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High resolution optical imaging Earth Observation Satellite (EOS) systems such as CARTOSAT provide multi-spectral remote sensing data in the visible and near-infrared (VNIR) wavelengths of the order of sub-meter to few-meters. These datasets can be used in a variety of applications, particularly associated with precise mapping, monitoring and change detection of earth’s surface, if top of the atmosphere (TOA) measurements can be properly compensated for atmospheric absorption and scattering effects. Existing physics based atmospheric correction (AC) algorithms for multi/hyper-spectral remote sensing data over land involves simultaneous use of visible and short-wave infrared (SWIR) channels to derive aerosol information. Hence, such algorithms cannot be used for AC of data acquired by VNIR sensors to derive “surface reflectance”. Towards this, Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad has developed a new algorithm for AC of high resolution VNIR remote sensing data in which aerosol information is retrieved from sensor measurements in VNIR channels and by selecting appropriate aerosol optical properties from a set of defined aerosol models. The algorithm uses lookup tables generated with vector radiative transfer calculations. Derived aerosol information and pre-computed lookup tables are employed to derive surface reflectance. Good quality surface reflectances have been obtained when this algorithm was applied on Cartosat-2 Series Satellite data. It is found that this algorithm significantly removes the haze from the images, making surface features distinctly visible, and hence more useable for qualitative as well as quantitative analysis and further applications. Following figures illustrate the drastically improved quality of the images after applying the AC algorithms, where contribution of light due to molecular scattering and scattering from thick layer of aerosol to the sensor measurement at top the of the atmosphere is removed: Parts of Ahmedabad as viewed from Cartosat-2 Series Satellite on 03/11/2016 Cartosat-2 Series Satellite View of Ahmedabad , Satellite Area on 03/11/2016 Cartosat-2 Series Satellite View of Delhi Encompassing IGI Airport on 01/11/2016 Cartosat-2 Series Satellite View of Krasnensky District, Belgorod Oblast, Russia on 01/07/2017 Cartosat-2 Series Satellite View of Jhang District in the Punjab Province of Pakistan on 01/07/2017 |
A day after Rashad Charjuan Owens barreled into a group of people at the South By Southwest festival on March 13, killing two and injuring 23, the drunk driver suspect was charged on one count of capital murder. And the charges may keep coming. The Austin, Tex. community is still reeling after an intoxicated driver drove through barricades at South By Southwest on March 13, killing two and injuring 23, while trying to evade police. And a day after the shocking tragedy, the suspect Rashad Charjuan Owens, 21, was charged on one count of capital murder, according to USA Today. The charge is likely the first of many for the man who actually accelerated towards SXSW festival-goers. Rashad Charjuan Owens Charged With Murder In SXSW Car Crash Rashad, whose blood-alcohol content was an astonishing .114 (legal limit is .08), is definitely going to pay for his ill-advised joy ride. Besides the capital murder charge, the driver could face additional counts, which wouldn’t be surprising considering the extensive damage he caused. [hl_ndn videoid=”25717680″] Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo stated that Rashad intentionally steered towards the group of pedestrians in hopes of avoiding an officer who was trying to pull him over. Because he killed two people and injured so many others, Acevedo stated that the 21-year-old could face an additional capital murder charge, as well as up to 23 counts of aggravated assault. Rashad remains in police custody — his bail is set at $3 million. The suspect said that he was afraid of being pulled over because he had outstanding warrants that could have put him in prison for five years, according to the arrest warrant. He is reportedly facing kidnapping warrants issued as part of a custody battle over his daughter. SXSW Car Accident: A Bloody Scene In Austin It was a terrifying scene at SXSW when the drunk driver barreled into the festival, where a show had just gotten out. Plowing into the crowd of concertgoers, Rashad first struck a man from the Netherlands who was on a bicycle. He then hit an Austin woman who was on a moped before crashing into a taxi and a parked van, getting out of his car and trying to run away from police. Authorities were able to catch him and subdue him with a stun gun. Wow. There isn’t much else to say about this unexpected tragedy, but at least it appears that the man responsible will be punished sufficiently. Meanwhile, our thoughts go out to everyone who was affected by this gruesome accident. — Andrew Gruttadaro Follow @AndrewGrutt More Tragic Accidents: |
CONWAY, Mass (Reuters) - Some pet owners who failed to clean up after their dogs got a nasty surprise from apartment complex manager Deb Logan. Using DNA evidence, Logan started fining the irresponsible dog owners $100 per offense. Logan, property manager at Twin Ponds in Nashua, New Hampshire, started using a dog DNA-testing system to reveal which pooches were leaving feces scattered about outside. Logan says the DNA technology called “PooPrints”, developed by BioPet Vet Labs of Knoxville, Tennessee, is working “amazingly” well for Twin Ponds, a 339-unit complex that is home to about 241 dogs. “And for a property manager to not have to guess who the violator is, is absolutely wonderful,” she told Reuters in a phone interview. Dog-friendly Twin Ponds, located near the border with Massachusetts, is BioPet’s largest client using PooPrints to solve the mystery of who left the offending mound. Using doggie DNA to solve the smelly who did it is becoming increasingly popular in apartment complexes nationwide from Jupiter, Florida to Rockville Center, New York, where violators are fine up to $1,000 per steaming pile. At Twin Ponds, all tenants with a dog now must use a PooPrints pet DNA sampling kit when they move in. To set up a profile, owners come to Logan’s office, swab their dogs’ cheeks for a saliva sample, and Twin Ponds then sends that to BioPet, which creates a reference database that includes all the community’s canines. When a canine deposit is left on the communal grounds, Twin Ponds mails BioPet a gumball-sized sample of feces to be matched to a pooch via DNA. BioPet claims its testing has a 99.9 percent accuracy rate. DNA is the individual biological coding that makes each creature unique. “It’s really not a Big Brother-type thing, and we don’t test a lot of feces,” said BioPet president Jim Simpson, noting that the firm probably tests just a half-dozen samples per month for Twin Ponds. “So the program is doing what we want it to do and what the property manager wants it to do - simply to encourage folks to clean up after their dogs, so they don’t have to have employees and services out there doing it,” he said. Simpson and Logan both believe the majority of pet owners are responsible people who dutifully clean up dog droppings. Only an estimated 10 percent, or less, of the dog waste at a group of residential complexes polled by BioPet goes unscooped, Simpson said. Nevertheless, complaints about dog waste nationally have been piling up in recent years. An average dog leaves behind 276 pounds of it a year, according to the PooPrints web site. And there are about 77.5 million owned dogs in the United States. That’s enough to fill 800 football fields to a depth of one foot, BioPet says. The problem of dog excrement hit No. 6 on the list of America’s top gripes last year, according to a survey by Consumer Reports. On top of that, experts say serious health and environmental concerns go along with unscooped pet waste. Even though livestock account for the vast majority of animal waste, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), dogs are significant contributors to source water contamination. Probably the greatest human health concern linked with animal waste is harmful pathogens like Cryptosporidium, Salmonella, Giardia lamblia and E. coli, the EPA says. So far this year at Twin Ponds, Logan has issued about 20 fines to residents for failing to clean up after their dogs. If a resident refuses to pay, she begins eviction proceedings the following month. |
There are many wonderful AAC blogs available today that offer exceptional value to readers. Some are practitioner focused and center their content around communication professionals. Others are anecdotal written by family members of those with communication needs. In both cases the content published and shared offers insight into the complex issues associated with AAC — particularly in the context of everyday life. The following is comprised of our favorite AAC blogs and why we feel they matter. We account for: Content quality Posting frequency Readability Engagement Community impact By no means is this list comprehensive, and of course, it is based on personal preference. There are many exceptional AAC blogs not mentioned here that we strongly encourage you to check out. Let’s take a look. PrAACtical AAC PrAACtical AAC’s mission is to support a community of professionals and families who are determined to improve the communication abilities of those with communication challenges. It was founded in 2011 by SLP professor Carole Zangari. Every week Carole provides actionable insights and resources that can be used to improve communication through AAC. She highlights developments in the field through her “Strategy of the month” and “Video of the week” series, and over time she’s curated a thorough list of AAC e-Tools to support children and adults with communication difficulties. PrAACtical AAC is different from most AAC blogs in that Carole is able to provide a unique perspective offering both practitioner and academic viewpoints. Suggested Readings: PRC’s AAC Language Lab The AAC Language Lab from PRC offers an impressive collection of resources and learning tools for using and teaching AAC. Their content explores the different stages of language development and provides interactive materials specifically designed for Speech Language Pathologists (SLP), Educators, and Parents. In particular, their “Let’s Talk AAC” blog presents stories from individuals, families and educators who use or work with AAC devices every day. Suggested Readings: Kidz Learn Language Susan Berkowitz’s Kidz Learn Language — one of the more active AAC blogs out there — provides tips, ideas, and resources for developing language in children with significant or complex communication disorders. Susan has been an SLP for 38 years, and in that time has worked alongside both children and adults with a wide range of developmental disabilities; notably children with autism. She offers workshops, provides training to school district staff, speaks at national conferences, and provides evaluations for speech-language and AAC. Recently Susan has been publishing an AAC 101 series in which she covers the main objectives of AAC at an introductory level. For instance, some of the articles from the series include, What is Augmentative-Alternative Communication?, What is Communication? and Who Should Use AAC and Why? Susan’s content is approachable and inviting for those new to AAC, and helping to further understanding among families and educators. Suggested Readings: Tobii Dynavox Tobii Dynavox, a leading provider of AAC applications and assistive technology products, has an active and informative blog that shares stories from individuals and their families. The stories address the everyday life of those with communication and assistive technology needs. The anecdotal evidence from the stories conveys tips and tricks concerning how to get the most out of AAC technology. For instance, children with autism and other developmental conditions often experience behavior issues that interfere with their AAC device and application use. To address such situations, the Tobii Dynavox blog has presented series of articles that explore common behavioral challenges and tactics for working through them towards reaching successful communication goals. The blog offers a nice balance between real life stories centered upon communication problems and corresponding approaches that can be used to address them. Suggested Readings: The ASHA Leadership Blog The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for 186,000 members and affiliates who are audiologists; speech-language pathologists; speech, language, and hearing scientists; audiology and speech-language pathology support personnel; and students. Their blog, the ASHA Leadership blog, provides a rich collection of AAC content from a wide assortment of professionals in the field. The AAC content in particular is unique in that it provides models to help explain to parents and other professionals how to build language using research-based strategies. Their articles explain how to model language in fun and interactive ways as well as provide resources to families on how to use devices as learning tools for facilitating language in their everyday environments. Suggested Readings: |
By: Charles Curtis | May 26, 2016 7:47 am Well, this is a little awkward. Hall of Famer Wade Boggs was one of the former members of the 1986 American League champion Boston Red Sox honored at Fenway Park on Wednesday night. But check out what he was wearing on his right hand: HAHA. In ceremony honoring '86 RedSox, Wade Boggs wore his Yankees championship ring! (via ESPN) pic.twitter.com/bqnOGHLv69 — Dr Cork Gaines (@CorkGaines) May 26, 2016 Wade Boggs wearing the Yankees WS ring while honoring the '86 Sox is next level trolling. Sure, that was the plan. pic.twitter.com/0bKNP3sz9n — Gene Morris (@GeneMorris) May 26, 2016 Soooooo… Wade Boggs wore his Yankees WS ring while being honored by the Red Sox as a part of the 86 team. Ok then. pic.twitter.com/A8nUN8LeG5 — Seth Goldberg (@sethgoldberg17) May 26, 2016 Welcome back Wade Boggs, Bill Buckner, and Gator! #SoxHomecoming 👏 pic.twitter.com/HkdDKawF5x — Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) May 25, 2016 If the Red Sox hadn’t won three World Series in the last 16 years, this might have been a bigger insult. Maybe Boggs wears it a bunch and just won’t take it off, even during a ceremony for the Yankees’ biggest rivals. I seriously doubt he wore it on purpose just to troll Red Sox Nation. You’ve also got a few people claiming they’ve seen Boggs wear it no matter what the event is: |
Maybe some of you missed this amid all the breach news recently (I know I did), but Trump International Hotels Management LLC last week announced its third credit-card data breach in the past two years. I thought it might be useful to see these events plotted on a timeline, because it suggests that virtually anyone who used a credit card at a Trump property in the past two years likely has had their card data stolen and put on sale in the cybercrime underground as a result. On May 2, 2017, KrebsOnSecurity broke the story that travel industry giant Sabre Corp. experienced a significant breach of its payment and customer data tied to bookings processed through a reservations system that serves more than 32,000 hotels and other lodging establishments. Last week, Trump International Hotels disclosed the SABRE breach impacted at least 13 Trump Hotel properties between August 2016 and March 2017. Trump Hotels said it was first notified of the breach on June 5. According to Verizon‘s latest annual Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), malware attacks on point-of-sale systems used at front desk and hotel restaurant systems “are absolutely rampant” in the hospitality sector. Accommodation was the top industry for point-of-sale intrusions in this year’s data, with 87% of breaches within that pattern. Other hotel chains that disclosed this past week getting hit in the Sabre breach include 11 Hard Rock properties (another chain hit by multiple card breach incidents); Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts; and at least two dozen Loews Hotels in the United States and Canada. ANALYSIS/RANT Given its abysmal record of failing to protect customer card data, you might think the hospitality industry would be anxious to assuage guests who may already be concerned that handing over their card at the hotel check-in desk also means consigning that card to cybercrooks (e.g. at underground carding shops like Trumps Dumps). However, so far this year I’ve been hard-pressed to find any of the major hotel chains that accept more secure chip-based cards, which are designed to make card data stolen by point-of-sale malware and skimmers much more difficult to turn into counterfeit cards. I travel quite a bit — at least twice a month — and I have yet to experience a single U.S.-based hotel in the past year asking me to dip my chip-based card as opposed to swiping it. True, chip cards alone aren’t going to solve the whole problem. Hotels and other merchants that implement the ability to process chip cards still need to ensure the data is encrypted at every step of the transaction (known as “point-to-point” or “end-to-end” encryption). Investing in technology like tokenization — which allows merchants to store a code that represents the customer’s card data instead of the card data itself — also can help companies become less of a target. Maybe it wouldn’t be so irksome if those of us concerned about security or annoyed enough at getting our cards replaced three or four times a year due to fraud could stay at a major hotel chain in the United States and simply pay with cash. But alas, we’re talking about an industry that essentially requires customers to pay by credit card. Well, at least I’ll continue to accrue reward points on my credit card that I can use toward future rounds of Russian roulette with the hotel’s credit card systems. It’s bad enough that cities and states routinely levy huge taxes on lodging establishments (the idea being the tax is disproportionately paid by people who don’t vote or live in the area); now we have the industry-wide “carder tax” conveniently added to every stay. What’s the carder tax you ask? It’s the sense of dread and the incredulous “really?” that wells up when one watches his chip card being swiped yet again at the check-out counter. It’s the time wasted on the phone with your bank trying to sort out whether you really made all those fraudulent purchases, and then having to enter your new card number at all those sites and services where the old one was stored. It’s that awkward moment when the waiter says in front of your date or guests that your card has been declined. If you’re brave enough to pay for everything with a debit card (bad idea), it may be the time you spend without access to cash while your bank sorts things out. It may be the aggravation of dealing with bounced checks as a result of the fraud. I can recall a recent stay wherein right next to the credit card machine at the hotel’s front desk was a stack of various daily newspapers, one of which had a very visible headline warning of an ongoing credit card breach at the same hotel that was getting ready to swipe my card yet again (by the way, I’m still kicking myself for not snapping a selfie right then). After I checked out of that particular hotel, I descended to the parking garage to retrieve a rental car. The garage displayed large signs everywhere warning customers that the property was not responsible for any damage or thefts that may be inflicted on vehicles parked there. I recall thinking at the time that this same hotel probably should have been required to display a similar sign over their credit card machines (actually, they all should). “The privacy and protection of our guests’ information is a matter we take very seriously.” This is from boilerplate text found in both the Trump Hotels and Loews Hotel statements. It sounds nice. Too bad it’s all hogwash. Once again, the timeline above speaks far more about the hospitality industry’s attitudes on credit card security than any platitudes offered in these all-too-common breach notifications. Further reading: Banks: Card Breach at Trump Hotel Properties Trump Hotel Collection Confirms Card Breach Sources: Trump Hotels Breached Again Trump Hotels Settles Over Data Breach: To Pay $50,000 for 70,000 Stolen Cards Breach at Sabre Corp.’s Hospitality Unit Tags: Four Seasons hotel breach, Hard Rock breach, Loews Hotels breach, Sabre Corp. breaach, Trump Hotel breach, Trump International Hotels Management, Trump's-Dumps, Verizon |
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran will respond to any military attack from Israel by “eliminating” the Jewish state, a senior army commander said on Tuesday. A boy performs during an event to mark Iran's National Day of Nuclear Technology in Tehran, April 8, 2008. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi Deputy commander-in-chief Mohammad Reza Ashtiani was echoing Iran’s late leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who said Israel should be wiped off the map. Some analysts have speculated that Israel might attack Iran to stop its nuclear activities, which the West fears are a front for weapons development. Iran, which does not recognize Israel, insists it wants nuclear technology only for electricity. “If Israel wants to take any action against the Islamic Republic, we will eliminate Israel from the scene of the universe,” the semi-official Mehr news agency quoted Ashtiani as saying. “Our answer to any military attack against Iran will be strong.” The U.S. State Department said the comments showed the international community was right to sanction Iran. It is “more unbelievable rhetoric out of the leadership of the Iranian government about attacking a fellow member of the United Nations,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters. “Any civilized person finds that disturbing.” Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak did not respond directly to the remarks but said Israel was pressing ahead with its efforts to counter any Iranian nuclear threat. Barak told reporters at an air base in central Israel that there remained much to do in “intelligence, in prevention and in formulating diplomatic and practical sanctions.” “We have to prepare, and if there’s a need, to take action, not just to talk idly,” he said, in apparent reference to reported remarks last week by cabinet minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer that Israel would destroy Iran if attacked. Opposition to Israel is a fundamental principle in Shi’ite Iran, which backs Palestinian militants opposed to peace with the Jewish state but says it offers only moral support. A 2005 statement by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad saying that “Israel should be wiped off the map” outraged the international community. Washington says it wants a diplomatic resolution to the nuclear dispute but has not ruled out military action if that fails. Tehran insists it will not bow to Western pressure. Iran, the world’s fourth-largest oil producer, says it has developed ballistic missiles able to hit Israel and U.S. bases in the region. Israel’s Defence Ministry has announced the successful test of the “Blue Sparrow,” a missile that will serve as a target for tests of its Arrow anti-ballistic missile system. Israeli media have reported that the target missile would simulate the ballistic trajectory of Iran’s Shehab-3 missile, which Israel fears could carry a nuclear warhead. Tehran’s failure to convince world powers of its peaceful nuclear intentions has prompted three rounds of U.N. sanctions, and the United States is pushing for another, tougher set of penalties. The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany are due to meet on April 16 in Shanghai to discuss whether to sweeten incentives offered to Iran in 2006 to curb its nuclear work. |
