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“We simply cannot allow the grievances of the past, as real as they may be, to in any way derail our efforts to prevent further atrocities for future history books,” said Representative Wally Herger, Republican of California. Representative Mike Ross, Democrat of Arkansas, said, “I think it is a good resolution and horrible timing.” The Turkish government has lobbied heavily against the resolution, which is nonbinding and largely symbolic. But lawmakers attributed the erosion in support mainly to fears about a potential Turkish decision to deny American access to critical military facilities in that nation and its threat to move forces into northern Iraq. “This vote came face to face with the reality on the ground in that region of the world,” said Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus and an opponent of the resolution. The Bush administration and top American generals have been vocal in warning that passage of the resolution could cause great harm to the American war effort in Iraq and have put significant pressure on Republicans to abandon their support for the measure. President Bush called Ms. Pelosi on Tuesday and asked her to prevent a floor vote. “The president and the speaker exchanged candid views on the subject and the speaker explained the strong bipartisan support in the House for the resolution,” said Brendan Daly, a spokesman for Ms. Pelosi. The Democratic leadership was examining the exact level of that support to gauge its next step, but lawmakers and officials said it was now unclear whether the resolution could be approved, given Republican resistance and Democratic defections. “We will have to determine where everyone is,” said Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the majority leader. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Ms. Pelosi, who has promised a vote on the resolution if it cleared the committee, said she was leaving it to its chief backers to round up votes. “I have never known a count,” she said. Backers of the resolution, which has the fervent support of the Armenian-American community, described the shift as slight and attributed it to the intense lobbying by the Turkish government, the administration and their allies. They said they would try to change the minds of some of those who were wavering. “This is what happens when you are up against a very sophisticated multimillion-dollar campaign,” said Representative Brad Sherman, Democrat of California, who chided the Turkish government. “Since when has it become fashionable for friends to threaten friends?” But he acknowledged there was little margin of error for backers of the resolution, which had once boasted 225 co-sponsors. “If the vote were held today, I would not want to bet my house on the outcome,” he said. Mr. Sherman and others noted that at the start of the war Turkey had refused to let American forces operate from its territory and that its intentions toward the northern border of Iraq clearly captured the attention of Congress. American military officials in Iraq and in Washington said Tuesday they were concerned about possible Turkish military raids into northern Iraq against the Kurdish Workers Party, an ethnic separatist movement also known as the P.K.K. At the moment, they said, they did not see many indications that the Turkish military was preparing for a large-scale incursion into the insurgents’ mountainous strongholds and expressed hope that diplomatic efforts under way between Iraqi and Turkish officials would ease the crisis, which was sparked by a wave of attacks in eastern Turkey that its government has blamed on the separatists. “We see no signs that there’s anything imminent by Turkey,” said one senior military officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was discussing military contingency planning. “So there’s time for the diplomacy to work for a few more days, if not weeks.” But, he added, the situation could get “ugly” if Turkey sent troops across the border and they clashed with Kurdish militias or Iraqi forces. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The biggest fear, several former officials said, is that Turkish forces could push past the border and head for Kirkuk. Such a move could force Iraq to respond and the United States to mediate between two allies, and decide whether to intervene. Such a crisis could also draw in Iran, which has also had growing problems with Kurdish groups crossing into its territory from Iraq. In addition to the potential movement of Turkish forces, opponents of the resolution continued to point to Turkey’s role as a staging area for moving American military supplies into Iraq. “This happened a long time ago and I don’t know whether it was a massacre or a genocide, that is beside the point,” said Representative John P. Murtha, the Pennsylvania Democrat who is urging Ms. Pelosi to keep the resolution from the floor. “The point is, we have to deal with today’s world.” While the resolution enjoyed more than enough support to pass earlier this year, about two dozen lawmakers have removed their names from the official list of sponsors in recent weeks as the vote grew more likely and the reservations grew more pronounced. “I think there was genocide in Turkey in 1915 but I am gravely concerned about the timing,” said Representative Jane Harman, a California Democrat. She said she would remain a co-sponsor of the resolution but at the moment would oppose it reached the floor. Representative Doug Lamborn, a Colorado Republican who dropped his backing on Tuesday, said: “Nothing changes the fact that mass killings and unspeakable acts of brutality occurred. However, passing this nonbinding resolution at this critical time would be a destabilizing action when the United States needs the help of its allies, including Turkey, in fighting the global war on terror.” |
Carlton’s Sam Docherty has put pen to paper and inked a new three-year-deal, ensuring he will remain with the Blues until at least the end of 2018. The 21-year-old arrived at Carlton through the 2013 trade period, after 13 games with the Brisbane Lions. A life-long Carlton supporter, Docherty made his debut in the Navy Blues jumper in Round 7, 2014 against Collingwood. From there he held his spot in the team, running out in every game for the remainder of the season and finishing ninth in the Blues’ best and fairest. Docherty says he’s rapt to be staying in the jumper that he loves. “It’s great to get the deal done – there was never any doubt in my mind about whether I was staying or going,” Docherty said. “I think Carlton has some success around the corner. I know that it doesn’t seem like that now, but the club is working really hard and the players are working really hard to get to where we want to be.” Carlton’s Head of Football Andrew McKay says Docherty has shown class both on and off the field. “Sam is part of Carlton’s middle tier leadership group and we’ve seen his leadership qualities really emerge over the past few years,” McKay said. “We recruited Sam specifically to play a variety of positions and he has shown some good form doing that this year. “It’s fantastic to have someone of his quality, both on and off the field, sign a long-term deal with us.” Docherty’s stats: DOB: 17 October 1993 Carlton Debut: Round 7, 2014 v Collingwood Games: 34 (21 at Carlton) Goals: 8 (7 at Carlton) Guernsey No. 15 Carlton Player No. 1152 |
While we're on the topic, let's think about that $100 million. It's supposed to be a no-brainer, right? The funding is already lined up, right? Let's forget about the $20 million in additional capital funds that is supposed to come from the state, even though we're all well aware of who pays the state the money they are supposed to appropriate. Let's forget about the bonds that Temple would sell in order to fund another chunk of the project, even though we're all well aware that those bonds are backed by tuition dollars, and that those bonds are generally highly rated because the raters know that this country's education-industrial complex has commandeered the collective psyche to the point that if they have to raise tuition to meet their obligations, the rest of us will happily keep on taking out our loans to meet their asking price. |
FRANKFORT — House Speaker Greg Stumbo said Wednesday that it's not appropriate for the state to provide tax incentives for a Noah's Ark theme park in Grant County. He said he expects that the practice will be challenged in court and that the state will lose because it violates the U.S. Constitution's mandate for separation of church and state. Stumbo's comments came during a wide-ranging news conference in his Capitol office, during which he also contended that Bill Bissett, president of the Kentucky Coal Association, was "hand-picked" for the job by U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell and that he has decided not to make an expanded gambling bill the highest-priority measure in the 2015 General Assembly, because Churchill Downs has contributed heavily to House Republican candidates. The Democrat from Prestonsburg predicted that Democrats will pick up at least three to five seats in the state House in November to keep control of the chamber. Democrats now have a 54-46 advantage in the House. Sign Up and Save Get six months of free digital access to the Lexington Herald-Leader House Minority Leader Jeff Hoover, R-Jamestown, called Stumbo's news conference "a dog and pony show." "Speaker Stumbo is fond of using the term 'dog and pony show' when we propose ideas that he doesn't like," Hoover said in a statement. "Today's dog and pony show by Speaker Stumbo is yet another ploy to play all sides and a desperate attempt to hold control of the House beyond November." Earlier this week, the Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority voted unanimously to give preliminary approval of as much as $18.25 million in tax incentives for the $73 million first phase of the biblical theme park. The Ark Encounter is to open in two years, featuring a wooden ark to be 510 feet long, 85 feet wide and 55 feet high. The park is affiliated with Answers in Genesis, which developed and operates the Creation Museum in Boone County. The museum follows a literal interpretation of the Bible and the belief, contrary to science, that the Earth is only 6,000 years old. A state feasibility study of the project is expected to take six to eight weeks, and then the authority will decide whether to give final approval to the incentives, which Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear supports. Stumbo said he understands that Grant County needs more economic development but that the use of state incentives is unconstitutional "because it erects a monument with the help of state money theoretically that is recognized by a majority religion in this country." He quickly added that he believes in that religion. "But there is separation of church and state," and the state cannot pick one religion over another, Stumbo said. He predicted a legal challenge against the incentives, "and we'll end up losing the lawsuit as a state, and we will have to pay legal fees to ACLU or whoever it is." American Atheists of New Jersey said this week that a lawsuit against the incentives is possible. Mike Zovath, project coordinator for Ark Encounter, said the state is not promoting a religion with its incentives. "This is purely an economic issue," he said. Stumbo also was asked about a recent statement by the Kentucky Coal Association that a campaign ad by Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes was unfair and inaccurate. The ad attacked Republican U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell over lost coal jobs in Kentucky. McConnell "hand-picked" Bill Bissett to be president of the Kentucky Coal Association, "no question about it," said Stumbo. Stumbo said he knows that because he had tried to lobby for someone else to get the job in 2010, "but the cards had already been dealt." Bissett said Stumbo's assertion is "news to me." He said he came to Kentucky from a job in West Virginia with no political connections and that he is strongly supported in Kentucky by Democrats and Republicans. "A board picked me, and I serve at the pleasure of the board," Bissett said. Allison Moore, a spokeswoman for McConnell's re-election campaign, said it is "beyond astounding" that Stumbo would "publicly attack the integrity of the Kentucky Coal Association and its president." She said McConnell met Bissett after his appointment. Stumbo had said earlier this year that he would make expanded gambling "House Bill 1" in the 2015 General Assembly — a designation to emphasize its importance. But he said expanded gambling has "stumbled out of the gate" for that lofty designation in the wake of media reports in June that Churchill Downs has donated $100,000 to the Next Generation Leadership Fund to put Republicans in office in Kentucky. Instead, Stumbo said, a proposal by Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and Lexington Mayor Jim Gray to allow a local-option sales tax probably will be House Bill 1 in the 2015 law-making session. Meanwhile, he remained mum about possibly running for governor next year, saying he was focused on keeping Democrats in control of the state House. He did note that a new Bluegrass Poll this week showed that most Kentuckians are not familiar with candidates who already have announced their candidacies. Stumbo said he will help Grimes' campaign and will be in Hazard next Wednesday, when former President Bill Clinton is scheduled to be there to campaign for her. He said Grimes will conduct a college campus tour in her campaign to unseat McConnell. |
TAIZ, Yemen - Three Al Jazeera Arabic crew members went missing on 18 January while they were on their way back to their house in the al-Masbah area in the centre of Taiz city, which is completely under the control of the Popular Resistance. Al Jazeera correspondent Hamdi al-Bokari and his crew, photographer Abdulaziz al-Sabri and driver Moneer al-Sabai, are believed to have been kidnapped by a group of Popular Resistance fighters. A friend of Bokari, who worked with him as a photographer, told Middle East Eye on the condition of anonymity that Bokari and his colleagues were kidnapped around 10pm after having dinner at the house of Abdulstar al-Shamiri, a leader in the Resistance. "All of us know that the al-Masbah area is far from the Houthis and this area is completely under the control of the Resistance, so the Houthis are innocent of this abduction. The Resistance is the only group responsible for this abduction," Bokari's friend added. He said that there are more than 10 groups fighting with the Resistance in Taiz, including Salafi fighters and alleged members of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). The leadership of the Resistance cannot control all of these groups, he added. "There are disputes starting to emerge among the different groups of the Resistance in Taiz, and this threatens the future of Taiz in general and the journalists in particular, as the different groups will resort to kidnapping journalists and activists, who are under the protection of the leadership of the Resistance," Bokari's friend told MEE. The Al Jazeera Media Network has called for the immediate release of the news team, but the news channel did not accuse any side of the abduction. The news channel said in a statement on Thursday that there were "indications that Bokari had been kidnapped by unknown persons". Sleeper cells No one has claimed responsibility for the abduction yet, and the Resistance of Taiz province said that there are sleeper cells of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh inside Taiz. Moaath al-Yaseri, a leader of the Popular Resistance in Taiz, said that Saleh had resorted to using his sleeper cells to defame the reputation of the Resistance, after being unable to take over Taiz. "Al Jazeera crew members were kidnapped by the sleeper cells of Saleh, which have spread in the areas of the Resistance in Taiz, but the Resistance is following the issue now and we will not let the abductors flee," he added to MEE. Yaseri stated that the Resistance is happy with the work of Al Jazeera Arabic in Taiz, confirming that the Resistance does not have any interest in kidnapping the journalists, as journalists in Taiz often reflect on the suffering of the residents and highlight the siege on the city by the Houthis. However, the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate (YJS) said that the leadership of the Popular Resistance of Taiz is responsible for the abduction of Bokari and his colleagues given that they were abducted from an area under its control. "Even if the Resistance did not abduct the Al Jazeera crew members, the Resistance is responsible for the al-Masbah area, and it has to keep it safe and protect the residents of that area," said Ashraf al-Rifi, the secretary of YJS’s rights and freedoms committee. There are 13 journalists still detained by the Houthis and by al-Qaeda, according to YJS, which called for their immediate release. There were no reports of the Resistance kidnapping or arresting any journalists last year. Fears among journalists When the Houthis in 2014 took over the capital, Sanaa, they arrested many journalists who were opposed to them. In response, many journalists fled to other provinces, including Taiz. However, the abduction of the Al Jazeera team has created fear among journalists in Taiz, as this was the first abduction of journalists in an area controlled by the Resistance in Taiz, and some journalists have been considering leaving the city. Fareed al-Homaid, a freelance journalist based in Taiz who used to work for the Yemen Times newspaper, said that he fled Sanaa in April 2015, and he is thinking now about fleeing Taiz to another province, as Taiz seems not to be safe anymore for journalists. "In Sanaa, we know that the Houthis abduct journalists, but in Taiz we do not know which group of the Resistance is responsible for the abduction, so the abductor is anonymous and this is very dangerous," Homaid told MEE. He added that he feared journalists would be victims of disputes between various groups of the Resistance in Taiz, confirming that he had become very cautious about his movements throughout the city. Homaid condemned the leadership of the Resistance for its attitude towards the abduction of Al Jazeera crew members. “The leadership of the Resistance accused sleeper cells of former president Saleh for (carrying out) the abduction, but the Resistance has not looked for the abductees in Taiz city." He said that even if Saleh's sleeper cells kidnapped the Al Jazeera team, the sleeper cells could not take them out of Taiz city, as the checkpoints of the Resistance have spread around the entire al-Masbah area and the surrounding areas, so he believes that the Resistance is the only one responsible for any journalist abductions in Taiz city. On Saturday, crowds of residents in Taiz protested in solidarity with the Al Jazeera team, holding photos of the abductees and calling for their immediate release. |
A funding program once universally opposed by school trustees and district staff alike has now funnelled close to $30,000 into Vancouver classrooms. Chevron’s Fuel Your School program changed its criteria and funding parameters in September, allowing teachers to directly apply for funding that supports learning in four specific areas: science, technology, engineering and math. article continues below Previously, Chevron had to approach trustees and district administrators for approval. That change resulted in 23 projects being funded across 11 schools in Vancouver. Some of those initiatives included a new 3-D printer for John Oliver secondary, a butterfly lifecycle kit at Templeton secondary and tools to help grade 4 and 5 students learn about software coding at David Livingstone elementary. More than 2,200 Vancouver students were reached as part of the program, and $28,000 in funding was distributed between September and November 2016. Outside of Vancouver, 10 other Metro Vancouver school districts participated in the program in 2016, receiving $565,000. Just five districts took part before the program was opened up directly to teachers. “This program is vastly popular with teachers across Metro Vancouver in each of the districts that are participating in the program, including Vancouver,” said Chevron spokesperson Adrien Byrne. “We’ve been approached by various levels of school board administrators across the region to participate in the program and we’ve had great feedback.” The program works via a third-party charity called My Class Needs. Teachers apply to the project by way of outlining their class-specific needs each September. According to Byrne, the feedback from teachers exceeded expectations. “What we’ve seen is that the program is so popular with teachers that it was 70 per cent over-subscribed in 2016,” he said. “There is a huge backlog.” Chevron first approached the VSB with its proposal in 2014. The proposed funding at that time would have been in the neighbourhood of $475,000, but trustees and staff rejected the deal. Concerns were raised at the time over the optics of a fuel company sponsoring schools and classrooms. The VSB’s policy on corporate partnerships includes mandating that the district and schools maintain control over curriculum, and prevents students from being forced to view advertisements. Former board chair Patti Bacchus told the Courier her principle concern at the time was a month-long promotion Chevron was touting at its gas stations that was connected to the program. That promotion saw $1 contributions made to My Class Needs for every 30 litres of gas purchased, up to a total of $565,000. “The concern was they were using the schools to market gasoline sales,” said Bacchus, who’s now an education editor for the online news site Vancouver Observer. “Even if the corporate branding wasn’t in the classrooms, as kids were in the cars coming home from soccer, they would be filling up at Chevron [and] they would think ‘Chevron is supporting my school.’ That crosses over into an area the school board is quite sensitive about.” That gas purchasing promotion was once again offered in October 2016, though Bacchus has backed off her outright refusal to endorse the program. “I think it’s better now,” Bacchus said. “It’s fine if they want to make funds available and if they want to be supportive — if there are no strings attached. If an individual teacher thinks that this is a way to get the resources that aren’t being provided, I don’t have a problem with that, so long as kids aren’t exposed to corporate branding.” Byrne maintains that Chevron is not circumventing any district rules by going directly to teachers, it’s simply expanding the program’s parameters and reach. “Knowing that the school board in Vancouver declined that partnership in 2014 we decided to open it up and let teachers make their own decisions,” he said. In fact, of all his dealings with districts across Metro Vancouver, Byrne characterized those in Vancouver as being the most challenging. Byrne said he approached superintendent Scott Robinson to again discuss the program in early 2016, but his offer went nowhere. “We received a polite and brief decline to meet from his administrative assistant, citing the traditional position of the VSB trustees,” Byrne said. The district’s refusal to endorse the Chevron program was briefly cited in the forensic audit report released in October 2016. “VSB trustees made a number of decisions which have limited the VSB’s ability to increase revenue,” Peter Milburn’s report noted. VSB spokesperson David Connop Price issued a statement to the Courier Jan. 13 indicating that “VSB has no corporate partnership with Chevron.” “Any grant application submitted by a VSB teacher to any organization has to comply with VSB policy regarding public solicitation,” he said. “VSB is not aware of the My Class Needs Foundation placing any demands on teachers that breach VSB policy regarding public solicitation.” @JohnKurucz jkurucz@vancourier.com |
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Attachment theory is useful for understanding why those from low SES backgrounds are at greater risk of negative health outcomes in adulthood. Findings extend our knowledge of how interpersonal relationships in childhood can shape emotional and physical health outcomes in adulthood. Low childhood SES was associated with poor self-reported health via the serial pathway from attachment anxiety to general stress. Moreover, attachment avoidance was associated with self-reported health via general stress, but only among those with high stress-induced RSA. Findings were independent of participant age, sex, race, body mass index, baseline RSA, and adult SES. In this study, we examined whether attachment orientations (i.e., attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance) and self-reported stress were mediators of the association between childhood SES and self-reported health in adulthood. Furthermore, we examined whether parasympathetic nervous system functioning was a moderator of associations between attachment orientations and self-reported stress. Keywords Attachment theory Respiratory sinus arrhythmia Stress Self-rated health Child development Low early life socioeconomic status (SES) is reliably associated with poor adult health [1, 2, 3, 4]. Individuals from low early life SES backgrounds have shorter life spans in comparison to those from high early life SES backgrounds [5]. Low early life SES is associated with an increased number of hospital visits each year in adulthood [6]. Parasympathetic nervous system reactivity to stress is one hypothesized mechanism for the association between childhood SES and adult health [7]. Developing a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the association between childhood SES and adult health is important for prevention and treatment efforts. The present study examined how attachment orientations, parasympathetic nervous system functioning, and general stress may underlie the association between early life SES and self-reported health in adulthood. The family stress [8] and risky family models [9] purport that early life social conditions lead to differential health outcomes. Consistent with the family stress and risky family models, low early life SES is associated with increased risk of mental and physical health problems in adulthood [10]. In particular, harsh, inconsistent, and uninvolved parenting (often due to economic pressures) are highlighted as key mechanisms underlying the association between early life SES and poor well-being [11]. Support for the role of harsh, inconsistent, and uninvolved parenting as a mechanism linking low childhood SES to poor well-being has been identified across a range of samples from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds [11]. For example, high SES parents tend to be more child-centered and sensitive in their approach to parenting whereas low SES parents tend to be less sensitive and more authoritarian [12]. As a result, children in low SES environments may be more likely develop insecure attachment orientations than children in high SES environments [13]. Factors such as poor nutrition [14], heightened stress [15], and lack of social support [16] are factors that may enhance a child’s vulnerability for being exposed to less sensitive parenting behaviors that promote attachment insecurity in low SES families. This is important given that low SES environments and insecure attachments promote unhealthy behaviors by continuing to affect the quality of parenting and other close relationships that are developed across the lifespan. Indeed, obesity [17] and engagement in risky health behaviors (e.g., smoking, lack of seatbelt use [18]) are more common among children and adults with insecure attachment orientations. Attachment orientations (also referred to as attachment styles or patterns) were originally described by developmental psychologists as trait-like patterns of attachment that develop via the quality of one’s relationship with their caregiver and the responsiveness of this caregiver to one’s bids for attention [19]. Infants were originally described as being secure or insecure in their attachment orientation [20], with insecure attachment being composed of both anxious-avoidant and anxious-ambivalent attachment orientations [20]. Children with an anxious-avoidant attachment orientation were described as being those who did not receive sensitive care from their attachment figure and learned not to seek them when distressed. Children with an anxious-ambivalent attachment orientation were thought to receive inconsistent care from their attachment figure, which is more common among low SES families in comparison to high SES families [13]. Children with sensitive and responsive caregivers were thought to view their attachment figure as distress-alleviating and a secure base, hence the term secure attachment. Based on the pioneering early work by social psychologists and others interested in adult relationships, convincing evidence demonstrated that the same individual differences in attachment orientations identified in caregiver-child relationships also characterize adults’ attachment orientations toward others in adulthood [21]. A large literature has confirmed these predictions, and psychometric research has demonstrated the benefits of adopting a two-dimensional model as opposed to a categorical model for measuring attachment orientations [22]. One of the dimensions is attachment anxiety or the degree to which one is concerned about the availability and responsiveness of close others [22]. The other dimension, attachment avoidance, reflects the extent to which one is uncomfortable using others for security [22]. Those low on attachment anxiety and avoidance are labeled as secure. Social psychologists and others interested in adult attachment have largely focused on assessing attachment orientations using this dimensional approach to close relationships. Importantly, both theoretical traditions highlight the role of attachment orientations for emotion regulation and see early childhood experiences as the most important for establishing attachment orientations. Secure individuals are able to buffer stressful life events and the negative emotions they can generate by drawing upon their felt security [23, 24]. Supportive early life environments promote effective emotion regulation later in life [25]. Those with insecure attachment orientations tend to demonstrate poor emotion regulation, leading to increased risk of experiencing chronic stress [26]. When chronic, stress can dysregulate immune functioning and promote disease [27]. High attachment anxiety is associated with increased risk of immune and endocrine dysfunction [28], in addition to chronic pain, heart disease, stroke, asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, diabetes, and hypertension [29, 30]. Accordingly, attachment theory is important for understanding the link between childhood SES and adult health outcomes. Evidence for an association between attachment and health outcomes is consistent with findings indicating that attachment anxiety leads to enhanced stress responses. Indeed, attachment anxiety is associated with increased cortisol reactivity when discussing a relationship concern with one’s partner [31]. Individuals high in attachment anxiety and avoidance evidence greater increases in heart rate and blood pressure when confronted with a stressful situation if their partner is present, but not when their partner is absent [32]. Furthermore, attachment anxiety is associated with self-reported distress during a stressful cognitive task, whereas attachment avoidance is associated with less parasympathetic nervous system activity [33]. Attachment avoidance is less reliably associated with stress and physical health problems than attachment anxiety. For example, attachment avoidance was not associated with cortisol production and cellular immunity [28, 34], but was associated with subjective and behavioral responses to stress [35]. Furthermore, higher attachment avoidance was associated with greater inflammation following a marital conflict, but attachment avoidance was unrelated to inflammation after a social support interaction [36]. Accordingly, there may be other factors that are important for understanding a potential association between attachment avoidance and health. For instance, attachment avoidance was associated with well-being via perceived social support, whereas attachment anxiety and well-being were directly associated [37]. More broadly, high emotional support has also been found to reduce the negative impact of attachment insecurity on health [38], suggesting that one’s emotional environment is important to consider when evaluating the association between attachment and health. When avoidantly attached individuals experience stress, they often use suppression techniques that attempt to shift their attention away from unwanted thoughts [39]. Experimental work indicates that suppression is associated with the ability to prevent reactivation of unwanted, and previously suppressed, thoughts among avoidant individuals in many circumstances; however, when under high cognitive load, avoidantly attached individuals are unable to suppress such thoughts [40]. In other words, attachment avoidance is associated with self-regulatory failure when individuals are under high cognitive load (i.e., when one’s working memory capacity is overextended [41]). Self-regulatory failure due to rumination is associated with increased psychological stress and depression [42, 43]. Moreover, suppression is associated with increased cardiovascular reactivity and hypertension risk [44], as well as inflammation [45]. Such findings are consistent with prior work indicating that self-regulatory processes are important for understanding the association between attachment avoidance and well-being [25]. There is considerable theoretical work demonstrating that early life SES interacts with one’s physiological capacity for coping with stress to predict mental and physical health outcomes throughout the lifespan [9, 46]. However, relatively few empirical studies have evaluated how the synergistic relationship between attachment orientations and physiological stress is associated with mental and physical health outcomes. In such work, attachment avoidance, but not attachment anxiety, interacted with stress-induced respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) to predict post-cancer treatment quality of life [47] and loss adjustment relationship [23, 48]. RSA is the variability in heart rate that is due to respiration and is a marker of parasympathetic nervous system activity [49]. RSA is a marker of one’s self-regulatory capacity (also known as self-regulatory strength) or the degree to which one can utilize self-regulation before being susceptible to self-regulation failure [50]. Normatively, RSA goes down when one is confronted with a stressor [50, 51, 52, 53]. According to the neurovisceral integration model and polyvagal theories, RSA is important for regulation of emotion [54, 55], and high stress-induced RSA relative to baseline has been described as representing self-regulatory capacity [50]. Given prior work showing that stress-induced RSA is important for understanding why only some individuals with high attachment avoidance are susceptible to stress and negative health outcomes [23, 47, 48], as well as work indicating that attachment anxiety is reliably associated with stress and health, we hypothesized that (1) individuals with low childhood SES would report greater attachment anxiety and avoidance in comparison to those with high childhood SES; (2) greater attachment anxiety would be serially associated with increased stress, and this serial association would underlie the association between low early life SES and poor adult health; (3) stress-induced RSA would change the association between attachment avoidance and stress such that those with low attachment avoidance and high stress-induced RSA would report lower stress than those with high attachment avoidance and/or low stress-induced RSA; and (4) childhood SES would be indirectly associated with poor adult health through the attachment avoidance and stress only when the role of stress-induced RSA in changing the association between attachment avoidance and stress is included. Methods The data utilized for the present study was from the Pittsburgh Cold Study 3, which is publicly available and has been described previously [56, 57]. Healthy individuals (N = 213) from the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area were recruited to participate in the present study between 2008 and 2011. The study was approved by the Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh institutional review boards, and all participants provided informed consent. As compensation for their time and efforts, participants were given $1000 for completing the full study protocol. For the present study, participants completed self-report measures of childhood SES, attachment orientations, stress, and self-reported health. Furthermore, RSA was measured at rest and during engagement in the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) [58]. The TSST is a well-validated stress paradigm in which participants were told that they would be delivering a 5-min speech in which they were to defend against an alleged transgression (i.e., shoplifting or a traffic violation). Participants were given 5 min to prepare before delivering a video-recorded speech during which RSA was measured. Measures Childhood Socioeconomic Status The Macarthur Scale of Subjective Social Status USA ladder version [59] was utilized to measure childhood and adult SES. In regards to childhood SES, participants were asked to separately indicate their mother’s and father’s social status on an illustration of a nine-step ladder in which the top represents those with the most education, money, and respected jobs. Conversely, the bottom step of the ladder represents those with the least education, money, and respected jobs. Participants were asked to place an “X” on the ladder that best represented each parents’ position. Scores range from 1 (lowest status) to 9 (highest status), and scores for maternal and paternal SES were averaged to form an overall indicator of childhood SES. No instructions were given about how to respond for those with more than two parents. All participants provided a response for their mothers’ SES, while four participants did not provide a response for their fathers’ SES. Participants were also asked to complete the measure in reference to their own SES as an adult, which was utilized as a covariate in the analyses described below. Acceptable psychometric characteristics have been identified using the Scale of Subjective Social Status [60]. One’s subjective social status is associated with objective indicators of SES such as income, educational attainment, and employment status [59, 61]. Attachment Orientations The Experiences in Close Relationship Scale (ECR)-short form [62] was utilized to measure attachment orientations. Six items measure each attachment dimension (i.e., attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance). Participants were asked to indicate the degree to which each item (e.g., “I am very uncomfortable being close to people.”) is true for them on a scale from 1 (disagree strongly) to 7 (agree strongly). The original 36-item ECR was developed using a factor analysis of all items available from 14 self-report measures of attachment [42]. Two dimensions were identified and labeled as anxiety and avoidance. There is a general consensus from experts in the field that attachment consists of these two dimensions [39]. The ECR-short from has demonstrated similar reliability and construct and criterion validity as the original measure [62]. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.83 for attachment avoidance and 0.89 for attachment anxiety in the present sample. Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia RSA was recorded using a respiration band and three electrocardiogram leads (Vernier Software & Technology, Beaverton, OR). The baseline period lasted 20 min, and participants were instructed to sit upright in a chair and rest quietly. An automated algorithm was utilized to record interbeat interval (IBI) sequences (MinWare Version 2.51, MindWare Technologies LTD) and a 250-Hz sampling frequency [63]. Measurement of RSA during baseline was separated into 5-min epochs, which were averaged to form an overall indicator of baseline RSA. Spectral analysis of IBIs was conducted using a Fast Fourier transform algorithm [64]. High-frequency (HF) band power was calculated as the sum of the powers associated with any peaks in the range of 0.12 to 0.40 Hz. An identical procedure was utilized to measure stress-induced RSA during the TSST, which consisted of a single 5-min epoch. Valid baseline RSA data was obtained from 199 participants, whereas valid stress-induced RSA was measured from 190 participants. General Stress Participants completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) [65]. On the PSS, participants are asked to indicate the degree to which they have experienced 10 symptoms of general stress on a scale ranging from 0 (never) to 4 (very often). Cronbach’s alpha was 0.81 for the PSS in the present study. Self-Reported Health Participants were asked to indicate their general health on a scale ranging from 1 (excellent) to 5 (poor) on the widely utilized single item from the RAND SF-36 questionnaire [66]. The single item on the SF-36 has evidenced strong psychometric characteristics [66]. Demographics Participants provided self-reported information about their age, gender, and race/ethnicity. Height and weight were measured in order to generate a body mass index (BMI) for each participant. These demographic variables were utilized as covariates in the analyses described below. Analytic Strategy 67 23 47 48 68 69 1 70 Open image in new window We utilized multiple imputation to handle random missing data, which is superior to listwise deletion []. Consistent with prior work demonstrating the utility of evaluating stress-induced RSA relative to baseline RSA in predicting stress and health outcomes [], we adjusted for baseline RSA in our analyses. We also controlled for participant age, gender, race/ethnicity, BMI, and adult SES. EQS structural equation modeling software was utilized (version 6.1) []. Attachment orientations and self-reported general stress were examined as mediators of the association between childhood SES and self-reported health (see Fig.). Moreover, stress-induced RSA was examined as a moderator of the association between attachment avoidance and general stress. Five thousand bias-corrected bootstrap samples were utilized to examine indirect effects to test for mediation and serial mediation (i.e., mediation in sequence), which is consistent with modern approaches to mediation analysis []. Results 1 Variable M SD 1 2 3 4 5 1. Childhood SES 5.07 1.93 – 2. Attachment anxiety 3.43 1.34 −0.21** – 3. Attachment avoidance 2.88 1.33 −0.11 0.46** – 4. Stress-induced RSAa 6.16 1.14 −0.10 −0.04 0.12 – 5. General stress 12.04 5.65 −0.07 0.32** 0.38** 0.06 – 6. Self-reported health 2.92 0.71 0.20** −0.03 −0.11 0.03 −0.21** Descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations for primary study variables are presented in Table. In regards to covariates, current SES was associated with self-reported health (r = .39, p < .001), while BMI (r = −.17, p = .01) and current SES (r = −.16, p = .02) were associated with attachment anxiety. Current SES (r = −.17, p = .01) was also associated with attachment avoidance. Furthermore, participant age (r = −.73, p < .001), BMI (r = − .33, p < .001), and baseline RSA (r = .72, p < .001) were associated with stress-induced RSA. Current SES was the only covariate associated with general stress (r = −.16, p = .02), while participant BMI (r = −.17, p = .02) and current SES (r = .16, p = .02) were associated with self-reported health. 2 3 1 2 = .14) in which attachment anxiety and avoidance were associated (r = .49, p < .001); however, we separated our description of the results for each attachment dimension in order to improve clarity given that childhood SES was not associated with attachment avoidance (β = 0.02, p = .75). Additionally, childhood SES was not associated with baseline RSA (β = 0.06, p = .25) or stress-induced RSA (β = −0.08, p = .12). As seen in Fig. 2 Open image in new window Open image in new window The information depicted in Figs.andwas tested within one overall model (see Fig.; f= .14) in which attachment anxiety and avoidance were associated (r = .49, p < .001); however, we separated our description of the results for each attachment dimension in order to improve clarity given that childhood SES was not associated with attachment avoidance (β = 0.02, p = .75). Additionally, childhood SES was not associated with baseline RSA (β = 0.06, p = .25) or stress-induced RSA (β = −0.08, p = .12). As seen in Fig., higher childhood SES was associated with less attachment anxiety, which, in turn, was associated with less general stress. Higher general stress was associated with worse self-reported health. Using 5000 bootstrap samples to test indirect effects, neither attachment anxiety nor general stress independently mediated the association between childhood SES and self-reported health; however, support for serial mediation was identified such that the pathway from childhood SES to self-reported health was partially explained by the serial pathway from attachment anxiety to general stress. Partial mediation was supported given that a significant association between childhood SES and self-reported health was significant in the overall model. 3 4 71 Open image in new window Attachment avoidance and the interaction between attachment avoidance and stress-induced RSA were associated with general stress (see Figs.and). Using the Johnson-Neyman technique [], attachment avoidance was associated with general stress when the transformed value for stress-induced RSA was greater than 5.45, which represented 75.59 % of the present study sample. An indirect effect was identified for general stress mediating the association between attachment avoidance and self-reported health. As such, support for moderated mediation was identified. Discussion The present study is one of the first to examine attachment orientations as mediators of the link between early adversity and adult health. This link has been suggested in prior work [8, 9]; however, it has not been tested empirically. In the present study, childhood SES was associated with adult self-reported health via the serial pathway from attachment anxiety to general stress as expected. In contrast to expectations, childhood SES was not associated with attachment avoidance; however, attachment avoidance was associated with self-reported health via general stress among those with high stress-induced RSA as expected. Results were independent of participant age, gender, BMI, adult SES, and baseline RSA. Such findings shed light on possible mechanisms linking childhood SES and adult health, which is important given that self-reported health is linked to subsequent morbidity and mortality across various age ranges [72, 73], ethnic groups [74, 75], and patient populations [76, 77, 78]. The family stress and risky family models [8, 9] highlight that early social environments shape one’s social behaviors, emotional processing, and stress responses, which ultimately impact mental and physical health outcomes in adolescence and adulthood. Attachment theory provides a useful framework to understand the association between early social environments and mental and physical health throughout the lifespan. Individuals who are insecurely attached experience greater stress than secure individuals [35], which has a profound impact on health via psychological, behavioral, and biological processes [79]. For instance, stress negatively impacts the immune systems which reduces the strength of immune responses to vaccines, enhances inflammation, slows wound healing, and shortens telomeres [27]. Social stressors are more likely to enhance inflammation in comparison to non-social stressors [80, 81], suggesting that attachment may have particularly important connections to immune dysregulation. Future research should consider this potential pathway. Childhood SES has been linked to immune dysregulation [2], supporting a hypothesized association between attachment anxiety and immunity given present study data. Present study findings also indicate that individual differences in parasympathetic nervous system activity, as indexed by RSA, are important for describing associations between attachment, stress, and self-reported health. Specifically, attachment avoidance was associated with self-reported health through stress among those with high, but not low, stress-induced RSA. Such findings may reflect that individuals who have high attachment avoidance are ineffective at regulating their emotions over time, regardless if stress-induced RSA is low or high, given that chronic interpersonal stressors consistently lead to self-regulatory failure [82]. However, they may be able to effectively regulate their emotions during such stressors if they have the regulatory strength (i.e., stress-induced RSA withdrawal) to do so. The risky family model indicates that chronic or recurrent exposure to family-based stressors early in life may lead to deficiencies in one’s ability to demonstrate an adaptive parasympathetic nervous system response to stress [9]. Our results do not support an association between childhood SES and parasympathetic nervous system functioning, consistent with findings indicating that chronic stress may not change RSA over time [83]. However, stress-induced RSA changed the association between attachment avoidance and stress, indicating that RSA is important for determining how individuals regulate the negative thoughts or feelings they may have about relying on others within interpersonal relationships (i.e., attachment avoidance). Therefore, it will be important to integrate aspects of the risky family model [9], the neurovisceral integration model [55], and polyvagal theories [54], to get a better understanding of the association between childhood environments and adult health in future theoretical and empirical work. Prior work has indicated that attachment-related processes may change (or moderate) associations between childhood SES and adult health. For example, individuals with warm mothers were less likely to experience heightened inflammation in adulthood in comparison to those with less warm mothers [84]. Similarly, high maternal nurturance was found to reduce the risk of developing metabolic syndrome in adulthood among those with low childhood SES [85]. Present study findings enhance the theory by demonstrating that low childhood SES places one at risk of experiencing greater attachment anxiety, which places one at risk of experiencing poor health via stress. Therefore, it may be beneficial to integrate findings demonstrating the importance of parental warmth with present study findings in future work. Specifically, in line with the family stress and risky family models [8, 9], it may be that low SES is associated with low parental warmth among some, but not all, families, which may place children at risk of developing insecure attachment orientations that are associated with poor health in adulthood. Future empirical work is needed to elucidate such a possibility. Consistent with present study findings, those with low childhood SES demonstrate enhanced physiological reactivity when faced with stressors [86]. However, when in the presence of a supportive figure, the association between low childhood SES and high physiological reactivity was attenuated. This is important given that insecure attachment orientations are associated with smaller social network sizes and less relationship reciprocity than attachment security [87]. Therefore, present study findings may relate to the degree to which individuals experience social support. As mentioned previously, social support has been found to attenuate the association between attachment insecurity and health [88]. In the present study, participants engaged in a stressful task that is social in nature, but inherently unsupportive, which may have augmented the association between childhood SES and self-reported health. Future work would benefit from measuring social support and examining if present study findings may differ if an individual has a supportive individual accompanying them during exposure to a stressful task. The cross-sectional design of the study limited our ability to examine associations over time; however, findings are grounded in theory [8, 9] and are consistent with the expected time course in which childhood SES would be associated with attachment, stress, and health. Future work using longitudinal research design is needed to establish temporal precedence and enhance causal inference. The study is also limited by the predominantly white sample. Further research with more racially diverse groups is needed given identified differences in self-reported health by ethnicity [89]. The study is also limited given that dyadic processes, which are important for understanding how relationships may influence health [90], were not measured. It would be interesting to examine how attachment patterns among couples interact to predict stress and health outcomes for each partner. Additionally, self-reports of childhood SES, attachment orientations, stress, and health were utilized in the present study indicating that there may have been shared method bias [91]. Importantly, self-reported health is associated with broad health relevant outcomes such as immune dysregulation [92] and all-cause mortality [93]. Although self-reported health is a strong predictor of broad health outcomes, it does not provide specific information about the health outcomes that attachment orientations may be indirectly associated with. Future work would benefit from evaluating specific health outcomes to move the field forward; however, given the association between attachment orientations and stress, it is likely that attachment orientations are associated with broad health outcomes [94]. |
Image credit: Getty Images/Adapted by CNAS July 27, 2017 A Blueprint for New Sanctions on North Korea North Korea has emerged as one of the most significant national security threats facing the United States and its allies today. Since leader Kim Jong Un came to power in 2011, North Korea has accelerated the pace of its nuclear tests, and appears to have made substantial progress in developing operational medium-, long-range, and intercontinental ballistic missiles. Many experts assess that if left unchecked, Pyongyang could develop the capability to strike the contiguous United States with a nuclear warhead within 5–10 years. Because of that, in June 2017 U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis characterized North Korea as “the most urgent and dangerous threat” to U.S. peace and security. Sanctions have been a long-standing element of U.S. policy toward North Korea. However, prior to 2016, U.S. and international sanctions against North Korea were primarily designed to target specific entities involved in its nuclear and missile programs and its international support networks – rather than creating broader pressure on the country’s economy. This focus began to shift after North Korea’s fourth and fifth nuclear tests in 2016, when the U.S. government and its allies began to pivot toward a more muscular response. For example, in 2016 U.S. diplomats persuaded the United Nations to adopt two new rounds of broader economic sanctions targeting the North Korean economy, and Congress passed tough new U.S. measures that included sanctions directed at several North Korean economic sectors. Since being sworn in, President Donald Trump has adopted a strong posture toward North Korea, including imposing additional sanctions designations and pushing for a more robust military force posture in Asia. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and other administration officials have threatened to take additional steps, including imposing broader “secondary sanctions” that would target Chinese and other foreign companies that continue to trade with North Korea.1 Even as it pursues a more vigorous pressure strategy, however, the Trump administration has expressed openness to diplomatic negotiations with Pyongyang. Tillerson has stated that the United States would be prepared to engage in diplomacy “when conditions are right.”2 As Congress and the executive branch consider ways to combat the North Korean threat, this report offers policymakers an analysis of the situation, an assessment of the successes and failures of sanctions imposed to date, and options for increasing Pyongyang’s economic isolation. With enhanced economic leverage, the United States will be better placed to address North Korea’s destabilizing influence and lay the table for potential nuclear diplomacy. Background: State of the North Korean Threat North Korea has made rapid strides in recent years in developing nuclear weapons and is actively developing ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The country has conducted five nuclear tests since 2006, including two in 2016. These nuclear tests have grown more powerful as North Korea’s program has progressed. The most recent, in September 2016, was estimated by some experts to be more powerful than the nuclear weapon that the United States dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.3 Siegfried Hecker, a noted expert on North Korea’s nuclear program, estimated in 2016 that North Korea had likely produced enough plutonium to manufacture six to eight plutonium-based nuclear weapons and enough highly enriched uranium to produce 20 uranium-based nuclear weapons.4 Furthermore, he estimated that North Korea is developing enough fissile material to construct approximately seven additional nuclear weapons per year.5 David Albright, a nuclear expert at the Institute for Science and International Security, estimated that at the end of 2016 North Korea likely had between 13 and 30 active nuclear weapons.6 Most experts predict that North Korea will be able to field a reliable, nuclear-armed missile capable of striking the U.S. mainland in the next 5 to 10 years. North Korea has also made rapid advances in ballistic missile technology in recent years, particularly since Kim came to power. The country has conducted over 80 missile tests under his leadership, and while a number of these have failed, North Korea has successfully launched short-range, mid-range, and on July 4, 2017, intercontinental ballistic missiles. It also successfully launched a small satellite into space in 2012. North Korea’s existing missile arsenal is capable of striking Japan and Korea, including U.S. forces stationed in both countries. In April 2017 North Korea appeared to successfully test a missile that may be capable of striking the U.S. territory of Guam, more than 2,000 miles from Pyongyang. In July 2017, it successfully tested a missile capable of reaching Alaska.7 North Korea has also successfully tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile, potentially giving the country a mechanism to avoid early detections of launch activity and the ability to develop a capacity to retaliate against U.S. allies if North Korea is attacked. North Korea is also actively developing long-range, intercontinental ballistic missile technology that would be capable of striking the U.S. lower 48 states. North Korea claims that its September 2016 nuclear test was of a miniaturized warhead capable of being carried by a missile and that the missile it tested in April 2017 is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. While both U.S. government and nongovernmental experts have expressed skepticism of these claims, most experts do predict that on its current pace of progress North Korea will be able to field a reliable, nuclear-armed missile capable of striking the U.S. mainland sometime in the next 5 to 10 years.8 This relatively short timeline makes an effective response a critical priority for U.S. policymakers. Existing Sanctions: Long Neglected and Outmoded, Recently Reinvigorated One of the most common shibboleths about U.S. sanctions against North Korea is that they are maximally strong yet minimally effective. In 2015, President Barack Obama called North Korea the “most sanctioned” country in the world.9 Meanwhile, numerous analysts have concluded that sanctions will never succeed in persuading Pyongyang to scale back its nuclear ambitions. They began making such assertions long before sanctions became as comprehensive as they are today.10 An Outmoded Sanctions Program Despite the perception that North Korea has long been the most sanctioned country on earth, the reality is that until recently, those sanctions were not very comprehensive. Though the U.N. Security Council had passed four sanctions resolutions between 2005 and 2015, none of them meaningfully tightened the economic screws on North Korea. Without this broad economic force, they lacked the leverage to compel policy change or effective nuclear diplomacy. Instead, they were narrowly targeted at specific individuals and companies involved in North Korea’s nuclear program and served as more of a messaging tool, with relatively limited financial consequences for North Korea and its regime elites. As a parallel to this U.N. framework, unilateral U.S. sanctions between the mid-2000s and the end of 2015 were far less restrictive than the U.S. sanctions imposed on Iran during the same period. Until recently, the underlying principles of U.S. and international sanctions on North Korea were reminiscent of the sanctions programs of the early 2000s, which focused heavily on U.N. Security Council resolutions and efforts to prevent dangerous materials (such as components for weapons of mass destruction) from reaching rogue actors. But over the last decade, in other contexts, such as Iran and Russia, the United States has transformed the way it employs its economic strength to achieve foreign policy objectives. Instead of relying primarily on the U.N. Security Council, which is reluctant to impose harsh economic sanctions, and U.N. member states, which often implement sanctions unevenly, the United States has come to rely on the strength of the U.S. financial system for imposing meaningful economic measures. For example, U.S. and European Union (EU) sanctions on Russia have had a significant impact on the Russian economy even without corresponding U.N. sanctions. Between 2010 and 2015 the United States, the EU, and other allies put sanctions on Iran that were far more powerful than those mandated by the United Nations Security Council. These measures cut Iran’s oil exports in half, did significant economic damage to the country, and are widely credited as a major reason Tehran agreed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the landmark nuclear deal in which Iran agreed to strict international controls of its nuclear program. Both U.S. and U.N. sanctions on North Korea began to shift in 2016, starting with the U.N.’s enactment of two new resolutions – UNSCR 2270 in March and UNSCR 2321 in November – targeting important sectors of the North Korean economy. These U.N. measures were negotiated by the Obama administration, and the primacy accorded to that process is evident in the timing of the U.N. and U.S. actions. Though Congress passed aggressive new U.S. sanctions as well in response to North Korea’s September 9, 2016, nuclear missile test, that did not happen until UNSCR 2321 had been completed on November 30 – nearly three months after the test. U.S. sanctions policy on North Korea focused disproportionately on negotiating U.N. Security Council resolutions instead of wielding the strength of the U.S. economy. While sanctions alone will not compel Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear program – smart diplomacy and the deft use of military leverage will also be critical – there is ample room to increase pressure against the country’s economy. Aggressively doing so plus targeting the international companies, including many based in China, that still do business with North Korea could begin to curb its continued ability to generate hard currency from exports and its continued access to the international financial system. This additional pressure could limit the country’s ability to generate the funds it needs for its nuclear program. Just as important, it would restrict Kim’s ability to handle any ensuing economic instability. This would build critical leverage for the United States in future diplomatic negotiations with North Korea over its nuclear program. Overview of Existing Sanctions Sanctions on North Korea have expanded over the last decade, with dramatic new authorities added since early last year. The international sanctions regime on North Korea is framed by Security Council resolutions dating from 2006, responding to Pyongyang’s test of a nuclear device in October of that year.11 They impose asset freezes and travel bans on entities and individuals involved in the country’s ballistic missile and nuclear weapons activities and restrict the sale of conventional weapons to and from North Korea. They also prohibit the sale of luxury goods to North Korea and goods that could advance its proliferation activities. The 2016 sanctions additionally restrict some economic activities that generate revenue for the regime to support missile and nuclear programs. These sanctions limit North Korean shipping activities and call for member states to expand scrutiny of North Korean transactions, shipping, and contract laborers abroad.12 While the United States has had sanctions in place on North Korea since the 1950s, the contemporary U.S. sanctions program on the country was initiated in 2008, targeting proliferation of weapons-usable fissile material on the Korean Peninsula.13 The U.S. government has progressively expanded sanctions since then to further expose and impede North Korean nuclear and missile proliferation networks and the regime leaders and their cronies facilitating destabilization in the Korean Peninsula and beyond.14 Congress has also imposed a series of sanctions laws related to North Korea.15 These various U.S. sanctions are substantively similar to U.N. sanctions, involving asset freezes, travel bans, and economic prohibitions on individuals and entities linked to Pyongyang’s conventional weapons, missile, and nuclear programs. Furthermore, the U.S. sanctions ban investment and most economic activity between the United States and North Korea, the sale of luxury goods, and target companies that engage in coal, metal, graphite, and software trade with North Korea or that operate in its energy, transportation, or mining sectors. While the United States has had sanctions in place on North Korea since the 1950s, the contemporary U.S. sanctions program on the country was initiated in 2008. In more marked contrast to the scope of U.N. sanctions, the United States also has measures that target firms and individuals engaging in North Korean counterfeiting, drug smuggling, and other criminal activity; cyber attacks; and human rights abuse. In 2016, the U.S. Department of the Treasury named North Korea a “jurisdiction of primary money laundering concern” under Section 311 of the USA Patriot Act, compelling U.S. banks to scour their foreign business relationships for ties to North Korea and signaling to the rest of the world the serious economic risks of doing business with North Korea.16 Moreover, in June 2017, the Treasury Department named Bank of Dandong, a China-based financial institution, as a “primary money laundering concern” under Section 311 of the USA Patriot Act for facilitating illicit North Korean financial activity. Though Bank of Dandong is very small, the move demonstrated the Trump administration’s willingness to target Chinese entities when their actions undercut economic pressure on Pyongyang. A number of international partners have also imposed sanctions on North Korea for its nuclear and missile proliferation activities. Many observers and U.N. experts point out inadequate enforcement, however, which diminishes the effectiveness and cogency of the sanctions.17 A key reason for the limited enforcement is reluctance of many governments to confront China, North Korea’s key international banker and trading partner, for fear of damaging political relations and uncertainty of the strategy’s success. 18 In light of this dynamic, and facilitated by a more confrontational policy posture to China, U.S. legislators are considering broad new secondary sanctions to compel China to sever North Korea’s international economic lifelines. This would involve threatening access to the U.S. financial system for foreign firms that do business with specific North Korean entities or economic sectors.19 Economic Impacts of Existing Sanctions Given that most sanctions before 2016 were designed to target entities involved in North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs and not the country’s economy as a whole, it is unsurprising that the U.S. and international sanctions on North Korea during that time had limited impact. There is scant evidence that these sanctions significantly impacted the North Korean economy. Although reliable economic data on the country is not available, statistical and anecdotal evidence indicates that North Korea has generally experienced modest growth in recent years, at least until late 2015. For example, World Bank statistics estimate that North Korea’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew from $14 billion in 2010 to more than $17 billion in 2014.20 South Korea’s Central Bank offers an even brighter estimate of the North: modest economic growth in 2011-2014 and a small economic decline in 2015, with GDP that year totaling $31 billion.21 North Korea is active in international commerce, and its economy is deeply intertwined with China’s. Bilateral trade totaled $5.8 billion in 2016. Moreover, North Korea maintains active trading relationships with Angola, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and several other countries. North Korea is actually more dependent on foreign trade than Iran was in 2010 – the year the United States began levying crippling sanctions against that country. On the whole, exports and imports constituted almost a third of North Korea’s GDP in 2015.22 There is scant evidence that these sanctions significantly impacted the North Korean economy. Anecdotal reports by visitors to North Korea during recent years offer numerous signs of growth, including large-scale construction projects, increasing traffic in Pyongyang, and the spread of technology, such as cellphones. Anecdotal reports also indicate robust cross-border trade between China and North Korea, notably at Dandong, China.23 Experts also say that in addition to trade in goods, North Korea has been able to generate significant sums of money by selling North Korean labor overseas,24 by trying to develop the country’s tourism industry,25 and through criminal activity.26 The sanctions enacted in 2016 have likely had some economic impact, though it is hard to quantify, given how new the sanctions are and the lack of reliable figures. For example, statistics released in May 2017 indicated that Beijing’s decision to enforce U.N. sanctions on North Korea’s coal exports had likely resulted in the lowest levels of those exports to China in several years.27 South Korea’s decision to close the Kaesong Industrial Complex, a joint North Korea–South Korea manufacturing center, in early 2016 has almost certainly eliminated most bilateral Korean trade, which amounted to several billion dollars in 2015. Heightened scrutiny on the use of North Korean labor abroad has prompted several countries to ban the practice. However, International Monetary Fund trade statistics indicate that North Korea’s total exports were largely unchanged between 2015 and 2016 at just under $3 billion annually.28 In addition, the country does not yet appear to be suffering major impediments to procuring essential goods for its economy, such as energy supplies, machine parts, vehicles, and other imports.29 North Korea has engaged in a series of non-nuclear provocative attacks, such as its alleged role in the 2014 Sony Hack. (mk7/Wikimedia Commons) U.S. sanctions against Banco Delta Asia in 2005 effectively froze about $25 million controlled by North Korean insiders and became a major source of leverage in negotiations with Pyongyang. (Doraemon.tvb/Wikimedia Commons) Given the limited economic effect of the sanctions enacted to date, it is unsurprising that they do not appear to have had a meaningful impact in changing North Korea’s policy. As previously discussed, the country has significantly increased the pace of its nuclear and ballistic missile programs since Kim came to power, despite economic sanctions. In addition, North Korea has engaged in a variety of non-nuclear provocative actions, such as its suspected roles in hacking Sony’s U.S. movie studio in 2014 and releasing a sophisticated malware program that attacked international companies in the spring of 2017.30 This is not to say that sanctions have never impacted Pyongyang’s calculus. In 2005, U.S. sanctions against a Macau bank, Banco Delta Asia, that effectively froze some $25 million controlled by North Korean insiders became a major piece of leverage in diplomatic negotiations with Pyongyang in 2006 and 2007.31 But the sanctions imposed in recent years – which, as previously discussed, have generally not targeted major sources of regime revenue – do not appear to have had a meaningful impact on North Korea’s willingness to pursue its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The Chinese Perspective While the United States sees North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs as that country’s greatest challenge to U.S. security interests, China’s greatest concern is maintaining stability on the Korean Peninsula. From Beijing’s perspective, North Korea provides a valuable strategic buffer between China’s border and South Korea, a U.S. treaty ally where more than 25,000 U.S. troops are stationed. Chinese leaders are also deeply concerned that economic or political collapse in North Korea could trigger a refugee inflow from that country into China. China does perceive North Korea’s nuclear program as a threat to regional stability, has sharply criticized Kim’s nuclear tests, and has backed several rounds of U.N. sanctions on North Korea. In addition, Beijing worries that U.S. pressure related to North Korea could have adverse consequences for Beijing’s interests. At times China has offered concessions to the United States to dissuade Washington from taking more aggressive steps that China sees as contrary to its interests. Overall, given its interests in stability in Pyongyang, China has generally sought to maintain a middle-ground policy of supporting some pressure on North Korea while urging both North Korea and the United States to de-escalate tensions. For example, in April 2017 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that “no one can become a winner” in a war between North Korea and the United States and he urged both countries to engage in dialogue to foster détente.32 China’s greatest concern is maintaining stability on the Korean Peninsula. Despite the overall close economic relationship between North Korea and China, Beijing has proved willing to pressure its neighbor in response to specific developments in North Korea’s nuclear program. For example, some experts speculate that China has in the past temporarily cut off fuel supplies to North Korea to send a message.33 Anecdotal evidence from reporters indicates that China has taken some steps to increase inspections of China–North Korea trade since late 2016.34 In early 2017 China ordered several ships carrying coal from North Korea to return to that country without unloading to comply with the U.N. sanctions that restrict North Korea’s coal exports.35 However, China remains North Korea’s dominant trading partner, and North Korea continues to rely on China as a market for exports of natural resources, textiles, and manufactured goods, and for imports of fuel, vehicles, machinery, and other critical goods. However, China has also at times agreed to curb certain business activities when threatened with U.S. secondary sanctions. For example, China substantially reduced its oil imports from Iran in response to U.S. pressure, and Chinese banks also curbed certain business with Iran. There are limits to China’s willingness to quietly abide by U.S. sanctions. For example, in the end the United States was compelled to impose sanctions on Bank of Kunlun, a Chinese bank that continued to engage in financial transactions with Iran despite U.S. warnings. Given China’s strong policy interests in North Korea, the threat of U.S. secondary sanctions is unlikely to completely deter trade between the two neighbors. Also, the United States needs to be judicious in how it imposes secondary sanctions. However, as in the Iran case, U.S. secondary sanctions can be useful in pressuring China to take at least some important steps toward increasing economic pressure on Pyongyang. A New Sanctions Strategy Against this backdrop, U.S. policymakers should adopt a new and tougher approach to North Korea sanctions. The best model for this is the sanctions that the United States imposed on Iran before the JCPOA was concluded in 2015. The pre-JCPOA Iran sanctions regime represented nothing short of a full-court press against Iran’s economy, focusing on the government’s sources of export revenue, its trade connections and access to hard currency, and the international financial system. From a sanctions perspective, North Korea’s international trading relationships constitute a target-rich environment. By using secondary sanctions, the United States can disrupt those relationships by threatening to blacklist foreign companies that transact with North Korea. Access to the U.S. financial system is essential for most firms around the world that wish to operate internationally, owing to the ubiquity of the U.S. dollar. (To illustrate the extensive reach of the U.S. financial sector: Many international transactions that do not seem to involve U.S. entities or U.S. dollars end up transiting U.S. banks, giving the U.S. government a chokepoint to disrupt those transactions.) Moreover, for most of North Korea’s trading partners, Pyongyang derives much more value out of the relationship than its counterparts do. As a result of these factors, if the United States were to threaten secondary sanctions against foreign firms that buy North Korean exports, many of those firms would likely opt to cease such business instead of risking their access to the United States. Recommendations for the United States For sanctions against North Korea to be optimally effective, the Trump administration should work with Congress to develop a whole-of-government approach. Secondary sanctions, no matter the context, are diplomatically sensitive, as they involve threatening penalties against firms in countries that are friendly to the United States or at least not U.S. adversaries. When the executive branch has a choice about whether to impose secondary sanctions, it often decides not to, as foreign governments can apply pressure to the White House by threatening to withhold something else that the United States wants. A significant factor in the success of the Iran sanctions is that Congress mandated by law that the executive branch enforce secondary sanctions. By tying the Obama administration’s hands legally, the laws made the administration’s threats to impose secondary sanctions substantially more credible than they otherwise would have been. As a result, it behooves the Trump administration to work cooperatively with Congress to build a robust strategy for secondary sanctions, even if new North Korea sanctions laws would limit the executive branch’s flexibility.36 The U.S. government – through coordination among the Treasury Department, the State Department, the National Security Council, and Congress – should take the following steps to strengthen sanctions against North Korea: Impose sanctions against any bank or company involved in purchases of North Korean exports – including coal, minerals, textiles, and other products. Such a provision should mimic the sanctions on Iran’s oil exports that were enacted by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012. The United States should threaten secondary sanctions against any foreign company that purchases North Korean exports and should allow waivers for jurisdictions that demonstrably and significantly decrease their trade with North Korea over a six-month span. Such waivers would allow China and other trading partners to reduce their imports from North Korea gradually and would give them a clear path to gracefully avoid the brunt of U.S. secondary sanctions. Require that all payments to North Korean entities be held in escrow accounts outside of North Korea, with limitations on how the money can be used. This requirement – which the United States previously employed with respect to Iran’s oil revenues – is a useful corollary to secondary sanctions against firms that buy North Korean exports. By forcing foreign banks to hold North Korean payments in escrow accounts, it will be easier to ensure that Pyongyang is not using hard currency for illicit activities, such as purchasing missile or nuclear components. Moreover, it would enable North Korea to continue to import humanitarian goods such as food and medicine using its export revenues held abroad. To illustrate, this provision would require a Chinese company that pays North Korea for a product to transfer the money into a North Korean account in a Chinese bank, ensuring that Chinese regulatory authorities maintain oversight on the funds. The United States can enforce such a requirement by threatening secondary sanctions against any bank that repatriates funds to North Korea without explicit authorization. Impose sanctions against North Korean ports, including shipping lines and other entities that transact with those ports. The United States should act swiftly to add all North Korean trading ports to the