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SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria should tighten rules on foreign financing for religious communities and restrict visits by foreign clerics to help counter the potential spread of radical Islam, deputy prime minister Krasimir Karakachanov said on Thursday. Karakachanov is a co-leader of the nationalist United Patriots, a junior partner in the coalition government that is known for its tough rhetoric on migration and Bulgaria’s Roma. He said proposals to parliament to amend laws on religion and education as well as the criminal code would be submitted by the end of the year. Bulgaria’s government banned the wearing of full face veils in public places last year. Bulgaria has one of the biggest Muslim communities in Europe at about 12 percent of its 7.1 million population — a legacy of almost 500 years of Ottoman Turkish rule that ended in the late 19th century. Historic resistance to the Muslim Ottomans is a core element of national identity for the mainly Orthodox Christian majority and some nationalists have cast the recent arrival of Muslim migrants via Turkey as a threat to the nation’s security. “It turns out that problems we see in a number of European countries already exist in Bulgaria,” Karakachanov said after a meeting to discuss how to prevent the spread of radical Islam in the country. He said “extremely liberal” laws were allowing the spread of non-traditional Islam through the private provision of education and training. “It is mostly the ... financing by private structures of religious communities that attempt to realize political influence in the country,” Karakachanov said. Many Islamist organizations in Europe are financed largely with foreign donations. Karakachanov has previously complained that many imams preaching in Bulgaria come from abroad and do not speak Bulgarian, and has spoken of fostering native imams who are more deeply integrated into Bulgarian society. The wave of mainly Muslim refugees and migrants reaching Europe’s borders over the past years has contributed to a rise in right-wing nationalism across the continent. |
New York City FC midfielder Tommy McNamara is off to a fast start this season. McNamara has scored two goals and registered four assist in 10 matches this season. He was voted Etihad player of the month for March and has been named to MLS team of the week twice this season. Tommy Mac has credited his good start to being healthy and the coaching staff. “I think I came into preseason healthy and prepared to play and then I think that there has been a lot of work done by the coaching staff and entire playing staff to get us prepared for the start of the season and you know we’ve been successful and positive at times. I think the start to my season is a credit to the coaching staff and playing staff.” Please enable Javascript to watch this video The two goals that McNamara scored were both notable, the first was against Chicago and it was the first goal scored in the 2016 MLS season. The second goal that Tommy Mac scored was his first career header in MLS and won him goal of the week. Please enable Javascript to watch this video Head Coach Patrick Vieira recently slotted McNamara to play up on the left wing in the last three matches and in that three-match span the 25-year-old has recorded an assist in each of those tilts and the Club has collected seven points. Before the preseason started, McNamara and four other NYCFC players (Kwadwo Poku, Patrick Mullins, Tony Taylor and RJ Allen) spent time in Manchester training and preparing for the 2016 season. McNamara said it was a great opportunity to get some crucial work done before the preseason. SEE TOMMY MCNAMARA AND THE REST OF NYCFC IN THE NEW YORK DERBY “Manchester right before preseason was a great opportunity to almost do preseason work before preseason. You are kind of mentally getting into the swing of preseason again— physically you get your body adjusted to it more quickly.” McNamara looks to continue his hot start and continue to contribute to NYCFC this season. |
