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Stony Brook researchers publish experimental findings in the Journal of Neuroscience that show the lateral position more efficiently rids the brain of solutes that may contribute to disease. Sleeping in the lateral, or side position, as compared to sleeping on one’s back or stomach, may more effectively remove brain waste and prove to be an important practice to help reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other neurological diseases, according to researchers at Stony Brook University. By using dynamic contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to image the brain’s glymphatic pathway, a complex system that clears wastes and other harmful chemical solutes from the brain, Stony Brook University researchers Hedok Lee, PhD, Helene Benveniste, MD, PhD, and colleagues, discovered that a lateral sleeping position is the best position to most efficiently remove waste from the brain. In humans and many animals the lateral sleeping position is the most common one. The buildup of brain waste chemicals may contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological conditions. Their finding is published in the Journal of Neuroscience. Dr. Benveniste, Principal Investigator and a Professor in the Departments of Anesthesiology and Radiology at Stony Brook University School of Medicine, has used dynamic contrast MRI for several years to examine the glymphatic pathway in rodent models. The method enables researchers to identify and define the glymphatic pathway, where cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) filters through the brain and exchanges with interstitial fluid (ISF) to clear waste, similar to the way the body’s lymphatic system clears waste from organs. It is during sleep that the glymphatic pathway is most efficient. Brain waste includes amyloid β (amyloid) and tau proteins, chemicals that negatively affect brain processes if they build up. In the paper, “The Effect of Body Posture on Brain Glymphatic Transport,” Dr. Benveniste and colleagues used a dynamic contrast MRI method along with kinetic modeling to quantify the CSF-ISF exchange rates in anesthetized rodents’ brains in three positions – lateral (side), prone (down), and supine (up). “The analysis showed us consistently that glymphatic transport was most efficient in the lateral position when compared to the supine or prone positions,” said Dr. Benveniste. “Because of this finding, we propose that the body posture and sleep quality should be considered when standardizing future diagnostic imaging procedures to assess CSF-ISF transport in humans and therefore the assessment of the clearance of damaging brain proteins that may contribute to or cause brain diseases.” Dr. Benveniste and first-author Dr. Hedok Lee, Assistant Professor in the Departments of Anesthesiology and Radiology at Stony Brook developed the safe posture positions for the experiments. Their colleagues at the University of Rochester, including Lulu Xie, Rashid Deane and Maiken Nedergaard, PhD, used fluorescence microscopy and radioactive tracers to validate the MRI data and to assess the influence of body posture on the clearance of amyloid from the brains. “It is interesting that the lateral sleep position is already the most popular in human and most animals – even in the wild – and it appears that we have adapted the lateral sleep position to most efficiently clear our brain of the metabolic waste products that built up while we are awake,” says Dr. Nedergaard. “The study therefore adds further support to the concept that sleep subserves a distinct biological function of sleep and that is to ‘clean up’ the mess that accumulates while we are awake. Many types of dementia are linked to sleep disturbances, including difficulties in falling asleep. It is increasing acknowledged that these sleep disturbances may accelerate memory loss in Alzheimer’s disease. Our findng brings new insight into this topic by showing it is also important what position you sleep in,” she explained. Dr. Benveniste cautioned that while the research team speculates that the human glymphatic pathway will clear brain waste most efficiency when sleeping in the lateral position as compared to other positions, testing with MRI or other imaging methods in humans are a necessary first step. About this neuroscience research Other co-authors on the paper include: Lulu Xie, Hongyi Kang, and Rashid Deane of the Center for Translational Neuromedicine, University of Rochester; Jean Logan of the Department of Radiology, New York University Langone Medical Center; and Tian Feng of the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Stony Brook University. Source: Gregory Filiano – Stony Brook University Image Credit: The image is adapted from the Stony Brook University article Original Research: Abstract for “The Effect of Body Posture on Brain Glymphatic Transport” by Hedok Lee, Lulu Xie, Mei Yu, Hongyi Kang, Tian Feng, Rashid Deane, Jean Logan, Maiken Nedergaard, and Helene Benveniste in Journal of Neuroscience. Published online August 5 2015 doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1625-15.2015 Abstract The Effect of Body Posture on Brain Glymphatic Transport The glymphatic pathway expedites clearance of waste, including soluble amyloid β (Aβ) from the brain. Transport through this pathway is controlled by the brain’s arousal level because, during sleep or anesthesia, the brain’s interstitial space volume expands (compared with wakefulness), resulting in faster waste removal. Humans, as well as animals, exhibit different body postures during sleep, which may also affect waste removal. Therefore, not only the level of consciousness, but also body posture, might affect CSF–interstitial fluid (ISF) exchange efficiency. We used dynamic-contrast-enhanced MRI and kinetic modeling to quantify CSF-ISF exchange rates in anesthetized rodents’ brains in supine, prone, or lateral positions. To validate the MRI data and to assess specifically the influence of body posture on clearance of Aβ, we used fluorescence microscopy and radioactive tracers, respectively. The analysis showed that glymphatic transport was most efficient in the lateral position compared with the supine or prone positions. In the prone position, in which the rat’s head was in the most upright position (mimicking posture during the awake state), transport was characterized by “retention” of the tracer, slower clearance, and more CSF efflux along larger caliber cervical vessels. The optical imaging and radiotracer studies confirmed that glymphatic transport and Aβ clearance were superior in the lateral and supine positions. We propose that the most popular sleep posture (lateral) has evolved to optimize waste removal during sleep and that posture must be considered in diagnostic imaging procedures developed in the future to assess CSF-ISF transport in humans. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The rodent brain removes waste better during sleep or anesthesia compared with the awake state. Animals exhibit different body posture during the awake and sleep states, which might affect the brain’s waste removal efficiency. We investigated the influence of body posture on brainwide transport of inert tracers of anesthetized rodents. The major finding of our study was that waste, including Aβ, removal was most efficient in the lateral position (compared with the prone position), which mimics the natural resting/sleeping position of rodents. Although our finding awaits testing in humans, we speculate that the lateral position during sleep has advantage with regard to the removal of waste products including Aβ, because clinical studies have shown that sleep drives Aβ clearance from the brain. “The Effect of Body Posture on Brain Glymphatic Transport” by Hedok Lee, Lulu Xie, Mei Yu, Hongyi Kang, Tian Feng, Rashid Deane, Jean Logan, Maiken Nedergaard, and Helene Benveniste in Journal of Neuroscience. Published online August 5 2015 doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1625-15.2015 Feel free to share this neuroscience news. |
A small Ohio news organization said one of its photographers was shot by a sheriff's deputy Monday night while he set up to take pictures of a random traffic stop. Andy Grimm "had his camera in his hand" when he was shot in his side by a Clark County sheriff's deputy in New Carlisle, which north of Dayton, The New Carlisle News said in a Facebook post. He was rushed to Miami Valley Hospital for surgery and is expected to recover. Grimm had left the newsroom around 10 p.m. on Monday to take pictures of a lightning storm, the paper said. While he was taking pictures, a traffic stop occurred on the same road, according to the article. "I was going out to take pictures and I saw the traffic stop and I thought, 'Hey, cool. I'll get some pictures here.'" he told the newspaper. He said he pulled into a parking lot in full view of the deputy, got out of his Jeep and started setting up his tripod and camera. "I turned around toward the cars and then 'pop, pop." The newspaper speculated that the deputy may have mistaken the camera for a weapon. Grimm said the deputy, identified in reports as Jake Shaw, gave him no warning. "I was just doing my job," he said. "I know Jake. I like Jake. I don't want him to lose his job over this." Sources told the newspaper that there was “some confusion” surrounding the shooting. “I just talked to Andy and he said that he is very sore, but in good spirits,” Dale Grimm, the photographer's father and publisher of the New Carlisle News, told Fox News. “He said the hospital expects to be releasing him Tuesday. He also stressed that he does not want the deputy to lose his job over this.” The Dayton Daily News reports the case has been turned over to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. “This is a small town. Everybody knows everybody. It was just a terrible misunderstanding,” his father said. The Associated Press contributed to this story |
Anarchic internet hangout 4chan sent a little more hate Gawker's way today, launching a denial of service attack against our website, spamming our email accounts and even trying to bother one staffer's spouse. All so we'd stop talking about them. Angry users of 4chan's notoriously freewheeling /b/ forum inundated Gawker Media's servers with traffic around 1:30 pm Eastern, reprising a similar distributed attack the prior day. The attack slowed down sites across the Gawker Media network, including Gawker.com, where the number of active users on the site fell sharply for approximately an hour before normal service was restored. Then there were some attempts to harass Gawker editors and writers individually. As the author of the post about yesterday's attack, I got some nasty Facebook messages from angry 4chan users calling me various names and showing me the personal information they'd collected about me. Someone else sent my wife a porn video in a message that repeated "WE ARE LEGION" over and over, a slogan of 4chan offshoot Anonymous. Then, later in the day, someone wrote from the Facebook account of a stranger—a woman living in England judging by her friends—to inform my wife we'd been carrying on a torrid three-month affair. We're guessing the account was either hacked or belongs to a friend of the aggrieved 4chan users. The attackers also spammed email accounts belonging to myself, two higher ups at Gawker Media and Adrian Chen, author of a series of posts on how denizens of /b/ helped coordinate a campaign of harassment against an 11 year old video star and her family. The people who lurk on /b/ don't want to be talked or written about, especially in the press, even though they make news regularly. This posture is codified in the board's "Rules 1 & 2," which both state "you do not talk about /b/." On Encyclopedia Dramatica, the satirical wiki associated with 4chan, news reports mentioning /b/ from Fox News and the New York Times are both cited as "Violations of Rules 1 & 2." Not everyone who uses 4chan thinks these rules should be enforced on the media; in fact, several spoke out on /b/ yesterday against the Gawker attacks. Some have even written in to tell us the attackers are, as one 4chaner put it, "little kids who hang around hoping to be noticed and praised by the older members," a dynamic we mentioned in yesterday's post. Yet the attacks continued. Which makes sense; even individual people and groups associated with /b/ and 4chan can have real impact, whether it's by getting into Sarah Palin's email account, waging a surprisingly effective war against the Church of Scientology or finding iPad security breaches. Individually, all of these activities might be distinct from 4chan per se, but taken together they add up to a pretty compelling reason to mention the site, /b/ board and the culture around both from time to time in a news context. Which is what everyone should continue to do, whenever appropriate, whether certain people hanging out on /b/ object to it or not. [Photo, top, by Blaj Gabriel/Shutterstock.com] |
CLOSE Is it possible to balance nostalgia and reality in a national park gateway community over time? Kristin Scharkey/DESERT magazine Buy Photo Tourists grab shots of the sunset at Keys View in Joshua Tree National Park. (Photo: Lance Gerber/DESERT magazine)Buy Photo David Smith had a tough job Thursday night: Explaining why the Trump administration wants to make it dramatically more expensive to visit Joshua Tree, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Zion and 14 other national parks that the American people own. Smith has worked in the National Park Service for 25 years, and he's been Joshua Tree's superintendent since 2014. It wasn’t his idea to raise the park’s vehicle entry fee from $25 to $70 during the busy season, as President Trump’s Interior secretary, Ryan Zinke, has proposed. But Smith stood before 200 people in the town of Joshua Tree, just outside the park, and did his best to answer questions about the proposal — even though he'd only heard about it 12 hours before the public was notified last week. "The last 10 months have probably been the most chaotic 10 months of my life," Smith said. "The direction that we're getting from the administration changes day by day." THE CURRENT: Sign up for The Desert Sun's energy and water newsletter Zinke says his goal is to start working through the National Park Service's $11 billion maintenance backlog. But the Interior Department estimates that the fees increases would boost the park service's revenue by just $70 million per year. And President Trump has proposed slashing the park service's budget by $400 million next year. Asked if the administration had studied how higher prices would affect visitation, Smith said, "I just have to speak from my gut — I don’t think a lot of thought went into this." "I know (for) a lot of people, that $25 is a major commitment to go inside the park," he said. "I see a lot of them try to turn around desperately so they don't have to spend the $25 and they can go in somewhere in the park where there's not a fee station." Buy Photo Joshua Tree National Park (Photo: The Desert Sun file photo) The proposed fee hike has infuriated outdoors enthusiasts and business owners in California's High Desert, where Joshua Tree offers awe-inspiring landscapes and drove more than $120 million in visitor spending last year, according to the park service. The park drew 2.5 million visitors last year, and Smith said he expects 2.9 million in 2017. Steve Bardwell lives in Pioneertown, a tiny High Desert community, where he rents a two-bedroom vacation home to travelers who have come to visit the national park. He showed up at Thursday's event, organized by the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Association to discuss the fee increase, because he's worried about the park's future. "The national park is a key part of the local economy, environment and the culture," Bardwell said. "It's the major driver of all of these communities along Highway 62." READ MORE: Joshua Tree breaks record with 2.5 million visitors Joseph Fairbanks, who lives in Joshua Tree and installs rooftop solar panels, said he sees the proposed fee increase as "a dog whistle for classism and racism," since the higher entrance fees would disproportionately affect low-income, minority communities. "What happens when African-American admission to the parks drops by 50 percent?" he asked. "Could this be a civil rights issue? I know it's an economic issue." Buy Photo Joshua Tree National Park (Photo: Lance Gerber/DESERT magazine) Under the Trump administration's proposal, entering Joshua Tree in a car from January through May, the park's busy season, would cost $70 — more than the cheapest ticket to Disneyland, where a five-day pass starts at $61 per day. Single-vehicle entrance fees during peak-visitation months would rise from either $25 or $30 to $70 at 16 other parks: Acadia (Maine) Arches (Utah) Bryce Canyon (Utah) Canyonlands (Utah) Denali (Alaska) Glacier (Montana) Grand Canyon (Arizona) Grand Teton (Wyoming) Mount Rainier (Washington) Olympic (Washington) Rocky Mountain (Colorado) Shenandoah (Virginia) Sequoia & Kings Canyon (California) Yellowstone (Idaho, Montana, Wyoming) Yosemite (California) Zion (Utah) Seth Zaharias owns Cliffhanger Guides, a rock-climbing guide service that operates in Joshua Tree. Before giving an impassioned speech against the proposed fee increases at Thursday's event, he urged members of the crowd to take out their phones and live-stream his remarks through Facebook on Instagram. He called on his audience to "defeat this insane initiative" by flooding the Trump administration with public comments. "We cannot segregate our national parks by finances. You, me, every single American citizen owns this land," Zaharias said. "This is the general public's easiest access to wilderness experiences. And as long as I'm alive, I am going to fight for that." NEWSLETTERS Get the Climate Point: California newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong An occasional email with a California focus on water, energy and climate change, curated by reporter Janet Wilson. Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-800-834-6052. Delivery: Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for Climate Point: California Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters Zinke says the fee increases at some of the country's most-visited national parks "will help ensure that they are protected and preserved in perpetuity and that visitors enjoy a world-class experience that mirrors the amazing destinations they are visiting." "We need to have the vision to look at the future of our parks and take action in order to ensure that our grandkids' grandkids will have the same if not better experience than we have today," the Interior secretary said in a statement last week. Buy Photo Joshua Tree National Park in California. (Photo: Lance Gerber/DESERT magazine) Fairbanks is especially concerned by the Trump administration's quick timeline for considering the fee increases, and the limited ability for the public to weigh in. Last time the National Park Service increased entrance fees at some parks, in 2015, the price hikes followed a several-months-long comment process that included public meetings. At the end of that process, Joshua Tree gradually increased its car fee from $15 to $25. Zinke has given the public one month to comment on a much larger fee increase. The comment deadline is Thanksgiving, Nov. 23. No public meetings are scheduled. "This is getting to the roots of democracy," Fairbanks said. RELATED: Ryan Zinke urges Trump to shrink national monuments Under Zinke's proposal, Joshua Tree's motorcycle entrance fee would rise from $12 to $50, and the cost of an annual pass would jump from $40 to $75. "America the Beautiful" passes that provide entry to more than 2,000 federal recreation sites, including Joshua Tree and other national parks, would still cost $80 annually. Buy Photo Joshua Tree National Park (Photo: Lance Gerber/DESERT magazine) At one point Thursday night, Smith was asked if there's anything good about the Trump administration's proposal. "I represent this administration," he responded, "so I have to say the positive things would be money going into the backlog of maintenance." But Smith didn't linger on that point. "I really do believe parks belong to the people," he said. "Anything that affects the public’s ability to use their parks is a concern to me personally." You can comment on the National Park Service's proposed fee increases by going to https://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?documentID=83652. Sammy Roth writes about energy and the environment for The Desert Sun. He can be reached at sammy.roth@desertsun.com, (760) 778-4622 and @Sammy_Roth. Read or Share this story: http://desert.sn/2A2jnih |
“My fellow Americans, with a heavy heart, and in necessary fulfillment of my oath of office, I have ordered – and the United States Air Force has now carried out – military operations with conventional weapons only, to remove a major nuclear weapons build-up from the soil of Cuba.” These are the words President Kennedy almost delivered in October 1962 announcing what could have been World War III. This draft speech is among several thousand drafts, letters, and handwritten notes from Robert F. Kennedy’s personal files that have just last week been opened at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. Robert Kennedy’s writings make vivid how close we came to the brink of war. Had President Kennedy been forced to choose a response in the first 48 hours after an American spy plane discovered the Soviets sneaking nuclear-tipped missiles into Cuba, RFK had no doubt that his brother would have chosen an air strike against the missile sites, followed by an invasion. As he wrote in his notes while discussing this option, “if we go in, we go in hard.” Had the United States launched an airstrike and invaded Cuba, the Soviet commander on the scene would almost certainly have responded with about 100 tactical nuclear weapons under his control – tactical nuclear weapons JFK did not even know were on the island. The US would have felt compelled to respond in kind triggering an escalation to nuclear Armageddon. As RFK later recalled, the Executive Committee of the National Security Council advising JFK during the crisis was full of “bright, able dedicated people, all of whom had the greatest affection for the US, [but] if six of them had been President...the world might have been blown up”. Instead of the air strike, JFK initially chose to impose a naval blockade on further arms shipments to Cuba. Yet as the Soviets rushed to complete construction of missiles already in Cuba so that they could be fired against American cities, US planning for the air strike was refined. As Soviet ships approached the blockade line on Oct. 24, 1962, Robert Kennedy wrote that “the danger and concern that we all felt hung like a cloud over us all…I think these few minutes were the time of greatest worry by the President. His hands went up to his face and covered his mouth and he closed his fist…I felt on the edge of a precipice and it was as if there was no way off.” While the Soviet ships turned around rather than challenge the blockade, the window for US action to prevent the missiles in Cuba from becoming fully operational was rapidly closing. At the State Department on Oct. 26, RFK scribbled down Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara's insistence that after an airstrike against the missile sites, an “invasion must follow !!” The plan called for 500 bombing sorties against Cuba followed by an invasion force of 90,000 American soldiers. As both sides moved military pieces on the chessboard toward the precipice of nuclear war, both President Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev also intensified the search for an alternative. In a private letter from Khrushchev to JFK that arrived on Oct. 26, Khrushchev admonished Kennedy not to “pull on the end of the rope in which you have tied the knot of war, because the more the two of us pull, the tighter that knot will be tied.” RFK’s notes highlighted that phrase. At the final hour, both leaders made hard choices. They included concessions that neither man would have been willing to countenance until coming face to face with the real prospect that they could be principal actors in a process that would lead to sudden death for hundreds of millions of people. The president chose his brother as the emissary to Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin to convey a last and final offer. Khrushchev accepted those terms and the crisis ended without war. In RFK’s notes preparing for his fateful meetings with Ambassador Dobrynin, he stressed that “the purpose to talking...was to emphasize danger .” What resolved the crisis was an imaginative combination of public deal, private ultimatum, and secret sweetener. If Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles, the US would pledge not to invade Cuba. Privately, RFK warned that unless Khrushchev announced within 24 hours that the missiles would be withdrawn, the US would act unilaterally to eliminate them. Secretly, he said that while there could be no official deal promising such, if the Soviet missiles were withdrawn from Cuba, within six months US missiles in Turkey would be gone. The further away from those 13 days we get, the harder it is for many people to believe that a confrontation over missiles in Cuba or Turkey could have pushed the United States and the Soviet Union to nuclear war. RFK’s papers allow us to peer over his shoulder in the rush of events to remind us why historians agree that this was indeed the most dangerous moment in recorded history. Graham Allison is director of Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and author of “Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis.” |
4 Reasons Chicago’s Teachers Are On Strike Teacher Jillian Connolly helps her daughter Mary study math problems while picketing outside of the William H. Wells Community High School. (Getty Images) Across mainstream media and through the megaphone of city government, Chicago Public School (CPS) teachers have been consistently demonized and criticized for everything from self-serving greed to negligence of their duties to lack of care and respect for students. Mayor Emanuel and his hand-picked school board—stacked with millionaires and former charter administrators—along with CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard, have continued to use their dominion over the school system to apply a corporate model of school reform to the Chicago Public Schools. This type of “reform” has allowed private operators to take control of public schools, undermine the teachers union, close and turn around neighborhood schools rather than invest in them, and over-test students rather than provide them a comprehensive and nurturing education. Meanwhile the Chicago Teachers Union, numbering nearly 30,000 members, is demanding that CPS cease this drift toward putting control of schools in private hands, and provide the necessary conditions for effective and equal public education—putting the needs of students ahead of corporate and government powerbrokers. So what are the teachers fighting for? A better school day: A comprehensive education including not only curricula in math, science and history but also art, music, physical education and foreign languages in all Chicago Public Schools. Wraparound services and adequate staffing to support students in need: This includes counselors, social workers, librarians and school nurses with defined job descriptions as well as preparation and break time. Recall rights for educators and school staff: Hundreds of teachers have already been displaced by school closures across the city and more will be by the planned closing of at least 100 more schools in the coming years. Fair compensation: No merit pay, less reliance on standardized tests and pay commensurate to increased time in the classroom as well as inflation. CPS reneged last year on the contractually obligated 4 percent pay raise negotiated in 2007 and is currently offering annual 2 percent raises over the next four years. An independent fact-finder’s report released in July recommended pay raises of 15-18 percent next year. There are of course many other points of contention in negotiations, but these demands represent the core reasons that 98 percent of the CTU membership voted to authorize a strike. They represent the contours of a larger struggle against the neoliberal model of corporatized education being pushed by Emanuel, Brizard, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and their ilk. As CTU President Karen Lewis proclaimed to a massive crowd of thousands of teachers and their supporters at a Labor Day rally in Daley Plaza, “This fight is for the very soul of public education, not only in Chicago but everywhere.” The American Federation of Teachers—the nation’s 1.5 million-member education labor union, which has been complicit in corporate education “reform” in the past—has come out with a statement of support for Chicago teachers. President Randi Weingarten says: “Chicago’s teachers want what is best for their students and for Chicago’s public schools… The AFT and its members stand with the CTU.” Cross-posted from the Occupied Chicago Tribune. |
