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In Life is Strange, all trophies/achievements were based on optional photographs that Max could take in random locations. Life is Strange: Before the Storm, the Chloe-led prequel which released last week, follows in a similar vein. This time, though, all achievements are based on optional graffiti that Chloe can leave along her journey. In episode one, there are 10 optional graffiti locations, and we’ve scoped them all out for you so you don’t have to miss anything. The good news is this time, new developer Deck Nine has added a chapter select mode that lets you jump back to specific parts of the story especially to find missed graffiti spots. So if you do miss any the first time round, don’t worry. Here they all are. Of course, if you haven’t yet played episode one of Life is Strange: Before the Storm, there’ll be some spoilers ahead. You’ve been warned. 1. On the side of the camper van As the game first puts you in control of Chloe, you’ll be making your way to an abandoned sawmill to sneak into a gig. Just outside, there’s a camper van parked outside. (Hmm, it’s a very familiar looking camper van, too…) Scoot around to the other side of it, and there’s a nice, fresh panel waiting for you to make your mark on. 2. Inside the sawmill Once you get inside the sawmill after impressing the bouncer with your attitude, you’ll be free to explore a little. The next graffiti spot is pretty much straight in front of you: to the side of the bar, just before you enter the mosh pit, there’s an old sawblade mounted onto the wall. Interact with it to make it look a little more interesting. 3. Chloe’s bedroom Chloe’s bedroom is somewhat comforting, in that it’s instantly familiar to anyone who played the first Life is Strange. A lot of the posters on the wall are different though. Next to the door is a unicorn poster. Interacting it will give you the option to tear it down. Once it’s off the wall, Chloe can leave her own artwork in its place. 4. David’s toolbox Chloe begrudgingly has to accept a ride to school from her future “stepdouche” David, but first she has to help him get his piece of crap car up and running. He sends her into the garage to find the tools he needs. She’ll grab the correct items from his toolbox – but not before interacting with the lid to leave him a little message. 5. Outside school Ah, Blackwell Academy – we know this place so well. Probably better than Chloe, since she never seems to attend class, but she still visits the grounds enough to make her presence known. Over on the left-hand side of the grounds, between a side entrance and the smoking area, you’ll find a bit of wall that’s crying out for Chloe to do her best work on it. 6. In the drama room Before Chloe has a chance to attend class, she’s whisked away by Rachel Amber to watch one of her drama rehearsals. Afterwards, you get to accompany her into the dressing room. Just in front of you as you walk in the door is a poster for their upcoming play, The Tempest. Give it your doodling treatment to unlock the sixth trophy/achievement. 7. On the train Rachel drags Chloe off on an ‘adventure’, and their first port of call is jumping onto a moving train. In the carriage, Rachel will invite Chloe to grab a seat and sit down — there’s a crate that you can move to make a makeshift stool. Once you’ve moved it, don’t sit down; walk to the area that it was blocking off, and on the left-hand side is a panel where you can add your next piece of graffiti. 8. At the overlook point After jumping from the train, Chloe and Rachel find themselves on a hill overlooking a park. Just behind where they’re standing is a rather imposing statue of a famous explorer. Chloe’s not a fan of his, though, so interacting with the statue will let her leave her little mark on it. 9. In the junkyard Here’s another familiar location — Chloe finds herself alone in a junkyard, and, filled with rage, she decides to smash up a lot of stuff. Find a sign that you can smash, and interact with it. Just in front of the sign is a stack of paint cans; interact with them too, causing paint to splatter on the sign you’ve just let your rage out on. Interact with the sign again, and you can use the paint splatter as graffiti. 10. Chloe’s dream sequence Chloe keeps having flashbacks of being in the car with her dad, and during the second of these in the episode is our last graffiti opportunity. There are three items that you can interact with — a Tempest poster, a mannequin head, and a bottle of wine. Interact with the poster first. Once that’s done, you’ll have a new option to move it, which will reveal a spot on the seat in front of Chloe to leave some graffiti. Unfortunately, she’s not got her pen on her. Interacting with the wine bottle will reveal the pen, and interacting with it again will make Chloe grab the pen. You can now graffiti away. Don’t interact with the mannequin head until that’s done as the scene will automatically end once all three objects have been interacted with once. |
sliver-bloglord asked: You didn't actually answer paulapolos' question, so let me try re-wording it: How do you decide which complaints you hear are valid enough to make changes? It comes down to a bunch of things: 1) As with “bad” cards, is it something we are able to not do? If it has to happen, players complaining isn’t going to stop it. 2) Is it the only viable path? Introducing Standard wasn’t popular, but there were forces that were going to destroy Magic if we didn’t act, so we didn’t have much choice but to weather through the complaints. 3) Is it something that we feel the audience doesn’t understand? Yes, changing the rules (Sixth Edition, Magic 2010, etc.) got negative reaction, but change tends to upset people and there was literally no way for players to understand the new thing without experiencing it. We had confidence that once they experienced it, they’d like it and they did. 4) Is there a long term gain that players don’t understand? Sometimes we’re doing something that takes time to pay off and we weather complaints until we reach the new state. The rotation wasn’t #1, we could not do it. It wasn’t #2, we had other business options. It ended up not being #3 because players understand rotations and their dislike of them wasn’t because it was a new thing they didn’t understand. #4 is the one we hoped to hang our hat on, but research showed that we overvalued the positivity of change to the environment and undervalued the negativity of people not being able to play the same deck for a long period of time. It turns out many players have more negative associations with rotations than positive. They understand they have to happen, but they want them to happen at the slowest rate possible. The TLDR answer is that we have to gauge why players are upset and judge it against whether time will bring about change. |
Malaysia has called for an organisation of Islamic countries to help end the persecution of Myanmar's Rohingya Muslim minority, while Indonesia has offered to be a facilitator to find a solution to the ongoing crisis. Prime Minister Najib Razak told the opening of a special meeting of foreign ministers from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation that the violence against Rohingya, which has galvanised Muslims in Southeast Asia, was no longer Myanmar's internal affair as it has fuelled an exodus of refugees that could destabilise the region. He claimed that the violence must end otherwise armed groups including the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group (ISIL, as know as ISIS) could infiltrate the Rohingya. "OIC member states are well aware that terrorist organisations such as Daesh could seek to take advantage of this situation," Najib said, using the Arabic acronym for ISIL. Security forces in Buddhist-majority Myanmar are accused of widespread abuses against the Rohingya, including killings, rape and the burning of thousands of homes that have driven an estimated 65,000 refugees across the border into Bangladesh in the past three months. Myanmar's army began the latest crackdown in Rakhine state in October after nine policemen were killed along the border with Bangladesh. READ MORE: Adrift with Burma's Rohingya The government and the army have rejected accusations of abuse, saying they have been conducting operations to clear the area of armed elements. 'Rohingya Muslims cannot wait' Najib urged Myanmar to stop all discrimination and attacks and repeated calls for the free delivery of aid and safe return of refugees. "This must happen now ... The government of Myanmar disputes the terms 'genocide' and 'ethnic cleansing,' but whatever the terminology, the Rohingya Muslims cannot wait," he said. Najib said Malaysia will donate another 10 million ringgit ($2.25 million) for humanitarian aid and social projects in Rakhine, where most of the Rohingya have lived for generations. They are denied Myanmar citizenship. Najib added that Myanmar's treatment of the Rohingya - tens of thousands of whom have languished in displacement camps since communal riots in 2012 - was a "stain" on the 10-member Southeast Asian regional bloc ASEAN. READ MORE: Rohingya refugees from Myanmar tell of trauma Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said on the sidelines of the meeting that Jakarta was "more than ready to play a bridging role" to help Myanmar and its Muslim minority. Marsudi said she will be flying to Yangon on Friday to meet with Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and plans to travel to Rakhine on Saturday. OIC Secretary General Yousef Al Othaimeen said Myanmar must halt "ongoing discrimination and the unwarranted systematic abuse against the Rohingya." Rohingya villagers and activists say hundreds of civilians have been killed since October, although figures cannot be verified because authorities have limited access for aid workers and journalists. Recent satellite images showed thousands of houses were burned. A small group of Rohingya gathered at the building where the OIC ministers were meeting and repeated calls for an independent investigation into their plight. |
As Donald Trump officially enters office, the German government is still struggling to establish contacts with the new administration and distinguish campaign bluster from actual policy. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at the "Make America Great Again" Welcome Celebration concert at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Angela Merkel has more experience navigating the transition of political power in the United States than perhaps any other European head of government. As the longest-serving Western leader, Ms. Merkel has built close working relationships with two presidents of different political stripes, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, during her 11-year tenure. The current changing of the guard in the United States, however, has left the German government uncertain about the future course of trans-Atlantic relations. There’s no clarity from the new American government about its economic and trade policy. Eric Schweitzer, President, German Chambers of Commerce and Industry Ms. Merkel has never met and knows very little about the unorthodox man being sworn in as the 45th president on Friday, other than the fact that he views her refugee policy as a “catastrophic mistake.” The chancellor’s office is currently in the process of organizing a meeting between Ms. Merkel and Donald Trump in Washington. Mr. Trump’s son-in-law and close advisor, Jared Kushner, is viewed as the key interlocutor. The German government, however, has struggled to establish contacts with Mr. Trump’s team. Decision makers in Berlin have largely been left to read the tea leaves in Mr. Trump’s campaign rhetoric and his recent interviews with the European press. Instead of expressing his concerns through private diplomatic channels, Mr. Trump has publicly dismissed NATO as “obsolete,” threatened German carmakers with a 35 percent tariff and predicted that other nations would leave the European Union. Ms. Merkel’s team has given up any pretense that Mr. Trump might become more statesman-like once he enters the Oval Office. “None of us here believe that anymore,” a source in the chancellor’s circle of advisors told Handelsblatt. “The Americans, and the world, will get the Trump they elected.” What the Trump presidency means for Germany, however, is still not entirely clear. German exporters, for example, are unsure if Mr. Trump is bluffing about tariffs or if he really plans to follow through with this threat against German automakers. “There’s no clarity from the new American government about its economic and trade policy,” Eric Schweitzer, president of the German Chambers of Commerce and Industry, told Handelsblatt. That’s poison for innovation, Mr. Schweitzer said. Ms. Merkel’s foreign policy advisor, Christoph Heusgen, has called for Germany and Europeans to have “strategic patience” with the new U.S. administration. The new U.S. administration also hasn’t staked out a clear position on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP, though Mr. Trump railed against other free trade deals such as NAFTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership on the campaign trail. “We haven’t heard anything,” said Cecilia Malmström, the E.U. trade commissioner. “Trump hasn’t mentioned the word TTIP once since the election.” Officials in Berlin are struggling to obtain clear answers from the Trump administration. A federal minister, who declined to be named, told Handelsblatt that he only had the email address of his designated U.S. counterpart. The foreign ministry’s political director and the head of planning apparently flew to the U.S. shortly after the election, presumably to establish contacts. Peter Wittig, the German ambassador to the United States, met with Mr. Trump’s son-in-law and close advisor, Jared Kushner, before the election. At the European level, E.U. Council President Donald Tusk spoke with Donald Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker spoke with Vice President Mike Pence on the phone. Mr. Juncker described the conversation as constructive. Ms. Merkel’s foreign policy advisor, Christoph Heusgen, has called for Germany and Europeans to have “strategic patience” with the new U.S. administration, which is largely staffed by people who have little or no government experience. Mr. Heusgen said his initial conversations with the Trump team gave him the impression that they have little understanding of the European Union and how it operates. Ms. Merkel’s cabinet is resting its hopes on retired Marine Corps general James Mattis, Mr. Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, as a voice of reason within the new U.S. administration. Mr. Mattis is well connected in Europe and views NATO as an anchor of stability. German officials also have good relations with Senator Jeff Sessions, Mr. Trump’s pick for attorney general. Though Mr. Sessions is on the hard right of the Republican Party, he was a regular guest at the Germany embassy over the years and his home state of Alabama hosts a Daimler plant. Contacts between the two governments are expected to intensify in the coming months. Mr. Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, is expected by the German government in Bonn for the G20 foreign ministers meeting on February 16. The following day, Vice President Mike Pence is set to attend the Munich Security Conference, where he will likely meet Chancellor Angela Merkel for the first time. There’s concern in Berlin that Mr. Trump could play a spoiler role at the G20, which Germany chairs this year. It’s unclear whether or not Mr. Trump, who wants to slash corporate taxes in the United States, will respect global tax treaties and support the fight against shell companies. Berlin is already lowering its expectations: “Sometimes in politics the conditions are such that you’ve won a lot when you’ve preserved what exists,” a government official said. Handelsblatt correspondents Thomas Sigmund, Kirsten Ludowig, Klaus Stratmann, Martin Greive, Mathias Brüggmann and Moritz Koch contributed to this article. To contact: [email protected] . |
Those who closely follow SFML's activity on GitHub might already have noticed, that we have moved SFML, CSFML, SFML.Net and SFML-Game-Development-Book from Laurent's GitHub account to our new SFML GitHub Organization.Having our own GitHub organization enables us to manage the repositories easier. We're no longer dependent on Laurent to enable this hook or change that setting for the repository, but can now have selected team members for such tasks. Additionally we can better handle permissions to the repositories, so some get read-only, some get push access and some also administrative access. You can find more information about GitHub organizations here For you personally the only relevant change is a new URLs for the repository, but don't panic now, because GitHub is smart enough to keep redirecting the old URLs to the new URLs. However it's advised to update the URLs whenever you can, especially if it's some only resource, because these might show up on Google and alike.Here are the new URLs:On top of all of this the organization provides now a centralized place for the community.If you have an SFML binding and wish to put it under the organization as well, don't hesitate to contact us. You'll of course keep the full administrative access to it. |
Activists have succeeded in getting Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to shut down the city’s two coal plants — one of them by the end of the year. That doesn’t mean the city is off coal power entirely, of course, but banishing coal plants from within the city limits will have a massive effect on urban health. As Philip Radford wrote here on Grist last year, pollution from the Windy City’s coal plants costs tens of thousands of lives: Every year, the toxic pollution that spews from the smokestacks of America’s coal-fired power plants kills between 13,000 and 34,000 people, according to studies by the Clean Air Task Force and Harvard University. That staggering figure doesn’t include the carbon pollution — one third of all U.S. emissions — that is driving the planet into runaway climate change. That health carnage inspired groups like the Chicago Clean Power Coalition to lobby against the plants, which it says were “two of the oldest and dirtiest in the nation.” After more than two years of campaigning, the activists have now convinced Emanuel to have the Midwest Generation utility shut the plants down. And he’s done it without a city council ordinance, which the Chicago Sun-Times says could have invited court battles and potentially been overturned. Instead, Midwest Generation has agreed to shutter both plants — one by December, the other by 2014 — in exchange for community groups dropping their lawsuits against the company. They’re basically saying “okay, we’ll stop killing you if you stop needling us” — kind of imbalanced, but you know, whatever works. |
A Maryland court last week ruled that the government does not need a warrant to force a cell phone provider to disclose more than six months of data on the movements of one of its customers. Two defendants had been accused of armed robbery, and a key piece of evidence against them was data about the movements of the pair's cell phones. The defendants had sought to suppress this location evidence because the government did not get a warrant before seeking the data from network providers. But last Thursday, Judge Richard D. Bennett ruled that a warrant is not required to obtain cell-site location records (CSLR) from a wireless carrier. Courts all over the country have been wrestling with this question, and the government has been on something of a winning streak. While one court ruled last year that such information requests violate the Fourth Amendment, most others have reached the opposite conclusion. The Obama administration laid out its position in a legal brief last month, arguing that customers have "no privacy interest" in CSLR held by a network provider. Under a legal principle known as the "third-party doctrine," information voluntarily disclosed to a third party ceases to enjoy Fourth Amendment protection. The government contends that this rule applies to cell phone location data collected by a network provider. While this may be a plausible reading of previous precedents, the practical implications are alarming. While CSLRs are not as detailed as data that can be gathered via GPS, months of data can still reveal a host of sensitive information about a person's movements. If the third-party doctrine allows the government to obtain such information without a warrant, that's a strong argument for re-considering the third-party doctrine. Limited precision The Obama administration made its argument in a Texas case being heard by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The government had applied for a subpoena compelling MetroPCS and T-Mobile to turn over sixty days of cell phone location data for two phones believed to belong to suspects in a drug case. A judge denied the request, ruling that the government needed a search warrant to obtain such location data. In a lengthy opinion, Magistrate Judge Stephen Smith, who has emerged as a leading advocate for stricter judicial oversight of electronic surveillance, concluded that "compelled warrantless disclosure of cell site data violates the Fourth Amendment." Judge Smith's opinion drew heavily on testimony that Matt Blaze, a prominent University of Pennsylvania computer scientist, gave to Congress in 2010. Blaze argued that as the number and technical sophistication of cellular towers increases, cell phone companies are able to collect increasingly precise information about the location of their customers. "Under some circumstances, the latest generation of this technology permits the network to calculate users' locations with a precision that approaches that of GPS," Blaze said. In its brief, the Obama Administration faulted Judge Smith for relying on Blaze's testimony without holding a hearing that would have allowed it to present contrary evidence. And it argued that Blaze's observations do not apply to the data it is seeking in the Texas case. According to the government, T-Mobile and MetroPCS only retain information about a phone's location at the beginning and end of a phone call, not when the phone is idle. And the data T-Mobile and MetroPCS have collected is much less precise than the theoretical maximum Blaze described. Contacted by Ars Technica, Blaze told us that he wasn't able to comment on the specifics of the T-Mobile or MetroPCS networks. But he questioned the wisdom of making potentially precedent-setting decisions based on the low precision of location data held by a particular wireless firm. Other firms may have more precise data, and all firms' data is likely to get more accurate as towers become denser and more sophisticated. Blaze also noted that the growing use of picocells and femtocells, which are designed to provide coverage to an individual building or even an individual floor within a building, meant that CSLRs could sometimes provide extremely precise information about a customer's location. And whether such fine-grained location data is available for a particular customer will only be known after a cellular provider discloses its customer's location data. Re-thinking the third-party doctrine In addition to arguing that the location data it was seeking was too coarse-grained to raise privacy concerns, the government also argued that it was legally irrelevant. That's because under the third-party doctrine, customers give up privacy rights in any location data they voluntarily disclose to a third party. And the government believes that customers do this every time they allow their cell phones to communicate their location to cell phone towers. "As business records in the possession of a third party, cell-site records should not be judged under standards applicable to surreptitiously-installed tracking device," the government's brief argues. This argument has a puzzling circularity to it. After all, it's equally true that customers "voluntarily" disclose the contents of their phone calls to the phone company when they make a call using a cell phone. And yet the contents of voice communications are protected by the Fourth Amendment. Phone calls currently enjoy Fourth Amendment protection, but that wasn't always true. In 1928, the courts had held that the Fourth Amendment only barred physical trespassing by government agents. Since wiretapping could be accomplished without entering the suspect's property, the Supreme Court held that it didn't raise Fourth Amendment issues. Fortunately, the Supreme Court re-thought this reasoning in 1967. The high court reversed its previous reading of the Fourth Amendment and found that the government needs a warrant any time it violates a target's "reasonable expectation of privacy." The arguments the government makes about CSLRs are reminiscent of the claims the Supreme Court accepted in 1928 and then rejected in 1967. In both cases, the government focused on the technical details of how the information is collected. Because the information could be accessed without physically intruding on the suspect's property, the government argued, the suspect's privacy was not violated. The Supreme Court wisely rejected this over-literal reading of the Fourth Amendment in 1967. And it ought to do the same thing when the CSLR controversy inevitably reaches the Supreme Court. Seeking months of data about a suspect's whereabouts is at least as invasive as other surveillance techniques the government has ruled unconstitutional. Indeed, the high court should consider ditching the third-party doctrine altogether. A growing share of our personal communications and documents are stored with the assistance of third parties. Snooping through someone's Hotmail or Google Docs account is the 21st Century equivalent of rifling through an 18th century citizen's "papers and effects." The Fourth Amendment protects the privacy of the latter; in our view, it should do the same for the former. At least one Supreme Court justice seems to realize the danger the third-party doctrine poses to privacy. In a concurrence to the high court's Janunary decision on the constitutionality of GPS tracking, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that the doctrine was "ill-suited to the digital age." The third-party doctrine was not directly at issue in the case. Her decision to bring it up anyway suggests a high level of concern. |