Its Friday the 13TH!!! my favorite Friday of the ENTIRE year! I mean what OTHER Friday has an entire film franchise named after it?!?! Sure FREAKY Friday is OK... but there is BARELY any blood and dismemberment in THAT movie... I mean there is a little... I think, right?... the Lindsay Lohan version she kills some kids in a satanic ritual to try and reverse the effect? or am I think of a different movie???Well its Friday and that can mean only one thing... JOURNEY INTO THE DARK ARTS FRIDAY!!! yes every Friday at HEX HQ we take a journey into the realms of the DARK ARTS!! and LO FOR WHENCE SHALL WE JOURNEY... TIS' the art of PALM READING! truly one of the darkest arts of all! ...let us peer into the palm of the one known as JARED! and see what cosmic paths his life shall follow!hmmmm... Clearly Jared has TOO MUCH Blueberry Jam for his Toast line, so frustrating to finish your delicious crispy toast and still have so much Blueberry Jam leftover! Moving on we see... Jared's Erotic Dancing line is MUCH long than his Tips Line, again a lesson in frustration for Jared... maybe he can MAKE HIS OWN DESTINY and use some of the leftover Jelly in his Erotic Dancing act to get those tips up!! sometime you have to take fate by the horns and master the moment!WOW! that was terrifying, Jared has one heck of a hand... (just the one, the other palm was super smooth, no lines at all, not sure why)Now on to the UPDATE of an Update that you received on a Friday!Speaking of the dark arts... the Kismet Draft has CAST a spell on me... shit I am draft WHILE I write this... RIGHT NOW! look here is the draft so far!SOOO MUCH FUN!!!! actually after I posted this I played ****** and... WON! (I have starred out the name to protect the innocent... it starts with an S)ok ok... back to this update to an update... so hard to pull my self away...First up on the update is the... KISMETS DRAFT! ohhh nooo.... ok one more quick game....This time against W/D and the turn 3 Hero of Legend both games did me in!I LOST! so frustrating! Oil Well as they say in Texas!I am absolute loving KISMET DRAFT I think its a ton of fun, and I am so happy we added this to the game...I thought THIS write up was pretty cool over at HEX PRIMAL but I will say its so wide open I have seen the craziest decks work!Heck the deck I drafted above was inspired by a thread on the forum bitching about Shoku's Garden (one of my favorite cards)I hope everyone is having fun, I did want to give a heads up that there is a bug with 3 of the animated Kismet Draft sleeves.. you actually haven't seen the full animation (Paragon, Yeti and Kismet)they look EVEN BETTER!!!!speaking of looking even BETTER...How about a sneak a peek at some odd ball art for set 8!For this week we explore the legend of the NOX... of Scorpinox fame!first up a CHAMPION!!!This is VENOMA of the NOXthen we have a couple of servants of NOXthe NOX ZEALOT!and the NOX ANIMIST...and WAIT FOR IT....KING NOX himself a LEGENDARY card in set 8!...(no picture), no seriously you'll have to wait for it!hahahahaha....back to the Update...As we discussed last week, the boat battle board is coming up...BUT in infinitlly more interesting news, we have the HAUNTED HARVEST coming!This year we have some young Entrath trick or treaters! look at these cute kids... the kid in the yeti outfit needs to lay off the sweets, it may be a high fantasy world but childhood obesity is no way to spend your youth... Diabetes can be just as deadly as any dragon! To be clear Lord Diabetes is an evil warlock in the world of HEX that makes kids fat, then eats the feet of these chubby children, and only the protection of Lipitor Champion of the Lesterols... can save these youngsters... uh... sorry I had a mini-strokeAnyway I love Halloween, its BY FAR my favorite holiday, and these cards are straight up RAD... the Jack-o-Lanterns on the Cultivator are so cool, got to get my play-set!Next up is the VAMPIRE FAMILY, yes we did a Kismet pack focused on our favorite vampire family... you know, the one in our game. (I guess we never named these guys)the cards look great, quick story we actually re-booked half of this art as the first round didn't exactly capture what we where looking for, thats the kind of commitment Tyler and I have to making sure the art is as amazing as possible in HEX. I really love the way the Royal Bloodline card turned out, look little vampire princess even has her silly hat on! I was going to put a joke in right here about posing for the Enthralling Gaze card.. and how "the dress was a tight fit and yet I made it work"... but it seemed lazyanyway, we have the HEX PRIMAL IMMORTAL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES coming up and MAN it looks awesome! Holy Hell an AA RUNE EAR! yes please!well that's it for this week, I love you all... but I need to get back to my last match with this deck...-cory |