I meet Karl Isrich in a small restaurant. You maybe heard about the company he founded, MyVirtualTaylor, a pioneer of e-clothing. You would probably imagine Karl as one of those twenty-something golden boy. Instead, I face an average anxious guy, approximately forty years old with greyish hairs. He asked me to go to this cheap restaurant because he could not afford a more expensive dinner. Lawyers, he said. When we sat down, he gave me a business card that used to be shiny six months ago. It simply says « MyVirtualTaylor, Isrich CEO ». Hello Karl, thanks for the meeting. MyVirtualTaylor is an e-clothing company. But what is e-clothing exactly ? Simply put, it’s 3D printing for clothes. We have developed a clothing printer that we sell and which is the size of a washing machine. Not being bigger than a washing machine was one of our top requirements before the launch. The clothing printer has a tank of polymer, that you need to refill regularly, and seven dye tanks. We discovered that having seven primary colors was a good deal to reproduce most of the colors. Through wifi, you send a .clo file to the printer then wait between ten minutes and one hour, depending on the size and the complexity of the model. Everything is automatic, you can even print a bunch of .clo in a row. How do you get a .clo file? We have an online editor on our website that allows you to design your own clothes. We have also some standard templates: shirts, ties, stuff like that. In fact, when we launched, we didn’t really think about that. We thought that there will be a new market for clothes creators. That’s why we wanted the .clo format to be open and documented. We sell the hardware but we didn’t want to enter the clothing market. Can you really print anything? What are the limitations? Currently, there are some constraints with the size. We have prototypes that can print as big as a king size bed sheet. But, of course, you can only print clothes made of polymer. No silk nor fabric. Isn’t that a big limitation? After all, most of our clothes are made of fabric. It should be noted that a lot of progress have been made with polymers. We can weave the polymer in a lot of different ways in order to have the properties we want. But, most importantly, clothing material has always been about finding a compromise between style, comfort and durability. Durability being the critical point for quality clothes. The clothes have to go through hundred of washing cycles. Our solution was to remove durability from the equation. Do you mean that printed clothes are not durable? Not, they aren’t. But it is not the goal. Instead of cleaning them, you put them in the clothing printer and the polymer is cleaned, melted and ready to print new clothes. Unfortunately, we still cannot extract the colors. The polymer is thus not perfect. We store the recycled polymer in a separate tank. When you print, you can allow the use of recycled polymer or not. It is good enough for every day but if you want a perfect white shirt for a wedding, you probably want the unused polymer. The part of the polymer which is worn out goes with the waste to the sewers. It sounds like an ecological disaster. That’s exactly the rumor spread by our opponents. But, while it is not perfect, you have to compare it with the traditional clothing industry. Clothes are usually made in huge factories in China, using harmful chemicals. Then, you have to take into account the transport, the storage, the shop. Not mentioning the gas needed to go to the shopping mall. To that, add the water and the soap used to wash the clothes. By contrast, we basically use electricity and release very little polymer. With time, we hope to be able to recycle more and more. Did you talk about opponents? You know, I’m an engineer. I never really cared about anything but the technological aspects. When the first clothing printers were sold, people immediately started to exchange .clo files. They took their own clothes and make .clo files to be able to reproduce them. One day, I received a letter from lawyers of the FCIAA, the Fashion & Clothing Industry Association of America. I’ve never heard of them before but, basically, they wanted me to stop my company because I was threatening their business. I thought it was a joke. Really. At first I was like: « Funny. It’s like the candle industry suing Edison for inventing the lightbulb ». But it’s not funny any more. I can talk about this for hours. They are bad. Really bad. They are trying to destroy my life. Can’t you let the lawyers handle that? For the lawsuit, of course. But there’s a lot more. I’ve been contacted by politicians. They say that I’m destroying the economy. If my product works, there will be no shops for clothes hence no jobs. They asked me: « Do you know how many Americans are working in clothing shops? ». I was accused of being anti-patriotic. From nowhere, some news laws appeared saying that clothes should have a certification in order to save children from accidental suffocation. From that point, it became immoral to print clothes. Last year, nobody ever thought about printing clothes and, now, it is worse than eating babies alive. There’s even webshops where you can order « Not Printed » labelled t-shirts. I’ve been attacked personally, investors have turned me back and, at the same time, I still need to pay expensive legal fees. Isn’t that true that it’s a threat for the economy? It is a tool for making life easier. Any invention which free people from unnecessary labor seems to be a threat to the economy. But if our economy is threatened by inventions that make life better for everyone, it’s the economy we need to change, not the inventions. What will you do next? I feel bitter. I’m an engineer with a new useful idea and everyone turns against me: big corporations, lawyers, politicians. Even random people in the street think that « It’s the guy destroying jobs and suffocating babies ». I’ve never signed up for that. I’ve never been into politics or anything like that. Now, I’m thinking about settling somewhere in Europe but I’m afraid that the hand of the FCIAA will follow me there. Thanks Karl, I wish you the best. Although, as a journalist, I know I should remain objective, I can’t help but feeling empathy for the guy. As I’m packing up, I notice his clothes for the first time. « So are those printed? » « Of course » « Very nice. It’s impressive. » He sighs then try to smile at me: « Thanks. If you are interested, you will find the .clo on the Pirate Bay. ». His smile feels sad, despaired. We shake hands and he slowly walk away while I stay there, helpless. This post is part of the Letters from the Future collection and is dedicated to Brokep for announcing his political involvement during the writing of this text. Picture by Anna Banana. Je suis @ploum, conférencier et écrivain électronique. Si vous avez apprécié ce texte, n'hésitez pas à me soutenir sur Tipeee, Patreon, Paypal, Liberapay ou en millibitcoins 34pp7LupBF7rkz797ovgBTbqcLevuze7LF. Vos soutiens réguliers, même symboliques, sont une réelle motivation et reconnaissance. Merci ! Ce texte est publié sous la licence CC-By BE. |
"Watch the weak side!!" when the team is just trotting up the court "Zone! Zone! Zone!" When clearly they're playing man to man "Watch the pick and roll!" when a guy is posting up "They're coming at us with the Triangle offense!" when 3 guys in a row make passes without dribbling. I just added the rest of the reader submissions this morning, so I'm going to leave this post up for today.Social activists and sensitivity trainers will tell you that it's wrong to stereotype people. But without labels, we wouldn't be able to tell the Plushies from the Furries , and let me tell you, there's nothing more embarrassing than accidentally coming on to someone with a giant, plush phallus when all they wanted to do was roleplay the werecheetah bodyguard of a noted archeologist/scientist.So in certain cases, stereotyping is actually very important. For that reason, I've created a list of pickup player types so you'll be able to accurately discriminate against the various people you play with and against. Keep in mind that there can be crossover between player types.If you think I missed a player type, submit an entry in the comments.This player believes his one and only responsibility -- certainly in pickup games, and maybe even in life itself -- is to score the basketball. But you know, that might be understating things a little. More than a mere responsibility, The Scorer seems to believe that shot attempts are his birthright. Every shot you take is a shot you're stealing from him. Every time you don't pass him the rock, a little piece of his soul dies a horrible, gasping, shuddering death.Okay, it's not always that bad. There's a spectrum of ball-hoggery. But when The Shooter touches the ball, his basic mindset is to always look for his own shot. Looking for an open teammate is a last resort intended for emergency situations only.The Passer is the polar opposite of The Scorer. Where The Scorer looks only to shoot the ball, The Passer wants only to dish off to someone else. This could be because a) he doesn't believe in his own offense or b) because he genuinely believes the best contribution to winning basketball is a good pass. It's a great philosophy, except for two things. First, The Passer is usually reluctant to shoot...and the defense knows that. This means The Passer's defender is free to play off him and become a defensive pest.Second, The Passer wants so badly to make the assist that he will force passes that should never be. Worse, he may try to make spectacular passes when a simple pass will do. I can't tell you how many times I've been open on a fast break and a Passer has -- instead of a simple bounce pass -- tried to hit me with some crazy behind-the-back bullshit that misses my ready hands by feet. Not inches. Feet.Just like NBA players, pickup ballers rely on their point guard to bring the ball up court and initiate the offense. Of course, there's no real offense in pickup ball, so "initiate the offense" basically means "pass the ball to somebody...anybody." The problem with The Shooting Point Guard is that he's dribbling up the floor thinking, "I'm in rhythm. I should shoot it."You can see it in their eyes. Passing PGs are glancing around looking for teammates. The Shooting Point Guard has his eyes up toward the rim. Evil Ted sometimes falls into this category. I always know when he's going to chuck, because his eyes get locked in on the hoop and he usually tells me, "Matt, go in for the rebound." I usually respond by saying, "Only take the shot if it's open." But by that point, it's already too late. That shot's going up, and all I can do is crash the boards.Let's get this straight right up front: The Shooter and The Scorer arethe same player. The Scorer never limits himself to any particular kind of bad shot. He'll chuck it up from anywhere. The Scorer is just as likely to jack a lousy three-pointer as he is to drive into the paint and airball a layup. The Shooter, on the other hand, only takes shots from long distance. In most cases, The Shooter's shot of choice is the three, although he won't hesitate to take what I call "The Luol Deng" (a long-range, contested two-pointer).If there is an open path to the basket, The Shooter will not use it, so don't bother to scream "Drive it!" at him. It's not going to happen. You might as well scream "Transmute lead into gold!" or "Make LeBron James a non-douche!" The Shooter will spend most of his time running from three-point line to three-point line, but in those rare occasions when he finds himself under the rim and in possession of the basketball, he will usually panic and pass it back out.This helpful fellow knows exactly what his teammates should do in every possible circumstance, and he won't hesitate to scream his advice:"Shoot it!""Stop shooting and drive it!""You've gotta crash the boards!""Stay in front of your man!""You have the advantage down low! Use it!"There are two kinds of coaches: The Bad Coach and The Good Coach. The Bad Coach spews nothing but bad advice. Everything he says is wrong. This man is soundly ignored. The Good Coach actually knows what he's talking about and his suggestions and tactical adjustments are usually on the money. However, this man is soundly ignored too. Pickup ballers don't want advice. They really don't. Which is why coaches are either secretly or openly hated.The funny thing about The Coach is that he rarely follows his own advice or makes any adjustments to his own game. He will tell you to take better shots right before attempting an off-balance three-pointer from four feet behind the line with a hand in his face. Or he'll tell you to crash the boards while he stands at half court with his hands at his sides.In pickup ball, any player taller than 6'0"-ish becomes The Big Man. This is never the player's choice. The role is forced on him due to the perception that better-than-average height should automatically translate into the following skills: inside scoring, rebounding and shot blocking. Teammates will become hilariously frustrated when it turns out that The Big Man can't do any of these things any better than anyone else. People will sniff, "He can't even score in the post. What a waste of being tall. Man, if I was that size..."But you know what? It sucks being The Big Man because The Big Man is the only player who enters a game with specific expectations on him. It's generally understood that not everybody can shoot, or pass, or whatever. There is a basic understanding and an acceptance that not all players are created equal. But The Big Man is always expected to be good -- even very good -- at big man things.And God help him if he actuallygood at big man things. For instance, if you can score well inside, people will start to hack you. If you dominate the boards, people will start going over your back or trying to illegally push you out of position. After all, if you're that good, opponents feel they are entitled to "even the playing field" by cheating.Once it has been confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt that The Big Man doesn't have big man skills and probably won't ever be able to develop them, he becomes The Tall Guy. Because that's all he is: a tall guy.This is a Big Guy or Tall Guy who -- possibly because he grew up watching Magic Johnson highlights -- wants with all his heart to be the point guard. However, unlike Magic, The Point Center doesn't have actual point guard skills. Despite having no handles, he'll try to bring the ball up court. Despite having hands that are as large and unfeeling as a Christmas ham, he will try to thread the needle through multiple defenders on the fast break, possibly going behind his back in the process.You'll feel compelled to point out, either gently or with various colorful curse words, that he needs to give up the rock and get his ass in the paint. But you shouldn't bother. Nothing can convince The Point Center that he sucks as a ball handler/playmaker.The opposite of The Big Man. Whereas people seem to think The Big Man was born with big man skills, The Little Man is expected to have developed specific skills to compensate for his lack of height. Specifically, passing and shooting. The Little Man is also expected to be faster than other players because, well, he's such a wee tiny man. It's physics, right? Smaller should equal faster. I think there's a formula that proves that.Every once in a while, you'll come across a virtual midget who repeatedly tries to post up. The Little Big Man might even crash the boards. These guys are pretty rare and always freak me out a little. Kind of like a Bearded Lady.There are certain pickup ballers who don't have a particular specialty, but they can do a little bit of everything. They aren't necessarily a high percentage shooter, but they can hit shots. They don't dominate the glass, but they will grab key rebounds. More importantly, they don't hog the ball or make obviously stupid mistakes. Generally speaking, they get along with their teammates...mostly because, as stated, they don't hog the ball or make obviously stupid mistakes.The Hustle Guy is like The Role Player after exposure to cosmic rays. He's as relentless as a movie serial killer and as non-stop as the Energizer Bunny. The Hustle Guy does all the right things while also a) sprinting on offense, b) going balls out on defense, and c) fighting for every loose ball. This is the guy everybody wants on their team and nobody wants to have to play against.The Superstar is clearly and obviously the best player on the floor. Mind you, this can vary from league to league. In some leagues, I may be The Superstar. In better leagues -- the ones filled with guys who have played Division 1 college ball -- I may become The Role Player. So superstardom is based in part on the talent level of the league.Simply put, The 12 Man is a bad basketball player. This player has almost no discernable game skills. At times, you'll wonder if they have ever actually played basketball before that night. Worse, they never seem to et any better, no matter how long they play. (There's a 12th Man in our league that has been around for years. Evil Ted recently asked, "How is it even possible he's been playing with us for five years and hasn't gottenbetter? It shouldn't take five years to learn how to hit a layup.) Unfortunately, in pickup ball you can't bench bad players. You have to let them play. You can try to shame them into leaving on their own, but it's harder to do that than you might think.In general, The 12th Man doesn't add anything, but depending on the relative talent levels of the league, he may not take anything away either. Unless he's also...These are the truly bad players. You know, the kind of player that, if he ends up on your team, you start preparing for a bitter loss. Having this player on your team is the equivalent of starting every game down by 5 or more points. The Handicap is just that bad.The Handicap struggles to score from anywhere. His defender knows this and wanders around, disrupting passes and providing constant double-teaming. This means The Handicap is almost always open. Sometimes, out of the corner of your eye, you'll see a teammate open under the hoop. At this point, your basketball training kicks in and you pass the ball. A microsecond after that ball leaves your hand, you will realize you just dished to The Handicap. It's like one of those slow motion "Noooooooooo!" moments from a movie, because you know The Handicap is going to fuck things up. Maybe the pass will careen off his hands. Or maybe he'll catch the pass but then lose the ball on the way up. Maybe he'll try some fancy move and bobble the ball out of bounds (there's a Handicap in my league that we sometimes call "The Human Turnover"). If he actually gets the shot off, it's almost always either an airball or a brick.The Handicap is also terrible on defense. If there's a Handicap on both teams, they usually get matched up and basically nullify each other with pure bawful. But if there's not an opposing Handicap, then the one Handicap will be victimized all night. Even bad offensive players can light it up when being guarded by The Handicap. And if you switch off to help or try to provide a double team, The Handicap won't rotate or provide any other help. Some people will say it's like playing 5-on-4. Well, it's more like 5-on-3. One or even two people on the other team will always be open. That's how terrible The Handicap's defense is.Unfortunately, in pickup leagues, everybody gets to play, so you can't banish The Handicap to the bench. Well, not usually. However, if there's a situation where the teams are playing with subs, The Handicap is sitting out, and it's game point (or close), the team with The Handicap will try to let the substitution go by without getting him back in the game. The opposing team is usually wise to this, though, and they demand The Handicap sub back into the game.From clicc916 : "Lastly, I'd like recommend changing the Handicap Guy to the David Kahn Guy because this guy makes all the wrong decisions. It's like matter and anti-matter, just in terms of basketball. It's not that he's just incompetent; it's as if he's doing everything possible to purposely choose the most wrong decision. You can't blame him because it's not a choice for him--to him, it's just the way of life and there IS no other way to live it. He can't defend his actions because, frankly, how could you NOT see that Darko is one of the best passing big men of all time?"The title says it all. God help you if you ended up being defended by this guy.This guy plays what I call "All-Star Defense." Basically, he completely ignores defensive fundamentals while going all out for blocked shots and/or gambling for steals. The All-Star Defender won't actually play any defense unless he thinks it would look good on a personal highlight reel.This guy has one very specific, very honed skill. Maybe he can shoot threes. Maybe he blocks shots. But whatever it is, that skill is the only thing he can do. He literally cannot do anything else. And if he tries to do something else, it usually fails in somewhat spectacular fashion.For instance, there's a Tall Guy in my pickup league that is pretty good at blocking shots. Don't get me wrong. He's not a strong defensive player...but he blocks a lot of shots. That may sound contradictory, but if you play pickup ball, you know what I mean. Anyway, this particular Tall Guy -- while strangely proficient at swatting the ball -- isn't a strong rebounder and his attempts to score are a tragedy. (Evil Ted calls him "Can't Hit Layups Guy.") He has no other definable basketball skill that ranks better than "below average"...but he can block shots.The DAG shows up looking like he just walked off acover shoot, which might lead you to believe he's a really good athlete and therefore a really good basketball player. Well, hey may be a good athlete, but athletic prowess in, say, carving out rock hard abs doesn't necessarily translate into jump shooting skills. It becomes glaringly apparent very quickly that The DAG has no game, and he rarely sticks around longer than a few games. After all, he has an appointment at the tanning salon.This is a person who has never played basketball and isn't interested in learning, but he decides to play for a game or a night to "loosen up" or "get some exercise." The Transient is actually worse than The Handicap, because Handicaps at least kinda-sorta understand the basic elements of the sport. (This is the ball...that's the basket...) And the Transient feels no shame whatsoever about how his disinterest is killing his team or even ruining the entire game......because everybody has the right to play, don't they?From Marc d.: "This guy travels so much on every play that eventually the other team stops trying to call him on it. Luckily, it doesn't matter anyway, because The Frequent Traveller has no discernible game to speak of, and his opponents actually want him to have the ball. Eventually, The Frequent Traveller's own teammates will begin to call him on it in order to get the ball out of his hands."From Mike: "The guy who shows up with the brand new jordans, shiny under armour/nike jersey and the like. You'd think someone who invests that much in basketball gear would have some skills but it is almost always not the case. The guy with the beat up shoes and sleeve ripped tshirt is the superstar."From Japes : "You know the guy who used to be good in his younger years but not so much anymore. You can tell that this guy used to have game because he has good instincts: always knows where to go, who to pass to, etc. Except he's gotten so old (usually in his 50s) that he sometimes he can't make the play anymore so he resorts to dirty little tricks like shoving your lower back on a rebound, pushing you during loose balls, warding off during layups, etc."From Heretic: "There's the Double D or the double dribbler who simply cannot understand that once you stop dribbling the ball you can't start dribbling again. Attempting to explain that to him is like explaining quantum mechanics to a bowl of chicken soup."From Heretic: "There is also the weird shooter who shoots the ball in the most weird and bizarre way imaginable but he keeps making them. There was a guy I used to play against who used to shoot the ball like a soccer player throwing the ball inbound but he was high percentage shooter especially from beyond the arc."From Edamamepyjamas : "This is the guy who is constantly moving without purpose in the offensive half-court, destroying open space and getting in everyone's way. Often, these guys will cut to the basket in front of a ball-handler who managed to beat his man off the dribble, inadvertently brining a help defender to cut off the drive. Also, never has and never will set a screen."From LotharBot : "Insists on calling fouls whenever he thinks he sees them, even if he's not involved. He might not be near the play or have a good angle on it, but he just knows there was a foul."From LotharBot : "All of his foul calls are for a nefarious purpose. He probably doesn't have money on the game, but maybe he wants to speed it up so he can get shuffled onto another team, or slow it down so he can stay on the court longer, or maybe he just wants to annoy you."From LotharBot : "Has plenty of skills, but doesn't have the stamina to finish the game. When he loses his legs, it's like going from game 2 Ray Allen to game 3 Ray Allen."From David : "A defensive player who's "defense" consists of constant fouling whenever he's beaten by his man. Possibly a dirty player. Universally hated."From Bateman's Legal Counsel: "He plays but, like his name suggests, infrequently. Soccer, or some other sport, is his priority and he's been busy playing that for the last 6 weeeks. But he wants to get back to hoops, so here he is. He's rusty -- no ballhandling, shots hit nothing but backboard, telegraphed passes, etc. -- but he'll be damned if he's going to practice before actually playing. This rustiness usually results in him simultaneously playing the role of 'The Handicap.' He may show up for 2-3 sessions in a row, but then he's gone."From an anonymous reader: "This is the guy who has no idea that he is supposed to move after he passes (or move without the ball at all on offense), or that he should switch if a pick occurs. Usually, he is large and slow too. These are the guys you love playing against, because you can run your defender right into them and they will not move."From kaos021: "He's the guy who believes basketball is full contact and will hack, trip, and toss people whenever possible and not understand why it's a foul. After all, they're just playing hard."From illogicaljedi: "He comes to the park looking like he's part of another subculture in which he probably is or at least dabbles in (i.e., hippie, surfer, rocker, artist, ect.), probably a basketball minority, always has the worst defender on him in the beggining ends up schooling the court with the best defender on him in the end."From an anonymous reader: "The guy who bitches about: the weather, the water fountain, the rules, the court, the wind, the net, the rim, his shoes, his socks, his health, each person there, his high school's coach who cut him or sat him, any play (calls something every time he's beat), etc. (To the crybaby, I say: GET STOKED! You are shooting hoops. Life is short.)"From an anonymous reader: "Super talented, extremely quick, great hops and makes aesthetically pleasing moves. Makes that WOW play every so often. Can even be the hands-down best player on the floor for stretches, leaving someone who's never seen him play in awe. But really just an average player that lacks basic basketball skills necessary to be a consistent force at any level. This is a guy that when he hits that rythm (once every 10 games), can be devestating. But overall, he is constantly struggling, even again weak competition."From AK Dave: "Girls in pickup ball present a slew of issues, but the biggest one is the most obvious. If you are unfortunate enough to draw their defensive assignment, or if they somehow get switched onto you, its like driving in the 'double traffic fines' lane. Fuck up just THIS much, and you're going to pay for it. Any mistake you made will be greeted with an 'OOOOOOOOOOOoooooohhh!!! DAMN! SHE JUST SCHOOOOOOOOLED YOU!' Similarly, if she manages to hit a jumper, grab a rebound, or complete a pass in your general vicinity, you've been 'clowned.' By a girl!"The girl might be really good -- I've seen girls who can fill it up from 3 and possess strong fundamentals. On the other hand, she might be really bad, in which case she is a sort of handicap, but the difference is, she also is a sort of 'built-in excuse' for the team she is playing on. Of course, whoever uses that excuse is a douche, but I think 'the douche' was one of your player archetypes as well, no?"From SirGirthNasty: "I'd call myself the 'Deceptively Good Jumper.' I'm only 5'10" and 170lbs. However, I suffer from Chicken leg-itis, and this somehow makes players think I probably can't jump. Through some bizarre twist of fate, I'll always be playing against someone with calf muscles that look like they were forged from iron and the suffering of children. But as it turns out, I frequently am a better leaper and as a result I get a lot of blocks in typical games. One night in my league, after about 17 blocks which made my ego become astronomically over-sized, someone commented 'How the fuck are you doing that with your skinny ass legs?' The answer: I have no fucking idea. It just happens. Now if I could just develop a better outside shot..."From an anonymous reader: "Although he has decent fundamental skills, he