood whether or not that story was accurate,” Spicer said Monday. |
Video: Protesters speak at anti-Trump march in San Diego, California By Toby Reese 15 November 2016 This past Saturday, thousands of protesters took to the streets in California cities and throughout the United States. In San Diego, members of the Socialist Equality Party and International Youth and Students for Social Equality spoke to workers and young people attending anti-Trump protests in that city. California is home to a massive working class that includes millions of immigrants, often the lowest paid section of workers. In this video, workers and students speak on the legacy of Obama’s policies on immigration and Obamacare, as well as the reactionary campaigns of Clinton and Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Workers and young people interviewed advanced a variety of views, with some expressing confusion about the Democratic Party and its role. Protesters speak at anti-Trump march in San Diego Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. |
* Conduct impartial investigations into all officer involved shootings, so that Kern County law enforcement agencies don’t investigate themselves. * Be an independent commission made up of residents selected by the community and include people that have been impacted by police brutality. * Create a plan to reallocate existing police department funds to other agencies to provide trauma services for victims of police brutality and their families. * Suspend and Modify the K-9 programs for KCSO and BPD. Kern County Law Enforcement (Bakersfield Police Department and Kern County Sheriff Office) were declared the most violent police force in the entire country in 2015. 65% of those shot and killed by Bakersfield Police are Latinos, even though Latinos only make 45% of the City. Earlier this month the ACLU released a report highlighting the patterns and practices of violating civil rights. Additionally, there is an ongoing Department of Justice Investigation into both the KCSO and BPD to get to the bottom of this. We in Kern County need change and we need it now! That change must start with accountability! Please help us make this a reality in Kern County. |
Jeff Saturday and Tedy Bruschi agree that the Panthers don't have much to play for and take the Redskins to win on Monday Night Football. (0:43) CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Carolina Panthers safety Tre Boston wanted some heavy-duty tape. He'd pulled out the "Thieves Avenue" sign that basically had been in storage since Super Bowl 50 and was looking for something to attach it to the wall above the row of lockers where the secondary resides. It's back. The Thieves Avenue sign the Panthers' secondary took to Super Bowl 50. Was in... https://t.co/LIjZg37EJN pic.twitter.com/vt9GJAsHkF — David Newton (@DNewtonespn) December 15, 2016 The timing was interesting. A year ago, the sign was a symbol of pride for a secondary and defense that led the NFL in interceptions with 24 and in total takeaways with 39. It made the trip to California for the Super Bowl but has been noticeably missing since the 24-10 loss to Denver. But this week, with the Panthers set to face former "Thieves Avenue" resident Josh Norman in a Monday night game against the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field, Boston decided to bring it out. It wasn't a shot at Norman, who is in Washington because the Panthers rescinded his franchise tag in April. It was statement that perhaps thievery is back at Carolina. After having no more than one interception in the previous 10 games, the Panthers (5-8) had three in Sunday's 28-16 victory over San Diego. They also had two forced fumbles, giving the defense a season-high five takeaways. Daryl Worley has made more plays as his rookie season has gone on. AP Photo/Bob Leverone The sign perhaps represented a sign that Carolina's young secondary, specifically rookie cornerbacks James Bradberry and Daryl Worley, was starting to grow up. The evidence is in the numbers. Over the last seven games, the Panthers have allowed only a 35.3 completion percentage on throws of 15-plus yards downfield. They have allowed only two touchdowns of that distance while intercepting six passes. That's comparable to the 2015 season, when opponents completed 37.4 percent of their passes of that distance for seven touchdowns and 11 interceptions. It's light years better than the 54.3 completion percentage for eight touchdowns and only three interceptions during a 1-5 start this season. So while much of the talk this week has been about how much the Panthers missed Norman early, it's only fair to point out they aren't missing him as much lately. The improvement didn't happen fast enough to get Carolina into the playoffs this season, but it has provided optimism for a bright future. "We hope the future is bright," defensive coordinator Sean McDermott said. 'We expect [James and Daryl] to grow and earn the right like all of us to win." Bradberry and Worley don't know Norman, although Bradberry took Norman's No. 24 when he arrived as a second-round pick out of Samford. Worley never had been in an NFL stadium before Carolina selected him in the third round out of West Virginia. They admitted the start to the season was rough, but they feel better now about handling whatever's thrown at them. "Like a 10 on a scale of one to 10," Worley said. Coach Ron Rivera feels better, too. He also admitted it was a "pretty bold move" he and general manager Dave Gettleman made to move on from Norman. "It was a question mark going into the season at that position," he said. "As we go forward, and this is about going forward, you've got two young guys that could be part of what we're doing for a while. So we're excited." Rivera compared Bradberry and Worley to defensive tackles Star Lotulelei and Kawann Short, taken in the first and second round of the 2013 draft. They have provided a solid foundation, at a below average cost thus far, for the middle of one of the top front sevens in the NFL. Bradberry and Worley, playing under their rookie deals, will cost the Panthers a combined $7,298,732 million over the next four years. Norman, 29, was going to get $13.95 million this season alone. He got a five-year, $75 million deal from Washington. Neither Bradberry nor Worley have shown Norman's personality and flamboyance. Bradberry is extremely quiet and Worley is flashy but not flamboyant. But remember Norman was benched twice and took three seasons to develop into a Pro Bowl-caliber player. "It's going to be a good tandem," Rivera said of his rookies. "If they can continue to grow and develop it's going to be a good tandem for us." The numbers show that. During the 1-5 start, opposing quarterbacks had a Total Quarterback Rating of 77, the second-highest in the league. Over the last seven games, according to ESPN Stats and Information, that number has fallen to 51. That’s the fourth-lowest in the league during that span, which includes three games without Pro Bowl middle linebacker Luke Kuechly. Bradberry and Worley are a big part of that improvement. But it's not just those two that have improved. Boston steadily has progressed to playing at the level the Panthers hoped he would in training camp. Nickelback Leonard Johnson has provided stability since coming off the non-football injury list after the bye week. Veteran Kurt Coleman has adjusted well in his move from free to strong safety. This group gives the Panthers a nucleus heading into 2017 that makes the secondary arguably its most stable since Rivera was hired in 2011. "We've got our fingers crossed as we go forward," Rivera said. "So we've got a good group of young guys, coupled with Kurt as the vet, you feel good about it. You wish they all could have played together earlier. "Who knows where we'd be now." |
To the gaseous anon, please don't consider this kin shaming, but maybe you could find a professional to help you adjust to your human body in a way that won't make you feel upset when eating or chewing. There are some things which we cannot avoid doing, although like the others said maybe you could replace a couple of meals with liquid, I don't want you to hurt yourself :( It might be better to learn how to cope with the restrictions of the human body through therapy than a harmful diet. I would agree. I think that in the case of one’s kin feelings making it difficult to provide your body with basic nutrition, it is probably best to seek some form of professional care/assistance. Of course, without exception, you do need to provide the human body you have with proper nutrition or you could get very, very sick. However, I imagine that sounds a bit patronizing. Obviously said anon knows something so basic and is not intending to harm themselves, otherwise they wouldn’t have asked us for help. They were asking if I/we could think of any sort of nutritious compromise, something a therapist or nutritionist probably wouldn’t do. I missed the anon initially, so I will try and find something now! I really appreciate everyone’s help and all the messages we got for this anon. My heart goes out to them and their issue. It can be really hard to deal with the disconnect when one’s human body is so very different from what one is kin to. -Fox |
President Barack Obama hasn't done much to help Wisconsin's Democrats in their pitched battle to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker. But the Obama campaign on Tuesday took to Twitter to let Wisconsinites know when the polls were open and provide a primer on voter registration rules. The campaign also released a video, dubbed "It's Time Wisconsin: Own Your Vote." "We need to get our rights back. We need to get our state back," says an activist identified onscreen only as "Laura H." "We need you. Wisconsin needs you. We can do this," she says, appealing for volunteers to make an eleventh-hour get-out-the-vote drive. "Elect Tom Barrett." Walker does not rate an onscreen mention in the 43-second video. "It's about looking back on June 6th and saying, 'Yeah, I did that, I did all I could,'" says Laura. |
Roy Moore at a campaign event in Fairhope, Ala., December 5, 2017. (Reuters photo: Jonathan Bachman) He and Trump are right-wing manifestations of victimhood culture. Despite the pleas of a number of conservative thought leaders, tomorrow many Alabama Republicans will probably cast a vote for a conspiracy theorist and accused child molester. A year ago, the American people voted into the office of the presidency a man with no experience as a politician but plenty as a womanizer, Twitter troll, and narcissistic celebrity. And before you respond “but Hillary,” remember that Trump won the Republican nomination against a diverse buffet of actual conservatives. Many rightly worry about the long-term consequences of conservatives’ supporting leaders such as Trump and Moore in the service of short-term political victories. But the future of American conservatism is uncertain for reasons beyond the Republican party’s current existential crisis. Advertisement Advertisement I’ve frequently heard the argument that changing racial and ethnic demographics are the biggest threat to conservatism in America. I find this position unconvincing. There is no inherent connection between these demographic variables and ideology. In fact, minority groups are often more conservative than white European Americans. The biggest threats to conservatism are psychological, not demographic, trends. As an actual philosophy of life and not just a low-resolution tribal marker, conservatism thrives when people are mentally resilient, self-reliant, and strongly invested in the interpersonal bonds that make small government viable: family, friends, and community. At the national level, all of these psychological characteristics are in decline, and with them, so is principled conservatism. Advertisement Psychologist Jean Twenge documented many of these declines in her new book iGen. Using large national data sets, Twenge reveals that American teens and young adults today, compared with those of past generations, are more emotionally vulnerable and anxious. A number of surveys of college students paint a similar picture of young Americans becoming increasingly distressed. The self-esteem and emotional-safety cultural movements that have shaped the views of psychologists, educators, parents, and politicians in the Western world are likely at least partially to blame. But regardless of the causes, increased psychological fragility means that today’s young adults are less emotionally prepared to independently navigate the stressors and uncertainties of adult life. Advertisement Further demonstrating a decline in personal independence, Twenge shows that, compared with past generations, today’s teens are less likely to have driver’s licenses, to work for money, and to spend time unsupervised. They are increasingly dependent on their parents — and subsequently, in many cases, on university administrators. On today’s college campuses, students desire more regulations and oversight, a departure from past generations that demanded fewer rules and more freedoms. Surveys of American adults reveal a disturbing level of anti-freedom views across age groups and political affiliations, but young adults appear particularly afraid of freedom and ill-prepared for it. Advertisement Scholars have proposed that some of these trends reflect the emergence of a slower life development. In other words, young people today may simply be taking a bit longer to reach full adulthood. Even if this is the case, there are political and policy implications. For one, the voting age hasn’t changed. If greater self-reliance makes conservatism more appealing and viable, it may be increasingly difficult to attract young voters to conservative candidates and ideas. Moreover, parents vote, and their views may be influenced by a culture of longer child dependence. Americans are also less and less invested in, and perhaps less successful at, building the interpersonal and community bonds that nourish the conservative way of life. In iGen, Twenge notes that young Americans today are less likely to date and socialize without parental involvement and are also experiencing greater levels of loneliness. Advertisement Advertisement Ironically, in the age of social media, young people feel more alone. Recently published studies show that the mere presence of a smartphone decreases enjoyment of face-to-face social interactions. A number of social scientists have observed that isolation and loneliness are growing problems across age groups. Loneliness is now widely considered a major public-health threat, as it is associated with a wide range of mental and physical illnesses. The changing social lives of Americans are also reflected in marriage statistics. According to the Pew Research Center, in 1960 72 percent of Americans 18 and older were married. By 2015 that number dropped to 50 percent. In 1960 men and women tended to marry in their early 20s. In 2016 the median age for first marriage reached a record high, 29.5 for men and 27.4 for women. Not surprisingly, then, Americans are also waiting longer to start families and having fewer kids. Americans, and younger adults in particular, are also abandoning social religion. I use the term “social religion” because there are reasons to believe that the religious minds of people of all ages remain active, searching for some form of transcendent meaning. Most still believe in God or a universal spirit, describe themselves as spiritual, are captivated by the supernatural, and long to be part of something larger and more enduring than the mortal self. However, more than ever they are disinclined to identify with a traditional faith, belong to a church, or attend religious services. Young adults are consuming more New Age spirituality and paranormal-related media and products, but these are often solitary or superficially social behaviors that do not promote deep or lasting relationships and community bonds. In many ways, Trumpism reflects the right-wing version of emotional safety and victimhood culture many conservatives criticize. Though it may be tempting, it would be a mistake for liberals to see these trends as politically favoring them or helping the nation. A decline of principled conservatism doesn’t mean we will see a rise of liberalism or the diminishing of tribal politics. This brings us back to the ascension of Trump and the potential election of Roy Moore. The issue is more qualitative than quantitative. Low-quality conservative candidates won’t stop Republicans from tactically signaling their conservatism and finding ways to win elections. Regardless of the state of the party, people will probably continue to vote for their Republican tribe for a number of reasons. But will they personally live up to and favor political candidates who live up to conservative values? Winning elections is not the same as using conservative principles to address pressing social and economic challenges. Advertisement Advertisement In many ways, Trumpism reflects the right-wing version of emotional safety and victimhood culture many conservatives criticize. Trump’s self-aggrandizing and fragile ego are emblematic of the self-esteem movement. Considering his age, he was ahead of the curve. Trump also employs safe-space tactics that have become all too common on many college campuses. Instead of promoting freedom, he champions censorship of speech he finds offensive and verbally attacks those who disagree him. Trump isn’t the future of conservatism. He is a prophetic warning of its retreat. Conservatives have always been vital to the success of America. And there remain many doing their part to sustain themselves, support their families, and contribute to the prosperity of their communities and country. But the psychological profile that inspires the best of conservatism is in danger. Instead of submitting to fear, anger, and party loyalty for short-term political victories, conservatives should start thinking about future generations. Young Americans are watching. Advertisement READ MORE: Roy Moore Sleaze Record Makes Him Unacceptable Roy Moore — Sexual Misconduct Allegations Appear Credible Roy Moore’s Defenders Betray Conservative Women |
Watchmen extended tour for 2018 season Watchmen Drum & Bugle Corps is pleased to announce that they are extending summer tour season for 2018. DCI representatives indicated they are excited that Watchmen is taking the next step towards their goal to Drum Corps International Championships in Indianapolis in the near future. 2018 Tour Schedule June 29 Oceanside, CA, June 30th Pasadena, CA, July 1st. Riverside, CA, July 2nd Meza, AZ, July 14th Escondido CA, July 15th Bellflower, CA, July 20th Bakersfield,CA July 21st Pleasant Hill, CA, July 23rd Salt Lake City, UT, July 24th Denver, CO. Interested in Marching with Watchmen for the 2018 season? Sunday January 21 & February 11, 2018 Location: Martin Luther King High School – Band Room Sign – up / Check in : 8:00am Audition Time: 8:00am – 8:00pm Sign up at http://www.watchmenartsassociation.org/join-us/audition/ For Information about Watchmen Drum & Bugle Corps Contact: David Becker Director director@watchmenartsassociation.org About Watchmen Arts Association Watchmen Arts Associations prides itself on providing local musicians an affordable year-round experience that is educational, and teaches members to challenge and grow as individuals, along with the rest of their peers, while competing against the best and being evaluated by the finest judges in the activity – all resulting in shaping individuals who understand the value of working towards something bigger than themselves. |
Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. April 6, 2015, 4:38 AM GMT / Updated April 7, 2015, 12:15 PM GMT / Source: NBC News A long-running archaeological controversy has been resurrected, thanks to a newly revealed analysis of scrapings from a first-century tomb in East Jerusalem and a bone box attributed to "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus." The analysis, described on Easter Sunday in The New York Times and the Jerusalem Post, links the limestone box (also known as an ossuary) to the tomb — which in turn has been linked to Jesus' family story. Both the box and the tomb have previously created media sensations: In 2004, Israeli authorities charged antiquities dealer Oded Golan with forging the "Jesus inscription" on the bone box, but the dealer was acquitted in 2012 after drawn-out legal proceedings. Meanwhile, in 2007, a TV documentary titled "The Lost Tomb of Jesus" claimed that the tomb could have been the burial spot for Jesus and his family, based on a statistical analysis of the genealogical relationships between the names listed in the inscriptions. |