Specially Designated Nationals List (SDN List). There are eight significant ports in North Korea, including the critical port of Nampo in the country’s west, near Pyongyang.37 After designating all of these ports, the U.S. government should impose secondary sanctions against any company that directly or indirectly provides goods or services to those ports. Such sanctions would persuade most international shipping lines to cease calling at North Korean ports, hinder repairs and maintenance of port infrastructure, and add another incentive for companies around the world not to trade with North Korea. Craft sanctions targeting insurance companies that underwrite cargoes to and from North Korea. Substantial trade cargoes that enter and leave from North Korea require insurance and reinsurance, regardless of how they are transported. By imposing sanctions against any financial institution that provides insurance or reinsurance for North Korean exports and imports, the United States can make it significantly harder for North Korea to engage in foreign trade. Such sanctions would force financial institutions to do more thorough due diligence to ensure that they are not inadvertently providing insurance to vessels that are calling at North Korean ports. Develop and enforce sanctions against foreign banks that transact with North Korean front companies. There are still a number of Chinese banks that transact with North Korean front companies, and it would serve the United States well to impose sanctions on some or all of them. If an initial salvo of secondary sanctions does not persuade other Chinese banks to cease transactions with North Korean front companies, the United States can impose sanctions on remaining firms with ties to North Korea. Though there is understandably hesitance about targeting Chinese financial institutions, it is important to bear in mind that the U.S. government did impose sanctions on China-based Bank of Kunlun in 2012 for its dealings with Iran. U.S. sanctions on Bank of Kunlun did not cause Beijing to end its cooperation with the United States on confronting the Iranian nuclear threat.38 Initiate a high-profile public diplomacy campaign to discredit any trade with North Korea. One reason that U.S. secondary sanctions against Iran worked was because the United States successfully cast a pall on any trade with Iran, underscoring its human rights abuses, quest for nuclear weapons, and regional destabilization. A similar public diplomacy campaign to highlight how purchasing North Korean goods, or employing North Korean laborers, aids and abets the Kim regime would go a long way toward easing the international environment to an aggressive use of U.S. secondary sanctions. By reinforcing the negative and inhumane consequences of trading with North Korea, the United States can amass essential legitimacy for its campaign to coerce Pyongyang with economic pressure. Introduce a far-reaching diplomatic outreach campaign to build support for U.S. sanctions and avoid miscalculation. Aggressively enforcing secondary sanctions can cause diplomatic rifts and risk a downward spiral in international relationships. The United States can mitigate the potential for such negative consequences by expending substantial diplomatic energy to explain its steps on sanctions and highlight how to avoid being targeted by them.39 The most important diplomacy must take place between Washington and Beijing, but the Trump administration must also take a broader approach. It should engage proactively with any foreign government or global sector that may be impacted by U.S. secondary sanctions. Honest global engagement by U.S. officials on what can be a very difficult topic (the unilateral exercise of American economic might) will help build a constructive basis for both the sanctions campaign and any diplomatic negotiations that eventually take place between Washington and Pyongyang. Keep open lines of communication with China – but set clear expectations and articulate unambiguously that North Korea is a top-tier U.S. priority. Any aggressive U.S. sanctions campaign against North Korea will entail friction between Washington and Beijing. This is inevitable, just as it was when the United States wielded secondary sanctions to compel China to reduce its trade with Iran. A framing objective of U.S. policy should be to keep open lines of communication with China, ensuring that Beijing is not taken off guard by any aggressive U.S. sanctions actions. At the same time, Washington must articulate clearly to Beijing that North Korea’s nuclear development poses a direct threat to the United States and its allies and that the U.S. government will not hesitate to defend American interests. That means China does not get a veto over any aggressive U.S. sanctions action, nor do Chinese companies get a free pass for dealings with North Korea. The United States should not allow Chinese threats or dubious assurances to derail a sanctions campaign that is perhaps Washington’s only hope to halt North Korea’s nuclear development without recourse to military force. Meanwhile, Washington should quietly telegraph to Beijing that if North Korea’s nuclear development reaches a certain threshold, military force might be the only tenable U.S. option. China may not like tough sanctions against North Korea, but it surely prefers sanctions to an outbreak of violence on the Korean Peninsula. Such signaling may help China understand that undermining sanctions would not serve its interests. Conclusion U.S. policymakers have many options to strengthen sanctions against North Korea. North Korea’s economy is not as isolated as is commonly believed, and the vast reach of the U.S. financial system enables the U.S. government to disrupt international trade with North Korea that does not appear to involve American entities. With the threat from North Korea expanding at an alarming rate, and U.S. military options for destroying North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs highly risky, U.S. policymakers must exhaust every measure short of war to confront the threat from Pyongyang. Simultaneously, U.S. policymakers must keep in mind that stronger sanctions will not be a magic bullet that solves the North Korea problem once and for all. Its leader, Kim, has clearly assessed that possession of an operational nuclear-weapons capability is essential to his regime’s long-term survival, and he will thus be reluctant to give it up. Sanctions will not be a panacea, and the Iran example of sanctions-driven successful nuclear diplomacy does not present the perfect road map for the North Korea challenge. In fact, the North Korea problem is far more difficult than the Iran problem. Tehran never even acknowledged an interest in nuclear weapons, giving the Iranian regime more wiggle room to agree to constraints on its nuclear program than Pyongyang has today. But it would also be a mistake to conclude that Kim will never give up his nuclear weapons under any circumstances, as some who know him have claimed.40 Implemented adeptly and aggressively, U.S. sanctions could exact crushing economic pressure on Pyongyang, constraining the regime in more ways than it is possible to foresee. It is difficult to predict how Kim would react when confronted with such pressure, but it is certain that such pressure would represent invaluable leverage for the United States in diplomatic negotiations. The Trump administration should focus intensively on amassing this type of economic leverage before it dives into talks with Pyongyang. On his way out of office, President Obama warned then President-elect Trump that North Korea would be the most urgent problem he would confront in the White House.41 After nearly six months as commander in chief, Trump seems to share his predecessor’s assessment. With bipartisan agreement on the severity of the threat, Washington is well-positioned to employ a whole-of-government strategy to dial up the economic pressure on Pyongyang. For the good of U.S. national security, it is important that such a strategy proceed without delay. The full report is available online. Download PDF Endnotes Demetri Sevastopulo and Katrina Manson, “Tillerson threatens sanctions on countries with North Korea ties,” Financial Times, June 13, 2017, https://www.ft.com/content/ee16e434-5058-11e7-bfb8-997009366969?mhq5j=e3. ↩ Carol Morello and Anne Gearan, “Tillerson says putting pressure on North Korea is just the beginning,” The Washington Post, May 3, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/tillerson-says-deteriorating-us-relationship-with-russia-is-dangerous/2017/05/03/f2aafdaa-300f-11e7-9534-00e4656c22aa_story.html. ↩ Jack Kim, “South Korea says North’s nuclear capability ‘speeding up’, calls for action,” Reuters, September 10, 2016, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-nuclear-idUSKCN11F02N. ↩ Siegfried S. Hecker, “What to Make of North Korea’s Latest Nuclear Test?” 38North.org, September 12, 2016, http://www.38north.org/2016/09/shecker091216/. ↩ Ibid. ↩ David Albright, “North Korea’s Nuclear Capabilities: A Fresh Look,” (Institute for Science and International Security, April 28, 2017), http://isis-online.org/uploads/isis-reports/documents/North_Korea_Nuclear_Capability_Estimates_Summary_28Apr2017_Final.pdf. ↩ Choe Sang-Hun, “U.S. Confirms North Korea Fired Intercontinental Ballistic Missile,” The New York Times, July 4, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/04/world/asia/north-korea-missile-test-icbm.html. ↩ William J. Broad, “North Korea Will Have the Skills to Make a Nuclear Warhead by 2020, Experts Say,” The New York Times, September 9, 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/10/science/north-korea-nuclear-weapons.html. ↩ David Feith, “The North Korea Sanctions Myth,” The Wall Street Journal, March 27, 2017, https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-north-korea-sanctions-myth-1490642563. ↩ Michael Schuman, “Why sanctions on North Korea don’t work,” Time, May 24, 2010, http://business.time.com/2010/05/24/why-sanctions-on-north-korea-dont-work/. ↩ U.N. Security Council, 5551st Meeting, “Resolution 1718 (2006) [Non-proliferation Democratic People’s Republic of Korea],” (S/RES/1718), October 14, 2006, http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/RES/1718%20(2006). ↩ The main U.N. Security Council resolutions that involve sanctioning North Korea are UNSCR 1718 (2006), UNSCR 1874 (2009), UNSCR 2087 (2013), UNSCR 2094 (2013), UNSCR 2270 (2016), and UNSCR 2321 (2016). ↩ Executive Order 13466 of June 26, 2008, “Continuing Certain Restrictions With Respect to North Korea and North Korean Nationals,” Federal Register, 73 no. 125 (2008), https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Documents/nkeo.pdf. ↩ These include Executive Orders 13551, 13570, 13687, and 13722. ↩ Existing statute of particular note is North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016, Public Law 114-122, February 18, 2016, https://www.congress.gov/114/plaws/publ122/PLAW-114publ122.pdf. ↩ USA Patriot Act, Public Law 107-56, Title III, Subtitle A, Section 311, October 26, 2001, https://www.ffiec.gov/bsa_aml_infobase/pages_manual/regulations/31USC5318A.htm. ↩ Andrea Berger, “A House Without Foundations: The North Korea Sanctions Regime and its Implementation,” Whitehall Report 3-17 (Royal United Services Institute, June 2017), https://rusi.org/sites/default/files/201706_whr_a_house_without_foundations_web.pdf. ↩ For a good overview of the relationship between China and North Korea, see Eleanor Albert, “The China-North Korea Relationship,” Council on Foreign Relations, April 26, 2017, https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/china-north-korea-relationship. ↩ Korean Interdiction and Modernization of Sanctions Act, H.R. 1644, 115th Cong., 1st sess., (2017) https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1644. ↩ United Nations Data, “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” http://data.un.org/CountryProfile.aspx?crName=Democratic%20People%27s%20Republic%20of%20Korea. ↩ “Gross Domestic Product Estimates for North Korea in 2015,” The Bank of Korea, press release, July 23, 2016, http://www.nkeconwatch.com/nk-uploads/GDP_of_North_Korea_in_2015_ff.pdf. ↩ Peter Harrell, “Yes, we do have a way to deal with North Korea,” Politico, May 9, 2017, http://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2017/05/09/north-korea-nuclear-program-sanctions-iran-000432. ↩ Philip Wen and Joseph Campbell, “At Chinese border with North Korea, trade cools but few signs of strain,” Reuters, April 13, 2017, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-china-idUSKBN17F0WL; and Elizabeth Shim, “China border trade with North Korea ‘very active’, report says,” UPI, August 22, 2016, http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2016/08/22/China-border-trade-with-North-Korea-very-active-report-says/2911471871707/. ↩ Alastair Gale, “North Korea’s Lucrative Labor Exports Come Under Pressure,” The Wall Street Journal, July 7, 2016, https://www.wsj.com/articles/north-koreas-lucrative-labor-exports-come-under-pressure-1467916815. ↩ Jean H. Lee, “Tourism to North Korea: Unethical or an opportunity for engagement?,” Brookings.edu, June 9, 2015, https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/tourism-to-north-korea-unethical-or-an-opportunity-for-engagement/#cancel. ↩ Jose Pagliery, “North Korea-linked hackers are attacking banks worldwide,” CNN, April 4, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/03/world/north-korea-hackers-banks/index.html. ↩ Josephine Mason, “China’s imports from North Korea sink as coal ban bites,” Reuters, May 23, 2017, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-trade-northkorea-idUSKBN18J0C6?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29&__s=5puqudobbuuwwtg38q8o. ↩ Direction of Trade Statistics –Yearbook (Washington: International Monetary Fund, 2016), 422; and Direction of Trade Statistics – Quarterly (Washington: International Monetary Fund, June 2017), 331. ↩ Jane Perlez, Yufan Huang, and Paul Mozur, “How North Korea Managed to Defy Years of Sanctions,” The New York Times, May 12, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/12/world/asia/north-korea-sanctions-loopholes-china-united-states-garment-industry.html; and Tony Munroe and Jane Chung, “For North Korea, cutting off oil supplies would be devastating,” Reuters, April 13, 2017, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-nuclear-china-oil-idUSKBN17F17L. ↩ Chris O’Brien, Christina Boyle, and Matt Pearce, “‘WannaCry’ ransomware shares code with Sony hack, raising possibility of North Korea connection,” Los Angeles Times, May 15, 2017, http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-europe-ransomware-attack-20170515-story.html; and Kim Zetter, “Evidence Suggests The Sony Hackers Are Alive And Well And Still Hacking,” Wired, February 12, 2016, https://www.wired.com/2016/02/evidence-suggests-the-sony-hackers-are-alive-and-well-and-still-hacking/. ↩ Jay Solomon and Neil King Jr., “How U.S. Used a Bank To Punish North Korea,” The Wall Street Journal, April 12, 2007, https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB117627790709466173. ↩ Christopher Bodeen, “Chinese foreign minister: No winners if Korea war breaks out,” The Associated Press, April 15, 2017, https://apnews.com/498e3a3112da4708b08b8c7088093c3c/china-experts-see-low-chance-korea-fighting. ↩ Joseph Kahn, “China cut off exports of oil to North Korea - Asia - Pacific - International Herald Tribune,” The International Herald Tribune, October 30, 2006, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/30/world/asia/30iht-oil.3334398.html. ↩ Mark Landler, “As Trump Bets on China’s Help on North Korea, Aides Ask: Is It Worth It?” The New York Times, June 15, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/15/world/asia/china-xi-jinping-trump-north-korea.html. ↩ John Ruwitch and Meng Meng, “Exclusive: North Korean ships head home after China orders coal returned,” Reuters, April 11, 2017, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-northkorea-coal-exclusive-idUSKBN17D0D8. ↩ Edward Fishman, “Only Congress Can Solve the North Korea Problem,” The New York Times, May 2, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/02/opinion/only-congress-can-solve-the-north-korea-problem.html?_r=1. ↩ World Port Source, http://www.worldportsource.com/ports/PRK.php. ↩ David S. Cohen, “One powerful weapon to use against North Korea,” The Washington Post, April 21, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/one-powerful-weapon-to-use-against-north-korea/2017/04/21/ddbb9702-26c2-11e7-bb9d-8cd6118e1409_story.html?utm_term=.8327fa5f6a3d. ↩ Elizabeth Rosenberg, “The Maximum Financial-Pressure Strategy for North Korea,” Foreign Policy, May 9, 2017, http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/05/09/the-maximum-financial-pressure-strategy-for-north-korea-secondary-sanctions-china/. ↩ Paula Hancocks, “Kim Jong Un wants to meet Trump, will never give up nukes, says defector,” CNN, January 25, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/25/asia/ambassador-north-korea-defector-interview/index.html. ↩ Mallory Shelbourne, “Obama told Trump that North Korea was most urgent problem he’d face: report,” The Hill, March 4, 2017, http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/322366-report-obama-told-trump-north-korea-was-most-urgent-problem-hed-face. ↩ |
The Carlyle Group on Friday announced a senior management shakeup that will include the departure of Mitch Petrick, the firm’s head of global market strategies. He plans to become a senior advisor to the firm, while moving on to form his own investment management company. Petrick originally joined Carlyle (CG) in 2010 after a 20-year career with Morgan Stanley (MS), and oversaw a business that includes Carlyle’s leveraged finance, distressed debt and mezzanine financing teams. He will be succeeded by Kewsong Lee, who also will maintain his role as deputy chief investment officer for global private equity. The Carlyle Group also announced that energy and natural resources investing chief Kenneth Hersh will move into a deputy chief investment officer in the business, following his recent appointment as president and CEO of the George W. Bush Presidential Center. Glenn Youngkin, Carlyle’s president and COO, now will also oversee the energy and natural resources group. |
Holyrood’s electoral system means high-profile scalps are rare. Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale and former Scottish Conservative leadership candidate Murdo Fraser are among those saved by the list after constituency defeat. But others did not benefit from the safety net of the Scottish Parliament’s proportional representation system. We take a look at some of the politicians who will not be returning to Holyrood. Aileen McLeod (SNP) © DC Thomson The Environment Minister was the victim of a strong Tory surge in the Borders, losing her constituency bid for Galloway and West Dumfries. She never stood a chance on the regional vote at sixth on the South Scotland list. As a serving minister she is a major scalp for the Tories. Jim Eadie (SNP) © Abdrew Cowan/Scottish Parliament A slender majority of less than 700 in Edinburgh Southern and Labour MP Ian Murray’s success in Westminster’s equivalent seat last year meant Mr Eadie’s position was always in danger. Being deposed by a Labour party in disarray will be hard to stomach. Sarah Boyack (Scottish Labour) © PA The former Edinburgh Central MSP has been sitting at Holyrood since the Scottish Parliament was reconvened in 1999. It looked dicey for her ever since she was ranked third on the Lothians list. Lesley Brennan (Scottish Labour) © Andrew Cowan/Scottish Parliament The Dundee councillor took up her place through the North East list in January following the resignation of Richard Baker. She served as an MSP for just 70 days but is reportedly in line for a £30,000 resettlement bonus. Christian Allard (SNP) © PA Another mid-term entry to Parliament, the French-born Nationalist topped the North East for the region but it always looked like it would be a struggle for him to get in on the list given the dominance of the SNP in the area’s constituencies. Alison McInnes (Liberal Democrats) © Supplied The Liberal Democrats’ only female MSP during the last Parliament was one of Holyrood’s highest-regarded members, and a decision to leave her vulnerable as second on the North East list to Mike Rumbles was unpopular. Cara Hilton (Scottish Labour) © DC Thomson The former Dunfermline MSP took the Fife seat in a by-election from the SNP after Bill Walker was thrown out for domestic abuse. She could not defend her seat to the SNP and was only fourth on the list after deputy leader Alex Rowley reneged on not taking the top ranking. Rod Campbell (SNP) © DC Thomson The North East Fife incumbent had a 2,592 majority from 2011, but succumbed to Willie Rennie, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats. |
Google sees little distinction between board rooms and bars, cubicles and coffee shops; all are untrusted under its perimeter-less security model detailed in a paper published this week. The "BeyondCorp model" under development for more than five years is a zero-trust network model where the user is king and log in location means little. Staff devices including laptops and phones are logged into a device inventory service which contains trust information and snapshots of the devices at a given time. Employees are awarded varying levels of trust provided they meet minimum criteria which authors Barclay Osborn, Justin McWilliams, Betsy Beyer, and Max Saltonstall all say reduces maintenance cost and improves device usability. "The goal of Google’s BeyondCorp initiative is to improve our security with regard to how employees and devices access internal applications," the team says in the paper BeyondCorp: Design to Deployment at Google [PDF]. "Unlike the conventional perimeter security model, BeyondCorp doesn’t gate access to services and tools based on a user’s physical location or the originating network; instead, access policies are based on information about a device, its state, and its associated user. "BeyondCorp considers both internal networks and external networks to be completely untrusted, and gates access to applications by dynamically asserting and enforcing levels, or tiers, of access." BeyondCorp's device inventory service The centralised device inventory service has consumed billion of data sets on Google staff devices from 15 sources, including Active Directory; Puppet; and Simian; various configuration and corporate asset management systems; vulnerability scanners; certificate authorities, and network infrastructure elements such as ARP tables. The zero trust architecture spells trouble for traditional attacks that rely on penetrating a tough perimeter to waltz freely within an open internal network. Google's paper describes this security model in detail in order to help other security-advanced organisations follow suit. "We believe that BeyondCorp has substantially improved the security posture of Google without sacrificing usability, and has provided a flexible infrastructure that will allow us to apply authorisation decisions based on policy unencumbered by technological restrictions," the team says. "While BeyondCorp has been quite successful with Google systems and at Google scale, its principles and processes are also within the reach of other organisations to deploy and improve upon. The infrastructure components of BeyondCorp. The "massive undertaking" was a challenge for security teams charged with minimising disruption. A two-pronged approach was run in a simulator where traffic was classified into services and security policies translated for each platform's firewall, finding decommissioned services that were still running without purpose. Google security warns that lax communication about such a project will confuse users, while talking too much will prompt staff to request for exemptions. Google talking BeyondCorp, 2013. |
Erik Johnson thought he had done everything he needed to do to make the U.S. Olympic team. So when his name was not called Wednesday by the selection committee, it was not a fun moment. “I didn’t expect to make it at the beginning of the year. But how well I’ve played these last three months, I was back in the mix. So that’s probably the hardest part, knowing that I couldn’t have done any more as far as my play to make it. You know, I played fantastic these first three months, so it’s disappointing, but my focus is on this team now,” Johnson said Thursday morning, as the Avalanche prepared to host the Philadelphia Flyers later. “I’ll use that two-week break to recharge and get ready for the playoffs.” Johnson played on the 2010 U.S. team that won a silver medal in Vancouver, British Columbia, and entered Thursday’s game at plus-10 with decent offensive numbers for the Avs. In the end, however, the committee went with others — including former Av Kevin Shattenkirk, who was part of the deal that brought Johnson to Colorado in 2011. Johnson said he was called by Brian Burke, part of the U.S. management group, after the selections were made. “At the same time, I can’t look at anyone on that team and say they didn’t deserve to be there, because they’re all good players,” Johnson said. Avs center Paul Stastny, who was selected by Team USA, said he was “excited” to go to Sochi. “We’ll be going there with just one goal in mind, to come back with the gold,” Stastny said. The Avs will play their third game of a current seven-game homestand against a Flyers team that has won four straight. Semyon Varlamov will oppose Steve Mason in net. Adrian Dater: adater@denverpost.com or twitter.com/adater |
It’s time again for Rod Keller’s Scientology Social Media Review. He’s made a specialty of hunting down the odd and wonderful things Scientologists post to the ‘net. He’s a chronicler who piece by piece builds a highly detailed assessment of what Scientology is doing around the world, and this is what he found for us this week… Today at 1 pm, Harlem will get its own Scientology Ideal Org when church leader David Miscavige presides over a ceremony at the twin buildings on 125th St. We say “twin” because Scientology is not only opening its Ideal Org but also a community center two doors down on 125th between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. This project is a long time coming — the buildings were purchased way back in 2007, and Scientology has been talking about opening them for years. If this event is like other Ideal Org events, Scientologists will be flown in from around the country, but curious local onlookers will be kept far away with the use of closed streets and sidewalks, barriers made up of potted plants, and other techniques. We’ll be interested to see which local figures Miscavige manages to convince to speak at the event. If you happen to be in the area, please send us a photo or two. Advertisement The Tampa Ideal Org hosted an evening with Tony Hitchman this week in which he discussed his 1966 filmed interview with L. Ron Hubbard in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Hitchman has been out of sight since 2002 when convicted con artist Reed Slatkin identified him as his partner in the Ponzi scheme that defrauded hundreds of wealthy investors, many or most of them fellow Scientologists. Slatkin claimed that Hitchman once held him prisoner in a Santa Barbara house, demanding he sign over his remaining shares of Earthlink, an early Internet provider. Slatkin also claimed Hitchman provided cover, using his connections to Scientology leadership to deflect investigations into falsified brokerage records, and in return received up to $20,000 per month in payments from investor accounts. To avoid efforts by the trust administrator Hitchman fled to South Africa a month after a lawsuit was filed to recover more than $4 million he received from Slatkin. Other participants returned funds to the trust, such as Scientologists Greta Van Susteren and John Coale, who agreed to return $700,000. Scientologist Daniel W. Jacobs was ordered in a similar lawsuit to return $450,000. Calls to the administrator were not returned, but there is no public record that Hitchman ever returned any money. (PS: Reed Slatkin is still dead. But you wouldn’t know it from any media source besides this one.) Scientology is holding a Purple Heart Day banquet at the Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater on August 6. The Purple Heart is awarded to U.S. service members killed or wounded in battle. Scientology has falsely claimed that L. Ron Hubbard was awarded the Purple Heart during World War II, and displays a set of his medals that are mostly fake. Hubbard was awarded only four campaign medals (and none for combat, which Hubbard never saw) rather than the 27 that Scientology shows in its exhibit. In recent years, Scientology has blamed the rise in suicide among service members on access to mental health treatment and Psychiatrists. Field Staff Member Clifford Woods will give a seminar at his home in Valley Village, California on August 11th on FSMing and Recovery. FSMing is the process of getting others to pay for Scientology services, of which the FSM gets a percentage. Recovery means that the seminar focuses on selling to former or inactive members, under the theory that they already know Scientology works, and are easier sales targets. The Deadly Quartet he mentions is from the Hubbard Dissemination Course, and is a series of steps used to close a sale, and is used throughout Scientology. The quartet is: 1. Contact 2. Handle 3. Salvage 4. Bring to understanding. This seminar is for anyone who has thought that recovering people is tough, hard work or has had some failures in the area. You get the hatting and drilling you need to overcome the “not knowing” what to do! You find out how to easily and effortlessly recover others!! You will get a lively! Fun! Presentation that is easy to understand. The hatting and drilling will be on the use of investigations tech, the Dissemination Drill and Deadly Quartet. Help yourself and others find the REAL reason they are not making progress. ARC Clifford Woods Narconon Moscow has moved to a new location, South of the city. This is the smaller of two Narconon locations in Moscow – the larger being Narconon Standard. Scientology’s anti-Psychiatry group CCHR will open their traveling museum to the public at the Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México, or UACM, from August 10 to the 23. Bernard and Meghan Fialkoff gave a presentation of Scientology’s anti-drug message from the Foundation for a Drug-Free World at the Samuel J. Tilden Educational Campus in Brooklyn, New York this week. The Foundation also distributed literature at Diversity Day at New York University this week. Scientologists held seminars and distributed anti-drug literature at the Ho-Hai-Yan Gongliao Rock Festival this week. The concert is sponsored by the New Taipei City Government, and features Indie music. Organizers say they want attendees to let themselves go and become “drunk on music.” These posters promote the “L’s,” a series of rundowns delivered only at Flag Land Base in Clearwater. A high level Scientologist might describe her level as “New OT-8, 3 L’s” to indicate they have completed all of the highest courses. They are traditionally described as “Doingness, Havingness and Beingness,” and the posters show the End Phenomena, or “EP” of “No Limits, New Life, Immortality.” The new Atlanta Ideal Org would like opinions on which sign staff members should hold as they stand on the sidewalk to entice drivers to stop in. “Open House” or “What is Scientology?” Open House is the favorite among Scientologists so far. Scientology has appropriated the photo of former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to promote its front group Youth for Human Rights. Scientology front group Youth for Human Rights held a night-time bicycle ride through the streets of Puebla, Mexico this week in which riders held posters describing the rights listed in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Non-Scientologist attorney Carmen Bland presented a seminar at the Criminon headquarters in Clearwater, Florida this week on juvenile delinquency. A lanyard for holding keys has the logo of Saint Hill Manor, and proclaims “I am going OT.” More than a slogan, wearing such a keychain can be seen as putting your postulates into the physical universe, which is the first step towards achieving a goal. Student Minister Tony Muhammad is one of the most visible leaders of the Nation of Islam, and the heir apparent to Minister Louis Farrakhan. This week he completed Super Power at Flag Land Base in Clearwater. — Rod Keller ——————– Posted by Tony Ortega on July 31, 2016 at 07:00 E-mail tips and story ideas to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We post behind-the-scenes updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page. Our book, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information about the book, and our 2015 book tour, can also be found at the book’s dedicated page. Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts… BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of L.A. attorney and former church member Vance Woodward UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts Other links: Shelly Miscavige, ten years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | Scientology’s Private Dancer | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | Scientology boasts about assistance from Google | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ Our Guide to Alex Gibney’s film ‘Going Clear,’ and our pages about its principal figures… Jason Beghe | Tom DeVocht | Sara Goldberg | Paul Haggis | Mark “Marty” Rathbun | Mike Rinder | Spanky Taylor | Hana Whitfield |
We are excited to introduce our newest brand: Tanuki. Hailing from Okayama, Japan, Tanuki is a newly-formed denim label built on a collective of knowledge and a passion for quality. Founded by a group of gifted craftsmen, the brand prides itself on mastering every level of the denim process. With decades of cumulative experience in denim manufacturing, the “super-team” behind Tanuki is able to manipulate shuttle looms to create unique fabrics, sewing them into jeans that elevate Japanese denim to yet another level. The foundation of Tanuki is their team of expert craftsman, who have experience in the denim industry from running looms, to sewing Kibata (Japanese raw denim), to managing some of the largest denim brands in Japan. For the creation of this project denim experts of all walks have come together to create a product that will bring Japanese denim to the next level. The artisans wish to remain unnamed because the product is meant to speak for itself. The Tanuki was chosen as the brand's symbol for its roots in traditional Japanese myth. The people behind Tanuki are old traditional denim makers, but like the mythical raccoon-dog changes its shape, they are transforming the image of traditional denim. Their logo 二 (Ni), the Japanese character for two, also represents this concept. The bottom line represents the past, tradition, establishment, and peace. The top line represents future, change, and strength. The red and white follow the colors of the Japanese flag, which honors their roots as Japanese denim makers. Tanuki's greatest strength is in their experience working with Kibata. Unlike other brands that began as stores or from parent companies, Tanuki is built on the backs of denim makers. Kibata is a very difficult material to work with, and many brands will make the mistake of assuming it shrinks the same across all sizes. This results in strange fit issues like pockets that do not work, or rise that is too short, or lack of flexibility in areas where a person moves. Tanuki works with a formula developed through time to avoid the problems that other makers have, and have brought in European pattern cutters for advice on fit, resulting in the perfect denim clothes. Our first shipment brings us Tanuki’s 15oz “Retro” and 16.5oz “Natural Indigo” selvedge denim fabrics. The Retro fabric was first created in the 70's by members of the Tanuki team when trying to develop a very dark and strong denim. When the vintage denim craze hit Japan the fabric was by far the most popular, but was discontinued in the late 90’s. The dark color is achieved through using two indigo dyes, one light, and one dark. Because of this it is a slow fading denim that creates beautiful ranges of blues. The N fabric uses natural indigo, which usually makes fabrics four times more expensive because of the hand labor and amount of dye used. The price of this denim is possible because of Tanuki’s refined rope dying technique, which uses less dye to achieve a deep color. The fabric uses low tension weaving with slubby yarn to create a uniquely textured denim. Both fabrics come unsanforized in true heritage fashion, and are offered in the tailored Slim and Tapered fits - a contrast that honors the fundamentals of the Tanuki brand. • • |
We have a little more clarity about story progression in The Sims 4. Townies and other Sims age and die while time passes. Though they will not make any life decisions. So they won’t get new jobs, marry or divorce and they won’t have children. If you want that to happen, you would have to go and control those Sims. When a family has died and there are no Sims left in a home, a new family will move in. They will use families from the Townies list first. @SimGuruGraham couldn’t tell us yet if the game would generate families with children. You have a few options for aging. You can turn it on or off, but you can also set it so only your own household ages. NPC’s will age even when they are in a part of the world that you have not loaded. They will keep on simulating in the background. Unless of course you have aging turned off. Sims won’t randomly move away. Though if you wanted them to move out, you can always do that yourself. |
We’re not sure what the odds are of four people in one family having the same white patch of hair, but we’re pretty sure they’re pretty slim. Still, that’s exactly what happened when little MilliAnna Worthy from Ridgeland, South Carolina was born. The little girl, now 18 months old, has the same distinctive “birthmark” as her mother, Brianna, as well as her grandmother and great-grandmother. The white hair is caused by poliosis, a condition that creates a lack of pigment in the hair and surrounding skin. “We are unsure how far back the birthmark goes as my grandmother was adopted as a child and hasn’t met her biological family,” Brianna told the Daily Mail. “I was hoping she did have it. My younger sister that my mother had a few years after me didn’t get it, so I didn’t know if MilliAnna was going to, but once I had her and they laid her on my chest and I saw she had it I was so happy.” Image Credits: Caters (h/t: dm) Little MilliAnna was born with the same unique white fringe as her mom And it looks even more awesome 18 months later! The white hair is caused by poliosis, a condition that creates a lack of pigment in the hair and surrounding skin “We are unsure how far back the birthmark goes as my grandmother was adopted as a child and hasn’t met her biological family,” Brianna said “I was hoping she did have it. My younger sister that my mother had a few years after me didn’t, so I didn’t know if MilliAnna was going to” “But once I had her and they laid her on my chest and I saw she had it I was so happy” “I grew to end up really loving it in my hair and was confident that it was my own unique signature look” “I plan to raise my daughter knowing she is beautiful and special and to not listen to people mean comments at times” |
BOLINAS, Calif. -- The body of an endangered, 79-foot-long blue whale that washed ashore in Marin County, California, had injuries consistent with being struck by a ship, according to an expert from the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, CBS San Francisco reports. "We found several broken ribs and, when that happens, we also want to look to see if there's evidence of hemorrhage. That means that it happened before death," Dr. Claire Simeone told CBS San Francisco. The whale was discovered off Agate Beach in Bolinas on Thursday. Scientists from the Marine Mammal Center described it as a subadult female. They collected skin and blubber samples on Friday and performed a necropsy Saturday. Blue whales are the world's largest animal and they're endangered. Fewer than 10,000 are left in the world. About 2,800 live off the California coast. Drones used to study sick killer whales in Antarctica Based on fluke markings, this particular whale was first spotted in 1999. It's been seen about a dozen times, mostly near the Santa Barbara Channel. A large crowd of beachgoers have gathered at the shore to see the whale. "It looks like the whale was pretty badly injured," said beachgoer Jonathon Goldman. "So, that was just the morbid curiosity of it." Goldman brought his family to check out the whale but said he'd much rather have seen the animal alive and in the open ocean. "It's quite shocking, I would say, to see a creature of such beauty and magnificence so damaged and washed up. I guess you don't normally see them on beaches," Goldman said. The whale's body was mostly intact. Researchers say it's rare to find a carcass in such good condition and that could help them learn more about the species. They hope what they learn from the tests performed will help them prevent future deaths in this critically endangered population. "This is an endangered species, this is the largest animal on Earth. It's magnificent and sad to see them here on the beach. We want to see them in the wild," Simeone said. |