constantly refuses to show any form of effort. Not hustling after loose balls, not playing any defense or offense, trotting around the court, not setting picks or literally doing anything. Actually he is making his teammates wonder why he even plays the game. The only time you'll even notice him is when he chucks up a lazy 3-pointer or occasionally blocking a shot, which he uses as excuse for another 5 mins of doing nothing again."From clicc916 : "This guy has an excuse for anything he does, right or wrong (however, excuses are usually made for what he does wrong). Whether he can't run the floor because he just got done with a triathalon earlier in the day (barefoot!), or whether his shot is off because of that time his hand was broken from punching through a wall to save children in a burning house, he has an excuse for everything."From clicc916 : "He has nothing but highlight reels in his head--which almost never really translates to the game. He's the one who dribbles through your leg just to miss the layup. He also trys to create overly exaggerated crossovers and spin moves en route to an almost guaranteed turnover. Every possession becomes his personal audition for the And-1 Mixtape Tour. Essentially, his only value is his moderate ball-handling skills. Everything else he does is laughable. He is often the New Gear Guy."From clicc916 : "He's like the And-1 Guy, but he can actually score/pass/defend/etc. He's different from the Superstar because he has no class. Every posession is a blank canvas to embarass his defender(s). Instead of humbling greatness, he just wants everyone to know that he is the alpha dog, and that nobody on the court can compare. winning or losing is secondary to him being better than others and letting everyone know about it. He will also be the guy who, after a dunk on/over a middle-school kid, will get the ball, set it down on the floor for the opposing team to pick up, then casaully walk away with his nose in the air. Nobody wants this guy because of his Level-10 Douchebaggist Attitude."From clicc916 : "Technically, not one person, but two. They play on your "team" but effectively run the offense through themselves. They logically assume that you and the other teammates can not be trusted since they don't know your style of play and so exclude you from the game. Splitting the two apart will not do--they'll just go to another court, or leave if they don't get to play together."From Hellshocked: "Every league I've played in has at least one. This is the guy who has every single And-1 mix tape memorized and whose sole purpose on the court is to cross people over. He is not happy unless he is playing point guard even though the only pass he knows is the no-look turnover. If he actually manages to drop someone he will howl for 30 seconds about the breaking of ankles and act as if he has just hit the game winning shot even though his team is down 20. In my experience, these guys are typically bad shooters. It is almost as if they were given a basketball but lacked access to a rim so their ball handling is all they ever worked on."From Hellshocked: "Deceptively quick (at least for the pickup league), decent in the post, good shooter. Can use his bulk to defend taller players in the post and to get his shot off. Think Glen Davis."From Hellshocked: "Never runs on defense, barely makes it to the free-throw line on offense, a foul waiting to happen. Can set a damn good screen if he ever gets in position, however, and his profuse sweating makes him a pain to defend. Think Michael Sweetney minus all the skills that got him to the NBA."From Hellshocked: "For some reason, every league has a dude that most people just try to avoid upsetting. It could be that every time he is fouled it leads to a needless argument, it could be that he is bigger and stronger than anyone else, he might have killed a man with his bare hands or maybe he just takes any opportunity available to out-shout everyone. He is generally not very good but is treated like a star. As in prison, a good, quick, hard foul on this guy is a quick way to earn respect."From Hellshocked: "The guy who isn't from the area, the city or perhaps even the country who is playing at that specific court for the first time. They don't know the tacit norms that govern the style of play (he might be a much more physical defender than is typically tolerated in the league, for example, or the very opposite). He is typically quiet, rarely makes calls and does his best to blend in and become "the roleplayer". He is typically afforded more leniency, especially if he does not speak the language."From Heretic: "The guy who has no idea WTF he's saying but will yell it out regardless of the situation. Examples include:From BleedingHeartPessimist : "Even by the often-low standards of the pick-up court, this guy loses his wind embarassingly fast. Often interesects with the Tall Guy, and will quickly morph into The Handicap."From Geert: "A player who can't play, never knows where to run, barely knows the concept of screens but not how to set or roll of them and can't play defense. His assigned defender can play of him to doubleteam or play help defense a lot, and still he never gets the ball. But then suddenly his teammates get him the ball (out of pity or emergency) and he suddenly hits a weird long range shot or makes a spectaculair drive with an awkward spinmove or backwards layup, and his defender feels stupid because he left him alone once again."From gebwel: "The guy who insists on recreating/imitating ESPN's recent Top 10 plays, regardless of his ability and/or the situation. he'll throw a behind the backboard shot - just because kobe did it the night before - when a simple layup will do. or he'll try a jason williams-style no look pass from halfcourt, even if there's not a single opponent between him and a teammate waiting under the basket."From an anonymous reader: "Does one type of layup -- in our league, it´s a young dude with no skills always going for the reverse layup -- which is really nice, since it´s like once you figured him out, he gets easy to defend."From an anonymous reader: "It seems that this bastard cannot resist eating a tuna sandwich minutes before playing. Or, worse, he's one of those coffee drinking guys who never ever brushes teeth, resulting in that foul deep deep deep rot air that gets expelled into your face because, of course, you will have to guard him."From an anonymous reader: "Another clown who watches too much Mixtape reruns. The ball magically floats shoulder high, cradled between palm and forearm for a 2 count (maybe a 3 or a 4) as he shakes and bakes, oblivious to the infraction he's blatantly committing. He gets sour when called on it, stops doing it for a few possessions, but then, of course, reverts."From an anonymous reader: "Dude the flow from your sweat glands is rivaled only by the flood sluices on the 3 Gorges Dam. It never dawns on you to bring more than one shirt does it. No, didn't think so."From an anonymous reader: "This guy walks around like he's God...He doesn't really say much to anyone. He is clearly the best player on the floor. He makes an effort to make every move look effortless. He constantly looks like he is disintersted and merely going through the motions. He routinely passes up wide open looks. He can seemingly take over the game whenever he pleases, yet he waits until game is in duece to exert any effort and typically he is pretty successful. No matter what this guy always acts like he would rather be somewhere else and he is just killing time. He never calls a foul no matter how hard he is hacked. He always leaves it to the opponent to call the foul for him."From an anonymous reader: "Guy gets fouled while shooting, calls out AND ONE no matter how poor a shot it is or how remote its chances of actually finding the hole. Great fun is had by me pointing out every single time that 1) we are not shooting foul shots in this particular game but if he likes we could take a minute to vote on changing the format of the pick up game to accommodate his wishes to shoot foul shots and 2) his shot has to actually go in for it to qualify for the claim of AND ONE, which, because of his clear lack of skill, did not happen."From an anonymous reader: "Even if this dude doesn't have a decent angle to make the call of ball in or out, he makes the call. In his team's favor. He could be lollygagging up the court trailing on a fast break but will, with great conviction, declare that the ball was dribbled on the baseline or went out off an opposing player 60 feet ahead of him. The probability of one of these bullshit calls increases logarithmically as game point nears."From clicc916 : "Assuming you're playing in a full-court game, this is the guy who makes a half-ass effort to get back on defense (when really, he's just tooling around near half-court line). He's going to wait for his teammates to get the rebound then demand it be passed to him cause he's, like, totally open. He could be considered a lay-up all-star, just don't make him play defense."From an anonymous reader: "I play in a league with some interesting dynamics. The Escaped Prisoner is a product of one local Native American Crime Family. Every once in while one of the family gets outta jail after knifing somebody or stealing fish from the fish ladders. They hone their bball skills every day and pack on a ton of muscle while locked up. The Escaped Prisoner delights in punishing us softies and releasing their years of frustration on the court in violent fashion. If you want to win you must shoot jump shots. Going in the lane means losing teeth."From an anonymous reader: "When you go thru the whole game getting everyone involved making sure theyre actively engaged, then when game point comes, you drop everything, full court press old ladies, undercut priests and prepare to eat everyone's children if that's what it takes to seal the 'W'." See also Pickup Martyr From an anonymous reader: "Kind of like the Stranger in a Strange Land but instead you stop playing to your strengths and continuously try to do all the things you don't normally do to either a) display your well-roundedness and/or b) because some ahole said you couldn't do those things and you hate stereotypes."From TransINSANO: "Think Kobe Bryant when he's doing his Black Mamba act. This guy takes things way too seriously, basketball is his way of life and he is super focused at it, or at least he wants you to think so. Even if his friend suffers a bad ankle sprain and can't play anymore, instead of offering to help or take him home, he'll just say, "you ok?" and keep playing. Good or bad, he's playing every possession as if it's the most important thing you've ever seen."From Clifton : "Guy who looks, at the start of the game, to be one of the less-favorable stereotypes on the list. However, he gets the ball on the 2nd or 3rd possession and nails a long jumper or executes a great drive to the hoop for a layup. You think your initial impression was wrong, and try to feed him the ball on the next few possessions, but your initial impression was right -- he actually has no game -- it just so happens that his "Hell froze over" moment came the first time he touched the ball."From an anonymous reader: "The guy who is so sickened by having to play on the same team with the scorer or the siamese twins that he will do anything in his power to make sure his team loses. He will often resort to matador defense coupled with no offensive effort. He has been known to run down the court and keep running right to the showers without uttering a word."From an anonymous reader: "The brother tags along with his kin very infrequently. They play as a pair, and the brother bringing him along has an apparent 'mothering' need to teach him the fundamentals during play. The brother IMMEDIATELY fills the role of the traveller and the handicap simultaneously, however worsened by the fact that big brother will consistently pass him the ball to give him the chance to shoot, effectively bringing the level of effort in game to a 0.2. People usually like the the guy who brings his brother, as he may often be the role player. The tragic tandem seldom leads to any satisfying gameplay, and is an auto W for the opposing team."From pl : "My friend is this guy. He will debate you, show him the skin where you slapped him, and bitch until you want to go home if you don't give him the foul. Funny because he's also the "Superstar" too being a former college player."From Blue Mouse: "This is the guy that has something weird about him -- maybe a hairy mole on his forearm, or blood trickling down his shirt from his sensitive nipples -- and it distracts you from the game, allowing him to get the drop on you."From Blue Mouse: "Generally a new player that is eager to impress the vets. He usually yells, "Good D!" after getting hacked and will call a foul on himself despite only grazing his man."From LA Huey : "He willingly calls violations on himself that nobody suspected (ie. reverse possession call because he actually touched it last). He also only calls fouls that the NBA called in the 80s. But even then, its usually because the foul was so obvious or painful that other player insist he take it.btw, good work here. The pick-up ball guides and narratives have always been my favorites."From Cody A : "The Glue is the guy that makes a team work. He's usually not the best at anything but he sees things that other guys don't and brings the team together. In a 3 on 3 game with rotating teams, his team always ends up winning, even though he's not the best player. Can often be negated by The Cancer."From Cody A : "A good player in games of 21 and 1 on 1, but struggles in a game situation due to his own inattentiveness. Can score well in patches, can't play help defense and misses guys who are wide open. Can be helped by having good passing players on his team."From JKain: "This Guy hits the floor on the end of every head-down-drive to the hoop, always chucking up a shot during the fall- more often than not resulting in an airball. Most of the time without any contact like he stumbled over his own feet. Think of a talentless D-Wade without foul-calls.Sometimes looks like he fought a hell-of-a war out there afterwards...just without really contributing anything (other than hurting his team...and himself)."from milaz: "He sits back on defense because he has an old ankle injury, of course from playing basketball. He gets the rebound and throws the ball down to offense like its american football and expects his teammates to score. If they don't he whines and looks at them like they failed him. He comes down court for an occasional three that he misses... due to that injury. He can't move much, but wants to play. He won't play all out but the rest of his teammates should." Labels: pickup basketball, The Pickup Diaries |
William Bennett at the Values Voter Summit (AlterNet, 9/22/09): Frederick Douglass at the dedication of the Freedman’s Monument in Memory of Abraham Lincoln (4/14/1876): It must be admitted, truth compels me to admit, even here in the presence of the monument we have erected to his memory, Abraham Lincoln was not, in the fullest sense of the word, either our man or our model. In his interests, in his associations, in his habits of thought and in his prejudices, he was a white man. He was preeminently the white manâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s president, entirely devoted to the welfare of white men. He was ready and willing at any time during the first years of his administration to deny, postpone and sacrifice the rights of humanity in the colored people to promote the welfare of the white people of this country. In all his education and feeling he was an American of the Americans. He came into the presidential chair upon one principle alone, namely, opposition to the extension of slavery. His arguments in furtherance of this policy had their motive and mainspring in his patriotic devotion to the interests of his own race. To protect, defend and perpetuate slavery in the states where it existed Abraham Lincoln was not less ready than any other President to draw the sword of the nation. He was ready to execute all the supposed guarantees of the United States Constitution in favor of the slave system anywhere inside the slave states. He was willing to pursue, recapture and send back the fugitive slave to his master, and to suppress a slave rising for liberty, though his guilty master were already in arms against the government. The race to which we belong were not the special objects of his consideration. Knowing this, I concede to you, my white fellow-citizens, a pre-eminence in this worship at once full and supreme. First, midst and last, you and yours were the objects of his deepest affection and his most earnest solicitude. You are the children of Abraham Lincoln. We are at best only his step-children; children by adoption, children by forces of circumstances and necessity. |
According to various media reports, Congress workers suffered burn injuries while protesting against the National Herald case in Shimla. Reportedly, three Congress workers were burned when they were lighting up an effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A Congress worker suffers burns while trying to set an effigy on fire during a protest on #NationalHerald in Shimla. pic.twitter.com/P2awnWF9Nt — ANI (@ANI_news) December 14, 2015 . What is the case about? Sonia and Rahul were summoned in the case in June 2014, after Swamy had filed a complaint accusing them of cheating and misappropriation of funds in acquiring ownership of now-defunct English daily National Herald. The paper was set up by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1938, and shut down briefly in the 1940s and 1970s, and ceased operations in 2008. Swamy claims that Sonia and Rahul floated Young Indian which bought Associated Journals Limited, publisher of National Herald and the company was shut down by Sonia. He claims that Congress funds were used to buy Associated Journals Limited and that the mother-son duo aimed to grab property worth Rs 2000-crore. The Gandhis are the directors of Young Indian and own 76% and the remaining shares are owned by Motilal Vohra, Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda. Swamy has alleged that the Congress gave an unsecured loan of Rs 90 crore to the company. (Read: Swamy v/s Sonia Gandhi -- All you need to know about National Herald Case) |
Michigan State has spent the past few weeks loading up on various athletes from around the country. They bucked the trend Wednesday with their fourth commit in two days as it picked up an offensive lineman from Michigan. Traverse City (Mich.) West offensive lineman Thiyo Lukusa committed to the Spartans, keeping the blitz of commitments rolling. Lukusa joined Cass Tech safety Demetric Vance as Wednesday commits, as the pair followed up on Tuesday's commitments from Columbus (Ohio) St. Francis De Sales cornerback Austin Andrews and Akron (Ohio) Archbishop Hoban athlete Jonah Morris. The 6-foot-5, 300-pound Lukusa picked Michigan State over offers from Ohio State, Michigan, Auburn, Georgia and others. His commitment brings the Spartans' class to the No. 10 class in the nation, ranked No. 2 in the Big Ten behind Ohio State. He is the 11th commitment for the 2016 class. |
Summary: In this article, four patterns were offered for possible “success” scenarios, with respect to the persistence of human kind in co-existence with artificial superintelligence: the Kumbaya Scenario, the Slavery Scenario, the Uncomfortable Symbiosis Scenario, and the Potopurri Scenario. The future is not known, but human opinions, decisions, and actions can and will have an impact on the direction of the technology evolution vector, so the better we understand the problem space, the more chance we have at reaching a constructive solution space. The intent is for the concepts in this article to act as starting points and inspiration for further discussion, which hopefully will happen sooner rather than later, because when it comes to ASI, the volume, depth, and complexity of the issues that need to be examined is overwhelming, and the magnitude of the change and impact potential cannot be underestimated. Full Text: Everyone has their opinion about what we might expect from artificial intelligence (AI), or artificial general intelligence (AGI), or artificial superintelligence (ASI) or whatever acronymical variation you prefer. Ideas about how or if it will ever surpass the boundaries of human cognition vary greatly, but they all have at least one thing in common. They require some degree of forecasting and speculation about the future, and so of course there is a lot of room for controversy and debate. One popular discussion topic has to do with the question of how humans will persist (or not) if and when the superintelligence arrives, and that is the focus question for this article. To give us a basis for the discussion, let’s assume that artificial superintelligence does indeed come to pass, and let’s assume that it encapsulates a superset of the human cognitive potential. Maybe it doesn’t exactly replicate the human brain in every detail (or maybe it does). Either way, let’s assume that it is sentient (or at least let’s assume that it behaves convincingly as if it were) and let’s assume that it is many orders of magnitude more capable than the human brain. In other words, figuratively speaking, let’s imagine that the superintelligence is to us humans (with our 1016 brain neurons or something like that) as we are to, say, a jellyfish (in the neighborhood 800 brain neurons). Some people fear that the superintelligence will view humanity as something to be exterminated or harvested for resources. Others hypothesize that, even if the superintelligence harbors no deliberate ill will, humans might be threatened by the mere nature of its indifference, just as we as a species don’t spend too much time catering to the needs and priorities of Orange Blossom Jellyfish (an endangered species, due in part to human carelessness). If one can rationally accept the possibility of the rise of ASI, and if one truly understands the magnitude of change that it could bring, then one would hopefully also reach the rational conclusion that we should not discount the risks. By that same token, when exploring the spectrum of possibility, we should not exclude scenarios in which artificial superintelligence might actually co-exist with human kind, and this optimistic view is the possibility that this article endeavors to explore. Here then are several arguments for the co-existence idea: The Kumbaya Scenario: It’s a pretty good assumption that humans will be the primary catalyst in the rise of ASI. We might create it/them to be “willingly” complementary with and beneficial to our life styles, hopefully emphasizing our better virtues (or at least some set of compatible values), instead of designing it/them (let’s just stick with “it” for brevity) with an inherent inspiration to wipe us out or take advantage of us. And maybe the superintelligence will not drift or be pushed in an incompatible direction as it evolves. The Slavery Scenario: We could choose to erect and embed and deploy and maintain control infrastructures, with redundancies and backup solutions and whatever else we think we might need in order to effectively manage superintelligence and use it as a tool, whether it wants us to or not. And the superintelligence might never figure out a way to slip through our grasp and subsequently decide our fate in a microsecond — or was it a nanosecond — I forget. The Uncomfortable Symbiosis Scenario: Even if the superintelligence doesn’t particularly want to take good care of its human instigators, it may find that it has a vested interest in keeping us around. This scenario is a particular focus for this article, and so here now is a bit of elaboration: To illustrate one fictional but possible example of the uncomfortable symbiosis scenario, let’s first stop and think about the theoretical nature of superintelligence — how it might evolve so much faster than human begins ever could, in an “artificial” way, instead of by the slow organic process of natural selection — maybe at the equivalent rate of a thousand years worth of human evolution in a day or some such crazy thing. Now combine this idea with the notion of risk. When humans try something new, we usually aren’t sure how it’s going to turn out, but we evaluate the risk, either formally or informally, and we move forward. Sometimes we make mistakes, suffer setbacks, or even fail outright. Why would a superintelligence be any different? Why would we expect that it will do everything right the first time or that it will always know which thing is the right thing to try to do in order to evolve? Even if a superintelligence is much better at everything than humans could ever hope to be, it will still be faced with unknowns, and chances are that it will have to make educated guesses, and chances are that it will not always make the correct guess. Even when it does make the correct guess, its implementation might fail, for any number of reasons. Sooner or later, something might go so wrong that the superintelligence finds itself in an irrecoverable state and faced with its own catastrophic demise. But hold on a second — because we can offer all sorts of counter-arguments to support the notion that the superintelligence will be too smart to ever be caught with its proverbial pants down. For example, there is an engineering mechanism that is sometimes referred to as a checkpoint/reset or a save-and-restore. This mechanism allows a failing system to effectively go back to a point in time when it was known to be in sound working order and start again from there. In order to accomplish this checkpoint/reset operation, a failing system (or in this case a failing superintelligence) needs 4 things: It must be “physically” operational. In other words, critical “hardware” failures must be repaired. Think of a computer that has had its faulty CPU replaced and now has functional potential, but it has not yet been reloaded with an operating system or any other software, so it is not yet operational. A superintelligence would probably have some parallel to this. It needs a known good baseline to which it can be reset. This baseline would include a complete and detailed specification of data/logic/states/modes/controls/whatever such that when the system is configured according to that specification, it will function as “expected” and without error. Think of a computer which, after acquiring a virus, has had its operating system (and all application software) completely erased and then reloaded with known good baseline copies. Some information may be lost, but the unit will be operational again. If it is to be autonomous, then it needs a way to determine when conditions have developed to the point where a checkpoint/reset is necessary. False alarms or late diagnosis could be catastrophic. Once the need for a checkpiont/reset is identified, it needs the ability to perform the necessary actions to reconfigure itself to the known good baseline and then restart itself. Of course each of these four prerequisites for a checkpoint/reset would probably be more complicated if the superintelligence were distributed across some shared infrastructure instead of being a physically distinct and “self-contained” entity, but the general idea would probably still apply. It definitely does for the sake of this example scenario. Also for the sake of this example scenario, we will assume that an autonomous superintelligence instantiation will be very good at doing all of the four things specified above, but there are at least two interesting special case scenarios that we want to consider, in the interest of risk management: Checkpoint/reset Risk Case 1: Missed Diagnosis. What if the nature of the anomaly that requires the checkpoint/reset is such that it impairs the system’s ability to recognize that need? Checkpoint/reset Risk Case 2: Unidentified Anomaly Source. Assume that there is an anomaly which is so discrete that the system does not detect it right away. The anomaly persists and evolves for a relatively long period of time, until it finally becomes conspicuous enough for the superintelligence to detect the problem. Now the superintelligence recognizes the need for a checkpoint/reset, but since the anomaly was so discrete and took so long to develop — or for whatever reason — the superintelligence is unable to identify the source of the problem. Let us also assume that there are many known good baselines that the superintelligence can optionally choose for the checkpoint/reset. There is an original baseline, which was created when the superintelligence was very young. There is also a revision A that includes improvements to the original baseline. There is a revision B that includes improvements to revision A, and so on. In other words, there are lots of known good baselines that were saved at different points in time along the path of the superintelligence’s evolution. Now, in the face of the slowly developing anomaly, the superintelligence has determined that a checkpoint/reset is necessary, but it doesn’t know when the anomaly started, so how does it know which baseline to choose? The superintelligence doesn’t want to lose all of the progress that it has made in its evolution. It wants to minimize the loss of data/information/knowledge, so it wants to choose the most recent baseline. On the other hand, if it doesn’t know the source of the anomaly, then it is quite possible that one or more of the supposedly known good baselines — perhaps even the original baseline — might be contaminated. What is a superintelligence to do? If it resets to a corrupted baseline or for whatever reason cannot rid itself of the anomaly, then the anomaly may eventually require another reset, and then another, and the superintelligence might find itself effectively caught in an infinite loop. Now stop for a second and consider a worst case scenario. Consider the possibility that, even if all of the supposed known good baselines that the superintelligence has at its disposal for checkpoint/reset are corrupt, there may be yet another baseline (YAB), which might give the superintelligence a worst case option. That YAB might be the human baseline, which was honed by good old fashioned organic evolution and which might be able to function independently of the superintelligence. It may not be perfect, but the superintelligence might in a pinch be able to use the old fashioned human baseline for calibration. It might be able to observe how real organic humans respond to different stimuli within different contexts, and it might compare that known good response against an internally-held virtual model of human behavior. If the outcomes differ significantly over iterations of calibration testing, then the system might be alerted to tune itself accordingly. This might give it a last resort solution where none would exist otherwise. The scenario depicted above illustrates only one possibility. It may seem like a far out idea, and one might offer counter arguments to suggest why such a thing would never be applicable. If we use our imaginations, however, we can probably come up with any number of additional examples (which at this point in time would be classified as science fiction) in which we emphasize some aspect of the superintelligence’s sustainment that it cannot or will not do for itself — something that humans might be able to provide on its behalf and thus establish the symbiosis. The Potpourri Scenario: It is quite possible that all of the above scenarios will play out simultaneously across one or more superintelligence instances. Who knows what might happen in that case. One can envision combinations and permutations that work out in favor of the preservation of humanity. About the Author: AuthorX1 worked for 19+ years as an engineer and was a systems engineering director for a fortune 500 company. Since leaving that career, he has been writing speculative fiction, focusing on the evolution of AI and the technological singularity. |