The cold civil war we are fighting is not just going well. Contrary to what was once expected, this war right now is in a stage of overwhelming success. Not that we have won anything permanent, but one has to be amazed at how positively things are going. Our economic growth is over 3%. After nearly a decade, our economy is clearly coming out of the doldrums, and the U.S. population is becoming optimistic about its future. Trump is remaking the judiciary, an extraordinary achievement. Illegal immigration is down, eventually to be controlled. A real border for a real country. The military is strong, confident, and doing its job. ISIS and radical Islam are genuinely being defeated. Our alliances overseas are strengthening, and our leadership is successfully realigning friends from the Obama-Clinton years of destruction. Other countries respect and fear us once again. America is becoming great again. Domestically, embittered adversaries on the left are melting down, in multiple ways. Their elites are being shown as irrational, immoral, hypocritical, rudderless, and foolish in an overwhelming wave of self-induced negativity. Their illusion of cultural greatness is falling apart, from Hollywood to the media to the educrats to the Democratic Party itself. They are failing miserably. The Clinton crime family is going under for the third time, dragging others with it. Yes, it's wonderful to watch the left disintegrate, but don't forget: they still own the education system and have won too many hearts and minds to their own party. It ain't over 'til it's over. We may be winning, but we haven't won yet. So let's talk about really winning this thing. In order to really win, there are a few things we need to remember. And never forget: the things we must remember are those qualities that made us a great nation. Those unique strengths that define humanity at its best, corporately and individually. They include the freedoms to excel and improve. We are between the great holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas, and as the song says, it's the most wonderful time of the year. It's a time to recall and reflect on what are the best things this life has to offer. Reagan said this in 1986: Perhaps no custom reveals our character as a nation so clearly as our celebration of Thanksgiving Day. Rooted deeply in our Judeo-Christian heritage, the practice of offering thanksgiving underscores our unshakable belief in God as the foundation of our nation and our firm reliance upon Him from Whom all blessings flow. Succinct. And this quote was taken in the middle of the Cold War, when the winner was in doubt. Reagan was reminding us of how to be thankful in the midst of a time of great strife and difficulty. He wanted us to know that "winning" was not enough. We needed to know that winning was tied up with high character and purpose, for our nation and for each of us as individuals. Giving thanks for what we have and have been given. To God. With our families and friends. Hoping, by faith, to achieve higher character. Yes, we are in a cold civil war. We cannot truly win that war if we devolve. We cannot win that war if we become like those we have been fighting. Stooping to their level will not fly. We cannot become like the Jacobins of the left. That is a construct we have to follow. We cannot allow hate or bitterness to succeed in gaining a foothold in us. We can hate what they've done without hating them personally. We can be confident when we come against hate, but we must not let ourselves take on the character of those we have fought so hard against. George Washington said the following about division: The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. As much as we need to despise what the left has done and ofttimes has stood for, we cannot let ourselves become despots. We can't exact revenge on individuals or groups that have wished us ill or even have done wrong things to us. Instead, we need to remember the importance of forgiveness. And please, I am not confusing forgiveness with approval, consent, or seeking justice for criminality. We need to look forward to convincing as many as possible on the left to move toward a reconciliation and a reunification. Gloating, dominating, excluding, and belittling those who would move toward betterment should not be done. Yep, that may be a pipe dream with many we know and see on the left, but it has been done before. And yes, it will take a long time. The Civil War was not yet over when Lincoln said it this way: With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. Once again, the calling onward of a citizenry to high character and not revenge. Without this we cannot become great again. Make America Great Again. What an amazing slogan. It's simple and powerful, and it calls us upward to better things. Those things are not simply material, meaning rising economic fortune; they're the deep improvement of virtue that brings on and fulfills a strong economic well-being. This would be virtue in the classic sense, in its finest and fullest sense. No, perfection isn't possible, so get that out of mind. Betterment, however, is. We cannot confuse virtue with church lady-like pronouncements, nor take a sourpuss attitude of clucking at things we deem unclean. Humor, building families, building businesses, building friendships and communities. So much to do, so little time. "Character is destiny" is a saying attributed to the Greek philosopher Heraclitus. This is a truth that should be remembered, a truth once upon a time embedded in our culture, a truth we must renew. With malice toward none, with charity for all. How do we develop character? To what do we aspire? I'll leave it to the real expert, who was asked what the most important things are. He replied that virtually everything else hung on us following these two instructions freely: "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." The faith to build character for now and for future generations. The way to truly make America great again. |
"Ontarians are footing the bill so Pan Am officials can go shopping at Harry Rosen, the LCBO or the Beer Store," said NDP Pan Am critic Paul Miller. "For the Liberals, to wait until the day after the legislature rises makes a mockery of transparency and accountability. It’s just absurd and manipulative." Rafi, who took over the top spot last January, rejected Opposition claims that people working with the Pan Am committee have a huge sense of entitlement. "I think what we're doing here is trying to instill a sense of responsibility that this is predominantly a taxpayer funded games and people have that obligation to the taxpayer," he said. "We are trying to continue with being open and transparent and make sure people follow the rules." It's not the first time expenses by the Pan Am executives have come under fire. Former CEO Ian Troop, who was paid $477,000 a year, was criticized after he billed taxpayers 91 cents for parking, $1.89 for a cup of tea and $8,561.19 for a Mexican hotel and cocktail party. The opposition parties also complained about a $7-million bonus package for TO2015 executives, including Troop, who would have been eligible for a $780,000 premium if he'd stayed and the Games came in on budget. Ontario taxpayers already shelled out over a million dollars to fired Pan Am executives, including a year's pay and $27,300 in retirement benefits for Troop, who also got $10,000 in outplacement payments, $3,500 in legal fees and medical benefits of $15,800. Former Pan Am vice-president of human resources, Elaine Roper, was paid $300,000 when she was let go, while Louise Lutgen got $271,000 after she was dismissed as the vice-president of cultural affairs. The Progressive Conservatives said the latest round of expenses showed the Pan Am committee spent $5,800 on tickets to the PGA's golf championship, and $8,200 on tickets to Toronto Argonauts CFL games. "TO 2015 is probably the perfect example where this type of behaviour has continued over a four-year period and doesn't seem to be stopping any time soon," said Smith. The total budget for the Pan Am Games, which will be held in communities across southern Ontario next summer, is about $2.5 billion. The Canadian Press |
RWW’s Paranoia-Rama takes a look at five of the week’s most absurd conspiracy theories from the Right. Conservatives have issued new doomsday prophecies about President Obama and gay people ushering in God’s wrath, so it may be time to purchase buckets of stomach-churning survivalist food. 5) World War III Could Start This Month! Televangelist Jim Bakker always finds exciting new ways to sell his buckets of survival food. In a recent broadcast, Bakker warned viewers that they should purchase food buckets now because there are “credible” reports that World War III could start by the end of the month, and buckets will be sold out once the global war begins. Viewers may be understandably skeptical, since Bakker also warned back in September 2015 that America would witness economic collapse, natural disasters and terrorist attacks. 4) Obama Inviting God’s Wrath Last year, Rep. Louie Gohmert said that gay people getting married will bring God’s judgment to America. This week, however, the Texas congressman said it was the re-election of President Obama back in 2012 that incited God to judge America, explaining in an interview with Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council that America will face divine punishment for electing a leader who seeks to “persecute those who are trying to follow the words of God.” He accused Obama of committing “hate crimes” against Christians and warned that the president is even taking his anti-Christian “bullying” overseas. Gohmert, of course, is the same congressman who thinks the U.S. under Obama is aiding Al Qaeda, blamed the White House for the Jade Helm 15 Texas invasion conspiracy theory, warned that liberals are inviting “terror babies” to the U.S. and alleged that Obamacare created a secret government paramilitary. 3) Sabotage! While Donald Trump seems to love Diamond and Silk, two pundits who have made a name for themselves with their pro-Trump videos, conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh has his suspicions. Limbaugh worried that the two “black babes” are “stealth Democrats.” He said that they might be encouraging Democrats to register as Republicans in order to vote for Trump in certain closed primaries for the same reason that Limbaugh ran “Operation Chaos,” where he urged listeners to vote in the 2008 Democratic primaries for Hillary Clinton “so she can continue battling Barack Obama and create chaos in the party, thereby aiding the Republicans this November.” Now, Limbaugh is worried that the two are using his own tactics to sabotage the GOP’s chances in November by helping Trump win the nomination. 2) ‘Society Will Be Destroyed’ Due To Gay Marriage When the Supreme Court struck down state bans on same-sex marriage last year, we heard numerous right-wing predictions about the horrible consequences of the decision, with many conservatives declaring that the next president must appoint justices to the Supreme Court who will overturn the ruling. So it came as a surprise when Rafael Cruz, the father of Sen. Ted Cruz, said in a recent interview that if his son isn’t elected president, then the Supreme Court will rule in favor of “the destruction of traditional marriage,” which is conservative code for marriage equality. Such a decision, the elder Cruz said, will destroy the family and therefore “society will be destroyed.” Since the ruling already took place, we wonder how families and society have survived despite same-sex couples getting married. 1) Trump’s Sandy Hook Truther Speaking of anti-gay radicals, pastor Carl Gallups recently endorsed Donald Trump, an endorsement the GOP presidential frontrunner called a “great honor.” Gallups spoke at a Trump rally last January, which must have been a perfect fit since Gallups and Trump share a love of Vladimir Putin and birther conspiracy theories, along with an antipathy towards refugees. The preacher also has quite a record of attacking gay people, whom he believes are ushering in God’s wrath, economic turbulence and slavery. As Eric Hananoki of Media Matters pointed out, Gallups has pushed claims that the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax staged by government agents and crisis actors in order to justify an imminent plan to confiscate firearms. Naturally, Gallups denied his own verbatim quotes and insisted, as right-wing conspiracy theorists often do, that he was just asking the question. As he told the far-right conspiracy site WorldNetDaily: “I can state, right now, that not only have I never said categorically that the Sandy Hook tragedy is a complete fabrication or hoax, right now, I’m denying that it was a hoax,” Gallups said. “That doesn’t prevent me from asking questions. That doesn’t prevent me from saying, ‘Here’s a part of that whole scenario that is odd.’ When I’m behind that microphone interviewing people, I’m a radio host and an investigative reporter and so I make no apologies for asking those questions.” … “No one will find anywhere in writing or any audio clip taken in context, that I have ever claimed Sandy Hook is a complete hoax from top to bottom,” Gallups told WND. “I have always said, from the beginning, as many people were saying, that there are many things about the case that are strange.” Gallups recently met with fellow lawman and Trump supporter Joe Arpaio, the Maricopa County, Arizona, sheriff. At the meeting, he was sworn in as a “Special Deputy for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.” Working with Sheriff Joe Arpaio, one of the country’s most vocal birthers, does not help his case that he is not a conspiracy theorist. |
Health Rajasthan, Gujarat, UP, Delhi and Punjab are among the worst performing states when it comes to an infant’s nutrition. When you think of a baby, what comes to mind? Probably the picture of a toothless smile on a chubby face: the picture of a happy, healthy infant. But the reality of India is starkly different from this image. In our country, 90% children below the age of two years struggle to get adequate nutrition. According to the National Family Health Survey (2015-16), 9 out of 10 children in the six to 23 month age group are deprived of adequate diet in the country. The shocking figures, highlighted in a media release by Child Rights and You (CRY), an NGO, also reveal that Tamil Nadu has the highest number of children receiving adequate nutrition in the said age group. However, the number does not cross 31% here as well. Karnataka, which performs slightly better than other states, also has only 8% children receiving adequate diet within the first 23 months of their lives. Meanwhile, Rajasthan fares the worst with only 3% children below the age of two getting adequate nutrition. Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Punjab are also among the worst performing states. Another aspect that affects an infant’s health is the dismal state of maternal care in the country. 50% pregnant women aged between 15 and 49 years were found to be anaemic as per NFHS 4 figures. Only 21% received complete antenatal care. “Poor health of mothers adversely affects the physical and cognitive development of the child, rendering a very poor start to life and having lifelong implications,” said the media release. In Karnataka, 67% mothers did not get access to full antenatal care in 2015-16 and 45% pregnant women aged 15 to 49 years are anaemic. This has a direct effect on the child’s health too: 36% children in the state below five years are stunted and 35% in the same age group are underweight. With 52 million Indian children below the age of five years being stunted, their future growth and development is bound to be affected due to chronic and long term undernourishment. And with only 62% children being completely immunized in the country, the health of those unvaccinated is at an elevated risk, CRY says. To tackle malnutrition in Indian children, the government has the Integrated Child Development scheme. However, Komal Ganotra, Director, Policy, Research and Advocacy for CRY, says that while ICDS “has the right intent to ensure a solid foundation for children when maximum brain development occurs”, it needs a more robust implementation. “It is non-negotiable for the state to ensure adequate budget and robust implementation mechanism for greater convergence of health and nutrition services for every child in the country,” Ganotra says. |
1 of 9 View Caption (Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune) Butch Russell sings a song as the Utah League of Native American Voters holds a ra... (Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune) Andrew Reese and his drum group, Sun Watchers, performs as the Utah League of Nati... (Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune) Moroni Benally, Co-founder of the Utah League of Native American Voters, speaks as ... (Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune) Andrew Reese and his drum group, Sun Watchers, performs as the Utah League of Nati... (Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune) Andrew Reese and his drum group, Sun Watchers, performs as the Utah League of Nati... (Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune) Cassandra Begay holds her hand in the air with other Native Americans in attendanc... (Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune) Carl Moore, chairperson for Peaceful Advocates for Native Dialogue and Organizing ... (Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune) Carl Moore, chairperson for Peaceful Advocates for Native Dialogue and Organizing ... (Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune) Carl Moore, chairperson for Peaceful Advocates for Native Dialogue and Organizing ... |
Middle Eastern garments designed to cover a woman's face are "medieval" and "misogynist" symbols of extremism with no basis in Islam, a Canadian Muslim lobby group said Wednesday as it urged Ottawa to ban the burka and the niqab. The Muslim Canadian Congress called on the federal government to prohibit the two garments in order to prevent women from covering their faces in public – a practice the group said has no place in a society that supports gender equality. "To cover your face is to conceal your identity," congress spokeswoman Farzana Hassan said in a telephone interview, describing the issue as a matter of public safety, since concealing one's identity is a common practice for criminals. The tradition of Muslim women covering their faces in public is a tradition rooted more in Middle Eastern culture than in the Islamic faith, Hassan added. There is nothing in any of the primary Islamic religious texts, including the Qur'an, that requires women to cover their faces, she said – not even in the controversial, ultra-conservative tenets of Sharia law. |
Lviv student Yury Yatsenko was welcomed home in his native Lviv on Friday, May 8, a year after being detained in Russia, tortured and then convicted on fabricated charges. He spoke of the direct threats he and his friend had received if they didn’t ‘cooperate’ with Russia’s FSB [Security Service]. As reported, Yury Yatsenko and his friend Bohdan Yarychevsky were stopped by police in the Kursk oblast on May 5, 2014. It should have been a simple check of the young men’s documents, however the police were clearly heavily under the influence of the propaganda exuding from State-controlled Russian television. When they discovered that the men were not only from Ukraine, incriminating as that was, but from Lviv, they rang the FSB who sent counter-intelligence officers. The two Ukrainians were told quite directly that either they “cooperate” or face prosecution. The ‘cooperation’ demanded was public statements aimed at discrediting Ukraine. Various options were proposed, such as claiming that they were members of the ultra-nationalist Right Sector, or that Ukraine’s SBU had sent them to carry out sabotage. “When we refused, we were beaten for three days, not given any food. They didn’t let us sleep, and interrogated us all day. This later continued with increasing intensity, ” he explained. Yatsenko expressed gratitude for people’s support without which he could not have been released. He spoke of his moral duty now to tell all the details of the treatment he received, the torture and pressure, both physical and psychological. He also mentioned his suspicion that the FSB had deliberately released one of the two in order to make people think that Yarychevsky, who was deported in August, had cooperated. Yatsenko categorically denied any such suggestions. One poignant moment was when Yury was finally able to hug his father who had spent six months near the SIZO where his son was held. Serhiy Yatsenko was not even allowed to get near his son during the court hearings or in SIZO. Although the FSB were called in immediately, Yatsenko and Yarychevsky were initially only found guilty of an administrative offence (ticking the wrong box on the form when entering Russia) and placed in a deportation centre. They were not allowed to contact their families, and had no access to either lawyers or the Ukrainian consulate. They were totally under the control of the FSB who used both the time and the young men’s isolation to try to get them to make ‘confessions’ discrediting Ukraine. Yarychevsky reported on his release that the FSB had also demanded that they publicly state that a military junta had taken over in Ukraine and ask for political asylum. After Yatsenko was taken to a forest and subjected to torture, both men resorted to self-mutilation as their only way of getting to hospital and having a chance to contact their families. Yarychevsky was finally deported in August, but Yatsenko was instead charged with possessing (and initially smuggling) 40 grams of black hunting powder, allegedly as an explosive with which the young student was planning an act of sabotage. The substance, even had it not been planted (and it was not ‘found’ until months after the men were detained), was a small amount and not in itself illegal. Even the explosives expert brought in confirmed that the substance could only be used as an explosive if certain other elements, including a detonator, were involved. The first court, nonetheless, sentenced Yatsenko to 2 years imprisonment. This sentence was reduced to the period that Yatsenko had already spent imprisoned thanks to the dazzling defence presented by his lawyer, Pyotr Zaikin (more details here). Yury Yatsenko is free, however many other Ukrainians remain imprisoned in Russia on absurd charges. They all need maximum publicity. Nadiya Savchenko who will be turning 34 in Russian detention on May 11 (please use the address here and send her birthday greetings!) Crimean Film Director Oleg Sentsov and civic activist Oleksandr Kolchenko Yury Soloshenko who turned 73 on May 6. and others. |
Damian Wayne, a.k.a. Robin, has been selected by the community as our latest Character of the Month and honestly, that's pretty surprising since he tends to be a polarizing character. Some think he's confident and lovable. Others think he's abrasive and obnoxious. There's just no denying he has quite an ego and tends to be pretty blunt. Love or hate the kid, we thought it would be fun to take a look at his history of rude yet hilarious comments. If your favorite one isn't below -- which is very possible since the kid has made dozens of hysterical remarks -- go ahead and share it in the comments. BATGIRL #5 In BATGIRL #5-7, Robin and Stephanie Brown have an uneasy alliance. Okay, calling it "uneasy" really is putting it lightly. I mean, it reaches a point where Damian "jokes" that he wants to stab the heroine. Eventually, he tries to understand why Stephanie puts on the costume and fights crime. Everyone has a good motive or tragedy, so what's her deal? She explains it's not for vengeance, but to inspire others and give them hope. Naturally, that wouldn't really register with someone like Damian -- a kid who has been training with the League of Assassins since the age of 3 -- and when she calls him out for being too young to understand, she also thinks he's looking at her chest (to be fair, it certainly looks like he is in the panel), so she calls him out on that, too. That comment may embarrass some and cause others to apologize, but that's not Damian's style. Instead of giving a reasonable response, Damian fires back with totally uncalled for and amazingly mean reaction: "What 'chest'?" Ouch. Good for Stephanie for taking the high road and walking away. Don't feed the trolls, Stephanie! BATMAN #657 Have you ever said "hi" to someone and the person completely ignored you? If so, we bet you thought that was pretty rude of them, yeah? Well, it sure beats how Damian responded to the first greeting he received from Tim Drake! When Damian finally met his father and was taken back to the Batcave, Tim had the audacity to do two things. First, he said, "Hi, how are you?" How dare he? The second thing: he's Robin. Seriously, Tim should know better. Damian views Tim as unworthy and adopted. He wants to inherit everything and views Tim as just someone who's in the way. So, when he doesn't respond to Tim's greeting, Tim follows up with a lighthearted comment. If you know Damian, then you know lighthearted just isn't his thing and he makes that crystal clear with his response. The scary thing is, Damian does severely injure the guy several pages later. SUPERMAN/BATMAN #77 When Supergirl needs help solving a mystery, she seeks out the world's greatest detective, Batman. Unfortunately for her, she doesn't find Bruce Wayne. She does, however, find a Wayne: Damian Wayne. The little dude agrees to help and seems to have no problem rudely reminding Supergirl of the fact she's an alien, not human. Instead of viewing her as an ally, he treats her like another tool in his utility belt. When x-ray vision becomes helpful, he quite literally orders her to do it and comments that Batman and Superman had the same dynamic. Mutual respect between Bruce and Clark? Nah, Bruce was just using him all of those years! Damian may be brilliant and understand far more than many of us ever will, but being polite must be a baffling concept to him. TEEN TITANS #89 Seeing as Damian is sometimes usually difficult to get along with, Dick Grayson wanted to give him more experience interacting with other young heroes and hoped the wee lad would make a friend or two along the way. So, Grayson brings him to one of his former teams: the Teen Titans. Well, Damian kind of gets off on the wrong foot, but you honestly didn't expect anything else from him, did you? He assumes he's being taken there to lead the team and immediately wants to remove Beast Boy from the roster. He of course expresses this opinion with the utmost amount of "respect." BATMAN AND ROBIN #6 A villain doesn't need to wear darker colors to be all kinds of frightening. Joker is proof of this and so is Flamingo, a twisted villain who eats faces. He doesn't dress to intimidate; the way he conducts himself and what he does has that covered. He wears bright shades of purple and has pink hair and, with the right writer and artist, the foe is absolutely horrifying. However, Damian disagrees and expresses it in a way that Bruce really wouldn't be proud of. Now, it's possible Damian may be a little intimidated by this threat, but there's about a zero percent chance of him ever expressing that. He'd much rather make a crude comment about the way the guy dresses. BATGIRL #17 Remember that uneasy alliance between Stephanie Brown and Damian? The two had to team-up once again and it made Stephanie realize she wants to help Damian. Yes, he gives her plenty of grief, but despite their differences, he's still a fellow hero and really just a 10-year-old kid. Sure, he's a gifted fighter with a brilliant tactical mind and what not, but he can't seem to simply enjoy life. She hopes to fix that by taking the little Wayne to a moon bounce. Damian's flipped across the rooftops and all that, but can she appeal to his inner child and make him enjoy one of life's simple pleasures? It looks like he does, but of course he's too cool to admit it and once again brings up his desire to stab her. BATMAN AND ROBIN ANNUAL #1 "Best! Batman! Ever!" You're darn right, kid! While Batman is away, the Damian shall play! Stepping into a costume that's a total nod to BATMAN #666, Damian goes out to save Gotham City from all of the usual nonsense and craziness that occurs on its streets every day. He may just be a 10-year-old child, but that 10-year-old has no problem obliterating criminals and proving he has what it takes to save lives. If you watch him in action, it's easy to root for him and add him to your list of favorite heroes. How can you not love seeing the underdog beat down the goons? But upon hearing how he responds to the people he saves and expressing what he thinks about the happy kid he just saved? Well, he may lose a few fans. Damian, a simple "you're welcome, but please, call me Batman" would have worked! You can't help but find it a little cute because he's doing his Batman voice, though. You're also wondering what that sounds like, right? We know he can duplicate voices well, so that would be an interesting thing to witness. Damian has said plenty of rude things over the years, but which comment is your favorite? |