Northwest Fire Locations NWCC Public Information Blog www.nwccinfo.blogspot.com Fire Map Load Time Due to high user traffic, the large fire map may load slower than normal and will be briefly unavailable during morning updates. Fire Perimeter To view the fire's current perimeter , zoom in on the flame icon. Currently, no active large fires in Oregon and Washington Fire Status: Active Active Contained The Northwest Fire Location map displays active fire incidents within Oregon and Washington. A Large Fire, as defined by the National Wildland Coordinating Group, is any wildland fire in timber 100 acres or greater and 300 acres or greater in grasslands/rangelands or has an Incident Management Team assigned to it. Please note: the points displayed on the map above indicate each fire's starting location and provide general references ONLY. Fire information is updated as it is received. However, gaps may exist in the daily updates submitted to NWCC, and the map above may not reflect the most current fire situation. Fire points and perimeters are collected in the field by a variety of means, including infrared flights, and using GIS and GPS technology. Since data is not received for all fires, you may not be able to view perimeters of every fire. Large Fire Information Summary Detailed information for each fire; including the lead agency, description of location, number of threatened structures, cause, current conditions, etc. Detailed information for each fire; including the lead agency, description of location, number of threatened structures, cause, current conditions, etc. Northwest Large Fire Interactive Map During fire season this web based map is updated daily with current fire perimeters and locations. Access detailed information about current and historical fires. |
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(872) Disciples couldn’t have written the gospels (1127) Difficult questions for the faithful (776) Differing causes for the crucifixion (2010) Did God change or did he deceive (2046) Didache- the canary in the mine (622) Desire to believe (1616) Demon possession not recognized by courts (652) Demon possession in New but not Old Testament (584) Delayed documentation of the gospels (11) Deification of mortal humans is commonplace (681) Deification of Jesus moves back in time (436) Defenses of Christians’ bad behavior are lame (1103) Death awareness led to invention of the soul (1870) Dead Sea Scrolls do not mention Jesus (1241) Daniel in the lion’s den (823) Eyewitnesses of Jesus rejected him (591) Excluding the event that got Jesus killed (1814) Eyewitnesses dead at time of first gospel (706) Eyeglasses were not yet invented (2049) Exploiting the fear of death (1681) Evolution of earliest writings about Jesus (968) Evolution of belief in the afterlife (1308) Evolution and Christianity cannot both be true (1471) Evidence that we do not survive death (868) Evidence supplied vs. standard of belief (1272) Evidence for Jesus worse than for Julius Caesar (1160) Events reported in only one gospel (892) Events in NT copied from OT (328) Epistle of James not written by Jesus’s brother (1347) Epilepsy is caused by evil spirits (1317) End of the road for Christianity (1322) End is near? (1899) Ending the flow of life (165) Encouragement of war and famine (265) Elijah is carried up into heaven (1235) Easily accessed info causes decline in belief (378) Earth in an insignificant part of the universe (312) Early documents know the least about Jesus (1285) Early Christians were more brutal than the Romans (800) Early Christians take over pagan shrines (155) Early Christians did not use a cross (1745) Early Christians did not believe Jesus was man (1233) Freewill is an illusion (817) Free will cannot absolve God of evil (1634) Four reasons to disbelieve in God (1758) Four gods of Christianity (1664) Forgiveness or not? (1227) Forgetting the feeding of the many (90) Forgery to make Jesus divine at birth (1499) Forgery to legitimize doctrine of the trinity (298) Forged Pauline epistles should not be in the Bible (1371) Forged ending in the Gospel of Mark (33) Folly of marrying Genesis with science (718) Folly of a personal relationship with Jesus (1104) Following the Bible is either criminal or insane (1099) Flaws in the account of Jesus’s trial (78) Five views of Jesus (592) First and Second Peter are forgeries (857) Fine tuning is an argument for atheism (957) Fig tree in NT is allegorical (1213) Fictitious story of the thief on the cross (413) Fatal flaws in the ascension story (277) False use of scripture by Peter (572) Fallacy of the empty tomb argument (1613) Fallacy of crediting the number of manuscripts (1298) Faith of the Roman centurion (344) Failure to communicate led to massive bloodshed (854) Failure of the Golden Rule (568) Failure of the free will argument (1944) Failure of modern Christians to conform (100) Failure of Christians to be better people (422) Failure of Christians’ basis for belief (468) Failed prophecies in the book of Daniel (503) Failed prophecies in the bible (120) Failed defenses of the Bible’s embarrassments (1761) Facts needed to convince an atheist (1534) Fabricated snake story in the Book of Acts (485) Growing legend of Joseph of Arimathea (2060) Great Insertion and the the Great Omission (580) Grain of sand on the beach (2006) Governments assume there is no god (785) Gospels written for the less well educated (1539) Gospels missing for 100 years after Jesus (1893) Gospels have no Hebrew or Aramaic sources (993) Gospels are written like a play (1111) Gospels are products of their time (1856) Gospels are hagiography, not biography (2015) Gospel writers were trained to produce fiction (1436) Gospel writers were not eye witnesses (666) Gospel references to demons are missing in John (491) Gospel of Thomas suggests Jesus is mental (368) Gospel of Mark is full of irony (773) Gospel of John is fiction (881) Gospel of John is a mystical Jewish tale (1224) Gospel of John has no parables (1321) Gospel of John has no Gethsemane anguish (1066) God would have created humans immediately (394) God worship indicates religion was made by man (1646) God will damn some before death (1242) God was killed by the big bang (313) God waits centuries to tell us about Hell (1862) God violates his own commandment (1966) Gods that die and rise (1355) God’s short and restricted visit to the Earth (492) God sees death as too light of a punishment (1155) God’s overuse of the death penalty (126) God’s inefficient use of intermediaries (1844) God sends most people to Hell (678) Gods do not pray (1117) God’s different concept of personhood (228) Gods become more distant over time (766) God’s advice for dealing with an unsolved murder (1062) God’s actions show he is not omnipotent (1370) God values only certain lives (960) God the dominator, Christians the submissives (2044) God requires the spilling of blood to forgive (677) God punishes people for how they’re born (159) God promotes abortion as a form of punishment (1200) God places his needs above ours (1921) God ops out of the criminal justice system (384) God not needed for origin of life (1983) God makes it hard to believe (1184) God kills to make people follow him (1211) God is responsible for sending people to Hell (802) God is obsessed with trivial things (875) God is not the source of morality (1642) God is not required to stop evil, but humans are (1773) God is not part of the universe (310) God is not omniscient or there’s no free will (1038) God is not in control (1150) God is not a nice person (1959) God is more callous to pain than humans (412) God is either limited or evil (1884) God is a reflection of those who invented him (1855) God inflicts the practice of cannibalism (735) God has witnessed every child molestation (1028) God has no need to forgive humans (1737) God has no interest in non-Jews (1879) God hardens pharaoh’s heart to show off (203) God had to know which books to inspire (293) God guilty of crime he accuses the damned (1744) God gives conflicting messages through prayer (200) God gives a sign that he withholds today (1614) God: from the sublime to the ridiculous (1381) God flunks the design of the human eye (1554) God fails to use modern technology (1722) God fails to stop evil done in his name (1583) God fails to respond to tests/challenges (354) God fails to pick the right Popes (472) God fails to make foolish the wisdom of the world (737) God fails to improve the morals of the Israelites (454) God fails to give a definite sign of existence (345) God fails to enlighten the faithful about disease (221) God fails to deliver evidentiary needs (1408) God fails to deliver an error-free book (429) God equation of Gospel of John (24) God enjoys the aroma of burning flesh (1295) God, does he know everything? (1119) God disqualifies himself as a god (1177) God discriminates against people with afflictions (732) God did not select the books of the Bible (499) God defined by the effectiveness of prayer (1307) God creation has been symmetric (1587) God controls who can come to Jesus (646) God changes mind about women rulers (1366) God cares less about conversion than do Christians (851) God can no longer answer prayers (1760) God causes violation of the 10 commandments (168) God came to Earth and nothing changed (190) God as an infant baby (67) God and the Flood (1849) God and Satan are partners (1287) God and the fourth dimension (549) God allows spokespeople to say awful things (352) God aggrandizes himself at the expense of mortals (987) God admits he’s one of many gods (356) “Give up the Bible”- John Wesley (736) Genesis liberal view of creation fails nevertheless (953) Hypocrisy of the typical christian (93) Humans make better commandments than God (1051) Human embryonic comparison to other animals (812) Human brain is evidence for atheism (955) Human biology is not unique (1422) How Yahweh evolved to be omnipotent (255) How to recognize God? (1807) How to find a wife according to the Bible (1271) How people see and hear what is not real (1204) How memories change over time (1974) How many women were at the tomb? (1192) How do we know God wrote the Bible? (1839) How best to bury Christianity (1843) How belief in the resurrection originated (202) Historical inaccuracies in Luke and Acts (161) Historians fail to document the resurrection (193) Higher education leads to less religiosity (1085) Hide and seek games don’t last this long (1018) Hell without pain is still an absurdity (1392) Hell was not invented until after 70 CE (1632) Hell invented out of a desire for justice (1988) Hell destroys the foundations of morality (2076) Hell as a man-made vs. divine concept (48) Heaven is populated mostly by fetuses (282) Heaven and Hell cannot coexist (2000) Hateful churches follow the Bible more closely (1559) Happiest countries are the least religious (1045) Isaiah does not refer to Jesus (407) Isaiah 53 fails as a prophecy of Jesus (2041) Irony of the ages (18) Inversion of news and commentary (347) Invalid prophecy of Jesus birth in Matthew (195) Interpolations indicate God did not write the Bible (500) Instead of petty miracles, Jesus, give us this! (777) Indignant or filled with compassion? (1691) Inconsistency choosing books for the bible (297) Incongruity of using punishment to erase sins (450) In God we trust? (895) Improbable visit to the tomb (738) Improbability of the Christian god (1636) Improbability of the ascension (343) Impotence of a personal relationship with God (1429) Implausibility of the guard’s report (1128) Immaterial consciousness does not exist (595) Illusion of self (1216) Illogic of punishing the innocent (94) Illogic of praying for conversion (1180) Illogic of God having emotions (609) If you’re not a Jew you are not a follower of Jesus (215) If there was a God,… (670) If the Jews didn’t believe, why should we? (853) If God is real we are all slaves (832) If God died, how would we know? (1043) If God came today (1185) If Christianity is true, then… (1880) If Christianity is false, what should we see? (942) Judgement based the timing of death (148) Judas, problems with his story (865) Josephus writes about other messiahs (889) John the Baptist- the Rosetta Stone (998) John the Baptist died in 36 CE (1122) John the Baptist didn’t know cousin of 30 years (1162) John 1st epistle not inspired by God (557) Jews were not taught about heaven and hell (1489) Jews were entrapped by God (1196) Jews didn’t believe, why should we (853) Jews being non-Christian is implausible (1142) Jewish theology changed after the Exile (1726) Jewish morality no different than neighbors (1275) Jesus: What did he look like? (1612) Jesus wears too many hats (619) Jesus was wrong about the origin of gender (792) Jesus was probably mythical- evidence for (1640) Jesus was not the Jewish messiah (130) Jesus was not an admirable person (1089) Jesus was immoral and a psychopath (966) Jesus was charged with sedition, not blasphemy (976) Jesus was not the Prince of Peace (1086) Jesus was not the founder of the Christian faith (1318) Jesus was not famous (1393) Jesus was not extraordinary (488) Jesus was likely psychologically impaired (399) Jesus was hostile to his enemies (1484) Jesus was copied from Innanna The Queen of Heaven (811) Jesus uses a Greek translation instead of Hebrew (1635) Jesus thought dumbness was caused by demons (814) Jesus’s will is different from God’s (1558) Jesus tells followers not to resist evil (1485) Jesus studies are burdened by flawed scholarship (1577) Jesus should still be in Hell (1159) Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross was a sham (541) Jesus spoke through prophets after death (301) Jesus’s history should be indisputable (421) Jesus’s philosophy- neither original or remarkable (787) Jesus’s deeds and words were nothing new (1035) Jesus’s death was strictly for God’s benefit (1060) Jesus’s crucifixion words are all from scripture (1985) Jesus resurrection not meant to be literal (599) Jesus rejected in his own town (32) Jesus planned for most people to go to hell (1775) Jesus not a chip off the old block (1323) Jesus never made the seven “I am” statements (1276) Jesus never explained the Trinity (1719) Jesus mistakenly believes in the Exodus (1335) Jesus ministry extended from 1 to 3 years (524) Jesus lies to his brothers (445) Jesus lied about his location after death (300) Jesus kills children for sins of the mother (705) Jesus is silent in the Old Testament (196) Jesus is an effect, not a cause of Christianity (722) Jesus is similar to Dracula and Vlad the Impaler (1532) Jesus is made more powerful in John (1892) Jesus had symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia (841) Jesus gets angry and ungodlike (269) Jesus foments strife in a self-serving way (708) Jesus failed to tell people to document his ministry (418) Jesus failed to define himself (534) Jesus dying on the cross foreshadows hell (1756) Jesus does what he condemns (582) Jesus disqualifies himself as God (1069) Jesus displays an un-godlike anger and contempt (748) Jesus died too quickly on the cross (605) Jesus did not take the sinner’s punishment (1121) Jesus did not predict his resurrection (2013) Jesus did not overturn the Temple tables (542) Jesus did not know the hour of his return (830) Jesus did not have faith (1264) Jesus did not fulfill the Law (1431) Jesus did not explain the New Covenant (1565) Jesus did not create a New Covenant (1697) Jesus did no charity work and glorified poverty (350) Jesus demands faith, needs none himself (546) Jesus couldn’t have been all human and all god (1772) Jesus could not have claimed to be God (294) Jesus could heal only those persons who had faith (1394) Jesus confirms he is separate from the Holy Spirit (1385) Jesus condemns everyone to Hell (1019) Jesus, compared to others, was not special (1154) Jesus committed the sin of suicide (624) Jesus cannot be the Jewish Messiah (565) Jesus came to send people to hell (1771) Jesus birth stories cast doubt on his existence (1626) Jesus ben Ananias and the 21 parallels (1238) Jesus believed in Satan, Christians not so much (567) Jesus baptized by John the Baptist (10) Jesus as the scapegoat (415) Jesus appeared only to die-hard believers + one (1262) Jesus apostles didn’t know about the virgin birth (204) Jesus and the Baal cycle (1838) Jesus admits he is not God (87) Jesus admits that he is just a messenger (808) Jesus admits cures are not permanent (184) Jericho was in ruins at the time of Joshua (1107) Kingdom moves to the heavens (903) Lying undermines the credibility of Christianity (860) Luke’s gospel reveals Jesus to be a regular man (791) Luke’s description of Nazareth is erroneous (1286) Luke & Matthew first 2 chapters are forgeries (1343) Luke plagiarized Kings in Old Testament (1430) Luke changes Jesus’s words for failing to return (1795) Logical incoherency of the afterlife (1486) Location of Heaven and Hell (497) Localized god can’t be the creator of the universe (1517) Literary allusions in Mark were misunderstood (1925) List of mistakes made by God (1828) Lisbon earthquake and the birth of atheism (532) Lie that Jesus was famous (405) Let your light shine… no wait! (692) Less religious countries are the happiest (1340) Least righteous in heaven, most righteous in hell (1441) Least religious U.S. cities are healthier (514) Lazarus from Luke to John (1079) Lazarus and The woman caught in adultery (27) Last supper copied from Mithraism (502) Last supper and drinking of “blood” (448) Lack of recording of paranormal phenomena (621) Lack of First Century pilgrimages (1895) Lack of a unified theory of atonement (1226) Mythicism case that Jesus did not exist is solid (1208) Myth of the Transfiguration (623) Multiple religions exist only if they are all false (1461) Mythical creatures are now extinct (1076) Moving gods to explain why they can’t be seen (1654) Most likely resurrection reality (1656) Most absurd belief of Christianity (663) Moses was mistaken about a thousand things (1181) Moses did not write the Pentateuch (757) More plausible explanation for the empty tomb (1788) More on the treatment of children (784) Morality is not tied to religion (749) Morality failed to spread outward from Judea (618) Morality changes over time (696) Moral priorities of the Bible are senseless (1631) Money reveals the fraud of Christianity (475) Money needs reveal absence of Christianity’s god (1647) Money diverted to fix an avoidable problem (673) Modern archaeology conflicts with the Bible (402) Misuse of personal preference to shape scripture (140) Mistakes in the Book of Mark (575) Missing letter of Paul to the Corinthians (383) Mismatch of geography to exclusivity (535) Miscarriages should not exist in a Christian world (1301) Miracles of Jesus were too mundane (146) ‘Miracle’ of the loaves and fishes (555) Miracle of the Holy Fire (1701) Miracle of the clothes (1125) Minds of atheists more open than Christians(862) Michael the Archangel plagiarized by Jesus (893) Metaphor of the Passover lamb sacrifice (1123) Messiahs other than Jesus more documented (379) Men twice as likely to be atheist as women (1604) Meet you in Galilee or Jerusalem? (831) Matthew the Rosetta stone of the resurrection (131) Matthew meant to be allegorical (1574) Matthew less reliable than Mark (880) Matthew fails to finish his lie (1115) Matthew and Luke originally had no birth story (1221) Matthew and Luke have different emphasis (1003) Matthew and Luke didn’t think Mark was inspired (1672) Math of the Great Flood (1504) Massaging scripture to absolve Jesus of sorcery (1402) Massacres not recorded by oppressed parties (1712) Mary Magdalene and the seven demons (906) Mark’s passion narrative flavored by later events (2058) Mark’s gospel based on Homer’s The Odyssey (730) Mark’s author was not a companion of Peter’s (1337) Mark invented the Sea of Galilee (1314) Many faces of Jesus (273) Many Christ like figures predate Jesus (129) Mammon, the demon of greed (918) Major problems with the tenth commandment (714) No writings from Jesus’s direct followers (1932) No witnesses of the resurrection (2038) No true believers according to Bible (1048) No time for a god to exist (1823) No religion has originated in two places (685) No prophecies of a resurrected Christ (1609) No plan unless you’re Jewish (1683) No one wrote anything against Jesus (1046) No one can enter Heaven? (662) Non-religious countries are the least corrupt (847) No mention of Winter in the gospels (1982) No good way to recognize the existence of a god (1384) No difference if Jesus was real or not (581) No contemporary writing means no miracles (1289) No animals in Heaven? (603) No angels equals no Christianity (1769) New Testament reads like a cult (2033) New Testament not close to originals (118) New Testament mired in a pre-scientific world (1819) New Testament is selective propaganda (1059) New science proves that free will does not exist (1472) Names of the apostles (1599) Outsider test for faith in Christianity (447) Outsider’s look at the Bible (1841) OT never said the Messiah would die for our sins (467) OT calls out Jesus as a fraud (408) OT and NT disagree on life after death (169) Origin of the idea of God (783) Original sin doctrine not in Old Testament (648) Only 1 in 2500 Palestinian Jews became Christian (1684) Once saved, always saved? (1787) Omnipresent god was just in one location (743) Old Covenant still in effect? (2031) Oct 28, 312 at the Milvian bridge (381) OCD is the basis for all religion (921) Observer god the same as no god (1625) Observation of miracles by the Romans (68) Objective test of prayer reveals there is no god (775) Punishing those who do not know God (2028) Punishing child to forgive future sin of others (1419) Psychosis formed the basis of religious belief (626) Proof the Bible is not inerrant (816) Proof that Jesus was not God (256) Proof Jesus was just a man (758) Prologue to Gospel of John is a forgery (385) Professions that tend to make people atheists (844) Problem with the Fifth Commandment (642) Problems with the Sermon on the Mount (588) Problems with the Book of Esther (835) Probability that Christianity is true (897) Predicting the future in a Christian world (1842) Prayer works or it doesn’t (1831) Prayer is ineffective and redundant (967) Pope who told the truth (1368) Polytheism and the trinity (14) Peter walks on the water (2054) Peter should be denied entry into Heaven (1169) Peter and the cock (1163) Persistence of belief, resistance to reason (173) Peoples’ word was all they had (1442) People who lived and died before Jesus (132) People living in scenic areas are less religious (506) People at time of Jesus unreliable witnesses s (1326) People are using a flawed method to find God (1785) Paul writes about apostles, not disciples (926) Paul’s mission to Jews or Gentiles (1676) Paul’s gospel based on revelation, not facts (741) Paul said to fear demons, not Romans (1638) Paul of Acts vs. Paul of epistles (238) Paul thought Jesus lived only in outer space (877) Paul never read the gospels (983) Paul never quoted Jesus or mentioned hell (1427) Paul knew very little about Jesus (181) Paul invented the last supper (839) Paul in Acts is just a better version of Jesus (1454) Paul failed to note virgin birth when he needed to (1421) Paul distorts Deuteronomy for his agenda (1796) Paul didn’t know that Jesus raised dead people (1894) Paul did not know that the Romans killed Jesus (1639) Paul did not believe in a bodily resurrection (1854) Paul and the empty tomb (1800) Paul acknowledges Jesus was not historical (1515) Passover events not claimed by other faiths (1095) Parishioners better educated than clergy (933) Parent in heaven, child in hell (65) Parent and the unattended stove (1137) Parallel stories in Gospel of Luke (1433) Parable of the ten minas (701) Parable of the shiny car (807) Parable of the meadow (1837) Parable of the canoe trip (1210) Parable of the bridge builders (1445) Quantum mechanics says “no” to a god (320) ‘Q’ document and what it omitted (348) Romans fail to react to a risen Jesus (559) Ring structure in the gospels (1435) Ridiculous tale of John the Baptist birth (432) Resurrection originally not taken literally (614) Religious people understand the world less (1328) Religion should be soaring, but it’s not (1420) Religion is not exclusively human (1015) Religion is not a perception of reality (1910) Religion becoming extinct in nine nations (874) Reclusive god to blame for family emotional pain (1390) Reasons to doubt the empty tomb (827) Reason and philosophy dissed by Christian elites (1468) Real ‘rock’ was Paul, not Peter (688) Reading the Bible in reverse (560) Rape as a pathway to marriage (302) Raising people from the dead (498) Strange love of a an almighty deity (106) Story of Lot and the value of women (363) Story of Annanius and Saphirra (276) Speaking in tongues is just gibberish (944) Society more wicked when belief is strongest (925) Societal changes suggest Christianity is False (911) Skeptics better than believers in logical ability (938) Six stages of scriptural development (1467) Six New Testament letters are forged (374) Sin of disbelief is a human invention (1832) Sinai Bible reveals the fraud of modern Bibles (578) Simplest explanation is usually correct (713) Silence of the dames (251) Signs of the end times are no longer valid (810) Significance of what “Q” document omitted (348) Seven evidential proofs of scriptural tampering (1418) Settings for Mark and John are different (1065) Serving up the big lie of eternal life (240) Sermon on the Mount was plagiarized (1513) Sermon on the Mount geared to end times (882) Sending out of the seventy-two (689) Self-awareness is not exclusively human (798) Seeing the landscape of the world’s religions (1396) Secret Gospel of Mark and the naked boy (1417) Second coming of science & religion (174) Second coming is unnecessary (1102) Scripture not revered by early church as today (1428) Scribes fail to write about Jesus (71) Scientists more atheistic as they age (1480) Scientific mistakes in the Bible (486) Science more important to god than salvation (1975) Science is universal, not religion (481) Science fails to detect signs of the supernatural (177) Science and religion are not compatible (1044) Saved by grace or deeds (1699) Satan is more powerful than God (1875) Satan is morally superior to God (2077) Sanitizing the gospel in newer versions (209) Sanitizing the bible of mythical creatures (147) Salvation according to the Bible (1546) Sad tale of the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit) (794) Sacrifice of Jesus was plagiarized (1000) Two New Testaments (1189) Truth needs little support (1866) True god would not use human communication (1360) Trinity was unknown to the Jews (1372) Trend in belief of scientists (649) Tree of Knowledge and the death of Christianity (1209) Transferring guilt to Jews for Jesus death (115) Too many messiahs (36) To be childlike or not (1388) Timing of receiving the Holy Spirit (1514) Time from resurrection to ascension (834) Three views of the Eucharist (647) Three stages of God’s barbarity (296) Three men who made Christianity (551) Three laws of imaginary gods (511) Three hours of darkness no one noticed (262) Three conditions needed to disbelieve (712) Thousands of religions develop before Jesus (154) Thomas and tyranny of faith (116) There should be no major false religions (1306) There is no art (or moral) guru (1757) Test for an unfaithful wife (754) Test for supernatural power in churches (1779) Ten motivations to forge the Bible (668) Ten Commandments- the ‘real’ ones (884) Using remoteness to propagate the Jesus myth (1869) Universe- the wrong one (1080) Universe not designed for life (566) Universe from nothing (308) Unclaimed prizes for proof of the paranormal (1912) Unbalanced use of scripture made Jesus divine (1991) Visualizing the carnage ordered by God (1853) Visions in Galilee started the Easter faith (1996) Virginity proof could not be of God (1660) Vile character of the Christian god (822) Victims of the Christian faith (1376) W War against Christianity… by Christians (724) Wasted space of the Bible (1919) Way things happen (60) Wealthier nations are less religious (760) Weather (687) Wedding at Cana problems (869) Western values are not based on Christianity (1754) Wet Monkey Theory (1860) What Christianity doesn’t want (913) What Christianity does to people (1120) What Christianity has yet to prove (1493) What if Christianity is true? (1450) What if Jesus came today? (852) What if you’re RIGHT? (451) What is the overall effect of 2000 years of prayers? (804) What Jesus believed (695) What Jesus should have done to send a sign (417) When did Jesus acquire his omnipotence?(723) When did Jesus start his ministry? (1195) Where God chose to appear (1946) Who needs God? (1457) Who needs gospels? (1857) Who was the first person sent to hell? (1250) Why are Jesus’s disciples revered? (1041) Why are there four gospels? (389) Why did Jesus leave the Earth so quickly?(801) Why did Jesus pray? (2055) Why did the biblical canon close when it did? (1922) Why do churches need gimmicks? (780) Why does God no longer speak audibly (1509) Why does Jesus need to return? (1243) Why God allows churches to be destroyed (1633) Why God does not show himself (767) Why gods probably don’t exist (1972) Why liberal Christianity fails (1874) Why the Exodus makes no sense (1957) Why wasn’t Jesus’s gift offered world wide? (396) Why was the tomb open? (1073) Widow’s mite (2070) Will Jesus separate a mother from her children? Wine and prophecy (1976) Wishing replaces reason (1303) Witch trials (52) Without Heaven Christianity would die (1230) Without Hell Christianity would die (1231) Wizard of Oz analogy (290) World more peaceful as it becomes more secular (1023) Woman’s promise needs father/husband approval (1356) Women cannot exert authority over men (676) Women’s bodies were not designed by a creator (1168) Women’s rights affected by forged epistles (217) World unbefitting a “perfect creator” (414) |
Universal Distribution is a Canadian comic book distributor of cards, comics, sports and pop culture items that has been around for decades. Canada is also home to Quebecor, a printer for much of the comic book industry and one, for a while at least, was the focus of a series of major thefts of comic books at the time of the industry explosion that, it was alleged, entered the comic book marketplace – retailers and publishers were aware of this situation and talked to Bleeding Cool about it. But one person, who goes my the name Peter Lee is joining the two together and trying to launch a class action suit, accusing Universal Distribution of being behind the thefts “thousands of comics every week for decades” and other dodgy behaviour, that fuelled the company’s success. He has posted a series of posts online that form a narrative – but one that Universal utterly deny, in a statement we run at the bottom of this piece. Peter Lee writes, My name is Peter, I represent a group of retail comic book and sports cards collectible shops here in the province of Quebec. We would like to bring to your attention regarding A distributor named UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION which is ran by 3 brothers. Going back to the year 1988,1989, thousands of cases of Upper Deck hockey, both English and French Versions delivered to Universal Distribution have been tampered with from both the President and Vice President of that company. They would later tamper with your baseball, football and other major sport cards you would print over the years up until today. we are not just talking about a pack of cards, they did it to ALL the cases which we pre-paid months in advance in the thousands of dollars and waiting for the delivery. In the meantime, when the products got delivered to UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION, the “brothers” had a production line going. They would open each case and every box very carefully. Using a Beckett price guide, they would determine which pack had the valuable card inside by figuring out the sequence the cards were packed. They would later fill the missing packs in the boxes and fill the cases again. They would reseal all the boxes and the cases and make it impossible for anyone to notice that your factory seal was indeed tampered with. They would collect thousands of different valuable cards from your cases that they would later wholesale or retail very privately to other distributors in the US and Canada that they have made contacts with over the years. The retail stores here and across Canada have been scammed and frauded of thousands of their hard earned dollars and have been selling your product to innocent clients in their shops who never had a chance to find even an Eric Lindros Rookie card from a pack that was touched by UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION. Misleading collectors into buying the missing valuable card to complete the set. They did this with many other Card Companies, including O-Pee-Chee, Priemier series, Topps, Scores, Fleer, and many more…. They also distribute comics for all major publishing companies including Marvel and DC Comics. They would pick up the shipments from Quebecor directly which is based here in Quebec. Hundreds of Thousands of comic books and graphic novels were stolen from the back shipping doors over the years from UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION. One of the workers in the shipping department at Quebecor was in on it with them. They would hold the comics that are likely to increase in value and later wholesale that comic for a much higher price than the one that is listed on the book itself. This caused sufficient flooding of the market and has hurt the industry. We all pay for their actions! We have already contacted many companies and we will be starting a class action lawsuit and will file criminal actions against them. If you have purchased products from this company and feel like you are a victim, join our mission and claim back our losses from this corrupt company. Thank you for your time, Peter Lee Details of how the theft went down, Once a week, UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION would drive to QUEBECOR which was located a half hour drive or less from them and back up their truck in the first or second door. They would meet up with their QUEBECOR contact who would bring the pallets of COMICS as close to the doors as possible carefully placing the stolen cases within their actual order. We will not reveal the worker’s name or photo until the investigation is complete. One of the owners of Universal would drive the truck there and would pay his contact approx. $50 per case in CASH. An average of 20-30 cases per week would make it into that truck and straight to UNIVERSAL’S WAREHOUSE. When they arrive and unload at their facilities, the other 2 “brothers” would sort out all the books and prepare to pack the retailer’s orders for delivery the next morning. Stolen books have been distributed by them throughout Canada and the United States. This went on for years up until this day. With specific details for both the Death Of Superman and the launch of Image Comics The RETURN of SUPERMAN !! and also the return for more stolen profits. Nothing too complicated… They would go pick up their ordered shipment which is waiting for them at the shipping doors. They would then give their contact there a few dollars per case and he would load half a pallet of these books into the truck as a bonus. This went on every week. Thousands over Thousands of the Superman Comics shown below was taken by UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION the night before the release date. IMAGE COMICS…NEVER A SHORTAGE… Image Comics also started printing their books at Quebecor during the early 1990s. Titles such as SPAWN, WILDCATS, YOUNGBLOOD, etc…were also the result of Thousands of extra copies being stolen from the shipping doors and straight into UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION’S TRUCK ON A WEEKLY BASIS. AN ESTIMATE OF OVER 360,000 THOUSAND IMAGE COMIC BOOKS DISAPPEARED FROM QUEBECOR OVER A SPAN OF A FEW YEARS. PROFIT OVER SUPERMAN’S DEATH !!! At the time, over 120 known extra cases of the comic shown below, totaling over 18000 copies were stolen from Ronalds Printing ( Quebecor ) the night before its long waited release. With the help of a worker there, who made $20-$50 per case. UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION sold thousands of that book to US retail stores for a wholesale price of $6 US per issue and also gave them a huge advantage on Re-orders over any other Canadian and US distributors. Estimated amount of profit made on that robbery…$108,000.00 not bad for a nights work…. For the launch of Legends Of The Dark Knight, 4 different colors, 4 times the score…approximately 2400 copies of each color was also robbed from Quebecor in the evening hours. Many other issues that followed were also taken by UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION. Just on that comic alone, they would profit around $194,000.00 annually from stolen goods. And the Todd McFarlane Spider-Man, SAME ROUTINE…When this book came out, it was yet another big score for UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION. This time, their Quebecor contact was told way in advance for this one. UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION would wait until late evening to go pick up their shipments from Quebecor when all the offices are closed and there was very few workers at the shipping department at those hours. They had all the time in the world to keep loading up that truck. This went on every week, every month…They had large supplies of every Spiderman Comic printed in the early 1990s and up. Anywhere from 8000 – 12000 Thousand Comics were stolen on a weekly basis. Do the math….. Addressing his old boss at Heroes World, who were bought by Marvel Comics. message to MR. IVAN S_ _ _ _R former owner of Heroes World Distribution Co., originally named Superhero Enterprises, although you are not in business anymore as like many other Distributors, I would like to bring to your attention about the times UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION would come and pick up their shipments from your warehouse in New Jersey. As the items were being loaded into the truck, one of the brother’s from UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION was throwing in at least 3 complete cases of sports cards valuing about $1600 US. It didn’t matter what it was…hockey, baseball, football….he would grab it and bring it close to the doors as if he were to buy it, but he would throw it into the truck instead. He made sure that whatever he took was not noticeable to you. He would do this to you every week and every chance he had for the next 3 years. He never left your warehouse empty handed. All the brothers knew about this and even had a backup plan ready in case they were stopped at customs for any reason and those cases were not on the bill. Having them as a client has cost you about $250,000.00 US $ No wonder you are out of business! We have witnesses with us and if you are able to press criminal charges back there in the USA, we will gladly assist you in any way for you to recover your losses. And turning the stolen comics into expanding legitimate business opportunities, by using them to set up stores and tie down new accounts to their distribution deals going forward. What do you do with Hundreds of Thousands of extra copies of just about every comic book and a large variety of graphic novels printed by every Publisher out there, that accumulate every week, every month, year after year, from the Robberies UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION has Mastered when they go pick up their shipments from the Printer ??? ANSWER : Come up with a business plan where you could offer a turn key operation to anyone wanting to open up a Collectibles Shop. Depending on the budget of the potential new owner, UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION would offer packages of Inventory set up ranging from $10,000.00 to $60,000.00 CAN. You would get everything you need to set up your New Store..posters, displays, supplies for both comics and cards, full alphabetical inventory of almost every Marvel, DC, Image(all of them)…Display Comics (the valuable ones) and Display cards of all sports. In that mix, there are Thousands $ of STOLEN MERCHANDISE. It’s their way of laundering out the excessive STOLEN inventory. Most of that transaction ending on a CASH basis. You are also added as a new client and will receive your weekly new shipments directly to your door. In those weekly shipments of new arrivals, there are stolen comics in the mix as well. Nice way to start your business! The sport cards that you have in your display are the cards that have been tampered out of Its boxes you have on your counter and are selling to the public.. Loyal Distributors that have been in business decades before UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION first opened their doors, have now shut down while UNIVERSAL expanded throughout Canada. 