Image copyright Getty Images The BBC needs to do more to serve its nations and regions better, Culture Secretary John Whittingdale has said. In a statement to the House of Commons, he said the corporation would be required to give greater focus to under-served audiences. Unveiling detailed government proposals for the BBC's future, he said the BBC Trust would be abolished and replaced with a unitary board. BBC Director General Tony Hall said there would be a Scottish "sub-board". In a letter to Scotland's Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop, Lord Hall said it would oversee Scottish services. "If implemented, this will provide clear accountability for the services provided in each nation and much more ability to shift resources around within each nation's dedicated services, further devolving decision-making to the nations," he added. He also outlined a series of plans to improve the BBC's representation of the wider UK. They include: Making Scotland a "centre for excellence" for factual television production; Appointing a drama commissioning editor responsible for each nation, reporting to the controller of BBC drama commissioning; A comedy commissioner to be based in Glasgow; BBC "writers' rooms" to develop new writing talent in each nation; Allocating additional funding to improve dedicated services in the nations; Agreeing new partnerships with creative sector agencies in Scotland. He said the BBC had "transformed" how much content was made in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. "But we accept those programmes have not done enough to reflect each nation to itself, and to the rest of the country," he added. The BBC will also adapt its news output in each nation "to reflect greater devolution and changes in our democracy", the director general said. In his statement to the Commons, Mr Whittingdale said "distinctive content" should be at the heart of what the BBC does. He added: "The BBC will also be required to give greater focus to under-served audiences - in particular those from black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds and from the nations and regions, who are currently less well served. "That will involve the BBC building on its new diversity strategy, maintaining out-of-London production quotas, and ensuring that the BBC continues to provide for minority languages in its partnerships with S4C and MG Alba." The white paper also outlined plans to: Require the licensing of the BBC to include specific provision for the nations; Maintain the commitment to "out-of-London" quotas "enabling a healthy independent production sector in the nations and regions"; Maintain a commitment to minority language broadcasting services. Image copyright AFP/Getty Image caption John Whitingdale said the BBC must deliver 'distinctive content' It was broadly welcomed by Scotland's Culture Secretary, Fiona Hyslop, who had called for major decentralisation of the corporation. She said: "The Scottish Government has called for the BBC to evolve to better represent the people of Scotland; improve its commissioning practices to support our world-class creative industries; and adopt appropriate governance and accountability structures, including a unitary board with representation from Scotland and a separate Scottish board. "Today's White Paper broadly reflects our asks and is a first step towards realising the strong ambitions we have set out for the future of the BBC in Scotland." Scottish Labour's democracy spokeswoman Claire Baker said: "There is a recognition in the white paper of the need for more decentralised decision making which will lead to greater Scottish content but this must be balanced with delivering a sustainable BBC, where skills and jobs are secured and high quality programmes produced. "We will continue to work towards securing the best deal for viewers in Scotland and throughout the UK." |
Ananda, the attendant to the Buddha, having been sent by the Lord on a mission, passed by a well near a village, and seeing Pakati, a young outcast woman, asked her for water to drink. Pakati said, “O monk, I am too humbly born to give you water to drink. Do not ask any service of me lest your holiness be contaminated, for I am of low caste.” And Ananda replied, “I ask not for caste but for water;” and the woman’s heart leaped joyfully and she gave Ananda water to drink. Ananda thanked her and went away; but she followed him at a distance. Having heard that Ananda was a disciple of the Buddha, the woman went to the Blessed One and said, “O Lord, help me and let me live in the place where your disciple Ananda dwells, so that I may see him and minister unto him, for I love Ananda.” And the Blessed One understood the emotions of her heart and he said, “Pakati, your heart is full of love, but you do not understand your own sentiments. It is not Ananda the you love, but his kindness. Accept,m then, the kindness you have seen him practice toward you and practice it toward others. “Pakati, though you are born low caste, you will be a model for noblemen and noblewomen. Swerve not from the path of justice and righteousness and you will outshine the royal glory of queens and kings.” Advertisements |
On Wednesday morning, little more than three months after California’s voters reëlected Governor Jerry Brown for another four years, Gavin Newsom, the lieutenant governor and former mayor of San Francisco, became the first person to declare his intention to take Brown’s place when he reaches the end of his final term at the start of 2019. “When Californians see something we truly believe in, we say so and act accordingly—without evasiveness or equivocation,” Newsom wrote in a letter to supporters, announcing that he is forming an official campaign committee to seek the governorship. The announcement came not longer after Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida and the first major candidate to declare that he will consider running for President in 2016, was experiencing one of the downsides of entering a race on the early side: it leaves you more time to screw up. Over the past few days, Bush’s political-action committee released e-mails that included some Floridians’ social-security numbers, and its newly hired chief technology officer had been forced to resign over several comments he had made in the past, including tweets that referred to women as sluts. In a phone call on Wednesday afternoon, Newsom acknowledged the potential pitfalls of his decision—he joked that he was giving opposition researchers more time to dig up dirt—but said that, rather than quietly open a fund-raising account that is purportedly meant to raise money for some other race, when everyone knows that he wants to be governor, he preferred to be forthcoming about his intentions. “Love me or hate me, at least you know where I stand,” Newsom said. “You can be coy, or you can be candid—I’d rather be candid and let people judge that. Obviously there’s not much precedent for jumping out this early, so it’s ripe for critique.” Newsom acknowledged, too, that announcing so soon lets him get an early start on raising money and articulating a platform. “So often, time and its constraints get in the way of good decision-making—like, ‘We have to get this policy paper out this week even though it might not be vetted, might not have the substance it otherwise would if we had taken more time.’ ” He added, “If I waited two years, it’d be all about raising money, raising money, raising money.” The Democratic establishment in California might be eager, too, to anoint a frontrunner early on; it’s unclear who will run against Newsom, though the state treasurer, John Chiang, and both the previous and current mayors of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa and Eric Garcetti, all Democrats, have been named as potential candidates, among others. From 2004 to 2011, when Newsom was mayor of San Francisco, he had—and sometimes nurtured—a spectacularly high profile. He issued licenses for same-sex marriages, in defiance of state law at the time, and instituted universal healthcare for city residents. He also slept with a top aide’s wife, went into rehab to address what he called “problems with alcohol,” and supported controversial real-estate development and homelessness programs. Nevertheless, Newsom’s legacy as mayor is one seen as having been substantial, if not universally admired. But he has barely been in the news since his election, in 2010, as lieutenant governor—a position that, he readily acknowledges, isn’t particularly powerful. “There are constraints to this office,” he told me. “You serve in these formal roles”—he sits on the University of California’s Board of Regents and on the State Lands Commission, among other positions—“and by the way those are very significant roles, they’re important, but beyond that you’re not negotiating labor contracts, you’re not signing executive orders, vetoing or approving legislation, or participating in that legislative process.” In California, the position is mostly seen as a relic of a time when, if the governor travelled out of state, it was important to have a backup in Sacramento to do business for him; now that governors can easily take care of state business even while travelling, it’s sometimes unclear what, exactly, the lieutenant governor is supposed to do. Newsom was made aware of the limits of the job early in his tenure, in 2011, when he decided to focus on economic development, even publishing a report, with input from the Brookings Institution and the McKinsey Global Institute, on how California should change its economic policies to better support growth. But Brown—the person in the best position to turn those recommendations into policies—didn’t seem much interested in adopting Newsom’s ideas, on the economy or on other matters. He cared more about balancing the state’s budget; plus, the two men, who ran against each other ahead of the 2010 gubernatorial primary, before Newsom dropped out and sought the lieutenant governorship instead, aren’t said to have a particularly warm relationship, and Newsom’s economic-development report was interpreted, in some quarters, as a challenge to Brown. Since then, Newsom seems to have settled for quieter moves—opposing proposed tuition hikes at the University of California, for example—while biding his time. When he ran for reëlection, in 2014, the Los Angeles Times editorial board preceded its endorsement of him by calling the position a “notoriously do-little job.” The board wrote, “Being lieutenant governor mostly serves as a perch for gubernatorial candidates-in-waiting. Nevertheless, voters are asked every four years to choose among the aspirants, so here goes.” It’s little wonder, then, that Newsom—who, love him or hate him, did more as mayor of San Francisco than most—is eager to start doing something again. By the time 2018 comes around, California will have changed tremendously since 2009, the last time Newsom campaigned for governor. In some ways, his race, and the way Californians react to it, will be a proxy for that evolution. Some of those changes bode well for Newsom. The last time he ran for governor, he recalls, even his friends questioned whether his gay-marriage stunt, in 2004, would hurt him. In 2008, after all, Californians had passed the Proposition 8 ballot measure, which defined marriage as being between a man and a woman. It wasn’t until 2010—after Newsom had dropped his bid for governor—that the percentage of Californians supporting gay marriage surpassed the percentage opposing it, and it wasn’t until 2013 that a U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowed the legalization of gay marriage in the state. “His bet, and it was a courageous bet, when he was mayor, was that supporting gay rights would not be a career killer—he was right,” Bruce Cain, a political-science professor at Stanford University and a longtime observer of California politics, told me. “It’s going to be something that’s he’s going to be able to rightfully tout.” The idea of universal healthcare, once seen as radical, has also become more accepted, particularly in California, since the passage of the Affordable Care Act. But the California electorate is also changing in ways that may not favor Newsom. The four counties that are expected to see the greatest population growth, in absolute numbers, from 2010 to 2020, are all in Southern California—Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, and Orange. The differences among the California electorate are blurry for those on the outside—they look like varying shades of blue—but they’re real; Democratic voters in some parts of the south, for instance, describe themselves as “conservative” at much higher rates than those in the Bay Area do. Southern Californians can also be mystified by—and resentful of—Silicon Valley and its solutionist ethos. Though Newsom has now won two statewide races, he is perceived as a distinctly San Francisco type, with the gel-enabled good looks, and the breezy confidence—in himself and in the power of technology to solve problems—of a venture capitalist. In 2013, he wrote a book called “Citizenville: How to Take the Town Square Digital and Reinvent Government,” which, as George Packer wrote, in a 2013 article about Silicon Valley’s politics, includes lines like: “What if you could create competition among city services . . . through a kind of government Yelp? Then we’d be on to something.” Newsom is also, of course, white, in a state with a growing non-white population; last year, the number of Latinos in the state was estimated to have surpassed the number of white non-Latinos. “From a distance, you think, He has matinee-idol looks, he’s kind of glossy—but he comes across, in university settings, as somebody who tries to dig into things,” Cain said. “I think Gavin is a person of substance. The question is whether the changing demographics of the state and the growing resentment from Southern California of Northern California dominance is going to be a problem for him.” When I ran the notion of a North–South divide by Newsom, he acknowledged that there’s some truth to it, but largely dismissed it as “just a lot of politics.” He told me, “I have, as lieutenant governor, a moral, ethical responsibility to represent everyone in the state—including people in the rural parts of the state.” Indeed, “Citizenville” aside, Newsom has spent his time as lieutenant governor on issues with broad appeal—economic development, higher education. He said that, as governor, he would continue to represent the interests of the state at large. In his letter announcing his bid for the governorship, he wrote, “We must continue to grow our economy and create private-sector jobs, we must invest in public education and keep college affordable, we must address the widening inequalities that separate our communities and we must maintain California’s historic leadership in meeting the climate challenge.” He also promised, “This won’t be an ordinary campaign.” Newsom’s language and the timing of his announcement were reminders of the dramatic tactics he once successfully deployed as mayor, but has avoided as lieutenant governor—surely calibrated with the headlines in mind (and, this time around, the tweets). It seems to have worked, attracting more attention than he has seen in at least half a decade, and donor money may well follow. But if, in the long, long run-up to the 2018 election, he’s to win over those voters who regard his legacy as mayor with suspicion and his time as lieutenant governor with apathy, he’ll have to use the time as he says he plans to, by making considered decisions about policy positions that appeal to all Californians—and that presumably don’t mention Yelp. |
Jill Wade was perplexed to find pointed, hoof-like marks in freshly fallen snow at her home in Woolsery, North Devon. The marks were similar to those in the original Devil's Footprints which have been shrouded in mystery for over 150 years when it was believed Devon was visited by the devil himself. Legend has it that on February 8, 1855, a trail of hoof-like marks following straight lines appeared in the snow for more than 100 miles across South Devon. It was also recorded that the tracks were seen on one side of 14 foot walls, and again on the other side, had passed through locked gardens, and over houses, as if they were no barrier. Nearly 154 years to the day Mrs Wade a retired local government officer, awoke and looked out of her bedroom window to see the eerie footprints stretching across her garden. She says the footprints stretched 60 to 70 feet across her garden in an arch shape running from below her window to the other side of her garden. She said: "I looked in the garden and it really intrigued me. It was a complete blanket of snow there was no other marks in the snow at all. I cannot believe what I saw the footprints were in the shape of a cloven hoof." Mrs Wade could not account for the footprints so called in the nearby Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ). The CFZ immediately dispatched zoologist Graham Inglis to look at the footprints which were around 5in long with a stride of between 11 and 17 inches. They quickly recognised that the clearly defined tracks bore striking similarities to those which appeared across South Devon in February 1855. The unexplained phenomenon became known as the Great Devon Mystery. Graham Inglis, a biologist that visited the garden, said: "This is certainly a first for me. The footprints are peculiar, but they are not the devil's - I don't believe the horned one has been in Woolsery. "Personally I think it belongs to a rabbit or hare but quite an academic punch-up has started over it." |
Developer of GBA4iOS, Riley Testut, recently updated his blog with some information that some of us have been wondering about for a few days now - what happens to GBA4iOS after 8.1? In case you weren’t aware, iOS 8.1 — the upcoming iOS updated rumored to come in late October — has once and for all patched the exploitation of a very popular loophole famously known as the ‘date trick.’ As I mentioned in a past post, the 'date trick’ is what essentially fuels the emulator communities nowadays. In this regard, Riley — as owner of one of the most popular non-jailbroken emulators out there — had some words to say on the subject. Past In his latest blog post, Riley writes about the process it took to get his original emulator to sideload (a process to install applications outside the App Store) and how fast his little hobby lead to a full-rewrite of the whole application now famously known as GBA4iOS 2.0. All this was accomplished because even though Apple would certainly revoke the certificate Riley used to distribute this app, the fallback was that the soon-to-be-obsolete 'date trick’ would still allow the app to install and be used. This motivated him to work as hard as he could and take the app as far as it was possible but now, thanks to iOS 8.1, things have drastically changed. Is Riley’s seventeen month journey filled with sleepless nights in front of a bright screen coding his fingers off finally coming to a close? Present So is GBA4iOS 2.0 considered dead now? Short answer: no. Riley is definitely not abandoning the project (not for now at least) but he will have to adjust to a new environment and try certain things he originally never intended. As I’ve come to learn, great change must inevitably be followed by adaptability or else you will perish. Unless there is a way to effectively prevent iOS 8.1 from completely killing off the 'date trick’ (unlikely as of now), Riley has now announced that he has changed his original stance of not hosting his emulator up on Cydia for jailbroken devices. By hosting it there, this guarantees that the app isn’t completely killed off and continued maintenance won’t be for naught now that a group of users will be able to take advantage and enjoy some nostalgic and classic games on their phones. What about us non-jailbreakers? A great question with a kind of complicated answer. Riley has always, from the very beginning, intended his apps to be available without jailbreaking. Just like me personally, Riley finds jailbreaking a little too tedious and bothersome. Now, however, it’s a little harder to be picky — he wants his emulator to survive and it will definitely continue on through jailbreaking and Cydia. Riley cannot do anything but try and adapt to these obstacles and so must you, the user. Non-jailbreakers may soon find themselves with limited choices in this matter. Of course there’s always the option not to install the new iOS update and find yourself perpetually bound to an outdated software without any hope of ever moving forward; it’s not for everyone, but might work for some of you. Not all hope is lost, though; not completely at least. There still exists certain methods where you will be able to play GBA4iOS on 8.1 (I still do) without jailbreaking and that’s by building and signing your own version of the app using the open-source code found on BitBucket. This, of course, requires you to be a developer in Apple’s paid program (i.e. not free). The days of simply rolling the date back to install an emulator will be over come iOS 8.1, that’s for certain. Although this signing method requires a little bit more knowledge, time and money, you can find yourself with a fully-working version of GBA4iOS without ever needing the date trick again - of course, this isn’t for everyone and Riley understands this but cannot do too much but wait for one day when Apple may change their stance on their own limitations and give him their blessing to host the emulator (which remains legal in the U.S.), or when a new method of non-jailbreak installation like the 'date trick’ surfaces again — but who knows when that’ll be! Future What about 2.1 and multiplayer support? There’s some good news to all this, at least! Riley is not giving up in releasing his upcoming version update which is said to bring multiple new features and the most anticipated multiplayer support. He is, however, running out of time to perfect the app as he envisioned it and thus has now prompted GBA4iOS 2.1 to arrive earlier than originally intended. In his blog post, Riley states that he has changed his mind in regards to releasing a “beta” version of Multiplayer in version 2.1 that currently seems to work but at very slow speeds with potential connectivity issues. Riley would normally take all the time he could to polish this and release only when it was up to his standards, however, there is no time now with iOS 8.1 slowly creeping in. Tomorrow, October 9, Riley is releasing the open-source code for GBA4iOS 2.1 so that developers will be able to build and beta test (sans Multiplayer which is coming in a later update). This won’t be like the beta we had for GBA4iOS 2.0 where Riley pushed updates and we simply installed, this requires some computer skills and, of course, a developer account — although there could be other options… I’ll definitely be installing the new beta version and writing all my findings on here just like the good old days, so stay tuned for some updates. Remember, GBA4iOS’s reign is not dead just yet so the GBA4iOS Blog must continue! |