Buy Photo Virginia candidate for governor Corey Stewart, a Republican from Woodbridge, poses for a photo at the Verona Fire Department on Friday, June 2, 2017. (Photo: Gabe Cavallaro/The News Leader)Buy Photo Corey A. Stewart, who is running for U.S. Senate and nearly won the Republican nomination for governor of Virginia on a pledge to preserve the state's Confederate monuments, said white nationalists had been unfairly singled out for their role in the weekend chaos in Charlottesville that left three dead and dozens injured. Stewart's remarks Sunday ran counter to sentiments expressed by most other Virginia politicians, from both parties. Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam - who is running to succeed McAuliffe - and Attorney General Mark Herring - all Democrats - denounced white supremacy during remarks at church services in Charlottesville on Sunday. Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie, who is running against Northam after barely beating Stewart for the nomination, took a low-key approach, sending out two statements, one of which lamented the loss of life and decried "vile hate." He did not mention white nationalists until prodded by a fellow Republican; eventually, Gillespie did so in two tweets. After a former Republican legislator tweeted, "It's a #terrorist attack Ed not just a loss of life. Time to call things as they are," Gillespie responded with "Definitely tragic effect of vile neo Nazi and white supremacist actions." He also attended Catholic church services in Charlottesville, but not did alert the media ahead of time or speak. However, after Mass, he tweeted: "We've seen evil in white supremacist torches and howling neo Naziism. God in the quiet service & sacrifice of Lt. Cullen, Trooper Bates." State Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel, a Republican from Fauquier County who is running for lieutenant governor, called the events a "vile display of racism," while GOP attorney general nominee John Adams described them as "Nazi-ideology on display." Democrat Justin Fairfax, who is running for lieutenant governor in an attempt to be the first African American elected statewide since L. Douglas Wilder served as governor, called for unity against "those who want to divide communities." "This moment is also a reminder of the need to tone down political rhetoric and the negativity we often see in our current politics," Fairfax said. But Stewart, the chairman of the Prince William Board of Supervisors, blamed "half the violence" on counterprotesters and criticized fellow Republicans who condemned the white nationalists. "All the weak Republicans, they couldn't apologize fast enough," Stewart said in an interview with The Washington Post. "They played right into the hands of the left wing. Those [Nazi] people have nothing to do with the Republican Party. There was no reason to apologize." However, Stewart has made several joint appearances with Jason Kessler, the organizer of the "Unite the Right" rally that sparked the unrest in Charlottesville. Stewart met Kessler at an event earlier this year to protest the removal of the statue of Robert E. Lee from Emancipation Park in Charlottesville. And at one point during the primary race, Stewart attended a Charlottesville news conference with Kessler and Isaac Smith, founders of Unity and Security for America (USA), a fledgling group that calls for "defending Western Civilization." Smith sometimes introduced Stewart at events and appeared at his side with alt-right symbols. Kessler and Smith also joined Stewart at a protest at the University of Virginia. Stewart told The Post on Sunday that he has not had any recent interaction with Kessler. "He does his own thing," said Stewart, who plans to challenge incumbent Democrat Tim Kaine for a Senate seat next year. "He's got to answer for himself." Rep. Thomas Garrett, a Republican whose district includes Charlottesville, faced criticism after a months-old photo of him posing with Kessler circulated on Twitter. A spokesman for Garrett told the Charlottesville newspaper the Daily Progress in May that Garrett had met with Kessler to discuss a town hall and an unrelated terrorism bill. Garrett tweeted Saturday to condemn what he called the "despicable escalation of racist rhetoric in Charlottesville." Later, in an interview with Fox News, he said, "The victims of this racist violence are my constituents. . . . It blows my mind that this many racist bigots actually exist in this country." Stewart said he had no regrets about making Confederate symbols the rallying cry for his campaign and rejected the notion that highlighting the issue fanned the flames. But he worries that the violence will lead Republicans to give in to demands for the removal of statues of Confederates. "I am anticipating that the left will try to use the violence in Charlottesville as an impetus to removing that statue and all the others," he said. "And they're going to try to shame Republicans into agreeing to the removal of historical monuments." The Lee statue in Charlottesville has created a conundrum for Gillespie, a longtime party operative and former lobbyist who needs support from some Stewart voters if he is to beat Northam in November. Gillespie has said that he does not support removal of the Lee statue, but that such decisions should be left to local jurisdictions. At the Mount Zion First African Baptist Church in Charlottesville, Northam sat at the front of the church, as did McAuliffe and Herring, who is seeking reelection to a second term. A low-key public speaker, Northam spoke quietly to reporters who pressed him for a comment on his way into the church. But he brought the congregation to its feet at times when his time came at the pulpit. "We come to you to reassure you that the commonwealth of Virginia, and all of us that are in this together, will not and do not condone white supremacy," Northam said, prompting the first ovation. Northam condemned the groups "that brought their hatred and bigotry to the commonwealth of Virginia. That's not what we're about. I'm here as your lieutenant governor and also as a doctor to start the healing process." The occasion brought new passion to a well-worn passage in Northam's stump speech, which draws on his work as a pediatric neurologist. "I was pleased when I walked into your place of worship to see the children in the front of your church," he said. "As a doctor and as a pediatrician, I've looked into the eyes of a lot of babies. And when you look into a baby's eyes, you don't see the hatred and the bigotry that we saw come to Charlottesville yesterday. And we have to ask, 'Where does it come from? Who taught theses people?' " He went on to talk about the need to "promote inclusivity" and equality, to teach "that we are all God's people." "That's the way God would have it. To God be the glory," he concluded, once again bringing the congregation to its feet. Read or Share this story: https://stnva.nl/2w383V6 |
Washington (CNN) Anthony Scaramucci, the new White House communications director who was brought in to bring order to a press shop in turmoil, called into CNN's "New Day" on Thursday and all but blamed chief of staff Reince Priebus for leaking information. In the remarkable interview, which lasted for more than a half hour, the developing power struggle inside the West Wing was on full display, with Scaramucci at one point warning that "the fish stinks from the head down." Scaramucci, whose relationship with Priebus has been fraught since he was initially unable to secure a White House job after President Donald Trump's election, did little to show his relationship with Priebus was changing and said it was up to the chief of staff to show he was not leaking. Hours earlier, the White House communications director -- who notably announced last week that he reports to Trump, not Priebus -- copied the chief of staff in a tweet about leaks before deleting it. He later told CNN the message was not a call for the FBI to investigate the chief of staff. "When I put out a tweet and I put Reince's name in a tweet, they're all making the assumption that it's him because journalists know who the leakers are," Scaramucci said on "New Day." "So if Reince wants to explain he's not a leaker, let him do that. But let me tell you about myself. I'm a straight shooter and I'll go right to the heart of the matter." Scaramucci -- who wasn't originally booked to appear on "New Day" but called in to explain his version of events surrounding the tweet -- also blasted leakers in the administration, saying, "the President and I would like to tell everybody we have a very, very good idea of who the leakers are, who the senior leakers are in the White House." Scaramucci, who regularly appeared on cable news before entering the White House, told CNN's Chris Cuomo that he can't have dinner with "a couple of friends up from 'Fox & Friends' and Sean Hannity, who is one of my closest friends" without it getting leaked to the media. "It's absolutely, completely and totally reprehensible," he said. "And as you know from the Italian expression: The fish stinks from the head down. But I can tell you two fish that don't stink, and that's me and the President." "I don't like the activity going on in the White House," Scaramucci added. "I don't like what they're doing to my friend. I don't like what they're doing to the President of the United States or their fellow colleagues in the West Wing." In his first appearance in the White House briefing room last week, Scaramucci said he and Priebus were like brothers who fought at times. In Thursday's interview with CNN, he compared the relationship to that of Cain and Abel, the biblical sons of Adam and Eve. According to the Book of Genesis, Cain murdered Abel and later lied about his actions. "Now, if you want to talk about the chief of staff, we have had odds, we have had differences," he said. "When I said we were brothers from the podium, that's because we're rough on each other. Some brothers are like Cain and Abel. Other brothers can fight with each other and get along. I don't know if this is repairable or not. That will be up to the President." Then, referring to leaks about US foreign policy, Scaramucci said, "Those are the types of leaks that are so treasonous that 150 years ago, people would have actually been hung for those types of leaks." Scaramucci synthesized his issues with the Trump administration by arguing there are people inside "that think it is their job to save America from this President, OK?" This latest kerfuffle developed after Politico published a story about how Scaramucci continues to profit from the sale of his hedge fund SkyBridge Capital. Scaramucci slammed the leak of his Office of Government Ethics forms. "In light of the leak of my financial disclosure info which is a felony. I will be contacting @FBI and the @TheJusticeDept, he tweeted Wednesday night, adding, "#swamp @Reince45." The inclusion of Reince in the tweet was seen by some as an accusation. However, the financial disclosure form is publicly available. It was filed due to Scaramucci's role at the Export-Import Bank and Politico obtained it by request. CNN has not independently obtained the disclosure form. Asked if he was accusing Priebus of leaking before his interview on "New Day," Scaramucci told CNN, "I am not. I am saying senior officials are working on this together." This echoes a tweet he sent overnight as well. "Wrong! Tweet was public notice to leakers that all Sr Adm officials are helping to end illegal leaks.@Reince45," he tweeted in response to an Axios article's headline that read, "Scaramucci appears to want Priebus investigated by FBI." Scaramucci and Priebus have long had a strained relationship, but Thursday's interview is the most public airing of that relationship yet. Sources have told CNN that both Priebus and chief strategist Steve Bannon fiercely opposed Scaramucci's hiring as communications director. When he joined the administration late last week, Scaramucci pushed back on reports of any discord inside the West Wing, especially about the reports of a tense relationship with Priebus. "Reince and I have been personal friends for six years," Scaramucci said Friday. "We are a little bit like brothers where we rough each other up once in a while. But he's a dear friend." Still, Scaramucci said he would report "directly" to the President, and that he and Priebus would work together. |
See race video here. After missing the American Record by .01 earlier in the evening, 19 year-old Abbey Weitzeil of the Canyons Aquatic Club got it on her second try. Weitzeil didn’t clip it by just a little bit either, she lowered the record by 0.15, from 21.27 to 21.12. The previous record was set by Lara Jackson during the height of the supersuit era, making Weitzeil’s swim tonight even more remarkable. That’s also the U.S. Open record, meaning that Weitzeil is now the fastest woman ever in the 50 yard freestyle. Weitzeil was swimming while representing her club team, so Jackson’s 21.27 still stands as the NCAA record. Weitzeil graduated high school last year, and has committed to Cal, but elected to defer her enrollment and NCAA competition until after this summer’s Olympic Trials and Olympic Games. Current top 10 of All-Time: Abbey Weitzeil, 2016 – 21.12 Lara Jackson, 2009 – 21.27 Abbey Weitzeil, 2016 – 21.28 Simone Manuel, 2015 – 21.32 Farida Osman, 2016 – 21.32 Lara Jackson, 2008 – 21.33 Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace, 2011 – 21.34 Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace, 2012 – 21.35 Lara Jackson, 2009 – 21.36 Lara Jackson, 2008 – 21.37 Weitzeil is swimming tonight at the American Short Course Championships, which is not a formally-recognized championship meet, attracts plenty of top-level talent while also serving as a last chance meet for NCAA men. Coming into today, Weitzeil’s best time in this event was a 21.49 she swam at the 2014 Speedo Junior Winter Championships, meaning that she knocked .37 off of her best time in the 50 free in one day. Weitzeil is used to breaking records, having set a number of high school and age group records in the sprint freestyle. She also held the American Record in the 100 yard freestyle at one point, before Simone Manuel took it last year at the NCAA championships. |
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Acting Drug Enforcement Administrator Chuck Rosenberg wrote in an email to staff that President Trump had “condoned police misconduct” in quipping to officers in Long Island that they need not protect suspects’ heads when helping them into police vehicles. (Alex Brandon/AP) The head of the Drug Enforcement Administration said in an email to staff members over the weekend that President Trump had “condoned police misconduct” in remarking to officers in Long Island that they need not protect suspects’ heads when loading them into police vehicles. Acting DEA Administrator Chuck Rosenberg wrote that he felt obligated to respond to the president’s comments “because we have an obligation to speak out when something is wrong.” He cited the agency’s core values — among them integrity, accountability and respect and compassion. “This is how we conduct ourselves. This is how we treat those whom we encounter in our work: victims, witnesses, subjects, and defendants. This is who we are,” Rosenberg wrote. The email, sent Saturday, was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. The Washington Post also obtained a copy. [White House says Trump was kidding about police mistreating suspects, but cops say ‘it doesn’t matter if he was joking’] The White House has said that Trump was joking when he told law enforcement officers in New York last week that they should not “be too nice” with suspects. During a speech to law enforcement on July 28, President Trump said "please don't be too nice" to suspects who are arrested. (The Washington Post) “Like when you guys put somebody in the car and you’re protecting their head, you know, the way you put their hand over?” Trump said before miming the motion of an officer shielding a suspect’s head to keep it from bumping against the squad car. “Like, don’t hit their head, and they just killed somebody — don’t hit their head. I said, you can take the hand away, okay?” While Trump’s comments have been widely criticized by policing leaders, his message marks the first pushback from a federal law enforcement agency. Attorney General Jeff Sessions did not address the president’s comments explicitly in a public speech Tuesday to the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, commonly referred to as NOBLE, though he told the group’s leaders afterward that he felt the president was making a joke, said incoming NOBLE president Clarence Cox III. “I won’t say that he defended him, but he did say he felt like made that statement in jest,” he said. Cox said Sessions added that Trump was “not an attorney, he’s not a law enforcement practitioner, so he may not quite understand the effects of what he said.” The attorney general, Cox said, was “careful not to criticize his boss,” though he tried to assure the group that he would continue to protect people’s civil rights. “He didn’t offer any criticism, but he did say that as along as he is attorney general, he will utilize his office to make sure that civil rights are not violated,” Cox said. Cox said the group’s view is the president’s remark “wasn’t funny. We were not laughing.” Rosenberg wrote that his email was not meant to advance any “political, partisan, or personal agenda,” and he said he did not believe a DEA agent would mistreat a defendant. But he made clear in the first line his remarks were directed at Trump. “The President, in remarks delivered yesterday in New York, condoned police misconduct regarding the treatment of individuals placed under arrest by law enforcement,” Rosenberg wrote. When contacted Monday by The Washington Post and asked whether DEA leadership sent out any internal messages regarding Trump’s comments and the treatment of suspects, a spokeswoman denied that any “formal guidance” was issued. After The Post obtained a copy of Rosenberg’s email and the Wall Street Journal published a story Tuesday on the email, the spokeswoman, Katherine Pfaff, said she stood by her original remarks. “I did say there was, the DEA circulated an internal email that focused on our core values and standards as a law enforcement agency,” Pfaff said in a brief interview Tuesday. “Nothing’s changed. There was no formal guidance.” Pfaff said that in the agency’s view, the message was not a rebuke of Trump’s comments. “As far as we’re concerned, it focused on our core values, that was the message that was being sent,” Pfaff said of Rosenberg’s email. She added: “That is something that’s sent out periodically. It’s not unusual for our leadership to reaffirm our values and our core standards. That’s something we’re committed to at the DEA.” Rosenberg is not a Trump appointee, though he heads an agency that is playing an important role in the president’s promised crackdown on drugs and violent crime. He was appointed to head the DEA in 2015, during the Obama administration, in an acting capacity, and was held over during the transition. Before joining the DEA, he had served as chief of staff and senior counselor to James B. Comey, who was the FBI director until Trump fired him earlier this year. Trump’s remarks at Suffolk County Community College were met with laughter and applause from at least some of the officers at his speech Friday. But almost immediately, departments and law enforcement officials began to criticize his comments, saying they were dangerous at a time of intense distrust between communities and police. “Even if it’s an attempt at humor, it sends the wrong message,” said Darrel Stephens, a former Charlotte police chief and now executive director of the Major Cities Chiefs Association. “Officers are expected and almost always do act within a framework of their policies and procedures and within the law. … It’s not something that you should joke about.” [U.S. police chiefs blast Trump for endorsing ‘police brutality’] Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said at the daily briefing for reporters Tuesday that Trump was only kidding with his remarks, echoing a comment she had made a day earlier. “I think you guys are jumping and trying to make something out of nothing,” Sanders said. “He was simply making a comment, making a joke, and it was nothing more than that.” In response to a question about Rosenberg’s letter, Sanders said: “It wasn’t a directive, it was a joke. There’s a very big difference.” When asked if Trump plans to apologize given the outcry from law enforcement, Sanders said she would need to ask Trump and did not say whether she plans to do so. Law enforcement leaders have been privately discussing Trump’s comments since his speech Friday and “universally” expressed “disbelief and disappointment” at the remarks, said Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo. Trump was endorsed last year by the National Fraternal Order of Police, and in a statement after his speech, the group’s president said Trump’s “off the cuff comments on policing are sometimes taken all too literally by the media and professional police critics.” Policing leaders and officials interviewed this week said they appreciated Trump’s support for law enforcement, but they denounced his comments and described them as particularly troubling given the recent focus on how law enforcement officers use force. In recent years, fatal shootings by police and other incidents — many captured on video recordings that went viral — have sparked intense demonstrations across the country. “It’s been a rough three years,” Charles H. Ramsey, the former police chief in the District and Philadelphia, said Monday on CNN. “In fact, the only reason the police have not been front and center in news stories around the country is because of President Trump. He took us off the front page.” This story has been updated with the new White House comments on Tuesday and with details about Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s meeting with the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. Further reading: Trump tells police not to worry about injuring suspects during arrests |
Donald Trump Donald John TrumpREAD: Cohen testimony alleges Trump knew Stone talked with WikiLeaks about DNC emails Trump urges North Korea to denuclearize ahead of summit Venezuela's Maduro says he fears 'bad' people around Trump MORE's campaign on Sunday slammed The New York Times, one day after the paper endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonREAD: Cohen testimony alleges Trump knew Stone talked with WikiLeaks about DNC emails County GOP in Minnesota shares image comparing Sanders to Hitler Holder: 'Time to make the Electoral College a vestige of the past' MORE. ADVERTISEMENT “The news that the ultra-liberal, elitist, out-of-touch New York Times Editorial Board endorsed an ultra-liberal, elitist, out-of-touch candidate in Hillary Clinton has to be some of the least surprising news ever," senior communications adviser Jason Miller said in a statement. Miller called the Time's editorial board the "embodiment of the rigged system Donald Trump is running against." "Mr. Trump far prefers the endorsement of hard-working Americans across this country than an editorial board that only seems to care about the plaudits they receive at cocktail parties and dinners in the power corridors of this country," Miller said. The New York Times on Saturday announced its endorsement of the Democratic nominee. In the editorial, the Times touted Clinton's record, while criticizing the GOP nominee for his lack of transparency. "Hillary Clinton — has a record of service and a raft of pragmatic ideas, and the other, Donald Trump, discloses nothing concrete about himself or his plans while promising the moon and offering the stars on layaway," the editorial said. The Times plans to publish a subsequent editorial explaining why Trump is the "worst nominee put forward by a major party in modern American history." |
Brendan Rodgers was a guest on Goals on Sunday - and spoke Suarez, Gerrard, Sterling and Balotelli during a revealing interview Former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers lifted the lid on a host of topics in a candid interview on Goals on Sunday. The former Liverpool and Swansea boss spoke about managing at Anfield, Raheem Sterling's move to Manchester City, losing Luis Suarez and Steven Gerrard leaving the club. The 42-year-old also gave his views on Jose Mourinho's sacking at Chelsea, his own time as a youth coach and reserve team manager at Stamford Bridge and former Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville's move to Valencia. Here's what Rodgers told Goals on Sunday presenters Ben Shephard and Chris Kamara... On managing Liverpool... "I'm very proud to have had the opportunity to manage such a great club. Liverpool is one of the great institutions of the world. You understand when you see that from the outside but you only really see that when you're on the inside as a manager; the support. The opportunity to walk out there as the manager for three years was a real privilege for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. "As Liverpool manager, every word you speak is around the world within seconds. You're under scrutiny like you've never been before and that takes a lot of getting used to. But it's an absolutely incredible club - the history is unique - and for me coming from Swansea, which is a brilliant club, to Liverpool was a huge honour. "The history certainly inspired me. I was in no hurry to leave but when a club like Liverpool comes in for you, it's very difficult to say no. The influence of the ex-players was very positive; I always embraced (the history); they're a big part of why I went there. So for me it was really inspiring. We nearly won the league." Rodgers was proud of his time in charge at Anfield On Raheem Sterling... "It wasn't ideal but I think what was reported in the media was different to how it played out on a day-to-day basis. Raheem's a great boy - I put him in the team at 17 and for the next couple of years he was incredible. It's just a shame that he was very close to signing the (new) deal and for whatever reason, it didn't happen. "I was surprised at (reports of a "breakdown in trust" between Rodgers and Sterling) because we were still in contact. When the boy left, we messaged each other and when I left Liverpool, one of the first messages I got was from Raheem. When he left there was apparently an array of reasons why; it was his position and then, towards the end, our communication had supposedly broken down. But that was never the case. Rodgers discussed Raheem Sterling's move from Liverpool to Manchester City Rodgers discussed Raheem Sterling's move from Liverpool to Manchester City "I always had a good relationship with Raheem. I take great pride in putting him into the team and we played him in a number of positions so he could develop; wide, as a No 10. He was such a great footballer that whenever I needed to chase the game, I could play three at the back, put him at right-back and let him go. "People looking from the outside might have thought I was playing him out of position but I could play him anywhere, he was absolutely brilliant. He's gone on to Manchester City and that flexibility - also for England - has really helped him so I'd like the think the development he received from the coaches at Liverpool helped him. He's a fantastic young man, he always trained hard. It was sad to see him go - especially after we'd lost Luis (Suarez) - but he's a top-class young player and if he stays fit he'll continue to improve and be one of the leading players for City and England. "Can he be world-class? Time will tell. He's got the talent. He's certainly got the temperament. He's got the speed. Technically, he's improving all the time and he's around good players." On losing Luis Suarez... Rodgers rued Luis Suarez's departure to Barcelona "It was huge. I built the team around him. Ideally after the second season, when we'd just missed out, you keep your best players, add one or two and then hopefully go on and win it. Unfortunately we lost a world-class player and you've seen his impact at Barcelona. "I think his mind was made up. The first year I arrived, Juventus wanted to take him so there was convincing needed then for him to stay. He obviously had issues off the field but he was a dream to manage - the ultimate professional who produced on the field." On Steven Gerrard leaving... "He was absolutely brilliant for me at Liverpool. As a captain, a leader, he was brilliant - really supportive. He got to about 34 and Steven will tell you himself, the position he was playing in got difficult. Rodgers expects Steven Gerrard to return to Anfield "When you're one of the leading players at a club, to be sitting out games is not ideal. There were other factors in the decision as well but I think at that time he just wanted to play. He's a huge asset to the club and there's no doubt at some point that he'll come back. "He wants to manage - he's said that himself - and I'm sure at some point in the future he'll want to manage Liverpool. He's a great guy, an unbelievable professional and someone