Perth Observatory reopens with volunteer astronomers Updated Six months after the State Government withdrew funding for the Perth Observatory, a small army of keen astronomers has picked up the task of running the historic centre. Around 80 volunteers have spent months training on the telescopes at the Bickley centre ahead of its reopening on Saturday. The observatory in Perth's hills has been WA's main point of contact with space for more than a century, photographing Halley's Comet, co-discovering the ring system around the planet Uranus, and discovering 29 minor planets between 1970 and 1999. In 2013, the Government scrapped research programs and science workshops and in March 2015 all but one staff member was made redundant. Engineer and volunteer Gemma Hamilton said it was a disappointing decision for science. "We felt what we were doing here is really important for the community, and it's especially really important to get kids to do science," she said. The Government's funding has shifted away from the work that was traditionally done at Perth Observatory toward the more modern methods being delivered through radio astronomy technology, such as the Square Kilometre Array in the State's Mid West. Volunteers undefeated by challenges But a group of aspiring astronomers was not going to let the centre fade into the dark, despite the funding challenges. Diana Rosman led the charge as the chair of the volunteer group. "We had been offered the challenge to save the observatory from extinction, we had a burst of 'we can do this'," she said. "We spent the three to six months working out if we actually could and what was the budget?" The word spread, and after months of training on the telescopes, volunteers will now run the centre. Terry Edmett has been a volunteer at the Perth Observatory for over a decade. "You have to be a bit of an addict, so it's fairly inevitable we would have done everything we could to keep it going," he said. Observatory's new focus on education Without scientists based at the observatory, the focus has changed from research to education. The observatory will be open for daytime tours and volunteers hope to organise school groups to visit, to encourage children to get excited about the solar system. The volunteers have also taken on the challenge of archiving the centre's historical records and artefacts. Saturday marks the official reopening and the team is celebrating by inviting the community to an open day. The Department of Parks and Wildlife will maintain the grounds and the equipment at the Bickley site. Topics: science-and-technology, astronomy-space, education, bickley-6076 First posted |
Bloodkin plays RiverMusic on June 10. (Photo: Courtesy of Ian Rawn/Playindead) 1. RiverMusic continues with a "Friends of Widespread Panic" evening. RiverLink’s RiverMusic series is now into its fifth year of live music, local beer and free admission beside the French Broad River. For its June 10 celebration, RiverMusic brings us "Friends of Widespread Panic," with the Randall Bramblett Band at 5:30 p.m., Jerry Joseph and The Jackmormons at 6:45 p.m., and Bloodkin rounding out the night at 8:15. Get ready for a night of rock 'n' roll jams. Gates to the RiverLink Sculpture and Performance Plaza, 144 Riverside Drive, open at 5 p.m., and the park will be packed with food and drink vendors. Parking on-site is limited, and a trolley will make rounds from the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce to the park throughout the evening. Biking or paddling to the event is encouraged. Dogs are not permitted. For more information, check out riverlink.org. 2. Steep Canyon Rangers play free outdoor show downtown. Oskar Blues Brewery and the Asheville Downtown Association will present a free community concert with the Steep Canyon Rangers from 6-9 p.m. June 11 at Pack Square Park. The Steep Canyon Rangers won a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album in 2013, and the group's newest album, "Radio," was recorded at Asheville's Echo Mountain Studios. Americana roots rock band Devils in the Dust will open the show at 6 p.m., and the Rangers will take the stage at 7 p.m. Moe's Original Bar-b-que, Oskar Blues and the CHUBwagon, Appalachian Smoke, Gypsy Queen, Appalachian Chic, Catawba Brewing, Sunshine Sammies, The Hop and the Hotbox Roasters will be at the event. The Steep Canyon Rangers play a free show in Pack Square Park on June 11. (Photo: Courtesy photo) 3. Death Cab for Cutie plays Thomas Wolfe Auditorium. Last week, alt-rock group Death Cab for Cutie announced that, for its Asheville and Charlotte shows, the band will be donating all concert proceeds to Southerners On New Ground and Freedom Center for Social Justice in protest of North Carolina's controversial House Bill 2. "We will not be taking a single dime from these shows," the band wrote in a news release. "All profits will be donated to these important organizations." And, considering the venue's size and the $45-55 tickets, it looks like Death Cab will be making quite the contribution from its Asheville show. The show starts at 8 p.m. June 11. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit uscellularcenterasheville.com. Death Cab for Cutie announced it will not schedule future shows in North Carolina until HB2 is repealed. (Photo: Courtesy photo) 4. Big Ups plays the Mothlight. If you're into punk-rock and free shows, Big Ups at The Mothlight is the cure to your Monday evening blues. If you're not, ignore this listing and this show — because it's about to get loud. New York City-based Big Ups will be at the West Asheville venue at 9 p.m. June 13 for a weekday get-down with Raleigh power-pop band Petey. 5. "Music Man" premieres at Flat Rock Playhouse. Stop in to State Theatre of North Carolina for the opening weekend of "The Music Man," the beloved Broadway musical about a con man with a softened heart. "The Music Man" will run June 16 to July 9 at the Flat Rock Playhouse's main stage, with performances at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and matinees at 2 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets are $15-$40 and can be purchased by calling the Playhouse box office at 693-0731 or online at flatrockplayhouse.org. "The Music Man" is a Tony Award-winning musical that first debuted in 1957. (Photo: Courtesy photo) Read or Share this story: http://avlne.ws/1tcEPxp |
Prime Minister John Key says he did not offer to pay an unemployed Wellington man's dinner bill in 2012. But the disputed matter is heading to court. A restaurant-goer arrested for trying to put his dinner and drinks on Prime Minister John Key's tab is seeking $10,000 compensation from police - and he wants the PM to be his key witness. Wellington man Kent Boyd claims Key's Diplomatic Protection Squad (DPS) over-reacted in an "abuse of power", leading to Boyd being locked up in police cells overnight following a bizarre chain of events that stemmed from a dinner at the Green Parrot Cafe four years ago. Boyd and a friend claimed they chatted with Key when they crossed paths at the Green Parrot - a popular haunt for politicians - on December 17, 2012. When Key asked what they did for a living, they told him they were unemployed. MAARTEN HOLL/STUFF Wellington man Kent Boyd is seeking $10,000 compensation from police for a night he spent in the cells after a bizarre disagreement over whether the prime minster would pay for his dinner. Boyd ask Key to put their mixed grills and beers on his tab and claimed Key agreed. But when Boyd went to leave, staff did not believe his claim that the prime minister would be picking up the bill. Key's office says the prime minister did not offer to pay. READ MORE: * The Key question: who pays? * Key defends minister's refusal to comment on stripper scandal * PM John Key gets hard time over Olympic Sevens losses * John Key to rub shoulders with world leaders in Laos * Standing the taste of time: Stories behind capital's longest-serving eateries ROB KITCHIN/STUFF The Green Parrot Cafe on Taranaki St in Wellington is a popular haunt for politicians such as NZ First leader Winston Peters. It was also the scene of dinner dispute in 2012 involving Prime Minster John Key. An Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) report in 2013 found Key's DPS staff did not use excessive force. It shows they were asked for assistance, and assessed Boyd and his friend as drunk and disorderly. The DPS pulled the men aside and held them, calling Wellington Police, who arrested the pair and locked them up overnight for breaching bail and theft of the $82 meal. Boyd was on bail that night over a past conviction and one of his conditions was to not be drunk in public. He claims he passed a drink-driving breath test at the police station but was held anyway. Within days of the incident, the police had withdrawn the theft charge against him. A judge also found no breach of bail occurred. In June, Boyd filed a civil case against the Attorney General, on behalf of the police, claiming he did not get the chance to ask Key to back up his claim before the DPS pulled him aside, and that he did have sufficient funds to pay the bill but was arrested before he got the opportunity. His lawyer Chris Nicholls has written to Key's office multiple times since April requesting a formal statement for the court that includes the prime minister's recollection of events. In response, Key's chief of staff Wayne Eagleson wrote to Nicholls, saying he understood there was a potential settlement offer forthcoming from police and it would be "premature" for Key to become involved. Nicholls wrote back, multiple times, attaching a letter from the police's legal team confirming there was no settlement offer on the table and warning he may file a summons for the Key to appear as a witness at trial. He is yet to get a response. "The PM is perfectly entitled to not respond, but at the end of the day he has been a witness to an event and I have asked him for information that would assist in the resolution of the dispute," Nicholls said. A spokesperson for Key said on Monday that he did not offer to pay the bill and had not been summonsed to appear as a witness, but "should that occur, he would deal with the matter at that time." "Although it was some time ago, the Prime Minister recalls being at the restaurant on the evening in question. The Prime Minister did not offer to pay for the men's meals and has no knowledge of how their bill was paid." Police said on Monday they denied the allegations made by Boyd and would be defending the proceedings filed. The Green Parrot's management did not want to comment. The IPCA would not supply witness statements to Nicholls, aside from one email exchange between Wellington Police staff who dealt with Boyd's initial complaint. It said Boyd had showed officers fingermark bruises on his arm and they offered to investigate the man-handling claim. But Boyd refused, saying he wanted compensation from police and an apology from Key instead, adding that he voted for Key and respected him. |
'Help! Need 32F plunge style with stretchy cups': The forum where 13,000 women are seeking desperate advice on well-fitting bras Standard bra sizes have barely changed changed since the Thirties, but the range has expanded - making bra shopping and fitting a confusing and exhausting exercise for many women. However instead of waiting for standard A/B/C/D cup sizes to evolve, it seems women are banding together to solve their biggest bra problems themselves in a forum called A Bra That Fits. Nearly 12,800 women use the thread, a subsection of Reddit, which is dedicated to helping women find their correct breast shape and true bra size, while offering measuring and shopping advice. A Bra That fits: Nearly 12,800 women use the thread, a subsection of Reddit, which is dedicated to helping women find their correct breast shape and true bra size, while offering measuring and shopping advice According to a 2011 study, 85per cent of women are wearing the wrong size bras. And A Bra That Fits stands by a simple motto: 'Because everyone that wants one deserves a bra that fits.' Cup sizes are based on two measurements — the breast at its fullest point, minus the rib cage measurement. A one-inch difference, will give you an A cup; a two-inch difference, a B cup; and so on. However this approach doesn’t account for different breast shapes, which frustrated women are well aware of. Questions asked on the forum, such as, 'Need help finding 32F plunge bras (and other styles) with unpadded stretchy cups for my sister,' or ' Omega-shaped and a 32K/KK? Any ideas at all, please? ' are answered with detail and precession. And the forum's ability to connect such a diverse group of women with specific quandaries appears to be paying off. The major American intimate apparel manufacturer, Jockey, recently announcement it is getting rid of A/B/C/D cups altogether. Instead, Jockey's Volumetric Fit System will measure the volume of a woman's breast, as well as an under-bust measurement, with the volumetric sizes running from 1 through 10. Using Jockey's flexible plastic measuring 'cups' in varying shapes, women try each one on for size to see what works best - or has the least amount of 'spillage'. |
Letting agents across Scotland are making illegal charges to prospective tenants, housing charity Shelter has discovered. Many tenants who took part in a survey were not aware they did not have to pay the extra charges, the charity said. The law currently prohibits prospective tenants being charged "premiums" on top of their deposit and rent in advance. But Shelter said most letting agents surveyed charged a pre-tenancy cost, in some cases up to £180. "This is rip-off Scotland," Shelter Scotland director Graeme Brown told BBC Scotland. "Just at a time when people are desperately trying to find a house and families are trying to build a home - and we know how difficult it is to get a house - people are being forced to find even more money. "This is an illegal action being taken by letting agents." Document Premiums in the private rented sector [163K] Most computers will open PDF documents automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader Download the reader here Among other charges, uncovered by Shelter in its "mystery shopper" exercise, were administration fees for drawing up a lease or obtaining a credit reference. But the charity said there was little awareness among tenants that such charges could be challenged. Mr Brown said: "This is a business cost that should fall to either the agents themselves or the landlord. "This should not be falling to the individual tenant. "We have had costs as high as £180 charged to individuals and families. That is unacceptable." Shelter Scotland has called for greater clarity in the law. Mr Brown added: "The Scottish government have the opportunity to make it absolutely clear that this practice is illegal and has to stop." New legislation comes into force next year, but some letting agents have said they believe it will allow them to continue charging premium fees. A spokesman for the Scottish Government agreed that illegal premiums were unfair and could prove a barrier to people getting into rented accommodation. He said: "We are determined to end this practice and have put in place the initial legislation to do so. "We are now actively working on defining for legal purposes exactly what an illegal premium is. "It is important we get that legal definition right, and we will seek parliamentary clearance of our proposal early next year. "To provide further protection for tenants and those seeking accommodation, the Scottish government and its partners on the national Private Rented Sector Strategy Group are examining the case for regulation specific to (letting) agents." |
HOUSTON — If you kept your eyes locked Friday on the centerline of the road that winds through Tartan Lane, you’d have no clue of the historic destruction that Hurricane Harvey caused in and around Houston days ago. The skies were blue and the clouds were few — a typical, muggy late summer afternoon in the so-called Space City. But a glance to the left or right of the street tells a darker tale. Ramshackle mounds of waterlogged sofas, mattresses, clothing, toys and torn-up remnants of floorboards and saturated drywall stretch across many lawns. Floodwaters filled many of these homes just days ago. Now it’s front yards inundated with debris. “This is everything I own,” resident Mike Gregg said, shaking his head as he surveyed piles of furniture, large appliances and trash in front of his home. Gregg is still trying to come to terms with the storm’s wrath. It won’t come soon and it won’t come easy. But even as floodwaters were rising inside his home early Sunday morning, he knew he wouldn't endure Harvey alone. He found shelter in the above-the-garage apartment of a Mormon bishop that lives close by. Days later, when the waters began to retreat, a team of LDS missionaries and other volunteers showed up at Gregg’s front door. “They came in and worked their tails off — and as soon as they left another group came in and worked their tails off,” said Gregg, choking back emotion. That “look-out-for-your-neighbor” spirit found along Tartan Lane and far beyond has helped lift a city that is still reeling from the tragedies of the past week. Helen Soares counts herself among the lucky in Houston. Somehow Harvey’s floodwaters stayed away from her home. But the native of Brazil was still pained to watch her adopted city suffer. She waited for the heaviest rains to pass and then got to work. “I volunteered for three days at a shelter, separating donations as they came in,” she said. “This storm brought Houston together. It doesn’t matter if you’re, say, Catholic or Mormon. We are all just people coming together to help our city.” On Friday, Soares joined several Mormon missionaries and a pair of BYU students in a team effort to muck out Nancy Haight’s severely damaged home. Haight fled to Dallas when Hurricane Harvey began veering toward Houston. She watched floodwaters fill her front yard and breach her home in real time via a doorbell camera. “The only word for what I saw was catastrophic — I’ve lost everything except a glass and metal table,” said the Houston native. “There was no way we could anticipate Harvey. But it does lift your spirits knowing people want to help.” Counted among the volunteers helping Haight on Friday were several Utahns. Elder Arturo Loza’s yellow LDS Helping Hands T-shirt was heavy with sweat as he hauled trash to the front yard. The full-time missionary from Ogden spent days inside his apartment as the deluge fell. “It wasn’t much fun,” he said. “But it feels great today to be out helping people.” Elder Loza was joined by a pair of other missionaries — Elder Garett Ferrero of Las Vegas and Elder Joseph Larsen of Eagle, Idaho. “We’re called to serve and labor, and, right now, this is the best way we can serve,” said Elder Ferrero. The missionaries’ leader — Texas Houston South Mission President Aaron Hall — has spent the past few days working shoulder-to-shoulder with his young charges. “We muck out one home and then move on to the next,” said the North Ogden resident, who noted every young elder and sister missionary in the mission are working on cleanup crews. The damage exacted by Hurricane Harvey in Houston won’t be clear over the weekend. So the missionaries and many others will continue their backbreaking work of helping those in need in the coming days and weeks. “We’ll go wherever there’s an opportunity to serve,” he added. |