As you all probably have seen, the invites to this year’s TI were announced yesterday. I already wrote on Twitter that I was a bit disappointed and frustrated that we weren’t invited and I will elaborate on why here. Knowing if you are gonna get invited or not is impossible unless you have performed really well right before an invitation is out for a Major or TI. You don’t know if there is gonna be 6, 8 or even 12 invites so unless you are top 6 (or even top 4 to be absolutely sure) you don’t really know. There are no indications or rules of how Valve think when they are deciding which teams they are going to invite so you can just make assumptions on your own of how they think. Personally I thought that the reason for having the Majors was to get more stability in the scene and that Valve would base their TI invites partly on the performances on the Majors. TI is bigger than all Majors combined so during the whole year you are playing to get invited to TI and I would probably rather play at TI and miss all the Majors than the other way around. I though we were gonna get invited to TI assuming they would invite 10 teams. First of all, we have participated in all the Majors. We weren’t invited to the first one so we qualified there through the qualifier and showed that we deserved a spot there. After that we won two big tournaments, WCA and Starladder. Our performance hasn’t been the best the past months, I don’t deny that, but we have still shown that we are able to take a game of almost every team we face. Almost all losses have been 1-2. At the Manila Major we ended up at 9-12th place with a 6-6 score in games which were far more wins than other teams that ended up at the same placement. Now I understand that I had a totally different view on which and how many teams that deserved to be invited to TI, that Valve only want to invite the current top teams and let the rest of the top tier teams fight for the remaining spots regardless of their performance throughout the year. I.e. if you have one really bad day and fail in the qualifiers you will miss the one tournament you have been fighting to enter for a whole year. In contrast, I thought they would look at the bigger picture of how the Majors went and how teams performed during a longer period of time. Right now, going to a tournament and perform bad can have a negative effect on your invite if it’s close to when the invites are announced, but I don’t think going to a tournament should be able to hurt you in any way like ESL probably hurt Fnatic. As it is now, the system might encouraged teams to skip events because it can give Valve a reason to not invite you. You can say that Fnatic didn’t deserve an invite because they finished last at ESL but if they didn’t show up to this tournament you could say that they do deserve an invite because they finished top 6 in the last 2 Majors and no one could argue against that. The fact that Liquid probably got knocked down to the lower bracket because they played without Fata the first day and then later on eliminated Fnatic playing with Fata the day after disturbs me as well but that’s another story (I don’t blame Liquid though since they obviously rather played with their original lineup but rather how the bracket unintentionally could have been “manipulated” when players are swapped in the middle of a tournament). Hopefully Valve can be more clear in the future on how the invites works. For now, let’s enjoy the upcoming bloodbath a.k.a. the European qualifier! #PJSalt 😀 /Akke |
The article was written by Blair Goldenberg, a Financial Analyst at I Know First, and enrolled in a Masters of Finance at Colorado State University. Algo Trading United States Steel Corporation (X) Summary United States Steel Corp. (X) Background United States Steel Corp. Rating Release of Q3 Earnings I Know First Algo Trading Background United States Steel Corporation (U. S. Steel) is an integrated steel producer. The Company is engaged in producing flat-rolled and tubular products with production operations in North America and Europe. The Company operates through three segments: Flat-Rolled Products (Flat-Rolled), U. S. Steel Europe (USSE) and Tubular Products (Tubular). The Flat-Rolled segment includes the operating results of U. S. Steel’s integrated steel plants and equity investees in the United States involved in the production of slabs, rounds, strip mill plates, sheets and tin mill products, as well as all iron ore and coke production facilities in the United States. The USSE segment includes the operating results of U. S. Steel Kosice (USSK), U. S. Steel’s integrated steel plant and coke production facilities in Slovakia. The Tubular segment includes the operating results of U. S. Steel’s tubular production facilities, primarily in the United States, and equity investors in the United States and Brazil. United States Steel Corp. Rating United States Steel Corp. (X) was recently upgraded from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating last Wednesday. The company currently has a $26.00 price target on the stock, according to Jefferies Group, up $8.50 from their previous price target of $17.50. At market close on Friday, November 11, 2016, X stands at $25.71 per share, which is up 1.05 points or 4.26%. Many analysts have been watching X recently. Credit Suisse Group set a $29.00 price target on X and gave them a “buy” rating on Wednesday, July 27th. Bank of America Corp. set a $21.00 price target and changed United States Steel Corp. from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating. Other analysts from Argus and Credit Agricole are watching X; Argus changed their rating to a “buy” rating and Agricole issued a “sell” rating for X. I Know First Algorithm is currently also bullish on X in short and long terms. Within the company, investors seem optimistic about X. Many investors within the company are buying more shares. Specifically, director Girsky Stephen had spent approximately $37,880 on shares, which equates to about 2,000 shares. He bought the shares at $18.90 a share. The importance of analyzing insiders that invest, or sell their shares is that it reflects what may be happening in the company. If a director invests more into the company, that may mean that they expect business to increase which will ultimately affect the stock price in a positive light. No one knows their company better than the insiders and watching how they react to the company is one of the best ways to understand the health of the company. Release of Q3 Earnings On Tuesday, November 1, X released its Q3 earnings and the results are as follows: The company reported revenue of $2.69 billion for the third quarter of 2016. This down from the $2.83 billion the company reported in the third quarter of 2015. Wall Street was expecting revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter. Earnings per share reported by United States Steel Corporation was 32 cents. The company reported losses per share of $1.18 during the same time of the year prior. Analysts were expecting the company to report earnings per share of 80 cents for the quarter. The steel company reported net income of $51 million for the third quarter of 2016. Net loss reported by the company in the third quarter of 2015 was $173 million. The company had $1.4 billion of cash and $3.1 billion of total liquidity as of Sept. 30, 2016 (Retrieved from InvestorPlace). CEO Mario Longhi stated about the Q3 earnings that “our third quarter results improved significantly from the second quarter as each of our segments improved, resulting in our highest quarterly segment income since the fourth quarter of 2014.” However, it seems that the company is also down from Q3 of last year in revenue. Q4 earnings are projected at a loss of $2.26 for the year. So while CEO Mario Longhi describes the Q3 earnings as a highlight since 2014, it is still down for the year. Investors should expect the price per share to rise though due to the fact that insiders in the company are buying low and due to new Chinese tariffs being enacted after U.S. Trade Regulators found that Chinese steel manufacturers used a loophole in which China began shipping their steel through Vietnam to avoid the antidumping tariffs imposed on China. I Know First Algo trading Below you can find the forecast for the package name Basic Industry. In the last year, X has received 157.48% returns, with a signal strength of 34.31 and a predictability of 0.65. I Know First’s also trading predicted the bullish returns correctly. Previously, I Know First also predicted the bullish returns on February 18, 2016, which created a quick win for X. |
This article is about merchant navies and merchant marines of various countries. For a more general article on the subject, see ship transport A merchant navy or merchant marine is the fleet of merchant vessels that are registered in a specific country. On merchant vessels, seafarers of various ranks and sometimes members of maritime trade unions are required by the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW)[1] to carry Merchant Mariner's Documents. King George V bestowed the title of the "Merchant Navy" on the British merchant shipping fleets following their service in the First World War; since then a number of other nations have also adopted use of that title or the similar "Merchant Marine." The following is a partial list of the merchant navies or merchant marines of various countries. In many countries the fleet's proper name is simply the capitalized version of the common noun ("Merchant Navy"). Merchant navies by country [ edit ] British Merchant Navy [ edit ] The British Merchant Navy comprises the British merchant ships that transport cargo and people during time of peace and war. For much of its history, the merchant navy was the largest merchant fleet in the world, but with the decline of the British Empire in the mid-20th century it slipped down the rankings. In 1939, the merchant navy was the largest in the world with 33% of total tonnage.[2] By 2012, the merchant navy—still remaining one of the largest in the world—held only 3% of total tonnage.[3] As of the year ending 2012, British Merchant Marine interests consists of 1,504 ships of 100 GT or over. This includes ships either UK directly owned, parent owned or managed by a British company. This amounts to: 59,413,000 GT or alternatively 75,265,000 DWT.[3] This is according to the annual maritime shipping statistics provided by the British government and the Department for Transport. British shipping is represented nationally and globally by the UK Chamber of Shipping.[4] Canadian Merchant Navy [ edit ] Canada, like several other Commonwealth nations, created its own merchant navy in a large-scale effort in World War II. Established in 1939, the Canadian Merchant Navy played a major role in the Battle of the Atlantic bolstering the Allies' merchant fleet due to high losses in the British Merchant Navy. Eventually thousands of Canadians served in the merchant navy aboard hundreds of Canadian merchant ships, notably the "Park Ship", the Canadian equivalent of the American "Liberty Ship". A school at St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia, trained Canadian merchant mariners. "Manning pools", merchant navy barracks, were built in Canadian ports. Greek Merchant Navy [ edit ] The Greek maritime fleet is today engaged in commerce and transportation of goods and services universally. It consists of the merchant vessels owned by Greek civilians, flying either the Greek flag or a flag of convenience. Greece is a maritime nation by tradition, as shipping is arguably the oldest form of occupation of the Greeks and a key element of Greek economic activity since ancient times. In 2015, the Greek Merchant Navy controlled the world's largest merchant fleet in terms of tonnage with a total DWT of 334,649,089 tons and a fleet of 5,226 Greek owned vessels, according to Lloyd's List.[5] Greece is also ranked highly regarding all types of ships, including first for tankers and bulk carriers. Indian Merchant Navy [ edit ] The birth of the modern Indian Merchant Navy occurred before independence from the United Kingdom, when in 1919 SS Loyalty sailed from India to Britain.[6] Today, India ranks 15th in the world in terms of total DWT. India currently supplies around 12.8% of officers and around 14.5% of ratings to the world seafaring community. This is one of the highest of any country. India trains its officers similar to coast guards with all equipment including combat training. They are trained to protect their vessels at all cost from pirates. [7] New Zealand Merchant Navy [ edit ] A portrait of a New Zealand Merchant Navy captain of a Fairmile 'submarine chaser', as he holds it up and looks through a small coloured screen. This disc allows him to look into the sky to search for dive bombers without damaging his eyes. In December 1939, 3,000 seafarers were employed and 186 merchant vessels were on the New Zealand Registry (many larger New Zealand vessels were however registered in London for insurance purposes). Some foreign vessels were impressed, including the four-masted barque, Pamir. New Zealand, like several other Commonwealth nations, created a merchant navy. However, the "wartime Merchant Navy was neither a military force nor a single coherent body", instead it was a "a diverse collection of private companies and ships".[8] Although some ships were involved in the Atlantic and North Pacific trade, mostly this involved domestic and South Pacific cargos. New Zealand-owned ships were involved in trade with the United Kingdom (84% of all New Zealand exports in 1939)[8] and the majority of New Zealand seamen had served with the British Merchant Navy. Over the course of the war, 64 ships were sunk by enemy action on the New Zealand–UK route,[9] and 140 merchant seafarers lost their lives (a similar number were also taken prisoner).[10] Pakistani Merchant Navy [ edit ] The Pakistan Merchant Navy was formed in 1947. The Ministry of Port and Shipping, Mercantile Marine Department and Shipping Office established by the Government of Pakistan were authorized to flag the ships and also ensured that the vessels were sea worthy. All of the private shipping companies merged and formed the National Shipping Corporation (NSC) and the Pakistan Shipping Corporation (PSC) and as a result they had a common flag. Among these companies were the Muhammadi Steamship Company Limited and the East & West Steamship Company. In the Indo-Pak war of 1971 Pakistan suffered a great loss of its merchant vessels at the hands of Indians. On 1 January 1974, President of Pakistan Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto nationalized the National Shipping Corporation and Pakistan Shipping Corporation, and formed the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) with the intent of reestablishing the Pakistan Merchant Navy. Later, the company was incorporated under the provisions of the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation Ordinance of 1979 and the Companies Ordinance of 1984. Today, the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation is the national flag carrier. The corporation's head office is located in Karachi. A regional office based in Lahore caters for upcountry shipping requirements. The corporation also has an extensive overseas network of agents looking after its worldwide shipping business. The Pakistan National Shipping Corporation also has several subsidiary companies.[11] Polish Merchant Navy [ edit ] The Polish Merchant Navy (Polish: Polska Marynarka Handlowa, PMH) was created in the interwar period when the Second Polish Republic regained independence. During World War II, many ships of the Polish Navy joined the Allied merchant navy and its convoys as part of the Polish contribution to World War II. After the war, the Polish Merchant Navy was controlled by the People's Republic of Poland and, after 1989, by modern Poland. As of 1999 , the PMH controlled 57 ships (of 1,000 GT or over) totaling 1,120,165 gross tonnage (GT)/1,799,569 tonnes deadweight (DWT) including 50 bulk carriers, two general cargo ships, two chemical tankers, one roll-on/roll-off ship and two short-sea passenger ships. Swiss Merchant Marine [ edit ] Switzerland, despite being a landlocked country, has a civilian high seas fleet of merchant vessels, whose home port is Basel, on the Rhine. The first ships were purchased and operated by the government in order to ensure the supply of critical resources during World War II. After the war, a privately owned merchant fleet emerged, spurred in part by government subsidies that paid for the fleet's operation up until 1953. As of 2006, 26 ships (mostly container carriers) totalling 479,624 tons, operated by five shipping companies, flew the Swiss flag. U.S. Merchant Marine [ edit ] The United States Merchant Marine is made up of the nation's civilian-owner merchant ships and the men and women who crew them. The merchant marine transports cargo and passengers during peacetime. In time of war, the merchant marine[12] is an auxiliary to the navy and can be called upon to deliver troops and supplies for the military. The people of the merchant marine are called "merchant mariners", and are civilians except in times of war, when, in accordance with the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, they are considered military personnel. As of 2009, the U.S. merchant fleet numbered 422 ships[13] and approximately 69,000 people. Not included in these numbers are the over 700 ships which are owned by American interests but are registered, or flagged, in other countries. See also [ edit ] |
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- The firehouse chili that emanates from the Mayfield Heights Fire Department was voted for the second consecutive year the people's choice at the Second Annual 5-City, 5-Alarm Chili Cook-off held Saturday afternoon at the Highland Heights Community Center. But this year, the South Euclid Fire Department did all it could to unseat their Mayfield Heights counterparts in the judges' minds for the event's top chili award, and that work paid off. About 150 people attended the event that pitted fire departments from Mayfield Heights, South Euclid, Mayfield Village, Highland Heights and Lyndhurst against each other to determine who could make the best chili in the Hillcrest area. Residents paid to sample the chili, with the results benefiting the Community Partnership on Aging's Safe at Home program. "The Safe At Home program helps prevent falls at home for older adults," said Community Partnership on Aging Program Coordinator Therese Grida, who also organized the chili cook-off. "The program, for example, could install a shower grab bar in someone's house. "The cost to Ohio residents for falls in the home is $4 billion a year," she said. South Euclid Fire Department Fire Prevention Officer Scott Sebastian said his department worked this year with the local business Chef Ingredients to improve the department's chili for this year's cook-off. "Each shift played a part in making the chili this year," Sebastian. "I told the guys that we have the best chefs in the area and today they proved me right." The SEFD received the trophy for the cook-off's top chili, while the Mayfield Heights Fire Department won $500 for being voted the people's choice. MHFD Chief Bruce Elliott said the money would go towards helping needy Mayfield Heights residents at Christmas. Those who want more information about the Safe at Home program can call the Community Partnership on Aging's main office at 216-291-3902. |