who'll be a big asset in the future." On goalkeeping form and Simon Mignolet... "Simon's a fantastic 'keeper. There was one period where I felt I wanted to take him out of the team because it was difficult for him but in that period we spoke a lot. Sometimes goalkeepers can be looked at differently to outfield players. Simon himself thought it was the right thing to do. Then when he came back in he was refocused. He took it really well, worked very hard and was excellent. He's a top-class 'keeper and a good man." On Mauricio Pochettino - and nearly signing Dele Alli... Liverpool were close to signing Dele Alli, says Rodgers "Pochettino's done very, very well. The first year it was all about getting his ideas over to the team, in this second year, they're now playing very well. He's given those young boys - Dele Alli, Ryan Mason, Harry Kane - a chance; he's trusted them. They're hungry, they've got goals in the team. Alli has stepped up really well. We thought we had him at Liverpool. I spoke to him and Karl Robinson, the manager of MK Dons, drove him down to us. It was all above board. Karl told me: 'I've got a player I think's going to be fantastic and I'd love to see him at Liverpool.' We watched him, he wanted to come but unfortunately it never got done between the clubs. It was disappointing." On Liverpool's transfer committee... "The model at the club is slightly different whereby the ownership group have a way of working where they want to bring in young players, look to see them develop and move on. A lot of the players who came in were 24 or below. As a manager you'll always be the figurehead but there's a recruitment team in place - guys who'll work very hard. It was a group decision; it was certainly not something where I would have the sole final say. It's difficult because you want a player in but if the player is not on the list, you'd have to take someone." On Alexis Sanchez and Mario Balotelli... Rodgers spoke about why Liverpool decided to sign Mario Balotelli Rodgers spoke about why Liverpool decided to sign Mario Balotelli "We needed a player who could press at the top of the pitch; it wasn't just a goalscorer we were after because Luis Suarez was giving us so much more than that. After a friendly against AC Milan, I was asked the question and I felt Mario wasn't someone who suited the profile of what we were after. But come the end of the summer when we were struggling to get in the type of player we wanted, the ownership thought this was perhaps a player I could develop. He's a wonderful talent, there's no doubt about that; you see him on the training ground every day - tall, strong, great touch. They were thinking this is a £50m player we could maybe get for £16m. When the owners are wanting you to go down that route and there's no other option, you give it a go. Rickie Lambert (right) was signed to give Liverpool an extra option, not as a key striker, Rodgers revealed "The huge blow was that we thought we were getting Alexis Sanchez and that he'd be a like-for-like replacement in terms of how he pressed the game, his aggression. We thought he'd be perfect, it'd be a smooth transition and Rickie Lambert would come in and be an option if we needed something else in the game. But we didn't get Alexis Sanchez and, bless Rickie, there was a lot of pressure on him when really that wasn't the plan. So we had to bring in someone, Mario has big talent - I wasn't thinking I'd be any different in terms of managers who've had issues with him - and at that moment, we didn't really have another option. It was something that didn't quite work for us and it cost us." On being out of work... "I've been spending time with the family and travelling. I had a brilliant experience at Liverpool - it's an incredible football club but I've come away from it, taken a bit of time out and I'll look forward to the next challenge. Hopefully, come the summertime, I can get back into it." On whether he'd go back to Swansea... "I said when I left that maybe at some stage in my career and life I'd be back there but it's a case of timing. It's an incredible club, it's a great city, the board have always made the right decisions. I think Garry (Monk) was unfortunate to lose his job but no-one knows the club better than Alan (Curtis). They've got a fight on from now until the end of the season." On his time at Chelsea... "It was a wonderful experience for me and during that time I obviously got the chance to work with world-class players. I was a young coach coming through and the chance to work with Jose (Mourinho) and Frank (Lampard) for example and understand the preparation that goes into every day was fantastic. It gives you confidence and then the opportunity came up to go into management. I felt I was ready then after 15 years as a coach." On Jose Mourinho's sacking... Rodgers gave his views on Jose Mourinho's sacking at Chelsea "Was I surprised Chelsea let him go? Yes. You see the success he's had as a manager but especially last year - they were champions; he signed a new contract. Clearly something wasn't working well but you just felt that if Jose Mourinho goes with the success he's had, then the game is changing. I think it was purely confidence with Chelsea. John Terry was the best centre-half in the league. They're top-class players but they had a bad start, things get uncomfortable and the spotlight goes on you as a manager. Sometimes it can be very hard to shift; I experienced that first-hand." On managing abroad... "It's something that I would consider. I've had a few offers to go abroad and at home but I want to find the time to recover well and make sure the motivation's renewed for when I want to go back in. It can be wherever, as long as it's an exciting project to go into and the club want to work together and build something. It doesn't matter where you go, you want to be within a chance of winning things. We got so close with Liverpool. That really drives you." Valencia Gary Neville and his assistant Phil Neville On Gary Neville's move to Valencia... "I was surprised but I think he's been so brave. Being a No 1 is so different, with the responsibility. Fair play to him to go to another country where communication is difficult. But he's gone into a fantastic club with good people around him and wherever he goes next, he'll be better for it having been a No 1." |
This week Netflix announced that it would ramp up its crackdown on VPN and proxy pirates. The decision is a response to increased demands from major Hollywood players, but is this fear of VPN pirates justified? With the launch of legal streaming services such as Netflix, movie and TV fans have less reason to turn to pirate sites. At the same time, however, these legal options present new copyright-related problems and threats. Traditionally the movie industry has relied on geographical licensing deals through which movie and TV-show rights are sold to separate parties in various countries. Ten years ago this model wasn’t causing any issues. But now that the Internet has made entertainment more instant and global, the public is beginning to complain. Why do Netflix users in Andorra, Bolivia and the Cook Islands have access to Better Call Saul, while Americans don’t? Similarly, why can Danish people watch American Sniper while it’s pretty much unavailable in the rest of the world? Most Netflix users don’t understand. This frustration is driving people to circumvent geographical restrictions by using VPNs and proxy services. With help from handy tools such as the “unofficial Netflix online Global Search” every Netflix subscriber can easily access these hidden treasures. There are even specialized applications that do the same, giving people a browsable library of all Netflix titles with built-in proxies. unofficial Netflix online Global Search Netflix’s announcement to ramp up its crackdown on VPN and proxy pirates comes a week after Netflix expanded its reach by more than 130 countries. This obviously isn’t a coincidence, as the two are directly linked. While Netflix has always been contractually obliged to take measures against unblocking efforts, its near worldwide expansion makes it a higher priority. Targeting VPN and proxy “pirates” has been high on the Hollywood agenda for several years already. For example, in 2014 Sony Pictures conducted research to identify the IP-ranges of various VPNs and proxies. It turned out that most were not, and these results were shared with Netflix and other streaming services so they could take action and expand their blocklists where needed. The question is, however, whether this repressive approach will be effective. In fact, the announced measures may cause some people to give up their subscriptions and return to their old piracy habits, which should worry both Netflix and the movie studios. The true solution lies somewhere else. While it’s easier said than done the film industry should move away from its complicated licensing schemes and windowed releases, much like the music industry has. This is a change Netflix backs according to recent statements. According to Netflix the ‘VPN pirates’ are willing to pay, they just can’t get what they want through their local Netflix. Speaking out on the controversial VPN use, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said that the problem can be fixed if the industry starts to offer the same content globally, without artificial barriers. “The basic solution is for Netflix to get global and have its content be the same all around the world so there’s no incentive to [use a VPN]. Then we can work on the more important part which is piracy,” Hastings said. For now Netflix can do little else than comply with the pressure from Hollywood, but as soon as they roll out broad VPN blockades it’s going to cause problems. Many people use VPN services to protect their privacy, not to fool Netflix, and when they are locked out of their accounts there’s bound to be some uproar. At the same time it will trigger a new cat-and-mouse game where “unblocking” services will try to bypass Netflix’s blocks against them, and so on. It’s hard to see any winners in this game, except perhaps from the Hollywood insiders who lack a long-term vision. |
When NYU sophomore Max Wiseltier received an email from NYU's Bursar office last night about a new, electronic tuition form, he wasn't sure what to do so, naturally, he forwarded the email to his mom. "do you want me to do this?" was his exact response. There was one small problem, though; instead of hitting "Fwd" he clicked "Reply all," accidentally sending the message to all 39,979 NYU students on the list. Wiseltier quickly realized his mistake and reply all'd again, writing "SORRY!!!!!! Gmail switched my reply to reply all!" At that point, of course, it was too late. The results were not unlike any corporation wide email (or party invite) in which people keep adding their "Thanks!" or additional stupid ideas, except this was 40,000 college students simultaneously realizing their power to be obnoxious. One of the emails' many recipients was NYU grad student and Buzzfeed staff writer Allison McCann, who posted some of the better emails earlier today. There were Nicolas Cage jokes: Practical questions: Inquiries about the classics: Then people started to get pissed: These were just some of the better ones Buzzfeed received; there were thousands and thousands of others. NYU Local's tech editor Ben Zweig explained the initial problem: "NYU uses something called E-Mail Direct for most mass emails. That system is meant for one-way emailing." E-Mail Direct does not allow for reply-alls, therefore you cannot respond to most mass emails. Several NYU departments still rely on the older, discussion-based ListManager program, however. ListManager also sends mass emails, but allows discussions (in the form of reply-alls), unless the settings are adjusted, disabling group discussions and only permitting emails from admins." An NYU Student Resource Center employee, David Vogelsang, was responsible for the mishap. Vogelsang wrote into NYU Local earlier today: Hi everyone - I'm the culprit behind the Lyris blunder. I was assisting the Bursar with an email message and in populating one of the SRC Listserves did not realize the list I was using was one that allowed for responses and thus the "replyallcalypse". This morning I deleted everyone on the list. ITS had disabled around midnight, but there were so many that responded, emails were still in the que. Thanks to ITS, the que was cleared and the listserve deleted. We are monitoring for any residual emails. And yes, you are absolutely correct that I should have used Email Direct instead of Lyris. I take full responsibility for this blunder and offer my sincere apologies for the frustrating situation that was created. Sincerely, David Vogelsang NYU Student Resource Center As for Wiseltier, the kid who started it all, it turns out he's a Computer Science minor, a fact which he now finds "a little ironic given my flop." |
If you’re the type to meticulously file your emails in various folders in your client, stop, says a new study from IBM Research. By analyzing 345 users’ 85,000 episodes of digging through old emails in search of the one they needed, researchers discovered that those who did no email organizing at all found them faster than those who filed them in folders. Friends don’t let friends use folders, says IBM Research By using search, the non-organizers were able to find the email they needed just as easily as filers. They also didn’t have to spend any time filing email in folders, putting them ahead overall. Other results from the study (pdf) pointed to ways in which existing email clients might be improved. For example, scrolling was a big part of how users found emails, even after they searched for them, yet scrolling isn’t supported by gmail, which uses pagination instead. The study also suggested that if you want to keep your (and others’) email inboxes tidy, you should do everything you can to keep your conversations in existing threads. It’s an automatic mechanism for grouping a conversation, after all. The researchers involved found threading so useful that they even suggested a way it could be improved, which they call “superthreading.” How might we impose higher-level intrinsic organization on email? One possibility is to re-organize the inbox according to ‘semantic topics’. One could use clustering techniques from machine learning to organize the inbox into ‘superthreads’ by combining multiple threads with overlapping topics, using techniques similar to [8]. Superthreading would automatically group every conversation you had with a colleague about a particular project, no matter how many exchanges it was spread across. |
Victoria opens home schedule on Friday, September 26th versus Kamloops! For Immediate Release Wednesday, June 25, 2014 Victoria, BC – The Victoria Royals are pleased to announce the team’s schedule for the 2014-15 Western Hockey League (WHL) regular season. The Royals will open their fourth WHL season with a game in Kamloops against the Blazers on Friday, September 20th, before travelling to Vancouver on Saturday, September 21st for a date with the Giants. Victoria’s home opener is set for Friday, September 26th against the Kamloops Blazers. Puck drop at the Royals’ home opener is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. The Royals’ longest homestand will come after the Christmas break when the club hosts seven consecutive games between Saturday, December 27th and Saturday, January 10th. During that span, the team will host the Prince George Cougars, Spokane Chiefs and Medicine Hat Tigers. Victoria will embark on their longest road trip of the year early in the season when they swing through the Central Division for six October games in nine days. Starting on Friday, October 10th against the Calgary Hitmen, the Royals will also visit the Medicine Hat Tigers, Red Deer Rebels, Edmonton Oil Kings and Lethbridge Hurricanes before wrapping up the trip on Saturday, October 18th versus the Kootenay Ice. 2014-15 Schedule Facts: By Team: Brandon: 1 home + 0 road = 1 game Calgary: 0 home + 2 road = 2 games Edmonton: 1 home + 2 road = 3 games Everett: 2 home + 2 road = 4 games Kamloops: 4 home + 4 road = 8 games Kelowna: 4 home + 4 road = 8 games Kootenay: 0 home + 1 road = 1 game Lethbridge: 0 home + 1 road = 1 game Medicine Hat: 1 home + 1 road = 2 games Moose Jaw: 1 home + 0 road = 1 game Portland: 2 home + 2 road = 4 games Prince Albert: 1 home + 0 road = 1 game Prince George: 4 home + 4 road = 8 games Regina: 1 home + 0 road = 1 game Red Deer: 1 home + 2 road = 3 games Saskatoon: 1 home + 0 road = 1 game Seattle: 2 home + 2 road = 4 games Spokane: 2 home + 2 road = 4 games Swift Current: 1 home + 0 road = 1 game Tri-City: 2 home + 2 road = 4 games Vancouver: 5 home + 5 road = 10 games By Division: B.C. Division: 17 home + 17 road = 34 games U.S. Division: 10 home + 10 road = 20 games Central Division: 3 home + 9 road = 12 games East Division: 6 home + 0 road = 6 games By Month: September: 2 home + 3 road = 5 games October: 5 home + 6 road = 11 games November: 6 home +8 road = 14 games December: 6 home + 3 road= 9 games January: 7 home + 6 road = 13 games February: 5 home + 5 road = 10 games March: 5 home + 5 home = 10 games By Day: Sunday: 3 home + 3 road = 6 games Monday: 3 home + 0 road = 3 games Tuesday: 6 home + 3 road = 9 games Wednesday: 2 home + 7 road = 9 games Thursday: 0 home + 0 road = 0 games Friday: 10 home + 11 road = 21 games Saturday: 12 home + 12 road = 24 games Season ticket packages for the 2014-15 season are on sale now! Call 250-220-7889, visit www.selectyourtickets.com, or head down to the Victoria Royals ticketing office at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre for more information. -30- |
The man accused of plowing into people on a lower Manhattan bike path Tuesday allegedly was inspired by ISIS videos he watched on his cellphone, according to the criminal complaint against him. "He did this in the name of ISIS, and along with the other items recovered at the scene was some notes that further indicate that," John Miller, deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism of the NYPD, said this morning of the attack that killed eight. "He appears to have followed almost exactly to a 'T' the instructions that ISIS has put out in its social media channels before with instructions to their followers on how to carry out such an attack." The suspect was charged Wednesday with providing support to ISIS and violence and destruction of motor vehicles. PHOTO: Authorities stand near a damaged Home Depot truck after a motorist drove onto a bike path near the World Trade Center memorial, striking and killing several people, Oct. 31, 2017, in New York. (Bebeto Matthews/AP) More Here is what we know about the attack: -- The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov, was shot in the abdomen by a police officer and was transported to a hospital for treatment. He has been charged in connection to the attack and is eligible for the death penalty. -- Authorities are calling the incident a terror attack. Saipov is believed to have worked alone, law enforcement sources said. -- A handwritten note in Arabic was recovered from the scene. According to the criminal complaint against Saipov, it said, "No god but god and Mohamed is his prophet" and "Islamic supplication. It will endure." -- Investigators have talked to Saipov, who is expected to survive. It’s unclear what, if anything, investigators learned from him, though one official told ABC News the suspect seemed “proud” of the attack. -- According to the criminal complaint, Saipov allegedly began planning an attack against the U.S. a year ago. He was allegedly inspired by ISIS videos he'd watched on his cellphone. -- Investigators spent the overnight hours collecting video and still images from traffic and surveillance cameras along the route of the attack, sources said. Those images show that Saipov drove carefully and at moderate speed until he entered the jogging path and accelerated; investigators believe that suggests the suspect knew where he wanted to begin the attack. Authorities are pouring through toll records and other digital records to see if Saipov had scoped out the location beforehand, sources said. 8 dead after truck plows into people in New York City in 'cowardly act of terror': Mayor How the deadly New York City truck attack unfolded Trump responds to NYC attack: Suspect is 'a very sick and deranged person' Sayfullo Saipov identified as suspect in New York City vehicle attack: Officials THE ATTACK Authorities said today that the suspect allegedly rented the truck from a Home Depot in Passaic, New Jersey, around 2 p.m. Tuesday. According to license plate readers on the George Washington Bridge, he exited the bridge at 2:43 p.m. and drove southbound on the West Side Highway. According to police, shortly after 3 p.m., the suspect started mowing down cyclists and pedestrians on a bike path near West Houston Street and the West Side Highway. The suspect drove south for about a mile, leaving strewn bodies and disfigured bicycles in his wake. Story continues |
WASHINGTON — As crunch time emerged in the GOP’s push to pass a $1.5 trillion tax cut, wavering Republican senators inevitably made the trip from the Senate floor to an office tucked just a few paces away. They entered and walked past a painting of Alamo legend William Barrett Travis. Past the crackling flames of one of the Capitol’s few working fireplaces. Past a fake Christmas tree, at least in the latter stages of the proceedings, that’s festooned with lights. And then they aired their grievances to Texas Sen. John Cornyn, the Senate’s No. 2 Republican. “There was always two or three things with each of these individuals,” he told The Dallas Morning News in that same office that’s home to his whip operation. “The implied threat that they would withhold their vote for the final product was enough to require a negotiation. “And that’s basically how legislation gets written.” |
If you need long-term treatment for pain management, you’ll probably be given a drug test. But now the CDC has updated their opioid prescribing guidelines to advise that doctors not test their patients for marijuana. Not only are the drug tests for marijuana highly inaccurate — 21 percent of positive results are false and 21 percent of negative results are also inaccurate — but getting shut out of crucial pain treatment because you couldn’t help but hit that (non-addictive) blunt seems, well, cruel. This comes after Senator Elizabeth Warren urged the CDC to research the “effectiveness of medical marijuana as an alternative to opioids for pain treatment in states where it is legal,” High Times reports. Whether conservatives like it or not, looks like the Man and the Weed Man are slowly but surely joining forces. |
Years ago, I wrote about a particular type of interview question that I despise. Today I’d like to discuss a much more specific question, rather than a type. I’ve seen it asked in an actual interview, and I officially nominate it as the worst question I’ve ever heard in an interview. And no, I wasn’t the one being asked. I think this question perfectly represents everything that can go wrong with an interview question, so I’d like to discuss it here to explain why it’s almost hilariously awful as an interview question: Write a function that can detect a cycle in a linked list. Seems like your basic algorithm coding question at first, right? Hop up and write the function on the white board; totally reasonable, right? Except it’s not, it’s brain-meltingly terrible. Let’s break it down. 1. It’s completely inappropriate This is a job interview. You have a dynamic where you’re talking to someone who is interviewing for a job. It’s naturally nerve-wracking, and “puzzler” questions where there’s some “a-ha” moment of clarity are the worst kind of programming questions you can ask. If you don’t have the a-ha moment in the interview, you won’t get it, and a good chunk of your brain will be devoted to thinking “oh shit I’m blowing this interview” rather than focusing on the question at hand. People like to pose puzzlers to “see how people think” but that’s nonsense in the case of puzzler questions. You can’t reason your way through a puzzler, that’s why it’s a puzzler. You just have to hope you have the a-ha moment. Sometimes I’ve heard people like to “see how people handle pressure” but they’re already in an interview, the pressure is already there. Asking puzzler questions is a complete waste of time, all you’re doing is testing if someone has seen your particular puzzler before or not. You may also be testing their acting chops, as the person who has heard the question before pretends it’s their first time hearing it, and they feign reasoning their way through the problem to arrive at the answer they already know as soon as the question comes out of your mouth. This particular problem is the worst offender in this regard. Why, you ask? Well, imagine if someone truly was hearing this problem for the first time, and you’re expecting them to reason their way to the answer. In this case, the generally “correct” answer is a tortoise-and-hare algorithm, where you have two pointers at the head of your linked list, one traverses the list two nodes at a time, and one traverses the list one node at a time; if ever the pointers point to the same node, you have a cycle somewhere. Sure, there are easier answers, like marking each node with some kind of ‘seen’ boolean, or traversing the list from each node to see if you come back to it, or duplicating the list into a hash and looking for a collision, but as soon as you provide those answers, the interviewer will add restrictions saying to use less memory or use less time or don’t modify the underlying data structure. The only one that makes the question “stop” is the tortoise-and-hare algorithm. Is it reasonable to expect someone to think of this, from scratch? After all, you’re pretty confident you could think of it, right? Well, the Linked List as a data structure was discovered by Allen Newell, Cliff Shaw and Herbert A. Simon in 1955. The “correct” cycle detection algorithm for a Linked List is named “Floyd’s cycle-finding algorithm” in honor of its inventor, Robert W. Floyd, who discovered it in a 1967 paper. Between 1955 and 1967, the problem of “how do we determine if there is a cycle in a linked list without modifying the list or using an extra memory” was a essentially an open problem. Meaning, any number of PhD candidates in Mathematics or Computer Science could have written about it as part of their dissertation. With all of those hundreds and hundreds of minds, this problem remained open for 12 years. Do you honestly think you could, in a twenty minute interview, from scratch, come up with the solution to a problem that remained open in the field for 12 years, all under a pressure far more intense than any academic? Seems pretty damn unlikely, the only reason you think you could do so is that you’ve heard the answer before, and it seems obvious and simple in retrospect. In other words, “a-ha!” 2. It’s completely disconnected from reality As if the above weren’t reason enough for this to be a laughably bad question, you have to also ask yourself, is this even a good question for determining if this engineer has the skills they need for the job? Let me challenge the question altogether: why would you ever find yourself in a situation where your linked list has a cycle? In the real-world, what could lead to this? I don’t mean mechanically, obviously you get a cycle if you have a node whose “next” pointer is upstream of that node. I mean, how does it actually happen in real life? See, a Linked List is a data structure, it’s not an abstract data type. Generally you wouldn’t be making a LinkedList class, you’d be making a Stack or a Queue or something like that. Those would be the classes you’re writing and exposing to a consumer of your class, and it would just so happen that your internal implementation of those types is a linked list. So what are the methods on your Stack class, for example? push , pop , peek , etc? Well, if someone is using those methods, how on earth are you going to get a cycle in your list? They’re not messing with the next or prev pointers, they’re just pushing and popping with objects of some type. Even if you wrote a LinkedList class for some library, you still can’t find yourself in this situation. Take a look at Java’s LinkedList class. There is no way to manipulate the pointers for the node’s next or previous references. You can get the first, or get the last, or add an object to a specific place in the list, or remove an object by index or by value. Take a look at the Java source code and you’ll find those next and previous pointers are here, inside of LinkedList.Entry : private static class Entry < E > { E element ; java . util . LinkedList . Entry < E > next ; java . util . LinkedList . Entry < E > previous ; Entry ( E e , java . util . LinkedList . Entry < E > entry , java . util . LinkedList . Entry < E > entry1 ) { /* compiled code */ } } This is a private static class, inside of LinkedList . You can’t instantiate a LinkedList.Entry . You have no way to manipulate these next or previous pointers. Because those things are the state of the list, and LinkedList encapsulates the behaviors with the state inside of the class, like it ought to. If your LinkedList class were vulnerable to any kind of cycle creation, you’ve done a poor job of encapsulation. You either have a design failure in your interface, or a bug in your implementation. In either case, your time would be better spent addressing your error rather than coding up some kind of cycle detection mechanism. Here’s the only cycle detector you’ll ever need to write for your LinkedList : public class LinkedList { public boolean containsCycle () { return false ; } } There is no real situation in which this method’s return value would be different than one that uses a tortoise-and-hare algorithm. If there is, your abstraction is poor, you’re leaking implementation details. In the real world of actual coding, you’d very rarely find yourself ever needing to code up a linked list implementation from scratch, but if you did, you’d certainly have no reason to expose methods that would allow someone using your code to create a cycle. The only way it could be done is through intentional, malicious metaprogramming or reflection of some kind, which could just as easily bypass your detectCycle method anyway. Conclusion Many interview questions fail for one of these two reasons. Either the question is too much of a puzzler to reasonably be solved in an interview setting, or it’s so far removed from the skillset required to do the job (“how would you move Mt. Fuji”) that it’s useless. This question, hilariously, suffers from both of these major problems, and it suffers from each about as hard as it possibly could. If you’re asking this question, everyone who has ever answered it to your satisfaction was merely proving they have good memory recall abilities from their Computer Science curriculum, nothing more. Folks you turned away from the job for failing to answer this question may have been more qualified than you realize, and your company maybe should have turned you away instead. Linked List cycle detection: just don’t ask it. Update: One commenter pointed out that if the data structure in question was a digraph where every node has an out degree of at most one, the question still applies. Totally valid point, in that case you are exposing methods that allow consumers of your structure to manually set the pointers. That’s a far more reasonable question but, again, I think you’re still just asking someone how well they recall their computer science classes, or you’re asking an unreasonable question in an interview, unless you’re willing to accept answers with worse runtime or space complexity than the tortoise-and-hare algorithm. |