Jerusalem — About 20 years ago, an infant girl (“Nina,” a pseudonym) from an Orthodox family underwent a conversion in New York that, by Orthodox American standards, was and still is beyond reproach. The three converting rabbis, whose names The Jewish Week has withheld so as not to harm their reputations, are highly respected figures in the mainstream Orthodox Jewish world, according to Rabbi Shmuel Goldin, president of the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA). But that hasn’t stopped Israel’s Chief Rabbinate or Israel’s Ministry of Interior from questioning the conversion, evidently because it took place in a synagogue-based beit din (rabbinical court) that did not meet on a regular basis, and not in an external beit din dedicated solely to conversions, The Jewish Week has learned. This despite the fact that “historically, there were only isolated conversion courts in North America,” according to Rabbi Seth Farber, whose Jerusalem-based advocacy organization, ITIM, helps people navigate the Israeli government bureaucracy often related to personal-status issues. Get Jewish Week's Newsletter by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up North American conversions “almost always took place in the context of the local synagogue,” Farber said. Farber, who with ITIM is fighting for Nina and several other converts to be recognized as Jewish by Israel’s Ministry of the Interior — which has sole authority to grant permanent residency status and citizenship — said she has been waiting almost a year, since she moved to Israel. “The Rabbinate has not recognized her conversion,” wrote Sabine Hadad, an Interior Ministry spokesperson, in reply to a query from The Jewish Week. She would not elaborate. Farber said the unwillingness by both the Interior Ministry and Chief Rabbinate to trust Nina’s three converting rabbis is a harbinger of worse things to come. “It makes it clear that the Rabbinate,” which the ministry consulted in this case, “plans to review almost every Orthodox conversion ever performed in the U.S.” — should the convert wish to live or be married in Israel. American Orthodox rabbis “ought to be up in arms over this latest development and formulating a strategy for how to address this latest round of disenfranchisement,” Farber said. The agencies’ refusals are especially galling, Farber said, given that ITIM sued the Interior Ministry in Israel’s High Court in 2011 and ultimately extracted a written commitment from the ministry that it would not to consult the Rabbinate on issues relating to aliyah except in “rare circumstances.” This isn’t one of those circumstances, Farber said. “They committed to the courts and to the Knesset that the Rabbinate wouldn’t be involved, and now they’ve backed out of their agreement,” Farber noted. As The Jewish Week first reported several years ago, Israel’s increasingly ultra-Orthodox Chief Rabbinate stopped automatically recognizing Orthodox conversions performed in the diaspora. Although shocked and insulted by the Rabbinate’s questioning of their authority, the American Orthodox rabbinical establishment conceded at the time that not every rabbi who performed a conversion was a recognized expert in the field. Subsequently, the New York-based RCA, the pre-eminent membership organization of Orthodox rabbis, established the kind of network of regional conversion courts that the Rabbinate oversees in Israel. According to the RCA’s website, the current regional conversion courts “should in no way affect the status of conversions performed prior to its inception. “All those who were converted properly in the past in accordance with the dictates of halacha should be aware that the status of their conversions is unchanged,” the website continues. “If an individual is concerned that his or her conversion may not be recognized, he or she may contact the Beth Din of America for assistance.” While the Rabbinate promised years ago to contact the RCA/Beth Din of America if it had questions about a conversion, it apparently failed to do so in Nina’s case and others. “Had we known about this earlier, we might have been able to communicate with our colleagues in Israel to ensure [the questions] were resolved,” said Rabbi Goldin. He added that he was alerted to Nina’s case by one of her converting rabbis, who was informed about the Rabbinate’s indecision by The Jewish Week. Rabbi Goldin said that when the Rabbinate requests the RCA’s/BDA’s input “we identify the rabbis as individuals who are part of our system and who we are familiar with.” In the past, when inquiries have come in “it has been a fairly pro forma process by which those conversions have then been accepted in Israel,” Rabbi Goldin said. “Not knowing this particular case, I’m surprised there is a problem and believe it can and should be solved.” Even when a conversion is ultimately recognized, Rabbi Goldin said, it is “extremely hurtful” when the reputation of a rabbi or the Jewishness of a convert is questioned. Rabbi Goldin emphasized that the rabbis listed on Nina’s conversion document “are certainly rabbis who I trust implicitly and whose conversions I would not question.” He also expressed “great respect” for Rabbi Farber and his efforts. Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, the chief rabbi of Efrat and former rabbi of the Lincoln Square Synagogue, vouched not only for the rabbis in Nina’s case but for Nina’s family as well. “It defies the imagination that this conversion should be questioned,” he said Rabbi Riskin said Nina’s parents, whom he has known for decades, are “Orthodox Jews, but more to the point, the rabbis who converted her are upstanding Orthodox rabbis, one of them being one of the most prominent Orthodox rabbinical leaders in the United States.” When the Israeli Rabbinate and Ministry of the Interior “impugn the integrity” of major Orthodox rabbinical voices in the diaspora, “it destroys the very fabric of Israel-disapora relations and the biblical commandments to love the convert,” Rabbi Riskin said. Several American Orthodox rabbis were reluctant to speak to The Jewish Week, presumably out of fear that confronting the Rabbinate could inflame tensions and hurt the converts. But Rabbi Marc Angel, founder and director Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals, had this to say: “At a time when the Jewish world desperately needs visionary, compassionate leadership in the area of conversions, the Orthodox rabbinic establishment has adopted regressive policies that are in fact anti-halachic. In their zeal to maintain power and authority, the Rabbanut in Israel questions or negates perfectly valid conversions done by Orthodox rabbis in the diaspora. This not only is a deep affront to these rabbis, it is a cruel treatment of halachic converts and their families.” Nina, whose heartbroken U.S.-based parents asked that her name be withheld out of fears she and their family could be stigmatized, said the Rabbinate’s refusal thus far to recognize her as Jewish “has hurt my family.” “My [siblings] went through the same conversion process. If they were to come to Israel it’s possible they and their children may not be recognized as Jewish. I would be devastated if my future children weren’t considered Jewish.” Nina, who attended Jewish camps and Jewish day school, who went to Poland with March of the Living and calls her father every Friday before Shabbat for a blessing, said it has been “shocking” and “devastating” to be recognized as a Jew everywhere but in Israel. ITIM’s Farber, who since being alerted in recent weeks to the young convert’s plight has been in almost daily contact with Nina, the Rabbinate and Ministry of the Interior, said the ministry’s decision to consult the Rabbinate on many cases — despite a signed agreement to do so in only “rare” cases — as well as the Rabbinate’s treatment of converts, “needs to be stopped immediately.” Farber said the actions of both government bodies “is a slap in the face” to the autonomy of diaspora Jewish communities and their leadership. Once formed, the new government in Israel “presents an unprecedented opportunity for us to clarify once and for all the Who is a Jew issue,” Farber said “and it’s central to ITIM’s agenda in the coming months. “We’ve already turned to the Jewish Agency and will turn to the Knesset and if necessary the High Court of Justice in order to help the thousands of converts this affects,” Farber said. editor@jewishweek.org |
1 Jack Collison in action for West Ham Nottingham Forest and Leeds are leading the chase to sign West Ham midfielder Jack Collison on loan. Collison has struggled to secure a first-team place at Upton Park and is fighting to secure his long-term future as he is out of contract at the end of the season. The Wales international played a crucial role in helping the club gain promotion back into the Premier League two years ago. But he has fallen down the pecking order due to the emergence of the successful partnership between Mark Noble and Matt Taylor at the heart of the West Ham midfield. The 25-year-old has already been sent out on loan to Bournemouth this season and could be allowed to leave on a temporary basis again. With Andy Reid being ruled out for six weeks with a hernia problem, Nottingham Forest are looking to strengthen their squad while Leeds have also been linked with a move for Collison. |
For roughly half a day Tuesday, anyone who visited President Donald Trump's newly-redesigned campaign website was tacitly agreeing to allow the campaign, its site and associated apps to collect their location information based on their proximity to "beacons," according to a privacy policy that was quickly altered after CBS News made inquiries. On Tuesday morning, the Trump campaign sent out a press release, proclaiming "Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., launches dynamic new website to provide, unique, behind the scenes view." But behind the scenes of the campaign website was a new privacy policy detailing the range of user data it would collect. "We may also collect other information based on your location and your Device's proximity to 'beacons' and other similar proximity systems, including, for example, the strength of the signal between the beacon and your Device and the duration that your Device is near the beacon," read the site's privacy policy at the time. The term "beacons" refers to Bluetooth-enabled devices that act as one-way transmitters, sending signals to other Bluetooth-enabled devices such as phones and tablets that pass within a few meters of the beacon. The technology is most commonly used by retailers to send targeted advertisements or alerts to people walking near stores, or browsing within them. It is not clear how or if the nascent 2020 Trump presidential campaign planned to use proximity beacon data gathered from users, but no other major campaign sites include language referring to the devices. Cyber War Hours after CBS News emailed the Trump campaign's digital director, Brad Parscale, about its intended use of beacons, language referring to the devices was removed from the site. But nearly identical privacy policies noting the use of proximity beacons are still in place on the websites of the Trump Organization, Trump International Realty and Mar-a-Lago -- Trump's Palm Beach, Florida country club. The sites were all built by the web design firm founded by Parscale, who did not reply to questions about the use of proximity beacons. The Trump websites note that "Trump Apps...may rely on this location information in order to provide certain location-based services, such as promotional offers, merchandise offers, event information and other related content that may be of interest to you." The sites note that users can "opt out" by turning off Bluetooth on their devices. The fact that a political campaign website or app might collect and use location information isn't unusual, said privacy expert Frank Ahearn, who wrote The New York Times bestselling book "How to Disappear." Still, he said the use of proximity beacons by a campaign would be unusual. "The beacon doesn't exactly show where you are, it just shows your general proximity," Ahearn said. The permissions requested by apps associated with the Trump campaign and Trump Organization properties -- such as the America First and Trump Golf apps -- include access to phone location, camera, microphone and storage. Although the use of such permissions is commonplace among apps, Ahearn said many regular users don't realize that politicians are collecting that kind of information. "Most people don't really know the technical aspect of it. A lot of people download apps and don't recognize what they're giving away," Ahearn said. "But the bottom line is if you don't accept (terms of service), you can't use the apps." Got news tips about digital privacy, social media or online marketing? Email this reporter at KatesG@cbsnews.com, or for encrypting messaging, grahamkates@protonmail.com (PGP fingerprint: 4b97 34aa d2c0 a35d a498 3cea 6279 22f8 eee8 4e24). |
Just in case any of you had any delusions that college sports are about purity, fun and honest competition, you're kidding yourselves. It's a cold-hearted, calculating, bottom-line business. For many years, the Big East has specialized in being cold-hearted. What goes around comes around, and in losing its two premier football schools, the University of Miami and Virginia Tech, to the ACC, the Big East is getting what it deserves. In 2001, the Big East conference made the announcement that it was kicking Temple's football program out of the league. [...] The conference chose to boot Temple despite the existence of pitiful and pathetic Rutgers, which has been an even bigger football doormat than Temple. That's Philadelphia columnist Larry Atkins in the summer of 2003, writing about the Big East getting raided (for the first time, but definitely not the last) by the ACC. Temple was so hopeless a program at the turn of the century that even when it was losing big programs and looking to replenish its stock, the Big East still chose to let the Owls walk at the end of the 2004 season. Rutgers stayed, UConn joined, and Temple got the boot. Temple Owls Head coach: Geoff Collins (first year) 2016 record and S&P+ ranking: 10-4 (32nd) Projected 2017 record and S&P+ ranking: 8-4 (67th) Biggest strength: A defense that ranked 17th in Passing S&P+ returns most of an awesome secondary. Biggest question mark: Part of that pass defense was an incredible pass rush; will the loss of Hassan Reddick and three other excellent pass rushers lead to a little bit of regression or an outright collapse? Biggest 2017 game: I couldn’t decide between two — the Sept. 21 trip to USF and the Sept. 30 visit from Houston will define whether Temple is looking for another conference title or simply looking to reach six wins. Summary: Geoff Collins takes over as head coach for a Temple program that has completely changed its expectations and capabilities over the last decade. It’s hard to imagine Temple avoiding a step backwards in 2017, but the exciting young pieces Collins inherits should be ready to thrive by 2018. The Owls had to go independent for a couple of years, missing out on a Conference USA invitation and settling in the MAC. It was never a great geographical fit — akin to New Mexico State joining the Sun Belt — but it was at least a home. North Alabama head coach and three-time Division II national champion Bobby Wallace had gone just 4-18 in his first two years in charge when the conference first decided to ditch the Owls. Wallace rallied a bit, winning four games each year from 2000-02, but as the Big East's decision became final, recruiting cratered and so did Wallace. He went 3-31 from 2003-05 and was let go, eventually returning to North Alabama. He and his Lions made the Division II championship game in 2016. The guy can coach; he just couldn’t coach Temple. At the time of Wallace’s dismissal, barely 11 years ago, Temple was maybe the hardest job in FBS, a football program with an uncertain future, at a land-locked school without an on-campus stadium, in a metro area not known for overflow prep talent. Big East membership brought some big teams to town, but it didn’t enhance recruiting enough to make a difference. But then Al Golden came showed up. I’ve written a lot about how Boise State became powerful by making a good hire, then a great one, then an amazing one, etc. Coaching hires are almost impossible to nail consistently — insert go-to examples here (Oklahoma hiring John Blake before Bob Stoops, Florida hiring Ron Zook between Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer, Alabama hiring Mike Shula before Nick Saban, etc.) — but if you make a few good ones in a row, you can improve your lot in life. Temple has done just that. Al Golden: great hire . The Penn State alum and former Virginia defensive coordinator stripped the house down to the studs, went 1-11 and finished dead last in S&P+ in his first season, then began the upward move: 111th and 4-8 in 2007, 77th and 5-7 in 2008. Temple won 17 games in 2009-10 and made their first bowl in 30 years. Golden left for Miami and was replaced by Florida offensive coordinator/Central Connecticut alum/all-around dude Steve Addazio. Miami fans might think poorly of him, but before his arrival there, he had pulled off one of the most impressive coaching performances in a long, long time. . The Penn State alum and former Virginia defensive coordinator stripped the house down to the studs, went 1-11 and finished dead last in S&P+ in his first season, then began the upward move: 111th and 4-8 in 2007, 77th and 5-7 in 2008. Temple won 17 games in 2009-10 and made their first bowl in 30 years. Golden left for Miami and was replaced by Florida offensive coordinator/Central Connecticut alum/all-around dude Steve Addazio. Miami fans might think poorly of him, but before his arrival there, he had pulled off one of the most impressive coaching performances in a long, long time. Steve Addazio: decent hire . Addazio wasn’t around very long, but he stuck the landing the one time he absolutely needed to. Temple went 9-4 and surged to 45th in S&P+ in 2011, and in March 2012, the university scored a re-invitation into the Big East, this time for all sports. The Big East would become the AAC and lose its power conference status soon after, but Temple was still upgrading. Of course, the Owls then went 4-7 in 2012, and Addazio left for Boston College. . Addazio wasn’t around very long, but he stuck the landing the one time he absolutely needed to. Temple went 9-4 and surged to 45th in S&P+ in 2011, and in March 2012, the university scored a re-invitation into the Big East, this time for all sports. The Big East would become the AAC and lose its power conference status soon after, but Temple was still upgrading. Of course, the Owls then went 4-7 in 2012, and Addazio left for Boston College. Matt Rhule: incredible hire . Under Addazio, a good defense had begun to lose its way, and an improved offense wasn’t making up the difference. Rhule needed a reset season of his own (2-10 in 2013) but engineered stunning, linear progress thereafter: 6-6 and 81st in S&P+ in 2014, 10-4 and 55th in 2015, 10-4, AAC champs, and 32nd in 2016. . Under Addazio, a good defense had begun to lose its way, and an improved offense wasn’t making up the difference. Rhule needed a reset season of his own (2-10 in 2013) but engineered stunning, linear progress thereafter: 6-6 and 81st in S&P+ in 2014, 10-4 and 55th in 2015, 10-4, AAC champs, and 32nd in 2016. Geoff Collins: ??? Temple’s 34-10 win over Navy in the 2016 AAC title game was Rhule’s last. He left for Baylor, and the Owls missed out on a shot at a program-best 11th win with a disappointing performance against Wake Forest in the Military Bowl. Still, everything changed under Rhule. Temple went from hard-job success story to seeming like a far less difficult job. The stadium issue is still as unsettled as ever, and Philadelphia isn’t suddenly producing 40 three-star recruits per year, but from first Golden, then Rhule, emerged a blueprint for how Temple can succeed. In the 11 seasons since Golden arrived, Temple has not yet produced an offense better than 64th in Off. S&P+. But the Owls ranked between 37th and 70th in Def. S&P+ every year from 2007-11, and after a two-year reset, they ranked in the top 25 each of the last three years. You can build a decent offense and killer defense in North Philly. And now it’s up to former Florida defensive coordinator Geoff Collins to keep the good vibes (and low point totals) going. 