Albuquerque police: 3 dead in suspected murder suicide Copyright by KRQE - All rights reserved Police investigation [ + - ] Video ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) - Residents at one northwest Albuquerque apartment complex are holding family a little closer after police found three people dead in a suspected murder suicide. Police confirm one of those victims is a minor. One of the victims of a murder-suicide this weekend is just 11-years-old, Nhi Nguyen. A vigil will be held for Nguyen on Sunday night. Police are now working to notify their next of kin, but it won't be easy. The family found dead at Villa Hermosa Apartments is Vietnamese and the next of kin is in Vietnam. "It's going to take some time. It's a little bit harder because of that," said Officer Simon Drobik. Officer Drobik says they had a translator on scene to help determine what happened. Police aren't saying much, just that they're investigating this as a murder suicide. Albuquerque police say they got a call around 10:00 a.m. Sunday from someone who knew the family and found them dead in the apartment. Neighbors at Villa Hermosa say what happened is shocking, especially when they had never seen violence there. "To have my kids around this environment you know what I mean, it's just, it's not good," said Angelina Gonzales. Neither a motive or cause of death have been released. |
SpaceX’s aspirations towards recovering launched Falcon 9 first stages are continuing to focus on ocean based landings, ahead of realizing the goal of returning the cores back to land. With continual refinements to the approach, SpaceX have welcomed new and improved Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ships (ASDS), one of which has been sighted taking a cruise down the Panama Canal. Marmac 300 – The First Drone Ship: In November 2014, Elon Musk confirmed reports of SpaceX’s “Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship (ASDS)” – providing an overhead photo of a 300-foot-long ocean-going barge with a deck widened with steel “wing” extensions to a span of 170 feet. The barge sported a large white “X” logo in the center of two giant concentric circles, marking the spot at which Musk hoped the first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket would soon touch down during an ocean landing somewhere off the east coast of Florida. Mr. Musk’s “drone ship” photo was the first visible evidence that SpaceX was serious about attempting to recover a launched first stage. Earlier that year SpaceX had filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office requesting a review of rival company Blue Origin’s patent for a method of landing a rocket stage at sea. SpaceX claimed that the Blue Origin patent should not have been granted, since similar methods had been described by other inventors long before Blue Origin filed for their patent. Evidently SpaceX had confidence it would prevail in the patent dispute, since the “drone ship” was unveiled to the public mere months after filing for the patent review, and long before a decision could be expected from the Patent Office – which later announced in March that SpaceX’s dispute had enough merit to go forward in a review process which is now ongoing but may not be resolved until 2016. Mr. Musk presented his company’s first drone ship as using thrusters repurposed from deep-sea oil rigs, able to hold its position at sea to within three meters even in a storm, and perhaps able to allow future refueling and fly-back of the rocket stage to its launch site. Soon after, photos appeared showing the drone ship en route to her new home port in Jacksonville, Florida. Despite its fanciful name, the drone ship was built on a rather mundane barge. The Marmac 300 had been a maritime workhorse for over 15 years, doing drudgery for its owner McDonough Marine Service that included being submerged beneath the keels of sunken vessels and then refloated to effect their recovery. Now, in addition to wing extensions, Marmac 300 carried four diesel-powered hydraulically-driven thrusters for position-keeping, diesel fuel tanks and several large steel shipping containers at either end of the deck housing communications gear, an autonomous guidance system and additional equipment. *Follow along with the ASDS sightings via this 750,000 viewed forum thread* The drone ship was towed to her new home in the port of Jacksonville, to the north of the Cape Canaveral, probably relating to a decision to minimize her travel distance to the landing zone on rocket recovery missions, since Falcon 9 flights typically travel north-east from Cape Canaveral out over the Atlantic. The winged Marmac 300 got her first chance to catch a Falcon 9 stage in January of this year, during the CRS-5 resupply mission to the International Space Station. Unfortunately, the incoming stage ran out of the hydraulic fluid needed for operation of the aerodynamic “grid fins” used for precision guidance, and the stage crashed into the drone ship and was destroyed. However, rather than downplay the