A TERROR suspect screaming "I'm going to kill all Muslims" has driven a rented van into worshippers leaving a mosque after late-night Ramadan prayers, leaving one person dead and injuring ten others. The suspected attacker - a 48-year-old white man - ran down pedestrians before being pinned down by hero bystanders and arrested by police. 37 How the Finsbury Park mosque attack unfolded leaving one worshipper dead and ten more injured 37 The suspect, who allegedly screamed: “I’m going to kill all Muslims”, was pinned down by hero bystanders Daily Mirror 37 The dramatic moment a man suspected of mowing down pedestrians is arrested by police Rex Features 37 Police assist a woman caught up in the panic at Finsbury Park after a van was driven at worshippers Rex Features 37 An injured pedestrian is taken away by paramedics on a stretcher after a van hit people close to a mosque in North London Rex Features 37 Bodies were strewn across the pavement in attack that left one dead and ten injured Rex Features 37 Police and ambulance crews raced to the scene at Finsbury Park after pedestrians were reportedly mowed down close to a mosque Caters News Agency 37 An image of a hired white van has been circulated on social media amid claims it was the one used to hit pedestrians Reuters 37 Armed cops are at the scene after the Met Police declared a "major incident" at Finsbury Park What we know so far: A van ran down pedestrians on Seven Sisters Road in Finsbury Park, North London just after 12:20am on Monday morning One man was killed and ten people were injured outside Finsbury Park Mosque as worshippers left a late evening prayer meeting Police have confirmed they are treating the incident as a terror attack Scotland Yard arrested a man, 48, at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder following a massive armed response He reportedly screamed "kill me, kill all Muslims" as hero bystanders tackled him to the ground and was filmed blowing kisses from the back of the police van The man who died was already receiving first aid and it is not yet known if his death was caused by attack, Met Police have said Photos of the van used in the smash show it bearing the logo of a Wales-based rental company A heroic imam has been praised for his efforts to calm the chaotic situation in the aftermath of the attack. The Muslim Council of Britain has condemned the attack and has appealed for calm in its wake Prime Minister Theresa May described the attack as "sickening" and visited the scene after chairing a Cobra meeting Jeremy Corbyn said he was "totally shocked" and has today visited the scene Scotland Yard has confirmed one man was pronounced dead at the scene and officers are in the process of informing his next of kin. It is understood he was receiving first aid from Good Samaritans prior to the attack and it is not yet known if his death was caused by the horror. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism, this morning said: "This is being treated as a terrorist attack. "The attack unfolded whilst a man was receiving first aid from the public at the scene, sadly, he has died. “Any causative link between his death and the attack will form part of our investigation.It is too early to state if his death was as a result of the attack.” As those injured lay sprawled in the street in the aftermath of the horror attack footage shows the suspect, whose face is covered by his T-shirt, being kicked in the head by another man. As police placed the man under arrest and escorted him to the riot van, bystanders shouted: "Why did you do that? Why?" Their cries followed reports the man had screamed he wanted to "kill all Muslims", according to BuzzFeed News. The suspect was then filmed blowing a kiss from the back of a police van after the shocking terrorist incident. A witness, who wanted to be identified as Abdulrahman, claimed the suspect said "kill me" as he was being held. Do you know the Finsbury Park mosque attack suspect? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 Reuters 37 Officers put a man in the back of a police van after a vehicle collided with pedestrians in Finsbury Park Reuters 37 The suspect blew a kiss from the back of the police van after the shocking terrorist incident Reuters 37 Footage has emerged of the of the 48-year-old white man inside the police van The attacker struck outside the Muslim Welfare House, close to Finsbury Park mosque, in north London as the area was busy with worshippers who had been attending Ramadan night prayers. Eight wounded pedestrians are being treated in the three separate hospitals while two people were treated at the scene for minor injuries. Counter terrorism cops are investigating and say they are currently not looking for any other suspects. One eyewitness has described the "sheer pandemonium" at the scene following the attack. Ibn Omar told Sky News: "People were bleeding on the floor. People were crying, screaming. A woman in the floor was doing resuscitation. "From what one of my companions has told me it was reported as a collision so police did not rush as much as they maybe would have done in a terror attack. "But information has unfolded that this is a terror incident and that's how it should be treated." Imam Mohammed Mahmoud was hailed for his efforts to calm the chaotic situation in the aftermath of the attack. He guarded the man until the police arrived, telling the crowd: "Do not touch him." Other witnesses to the attack early on Monday morning have also described how they wrestled the suspected terrorist to the ground - but stopped others from hitting him until officers took over. Reuters 37 Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Finsbury Park mosque this afternoon AP:Associated Press 37 The area outside Finsbury Park Station remains cordoned off this morning PA:Press Association 37 Forensic officers were on the scene following the attack just after midnight Getty Images 37 A forensic tent could be seen on Seven Sisters Road this morning as investigations continue Getty Images 37 Police guard the scene outside the station in North London this morning Getty Images 37 The area was cordoned off after a van ploughed into people leaving a Mosque in Finsbury Park Getty Images 37 Shocked onlookers near the police cordon this morning as Londoners woke up to learn of another atrocity Police said the driver of the van, a 48-year-old man, was found detained by members of the public at the scene before being arrested in connection with the incident. They say he has been taken to hospital as a precaution and will be taken into custody once discharged, where a mental health assessment will be carried out. Eyewitness Adil Rana has described seeing the moment the van ploughed into worshippers. The 24-year-old, from Walthamstow, who was at the mosque said: "I was coming out the mosque and the van was driving towards us to try and hit us at speed and everyone was screaming. "There were people on the floor. "The driver jumped out and he was pinned down to the floor and people were punching him and beating him. "Then the Imam of the mosque actually came out and said don't hit him, hand him over to the police. "I saw the van coming from a distance and I managed to move out the way." The van was driving towards us to try and hit us at speed and everyone was screaming. Adil Rana Describing the driver he said: "He was white and he had an accent and loads of tattoos. "As he was being taken into the van he was saying 'I'd do it again' and mocking people. "The guy knew what he was doing. It feels like it will escalate and violence will only continue from both parties. "God knows what's going to happen next. It's just not fair on everyone else." Hassan Yassin, a minicab driver from Enfield, often prays in the mosque. The 28-year-old said: "The people I have seen attacked are old people. I saw a video of a man who was knocked off his wheelchair. I believe it was a Somalian man. "Pavements don't have any religion. It could have been anyone walking on that pavement - Sikh, Muslim, Buddhist, Christian. "But he specifically targeted Muslims when they were coming out the night prayer." Reuters 37 Forensic investigators stand behind cordon tape at the scene of an attack where a man drove a van at Muslim worshippers outside a mosque Reuters 37 Debris and a forensic officers tent is seen at the scene after a vehicle collided with pedestrians in North London Getty Images 37 A police van leaves the site of Pontyclun Van Hire at the East Side Cambrian Industrial Estate PA:Press Association 37 Theresa May and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick talk to faith leaders at Finsbury Park Mosque in north London Reuters 37 Mohammed Mahmud, the Iman of the Muslim Welfare House, protected the attacker telling crowds to wait for the police Police commissioner Cressida Dick has this morning said: “London has woken up to the news of another appalling attack on our city. “There is now an ongoing investigation by our Counter Terrorism Command to establish why this attack was carried out. “London is a city of many faiths and many nationalities. An attack on one community is an attack on all of us. “Terrorists will not succeed in their attempts to divide us and make us live in fear.” MOST READ IN NEWS Exclusive BRUTE FARCE Albanian killer fighting deportation over right to happy family life beats wife Exclusive PIE ROLLER £148m EuroMillions winner scoffs 50 home-delivered Cornish pasties every WEEK TREE OF TERROR Mum horrified to learn what the strange 'pods' were hanging from branches CRUISE YOU LOSE Clueless couple stranded as cruise leaves WITHOUT them because they're late MOMO NO-NO Momo Challenge in 'Peppa Pig and Fortnite vids' as YouTube and Instagram slammed HEN DO MYSTERY Brit newlywed, 27, 'CLUNG to balcony before fatal Benidorm hotel plunge' Prime Minister Theresa May has condemned the terror attack as "every bit as sickening" as other recent terrorist outrages. She said an early assessment by police suggests the Finsbury Park attacker "acted alone". May added: "All my thoughts are with the victims, their families and the emergency services on the scene." Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “The attack on Westminster bridge, the attack on London bridge, the attack in Manchester, the attack last night - all of these are attacks on our shared values of freedom, tolerance and respect. Terrorism is terrorism. “Of course we are grieving for those victims of terror but also for the Grenfell Tower victims and our thoughts are always with them. "We are a great city we can't allow these terrorists who fuel division to change the way we lead our lives.” Mohammed Kosbar from Finsbury Park mosque said an "attack on one faith is attack on all faiths and communities". He added: "On Saturday June 17, as part of the Jo Cox foundation Great Get Together, members of Islington's differing faith communities gathered at Muslim Welfare House. "We met to celebrate our friendship and our cooperation for the good of our neighbourhood. Less than 48 hours later the same area experienced a terrorist attack aimed at killing Muslims returning home after their Ramadan prayers." Getty Images 37 Muslims pray on a pavement clost to the mosque after a van hit pedestrians Getty Images 37 Home Secretary Amber Rudd has this morning confirmed 'the police are treating it as a terrorist incident' Eyevine 37 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn visits the scene of a terror attack in Finsbury Park “The van drove over people who were leaving late prayers. They were gathering in Seven Sisters Road. “I heard there are fatalities but I don’t want to jump to conclusions. “My concern now is the casualties who have been affected." Transport for London confirmed Finsbury Park station was open, but passengers should use the entrance at Station Place via Stroud Green Road as the Seven Sisters Road entrance is closed. Armed police were scrambled to the scene as casualties were pictured strewn across the road and pavement. The driver was tackled to the ground by bystanders and pinned down before being arrested by police. Two witnesses told BuzzFeed News that the driver got out of the van screaming that he wanted to “kill all Muslims”. Rex Features 37 A wounded person can be seen being taken away on a stretcher Sky News 37 Dozens of people can be seen gathered on the junction close to Seven Sisters Road where the incident happened Rex Features 37 Police stand at the cordon after the road was closed to traffic amid the chaos An eyewitness told Press Association: "The gentleman went straight down this road, people were just conversing, talking, just doing what we're doing. "And he just came into all of us. There was a lot of people. "I was shocked, shocked, shocked. There were bodies around me. "Thank God I just moved to the side, I just jumped. Everyone is hurt. Everyone is actually hurt." Another witness called Khalid told BBC Breakfast onlookers lifted up the van to help a man who was trapped underneath. He said: "One of them was under the van, people were gathered around the van to actually lift the van up to get this guy out from under the van." Eyewitness Ivn Omar told BBC it was "pandemonium". "People screaming, people crying. "After his attack the police arrested him and he was gloating and laughing." Eyewitness tells @jamesrbuk man drove van at pedestrians outside London mosque, then shouted “Kill me, kill me, I want to kill all Muslims” pic.twitter.com/gSgTX05aSQ — BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) June 19, 2017 Local resident Atikur Arhman, 41, told MailOnline: "An elderly man who just came from the mosque, he just fainted and people were picking him up when the van he just sped up and ran them over when the guy was one the floor." Eyewitnesses told LBC radio that the van approached "slowly and intentionally accelerated into crowded cafe outside a mosque". Video footage shared online showed a white male, believed to be the driver, being held by police shortly after 1am. Other footage shows a man giving CPR to a victim in the street while another man's head injury was treated with a makeshift dressing. Witnesses have revealed how people could be heard shouting and screaming amid the chaos and bloodstains were visible on the pavement. Rex Features 37 Armed cops raced to the scene within minutes of the chaos unfolding shortly after midnight on Sunday 37 A Twitter user shared this image showing a police cordon set up at the corner of Seven Sisters Road in North London Rex Features 37 Specialist rescue operations staff were at the scene shortly after midnight as enquiries got underway Local resident Cynthia Vanzella said: “It was really ugly. I saw at least two people on the floor not moving and police officers trying to do chest massage on them.” She had earlier tweeted: "Horrible to watch police officers doing cardiac massage at people on the floor, desperately trying to save them. I just hope they did." In an interview with Sky News, she said: "I was trying to sleep when I heard a lot of noise outside. "I saw many people shouting, taking over half of Seven Sisters Road, I thought that something bad has happened." The Muslim Council of Britain has appealed for calm while police probe the suspected terror attack outside Finsbury Mosque early this morning. Secretary General Harun Khan said it appeared from eye witness accounts that the perpetrator was motivated by Islamophobia. He said: “Many will feel terrorised, no doubt be angry and saddened by what has taken place.” Rex Features 37 Paramedics from London Ambulance can be seen tending to people injured in the incident Rex Features 37 There was a major police presence at Seven Sisters Road in North London after cops were called shortly after midnight London mayor Sadiq Khan said extra police had been deployed to reassure communities, especially those observing Ramadan, and blasted the attack as "an assault on all our shared values of tolerance, freedom and respect". Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who lives yards from the horrifying scene, said he was "totally shocked" by the incident. He tweeted: "I've been in touch with the mosques, police and Islington council regarding the incident. "My thoughts are with those and the community affected by this awful event." Getty Images 37 Flowers and tributes have been left at the scene of the terror attack this morning Getty Images 37 A woman lays flowers at a police cordon near the scene in Finsbury Park this morning The Met Police have urged anyone with information to come forward. They added: "Due to the nature of this incident extra policing resources have been deployed in order to reassure communities, especially those observing Ramadan. "A number police units are at, and managing the cordons around, the crime scene, including local officers and those from neighbouring boroughs - supported by armed officers and the Territorial Support Group." Officers also ruled out reports anyone had suffered knife injuries. The mosque became notorious after the one-eyed and hook-handed hate preacher Abu Hamza became the imam. The incident comes just two weeks after the London Bridge terror attack, where radical Islamists used a hire van to mow people down in the capital. We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 |
'I'm concerned about old things in the county. That's ridiculous people would steal that head.' Stone Head, in better days (Photo: Brown County Historical Society) People are stunned after an odd, iconic statue that has stood in a remote corner of Brown County since before the Civil War was desecrated. Carved from sandstone by an early Indiana settler named Henry Cross and known as Stone Head, the statue was erected to give travelers directions. Carved onto its 2-foot-tall base were directions to nearby towns. On top of the base was a likeness of a human head. The head was lopped off some time during the first week of November. Not only that, it is missing. "It is so very sad to lose the Stone Head," said Alice Lorenz, a longtime county resident and local historical society official who during the 1970s and 1980s owned the statue and the land around it. Said Don Ford, a local musician and longtime resident: "I'm concerned about old things in the county. That's just ridiculous people would steal that head." Stone Head has met with foul play before, Lorenz said. In 1974 the entire piece, the base and the head, came up missing, Police found it four months later in an apartment in Indianapolis. Two teenagers were using it as a hat rack, according to a story published in the Brown County Democrat. When the statue was returned to Brown County, the local historical society, counting itself lucky, proposed to move Stone Head to the safety of Nashville, the county seat. "The next time the statue might not come back, or it might be broken," George Kissling, the group's president, told The Indianapolis Star. A replica was made. The plan, Lorenz said, was to put the replica at the original, remote location and put the original in a museum in Nashville. "But people said, 'No, it should be where it always was,'" Lorenz said. The Stone Head's decapitation is one of three recent acts of vandalism in Brown County that police are investigating. NEWSLETTERS Get the Breaking News newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Urgent developments you should know now, not later. Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-888-357-7827. Delivery: varies Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for Breaking News Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters On Oct. 17 a covered bridge built outside Bean Blossom in 1880 was marked up with graffiti. "SW & CW 4 EVA," a person or persons scrawled on it with white paint. County officials quickly painted over the sweet if ill-placed sentiment. On Nov. 12, some far more threatening graffiti appeared on the walls of St. David's Episcopal Church, also in Bean Blossom: a swastika, "Heil Trump" and an unprintable anti-gay slur. The Brown County Sheriff's Department is investigating all three incidents, Chief Deputy Brad Stogsdill said. "People are trying to make more out of this than there is," he said. "I think it's three separate incidents." There have been no arrests. Call IndyStar reporter Will Higgins at (317) 444-6043. Follow him on Twitter: @WillRHiggins. Read or Share this story: http://indy.st/2g1KSQV |
This month is Romance Month! All of our articles in April deal with romance or relationships (or both!) in games. We are still accepting submissions for guest articles, so feel free to send drafts and/or pitches to Bill Coberly at editor@ontologicalgeek.com! Final Fantasy VIII is probably the game in the series most subject to mockery, both from fans and detractors alike. Reasons vary from a protagonist whose intentionally written to be hard to like, to a radical change in aesthetic from the pseudo-industrial aesthetic that defined Final Fantasy VI and VII (and the series’ broader move away from “fantasy” visuals), to a poorly-executed redesign of character customization that makes the first few hours of the game an obnoxious grind. In particular, its depiction of an awkward, sometimes unhealthy, but deeply sincere teenage romance has become one the most divisive elements of an already divisive game. Personally? The depiction of adolescent romance between two emotionally unhealthy people has always really strongly resonated with me both as someone struggling with depression, and as someone who has been through a fair amount of short-lived teenage romances myself, but I also think that there’s a lot of interesting elements of the romance worth analyzing that make it a strong element of FFVIII even if you have a hard time relating to the characters. I’m going to start by doing short-form analyses of Squall and Rinoa’s personalities on their own, and then try and do the math on how the game makes these two people fit together. Squall When people say they find Squall so deeply unlikable I can’t help but take it personally, especially since he’s been so broadly misrepresented. As a teenager especially I found the character deeply empathetic. At a young age, his sister was taken away from him leaving him grief-struck and alone. I was always glad there was someone in a game going through the same thing I was going through, since I lost my brother when I was 9 years old. Squall may have been able to reconnect with Ellone later, but in some sense the damage was done from the initial trauma: as a teenager, he retreats into a cynical shell and broadly rejects the possibility of making emotional connections with anyone. In his own words: SQUALL “(Think what you want … Reality isn’t so kind. Everything doesn’t work out the way you want it to. That’s why …) As long as you don’t get your hopes up, you can take anything.” But over the course of the game it simply becomes impossible to actually live alone like that. Most of the story of FFVIII comes from Squall interacting with the surrounding cast, and the most important of those interactions are with Rinoa, but they happen with most of the main party members. We know he’s a jerk because he’s belligerent towards Zell in the car heading towards the SeeD field test. His worldview is shown to be shortsighted as early as the conversation he has with Quistis immediately after the first meeting with Rinoa. Even before the end of the first disc, Squall’s ability to be emotionally self-sufficient has come into question: when he learns that Seifer may have been executed, the possibility of it sinks in and he freaks out. Later in the game, when Rinoa goes into a coma and Squall faces the possibility of losing her as well, he again loses grasp of reason, taking it upon himself to carry her across a bridge alone, one that spans a length approximately the size of the Atlantic Ocean. (I am not interested in whether that’s realistically possible.) This is in stark contrast to the popular narrative of Squall as screamo-singer-circa-2004 that’s been prevalent in the Final Fantasy fandom for years now. Squall was never the outwardly expressive type, he’s the one who keeps everything in until he’s full, and then spills. I relate to that. In those years after my brother’s death I often felt responsible for my parent’s emotional well-being, especially my mother’s, and I tried for years to be as unreliant on my parents or friends for emotional support as possible. But of course it doesn’t work that way. SQUALL [as a child] … Sis … [as a teenager] I was always waiting for “sis” to come back. [as a child] I’m all alone. But I’m doing my best … I’ll be ok without you, Sis. I’ll be able to take care of myself. [as a teenager] (… I didn’t turn out ok at all.) I suffer from severe clinical depression that I wasn’t even being properly treated for until sophomore year, and I ended up graduating half a year late. Truth be told I still have a lot of the same unhealthy attitudes even though I’ve tried hard to grow out of