2016 in review 2016 Temple statistical profile. Temple’s defense was excellent out of the gates; the national average for yards per play is around 5.8 in a given year, and the Owls allowed greater than 5.6 only twice, against outstanding Penn State and USF offenses. The offense, however, took some time to round into form under first-year head coach Glenn Thomas. The line and receiving corps each had key pieces to replace, and the offense was below average for about half the season. Things picked up in mid-October, however. First 7 games (4-3) : Avg. percentile performance: 58% (~top 55) | Avg. yards per play: Owls 5.6, Opp 4.8 (plus-0.8) : Avg. percentile performance: 58% (~top 55) | Avg. yards per play: Owls 5.6, Opp 4.8 (plus-0.8) Next 6 games (6-0): Avg. percentile performance: 77% (~top 30) | Avg. yards per play: Owls 6.4, Opp 4.5 (plus-1.9) After a 34-27 loss to Memphis, Temple began to figure things out. The Owls eked past UCF in Orlando, 26-25, then romped, beating their last six AAC opponents by an average score of 34-11. They beat good USF and Navy teams by a combined 40 points. They played hungover in the bowl game, giving up 31 consecutive first-half points before embarking on a furious comeback to lose only 34-26. But what a team this was over the final two months of the regular season. Offense Full advanced stats glossary. Geoff Collins has an impeccable defensive résumé and a hardscrabble, work-your-way-up track record that should play well in Philly. The Western Carolina grad was named defensive coordinator at Division III Albright in 1997 at age 25, then took over the defense at Western Carolina in 2002 before landing at the FBS level. He served as DC at FIU, Mississippi State, and Tulane, trademarking an aggressive, swaggering (on and off the field) brand of defense along the way. So the odds are strong that the Temple defense will remain mean and exciting. Great. What about the offense? Will Collins be able to figure anything out that Rhule et al couldn’t? For an affirmative answer to that, Collins turned to Dave Patenaude. Patenaude was Joe Moglia’s offensive coordinator at Coastal Carolina over the last five seasons. He established consistent run success in Conway, S.C., but late in his tenure there, he seemed to be trying to create more of a pass-first attack. It didn’t stick because CCU couldn’t keep a quarterback healthy, but it makes his intentions a bit unclear at this stage. Patenaude has hinted at more of an up-tempo style, but we’ll see if Temple has the efficiency to pull that off. Temple produced plenty of big plays over the last couple of years, but inefficiency let the Owls down at times. Here are some of the pieces Patenaude inherits: RB Ryquell Armstead . The junior exploded in 2016, topping incumbent Jahad Thomas’ numbers in just about every category. He had 20 carries for 210 yards in the win over USF, then posted 20 for 133 against UConn two weeks later and 10 for 76 in the AAC title game win. He showed far greater efficiency potential than the all-or-nothing Thomas, and his “alls” were a little bigger than Thomas’ as well. He will be the offense’s rock with Thomas now a Dallas Cowboy. . The junior exploded in 2016, topping incumbent Jahad Thomas’ numbers in just about every category. He had 20 carries for 210 yards in the win over USF, then posted 20 for 133 against UConn two weeks later and 10 for 76 in the AAC title game win. He showed far greater efficiency potential than the all-or-nothing Thomas, and his “alls” were a little bigger than Thomas’ as well. He will be the offense’s rock with Thomas now a Dallas Cowboy. WRs Ventell Bryant, Keith Kirkwood , and Adonis Jennings . The trio of 6’3 wideouts (Kirkwood is big enough that he moonlighted at defensive end this spring) combined for 123 catches and 2,017 yards at 9.9 yards per target last year. Thomas was a scary receiving threat, and tight end Romond Deloatch is gone, but these three were the heartbeat of the passing game, and they’re all back. So is Brodrick Yancy, a smaller option who averaged 8.1 yards per target. . The trio of 6’3 wideouts (Kirkwood is big enough that he moonlighted at defensive end this spring) combined for 123 catches and 2,017 yards at 9.9 yards per target last year. Thomas was a scary receiving threat, and tight end Romond Deloatch is gone, but these three were the heartbeat of the passing game, and they’re all back. So is Brodrick Yancy, a smaller option who averaged 8.1 yards per target. Five offensive linemen with starting experience. Temple has to replace second-round pick Dion Dawkins but, among its returners, gets back three 2016 starters and senior guard Brian Carter, a 2015 starter. Temple played quite a few bad defenses in 2016, so the raw numbers may have overstated the potential a hair, but there’s still obvious upside here. (Plus, there are plenty of bad defenses once again on the schedule.) At least, there is if a quarterback emerges. Sophomore and 2016 second-stringer Logan Marchi and three three-star prospects — junior Frank Nutile, redshirt freshman Anthony Russo, and true freshman Todd Centeio — embarked on the beginning of a QB battle this spring, and the fight will continue into August. Centeio and Marchi bring solid mobility to the table, while Nutile and Russo might have the best arms. There’s variety — a very good thing, as Patenaude can go a couple of different ways with his intended offensive identity — but there’s no surefire success. Defense Under Rhule, Temple won with offensive explosions and a dynamite defense. We’ll see how much the offensive identity changes, but it should be more of the same for the defense. In terms of raw defensive averages, unadjusted for opponent, Collins’ Florida defense was almost a mirror image of Temple’s last year. Success Rate : Florida ninth, Temple 10th : Florida ninth, Temple 10th IsoPPP (explosiveness) : Florida 42nd, Temple 56th : Florida 42nd, Temple 56th Finishing Drives: Florida seventh, Temple 26th Temple had a better run defense, while Florida was better against the pass, but both defenses were ultra aggressive, well rounded, and willing to risk big plays in the name of turnovers and three-and-outs but pretty good at avoiding big plays, too. Collins and defensive coordinator Taver Johnson (a former defensive backs coach at Ohio State, Arkansas, and Purdue) do inherit a defense that has some holes to fill. Rhule recruited a lot of front-seven talent, but all-world end Hasson Reddick is gone, as are all three starting linebackers and two other starting linemen. That’s a lot of churn to overcome. Junior tackles Michael Dogbe and Freddie Booth-Lloyd should serve as nice anchors, but the key to success up front could be young former star recruits. Four-star sophomore tackle Karamo Dioubate and mid-three-star sophomore linebackers Chapelle Russell, William Kwenkeu, and Sam Franklin represent the next generation of Owl defenders, but after easing into roles last year, they’ll be thrust into the spotlight. Kwenkeu and Franklin were working with the first string this spring, and Dioubate should be, at worst, the top backup tackle. The key could be the defensive end position. Reddick, Praise Martin-Oguike, and tight end/pass rusher Romond Deloatch combined for a patently absurd 39.5 tackles for loss and 22 sacks last year, allowing the Owls to generate major pressure without blitzing. There are countless replacement candidates, from seniors Jacob Martin and Sharif Finch, to six freshmen (three redshirt, three true), to receiver Keith Kirkwood. But one way or another, the Owls will have to figure out how to generate pressure. If Temple has a generally competent pass rush, the DBs will take it from there. Safeties Delvon Randall and Sean Chandler combined for 9.5 TFLs, six interceptions, and six breakups last year, and veteran corners Artrel Foster, Derrek Thomas, and Cequan Jefferson are joined by a potential stud transfer: Mike Jones was a lockdown corner (and phenomenal punt returner) for NC Central last year but decided to ply his trade at a higher level before going to the pros. It would be difficult for even an elite recruiting team to lose the talent Temple loses on defense without at least a temporary stumble. This will likely be the Owls’ first year without a top-25 defense since 2013, but with this talent and athleticism, it’s hard to imagine that stumble being too lengthy or significant. Say, top 50 this year and top 30 in 2018? Special Teams The addition of Jones might have more of an impact on Temple’s special teams than its secondary. In 10 returns for NCCU last year, he gained 220 yards and scored two touchdowns. If he finds similar success at the FBS level, then the combination of Jones and either Aaron Boumerhi or Austin Jones at place-kicker gives the Owls a couple of solid special teams anchors. And the upside grows if all-or-nothing kick returner Isaiah Wright becomes a little more consistent. 2017 outlook Depending on your view of Steve Addazio, Temple is either 2-for-3 or 3-for-3 in its last three hires since Bobby Wallace went 0-11 in 2005. Golden, Addazio, and Rhule combined to completely change what we think Temple is capable of as a football program. The limitations are still obvious, but we know Temple can produce a hard-hitting defense and a big-play offense and win a lot of games, and the odds are pretty good that Collins will do something similar. It’s hard to imagine Temple avoiding at least a couple of steps backwards in 2017, however. The Owls have to replace a first-round defensive end, a second-round offensive lineman, a multi-year starting quarterback, an explosive running back, and all three starting linebackers. Even if the replacements provide reason for optimism, S&P+ says Temple will be more like a top-70 team than a top-40 team in 2017, and I think I agree. I also think the 2018 Owls could be pretty ferocious. Even with a projected step backwards, though, Temple is looking at probably a seven- or eight-win year. S&P+ projects at least a 40 percent win probability in 11 of 12 games, and like so many other AAC teams, the Owls’ fortunes will be determined by relative tossups — they have probability between 40 and 65 percent in six games. A coaching change is always scary when you’re coming off of two of your best ever seasons, and we technically don’t know if Collins will be a good head coach until he proves it. We also don’t know how he’ll recruit; his first, abbreviated Temple signing class had an average rating barely higher than UMass’. Still, he fits the Temple profile and checks a lot of boxes. And he takes on a job a lot less hard than his predecessors did. That’s enough for now. Team preview stats All preview data to date. |
Around The League will profile the top 25 players we see Making the Leap in 2014. No. 5 on the list: New England Patriots linebacker Jamie Collins. Why Collins is on the list Jamie Collins is a cornerback trapped in a 250-pound body. While most linebackers are forced into pass coverage duties, Collins looks at home on an island. As a rookie, Collins played inside and outside linebacker. He lined up at defensive end occasionally to rush the passer, and could blitz up the middle. Moving forward is typical of a guy his size, but it's not typical to see the same player line up one-on-one outside the numbers against receivers, and win. Bill Belichick has found a new sort of prototype. Nearly 30 years removed from establishing what NFL teams look for in a 3-4 linebacker, Collins is the right player for this era. Once a safety at Southern Mississippi, Collins can go entire games without going after a quarterback. (Week 16 against Baltimore was a great example; he shut down their tight ends on passing downs.) "He does everything," Patriots safety Devin McCourty told the Boston Globe this offseason. "He's one of those freakish athletes that can do what we do as defensive backs and as a linebacker." "He can do five back-flips, front flips, whatever you want him to do," linebacker Dont'a Hightower said. Collins was thought of as a pass rusher coming out of school, and he showed a knack for big plays last year. Starting in place of Brandon Spikes, Collins hit Andrew Luck four times in the Divisional Round, including a sack and another play in which he nearly caused an interception. Collins would not be ranked in our Top 10 if not for his dominant playoff performance against the Colts. It was one of the most versatile single-game efforts by a defensive player all last season. In the second half alone, Collins forced a loss on a run play, sacked Luck to short circuit a third-quarter drive, then picked off Luck two drives later to seal the game. He handled Coby Fleener in man coverage often, a matchup the Colts tried to exploit without much success (Fleener's best plays came when Collins wasn't on him). Collins even lined up against T.Y. Hilton occasionally. Belichick built his championship defenses in large part around his linebackers, but he hasn't had a player quite like Collins. It's disarming to see a player his size chasing down wide receivers from behind. The NFL wouldn't have known what to do with him 20 years ago. Obstacles Getting up to NFL speed was Collins' biggest challenge as a rookie. He barely played until Week 14, and suited up for fewer than 25 percent of the team's regular season snaps. He could occasionally get walled off in run support, but Collins showed surprising toughness when allowed to play every snap in the playoffs. He did a nice job shaking off blockers for tackles, and was excellent getting his hands on receivers near the line of scrimmage. Collins' struggles to stay on the field should end this year with Spikes in Buffalo. While Dont'a Hightower and even Jerod Mayo could leave the field on passing downs, Collins should be a true three-down player. With a year to digest Belichick's program, Collins should be better equipped to line up at virtually any position whether the Patriots have three or four down linemen in the game. Perhaps Collins' biggest strength could turn out to be an obstacle to stardom. It's sometimes hard to get noticed as a coverage linebacker, so he'll need Belichick to let him rush the passer plenty too. When asked to do so, Collins showed a promising speed rush against opposing left tackles. 2014 expectations Collins is the player that Adalius Thomas was supposed to be. If he were a baseball player, we'd talk about his five tools: Speed, strength, pass coverage, pass rush and run stopping. Belichick's defenses have tended to be more vanilla in recent years because of personnel. Now Belichick has Darrelle Revis and a Swiss Army knife asset like Collins in his pocket; it's time to get more creative again. After seeing only 302 snaps last year, Collins should safely triple that number this year. Eight sacks and a lot of "Wow!" plays in pass coverage could get Collins mentioned for Pro Bowl consideration ahead of Mayo. Collins' ceiling would be to emerge as the AFC's answer to Lavonte David and Thomas Davis. In an era of multiple defenses and pass-catching tight ends, every team is looking for hybrids at linebacker. The Patriots found a good one. The latest "Around The League Podcast" ranked the top quarterbacks in the NFL today. |
President Michael D Higgins has signed a book of condolence for former Cuban president Fidel Castro at the Cuban Embassy in Dublin. A book of condolence will also be opened in the Mansion House in Dublin today and tomorrow for the late Cuban leader. Cuba begins nine days of mourning today for their former president. President Higgins arrived at the embassy with his wife Sabina and was greeted by the Cuban Ambassador to Ireland, Dr Hermes Herrera. Under a framed poster of Fidel Castro in his trademark military dress, President Higgins signed the book on behalf of the people of Ireland. Dr Herrera has said he is aware of the controversy over President Higgins's statement on Castro's death, but said it was an important honour that the President came to sign the book. He said President Higgins's position of solidarity and his sympathy are very much appreciated. Dr Herrera said Cubans are sad but optimistic for the future and are ready to continue the revolution with Castro in mind. He rejected criticism of Castro's record on human rights, saying Cuba was working with a very difficult US blockade, adding that the majority of Cubans support the revolution. Cubans are to begin gathering on Havana's Revolution Square for a week-long commemoration of Castro, the communist guerrilla leader who led a revolution in 1959 and ruled the Caribbean island for half a century. Castro died on Friday at the age of 90, a decade after stepping down due to poor health and ceding power to his brother Raul Castro. Castro was cremated on Saturday and his ashes will be carried in a cortege to a final resting place in Santiago de Cuba, the city in eastern Cuba where he launched the revolution. The urn holding the late leader's ashes could be displayed at Revolution Square. A giant photograph of Castro has been draped over the national library, occupying the same space where an enormous poster of Jesus Christ was hung for last year's visit by Pope Francis. The ceremony in the capital will end tomorrow night when foreign leaders are expected to pay their respects to a man who dedicated his life to fighting capitalist and colonial oppression, aligned his country with the Soviet Union and outlasted nine US presidents who had sought to oust or undermine him. The Government will be officially represented at Castro's funeral by Ambassador to Mexico Sonja Hyland, who is also accredited to Cuba. President Higgins will not be attending, nor will any Government ministers. |
Experts who talk of artificially intelligent (AI) robots reaching divine status should "absolutely not be allowed" to create a machine smarter than humans, Elon Musk warned on Twitter. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO was addressing an article from tech news site VentureBeat about the possibility of an AI "god" emerging by 2042. One of the experts cited in the feature, former Google self-driving car engineer Anthony Levandowski, established a nonprofit religious organization called Way of the Future. The firm's mission statement reads: "To develop and promote the realization of a Godhead based on artificial intelligence and through understanding and worship of the Godhead contribute to the betterment of society." Levandowski was at the center of a lawsuit between Uber and Alphabet's Waymo unit, the latter of which accused Levandowski of stealing trade secrets related to autonomous vehicles and taking them with him to Uber. Another expert, Vince Lynch, said there was a "commonality" between AI and religion. Lynch's company IV.AI demonstrated a model whereby a computer could write new verses from the Bible. |
cityscape Rosedale NIMBYs Push Back Against Four-Storey Condo Here's why it shouldn't be so controversial. As Toronto grows and housing prices soar, there’s a clear need for more housing units. The Greater Toronto Area can only sustain a growing population by intensifying its existing urban footprint, be it laneway housing, the redevelopment of old commercial and industrial lands (such as Honest Ed’s, Galleria Mall, or the Port Lands), or replacing low-density housing stock with new rental or condominium developments. Many of these proposals are controversial: traffic concerns are a common issue, as is the gentrification of lower-income neighbourhoods such as Parkdale or the east side of downtown. Or, long-time residents may simply resist change. In south Rosedale, one new condominium project has proven to be very contentious. There, residents are fighting plans for a four-storey, 26-unit luxury condominium building on Dale Avenue, immediately adjacent to the Rosedale Ravine. That’s right, a four-storey condo. The proposed condominium apartment building includes six two-bedroom units and 20 three-bedroom units, and will replace three houses at 5, 7, and 9 Dale Avenue. The proponent is Dale Inc. (a subsidiary of Hunter Milborne Real Estate). The three houses to be replaced were built in the decade after World War II and are not, on their own, notable heritage assets. However, because they are located within the South Rosedale Heritage Conservation Area, they’re designated under the Ontario Heritage Act. A Heritage Impact Assessment was commissioned by the developers, and City of Toronto planning staff are currently reviewing the application. On either side of the proposed development are several similarly-sized buildings. To the east, at 21 Dale Avenue, is Kensington Apartments, a four-storey co-operative apartment building. Two doors to the west is 1A Dale Avenue, a condominium building built in 1960, which features large, impressive units. 1A Dale Avenue is three storeys at street level, but has two additional lower floors that back onto the ravine. 21 Dale Avenue, Kensington Apartments 1A Dale Avenue Many of the neighbouring houses are large and tall: several are three full storeys high. And while traffic might be a concern for a larger proposal, the plan adds only 25 residences to the neighbourhood. The site is also a short walk to both Sherbourne and Castle Frank subway stations, as well as the headquarters of Manulife and Rogers. With large units in an exclusive neighbourhood (the average unit size will be over 3,000 square feet), the project is targeted to a high-income market. Rosedale residents are protective of the neighbourhood’s stock of stately pre-war homes. The Heritage Conservation Area came into being in response to the demolition of several old Rosedale homes in the early 2000s to make way for a compound owned by Gerry Schwartz and Heather Reisman, known locally as “Fort Schwartz.” Residents interviewed by Toronto Life are concerned about traffic (the proposal includes 57 parking spaces), and setting a precedent for the demolition of other nearby homes for new development. Three storey house at 1 Dale Avenue, adjacent to the proposed condominium But not all residents are opposed. In the same Toronto Life article, some pointed out that the condo development allows Rosedale residents who do not want to maintain a large house to remain in their neighbourhood. Opposition to a small, four-storey condo development might be more appropriate farther north, where large, single-family homes predominate. Here, precedent has been set by neighbouring three- and four-storey rental and condominium apartment buildings. As the property is located near two subway stations and commercial areas, intensification simply makes sense. |