Abstract Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical compound widely used in manufacturing plastic products. Recent epidemiological studies suggest BPA exposure is positively associated with the incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), however the mechanisms underlying this link remain unclear. Human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP) is a hormone synthesized and secreted by the pancreatic β-cells. Misfolding of hIAPP into toxic oligomers and mature fibrils can disrupt cell membrane and lead to β-cell death, which is regarded as one of the causative factors of T2DM. To test whether there are any connections between BPA exposure and hIAPP misfolding, we investigated the effects of BPA on hIAPP aggregation using thioflavin-T based fluorescence, transmission electronic microscopy, circular dichroism, dynamic light scattering, size-exclusion chromatography,fluorescence-dye leakage assay in an artificial micelle system and the generation of reactive oxygen species in INS-1 cells. We demonstrated that BPA not only dose-dependently promotes the aggregation of hIAPP and enhances the membrane disruption effects of hIAPP, but also promotes the extent of hIAPP aggregation related oxidative stress. Taken together, our results suggest that BPA exposure increased T2DM risk may involve the exacerbated toxic aggregation of hIAPP. Citation: Gong H, Zhang X, Cheng B, Sun Y, Li C, Li T, et al. (2013) Bisphenol A Accelerates Toxic Amyloid Formation of Human Islet Amyloid Polypeptide: A Possible Link between Bisphenol A Exposure and Type 2 Diabetes. PLoS ONE 8(1): e54198. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0054198 Editor: Angel Nadal, Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche, Spain Received: October 9, 2012; Accepted: December 11, 2012; Published: January 23, 2013 Copyright: © 2013 Gong et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Funding: This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (2009BC918304 & 2012CB524901 to LZ), the Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 81222043, 30970607, 81172971 to KH; and Nos. 81100687 & 31271370 to LZ), the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NECT10-0623 to LZ & NECT11-0170 to KH). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Introduction Diabetes is a panepidemic endocrine disease, with approximately 285 million diagnosed patients worldwide [1]. Non insulin dependent diabetes or type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) accounts for more than 90% of diagnosed diabetes [2]. An important causative factor of T2DM is the misfolding of human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP), which is a 37-residue peptide synthesized and secreted by the pancreatic β-cells (Fig. 1A; [3]). Despite the important physiological functions including glycemic control and regulation of certain hormones [4], hIAPP has a high intrinsic propensity to misfold into toxic oligomers and linear fibrils [5]. During this transition, natively unstructured hIAPP monomers first form β-structure rich oligomers, which further assemble into mature linear fibrils through lateral growth and elongation [6]. The cytotoxicity of hIAPP is generally attributed to the membrane permeabilization ability of hIAPP oligomers and mature fibrils, which cause apoptosis and eventually the onset of diabetes [7]–[10]. Therefore, preventing the formation of toxic hIAPP amyloid has been viewed as a plausible therapeutic approach for T2DM [11]. PPT PowerPoint slide PowerPoint slide PNG larger image larger image TIFF original image Download: Figure 1. Structures of hIAPP and BPA. (A) Primary sequence of hIAPP with a disulfide bridge between Cys-2 and Cys-7. (B) Chemical structure of bisphenol A. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0054198.g001 Bisphenol A (BPA; Fig. 1B) is a compound widely used in polycarbonate, epoxy resins and other polymer materials for manufacturing plastic utensils. The leach of BPA from plastic products is considered an important environmental issue [12]. Humans are exposed to BPA primarily through oral and inhalation routes [13]. BPA exposure is associated with multiple diseases, such as diseases of the reproductive system, nervous system and sexual dysfunction [14]–[16], as well as increased risk of cancer and heart disease [17], [18]. Although the exact molecular mechanisms of BPA toxicity remain unclear, official policies have been enacted or are being considered in many countries to reduce the BPA exposure worldwide [19]. Recent epidemiological evidence suggests that a concentration dependent correlation exists between BPA exposure and the occurrence of diabetes. BPA levels have been found significantly higher in both diagnosed diabetic and borderline diabetic patients than those of non-diabetic subjects [20]. A strong association between high urinary levels of BPA and diabetes has been identified by studying 3400 residents in China that a 37% increase in the incidence of T2DM being observed in subjects with urinary BPA concentration above 1.43 ng/ml compared with the reference concentration (≤0.47 ng/ml) [21]. In a clinic investigation with 1455 adults, the risk of diabetes in the highest BPA concentration group was 2.43 times higher compared with those in the lowest concentration group [22]. Additionally, severe metabolic disorders of glucose homeostasis and insulin resistance, hallmarkers of T2DM that are directly correlated with impaired pancreatic β-cell function, have been also observed in normal mice exposed to BPA [23], [24]. It is well recognized that environmental factors, including multiple metal ions, polyphenols, fatty acids and certain natural products of small molecule size, can affect the toxic misfolding of hIAPP and may cause diabetes [25]–[29]. We thus hypothesize that BPA exposure may associate with diabetes through promoting the toxic aggregation of hIAPP. To test this hypothesis, the effects of BPA on hIAPP aggregation were investigated in this work. Materials and Methods Materials Synthetic hIAPP (1–37) was obtained from Genscript Inc. (Piscataway, NJ, USA). Bisphenol A was obtained from Aladdin-reagent (Shanghai, China). Carboxyfluorescein, thioflavin-T (ThT), 2-Oleoyl-1-palmitoyl-sn-glycerol-3-phospho-rac (1-glycerol) sodium salt (POPG) and hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, USA). INS-1 cells were obtained from the China Center for Type Culture Collection (CCTCC). All other chemicals were of the highest grade available. hIAPP sample preparation For all experiments, hIAPP was freshly dissolved in HFIP and vigorously sonicated for 2 min to homogenize the sample. After a short-spin, the solution was diluted to desired concentration in 25 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) containing 50 mM NaCl, and a final HFIP concentration of 1%. Freshly prepared BPA stock solution was then immediately added to desired concentrations,thoroughly mixed and ready for further analysis. The whole preparation process is strictly limited to 5 min. Far-UV circular dichroism (CD) and data analysis CD spectra were obtained with a JASCO-810 spectropolarimeter at 25°C under a constant flow of N 2 . Freshly dissolved hIAPP was diluted to a final concentration of 15 µM,. Spectra were obtained from 260 to 190 nm with a 2 nm bandwidth, 1 s response time, 50 nm/min scanning speed and a 1 mm pathlength. Each sample was measured at least three times and the spectra were averaged to give the final result. Spectra of PBS buffer containing corresponding concentrations of BPA were measured as the baselines. The final spectra were obtained by subtracting corresponding baseline spectrum from sample spectrum, which were further converted to mean residue ellipticity [θ] and were analyzed with the software CDPro using the CONTINLL algorithm as previously described [30]. Amyloid formation and thioflavin-T (ThT) fluorescence assays Freshly prepared hIAPP solution (15 µM) was incubated at 25°C for amyloid formation in the presence of different molar ratios of BPA. ThT fluorescence assays were preformed on a Hitachi FL-2700 fluorometer to detect the formation of amyloid at designated time points. The final assay solution contains 25 mM PBS (pH 7.4), 50 mM NaCl and 20 µM thioflavin-T [27]. ThT fluorescence was recorded at 482 nm with an excitation wavelength of 450 nm. PBS buffer containing different concentrations of BPA were measured as the controls. All of the experiments were performed at least three times, and the lag times were calculated as we previously described [31]. Transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) The TEM was performed as previously described [32]. Briefly, 5 µl of sample was applied onto a 300-mesh Formvar-carbon coated copper grid. Excess solvent was removed carefully and stained by dropwise addition of 1% freshly prepared uranyl formate followed by air drying. Images were observed under a transmission microscope (Hitachi, Tokyo, Japan) operating at an accelerating voltage of 100 kV. Dye leakage assays POPG was dissolved in chloroform at a concentration of 10 mg/mL. Chloroform was then removed under a stream of N 2 , and samples were dried under vacuum to remove residual chloroform. Multilamellar vesicles were made by mixing dry POPG films with 25 mM PBS (pH 7.4) containing 40 mM carboxyfluorescein. PD-10 columns (Sangon, Shanghai, China) were then used to remove nonencapsulated carboxyfluorescein as previously described [33]. POPG vesicles containing carboxyfluorescein were diluted in 25 mM PBS (pH 7.4) for florescence measurements. hIAPP stock solution was added to POPG vesicles at a final concentration of 1 µM immediately before measurement. The samples were excited at a wavelength of 493 nm, and the emission was detected at 518 nm. The fluorescence signal was recorded for 90 s, POPG vesicles alone were tested as the baseline and the signals of POPG vesicles treated with 0.2% (v/v) Triton X-100 (for complete membrane leakage) were used as the positive control. All measurements were repeated at least three times. Size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) The SEC analysis was performed on a Tosoh TSK GW2000 column (Tokyo, Japan). hIAPP was freshly prepared to a final concentration of 30 µM,mixed with different amounts of BPA, and were immediately injected into a Hitachi L-2000 HPLC system, and the column was eluted with a 20% acetonitrile containing 0.003% TFA at a flow rate of 0.3 ml/min as previously described [34]. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis Dynamic light scattering was performed by using a zeta pals potential analyzer (Brookhaven Instruments, New York, USA). 30 µM hIAPP was measured in a 200 µl cuvette incubated at 37°C with a scattering angle of 90°. The starting time for the very first sample scan was marked as time zero. All of the samples were scanned for three times (4 min/scan) and the mean particle size was recorded and analyzed by the multimodal size distribution (MSD) software. MTT cell toxicity assay Pancreatic INS-1 cells were cultured in 1640 medium containing 10% FBS, 1% sodiumpyruvat, 1% penicillin-streptomycin solution and 50 µM β-mecaptoethanol. And cells were plated in 96-well plates at a density of 5×104 cells/well and incubated at 37°C in 5% CO 2 atmosphere for 24 h. The medium was then replaced with fresh medium containing hIAPP (5 µM) and varied amounts of BPA for 24 h further incubation. Cells treated with BPA or PBS were used as the controls. For MTT assay, cells were co-incubated with 10 µl MTT (5 mg/ml) per well for 4 h. 100 µl formazan buffer was then added to each well and the absorbance was measured at 570 nm [35]. Synergistic effects were analyzed by calculating coefficient of drug interaction (CDI) [36]. Measurement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) INS-1 cells were seeded into 6-well plates and treated with or without 10 µM hIAPP and different ratios of BPA for 12 h. The harvested cells were washed by PBS and incubated in 1640 medium containing 10 µM carboxy-H 2 DCFDA (Beyotime, Shanghai, China) for 20 min at 37°C. The cells were then washed twice with PBS and the levels of ROS were detected by a flow cytometer (Beckman, USA) with an excitation wavelength of 485 nm and an emission wavelength of 530 nm [37]. Statistical analysis The Kruskal-Wallis test and the Mann-Whitney test were used to evaluate statistical significance. All results were expressed as the mean ± SD. Difference was considered statistically significant at P<0.05. Discussion hIAPP has a strong tendency to form toxic oligomers and fibrils that lead to pancreatic β-cell apoptosis and eventually the onset of T2DM [47]. It is clear from our results that BPA promotes hIAPP aggregation in a dose-dependent manner, which is supported by the significantly accelerated aggregation lag time as well as the enhanced fluorescence intensity that reflects the orderly β-structures formed (Fig. 3B). CD data further confirms the accelerated transition of hIAPP from unordered structure to β-structure in the presence of BPA (Fig. S2). The helical intermediates are thought to play a role in hIAPP aggregation [48], [49], the transition from helix to β-sheet structure may cause the reduction of helical structures as what we observed (Fig. S2). It is well established that the toxic hIAPP oligomers can disrupt the islet β-cell membrane and lead to permeabilization. In MTT study, we observed the cytotoxicity of hIAPP on INS-1 cells rose sharply with the addition of BPA (Fig. 7). The observed strong cytotoxicity by BPA alone also agree with previous studies which suggested BPA itself also disrupt the cell function through stimulating the estrogen-receptor and several other apoptosis-related pathways [50]–[53]. It is interesting to note that the increased toxic effect of hIAPP in combination with BPA was only observed at high BPA to hIAPP ratios but not at the lower ratios. The CDI was calculated to explore the potential BPA and hIAPP interaction, and it was found that the two compounds showed a synergistic exacerbation of cototoxicity especially at high molar ratios of BPA. Further analysis was conducted to distinguish the direct molecular toxic effects of BPA on live cells from its interaction with hIAPP. Dye leakage assays were performed to monitor exclusively the membrane disruption property of hIAPP in the presence of BPA. The hIAPP oligomers have been proven to bind and penetrate membranes more efficiently than monomers and are regarded as an important causative factor to β-cell death [47]. Serious dye leakage was observed in the hIAPP group and was dose-dependently enhanced in the presence of BPA (Fig. 8). It is interesting to note that no evident hIAPP aggregation was identified within a short incubation time at a low concentration (1 µM) as suggested by the ThT and CD results (data not shown), whereas hIAPP at this concentration immediately caused significant membrane disruption in dye leakage assays. This may be explained by a recent report that hIAPP form oligomers much faster in the presence of membrane structures [54]. These data suggested that BPA significantly increases the ability of hIAPP to disrupt membranes. Oxidative stress induced cytotoxicity was another mechanism underlying amyloid-related β-cell apoptosis besides direct membrane disruption. Amyloid formation has been reported to associate with ROS generation [46]. hIAPP oligomers may form pores on membrane and lead to permeabilization of lipid bilayers [55]. The generalized increase in membrane permeability results in intracellular calcium elevation which disrupts mitochondrial function and finally increases ROS generation [56], [57]. In this study, ROS accumulation is also observed in INS-1 cells treated with hIAPP. The ROS levels rose significantly in the presence of BPA and hIAPP, while BPA by itself has little effect on ROS levels (Fig. 8B), suggesting BPA has a synergistic effect on the ROS production related to hIAPP amyloid formation. A summary of possible molecular scheme is provided for the toxic effects of BPA on the formation of hIAPP amyloid which further result in cell damage (Fig. 9). PPT PowerPoint slide PowerPoint slide PNG larger image larger image TIFF original image Download: Figure 9. A schematic representation of hIAPP aggregation pathway. BPA may promote the oligomerization of hIAPP and form pores on membrane which disrupt the membrane and cause the leakage of cellular contents, moreover, permeabilization of lipid bilayers may cause the elevation of intracellular calcium levels and lead to the generation of ROS. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0054198.g009 The influence on human health of BPA exposure is regarded as an accumulative process because of its widespread penetration in daily life [58]. The BPA tolerable intake has been set as 50 µg/kg/day [58], but adverse effects at lower BPA concentrations in animal studies have been demonstrated, which may lead to the requirement of a new risk assessment for BPA [59]. BPA concentrations in human blood (serum and plasma) are in the range of 0.3–4.4 ng/ml (1.3–19.4 nM) in developed countries [13]. In contrast, physiological circulating concentrations of hIAPP are below 10 pM in fasted non-diabetic people and rise up to over 20 pM after a meal [60], suggesting the physiological ratio of BPA to hIAPP may actually be much higher than those used in the present study. Moreover, since BPA exposure is a continuous and accumulative process, it is logical to expect long-term BPA exposure may be accompanied with accelerated hIAPP amyloid formation and β-cell apoptosis, and eventually a higher risk of T2DM. In a recent report, BPA at near physiological concentration also showed direct toxicity [61]. Due to the detection sensitivity limitation of existing biophysical technologies, in the present study, we tested the interaction between hIAPP and BPA at much higher concentrations in vitro. Therefore the system we used may be considered as a model that simulates physiological interactions at accelerating rates. Future biophysical study with novel experimental methods which can tackle hIAPP and BPA interaction at physiological conditions will be important. In summary, our data provide the evidence that BPA exposure concentration-dependently accelerates the toxic amyloid formation, exacerbates the toxic membrane disruption of hIAPP and promotes the levels of toxic ROS generated by hIAPP in vitro. Our study suggest that in addition to direct biological effect, long-term BPA exposure may also have adverse effects on hIAPP amyloid formation that eventually contribute to the onset of T2DM. The results may provide a new angle on how BPA exposure influences the risk of diabetes from hIAPP aggregation related pathogenesis. Moreover, since BPA also possess other important biological effects including estrogen-like function, it will be interesting to explore the effect of BPA exposure on physiological functions of hIAPP, for example, hIAPP secretion and hIAPP related insulin resistance. In addition to hIAPP, a great variety of amyloidogenic proteins such as amyloid β peptide and α-synuclein, are known to form extracellular amyloid deposits that induce human diseases including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease [62]. It will be of future interest to study how BPA exposure may affect the misfolding of those amyloidogenic proteins. Acknowledgments The authors are grateful to the Huazhong University of Science and Technology Analytical and Testing Center for support. The authors wish to thank Dr. Mitchell Sullivan (University of Queensland) and Mr. Justus Grave (Univeristy of Marburg) for help with the editing. The authors thank two anonymous reviewers for their insightful scientific suggestions. Author Contributions Conceived and designed the experiments: HG LZ KH. Performed the experiments: HG XZ BC YS CL TL. Analyzed the data: HG LZ KH. Wrote the paper: HG LZ KH. |
Wu Fei, a professor at China’s Guangzhou Jinan University, said that a successful Russian operation in Syria could deal a fatal blow to US attempts to act unilaterally, without first obtaining a mandate through bilateral or multilateral treaties or in violation of them. © AP Photo / Wong Maye-E Russian Defense Ministry Ready to Use US-Led Coalition's Data in Fight Against ISIL BEIJING (Sputnik) — The United States is afraid of Russia’s growing influence in Syria and in the Middle East as a whole, which could undermine its role in the region, Chinese experts claim. "The United States is confused because of Russia’s actions in Syria. It fears that the new anti-terrorist coalition will compete with the US-led coalition and derail an already established structure," China’s Ex-Ambassador to Egypt An Huihou was quoted as saying in an article, published on the Chinese Institute of International Studies’ website. The diplomat stressed in his article that Washington was resolutely opposed to Russia's bolstered military presence in Syria from the very beginning, but when the international community reached consensus on the need to combat terrorism, the United Stated could not find any rational reason to object to the participation of Russia in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIL) group in Syria. © Sputnik / Dmitriy Vinogradov ISIL Militants Using Mosques in Syria as Hideout - Russian Defense Ministry Wu Fei, a professor at China’s Guangzhou Jinan University, told Sputnik on Tuesday that a successful Russian operation in Syria could deal a fatal blow to US attempts to act unilaterally, without first obtaining a mandate through bilateral or multilateral treaties or in violation of them. "The success of the Russian military operation in Syria would mean a complete failure of the US policy of unilateralism, which the United States, of course, hopes to avoid. It will certainly try to present Russia's actions in a negative light. It is foreseeable that the US government and Western media will literally with a magnifying glass in the hands seek out Russia’s mistakes and write numerous reports about them," Wu empathized. Russia should be prepared for the flow of reports and accusations, he added. "Accusations, demands for clarification and defamation campaigns by the United States in response to Russia’s actions indicate the unwillingness of the United States to see the victory of the Syrian government over the extremist organizations with the assistance of Russia," Wu told Sputnik. Russia started precision airstrikes against ISIL targets in Syria on September 30, following a request from Syrian President Bashar Assad. According to the Russian defense ministry data, the Russian air campaign has done considerable damage to ISIL command and logistics networks, as well as to infrastructure used to equip suicide bombers. |
2 Comments Obviously, Custom Hyundai Veloster-Raptor is Dino-mite! The Veloster has always been an odd bird in Hyundai’s flock. This compact, asymmetrical, 3-door hatchback has some mediocre strength compared to other Hyundai models but sits in an odd semi-power-hungry segment competing with the Scion tC or the Kia Forte. Plus, without the SR Turbo upgrade, it’s pretty underwhelming. The Veloster still relatively young, having only been around for a couple years, and usually gets overlooked. But it has become a favorite of SEMA participants for one simple reason: it has a wealth of untapped potential. That’s just what Hyundai Australia engineers wanted to prove when they modified a blue Veloster by pumping it up into a ferocious Hyundai Veloster-Raptor. Wait a minute–did that just say “Velociraptor”? Oh my god…. The Hyundai Veloster-Raptor Bares Its Claws in Australia First of all, that name deserves a round of applause. The Hyundai Veloster-Raptor…friggin’ genius. Secondly, no you can’t buy it. Despite accelerating, handling, and stopping better than any available Veloster, it was only a proof-of-concept attempt by the automaker to see what the model can do. “The car is an experiment [put together by Hyundai Australia’s engineering team] and it’s an exploration of how far you can take the Veloster platform,” Hyundai Australia’s public relations manager Bill Thomas was nice enough to tell the world. So how did his team improve the Hyundai Veloster-Raptor? By adding a returned ECU, black Rays wheels, lowered King Springs with revealed dampers, a Quafe limited-slip differential, and cat-back exhaust for a louder roar. That’s still a 1.6-liter engine which now yields 234 lb-ft of torque and 261 horsepower. There are two good pieces of news from this endeavor: Hyundai Australia says it definitely saw potential in the mod, and the mod could feasibly sell at less than $40,000. Actually, there’s a third piece: that absolutely killer name. |
PCI-SIC accelerates the creation of PCIe 5.0 PCI-SIC accelerates the creation of PCIe 5.0 | Source: PCI-SIG PR Author: Mark Campbell PCI-SIC accelerates the creation of PCIe 5.0 At the PCI-SIG Developers Conference, the organisation announced that they were accelerating the development of PCIe 5.0, which is designed to offer 128GB/s of total bandwidth, 4x that of PCIe 3.0 when both are using x16 links. Right now, PCI-SIG expects to complete their PCIe 5.0 standard sometime in 2019, with the organisation already releasing version 0.3 of the standard to their members. PCIe 5.0 will enable users to get more bandwidth out of fewer PCIe lanes and enable the creation of faster PCIe devices, allowing 400Gb/s Ethernet solutions to be created for servers or to reduce the PCIe requirements of modern M.2, U.2 or PCIe storage devices. PCI-SIG are designing this standard not to meet modern industry standards but to exceed them, making PCIe 5.0 even faster than Nvidia's own NVLink 2.0 interconnects. In our 25-year history, PCI-SIG has maintained its commitment to our rigorous specification development process, while delivering specifications that are in lock-step with industry requirements for high-performance I/O, "PCIe 5.0 technology is the next evolution that will set the standard for speed, and we are confident that its 32GT/s bandwidth will surpass industry needs. (PCIe 5.0 x4 is as fast as PCIe 3.0 x16) Moving forward the speed of PCIe lanes will be in great demand, as PCIe storage devices become more common and both NAND and other non-volatile memory standards like XPoint become more common. You can join the discussion on PCIe 5.0 on the OC3D Forums. 1 - PCI-SIC accelerates the creation of PCIe 5.0 «Prev 1 Next» Most Recent Comments |