them. I’m working on it. It’s getting better. I don’t think it controversial that this idea that men are supposed to be reliant upon themselves and only themselves, that men do not cry, is a masculine construct. I’ve always been thankful for FFVIII’s criticism of at least that part of masculinity as inhuman. So many men suffer because they adhere to this false stoicism, and it’s untrue to themselves. Or, at the very least, it’s untrue to me. The Abstraction of Ludic Romance Let’s get this out of the way: Rinoa is the first crush I ever remember having, at the tender age of about 8 or 9 years old, followed shortly by Dagger from FFIX since I was playing them both at the same time. A little later, I realized I had a crush on a girl in real life because she reminded me of how I felt about Rinoa. Thanks to a hearty combination of hypersexualized mass media, matched with an aggressive set of pro-abstinence and safe-sex PSAs in rotation on AFN, I was pretty aware of human sexuality from a very young age, around 2nd grade. I went into pre-adolescence aware of the fact that, though I wasn’t crushing on girls yet, I would be soon enough. And when you’re young and emotionally vulnerable, it’s a lot easier to admit to yourself that, yeah, that girl in the white dress who’s basically looking into the camera, right at you (the player) is pretty cute than a girl you know in real life. It’s dangerous territory to get into, but, to echo the old cliché, the things onscreen in a videogame cannot hurt you. And while, without a sense of self-control that can lead into unhealthy retreats from everyday life, if practiced with self-awareness I think the abstraction of videogames gives us a great way to deal with things we’re not necessarily ready to deal with in real life. In short: having a crush on someone in real life has real consequences, especially during the early, awkward years of teenage romance. By comparison, having a crush on a character in a videogame is not nearly as dangerous, giving us a controlled space where we can learn more about ourselves, interact with those embarrassing feelings of infatuation (and, yes, even sexual arousal) before we go out into the real world where those feelings can have wildly varying effects on how we interact with other people. But enough about abstraction, let’s talk about Rinoa. Rinoa It’s simple. Rinoa is beautiful, courageous, flirty, well-read, and unendingly kind. She has a cute dog who helps her out in combat. The first time she meets Squall, she walks up to the guy with a fresh, nasty scar right across his face and says: RINOA You’re the best looking guy here. What’s not to like? In fact, her unending list of good traits might be her biggest problem: she’s been accused of being a Manic Pixie Dream Girl, but she doesn’t act as the sole reason Squall’s character grows, which is one of the key characteristics of a MPDG. Rinoa, when we meet her, is the leader of the Timber resistance, and by all accounts she’s doing the best she can (she has the undying adoration of the townspeople and her fellow resistance members) but she falls into obvious traps. Going back to her first appearance, she sees Squall at a party, (looking sullen as is to be expected,) and immediately takes it upon herself to try and get the guy who says he can’t dance to get on the dance floor, and by sheer force of will makes it happen. In other words, Rinoa, for good or ill, is a character who loves sticking her nose in other people’s business. What I find interesting is that Rinoa’s involvement in others’ lives is due to a forced lack of agency in her own. When the party goes to Deling City, we find she lives alone with her father who, playing to type as a General, is domineering and authoritarian, even going so far as to keeping her locked up in the mansion. This is obviously not a functional relationship: he’s General Caraway, and she’s Rinoa Heartilly, presumably her late mother’s maiden name. (Not that the game ever makes a point of bringing that up: subtext!) This recontextualizes her actions up to this point. Rinoa may genuinely believe in her causes, but her impulsive, teenage lust for adventure is kicked into hyper drive by her sheltered and failing home life. In this, and many other ways, she subverts the MPGD tag by, at least early on, failing in her attempts to break Squall’s cynical shell, and she definitely fails outright in her attempts to attain independence for Timber. Her manic pixie characteristics are as much something that makes her admirable as a flaw that emanates from the deepest recesses of her psyche. This serves to broadly criticize the trope, and instead offers something like an investigation of the patriarchal nature of her relationship with her father that informs the rest of her nosey personality. When Rinoa starts to grow out of those MPDG characteristics that define her early on is when her approaches towards Squall start to break his shell a bit. Instead of forcing him to dance, she tries to connect with him in smaller, more meaningful ways. She wakes him up in the morning and asks for a tour of the Garden campus. When he gets promoted to SeeD Commander, she helps throw together a small celebration with the other members of the team. Later, she takes notice of a ring Squall wears that has a lion engraved into it, and asks about it, which is the first time he notices that Rinoa’s trying to get to him. RINOA So that’s what you call it. You know Zell said he’ll make me one exactly like it. Who knows, maybe I can become like a lion, too. That’d be crazy, huh?! I mean, everyone might, y’know, get the wrong idea about us. SQUALL (If it’s so crazy why do you sound so delighted? Everyone is trying to get us together. It’s so obvious even I can tell.) You sound like you want everyone to get the wrong idea. Perhaps that’s what bothers people: in this relationship, Squall’s big romantic, chivalrous gestures of life-saving and such are ones that he barely even perceives to be romantic for the most part. In reality, Rinoa is doing the “courting.” Together Of all the questions that’s been asked about Final Fantasy VIII, one is both persistent and totally, totally nonsensical: “Why are these characters attracted to each other? They have nothing in common. She’s a lively socialite and he’s a sullen recluse … ” and on and on. And while that reading is fair, it’s also based on only a surface level of the two character’s interactions. But really, why do they seem to work as a couple? Or rather, why does the game insist that they do? To go with the most obvious one: these two people are constantly stuck together. I’m not sure if there’s science behind this, but the conventional wisdom that would inform the writing of this game would probably state that any two people who are stuck together for extended periods of time will eventually find something to connect over. Even Tip O’Neill and Ronald Reagan managed to be friends. The character models have aged poorly, but have you seen the FMVs of Final Fantasy VIII lately? Squall and Rinoa are good looking people. (They are video game characters after all.) He’s smolderingly handsome, broad-chested, preferring low cut-shirts. She’s got the cutest face you could ask for, and long legs in short shorts to boot. Can I make it any more obvious? They’re teenagers, so we know they’re hormonal and impulsive, do the math. That’s the other thing: they’re teenagers. There’s not a really interesting way to say this: teenagers don’t make sense, and to insist that just because this is fiction that the teenagers in fiction have to make sense is asinine. Teenagers are half-defined people who are struggling to find a sense of identity, community, and self-worth, and you could trace any number of ills in society to the fact that we ask teenagers to be ready to be ready to define themselves when they are beyond ill-equipped to do so. I can say that, I just turned 20 in January. But there’s also plenty of subtext that, though it wouldn’t make a strong argument that these two people would be happy together, does make it pretty obvious why, at least in the game’s internal logic, these two people might find themselves attracted to each other. First of all: These characters are constantly facing threats to life and limb. They live and work in an incredibly high-stress environment, one that strains their half-formed psyches. If we’re still accepting the idea that people who are stuck together are going to eventually build emotional connections, it’d be hard to find an experience that would lead to deeper connections than going through the same life-threatening dangers together. These characters are very, very lonely. Squall has no family, (his mother having died during childbirth, and his father, Laguna, being the Worst Parent in the History of Videogames) which is why he ended up a SeeD in the first place, which the game indicates may simply just be something about his life he accepted rather than actively sought out. Rinoa lost her mother at a young age, and struggles in adolescence, to connect with her suffocating father. Arguably, Squall’s closest relationship is with Seifer, and that’s the guy who cut his face open. Rinoa, meanwhile, is the type of person who, through a combination of both her own stature (high-ranking military official’s daughter) and her own assumed position of power, has many followers but the game doesn’t show her having any close friends. In short, they don’t bond over things they have in common, they bond over what’s missing in their lives. That, admittedly, is not healthy. But it is very adolescent and painfully real, at least in my experience. I think it’s reasonable to say that Squall, and probably Rinoa too, both suffer from what the game is unwilling to say is clinical depression. I can’t give a symptom-by-symptom analysis here, but suffice to say that as someone who is diagnosed clinically depressed, I have never related more to a character’s outlook and characteristics than I have with Squall. From that perspective, a lot of things start making sense. As of yet, I have only ever dated girls like me who suffer from clinical depression, (or bipolar disorder). I have been in very few dating relationships, but they have all become very intense in very brief periods of time because our passion was compounded by compassion. We loved together and suffered together. Squall and Rinoa may want each other, but more so than that, they need each other. They need the emotional support that they both represent to each other, and that’s exactly how things have worked for me up until this point as well. Future For the audience that’s invested in Squall and Rinoa’s romance, the game can be reticent to give us emotional satisfaction during key moments. During Squall’s biggest chivalrous gestures in the game (carrying her comatose body across the bridge, and saving her in space) there are obvious walls between the two that prevent them from showing their love for each other physically. In the game’s most romantic scene, with Squall and Rinoa on the bridge of the Ragnarok, the camera cuts away from them before we ever seem them even try to kiss. When they do finally kiss at the end of the game, the camera is focusing on them and then zooms out such that we don’t actually see the kiss that, in theory, we’ve been wanting to see the whole time. They don’t even ever say the word “love” to each other. Is that just genre-fiction ship-teasing? Is it self-censorship? It could be both, but it still plays as somewhat significant. The game doesn’t give us any sort of text or other materials that say they got married or anything either. Final Fantasy VIII may go out of its way to show us that these characters love each other, but it doesn’t give us “happily ever after.” It’s better that way. In truth, again, they’re teenagers: they likely won’t end up together forever. When I was younger I hated that, but the more I play the game, the older I get, the more I realize, that’s ok. People grow, people change. Sometimes, the love you feel for someone and the love they feel for you is just another phase of growth and change that you go through on the way to something else. Nothing is permanent, much as our aching hearts may beg for things to be so. I look back on the romances I’ve been involved in, and while sometimes I can’t help but miss one or the other, ultimately I always end up just being glad that we could be there for each other in times of need, and I hope that I left as positive an impact on their lives as they’ve left on mine. Maybe Squall and Rinoa weren’t even meant to be together. Maybe “meant to be together” is something we say to lend significance to a feeling that comes and goes as easily as anything else, much as we’re loath to admit it. What matters is the present. And in those times of need, I’m glad Squall and Rinoa were there for each other when they needed it. Notes: |
The Boeing logo is seen at their headquarters in Chicago, April 24, 2013. REUTERS/Jim Young By Alwyn Scott and Tim Kelly NEW YORK/TOKYO (Reuters) - Boeing Co's (BA) loss of a major Japanese airplane order to rival Airbus (EAD.PA) this week may produce a surprise U.S. benefit - bringing aerospace work home to U.S. companies. Over the past 50 years, Boeing has increasingly outsourced large airplane pieces such as wings and fuselage sections. Its partnerships with Japanese companies carried the understanding that Japanese airlines would keep buying Boeing planes. The virtuous circle gave work to Japan's heavy industrial companies and helped Boeing keep Airbus largely out of the Japanese market. But on Monday, Japan Airlines Co Ltd <9201.T> appeared to shatter the alliance by ordering 31 Airbus A350s to replace 31 Boeing 777s that it will retire this decade. The $9.5 billion JAL deal is considered by some industry experts as likely to prompt Boeing to award less supply work to Japan in the future. Boeing would send that work to other countries, including the United States. Japanese airlines were big buyers of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, which helped justify the large investments Japanese companies made to set up production of major components, said Ron Epstein, an analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The 777X, the next generation of Boeing's popular widebody jet, is supposed to have its design and building launch this year and enter service by 2020. The 787 Dreamliner is the company's latest state-of-the-art widebody aircraft. It has been in service for two years but has encountered numerous technical problems. Since Japan airlines are so far not big buyers of the 777X, "why would industrial policy follow the same plan?" Epstein said. Many people assumed Japan's "heavies" would be involved in the 777X, he added. "Maybe they're not going to be as big players on this." Boeing said it is considering all options on where to build the 777X, but declined to discuss whether the JAL decision would affect its thinking. "We have built a strong relationship with Japan Airlines over the last 50 years and we look to continue our partnership going forward," the company said in a statement on Monday. Officials at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries <7011.T>, Kawasaki Heavy Industries <7012.T> and Fuji Heavy Industries <7270.T> also declined to comment on their potential work on the 777X until after the new plane is formally launched. The launch is widely expected at the Dubai airshow in November, where industry sources say Emirates Airline (EMIRA.UL) plans to order 150 widebody planes, most likely the 777X. However, at Mitsubishi, which is responsible for the 787 wing and would be most affected if Boeing brought wing assembly to the United States, a spokesman suggested the contract is up for grabs. "It's a decision that Boeing will make," he said. "If we are asked to build the wing we will do our best, if not we will still work our hardest." LIMITED OPTIONS Boeing has limited options for where it could build the 777X plane and its components since only a handful of companies have the scale and certification to take on such a project reliably. Among those considered as possible: Spirit Aerosystems in Wichita, Kansas, a former Boeing facility that already makes wing parts and fuselages for Boeing; Triumph Group, headquartered in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, which makes wing, fuselage and structural pieces for planes, as well as composite structures, though not those used for airframes, according to the company website. Boeing also could bring the work in-house, either at its massive factory in Everett, Washington, or at the assembly plant in Charleston, South Carolina, where it builds some 787s. Boeing is buying land to expand that factory. Spirit said it is interested, and noted it is a significant supplier to the 777, making wing, fuselage and underwing components. Triumph did not respond to requests for comment. Korea and China also have been mentioned as possible sites for production of at least part of the 777X. A person close to Boeing with knowledge of the matter said a global cost-cutting initiative by the company would likely force suppliers in Japan to look for low-cost manufacturers in China and India, pointing to a rise in the Chinese portion of supply chain and a reduction for Japan. Story continues |
Tank-Monkey Super-Friend: The Manicorn The Manicorn has been one of my puppet characters for awhile now, but I really enjoy drawing him from time to time. He featured most recently in the Motion Comic series that I did with Ben Kruger over at Lost No Longer Productions. Excited to bring him over here as… uh he has some interesting views that kinda jive in the Tank-Monkeyverse. NO MONKEY BUSINESS The New Book Available to Order Now!: If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter then you may already know that the FIRST Tank-Monkey collection is out and available to order! Soon I’ll be able to offer it through the Vorpal Arrow Store but I have to wait until my orders arrive before I can start fulfilling personalized orders. If you aren’t worried about getting a personalized copy you can order the book now over at CreateSpace or Amazon.com. (I recieve more of the royalties if you choose to buy through CreateSpace which coincidentally is owned by Amazon.com… I don’t know how or why it works that way but it does.) I’m super proud of how it came out! It’s specially reformatted for print and includes many of my favorite pages from the site as well as a pretty hefty section of print exclusive content never before seen online! |
ESPN NFL Insider Ed Werder says it's an encouraging sign that the Broncos slightly modified their offer to Von Miller and plan to speak with Miller and his representative about a long-term deal. (1:15) The Denver Broncos had a phone discussion Friday with pass-rusher Von Miller and agent Joby Branion about his contract, league sources told ESPN's Ed Werder. The Broncos recently modified their offer to Miller and would fully guarantee the third year of their proposed six-year, $114.5 million contract, which would begin in March 2017. The matter of how much, and how quickly, Miller would be paid in guaranteed money in a new deal has been a sticking point between the sides. The changed timeline of guaranteed money was first reported by 9News and confirmed by ESPN. The deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign multiyear contracts is July 15. The total value of the Broncos' proposed contract would be the richest deal ever given to a defensive player. Earlier this week, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter that Broncos general manager John Elway had personally called Miller over the Fourth of July weekend to express a desire to work out a long-term deal, after almost a full month without dialogue between the sides. Sources said Elway and Miller spent about 10-15 minutes on the phone during that call, with Elway telling Miller that the Broncos still love him and want to re-sign him. Elway told Miller during that conversation that Denver would reach out to his agents this week in an effort to jump-start talks. In an interview with ESPN The Magazine's senior writer, Sam Alipour, on Saturday, Miller explained the nature of the phone conversation. "Wanted to take the business side of it, don't talk numbers -- wanted to talk to him man-to-man, tell him how I was feeling," said Miller, who claims he reached out to Elway. "Some of the tactics to use and negotiate. Some of that stuff didn't have to be done, knowing the type of teammate that I am -- knock this stuff out quickly, but they have championship tactics. It works ... way for me to tell them exactly how I felt. Took my agent out of it. Some think the agent has a different message than the player. Wanted to tell him my side. We made progress on that side, getting stuff off my chest, talk to him." Just last month, Miller publicly said he would not play this season under the franchise tag, and all contact between the sides had ceased. Some around the league thought there were hard feelings between the two sides, which could be why Elway personally reached out to Miller. Though the sides have spoken, Miller reiterated he does not want to play under the tag. "Never really played for money, hard to get me to do stuff, but it's bigger than one year," Miller said. "It's a leaguewide problem that I feel like I'm in a situation I can help out with." Miller further explained his belief that the franchise tag is an issue for all players. "Young guys coming up after me, my contract be a starting point for those guys," Miller said. "Came into the league trying to help people out who played before me and after me, but at the end of the day, it's my contract with the Denver Broncos. It's bigger than me, bigger than this -- issue is leaguewide, NFL vs. other pro sports. Huge difference." Miller, the MVP of Super Bowl 50, received the Broncos' exclusive franchise tag on March 1. Unless Miller and Denver can reach an agreement on a long-term deal by July 15, Miller will make the average of the top five salaries at his position for this year. And because it's an exclusive tag, Miller will be prohibited from talking to any other teams. One of the league's best impact pass-rushers, Miller had 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles as the Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers for the championship. He also had 2.5 sacks and an interception in the Broncos' win over the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. Miller had 11 sacks, 35 tackles and four forced fumbles en route to his fourth Pro Bowl selection in 2015. He has 60 career regular-season sacks. Information from ESPN's Adam Schefter and Jeff Legwold was used in this report. |
WR Noah Brown will miss 2015 Ohio State football season Copyright by WCMH - All rights reserved Video COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Ohio State University football player Noah Brown was taken to the hospital Wednesday after reportedly suffering an injury at practice. He will miss the 2015 season, said Jerry Emig, associate director of communications for the OSU athletic department. Copyright by WCMH - All rights reserved Noah Brown (CREDIT: The Ohio State University) Copyright by WCMH - All rights reserved Noah Brown (CREDIT: The Ohio State University) Media interviews were abruptly cancelled following Wednesday's practice session. Brown, a wide receiver, is a sophomore and put up several impressive performances during camp. Full statement from OSU: Ohio State University sophomore receiver Noah Brown suffered a left leg injury during practice today at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Brown, from Flanders, N.J., will have surgery tomorrow at the Ohio State University Medical Center. He will miss the 2015 season but is expected to make a complete recovery. This is not our plan... This is God's plan. Have to have #Faith in His plan and stay true to Him - It will all work out in the end. 🙏🏼 — Zach Smith #Zone6 (@CoachZachSmith) August 26, 2015 Count yo blessings at all times NB I got bro 😪🙏🏾 — Corey Smith Jr (@dreamchaser_cj5) August 26, 2015 |
Retired senator Michael Pitfield, a longtime confidant of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau and a man who wielded enormous political influence, died Thursday after a decades-long struggle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 80. Pitfield was Trudeau’s clerk of the Privy Council and secretary to cabinet. As a senator, Pitfield played an especially prominent role in the repatriation of the Constitution — a “passion project” of his, say his adult children — and the establishment of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982. Photos of the day show him standing behind the Queen as she signed the constitutional proclamation. Michael Pitfield stands behind Queen Elizabeth as Pierre Trudeau signs the 1982 Constitution in Ottawa. ( Ron Bull / Toronto Star file photo ) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered his condolences in a statement late Thursday, saying Pitfield’s legacy is “far-reaching” and “enduring.” “He was a tireless advocate of bilingualism and national unity whose leadership helped bring us closer as a country and make our democracy uniquely our own,” Trudeau said. “On a personal level, I will remember Michael as a family friend, who was especially dear to my father and our family.” Article Continued Below Pitfield, a grandfather of eight, married at the age of 35. He and his wife, Nancy, who died from breast cancer in 1999, are survived by their three children — Caroline, 44, Tom, 42, and Kate, 39. Tom Pitfield was in Europe on the day his father died. His sisters told the Star all three agreed that their father’s lifelong passion was government work, and he advocated taking it up, whether in the public service, the Senate, in political parties or in business “to make the country better.” Pitfield was born in Montreal in 1937. Noted for his intelligence from a young age, he started attending St. Lawrence University at the age of 13. He graduated at the age of 16, then returned to Montreal to enroll in law school at McGill University. Pitfield joined the public service in 1959 as an administrative assistant to Davie Fulton, a justice minister in the Diefenbaker government. In the years that followed, Pitfield pulled off a meteoric rise through the ranks, becoming an influential figure — and the subject of much intrigue in Ottawa — as a top adviser in Pierre Trudeau’s government. The two men had met in the 1960s and forged a close friendship, with news reports claiming that the pair even vacationed together. Pitfield became clerk of the Privy Council at age 37, then the youngest to hold the most senior post in the federal public service. When he retired as clerk of the Privy Council, Pitfield became vice-chair of Power Corp., and continued to work for the Quebec corporate giant for years along with sitting as a senator. Article Continued Below He was appointed to the Senate by Trudeau in 1982 to represent Ottawa-Vanier. Despite his close ties with the Liberal Party of Canada, Pitfield sat as an independent. Pitfield retired from the Senate in 2010, finding himself to ill to continue. He had been seriously sick for some time. News reports in the early 2000s detailed how he made speeches and participated in Senate debates despite severe tremors caused by the disease. Tom Pitfield was chief digital strategist for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s 2015 election campaign and for his campaign to become leader of the Liberal Party. President of the small-l liberal think-tank Canada 2020, Pitfield is married to Anna Gainey, president of the Liberal Party of Canada. Gainey said the Senate was where Pitfield was “comfortable intellectually, and in his element. My understanding is he was a giant in that space, he had very strong views on the Clarity Act and other pieces of legislation.” Caroline Pitfield, now director of policy in the federal health minister’s office, remembered her father’s fierce intelligence, and said his passion was “his commitment to serving the country and his unabashed and enthusiastic idea that you should do so.” “I think he saw it as something sort of akin to teaching or medicine or the priesthood, it was almost a calling for him, that you serve your country and make it a better place.” But Caroline added, “My dad was a great dad before it was trendy to be a great dad.” “He was a dad and a loving husband before anything else,” chimed in Kate Pitfield, who remembers playing checkers on the floor of his office, or watching Sesame Street with him when he came home. “He was an incredibly charming man, a bit of an old soul, with a sparkle in his eye.” Kate Pitfield, who works in advertising in Toronto, said when she told her father she wanted to work at “something more creative” than government, he insisted, “sweetheart, government can be creative too.” A funeral is expected to be scheduled for next week in Montreal. Read more about: |