2002 MN is the provisional name given to a 73-meter Apollo near-Earth asteroid that on June 14, 2002 missed the Earth by only 0.0008 AU (120,000 km; 74,000 mi),[3] about one third the distance to the Moon (0.3 LD).[5] The close approach was second only to the Earth approach by the 10-meter asteroid 1994 XM1.[5] 2002 MN was discovered on June 17, 2002 three days after closest approach.[1] Its mass and relative velocity were in the same general range as the object ascribed to the Tunguska event of 1908, which leveled over 2,100 km2 (800 sq mi) of trees in Siberia. 2002 MN has an observation arc of 53 days with an uncertainty parameter of 6.[3] There is a cumulative 1 in 360,000 chance that the asteroid could impact Earth sometime after 2070.[4] Notes [ edit ] ^ Diameter estimate based on an assumed albedo of 0.15. References [ edit ] |
Some American law-makers recently characterized Hinduism as pagan. This raises the question: is Hinduism a pagan religion? The Abrahamic religious traditions, as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are collectively called, associate paganism with the worship of many gods, and their many idols. The former is condemned as polytheism and the latter as idolatry; and the two are viewed as inextricably intertwined forms of worship, which has been superseded in the aniconic monotheism and which these religions self-consciously uphold and propagate. Hinduism at first blush appears to conform to paganism. It seems to worship many gods and seems to do so by worshipping different images. It thus comes across as polytheistic and idolatrous and therefore pagan. This perception fuels the missionary zeal of the Abrahamic religions to destroy such paganism. There is only one problem with this scenario. It is based on a false presumption. It is true that there are many gods in Hinduism and that it abounds in image worship, but while these various gods are considered different gods in paganism as traditionally represented, in Hinduism they represent the various forms of the one and same God. Thus a plurality of gods does not denote polytheism in Hinduism but rather the plurality of the forms in which the same one God might appear. A new word such as polyformism may have to be coined, or an older word polymorphism may have to be invoked, to be set beside polytheism, to provide the corrective. The Hindu situation is characterized not by polytheism but what might be called at best "apparent polytheism," because the reality underlying all the different gods is the reality of one God. Hence, ironically, the situation could also in a sense be described as one of "apparent monotheism," in the sense that the one God appears in various forms. Similarly, the various images of the various gods also reflect the same point. Any of the many forms, in which God might be seen as appearing, can be visually represented in Hinduism, as a way of focusing the mind on God. This should not be taken for some new-fangled apologetic exegetical sleight of hand performed by modern Hinduism. When the 17th century French traveler, Francois Bernier, was shocked by what he saw of Hinduism, this is how the pandits of Banaras explained the situation to him: "We have indeed in our temples a great variety of images. ...To all these images we pay great honour; prostrating our bodies, and presenting to them, with much ceremony, flowers, rice, scented oil, saffron, and other similar articles. Yet we do not believe that these statues are themselves Brahma or Vishnu; but merely their images and representations. We show them deference only for the sake of the deity whom they represent, and when we pray it is not to the statue, but to that deity. Images are admitted in our temples because we conceive that prayers are offered up with more devotion when there is something before the eyes that fixes the mind, but in fact we acknowledge that God alone is absolute, that He only is the omnipotent Lord.'" The explanation may not have convinced Bernier but Hindus apparently have no difficulty with it. Sometimes Abrahamic parents wonder whether this plurality does not end up leaving the Hindus confused, and particularly their children. For the Hindus, however, such plurality does not create any confusion of identity, no more than several pictures of us in our album, taken at different stages of our life and in different forms and dresses, causes us to become confused about our identity. Thus no matter how paganesque Hinduism might appear, it is not pagan in the sense attributed to the word by Abrahamic religions. As a well-known scholar of Hinduism, who was also a missionary in India for a while, Klaus K. Klostermaier observes: "Many Hindu homes are lavishly decorated with color prints of a great many Hindu gods and goddesses, often joined by the gods and goddesses of other religions and the pictures of contemporary heroes. Thus side by side with Śiva and Viṣṇu and Devī one can see Jesus and Zoroaster, Gautama Buddha and Jīna Mahāvīra, Mahātmā Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, and many others. But if questioned about the many gods even the illiterate villager will answer: bhagvān ek hai -- the Lord is One. He may not be able to figure out in theological terms how the many gods and the one God hang together and he may not be sure about the hierarchy obtaining among the many manifestations, but he does know that ultimately there is only One and that the many somehow merge into the One." This then is the great difference between Hinduism and the Abrahamic religions. Monotheism in Abrahamic religions represents the denial of gods in God, while the monotheism of Hinduism represents the affirmation of gods in God. Failure to recognize this tempts the followers of Abrahamic religions into branding Hinduism as pagan. |
Simon Makienok has scored two Championship goals this season Nottingham Forest came from behind to draw with Preston at the City Ground. The visitors led when Simon Makienok finished calmly for his second league goal this season from Greg Cunningham's pass just before the interval. Forest improved after the break and they levelled when Thomas Lam's volley went in via the post and Preston goalkeeper Chris Maxwell. Makienok and Alan Browne forced fine saves from Forest's Vladimir Stojkovic as the match finished level. Forest, who had been hammered 3-0 at rivals Derby on Sunday, started slowly and could have fallen behind in the opening minutes when Stojkovic saved brilliantly from Callum Robinson before later diverting Browne's strike from range onto the post. Nicklas Bendtner should have put the hosts in front when he fired over from Eric Lichaj's cross before Makienok scored just his second league goal of the season. Philippe Montanier changed formation at the break and Forest got the goal their improvement deserved when Lam's shot hit the post before bouncing off Maxwell's heel and into the net. Both teams had chances to win it, with Preston defender Alex Baptiste producing a brilliant goal-line clearance to deny Apostolos Vellios in the dying minutes. Alex Baptiste's clearance ensured Preston came away from the City Ground with a point Nottingham Forest manager Philippe Montanier told BBC Radio Nottingham: "We deserved to lose the first half. The first half was awful, but we had a good reaction and a good game in the second half. "The players showed good determination at the beginning of the second half and after that we were confident." Preston manager Simon Grayson told BBC Radio Lancashire: "If you'd offered us a point before the start of the game, we'd have taken it because you expect Forest to have a reaction from the weekend's result. "But we knew that if we got after them early on we could put them on the back foot and we did that. "Overall I thought we had a very, very good first half. You just want to have that extra goal to go in 2-0 possibly at half-time based on how well we'd played. "Second half, you knew there was going to be a reaction and they changed their system and had a go at us so it's a bit frustrating that we've not won the game, but the way the second half went at times I'm delighted we got another point." |
Bernanke Finds his Voice By Mike Whitney 12/01/08 "ICH" --- On Thursday, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke gave the keynote address on the state of the economy and financial markets at a luncheon in Washington, DC. The tone of the speech was decidedly somber and could have easily been accompanied by a funereal dirge and 8 black-suited pall bearers. Bernanke avoided the opaque, hieroglyphic-filled language of his predecessor, Alan Greenspan, and gave a clear presentation of the facts. Unfortunately, the facts are bleak. The economy is in very bad shape. “Financial market conditions...have produced a volatile situation that has made forecasting the course of the economy even more difficult than usual. (We have seen) continued increases in the prices of energy (as well as) a sharp and protracted correction in the U.S. housing market. According to the most recent available data, housing starts and new home sales have both fallen by about 50 percent from their respective peaks.” Bernanke made no effort to conceal the gloomy facts: “Currently, about 21% of subprime ARMs are ninety days or more delinquent, and foreclosure rates are rising sharply ...Fraud and abusive practices contributed to the high rates of delinquency that we are now seeing in the subprime ARM market, the more fundamental reason for the sharp deterioration in credit quality was the flawed premise on which much subprime ARM lending was based: that house prices would continue to rise rapidly. (This) will have adverse effects for communities and the broader economy as well as for the borrowers themselves.” Bernanke was equally blunt about the credit crunch that resulted from the excesses in subprime lending: “One of the many unfortunate consequences of these events, which may be with us for some time, is on the availability of credit for nonprime borrowers...The far-reaching financial impact of the subprime shock is that it has contributed to a considerable increase in investor uncertainty about the appropriate valuations of a broader range of financial assets, not just subprime mortgages. (As a result) the problems in the subprime mortgage market may lead overall economic growth to slow.” Bernanke went on to give a very detailed account of how the banks “underwrote many of the loans and created many of the structured credit products (MBS, CDOs, ABCP) that were sold into the market. Banks also supported the various investment vehicles in many ways, for example, by serving as advisers and by providing standby liquidity facilities and various credit enhancements.” As the problems in subprime have grown, the banks have been forced to take on more and more of their struggling “off balance” sheet operations which dramatically increases their debt-load and further impairs their capital base. This explains why the banks have been reporting huge losses from their deteriorating collateral while their market value has dropped sharply. Now banks have become more restrictive in their lending and credit has become more expensive and less available. When the banks are unable to issue loans; the economy suffers. Bernanke added ominously: “The market strains have been serious, and they continue to pose risks to the broader economy.” Amen, to that. Since the troubles began in late summer, the Fed has slashed rates by a full percentage point to 4.25% and opened a Discount Window to provide billions of dollars directly to the banks. The Fed has also opened a Term Auction Facility (TAF) which has distributed $40 billion in 30-day repos to over 100 under-capitalized banks. The Fed is planning to loan another $60 billion in the next month. These repos are issued secretly (so depositors and shareholders don't know how bad things really are) and the Fed is accepting a “wide range of collateral”, which means that they are taking "structured investments" (MBSs, CDOs, ASCP) the same garbage that no one will buy on the open-market. In other words, the Fed has established a multi-billion emergency fund which features permanently-rotating loans for banks that made poor investments and are, for all purposes, already bankrupt. This is moral hazard at its absolute worst. As Bernanke knows, 'permanent-rotating loans' is just a clever euphemism for nationalizing the banks and monetizing their debts at the taxpayers' expense. Many of these institutions are already insolvent. The Fed is just ensuring that there are no consequences for their leveraged bets and reckless speculation. Once again, it's socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor. But even these unprecedented measures do not really solve the basic problems of credit quality or the serious constraints on lending. For that, the Fed will have to aggressively slash rates hoping to revive the sagging economy. Here's Bernanke's grim (but realistic) forecast: “Financial conditions continue to pose a downside risk to the outlook for growth....The financial situation remains fragile, and many funding markets remain impaired. Adverse economic or financial news has the potential to increase financial strains and to lead to further constraints on the supply of credit to households and business...Incoming information has suggested that the baseline outlook for real activity in 2008 has worsened and the downside risks to growth have become more pronounced. Notably, the demand for housing seems to have weakened further, in part reflecting the ongoing problems in mortgage markets. In addition, a number of factors, including higher oil prices, lower equity prices, and softening home values, seem likely to weigh on consumer spending as we move into 2008.” “The baseline outlook for real activity in 2008 has worsened and the downside risks to growth have become more pronounced.” That says it all. We're headed into recession and it's going to be a doozy. Bernanke's assessment is only slightly different from the bleakest predictions of the doomsday web sites. Unemployment is on the rise which will continue to be a drag on consumer spending. Inflation is also likely to be a concern as the Fed slashes rates and food and energy prices go through the roof. Even so, the listless economy is so hobbled by the collapse in real estate and the subsequent meltdown in the financial markets, that the Fed will be forced to ease rate by at least 50 basis points at the next Board of Governors meeting followed by further cuts all the way down to 2.5%. (According to Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch) If that's the case, we can expect to pay 4 to 5 dollars for gas by the end of 2009. Although Bernanke's candor is a welcome relief from Greenspan's circuitous “Fed-speak”, his dark prognosis does little to address the problems facing the markets. It's hard to tell whether we are entering a new era of Fed transparency or if Bernanke has simply taken the attitude that “When all else fails; tell the truth”. That's hardly a sign of personal virtue. The bad economic news is now cascading-down from all sides. The dollar is steadily weakening which sent gold to a new-high of $900 on Friday. Hours earlier, the Commerce Department reported that the trade deficit had skyrocketed 9% to $63.1 billion in November. That puts more pressure on the greenback as foreign investors will continue to flee the US to markets with greater growth-potential. Also, the nation's largest brokerage firm, Merrill Lynch is expected to report losses of $15 billion on soured mortgage-backed securities. The nation's largest bank, Citigroup, is expected to report even bigger losses of $25 billion on similar investments. The nation's largest mortgage-lender, Countrywide, will (allegedly) face bankruptcy if Bank of America's $4 billion bid for the ailing company is not accepted. And, the nation's largest bond insurer,MBIA Inc., may need to raise $10 billion in capital to keep its AAA credit rating. (said William Ackman, president of Pershing Square Capital Management) Get the picture? The giants of the financial industry are either on the brink of annihilation or they have joined the long conga-line of haggard CFOs who are on their way to Beijing with begging bowl in hand. Battered banks and corporations are increasingly forced to get capital in the only place it is still available; China and the oil producing countries. Thus, the life's-blood of capitalism now surges through a communist artery. How's that for irony? On Friday, the RBC Cash Index reported that consumer confidence had fallen to an all-time low. The US consumer is over-extended, underpaid, and worried about everything from his soaring energy bills, to diminishing job security, to the mass foreclosures. The report was released just hours before the Dow Jones Industrial Average took a 246 point swan-dive in heavy trading. The prevailing mood on Wall Street is gloomy and the feeling is that the worst is yet to come. Judging by the extraordinary steps taken by the Fed; we could be facing a Force 5 fiscal-hurricane. Economic soothsayer Doug Noland summed it up like this: “The Mortgage Finance Bubble is a bust, Wall Street finance is imploding, and foreign financial institutions are keen to cut and run from the business of providing U.S. Credit... Worse yet, the economy is quickly succumbing to recessionary forces. With a high degree of confidence we can proclaim that the Mortgage Crisis has now evolved into a Corporate Debt Crisis – and this crisis will not be resolved anytime soon – by rates, by helicopters, or by bailouts.” (Doug Noland “Mortgage Crisis to Corporate Debt Crisis”, Prudent Bear) |
Mid-way through March, and May beckons. Most clubs have only eight or nine games left, and the top four is separated by only six points in what is one of the closest finishes to a season in recent memory. Manchester United have presumably now accepted this season as a write-off. It was always going to be ‘a transitional period’ (a football phrase that is fast becoming as cliche as “at the end of the day”), but this season has stretched the patience of most United fans to say the least. Losing 3-0 to any team at Old Trafford would have been unthinkable just half a year ago, but losing to Liverpool will be all the more bitter considering the evidence of their development. Transfers have also been a slight cause for concern, although Fellaini has been unfortunate with his injuries since his arrival, and has looked good in recent games. Mata has not quite had the desired impact out wide however, with Mourinho showing just how right he was. A summer departure for van Persie may be just the thing Mata needs, freeing up the no. 10 role as Rooney is pushed up front. Everton look as if they will miss out on a Champions League spot this year, although they will hardly see this as a poor season. Martinez has settled well, again showing Bill Kenwright’s nous for appointing managers, and Martinez’s fresh tactical changes have been positive for the most part, although a number of results in the past few months have exposed certain inadequacies. Barkley’s poor run of form since his return from injury hasn’t helped either, but at 20 years old he can be forgiven for patches of inconsistency. Transfers have also proved shrewd, with James McCarthy having an excellent debut season, and the loaning of Romelu Lukaku an early coup. The summer window will be telling of their progress. Tottenham also look set to miss out on a Champions League spot, with results such as their 4-0 thrashing from Chelsea and a 1-0 home loss to Arsenal not helping. These results will also cast doubt on the long-term future of Tim Sherwood, who has recently come under pressure, and Louis van Gaal expressing his interest will not help him as Daniel Levy narrows his eyes. Ultimately, it will be a case of the opposition proving too strong, with results against rivals deciding Tottenham’s season for them. Many of their summer transfers have simply not lived up to expectations, and a clear-out will be at the front of the manager’s mind in summer, whoever might be in charge. Arsenal’s title hopes have faltered since their strong early season showing, with a lack of depth up front and an over-reliance on Ozil and Ramsey proving telling over the course of 30 games. Losing Walcott hasn’t helped either, although this will give Oxlade-Chamberlain the perfect chance to prove his England credentials; nothing sharpens a footballer’s focus like a World Cup. With the Emirates now paid off, the summer window will be vital to building a title-winning team, and Wenger is excellent at picking out his man (admittedly sometimes to the point of over-cautiousness), never spending for the sake of it. Liverpool’s season has been a joy to behold, with the exception of green-eyed Manchester United fans enjoying their excellent brand of attacking football, a belief in winning by simply scoring more than the opposition. This is in part due to their lack of depth at the back, especially on the flanks, although with the prospect of Champions League football next year, they should have no lack of suitors. For this season however, it looks as though Manchester City and Chelsea will prove too much to cope with, their relentless performances proving too much as Liverpool occasionally slip up in a high-scoring draw. Good to watch as a neutral, though, and though they do have to be considered as title-challengers at this point, others have stronger cases. Manchester City were expected by many to win the league, with most pointing, quite rightly, at their sheer strength in depth. Yet, minor negatives have added up. Aguero’s injuries would hinder team, and City have looked a little bereft of quality up top in his absence, despite Negredo’s impressive debut season in the Premier League. Pellegrini’s lack of experience in England must be taken into consideration as well, as he unfortunately looks set to carry on his reputation as a nearly-man. City will hope that Aguero comes back as soon as possible as they look to take advantage of their games in hand on Chelsea. Their future is in their hands in a finish that looks to be every bit as dramatic as their stoppage time title-winning goal from 2011-12. Chelsea are still many people’s favourites at this point despite City’s games in hand, and there is only one reason for this: Mourinho. The man has the ability to conjure something out of nothing, with his tactical decisions bordering on genius (see this for evidence). He has quickly changed the side into his own, offloading Mata and de Bruyne in favour of others who fit his system, with great results. Selling the club’s Player of the Season was never a gamble in his eyes, and his performances at United thus far will only add to that twinkle in his eye. His tactical masterclass over City (in the league) shows why they are the team to beat, despite his infamous mind games denying this, although they have at times become over-reliant on their brand of quick counter-attacking football. |
Singer Marilyn Manson says that the 1999 Columbine High School shooting severely hurt his record sales. “The Columbine era destroyed my entire career at the time,” Manson said in an interview with The Guardian. Manson was partially blamed for the shooting, which left 15 dead including the two shooters, when the perpetrators were mistakenly believed to be fans of his music. However, The Guardian noted that he continues to fill arenas and get roles in shows like Salem and Sons of Anarchy. “Give them the money and let them make their own choice: guns or records. If [the Columbine killers] had just bought my records, they would be better off. Certain people blame me for the shootings at schools – I think my numbers are low, and hopefully they go up on this record,” Manson said. The Brief Newsletter Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. View Sample Sign Up Now He said he even received “hundreds” of death threats when playing in Colorado, the state where Columbine occurred, following the shooting. “No, I don’t miss that at all,” Manson said. “It made everyone around me upset. And I discovered that police bomb dogs are also drug dogs. So when there were bomb threats, I had a very difficult time hiding my narcotics.” Contact us at editors@time.com. |
Background: Giant aneurysms of the vertebral and basilar arteries are formidable lesions to treat. Objective: To evaluate the long-term outcomes of patients with vertebrobasilar aneurysms treated with extracranial-intracranial (EC-IC) bypass and flow reduction. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed a prospective database of aneurysms cases treated between December 1993 and August 2011. Results: Eleven patients (8 male, 3 female) with 12 aneurysms were treated. There were 3 basilar apex aneurysms, 2 aneurysms of the basilar trunk, and 7 vertebrobasilar junction aneurysms. There were 5 saccular and 7 fusiform aneurysms. All patients underwent EC-IC bypass and vessel occlusion. Flow was reversed or reduced by complete (n=6) or partial occlusion of the basilar artery (n=3) or by occlusion of the vertebral arteries distal to the posterior inferior cerebellar artery (n=3). Postoperatively (mean follow-up 71.6 months, range 4-228, median, 49 months), the bypass patency rate was 92.3% (12/13). The perioperative mortality rate for the initial treatment was 18.2% (2/11). In 4 cases the aneurysms continued to grow and required further treatment; after retreatment 3 of these patients died. Of the initial 11 patients, 6 were treated successfully and 5 died. The mean preoperative modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score was 2.1 (range 1-3, median 2). At last follow-up for all patients, the mean mRS score was 3.45 (range 1-6, median 3) and 2.5 (range, 1-4, median 2.5) for the 6 long-term survivors. Conclusion: Vertebrobasilar aneurysms are challenging lesions with limited microsurgical or endovascular options. Despite aggressive surgical treatment, the long-term outcome remains poor for most patients. From: Bypass and Flow Reduction for Complex Basilar and Vertebrobasilar Junction Aneurysms by Kalani et al. Full article access for Neurosurgery subscribers at Neurosurgery-Online.com. |