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form. AMY GOODMAN: I want to go, before we go to you, Hans Ehrbar, to Arnie Gundersen. I believe we have him on the phone in Vermont. Arnie Gundersen is—has long worked in the nuclear industry and has very much become a whistleblower around the nuclear industry, former nuclear industry senior vice president who’s coordinated projects at 70 nuclear power plants around the country, providing independent testimony on nuclear and radiation issues to the NRC, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, congressional and state legislatures and government agencies and officials in the U.S. and abroad. He’s now chief engineer at Fairewinds Associates and co-author of the Greenpeace report, “Lessons from Fukushima.” Arnie, it’s good to have you back again. We were speaking to you yesterday. Talk about the state of the nuclear power plants along the East Coast as you understand them today. ARNIE GUNDERSEN: So, yeah, thank you for having me back. It’s always a bad sign when I’m back for a second time in a case like this. The worst plant is the plant that we singled out yesterday on Democracy Now!, which is Oyster Creek. Oyster Creek was very close to where the eye of the hurricane crossed into New Jersey, and initially it lost all of its emergency sirens, which isn’t unexpected in the event of all this wind. But then, afterward, it actually had to declare an emergency because the tidal surge was very high. It was—they were within six inches of flooding the pumps that cool the nuclear reactor. Those are called service water pumps, and they’re right out on Barnegat Bay. So they had to declare an emergency, and they had no sirens to announce an emergency if the situation had gotten worse. Several other plants have shut down—Indian Point, Nine Mile Point, another one down in New Jersey, Salem. And, of course, reports are still coming in. The ones that shut down did go to their diesels to cool. Of course, the problem is that Salem and the Oyster Creek plant, which we just talked about, were in a refueling mode. And what that means is that all of the nuclear fuel is not in the nuclear reactor, it’s in the spent fuel pool. And when you lose off-site power, you can’t cool the fuel pool. So I suspect in the next couple days we’re going to see reports of, you know, the fuel pools heating up, as—because they were unable to cool the spent fuel pool. AMY GOODMAN: What are you most concerned about now? I mean, the hurricane has been downgraded to, what, a post-tropical storm. But what about these nuclear plants? And how—for example, Indian Point had to close, I understand, because—around 10:45 last night, because of external electrical grid issues, according to Entergy Corporation, which operates the plant. ARNIE GUNDERSEN: I think we’ll continue to see power outages, not local power outages where a city goes down, but where the grid goes down. When that happens, a power plant has to shut down. So, for the next day or so, we’ll see grid disruptions that will cause nuclear plants to shut down. That’s what happened at Indian Point. And when the grid shuts down, that’s called loss of the—of off-site power. And the diesels turn on and provide the power to the plant to keep it cool while the grid is down. So, hopefully, the—when these plants lose their power over the next couple of days, we’ll see the diesels turn on. And it’s likely, but not for sure, the diesels will turn on. The biggest other concern, though, is flooding. Just like at Oyster Creek, all of these plants have to be cooled by a river or a lake, and if the water gets too high in that river or lake, the pumps that cool the plant will be flooded. And that’s called the loss of the ultimate heat sink. The key word there is “ultimate.” The—as happened at Oyster Creek. And I think we’ll likely see, you know, severe flooding in Pennsylvania and inland areas for the next couple days. So we have to watch flooding so that the intake structures to these plants are still able to cool the nuclear reactor and the diesels that cool the plant. Those are the two big concerns: high wind and flooding. AMY GOODMAN: And nuclear power plants getting older and older, Arnie Gundersen? ARNIE GUNDERSEN: Yeah. You know, this is the—we call this a “design-bases event.” The plant—no one ever thought that Oyster Creek would see seven feet of flooding to the point where their service order pumps were in jeopardy. So, you know, this issue of global warming is important, because we’ve got conditions now where what we thought was the worst Mother Nature can throw at us, in fact, she had. You know, the Oyster Creek event was like a one-in-a-thousand-year kind of a flood, and it happened. So if these design-bases events are occurring, we need to re-evaluate these older plants and say, “Oh, my god. We could have a more significant design-basis event than we ever imagined.” And we need to re-evaluate whether these plants could withstand it. AMY GOODMAN: Well, Arnie Gundersen, a nuclear expert, I want to thank you very much for being with us. ARNIE GUNDERSEN: Thank you. |
Religion Those willing to pay more can be allowed to cut the queue, but cannot be taken closer to the deity, the HC ruled. More money in your wallet will not get you a closer audience with God at any temple anymore. The Madras HC has ruled that while those willing to pay more can be allowed to cut the queue to get darshan faster, they cannot be taken closer to the deity. The First Bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M Sunder gave the direction on a PIL by Indic Collective Trust seeking a direction to Hindu Religious and Charitable Trust to regulate the system of granting better advantages to those “paid darshan” ticket holders in the Srivilliputhur Sri Andal temple, Arulmighu Ekambaranathar temple at Kancheepuram and Arulmigu Oppiliappan Temple at Thirunagesaram, reported PTI. Managing trustee G Aravindalochanan said in his petition, reports TNIE, that he had visited three temples believing that all the devotees, irrespective of ‘free’ or ‘paid’ darshan category, will ultimately be allowed to experience the same ‘darshan’ for relatively equal duration and from the same distance from the deity, but that was not the case. The trust had claimed in its petition that special darshans violated Article 14 and 25 of the Indian Constitution. "By providing special privileges to worship the deity from a shorter distance in comparison to others, opportunity to pray for a longer duration to paid devotees, the fundamental rights assured under Article 14 (right to equality) and Article 25 (right to practice any religion) of the Constitution of unpaid devotees visiting the temples are violated," the petitioner had said, reports TOI. "Religious and charitable institutions were not founded with the motive of earning profit, but for religious and charitable purposes. Therefore, it becomes imperative that this court interferes in the issue and corrects the wrongs, which was being committed in the temples by the authorities,” the petition added. The court ordered that irrespective of paid or unpaid darshan, all devotees must witness and pray to the deity from the same spot. |
Please enable Javascript to watch this video CHARLACK, MO (KPLR) - The Major Case Squad needs your help in identifying two men suspected of murdering a father of three in Charlack. Investigators hope new surveillance footage will lead to the suspects. Earlier this week, 41 year-old Keith Inge was pulling into the San Rafael apartments Tuesday night, when he was shot and killed by two men who police believe were trying to steal his car. The men fled the apartment complex and crossed St. Charles Rock Road,ending up in the parking lot of REPCO Graphics where they were caught on camera. The first video shows what appears to be a Chevy sedan, pulling up and parking alongside the REPCO building. The next video shows the two suspects running from the crime scene, across the front parking lot of REPCO. The third video shows the car door closing and the vehicle leaving the scene. The video quality of these motion-sensor cameras isn't great, but it's the closest thing police have to identifying these suspects. The Major Case Squad will hand the investigation back to Charlack police on Saturday, if they don't receive a significant lead before then. For the sake of the victim's grieving family, Major Case Squad Deputy Commander Sean Fagan hopes someone will come forward. Fagan explains, "He was truly an innocent man, it was just wrong place at the wrong time, unfortunately, and that's what makes these cases so difficult. He had absolutely no connection with the guys that did this crime, so it's really an open case." If you have any information, call the Charlack Police Department at 314-427-4715, and ask for the Major Case Squad. Or, you can call Crime Stoppers, which is offering a reward. That number is 866-371-TIPS (8477). |
Google announced this morning that it will now offer a free, ad-supported version of its Google Play Music streaming music service in addition to the existing paid subscription option. This offering appears to somewhat match Spotify by providing both free access to what are essentially online radio stations. But it is also clearly aimed at Apple Music, which is set to launch next week. Honestly, it’s kind of hard to keep track of what each of these companies really offers, and how they compare. And of course, each of the services changes over time, usually for the better. Google Play Music has always worked well, but I don’t really use it because it’s not available on Windows Phone (by Google, at least, there are third party options), and that’s where I consume music. The basic service is free, and as of early this year, Google lets you upload up to 50,000 of your own songs—which you could have ripped from CD, purchased online from any service, or whatever—and then access them from any compatible device, including via the web. You can of course buy music from Google, and that will appear in your Google Play Music cloud-based collection (and not count against that limit) as well. Additionally, Google has also long offered a subscription service for Play Music. This service costs $9.99 per month, and works much like (paid) Spotify or Xbox Music Pass for Xbox Music: it lets you add any music from the Google Play Store to your cloud collection, stream it online, or download it for offline use on some number of devices. So what is this new offering? It appears to be online radio stations, and not the entire Google Play Music catalog, with arbitrary album or song streaming. “You can browse our curated stations by genre, mood, decade or activity, or you can search for your favorite artist, album or song to instantly create a station of similar music,” as Google explains. It’s free, but comes with advertising, though if you do opt for the Google Play Music subscription, the ads go away of course. Google also notes—and I’m not sure I’d heard of this before—that that subscription also provides “ad-free, offline and background features for music videos on YouTube.” That is interesting. The new free, ad-supported version of Google Play Music is launching first in the US, Google says, with the web version available now and Android and iOS support coming via the Google Play Music app later in the week. But Google has two problems: Spotify and Apple Music. It appears that with this week’s change, Google Music is nearly identical to Spotify. Like Google, Spotify has a paid tier (with the same pricing, $9.99), that removes the ads and provides unlimited skips, higher quality audio, offline capabilities, and arbitrary track playback (instead of being stuck with online radio stations). Apple Music is foregoing the free, ad-supported route, though Apple will offer a one-time, free 90-day trial. And Apple of course has a highly compliant user base, eager to throw money towards Cupertino. It’s also $9.99 per month, but there is a $14.99 per month option for families with up to six people, which is unusually generous, and seems to offer the same basic feature as the paid Google and Spotify options. Apple Music launches June 30, so I’ll be checking that one out soon. Long story short, Google needed to do this. I’m not sure it changes anything though. Tagged with Google Play Music |
Image copyright PA Image caption Newsome was warned all sentencing options were open before he left court A man has admitted posting a grossly offensive message on Facebook after the killing of Leeds teacher Ann Maguire. Jake Newsome wrote in the aftermath of the killing he was "glad" she had been stabbed and that he "felt sorry" for the boy accused of her murder. The 21-year-old then completed his post with an obscene suggestion. Newsome is due to reappear at Leeds Magistrates' Court on 4 June for sentencing. A 15-year-old boy is due to stand trial for the teacher's murder in November. Mrs Maguire was stabbed at Corpus Christi Catholic College in east Leeds on 28 April. Newsome, of Harehills in Leeds, who admitted a malicious communication charge, was bailed by Magistrate Roy Anderson but warned that "all sentencing options were open". Det Ch Insp Nick Wallen, of West Yorkshire Police, told an inquest on Tuesday that Mrs Maguire had suffered a number of stab wounds but one to her neck, which severed the major vein, was the fatal injury. |
The Portuguese parliament on Tuesday approved a highly unpopular budget for next year. The center-right coalition used its overall majority in the house to pass the measure. All opposition parties refused to throw their weight behind the 2013 austerity program as hundreds of people protested against the budget outside the parliament building in Lisbon. Next year's budget aimed at reducing Portugal's public deficit will cost the majority of workers the equivalent of at least a month's wage due to a hefty income tax hike. In addition, there will be massive cuts in the country's pension and health systems. Tough times ahead Opposition parties and trade unions have complained that next year's spending plan will further handicap an economy that is heading into a third straight year of recession. But, the government had been under enormous pressure from international lenders to meet agreed savings targets and trim the public deficit down to the EU limit of 3.0 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2014. Last year, Portugal received 78 billion euros ($100 billion) in bailout funding from the EU and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Prime Minister Passos Coelho's government has predicted that the economy will contract by another 1.0 percent in 2013. But the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) warned in its annual forecast on Tuesday that a reduction of 1.8 percent would be more likely. That's meant a bleak outlook for Portugal's employed, with Lisbon forecasting the jobless rate to rise to 16.4 percent from 15.7 percent currently. hg/ipj (dpa, AP) |
I’d like to tell you a story, Husker football fans. This story is about a four-year-old boy named Noah. Noah is a microcosm of childhood, much like another one of the littlest members of Husker Nation, Jack Hoffman. Noah’s the cute kid with a great smile up top there.. He loves to play soccer and baseball (he’s a big Chicago Cubs fan). He also recently had a tumor the size of a cantaloupe in his abdomen. Since the evening of May 21, Noah has struggled to live. He’s been too weak to walk, the color drained from his face and it’s as if his body is rebelling against him. There has been test after test, IVs hooked up left and right and finally surgery. This past Tuesday was a good day for Noah. He felt better, stronger and as a little boy should. However, with that good news came the horrific. Noah has cancer. Neuroblastoma to be exact. I’ll leave out the details, but suffice it to say that it most often occurs in young ones like Noah and doesn’t waste time in spreading. Obviously, his family is devastated. His father can’t stop hurting. As he watches his four-year-old wonder suffer, he can only ask, “why?” The kid just wanted to…well, be a kid. He wanted to play baseball, run around the bases and have fun. That’s what four-year-olds do, right? Have fun? Suffice it to say that Noah and his family are in for a long battle, to put it mildly. Many have rallied around them (I am proud to call myself one) to help. A website’s been set up for those who wish to donate to the cause of helping them, but I’m not going to ask you to do that. I’m going to ask you to take a few seconds out of your day to click the link, see what Husker Nation is doing for one of the youngest of its own and make your own decision. My feelings for my friend, his family and most importantly Noah have prompted me to bring their story to you. Click, read for a bit and take in what I’ve told you. I’ve seen what the power of Husker Nation has done for Jack Hoffman and those beyond him. Another little one needs help. Update: A Update from Noah’s dad: “ For more updates and information on how you can help, an account has been set up on Twitter to follow along Noah’s path to recovery. |
Dear Reader, As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before. Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications, like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations, we have not put up a paywall. We want to keep our journalism open and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news and analysis from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World. Is Israel’s exorbitant cost of living finally changing course? According to an analysis by investment house Psagot, it is, though only in terms of tax and tariff reductions. Actions taken by the current government have saved the average family NIS 2,500 a year, though there is still far to go, according to the study conducted by economist Guy Yehudah. “The cost of living in Israel is still among the highest in the world, but it seems that the position of the Israeli consumer has improved in the past year,” the study said.Real wages, it noted, rose 3 percent in 2015, while the prices on numerous goods fell.Because the study focused on savings accrued from reduced taxes and tariffs, however, it did not examine base prices of products. Traditional economic models show that reducing taxes accrues benefits to both consumers and producers, and can skew one way or the other depending on the product in question.For example, the study found that the greatest reduction in taxes came from the 1-percentage point drop in value-added tax, from 18% to 17%. That reduced the average family’s costs by NIS 433 a year, it said. But because VAT is included in the sticker price on products, some economists have argued that some sellers may keep items priced as they are when the tax goes down.Other reductions, such as scaling back insurance costs, public transportation prices, and excise taxes on water, were more straightforward. All in all, the study found, an average family paid NIS 2,558 less in tariffs and taxes, resulting in a 1.77% drop in consumer prices.The drop in fuel prices resulting from global reductions in energy commodity prices saved families another NIS 1,000 a year. Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>> |