Police have begun to dismantle some of the camps across France and Belgium where activists have joined together to occupy public spaces and discuss their vision of a new future. The youth-led Nuit debout movement, which grew out of protests against labour reforms, has been holding night-time sit-ins and debates nationwide since 31 March, earning praise from figures such as William Martinet, leader of the students’ union Unef. Manuel Valls, the French prime minister, has responded to some of their concerns by announcing €500m in subsidies for students and young workers. We asked people involved in the movement – which has no leader or official spokesperson – to tell us why they joined some of its events, what they saw when they were there and what might be next. ‘We want a society built on something else than just profit and money-making’ What is happening in France right now with Nuit debout is very important because it expresses the ras-le-bol (to me, fed-upness) of French people as far as political representation is concerned. Basically, it’s all the people who have leftwing sympathies but who feel betrayed by leftwing mainstream political parties. But it’s also more than that, in the sense that many of the people I spoke to in and around these assemblies never voted or don’t want to vote any more. I decided to attend in Lyon, at Place Guichard, and Clermont-Ferrand, at Place de Jaude, and intend to go to Paris in the coming days, because politicians do not represent in any way the aspirations of the people. We want a society built on something other than just profit and money-making. At the events people debate in a peaceful way on many issues. The common ground is the idea that there is more to human life than what is in store according to the people supposed to govern us. The meetings start with general assemblies, where people can speak about whatever issue they think is paramount. Then, small groups gather around different thematic issues such as democracy, action, feminism, ecology, work, etc. Proposals are regularly put up to vote. K Ivanovitch, 38, near Lyon ‘Never before had I felt so involved in democracy’ I attended my first Nuit debout in Brussels on the 6 April (37 March in Nuit debout’s symbolic calendar, which aims to continue the ‘moment’ of 31 March). I decided to take the train there because I finally felt like my voice could be heard and something really significant could be done not just for one group of oppressed people but for all of them at the same time. It’s called la convergence des luttes (the meeting point of struggles). When I reached Place des Barricades, where the Nuit debout was taking place, it was only getting started. There were so few people at that time that it was very easy to take the microphone. A few people and I spoke up about the creation of a committee whose job would be to determine where else the sit-in could take place, and a motion to move the sit-in to Mont-des-Arts, right in the centre of the city, was adopted. It might seem like a boring detail to most people but that was the time I realised how much power everyone had in the Nuit debout. I had spoken up about one issue I had (the dissatisfaction with our small, isolated location) and had it fixed in just a few hours. Never before had I felt so involved in democracy. I know a different paradigm is possible and I know if it can work out its problems (lack of Europe-wide organisation, lack of a long-term action plan, etc), Nuit debout has a good shot at taking the system down and fixing it. Going to Brussels every day is not a possibility for me but I’m getting involved in discussions to organise Nuits debout in my province, Hainaut. I am positive this movement is a step in the right direction and that even if it doesn’t directly lead to anything, it will leave its mark in people’s minds. Elie, student, 20, Mons, Belgium ‘The movement has widespread support, but right now anything could happen’ I have been involved since the beginning – we first took to the streets on 9 March as part of a union and student strike against the new French labour laws. After the second strike, on 31 March, a group of protesters and collectives decided not to go home and called for an occupation of the Place de République called #Nuitdebout. It is now entering day 12. Like Occupy Wall Street and Indignados (an anti-austerity movement in Spain) we are part of an ongoing wave of mobilisations that seeks to challenge the rule of the 1% by taking back public space and creating a glimpse of a better world. The beauty of the square occupation model is that it enables people to engage politically and express themselves in myriad ways. This was on display at the Place de la République in Paris over the weekend, when a group of friends built a wooden house in just under an hour, while Congolese migrants sang revolutionary songs about French colonialism and a late-night debate took place on economic and labour policy. Facebook Twitter Pinterest A makeshift medical clinic at Nuit debout in Paris. Photograph: Sam Cossar/@samcossar On Monday (11 April) police evicted us from the square and demolished community gardens, a public library and free kitchens that had been established. In the evening protesters retook the square, but there was a much stronger police presence. On Tuesday police stopped food and sound equipment entering the Place de la République in an attempt to break up the movement, but some tents and supplies were able to get through. Now anything could happen. The weekend showed that the movement has widespread support, with massive demonstrations on Saturday and tens of thousands of people attending public assemblies, commissions, workshops and concerts on Sunday, but the challenge is to maintain and build on the momentum by working with other social movements. There will be another general strike on 28 April and plans are being discussed to blockade parliament when the labour law is first discussed. After the police evicted the square, thousands returned to retake it on a cold, wet Monday night. That is a good sign this movement is here to stay, but who knows where it will lead. Sam Cossar, 27, environmental activist, Paris Larnell ‘I’ve seen workers rights violations in the US and don’t want to see the same in my adopted country’ I’m originally from the United States and I’ve been going to the protests because of what I see as the root of frustrations with French labour laws – the slow encroachment of US-style workers’ rights. I used to work in Chicago earning $10 an hour and working full-time. My rent was about half my take-home income and I lived in a neighbourhood that regularly experienced gunshots. I’ve experienced the worst of the precarity workers experience in the US, with my colleagues being fired on the spot under right-to-work laws in Illinois, and I just don’t want the same thing to happen here in my adopted country. I also participate because I feel the need to participate in the political process. I studied political science in university, and I’ve grown totally apart from the rhetoric that was regularly expoused during my time in study. I want to be able to affect the world around me, and participating in these protests is finally giving me an outlet. The first night that I attended the debates was on the so-called 40th of March. It was right after the big protest in downtown Lyon and I think many people were agitated, and it didn’t lead to a lot of productivity in discussion. However, on 11 April I went with my boyfriend and participated in amazing discussions with perfect strangers. It reminded me of the close-knit environment of university in the US and the dorm-room debates of the 2008 elections. The event is highly organised: there is even a kitchen, supplied by items from supermarkets and bakeries at the end of the day. In the coming days I hope to participate in the daytime events such as collecting bread and talking to people in the streets. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Day five of the protest in Paris. The phrase convergence des luttes expresses solidarity with other causes. Photograph: Sam Cossar/@samcossar The future hinges on two factors: the response of the government to the situation, and the ability of the movement to coalesce around a set of defined principals and objectives. The movement is extremly young, and at the moment many people are discovering themselves as active participants in a large group for the very first time. As the movement continues, talents will be discovered and I think that the frustrations most people generally feel will be much better channeled into a more concrete and stable political and social movement. Larnell, 26, teacher, Lyon ‘People on their soapbox in Lyon were essentially preaching to the choir’ I attended in Lyon on Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 April (both had over 1,000 people in attendance) because I thought it’d be fun to see what was happening and to listen to the various talks. The event had many different “commissions” about varied topics like housing, education, universal benefit, pay and feminism. These consisted of people getting on their soapbox and saying stuff that everyone already believed: effectively preaching to the choir. The style of the commissions didn’t let people respond to what was said because everyone had to get in line to speak by putting up their hand and then waiting until it was their turn. After the commissions were finished there was then an assemble générale in which each commission told everyone what was decided. In fact this turned out to be just a place to talk about the organisation of the Nuit debout and complain about stuff. Throughout the whole assembly hardly any policies or thoughts linked to the ideas of the movement were expressed, so it was a bit disappointing. Richard, 26, teacher, Lyon ‘It’s a beginning, but it really seems to be a determined one’ I attended five of the general assemblies/sit-ins because Nuit debout seemed primarily in response to the new labour laws, which to me are unacceptable. But the debates and discussions are going much further. Nuit debout protesters occupy French cities in revolutionary call for change Read more It is now about everything that goes wrong with societies, in France but also of course everywhere. It is about profit domination and its consequences, and about irresponsible exploitation of Earth’s natural and human resources.I think one of the common reasons for everyone to be here is that our societies prevent most people from making sense of their lives. We are given no other choice but to be in collusion with a system that creates a catastrophic social and ecological situation. It seems that most people here don’t want to accept that any more. We want to act, to get involved and make things change because the leaders are not doing it, and it seems that if we want things to change by ourselves, it has to happen first with gathering, talking and learning to get to know each other on a bigger scale, with tolerance and without discrimination so we can build up strong ties about what we agree on, which values the society we want need to be built upon. It’s a beginning, but it really seems to be a determined one. Name withheld, 34, Paris |
924 SHARES Share Tweet GYNX (pronounced jinx) is a new play by Alicen Grey, currently in production and premiering Off-Broadway this August. It tells the story of five women who find common cause in fighting rape culture, but their methods are a little unconventional. They carefully select known rapists, castrate them and release them. Do the ends justify the means? When justice has been denied to women since prehistory, how do women take our power back? Grey is fearless in naming male violence, which isn’t a surprise if you’re familiar with her work. But perhaps the most shocking thing about the play (hang onto your seatbelts, women, there are curves ahead!), is the refusal to turn away from the weakness, fear, and power dynamics that threaten the feminist movement. Throughout, a dark humour balances all the destruction. Grey has already started to get attention for her effort, with a feminist director signed on, a running start on her IndieGoGo campaign, and, unsurprisingly, plenty of hate from pathetic men. I had a chance to interview Grey about all of this. *** Jocelyn Macdonald: What was the initial spark of inspiration? Alicen Grey: Anger and grief! Around December 2015, someone sent me an article about the history of underground abortion operations run by feminists. As I read it, this rage bubbled up in me — not only because such operations are necessary, but because I’d never even heard of the “living room abortion movement.” These women risked their lives to save others’, they worked so hard for no recompense, and some were jailed. After all that, they were erased from feminist discourse. Now, all mainstream feminists talk about is whether lipstick and high heels are empowering. How did we go from being so radical to being so easily pacified? Around the same time, a friend and I were talking about how some countries castrate sex offenders with remarkable success. That same rage bubbled up. I said: “Why don’t governments do more to protect us? Better question: why are we still waiting around for them to care? Imagine what would happen if we all took matters into our own hands — if we gave ourselves abortions and made rapists fear for their lives.” When I said that, suddenly I got this vision of a man strapped down to a table, surrounded by five women wearing masks. It felt like a vision from the future. I was overcome with this insatiable craving to write, unlike any inspiration I’ve felt for a creative project before. Now, a year and a half later, I’ve written a play in which five women do take matters into their own hands… And it’s premiering Off-Broadway this August. JM: Any particular reason you chose theatre as the medium for this story? AG: At first it was a fun “Why not?” thing, because I’ve been both a writer and a theatre kid all my life, yet somehow I hadn’t put those two passions together until now. But when I decided to seriously produce it, there were so many rejections and hurdles to jump, just to get in the theatre door — it wasn’t so fun anymore. Then I realized theatre was the perfect medium for a story like GYNX. Theatre, like most of the arts, has a shameful history of misogyny: female playwrights, directors, and production staff have trouble finding work or being taken seriously, and there’s plenty of misogyny in casting as well. And while most art forms are relatively accessible to the average person, theatre absolutely requires space — not to mention lots and lots of resources. Those theatre spaces and resources are heavily guarded by elitism, racism, misogyny, and classism, which is why we rarely see marginalized people succeeding in the theatre world. Any feminist who’s done her reading can tell you that this is consistent with the misogyny that permeates the globe, as space and resources are two things universally denied to women. GYNX is a story about women who reclaim the streets from the men who’ve attempted to silence and erase them. So, not only is the process of producing GYNX literally challenging the erasure of women in the arts, but it’s also metaphorically challenging the erasure of women in the world at large. JM: Your play is the story of a group of vigilantes who exact justice on the men who society refuses to even name as the agents of sex trafficking, child sexual abuse, rape, gay bashing, environmental degradation, and so much more rampant violence. You’ve always explicitly discussed male pattern violence in a way that many writers are reluctant to. How do you expect a male audience to react to being so directly challenged by GYNX? AG: I’ve been getting some creepy feedback from men already, so I expect it to get 10 times creepier when the show actually debuts. One guy who was supposed to give an objective review of GYNX ended up debating me about one of the rapes in the script, in which the woman didn’t explicitly say no — and the way he was arguing, he sounded personally offended. So we can make some assumptions about things he’s done… Another guy wrote this long, grotesque email to me, claiming that he’s a serial rapist but “regrets” his actions and wants me to castrate him on film. I reported his email but never got a response from the police (shocker). Also, two guys have requested to play rapists, with a bit too much enthusiasm. I think GYNX brings out the worst in men, in a good way. It makes them expose themselves. Media that unapologetically describes reality always has that effect. Whenever women try to talk about male pattern violence, men respond with more male pattern violence (threats, misogynist slurs, sexual harassment, assault, etc.). The irony is lost on them. But it’s not lost on those of us who see sadopatriarchy for what it is and are trying to change it. JM: Do you expect backlash because this play is so radical? AG: Absolutely! In fact, I’m counting on the angry masses of men that populate Reddit and 4chan to do our promotional work for us. (Just kidding.) But yes, I expect wrath from MRAs and maybe liberal feminists too. I’ve been trashed on Reddit, 4chan, and Tumblr so many times, I don’t even flinch anymore. There was a time when I gave a fuck. Those days are over. JM: Do you have a plan for dealing, personally and in the real world, with male violence, boycotts, or harassment? AG: We did put aside a certain amount in our budget for security. It’s sad and infuriating that a play might inspire atrocious violence from men, but we’ve seen it before, and we don’t want to see it again. Part of why I brought Maridee Slater on board as the director for GYNX’s first production is because she produced a play at Fringe Fest NYC in 2015 called The Boys Are Angry. It’s about the toxic masculinity that drives these online anti-feminist sausage parties. Inevitably, they wound up being harassed and trolled by 4chan dwellers. But the whole team pushed through and produced the play anyway. When I was choosing a director, I didn’t want just anybody who called themselves “feminist.” I wanted someone who had already been through the fire and was willing to go through it again. Raising consciousness about women’s oppression is not easy work. And if feminism is easy for you, you might be doing it wrong. JM: What do you want the audience to come away with after seeing your play? AG: Based on the responses I’ve gotten so far, it seems like people are expecting GYNX to spark a debate about the ethics and efficacy of castrating rapists. And like, sure, people can have that debate. I’m down for that. But the whole rape-revenge plotline of GYNX is actually a Trojan Horse. I’m trying to put ideas in people’s heads — plant seeds. I want everyone — men and women — to walk away from this play asking themselves: What more can I do for women? JM: How would you personally answer that question? AG: I’ve been meditating on that a lot lately, and I’ve come up with more questions than answers. Is tweeting pro-feminist sentiments enough to qualify one as a feminist? Does activism mean marching and holding signs, then going home and saying you did your part? Those tactics can be part of our strategy, absolutely. But too many of us stop there. We get too comfortable doing all our activism in a way that requires very little action. We state our opinions loudly and proudly, and we virtue-signal our asses off, but at the end of the day, that doesn’t restore tangible resources to the marginalized groups we’re shouting about. So I want to inspire all of us to think about how we can make our activism less demonstrative and more impactful. In the play, we meet one character who taught herself how to administer surgical abortions to desperate women. We meet another character who taught herself how to hack child porn websites and infect pedophiles’ computers with viruses. These characters are based on real women I’ve read about. Their work humbles me. Because they exist, I don’t feel like I’ve earned the right to call myself a feminist yet. Most women haven’t, if we’re being honest here. So with this play, I’m kind of shaking my fellow self-identified feminists by the shoulders and screaming, “There are so many ways we can meaningfully impact women’s lives! Why are we still wasting our time on Facebook debates and Twitter wars?!” *** JM: When will this play see a stage? AG: GYNX is premiering Off-Broadway at the Thespis Theatre Summerfest in NYC! Show dates are August 21st, 25th, and 27th. We’re going to need all the support we can get, so we’re asking people to donate whatever they can to our IndieGoGo campaign. Unlike most theatre crowdfunding campaigns, which only offer “producer credits” or a “social media shout-out” for your contribution, we’re giving people a chance to see GYNX for themselves. No matter where you are in the world, you can watch a professional recording of GYNX archived online, for a donation of only $25, which is the same cost as a ticket to the live show. All the info you need is at the website: www.gynxtheplay.com. I’m so excited for everyone to see this show! 924 SHARES Share Tweet Guest Writer One of Feminist Current's amazing guest writers. |
Ajax coach Frank de Boer is open to taking charge at Liverpool next summer if Brendan Rodgers leaves the club, according to his twin brother Ronald. Rodgers, who led the Reds to second place in the Premier League last season, has been unable to match that form this term, with his side lying 10th after Sunday's 3-0 defeat at Manchester United. With the club also eliminated from the Champions League last week, former Liverpool defender Steve Nicol has suggested that the manager's job is in danger. Reds centre-back Kolo Toure said it was "crazy" to speculate about the future of Rodgers, who retains the support of American owner Fenway Sports Group. But De Boer has been a candidate for the Liverpool job in the past, having rejected an approach in 2012 before Rodgers was appointed. Asked if the Liverpool job was still a possibility, his brother Ronald -- a teammate at Ajax, Barcelona and Rangers, as well as with Netherlands -- told Fox Sports: "Not yet, especially in the winter, but at the end of the season he surely could. Ajax coach Frank de Boer has been linked with the Liverpool job in the past. "It's a nice club. If Liverpool come now, he would certainly think about it. He would certainly not close the door immediately, like he did two years ago." The Ajax boss, who has led the club to the Eredivisie title in each of his four seasons in charge, said in 2012 that he was not ready to manage Liverpool, having been one of a dozen candidates sounded out by Fenway Sports Group. He said then: "I am honoured by the request, but I am only just getting started with Ajax." De Boer, though, told BBC Sport in February 2014 that he would be interested in managing Liverpool or Tottenham because both clubs are his "cup of tea." Ronald, who is a youth coach at Ajax, then told talkSPORT in March that Tottenham had sounded his brother out two months earlier to replace then-boss Tim Sherwood. Ajax, like Liverpool, have dropped into the Europa League after they came third in their Champions League group this season, finishing behind Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain. The Dutch champions have recovered from losing two of their opening four Eredivisie games to sit second in the table, one point behind leaders PSV Eindhoven. |
More than 60 moons are known to orbit Saturn, but few of them are as visually striking as Iapetus. Named formally after the Greek mythological Titan, Iapetus is sometimes referred to as the "painted," or "yin-yang" moon, due to puzzling variations in its surface composition. The moon's trailing hemisphere, shown here, is so bright and reflective as to resemble snow (click here for a much, much closer look); but if you direct your gaze eastward towards the moon's leading hemisphere, you'll see a material, dark as freshly poured asphalt, start to dominate its surface. Advertisement The composition of this dark material is unknown, but infrared spectra suggest it comprises some dark form of carbon. Also unclear is how this soot-colored substance came to paint Iapetus in the first place. According to NASA: Close inspection indicates that the dark coating typically faces the moon's equator and is less than a meter thick. A leading hypothesis is that the dark material is mostly dirt leftover when relatively warm but dirty ice sublimates. An initial coating of dark material may have been effectively painted on by the accretion of meteor-liberated debris from other moons. This and other images from Cassini's Iapetus flyby are being studied for even greater clues. [Photo by The Cassini Imaging Team, via NASA] |
The year was 1946. Penicillin had only recently become widely available, flu vaccines were a new phenomenon and it would be several years before Watson and Crick would describe the structure of DNA. That year, Florence “Seesee” Rigney started working as a student nurse at the Tacoma General School of Nursing, then part of Tacoma General Hospital in Washington. The job was her lifelong dream. "I love nursing," Rigney said in 2013. "Since I was a little girl, it was something that I always wanted to do." And, boy, has she done it. Rigney is now 90 years old and still a working nurse -- at Tacoma General Hospital, no less. The nonagenarian celebrated her birthday on May 8. In a message penned in her honor, Bill Robertson, president and CEO of MultiCare Health System, which runs Tacoma General, wrote that Rigney had worked “on and off” for the Multicare group for “nearly 70 years.” “She is the oldest practicing nurse in the United States,” Robertson said. “Just imagine all the changes SeeSee has seen in her life.” According to a video uploaded by Multicare nurse Martie Schultz, Rigney’s colleagues surprised her with a birthday celebration on her special day, adorning her with a pink sash and glittery crown. One of her colleagues also read a special letter that Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) had written in Rigney’s honor. “Happy birthday, Seesee. Your story is an inspiration to me and all Washingtonians,” Inslee is quoted as saying. An emotional Rigney thanked her colleagues for their warm wishes as they all whooped and cheered. “I know I’m a pain in the you-know-what,” she joked. “Thank you all.” Rigney currently works as a surgical nurse at Tacoma General twice a week. In 2013, Multicare said that the then-88-year-old no longer worked directly with patients during surgeries, but rather set up the operating rooms. “[SeeSee] still pursues her lifelong profession with the same energy, focus and careful execution of her duties that has marked her career across seven decades,” Robertson said last week. “And she still inspires those around her.” |