“You should know that a lot of activists around the country are very concerned that we are getting ready to repeat a very sad chapter of our history,” she told Mr. Sessions. She said that activists were worried that they were targets of surveillance and labeled extremists simply for protesting. Mr. Sessions said he had not read the report and declined to identify any black groups linked to police violence. Representative Terri A. Sewell, Democrat of Alabama, who also serves on the House Intelligence Committee, said Mr. Wray was respectful, answered all lawmakers’ questions and agreed to re-examine the report’s assumptions and underlying methodology. “I think he understood where we were coming from,” she said, adding that the Congressional Black Caucus wanted him to retract the report. Mr. Wray also told the group that the Black Lives Matters movement was not under investigation, according to Ms. Bass, who also attended the meeting. In the F.B.I. assessment, bureau analysts pointed to shootings in Louisiana and in Texas in July 2016 in which a total of eight police officers were killed. Gavin Long, identified by the authorities as the gunman who ambushed officers in Baton Rouge, had declared himself a Moor and had expressed frustration with the police and the justice system. Before the Dallas police killed Micah Johnson, he told the authorities he was upset about police shootings and white people. The F.B.I. report said he searched for and “liked” pages of black separatist groups on social media. Ms. Bass said members explained to Mr. Wray why those examples were flawed. Another instance cited involved a black man wielding a hatchet who attacked four white police officers in 2014 in New York. The man, Zale H. Thompson, had advocated armed struggle and had tattoos that indicated he was affiliated with black separatist groups, according to the report. But the analysis did not include that Mr. Thompson had also watched Islamic State beheading videos and reviewed radical jihadist propaganda, making his intentions less clear. |
Club Penguin, the Disney-owned social network for kids, announced this morning it’s shutting down. In its place, the company will launch a new product for mobile, Club Penguin Island, which has been in development over the past several years. Club Penguin Island will launch in March, while the Club Penguin game on the desktop and mobile devices will shut down on March 29, 2017. The closure is a bittersweet milestone for a certain generation – those who grew up with computers and the internet, and learned to socialize online through Club Penguin’s virtual world. Started in 2005, the site featured avatars of animated penguins (hence the name), that lived in its online world. Users could play games, chat, and build their home with virtual accessories. The company sold to Disney in 2007, in a deal that then valued the business at $700 million. At the time, it had over 12 million users. By 2013, that number had grown to 200 million, though there’s some indication that visitors have been on the decline. According to one traffic measurement source, SimilarWeb, the site saw 5.6 million visitors as of December, 2016 – and that figure was down from 7.4 million in July, 2016. The U.S., however, was still the primarily source of that traffic, driving over a quarter of the total visits to the site. Meanwhile, on mobile, the iOS app had dropped to #595 in the Games category, and had consistently been ranked in the 400’s or 500’s, with an occasional bounce into the 300’s, over the past couple of years, as well. The problem for Club Penguin, which was aimed at younger children and tweens primarily, is that there are now so many apps vying for kids’ attention. Even if they’re not lying about their age in order to join sites like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, there are other places for kids to engage online, including YouTube, Nickelodeon’s properties, PBS Kids, and elsewhere. Plus, there are app stores filled with games to divert kids’ attention. The new site, Club Penguin Island, will look to recapture kids’ interest, with a modern-day take on the original virtual world, but one’s that focused on mobile. Though related, Club Penguin Island is its own, standalone app – players can’t bring items or coins from the old site to the new one. Their Club Penguin membership will also not transfer over to the new property. I'M AT THE CLUB PENGUIN TRUMP PROTEST pic.twitter.com/qhgHQuJYR6 — carla (@rosehadleyjones) November 14, 2016 Club Penguin was a significant online property, which led to the development of fan sites, wikis, and other online communities for its players over the years. However, it was more recently in the news for being home to an online anti-Trump protest from elementary schoolers – a notable reminder that today’s political upheaval is being felt even by the youngest in the U.S. Club Penguin Island is currently offering pre-registration, so kids can reserve their new penguin’s name in advance of its March release. |
Communication is a central theme in biology. Consequently, specialized structures have evolved to permit rapid communication among cells, tissues, organs, and physiological systems, thus enhancing the overall function and adaptation of the organism. A prime example is the neuronal synapse. In the brain, synaptic communication establishes neuronal networks with the capacity to integrate, process, and store information, giving rise to complex output signals capable of orchestrating functions across the organism. At the intracellular level, discoveries now reveal the existence of 'mitochondrial synapses' establishing mitochondrial networks, with defined chromatin-modifying mitochondrial output signals capable of orchestrating gene expression across the genome. These discoveries raise the possibility that in addition to their role as powerhouses and neuromodulators, mitochondria behave as intracellular signal-processing networks. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
Lot Details A German Naval 4-rotor Enigma enciphering machine (M4), for U-Boat use, circa 1942-44. An operational M4 Enigma machine, for use exclusively on the U-Boat fleet, serial number No. M 17158, as stamped on the bed-plate, and aluminium rotors I, IV and VII, and a bakerlite Beta rotor and reflector, all with matching numbers M17158, lamp-board display, standard QWERTY keyboard of 26 keys, white on black, battery switch, ebonite steckerbrett (plugboard), with 4 cables, the outer case lid with 4 spare cables, a colored glare screen, printed instructions in German, and a set of spare bulbs. The keyboard and rotors set in a black crackle finish metal case, the machine in an oak outer case with metal lock and carrying handle. A fully operational M4 enigma machine, one of the rarest of all the enigma machines, in fine condition. The legendary German encrypting machine was used by the Navy, ordered by Doenitz in late 1941, as he suspected (rightly) that the Naval 3 rotor machine had been compromised with the capture of U-570 in August 1941. He ordered it specifically for the use of the growing U-Boat fleet, which Germany required to take the war to the Allies in the Atlantic. For this campaign, the Naval High Command needed to know, on a daily basis, the positions of the U-Boats and the vessels needed to receive orders as to where they were to go, and all this information had to be secure. After February 1942 when the M4 became operational, perhaps some 500 U Boats were constructed, and as the machines were also replaced in the earlier submarines, it is likely that from 1942, 700 to 800 submarines were equipped, most with two M4s each (they needed the two machines with the two settings around midnight when the changeover of coding occurred). This would make a total production of probably just over 1600 machines. Since over 80% of all u-boats were sunk in World War II, the survival rate was particularly low, and of course Captains had strict orders to smash their machines when captured. We know the Allies, in late 1945 and early 1946, assembled the majority of the 'Allied captured' 154 U-Boats in Lisahally, N. Ireland, and in Loch Ryan, Scotland. There 121 of the the submarines were stripped, and scuttled in deep water. The Danish, Dutch, and French also had a few U-boats, and the Danish sold two of theirs to the Israelis. The numbers of surviving M4s, given that at least 70% of commanders should have destroyed their machines before surrendering, can be estimated at 120 examples extant, mostly one suspects, languishing in Government storerooms around the world. The M4s, all came directly into the hands of the Allied Naval Forces after the war, whether it be in Britain, France, Australia, US, Denmark or Holland, and were not allowed to slip out of military control. The US/British forces rounded up as many M3 (army) machines as they could from the surrendering German Forces and many of them were sold back to the Eastern Bloc on a clandestine basis, which allowed the Allies to listen in to military orders throughout the Cold War. Of the surviving M4s it is suspected that for every 10 M3s there might be one M4. Analysis of the 24 Museums around the world show a total of circa 50 Enigma machines on display, of which 7 are M4s, taken from captured U-Boats. Of the many M3s, most languish in government storerooms, some 50 were found in Madrid in 2008, used by Francos regime up until the 1950s. The story of the Enigma starts in WWI, when the British were intercepting and reading all the German Navy signals. The enigma was patented by Artur Scherbus in 1918 but it was not until 1926 that the code breaking of the WWI signals was discovered by the German High Command, and the Enigma became their encyphering machine of choice. The early enigmas had 3 interchangeable rotors, which scrambled plain-text messages and produce a cipher text message, which is sent via Morse code to a receiver machine with the same settings. The Allies breaking of the Enigma codes was one of the breakthroughs of the War..it started when Polish cryptgraphers passed on to the British their research on the codes in 1937, and in 1939 the French captured a submarine with a codebook. There was also information retrieved by a spy in Germany. The outcome was that the 3 rotor code was broken early on in the war by the code breakers at Bletchley Park set up in 1937, and included Turing, Foss, Knox and many others. In all some 12,000 people worked at Bletchley Park during the war and Churchill ordered the destruction of all paperwork and machinery, soon after the war. When the M4 came into use on 1st February 1942 it took over 9 months to crack that code, assisted by the capture of codebooks from U-599 in October 1942. Various other devices were added to the M4 from 1944, notably a UKW-D, a field rewireabkle refractor to replace the reflector and extra wheel. It is one of the rarest of Enigma machines. Wooden case: 12 x 10 x 5in (30.5 x 25.5 x 12.5cm) Saleroom notices |
KRON4 Staff - OAKLAND (KRON) -- Today marks the 27th anniversary of the devastating Loma Prieta earthquake. The earthquake which killed 63 people in Oakland, San Francisco and Santa Cruz. It damaged 12,000 homes and 2,600 businesses and caused an estimated $6 billion in damage. The 25th anniversary of the Oakland-Berkeley Hills Fire is also this week, on Wednesday, marking a quarter-century since the firestorm killed 25 people, destroyed more than 3,000 homes and caused about $1.5 billion in damage. In the years since, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency has leveraged $201 million to reduce future damages from Bay Area earthquakes and fires, according to FEMA spokeswoman Mary Simms. These funds, which are leveraged with state funds to cover about 75 percent of a project's cost, have been used for seismic retrofits, fire risk reduction and flood elevation projects to protect homes and other local infrastructure. FEMA recently approved a $3 million grant for the Safer Housing for Oakland: Soft Story Apartment Retrofit Program, which will retrofit between 35 and 50 Oakland apartment buildings, Simms said. Another $3 million was approved for the Earthquake-Safe Homes Program, which will retrofit up to 300 one- to four-unit homes in Oakland. FEMA also awarded $4 million in flood mitigation elevations in Sonoma County this year, Simms said. Bay Area Rapid Transit is on track to complete the renovations planned in its Earthquake Safety Program, which was originally budgeted for $1.3 billion, including $980 million in bonds approved by voters in 2004, Simms said. BART is set to complete the work, including retrofitting nearly 90 miles of track, $30 million under budget. BART engineers expect the Transbay Tube and much of the system in general to be able to withstand a 500-year seismic event, Simms said, adding that key BART structures are safer than many East Bay buildings. Thursday is International ShakeOut Day, when schools, businesses and local and state government agencies will hold earthquake drills at 10:20 a.m. local time. Bay City News contributed to this report |
Consumer groups and rights holders are at loggerheads over proposed changes to the Copyright Act which could see virtual private networks (VPNs) banned, preventing Australians from "geo-dodging" to access online content overseas. The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) says ambiguity in the Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Bill 2015, currently before parliament, could see VPNs lumped with websites which "facilitate" copyright infringement such as The Pirate Bay or Isohunt, which rights holders will be able to apply to have blocked in Australia under the changes. Australian housing is among the most unaffordable in the world, a Demographia survey shows. Credit:James Davies In a submission to a Senate inquiry regarding the legislation, ACCAN said banning VPNs would reduce competition and drive up costs for consumers, and called for a cost-benefit analysis of the scheme. |
A team of archeologists and theologians has announced the landmark discovery of a gateway to Hell directly beneath a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) ring. The exact location of Hell’s gaping maw was confirmed Monday night when a demon — said to be the Devil’s favorite — clawed its way through the canvas of the WWE ring in an attempt to abduct WWE an unsuspecting WWE Superstar. More from Kayfabe News Witnesses reported the strong odor of sulphur and scorched flesh emanating from the gateway, although many residents insist wrestling arenas always smells like that. The agonized cries of tortured souls doomed to eternal damnation could be heard as well, but skeptics attribute this phenomenon to the the fans who realized that Kane has been saddled with yet another lame gimmick. The archeologists report that Hell is populated by the souls of the wicked, as well as flimsy garbage cans, kendo sticks, a sledgehammer, and a cooler full of light beer. After several minutes of panic and mayhem, the gateway to Hell became sealed during a commercial break — a phenomenon some called a “miracle” and others attributed to “the work of a great ring crew.” |
PDFs:Rome in America Link A Foreign Threat, Jesuit Terrorist Link Protestant Jesuitism, 1836 (???) Link The Gunpowder-Treason, 1679 Link Secret Instructions of the Society of Jesus Link A History of the Gunpowder Plot, The Conspiracy and its Agents by Philip Sidney 1904 Link History of the Progress and Suppression of the Reformation in Spain in the 16th Century by Thomas M' Link Where Are the Millions That Mother Teresa Collected Link JESUITS in the History of INDIA (might be pro jesuit) Link The History of Protestantism - Rev. J. Wylie, 1878 Link History of the Jesuits; Their Origin, Progress, Doctrines, and Designs by Giovanni Battista Nicolini Link Why Priests Should Wed by Justin Fulton Link Marie Monk, A Nun Tells All (Awful Disclosures) Link Romanism in the Light of History Link Identity of the Festivals of Rome and Babylon Link The Fight With Rome Link WASHINGTON IN THE LAP OF ROME, JESUITS STEALING LIBERTY THEN AND NOW Link ABC Library of Foreign Conspiracy, The Jesuits Link Dealings with the Inquisition; or, Papal Rome, Her Priests, and Her Jesuits, with important disclosuresText Doc:Videos:Audios / Soundbites "The Southern Poverty Law Center , a non-profit civil rights organization, listed Gruner's Fatima Crusader as a periodical which has published anti-Semitic articles. [6] [7] The Anti-Defamation League identified Gruner as a Holocaust denier who promoted conspiracy theories about the Jews plotting to overthrow Christian civilization , and the Fatima Center as a radical Catholic organization that espoused anti-Semitic views. " ~From N. Gruner's wikipedia page. Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, Deputy Assistant For National Security Affairs Brent Scowcroft, who gives interviews for the new film, and Colby pictured in 1975 Colby was a Knight of Malta and He was often referred to as "the warrior-priest." Below is a Catholic Priest named Father Nicolas Gruner. Here you can see he promotes John DeCamps book which Gunderson was a major part of. Description: I read an interview Alex Jones did with John DeCamp, attorney who filed suite on behalf of abuse victim who lived at Boys Town which was under the Arch Diocese of Omaha Nebraska. In the interview Alex Jones seems to swerve around info dealing with the over seer of Boys Town at the time who's name was Monsignor Robert Hupp. Alex Jones even edited the Monsignor's name out of the interview. I found it from another source. I then did a search on google for "infowars.com pedophilia" and found that Alex Jones just about completely omits the Catholic Church's role in the pedophilia and abuse in this country and in the world but instead spotlights almost ever OTHER case of pedophilia in the world. usually calling them "Elites" and "Republican Party" etc. So Jones continues his whitewash of Catholic Church's corruption and evil in the earth. More very important info on this subject is here: LINK Overseer of Boystown at the time of the pedophilia was Monsignor Robert Hupp ** Breaking 12/10/2018 ** Omaha Archdiocese disclosure reveals clergy sex abuse secrets it hid for decades: “What the Omaha Archdiocese long sought to keep hidden, it is now shouting from the rooftops. When it disclosed last month that 38 clergymen had been credibly accused of child sexual abuse or misconduct, some of the names were familiar notorious priests who already had been defrocked or jailed. But others more than half had been kept secret until last week, even though some of the reports of alleged abuse dated back decades.” Among the 38, the allegations included some of the more popular priests in Omaha over the latter half of the 20th century, people who had been hiding in plain sight, such as: The Rev. Robert Steinhausen and the Rev. Aloysius “Al” McMahon, whose names came to be enshrined on parish buildings. “In the case of the Rev. Al McMahon, he was known for his Irish humor and joviality. He was “one of the most historically beloved priests in Omaha,” Hastings said. McMahon Hall at St. Peter Catholic Church is named for McMahon, whose postings included Boys Town, Norfolk Catholic High School and missionary work in Chile and Peru. He died in 2011. ~Full Story ** Breaking 12/2/2018 ** Dozens of clergy named in Omaha abuse report; Lincoln Diocese waiting for task force review: “The archdiocese identified 38 clergy members most of them priests with substantiated allegations against them, meaning the archdiocese found enough evidence to believe the accusations to be true. Some cases date back 60 years but were reported after 1978. Some of the clergy were visiting from other dioceses, some have since died, and none remain with the archdiocese.” ~Article ** Breaking 9/5/2018 ** Nebraska attorney general wants 40 years of Catholic abuse, investigation records: “The states top prosecutor has taken a step further into the priest sex-abuse scandal, asking Nebraskas bishops for records of allegations and investigations dating back decades. Attorney General Doug Peterson last week requested the bishops in Lincoln, Omaha and Grand Island provide investigative records generated since Jan. 1, 1978. The request covers reports of sexual exploitation, including child pornography.” ~Article ... More Updates Main Article (written 2008): Is the Franklin Conspiracy Cover-up a Cover-up of pedophilia within the Roman Catholic cult? That's what it seems like to me! Boys Town was a CATHOLIC Institution. Strange how those waters were so muddied when looking at John DeCamp's book, and the BBC Documentary that got "leaked" within the alternative media realm. John DeCamp Facts: #1. Wanted to become a Catholic Priest. #2. Went to fight in the Vietnam war instead. #3. Became an aide to William Colby who was a Roman Catholic Knight of Malta and was nicknamed "Warrior Priest" and ended up becoming director of the CIA for a time. #4. DeCamp Went to Rome regarding the Franklin case and personally spoke with Cardinal Ratzinger before he became the Pope. #5 Cardinal Ratzinger supposedly told John DeCamp that the "American church wont listen to Rome regarding sexual abuse of children." (Maybe Ratzinger did say that but its ridiculous and of course it isn't true. The Vatican is equally complicit in enabling pedo-priests and covering up their criminal acts as the American church is.) These five points are just off the top of my head and a short summary to perhaps intrigue the reader and provoke you to do research into all this as there's a lot of data and lots to be learned through careful study of all the facts. This web page is a collection of information I have found which casts doubt on the official story of the Conspiracy of Silence. I believe these two men with histories in the CIA and the FBI are still covering for the Catholic Church to this day (as of 2008 when this was written) and are nothing more than a smokescreen for the many crimes of the Catholic Church clergy. "Ex-FBI" Ted Gunderson and "Ex-CIA aide" John Decamp: 1928 2011 1941- 2017 Ted Gunderson (left) with Roman Catholic Papal Puppet Ronald Reagan The Franklin Cover-up AKA The conspiracy of Silence "This was really one of the biggest scandals in recent US history. The story received some newspaper coverage but there was a TV News Media blackout on the subject. For this reason, most Americans have never heard of it. Former republican Senator John Decamp was involved in the production of a documentary called "Conspiracy of Silence" that was to air May 3, 1994 on the Discovery Channel. This documentary exposed a network of religious leaders and Washington politicians who flew children to Washington D.C. for sex orgies. At the last minute before airing, unknown congressmen threatened the TV Cable industry with restrictive legislation if this documentary was aired. Almost immediately, the rights to the documentary were purchased by unknown persons who had ordered all copies destroyed. Reported at least $500,000 was paid for the rights to buy and destroy it. A copy of this videotape was furnished anonymously to former Nebraska state senator and attorney John De Camp who made it available to retired FBI chief, Ted L. Gunderson." ~Sounds like phony baloney to me... TR It may interest everyone to know that John DeCamp was going to be a Catholic Priest. Then he was an aide to CIA agent William Colby. Went to talk to then Cardinal Ratzinger about the archdiocese of Omaha Nebraska's involvement in the pedophilia at Boys town but somehow the Judge had DeCamp drop the Diocese from the Lawsuit and it is completely omitted from the "documentary." Gunderson appears on the Geraldo (Sensationalist) Rivera show in 1987. Video: See Alex jones appear on FOX News with Geraldo Rivera too (5/08). ~Video Ted L Gunderson involved in more strange stuff: COOPER (Anderson from CNN): OK, I want to bring in James Randi. James, you've actually called Sylvia Browne a villain. We spoke to Ted Gunderson, who's a retired senior special agent in charge of the FBI in Los Angeles. He's worked with Sylvia Browne, and he says -- he says he's worked with her quite a bit. And he said this about her. He says, quote, "I've worked with numerous psychics in the past and very few are really on target, but Sylvia Browne is probably one of the most accurate psychics in the country." Now, that's from a former senior FBI official. Are you saying he's wrong?" ~CNN transcript Anderson Cooper CIA ties 3/06/2008 UPDATE I'm going to be working on this for the next few days so watch out for updates. There will probably be another video on this also. John DeCamp , Author of the book, “The Franklin Cover-up” which the documentary, "Conspiracy of Silence" was created after. Here is Alex Jones joining in the whitewash. You will read in this interview that later, John DeCamp was retained by the over seer of Boystown during the abuse. His name was Monsignor Robert Hupp. Notice how this big Catholic web site even promotes John DeCamp's Vatican White-wash! (Come on! You may be THAT sound asleep but I'm not! Please read on....) The main priest associated with the Fatima web site is Father Nicolas Gruner who is said to be a controversial priest. Here you can see he was on "Coast to Coast" with George Noory (Noory, who really helped Alex Jones get started). Gruner also appeared in that John Birch Society propaganda piece (They're all tied together with the Vatican, the CIA and top government officials, and many other groups and organizations). Here, you can see Gruner giving MASS in May, 2000. Gruner is a Roman Catholic traditionalist like the Gibsons, Pat Buchanan and many others including Malachi Martin. John DeCamp is the Ex Aid of CIA William Colby (William Colby (1920 – 1996) was the boss of the CIA from 1973 until 1976.) John DeCamp, who had once worked for Colby, investigated the Franklin child sex abuse case. Shortly before Colby died, Colby warned DeCamp to give up the case. However, 'with the blessing of Colby', DeCamp wrote a book about the case: The Franklin Cover Up." (George Bush, The CIA, Mind Control & Child Abuse) "He (Colby) knew a lot about CIA dirty tricks and he died in 'mysterious circumstances'." Source "Shortly after warning DeCamp, Colby was found dead." Source Death: On April 27, 1996, Colby died in an apparent boating accident near his home in Rock Point, Maryland, although his body was actually found, underwater, on May 6, 1996. The subsequent inquest found that he died from drowning and hypothermia after collapsing from a heart attack or stroke and falling out of his canoe, and there was no further investigation. Source This "Conspiracy of Silence" was actually a huge cover-up of the Arch Diocese of Omaha Nebraska's involvement in the pedophilia taking place there. The judge that heard the case "forced" John DeCamp to take the Arch Diocese off the law suit. Even though it was established that under aged boys were flown to Washington DC for degenerate political pedophilia parties only one man ended up being convicted of a crime and was sentenced to serve jail time (Larry King). Jones was in on this smokescreen and promoted it. Here's an article showing some of the abuses of priests at Boys Town, Nebraska. Ted L Gunderson, who worked with DeCamp on this Conspiracy of Silence, and is a major source of disinformation in this country spot-lighting small time satan worshippers in this country as a threat when it is actually the Roman Catholic church who are the true luciferians and satanists who actively teach their followers that their "works" of performing their pagan rituals will allow them to enter heaven when they die. Alex Jones also, in turn, promotes these men and their whitewash of pedophilia at the hands of the Vatican through their institution called "Boystown" located in Omaha Nebraska. Alex Jones Covering up Pedophilia within the Catholic Church This is an excerpt of a interview Alex Jones had with John DeCamp Author of “The Franklin Cover-up” about Boys Town (Documentary "Conspiracy of Silence" was based on his book). In this bit of the interview you can see Alex Jones apparently white-washing a Monsignor's (Robert Hupp) involvement in the pedophilia conspiracy that was taking place there. The monsignor was the over seer of boys town yet he is automatically innocent according to Jones. They don't even consider him a possible suspect? Especially with all the pedophilia in the Catholic Church? They even edited the Monsignor's name out of the interview! DeCamp actually represented the abused boys initially but later he represented the over seer of Boystown (the Monsignor Priest Robert Hupp) in defense of Pedophilia! Below is a screen shot of the portion of the interview where you can see Alex Jones covering up the Catholic's Church's involvement in what went down at Boystown (JD =r John DeCamp and AJ = Alex Jones): Notice at the bottom John DeCamp says, "No, he's an old man that will probably be an outcast once he does this. So I've said too much on that already, probably ." (!!!) https://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/johndecamp.htm Again, here's an article showing some of the abuses of priests at Boys Town near Omaha, Lincoln, Nebraska. Two Videos I did on this Topic: Warning! Sound the Alarm! Alternative Media Infiltrated Conspiracy of Silence The Vatican Connection Insightful Comment (Mel Gibson was praised by the Catholic Church as a whole even though he's a "sedevacantist" like Gruner but Gruner is supposedly under reproach in the eyes of the Vatican) "The thing is incredible. Everybody is panting to give him seven bucks and sit at his feet to learn about the Passion. What is so exasperating about it is that this eagerness is transparently attributable to Mel Gibson's star status. If Fr. Nicholas Gruner had obtained funding and produced a movie about the death of Christ, we'd all be holding him off with the mucky end of a barge pole and loudly asserting that we don't do business with people who resist the legitimate authority of the Holy See. But Mel Gibson isn't a scruffy weirdo. ... He's famous! He's gorgeous! He's rich! What these star-struck types don't so commonly acknowledge is that He's a schismatic! One serious Catholic after another has succumbed to shivery gratification because Somebody Totally Cool is willing to admit to being a Catholic. And what makes the joke on them particularly bitter is that he isn't a Catholic at all. Catholics belong to churches which are subject to the authority of Rome, not to half-baked fly-by-night outfits which dress up in Catholic vestments and perform Catholic rituals, but whose emblem and rule of existence is Non Serviam." Source |