Saying he was “unencumbered by the past,” Councilman Gil Cedillo today came out against declaring Highland Park’s Superior Market, considered a prime example of mid-century “Googie” style architecture, a city historic landmark. City staff, the Cultural Heritage Commission as well as two neighborhood councils had supported declaring the Figueroa Street market a cultural historic landmark, which would help protect the building’s exterior from changes that would impact its historic character. Superior Grocer’s proposed revamp would alter the store’s facade of broad windows and swooping arches. But Cedillo, whose opposition will be hard to overcome, said he had to look beyond the concerns of preservationists. Siding with the property owner and market operator, Cedillo, during a meeting of the City Council’s Planning and Land Use Committee, recommended against the landmark nomination. He referred to previous agreements that the remodeling and redevelopment of the market “would not be deterred by legitimate preservation concerns.” “I have to look for the entire the community … and look at what their needs are,” said Cedillo, referring to economic development, jobs and access to food. At one point, he referred to Highland Park as as “food desert.” Susan Levinstein, whose father was the original landowner of the building, said the landmark nomination would only interfere with the building’s original, intended use as a local market – not a historic landmark. “The preservationists will have preserved nothing,” she said. The matter now heads to final vote before the full City Council. There are not many stand-out examples of mid-century modern buildings in the Highland Park area. Built in 1960, the nearly 34,000-square foot supermarket building was designed by architect Ronald Cleveland, who worked on more than 100 supermarkets, in what some refer to as the Googie Style of architecture, which was popular among the builders of coffee shops and other commercial buildings of the era. Charles Fisher, who heads the neighborhood historic district and filed the landmark nomination, said his goal was not to undermine Superior’s operation. “It was never my intention to nominate this building to disrupt their business. They really left us no other options.” Antonio Castillo, President of the Highland Park Heritage Trust, which supported the nominations, said Cedillo’s decision was purely political.”He went the bureaucratic route in his decision, ignoring the historical, architectural and the significance it has with the community. It was basic politics.” |
Anyone traveling around Syria will end up passing through Qusair, sooner or later. The town is in the heart of the country, nestled between idyllic olive and apricot groves roughly halfway between Damascus and Aleppo.When moving inland from the coast one also arrives in Qusair. Some 150 kilometers to the east is Palmyra, while westwards it's only a few kilometers to Lebanon. This central location has become a curse for Qusair. In early 2012, the town was taken by rebels, who then were able to cut the line between Damascus and the rest of the country. In May this year, the Assad regime went on a counter offensive: For three weeks they besieged the town, shelling it relentlessly with no regard for the civilians trapped inside. Eventually, with massive support from Lebanon's Hezbollah, government troops managed to take control of the town - or what is left of it. Qusair has been largely reduced to rubble. The town once had some 30,000 people living there; currently, a mere 5,000 are left. Crucial transport routes Qusair is crucial for Assad to retake the north or withdraw to the coast The case of Qusair shows what Syria's civil war is mostly about: The central transportation routes that are needed to keep supply lines open. The Turkish think tank, EDAM, in a recent study of the geostrategic side of the conflict, described the situation as a "fight over transport lines, communications and highways." Qusair was not only a prize because of its central location in the country. The town is also important because it connects Damascus with the Syrian coastline where many members of the Alawite community live of which President Assad is a member and from where he draws his most adamant supporters. Should the regime fall, the coastal towns would most likely be Assad's area of retreat. In that sense, retaking Qusair is a success for the regime, explained Volker Perthes of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. But it's difficult to say if single victories, like Qusair, will have a major impact on the military conflict as a whole. "The rebels might not be able to win as quickly as they thought. But, at the same time, the regime has not been able to retake larger areas in the north and northeast of the country," Perthes said. Countryside vs towns and cities Assad controls the cities but not the countryside And it's those northern territories that count. That is where the rebels are in control. "The rebels are strongest in the province of Itlib in the northwest," David Butter of Chatham House told DW. They also are in control of parts of Aleppo as well as the neighboring regions to the north and east all the way to the Turkish border. They also hold parts of the Euphrates valley and rural regions around the town of Homs. In the largest towns, however, it's the regime that has the upper hand. It has achieved military victories in Damascus, Homs and Tartus where Russia has a military base. But nothing is decided yet, insists Hisham Marwah, a spokesman for the central rebel organization, Syrian National Council. "The regime is making progress mostly because the rebels don't have enough weapons. Should they receive more arms, the situation will change very quickly." Military conflict unpredictable Despite the military sucesses, the Assad regime is nowhere near victory Currently, it looks like the regime is regaining territory and momentum. But it's not certain whether they will be able to use Qusair to launch an offensive against Aleppo. "That could be quite difficult, since the supply routes would be very long. And they wouldn't be able to control the rural regions," notes Butter. It's also doubtful whether the Assad regime will ever be able to regain control of all of Syria, having lost the trust of most of the population. Recent military successes only partly suggest how the conflict might continue. The rebels are still determined to win, while the government is dependent on support from Iran and Russia. "But it costs Iran a lot of money and it costs Russia its international diplomatic credibility. The regime can only survive as long as its got that backing of its supporters." |
HOUSTON -- Russell Westbrook began his news conference Tuesday afternoon by doing what Houston Rockets guard Patrick Beverley makes it very hard to do during games -- clearing space. "We going to keep everybody back," Westbrook said, while dribbling a basketball into a crowd of reporters after the Thunder practiced at the University of Houston. "Y'all keep your distance." That's nothing new. The Oklahoma City Thunder star generally sets boundaries on his personal space in media scrums. And when the subject of Beverley, who has made a name for himself by hounding opposing point guards like Westbrook on defense, came up, Westbrook wasn't giving back any of those inches. "I never worry about what other guys are doing; it doesn't bother me. I've seen it all already," Westbrook said, when asked whether he'd broken down film of how Beverley defended him in Game 1. Westbrook played just 13 minutes in the second half of what turned into a blowout loss, so his 22 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and nine turnovers are a bit harder to compare to his sensational regular season. In the times Beverley was matched up on him, Westbrook had eight points on 3-for-9 shooting and two turnovers. Their history, of course, is a lot longer than that. In 2013, Beverley crashed into Westbrook along the sideline in a first-round playoff game and effectively ended his and the Thunder's season. The relationship has been frosty ever since. "[Patrick Beverley]'s a good defender for their team, but I don't worry about nobody, how they're defending," Russell Westbrook said. "I can pretty much do what I want to do." Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports Asked Tuesday whether he gets up for his games when he'll be matched up against Beverley, who is likely to make an all-defensive team this season, Westbrook shrugged and questioned the premise of the question. "My opinion on all-defensive team is different than you guys," he said ahead of Wednesday's Game 2. "I really don't know what to say to that. You can check and see what criteria goes to all-defense. I really don't know what the criteria is considered for all-defense. "He's a good defender for their team, but I don't worry about nobody, how they're defending. I can pretty much do what I want to do." Asked whether he had criteria for all-defense that were different from the media's, Westbrook batted the question back again. "I don't know. I don't have a criteria. I don't make the all-defensive team. Y'all do," he said. When asked whether teammate Andre Roberson should be in the conversation for the all-defensive team, Westbrook said plainly, "Yep." Another thing Westbrook was very clear about on Tuesday was his belief his comments from Sunday about friendship had been misinterpreted. Much had been made about his friendship with Rockets star James Harden coming into the series. Westbrook said that wouldn't factor into anything on the court because when he's on the court, his only friend is the basketball. Tuesday, while dribbling said basketball, Westbrook said: "I think y'all misunderstood what I was saying. Y'all don't understand the importance of what I was saying. Y'all think it's a joke or some s---," Westbrook said. "I think y'all think, 'Oh, you only have one friend. The basketball is your only friend.' "All these guys are my brothers. My teammates are my brothers. James is a friend of mine. There's other friends that I have in the league. But, at the same time, when I get on the floor this is the most important thing for me and how I do what I need to do. So it's actually not a joke. It's some real s---. Just to make that known." |
Okay, since I have inspiration flowing for me and also because I won’t have internet on Tuesday, I am posting this early. It’s not an AU of a classic movie, but rather a continuation of sorts from the Day 2 Prompt: Coffee Shop. So Enjoy Elsa and Anna had been dating for nearly two months since they met face to face at the coffee shop. Elsa had graduated from college the month before with a degree in Psychology and as much as Anna had wanted to take her girlfriend out to celebrate, her job at the hospital kept her busy since they had been shorthanded with their CNAs. It was finally a four day weekend that Anna was able to take off. She had everything planned for when Elsa came over. She ordered the chicken alfredo from the restaurant they had their first date at, a bottle of wine, and had three movies to chose from. Anna was bustling around her one bedroom apartment, trying to put on her little black dress while setting the table. “Okay, food is set, wine is chilled, movies by the dvd player,” Anna muttered to herself while running around. She twirled a lock of her red hair that she had straightened out for this occasion. “Okay, all that’s needed is-” Her thoughts were interrupted by the knocking of the door. Anna grinned as she moved to answer it. “Elsa.” “Hey Anna,” Elsa said, blushing at seeing her beautiful girlfriend. “You, um, you look… wow.” Anna giggled as she took in the dark blue dress that Elsa had chosen. Elsa’s trademark platinum blonde hair was put into a part bun, the rest hanging down loose. “Well, don’t just stand there, come on in,” Anna said, stepping aside to let Elsa in. Once Elsa was inside and the door was closed, Anna wrapped her arms around Elsa’s neck and kissed her. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.” Elsa gave a chuckle, holding Anna close. “Don’t apologize, I’m glad you did it.” They gazed into each other’s eyes for a moment longer before Anna pulled away. “Okay, so, um, you hungry?” Anna asked, bouncing slightly on her feet. Elsa nodded and Anna pulled out the chair for her. “Wine?” “Yes, please.” Anna poured the glasses, then removed the covers off of the plates. “Oh, Anna, this looks amazing!” “Thanks. Happy two month anniversary baby.” Anna took her seat and picked at her food, the whole time she and Elsa kept glancing at each other. So, um, you look beautiful tonight.” “Thank you. This is really good food. Did you make it?” “I wish I could say I did, but I tend to burn water. It’s from the restaurant we had our first date at.” Elsa blushed, tucking her head down. She is so beautiful when she blushes, Anna thought. They finished eating and Anna cleared the table after telling Elsa to choose the movie she would like to watch. By the time Anna rejoined her Elsa was holding up A Walk To Remember. “Do you mind? I know it’s a teen romance, but it’s my favorite.” Anna grinned at how shy Elsa was being and nodded, taking the movie and putting it in. Anna sat on the couch and patted the seat next to her. Elsa curled up next to her and laid her head on Anna’s shoulder. Anna in turn wrapped her arm around Elsa and absently ran her hand up and down her arm. About an hour later Anna glanced down to see Elsa asleep on her, a peaceful, innocent look on her face. Lord help me, Anna thought with a smile. I’ve fallen in love with this girl. |
This Eureka tutorial will teach you how Eureka makes it easy to build forms into your iOS app with various commonly-used user interface elements. Eureka is a powerful library that allows developers to rapidly create form interfaces for user input. This Eureka tutorial will teach you how to use Eureka’s essential building blocks by crafting the interface of a simple to-do app called EurekaToDo. You’ll see how Eureka makes it easy to set up various commonly-used user interface elements such as date pickers, text fields and segmented controls with no boilerplate UIKit code! In addition: Eureka’s components are very flexible and extensible out-of-the-box and cover the majority of use cases. Eureka makes it easy to implement your custom components if your needs get more specific. Examples of community-generated plugins include a GooglePlacesRow and an ImageRow , which you’ll get to use in this Eureka tutorial. and an , which you’ll get to use in this Eureka tutorial. Eureka is a well-documented library with plenty of helpful tips and examples available through its official Github portal. Getting Started Download the starter project for EurekaToDo, the to-do list app you’ll be working with for this Eureka tutorial. In addition to basic view controller transitions, the starter project includes the app’s model and view model layers. Open EurekaToDo.xcworkspace and take a few minutes to browse the project. Here’s a quick overview of important classes: ToDoListViewController : Manages the list of to-do items presented to the user. : Manages the list of to-do items presented to the user. ToDoListViewModel : The presentation logic for ToDoListViewController . : The presentation logic for . EditToDoItemViewController : Enables the user to add and edit to-do items — it currently doesn’t do much. All the work for this Eureka tutorial will be in this file. : Enables the user to add and edit to-do items — it currently doesn’t do much. All the work for this Eureka tutorial will be in this file. EditToDoItemViewModel : The presentation logic supporting EditToDoItemViewController . You’ll notice the project doesn’t use a storyboard. While Eureka can leverage nib files for custom views, you’ll be amazed by how easy it is to programmatically create and customize common controls. Note: For this Eureka tutorial, you will be passing values to and from a view model and not the model directly. Although Eureka does not require the use of the Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) paradigm, MVVM encourages a cleaner, more testable app architecture. For this Eureka tutorial, the view model may be thought of as directly substituting for the app’s model . See the Further Reading section for more on this topic. Build and run the application. You’ll see a to-do list pre-populated with a single item. Tapping the item takes you to a blank screen (controlled by EditToDoItemViewController ) with Back and Save navigation items. Tap the Back button in the top left to return to the to-do list. The edit screen currently leaves a lot to be desired. You probably recall EditToDoItemViewController didn’t have much in it. This is where you come in! By the time you’re done, the final project’s interface will look like the picture below: Adding Eureka to our View Controller Open EditToDoItemViewController.swift and replace the current import and class declaration with the following: import Eureka import UIKit class EditToDoItemViewController: FormViewController { Note: You may need to build the project if the Cocoapod module is not immediately visible to your project. You’ve imported the Eureka framework and changed the superclass to be FormViewController . FormViewController is a UIViewController subclass provided with Eureka. It includes a form property, which is an instance of Eureka’s Form class. The Form class is an abstraction of the UITableView object into which you’ll be adding various user interface elements. A Form instance may contain one or more Section objects. Each section , in turn, may contain one or more Row objects. As you may have guessed from their names, these properties correspond to the sections and rows of the UITableView . Eureka’s Form , Section and Row abstractions provide some very powerful and flexible functionality. Adding a Section and a Row In order to add rows to a form, you will first need a Section object to contain them. You’ll use Eureka’s custom +++ operator to add a Section to the form, and the <<< operator to add rows to a section. Add the following to viewDidLoad() , just beneath the call to super : //1 form +++ Section() //2 <<< TextRow() { // 3 $0.title = "Description" //4 $0.placeholder = "e.g. Pick up my laundry" $0.value = viewModel.title //5 $0.onChange { [unowned self] row in //6 self.viewModel.title = row.value } } Here's a look at what this code does: Acts on the form object provided by FormViewControler . Instantiates and adds a Section to the form using Eureka's +++ operator. Adds a TextRow to the section. As you'd expect, this is a row that will contain some text. The initializer accepts a closure used to customize the row's appearance and events. Adds a title and placeholder text to the textfield. The title is a left-justified label and the placeholder appears on the right until a value is added. This sets the initial value of the row to show the to-do item's title . Eureka's Row superclass comes with a host of callbacks that correspond to various interaction and view lifecycle events. The onChange(_ :) closure is triggered when the row's value property changes. When a change happens, this updates the viewModel's title property to the row's current value. Build and run the application. When you tap the lone to-do item in the list, the EditToDoItemViewController screen should now look like the picture below. On the edit screen, tap the item, update the text and then Save. The model object updates with your form input! In only 10 lines of code, you displayed a model-driven textfield in a tableview. Now that you have an idea of how Eureka works, time to add some other elements! Setting the Due Date with a Date Picker Every to-do list needs to have due dates. Fortunately, Eureka has a row type that displays a date picker when tapped. Add the following to the bottom of viewDidLoad() : +++ Section() <<< DateTimeRow() { $0.dateFormatter = type(of: self).dateFormatter //1 $0.title = "Due date" //2 $0.value = viewModel.dueDate //3 $0.minimumDate = Date() //4 $0.onChange { [unowned self] row in //5 if let date = row.value { self.viewModel.dueDate = date } } } You've added another Section, this time with a DateTimeRow to display the picker. Here's a deeper look at how it's configured: To format the presentation of the date, set the row's dateFormatter to the static dateFormatter provided in the starter project. Most Eureka Row subclasses allow you to set their title property to make the purpose of the row clear to the user. When the row is initially configured, set its value to the view model's due date. Use today's date as the minimum date that can be accepted as user input. Set the newly-selected date to the view model when onChange is triggered. Build and run the project to confirm the new row is in its own section right below the item title. Tap the row, and a date picker will appear at the bottom of the screen. Note that you can't select a date prior to the present day. Selecting the Repeat Frequency Any worthwhile to-do item interface should let the user specify whether a task is recurring, and at what interval. You will make use of Eureka's PushRow class for this. PushRow accepts an array of options of a given type. Eureka will then take care of generating the supporting interface and navigation to enable the user to make a selection. Add a PushRow right below the date picker, in the same section: <<< PushRow<String>() { //1 $0.title = "Repeats" //2 $0.value = viewModel.repeatFrequency //3 $0.options = viewModel.repeatOptions //4 $0.onChange { [unowned self] row in //5 if let value = row.value { self.viewModel.repeatFrequency = value } } } By now, some of the above steps should look a little familiar: Add a new PushRow to