mishap, SpaceX released spectacular video footage of the event and vowed to try again with extra hydraulic fluid. Also, the ASDS proved herself up to the challenge, sustaining only minor damage. Afterwards, Mr. Musk noted she was being repaired and that she would be given the fanciful new name “Just Read the Instructions,” after a fictional spaceship commanded by an artificial intelligence in the Iain M. Banks novel “The Player of Games”. On this first recovery attempt, SpaceX demonstrated what would become more or less their standard operating procedure. The drone ship left port several days before the schedule launch attempt, towed by a dedicated tugboat named Elsbeth III. Shortly after, the support ship “GO Quest” left port to join the convoy. Once at – or near – the landing zone, Elsbeth III’s crew would presumably start up the drone ship thrusters and set her free to auto-position herself at pre-programmed GPS coordinates. Elsbeth III and GO Quest – which appears to carry a large satellite dish on deck – would then stand off at a safe distance during the landing attempt. The drone ship was fitted with deluge water jets that flooded the deck with ballast water from the barge’s tanks, for cooling the deck from the blast of the landing rocket engines. Some time before the incoming stage was expected, the water pumps would be started and the deck flooded. Some of the on-deck photos later provided by SpaceX showed water jets flooding the deck as the incoming stage came into view. During the landing attempt, the drone ship was transmitting video back to SpaceX launch control facilities for real-time visual monitoring of the landing. It appeared during SpaceX’s webcast of this and later recovery attempts that SpaceX mission control personnel were seen to be watching a near-real-time video feed from the drone ship, based on their reactions as they watched their monitors, and based on Musk’s tweets shortly after the fact with details that suggested he had seen the event. No crew were on board the drone ship during the attempt, hence the “autonomous” label. Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX’s Vice President for Mission Assurance, said in a press conference before the CRS-5 mission that it would take about one to two hours after a landing for the crew to safe the stage remotely before boarding the drone ship. Remote-controlled safing activities would likely include venting pressurized helium from the fuel tank and venting residual LOX. Once the crew had boarded the drone ship, the stage would be secured for transport. Although Musk has said the stage would be stable because of the weight of its engines and their support structure at the aft end of the stage, he has mentioned that steel “shoes” might be welded to the deck over the feet of the stage’s legs for added insurance. There have also been mentions of chains attached between the deck and the aft of the stage. Once back in port, the stage would be offloaded by crane, further safed – fuel drained, etc – placed on a “breakover” fixture to rotate it horizontal, then loaded onto a truck and transported by road to either SpaceX’s facilities in McGregor, Texas or SpaceX’s Spaceport America base in New Mexico for additional inspections and testing. Following CRS-5, the drone ship’s next recovery mission came in February with the launch of the DSCOVR spacecraft for NASA. Unfortunately, heavy weather at sea knocked out one of the four thrusters and SpaceX reported that 3-story waves were breaking over the deck. The company called off the landing attempt on the drone ship, and “Just Read the Instructions” returned to port with visible damage to on-deck equipment apparently caused by wave impact. Soon after, Mr. Musk reported that he planned significant upgrades to the drone ship so that it could handle “literally anything” in the future. As a result, the drone ship was subsequently fitted with a vertical steel bow wall and two more powerful bow thrusters. Marmac 300 got her last shot at glory during the CRS-6 ISS resupply mission in April, but was once again thwarted by a wobbly landing of the Falcon 9 first stage, which touched down on deck but couldn’t keep itself upright and toppled over – rupturing its propellant tanks in dramatic fashion. However, SpaceX had made progress, as the stage did not run out of hydraulic fluid this time and appeared oh-so-close to sticking its landing. SpaceX also introduced a new innovation in making a video of the event, using a camera-equipped flying drone to launch itself from the ASDS, hover at a distance, take video of the landing attempt, and return to the ASDS. Despite the temporary conflagration caused