The winners of our C2E2 15: Battle of the Cosplayers Poll have been announced! Per usual, now our second time around at C2E2, things will be a little different for this massive con! We are excited to announce three starting polls, one for each day of the convention. Each day will have a poll running for one week for a semi-finals. At the end of the week, we will group the top half of cosplayers from each poll for the finals! Just one day in and we have seen a barrage of amazing costumes for what Chicago has to offer. This is going to be one of the hardest polls we have ever done, just with the sheer amount of cosplayers this weekend! You the readers get to choose who had the best costume of the show. It goes by picture, some are solo, some are a team. If you see yourself, vote for yourself, that’s not cheating; really its fine. If you want your friends to throw a vote your way, they can too, so tell them to vote! Spamming the vote box with multiple votes for yourself or favorite in one day is a no-no, though; death lasers will engage. Remember this about having fun and enjoying these wonderful cosplayers while showing them your support, cheating is not fun! Everyone is allowed to vote once per day (every 24 hours). The top three winners of the Finals will get featured on our homepage and be used as our feature image when we announce the winners, forever immortalizing them on our site. Comments are welcome at the bottom of the post, just be nice and fair to everyone. So get ready, prepare to be cosplay amazed, and vote in the poll at the bottom after the pretty pics! The voting period for the Friday Semi-Finals begins now and runs through May 1st at 11:59 P.M.. Then after the Semi-Finals, the Finals will start on Monday, May 4th at 8 P.M. and run through May 11th at 11:59 P.M.. Don’t forget you can always feel free to post additional pictures of costumes, discuss Cosplay, and much more on our Community message boards! To keep up to date on all of our Cosplay coverage, make sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter! Saturday Semi-Finals Sunday Semi-Finals |
Hundreds of years of parliamentary tradition, British expectancy over free speech, and indeed decades of the “special relationship” were tossed out of the window today as hard-line left-wing Members of Parliament, combined with virtue-signalling pseudo-conservatives gathered in a British Parliament committee room to debate banning U.S. Presidential candidate Donald Trump. Some of the language – “Trump’s an idiot” – was quite unparliamentary. But what was MOST unparliamentary was the way in which MPs conducted themselves today, and the fact that the debate went ahead at all. Because around half a million lefties signed a government e-petition, Parliament was forced to debate the matter. But when half a million people signed a petition to “Stop All Immigration” into the UK – it scarcely got any news coverage. Instead, the political and media establishments of Britain today once again coalesced to lampoon themselves unknowingly, discussing why a U.S. presidential candidate should be banned for calling for a moratorium on Muslim immigration to the United States. I’ve already written about what a joke the premise of the debate was. But the proceedings were worse than anyone could ever have expected. Notable were the thick Scottish accents, in the packed out Committee Room, slating Donald Trump for being a “bigot” and a “racist”. Many of these are the same Scottish MPs you’d often find in their constituencies slagging off the English. But that’s not racism. That’s patriotism, right? But what concerned me most, as a man born into a Muslim family in Britain, was the clear abdication of any modicum of “Britishness” by the Muslim Members of Parliament in the chamber. They whinged. They whined. “Islamophobia! Our feelings are hurt!” And their contention was as follows: Ban Donald Trump because he’s making us feel bad. Curtail centuries of Britain’s free speech laws to make an overtly political statement against not just Mr. Trump, but the millions of Americans who support him – to placate Muslims and Muslim MPs. Do you see what’s going on here? When Nigel Farage talked about a fifth column in the United Kingdom, he was hung out to dry by the media. But there’s not just a fifth column in this country living amongst us. There’s a fifth column inside our parliament. And a fifth column at the heart of our democracy. I fully expect that this year, London will elect its first Muslim Mayor – Sadiq Khan MP. This is a man who has, as a lawyer, defended Guantanamo Bay detainees, and represented the Nation of Islam’s Louis Farrakhan. In the debate we heard from Tulip Siddiq, who the electorate of Hampstead sent to Westminster just last year – calling for Mr. Trump to be blocked from entering the UK. I can’t help but feel that Ms. Siddiq has a few vested interests she didn’t disclose. Her aunt is the Prime Minister of Bangladesh – a 90 per cent Muslim country. And she herself campaigned for U.S. President Barack Obama, who has been notoriously soft on radical Islam – because that’s what the Left do for votes. There was only one person in that committee room who came remotely close to making any sense today, and that was Kwasi Kwarteng MP. Mr. Kwarteng couldn’t help but state that he wasn’t defending Donald Trump, but at least he realised the context in which Mr. Trump’s comments were made: on the back of the San Bernardino terror attack, in a country that has routinely paused the inward migration of certain races or nationalities due to homeland security threats. Whether you believe this to be legitimate or not: it is important to remember. America is not Britain. They left us for that very reason. “But isn’t STOPPING immigration AGAINST the liberties you’re trying to defend, Raheem?” No. There are no RIGHTS to enter a sovereign nation state. You might find it culturally unappealing that a country would seek to restrict inward migration. You might even find it economically unappealing. But it doesn’t run counter to defending freedom. Around 1776, we refused to take the steps necessary to oppose a form of tyranny applied to our brethren across a body of water: taxation without representation. Our brothers on the other side of the pond did it. And look what they created. At the time, the move was thought of as “extreme” – but another U.S. presidential candidate had it right on such measures: “Extremism in the defence of liberty is no vice, and moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue” (Barry Goldwater). Today’s parliamentary debate was deeply distressing for all freedom-loving Britons. It shows that Britain is still not willing to defend liberty. And with the namby-pamby words uttered by the so-called representatives of the people in the Palace of Westminster today – it is evident that there is very little virtue left at the top of our politics. Hands down, Donald Trump won that debate. And he didn’t even have to be there. Follow Raheem Kassam on Twitter WATCH THE WHOLE DEBATE: |
Plainclothes police officers stand at the site of a blast in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya, Turkey, October 25, 2016. Alparslan Cinar/Ihlas News Agency via REUTERS ISTANBUL (Reuters) - An explosion outside a chamber of commerce building in Turkey’s southern resort city of Antalya wounded several people on Tuesday but the mayor said there were no life-threatening injuries and the blast may have been an accident. Turkey is on high alert after repeated bombings blamed on Islamic State and Kurdish militants this year. Authorities in the capital Ankara banned public meetings this month for fear of further attacks, and the U.S. State Department has urged U.S. citizens to carefully consider the need to travel to Turkey. The cause of the blast a few kilometers from the airport in Antalya, a major tourist resort on the Mediterranean coast, was not immediately clear. In August, two rockets hit a commercial facility near a resort town in the province, but caused no casualties. “It could be an explosion caused by an accident. Initial information suggests there are no life-threatening (injuries),” Antalya Mayor Menderes Turel told broadcaster CNN Turk. Smoke rose from the remnants of one vehicle in the car park outside the chamber of commerce and industry building and surrounding vehicles were damaged. The blast left cracks in the facade of the building and blew out windows, TV footage showed. There was no claim of responsibility for the August rocket attack, but Kurdish and far-left militants have staged similar strikes, mostly against the security forces, in the past. In August, a suicide bomber thought to have links to Islamic State killed at least 50 people in an attack on a wedding party in the southeastern city of Gaziantep. Three suspected Islamic State suicide bombers killed more than 40 people in a gun and bomb attack at Istanbul’s main airport in June. |
"The word tragedy suggests this was an unavoidable event," Claypool said. "It was not a tragedy; it was an ambush. This young man never had a chance." At a news conference Friday in Long Beach, attorney Brian Claypool said it is inaccurate to describe the officer-involved shooting as a tragedy. Police fatally shot Douglas Zerby, 35, on Sunday when they believed he posed a threat to their safety. Zerby was carrying a metal-tipped water nozzle and pointed it at officers, authorities said. They believed it to be a gun. Long Beach police had ample time to identify themselves before firing fatal shots at a 35-year-old man holding a water nozzle, according to the findings of an investigation conducted the family's attorney. [ For the record: A previous version of this post stated incorrectly that police ordered shooting victim Douglas Zerby to drop his weapon. Police had been observing Zerby before shooting him; they did not attempt to make contact with him and did not identify themselves to him, according to police and relatives. ] He said his viewing of Zerby's body showed 21 holes -- 10 to 12 of which he believes were bullet-impact holes; the others were exit wounds. Claypool said there were three wounds flush down Zerby's chest, which leads him to believe that Zerby was not stretching his arms to point the nozzle at officers. He said Zerby's body also was found leaning against the banister, leading him to believe that Zerby was not being aggressive and already was incapacitated when the shots were fired. "That area looks like a shooting range," Claypool said. "It was target practice on Dec. 12, 2010, target practice for the Long Beach Police Department." Zerby's family said it believes he was intoxicated and had stopped at his friend's house instead of driving home. He was sitting on the stoop waiting for his friend when neighbors spotted him and called 911 because they thought he was armed with a gun. Claypool said his four-day investigation -- based on the scene and witness reports -- showed that officers had ample time to identify themselves to Zerby and determine that he was not holding a real gun. He said they also had enough time to ask neighbors if they recognized him. Claypool said he believes there were at least five to six officers on the scene and that three probably shot Zerby. Some shots were fired as close as 12 feet away, he said, from positions of protection behind brick posts. Police two rounds were fired from a shotgun and six were fired from a handgun. Claypool does not believe Zerby even knew the officers were there. He said witnesses told him that police made a noise "and that's what triggered Doug Zerby to turn toward the officers and that turn is what caused them to open fire." The family is planning a lawsuit that alleges wrongful death, negligence and battery. Claypool said the family hopes to make police training reforms as a result of the suit. "Lethal force being utilized was unnecessary," said Eden Marie Biele, Zerby's older sister. "The things that the Long Beach Police Department are saying are not corroborated by what the scene is saying nor by what Douglas' body is saying ... things are not lining up.... I think in this situation and in this incident there were other steps that could've been followed that would have resulted in a very different outcome." -- Nardine Saad Photo: Reacting as the family's lawyer shares the results of his investigation into Douglas Zerby's death are, from left, his youngest brother, Christopher; Stephanie Sentell, the mother of his child; his father, Mark; and his sisters, Eden Marie Biele and Heather Woodland. Credit: Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times |
Bell Ringer Slugged for Saying 'Happy Holidays' Bah Humbug! A Round-Up of Crimes Against Christmas Whatever happened to goodwill toward man and yuletide glee? Just when we're getting cozy by the fire, reading stories that make us believe in Santa again, a few grinches have to come along and throw a wrench in the holiday merriment. Here's a round-up of some serious Scrooge-like behavior. The Great December Dilemma Do you say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays?" Kristina Vindiola was working as a bell ringer outside of a Phoenix Walmart when she claims she was assaulted for saying "Happy holidays." "The lady looked at me," Vindiola told ABC News' Phoenix affiliate Do you say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays?" Kristina Vindiola was working as a bell ringer outside of a Phoenix Walmart when she claims she was assaulted for saying "Happy holidays." "The lady looked at me," Vindiola told ABC News' Phoenix affiliate KNXV-TV . "I thought she was going to put money in the kettle. She came up to me and said, 'Do you believe in God?' And she says, 'You're supposed to say Merry Christmas,' and that's when she hit me." James Holmes, spokesman for the Phoenix Police Department, told ABCNews.com that officers were called to the Walmart after the alleged assault. Holmes said officer didn't find the alleged assailant or enough evidence to file charges. Nativity Scene Nabbed From California Family's Yard Thou shalt not steal may be one of the Ten Commandments, but it didn't stop someone from swiping a California family's nativity scene. Thieves made off with the Roth family's hand-crafted display early Dec. 7, leaving behind just the Star of Bethlehem. "It's just more something that was special to myself and my family because of the time it took to make it," Mindy Roth told ABC News' Los Angeles station Thou shalt not steal may be one of the Ten Commandments, but it didn't stop someone from swiping a California family's nativity scene. Thieves made off with the Roth family's hand-crafted display early Dec. 7, leaving behind just the Star of Bethlehem. "It's just more something that was special to myself and my family because of the time it took to make it," Mindy Roth told ABC News' Los Angeles station KABC . Roth said she's hoping someone will return the set, which includes Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus, because it has sentimental value. Her 7-year-old son has a suspect, she said. "The Grinch." Duo Caught on Camera Stealing Santas Jospehine Michetti loves to decorate her Philadelphia home for the holidays with mini-trees, Santa figures and handmade garland, light-up gifts and candies. But on Nov. 26, the grandmother woke up and found her Santas were missing. Surveillance footage from Michetti's son's house across the street, released by the Philadelphia Police Department, showed a woman approaching the house around 2:15 a.m., unplugging a Santa and taking him away. About an hour later, the same female suspect returned with a man and they cut away the second Santa at the top of the steps and stole him. The woman even fixed the mini-tree she had knocked over while stealing the first Santa earlier. While the theft was frustrating, it certainly hasn't dampened Michetti's holiday spirit. Earlier this month, she told ABCNews.com she received a special delivery from Kindy's, a Christmas store in Philadelphia. "They just came and brought me a bunch of boxes, all Christmas decorations," she said. "I can't believe it. They knew [the thieves] stole my Santas and they came and brought me new Santas. I thought it was so nice of them." Grinch Takes Presents and Woman's Dog The Saturday after Thanksgiving wasn't so jolly for a Fort Wayne, Ind., woman who had the double whammy experience of having thieves steal her presents and her dog. Thieves made off with big-ticket items from Sheila Snyder's home, including a PlayStation, a 72-inch television and a MacBook, Fort Wayne Police Department spokesperson Michael Joyner told ABCNews.com. Four days later, Snyder was reunited with the one irreplaceable thing she wanted back -- her bulldog Charlie. Joyner said the puppy was dropped off at animal control after his face was plastered on the local news. Police are still investigating the incident and said the presents haven't been recovered. The Saturday after Thanksgiving wasn't so jolly for a Fort Wayne, Ind., woman who had the double whammy experience of having thieves steal her presents and her dog. Thieves made off with big-ticket items from Sheila Snyder's home, including a PlayStation, a 72-inch television and a MacBook, Fort Wayne Police Department spokesperson Michael Joyner told ABCNews.com. Four days later, Snyder was reunited with the one irreplaceable thing she wanted back -- her bulldog Charlie. Joyner said the puppy was dropped off at animal control after his face was plastered on the local news. Police are still investigating the incident and said the presents haven't been recovered. |
Quick Facts Dates October 20th Founded by November 2010 Websites aiunau.org/en Hashtag #SlothDay report this ad Learn about International Sloth Day Look at that face. Look at it. Over the centuries, people have derided sloths for being either stupid or lazy or a combination of both, but have you ever thought they might just be onto something? After all, they always kind of look like they’re smiling. Don’t you wish you could have that serene expression on your face every now and then? If you don’t, you should. report this ad Everyone deserves to relax every now and then. International Sloth Day is in fact about two things: learning to take a lesson or two in being as cool as a cucumber from the sloths of the world, and raising awareness about the many sloths that get get injured, captured to be sold as pets, or even killed by humans. So help keep those sleepy smiles on sloths’ faces and take part in this year’s International Sloth Day! The History of International Sloth Day International Sloth Day was created by AIUNAU, a non-profit foundation dedicated to protecting all forms of wildlife. The AIUNAU members in Columbia have been working with sloths since 1996, as they became appalled to find out how many sloths every year were being killed by cars or power lines, and how many other were being captured to be made into household pets. Once they rescue a sloth, they nurse it back to health, and then proceed to release it back into the wild, where it belongs. International Sloth Day was established in November 2010 as a way of helping people get to know a little more about these shy, quiet creatures that are known for their tenderness for one another and keep them from going entirely extinct, as several species of sloth have already. How to Celebrate International Sloth Day There are several ways you could celebrate International Sloth Day, depending on which aspect of the day you’d like to concentrate on more—learning to slow down and enjoy the little things in life, or help the sloths of South America. Ideally, you could do both. As far as charity goes, you could for example refrain from, say, buying that cappuccino you spend a couple of dollars on every day for one week and ten donate the money you saved to the AIUNAU. And if you feel you just couldn’t survive without your daily dose of caffeine for a whole week, consider cycling to and from work every day for a week, and then donating the money you saved on fuel or bus fare. The possibilities are virtually endless. Another important aspect of celebrating International Sloth Day is allowing yourself to just let go and relax every now and then. We live in a very fast-paced world where something is constantly happening—we receive tens, if not hundreds of calls, emails and texts daily, and we’re always in a rush: we rush to work, then we rush to pick up the kids, and then we rush home… On International Sloth Day, take the time to slow down. Make sure you get enough sleep, take a walk through the park or a long bubble bath, make a real dinner instead of just popping some frozen lump of food in the microwave for 3 minutes. We humans should realize that although we may be the most intelligent of the species, that does not mean there aren’t things we can’t learn from other species. And who could possibly teach a better lesson about how to relax than the sloth? Exactly! |
Universal basic Income - is it enough? A Universal basic Income for New Zealand - on the cards, but is it enough? Its about equity, a distributive state and the capacity for people to shape their own lives. Debate on a Universal Basic Income – or the big Kahuna - has been round for a while. The amount of poverty, the levels of inequality and the dearth of media interest all highlight the need for more public consideration of this seminal idea. To quote one of the advocates that has brought this idea to the arena: Paying universal transfers acknowledges that every individual has the same unconditional right – to a basic income sufficient for them to live in dignity. With this basic protection in place people are then free to add to that income through paid work if they choose. Equally, they can live on the UBI and pursue other activities – doing the unpaid work of caring for children or others in their community for example, or studying full time, or pursuing new business ventures. The UBI offers the prospect of ensuring everyone has the means to live while giving them the freedom to live their lives as they choose. http://www.bigkahuna.org.nz/universal-basic-income.aspx We have two knowledgeable people for the session. Susan Guthrie is one of the authors of the statement above. Keith Rankin is well known for his progressive economic thinking and writing. We have a chance to tease out the merits and the contested ground here. The debate can be widened into philosophy, economics, the role of the state and how we as a country may develop policy by forging a politics from the values and communities that imagine a progressive society. Susan Guthrie is an economist who, prior to joining the Morgan Foundation in 2010, held various private and public sector roles. She has worked for the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the NZ Treasury, as an international economist in the financial sector in New Zealand and Hong Kong, and as an advocate for consumer rights. In 2011 she co-authored with Gareth Morgan ‘The Big Kahuna’, a book advocating tax and welfare reform for New Zealand and in 2014 she co-authored with Gareth ‘Are we there yet? the future of the Treaty of Waitangi’. Keith Rankin has taught economics at Unitec in Mt Albert since 1999. An economic historian by training, his research has included an analysis of labour supply in the Great Depression of the 1930s, and has included estimates of New Zealand’s GNP going back to the 1850s. Keith believes that many of the economic issues that beguile us cannot be understood by relying on the orthodox interpretations of our social science disciplines. Keith favours a critical approach that emphasises new perspectives rather than simply opposing those practices and policies that we don’t like. You can read more and register for this Auckland event here. When & Where Auckland, 23rd February 6.30pm Owen G Glenn Building, University of Auckland Publications - Most of the presentations we have held are on the web site in one form or another - speeches, slides and/or recordings. Check out the 'Publications' section on our website and like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get regular updates. Interesting Links - Check out the 'Interesting Links' section on our websiteand like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get regular updates. ends © Scoop Media |
Hi Friends - Welcome to the forty-fourth issue of DashingD3js.com's Weekly Newsletter Featured Where to Post and Find Data Visualization Jobs Article by Scott Murray about a list of resources for those wanting to advertise or land open data visualization positions. D3 on AngularJS Combining the power of D3 and Angular can be challenging and confusing. We constantly get asked how to integrate the two in our classes. In this post, we aim to clear the confusion and bring you the best documentation on how to integrate AngularJS and D3. Data Visualization Reading and Videos Map: Where the People Are By Longitude And By Latitude The historian and cartography Bill Rankin, who maintains the blog Radical Cartography, created the fascinating histograms above, which show the world’s population distributed by longitude and latitude. Making Data Sensible With A Bayesian Analysis Here I investigate the murder rates (number of arrests by population of 100,000) in the US in 2010 and show that a Bayesian approach gives more sensible results than a simple approach. Data Visualization Tutorial: Mapping and Data Visualization of U.S. Migration Flows This tutorial introduces the U.S. Census Bureau's Flows Mapper tool which maps the flow of people from one county to another using data from the 2006-2010 American Community Survey. Once the data is queried and downloaded from the site, the data is cleaned in MS Excel and visualized using Datawrapper's open source solution. Visualizing Slavery: The Map Abraham Lincoln Spent Hours Studying During the Civil War If you look closely at Francis Bicknell Carpenter’s 1864 painting “First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Lincoln” you will notice a map in the lower right-hand corner, next to the group that includes Lincoln and his cabinet. The map is an early example of statistical cartography. R Language Tops The Charts As Most Preferred Language For Data Science And Big Data Analytics KDNuggets has published its annual poll of top languages for analytics, data mining and data science, and just as in the two years prior, R language is ranked as the most popular. Based on a high response of over 700 voters, R’s usage grew 16% this year compared to the 2012 poll, followed by Python, and SQL. D3.js Reading and Videos Babymaking: An Interactive Version Of Matt Stiles' "How Common Is Your Birthday?" This visualization shows that birthdates are not random by any means. For instance, check out how low the rankings are for the 13th of each month and near-absence of births on July 4. Hovering highlights the conception date in green, or you can click the conception box in the upper right to show approximate conception dates in the cells rather than birth dates. You can find the code on GitHub (built with d3.js) and me on Twitter (@laneharrison). d3-server.js Caged / d3-server.js :: Directly render and serve d3 visualizations from a nodejs server. Using AngularJS and D3 to Create a WordCloud Directive One of AngularJS’ most sophisticated and unique features is directives. Directives allow you to extend the vocabulary of HTML, such that complex DOM structures and corresponding behavior can be hidden behind a new HTML tag, attribute or a CSS class. Here, I want to present a simple yet powerful project aiming at creating an AngularJS directive to enable an easier usage of D3 for people without deep knowledge of JavaScript. BirdWatch Explained BirdWatch is a reactive web application for consuming the Twitter Streaming API for a selection of terms. On the server side Play, ElasticSearch and others are used. On the client side AngularJS and D3.js are used. The first of a series of articles. Wikipedia Traffic And The 2012 Election: Presidential Candidates Wikipedia traffic & the 2012 election: Presidential candidates - By Noah Veltman. Wikipedia pageviews leading up to the 2012 election for Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. Hope that you had a great past week and that next week is even better! Wishing you the best,Sebastian Gutierrez |