Ty Lawson has a perception problem. The 29 year old tested positive for alcohol on three separate occasions, according to the Denver Post. Before his private life became public one more time, Lawson was thought of as an alcohol abuser not smart enough to get a designated driver, and perhaps, Lawson was a straight up alcoholic in denial. Nuggets President Josh Kroenke told Yahoo’s Marc Spears in July of 2015 that Lawson came to practice inebriated, implying liquor was his drug of choice. “The problems had been there for several years, going back to when we were having a lot of on-court success. There were just a lot of times where you were at practice and you just know. You could smell it.”(Josh Kroenke, Nuggets President) In response, Lawson said, ” I did my job. I wasn’t a disappointment.” Ty Lawson wasn’t a disappointment after winning the NCAA title in 2009. He was a mid-first round pick. Undersized for a point guard (5’11”), he was a combo guard who had the know how to organize a team. His first two years in the league, he was a 50+% shooter. That dipped the next two years when he shot 48.9% and 46.1%. A year ago, in which turmoil surrounded Lawson, choking away his career, he hadn’t been able to put the ball in the hole consistently enough. In Houston, he was a sickening 38.7% shooter. He was a little bit better in Indy but he only played 18 minutes a game. The 9.6 assist Ty Lawson of 2014-15 had been buried so far beneath the ground everyone forgot who Ty Lawson used to be. Instead, they are focusing on what they see right now. What they see right now is a player who cannot give up alcohol, even when ordered to, even when faced with public shame. Like a recalcitrant child, Lawson has to be dragged back into court to explain himself. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest because of (3) failed sobriety tests and a failure to complete his community service commitments. Perhaps he lacks self-awareness. This isn’t Adam Silver and NBA justice we are talking about here. This is real life. Judges don’t like it when they give orders and those orders are ignored. They think they are being played. Last summer, a free agent, Ty Lawson was a spectator as all the unrestricted A-level talent swooped up big money. No one wanted Ty Lawson on their team. The interpretation was pretty simple. Teams didn’t consider Lawson a starting point in the league. His stock took a nose dive; his value was shrinking by the minute. He was a cautionary tale: don’t take your career for granted. And then the Kings rescued him by offering him a one year contract. Of course, a lot of what has happened to Ty Lawson he is responsible for. He allowed an off the court narrative to define his on-court identity. Mention Ty Lawson in a sentence and you automatically talk about his drug of choice: alcohol. And his lack of discipline. Two DUI arrests within six months of one another speak to a problem no NBA team wants to deal with. Teams could manage the particulars if Lawson’s talent was extreme but Lawson, even in his greatest season- 15.2 points, 9.6 assists- was a good player, not a great one. It began unraveling for Lawson when he was stopped in Los Angeles in 2015 for speeding and then he failed a field sobriety test. A similar incident occurred six months earlier, in January, in Denver. In 2012, he was on the wrong end of a driving infraction and he was cited for careless driving and driving with a restricted license. In 2013, he was arrested because of domestic violence related harassment. When Chauncey Billups said that Lawson did not exhibit, and perhaps, did not possess the leadership intangibles needed to run a team, that woke a lot of people up. Billups doesn’t speak often in the negative. Billups unblemished character, as well as his experience with the point guard/leader position, gave him the credibility and authority to say what many were thinking but were keeping silent about. Ty Lawson is wrecking his career. He is too old for this kind of behavior. The pressurized bubble of the NBA can twist the outcome of a NCAA champion and Bob Cousey Award winner and ACC Player of the Year. Once upon a time, Ty Lawson seemed to have everything. But will everything be reduced to nothing when he makes his court date on March 22nd in Denver? As a requirement of his probation, Lawson was supposed to quit drinking; he agreed to the terms. The court randomly tested him and he failed which was the purpose of the test in the first place. To monitor his ability to discipline himself. Lawson was also supposed to complete 48 hours of his community service and have 52 hours of therapy. The community service was punishment for his crime and the gift of not going to jail. If his probation is revoked, the calculus changes. For the ordinary, probation violations lead straight to lock up. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.00. But Lawson isn’t ordinary. He is a wealthy NBA player. Will a different form of justice be applied than say if he was a drunk who hauled trash for a living? Lawson defended his reputation last summer when he was looking for a job. “I’m not a person out here like everyone thinks that I’m drunk all day. No, I don’t do that. A lot of my friends, we go out and celebrate. But I’m not that person in the morning getting drunk before practice. I think there is a big misconception about what everybody thinks.” (Lawson to ESPN) Admitting that he likes a party is in itself what makes NBA execs nervous, considering his documented history of getting stopped by the police and arrested. Whether Lawson wants to admit it to himself or not, he is a risk. Alcohol is a problem; his history says so. And worse, he is almost 30. He should know better. The NBA is a profession in which stress under pressure is the job description. The mixture of stress and stress relief and the magic elixir of alcohol has everyone falling into their stereotype lanes. NBA players are investments. Lawson is ruining the financial investment. No. NBA players are human. They need our help. Empathy or tough love aside, NBA general managers have always been in the prediction business. They base a lot of their decision making on metric data and gut feelings. The metrics pointed to a Ty Lawson decline in 2015-16. Out of 80 point guards, Lawson was ranked 79th, measuring on-court impact. The year before, he was ranked 19th. That is a precipitous fall. Where exactly does Ty Lawson go from here? Court first. A tongue lashing by the judge and his lawyer trying to save Lawson from jail. Maybe jail is what Lawson needs. He is free falling down the hill without anyone pushing him. He doesn’t realize he is reaching the bottom faster this way, worse than if he ripped up his ACLs. If he can’t save himself, a judge just may have to intervene on his behalf. This season Lawson is averaging 9.3 points which is an uptick to last year’s 5.7 but far below his 15.2 points of 2014-15. He is a horrible three point shooter, 29%. He is the 25th best point guard, in terms of on court impact, so he has been able to turn his career around and show he is valuable (Real Plus-Minus). However, his decision making to continue drinking when the courts forbade him to points to a reckless personality that many GM’s don’t want to trust. Lawson is on a one year deal in Sacramento. His boss, Valde Divac, used as an excuse (that no one believed) that the trading of star DeMarcus Cousins was all about the character test. Take Vlade at face value. Will that same test be used to judge Lawson in the negative so this is his last year in Sac town? On the other hand though, can a humbled Lawson- he needs to put his arrogance aside, these are desperate times- convince teams to hire him again? If you are in the camp that believes a person is their behavior, what they do is who they are, than Ty Lawson just delivered a strong message to NBA GM’s: I can’t handle this. photo via llananba |
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[2a00:1450:400c:c00::22e]) by mx.google.com with ESMTPS id m8si30409258wik.106.2015.02.25.19.12.00 (version=TLSv1.2 cipher=ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 bits=128/128); Wed, 25 Feb 2015 19:12:00 -0800 (PST) Received-SPF: pass (google.com: domain of cheryl.mills@gmail.com designates 2a00:1450:400c:c00::22e as permitted sender) client-ip=2a00:1450:400c:c00::22e; Authentication-Results: mx.google.com; spf=pass (google.com: domain of cheryl.mills@gmail.com designates 2a00:1450:400c:c00::22e as permitted sender) smtp.mail=cheryl.mills@gmail.com; dkim=pass header.i=@gmail.com; dmarc=pass (p=NONE dis=NONE) header.from=gmail.com Received: by mail-wg0-x22e.google.com with SMTP id k14so5332826wgh.4; Wed, 25 Feb 2015 19:12:00 -0800 (PST) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20120113; h=mime-version:in-reply-to:references:date:message-id:subject:from:to :cc:content-type; bh=YCKTCG+kz5SccKgPabH6Q1bJP9lfurnd9o8HP3VlYGs=; b=xe1QQz3jW+s9FO0ANiCvqgxb9vvGNyYabvR+g5T07z/XFDB9VvOvw570fcmtcpKJ6X YEWOLX9ZK61wWrbynX4Z+39WtLmYIlGQqaNU+nKuyVD0i+68ps6Y+BS2azqoFeoZOozT MAxR3QUy29XXQNB24Aj8A0vP/NXE0ToeImqeptHYdrZqyFl8owgKxVq3b56OapyrwfDF ViFDRrWj3XzcBkuyiGsgN31zTxTIv4uv/WglQaetXgq36FcxyTEv5VJRdEHx1j+3MfjO 4d+oc1SQYG5ExbGHteW5Iu4IWXEI3v5FZ2McMJCh8jvhAvLOc0h1iZbBJlXnzSlJ4UXG 4tyg== MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Received: by 10.180.75.179 with SMTP id d19mr41187490wiw.0.1424920320334; Wed, 25 Feb 2015 19:12:00 -0800 (PST) Received: by 10.27.51.1 with HTTP; Wed, 25 Feb 2015 19:12:00 -0800 (PST) In-Reply-To: <1A676E33-1235-4CD0-869A-63474D1B3853@clintonfoundation.org> References: <4412E8B6-F0FF-4567-B9DA-CB7825000428@clintonfoundation.org> <8686912F-5089-49C5-B787-46D2A19D6137@clintonfoundation.org> <1A676E33-1235-4CD0-869A-63474D1B3853@clintonfoundation.org> Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2015 22:12:00 -0500 Message-ID: <CALk44aC5A5KHz0Mt2gk24LKZZJMJvcNGAJaOLH02TWkmNUw0Fw@mail.gmail.com> Subject: Re: Haiti Donation Statement Draft From: Cheryl Mills <cheryl.mills@gmail.com> To: Craig Minassian <cminassian@clintonfoundation.org> CC: Bruce Lindsey <blindsey@clintonfoundation.org>, John Podesta <john.podesta@gmail.com>, Maura Pally <mpally@clintonfoundation.org>, Tina Flournoy <Tina@presidentclinton.com>, Bari Lurie contact <bari@chelseaoffice.com>, Ami Desai - PC <ami@presidentclinton.com>, Matt Mckenna - gmail <matt.mckenna@gmail.com>, Angel Urena - PC <angel@presidentclinton.com>, Nick Merrill <nmerrill@hrcoffice.com>, Kamyl Bazbaz contact <kamyl@chelseaoffice.com>, Brian Cookstra <bcookstra@clintonfoundation.org>, Philippe Reines <pir@hrcoffice.com> Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary=f46d0438951386e17c050ff51dbc --f46d0438951386e17c050ff51dbc Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 i am good with that approach (nick/pir - you may want to reach out to DOS in am so they aren't surprised and have the context so if asked at the podium they are prepared) On Wed, Feb 25, 2015 at 9:33 PM, Craig Minassian < cminassian@clintonfoundation.org> wrote: > I agree > > This is a modified version of what we sent the post - is everyone okay > with this? > > > > Sent from my iPhone > > > On Feb 25, 2015, at 9:23 PM, Bruce Lindsey < > blindsey@clintonfoundation.org> wrote: > > > > Why wouldn't we tell others what we told the Washington Post. At least > that way they won't have to cite the Post as their source. > > > > Sent from my iPhone > > > >> On Feb 25, 2015, at 9:19 PM, Craig Minassian < > cminassian@clintonfoundation.org> wrote: > >> > >> All - not surprisingly, we've received a number of follow up questions > asking for confirmation of the Algeria donation. We could let it sit or > confirm for other outlets with the following draft statement: > >> > >> "Immediately following the devastating earthquake in Haiti January 12, > 2010, the Embassy of Algeria made an unsolicited donation of $500K to > Clinton Foundation Haiti Relief fund. As the Clinton Foundation did with > all donations it received for Haiti, the entire amount of Algeria's > contribution was distributed as aid. This donation was disclosed publicly > on the Clinton Foundation website, however, the State Department should > have also been formally informed. This was a one-time, specific donation > for Haiti relief and Algeria had not donated to the Clinton Foundation > before and has not since." > >> > >> > --f46d0438951386e17c050ff51dbc Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <div dir=3D"ltr">i am good with that approach (nick/pir - you may want to r= each out to DOS in am so they aren't surprised and have the context so = if asked at the podium they are prepared)</div><div class=3D"gmail_extra"><= br><div class=3D"gmail_quote">On Wed, Feb 25, 2015 at 9:33 PM, Craig Minass= ian <span dir=3D"ltr"><<a href=3D"mailto:cminassian@clintonfoundation.or= g" target=3D"_blank">cminassian@clintonfoundation.org</a>></span> wrote:= <br><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-lef= t:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">I agree<br> <br> This is a modified version of what we sent the post - is everyone okay with= this?<br> <br> <br> <br> Sent from my iPhone<br> <span class=3D""><br> > On Feb 25, 2015, at 9:23 PM, Bruce Lindsey <<a href=3D"mailto:blind= sey@clintonfoundation.org">blindsey@clintonfoundation.org</a>> wrote:<br= > ><br> > Why wouldn't we tell others what we told the Washington Post.=A0 A= t least that way they won't have to cite the Post as their source.<br> ><br> > Sent from my iPhone<br> ><br> >> On Feb 25, 2015, at 9:19 PM, Craig Minassian <<a href=3D"mailto= :cminassian@clintonfoundation.org">cminassian@clintonfoundation.org</a>>= wrote:<br> >><br> >> All - not surprisingly, we've received a number of follow up q= uestions asking for confirmation of the Algeria donation. We could let it s= it or confirm for other outlets with the following draft statement:<br> >><br> </span>>> "Immediately following the devastating earthquake in H= aiti January 12, 2010, the Embassy of Algeria made an unsolicited donation = of $500K to Clinton Foundation Haiti Relief fund. As the Clinton Foundation= did with all donations it received for Haiti, the entire amount of Algeria= 's contribution was distributed as aid. This donation was disclosed pub= licly on the Clinton Foundation website, however, the State Department shou= ld have also been formally informed. This was a one-time, specific donation= for Haiti relief and Algeria had not donated to the Clinton Foundation bef= ore and has not since."<br> >><br> >><br> </blockquote></div><br></div> --f46d0438951386e17c050ff51dbc-- |
laneige power essential skin toner - normal to dry skin skinfood peach sake pore serum Initially I was like "meh." about Skinfood's Peach Sake Pore Serum. It smelled very nice (peaches!!!), was pretty moisturising and is more like a light moisturiser than a serum, but it wasn't a WOW!!!! level of hydration that I'm currently STILL searching for. (The bottle is cute, except for paper based cap...Skinfood, why??!) I used about a third of the bottle within two or three months but grew bored as I was using other products. It went on easily and my face absorbed the slightly runny serum fairly well, but I had to be careful how much I put on to avoid any stickiness. It does leave a slight silky thin film, which if you tend to have dry skin, can help to reveal flakes on your faces. It also can be a little drying, so I tended to use this every second or third day in my routine. Basically, I grew tired of the tedious bullshit. More than a few months passed and I saw that I had about half left of my bottle, and began thinking of ways how to use this product up. I started using it on my neck. Later, I read on the AB subreddit ad in a few blogspots where others had re-purposed the Skinfood serum as a primer or a moisturiser. I decided to try the serum out as a primer, put on before my makeup routine. Much better! Now I'm finally done with this!! Will I repurchase? Yes, but only if it's a good price and only if I'm using it as a primer. But I'm sure there are better primers out there that are similar. dr jart+ ceramidin liquid skin saver HELL YEAH THIS IS MY JAM. My liquid jam. Hand down, Dr Jart+ Liquid Ceramidin has helped my dry flaky cheeks to become normal throughout 2014 and 2015, so that when I wear foundation, it doesn't stick and look cakey. This is my second container and I'm definitely repurchasing, probably through Sephora. I do layer this after using Hada Labo's Gokujun Lotion, but I find that it works best during spring and summer--both actually do. I have had to cut down usage of the liquid ceramidin to every second night, otherwise my face is too sticky the next morning as it doesn't absorb well when it's too cold in my house--it's been pretty cold up here in WA. laneige water sleeping pack - mini size Also part of the hydration travel kit from Target is a mini of Laneige's Water Sleeping Pack. I finished this up fairly quickly (within a month) but leaving about a finger-scoop worth left for a reminder of the scent and texture. Laneige's Water Sleeping Pack in my limited experience is a good sleeping pack. It isn't great but it isn't bad but it performs a essential fuction: to hydrate while you sleep. I find that I don't need to use a controlled amount to avoid stickiness--for some reason, it doesn't happen with this pack (or the E Choice fermented tea pack, either). I tend to use a quarter-szed amount, focusing on my cheeks and chin for maximum hydration. I ususally choose this as the last step in my routine. The light floral / ocean?? scent isn't overpowering like how it is with the Laneige toner and Water Bank emulsion, but it's still a noticeable scent. The steep price of the sleeping pack is annoyingly steep, so buying online is a better bet. In the coming weeks, I want to take a close look at the ingredients and study it to see what ingredients seem to be working for my skin. hada labo gokujun hyaluronic lotion - moist hyaluronic acid up like a thirsty beast. I liked it a lot, but I want to try out the Shirojun line to compare the two before calling the Gokujun moist lotion anything close to HG, and sharing my full thoughts. I also try out ordering from Cosmebox on Rakuten. I bought the hydration kit, purchased last summer??? from Target, which contains six travel sizeproducts for USD$29. Since purchasing, I've been slowly using the items in the kit. This toner though, has to be my least favorite in the kit...The toner is more like a watery, liquid lotion (like's) but with a strong smell of alcohol. I believe alcolhol is high on the ingredients list, too--I can't confirm for sure because I accidently threw the paper insert with all the ingredient listings for each product away. /sobThistoner didn't dry my face out necessarily, but it didn't add much hydration or anything to my skin either. Nothing remarkable happened. I can handle the smell and severity of thefar better, sadly....so it's safe to say that I would not purchase the full size.I liked the sleeping pack so much bought the full size around Black Friday??? last year and gifted it myself for Christmas. t was about USD$35.HELL YEAH!!!! I bought's cult, in moist, around August 2015. I just finished it up yesterday (late-Jan 2016) and I honestly couldn't believe how fast I went through this bottle!!I used theprimarily a lot during last summertime and going into autumn; my face drank theSide note: the kanji 極 and 潤 are now forever ingrained in my head. 肌研さん、あざす！Anyway, that's all my AB empties for now. See you! |
It’s time to start packing on that extra “holiday weight.” It’s November. Halloween laid a solid foundation of high fructose corn syrup, but now it’s time to do the heavy lifting with extra helpings of sweet potatoes during Thanksgiving. And pies. Don’t forget the pies. And rich, decadent beers from your favorite craft breweries. ‘Tis the season for barrel aged porters and stouts and imperial everything. Get ready to loosen your belt. Motherland Russian Imperial Stout Hopworks Urban Brewery Portland, Oregon HUB puts out their regular Abominable Winter Ale, which is super hoppy but still has those winter spices about this time every year. But they’re also releasing the burly Motherland, a Russian imperial stout that leans on the hoppy side of things, while also delivering a rich, chocolaty, spicy stout built for cold winter nights. It’s no joke at 9.8%, so buyer beware. Pick it up from November through February in 22-ounce bombers or on draught. Piercing Pils Dogfish Head Milton, Delaware Photo via Dogfish Head/Facebook Okay, you might not automatically think “pilsner” when you’re heading into winter beer territory, but Dogfish Head gets weird with this pilsner, adding White Pear Tea and pear juice to the mix for a spicy Czech pilsner that has a definite sweet side. Look for the beer to be released in late November. We like the bawdy artwork, too. Cookie Beers Flying Dog Frederick, Maryland Flying Dog is introducing four new cookie-inspired beers for the holidays, a Saison brewed with sugar cookies, a Belgian Pale with “orange white chocolate chip cookies,” a cranberry IPA with lemon cookies and a fig and fennel stout with oatmeal raisin cookies. I don’t know that I’ve ever had a fig and fennel stout before. Look for the beers in combination 12 packs starting right about now. Double Daisy Cutter Half Acre Chicago, Illinois Daisy Cutter is Half Acre’s flagship pale, so Double Daisy Cutter is a more badass version of the pale, which the brewery has labeled as both a “double pale ale” and an “Imperial IPA.” We don’t care what style box you check, we just want to get our hands on some. Half Acre releases this big beer every quarter. It hit the shelves for the winter season on November 6 in 22-ounce bombers. Go get it. Double Coffee Porter Dry Dock Brewing Aurora, Colorado Photo via Dry Dock Dry Dock brewed this big porter in collaboration with Coda Coffee in Denver, adding the coffee to the brewery’s Whiskey Barrel-Aged Naked Porter. Okay, so what you got here is an imperial porter, aged in whiskey barrels and brewed with coffee. This is serious business. The results are roasted, chocolaty, whiskey-ey, and goody. Look for the bottles to hit shelves throughout Colorado in mid November. In other words, can we hitch a ride to Colorado in mid November? Red Nose Winter Ale Natty Greene’s Greensboro, N.C. Take your standard red ale brewed with caramel malt, then add ginger, orange peel and cinnamon and you get Red Nose, a beer brewed specifically for the holidays. From what I understand, it’s just a little bit sweet and all the way festive. I’ve actually never had the chance to try one of these, but I’m going to make a point to track one down this season. I’ll start hunting for it as soon as I’m done typing this sentence, because Natty Greene releases the beer in bottles this week. |
Cardiff City Football Club are pleased today to give you the first look at our home and away kits for the upcoming 2014/15 season, as designed and supplied by club owned Cosway Sports. As modelled by Peter Whittingham, Declan John and Federico Macheda, the squad will be running out #ForCardiffCity in style in the Sky Bet Championship for the year ahead, though supporters will get their first live look at the blue away kit tonight for the pre-season friendly against Carmarthen Town. Pricing information, competitions and more details will follow this week, while both kits will be available to buy for our first home game of the season against Huddersfield Town. You will also be able to register for the shirts via the official superstore website tonight. Pictures of the third kit and goalkeeper kits will also be available soon. For more images, including large format wallpapers and more, check our Facebook page tonight. |
Forgive my morbidity for some interesting research: The Research Women who commit suicide are more likely than men to avoid facial disfiguration, but not necessarily in the name of vanity. Valerie Callanan from the University of Akron and Mark Davis from the Criminal Justice Research Center at the Ohio State University, USA, show that there are marked gender differences in the use of suicide methods that disfigure the face or head. While firearms are the preferred method for both men and women, women are less likely to shoot themselves in the head. Methods After reviewing medical examiner’s files of 621 suicide cases in Summit County, Ohio in the US, covering a 10-year period (1997-2006), the researchers found that women were significantly less likely than men to use suicide methods with the potential to disfigure the face or head. Indeed, men were nearly twice as likely as women to have used such methods. The researchers also found that for every one-unit increase in blood alcohol level, the odds of using a disfiguring method increased by nearly 10 percent. Gender, age, stressful life events and prior suicide attempts all predicted the use of methods that disfigure the face and head. I suppose that the reduction of inhibitions from the intake of alcohol lessens the worry about bodily harm. The authors conclude: To suggest that women are less likely to shoot themselves in the face or head because they are more concerned about their appearance than men is to minimize the significance of the act of suicide. What we do know is that those experiencing stressful life events are at far greater risk of employing an especially lethal method of suicide than those not experiencing such events. My Opinion While many may assume that women are less likely to shoot themselves in the face because of some detriment to their own appearance, I think that the issue is much deeper than that. My concern with the vanity assumption is that I would think people about to send themselves to the great beyond would not be concerned about their body’s appearance. Women may simply be reflecting a care for their own bodies that has been fostered over years and years of socially constructed primping and maintenance. Most men do not go through this process (in similar proportions), and this may therefore be a psychological factor. The cases considered may have wanted open-casket funerals, and therefore did not want to damage their own appearance for their family’s sake. Perhaps women have not been primed by various media (TV shows, movies, video games etc.) to go for the “headshot”. Or perhaps they don’t want to stare down the barrel of a gun in any case. There are too many variables left out of this study to conclude that women are acting out of vanity. These are speculations about interesting statistics, but let us not diminish the act of suicide itself. The main predictors of suicide (stressful life events, depression, etc.) should never be ignored and help should be sought in any situation if a person expresses such feelings to you. Life is too precious to ever waste. Sources Story: Suicide methods differ between men and women Journal: Callanan VJ & Davis MS (2011). Gender and suicide method: do women avoid facial disfiguration? Sex Roles DOI:10.1007/s11199-011-0043-0 Advertisements |
Rubio appeared on ABC’s This Week yesterday and said this about normalization with Cuba: We have those policies of normalization toward Vietnam, for example, toward China. They’re not any more politically free today than they were when that normalization happened. They may have a bigger economy, but their political freedoms, certainly I would not hold up China or Saudi Arabia or Vietnam as examples of political freedom, proving my point, that engagement by itself does not guarantee or even lead to political freedoms. It’s true that diplomatic engagement does not necessarily guarantee or lead to political freedoms in the other country, but we know very well that refusing to engage with authoritarian regimes ensures that there is even less of a chance that political liberalization will occur. While China and Vietnam are not noticeably freer politically now than they were before the U.S. established normal relations with their governments, no one in the U.S. today would seriously argue that normalizing relations with either of them was a mistake or that the policy should be changed back to what it used to be. The central flaw in Rubio’s argument is his assumption that the U.S. must not resume relations with another country until its political system has started liberalizing. That holds normalization with Cuba to a standard that the U.S. has never applied anywhere else, and treats Cuba as if it were unique in having a repressive government when everyone can see that this is not the case at all. Even if nothing changes in the Cuban political system for the better for the next twenty years, both Cubans and Americans would still be better off from resuming diplomatic ties and substantially increasing trade. No one can credibly argue that the same would be true if the U.S. continued the old policy for that period of time. It may take a long time for renewed relations and increased trade to have any meaningful effect on Cuba’s politics, but that is all the more reason to start the process now. In order for Rubio’s argument to make the least bit of sense, one has to believe that continuing a policy of deprivation and punitive measures can have liberalizing effects after decades of not having had any. That is an obviously absurd thing to believe. Rubio wants to keep cutting off one of our closest neighbors from engaging in commerce and diplomacy with America, and he wants to be applauded for his dedication to freedom. He can have one or the other, but he doesn’t get to have both. |
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