by the stage impact, the flying drone was able to return and land on the ASDS, allowing SpaceX to later recover the data card from the camera and publish the dramatic video. Shortly after the abortive CRS-6 attempt the drone ship was towed back to the shipyard where she had been outfitted in Morgan City, Louisiana. In June, a new drone ship built on McDonough’s Marmac 304 barge appeared in Jacksonville as her replacement. While SpaceX has not said why Marmac 300 was retired, she may have served as a prototype not intended for long-term service. Marmac 304 is a much newer barge that has not seen heavy prior use, and may be considered to have a longer life ahead of her. Marmac 304 – The Next Generation: The new drone ship built from Marmac 304 reported for duty at Jacksonville in early June, albeit in unfinished condition. With dimensions virtually identical to Marmac 300, she carries some new features, including a steel blast wall erected between the rear containers and the landing deck, in addition to the steel bow wall as previously seen on Marmac 300. Ongoing work visible on deck suggests that a second blast wall may be installed at the forward end of the landing deck as well. These – and other preparations – are expected to render Marmac 304 operable in time for the upcoming CRS-7 mission to resupply the Space Station in late June. Marmac 303 – Of Course I Still Love You: Shortly after Marmac 304 headed east from Louisiana, her sister barge Marmac 303 left the same port and went south for the Panama Canal. Carrying the wing extensions reportedly clipped from Marmac 300, Marmac 303 reached the Panama Canal on June 9 and began her transit June 14, exiting the Canal on the 15th. Since the wing extensions – if attached – would make the barge too wide to transit the canal when attached, they were laid on her deck in sections as cargo and will be attached permanently when she reaches California in about three weeks. Towing Marmac 303 is the tugboat Rhea, sister ship to the tug Elsbeth III which tends to Marmac 304. After being fitted with her wings and readied for service, she will go to work catching Falcon 9 first stages from SpaceX’s launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Although no announcement has been made of her expected operational date, the upcoming Jason-3 mission from Vandenberg would be her first opportunity to attempt a stage recovery. SpaceX has said they hoped to be permitted to attempt a return-to-launch-site landing of the first stage at Vandenberg, but to date it appears that permission may not yet have been granted, and the landing pad that would be used for such an attempt at SLC-4W was shown in a recent photo to consist only of graded earth with the concrete pad not yet poured. According to Musk, the west coast drone ship will be dubbed “Of Course I Still Love You,” after another fictional spaceship from the mind of science fiction writer Iain M. Banks. Future Plans: The drone ship is apparently a mandatory stepping stone in SpaceX’s ultimate goal of having Falcon 9 first stages return themselves after launch with a “boostback” maneuver to the launch site, for a soft landing on terra firma. SpaceX is now building landing facilities at both Cape Canaveral (LC-13) and Vandenberg Air Force Base (SLC-4W). According to Mr. Musk, officials have asked for “repeated, successful” demonstrations of a first stage landing on the drone ship before a landing attempt will be allowed at the Cape. SpaceX is also building a new company-owned launch facility near Brownsville, Texas, for commercial satellite launches over the Gulf of Mexico. The Texas launch facility would be SpaceX’s third orbital launch facility and yet another potential base for drone ship operations. Even after Falcon 9 first stages begin landing at launch sites, there may be continued opportunities for downrange landings on drone ships. Some higher-energy missions and heavier payloads would prevent the first stage from reserving enough propellant to boost itself back to the launch site, making downrange landing on a drone ship the only option for recovery. Also, the drone ships may also be called on to recover stages from SpaceX’s next launch vehicle, the Falcon Heavy, which will have a central core flanked by two side boosters. Both side boosters and the first stage of the vehicle’s core will be designed for autonomous landing, and Mr. Musk has said there may be missions in which the boosters fly back to the launch site but the first stage of the core lands downrange on a drone ship. In his first “drone ship” tweet, Mr. Musk held out the tantalizing possibility that the drone ships would eventually allow recovered