I've been reading and writing about historical Jesus books for more than 30 years. Every now and then a volume or project comes along that catches the imagination of the public, sells well, and generates much discussion. Think of the Jesus Seminar or The DaVinci Code. Works like these have the same features: they present a “fresh” take on Jesus, tell you the Gospels cannot be trusted, appeal to what certain scholars say about the Gospels, pick and choose from the data they contain, and then tell us the Jesus of history was either a prophet (a dime a dozen), a miracle worker (a dime a dozen in the ancient world), someone whose goal was to overturn Rome (a goal that failed), or some combination. The disciples, faced with the dilemma of failed hope, went cosmic and created a resurrected Jesus (an idea with no precedent). Then they convinced the world it was so with the now-created Christ Jesus. Reza Aslan and those like him claim the Christ of the church is a very different figure than the Jesus of history. The really creative theological work came later from his disciples, they say. These creative disciples were even willing to die for the fabricated rescuing of this lost hope. It's a great storyline for a culture that often doesn't want to hear about unique religious claims, but it's hardly a credible story to explain the origins of the Christian faith and the history tied to Jesus. Into this genre fits Aslan's Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth. Though a well-written narrative with relevant first-century background to the Jesus history, the book rejects the Gospels and relies on one side of the scholarly conversation. So what Aslan presents as likely history is really but one debated reconstruction of who Jesus was and is. It's just one picture of how Jesus of Nazareth got to be the Christ of God. When I read these popular works, I don't see a new portrait of Jesus, but one using old theories to argue the Jesus of history is different from the Christ of the Gospels. In Aslan's case, I see a mix of John Dominic Crossan and S. F. G. Brandon's works on Jesus—putting the carpenter from Nazareth far more in a social and political realm than in one focused on spiritual needs as well. What seems new and revealing, then, is really one presentation among many. Such presentations have been out there for some time—and on some points for a few centuries. The excitement about a fresh take on Jesus is more hype than substance. False Dilemmas To reach his portrait, Aslan assumes the Gospels are more about constructive theology than history. Note the common skeptical “either/or” wrapped up in this construct. We cannot entertain the possibility that theology and history go together. We cannot understand that what motivated the disciples to face death was a set of unique claims. Perhaps what Jesus taught motivated them to proclaim the good news about Jesus to a skeptical and often hostile audience. Why else would this Jesus movement that theoretically works with common themes from the ancient world go to a place none of those other religious or political movements ever went? Aslan sees Jesus' miracle-working as a common feature of the period. On this topic he correctly acknowledges that everyone at the time saw Jesus in this light. Everyone agreed Jesus was performing startling deeds. Even Jesus' opponents noted his reputation as a wonder-worker, and the Jews who rejected him claimed his power was malevolent but real. But Aslan leaves out key details of the debate over how to interpret these works. Aslan's appeal to Apollonius of Tyana ignores the fact that sources for his work come from more than a century later and that some of his miracles are described in ways that make his actions less than miraculous. For example, when Apollonius is said to raise someone from the dead, his biographer suggests he actually recognized the person wasn't yet dead. Aslan also fails to note a key distinction in the portrayal of how Jesus heals versus other miracle workers of the period. Rather than using some formula of special words or prayer to invoke God or the gods to heal, Jesus in most miracles acts directly, showing himself to be what sociologists have described as a “bearer of numinous power” rather than a mere mediator of or petitioner for it. Though such discussions about the uniqueness of Jesus' miracles exist in scholarly literature, you would never know it based on Aslan's one-sided presentation. Cosmic Flattening Aslan further misreads eschatology on the kingdom of God as well as Jesus' kingdom teaching, arguing Jesus merely taught about God's rule what other prophets had already said. Actually, Jesus taught about a new reality—the long-promised and hoped-for Messiah appearing in fulfillment of promises to carry out God's program. Aslan correctly notes Jesus hardly used the term “Messiah” in his public teaching, but that was due to misconceptions around the term—especially given his messianic path involved suffering. Jesus revealed his credentials through his actions, as his response to John the Baptist's query shows (Luke 7:18-23). “To see who I am,” Jesus essentially replied, “look at what I am doing.” Aslan represents the typical mistake of stepping away from or rejecting things in the Gospels' portrait of Jesus that made and still make him unique. Is his preaching of the kingdom a revolution to replace Rome? Hardly. Jesus doesn't seek to form an army of any sort against Rome; he has a different, cosmic opponent in view. To be sure, there's an earthly kingdom aspect to Jesus' teaching, and on that point Aslan is correct. However, a text Aslan cites makes the very point he's trying to avoid: “If I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Luke 11:20). Jesus' words here are in the context of exorcism. His battle is aimed at more transcendent foes. He primarily has in view not Rome, but Satan. Litany of Problems Aslan claims the original command to love neighbor was only internal and about fellow Jews, but this argument ignores Jesus' exposition using a Samaritan as the example of love (Luke 10:25-37). Moreover, Aslan claims sonship and the Jewishness of Jesus don't go side by side, but this is an “either/or” that's really a “both/and.” It ignores what interpreters of Jesus—both skeptical and conservative—have said: Jesus presented himself as the center of hope and of promise to Israel with a uniquely Jewish sense of God as his personal Father. The violence Aslan sees Jesus advocating isn't about a war he hopes to generate with Rome but about a judgment that will come for rejecting God. Jesus never gives evidence of raising an army for the political battle Aslan describes. So why suggest this was his intent? Additionally, Aslan contends the use of “Son of Man” is unique to Jesus. However, as James Charlesworth of Princeton and I (along with others) have demonstrated, 1 Enoch was available and circulating at the time of Jesus' ministry. Once again, Aslan fails to even acknowledge scholars on the other side of his argument. He also errs in claiming Jesus didn't establish the kingdom he proclaimed. This misses the point of Jesus' explanation about how the kingdom comes—with him vindicated at God's right hand (Mark 14:60-65). The rule Jesus has in mind has cosmic roots. This is a scene I've defended elsewhere in a detailed monograph. Further, Aslan claims New Testament Christology is a late first-century development, but this ignores the Christology of Paul—which predates by decades Aslan's dating of the Jewish war with Rome and relevant Jewish texts. Pauline Christology begins in the 30s with Paul's conversion to an exalted Christ, not in the 70s to 90s. Truth and Zeal Suffice it to say, Zealot is yet another modern reconstruction of Jesus. It is not fresh and new, as it claims to be, but reflects longstanding debate. That debate is between those skeptical about the Gospels' portraits of Jesus and those who see them as complementary pictures of Jesus as he was and is. Our culture is attracted to cases against the Gospels' credibility, which explains the popularity of Aslan's book and others like it. It's not at all clear, however, that Aslan understands the history of Jesus better than the Gospel writers did. It's not even clear that the scholarly consensus he claims to represent stacks up on his side of the debate. There are good reasons to suspect the Jesus of history was directly responsible for being confessed as Christ. It was zeal for Jesus' person that drove the earliest disciples to preach him as unique. This is something the disciples not only thought about but also experienced—even to the point of being willing to die for what they knew to be true. Zeal for Jesus arose from his own claims about what God was accomplishing through him. |
Takada Kenta from “Produce 101 Season 2” is a successful Teen Top fan! On August 23, Teen Top’s Ricky held a live broadcast through V Live and talked about his appearance on Channel A’s upcoming short track speed skating program. He shared that he has been practicing every day in preparation to compete for the program. When asked if he has gotten closer to Takada Kenta, another participant on the show, he revealed, “I have gotten much closer to Kenta.” He added, “Actually, Kenta is older than me because he was born in January. I plan on calling him hyung (term used by males to refer to older males) from now on.” Previously, Takada Kenta was spotted in photos and videos at Teen Top’s fan signing events and performances, even wearing a shirt with “I am Japan’s Ricky” written. He has also revealed that the group influenced his dream of becoming an K-pop idol. “We Are Also National Athletes” (literal translation), starring Ricky, Takada Kenta, and more, will air its first episode sometime in September. Source (1) |
Cape Town - Less than two weeks ago we were treated to the languid sight of a huge python casually slithering across a Zimbali Golf Course - see it here - and now this. In stark energy contrast, this video shared by Latest Sightings and captured by Cara Treherne, shows two black mambas going at each other wildly - one of the deadliest snake species in the world. Treherne says she and a group of golfers had more than a bit of trouble finishing up their golf game - as the two snakes occupied the 14th hole on the golf course at Leopard Creek, just outside Kruger National Park’s Malelane Gate. She told LatestSightings.com, “I drove up a small rise and saw movement out of the corner of my eye. At first glance, I thought it was a spitting cobra that had its hood up, but after a closer inspection, I then saw it was actually two mambas. I quickly flagged the other 2 players in my four ball to slow down. ”Cara and the rest quickly realized that this was quite a rare sighting, so they paused the game and sat and watched the amazing sighting. |
Once upon a time, a group of gifted basketball players decided to join forces to dominate their sport. They were as talented as they were hyped, and they ushered in an era of style and scoring, a blueprint for superteams to come. But a funny thing happened: Winning wasn't as easy on the court as it was on paper. No one told their opponents that the team's championship was a birthright. To get a title, you have to fight for it. And any team, no matter how talented, can lose that fight. If the Miami Heat win tonight, Juwan Howard will have a championship. At 39 years old, after 18 seasons and 10 stops and eight teams, he's the league's grand old man, a locker-room guy and a leader and a figurehead who doesn't and maybe can't play more than a few minutes a night. He's the one who approaches 21-year-old Lance Stephenson and lectures him about taunting an elder. He's got all of one rebound in these playoffs and comes on late in blowouts to polite applause and jokes about his age. But Howard is the last remaining member of Michigan's Fab Five and their last shot at any of them winning a championship. If the Heat win, Howard probably hangs it up, and the circle closes. It would be a literary, if not a happy ending, for the group who didn't quite change the game of basketball, but got it to meet them halfway. The Fab Five took the court as starters for the first time on a Sunday afternoon in February 1992 and scored every single one of Michigan's points. That was the high-water mark. The results, from there, could never live up to the promise. There were two NCAA championship game appearances that technically, retroactively, never happened, followed by a mixed bag of NBA careers that sent the five their separate ways. They kept one disappointment in common: Not a one ever touched a certain silver-with-gold-overlay trophy with a regulation-size ball perched on the precipice. For the Fab Five, that ball always rolled out. Chris Webber, the best of them, made a pair of conference finals—the controversial 2002 series with the Lakers, the one that Tim Donaghy would later say was fixed, and a twilight run with the Pistons in 2007, where a suddenly rejuvenated Webber ran into LeBron James on his way to his own first career finals. Jalen Rose had the best chance of the five, being moved to forward and partnering with Reggie Miller for the rare double-barreled sniper rifle. Their late '90s Pacers made three straight Eastern Conference finals appearances, with the last culminating in Rose's only Finals appearance. Jimmy King and Ray Jackson couldn't quite make the transition to the pros. King played parts of two seasons before heading to Europe, and Jackson never cracked a roster. He had always kind of just been along for the ride. Advertisement Juwan Howard was always the different one. Quieter, more intellectual, old even as a teenager. While his UM teammates reinvented basketball fashion, Howard continued to rock the hi-top fade that had been on its way out for a few years. While completing an All-Rookie season for the Bullets, Howard continued to take classes and was able to graduate on time, a promise he made to his dying grandmother, who passed away the day he signed with Michigan. Steve Fisher called him "my Rock of Gibraltar," and Howard was nothing if not steady. "I never wanted to be called an inconsistent player," Howard said on the eve of his final college game. "I never wanted to be one of those up-and-down guys who you never know when they'll show up." That's a defensive player's mindset in a nutshell. It has to be. Howard never wanted to be the first scoring option, not even on his many terrible NBA teams. He could score when he wanted to—back to the basket, from medium range, whatever. He could have owned both ends, and often did those first few years in Washington, but only by default. Only when Chris Webber or Mitch Richmond were hurt, which was often. Advertisement "I don't mind getting overshadowed by Chris and Jalen," Howard told USA Today in 1993, and expressed the same sentiment with different names throughout his career. That quote finished with "What's important to me is winning," which sounds empty considering his teams very rarely won. There was a moment, in the summer of 1996, when it all could have gone differently. Howard was 23, coming off a do-everything season for an injury-ravaged Bullets team—22.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists—and he was a free agent, a David Falk client, like Michael Jordan. He signed a seven-year, $100 million contract to join the Miami Heat, teaming up with Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway to make an original Big Three, a team that could have been unstoppable post-Jordan. He would have been the quiet member of the trio, doing the dirty work for the two superstars. Like Chris Bosh, or like Michigan's Juwan Howard. That deal was tossed out due to a salary cap violation. Howard re-signed with the Bullets. An infuriated Pat Riley made sure not to make the same mistake 14 years later, with his next superteam. Advertisement What unfolded from there was the career of a journeyman. Washington traded him to Dallas in 2001, in an eight-player deal in which one of the return pieces was Christian Laettner, who had denied the Fab Five their first NCAA title. After Dallas, he made stops in Denver, Orlando, and Houston, and Dallas and Denver again, and Charlotte and Portland. And as the legs began to go and fatigue set in quicker and the scoring touch waned, an aging Howard continued made his priorities clear. He hasn't averaged double figures since 2006, but the boards have still been there. This season, in intensely limited action, Howard put up the best rebound-per-minute figure of his entire career. Most of those came in garbage time, but it's telling that Howard didn't let the situation dictate easing off on the pedal. He's come to the office every single day for two decades, and put in a respectable day's work. Maybe he's not the Rock of Gibraltar, but the waves lapping at its base. Steady and inevitable, Juwan Howard toils away on his little section of the court, often unremarked upon, but never unappreciated. This is about as far from the Fab Five flash as you can get, and yet, this is the one that persevered. He stuck around basketball because he enjoys it and because he was good enough. And now he gets something to show for it, something that seemed inevitable at that string of goodbye press conferences at the Crisler Arena so many years ago. Advertisement We've come full circle culturally: Once, Howard's teammates defined black style (at least to white sportswriters) as baggy shorts and black socks. Now, his teammates are trying to redefine it as colorful polos and thick-framed glasses. But it's the superteam concept that's finally graduating. Like Miami's Big Three, the Fab Five were a collection of stars, thrown together not by the vagaries of recruiting or drafting, but because they wanted to play together, to achieve something more than the sum of the parts. It never quite clicked in Ann Arbor. It's 48 minutes away from working in Miami. And if Juwan Howard doesn't see a minute of the court in this series, it doesn't matter. He's put in 20 years. |
Remember David Tennant’s Doctor? That happy-go-lucky guy, always running down corridors and getting into scrapes? Advertisement Yes, he had his moods… …but he would never, say, lose his temper and declare himself the ultimate master of time and space. Hmm. The Doctor’s declaration that he is the the ‘Time Lord Victorious’ in The Waters of Mars isn’t exactly out of character, but it was certainly an extreme swing. Now Reddit user Lorix_In_Oz might have an explanation, and it’s all to do with that strange moment in the series 4 finale, when the Doctor manages to heal himself after a fatal laser blast from a Dalek. The Doctor somehow avoided a full-scale regeneration by ‘siphoning’ off the energy into his nearby detached hand. This confused fans for many years, but it was later made clear when Matt Smith regenerated into Peter Capaldi that this still ‘counted’ as a full regeneration. As the Doctor says, he ‘regenerated into the same face.’ [Side Note: Gosh this can be a strange show, can’t it?] What if, Lorix_In_Oz posits, this wasn’t a perfect regeneration? What if something…changed? We all know the Doctor doesn’t really have much control over his transformation so it is possible that something like a subtle personality shift have crept up on him? Was he more predisposed to becoming the Time Lord Victorious as a result of it? It’s a surprisingly convincing theory, and somehow gives that fake-out regeneration more ‘weight’. Advertisement But what do you think? Did this regeneration give the Doctor a darker side, or was the Time Lord Victorious just the result of a really, really bad day? |
Spencer Platt/Getty Images Former Marine Al Baldasaro speaks alongside GOP nominee Donald Trump on May 31, 2016 in New York City. WASHINGTON ― One of Donald Trump’s advisers on veterans affairs wants Hillary Clinton to be shot for treason. Al Baldasaro, a New Hampshire state representative and delegate for the Republican presidential nominee, made the comments during an interview on “The Kuhner Report” radio show on Tuesday. Host Jeff Kuhner asked if Baldasaro thought Clinton bore responsibility for those who died in the 2012 terrorist attack on a U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya. “I’m a veteran who went to Desert Shield, Desert Storm. I’m also a father who sent a son to war, to Iraq, as a Marine Corps helicopter avionics technician. Hillary Clinton, to me, is the Jane Fonda of the Vietnam,” Baldasaro replied, referring to Fonda’s 1972 trip to Hanoi that some Americans consider to be an act of betrayal. “[Clinton] is a disgrace for the lies that she told those mothers about their children that got killed over there in Benghazi. She dropped the ball on over 400 emails requesting back up security. Something’s wrong there,” he continued. “This whole thing disgusts me,” Baldasaro added. “Hillary Clinton should be put in the firing line and shot for treason.” After an extensive investigation into Clinton’s private email server, the FBI and Justice Department decided no charges were appropriate. And after spending more than two years and $7 million, the House Select Committee on Benghazi found no evidence of wrongdoing by the then-secretary of state. BuzzFeed News first reported Baldasaro’s comments. On Wednesday, he stood by them, telling ABC affiliate WMUR that “As far as I’m concerned, it is treason and the penalty for treason is the firing squad ― or maybe it’s the electric chair now.” The U.S. Secret Service said it is aware of Baldasaro’s comments and will conduct “the appropriate investigation,” Politico reported. In the tweet below, Baldasaro can be seen standing behind Corey Lewandowski, former campaign manager for Trump, on the floor of the Republican National Convention. |
In Oklahoma, the Board of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services certifies private facilities that offer treatment/counseling services. As it turns out, there’s a private facility in the state called Narconon that focuses on drug rehabilitation (recovery) which used to be outside the scope of the Board’s oversight. So what’s the big deal? Narconon is a “Scientology front group” (see this report from Rock Center with Brian Williams) and it promotes treatment that is unscientific, based on the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard. In fact, a number of people have died over the past year due to their treatment. Yet, they’re still “certified” by a private third party and that’s why they’re allowed to exist in Oklahoma. Now, State Senator Tom Ivester is trying to fix this. He just introduced legislation (PDF) that would broaden the scope of what the Board of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services can do. In short, the current law would be amended so that the Board could also certify recovery centers… like Narconon (though, obviously, that organization isn’t named in the bill). His bill would, sadly, also exempt faith-based recovery centers from the Board’s oversight… but since Narconon says they’re not a religiously-affiliated group, they don’t get to be exempt. Clever move. The blogger at Odd Oklahoma, the site that first brought this bill to my attention, writes: Originally, it was the Board that had denied Narconon their certification and nearly shut them down in the 1990s. It was only by getting outside certification that they were able to stay open. This would end that exemption. Expect there to be legal battles between Narconon and the State of Oklahoma over the next several years as they try to get certified. … My best guess is that this bill is specifically worded to avoid banning any of the other current treatment facilities that already exist in Oklahoma, while still targeting Narconon. Those two exemptions probably allowed those existing groups to keep operating. The same blogger also points out a problem with Ivester’s bill: Secular drug/alcohol recovery groups may be under the Board’s oversight while religious-based recovery programs wouldn’t be — and that could lead to legal battles in the future. But there’s still time to fix that. In the meantime, though, this is a strong move to rid the state of a recovery center that is really just a front to recruit more people into Scientology. (Thanks to @Calvyn82 for the link) |