3 “brothers” taking us all for fools. This is how they have been running the business all those years.Their now abandoned first warehouse is were they originally stored all the stolen items. They are now operating threw their new facility in Montreal. Happy Anniversary. And using it to put competitors out of business. UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION was able to corner a large percentage of the Comic and Sports Cards Industry in the East coast of Canada. With the opening of the TORONTO branch, they were able to put out companies such as MULTIBOOK and ANDROMEDA who never stood a chance with the massive re-order selection and the profit potential UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION would make with all the stolen merchandise. The Toronto location is nothing more than someone working out of a house. The 2nd location in TORONTO is in GUELPH ONT. once again, someone working out of a house. The opening of the VANCOUVER branch was even a bigger success as they took over most of the Industry in the WEST coast of Canada. Overstock of STOLEN COMICS and other merchandise accumulated over the years from the MONTREAL location fill the warehouse and is distributed to unaware retailers. I wonder if any of the employees working for UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION are aware of this?? Oh yes, and of card dipping, which seems the least serious charge but probably the one that will rile most up. One of the owners of UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION would take home a couple of cases of Hockey Cards and tamper with the cases in order to fish out all the valuable cards. Then later sell the tampered cases to the retail stores that had pre-paid in the Thousands of Dollars and waiting for the delivery. Imagine the collector or that kid who goes to buy a pack of cards hoping to get that Rookie Card. NO CHANCE ! He took those cases home because it got late going threw the cases at their Warehouse so he decided to continue a few more at his place where it’s more comfortable. He even had one of his employees put the cases in the trunk of his car for him. It’s implications… It wasn’t long after UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION first opened their doors in 1989 that CO-OWNER CHRIS EXARHAKOS figured out a devious plan to tamper with their very first order of UPPER DECK HOCKEY. After several test runs, he was able to select any valuable or future investment rookie card from it’s pack by figuring out the sequence the cards were packed. Using a Beckett price guide, he would determine which card he was looking for. He would spend entire days and nights in his office and go threw every pack, every box and every case until he was satisfied with the amount of cards he stole from the cases that have been pre-paid by the RETAIL HOBBY SHOPS way in advance and waiting for their product to be delivered to them. He would reseal the boxes and the cases to perfection. He coached a couple of employees to help him speed up the process and was later able to tamper threw thousands of English and French Versions of UPPER DECK HOCKEY in the years that followed. UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION had the distribution rights for UPPER DECK in Quebec so the chances of buying a tampered pack, box or a complete case of that product from them was very high. Taking advantage of the huge demand of sports cards those years, UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION was able to profit Thousands over Thousands of $ from STOLEN SPORT CARDS from the tampered cases. Retailers who have bought this product from UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION is entitled to a full refund plus damages rendered to them. UPPER DECK has been notified of UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION’S CRIMINAL activities and we hope that they put an end to this or they will be just as responsible now that they know about UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION’S DARK SECRET. And tax fraud. From the very beginning of UNIVERSAL DISTRIBUTION, they would pick up their shipments from a New Jersey Distributor named ” HERO’S WORLD DISTRIBUTION ” and they would cross the Canadian / US Customs Border every week with trailers full of comics, cards, collectible toys, and supplies….about one year into the business, one of the owners of UNIVERSAL,who also has an accounting degree decided to devalue the cost of the Ultra-Pro card sleeves in order to pay less DUTY and TAXES on the product, resulting in higher profits when sold to the consumer. They would bring in truck loads of Ultra-Pro cases per week and save thousands of dollars in undeclared Taxes and Duties on the product. He saw the potential in the profits from scamming the Canadian Government and decided to do the same with many more products after that. He falsified all the billing receipts which were sent to the border prior to the trucks arrival and got away with it for almost 4 years. Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars were frauded from Revenue Quebec until 1992 when the RCMP and Canadian Customs Agents Stormed into their warehouse located in Quebec and seized just about everything in there including the trucks that were stopped at the border. They were charged with over 100 counts of FRAUD and Tax Invasion with heavy fines. Criminal charges were laid but they paid their way out of any jail time. They made a few changes within the company and registered different names and continued to operate. After that time, comics already started getting printed at Quebecor which gave them an opportunity to profit threw stolen comic books. He got the idea to devalue the Ultra-Pro sheets when a sub-distributor in the downtown Montreal area started to carry this product and sold hundreds of cases per week at a discounted price. Universal could not compete by lowering their price because of the overhead in transportation costs and figured out a way to cut the cost of the Duties and Taxes in witch they paid. This lowered their cost drastically and was able to sell the product at the sub-distributor’s cost and eventually force him out of business. Why would you trust this company with your products?? In response to all this, which has been spread everywhere from Facebook to Twitter to a new response to a 2008 story on Comics Beat (really getting it out there, guys), Universal has issued the following statement denying, basically, everything. It has come to our attention that an individual is attempting to scam unsuspecting consumers by alleging he is representing a group of retailers in a class action lawsuit against us, Universal Distribution, and asking for funds. Let us state emphatically: There is no class action lawsuit of any kind against us. Please do not give this individual any money! The individual has set up fake Facebook and Twitter accounts page under the name ‘ Peter Lee ’, as well as posting classifieds on Kijiji claiming a class action lawsuit and has sent e-mails to potential victims. His claims are completely fabricated. We have contacted the authorities and an investigation is underway both locally, at Facebook and Kijiji. We appreciate your understanding and if you have any information that may assist in this matter, we would be grateful. Best Regards, Angelo It may be worth noting that “Peter Lee” is talking about arranging a class action suit, not actually having launched one yet. He has also not asked for money and he has told me that he is not planning to. And while he won’t give me details about himself, and seemed to claim his name was a pseudonym, he states he did work for Heroes World Distribution and ran a comic book store. Retailers I have talked to confirm Universal as a professional, reliable distribution operation and no one else seems willing to enter into such a class action suit without knowing a lot more, especially who exactly this “Peter Lee” is. We look forward to seeing how this rolls out over the week to come. Or if it is never heard from again. About Rich Johnston Chief writer and founder of Bleeding Cool. Father of two. Comic book clairvoyant. Political cartoonist. (Last Updated ) Related Posts None found |
Contents show] Personal Life (born October 26, 1961) is an American actor. He portrayed the main character Ben Harmon in the first season of, and portrayed Johnny Morgan in the second season,. He is best known for his roles as "Bobby Donnell" onand "Lieutenant Carter Shaw" on Mark Anthony McDermott, but better known by his professional name: Dylan, was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, to Diane and Richard McDermott. His Italian-American mother and Irish-American father were 15 and 17, respectively, when he was born. In 1967, his parents divorced, and Dylan lived with his mother and sister at his grandmother's. When he was five, his mother was accidentally shot and killed with her boyfriend's gun. Dylan and his sister were then raised by their maternal grandmother, Avis Marino. As a teenager, McDermott began taking trips to visit his father, who owned the West Fourth Street Saloon in New York City. The two would see movies together, McDermott would work in his father's bar serving drinks and breaking up fights. As a teenager, McDermott was uncomfortable with himself, and began imitating his acting heroes (Marlon Brando and Humphrey Bogart) to adopt their demeanors. McDermott attended and graduated from Holy Cross High School in Waterbury. While in his teens, McDermott met Jessica Lange who worked as a waitress in a nearby bar. McDermott's father's third wife was Eve Ensler (author of The Vagina Monologues). His father, Richard, met Eve through his job as a bartender; Eve was an alcoholic at the time. Richard, however, managed to get her sober. She adopted McDermott when he was 15 and she was 23; she and his father have since divorced.[1] McDermott has remained close to Ensler, and encouraged him to pursue his acting career, even writing roles for him in her plays. After Ensler suffered a miscarriage, he took the name "Dylan", the name she had planned for her unborn child. Eve has said that Dylan taught her "how to love".[2] He attended acting school at the Jesuit-run Fordham University, as well as studying under Sanford Meisner at The Neighborhood Playhouse. McDermott is noted for his rugged good looks and fashionable style, which he has been featured for in magazines, such as Men's Health. In 1999, he was one of a six-way tie for sixth place in GQ's "Man of the Year" issue. McDermott married actress Shiva Afshar Rose, who is of half Irish and half Persian decent, on November 19, 1995. They have two daughters; Colette (born 1996, 15 years old) and Charlotte Rose (born 2005, 6 years old). On September 27, 2007, People magazine confirmed that McDermott and Rose had separated. On May 16, 2008, CelebTV.com reported that McDermott had filed for divorce from Rose, and their divorce was finalized on January 2, 2009. McDermott is a recovering alcoholic and has been sober for well over 20 years. For further reference on his work, check out his IMDB page . Notes Dylan on his role as Ben Dylan has said about the role of Ben Harmon: "I campaigned for this role. I knew this was THE role for me." [3] McDermott commented on whether the end goal for the Harmon family was to get rid of the ghosts or learn to live with them. "Maybe a little bit of both. When I met with Ryan, Brad, and Connie, originally we had talked about that this really is a show about a fractured family and what infidelity can do to people. It's a metaphor for all the horror of being in a relationship and being in a family and being in a marriage. Connie and I try to keep it as real as possible because we're probably the most grounding part of the show, but I think that's really important so it doesn't become just a freak fest…We try to keep it grounded in reality so people can be rooted in something, rooted in the family…I think you just have to go with it. There's no parachute in this show. There's no net. We just are all in this together, and that's what makes it so much fun is that everybody's making the same show here. And we're all going for it. And so I think that's why it's working."[4] Gallery |
Get the latest news and videos for this game daily, no spam, no fuss. Adam Orth--who resigned from Microsoft following his controversial "always-online" and "deal with it" comments--will give a presentation on "toxic online behavior" at GDC Next, event organizers have announced. Orth, a former Microsoft creative director who now runs his own Orthnation consultancy firm, will give a talk titled "Mob Rules: The Destructive Power of Opinion and Online Community." During the course of his talk, Orth will provide insight into why he left Microsoft and discuss how he believes the game business can "inspire developers as a community to rebuild the foundation of online and community through positive academic, communal, and mechanical revolution." Speaking on Twitter in April, Orth made headlines after saying, "Sorry, I don't get the drama around having an 'always on' console. Every device now is 'always on'. That's the world we live in." He then used the hashtag "#dealwithit." Orth continued, saying that people should "definitely get with the times and get the internet" and that "I want every device to be 'always on.'" His comments came before Microsoft officially announced the Xbox One and revealed a new policy that requires users connect to the Internet once per day. GDC Next takes place November 5-7, 2013 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Other game companies speaking at the event include thatgamecompany, Disney, and Google. |
How Taxes And Moving Changed The Sound Of Jazz Enlarge this image toggle caption William Gottlieb/The Library of Congress William Gottlieb/The Library of Congress This week — when many of us at NPR rushed to file our U.S. federal income-tax returns, then moved to a new headquarters — I'm reminded of a moment in jazz history. Namely, the mid-1940s, when a new style called bebop came into popularity. As a recent Wall Street Journal article relates (behind the paywall, unfortunately), jazz is not immune to transience or taxes. A stiff federal cabaret tax imposed on New York nightclubs in 1944 had much to do with why bebop became popular, and why jazz has moved from dance-hall ballrooms to sit-down clubs for focused listening. So argues the trombonist, singer and bandleader Eric Felten: Clubs that provided strictly instrumental music to which no one danced were exempt from the cabaret tax. It is no coincidence that in the back half of the 1940s, a new and undanceable jazz performed primarily by small instrumental groups — bebop — emerged as the music of the moment. "The spotlight was on instrumentalists because of the prohibitive entertainment taxes," the great bebop drummer Max Roach was quoted in jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie's memoirs, To Be or Not to Bop. "You couldn't have a big band, because the big band played for dancing." The federal excise tax inadvertently spurred the bebop revolution: "If somebody got up to dance, there would be 20 percent more tax on the dollar. If someone got up there and sang a song, it would be 20 percent more," Roach said. "It was a wonderful period for the development of the instrumentalist." While I wouldn't argue with Max Roach, I think Felten overstates his case, if only by omitting many of the other reasons for bebop's emergence. Small-group jazz was already on the ascent in 1940s New York. Starting in the 1930s, the idea of an "authentic" after-hours jam session — heavy on experimental and virtuosic improvisation — was fetishized and, inevitably, commodified: You begin to see jam-session simulacra on stages large and small. And, as Scott DeVeaux has documented in his extensive history The Birth of Bebop, cramped basement nightclubs on New York's 52nd Street had already been offering steady, months-at-a-time employment to jazz musicians like Coleman Hawkins, and smaller groups were good for profit margins. At the same time, the WWII draft thinned the ranks of the large dance orchestras, making them less tenable to operate. It was a huge jump for the largely underground, still-nebulous bebop revolution to become the fashionable aesthetic of its era. But historical incidents other than the cabaret tax set it in motion, too. The 1942 strike of the American Federation of Musicians barred instrumentalists from recording for record companies — the union was concerned that recorded music was supplanting live music without adequate royalties. Once the ban was lifted, many smaller, independent record companies rushed to document bebop innovations, and those records were bought up by a growing crowd of aficionados willing to pay for the latest and greatest. In turn, gatekeepers such as radio DJs and magazine editors — well before the democratizing Internet — were able to make a living by broadcasting and curating the modern, cutting-edge music. You could go on listing more reasons: The decline of Harlem as an entertainment center, the rise of vocalists in popular music, and so forth. But there's also the fact that musicians wanted to make original music. In 1944, bebop musicians such as Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie were already brewing a self-consciously progressive, urbane innovation for themselves. Some people liked it, including many like-minded musicians, and desired more of it. But intervening factors like taxes and new venues create an interesting contradiction. Felten asks: But how differently might the aesthetic impulse behind bebop have been expressed if it had been allowed to develop organically instead of in an atmosphere where dancing was discouraged by the taxman? Jazz might have remained a highly sophisticated popular music instead of becoming an artsy niche. We'll never know: The factors that shape the sound of the music are often the ones that enable musicians to make a living playing it in the first place. |
Yes, he plays a flamboyantly gay Austrian fashion reporter, but heterosexual Sacha Baron Cohen’s character Bruno is, for all intents and purposes, a comedic exercise in exploring gay stereotypes and going on a witch hunt for homophobes — both concepts that, on their face, we’re perfectly fine with. But while we debate in our own community what the film Bruno will do for gays, America at large is about to be told what we think of the film by two leading Gay Inc. organizations. Let’s see if you agree with your mouthpieces? In a Sunday feature, the New York Times will look at Cohen’s movie and whether it’s good or bad for the gays. Like any worthwhile media outlet, the Times needs to ask folks what they think about this — and who else to turn to but soundbite-friendly organizations like GLAAD and HRC. Here’s what GLAAD senior director Rashad Robinson says about the film (via Drudge): “Some people in our community may like this movie, but many are not going to be OK with it. Sacha Baron Cohen’s well-meaning attempt at satire is problematic in many places and outright offensive in others.” And here’s HRC spokesman Brad Luna: “We strongly feel that Sacha Baron Cohen and Universal Pictures have a responsibility to remind the viewing public right there in the theater that this is intended to expose homophobia.” And yet, nobody has ever accused Cohen of being a homophobe. His characters, maybe, but in his everyday life, the man isn’t out there driving stakes through our hearts. His comedy, rooted in the days of Ali G, maintains the M.O. of embarrassing people who take themselves too seriously, exposing hypocrites, and denigrating racists, homophobes, class elitists, and so forth. Sure, he makes a killing in box office receipts, but it’s not at our expense. These are not the punchlines you get from idiots like Bill O’Reilly. There is a significant and measurable difference. For any portion of America’s movie-going audience who doesn’t understand that, this film isn’t going to change the minds of Joe Conservative. They will laugh at the gay stunts — and so will we, for very different reasons. Namely, we’ll giggle in a “I can’t believe he just went there!” way. The cackles from the bigots in the audience will be of the “silly faggot!” type. Bruno doesn’t need to be a finely tuned teaching moment; that’s asking too much of mainstream cinema fare. But the film let’s us laugh with and at stereotypes. It’s a pornographic enterprise into America’s remaining taboos. If the film starts even one conversation about “how wrong” all of that is, it’s a success — and, dare we suggest, something we should support. UPDATE: The Human Rights Campaign writes in to Queerty to expand on Luna’s quote provided by Drudge, adding: “If the context and intent behind this kind of particular humor is about exposing and making fun of homophobia to show the ridiculousness of it, that is one thing. What is undeniable though is the impact on the audience is going to vary. Although we view the movie for what it is, a satirical portrayal of stereotyping, we shouldn’t lose sight of the seriousness of this issue. The #1 epithet used on schoolyards across the country remains anti-gay slurs. In the last few months, we have had to continually witness the heartbreaking suicides of young boys who were taunted and bullied using anti-gay epithets. It continues to remain a serious problem in this country. As Sacha Baren Cohen and Universal Pictures prepare for the upcoming release of Bruno, they have a responsibility to make sure that the viewing public understands this character is done as satire to poke fun at stereotyping. Otherwise, they run the risk of 16 yr old high school boys across the country feeling empowered to bully schoolmates. And tragically we already know what the consequences of that are.” Agreed. |
William Ballard Preston (November 25, 1805 – November 16, 1862) was an American politician who served as a Confederate States Senator from Virginia from February 18, 1862, until his death in November. He previously served as the 19th United States Secretary of the Navy from 1849 to 1850. He is also the cousin of William Campbell Preston and William Preston. Biography [ edit ] Born in 1805 at Smithfield Plantation in Blacksburg, Virginia, William Ballard Preston entered Hampden–Sydney College in 1821, where he was active in literary and forensic activities. Graduating in 1824, Preston studied law at the University of Virginia and was admitted to the bar in 1826. In 1831 he became the Commonwealth's Attorney for Floyd County, Virginia. He married Lucinda Redd of Henry County, Virginia.[1] The young attorney soon entered politics as a Whig and was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1830. During the 1831–1832 session, he took an active part in the campaign to abolish slavery. Then there followed an eight-year hiatus in his political activities during which he returned to the practice of law. In 1840, he was elected to the State Senate, where he served from 1840 to 1844, before returning to the House of Delegates. In 1846, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives. In March 1849, President Zachary Taylor appointed the Preston Secretary of the Navy. During Preston's tenure in that office, the United States Navy acquired new duties in the course of America's westward expansion and acquisition of California. Trade and commerce in the Pacific Ocean beckoned, and the Stars and Stripes flew from the masts of Navy ships in Chinese waters, while the shores of Japan, then unopened to the west, presented a tantalizing possibility for commercial intercourse. The Navy also was progressing through a technological transition, especially in the area of moving from sails to steam propulsion, and with the improvements in gunnery and naval ordnance. Upon the death of President Taylor, new President Millard Fillmore reorganized the Cabinet and appointed William Alexander Graham Secretary of the Navy. Preston retired from office and withdrew from politics and public life. Resuming his private law practice, Preston acquired a reputation for being a fine defense lawyer before being sent to France in 1858 to negotiate for the establishment of a line of commercial steamers to operate between Le Havre and Norfolk. The mission to France progressed well, and the project appeared promising until it was brought to naught by the American Civil War. As states in the lower South seceded from the Union, the pressure mounted upon Virginia to do likewise. Moderate sentiment still held sway through 1860; but, early in 1861, increasing tensions forced Virginians to consider secession. On February 13, 1861, the secession convention met in Richmond and numbered William B. Preston amongst the delegates. As the Confederacy was established and the United States divided into two hostile camps, both sides moved steadily toward open conflict. A special delegation, composed of William B. Preston, Alexander H.H. Stuart, and George W. Randolph, traveled to Washington, D.C. where they met President Abraham Lincoln on April 12. Finding the President firm in his resolve to hold the Federal forts then in the South, the three men returned to Richmond on April 15. With the news of the firing on Fort Sumter in South Carolina on April 12, 1861, conservative and moderate strength in the secessionist convention melted away. On April 16, convinced that secession was inevitable, William B. Preston submitted, in secret session, an ordinance of secession. Supported 88 to 55, the Preston Resolution passed, and Virginia left the Union. Elected C.S. Senator from Virginia in the Confederate States Congress, he served in that legislative body until his death at Smithfield Plantation in 1862. He is interred at the Preston Cemetery in Blacksburg, Virginia, near Smithfield Plantation. Legacy [ edit ] USS William B. Preston (DD-344) was named after him. Notes [ edit ] This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Naval History & Heritage Command. |
This Is The End has premiered an exclusive first look red band clip through Digital Spy. Seth Rogen and James Franco star in the comedy film, which sees a host of Hollywood stars play themselves in the aftermath of a worldwide cataclysmic event. The duo, who worked together on Pineapple Express, provide a special introduction for the video to coincide with the forecasted Mayan apocalypse. A full trailer is expected to debut tomorrow (December 21). > December 21 2012 apocalypse movie playlist: 'Melancholia', 'Mad Max', more Joining Rogen and Franco in This Is The End are Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride and Craig Robinson. Michael Cera and Emma Watson also feature in the movie, while Rihanna reportedly appears in a cameo role. Rogen and his Superbad co-writer Evan Goldberg wrote the script for This Is The End and also make their directorial debut on the film. This Is The End will open in cinemas on June 28, 2013. |
Image caption William Shakespeare's play Coriolanus, written at the height of the 1607 food riots, shows a famine created and exploited by rich merchants and politicians William Shakespeare's lesser known role as an illegal food hoarder 400 years ago helps us understand him as a more complex figure, says new research. As well as hoarding during food shortages, the Aberystwyth University study said the bard was also threatened with jail for tax evasion. They looked at how food and hunger were reflected in Shakespeare's writing. His play Coriolanus shows a famine created and exploited by rich merchants and politicians. It was written at the height of the 1607 food riots. Dr Jayne Archer, a lecturer in medieval and renaissance literature at Aberystwyth University, is the lead author of the research. It's one of the things that we've forgotten about Shakespeare Dr Jayne Archer, Aberystwyth University She said the poet and playwright's role as a grain hoarder during food shortages in the late 16th and early 17th Centuries were something that people had largely forgotten about him. Over a 15-year period, Shakespeare bought and stored grain, malt and barley for resale at inflated prices to his neighbours and local tradesmen. Dr Archer said Shakespeare should not be judged too harshly as hoarding was his way of ensuring his family and neighbours would not go hungry if a harvest failed. "Remembering Shakespeare as a man of hunger makes him much more human, much more understandable, much more complex,'' she added. The study was a collaboration with Prof Richard Marggraf Turley of the English and creative writing department and Prof Howard Thomas from the Institute for Biological and Environmental Studies (Ibers). "We're interested in the role of food security and food supply in literature," Dr Archer told BBC Radio Wales. "It was really Richard and Professor Thomas who noticed that in King Lear, hunger, the role of crops and food supplies are very important to the politics of the play. 'Exploiting' "Shakespeare's representation of the way that crops grow, the way that they sometimes fail to grow and when there are problems with food supply are actually very realistically demonstrated." When Shakespeare was writing, she said hunger and the way in which food was regulated by the government, and how it organised the food chain, was one of the most pressing political issues of the day. He was pursued by authorities for tax evasion, and in 1598 he was prosecuted for hoarding grain during a time of shortage. The research found that Shakespeare "pursued those who could not (or would not) pay him in full for these staples and used the profits to further his own money-lending activities.'' About his prosecution, Ms Archer told the BBC: "It's one of the things that we've forgotten about Shakespeare. "As well as writing for people who were experiencing hunger, he was exploiting that need himself. "He was using his role as a playwright and the public playhouses, gathering coin, in order to take advantage of the market when it's at its most profitable, and selling food at inflated prices to secure the long-term future for his family." The findings are to be presented in a lecture at the Hay Festival in May. |
A new memory technology company, Crossbar, has broken cover with a new ReRAM design it claims will allow for commercialization of the technology. The company’s claims aren’t strictly theoretical; today’s announcement reveals that the design firm has successfully implemented the architecture in silicon. While that’s not the same as initiating mass production, it’s an important step in the search for a NAND flash replacement. ReRAM (also known as RRAM) works by creating resistance rather than directly storing charge. An electric current is applied to a material, changing the resistance of that material. The resistance state can then be measured and a “1” or “0” is read as the result. Much of the work done on ReRAM to date has focused on finding appropriate materials and measuring the resistance state of the cells. ReRAM designs are low voltage, endurance is far superior to flash memory, and the cells are much smaller — at least in theory. Crossbar has been working to turn theoretical advantages into practical ones. The company’s design is ready for mass production but will target low-density applications for now — think embedded microcontrollers. Demonstrating the capabilities of the part now is important to grabbing investor attention. Crossbar might be a small player, but it’s a small player in a field that’s attracting a lot of prominent attention from major companies; SK Hynix, Panasonic, and HP are all working on ReRAM designs. Long-term, the same principles that make ReRAM function might allow its use as a DRAM replacement, though mass storage ReRAM and ReRAM-DRAM might use different architectures, with one emphasizing long-term storage and the other accelerating random access. Flash in the pan ReRAM is the most likely candidate for replacing NAND flash and make no mistake — we need a NAND flash replacement. Sub-20nm NAND roadmaps are peppered with references to 1X and 1Y technology as a means of implying node scaling when lower nodes aren’t actually on the table. The broad plan is to rely on 3D die stacking as a means of improving cost-per-GB as opposed to transitioning to smaller 2D process geometries. Flash will still scale to 14nm within the next few years, but every smaller process node sharply increases the amount of ECC RAM required, degrades longevity, and requires greater over-provisioning and more intelligent recovery schemes at the controller level. This, in turn, slows down performance and increases die sizes. SLC (single-layer cell NAND) doesn’t really suffer from these issues, but it’s inordinately expensive. We don’t know where, exactly, the limit it, but the ITRS predicts that NAND below 7nm, in 2D or 3D form, isn’t going to happen, period. That’s more or less when CMOS itself runs out of steam, and even getting down to 7nm is currently dubious given the troubles with EUV lithography and the advent of double/quad patterning. The endurance issue will eventually bite into enterprise and database use, or force those industries to adopt SLC NAND. The bottom line is that regardless of when it happens, NAND scaling isn’t going to continue indefinitely. The current hope is that ReRAM will be ready for widescale adoption by the 2017-2018 timeframe. The first 3D NAND devices are currently expected in 2015, which means commerical ReRAM deployment would begin well before NAND hits its absolute scaling limit. Given the difficulty of ramping an entirely new technology, it wouldn’t surprise us if NAND’s last generations focus primarily on low-end consumer applications, while ReRAM comes in at the top for the enterprise market, where endurance and write requirements are difficult to meet with smaller NAND geometries. Put in context, then, the work Crossbar is doing to bring ReRAM to market is essential early work towards building the practical standard of the future. Not that ReRAM is guaranteed — there’s always the possibility of a problem or another technology might suddenly have a breakthrough moment. But as things stand today, ReRAM appears to be the memory technology with the fewest obstacles standing between it and commercialization as a long-term replacement for NAND. Now read: Diablo’s Memory Channel Storage tech will deliver terabytes of RAM — using NAND flash |
WASHINGTON—The full U.S. House of Representatives swats down a transgender measure, just hours after 43 Republicans voted for a Democratic amendment that would have forced transgender rules on all 50 states, and disqualify faith-based groups including the Salvation Army from doing business with the federal government. Last night, 43 Republicans in the House voted for an amendment offered by Democrat Sean Maloney of New York, inserting in H.R. 5055, the Energy and Water Appropriations Act for 2017, a provision making the White House’s transgender policy part of federal law. The amendment passed 223-195 only because of these Republican defections. Public backlash in the hours after that vote has been nationwide in scope and passionate in intensity. This morning most of those Republicans whipsawed to fall in line with their party base in opposing their own measure, joined by many moderate Democrats surprised as the fury the transgender amendment created. The amended appropriations crashed and burned on the House floor, failing by a vote of 113-305. This saga began when President Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13672 on July 21, 2014. His order illegally changed federal law by forbidding any private organization from receiving a business contract with the federal government unless it agrees to adopt liberals’ homosexual and transgender agenda (that a person can require others to treat a man as a woman, or a woman as a man, if that person identifies with the opposite sex). Executive Order 13672 also required all federal agencies to adopt these policies on sexual orientation and gender identity for all hiring and personnel matters. This issue burst onto the national scene in recent months. For more than a year, the LGBT Left has pushed city ordinances nationwide making these policies the law in those cities. Then on May 13, 2016, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Education (DOEd) issued a letter informing local schools that unless they adopt a transgender policy, they can lose all federal funding, because the Obama administration regards those schools as violating Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. As Breitbart News reported on the effect of OCR’s policy: In other words, if a 17-year-old boy says that he now identifies as a girl, and wants to use his high school girls’ shower at the same time that a 15-year-old girl is showering in that same shower room, and the school does not allow the boy to share the shower with the girl, then the federal government can strip that high school of federal funding. The Obama administration’s directive has stirred a great deal of controversy. In the midst of it, North Carolina passed a bill requiring people to use public restrooms that match the sex listed on their birth certificate, reaffirming that the state would adhere to the definition of “sex” used by the entire world for more than 5,000 years, a bill against which the political Left organized opposition nationwide. Obama’s U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against North Carolina, accusing it of violating not just the Civil Rights Act’s Title IX, but Title VII as well (saying that employers that decline to recognize someone’s gender identity—including calling male employees “she” and female employees “he” when those employees insist—are engaging in “sex discrimination”). Even though North Carolina law provided a procedure where a person could change the sex on their birth certificate, and so HB2 did not make it impossible for people to use the bathroom of the sex they identified with. But the attacks have continued regardless, allies of Obama and Hillary Clinton have demonized the measure as a form of discrimination. North Carolina responded with a lawsuit of its own. Then yesterday, eleven additional states likewise sued the federal government, raising numerous legal arguments and challenging the constitutionality of Obama’s actions. Had H.R. 5055 become law, it would have guaranteed that the states would lose most of the issues in their lawsuit, leaving only a couple legal arguments remaining, arguments with only an uphill chance of success. When Maloney’s amendment passed last night, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins condemned the move, saying, “Congress should not allow the government to punish faith-based contractors, like the Salvation Army, that work and hire in accordance with their First Amendment freedoms.” In the same statement, Perkins praised a separate amendment offered by Rep. Bradley Byrne in the National Defense Authorization Act, which would safeguard religious liberty. Phones were ringing off the hook on Capitol Hill, and the bill’s supporters beat a hasty retreat this morning. “We are very pleased that this bill has been soundly defeated due to the Maloney Amendment,” Concerned Women for America CEO Penny Nance exclusively told Breitbart News after the stunning defeat of the amended bill. “But to think that 43 Republicans would join President Obama to promote transgenderism and force the marginalization of our Christian beliefs is appalling,” Nance added. “So you can rest assured that the effects of this vote will continue to be felt as we move forward.” Ken Klukowski is legal editor for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @kenklukowski. |