stages to be refueled, launched from the deck, and fly themselves home. Time will tell if SpaceX can make this dream a reality. In the meantime, it seems increasingly likely that the company could pull off a successful landing of a Falcon 9 first stage on a drone ship soon, perhaps as early as this month. (Images: via L2’s SpaceX Section, including renderings created by L2 Artist Nathan Koga – Click here for full resolution F9, F9-R, FH and BFR renderings and more – these are not official SpaceX images. Other images from SpaceX) (Click here: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/l2/ – to view how you can support NSF’s running costs and access the best space flight content on the entire internet) |
Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, has admitted that search-and-rescue (SAR) missions in the Mediterranean Sea are strengthening criminal migrant smugglers’ business model and increasing total drowning deaths. The Frontex Risk Analysis for 2017 admits that: Both border surveillance and SAR missions close to, or within, the 12-mile territorial waters of Libya have unintended consequences. Namely, they influence smugglers’ planning and act as a pull … Dangerous crossings on unseaworthy and overloaded vessels were organised with the main purpose of being detected by EUNAVFOR Med/Frontex and NGO vessels. Apparently, all parties involved in SAR operations in the Central Mediterranean unintentionally help criminals achieve their objectives at minimum cost, strengthen their business model by increasing the chances of success. Migrants and refugees – encouraged by the stories of those who had successfully made it in the past – attempt the dangerous crossing since they are aware of and rely on humanitarian assistance to reach the EU. The end result is that crossings to Italy reached an all-time high of 182,000 in 2016, with an attendant rise in drowning deaths: 5,083, as compared with 3,777 in 2015 and 3,279 in 2014. Frontex acknowledges “the scope of the problem is alarming”, with SAR missions forming an essential component of the people-smugglers’ operations and providing them with a “distinct tactical advantage”. Even so, the EU agency concludes that “SAR efforts will continue as long as the migratory crisis persists in the Central Mediterranean not only because they relate to international legal obligations, but also because they stem from European values.” Australia drew the opposite conclusion from its own migrant crisis, which also saw people-smugglers sending unseaworthy vessels towards their destination with inadequate fuel, radioing ahead for them to be picked up and escorted to their target country by the authorities. These crossings reached a high of 403 boats and 25,173 migrants in 2012-13 before former prime minister Tony Abbott launched Operation Sovereign Borders. This military-led mission sees smuggler boats either turned back to their port of origin or escorted to a third country, with migrants’ asylum applications processed off-shore. Genuine refugees are homed outside Australia at the commonwealth’s expense. The Australian approach is unlike the European policy in that it is designed to reduce drowning deaths by strongly disincentivising illegal sea-crossings. It appears to have been successful, with the government recently reporting that it has been 900 days since the last smuggler boat reached Australia. Tony Abbott has advised EU leaders that “If you want to stop the deaths [and] you want to stop the drownings, you have got to stop the boats”. Speaking in Prague in late 2016, the London-born conservative said “Effective border protection is not for the squeamish, but it is absolutely necessary to save lives and to preserve nations. The truly compassionate thing to do is: stop the boats and stop the deaths.” Abbott has also warned that “Many of those taking to boats across the Mediterranean or clamouring at Europe’s gates look set to join an angry underclass”, and the migrant crisis could, therefore, represent an “existential threat” to European societies. “Too many are coming not with gratitude but with grievance, and with the insistence that Europe should make way for them. Some of Turkey’s leaders have even urged Muslims to take back parts of Europe, and among the would-be migrants are soldiers of the caliphate bent on mayhem.” |