This broccoli kale soup is for those who truly LOVE their greens. It reminds me of a green juice in savory soup form – energizing, nutrient rich and a bit intense. To minimize the green’s fervor, I dropped a few shreds of Daiya into the hot soup right before serving as well as garnishing with some fresh steamed broccoli florets. Croutons or a swirl of non-dairy unsweetened cream (e.g. cashew cream) would be good too. All, however, are optional. (Note: Like most soups, this recipe is even tastier after sitting a few hours). Broccoli Kale Soup Print Prep time 10 mins Cook time 45 mins Total time 55 mins Author: Sara Hohn Recipe type: Soup Ingredients 2 t olive oil ½ c yellow onion, diced 3 garlic cloves, minced 4 c broccoli florets, chopped (about 1 head of broccoli) 4 c kale, chopped 4 c vegetable stock ¼ t cayenne 1½ c almond milk (unsweetened) 1-2 t lemon juice ¼ t salt freshly ground pepper to taste optional garnish: Daiya shreds, croutons Instructions In a large pot, heat olive oil. Stir in onion and garlic and saute about 2 minutes until softened. Stir in broccoli and kale and toss until coated, about 1 minute. Add vegetable stock and cayenne and stir until well mixed. Cover and simmer about 20 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Transfer soup to a blender and puree until smooth. (Depending on the size of your blender, you may need to do this in batches). Return the pureed soup to the pot. Stir in almond milk and lemon juice and simmer soup on low, covered 10-12 minutes. Add salt and freshly ground pepper. Serve with Daiya shreds or croutons, if you like. Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe 3.5.3208 Interested in saving time while still eating healthy? My Under 30-Minute Vegan Meal Plans features easy vegan recipes and handy shopping lists for $9.99. Buy the 30-Minute Vegan Meal Plans Share it! Pinterest Tumblr email |
European companies, including the UK retail giant Tesco, are facing criticism from a leading human rights organisation for allegedly exploiting weak labour laws in the US and bullying employees to prevent them from joining unions. Human Rights Watch says European multinationals talk nicely about labour relations at home, but pay scant regard to them overseas. In a report published this morning, the New York-based campaign group says that managers at Tesco's new mini-market chain in the US, Fresh & Easy, have created an anti-union atmosphere, and that employees who want to organise union activities live in fear for their jobs. Another UK company, the security firm Group 4 Securicor (G4S), fired an employee for trying to persuade colleagues to join a union. The pair are on a list of European companies singled out by Human Rights Watch for what the group says is hypocrisy and violation of international standards on freedom of association. T-Mobile and DHL of Germany and the French industrial giant Saint-Gobain are among the other multi-nationals criticised. We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view. From 15p €0.18 $0.18 $0.27 a day, more exclusives, analysis and extras. "Even self-proclaimed 'progressive' companies take full advantage of weak US laws to stifle freedom of association," said Arvind Ganesan, director of the business and human rights programme at Human Rights Watch. "The behaviour of these companies casts serious doubt on the value of voluntary commitments to human rights. Companies need to be held accountable to their own stated commitments and to strong legal standards." European companies routinely trumpet their commitment to good labour relations in corporate and social responsibility reports designed to present a caring face to investors and the wider world. In its annual publication, for example, Tesco says: "Employees have the right to freedom of association. We recognise the right of our staff to join a recognised trade union where this is allowed within national law." And yet when it was recruiting an employee relations director for Fresh & Easy before launching the chain in 2007, the job advert listed "maintaining non-union status and union avoidance activities" among the responsibilities. The company said the advertisement was a mistake by its recruitment agency, for which it has apologised. Tesco employees told Human Rights Watch that managers clearly took an anti-union stance. "It was constantly driven home to us in team-lead meetings that we should tell employees they have no need for the union, that the company will take care of them so they don't need a union," said Shastina Furman, who worked for the company in San Diego. "When the union started passing out flyers outside our store, my manager told us 'You don't want to be part of it. These are not the right people for you.'" Sometimes, the managerial messages allegedly came with menaces. A human resources manager from Tesco's headquarters came to San Diego and asked Shannon Hardin, a $10-an-hour customer assistant, why she supported the union. "This made me worried too, like they were targeting me. I thought this was my right and management shouldn't be getting into my personal thoughts." Tesco said it aimed to have good relations with unions, but found that local unions in the US were "trying to damage our business from day one". It denied having an anti-union policy. Human Rights Watch is campaigning to tighten labour laws in the US, which it says make it too easy for employers to flout human rights conventions and prevent unionisation and collective bargaining. Today's report is based on interviews with workers, employees' legal testimonies, findings of US arbitration panels, company documents, and written exchanges with company management. The group claimed that T-Mobile had characterised employees' "talking about rights" as dangerous activity to be reported immediately to management and that DHL managers threatened and discriminated against workers who engaged in union activity. It reported the case of Richard Dieterle, a security guard for 30 years, who was fired by G4S from his job patrolling a mortgage bank in Minneapolis after he recruited colleagues to the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and went with union representatives to ask for a collective bargaining agreement. In a tribunal settlement, the company agreed to pay him $7,000 (£4,530) in lost wages. G4S told Human Rights Watch: "We take pride in being the first UK-based multinational company to enter into a global agreement safeguarding employee rights throughout our operations." It added: "G4S has recognised SEIU as the bargaining representative for employees working in Chicago, Minneapolis and Seattle. We are rolling out the agreement in New York, the District of Columbia and [cities across] California." Tesco said: "Wherever we operate, all staff are free to join trade unions and we have positive relations with trade unions around the world... This report is a further example of misleading allegations being used to misrepresent our position." Employee testimonies T Mobile "They called the Pennsylvania state troopers on us. The troopers told us we were right, that we could do what we were doing. But just having them show up put more fright into people, that somehow the union meant trouble with the law. It was very intimidating for a lot of people." Tammy Todora, a T-Mobile employee describing how the company reacted when she and other staff distributed pro-trade union flyers to co-workers leaving the premises in Allentown, Pennsylvania DHL "[The supervisor] walked up to me around 9.30pm and told me he had to do my evaluation. He asked me to look him in the eyes and said, 'I f*cking hate to do this. Did you hear me? I f*cking hate to do this, but I have to.' Then he showed me the letter. I told him he knew I did my job much better than was written up. He said to me: 'Elias, I just told you this is what I have to do, and I f*cking hate it... Please sign it and let me go.'... I signed it." Elias Sleiman, DHL worker who had his hours cut and was given a negative assessment after he handed out union leaflets Tesco "We had lots of issues. The time sheets were confusing. They had us working through breaks and lunch. People lost a lot of money. I would bring up people's pay problems and management would tell me to tell them: 'If you don't like it, there's the door.' People came to me with complaints and I told them: 'My job's on the line, too.' The managers were always preaching 'no union' to us. Anything union was unmentionable because it could cost you your job." Claims of Fred Baquet, team leader sacked from Fresh & Easy store in San Diego We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view. At The Independent, no one tells us what to write. That’s why, in an era of political lies and Brexit bias, more readers are turning to an independent source. Subscribe from just 15p a day for extra exclusives, events and ebooks – all with no ads. Subscribe now |
WINDHAM, Maine (AP) — A Maine man charged in connection with the death of his wife says he thought she was an intruder when he fatally shot her in their home. Noah Gaston of Windham was arrested Friday and charged with murder. His wife, 34-year-old Alicia Gaston, died from a shotgun blast just before dawn on Jan. 14. The Portland Press Herald reports an affidavit written by state police says the 33-year-old Gaston told dispatchers his wife woke up early and he mistook her for an intruder. Authorities say he told police he didn’t know it was his wife when he saw a figure at the end of the stairs and opened fire. Advertisement Police say the couple’s two daughters told them they had heard their parents arguing. Gaston is due in court on Tuesday. ___ Information from: Portland Press Herald, http://www.pressherald.com |
Figures released by the Ministry of Defence also disclose that up until the end of 2009, 168 troops are classed as having suffered the loss of limbs, parts of limbs or eyes, in battle with the Taliban or from improvised explosive devices (IEDs) According to a charity, at least 84 of these have lost arms or legs, including 24 who have had two limbs amputated and eight who are triple amputees. The latest figures demonstrate the pressure facing staff at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham where the vast majority of the Afghan war injured are treated. A recent report by the National Audit Office disclosed that such was the demand for beds by British troops that more than 200 civilians were transferred to hospitals around the country to make room for extra military casualties. Last year was the bloodiest to date in the current campaign with 109 fatalities. A further 508 soldiers and marines were wounded in action, more than double the number of the previous year. Government figures for this January alone show that 47 troops have been wounded in action, more than half the number for the whole of 2006, the year in which the insurgency began in Helmand, in southern Afghanistan. The figures underline the increasing dangers troops face while serving in the country, where the use of IEDs by the Taliban now accounts for 80 per cent of injuries and fatalities suffered by British troops. Commanders expect the number of troops being killed and injured in Helmand to increase in areas where the Taliban are still active. The possibility also exists that insurgents may begin to move back into areas which have been seized by British and Nato troops during Operation Moshtarak. The offensive, which has now entered its second week, managed to expel the Taliban from large parts of the central Helmand valley, although US Marines are facing tough resistance in the area of Marjah, which is infamous for the manufacture of large numbers of IEDs. But despite the increase in attacks and the severity of the injuries, British troops now have a greater chance of surviving serious wounds than ever before. Doctors have even begun to classify some of the most seriously injured troops as "unexpected survivors" and between 2006 and 31st July 2008, the latest date for which figures are available, 75 members of the armed forces fell into this category. Lieutenant Colonel Tim Hodgetts of the Royal Army Medical Corps and who is also the Defence Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Birmingham, said that advances in surgery, the battlefield medical skills of soldiers and the fitness of troops, were all helping to keep severely injured servicemen and women alive. Col Hodgetts said: "There are around 70 individuals who are classed as unexpected survivors. "These are patients with multiple limb amputations or higher limb amputations who have dumped their blood volume at the scene (of the attack) and who arrive at the hospital moribund but alive. "Once you get onto the cusp of what is achievable in medicine, when you are at the ragged edge of physiology, you will get some people who will survive and some people who will not. "What we have definitely done is push the boundaries. There are soldiers surviving today who would not have done a year ago because of the advances that we are making." In total, the number of troops injured whilst serving in Afghanistan since 2001 stands at 3,408, although this includes personnel not wounded in action. Since 2001, 1,109 have been hurt in fighting, the vast majority since 2006. The figures relating to amputations have been released by the British Limbless Ex-Serviceman's Association (Blesma). Rates of recovery for amputees has also increased because of a growing expertise of the injuries being sustained in Afghanistan, by staff at Headley Court, in Surrey, the armed forces rehabilitation centre. Lance Corporal Jack Ritchie looks set to return to combat duty less than 12 months after losing his leg in an IED blast in Helmand last August. He first walked just three months after the explosion and last week began running on a carbon 'blade' prosthetic leg. He hopes to rejoin his regiment, the Scots Guards, which deploys to Afghanistan next month for a six month tour. LCpl Ritchie said: "There's nothing to stop me going back to join the Scots Guards for the later part of the tour. The Battalion have told me that if I'm fit, there is a place for me in Afghanistan. "I've been told that is a realistic timetable and that I am on target to achieve it." The 21-year-old from Carnoustie told how he was hit on August 8 last year after volunteering to serve with the Welsh Guards at their base near Chah-e-Anjir. He said: "We went to clear one compound and knew the enemy was getting very sophisticated in its use of IEDs. There was a big explosion and I got thrown about 10 feet up in the air with a load of debris. "I tried to roll over but I couldn't move. I looked down and saw my boot with my left foot still in it at about 90 degrees to my left." The soldier was transferred to the field hospital at Camp Bastion before being flown home to Selly Oak hospital, where he spent seven weeks before being discharged to begin his rehabilitation at Headley Court. LCpl Ritchie said: "With the prosthetic leg I've got at the minute there is no problem getting back to Afghanistan and deploying to a forward operating base. "Going on foot patrol is a slightly tougher challenge, but we'll see how it goes." The latest soldier to be killed while fighting in Afghanistan was yesterday named as Lance Sergeant David “Davey” Walker. LSgt Walker, who was 37 and a member of the 1st battalion Scots Guards, was killed by enemy fire whilst taking part in a foot patrol during Operation Moshtarak on Thursday. The death of the soldier, who was married with children, brings to 263 the number of British troops killed in Afghanistan since 2001. Three British soldiers have now been killed since the start of the current offensive and more than 12 have been injured. |
The pitch that ended Shelby Miller’s no-hit bid Sunday, with one Marlins out remaining, was a 95 mph four-seam fastball. Based on what we knew about Miller before this season, that doesn’t sound surprising. From 2013 to 2014, there was about a 70 percent chance any randomly selected pitch the right-hander threw would be a four-seamer; no other qualified pitcher relied on his four-seam fastball as often. Miller’s fastball, like a typecast sitcom actor’s catchphrase, was both the key to his breakthrough and a barrier to further advancement. Mid-90s four-seamers helped make him a top-10 prospect and a third-place finisher in the 2013 NL Rookie of the Year race, but last year, his lack of a complementary pitch tarnished his results and his reputation. Fastballs alone, the maxim says, can’t beat the best hitters. And that centered, fateful fastball on Sunday couldn’t beat Justin Bour, a first baseman who’s 10 days away from his 27th birthday and one at-bat away from his 100th in the big leagues. [mlbvideo id=”119659283″ width=”510″ height=”286″ /] But of the five pitches Miller threw after Bour’s at-bat to finish off Miami — and Marlins manager Mike Redmond, who was fired after the game — only one was a four-seamer. Miller mixed in a curveball and a cutter against Dee Gordon, who slapped the latter for his league-lapping 14th infield hit, and then threw Martin Prado a cutter before getting him to pop out with a sinker. That sinker, Miller’s 94th delivery on an efficient day, completed a 6-0 shutout and lowered the right-hander’s ERA, through eight starts and 54 innings, to a league-leading 1.33. [mlbvideo id=”119817983″ width=”510″ height=”286″ /] Other than Aroldis Chapman, any pitcher with a 1-something ERA is doing something unsustainable. And sure enough, Miller has all the usual luck indicators lined up behind him: a league-low .183 BABIP, a nearly 90 percent strand rate, a lower-than-average home run/fly ball rate. We’ll stipulate that those stats, along with Miller’s ERA, will soon return to a more realistic range. Still, that looming regression shouldn’t overshadow how drastically Miller has remade himself in a short span of time. He still might not make it to the top of a rotation, but if he falls short, it will no longer be because he was too stubborn to try something new. Miller’s lack of secondary stuff was always worrisome. Even during his rookie season, a source with access to batted-ball velocity data told me Miller had been one of baseball’s hardest-hit pitchers, which might help explain why the Cardinals hid him in October. While that more precise information is still proprietary, Baseball Info Solutions rated 35.6 percent of Miller’s batted balls that season as hard hit, the fifth-highest percentage among pitchers with at least 100 innings pitched. He was just ahead of Tony Cingrani, another fastball-dependent pitcher who’s since been consigned to the bullpen, where teams stick one-time starters with limited arsenals. Last season, Miller was hit hard again, and that time his traditional stats suffered. In his first time facing batters in 2014, he held them to a .172/.250/.288 line. But with nothing new to show them, his performance sank to .284/.354/.477 the second time through the order. Atlanta acquired Miller (and Double-A starter Tyrell Jenkins) last November in the trade that sent Jason Heyward and Jordan Walden to St. Louis. Although the impetus for the exchange was Heyward’s impending free agency, it wasn’t the typical present-for-future salary dump. It was a cross between a “challenge” trade, in which GMs put their prospects on the table and bet that the other guy’s will be bigger, and a “change of scenery” trade, in which teams swap disappointing players in the hope that relocation will be the career equivalents of a cold splash of water. Heyward and Miller, both in their mid-twenties, were former elite prospects who’d had some success in the majors — considerable success, in Heyward’s case — but both were coming off seasons in which they’d seemingly lost skills that they’d demonstrated before. Heyward hadn’t hit for power, and Miller, hampered by his failure to find effective pitches to pair with his fastball, hadn’t missed bats. Heyward is still struggling in St. Louis, but we can tentatively consider Miller’s greatest deficiency addressed. Here are his monthly pitch-type percentages, going back to his first full season. Miller took some small steps toward diversification down the stretch last season — despite ditching his weak changeup — when he increased his curveball rate, started using a sinker, and lowered his four-seamer rate to roughly 60 percent. From August 23 — the day he dialed down the four-seamer after picking up the sinker grip from teammate Justin Masterson — through the end of the season, Miller recorded a 2.08 ERA in seven starts, with 32 strikeouts and nine walks in 43.1 innings. This year, he’s used his sinker and cutter much more often than he did even during last year’s repertoire Rumspringa, and he’s continued to aim slightly higher in the zone. For the first time, four-seamers don’t make up a majority of Miller’s pitches. According to Pitch Info data provided by Baseball Prospectus, Miller’s four-seamer-rate decline of 27.8 percentage points since last season would be the ninth-largest year-to-year decrease of the PITCHf/x era. Of course, not every new pitch is a good pitch: As much as Miller needed new looks, he probably wouldn’t be any better if he’d replaced his four-seamers with slop. To see how Miller’s newly prominent pitches (the sinker, curve, and cutter) stack up, I found the most similar pitches of the same types thrown by starters last season, based on velocity, horizontal movement, and vertical movement. Those three doppelgängers are Brandon McCarthy’s sinker, Roenis Elias’s curve, and Franklin Morales’s cutter. Those aren’t the most inspiring names — Morales was lousy — but whatever shortcomings the three had, these particular pitches weren’t the problem. The table below shows the three comparison pitches’ 2014 performance in whiffs per swing and grounders per ball in play, rated on the 20-80 scouting scale, where 50 is a pitch of average effectiveness and anything above that is more effective than the typical pitch of that type. 2014 Pitch Comp Count Whiffs/Swing GB/BIP Sinker (Brandon McCarthy) 1,398 60 57 Curve (Roenis Elias) 600 62 57 Cutter (Franklin Morales) 534 57 60 None of the closest comps to Miller’s three “other” offerings was an elite pitch, but all three were above average in their ability to generate whiffs and grounders. Miller’s pitches, too, have all been roughly average or better this year, and the cutter has been the best of all. Here’s what Joey Votto looks like swinging through a Miller curve, followed by Russell Martin whiffing on a cutter: [protected-iframe id=”386456329b27659a18a8ee33a3e58178-60203239-35703816″ info=”http://wheatleyschaller.com/dev/video_embed.php?id=MatureEasygoingHoneybadger” width=”530″ height=”294″] [protected-iframe id=”8d740efe867774867b139669f2362a92-60203239-35703816″ info=”http://wheatleyschaller.com/dev/video_embed.php?id=UnselfishTalkativeGreyhounddog” width=”530″ height=”300″] Miller’s four-seamer is also an above-average pitch, although it was only barely above average last season, once batters had learned to anticipate and sit on it. This year, Miller’s new weapons have restored the element of surprise, and his four-seamer (which he’s throwing slightly faster) is again missing as many bats as it did during his first full season, when hitters hadn’t yet adjusted to his one-note approach. Year Whiffs/Swing GB/BIP 2013 64 53 2014 53 56 2015 63 54 All of these polished components have culminated in more macro improvements, the kind that catch any eye that looks at a leaderboard. For the first time, Miller has gotten batters to chase pitches outside the strike zone at an above-average rate, a byproduct of his newfound unpredictability: Season Miller O-Swing % MLB O-Swing % 2013 27.2 29.7 2014 24.0 30.1 2015 30.7 30.0 That uptick in chase rate, coupled with his ability to get ahead more often — Miller’s first-pitch strike rate stands at 65.6 percent, up from 60.6 percent last season — has led to a decreased walk rate and an increased strikeout rate. Even more notably, four pitches with above-average grounder rates have made Miller an above-average ground-baller overall: After two seasons below 40 percent, Miller’s ground-ball rate has risen to 50.4 percent, not a bad development for a pitcher with the best shortstop in baseball stationed behind him. And because ground balls, on average, are hit more softly than liners and flies, Miller is no longer getting hit as hard as he did in St. Louis. Of 158 pitchers with at least 40 batted balls tracked by Statcast this season, Miller’s 85.8 mph average velocity allowed ranks 12th-lowest. In 2013, when Miller was considered one of the game’s most promising young pitchers, he had one average-or-better pitch at his disposal. In 2015, the year after his results slipped and the team that drafted and developed him decided he was expendable, he might have as many as four. Even if none of those pitches would make hitters lose sleep as a solo act, the interplay between them makes each individual pitch more potent. Tiny ERAs are ephemeral, but based solely on stuff, this is the best Miller’s been in the big leagues. Given that he won’t turn 25 until October or reach free agency until after 2018, Miller might be making the Braves happy about the Heyward deal deep into their former right fielder’s next contract. |