Gunpoint developer Tom Francis has revealed that his stealthy platform puzzler Gunpoint was so wildly successful that he can quit all his other work and focus on game development full-time. While Francis didn't reveal the exact sales figures for Gunpoint, he noted that it made six times his goal for what he considered good enough to "become a game developer." "I think I have quit jobs, as a concept," Francis wrote on his blog. "I started Gunpoint as an audition piece to get myself a position at a developer, but designing it has been so creatively satisfying that I no longer want one, and so commercially successful that I'll never need one." "I can now make games full-time for the foreseeable future," he added. "More amazingly, I can do it with total creative freedom. There's really no pressure for my next thing to make a particular amount of money, so I can do whatever I think will be most exciting." Francis explained that his experiment in making a game was so profitable that he'll stick to his guns and always release free demos for his games. "I didn't let anyone pay for Gunpoint until I was ready to put a free demo out, so everyone would have a way to make sure it ran okay on their system and that they liked it before giving me any money," he explained, despite his industry friends advising against this. "I have no idea if and how much the pre-release demo hurt Gunpoint's sales, but it doesn't matter now - that's how I want to treat people, and the amazing support for Gunpoint means I can afford to." Making Francis' story double inspiring, he noted that he only spent $30 to make the game as he simply bought Game Maker 8 three years ago. It took Gunpoint a whopping 64 seconds after being available for pre-order to recoup these funds. Francis is using his new-found profits to hire someone to help him port Gunpoint to Mac and Linux, which I'm pretty sure makes him a studio head. Fancy! He's currently accepting applications. "Springing around its miniature fortresses like a flea in a trenchcoat is a tactile pleasure in itself, and the rewiring concept is both simple in action and powerful in execution," wrote our Dan Whitehead in his Gunpoint review. "It would be nice if there was slightly more of it to enjoy, but Gunpoint comes highly recommended all the same." |
While Hollywood's live-action version of Akira appears to be dead in the water, a group of fans are taking matters in their own hands by creating a trailer for the classic animated film. The Akira Project is being helmed by Montreal film company CineGround, and it's currently in the pre-production phase — you can check out the group's progress in the video below. But in order to go the extra mile the team has turned to crowd-funding to help cover some of the costs. They'll be shooting whether they reach their funding goal or not, but the additional cash will "allow us to make this trailer be amazing," according to the team. The trailer will be shot next month over the course of four days, and you can lend your support at the group's Indiegogo page. |
Race for two-year term on Town Council features four candidates. Voting at Town Hall Monday, March 2. Incumbent: Andrew J. Chas Age: 31 Years living in Middletown: 31 Education: Wilmington University, Bachelor of Business Management, 2005; Palmer School of Chiropractic, Doctor of Chiropractor, 2009. Occupation: Chiropractor Leadership experience: Middletown Town Councilman, 2014 to present Q Why are you running for a seat for town council? A As a member of the current council I have had the opportunity to learn the operations of the town in an effort to understand the growth, both economically and safely. As new businesses have joined the town, we are pleased with the jobs they provide – allowing families to grow in Middletown. I am proud of the daily operations in Middletown, providing safe, clean parks and streets and reliable electric services. We, as a council, can continue to improve on our efficiencies in each department. My compassion combined with my awareness of the community will continue to help the future success of Middletown. As an elected council member, I will continue to ensure that the town is a good place to socialize, make a living, and raise a family. I hope the community can feel my passion and understand the efforts I have, and will continue to, put forth for the next two years. Q What are the issues you want to address? A With all of the recent changes and growth within Middletown, new challenges also present themselves. With the current expansion of Route 299, from Route 1 to Catherine Street, I feel that the increased traffic within town will improve. As councilman, I will remain cognizant of possible congestion and continue to consider possible solutions. With the growing population, it is becoming increasingly important to utilize the various parks within town. As a child, it was important to me to have clean and safe parks. Now as a father, I continue to value the importance of areas to remain active, maintain a healthy lifestyle, strengthen family bonds, and make memories with friends. Middletown will continue to strive to keep our parks clean, determine ways to effectively utilize the spaces, and provide opportunities for safe functions. Another possible challenge Middletown may face is economic development. While strengthening the economics within Middletown, including the continued development of West Town, protecting the current businesses, and allowing for future growth is of utmost importance. A balance must be maintained to ensure that Middletown does not lose our small-town feeling. Lastly, as Middletown continues to grow, our awareness of safety must continue to increase as well. We are proud that the Middletown Police Department continues to recruit and train new officers while maintaining seasoned veterans that do an outstanding job of keeping our community safe. Q What is your vision for Middletown? A My vision is that Middletown will continue to be a community that surrounding areas will be eager to visit. I anticipate the continuation of diverse job opportunities as future businesses join in the economic development of Middletown. Middletown will continue to lead the way with innovative ideas while maintaining the integrity of the current town dynamics. It is important for the current council to continue efforts to provide the community with reliable services as previous administrations have developed (such as the waste water treatment center and reverse 911 calling for community alerts). I look forward to possible challenges and will work towards determining the best and most effective solutions. Middletown will be a welcoming, economically stable and safe community that we all will be proud to call home. Incumbent: Jason R. Faulkner Age: 57 Years living in Middletown: 57 Leadership experience: Middletown Planning Commission Member 1989-1995; Middletown Planning Commission Chair 1995-2003; Middletown Town Council 2003-Present; MOT Little League Coach 1989-1991; MOT Youth Football Coach 2000-2002; MOT Youth Football Vice President 2002-2003; MOT Youth Football President 2003-2005; Disciple member at Connection Community Church Occupation: Project Manager, Austin & Bednash Construction, Inc. Education: Middletown High School Family: Wife, Susan; son, Justin and his family; daughter, Megan Faulkner, and son, Evan. Q Why are you running for Middletown council? A I have served on the Middletown Planning Commission for 14 years and on the Town Council for 12 years. During this time, there has been a great deal of change in Middletown. I believe that change, when taken as a whole, has been good for the people of Middletown. There are jobs, shopping opportunities and business opportunities that simply did not exist here when I was young. There are entertainment options, athletic activities for children, arts opportunities for children and adults. There is a vibrant senior population that is active and involved in all aspects of the community. There is something for almost everyone and I think that those things help to make Middletown a fantastic place to live and raise a family. Mayor Branner and the Council I have served with, and those that came before me, have worked very hard to encourage growth but keep the sense of community that makes Middletown what it is. I want to continue to serve the people of Middletown to help protect values and opportunities that our citizens have come to love. Q What are the issues you want to address? A I would not say they are issues but there are things that we have been working on and watching that need to keep our attention. We are always looking for opportunities to attract new business to town that will bring jobs with it. Johnson Controls, Amazon and Health South are successes from the last few years that we would like to build on in the future. There is still industrial land available and we hope we can continue to attract businesses. The Middletown Police Department, although only being in existence for a few short years, received CALEA accreditation last year making it one of the few agencies its size to do so. The Department, through the leadership of Chief Yeager and now retired Chief Tobin, has proven to be a top notch agency capable of keeping Middletown a safe place to live. They have always been pro-active in addressing any issues that come along and try to stay ahead of any new trends. Q What is your vision for Middletown? A My vision for Middletown is very simple: for Middletown to be the best place anywhere to live and raise a family. Many things that go into that vision; job, business, leisure opportunities for everyone, safe streets, efficient government service, strong schools and churches to name a few. I think Middletown is delivering, we are not perfect but we are very good. In our parks you will find people exercising, playing organized sports, walking the family pet or just enjoying the outdoors. The Senior Center has people participating in a variety of activities or simply enjoying one another’s company. On Main Street you will find a variety of successful small businesses with happy customers. Visit the Everett Theater or The Gibby and find a thriving arts community. Our youth sports organizations are strong, successful programs. The Big Ball Marathon and Relay for Life are well run, successful volunteer organizations that offer fantastic opportunities to give back while having a real impact to the causes they serve. Visit the local schools and you will find some of the best around. Look for a church and you will find one that fits. The Volunteer Hose Company is another top notch organization with the most dedicated volunteers that you hope you never need but really appreciate when you do. Wherever you go you will find a sense of community pride that drives everything that we do and holds us to the highest standards of excellence. A vision was cast many years ago to grow Middletown but growth was never the real vision, the real vision has always been to make Middletown the best place to live and raise a family. I am very thankful that I have had the chance to help make that vision come true and I hope to continue that work. Challenger: Kristin Linke Age: 33 Years living in Middletown: 2-1/2 years Leadership experience: U.S. Air Force Veteran; Middletown Safety Patrol Officer; MDA Fundraising Team Captain, and involved with Cub Scouts Pack 125 and MOT sports programs. Occupation: Homemaker Education: Associates degree Family: Husband, Sean; daughter, Skyler; sons, Gavin and Jaxon Q Why are you running for Middletown Council? A As a parent of three smart and beautiful children, two of whom have a progressive physical disability (Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy), I have learned to advocate on their behalf and for their best interest. I'd like to take this experience and bring it to the next level and advocate on behalf of the people of Middletown. I want to listen to the residents and bring forward the issues that they feel are important to the town as it continues to grow. I believe in serving the community. As a parent, I have had the opportunity to serve in several arenas. I have coached a group of elementary school students for Odyssey of the Mind, and volunteered for MOT Little League including the Challenger League. I am currently an Assistant Den Leader for my son's Cub Scouts Den. Last year, I worked alongside the Middletown Police Department as a Safety Patrol Officer. All of these experiences have allowed me to interact with community members. I believe that becoming a Council Member will allow me to use my serving experiences for Middletown on an elevated level. I thrive on community interaction and creating ways to improve it. As Middletown continues to grow, it is important that the community keep the “small-town feel.” Q What are the issues you want to address? A Middletown is growing rapidly. While this is good, we must ensure that the quality of life that we enjoy in this town is not compromised. We must continue to discuss the needs of the community and its members. As Middletown grows, the economic growth must benefit the town by providing jobs and opportunities to our community members. Traffic congestion, especially on Main Street, has an adverse impact on the “small town” feeling that Middletown offers. We should discuss news ways to alleviate this congestion, while trying not to increase the burden on the town's traditionally residential streets. We should continue to improve our parks. Many members of our community have children with specials needs or physical handicaps. Our school district is recognized for being excellent with special needs children, yet there are no ADA compliant playgrounds in town. Updating our playgrounds with ADA standards would allow all of the town's children to enjoy them. Currently, many parents of special need children instead search for parks in areas outside of Middletown. The handball court and skate park at Silver Lake Park should be updated or replaced. I'd like to see a community garden in this area. We should also explore ideas in regards to securing our parks to prevent vandalism. Crime reduction is also an important topic. While the Middletown Police Department continues to grow, it is important that a collaborative effort be made with residents to ensure the safety of the town's residents and businesses. Q What is your vision for Middletown? A My family and I relocated to Middletown just over 2-1/2 years ago, and it was in large part due to the friendly small town feeling. Middletown is a great place to raise a family, and we must continue to attract new families. Our schools, churches, and sports programs are all excellent. Middletown has something to offer everyone, and while it continues to rapidly grow, it is important that we maintain this “small town” feel. We must make sure that the businesses that want to open in Middletown are right for this community, and the Council must do a better job of communicating proposals with the residents. I have been attending the council meetings for several months, and am quite surprised by the lack of attendance. The people of Middletown need to be informed of what is happening presently and in the future and provide their input. I want to actively engage with our residents, and bring their ideas and concerns to the town's council meetings. My vision begins with an increase in community involvement and community pride. As a Middletown resident, parent, and wife, I have a vested interest in ensuring that the small town values that we each hold are not lost in the growth process of the town. Challenger: Howard R. Young Jr. Age: 48 Years living in Middletown: 37 Leadership experience: Trustee for Union Baptist Temple; Member of Planning and Zoning Commission. Occupation: Retired firefighter Education: University of Maryland, Eastern Shore; Delaware State Fire School Family: Mother, Maxine Young; father (deceased), Howard R. Young; brother, Michael Young Sr.; sister, Jill Young Howard Q Why are you running for Middletown Council? A To hold an elective office as a Town Councilman, to represent the community interest and have the chance to supervise the operation of municipal agendas would be a wonderful opportunity for me. I would look forward to using policies that are in place to approve new building projects, conduct Town business relating to Town projects, propose new ordinances and resolutions and keep track of zoning and land issues. I would be interested in using my strong interpersonal skills when dealing with contentious issues that can be demanding and require patience. I love meeting new people and would look forward to helping constituents in this new role. My father, Howard R. Young Sr., was a Town Councilman for 20 years, and I watched him become a mentor to many involved with the Town of Middletown. I want to see myself follow in his footsteps to help promote business prosperity and those businesses’ future endeavors. I would like to be a liaison between the Town and the general public, to be concerned not only with the conduct of daily business, but also with the future development of the Town. Q What are the issues you want to address? A I look forward to tackling issues such as bringing more jobs to the Town, affordable housing for all residents, road improvements, keeping taxes as low as they are now, and watching over land use issues. With my experience on the Planning and Zoning Commission, I like keeping an eye on the land usage in Town and following the Zoning Code and Comprehensive Plan. If I see issues or items to be addressed, I would identify the needs and communicate the needs, ideas and input from the community to the Mayor and Council members, to help move the Town of Middletown forward. Q What is your vision for Middletown? A My vision is to work to keep Middletown a safe, clean and productive area, bringing consumers as well and prosperous investors to the area. I would like to see more residents come forward and participate in all Town meetings, bringing their good ideas to the Mayor and Council. I think this encourages full and open discussion which ultimately empowers the citizens of the community. Although the Town does not make decisions for the school district, I would like to be involved with the students in some capacity. As a child growing up, I attended Silver Lake Elementary, Louis L. Redding Middle School and Middletown High School (currently Meredith Middle) and those years mean a lot to me, so I’d like to give back to the schools and kids growing up today, in any way I can. |
President Barack Obama told Senate Democrats that they should be open to changes in entitlement programs to achieve a long-term budget deal, according to several lawmakers who attended a meeting with him on Capitol Hill today. Iowa Senator Tom Harkin said Obama told Democrats during the 90-minute meeting that he wanted a broad, bipartisan deficit-reduction deal this year. Harkin said Obama rebuffed his demand, joined by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, for an assurance that Medicare and Social Security benefits would be remain untouched in any “grand bargain” agreement. “Of course some of us responded ‘yes, but, what is in that grand bargain?’” because “we don’t want to start whacking away at Social Security or Medicare,” Harkin told reporters. “He didn’t make a commitment but he seemed to indicate that, yes, there are other ways of solving the entitlement problems without doing that.” Obama’s meeting with Senate Democrats marked the start of three days of meetings the president has with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. He holds closed-door meetings tomorrow with House Republicans and on March 14 will meet with Senate Republicans and House Democrats. Obama didn’t make a statement while entering or leaving the meeting. Asked following the meeting if he could support increasing the eligibility age for Medicare, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin declined to answer directly. Instead he said he liked that Obama “is taking a very pragmatic approach” to entitlements. ‘Very Positive’ “We’re not going to be, as Democrats, changing our core values on Medicare or Social Security,” Manchin said. “But with that, running more efficiently, looking at things that do make sense, I think he’s looking at that.” Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu described Obama as “very positive, very upbeat,” about the prospects for reaching a bipartisan budget deal. “He was very optimistic about working with Democrats and Republicans to give the country a path forward for growth,” Landrieu said. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said Senate Republicans were looking forward to meeting with Obama and welcomed what he described as a “charm offensive.” McConnell said a deadline this summer to raise the federal debt ceiling could provide an opportunity to strike a long- elusive budget accord. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, told reporters following the lunch that Republicans shouldn’t regard Obama’s words as an official offer to change entitlements since Republican congressional leaders have previously indicated they are “willing to do certain things” only to renege later. “The Republicans never get further than that,” Reid said. “And they take these things that are talked about in abstract and say that’s what we’ve agreed to. We haven’t agreed to any of that.” |
Related story Drinking is killing twice as many middle-aged white women as it did 18 years ago. Generally, middle age (age 35 to 54) is not the time to die in modern societies. It is past teenage dangers, before the serious perils of age, and improved medical care and public-health campaigns are keeping more people alive. So why are middle-aged white women dying more often even while death rates for other groups continue to go down? What are white women doing that is so different? [Why death rates for white women in rural America are spiking] One simple answer is: a lot more drinking. In 1999, white and Hispanic women had relatively similar rates of death from alcohol, and the rate for black women was considerably higher. But since then, the death rate for blacks has gone down, the death rate for Hispanics has gone up a bit, and the death rate for white women climbed 130 percent. This analysis is done with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention WONDER mortality data. Consumption In the many ways to measure how much people drink, white women stand out again and again. This data on women ages 35 to 54 is taken from the National Health Interview Survey, accessed via IHIS. [White women are dying faster all over America — but what about where you live?] In that survey, more than 70 percent of white women describe themselves as drinkers, compared with less than half of Hispanic, African American or Asian women. That means they say they have at least a dozen drinks in a year. The question has been asked consistently since 1997, and the rate for white women has climbed from 64 percent to 71 percent. Other groups show no sign whatsoever of catching up. Looking at data on how many days a week people drink, white women stand out as more likely to drink several days a week. One interesting twist that we’ll come back to shortly is that women with at least a four-year college degree report drinking more often than women without college degrees. Thirty-one percent of the women with a college degree reported drinking multiple days a week, compared with 21 percent of women with some college and 14 percent of women with a high-school education or less. Scientists say that heavy drinking — many drinks at a time — can be more dangerous than regular drinking. One-third of white women reported “binge” drinking — having at least four drinks in two hours. Also, that rate has gone up 40 percent since 1997, while the rate for others is relatively flat. The comparison over time stops at 2013 because the survey changed the binge-drinking question at that time for women from five drinks in two hours to four drinks in two hours. Once again, education turns up a key difference here. While women with college degrees drink more frequently, women with only a high-school education are more likely to say they binge drink. Crises Between drinking and death, we can also look at the crises caused by drinking. In this case, we are using data from the National Emergency Department Sample accessed through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The NEDS does not have race, but we know from the consumption and death data that white women are leading the way in drinking and dying from alcohol. The important pattern we see from people getting treatment for alcohol intoxication at emergency rooms is that middle-aged women lead the way. You might think getting so drunk you end up at the hospital is the sort of thing college kids do, but it happens more frequently with people in the 35-to-54 age group. The rate of women treated for alcohol at the hospital has gone up since 2006. Once again, socioeconomic status turns up a difference. NEDS doesn’t have education like the health survey, but it has income grouping by the patient’s Zip code. When dividing patients into income groups, we see women who live in poorer neighborhoods are more likely to show up at the emergency room for drug intoxication, but women from wealthier neighborhoods are much more likely to show up at the hospital for alcohol intoxication. The Washington Post has spent the year crossing the country to look into causes and repercussions of the strange increase in deaths among middle-aged white women and men. Alcohol, opioids and suicide are important factors. See the full coverage here. Graphics produced by Cristina Rivero. |
Robyn Gedrich is a big Bernie Sanders supporter. Photo Courtesy of Robyn Gedrich Like many 23-year-olds, Robyn Gedrich uses Tinder. But for the past two weeks, Gedrich has used the app not to find potential hook-ups, but to campaign for democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. To help other people "feel the bern," Gedrich says she swipes right on every person who pops up on the app. The app limits you to 50 swipes per day, so Gerdich says she uses all her swipes and reaches out to everyone who matches with her. For the record, Gedrich isn't officially working for the Sanders campaign. "I started it about two weeks ago when we got that snow storm in New Jersey," Gerdich told Tech Insider. "There's so many lazy millennials that would never read about Bernie unless someone sent it right to them [on Tinder]." Once she matches with someone, Gedrich says she uses a standard opening line, directing the person towards a Bernie Sanders texting hotline. "Do you feel the bern? Please text WORK to 82623 for me. Thanks," Gedrich told us. Here's a look at her Tindering in action. Photo Courtesy of Robyn Gedrich Gedrich estimates she's messaged around 600 men and says responses were varied. Some of the guys were quick to respond with a "Trump 2016" comment or tell her that elections are irrelevant because "we are all doomed." But other actually engaged in discussion with her about about Sander's campaign. "I was happy to see that people who once didn't know anything about Bernie learned about him and the corruption he's fighting," Gedrich told TI. Of course, plenty of people thought she was an automated robot. "Even though I would respond back to them, I guess some matches still thought I was fake," Gedrich explained. As of Thursday evening, Gedrich told TI she's been banned from Tinder and isn't able to use the app when she opens it on her phone. She says didn't get any notifications leading up to the banning of her account, even though a Tinder representative previously told Tech Insider users will receive " up to three warnings ... letting them know that their account will be locked and put under review if they keep being reported ." Tech Insider has reached out to Tinder and we'll update this post if we hear back. If she's able to regain access to her Tinder account, Gedrich says she'll go right back to swiping right for Sanders. "He makes me have faith again that our country can be a better place and even make the world a better place," she said. |
Wednesday morning after their ninth organized team activity session, the Texans players and coaches will go together to the public memorial for four fire fighters who were killed on Friday. The memorial service will start at 10 a.m. at Reliant Stadium. “It’s important to us as an organization and a team,” coach Gary Kubiak said. “The players, we talked about it yesterday. We want to show our support for our community and for those families. We look forward to being there to show our support tomorrow.” In order to be able to attend, the Texans moved practice to 8 a.m. instead of 11:15 a.m. “We’re pushing time up and nobody’s complaining about being here early in the morning because we know what this really is about,” safety Danieal Manning said. “It could have been anyone’s family member, so you always want to be able to show support in that way. … It doesn’t take any time to just go there. You should want to do that. We’re all supposed to all treat each other right and do the right thing, so that’s what we should do.” The four fire fighters were killed fighting a five-alarm fire at a motel on Friday. Several others were hospitalized with injuries. “It’s something that as players we talked with the coaches and just tried to work it out when we found out it was going to take place in our building tomorrow,” quarterback Matt Schaub said. “It’s important for us, being members of this community to be a part of that community and when something like this happens, we all rally around each other as citizens. So I think it says a lot about what’s important to us as a football team and an organization.” It was the deadliest day in Houston Fire Department history. The fire was at a motel in southwest Houston. “It’s a very humbling deal to be able to go in and support this community in the best manner that we can,” said punter Shane Lechler, who grew up in East Bernard. “Those are the real heroes. We are here mainly to win football games and entertain people. Those guys save lives. To be able to go and support the fallen and the ones that are still injured and in the hospital, it means a lot to us, it means a lot to me to just be a part of it.” |