Dear Media: Polyamory Is Not All About Sex By Carrie Jenkins If you read about polyamory in the media, you’ve probably seen The Photo: an image of three (or more) pairs of adult feet at the end of a bed, poking out from under a white duvet. In reality it is not one photo, but many, yet it’s a visual trope recycled so frequently and predictably that it might as well be just one. The Photo is supposed to provide a glimpse into the lives of those naughty non-monogamous people having their naughty non-monogamous sex; while only slightly risqué, it gets its point across — the point being that polyamory is all about having sex with lots of people. You can see The Photo in action here in The Guardian, here at news.com, here at GetReligion.org, here at stuff.co.nz, here in the Georgia Straight, here at Mic, here at Cafe Mom, here in Soot Magazine, here at Role Reboot, and here at The Frisky. Sometimes it’s not feet, just three or more people in a bed—under, yes, a white duvet. (I confess I don’t own a white duvet, but I didn’t realize it was such a sine qua non of poly life.) There is more going on here than editorial laziness. It suggests that our culture’s default visual image for polyamory is “lots of people in bed together.” This hypersexualization of polyamory might be normalized, but it’s far from harmless. Because we live in a sex-negative society, presenting poly relationships as “just” sex is a powerful way of signaling that these relationships don’t deserve to be taken seriously. ...On the whole, we tend to think that “real”-love relationships are serious — and should be shored up with social and legal privileges — whereas sex is “just” sex. When poly relationships are hypersexualized, they are also shuffled out of the realm of what we are taught to respect. ...A few months ago I gave an interview to a journalist for an article about polyamory in the print edition of Cosmopolitan UK. Her article was well-written and well-researched; it addressed various issues that can come up in poly relationships, like scheduling, jealousy, misrepresentation, and stigma. The journalist included some material from my interview on how polyamory is often stigmatized through hypersexualization and sex-negativity. So perhaps you can imagine how demoralized I was when I saw that Cosmo had chosen to illustrate this article with full-page, full-color, graphic images of a pile of naked people in mid-orgy. And that the article itself was presented under the subheading “Young, hot and…polyamorous. Why everyone you know is getting multiple action.” Not only that, the front-page headline was “Greedy Lovers: Is a Foursome the New Threesome?” This bore no connection to the article; it was only used to play up the stereotype that poly people are sexually greedy. Whoever was in charge of these editorial decisions made the Cosmo article into a perfect example of the exact problem I described in it. Either they didn’t read my quotes, or they didn’t care about what I said. I suppose giant orgy photos sell magazines, and what happens to people like me doesn’t matter much to Cosmo. But it matters to me. This kind of harmful imagery is partly to blame for the fact that I get called a “cum-dumpster” and a “cheap skank that bones a bunch of dudes” when I talk openly about being in two loving relationships. It’s what makes strangers feel okay about saying that my partners and I are trash, that our relationships are hopeless, that I’m only pretending to be married, that they hope I get STIs, that I already have STIs, that I’m disgusting. It’s important to note that the harms caused by the hypersexualization of polyamory are not equally distributed among its targets. As a poly woman, you stand to be labeled a “slut” without a second thought, and there is no male equivalent. Being poly doesn’t necessarily entail having any sex (never mind nightly orgies!): It’s also consistent with being asexual, not being in any relationships, or just, you know, not having sex — like how monogamous people are sometimes allowed to be not having sex. But that’s irrelevant to how stereotypes and stigmas work.... Due to the gendered norms for sexual behavior, everything about this harms poly women far more than men. In fact, any kind of privilege can help protect you from the costs of being openly poly. It’s less costly for rich white people to be out as poly, which reinforces another stereotype: that poly people are all rich and white. (In the examples of The Photo that I listed above, you might have noticed that the feet in the bed are all as white as the bourgeois bedding from which they emerge.... Strategically devaluing disfavored relationships by “reducing” them to sex is nothing new. The same strategy has long been deployed against same-sex relationships and interracial relationships. It’s effective not only as a way of inciting disgust and disapprobation, but more insidiously as a means of othering — making the people in those relationships seem weird and alien and not like us. We fall