Rick Bowmer/AP Prosecutors rested their case Tuesday in the trial of seven occupiers of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, turning it over to the defense who will begin laying out its case Wednesday. The prosecution began the day with a gun show, presenting to the jury 22 long guns and 12 handguns found on the refuge along with copious amounts of ammunition. The firepower display was part of the prosecution’s attempt to prove the defendants prevented federal employees from doing their jobs through the use of force, intimidation or threats. Since the start of the trial, government lawyers have shown jurors photos and videos of weapons at the refuge during the occupation. FBI agents testified the guns were recovered from the West Encampment, an area on the far edge of the refuge headquarters also known among occupiers as “Camp Finicum.” They identified each gun as it was shown to the jury, noting where it was found and whether it was loaded. Among the guns presented was a weapon registered to Ammon Bundy, recovered from the front seat of occupier David Fry’s car, according to testimony. Fry was the final occupant to surrender to authorities in February. Defendant Kenneth Medenbach’s attorney, Matt Schindler, objected to the prosecution’s attempt to present ammunition as evidence. He argued everyone in the courtroom could agree ammunition was at the refuge without testimony. Judge Anna Brown overruled the objection, allowing the prosecution to continue. FBI agent Ronnie Walker testified the bureau recovered more than 18,000 rounds of ammunition at the refuge. That included more than 1,000 spent shell casings recovered from the boat ramp at the refuge. The jury saw a video Monday of what the government argued was Ryan Payne conducting a training clinic of sorts with several men firing weapons. Payne already pleaded guilty in Oregon and still faces charges in Nevada for a standoff with federal agents there in 2014. Prosecutors have argued throughout their case the Oregon occupation was not a peaceful protest. With Tuesday’s presentation, the government seemed to hope the volume of weapons and ammunition, as well as the types of guns recovered, would illustrate that to the jury. The defense will begin Wednesday morning with testimony from FBI agents. |
But don't assume that means The Flash is going to cool off with the epic episodes and action after this one, because Cavanagh promises that it only gets bigger and better from here. "What's been so impressive for us is that this is a really strong episode of television, and the ones to come, we're spring boarding off it," Cavanagh says. "The danger is if it's a pinnacle and you slide back down but this is not the case. We have large and small moments coming that use this as a starting point to build toward our season finale, which is also something to be reckoned with. It escalates nicely." And speaking of the actual season finale, Candice Patton warns that fans have no idea what's coming as we near the end of the season. "When I read this episode I remember thinking, ‘Where can we go from here? We gave everything away! What can we possibly do?'" Patton, who plays Iris, says. "But Andrew always says, 'Use what you have now and we'll think of new ideas later.' So if we're going to do this in episode 15, you can only imagine what the season finale is going to be like." |
Ida of Boulogne (c. 1160–1216) was suo jure Countess of Boulogne from 1173 until her death. Life [ edit ] She was the eldest daughter of Matthew of Alsace by Marie I, Countess of Boulogne. Her maternal grandparents were King Stephen of England and Matilda I of Boulogne. Her mother, a nun, had been abducted from a convent and forced into marriage by Matthew. As a consequence, her parents' marriage was rather controversial, and was finally annulled in 1170. Reign [ edit ] Her father continued to rule until his death in 1173, when she succeeded. Upon the advice of her uncle, Philip I, Count of Flanders, she married first in 1181, to Gerard of Guelders, but he died the same year. She next married Berthold IV, Duke of Zähringen, but he too died in 1186. According to the contemporary historian Lambert of Ardres: "...so left without a man, [Ida] indulged herself in worldly delights and pleasures of the body. She fell passionately in love with Arnold II of Guînes, and tried as hard as she could to seduce him; or rather, with typical feminine fickleness and deception she feigned that emotion. Emissaries and secret tokens passed back and forth between them as indications of certain love. Arnold either loved her or with masculine foresight and prudence pretended to; for he aspired to the land and dignity of the County of Boulogne once he could gain the Countess' favor through love feigned or true." This relationship came to naught when Ida was abducted in 1190 by Count Renaud de Dammartin, who carried her off to Lorraine. This was a common enough fate for medieval heiresses. The situation became complicated when Arnold of Guînes received messages of enduring love from Ida. He promptly rode to her rescue, only to be captured and imprisoned by friends of Renaud in Verdun. Arnold was only freed due to the intervention of William, Archbishop of Reims. Ida was supposed to have purposely deceived him to lead Arnold into a trap. Whatever the truth, she remained with Renaud and produced a daughter, Matilda II of Boulogne (died 1258). References [ edit ] |
CRYSTAL LAKE – When it comes to helping the homeless, Tom McNamara never gets cold feet. And he does his best to make sure those he helps don’t get them either. The retired special education teacher ditched his Crystal Lake home for an RV that he takes around the country to provide the homeless with new, dry socks. McNamara has already distributed thousands of socks to people from Mississippi and Missouri to Arizona and New Mexico. “The smiles you see when a kid gets a pair of dry, clean socks are incredible,” he said. “It is definitely a need and most people look by that. All our other organizations do a great job, but they get jackets, hats, scarves, gloves; we forget socks.” McNamara was inspired to start his one-man charity tour after discovering the Joy of Sox – a Philadelphia nonprofit dedicated to giving socks to the homeless in the region. But the outgoing personality that gave him a passion for teaching also made him want more from his experience than giving socks. So he sold his house, bought an RV and took his dog and Chevrolet Spark around the country in a tour he never plans on stopping. A year into his journey, he has heard heartbreaking stories from a 16-year-old Californian who was trying to make his way to New Orleans after his parents divorced and sent him away, to a veteran jailed one day for vagrancy then given a one-way bus ticket to become another city’s “problem.” “I think some of the most heartbreaking have been the teenagers and veterans I’ve met,” McNamara said. “Teenagers have kind of quit on society. They hear their parents and older adults giving up and don’t see a future. They feel disposable and so do the vets. A lot of those veterans don’t even want to be found.” McNamara’s experience has only fueled his desire to increase his efforts. His next trip will be to Phoenix where he will park his RV and then travel within a 350-mile radius in his small Chevrolet handing out the 5,000 socks he plans on bringing. He said he has received great support early on including from teachers who have held class collections for socks and from families he has met on the road such as one in Louisiana that has started collections of its own. Any monetary donations he has received have only gone to buying more socks when he gets low, he said. “Teaching to me was a great profession, but you never got that immediate feedback. It would take years before maybe a kid or two would come back and say you changed my life,” McNamara said. “With this it is instant gratification. You hand them a pair of socks and they are jumping for joy. Right now I just see this going on until the end of my life.” |
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — At some point near the end of spring training, Tim Teufel, the Mets’ third-base coach, will gather the team for a meeting to demonstrate and decode the hand signs they will use this season. One sequence of signs may tell a batter to bunt, or tell a runner to steal, or tell them both that the hit-and-run is on. Teufel has about 10 signs, and he uses his own elaborate system to relay them, just to make the enterprise that much harder for an opponent to pick up on. Most years, Teufel keeps some of his system the same, tweaking it here and there. But this year, because Daniel Murphy signed with the Washington Nationals in free agency and Bob Geren left to take a coaching job with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Teufel is starting over — the baseball equivalent of changing the locks after a bad breakup. “The way I do them,” Teufel said, “no one will get them.” When players change teams, the Mets generally believe, no one is above stealing signs, but Murphy’s situation is somewhat different. Not only does he know the Mets’ inner workings after nearly a decade in the organization, but he also joined the Nationals, the team most likely to stand between the Mets and a division title. Murphy now appears to be at the center of a burgeoning rivalry. Last year, Washington was the heavy favorite in the National League East, but the Mets, with Murphy helping to lead the way, swept the Nationals twice down the stretch and won the division. After the disappointing finish, the Nationals replaced Manager Matt Williams with Dusty Baker and signed Murphy, hoping he would provide a veteran presence. |
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan says the country would “absolutely” be better off with Donald Trump or Ted Cruz as commander in chief than President Obama. “I think any one of these men or women running for president in the Republican primary would be a far better president than Barack Obama,” Ryan told Yahoo News’ Katie Couric in an exclusive interview on Wednesday. “Absolutely.” The Wisconsin congressman and 2012 GOP vice presidential nominee believes Obama’s legacy is one of divisiveness. “My guess is the way he would look at it is he advanced liberal progressivism farther than anybody since Woodrow Wilson,” Ryan said. “I think he sees himself in that sort of pantheon of progressives. What that means to me as a constitutional conservative is that he has drifted the country away from the Constitution.” Ryan continued: We have a Constitution to protect our liberties as citizens — they’re God-given; they’re not government-granted. And I think he subscribes to a different theory, that the Constitution is some living, breathing document that he can shape and move and form. What that philosophy at the end of the day does, in my opinion, is it takes power away from people in this country and gives it to unelected bureaucrats in Washington to micromanage our lives. So I think his philosophy of government — he’s kind of dogmatic about it — is a very condescending, paternalistic and arrogant philosophy which I think takes power away from people. As a result, we’re less prosperous. We’re less safe. We have less upward mobility. We have less prosperity. And I think the anxiety that is palpable in America — and this isn’t just anxiety among Republicans, this is anxiety among all Americans — I think it is a direct result of the polarization that comes with this identity politics, the polarization that comes with having anemic economic growth and having an unsecure national security stance. So that’s, I think, the legacy. Ryan also dismissed the idea that the Republican party is in disarray. “Some people think that we’re in a civil war. I don’t think that’s the case. I think we are in the midst of unifying,” Ryan said. “I think with presidential primaries, you’re going to have schisms and skirmishes because that’s what primaries do. They don’t really have a competitive primary on the Democratic side. We have an extremely competitive primary.” But to be a “true majority party,” the speaker said, the GOP has to offer a clear alternative. “We have to show people what our principles are and how we apply those principles to the problems of the day to offer people real solutions,” Ryan said. “What I call rebuilding the American idea — this great idea that the condition of your birth doesn’t determine the outcome of your life. You can make it in America. A lot of people don’t believe that that is there for them anymore. That’s a shame. We should be the party to show that we can restore that.” |
ARCHIVE The WarHood Odyssey FIRST ARC! Thank you so much for taking the time to check out my kickstarter campaign! This is your chance to help me complete the FIRST ARC of my comic book series ARCHIVE The WarHood Odyssey! EVERY pledge level includes digital copies of the zero issue and the first issue which were successfully kickstarted in 2016! This kickstarter is to fund the printing of the continuing story of Era Nalyd and Tachi as they fight for survival in the caves of New Selenia! This comic book is done. I've written, penciled, inked, and lettered this issue. I need your help to get it printed! Once the goal for this campaign is hit, we go to print, and you get your rewards! ARCHIVE The WarHood Odyssey is the Walking Dead meets Star Wars. It's a 22 page black and white 90s style comic that takes place on New Selenia! Starring an exciting cast of original characters! Era Nalyd: Who currently has possession of the WarHood. Or does it possess him? Tachi: The silent ninja who has been stranded with Era. Lock: The tough as nails leader of the gang. Yari: The razor sharp assassin. WHY COMICS? I believe that comics are an important part of our culture and have the power to change the world. That's why I started Batlantic Studios, where comics matter. I'm so proud of this work, thank you so much for joining me as I continue on this journey! FINAL MEGA PLEDGE LEVEL! You'll need an HTML5 capable browser to see this content. Play Replay with sound Play with sound 00:00 00:00 SKETCH COVER SPEED DRAWING PLEDGE LEVELS STRETCH GOALS! You'll need an HTML5 capable browser to see this content. Play Replay with sound Play with sound 00:00 00:00 FINISHED COVER Making art for backers! MAKING ART FOR BACKERS! Era and Tachi fight for their survival in the caves of New Selenia! This book is a 90’s style sci-fi horror comic. The story takes place on the post apocalyptic planet of New Selenia. In this newest issue we follow the main character, Era as he tries to survive with a ninja warrior named Tachi. It's like The Walking Dead meets Star Wars created in the style of a 90's style comic book! The comic is complete, and I need your help to print it. FINISHED PAGES FINISHED PAGES FINISHED PAGES LOGO SHIRT CLAW SHIRT ORIGINAL DRAWING SAMPLES! ORIGINAL DRAWINGS SKETCH COVER DRAWING SKETCH COVER DRAWING Dylan Andrews My name is Dylan Andrews, I have been working professionally as a designer and artist for almost 20 years. Why do I make comics? I believe that comics are an important part of our culture and have the power to change the world. That's why I started Batlantic Studios, where comics matter. The importance of mythology and the concept of the hero's journey are themes that empower and connect us all. I love comic books and I want to find people that love what I'm doing and want to support it. |
Android O’s catalog of new user-facing features is a bit limited, but one of the notable ones is support for picture-in-picture video playback. So far a handful of apps like YouTube and Duo offer support, but that’s about it. Recently, though, VLC has started the process of bringing official support for this feature, and you can try it now. The best gifts for Android users The latest beta update for VLC for Android has quietly added support for PiP alongside some other updates such as better RTL support, improved translations, and more. Picture-in-picture for VLC is as simple as it sounds. Simply start video playback within the app, then do something else and the video will continue in a smaller window. That’s the intention at least. Early reports claim that this beta version is limited to using a keycode to trigger the mode, so this is something the app will need to fine tune. Adding PiP to a video app as advanced as VLC makes sense, but it’s great to see the developers taking the initiative to get the process started ahead of Android O’s official launch later this year. It’s also great for those of us brave enough to run the Android O beta since, until now, the only good way to get video in PiP has been YouTube. You can sign up for VLC’s beta releases via the Play Store listing on your Android device. |
Last week, the daughter of a “famous heavyweight” was attacked and hospitalized in Moscow. While the report did not name the fighter, BloodyElbow confirmed with multiple sources that it was heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko. According to the report, the 16-year-old girl (incorrectly labeled as nine years old in the article) was on her way home from school when she was attacked by unnamed assailants and assaulted in the process. She was seemingly kicked in the chest, an attack that left a noticeable bruise on her body. The report added that the girl was transferred to the Research Institute of Children's Emergency Surgery and Traumatology, where she was diagnosed with "contusion of the chest and abdomen." According to the police, who arrived once it became clear that Emelianenko’s daughter had been assaulted, the victim was unwilling to identify the assailants. “Perhaps she is intimidated by those who attacked her?” stated the article. The incident, which occurred on October 9, coincides with the timing of Fedor’s condemnation of the child MMA fights in Chechnya hosted by Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov. In a social media post, Fedor explained that “what happened in Grozny is unacceptable & cannot be justified.” His comments prompted an investigation by the Kremlin and the Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Russian Federation (review to be completed on October 18) but also drew the attention of Kadyrov’s cronies and henchmen in Chechnya. Fedor’s condemnation of Kadyrov’s event also led to a series of abusive responses from the members of the Akhmat Fight Club, including WSOF flyweight champion Magomed Bibulatov and notorious State Duma member Adam Delimkhanov. Even UFC lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov took aim at Fedor and stood in favor of the child fights in Chechnya. All comments were later deleted at the request of Kadyrov, who declared on his social media account that Fedor likely “realized his mistake.” For those interested in more information on Kadyrov and the political implications behind his child MMA stunt, read Karim Zidan's feature here. |
Commentaries The Biggest Lie of 2015: US Brought Peace to Syria! TEHRAN (FNA)- The United States government can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but it cannot fool all of the people all of the time. That’s why when State Department Spokesman John Kirby bragged up Washington’s sordid achievements of 2015, even things that they never did, such as the declaration that the US brought “peace and security to Syria,” everyone in the entire world raised eyebrows and said come again? Writing in his laudatory year-in-review, Kirby further bragged of the US “stepping up to aid the Syrian people during their time of need,” while taking credit for peace talks set for next month. Ironically, the peace talks are the fruit of a joint Russian-Iranian effort to get the opposition groups – not “moderate” terrorists - to talk with the Syrian government, something the War Party and its vassals had long resisted and openly opposed. Kirby’s silly declaration notwithstanding, the War Party is no longer able to hide the bitter truth about the ongoing proxy war from hardcore thinkers: * The US has been bombing Syria for years to affect regime change and the nation is shedding millions of refugees as a result. Despite Kirby’s efforts to couch America’s involvement as a “humanitarian contribution,” it consists pretty much exclusively of regime-change fantasy, all while arming “moderate” terrorists and allowing US bombers to be at the service of ISIL, Al-Qaeda and other proxies – the same goons that attacked Paris in November. * When it comes to Syria, state demolition and not “peace and security” is the best choice to describe what the United States and its rogue partners have delivered there thus far. Any doubters should ask the United Nations Security Council, which says the conflict has killed some 250,000 people and displaced 12 million. * According to human rights groups, despite the role of US military intervention in fuelling the rise of ISIL and conflict in Syria and Iraq, the American humanitarian response is severely lagging. Washington has admitted just about 1,854 Syrian refugees since 2012, and they will only take in more after two years of security checks. * The UN has registered over 2.1 million Syrian refugees in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon; 1.9 million in Turkey; and nearly 30,000 in North Africa. All of these numbers are low, as many refugees do not register. Further, these numbers fall well below calls for the US to resettle at least 100,000 refugees next year. The truly scary thing about all this is that while aid falls short, the War Party’s devastating “humanitarian contribution” continues to escalate, despite UN warnings that there is no American military solution to the crisis. This is while Amnesty International says ISIL has formed a formidable arsenal, in part thanks to large stockpiles of US weapons supplied by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, and/or “accidentally” dropped by US war planes on the territory the terrorist group holds. It is said the visionary lies to himself and the liar only to others. When it comes to Syria, the political class in Washington not only lie to themselves, but also to everyone in the entire world. Kirby's declaration of "success" in Syria is half-truth, the darkest of all lies, and indeed the biggest lie of 2015. He doesn’t have a good enough memory to be a successful liar. |