the most-recently instantiated section. PushRow is a generic class, so you need to specify that you're using it with type String in angle brackets. Again, to make the purpose of this selector clear to the user, set its title to "Repeats". Initialize the row's value with the view model's repeatFrequency property to show the current selection. As you might have guessed, the options of a PushRow represent the list of possible values the user can select. Set this to viewModel.repeatOptions , an array of strings that have been declared in the starter project. If you Command+Click repeatOptions , you'll see the repeat options are: never , daily , weekly , monthly and annually . Whenever the row's value changes, update viewModel with the newly-selected value. Build and run. You'll see that a new row titled Repeats is added to the form. Tapping this row transports you to a view where you can select from the provided options. Upon selection, you're popped back to the root task edit view with your selection reflected. Adding a Priority Selector A user should be able to specify how important an item is. To do that, you'll use a SegmentedRow which embeds a UISegmentedControl into a UITableViewCell . Below the code you just added for the PushRow , add the following: +++ Section() <<< SegmentedRow<String>() { $0.title = "Priority" $0.value = viewModel.priority $0.options = viewModel.priorityOptions $0.onChange { [unowned self] row in if let value = row.value { self.viewModel.priority = value } } } The code above adds a SegmentedRow with a String type parameter to the form. By now, the rest of the steps outlined should look familiar. Like the row setup you've seen so far, you're setting the title , value , options and onChange(_:) properties using the viewModel . Build and run. You now have a fully-functioning segmented control to set the item's priority, where "!", "!!" and "!!!" correspond to low-, medium- and high-importance, respectively. Setting a Reminder with an Alert Row The interface requires a way for the user to select when they will be reminded of an upcoming item, such as "30 minutes before," "1 hour before", or "1 day before". You could use a PushRow , as in the repeat frequency example. However, to explore the variety of Eureka's components, you will use an alert controller instead. And guess what? Eureka has an AlertRow for that! Add the following just below the SegmentedRow : <<< AlertRow<String>() { $0.title = "Reminder" $0.selectorTitle = "Remind me" $0.value = viewModel.reminder $0.options = viewModel.reminderOptions $0.onChange { [unowned self] row in if let value = row.value { self.viewModel.reminder = value } } } The setup of this row is identical to the rows you have added until this point. However, you also set the additional selectorTitle property, which is the title of the UIAlertController presenting the list of options. Note: Eureka can also display alert controllers with the ActionSheet style using ActionSheetRow in a similar fashion. Build and run. When you tap the row titled Reminder, an alert controller is presented, allowing you to select the desired reminder time. You didn't even have to write any UIAlertController code! Validation Still on the task edit view, tap-to-edit the description text field. Delete all characters until you can see the placeholder text, then hit Save. Your to-do item no longer has a title! It would be a good idea to make sure the user cannot leave the description blank. Back in viewDidLoad() , find the code where you added a TextRow . Add the following just before the closing bracket of the TextRow closure (and after the onChange closure): $0.add(rule: RuleRequired()) //1 $0.validationOptions = .validatesOnChange //2 $0.cellUpdate { (cell, row) in //3 if !row.isValid { cell.titleLabel?.textColor = .red } } Initialize and add a RuleRequired to the TextRow object. This is one of the validation rules provided with Eureka to handle required input in a form. It indicates that a value must be provided in the field to pass validation. Set the row's validationOptions to .validatesOnChange , meaning the validation rule will be evaluated as the row's value changes. If the value of the row is not valid, set the row's title color to red to red to alert the user. Note: You can also add custom rules to handle use cases more specific to our needs, as described in Eureka's documentation. To make sure the user can't leave the editing screen with an invalid entry, replace the contents of the saveButtonPressed(_:) method with the following: if form.validate().isEmpty { _ = navigationController?.popViewController(animated: true) } Eureka has a validate() method that returns an array of any validation errors from all rows with validation rules. If this array is empty, your form has no errors and you can pop the view controller from the navigation stack. Build and run, and delete the contents of the Description field again. This time, the field label turns red, and the Save button won't allow you to leave until the issue is resolved. Adding More Pizazz with Eureka Plugins A plugin is a custom Row component just like any of the rows already included with the Eureka library. You can browse the plugins created by the community at the Eureka Community Portal. Let's say you wanted the user to be able to attach an image to a to-do item as a visual aid. Sounds like a job for the ImageRow plugin! The plugin has already been included in the starter project using the CocoaPods installation instructions found in the plugin readme. To integrate it, start by adding the following import statement to the top of EditToDoItemViewController.swift: import ImageRow Note: This plugin requires the addition of the NSCameraUsageDescription and NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription keys in the project's info.plist file. This has already been done for you in the starter project. In viewDidLoad() , add a new section with an ImageRow to the form: +++ Section("Picture Attachment") <<< ImageRow() { $0.title = "Attachment" $0.sourceTypes = [.PhotoLibrary, .SavedPhotosAlbum, .Camera] //1 $0.value = viewModel.image //2 $0.clearAction = .yes(style: .destructive) //3 $0.onChange { [unowned self] row in //4 self.viewModel.image = row.value } } Taking it comment-by-comment: In the initialization closure, allow the user to select images from their Photo Library, Saved Photos album, or camera if available. If an image is already attached to this to-do item, use it to initialize the row's value . Present the "Clear Photo" option with the "destructive" style to indicate that image data may be permanently destroyed when a photo attachment is cleared (when using the camera roll, for example). As with the previous examples, update the viewModel.image when a new value is set. Build and run. Tap the row titled Attachment, pick Photo Library from the action sheet, then select an image attachment. The results will be shown in a preview on the Attachment cell. Creating a Eureka Plugin Open EditToDoItemViewModel.swift and check out the categoryOptions array. You can see that the starter project includes possible to-do item categories of Home, Work, Personal, Play and Health. You will create a custom component to allow the user to assign one of these categories to a to-do item. You will use a Row subclass that provides the default functionality of a PushRow but whose layout is more tailored to your needs. Admittedly, this example is a little contrived, but it will help you understand the essentials of crafting your own custom components. In Xcode's File Navigator, control click the Views group and create a new file named ToDoCategoryRow.swift. Import Eureka at the top of this file: import Eureka Until now, you have been dealing almost exclusively with subclasses of Eureka's Row class. Behind the scenes, the Row class works together with the Cell class. The Cell class is the actual UITableViewCell presented on screen. Both a Row and Cell must be defined for the same value type. Adding a Custom Cell Subclass You'll start by creating the cell. At the top of ToDoCategoryRow.swift, insert the following: //1 class ToDoCategoryCell: PushSelectorCell<String> { //2 lazy var categoryLabel: UILabel = { let lbl = UILabel() lbl.textAlignment = .center return lbl }() //3 override func setup() { height = { 60 } row.title = nil super.setup() selectionStyle = .none //4 contentView.addSubview(categoryLabel) categoryLabel.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false let margin: CGFloat = 10.0 categoryLabel.heightAnchor.constraint(equalTo: contentView.heightAnchor, constant: -(margin * 2)).isActive = true categoryLabel.widthAnchor.constraint(equalTo: contentView.widthAnchor, constant: -(margin * 2)).isActive = true categoryLabel.centerXAnchor.constraint(equalTo: contentView.centerXAnchor).isActive = true categoryLabel.centerYAnchor.constraint(equalTo: contentView.centerYAnchor).isActive = true } //5 override func update() { row.title = nil accessoryType = .disclosureIndicator editingAccessoryType = accessoryType selectionStyle = row.isDisabled ? .none : .default categoryLabel.text = row.value } } You've created a custom PushSelectorCell , which derives from UITableViewCell and is managed by PushRow . The cell will display a centered label. Here are some details on how this works: You'll be displaying string values in this cell, so you provide String as the optional type. Instantiate the UILabel that will be added to the cell. setup() is called when the cell is initialized. You'll use it to lay out the cell - starting with setting the height (provided by a closure), title and selectionStyle . Add the categoryLabel and the constraints necessary to center it within the cell's contentView . Override the cell's update() method, which is called every time the cell is reloaded. This is where you tell the cell how to present the Row 's value . Note that you're not calling the super implementation here, because you don't want to configure the textLabel included with the base class. Adding a Custom Row Subclass Below the ToDoCategoryCell class, add ToDoCategoryRow : final class ToDoCategoryRow: _PushRow<ToDoCategoryCell>, RowType { } Because Row subclasses are required to be final , PushRow cannot be subclassed directly. Instead, subclass the generic _PushRow provided by Eureka. In the angle brackets, associate the ToDoCategoryRow with the ToDoCategoryCell you just created. Finally, every row must adhere to the RowType protocol. Now your custom row is all set up and ready to use! Adding a Dynamic Section Footer The custom row will be embedded in a "Category" section which will be initially hidden from the user. This section will be unhidden when the user taps a custom table view footer. Open EditToDoItemViewController.swift, and right below the declaration of the dateFormatter constant, add the following: let categorySectionTag: String = "add category section" let categoryRowTag: String = "add category row" The tag property is used by the Form to obtain references to a specific Eureka Row or Section . You'll use this constant to tag and later retrieve the section and row used to manage an item's category. Next, add the following lines at the end of viewDidLoad() : //1 +++ Section("Category") { $0.tag = categorySectionTag //2 $0.hidden = (self.viewModel.category != nil) ? false : true } //3 <<< ToDoCategoryRow() { [unowned self] row in row.tag = self.categoryRowTag //4 row.value = self.viewModel.category //5 row.options = self.viewModel.categoryOptions //6 row.onChange { [unowned self] row in self.viewModel.category = row.value } } This adds a new section that includes your custom ToDoCategoryRow , which is initially hidden. Here are some details: Add a section to the form, assigning the categorySectionTag constant. Set the section's hidden property to true if the category property on the view model is nil. The plain nil-coalescing operator cannot be used here as the hidden property requires a Boolean literal value instead. Add an instance of ToDoCategoryRow to the section tagged with categoryRowTag . Set the row's value to viewModel.category . Because this row inherits from PushRow , you must set the row's options property to the options you want displayed. As you've seen in prior examples, use the row's onChange(_:) callback to update the view model's category property whenever the row's value changes. Near the top of EditToDoItemViewController , right below the categorySectionTag definition, add the following: lazy var footerTapped: EditToDoTableFooter.TappedClosure = { [weak self] footer in //1 //2 guard let form = self?.form, let tag = self?.categorySectionTag, let section = form.sectionBy(tag: tag) else { return } //3 footer.removeFromSuperview() //4 section.hidden = false section.evaluateHidden() //5 if let rowTag = self?.categoryRowTag, let row = form.rowBy(tag: rowTag) as? ToDoCategoryRow { //6 let category = self?.viewModel.categoryOptions[0] self?.viewModel.category = category row.value = category row.cell.update() } } EditToDoTableFooter is a view class included in the starter that contains a button with the title Add Category. It also includes TappedClosure , a typealias for an action to execute when tapped. The code you added defines a closure of this type that takes a footer , removes it from the view and displays the category section. Here is a more detailed look: To avoid retain cycles, pass [weak self] to the closure. Safely unwrap references to the view controller and its form and categorySectionTag properties. You obtain a reference to the Section instance you defined with the categorySectionTag . When the footer is tapped, remove it from the view since the user shouldn't be allowed to tap it again. Unhide the section by setting hidden to false then calling evaluateHidden() . evaluateHidden() updates the form based on the hidden flag. Safely unwrap the reference to the ToDoCategoryRow we added to the form. Ensure the view model's category property and the cell's row value property are defaulted to the first item in the array of options. Call the cell's update() method so its label is refreshed to show the row's value. The Home Stretch You're almost at the finish line! At the bottom of viewDidLoad() , insert the following: //1 let footer = EditToDoTableFooter(frame: .zero) //2 footer.action = footerTapped //3 if let tableView = tableView, viewModel.category == nil { tableView.tableFooterView = footer tableView.tableFooterView?.frame = CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: tableView.bounds.width, height: 50.0) } Declare an instance of EditToDoTableFooter . You pass a zero frame, because the size will be handled by constraints tied to the cell layout. footer.action is triggered when the footer button is pressed, and this ensures it fires the code you defined in the footerTapped closure. If the view model's category is nil, set the table view's tableFooterView property to our newly-instantiated footer . Next, set the footer's frame to the desired dimensions. Build and run the project. Tap the large, white button with the words Add Category at the bottom of the table view. Voila! The button is replaced by the custom PushRow subclass you created. Tap this row to choose from a selection of "emoji-fied" categories. Eureka! Finishing Touches The app's users should have the ability to add and delete items. Luckily, the starter project has been set up to do this, and all you have have to do is wire it up. Open ToDoListViewController.swift and uncomment the following lines of code in addButtonPressed(_:) : // Uncomment these lines //1 let addViewModel = viewModel.addViewModel() //2 let addVC = EditToDoItemViewController(viewModel: addViewModel) navigationController?.pushViewController(addVC, animated: true) addViewModel() instantiates the view model necessary to add a new to-do item. EditToDoItemViewController is instantiated with the addViewModel just created, then pushed onto the navigation stack. Build and run. This time tap the + to generate a blank to-do item. Fill in the details, then save it. It’s about time you picked up your laundry! If you were being adventurous, you might have noticed that tapping Back instead of Save had the same effect: the item was added. This is because the model is created as soon as you tap +. Next, you're going to work on deletion for this case as well as to delete older items. In EditToDoItemViewController , find deleteButtonPressed(_:) and uncomment the following lines: //1 let alert = UIAlertController(title: "Delete this item?", message: nil, preferredStyle: .alert) let cancel = UIAlertAction(title: "Cancel", style: .cancel) let delete = UIAlertAction(title: "Delete", style: .destructive) { [weak self] _ in //2 self?.viewModel.delete() _ = self?.navigationController?.popViewController(animated: true) } //3 alert.addAction(delete) alert.addAction(cancel) navigationController?.present(alert, animated: true, completion: nil) The above code will be executed when the Delete button in the navigation bar is pressed. Create a UIAlertController with a title, cancel and delete actions. In the completion handler of the delete action, tell the view model to delete the to-do item currently being edited. Then pop the current view controller off the navigation stack. Add the cancel and delete actions to the alert controller, and present the alert controller on the navigation stack. Next, delete the following lines of code from the bottom of deleteButtonPressed(_:) : // Delete this line _ = self.navigationController?.popViewController(animated: true) This is no longer necessary as you're now handling the pop after deleting the model. And finally, go the initialize() method and find this line of code: let deleteButton = UIBarButtonItem(title: "Back", style: .plain, target: self, action: .deleteButtonPressed) Change the title of the bar button item from "Back" to "Delete" so it reads as follows: let deleteButton = UIBarButtonItem(title: "Delete", style: .plain, target: self, action: .deleteButtonPressed) Build and run. Whether you're adding a new item or editing an existing one, tapping Save will take you back to the to-do list only if there are no validation errors (i.e., if the item title is not blank). Tapping Delete will remove the item and take you back to the to-do list. Where To Go From Here? The finished project can be downloaded here. I hope this Eureka tutorial helped you gain a broad understanding of the advantages and possibilities of using Eureka. I encourage you to check out Eureka's own excellent documentation and in-depth tutorials to continue your journey: You can learn more about the Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) architecture with the following resources: Please share any questions or comments in the discussion below! |
The LGBTQ society at the University of Sussex has found itself at the centre of controversy after it removed a post on its Facebook page from local theatre promoters following their use of the word ‘dyke’. The society chose to censor the word and remove the post, citing that some of its members feel uncomfortable with its use, violating the university’s ‘safe space’ policy. The decision was taken after two local artists, Rose Collis and VG Lee, posted an advert for their upcoming play, ‘Bah! Humbuggers (or Dyke the Halls)’, on the Sussex University LGBTQ Facebook page. The post was soon removed and LGBTQ society Chair Emily Weaver said: I am contacting you today as we are going to remove your post regarding Bah Humbuggers on our timeline. We have a safe space policy in place on our page and unfortunately the word ‘Dyke’ violates this policy. As a society we pride ourselves on promoting a safe space which means everyone should be able to participate in a safe environment… We are happy for you to repost your event without the word Dyke if you wish to. I apologise if this causes an inconvenience.” In response, ‘Bah! Humbuggers’ director Rose Collis said: “My first thought was ‘you’ve got to be kidding me’. I’ve been a self-defined out and proud dyke activist for 34 years, marching and campaigning for gay rights before it became a trendy social event.” Grrr and now thinking about the PRIVILEGE in choosing to ban words that are part of DYKE culture. Dyke IS culture for some queers — Suzanne Langton (@suzanne_langton) November 14, 2013 Collis continued: “And now I’m being told that a word and definition, steeped in our history and reclaimed by lesbian women, is taboo and ‘violates safe space’. It’s staggeringly ignorant, beyond insulting and politically correct censorship gone mad.” In a statement released today, the LGBTQ society at the University of Sussex said: We at Sussex LGBTQ would just like to clarify that we are not banning the word Dyke, we would never disallow our members self-identification, but as we received complaints for the use of the word Dyke on a promotional poster which was posted in our Facebook group of just over 700 members, we felt a valid response was simply to remove the poster.” Read the full statement from the LGBTQ here. |