Custom Lint Checks, part 3 If you didn’t use lint on your project before, most likely after enabling it you’ll see dozens (or hundreds) of warnings and errors. It can be intimidating and your first instinct would likely be to disable the lint and erase the last 15 minutes of your short-term memory. On one hand you probably can’t afford to fix all issues in one go, on the other hand you don’t want to ignore bunch of . What works for us is gradually fixing all issues of a single type and increasing the severity of this issue to fatal , so it breaks the build. You can do this in xml file specified in build.gradle (as shown in part 1) or directly in build.gradle : android { lintOptions { fatal 'UnusedResource' // Oops, it should be 'UnusedResources' } } But what happens if you mess up your lint configuration? How to detect errors in error detection tools? We need to go deeper. Lintception We’ll write a lint check that checks the lint configuration! public static final Issue ISSUE = Issue.create( "InvalidLintId", "Referencing non-existing lint issue id in your config", "Configuration references lint rule which doesn't exist, probably because of a typo", Category.CORRECTNESS, 10, Severity.FATAL, new Implementation( InvalidLintIdDetector.class, Scope.GRADLE_SCOPE ) ); public class InvalidLintIdDetector extends Detector implements GradleScanner { //… void visitBuildScript(@NonNull Context context, Map<String, Object> sharedData) { // TODO } } All other scanner classes are well documented, but the only information for GradleScanner is a cryptic Specialized interface for detectors that scan Gradle files JavaDoc comment. To make things worse, the only implementation of GradleScanner from lint-checks doesn’t even implement the only method of GradleScanner . If you dig deep enough, you’ll find out that the implementation of GradleDetector is replaced by GroovyGradleDetector as a part of a lint gradle task. We’ll base our work on it. Here’s the rough plan for our lint check: private static abstract class IssueReference { abstract String getIssueId(); abstract Location getLocation(); } private static ImmutableSet<String> getValidIssuesIds(Context context) { // … } private static Iterable<IssueReference> extractIssuesReferences(final Context context) { // … } @Override public void visitBuildScript(@NonNull Context context, Map<String, Object> sharedData) { ImmutableSet<String> validIssuesIds = getValidIssuesIds(context); for (IssueReference issueReference : extractIssuesReferences(context)) { if (!validIssuesIds.contains(issueReference.getIssueId())) { context.report( ISSUE, issueReference.getLocation(), String.format( "Unknown lint issue id: %1$s", issueReference.getIssueId() ) ); } } } The first part is simple: we can get the list of valid issues’ ids from IssueRegistry : private static ImmutableSet<String> getValidIssuesIds(Context context) { return FluentIterable .from(context.getDriver().getRegistry().getIssues()) .transform(new Function<Issue, String>() { @Override public String apply(Issue input) { return input.getId(); } }) .toSet(); } Extracting referenced issues’ ids is much trickier. We can get the build.gradle sources using Context.getContents() method: private static Iterable extractIssuesReferences(final Context context) { String buildScriptSource = checkNotNull(context.getContents()); // … } The sources can be parsed to Groovy abstract syntact tree node with AstBuilder.buildFromString() , and then processed with a GroovyCodeVisitor . AstBuilder return multiple nodes, but since we process the whole build script we should get the single BlockStatement : dependencies { compile gradleApi() } private static Iterable extractIssuesReferences(final Context context) { String buildScriptSource = checkNotNull(context.getContents()); BuildScriptVisitor visitor = new BuildScriptVisitor(); Iterables .getOnlyElement(new AstBuilder().buildFromString(buildScriptSource)) .visit(visitor); // … } Now comes the hard part: processing Groovy AST. One thing you need to be aware of is what really happens when you write the code like this: android { lintOptions { fatal 'Boom' } } These are method calls, all the way down: on the top level we have a call to android method with a ClosureExpression as a parameter, which contains a lintOptions method call with a ClosureExpression parameter, which finally contains the fatal method call we’re interested in. The same thing can be written as: android { lintOptions.fatal 'Boom' } The difference in the AST is the ObjectExpression on which the fatal method is called: in previous case it was this from lintOptions closure, in this case it’s the lintOptions VariableExpression from android closure. The last syntax form is: android.lintOptions.fatal 'Boom' In this case we’re calling fatal on lintOptions PropertyExpression of android PropertyExpression of the top level block of build.gradle . The simplest way of handling all syntax forms is treating all “leaf” expressions in Groovy AST as scope of the call and detect when our scope adds up to android.lintOptions.fatal or another method call which configures lint issues by id: private static class BuildScriptVisitor extends CodeVisitorSupport { private final Stack<String> mScopeStack = new Stack<>(); public final List<Expression> mIssueIdsExpressions = new ArrayList<>(); @Override public void visitMethodCallExpression(MethodCallExpression call) { int stackSize = mScopeStack.size(); call.getObjectExpression().visit(this); call.getMethod().visit(this); if (parseLintIssuesId()) { // TODO append issue ids to mIssueIdsExpressions } else { call.getArguments().visit(this); } mScopeStack.setSize(stackSize); } private static final ImmutableList<String> LINT_OPTIONS_SCOPE = ImmutableList.of("android", "lintOptions"); private static final ImmutableSet<String> ISSUE_CONFIG_METHODS = ImmutableSet.of( "check", "disable", "enable", "error", "fatal", "ignore", "warning" ); private boolean parseLintIssuesId() { return ISSUE_CONFIG_METHODS.contains(mScopeStack.peek()) && scopeStackInitMatches(LINT_OPTIONS_SCOPE); } private boolean scopeStackInitMatches(Iterable<String> expectedMatch) { Iterable<String> init = Iterables.limit(mScopeStack, mScopeStack.size() - 1); return Iterables.elementsEqual(init, expectedMatch); } @Override public void visitVariableExpression(VariableExpression expression) { updateScope(expression); } @Override public void visitConstantExpression(ConstantExpression expression) { updateScope(expression); } private void updateScope(Expression expression) { String text = expression.getText(); if (!text.equals("this")) { mScopeStack.push(text); } } } The most basic form of AST for fatal method call is a bunch of ConstantExpression wrapped into ArgumentListExpression : @Override public void visitMethodCallExpression(MethodCallExpression call) { // … if (call.getArguments() instanceof ArgumentListExpression) { FluentIterable .from(((ArgumentListExpression) call.getArguments()).getExpressions()) .filter(Predicates.instanceOf(ConstantExpression.class)) .copyInto(mIssueIdsExpressions); } // … } What about the other syntax forms? What if someone calls another method to get the list of issues to be passed to fatal method? How do you handle it? The answer is simple: you don’t. You should realize that there are infinite ways of writing the code that does exactly the same thing and you won’t be able to handle them all. What’s more important is making sure that there are no false positives, i.e. your lint check should never report an error in a valid code. The last part to do is converting the AST Expression into our IssueReference. The issue id is just a result of Expression.getText() call and the code to get the Location object from a Groovy AST node can be copied from GradleDetector implementation. Gotcha If you put together the code from the snippets above, it won’t detect a thing. The visitBuildScript method on your Detector won’t be called unless you also return true from appliesTo method: @Override public boolean appliesTo(@NonNull Context context, @NonNull File file) { return true; } Recap Good lint checks have no false positives, even at the cost of not covering some exotic cases. The lint checks API is still not in final stage. Don’t be afraid to dive into lint sources when something doesn’t work. The full sources of the code above are available on github. |
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump markets himself as the rare politician who can't be bought. He says he's the only candidate who's immune to the kind of backdoor access and palm-greasing that infects official Washington. But the story of his charity, the Donald J. Trump Foundation, illustrates a different side of Trump. Donors give money to the foundation; the billionaire scratches their backs and uses their money to burnish his ego and, more recently, his political reputation. Initially, the charitable foundation gave mostly to nonpolitical causes. But since 2010, when Trump began considering a run for president as a Republican, his foundation has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to conservative political groups, including the Citizens United Foundation, the Iowa-based Family Leader Foundation and Liberty Central, the advocacy group led by Virginia Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. The Trump Foundation, which was founded in 1987, received more than $12 million in contributions from 2001 to 2014, the years for which federal tax records are publicly available. Trump provided less than a quarter of that -- and since 2008, he hasn't given the Trump Foundation a dime. Instead, the foundation's money has come from people and companies that do business with Trump or want something from him. In 2006, People magazine gave the foundation $150,000. Trump gave the magazine exclusive photos of his newborn son, Barron, in April of that year. NBC Universal gave the foundation $10,000 in 2007 and another $500,000 in 2012. Trump's popular reality shows "The Apprentice" and "The Celebrity Apprentice" aired on NBC from 2004 to 2015. And in 2011, Comedy Central gave the foundation $400,000 as an appearance fee for the billionaire's participation in The Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump. Most of the Trump Foundation donors made only one contribution between 2001 and 2014 -- and most of them don't want to talk about it. Of the more than two dozen donors who have contributed since 2001, just four responded to questions from The Huffington Post about their donations. But like People, NBC and Comedy Central, most were working with Trump or received something from him around the same time they donated: In 2005, Norwegian Cruise Lines gave the Trump Foundation $100,000. A spokeswoman said the money was in lieu of paying an appearance fee to Trump's third wife. Melania Trump attended the christening of Norwegian's newest cruise ship in November of that year, and the company was featured prominently on an episode of "The Apprentice." In 2007, Donald Trump participated in Wrestlemania 23 , and the WWE gave his foundation $4 million, according to tax records. The WWE contributed another $1 million when Trump reprised his role in 2009. Reached for comment, the WWE said the tax records weren't quite right. “During this period of time, WWE paid Donald Trump appearance fees separately," a WWE spokeswoman told HuffPost. "Separately, [WWE chief executives] Vince and Linda McMahon made personal donations to Donald Trump's foundation." The foundation's most loyal donor is Stark Carpets, a company that has supplied carpeting for some of Trump's luxury apartment buildings. Stark has donated to the foundation six times in 14 years, more than any other contributor except for Trump himself. A financial executive at Stark declined to explain the gifts. In 2012, a for-profit called the New York Real Estate Institute gave Trump's foundation $10,000 just as it was launching a seminar taught by a Trump Entrepreneur Initiative teacher, Stephen Gilpin. Trump himself plugs Gilpin in a quote on the course's webpage . Two of his children, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr., also provide the institute with glowing "testimonials" atop its homepage . A year after its first donation, the institute's president, Richard Levine, appears to have personally donated another $10,000 to Trump's foundation. Levine did not reply to multiple emails seeking confirmation of the donation details and a comment about the gifts. In 2013, Trump's foundation received $100,000 from the small family law firm of Donna Clancy, who rents space from Trump in his 40 Wall Street building in Manhattan. Clancy did not return calls seeking comment about the gift. Cooper-Horowitz, a real estate financing company that helped Trump secure more than $1.5 billion in loans for hotel developments, also gave to his foundation. During 2004 and 2005, while Cooper-Horowitz was working for Trump, the company and its employees gave his foundation more than $20,000. When asked about it by HuffPost, a senior manager at Cooper-Horowitz declined to comment. Maury Povich, best known for hosting an eponymous daytime talk show, also appears on Trump's donor list, with a $5,000 contribution in 2002. Povich could not be reached for comment. A New York-based ticket broker named Richard Ebers has given more than $1.8 million to Trump's foundation since 2011. When asked by phone what prompted the donations, Ebers, who's been described as a high-end scalper , said he had "no comment." Representatives for the Trump Organization also declined to answer any questions about the money from Ebers. Although many of the donors to the Trump Foundation were companies that stood to profit from a relationship with the billionaire and his other enterprises, the foundation has also collected more than $600,000 from other charities. One such group, the Celebrity Fight Night Foundation, hosts a splashy annual fundraiser in Phoenix to benefit the Muhammad Ali Parkinson's Center. In 2007, Trump attended the black-tie event and donated a New York-based dinner with himself for a charitable auction, according to Sean Curry, the foundation's executive director. Part of the deal, however, was that the Parkinson's charity would share the auction proceeds with Trump's foundation. John Shearer/WireImage for PMK/HBH/Getty Images Sharon Stone, Muhammad Ali, Diana Ross and Donald Trump attend the Celebrity Fight Night Foundation's fundraiser in 2007. "Mr. Trump donated his time to do a dinner in New York with a winning bidder in our auction," Curry told HuffPost. "We agreed with him prior to the event that we would share some of the proceeds of the winning bid with his foundation." The Celebrity Fight Night Foundation eventually gave Trump's foundation $150,000. A spokeswoman for the Willard T.C. Johnson Foundation, which gave Trump $250,000 in 2008, declined to comment about it. Representatives of the David Foster Foundation, which gave $45,000 that same year, and the John F. Scarpa Foundation, which gave $5,000 in 2013, also declined to comment. Money Well Spent? Given the broad range of mainstream charities to which the Trump Foundation used to pass along its donors' money, it's hard to imagine that they were particularly concerned with what happened after their money hit the charity's account. For the bulk of its existence, the foundation's money went to to nonprofits that steered well clear of politics -- think Meals on Wheels, Salvation Army and United Way. But more recently, Trump began using his foundation to support conservative political groups well-positioned to aid his presidential campaign. (This past December, Jeffrey McConney, controller of the Trump Organization, told the New York Post that Trump personally makes all decisions about how the charity spends its money.) The shift started in 2010, when Trump first began to toy with the idea of a Republican presidential bid. That year, he used his foundation to give $5,000 to Liberty Central, the advocacy group founded by Justice Thomas' wife. The following year, he gave $10,000 to the Palmetto Family Council, a group that opposes divorce, same-sex marriage and abortion in the early-primary state of South Carolina. As Trump tested the waters, he initially took care to keep the scales balanced, giving $100,000 to the Clinton Foundation in 2009 and another $10,000 the following year. Starting in 2012, however, he began in earnest to use his foundation to grease the wheels of the conservative political machine. One of his first big gifts was $100,000 to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, a grass-roots Christian advocacy group run by Franklin Graham. He also donated $35,000 to Samaritan's Purse, another of Graham's evangelical nonprofits. When Trump proposed banning Muslims from entering the United States late last year, most evangelical leaders denounced him. But Franklin Graham took to Facebook to defend the billionaire. In 2013, nearly half a dozen conservative and religious groups were grantees of the Trump Foundation, including Samaritan's Purse, the American Conservative Union, the anti-abortion group Justice for All, the Family Leader Foundation and a Texas-based evangelical ministry. Trump has also donated at least $40,000 to the Drumthwacket Foundation, a charity that preserves the historic New Jersey governor's mansion and whose other donors have close ties to the state's current governor, Chris Christie -- who happens to be Trump's rival in the GOP presidential primary. In 2014, the Trump Foundation gave first-time donations to two groups that surprised political insiders. The first was the Moran Eye Center, a hospital in Utah that sponsors medical trips by another one of Trump's political rivals, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). An ophthalmologist by trade, Paul makes regular trips to Central America to perform eye surgery in poor and rural communities. Trump sponsored one such trip to Guatemala. Another eyebrow-raising recipient was the Citizens United Foundation, a conservative group best known as the petitioner in the 2010 Supreme Court case that permitted corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money backing political candidates. In 2014, Trump's charity gave that foundation $100,000, even though he has railed for years against super PACs and the influence of big money in politics. Richard Ellis/Getty Images By May 2015, Trump was even speaking at an event hosted by Citizens United in Greenville, South Carolina. The Huffington Post asked a few of the Trump Foundation's more recent donors if they minded that their money was being spent to support conservative political groups. None responded. One of the biggest questions in the Trump Foundation's tax filings is whether some of the donations it gave to other groups actually cost the foundation any money. Many of them appear to be non-cash gifts, like golf foursomes at Trump's resorts or lunches with the man himself, which groups then auctioned off to raise money. A spokesperson for the Trump Organization declined to say how many of those donations were non-cash or in-kind, and how many were cash. Why It Matters As Trump and overall Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton are both sprinting toward next Monday's Iowa caucuses, the nonprofit founded by Clinton's husband offers an interesting counterpoint to Trump's. Like the Trump Foundation, the Clinton Foundation is funded largely by outside donors, many of whom see it as an opportunity to rub elbows with the global elite and potentially ingratiate themselves with one of America's most powerful families. Like Trump, Bill and Hillary Clinton have lucrative personal ties to some of the biggest donors to the foundation. But unlike Trump's charity, reporters and watchdog groups have been poring over the Clinton Foundation's books for years. And unlike the Trump Foundation, which has relied on fewer than 35 donors in the past decade -- and just two donors last year -- the Clinton Foundation has received contributions from more than 65,000 individual donors. With a staff of more than 350, the Clinton Foundation also holds scores of events and meetings every year, partnering on projects with corporations and other foundations around the world. By contrast, the Trump Foundation holds no fundraising events, has no dedicated phone number and is registered at the address of an accountant in Woodbury, New York. The board consists of Chairman Donald Trump; his longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg; and his three eldest children, Ivanka, Donald Jr. and Eric Trump. No outsiders, no employees and no outreach. George Pimentel/WireImage/Getty Images Here are four of the five members of the Trump Foundation's board: Donald Jr., Donald, Ivanka and Eric Trump. Despite several requests, representatives of the Trump Organization were unwilling or unable to provide HuffPost with federal tax forms for the foundation's first 14 years in operation. Nor were they willing to discuss the emergence of Ebers, the elite ticket broker, as the chief funder of the Trump Foundation in recent years. On Thursday, Trump launched a fundraising page seeking contributions for the Trump Foundation -- mere hours before he was set to skip that night's GOP presidential debate and hold a rally to "support our veterans." Prior to this, the foundation had no website, no expenses (save for the accountant who files its tax forms) and no portals for making donations. As a candidate for president of the United States, Donald Trump has an obligation to the voters to be honest and transparent about his financial ties. That means explaining clearly the relationships between his foundation's donors, his business interests and his political ambitions. Anything less leaves the impression that Trump, his foundation and its donors have something to hide. |
Accusers of 'war on women' getting trigger-happy. Bill O'Reilly (Photo11: Brad Trent for USA WEEKEND) In a world exploding in violence, the State Department last week identified an evil closer to home: Bill O'Reilly. The Fox News host had criticized State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki. "With all due respect ... that woman looks way out of her depth. ... It just doesn't look like she has the gravitas for the job," O'Reilly said. This, according to Obama administration officials, is sexist. Marie Harf, the department's deputy spokesperson, blasted O'Reilly from her official Twitter account as lacking "intelligence and class" and then justified the juvenile tweet from the State Department podium, telling reporters that O'Reilly used "sexist, personally offensive language that I actually don't think (he) would ever use about a man." Sexism is a serious problem and a serious accusation. It's true there are many people who dismiss women as unserious and out of their depth not because they are, but because they are women. Bill O'Reilly isn't one of them. I know. As a Fox News contributor, I've worked with him for eight years, including weekly segments where we often disagree heatedly. O'Reilly does not discriminate when it comes to expressing tough judgments. Anyone with a passing familiarity with his work knows this, which is what makes Harf's accusation so irresponsible. Just ask Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank, whom O'Reilly called "beneath contempt." O'Reilly expressed dismay that "The Washington Post would employ a guy like that." That's just one of a multitude of examples of O'Reilly speaking more harshly about a man than about Psaki. Democrats have become so trigger happy with the "war on women" charge that they find sexism lurking behind nearly every disagreement. It's a toxic tactic to silence anyone who disagrees. Have we really gotten to the point that any criticism of the competence of the State Department spokeswoman by a man is sexist? Apparently. Last week, Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz borrowed the terminology of domestic abuse to attack Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. At a Milwaukee roundtable, she said, "Republican Tea Party extremists like Scott Walker … are grabbing us by the hair and pulling us back." She also claimed that "Walker has given women the back of his hand. I know that is stark. ... But that is reality." It's actually the opposite. Walker disagrees with Democrats, which is quite different from hitting a woman or dragging her by her hair, even metaphorically. Wasserman Schultz admitted she shouldn't have used those words, but her initial failure to grasp the difference between Ray Rice and Scott Walker diminishes the real problem of sexism, misogyny and domestic abuse. If disagreement is violence, if everything is sexist, then eventually nothing will be. Kirsten Powers writes weekly for USA TODAY. In addition to its own editorials, USA TODAY publishes diverse opinions from outside writers, including our Board of Contributors. To read more columns like this, go to the opinion front page or follow us on twitter @USATopinion or Facebook. Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1rVsNGH |
The University District is a neighborhood experiencing fast-paced change as new development takes shape in the heat of Seattle’s historic building boom. A significant portion of the neighborhood recently received major zoning and land use changes that will facilitate thousands of additional residents and employees over the next few decades. Those changes came out of a neighborhood-wide planning process that still is ongoing. One piece of that process includes taking another a look at neighborhood design guidelines. Other initiatives to respond to commercial affordability and delivering public space improvements are also continuing. Later this year, rezones and urban design regulations are slated to be adopted for University Way NE, aka The Ave, a long north-south avenue that forms an active heart to the neighborhood, as well as modest zoning changes elsewhere in the neighborhood as part of the city-wide rezoning process to unlock Mandatory Housing Affordability requirements in new commercial and residential development. This past Thursday, the Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) held an evening open house to provide a background the neighborhood design guideline update process. Planners noted that the update would be the first major revision of University District design guidelines since 2000–the last update in 2013 largely dealt with formatting instead of substantive design policy. Since that time, the neighborhood has gotten its first phase of zoning changes and adopted a Green Streets Concept Plan and parks plan update. Design guidelines for the neighborhood are layered with the first level being the city-wide design guidelines for new development. The second level is the University District design guidelines, which concerns itself with a variety of topics for consideration in new development, such as: Site features; Urban pattern and form; Architectural and character context; Open space connectivity; Walkability and street-level interactions; and Design concept in terms of uses and programming, architecture, open space, and exterior elements and finishes. The design guidelines don’t apply to all development, but they broadly apply throughout the bulk of the University Community Urban Center. Updated design guidelines will focus on revising substantive guidance policy as well as updating maps and graphics. In terms of the scope of guidance policy changes, OPCD is considering revisions to guidance on: Architectural design; Building form and materials; Public realm design and response; and Special site features. The rezone changes have precipitated a particular need to change guidance discussion on height, bulk, and scale since custom zoning (Seattle Mixed-University District or otherwise known as SM-U) has been added to the neighborhood. Urban design changes related to the overall planning framework have resulted in policy changes for open space, green streets, gateways, connections, and character corridors necessitating a need to revise those throughout the document. Visual media and maps also need an overhaul to match the cascading set of policy changes. In the course of two previous meetings, OPCD heard wide-ranging priorities from the public and stakeholders. The first meeting in April dealt with designing the neighborhood core while the second centered on public realm issues. At last week’s open house, staff summarized the feedback: Designing in the Core Gateways and Prominent Corners – Opportunity sites for art, wayfinding signage, special building features – Buildings should set back from prominent corners to create usable open space and accommodate high volumes of pedestrian traffic – Retain Gateways designated in the existing D.G. Mixed Use Corridors – Stoops and courtyard spaces when ground floor use is residential – Smaller business frontage widths for ground floor retail uses with multiple entrances – NE 42nd is an important corridor to reference in the D.G. Massing & Design of Highrise – Building Typologies – Unique treatment of tops of towers to enhance skyline – Unique tower design to serve as neighborhood landmarks and wayfinding aides – Modulation should be purposeful–not just applied, but related to building uses Public Realm Mid Block Connections and Alleys Eyes on the Alley – Create safe connections – Wayfinding is important–both signage and pavement treatments – Amenities–seating, landscaping, pedestrian-scale lighting Streetscape and Façade Design Strategic – Use of setback areas for buildings located on mixed use corridors to create usable public spaces – Building frontage treatment should respond to transit stops with adequate waiting areas, leaning rails, overhangs, etc. Open Space and Amenity Areas – Complementary design in buildings fronting on an open space area – Amenities that consider all ages of users–for example, play spaces for children – Encourage plazas and open space areas at corners – Open space areas should be designed with uses in mind–not just “leftover” spaces Next Steps Next month, OPCD and the University District Partnership will hold a workshop dedicated to special focus areas, such as The Ave, Core, and Ravenna/U Villages. In September, planners hope to have a draft of the updated design guidelines ready for public review before holding an open house on them and finalizing the proposal. OPCD anticipates sending a final proposal to the City Council in the fall for adoption. We hope you loved this article. If so, please consider supporting our work. The Urbanist is a non-profit that depends on donations from readers like you. |
Trayvon’s Foundation: Following the Paper Trail (A Guest Post By Treeper: Big Jim) Not long after George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin in self-defense, Trayvon’s family created a charitable, tax-exempt organization, the Justice for Trayvon Martin Foundation, Inc. Given the volume of smaller donations that have been generated during the public appearances of Trayvon’s parents, and that some larger organizational donations have been received by the Foundation, I wanted to find out how much money had flowed into and out of the Foundation. In order to find the money I needed to follow the paper trail, and as you will see below, in following the paper trail I ran into a few surprises. For a tax-exempt organization the paper trail starts with its incorporation. In order for an organization to have tax-exempt status (a “501(c)(3)” organization) it must comply with Internal Revenue Service regulations. These regulations govern the structure, operations, and reporting requirements of tax-exempt organizations. IRS regulations state that a tax-exempt charity must be organized as a corporation, trust, or association. So my first stop was the Florida Secretary of State’s Corporation Division. The Corporation Division’s web site identifies the corporate officers and other relevant information about the organization. http://www.sunbiz.org/ The Foundation was created as follows: Name: Justice for Trayvon Martin Foundation, Inc. Date Filed: 3/30/12 Registered Agent: Marlon A. Hill, Esq. Director: Stephanie Fulton [Trayvon’s aunt] Director: Sybrina Fulton [Trayvon’s mother] Director: Jahvarius Fulton [Trayvon’s half-brother] Director: Michael Hall [marketing director of MediumFour] The record also has an attached “Articles of Incorporation,” that describes the purpose of the organization and how it is to be governed. From the corporate record we can make some interesting connections. Michael Hall is the “chief of ideation and marketing” for MediumFour, a marketing firm. MediumFour also happens to be the firm that handles marketing for the Parks & Crump law firm. http://www.mediumfour.com/archive/portfolio/parks-and-crump/ Parks and Crump, commonly referred to as part of the “Scheme Team”, are attorneys for the Martin/Fulton family. It is also interesting that Tracy Martin, Trayvon’s father, was originally not a director of the Foundation. But the most interesting thing to be gleaned from the corporate record as of October 6th was that the Justice For Trayvon Martin Foundation, Inc. was no longer active as of 9/30/13. According to the Corporations Division their corporate status was administratively changed to “inactive” because no one paid the annual fee or filed the annual report. This meant that the Foundation could no longer function as a tax-exempt organization. According to Florida statutes “A corporation administratively dissolved continues its corporate existence but may not conduct any affairs except that necessary to wind up and liquidate its affairs under s. 617.1405 and adopt a plan of distribution of assets pursuant to s. 617.1406.” Apparently someone in the Foundation noticed the lapse, and by October 9th the Foundation was reinstated back to October 1st. In addition, there were two changes to the governance of the Foundation. Tracy Martin, Trayvon’s father, replaced Michael Hall as director, and Kim McCray replaced Marlon Hall as the registered agent. McCray is also identified in various news stories as the executive director of the Foundation. The Foundation solicits donations through a link on its web site: trayvonmartinfoundation.org/donate/ Having followed the paper trail this far, here’s where I had hoped to pick up the money trail. Many charitable organizations post their financial information on their web sites; the Justice for Trayvon Foundation does not. Interestingly, donations don’t actually go to the Foundation. They go to The Miami Foundation: “Please mail check/money order to: The Trayvon Martin Foundation c/o The Miami Foundation 200 S Biscayne Boulevard Ste 505 Miami, FL 33131” The Miami Foundation also administers Trayvon Martin Foundation donations: “The Miami Foundation administers all funds going directly to the Trayvon Martin Foundation.” In fact, donors are specifically instructed not to make out checks to the Trayvon Martin Foundation: “If you would like to mail in your donation, please make all checks/money orders payable to: The Miami Foundation (DO NOT make donations payable to ‘The Trayvon Martin Foundation’).” [emphasis mine] The Miami Foundation manages and administers donations for a number of charitable organizations, and its financial information is available through its web site. (www.miamifoundation.org) Unfortunately, neither the Miami Foundation’s 2012 IRS Form 990 nor their financial statements, contain any information on the revenue or expenses of each of their client organizations. So I decided to go to the Internal Revenue Service web site. The IRS has a web page at which one can search for charitable organizations. http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Charitable-Organizations But a search for the “Justice for Trayvon Martin Foundation,” and various permutations of that, revealed nothing. So I went back to the corporate record, got the Foundation’s EIN number (also known as a federal tax ID number), and did a search using that. To my surprise, the Justice for Trayvon EIN number, that’s listed with their corporation information, is actualy the EIN number of The Miami Foundation. This is from the Trayvon foundation corporate record: And this is what pops up on the IRS web site: So at this point I am unable to find the Justice for Trayvon Martin Foundation’s Form 990. Why is the Form 990 important? The Wikipedia article explains: The Form 990 provides the public with financial information about a given organization, and is often the only source of such information. It is also used by government agencies to prevent organizations from abusing their tax-exempt status. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRS_tax_forms#990 If you’ll excuse the mixed metaphor, I’ve kicked over a few rocks and hit a brick wall. And ended up with some questions: 1) Why does the Trayvon foundation list the Miami Foundation’s EIN number in their corporate information? 2) Does the Trayvon foundation intend to file a Form 990? If so, when? If not, why not? 3) What compensation do the directors of the Trayvon foundation receive? 4) What are the Foundation’s other expenses? 5) Since the Miami Foundation processes the donations and administers the funds of the Trayvon Foundation, what do the directors of the Trayvon Foundation actually DO? 6) What financial controls does the Miami Foundation have in place to ensure that funds donated to the Trayvon Foundation actually go to the Trayvon Foundation? Since the checks are made out to the Miami Foundation, the only way to distinguish a Trayvon Foundation donation is the “in care of” note on the envelope. 7) What percentage of the Trayvon Foundation revenue goes to accomplish the goals listed in their corporate charter, and what percentage is overhead expense? 8) Out of all of the Foundation’s financial assets, how much is dedicated to specific projects and how much is available for discretionary use? The next step is to contact the Justice for Trayvon Foundation and request a copy of their 2012 Form 990. As the Wikipedia article notes: IRC 6104(d) regulations state that an organization must provide copies of its three most recent Forms 990 to anyone who requests them, whether in person, by mail, fax, or e- mail. So I’m going to contact the Justice for Trayvon Martin Foundation and request a copy of their Form 990. To be continued . . . . . . . . Advertisements |
Dinner Guest: How can we all have died at the same time? Grim Reaper: The Salmon Mousse! Host: Darling, you didn’t use canned salmon, did you? Wife: I am most dreadfully embarrased~! –Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life Part VII: Death > In his column today, Floyd Norris asks “Can the world be made safe for the return of securitizations?” To a degree, that is the wrong question. While some people have become focused on securitization, what we should really be looking at is the step prior in the process — the actual underwriting standards of the mortgage loans that were bundled and resold. It was the abdication of lending standards by the “lend-to-sell-to securitizers” business model that caused so much of the trouble (yes, there were subsequent errors, but they came after the lending standard failures). Were the the dinner guests in the Monty Python film killed by whipping ingredients in a food processor until they were creamy smooth? That is a similar question to the issue of securitization — the primary problem was not the process, but rather, the ingriedients that went into the process. The securitization process simply amplified the poisonous underwriting, and fed it to the world. Canned Salmon — Garbage In, Garbage Out. The way to fix securitization is to fix lending in general — develop standards, enforce them, educate borrowers, halt predatory lending. Back to Norris: “Can the world be made safe for the return of securitizations? That is a question of great importance to those like John C. Dugan, the comptroller of the currency, who say they believe that the banking system on its own is unlikely to have the ability to provide enough credit to sustain an economic recovery in the United States. “We need a vibrant, credible securitization market to help fund the real economy going forward,” Mr. Dugan said this week. He was preaching to the choir — a meeting of the American Securitization Forum — but it is an opinion widely held in financial markets. It is possible to question that thesis. Securitization grew as a way for banks to get around capital rules, not because of any profound desire by investors for such assets or any real unwillingness by banks to make the loans. But since it was more expensive to hold capital against the risk if the loans were not securitized, they were securitized. That also opened the market to new players, who neither wanted to, nor could amass, the capital to hold onto loans.” It wasn’t that the non-bank lenders could not amass the capitasl — that wasn’t their business model. Instead, their inventory was cash, and the greater they turned over their inventory, the more profits they made. That is, until they went bankrupt. As of the most recent count by mortgage imploder, ~ of these lenders have gone belly up Norris concludes: “There are several essential elements to any fix. The underlying loans have to be of better quality. The investors have to believe that is the case and that they are being compensated for risks that were much higher than they previously believed. Another 30 percent collapse in home prices is unlikely, but it will be a while before anyone’s models deem such a thing impossible.” That seems about right . . . > Previously: Paul Krugman is Wrong About Securitization (March 28th, 2009) http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/03/krugman-is-wrong-about-securitization/ Source: Seeking a Safer Way to Securitization FLOYD NORRIS NYT, February 5, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/06/business/06secure.html |