Should we feel sorry for people who join barbarian jihadist groups like ISIS? I ask because I had always assumed that people who volunteered to join gangs which specialise in rape, decapitation and ethnic cleansing should be looked on with opprobrium. But the ground is, it seems, shifting. Everybody needs to be a victim in modern Britain. And even people who want to make real, actual victims more numerous are potential recipients of our apparently unending potential for pity. For instance we had the three horrible London schoolgirls who went to Syria earlier this year to become rape-brides to war criminals. Every part of the British state, so far as I could see, did a sort of ‘come back; nobody’s going to be angry with you; we’re all better together’ act. I suppose there was the tiniest bit of justification there because the appalling girls were still at school. But I assumed that the response was also rather patronisingly predicated on the fact the girls were, well, female. Yet this barbarian-pity is now being extended to men too. Thomas Evans was a British man who converted to radical Islam and became Abdul Hakim. He went to join al-Shabaab, got a 13 year old bride and died the other day, aged 25, during an attack he was taking part in in Kenya. Well good, I say. And I suppose for once the ‘racist’ card can’t be played against those of us who say so because Thomas — aka Abdul — was as white as an NAACP leader. Here was a man who went from a comfortable life in Britain and decided to kill people in Africa. But now his mother is saying she feels ‘let down’ by the authorities. And the BBC is understandably asking what our attitude to all this is in a piece titled ‘ISIS recruits: victims or criminals.’ It’s all very strange. Our country can’t forgive, say, a Nobel scientist for making a joke about women in the lab. But we have the potential to be endlessly understanding if someone decides to go off and rape and pillage in the name of jihad. My recommendation for anyone even thinking of making an off-colour joke would be to keep quiet and join ISIS or al-Shabaab. Then you will find understanding from the modern British state. |
Before Starting Services by Private operators in the year 1994 BSNL (then DOT) was the backbone of the country’s telecom network with 100% market share along with MTNL. Thereafter the Monopoly position slowly started to decline, and has continued steadily year after year particularly after 2003. The Overall Market Share of BSNL from the level of 100% has now come down and in the month of January 2015 has touched single digit as per the data published by TRAI. BSNL’s overall market share now stands at 9.90%. The company’s wireless connections as on 31st January 2015 are 80.15 Million and wireline Connections are 16.80 million whereas the total Telephone connections in India are 979.21 million. Its mobile market share dipped to 8.42% and its fixed line market share dipped to 62.53% during the same month last year where it was 10.46% and 64.90% respectively at the end of 31.03.2014. It has lost 1.24 million mobile customers during the month whereas private operators added 8.87 million and it also lost 1.32 lakhs wireline customers. Losses in wireline customer base are happening continuously for more than a decade. It had 29.50 million fixed-line customers in January 2009 which now came down to 16.80 million at end of January 2015, a decrease of 12.70 million lines in just 6 years. The BSNL’s VLR Data is one of the lowest in the industry. VLR Data is that the proportion of active mobile customers in the total mobile customer base. The VLR data calculated here is on the basis of active subscribers in VLR on the date of Peak VLR (Visitor Location Register) of the particular month for which the data is being collected. This data is to be taken from the switches having the purge time of not more than 72 hours. As per the data released by TRAI it was 69.59% for BSNL during the month of January 2015 whereas the top four companies Airtel, Vodafone Idea & RCOM have more than 90% of VLR data. This means that the BSNL has a large proportion of inactive customers than the top 4 service providers. It has accumulated the inactive customers over a period of time without deactivation of inactive users from its network. From analyzing the TRAI data, it is understood that the company started to deactivate the inactive users from the beginning of the year. Due to deactivation and surrender the company lost almost 14.50 million customers only during the first 10 months of the year 2014-15. VLR data of 69.59% reflects that the company still has very high number of inactive customers (more than 30%) to be removed from the network i.e. still it has around 24.36 million inactive customers. If all the inactive customers are removed its overall market share may be reduced to less than 8%, that means the current market share shown by the company is boosted by around 1.9% fictitiously. This article is written by J.S.SOUNDARARAJAN. |
If we’re taking it, we’re also drinking it: painkillers, blood thinners, hormones, chemotherapy agents, even cocaine and amphetamines. Whatever goesinto us, also comes out of us, through our own biological effluent, every time we flush the toilet. The excreted drugs pass right through most sewage treatment processes and end up in rivers and lakes, and then in our drinking water. A Canadian study quietly released last month reported record-breaking levels of three pharmaceuticals in river water in southwestern Ontario. Although the chemicals — the diabetic drug metformin, the acid reflux drug ranitidine, and the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide — are measured in nanograms per litre, and are extremely low, the levels detected have never been found before in North America. When Health Canada sampled tap water across Canada, researchers found what they expected to find, traces of drugs in drinking water that comes from rivers and lakes, although that report has not yet been published. Concern about drugs in the Great Lakes, Minnesota rivers Last year, a group of researchers detected drugs in the Great Lakes at levels high enough to be "of environmental concern," according to a study that found traces of acetaminophen, codeine, antibiotics, hormones, steroids, and anti-epileptic compounds, and dozens of other chemicals. Also last year, another group concluded that they’d found evidence of a "global environmental issue" after discovering widespread neuro-active compounds, including antidepressants, anti-seizure compounds, and mood stabilizers, in 24 Minnesota rivers. In February, Environment Canada officials told a Senate committee hearing that more than 165 individual pharmaceuticals and personal care products have been identified in water samples, as of this year. Two things are happening. New technology is making it easier to detect trace amounts of these pharmaceutical chemicals. And people are taking more and more drugs. "With aging boomers, the amounts of pharmaceuticals which are being consumed are going up between 10 and 15 per cent a year, here in North America," said environmental toxicologist Chris Metcalfe of Trent University in Peterborough, Ont. "So we can view this as a developing problem that will probably get worse, in terms of the amount of pharmaceuticals we can expect being discharged into the environment." The issue of drugs in the drinking water first made headlines more than a decade ago, and some people were shocked to learn that the drugs they swallowed didn’t magically disappear. Discover magazine ranked "Drinking Water Drugged" one of the top 10 science stories of 2002. 'Intersex' fish The immediate concern was for fish swimming in this pharmaceutical soup. And over the last decade, scientists have proven the drugs are creating "intersex" fish, with males developing eggs in their testes, putting the survival of some species in jeopardy. But scientists still don’t know if these pharmaceuticals are affecting human health. That’s because almost no one studies this, primarily because most experts assume the risk is minimal. That risk assessment is based on the following assumption: Taking a single compound, the experts believe the trace amounts found in water are so low compared to a therapeutic dose that someone would have to drink tonnes of water to ingest enough of a chemical to cause a biological effect. "The amounts that are found in drinking water are far lower than the amounts that you might take if you were prescribed a drug, for instance," said Metcalfe. "They’re very low in concentration; on the other hand, we have to be concerned because there’s a mixture of these drugs we’re being exposed to in drinking water and so that’s some cause for concern." No one knows whether that cocktail of biologically active compounds, consumed at low levels over a lifetime, is a human health risk. Questions not asked "We haven’t even asked those questions yet," said Sara Bachman Ducey, a professor at Montgomery College in Rockville, Md., who wrote a book chapter on the potential human health risks. She says so far most of the concern has been about whether the drugs can cause cancer. "We didn’t really look at other end points or toxicities other than cancer. And now we find out there’s more, there’s much more," she said. "There are behavioural changes, there are endocrine, meaning 'hormonal' changes, there are reproductive toxicities," she said. "The immune system could be damaged to the point where you really don’t have a robust immune function." Bachman Ducey said these are all areas that should be studied, but the complexities are enormous. "If you think about it, that’s a very multidimensional question to ask and requires tremendous time, money and effort, and so the answer is no, we don’t have what we need." The World Health Organization admits there is a "knowledge gap" when it comes to "assessing the risks associated with long-term exposure to low concentrations" of drugs and "the combined effects of mixtures of pharmaceuticals." Possible link between prostate cancer and environmental estrogen A few researchers have ventured into the field. A Canadian paper in 2011 discussed a possible link between prostate cancer and environmental estrogen from birth control pills. Other studies have investigated a possible link between environmental compounds such as estrogens or steroids and obesity. "We actually call these, as a whole group, 'contaminants of emerging concern, '" said Ducey. "We’re worried, and we’re just starting to figure out that this is a problem." Metcalfe says he tells the regulators that "people just don’t like the idea of drugs being present in their drinking water. A lot of people are concerned about that, no matter what the concentrations are, and so we can’t discount that level of concern from the public," he said. Most treatment plants do not filter out pharmaceuticals. And so far there are no national drinking water standards for pharmaceuticals,although the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment is working on developing a Canadian water quality guideline for carbamazepine, an anti-epileptic drug that shows up almost everywhere. A spokesperson for the council said the guideline is being set out of environmental concerns, not because they believe carbamazepine is a human health risk. |
We are pleased to announce the availability of the Versioning feature for beta use across all of our Amazon S3 Regions. Versioning allows you to preserve, retrieve, and restore every version of every object in an Amazon S3 bucket. Once you enable Versioning for a bucket, Amazon S3 preserves existing objects anytime you perform a PUT, POST, COPY, or DELETE operation on them. By default, GET requests will retrieve the most recently written version. Older versions of an overwritten or deleted object can be retrieved by specifying a version in the request. Amazon S3 provides customers with a highly secure and durable storage infrastructure. Versioning offers an additional level of protection by providing a means of recovery when customers accidentally overwrite or delete objects. This allows you to easily recover from unintended user actions and application failures. You can also use Versioning for data retention and archiving. For more information, please see the Amazon S3 FAQs and Developer Guide. |
Getty Images After ESPN aired the release of the inaugural College Football Playoff poll on Tuesday, the question on everybody's minds was: What will the rankings look like when they matter on Dec. 7? My algorithm projects just that. Allow me to explain my rankings... Why is Oregon No. 1? While Oregon finds itself in the dreaded No. 5 position in the first committee rankings, our calculations give the Ducks the best odds to finish in the top four. In their remaining regular-season games, their lowest win probability is 68.2 percent against Stanford in Eugene this Saturday. The numbers would also heavily favor Oregon against any Pac-12 South opponent in the conference championship game. Oregon also features the top-ranked offense in the nation by yards per play adjusted for strength of schedule. Mississippi State is No. 8? You must be kidding. Quarterback Dak Prescott and Mississippi State have had a dream season. They have earned the committee's top spot with their unblemished record in the SEC West. However, according to my projections, the Bulldogs won't stay there for long; Mississippi State will likely finish the year with two losses and watch the playoff from home. The losses will come Nov. 15 when it travels to Alabama (27 percent win probability) and Nov. 29 when it visits Mississippi (40 percent win probability). Overall, Mississippi State has a 22 percent chance to make the playoff, eighth best in our calculation. No love for Florida State Florida State has slipped significantly from last year's juggernaut. The Seminoles had to rally from a 17-point deficit to beat North Carolina State, went to overtime with Clemson and needed a late goal-line stand to defeat Notre Dame. Florida State is 20th in The Power Rank, a computer ranking that adjusts margin of victory for strength of schedule. This hurts FSU in my algorithm. The main culprit in Florida State's decline is the defense. After two years as a top-five unit, Florida State has dropped to 60th in yards per play adjusted for strength of schedule. The gambling markets know this, as the Seminoles went from an 8.5- to a four-point favorite at Louisville on Thursday, per Odds Shark. If it survives that game, Florida State should expect an even tougher test at Miami (37 percent win probability). The curious case of the Big 12 The committee seems down on the Big 12, with TCU the conference's highest-ranked team at No. 7. However, the numbers suggest these teams will rise before Dec. 7. TCU faces its toughest remaining competition at West Virginia (45 percent) and against Kansas State (61 percent) in its next two games. If they win these games, the Horned Frogs should have a very good chance to finish in the top four, with Kansas, Texas and Iowa State ahead on the schedule and no championship game. Oklahoma resides in committee purgatory at No. 18 in the first rankings. However, the numbers give the Sooners a 65 percent win probability in their toughest remaining game, a home tilt against Baylor. Oklahoma, like TCU, also has the luxury of playing Kansas and Iowa State late in the season. Oklahoma may not make the playoff, but it will rise as other contenders fall. What to make of the Irish The committee probably bickered the most over Notre Dame. On one hand, its only loss came in a close affair against Florida State. On the other, analytics despises the Fighting Irish. They have an average margin of victory of 14.3, only 23rd-best in the nation. After adjustments for schedule, computer rankings such as The Power Rank (27th) and Sagarin (14th) don't consider them a top 10 team. The committee settled on No. 10 for Notre Dame, which seems like a fair balance between wins and analytics. The simulation only gives the Fighting Irish the 14th-best odds to make the playoff (5.5 percent), as they face tough games at Arizona State (36.4 percent win probability) and against Louisville (54.5 percent win probability). Ed Feng founded The Power Rank and has also written for Grantland and Sports Illustrated. Follow him on Twitter @thepowerrank. |
Today LEGO is announcing that the iconic 10189 Taj Mahal will be re-released as Creator Expert 10256 Taj Mahal. Formerly the long-time record holder for Largest LEGO Set until being dethroned a few months ago by the new UCS Millennium Falcon, this set is still the second-largest LEGO set of all time with 5,923 pieces and will be available on November 27 (aka Cyber Monday) in LEGO stores and from the LEGO Shop Online for $369.99 USD. Interestingly, the new set contains a single piece more than its predecessor released in 2008, though the model is indistinguishable from its earlier twin. The original Taj Mahal sold at retail for $299.99, so the additional part plus inflation has resulted in a $70 increase since it was available a decade ago. (Looking through TBB archives, the original was once discounted to $249!) Widely known as the crown jewel of many LEGO fans’ collections, the Taj Mahal currently commands a premium on the secondary market. News of yet another massive re-release will no doubt send prices into a whirl, as it seems that LEGO is intentionally aiming to rerelease or redesign older, massively popular sets which have garnered outlandish prices (in 2017 alone we’ve already had the UCS Snowspeeder and UCS Millennium Falcon). As of publication, the cheapest unopened Taj Mahal set is selling for $3,000 USD, a price that will no doubt drop dramatically soon. 2017 will certainly go down in history as the year of big sets, with a version of the top 11 largest LEGO sets ever all available for purchase from LEGO simultaneously by the end of November: OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE 10256 Taj Mahal Ages 16+. 5,923 pieces. US $369.99 – CA $449.99 – DE 329.99€ – UK £299.99 – DK 2699.00 DKK Discover the architectural wonder of the Taj Mahal! Build and discover the Taj Mahal! The huge ivory-white marble mausoleum, renowned as one of the world’s architectural wonders, was commissioned in 1631 by the Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife, the Empress Mumtaz Mahal. This relaunched 2008 LEGO® Creator Expert interpretation features the structure’s 4 facades with sweeping arches, balconies and arched windows. The central dome, subsidiary domed chambers and surrounding minarets are topped with decorative finials, and the raised platform is lined with recessed arches. The model is finished with ornate detailing throughout and intricate tilework around the base. With more than 5,900 pieces, this set is designed to deliver a rewarding building experience and makes a great display piece for the home or office. LEGO® interpretation of the real-world architectural wonder, the Taj Mahal. Relaunched 2008 model, featuring 4 facades with arches and arched windows; central dome, 4 subsidiary domed chambers and 4 minarets, all topped with decorative finials; raised platform lined with recessed arches; ornate detailing throughout; and intricate tilework around the base. Divides into 7 modular sections for easier transportation. Put your LEGO® building skills to the test with one of the largest LEGO models ever created Special elements include 6 blue 16×32 baseplates, white 1x5x4 bricks with bow, lots of transparent elements, ‘Erling’ bricks and ‘jumper’ plates. Measures over 16” (43cm) high, 20” (51cm) wide and 20” (51cm) deep. |
Helaine Feldman, Contributing Writer, April 5th, 2016 Sherlock Holmes a woman? Never! It can’t happen. Ah, but it can—and it does. Aquila Theatre’s production of Adventures of Sherlock Holmes stars a female in the signature role of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s deerstalker cap-wearing, pipe puffing, detail deducing detective. Performances are scheduled at Queens Theatre, 14 United Nations Avenue, in Corona on Aril 1, 2 and 3 and at the GK ArtsCenter in DUMBO, Brooklyn, 29 Jay Street (former home of St. Ann’s Warehouse), on April 9, 15, 16 and 23. Aquila Theatre, how celebrating its 25th season, was founded in London in 1991 and moved to New York in 1999. Its mission is “to bring the greatest works to the greatest number” by endeavoring “to create bold reinterpretations of classical plays for contemporary audiences that feed the spirit of the original work and recreate the excitement of the live performance.” The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, with this ground-breaking, gender-bending production, definitely fits the bill. When Adventures of Sherlock Holmes played in Washington with Loren O’Dair as the super sleuth (isn’t it ironic that the actors in both the New York and DC productions have unisex names?), DC Metro Arts called it “a slick, fast-paced, and highly entertaining rendition of that old sleuth from Baker Street—and proves once again… that gender norms, when they are overturned on stage, make for some intriguing and refreshing performance.” For tickets and/or information visit www.aquilatheatre.com. |
The Fat Vegan Is Back! It’s been years since this poor blog was abandoned as I dealt with more and more health issues that have been diagnosed since. One that gives me quite a lot of trouble, and why I decided to restart this blog, is called Mast Cell Activation Disorder. Mast cells are white blood cells that contain histamine. They’re responsible for your runny nose in the spring, or your sneezing around your best friend’s cat. Its supposed to be a protective measure against things your body thinks are harmful. My body happens to think everything is harmful from sunlight to watermelon (real things I react to). My growing list of foods that might kill me (epipen carrier here!) Is making it harder and harder to eat balanced meals. And not everything on this blog will be “balanced” because some days carrots are my only safe food. But it IS forcing me to get creative with dishes. I want to show you that being vegan is yummy and healthy, even when tour body rejects half of your common foods. So here we go! |
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