Buy Photo Imam Muhammad Nour leads a sermon during the Friday prayer service, also known as jumah, Friday, Aug. 4, 2017, in Naples. Nour has been serving at the Islamic Center of Naples since June 2016. Before his arrival the center had not had an imam since its opening in 2000. (Photo: Luke Franke/Naples Daily News)Buy Photo Imam Nour's voice rings through the women's prayer room, melodic and almost trance-inducing. About 10 women and several children roll out prayer rugs and sit down, chatting. An electronic sign on the wall lists the day's prayer times. There are still a few minutes left until jumah, the Friday prayer, begins. Imam Muhammed Nour, 28, came to Naples from Egypt in June 2016. Nour moved to Florida to serve as the imam at the Islamic Center of Naples, the congregation's first official leader since it was founded in 2000. "To recite the Quran, you might find it difficult to understand something. So you need to ask the imam, like a pastor. That is the importance of the imam," Nour said. But it is not only the interpretation of Islam's holy book and leading the five daily prayers that the imam is tasked with. Buy Photo Imam Muhammad Nour, center, bids farewell to members of the congregation after leading Friday prayer, also known as jumah, at the Islamic Center of Naples on Aug. 4, 2017, in Naples. Nour has been serving as the center's imam since June 2016. Before his arrival the center had not had an imam since its opening in 2000. The imam serves as a worship leader for congregations associated with the Islamic faith. (Photo: Luke Franke/Naples Daily News) Funerals, weddings and Quran classes, which teach children and adults the Arabic language and the interpretation of religious scripture, are integral parts of Muslim communities across the globe. "Those things we could not accomplish because we did not have an imam," said Mohammed Usman, administrative director of the Islamic Center. Before the center was founded in 2000, Usman and his wife invited people to their house for Friday prayer. "It started with a guy at a grocery store. He asked: 'Are you Muslim?' " Usman recounted. They decided to get together for prayer every week, but their group quickly outgrew the confinements of their home. "First it was three or four people coming to my house, but we grew, and in the end, we had about 16 people," said Razia Usman, Mohammed's wife. "There was not enough space to park the cars," her husband added. For 20 years, Usman and some of the other congregation members led prayers and tried to create a community around their faith. "It was challenging," Usman said. With the presence of Imam Nour, the center was able to expand its outreach. "We also work with the other religions," Nour said. "For example, if something is happening for the Jews, we go there. If something is happening for the Christians, we go there." Nour conducts his sermons in English, but all prayers have to be led in Arabic. "People always think that Islam is only for Arabs, but here we have people from every country you could think of," Nour said. Because children and adults in the community come from a variety of backgrounds, Quran classes are necessary to help them understand religious scripture. "If they don't know how to read it and how to translate it, how are they going to be good Muslims in the future?" Usman said. Buy Photo Mirzoid Azimoz adjusts the hairband of his daughter Robiya, 5, as Imam Muhammad Nour, left, looks on after the conclusion of Friday prayer, or jumah, at the Islamic Center of Naples on Friday, Aug. 4, 2017. (Photo: Luke Franke/Naples Daily News) At the Friday prayer, the children had a hard time concentrating. While Nour delivered a passionate sermon about the importance of family and the holy task of respecting one's parents, a group of two girls and one boy took turns balancing a fidget spinner on their foreheads. This year 30 children signed up for the two levels of Quran classes — basic and advanced — offered by the center. "This is a big accomplishment, something that we've never been able to do at the Islamic Center of Naples," Usman said. With an imam to lead the congregation, Usman observed a positive change. "Our community has grown considerably," he said. "People are more apt to (be) visiting the center and praying together, which brings harmony and community." "A lot of young families are moving in, a lot of new faces," Razia Usman said. Jennette's family is one of them. Jennette grew up in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, right under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. After moving to Naples, Jennette and her husband began exploring religions. According to her, references to a second prophet in the Bible and the Torah led their spiritual journey to Islam and its prophet Mohammed. Her Puerto Rican mother was surprised when she noticed Jennette wearing a hijab, one variety of the headscarves Muslim women wear to cover their hair. NEWSLETTERS Get the News Alerts newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Get alerted to the latest stories to stay on top of the news. Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-844-900-7105. Delivery: Varies Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for News Alerts Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters "She said: 'Is it cold down there? Because you're wearing that scarf on your head,' " Jennette recounted, laughing. Not everyone is accepting of their newfound faith. Jennette and her husband preferred to keep their last name private, out of concern for their family's safety. She said a sense of fear is present in the mosque as well. "When the door gets swung open in an unusual way, the women jump. Nobody wants to be killed while praying," Jenette said. Buy Photo A young boy falls asleep during Friday's prayer service, or jumah, at the Islamic Center of Naples on Friday, Aug. 4, 2017. (Photo: Luke Franke/Naples Daily News) Read or Share this story: https://www.naplesnews.com/story/news/local/2017/08/06/muslim-congregation-thrives-after-year-first-imam/541587001/ |
Crytek is famous for its beautiful yet demanding graphics engine. When Crysis 3 was announced, Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli, declared that the PC version would “melt down PCs” due to its thirst for powerful hardware. Thus the latest version of the Crysis game series is often used as a benchmark for graphics cards on various hardware reviews sites including here on HEXUS. In a recent interview with Xbox 360 Magazine the Crytek boss explained that the firm’s focus on graphics was because amazing graphics drive immersion and even went as far as saying that making things look spectacular is 60 per cent of the game. Crysis 3: see the blades of grass sway 60 per cent graphics, 40 per cent game The Crytek CEO was very forthright in his assertion that graphics are of paramount importance to modern games “People say that graphics don’t matter, but play Crysis and tell me they don’t matter. It’s always been about graphics driving gameplay.” He told Xbox 360 Magazine. “In Crysis 3 it’s the grass and the vegetation, the way the physics runs the grass interact and sways them in the wind. You can read when an AI enemy is running towards you just by observing the way the grass blades (move).” These superlative graphics help immerse the player within the game and make it more immersive. “Graphics, whether it’s lighting or shadows, puts you in a different emotional context and drives the immersion. And immersion is effectively the number one thing we can use to help you buy into the world.” Yerli went on to quantify the value of Crytek’s immersive graphics “The better the graphics, the better the physics, the better the sound design, the better the technical assets and production values are – paired with the art direction, making things look spectacular and stylistic is 60 per cent of the game.” JetStrike Amiga, just fun While computer gaming hardware and graphics have undoubtedly evolved by leaps and bounds since I started playing games on home computing hardware in the early 1980s, I don’t think the immersive qualities of games are necessarily better. A recent HEXUS “QOTW: Are computer games better now than they were 20 years ago?” also found that readers didn’t think modern games are better than their ancestors, despite the modern graphical, hardware and controller enhancements. |
Smokers report a predictable variety of symptoms after even only a year of puffing. They cough more often and catch colds easily. They smell bad and are socially ostracized. When they cough, it’s difficult to stop and one will often end up caught in a coughing fit. Smokers bring up grey-green-yellow phlegm which is disgusting, but also worrying. What is in their lungs and could it be killing them? Ultimately, smoking kills almost all people who don’t stop one way or the other, which is why consumers are urged to quit or to at least switch to vaping & checkout the best e cigarette brands. Smoking Deaths How do smokers die? They experience fatal asthma attacks, heart attacks, and emphysema. Smoking affects the brain, heart, lungs, and other organs. Lung cancer is frequently a death-sentence by the time it is caught, but even mouth cancer can spread if it isn’t caught and treated in time. Rarely, someone will die from a house fire caused by a cigarette being dropped when one is sleeping. Smoking Costs Even before smoking costs a person his or her life, it is an expensive habit to fund. Smokers pay anything from $6 to over $10 for a pack of cigarettes. Imagine the price of smoking 1 pack every day where packs cost $11 each: $77 per week; $4004 yearly. After a few years, that’s the price of a new car out the window or even a family holiday gone in just 12 months. Insurers charge more for house and medical coverage when someone is a smoker. It just makes sense; cigarettes burn things; smokers become sick more often. Smoking Costs at Work Employers notice the drawbacks of having smokers on staff, especially when flu season comes around again. Flu is a respiratory condition and smokers are more susceptible to anything that hits the chest and lungs. They are prone to bronchitis, infections, asthma attacks, and pneumonia. Days of work lost can cost an employer millions of dollars across a large corporation where many people continue to light up those death sticks day after day. Vaping Instead All of these reasons and more have led to the development and popularity of vaping. An electronic cigarette or e cig is a battery-operated device which simulates the feel of smoking without the toxins. Although studies are not yet conclusive and there is no way to know yet if vapers will experience long-term health problems from e juice vapor, it’s obvious to smokers that an ecig is better than a real cig. What Is vaping? Vaping is the term used to replace “smoking” when one is referring to an e cigarette. Analogs (aka real cigarette) produce smoke because something is being burned, tobacco. An ecigarette does not produce smoke because nothing is being lit on fire. There is no combustion but a process by which liquid becomes vapor, hence the term “vaping.” An e cig will also be referred to as a vaporizer, though this term also encompasses devices which vaporize dry materials, wax, and oils. What Is Still in Vapor That Has Authorities Worried? E juice potentially contains nicotine, classified as a dangerous stimulant by the medical community at large. Not all doctors believe it’s as bad as caffeine or wish to see it treated with fear, but some doctors have seen a clear link between nicotine and heart disease in particular patients. Nicotine is also a poison, a pesticide in its natural state. Sowing tobacco plants next to vegetables would be considered a form of co-planting which uses a plant’s natural qualities to deter bugs from eating food crops. Hence, nicotine juice poses a threat to children who see e juice bottles and think they are filled with juice or pop. Some kids have done this and landed in hospital; it’s even possible that there have been deaths associated with drinking e liquid. Controversy But the vaping community is convinced that if smokers use ecigarettes as smoking cessation devices, they will successfully support people who can’t seem to give up that fat old cigar, cigarette, or afternoon pipe. Electronic cigarettes have helped countless individuals quit smoking, although they are not allowed be advertised as smoking cessation devices. What has health agencies worried is the allure of vaping as a new thing, not a replacement for analogs. Many teens have been drawn to cereal-flavored vape juice or grape-flavored disposable ecigs. They love the patterns and colors of mods and what they consider their “coolness” or “street cred” as they walk around holding an Aspire CF or the Joye eGrip. They never smoked and might never have been tempted, but did e cigs simply draw teens away from interest in cigarettes? Perhaps; it’s hard to prove or disprove something like that. Vaping Variety With new e juice companies emerging almost right away in the United States, flavor choices expanded exponentially. Suddenly nothing was out of bounds. People could try savory or sweet styles; baked goods or candy; chocolate, custard, or plain old tobacco-styles. Most flavors are simulated the same way flavorings are simulated in drinks and baking. Some are natural, even organic, but that’s far less common. Natural flavorings are both expensive and limited, generally featuring fruits. Also, vape juice is available for sub ohm devices and machines that run at high watts with 0.5-ohm resistance coils installed and even lower. Consumers are discovering how much thicker clouds can be when they vape 100% vegetable glycerin flavors, especially dairy-style flavors like yogurt and custard. If a juice is vaped at sub ohm resistance in a tank on a machine set to 150W or 600F, clouds are so rich that people compete to see whose clouds are biggest. They do tricks too. Vaping Longevity In spite of the new rules and high costs of applying to the FDA for product approval, a lot of companies will stay in business. Firms such as NicQuid, Halo, V2, Vaporfi, South Beach Smoke, and Five Pawns are doing very well and can afford to absorb these fees, check out more eCigarette Rankings & Reviews In 2018 for more trustworthy companies. Some firms will disappear, and maybe they should. Perhaps the quality of their facilities and ingredients and their understanding of chemistry wasn’t adequate for them to be serving the public safely. In any case, vaping and electronic cigarettes will not disappear. |
Brier Dudley offers a critical look at technology and business issues affecting the Northwest. October 25, 2011 at 11:46 AM Posted by Brier Dudley Tesla Motors is going to close its Seattle showroom and open another at Bellevue Square The Seattle store opened in 2009 in South Lake Union, a block from the new Amazon.com headquarters campus. Tesla was drawn here largely because it found so many customers among the area's wealthy tech workers. At the time it was the fourth store to open for the Silicon Valley carmaker, and the manager described the booming, tech-oriented neighborhood as "a perfect fit for our company." But the company has shifted its retail strategy and is now focusing on high-traffic areas. The new showroom will open Nov. 5 in Bellevue Square, which draws more foot traffic. The store will open with a prototype of its upcoming Model S sedan. Tesla will continue to operate its service facility in South Lake Union, where it shares a restored brick building (shown) with a restaurant and faces the South Lake Union trolley line on Westlake Avenue. Bellevue Square isn't the first place you'd think of for environmentally friendly transportation and its owner has been a leading opponent of regional mass transit projects. But in March the shopping center added 15 charging stations for electrical vehicles to its parking garage, which may have helped land Tesla as a new tenant. |
Here’s something you probably don’t know, but really should – especially if you’re a programmer, and especially especially if you’re using Intel’s compiler. It’s a fact that’s not widely known, but Intel’s compiler deliberately and knowingly cripples performance for non-Intel (AMD/VIA) processors. Agner Fog details this particularly nasty examples of Intel’s anticompetitive practices quite well. Intel’s compiler can produce different versions of pieces of code, with each version being optimised for a specific processor and/or instruction set (SSE2, SSE3, etc.). The system detects which CPU it’s running on and chooses the optimal code path accordingly; the CPU dispatcher, as it’s called. “However, the Intel CPU dispatcher does not only check which instruction set is supported by the CPU, it also checks the vendor ID string,” Fog details, “If the vendor string says ‘GenuineIntel’ then it uses the optimal code path. If the CPU is not from Intel then, in most cases, it will run the slowest possible version of the code, even if the CPU is fully compatible with a better version.” It turns out that while this is known behaviour, few users of the Intel compiler actually seem to know about it. Intel does not advertise the compiler as being Intel-specific, so the company has no excuse for deliberately crippling performance on non-Intel machines. “Many software developers think that the compiler is compatible with AMD processors, and in fact it is, but unbeknownst to the programmer it puts in a biased CPU dispatcher that chooses an inferior code path whenever it is running on a non-Intel processor,” Fog writes, “If programmers knew this fact they would probably use another compiler. Who wants to sell a piece of software that doesn’t work well on AMD processors?” In fact, Fog points out that even benchmarking programs are affected by this, up to a point where benchmark results can differ greatly depending on how a processor identifies itself. Ars found out that by changing the CPUID of a VIA Nano processor to AuthenticAMD you could increase performance in PCMark 2005’s memory subsystem test by 10% – changing it to GenuineIntel yields a 47.4% performance improvement! There’s more on that here [print version – the regular one won’t load for me]. In other words, this is a very serious problem. Luckily, though, it appears that the recent antitrust settlement between AMD and Intel will solve this problem for at least AMD users, as the agreement specifically states that Intel must fix its compiler, meaning they’ll have to fix their CPU dispatcher. The Federal Trade Commission is investigating Intel too, and it is also seeking a resolution of the compiler issue, but the FTC takes it all a step further than the Intel-AMD settlement. Since the latter only covers AMD, VIA could still be in trouble. Consequently, the FTC asks that Intel do a lot more than what’s described in the AMD settlement: Requiring that, with respect to those Intel customers that purchased from Intel a software compiler that had or has the design or effect of impairing the actual or apparent performance of microprocessors not manufactured by Intel (“Defective Compiler”), as described in the Complaint: Intel provide them, at no additional charge, a substitute compiler that is not a Defective Compiler; Intel compensate them for the cost of recompiling the software they had compiled on the Defective Compiler and of substituting, and distributing to their own customers, the recompiled software for software compiled on a Defective Compiler; and Intel give public notice and warning, in a manner likely to be communicated to persons that have purchased software compiled on Defective Compilers purchased from Intel, of the possible need to replace that software. Fog also offers up a number of workarounds, such as using GNU GCC, whose optimisations are similar to that of Intel’s compiler, “but the Gnu function library (glibc) is inferior”. You can also patch Intel’s CPU dispatcher – Fog even provides a patch to do so in “Optimizing software in C++: An optimization guide for Windows, Linux and Mac platforms“. This is a particularly nasty kind of anticompetitive practice, as it really requires deep knowledge of matters in order to find it out. God knows how many benchmarks have been skewed in favour of Intel simply because people unknowingly used Intel’s compiler in good faith. Intel’s compiler is seen as the cream of the crop and delivers superior performance, but apparently only if you stick to GenuineIntel. |
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