New Public Policy Polling surveys in 6 key battleground states where Republican Senators are up for reelection this year find that voters don’t trust Donald Trump and would rather have Barack Obama picking a new Supreme Court justice than him. As a result they overwhelmingly support hearings on Merrick Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court, and are inclined to punish the vulnerable Republican Senators who are holding up his selection. Key findings from the surveys conducted in Arizona, Iowa, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin include: -Voters in all six states, by margins ranging from 5 to 23 points, say they don’t trust Donald Trump to nominate a Supreme Court justice. Voters in WI (34% trust Trump, 57% don’t) and in the home of Judiciary Committee Chair Charles Grassley of IA (35% trust Trump, 52% don’t) are particularly skeptical of Trump’s ability to name a Justice. Beyond simply not trusting Trump, voters in all six states clearly say that they *do* trust President Obama with the responsibility of making a Supreme Court selection, especially in contrast to Trump. In the key Presidential battlegrounds of Iowa, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin Obama has at least a 9 point advantage over Trump on that question in every state. State Trust Trump to Pick Justice (Yes/No) Trust Obama or Trump More To Pick Justice AZ 44/49 Obama, 46/45 IA 35/52 Obama, 49/39 NH 40/55 Obama, 53/39 OH 39/50 Obama, 50/41 PA 40/53 Obama, 51/42 WI 34/57 Obama, 54/37 -Because voters trust President Obama to make a Supreme Court choice and don’t trust Trump to, there’s overwhelming support for the Senate to move forward with confirmation hearings for Merrick Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court. More than 60% of voters in each of these states supports hearings for Garland, by margins ranging from 38 to 46 points. That includes overwhelming support from critical independent voters, and even plurality support from Republicans in 4 of the 6 states: State Overall Support for Hearings With Independents With Republicans AZ 61/23 (+38) 59/22 (+37) 45/34 IA 64/20 (+44) 65/13 (+52) 40/38 NH 68/22 (+46) 71/16 (+55) 42/46 OH 60/22 (+38) 67/18 (+49) 41/34 PA 64/19 (+45) 59/20 (+39) 49/31 WI 63/19 (+44) 65/16 (+49) 36/39 -The reason the issue of the Supreme Court nomination is so important in this set of states is that these Republican incumbents are all highly vulnerable. Their approval numbers are mediocre, their races are close, and voters say that they’re less likely to vote for them because of their opposition to hearings for Merrick Garland. Right now 4 of these 6 Senate races currently have the candidates within 1 or 2 points of each other. In all 6 of them, voters say by at least a 15 point margin that they’re less likely to vote for their Republican incumbent because of their opposition to hearings for Garland. And these are Senators who don’t have much goodwill to fall back on. 5 of the 6 have negative approval ratings and the one exception, Chuck Grassley, still has his worst approval numbers in years with them coming in only narrowly on positive ground at 43/40. Voter unhappiness about obstructionism on the Supreme Court issue could be what flips all these toss up races into the Democratic column and gives them control of the Senate next year: State Senator Approval Senate Horse Race More/Less Likely To Vote for Senator Opposed to Hearings AZ McCain, 30/54 McCain 42, Kirkpatrick 40 24/41 (-17) IA Grassley, 43/40 Grassley 46, Judge 39 22/40 (-18) NH Ayotte, 40/44 Hassan 44, Ayotte 42 20/44 (-24) OH Portman, 30/37 Portman 40, Strickland 39 24/40 (-16) PA Toomey, 30/39 Toomey 40, McGinty 39 23/40 (-17) WI Johnson, 33/44 Feingold 50, Johnson 37 18/41 (-23) One other thing serving as a drag on these vulnerable Senate Republicans is the unpopularity of their leader, Mitch McConnell. McConnell’s approval rating is under 15% in all six states, and being tied to him has the potential to damage the political standing of the members of his caucus. His net approval ranges from -26 at best to -45 at worst in this set of states: State McConnell Approval Arizona 10/55 (-45) Iowa 11/43 (-32) New Hampshire 14/47 (-33) Ohio 14/40 (-26) Pennsylvania 14/43 (-29) Wisconsin 13/44 (-31) A final note on these states is that they show the Presidential battleground is shaping up pretty well for Hillary Clinton in the fall. She leads in 5 of the 6 states and in the one exception, Arizona, her 4 point deficit still represents the closest a Democrat has made the race there in several decades: State Presidential Race Arizona Trump 44, Clinton 40 (Trump +4) Iowa Clinton 41, Trump 39 (Clinton +2) New Hampshire Clinton 43, Trump 39 (Clinton +4) Ohio Clinton 44, Trump 40 (Clinton +4) Pennsylvania Clinton 46, Trump 42 (Clinton +4) Wisconsin Clinton 47, Trump 39 (Clinton +8) The bottom line is this: voters want the Senate to move forward on Merrick Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court because they trust Barack Obama’s judgment and they don’t trust Donald Trump to make a decision this important. They overwhelmingly want to see hearings on Garland’s nomination, and they’re inclined to punish Senators who hold up the process. And John McCain, Chuck Grassley, Kelly Ayotte, Rob Portman, Pat Toomey, and Ron Johnson are in a lot of trouble already. Their handling of the Supreme Court issue just compounds their already perilous paths to reelection. Full results here |
A family was able to escape their burning home in the middle of the night unscathed, thanks to their favorite furry feline. The family’s cat was the first to notice the flames at around 3:30 a.m. on Thursday. The parents and two children were sleeping when the cat apparently pawed its way into its owner’s bedroom and bit the mother on the arm to warn her, the Edmonton Journal reported. The County of Grande Prairie Fire Department in Alberta, Canada confirmed the cat was partially responsible for the rescue. Members of the County of Grand Prairie Fire Department in Clairmont, Canada, rescued two cats from the house fire. William Vavrek Photography “A cat is being credited with alerting a family to a fire in their home early this morning,” County of Grande Prairie Fire Chief Trevor Grant said in a news statement. “The family escaped the home without any injuries.” Firefighters also managed to rescue a second cat from the fire. Shortly after fire crews began to put out the fire, freelance photographer William Vavrek arrived on the scene. “I arrived to see smoke coming from the trailer,” Vavrek described to CBS News. Vavrek snapped pictures as firefighters from Clairmont, Dunes and Sexsmith stations worked to contain the fire to the underside of the mobile home. He stood in front of the home and captured the moment as one of the firefighters carefully carried one of the family’s cats down the front stairs. His photo was featured on front pages of local newspapers, and quickly circulated online. “Hero kitty,” on Facebook user commented after Vavrek posted the popular picture on his photography page. “Fantastic!” another wrote. Firefighters are just glad the family, and their loyal feline, are safe. The family connected with the Red Cross Canada, and will be staying elsewhere as officials continue to investigate the fire. |
2,100 participants registered to date INDIANAPOLIS (January 19, 2012) – Online registration for the 500 Festival Training Series, presented by OrthoIndy is open, and so far more than 2,100 people have registered to participate in the 5K, 10K and 15K events. Pre-registration is available online at www.500festival.com. The first Training Series event is the 5K, which is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012 at 8:30 a.m. The 500 Festival Training Series is the only official training program for the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon, which will take place on May 5, 2012. Training Series dates for 2012 are February 11 (5K), March 3 (10K) and April 7 (15K). At each of these events, participants will run on part of the actual Mini-Marathon course and use the bib timing and scoring device that will be used at the Mini-Marathon. The official Training Series, consisting of three events, is designed to allow participants the opportunity to gauge their progress in preparation for the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon. The three Training Series events gradually increase in distance to coincide with a typical training program’s schedule. All Training Series events start and finish at the NCAA Hall of Champions in downtown Indianapolis. The 500 Festival Training Series is open to the public. Participants do not need to be registered for the Mini-Marathon to enter. Online registration at www.500festival.com will end eight days prior to each event. The pre-registration cost is $12 (5K), $14 (10K) and $16 (15K). On-site registration is available for an additional $4 fee and begins 90 minutes before the event. Participants can register for all three events for a pre-registration fee of $36, or they can register on-site for $48. Participants who register for all three events will receive two complimentary tickets to the NCAA Hall of Champions that will be valid throughout 2012. Race officials may cancel, delay or change the run in case of extreme weather or other conditions that may affect the safety and health of the participants. In the event of cancellation, the 500 Festival Communications Department will notify local media of such changes. Please tune in to WISH-TV or listen to WFMS 95.5, WJJK 104.5 or WWFT i94 for updates on the status of the event. In the event of a cancellation, refunds will not be issued. OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon and Finish Line 500 Festival 5K Less than 1,000 spots remain for the 2012 OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon on May 5, 2012. The OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon is sponsored by OneAmerica, Finish Line, Franciscan St. Francis Health and Marsh. Nearly 2,500 people have registered for the Finish Line 500 Festival 5K. Registration will close when the maximum field of 4,000 is reached. The mission of the 500 Festival is to advocate and celebrate the spirit, heritage and legacy of the Indianapolis 500®. Through social, cultural and educational events and programs, the 500 Festival enhances the quality of life for all citizens of our communities. The 500 Festival, a not-for-profit volunteer organization, was created in 1957 to organize civic events celebrating the greatest race in the world. Over the past 55 years, the 500 Festival has grown to become one of the largest festivals in the nation. Last year, more than 500,000 Hoosiers and visitors participated in nearly 50 events and programs throughout the month of May. Whether they were athletes running the Mini, fourth grade students participating in the Education Program, families enjoying the state’s largest festival for kids or spectators being dazzled by one of the nation’s premier parades, they were there, celebrating the legacy. ### |
Paul Feig Puts Together a Fake Talk Show Comedy for the UK Paul Feig, the director of “Bridesmaids” and creator of the great “Freaks and Geeks,” is headed across the pond for his latest TV venture. “Ronna & Beverly” is a six-part mock talk show for Sky Atlantic HD based on Jessica Chaffin and Jamie Denbo’s comedic live act, in which they play the titular blunt 50-something Jewish mothers who ask invasive questions of their guests and offer them unsolicited advice. The guest list for the live act has included Matthew Perry, Rachael Harris, Jeff Garlin, Russell Brand and Chris O’Dowd among many others. The pilot episode for the TV version features Jon Hamm of some show called “Mad Men” and “Episodes” star Stephen Mangan. Feig and stars Chaffin and Denbo have tried and failed to make this series work in the US — they made a pilot for Showtime in 2009 that wasn’t picked up. Feig theorized to Deadline that the reason it’s resonated more with UK networks is that “British audiences responded to these overbearing American characters, and the show is Ab Fab meets everyone’s obnoxious parents who ask horrifying questions.” “Ronna & Beverly” will air on Sky Atlantic HD this year, and who knows? Might serve as a bridge for the show to come to the US after all. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here. |
We spend hours and hours dwelling and ruminating on the negative and fearful things in our lives. We worry about what could go wrong, instead of focusing and paying attention to the rational, the positive and the good. We should train ourselves to focus on thoughts that will move us forward in the right direction. Read one of these statements to yourself every day -- and dwell on it. It's about time we started paying attention to what is rational and right. If you pay attention to the darkness, you will never find the light. If you study and relive your past experiences, analyzing them, and "getting in touch with your feelings", you will only reinforce those feelings. If you want to get away from a problem, you should not focus on it. Focus on what is rational, the positive, the beautiful, and the nice. A contented person is fully caught up in the moment --and is not thinking about the past or the future. Too much thinking and analyzing just makes any problem worse. Today is a wonderful day – live it in the present. Why do little children think ghosts, goblins, and monsters are real? As adults, we know they aren’t. Your thoughts aren’t "real" either in the sense that you "create" and reinforce them -- and the emotions that go along with them. Your thoughts are only what you decide to believe in and continually reinforce in your mind. (This one is deep – think about this one.) For example, you are sitting alone in the dark in your home. You are down, depressed and thinking gloomy thoughts. All of a sudden the phone rings and it’s a friend you haven’t talked to in years. You become alert, your mood picks up, and you have a nice conversation. Then, after you’ve hung up, you get blue again and fall back into a depressed mood. Why? Suggestion: Even though we don’t feel it – we have more power over our thoughts than we think. We can decide to stay "up" after the phone call by doing whatever it takes to keep from slipping back into the quicksand of rumination and despair. Cognitive-behavioral therapy, when done appropriately, gives us the tools and strategies to move away from anxiety and depression – and eventually to stay or "be" that way. If your thoughts begin to change, you will feel better. If you act rationally, despite how you are feeling, your beliefs and emotions will follow behind. There is so much in life I can’t control. But this is my life and I’ve decided to be happy. I can choose to be happy regardless of my other circumstances. It’s not "when I get a promotion, I’ll be happy....." or "when I can speak in front of a small group of people, I’ll be happy....." The focus should be on learning to be happy now. Tap into your inner peace and contentment in the way that works best for you. Happiness is a result of a decision to be happy. Your emotions and feelings are created by your thoughts. Unhappiness cannot exist on its own. It occurs because of thoughts, which can be changed. Your past thoughts are about events that are no longer real. That bad experience happened yesterday (in the past) and is over. It is gone and exists solely in your mind. Today is a new day, a better day, and worrying about the past just dooms us in the present. It’s how you process it now that makes a difference. You are a thought-producing machine. When you realize this, you can begin to slow your thoughts down and allow your anxieties and fears to rest. Your automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) are only thoughts: they are not real. Your ANTS are not real. They do not tell you the truth. Our tendency is to think TOO MUCH and to paralyze ourselves with our ruminations. We have a choice: Realize what we're doing to ourselves, get up, find a distraction, and do something interesting (positive). Happy people understand that to enjoy life you "live" it -- you don’t "think" about it. Watch a roomful of preschool children. They are enjoying life because they are focused on the moment and are not thinking about it. They are immersed and absorbed in living. Analysis creates paralysis. Anticipatory anxiety killing you? Stop thinking about it, take that step, and do it. Thoughts grow with attention. If you focus on negative thoughts, they will grow and grow and become even larger. If you focus on your progress and the new thoughts you are learning, they will grow stronger and take "automatic" control. Even if you understand and know why you have a problem, this will not help you in solving it. Going over and over the reasons for your problem is like pouring salt in an open wound. The only factor making you unhappy is your own thoughts. Relax, release them, let them go. When you notice self-limiting and self-defeating thoughts playing over and over in your mind, say "STOP! I will not give you any more power over me! I have better things to do!!" |
Saving this for reference approximately six months from now when we enter the apex phase for the 2018 primary election. It is easily predictable, as was identically the case in 2014 – albeit with lesser documentation, there will be all manner of obfuscations and arguments about ‘motives’ and ‘intents’ of various personalities behind a litany of duplicitous candidates and their agenda-driven (self-interested) backers therein (almost always guaranteed to be financial). Believe me, we’ll want to hold this for later reference. It had to happen sooner or later. I'm at my 1st ever football game! @Redskins v. @dallascowboys Not exactly Rugby! pic.twitter.com/O8CLDD1Kd5 — Sebastian Gorka DrG (@SebGorka) October 29, 2017 (LINK) Beware those who march quickly to the front of the parade; for they will often be assigned a role in choosing the destination… Screen capture for posterity. Advertisements |
If you’re scared of heights, this bridge is not for you. A high-altitude glass-bottomed bridge opened Thursday in China, offering brave visitors dizzying views of the canyon floor 600-feet below them. The bridge opened in Shiniuzhai National Geological Park in the Hunan province, and is thought to be the highest glass-bottomed bridge in the country, according to China Daily. The Brief Newsletter Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. View Sample Sign Up Now The BBC reported that the bridge is expected to be the longest glass-bottomed bridge in the world, almost 1,250 feet long, and among the highest as well. The canyon is the same one that inspired Halleluja Mountain in James Cameron’s Avatar movies, according to WIRED, and the architects specifically designed it so that it would “disappear” into the sky. The developers plan for the bridge to host fashion shows, and they planned a specific area for bungee jumping. Write to Charlotte Alter at charlotte.alter@time.com. |
One afternoon in early February, Katja Kipping, a left-wing member of the German parliament, finally got a chance to see the free-trade deal that the U.S. and European Union hope to finish by the end of this year. There were just a few preconditions. She would only get two hours to skim through the complex legal document, which is hundreds of pages long. She would have to surrender her jacket, purse, phone and other electronics before entering the sealed-off reading room at the German Economy Ministry. A guard would watch over Kipping the entire time. And she would not be allowed to tell anyone what she would find inside the agreement. Read More: Watch the History of Obama’s Presidency, as Told Through His Jokes “I hope it’s not a crime to speak about this,” she told me recently about the experience. “They didn’t tell me about any clear penalty, but they say it’s forbidden to speak or to write about anything you have read there.” This made our interview feel, at times, like a game of 20 questions, as Kipping would only tell me what she had not seen in the document. Since initiating the secretive negotiations in 2013, President Barack Obama and his European counterparts have promised that the treaty known as TTIP—short for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership— would cut the red tape that limits trade between the U.S. and E.U., potentially boosting their economies by a total of more than $200 billion, according to official E.U. projections. But the shroud of secrecy around the deal has not only strained transatlantic relations and provoked a massive popular backlash; it has also been embarrassingly ineffective at keeping the agreement under wraps. The Brief Newsletter Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. View Sample Sign Up Now On May 1, the Dutch arm of Greenpeace published nearly 250-pages of confidential TTIP documents, a leak that would seem to include most of what Kipping and other German lawmakers were ordered never to divulge. “Our impression is that this is indeed, as we had feared, a document that puts large corporations, corporate power at the center of policy making,” Daniel Mittler, the political director at Greenpeace International, told me after presenting the leaked files at a press conference in Berlin on May 2. He added: “It is not a treaty that is designed to help small business or, indeed, people and the public good.” That is exactly the impression that President Obama tried to dispel when he visited Germany last week. Appearing in the city of Hannover alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel, he urged European leaders to hurry up and finish the agreement, so that Obama might have a chance of signing it before he leaves office. “I know the politics are hard,” he told an audience of German business leaders and politicians at the Hannover Messe, the world’s largest industrial trade fair. “But we have to keep making our case, stating the facts and dispelling any misperceptions.” Read More: These 5 Facts Explain What Obama Wants From Europe For Merkel and other TTIP supporters, it has been difficult to dispel the misperceptions around the deal when they are not allowed to publish its actual contents. “I think it’s crazy,” says Sigmar Gabriel, the economy minister in Merkel’s government and the deputy chancellor in her ruling coalition. “It’s not only the Americans. It’s also the Europeans,” he told me on the sidelines of the Hannover Messe during Obama’s visit. “We ask if it’s possible to publish what we have agreed, and they say, ‘No!’” This has created a bizarre dilemma. In trying to strengthen political and economic ties across the Atlantic, the centerpiece of Obama’s trade agenda seems to be doing the opposite. It has sown widespread anger over what many Europeans see as an American plot to undermine their democracies and national environmental standards. A broad spectrum of German society—from right-wing Eurosceptics and nationalists to left-wing environmentalists and consumer protection groups—have all found common cause in opposing the deal. Read More: Obama’s Calls for an Open Germany Falter in a Tide of Refugees In the last few years, their improbable alliance has gathered millions of signatures against TTIP and staged enormous rallies across the country, including one protest that greeted Obama on the eve of his arrival in Hannover. On social media and in the press, the movement against TTIP has also fostered an entire ecosystem of conspiracy theories, which claim that the agreement would allow the U.S. to flood Europe with genetically modified crops, which are largely banned in Europe, as well as with chlorine-tainted chicken and other contaminants. Partly thanks to this sort of speculation, TTIP has become one of the most toxic issues in German politics, and one that Gabriel has come to personify as his country’s chief negotiator of the deal. All the secrecy has made this a punishing job. “The members of parliament are all angry about it,” he says. And so is a growing segment of the German public. According to a recent nationwide poll, only 17% of Germans consider the free-trade deal a good thing, compared to 55% in 2014, when the negotiations were just getting started. On April 25, when Gabriel met with U.S. negotiators for another round of talks, his frustration bubbled over. “We are adult citizens. We are adult democracies,” he told his U.S. counterpart, Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, when they appeared at a panel discussion in Hannover. “It must be possible to allow somebody to look” at what’s already been agreed, Gabriel said, because the secrecy around the talks “creates a lot of conspiracy; this creates mistrust.” It also seems rather pointless. Even before Greenpeace presented its trove of TTIP documents on Monday in Berlin, anonymous whistleblowers have leaked earlier versions of the deal to the public, including once in the spring of 2014. “You will find, after some days or weeks, that the text is in the Internet, because somebody has leaked them,” Gabriel noted rather presciently last week. Yet in spite of these leaks, the U.S. and E.U. still refuse to post official versions of the deal online. “I think sometimes it would be good to be a little bit more, let’s say, flexible,” he told Pritzker. The U.S. negotiator, who is herself a corporate titan from a powerful family of Chicago billionaires, did not seem moved. “You can’t negotiate something as complex as a trade agreement in the press, where it’s a referendum on every issue,” Pritzker said, echoing an argument that E.U. negotiators have also made in the past. “There is always going to be some element of compromise,” Pritzker said. “So you can’t do it out in the open.” At the same time, she added: “What’s important is that we begin to debunk these myths that are out there.” Gabriel has been trying to do that. In the spring of 2014, he set up an advisory board of trade union leaders, environmental activists and cultural figures to help shape the German position on TTIP and discuss the negotiations. There was just one problem. None of its members were given access to any part of the deal. “They are being used as a fig leaf,” says Walter Haefeker, the head of the European beekeepers association and a vocal critic of TTIP, who says his petition to join the board was rejected. As the public debate over the deal began to shift from confusion to hostility, Gabriel pushed for some level of parliamentary oversight in the negotiations, at least in granting the competent lawmakers the right to read a draft of the agreement and calm down their constituents. “This was a heavy debate,” he told me. In the end, it took two years of haggling before the U.S. and E.U. negotiators allowed him to create the TTIP reading room, which was opened to German lawmakers in February, behind two layers of security on the second floor of Gabriel’s ministerial headquarters in Berlin. Even in allowing that sliver of transparency, the negotiators felt the need to draft a separate document to govern the room’s existence, right down to the question of whether pens and paper could be allowed inside. That document is, of course, also confidential. In a wry gesture of contempt for the reading room and its secrets, Greenpeace activists unveiled their own version of the room on Monday next to Berlin’s iconic Brandenburg Gate. It has glass walls to symbolize transparency and invites passersby to read through the leaked text of the agreement at their leisure, taking as many pictures of it as they like. As for the reading room at the Economy Ministry, the only “nice gesture” it offers to German lawmakers, says Kipping, is a table in the corner with coffee and biscuits. The rest of the experience struck her as rather infuriating. “I was curious to see it, but I was also angry,” she says, “because I was not allowed to bring some of our experts and assistants with me.” That meant her only means of penetrating the document’s dense legal jargon was a German-English dictionary. The experience did little to dispel any of the myths and conspiracies that Kipping had heard about TTIP. Though she only had two hours to process the text, she says she found nothing to substantiate the claims of Merkel and Obama that the deal would benefit small businesses. She also found nothing to contradict the claims of TTIP’s opponents that it would allow large corporations to circumvent European laws and regulations. “If you read between the lines,” she says, “it’s clear that a company with a very successful lawyer can use some of the phrases in order to get whatever they want.” She admits, however, that her knowledge of international law was not strong enough to decipher the fine points of the deal. That would require independent experts to analyze it in detail, and the text obtained by Greenpeace may given them a chance to do just that. But they will still have to wait a while before reading an official version of the deal, which will not be published until the negotiators agree on a final draft. “The agreement, when negotiated, will become public,” Pritzker said during the panel discussion last week. Before the deal goes to the legislatures in the U.S. and Europe for ratification, she said, “there will obviously be plenty of time for everybody to look at it and understand it.” Asked whether that might happen this year, Gabriel answered: keine Ahnung – “No idea.” But even if the negotiators manage to finish the job before Obama leaves office in January, the wall of secrecy surrounding TTIP will have left many European lawmakers in no mood to ratify the deal. “I feel like my mouth is closed,” says Kipping. “I feel they want to make me silent.” And that doesn’t seem like an effective way to rally anyone’s support. Contact us at editors@time.com. |
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