Power Rankings : Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3 / Week 4 / Week 5 / Week 6 / Week 7 Last week was very chaotic across most leagues with a lot of contenders dropping games and even series to lower tier squads, reducing the gap in several rankings between the top 5 and the rest. Also, it’s worth noting that Patch 7.14 went live in the LCS, disrupting a bit more the balance in the leagues. It’s going to be very interesting to analyze how Asians organizations will adapt to the patch and if they develop their own priorities on this new Meta. Note: Teams are now ranked inside the Tier (not on the Picture but on the listing below), but the gap between them is pretty small. A team at the top of Tier means the formation is close to the next one while the bottom ones are probably in danger of falling to the lower one. No one would have thought about Longzhu Gaming being the best team in the world after such an abysmal spring break (the organization had financial issues, Expession left and three players were added to the line-up). Yet, LZ has been dominating the LCK while most top teams failed to stay consistent during the summer. Facing a struggling SK Telecom T1, Bdd and co prevailed thanks to a great play by Cuzz in a 20 minutes teamfights, allowing PraY to around on Kalista. In the second match, GorillA selected Blitzcrank, a usual pick for him, which allowed the veteran to put a lot of pressure on the lanes (like when he flashed grab Faker) and LZ steamrolled SKT in 28 minutes victory. Against Ever8 Winners, Longzhu displayed its ability to take care of business against lower tier Korean teams : the squad ended the series in less than an hour of game time, propelling LZ to first place in the Korean rankings. KT Rolster has won its last 4 series, putting the team in contention for a first place finish at the end of the summer. Smeb’s teammates won the series against MVP 2-0 but the first game was a very difficult one: KT built a small lead early on but couldn’t seal the deal until the 52 minute mark. However, the squad was extremely efficient against MVP poke comp in game 2, scoring a win in just 30 minutes. But the main series of the week was its matchup against Afreeca Freecs. After a quick game one, dominated by Score’ pressure on the Toplane and PawN roams on LeBlanc, was followed by a great match by AF. The Freecs transformed a pick on PawN into a Baron Nashor. Still, during the last match, KT used the same tactic as in game 1: Score camped the Toplane very early, abusing Spirit and MaRin to build a large lead (+5K at 10 minutes). KT Rolster ended the series in a 27 minutes victory which put the superteam at the same level as Samsung Galaxy and Longzhu Gaming on top of the LCK rankings. Samsung Galaxy (KT next opponent) might lose its first place finish after a 2-1 defeat against MVP. The team started the week with a strong performance against bbq Olivers: game one was very methodical (SSG allowed only one tower and one kill) while the second match was closer at first, before a pick made by Crown gave Samsung the Baron. Yet, this performance was overshadowed by its upset against MVP. The organization decided to start Haru, the Jungler was very solid in the laning phase and SSG got a lead early on. Still, Ruler was picked several times during the set which allowed MVP to come back and ultimately win the game. This result prompted Samsung to switch back to Ambition: the veteran focused heavily into counter-jungling Beyond’s Amumu (stealing the first three Blues) but it’s mainly the bad execution from MVP (Ian couldn’t hit several shockwaves) that gave the game to SSG. However, MVP dominated the last match thanks to several roams from Max around the map. The Support derailed the scaling power of Samsung which enabled MaHa to carry its team in the lategame. Given its very difficult schedule (KT Rolster, Afreeca Freecs, ROX Tigers and Longzhu Gaming), Samsung might have lost there the opportunity to directly qualify for the LCK Playoffs Finals… Afreeca Freecs thought it has won the fight for the fifth spot after Jin Air’s collapse against bbq Olivers. However, the Green Wings 4-0 week put the team back into Playoffs contention. While AF struggled against bbq Olivers (the same squad that won against Jin Air two weeks ago), the team also dropped its series against KT Rolster. Starting Mowgli, game one was quickly lost because of Score overall early pressure on the lanes. Yet, with Spirit back into the line-up, the Freecs took the second match thanks to a great performance from Kramer in teamfights. Overall, the Botlane has improved during the year, from one of the team main issues to one of its best traits lately. TusiN was the only bright spot for AF in the final game, his hooks on Thresh were pure highlight materials. After an abysmal performance against bbq Olivers, Jin Air Green Wings hard to perform last week in order to keep its Playoffs dreams alive. The players answered the call and the team ended the week with a 4-0 record. Against SK Telecom T1, Jin Air took advantage of its opponent’s struggles by focusing on the early game: UmTi dominated the field in the laning phase and camped Faker (4 ganks in the first minutes of game 2) to give an advantage to Kuzan. The young Jungler was also the star of the series against the ROX Tigers. UmTi tried to shutdown Shy in the Toplane in both games but it’s his Baron steal in the second match that allowed Jin Air to win the series 2-0. Now one victory away from Afreeca, Jin Air might overtake the Freecs if they can beat MaRin and co in one of the last series of the regular season. SK Telecom T1 losing streak keeps on growing; the worlds champs have now lost 9 games in a row, the worst series for Faker since his professional debuts in spring 2013 (5 loses in 2014). The squad dropped both series 2-0 against Jin Air and Longzhu Gaming because the team couldn’t effectively react to its opponent rotations in the early game. In every match, SKT was behind at 15 minutes, despite a stronger showing in the very first game against LZ. The strategy to last pick Support didn’t worked; the Botlane struggled in most scenarios. 0-8 in 7.13, the organization needs to regroup with the new Patch. As a side note, the new Meta might be more favorable to Blank, with tanks dominating the scene in NA and EU. While the last 4 games looks winnable (despite a series against KT Rolster), this losing streak might force SKT to participate in several Playoffs series this summer. Immortals is the big winner of last week results in the NA LCS: the organization won both of its series and sits on top of the NA rankings thanks to its victory over CLG and TSM defeat against Team Dignitas. Still, the squad did drop game one against FlyQuest despite a comfortable lead at the thirty minute mark (+9K and 4 dragons). However, IMT went back at it and won the next game thanks to Xmithie early game pressure on Balls. After a 27 minutes victory, the last set started with FlyQuest leading the early game. But some good rotations in transition (from Pobelter and Xmithie) and a very impression 20 minutes teamfights allowed IMT to come back into the game. On Sunday, Immortals faced off against Counter Logic Gaming in a fight for the first place in NA. Once again, all eyes were on Dardoch and Xmithie, both Junglers swapped positions during the spring break. Still, Xmithie dominated the fight by focusing on the Botlane while Dardoch was almost useless in game one (and then replaced by Omar God). This strategy allowed Cody Sun to snowball in game 1 and 3 on Jhin, the Botlane being once again very effective in this series. Thanks to EDG’s mishap, Team WE keeps its status as the best LPL teams. The leader of group A won its only series of the week, a 2-0 against Oh My God. However, the games were far closer than what the score would indicate. Indeed, OMG led most of the first match (+4K at the 15 minute mark) and the second game ended after 46 minutes of very close teamfights. In the end, xiye and company were better in teamfights, the Midlane managed to knock-up 4 members of OMG with his Galio ultimate in game one while Mystic scored a Pentakill in the very last fight of the series. Probably the best Western team after Rift Rivals, Team SoloMid struggled last week-end. On a new Patch, TSM dropped its first series 2-0 against Team Dignitas. Against Shrimp and company, TSM was very passive in the early game, something strange for a team knew for its solid early map movements. While its 2-1 victory against Echo Fox keeps the organization close to Immortals in the NA LCS rankings, this off week might cost Team SoloMid a first round bye. The three times LMS champions are definitively back! Flash Wolves have won their last 8 series since their last defeat in June (with two backups). Last week, FW easily took care of Fireball (last in the LMS) and J Team (now third) in two 2-0 series. Against J Team, Maple and company controlled both games from start to finish, building an early lead against one of the best early game squads in Asia. Despite some solid plays from Fofo in the first game (his solokill on Betty allowed his team to stay in the game), J Team was unable to stop a very well oiled machine. In game 2, FW snowball very hard after a nice engage in the Midlane: Maple scored an unofficial quadrakill and his team took two Towers just after the 18 minute mark. EDward Gaming went off against JD Gaming earlier in the week but got upset later on against Suning Gaming. Facing JDG, Scout and company dominated most of the series despite some close calls during fights around the Rift Herald. EDG ended the series with a 26 and a 29 minutes stomps over JDG. However, the Chinese organization dropped the ball against Suning Gaming. In game 1, the team crushed its opponent for the first 32 minutes of the match (one inhibitor down and a very comfortable gold lead) before losing two back to back teamfights. This result might tilted the group, EDG was totally shutdown during game 2, scoring only one tower in a very one sided defeat. As for Counter Logic Gaming, despite its 2-1 defeat against Immortals, the team keeps its elite status. CLG easily dominated Echo Fox, besting them in less than one hour of game time. While Froggen and company didn’t use their best line-up in game one, the main roster played the second match. Against IMT, its tactic to focus on the Midlane and Toplane was ineffective and while Dardoch spend a lot of time on those lanes, Xmithie was able to build a lead with effective ganks on the Botlane. The Jungler got benched for the rest of the series, which allowed OmarGod to showcase once again its abilities. The rookie was more successful in game 2; CLG took the game thanks to great teamfights in the midgames. Still, IMT Botlane took over the last match of the series, similarly to the series against Team Dignitas two weeks ago. Once again, Cloud9 went 2-0 after a 0-2 the week before. C9 started the week-end with a 2-1 victory over Phoenix1. Game 1 was a stomp thanks to Contractz great performance on Kayn. But on the second match, the team surrendered a nice lead by forcing teamfights against a better 5v5 composition. Still, Cloud9 took care of business with once again a great early start by taking advantage of P1 long setups and unusual slow starts. In its second series of the week, C9 faced against Team Dignitas. Shrimp and company steamrolled Cloud9 in game 1 (a 23 minutes victory) but the next two games were dominated by the guys in blue. Jensen combined for a 14-1 stat line while Smoothie’s Taric was very effective against Nunu in the final game. If the organization can find a way to keep the same level of play weeks in and weeks out, Cloud9 might be one of the best western team in the Playoffs. Fnatic is the first EU LCS organization to qualify for the Playoffs. The European squad took down Unicorns of Love in a close three games series. While the first game was highly contested between the two, Unicorns of Love took the match thanks to better teamfights throughout the game. Still, Fnatic scored two quick victories (in less than 30 minutes) thanks to a better draft in the second game and a great focus in the Botlane by Broxah (Samux played Kog’Maw). In NA, Team Dignitas keeps on winning against the best squads: the team took down Team SoloMid 2-0 to climb further into the rankings. Against TSM, Dig was very efficient and proactive in the laning phase, growing its lead with ease. Still, the same setup was less effective against Cloud9. A quick game one (Dig destroyed C9 Nexus in just 23 minutes) was followed by a very strong performance from C9 who found ways to stop the momentum. Dignitas draft in the second game was also less efficient, Cho’Gath was lacking proper setups, even though the squad was able to win a teamfight with a 13k deficit and Baron. Despite the 2-1 loss, Team Dignitas looks poised to qualify for the Playoffs. It’s worth noting that one of the main reason for this sudden success is the new Botlane, Altec and Adrian were once again great this weekend, showing how important new additions can change the face of a team. Is G2 Esports back? On paper, the three times European champions have won their last 4 series in the EU LCS. However, G2 isn’t quite the same dominating team as before. The organization struggled at times against both H2k-Gaming and Team Vitality. After a very close game one, G2 went down hard against H2k because of a great early game from Jankos. Still, the final match was dominated by Expect; the Korean Toplane, usually put on losing matchups went ham against Odoamne. Later during the week, Team Vitality scored the first point by building a solid lead in the laning phase. But G2 came back with great teamfight compositions (the last game was centered on Zven’s Tristana, with a heavy frontlane to protect him). G2 still needs to clean up its early game, but the team has been way more efficient in recent weeks. Ahq e-Sports Club probably dropped the ball last week: Hong Kong Attitude scored a very impressive, 2-0 victory over Westdoor and co. Before that, ahq did a reverse sweep on J Team, thanks to a great game from its Midlaner (7-2-10 on Corki) in game 2 and some very bad calls from its opponent in the last match. Indeed, J Team threw its 3k lead at 10 minutes by overextending and letting Kassadin and Camille scale. Still, ahq’s defeat against HKA might cost them in the long run. HKA profited from a very bad draft from ahq (mostly losing lanes in game 1) to take over the laning phase and cruise to an easy victory. The second game was quite different: the pace was slower and both teams were fairly close for most of the match until the last teamfights. Still, ahq was unable to take down Unified, who was perfectly protected (on Ashe) by a great frontlane (Gnar, Gragas and Thresh) and by M1ssion on Orianna. This week, H2k-Gaming was close to take down G2 Esports. Both teams exchanged leads for most of the first game thanks to great teamfights. While H2k took down the first inhibitor of the game, G2 ended the match victorious. The second set was all H2k: Jankos did his thing early on which led to a quick snowball for the squad. Still, the team got outdrafted in the final match, Expect destroyed Odoamne (with some help from Trick) which gave G2 a fairly easy win. Now tied with Unicorns of Love and Splyce on top of group B, H2k-Gaming will have to end the season on a high not to clinch a first week bye. Despite being the leader of group B since the start of the summer, Oh My God’s level of play has yet to match Team WE and EDward Gaming. Indeed, both teams scored 2-0 victories over OMG in recent weeks. Still, OMG fought hard against the spring champions: the squad led game one for the first twenty minutes and came close to a game 2 victory in a very close match. However, the recent results of OMG indicate an inability to perform clean games despite a better draft phase against Team WE. Unicorns of Love went down twice in the same week, allowing both Splyce and H2k to sit next to UoL on top of group B. Against Team ROCCAT, the Unicorns lost the first game quickly: the focus was on the Midlane and Exileh got once again destroyed (0-6 on Vladimir). The Midlaner has troubles controlling his lane, usually going overboard while his Jungler is away or pushing without proper vision. UoL executed its strategy to perfection in game 2, winning the match in just 23 minutes after a nice ACE at the 15 minute mark. Still, ROCCAT went home with the win thanks to a great late game teamfights in the last game. After this defeat, the Unicorns of Love were playing against Fnatic. The first game displayed some solid moves from the squad: Exileh managed to hold his own against Caps (he scored a solokill early on) and Xerxe played a very solid laning phase. Still, Fnatic almost took the Nexus down after winning a fight after the half hour mark. But the young Jungler was way less effective in the next two games, letting Exileh heavily exposed to the pressure of Fnatic. Raise Gaming still holds the first place ranking in the LMS after two solid victories against Wayi Spider and Marchi E-Sports. In both series, Laba was great, adding pressure to the lanes while the overall macro game of RG was once again very solid. But it's the return of LilV (who missed the past two weeks), the starting ADC that really gave the edge to the squad. However, this week might be very difficult for Raise Gaming: the young organization will have to play against ahq e-Sports Club and Flash Wolves. Thanks to 2 solid victories, Splyce is now tied with H2k-Gaming and Unicorns of Love on top of group B. Against Ninjas in Pyjamas, the team took care of business. The second game was very methodical, Mikyx roamed in the Midlane to put Sencux ahead while the setup was perfect for Cho’Gath. On Sunday, Splyce played a very tense three games series against Misfits. Kobbe and his teammates got a 4k lead at 20 minutes but got destroyed in a fight around Baron (POE scored a triple on Orianna) which gave MSF the Baron buff and pretty much the game. The scenario was quite the opposite in the second match: MSF led the game for over thirty minutes until some great teamfights from Splyce. Still, Sencux and Kobbe had to backdoor the enemy Nexus to tie the series. However, the last game was totally one sided: both Sencux (11-0-13) and Wunder (11-0-11) went ham on a titled Misfits squad. As expected, J Team lost both of its series against the two best LMS teams. Facing off ahq e-Sports Club, J Team took the first game in a very convincing fashion. But FoFo and company were powerless in the second match before letting go a solid lead in the final game. Known for its snowballing abilities, the team allowed a very late game ahq composition to crawl back into the game. Despite a small gap, J Team was able to destroy the first inhibitor of the game but the squad decided to force a fight in the Jungle while FoFo was unable to setup its shockwave. During the week-end, J Team went down 2-0 against Flash Wolves. Despite a solid performance in the first game (Alex focused on Maple to allow FoFo to take over), the organization was unable to get a lead in both matches. Amazing showing from Ever8 Winners against ROX Tigers: the freshly qualified organization won the series 2-0. Taking advantage of the lack of communication between Shy and the rest of the Tigers, Ever8 forced teamfights around the map. While the team might end in the promotion tournament, such victories are great moral boost for the young line-up. MVP might be ranked ninth in the LCK, the squad has been a difficult opponent lately. Against KT Rolster, Beyond and co resisted for 52 minutes in the first game of the series. But it’s the team amazing upset over Samsung Galaxy 2-1 that might help them stay in the LCK. Behind for over 25 minutes, MVP picked Ruler several times to come back and finally secure game one. While the Amumu pick wasn’t really a success (Ian’s ultimates probably could have changed the course of the game) in the second match, a very strong performance from Max gave MVP the lead in the last game. In the end, MaHa took over the final teamfights on Xayah. Abysmal performances for ROX Tigers, the team went down without even scoring a single victory against Ever8 Winners and Jin Air Green Wings. Facing off the lowly Ever8, the overall communication of the Tigers looked awful: Shy canceled his TP several times, letting his team fight 4v5 around the main objectives. After this very disappointing showing, Jin Air crushed the squad in game one (a 29 minutes victory). But ROX found a way to stay around during the second match, before an amazing Baron Nashor steal by UmTi. Now three wins away from the Playoffs, the team will need a miracle to qualify. As expected, the return of Uzi in the Botlane broke the balance of Royal Never Give Up. The team is now focusing on its Botlane, allowing Uzi to powerfarm while Xiaohu and LetMe have now reduced roles. Against I May, this strategy was effective only once: Uzi finished the first game 10-0-5 but RNG struggled to close out the match. Worse, the team went down twice after this victory with both Mlxg and Y1HAN starting in the Jungle in the series. Since the start of the season, NewBee has been trying several line-ups. Against Invictus Gaming, Coco and Swift were once again the leaders of NB in a pretty quick 2-0 victory. While IG put its best player (RooKie) on Galio, Coco played Jayce and Taliyah to carry its team to the finish line. NewBee has won 4 of the last 5 series and sits just behind OMG in group B. In North America, both Team EnVyUs and Phoenix1 went down against the surprising Team Liquid. While P1 was completely dominated by TL, losing both games in less than thirty minutes, Team EnVyUs lost the first match on a very badly executed Baron call. With Kalista and Cho’Gath in the pit, the squad still lost the objective to Reignover’s smite. While LirA and his teammates still look poised to qualify for the Playoffs, P1 are now officially out of the race after this upset. Misfits ended the week 1-1 despite some solid performances against Splyce. Indeed, after its 2-0 victory over Mysterious Monkeys, the squad held several leads over Splyce but couldn’t really seal the deal in the second game. In the end, the organization crashed really hard in the last set with Splyce sololaners going ham on the rest of MSF No miracle this time for bbq Olivers, the team took a game off Afreeca Freecs thanks to a solid performance from Bless. Usually criticized by the fans for his bad decision in the early game, the Jungler took over the game in the laning phase. Holding the last place before regulation, the Korean squad with face off against MVP next week, in what might be one of the most important game of the season for both organizations. Very disappointing results for LGD-Gaming who might have let go the opportunity hold the second place in group B. The team went down 2-1 against last place Snake Esports (1-7 in series before the game) despite two solid starts in the first two matches. In the third game, LGD got outdrafted and executed poorly its composition which allowed Flandre and its teammates to score their first victory in the past six weeks. Frequently mocked by fans, Team Liquid has been struggling since the start of the year. However, the team took home two very important wins over Playoffs contender (Team EnVyUs and Phoenix1) this week. While the release of Patch 7.14 might have helped reducing the gap between some teams, TL also made tons of progress in the early game and in its overall macro game. While the organization might have abandoned the idea to qualify for the Playoffs, a strong finish can still be useful for the line-up in order to prepare for the next season. |
Last year I had a fun little article for Halloween, and I want to continue with that as I think holiday events and games are really fun and flex that creative muscle. Today I’ll be covering the recent event I ran at my LGS and what I played. Since I’ve become the judge at my LGS, I’m really pushing to run events that celebrate regular holidays here in the U.S., and not just the big ones. Next year, I plan on running events built around like President’s Day, Black History Month, and many others. For October, there’s nothing bigger than Halloween, and it marks the end of the ‘regular year’ as we spiral into holiday season and everyone loses their crap over the rush to buy stuff. Seriously, Christmas decorations were out in stores here back in August… But let’s forget about the ‘holidays’ as we put them. Today is Halloween, and I’m guessing you’re probably reading this article in a funny outfit or something that makes you feel uncomfortable. Well I’m here to bring a little more comfort to you with a nasty team build! I wanted to do something a little different than typical Halloween events for our LGS. Most themed events will be something like “Monster Theme Team”, or something along those lines. Instead, I went a step further and created this scenario where each person picked just one Monster on their force and the rest of the team was sort of experimenting on them, giving them different powers each turn. The chosen Monster was granted Shape Change as a way to show their constant transformation throughout the game, and I generated a neat little table to indicate how the Monster changed through the game, which they would roll a d6 for at the beginning of their turns: Werewolf – Leap/Climb, Blades/Claws/Fangs Vampire – Wing Symbol, Exploit Weakness Mummy – Mind Control, Mystics Team Ability Frankenstein’s Monster – Super Strength and Invulnerable Zombie – Steal Energy, Invincible Creature From the Black Lagoon – Dolphin Symbol, Hypersonic Speed, Regeneration I felt like this allowed your Monster to shift through the different ‘legendary’ monsters we have in society. As for the actual requirements of the game, it was 400 points, Oreo Age (new base style only), with Equipment, Colossi, and Possession all legal.We typically give out Gravity Feeds for participation, so any team that was themed to match Halloween (in style rather than keywords) received an additional gravity feed. In retrospect, this was a bad idea because not granting one or two people the prize made them feel left out, so everyone got it. Maybe next year I’ll extend this to showing up in costume. Anyway, I knew that as judge I didn’t have to worry about really feeling bad about beating the people I played because they got the win no matter what with half the build total. So I decided to play a team I’ve been wanting to run for a while. Here it is: 400 Point Halloween Build-A-Monster Team, Oreo Age Carnage is one of my favorite characters, and I’ve been wanting to build around him since I pulled him back in August. I set about making the nastiest theme team possible for him. Shriek is what made this team come together. Her trait takes Carnage to another level as it’s specifically built to make him better: A TWISTED MOTHER: Adjacent friendly characters with the Maximum Carnage keyword modify their attack and defense values by +1. If Shriek took damage from an attack since your last turn, one friendly character with the Maximum Carnage keyword can use Charge as a free action, but while using it may only attack a character that damaged Shriek since your last turn This takes the 200 point Carnsge and gives him a 13 attack value, and the cheaper ‘retaliate-only’ Carnage to a 12 attack value. Their defenses are pretty low to balance out the insanity of the rest of the dial, so the +1 helps there a lot as well. Empower on her damage slot also boosts us so that we’re effectively getting +1 to attack, defense, and damage as long as we stick around her. The real reason I wanted Shriek though was for her incredibly stupid movement power that she gets on her second click: CARNAGE IS THE BATTERY, AND I’M THE RADIO!: Characters within range that do not have the Maximum Carnage keyword possess Battle Fury. Shriek can use Mind Control, and when she does she can target any opposing characters within range regardless of line of fire or Battle Fury, and she isn’t dealt unavoidable damage from Mind Control. I know what you’re thinking: “almost your entire team has Shape Change. Why grant Battle Fury?” It’s simple. Colossi have a huge weakness in that everyone can see them, but when a character has Battle Fury, they can’t make ranged attacks. This stops a TON of characters from doing whatever it is they do, and it forces players to walk around my symbiote army, all while I make more. This also lets Shriek take control of people anywhere within her range to position them where I want them (say, in a spot where Carnage can Charge to). This is where Stormbreaker comes in. Since Shriek only has a 6 range, it’s not too difficult to just stay outside that radius. A lot of newer players don’t know Shriek and that she ‘turns on’ on click two, so they’ll usually spend their first turn moving up while Shriek moves into the Boxing Ring where I’ve placed her hammer, and then pushes to pick it up. The trap is sprung and there’s not much they can really do. Speaking of the Boxing Ring, this thing really pulled the team together. Symbiotes can line the edges making people stop once they get in (protecting Shriek and my big Carnage), and then my big boy would go to town with that fresh +1 to attack for melee inside the ring, bringing him to a 14 attack with 5 damage. I really don’t care about the hindered movement that the ring provides because I would just set it up as close as I could to my starting area and then make the enemy come to me to fight on my terms. This was a really nasty team, and it only ended up losing a few symbiotes through the three games. What really makes Carnage disgusting is that the symbiotes have to be dealt with to get to the rest of the team, but they don’t provide any actual points for KO’ing them. Because they add to Carnage’s cost, you have to KO him to get those 50 extra points. This makes them highly disposable and risk-free. There were a good handful of times I rolled 6 on Blades on these suckers and it made the entire team worthwhile. So how’d you like my Halloween build this year? I know last year I came up with some fun teams to match different themes and takes on the holiday, but this year I wanted to focus on what I actually played instead. Did you have a Halloween themed event? If so, what was it? I’d love to hear ideas and potentially run those at my LGS! If you had one of these events, what did you play? I hope you all have a wonderful Halloween. Stay safe tonight, and I’ll see you all next week! Advertisements |
“Miracle Molly” survived being hit by an Amtrak train — and now the sweet white Pit Bull’s been adopted by the police officer who saved her life. Best of all, you guys, the adoption took place on Valentine’s Day. Molly was hit after dashing into the path of an oncoming train inside a tunnel, in late January, in Baltimore. “The train conductor saw her run into the tunnel to his horror,” Bailey Deacon, spokesperson Baltimore Animal Rescue & Care Shelter — or BARCS — told The Baltimore Sun. “He knew he could not stop the train. There was absolutely nothing he could do.” An emergency alert was put out to stop other trains from entering the tunnel while Amtrak police officer Kevin McMullen rushed to the scene. He got onto the tracks to help Molly, whose hind leg was severed in the accident. She was also covered in cuts, and had lost a lot of blood, along with part of her tail. Deacon told The Sun it was “a miracle she survived.” McMullen said that the first thing Molly did when he got to her, despite all her injuries, was to give him kisses. Animal control officers got Molly to BARCS, where she underwent lifesaving emergency treatment. Molly then went to live with a foster family, who helped her convalesce. McMullen kept coming by to see Molly, as she healed. Each time, she lit up — and licked him like crazy. Photos of the smooches spread like wildfire across the internet, causing lots of speculation: would this puppy love grow into a forever home? McMullen’s girlfriend Claire Giambi was wondering the same thing. “I could see the love in his eyes just talking about her,” Giambi tells BarkPost. “From that I knew we had to take the chance to see if she could join our fur-family.” Molly came home on Sunday. She joined a Baltimore household that includes McMullen, Giambi, and their cat and three other dogs. Molly and the other animals have been caught sneaking in a few kisses of their own already — and so McMullen and Giambi are optimistic that their new dog’s charming ways will win the furry family members over just as quickly as she won over the humans. The pair also hopes that Molly’s story will help break down negative stereotypes about both Pit Bulls and police officers. And most of all, they hope that Molly knows she’s safe, and loved, and home. There’s reason to be hopeful. Miracle Molly McMullen is settling into normal life just great, so far. “Molly is doing pretty well for having a crazy past few weeks,” says Giambi. “She has already taken over the couch, so she must know she is finally in her forever home,” says McMullen. Molly’s even staked out a favorite spot on the blissfully crowded sofa, and McMullen says it’s right where she belongs: “Next to me.” Miracle Molly McMullen now has her own Facebook page! BARCS relies on donations to its Franky Fund, to provide emergency medical services to homeless animals like Molly. Here’s where you can donate to the Franky Fund. Get in touch at [email protected] if you know a miraculous Pit Bull, or have another dog story to share! |
New Delhi: Video footage of Rahul Gandhi apparently dozing off today in the Lok Sabha during a debate on price rise went viral on the social media. The Congress vice president was seen in a television shot with closed eyes and head tilting on the right. The shot, picked up from Lok Sabha TV, went viral on the social media accompanied by carping comments. While Congress promptly denied that Rahul was sleeping, BJP taunted it by saying this is what the party was doing on price rise for the last 10 years. "It is not true. I totally and categorically deny all aspersions," Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said lamenting that the matter has been sensationalised and wondered whether it behoves to raise such issues. He said that for the last seven weeks the government has played "petty and vindictive" politics. BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said,"On the issue of price rise, the Congress has been sleeping for the last ten years. And today when there was a discussion on price rise in Parliament, Congress's Yuvraj fell asleep. "Congress is not ready to discuss on price rise and inflation. They use the word just for slogans. Congress is never serious on the issue of price rise and that is why Rahul Gandhi became so bored with this discussion that he slept off," he said. Countering this, Congress leader Rajiv Shukla said that a "trivial and frivolous issue" is being unnecessarily highlighted. "First of all this is not a controversy. This is very trivial and frivolous issue which is being unnecessarily highlighted. In the last 14 years during my Parliament career, I have seen lot many people taking a nap or sleeping or dozing off in Parliament of BJP, Shahnawaz Hussain's own party. "Sometimes people shut their eyes and listen to the speech very patiently. This must be the case with Rahul Gandhi as well. Atal Bihari Vajpayee always used to shut his eyes to listen to debates. What does it mean? "Lot many BJP ministers are still sleeping or taking a nap which they call a 'catnap'. Rahul Gandhi must be giving a patient hearing. Unnecessarily you are trying to blow this issue out of proportion," Shukla said. Meanwhile, NCP too came to the defence of the Congress vice president and said closing one's eyes does not mean sleeping. "Many people in Parliament close their eyes. It does not mean they are sleeping," senior NCP leader Praful Patel said. PTI Firstpost is now on WhatsApp. For the latest analysis, commentary and news updates, sign up for our WhatsApp services. Just go to Firstpost.com/Whatsapp and hit the Subscribe button. |
Speaker John Boehner and NRCC chairman Greg Walden (AP Photo) THE BIG IDEA: Two dozen House Republicans have agreed to privately detail their “legislative strategy” to party operatives, promising to offer “political justifications” for their goals in Congress. The Daily 202 obtained a copy of the three-page contract that the National Republican Congressional Committee requires members to sign if they want to participate in its Patriot Program. The initiative, designed to protect potentially vulnerable incumbents, brings with it special attention and access to mounds of campaign cash. But strings are attached. One of the 13 requirements is to submit an off-year “campaign plan” that includes: “Detailed, written legislative strategy that provides short-, intermediate-, and long-term legislative goals, including political justifications for those goals.” “Be sure to include local issues unique to the district or region,” the contract says. “Complete a Patriot Policy Priorities worksheet to be used by NRCC staff to evaluate legislative priorities for the current Congress and to promote and advocate for those priorities where appropriate.” The closely-held document offers a window into how much autonomy lawmakers often must forfeit to unelected Washington insiders. For instance, in exchange for reelection support, lawmakers must promise to exclusively use vendors sanctioned by establishment-aligned party chieftains, attend training sessions and raise six figures for the NRCC. They must also commit to holding a certain amount of cash-on-hand at the end of each fundraising quarter and limit their spending. These goals are tailored to the individual member, so someone who sits on a prominent committee (say Financial Services) would be expected to bring in a bigger haul. And let’s face it, some of the goals are simply smart ways for members to prepare early in the era of the permanent campaign. NRCC officials defended the program, begun in 2009, as voluntary and described the document as routine, saying they assume that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee makes members of its “Frontline” program sign a similar document. Attorneys who work with Democratic committees responded that it’s not standard operating procedure, saying that they’re careful to never be so explicit when it comes to mixing legislating and campaigning. Here are Republicans members who are in the Patriot Program and apparently signed the contract: Barbara Comstock, Rodney Davis, Jeff Denham, Dan Benishek, Tim Walberg, Martha McSally, David Valadao, Mike Coffman, Carlos Curbelo, David Young, Bob Dold, Mike Bost, Bruce Poliquin, Frank Guinta, Cresent Hardy, Lee Zeldin, John Katko, Will Hurd, Ryan Costello, Steve Knight, Elise Stefanik, Dan Donovan and Mike Bishop. Interestingly, the contract appears to give members the opportunity to be part of the Patriot Program without being publicly listed. Read the full “memorandum of understanding” here. WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING: Hillary on the trail (AP Photo/David Richard) — Hillary’s IT guy tells Congress he’s going to plead the Fifth: “A former State Department staffer who worked on Hillary Rodham Clinton’s private e-mail server tried this week to fend off a subpoena to testify before Congress, saying he would assert his constitutional right not to answer questions to avoid incriminating himself,” Carol D. Leonnig and Tom Hamburger report. “The move by Bryan Pagliano, who had worked on Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign before setting up the server in her New York home in 2009, came in a Monday letter from his lawyer to the House panel investigating the 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. The letter cited the ongoing FBI inquiry into the security of Clinton’s e-mail system, and it quoted a Supreme Court ruling in which justices described the Fifth Amendment as protecting ‘innocent men . . . who otherwise might be ensnared by ambiguous circumstances.’” — Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis filed an emergency motion to try circumventing the order forcing her to issue same-sex marriage licenses. It comes ahead of a contempt hearing scheduled for 11 a.m., where she could be jailed or fined for not signing off on the marriages. “In the injunction motion filed Wednesday, Davis said she wouldn’t object to another county official issuing marriages licenses in Rowan County, as long as they are not issued with her signature,” the Louisville Courier-Journal reports. “But under Kentucky law, that’s the rub: Issuing marriage licenses is a required duty for a county clerk in this state. At least two other county clerks in Kentucky have followed Davis’ lead with less publicity.” — Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina announced his resignation, through a spokesman, just a few hours after a judge ordered him to appear in court to face charges of fraud, illicit association and corruption related to an alleged massive, multi-million-dollar customs fraud ring. (Michael E. Miller) GET SMART FAST: POWER PLAYERS IN THE NEWS: Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus and Donald Trump will meet today in New York as the RNC asks candidates to sign a loyalty pledge that they won’t run as independents in 2o16. Trump has scheduled a 2 p.m. news conference, at which he could make an announcement. President Obama clinched a major foreign policy victory when Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) said she would back his Iran nuclear deal, meaning Congress doesn’t have the votes to reject the pact. Hillary proposed a $10 billion plan to treat addicts and curb incarceration for nonviolent drug offenses. “The program, much of which would be funded by the federal government, would also help get a life-saving rescue drug into the hands of more emergency responders to improve the odds for overdose victims,” Anne Gearen reports. “North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows, the combative conservative who made waves this summer with his threat to try to boot John Boehner as speaker, acknowledged that his former chief of staff received hundreds of dollars in improper mileage reimbursements, and has cut a check to the government to attempt to ‘rectify the situation,’” per Politico. Scott Walker blamed Obama for rising “anti-police rhetoric” in an op-ed for the conservative site Hot Air. Walker’s super PAC plans to spend more than $8 million in South Carolina, from early November through the primary on Feb. 20, a sign that the Palmetto State is central to the Midwesterner’s strategy. The group, Unintimidated PAC, is kicking off a $7 million Iowa buy next week. Generation Forward, the super PAC supporting Martin O’Malley, has laid off 38 organizers in Iowa, about three-quarters of its staff in the state. (John Wagner) Lindsey Graham’s super PAC is launching a $1 million buy in New Hampshire this week, with an ad saying the senator has 30 years of military experience and “held Hillary Clinton’s feet to the fire on Benghazi and demand she tell the truth.” Rick Perry now has no paid staff in New Hampshire due to ongoing financial problems. WAPO HIGHLIGHTS: —“Inside Jeb Bush’s fall strategy to deflate Trump and court conservatives,” by Robert Costa and Philip Rucker: “Through it all, Bush is sticking to the same strategy that he and his advisers laid out months ago: establish himself as a tested conservative reformer who served eight years as Florida governor, ride out the chaotic pre-primary season and wait for the party to coalesce around him… ‘That’s the campaign we’re running — first and foremost — to highlight this record of reform and results,’ Danny Diaz, Bush’s campaign manager, said in a rare interview this week outlining the fall strategy…At Bush’s Miami headquarters, aides are positioning themselves for a drawn-out battle, using phrases like ‘long game,’ ‘slow and steady’ and ‘tell our story.'” Concerns have been drifting through Bush’s wide circle, including about whether his wonky recollections of programs he shepherded as governor a decade and a half ago are enough to excite a GOP base that has been enthralled by Trump’s populist bravado. “We all underestimated Trump at the outset,” said Bush adviser Vin Weber, the former Minnesota congressman. “Now we’re overestimating him.” An interactive quiz on Bush’s web site goes so far as to attack Trump for being “a germophobe when it comes to shaking hands.” Vice President Joe Biden was in campaign mode as he posed for a selfie with supporters yesterday at Miami Dade College in Florida. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz) — “Biden, weighing a 2016 run, delivers a campaign-style speech in Florida,” by Ed O’Keefe: “The speech was the first stop on an itinerary that marks the vice president’s most active political trek since his son Beau Biden, the 46-year old former Delaware attorney general, died of brain cancer in May…Steve Schale, a Tallahassee-based lobbyist and adviser to Draft Biden, said that the vice president’s entrance into the race ‘would be healthy for the process’…Dismissing concerns that a protracted race between Clinton, Biden and others would damage the party, Schale, who served as Florida director for President Obama’s 2008 campaign, noted that Democrats registered hundreds of thousands of new voters in Florida during the epic Obama-Clinton battle.” Biden reportedly said Bernie Sanders is doing “a helluva job” during the DSCC fundraiser last night. — “SAT scores at lowest level in 10 years, fueling worries about high schools,” by Nick Anderson: “Scores on the SAT have sunk to the lowest level since the college admission test was overhauled in 2005…The average score for the Class of 2015 was 1490 out of a maximum 2400, the College Board reported Thursday. That was down 7 points from the previous class’s mark and was the lowest composite score of the past decade. There were declines of at least 2 points on all three sections of the test — critical reading, math and writing.” The scores, experts said, “reflect a troubling shortcoming of education-reform efforts. The test results show that gains in reading and math in elementary grades haven’t led to broad improvement in high schools.” — Donald Trump cheats at golf, former partners allege. “When it comes to cheating, he’s an 11 on a scale of one to 10,” sportswriter Rick Reilly, who has golfed with Trump, told Ben Terris. He’s one of several people quoted on the record. Unsurprisingly, The Donald strongly denies it. Trump in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., in 2002. (Photo by Damian Dovarganes, AP File) SOCIAL MEDIA SPEED READ: — ZIGNAL VISUAL: Wednesday was just another day on the long road to the White House. Donald Trump lambasted Jeb Bush for speaking Spanish, while Stephen Colbert mocked the former Florida governor for trying to raise money off his upcoming appearance on Colbert’s new show. Twitter erupted, and television swooned. But a look at how each medium handled the news, and the share of voice each of the two Republican hopefuls received, tells a story of two very different campaigns. Here’s how the conversation split in the old media: And here’s how it broke down on social media: –Pictures of the day: It was a big day for the political selfie. President Obama used a selfie stick in Alaska: And Rand Paul’s campaign launched a selfie feature as part of its new mobile application. Naturally, the Internet took no time abusing it: –Tweets of the day: Mike Huckabee stood behind the Kentucky county clerk who refused to hand out marriage licenses to gay couples: I spoke with Kim Davis to offer my prayer & support. She is showing more courage & humility than most federal office holders in Washington. — Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) September 2, 2015 Democrats in Congress blasted the clerk: Proud to live in a community where the County Clerk willingly (and proudly) issues ALL Coloradans their #marriage licenses. TY @CRDenver — Rep. Diana DeGette (@RepDianaDeGette) September 2, 2015 If conscience requires Kim Davis to refuse to uphold the law then it also requires her to resign. #LoveIsLove #MarriageEquaility — Gerry Connolly (@GerryConnolly) September 3, 2015 Hillary Clinton celebrated Obama’s victory on the Iran deal, saying she would “aggressively enforce” it as president: Great news that the Iran Deal has enough votes; as POTUS, I would aggressively enforce it and counter Iran’s other malicious activities. -H — Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 3, 2015 Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) enjoyed lunch at the New York State Fair: Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) bumped into Kevin O’Leary, better known as “Mr. Wonderful” from Shark Tank: –Instagrams of the day: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) marked the 70th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in WWII with a photo of the surrender ceremony, observed by his grandfather Admiral John S. McCain Sr.: Marco Rubio visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial: GOOD READS FROM ELSEWHERE: — Boston Globe, “Warren had ‘long conversation’ with Biden, she says,” by Travis Anderson: “Warren said Wednesday that she will probably endorse a Democratic nominee for president during the primary and refused to say whether she will serve out her full Senate term…’Right now that’s not where we are,’ Warren said of a possible endorsement. ‘I imagine that’s what I’ll do.'” During a meeting with Biden last month, Warren said they “discussed several topics including helping the middle class and ‘the capture of this country’ by the wealthy and powerful. Warren demurred when asked if there was talk, even jokingly, of her joining Biden on the Democratic ticket if he enters the primary and wins the nomination. ‘It was a long conversation,’ Warren said.” — New York Times, “Coordinated Strategy Brings Obama victory on Iran nuclear deal,” by Carl Hulse and David M. Herszenhorn: “The president’s potentially legacy-defining victory — a highly partisan one in the end — was also the result of an aggressive, cooperative strategy between the White House and congressional Democrats to forcefully push back against Republican critics, whose allies had begun a determined, $20 million-plus campaign to kill the deal…Under the direction of Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the Democratic leader, and a team of lieutenants, House Democrats orchestrated a daily roll-out of endorsements of the Iran deal from a Capitol war room, tucked into Ms. Pelosi’s office just off the House chamber…Cabinet members and other senior administration officials talked directly with more than 200 House members and senators. The president spoke personally to about 100 lawmakers, either individually or in small groups, and aides said he called 30 lawmakers during his August vacation on Martha’s Vineyard.” HOT ON THE LEFT Conservatives are now convinced that Black Lives Matter is a hate group. From Talking Points Memo: “Conservatives have long viewed the Black Lives Matter movement with skepticism and questioned the group’s tactics, but this week pundits grabbed hold of a new label for the organization … After the Friday shooting death of a sheriff’s deputy in Texas and a Black Lives Matter protest at the Minnesota State Fair on Saturday, conservatives doubled down in their criticism. During a segment on the shooting and protest on Monday morning, ‘Fox and Friends’ co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck asked why Black Lives Matter has not yet been labeled a hate group.” HOT ON THE RIGHT Report: More than half of immigrants on welfare. From USA Today: “More than half of the nation’s immigrants receive some kind of government welfare, a figure that’s far higher than the native-born population’s, according to a report [released Wednesday]. About 51 percent of immigrant-led households receive at least one kind of welfare benefit, including Medicaid, food stamps, school lunches and housing assistance, compared to 30 percent for native-led households, according to the report from the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that advocates for lower levels of immigration.” DAYBOOK: –What’s happening today on the campaign trail: Bernie Sanders campaigns Grinnell, Ottumwa and West Burlington, Iowa. Marco Rubio attends a rally in Chattanooga, Tenn. In New Hampshire, Jeb Bush tours a manufacturer in Hampton and holds in a town hall meeting in Laconia; Rand Paul greets voters in Gilford; Chris Christie holds a town hall in Berlin; and Lindsey Graham campaigns in Henniker, Manchester, Portsmouth and Hebron. In Iowa, Bobby Jindal stops in Dubuque and Cedar Falls, while in South Carolina, Mike Huckabee visits Rock Hill, Fort Mill and Lancaster. Finally, Ted Cruz campaigns in Fort Worth, Tyler and Kingwood, Texas. –On the Hill: Both chambers are in recess. But Cheryl Mills, Hillary’s chief of staff at the State Department, will testify in closed session before the House Benghazi Committee. –At the White House: Vice President Biden will meet with Jewish community leaders in Miami to discuss the nuclear deal reached with Iran. Later in the day, he will deliver remarks at an Atlanta synagogue. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I like Jeb,” Trump told Breitbart News after Bush criticized him in Spanish for not being conservative enough. “He’s a nice man. But he should really set the example by speaking English while in the United States.” NEWS YOU CAN USE IF YOU LIVE IN D.C.: — “Plenty of sunshine on tap but a hazy sky is still likely to keep the rays a little muted. Unfortunately it does little to stop highs from reaching the low to even mid-90s for most areas. Clouds bubble up in the late afternoon but isolated thunderstorms are few and far between,” the Capital Weather Gang forecasts. –The Nationals pull one out over the St. Louis Cardinals, winning 4-3. — Former Redskins linebacker LaVar Arrington says RGIII may find success in “a different profession.” VIDEOS OF THE DAY: Ted Cruz wished former Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) a happy birthday: Is Donald Trump in your head? He will be if you listen to this parody song, featuring Roger Stone: The National Zoo livestream gave us a good look at the new (surviving) giant panda cub: |
SirPsycho Genesis/Mega Drive, Sega action, adventure, ancient, genesis, mega drive, sega, yuzo koshiro Beyond Oasis is an action/adventure game developed by Ancient for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. It released quite late in the system’s lifecycle, late 1994 for Japan and 1995 everywhere else. Since Ancient was founded by Yuzo Koshiro it also includes a soundtrack composed by him. This is most likely Sega’s answer to The Legend of Zelda mixed with some Mana series since there are many similarities in gameplay design, puzzle solving, and progression. You play as Prince Ali of the Kingdom of Oasis, and some bad stuff is starting to go down. One day while digging in an old ruin Prince Ali finds a gold armlet, which fixes itself to his wrist and tells him of his destiny to save Oasis. Clothing style and culture shows that the game is based on Middle Eastern mythology and literature such as the 1001 Arabian Nights. The gold armlet has the ability to control spirits, one of which is named after the class of infernal djinni Efreet. There are differences with the weapon and item systems, as well as abilities. Ali starts off with a knife as your default weapon, this knife has unlimited uses but a short reach. You can pick up other weapons such as a bow, sword, and bombs for damage boosts, but these all break after a certain number of uses. Planning when and where to use your stronger weapons is a must, I usually saved them for boss battles. Combat is quite fun as it offers great depth. It feels like you’re playing a brawler within your adventure game as Ali has kicks, swipes, stabs, jump kicks, flying stabs and slashes, flip attacks, and a spin attack. A lot of these attacks can only be used with your first knife though, so heavy damage weapons that can break are best used for more predictable fights like bosses. Each spirit has its own attacks as well, and these take large chunks of your SP down. Just having a spirit out will slowly deplete your SP bar. The items you find mostly heal you. Ali has two stats to worry about, HP and SP. HP is your health, like it is every game that has HP. SP are your Spell Points, and these are used up just by having a spirit out or using a spirit’s magical abilities. These healing items are certain food items. Items like meat or cheese heals your HP while fruits heal your SP, still others heal both stats! You can also pick up powerups for your spirits, various weapons, and healing items in treasure chests scattered throughout Oasis. There are plenty of secrets to find while exploring the world, even some hidden mini games that give quite nice rewards. In terms of following the storyline though the game is just as linear as any Zelda game. Beyond Oasis has the built in feature known as the “go-here” arrow when you’re off doing your quest. The map is stylized and fairly difficult to read when you’re first starting the game though. Once you’ve explored most of it the map will make sense. The game feels quite balanced in its world design. You usually have nice area of outdoor overworld to explore while you make your way from dungeon to dungeon. The game also has a natural break between spirits. You can find the first two spirits quickly, but then Ali starts to work to unfold more of this mysterious group that is threatening his Kingdom before working to get the last two. Its a nice break between the two and lets the story keep you interested in what’s happening instead of breaking it up like this: get all spirits, uncover mystery. A physical copy for the Genesis seems to be a bit uncommon, and its price ranges from $15-25 for a loose cartridge. This game has seen various digital releases and is on some modern compilations such as Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection and Steam. Advertisements |
Thank you for being one of our top referrers! View this email in your browser Greetings Subscribers! Wednesday March 2nd! This original artwork envisions the city of Manchester in the year 2945 and features the fearsome Sabre medium fighter. We'll be doing two lots for sale at the following times: #1. 10 AM PST/6:00 PM UTC #2. 2 PM PST/10 PM UTC The posters will be available in the Thank you for all of your continued support! Best, Cloud Imperium Games A small number of CitizenCon 2015 event posters will be available for sale to subscribers starting onThis original artwork envisions the city of Manchester in the year 2945 and features the fearsome Sabre medium fighter. We'll be doing two lots for sale at the following times:#1.#2.The posters will be available in the merchandise section of the store at the above times. Limit one poster per customer, price includes worldwide shipping. Please note that these will be shipped directly from our UK offices, so tracking information will not be available for this item.Thank you for all of your continued support!Best,Cloud Imperium Games Facebook Twitter YouTube Twitch Instagram Forums |
Thousands of people all over the world came out on the streets over the weekend in order to demand that world leaders take action on climate change. The protesters included a passionate contingent of vegans who pointed out the connection between animal agriculture and environmental destruction. Here are some of our favourite signs spotted in the vegan bloc at the climate march in London: Great day at #ClimateMarch with the #Vegan bloc. 51% of global GHG emissions say veganism *IS* a climate issue! pic.twitter.com/YCNSkK9Pdc — Joe Brydon (@TheJoeBrydon) November 29, 2015 Go vegan for the planet the nomads and for yourself #govegan #ClimateMarch pic.twitter.com/oEAKVL1g2Q — T Link (@darkdragonfly) November 29, 2015 And last but not least, this lady spread the vegan message in another way – by giving out delicious vegan cake! Learn more about the link between raising animals for food and climate change. |
Australian physicists cast new light on spin-bowling | Source: As the Ashes series gets underway next week, a pair of brothers from Australia have been exploring the physics behind the spin of a cricket ball. While physicists are much more accustomed to measuring the spin of electrons, protons and neutrons, Garry and Ian Robinson, Honorary Visiting Fellows at the University of New South Wales and the University of Melbourne respectively, have presented equations that govern the trajectory of a spinning ball as it moves through the air in the presence of a wind. Their paper has been published today, 5 July, in Physica Scripta - a journal published by IOP Publishing on behalf of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for the Science Academies and the Physical Societies of the Nordic Countries. If the English and Australian cricketers are looking to take advantage of their results then they will be hoping that the unpredictable British weather brings plenty of wind throughout the five-game series, as the researchers have calculated that it can have a profound effect on the movement through the air of a spin-bowler’s delivery. According to the research, the presence of a cross-wind from either side of the cricket pitch can cause the spinning ball to either slightly “hold up” or “dip”, depending on which direction the wind comes from and which way the ball is spinning. This therefore changes the point at which the ball pitches on the wicket. Garry Robinson said: “Our results show that the effects on a spinning ball are not purely due to the wind holding the ball up, since a reversal of wind direction can cause the ball to dip instead. These trajectory changes are due to the combination of the wind and the spin of the ball. “The effects of spin in the presence of a cross-wind, and how to fully exploit it, may or may not be completely appreciated by spin bowlers. Either way, we have provided a mathematical model for the situation, although the model of course awaits detailed comparison with observations.” As an example, the researchers show that when a 14 km/h cross-wind interacts with the spinning ball, the point at which it hits the ground can change by around 14 cm, which they believe may be enough to deceive a batsman. The equations take into account the speed of the ball, gravity, the drag force caused by air resistance, and the Magnus or “lift” force, while at the same time incorporating the important effect of wind. The Magnus force is a commonly observed effect, particularly in ball sports, when the spin of a ball causes it to curve away from its set path. This is observed in football when players purposely put spin on the ball to make it bend around a defensive wall. Once the equations were constructed, they were numerically solved using a computer software program called MATLAB; the solutions were then used to create illustrative examples for cricket. The researchers also show that a spinning cricket ball tends to “drift” in the latter stages of its flight as it descends, moving further to the off-side for an off-spinning delivery and moving further towards the leg-side for a leg-spinning delivery, effects which are well-known and regularly utilised by spin-bowlers. “We hope that this work can be used to cast new light on the motion of a spinning spherical object, particularly as applied to cricket, whilst also stirring the interests of students studying differential equations,” Garry continued. From Friday 5 July, this paper can be downloaded from http://iopscience.iop.org/1402-4896/88/1/018101. |
The (preliminary) auditions for voiceover roles are finally here! The main character roles we’re looking to fill are: • Vivian James • Gilda Mars • /v/ • /pol/ • Polina • Freya Frost • Danielle Frost We’ll also be looking for VAs for minor roles in the game, such as: • Enemies • NPCs • Misc. voices (e.g. newscasters, SocJus propaganda announcers) Due to our limited budget (we’re entirely self-funded), we can only offer unpaid work; however, while we don’t have the funding required to be able to pay voice actors at this time, all voice actors will receive a free copy of the finished game, plus your name – or a pseudonym of your choice – in the credits! If you’re interested in auditioning, just send an email to psj.voiceovers@gmail.com! Simply put the role(s) you would like to audition for in the subject line, and attach a demo reel or sample clips to the email. Unfortunately, we don’t have any demo lines ready yet, but we’ll get them ready ASAP! We’ll also be looking for understudies for each of the main characters, so don’t hesitate to audition for as many roles as you like! UPDATE (Nov 01, 2015): The demo lines are ready! Check your email to see if you’ve received the link! Please note that the demo lines are only available privately at this time, and have only been distributed via email to anyone who applied earlier for the auditions. If you sent an email to psj.voiceovers@gmail.com but did not receive a link to the demo lines, please contact us again, and we’ll send them to you as soon as possible. At this time, there are only demo lines for the main characters; demo lines for NPCs/enemies/villains will be coming out later in November. There may also be further rounds of auditions for the main characters, if there are any roles unfilled by the end of the first audition. |
His political honeymoon long over, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has lost the public’s confidence. And now, he’s about to lose council’s as well. The Ford revolution may be aborted before it takes root. Torontonians are not impressed with Ford’s confrontational style, his lone-wolf approach to leadership and his threats to gut city services after guaranteeing during the election that he’d cut the “gravy” and not cut a single service. But what may have tipped the balance, fatally, is a waterfront plan he and his councillor brother, Doug, dreamed up in secret to deliver a mega-mall, giant Ferris wheel and monorail to private developers on Toronto’s most valuable real estate asset. Rookie Councillor Jaye Robinson, a member of the mayor’s hand-picked executive committee, says she can’t in good conscience support the mayor’s plan to displace waterfront plans developed after years of public consultation. Article Continued Below Robinson and other rookie councillors have sought out their own briefings of the existing waterfront plan after the mayor hired consultants to concoct a vastly different scheme than the one city council approved last year. Countering their move, the Ford administration strong-armed the councillors and failed to heel Robinson. Other non-aligned councillors — part of the so-called “mushy middle” — have become critical of the new plan as public opposition mounts. Now, there is little hope of the plan fronted by Doug Ford getting council support. “Yes there is egg on our faces for allowing this,” admitted Councillor Peter Milczyn, a Ford ally who is busy seeking a face-saving compromise before the issue gets to council next Wednesday. “What blew up in our faces was the distraction of the Toronto Port Lands Company (TPLC) going out and doing a visionary exercise,” he said Wednesday. Now, the Ford administration is trying to craft an innocuous-sounding motion that limits the meddling to a staff “review” of the options presented in the current Waterfront Toronto plan. Four in 10 citizens think the mayor is doing a good job leading the city. And his support is sinking even among suburbanites who took a chance on him just 11 months ago. In North York, for example, Ford’s support has dropped to 43 per cent, from 69 per cent in June, a new poll shows. More strikingly, the mayor is angering more and more councillors, as citizen groups mass against his policy pronouncements. Article Continued Below Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam sent him a stinging letter chastising him for ruling “by fiat.” Councillor Josh Matlow distributed a letter to constituents decrying many of the proposed service cuts as unsupportable. Councillors Mary-Margaret McMahon and Ana Bailão, two non-aligned rookie votes the mayor needs, have slammed the waterfront fiasco. CivicAction, a broad-based citizen action group of bankers, activists, professionals and urbanists, warned Ford against changing the waterfront plans without extensive public consultation. And a group of University of Toronto professors plan to release a harsh letter Thursday, criticizing the proposed changes to the waterfront plan. Add to that the general chatter and protest of the long list of proposed cuts and there is a sense of trouble in Ford kingdom. A clear sense of Ford’s vulnerability is this: Premier Dalton McGuinty and the Liberals think they can score political points by cautioning Ontarians to avoid Tory Tim Hudak because he will bring in “Ford-like cuts.” Ford’s own budget chief, Mike Del Grande, says he won’t back efforts to eliminate snow removal from the front of driveways. Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti opposes cuts to fire service staff. Councillor Karen Stintz rejects cuts to libraries. They are all slavish Ford allies refusing to drink the Kool-Aid because the mayor’s approval rating is in free-fall. For Ford, it’s change course and change style, or watch his agenda evaporate. Royson James usually appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Email: rjames@thestar.ca |
Leveling up in CSS Jonathan Z. White Blocked Unblock Follow Following Jun 21, 2016 CSS seems easy at first. After all, it’s just styling, right? But, give it time. Soon, CSS will show you the true depths of its complexity. There are four things you can do to stay sane while using CSS at scale: use proper semantics, modularize, adopt a naming convention, and follow the single responsibility principle. Use proper semantics In HTML and CSS there is the concept of semantic markup. Semantics is the meaning of words and their relationships. In the context of HTML, it means using appropriate markup tags. Here is a classic example. <!-- bad --> <div class=”footer”></div> <!-- good --> <footer></footer> Semantic HTML is pretty straightforward. On the other-hand, semantic CSS is much more abstract and subjective. Writing semantic CSS means choosing class names that convey structural meaning and function. Come up with class names that are easy to understand. Make sure they aren’t too specific. That way, you can reuse your classes. To illustrate good semantic class names, here is a simplified example of Medium’s CSS. <div class="stream"> <div class="streamItem"> <article class="postArticle"> <div class="postArticle-content"> <!-- content --> </div> </article> </div> </div> From the code, you can immediately discern structure, role, and meaning. The parent class is stream, a list of articles. The child class is streamItem, an actual article within the list. It’s clear how parent and child relate to one another. Furthermore, those classes are used on every page that features articles. You should be able to read HTML and CSS like a book. It should tell a story. A story has characters and relationships between them. More semantic CSS will ultimately make your code more maintainable. For further reading, check out What Makes for Semantic Class Names, Naming CSS Stuff is Really Hard, and Semantics and Sensibility. For a longer read, see About HTML semantics and front-end architecture. Modularize In the age of component-based libraries like React, modularization is king. Think of components as composable modules created by deconstructing interfaces. Below is Product Hunt’s front page stream. As an exercise, let’s break the stream down into various components. Each colored outline represent a component. The stream has many stream items. <div class="stream"> <div class="streamItem"> <!-- product info --> </div> </div> Most components can be broken down into even smaller components. Each stream item has a thumbnail and information about a featured product. <!-- STREAM COMPONENT --> <div class="stream"> <div class="streamItem"> <!-- POST COMPONENT --> <div class="post"> <img src="thumbnail.png" class="postThumbnail"/> <div class="content"> <!-- product info --> </div> </div> </div> </div> Because the stream component is independent of its children and vice versa, you can easily adjust or switch out the post class without making significant changes to the stream class. Thinking in components will help you make your decouple code. The more decoupled your code is, the lower the interdependence between your classes. This makes your code easier to modify and work with in the long run. When modularizing your CSS, start off by breaking your design down into component. You can do this with paper and pencil or in a program like Illustrator or Sketch. Identifying components will give you an idea of how to name your classes and how they relate to one another. To read more about component driven CSS, check out CSS Architectures: Scalable and Modular Approaches, Writing Modular CSS with Sass, and Modularizing Your Front-End Code for Long Term Maintainability and Sanity. Choose a good naming convention There are dozens of CSS naming conventions out there. Some people swear by their choice of convention, claiming theirs is better than others. In truth, the best naming convention is different for each person. The best advice I ever received on this is: choose the naming convention that makes the most sense to you. Here is a short list of some of the naming conventions people use: One of my favorite naming conventions is BEM. BEM stands for block, element, and modifier. Yandex, the Russian equivalent of Google, came up with it to issues they had with their CSS codebase at scale. BEM is one of the simplest — yet strictest — of the naming conventions. .block {} .block__element {} .block--modifier {} Blocks represent higher level classes. Elements are children of blocks. And modifiers represent different states. <div class="search"> <input type="search__btn search__btn--active" /> </div> In the example above, the class search is the block and search button is its element. If we want to modify the state of the button, we can add a modifier like active. One thing to remember about naming conventions is that regardless of which CSS naming convention you prefer, you will often times inherit or work on codebases with different standards. Be open to learning new standards and alternative ways of thinking about CSS. You can read more about BEM in Getting your head ’round BEM syntax, BEM 101, and Intro to BEM. For general reading about different conventions, check out OOCSS, ACSS, BEM, SMACSS: what are they? What should I use? Follow the single responsibility principle The single responsibility principles states that every module or class should have responsibility over a single part of the functionality provided by the software, and that responsibility should be entirely encapsulated by the class. Within the context of CSS, the single responsibility principles means that pieces of code, classes and modules should do only one thing. When applied to CSS file organization, this means that self-contained components like carousels and navigation bars should have their own CSS file. /components |- carousel |- |- carousel.css |- |- carousel.partial.html |- |- carousel.js |- nav |- |- nav.css |- |- nav.partial.html |- |- nav.js Another common pattern in file organization is grouping files by functionality. For example, in the snippet above, all the files related to the carousel component are grouped together. Adopting this approach makes finding files much easier. In addition to separating component styles, it’s good to separate global style using the single responsibility principle. /base |- application.css |- typography.css |- colors.css |- grid.css In the example, each style concern is separated into its own file. This way, if you want to update your colors, you know exactly where to look. Regardless of which file organization convention you use, let the single responsibility principle help guide your decisions. If one file starts getting bloated, consider partitioning it out based on what makes logical sense. For more on file structures and CSS architecture, read Aesthetic Sass 1: Architecture and Style Organization and Scalable and Maintainable CSS Architecture. When the single responsibility principle is applied to individual CSS classes, it means that each class should have only one function. In other words, separate out styles into different classes based on concerns. Here is a classic example: .splash { background: #f2f2f2; color: #fffff; margin: 20px; padding: 30px; border-radius: 4px; position: absolute; top: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0; left: 0; } In the example above, we are mixing concerns. The splash class not only contains presentation and styling logic for itself, but for its children as well. To remedy this, we can split the code into two separate classes. .splash { position: absolute; top: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0; left: 0; } .splash__content { background: #f2f2f2; color: #fffff; padding: 30px; border-radius: 4px; } Now we have a splash and splash content. We can use splash as a generic full-bleed class that takes any child. All of the concerns of the child, in this case the splash content, are decoupled from the parent. You can read more about applying the single responsibility approach to styling and classes in The single responsibility principle applied to CSS and Single Responsibility. Simplicity over complexity Ask any good front-end developer or CSS architect and they will tell you that they’ve never been fully satisfied with their code. Writing good CSS is an iterative process. Start simple, follow basic CSS conventions and style guides, and iterate from there. I would love to know how you approach CSS. What is your favorite naming convention? How do you organize your code? Feel free to leave a note or Tweet to me. P.S. If you liked this article, it would mean a lot if you hit the recommend button or share with friends. |
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Matt Harvey drives a Maserati, was raised in Connecticut and hangs out with models at New York Rangers games. Jacob deGrom has a pickup truck with 40-inch wheels, grew up in rural Florida assisting on a neighbor’s cattle ranch, and is married and awaiting his first child, a son due April 5. The duo does have some things in common, though. They locker side-by-side in the spring training and Citi Field clubhouses. They were born fewer than nine months apart. And they are both aces for the New York Mets. BBTN 100 SCHEDULE The top 100 players of 2016 as voted by a group of 70 ESPN experts were revealed over 10 days. Date Players March 15 Nos. 100-91 March 16 Nos. 90-81 March 17 Nos. 80-71 March 18 Nos. 70-61 March 19 Nos. 60-51 March 20 Nos. 50-41 March 21 Nos. 40-31 March 22 Nos. 30-21 March 23 Nos. 20-11 March 24 Nos. 10-1 March 25 Pos. top 10s Who will have the better season? Well, manager Terry Collins tabbed Harvey as his Opening Day starter over deGrom, but captain David Wright noted you could “flip a coin” to determine who was most worthy of that honor among the entire Mets staff. ZiPS projections from ESPN’s Dan Szymborski give the ever-so-slight nod to deGrom. Szymborski has Harvey going 10-6 with a 2.91 ERA and 161 strikeouts in 26 starts during the upcoming season. He has deGrom going 13-7 with a 2.83 ERA and 186 strikeouts in 29 starts. In reality, Noah Syndergaard has the potential to have a better career than either Harvey or deGrom. Szymborski, using those same ZiPS projections, has Syndergaard ultimately producing the most career wins (152), best ERA (2.96) and most strikeouts (2,586) among the Mets’ young starters, who also include Steven Matz. Four Mets position players were asked which pitcher is the most intimidating in Major League Baseball. Lucas Duda named Aroldis Chapman. Neil Walker named Clayton Kershaw. Travis d'Arnaud and Wright named Syndergaard. “Because he’s 6-8, 350 and looks like Thor,” d’Arnaud said. DeGrom’s velocity actually has been down early in camp. He sat at 91-93 mph in a Grapefruit League appearance last week. Harvey’s 216 innings in 2015, including the postseason, were the most ever logged by a pitcher in his first season back from Tommy John surgery. So that bears watching. Still, Mets personnel suggest that Harvey’s slider already is sharper than last season. Harvey’s fastball now seems to have the late giddy-up as it approaches the plate that it lacked a year ago. “Last year, obviously, there was a lot of unknown -- where things are going to be regarding the surgery,” Harvey said. “I think this year it’s nice not hearing, ‘How is your arm feeling? Are you healthy?’ all the time. ... I think we’re all kind of in the same boat now, except for Zack [Wheeler] obviously, where nobody is really coming off of an injury or a missed year. We’ve all had our experience.” |
Denmark has long held the title of the best place on earth to be laid off. With an expensive, generous welfare state, and the world’s most lavish unemployment insurance scheme, virtually no one falls through the cracks upon losing a job. But the government unveiled an unpleasant surprise in June, when it halved the country’s whopping four-year unemployment benefits period to help mend its finances after the financial crisis. The reason: Danish studies show that the longer a person goes without a job, the harder it is to find work. Many people get a job within the first three months of entering the system, but many more wait until just before benefits expire to take anything available. “So you need to have a period of unemployment that is as short as possible,” Claus Hjort Frederiksen, the finance minister, told me recently in Copenhagen. Consider this 2009 chart from Denmark’s Labor Market Commission: Denmark’s Labor Market Commission It shows that between 2005-7, the number of people who got jobs during their four years of benefits — the green line – rose at the beginning before dropping sharply, then spiked as benefits were about to run out, only to plummet after. The red line shows similar behavior in 1998, when Denmark’s benefit period was five years. “It shows that people are not seeking all the jobs they could get, but just the jobs they would like to have,” said Steen Bocian, chief economist at Danske Bank. That luxury has become too dear as Denmark exits a two-year downturn. In addition to halving the unemployment benefits period, the government is pinning high hopes on job activation programs, one of the three pillars in Denmark’s famed “flexicurity” model. Employers have carte blanche to hire and fire, and in turn, the jobless are guaranteed benefits if they attend retraining and job placement programs tailored to prepare them for work where labor is scarce. A 2007 study by the Danish Economic Council gave momentum to the government’s recent move. In 2006, it conducted an experiment for people who hadn’t gotten a job within 18 weeks of unemployment, requiring participation in job search assistance programs, training and frequent meetings with jobs officers for at least three weeks. A second group was left alone. Those in job activation had an exit rate from unemployment about 8 percentage points higher than the control group. After 40 weeks the exit rate was 3 percentage points higher. These changes are not without problems in a country where people are accustomed to a benevolent nanny state. But they are probably still a ways off from stripping Danes of their other title as being among the happiest people on earth. |
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