in love and have serious relationships, but those people are lust-driven animals. It’s okay to treat them like garbage. It is tempting to push back by demanding that poly relationships be treated as “real” love, and distanced from sex.... But it also throws sex under the bus. When sex-negativity is weaponized against us, we can run from the weapon — reinforcing its effectiveness — or we can work on disarming it.... Carrie Jenkins is a polyamorous philosophy professor currently based in Vancouver, Canada. She previously lived in Scotland, England, Wales, the U.S., and Australia so that her accent would be confusing and nobody would be able to figure out where she was from. Her book What Love Is And What It Could Be comes out in January. This was recommended to me as a meta article about poly in the media. Yes, the white duvets.It appeared in the online feminist magazineI imported the pix from the other places that the author references in the text.Read the whole text (July 27, 2016).And once again: Photographers, please supply the stock agencies with some better poly pix! Anyone with a camera and a good eye can do it. Labels: feminism |
Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET Social-bookmarking site Delicious, under new ownership, is staging a comeback with the help of old features and new additions. When users first head to the newly relaunched Delicious, they'll find much of the same. The branding is the same, and, as before, finding links to bookmark is as simple as inputting a URL from the site or clicking the service's bookmarklet, which can be added to the browser toolbar. From there, users can assign links a title and tags, and share them with others on the site. I had the chance to take Delicious for a quick spin, and the service is just as easy to use now as it was prior to the relaunch. In fact, users who might have left Delicious years ago and want to come back will feel right at home. But even though the fundamentals are the same, it's the addition of a new feature, called Stacks, that Delicious is pushing most of all. In a blog post yesterday announcing the relaunch of Delicious, the company's team called Stacks "playlists for the Web." The idea behind Stacks is for users to head out on the Web to find links, videos, and pictures around a given topic, and combine all those into a "stack." From there, those stacks can be assigned names and shared with other Delicious users who can then follow it to see any subsequent updates. "Our goal with stacks is to add more value to all the links being collected by the Delicious community," the Delicious team wrote. "Each new stack presents an opportunity to introduce the rest of the world to cool Web content they haven't seen before." Over the last several years, Delicious has been experiencing significant turbulence as it has tried to find its way as a link-sharing site competing against services like Twitter and Facebook that make it easy for users to share links. Things recently became so bad at Delicious that last year, the company, which was acquired by Yahoo in 2005, was in danger of being shut down by its parent company. In response, the Delicious team said that it was trying to keep the site open, and was "talking to companies" in the hopes of being acquired. In April, AVOS, a company started by YouTube co-founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, acquired Delicious from Yahoo. AVOS said that it planned to "add new features and grow [Delicious] overall." So, far things seem to be going relatively well at Delicious. Some of its most popular Stacks have been viewed nearly 3,000 times, and several top links have been saved thousands of times. But as Delicious knows all too well, succeeding on the Web is a marathon, not a sprint. |
As many industry analysts predicted, iPad sales saw a steep year-over-year decline for the first fiscal quarter of 2015, but CEO Tim Cook is optimistic and sees great potential in Apple's upcoming hardware pipeline. For the quarter ending in December, iPad shipments clocked in at 21.4 million units, down 18 percent from just over 26 million sold during the same period last year. The sales decline spurred a 22 percent dip in year-over-year revenue, bringing in about $9 billion this year compared to 2014's $11.5 billion performance.Despite the slowdown, Cook is upbeat on future prospects for Apple's tablet lineup, noting his position gives him a clear view of the road ahead. He was careful not to telegraph mixed signals during an investor conference call on Tuesday, however, saying, "I'm not projecting. To be clear with everyone, I'm not projecting something very different next quarter or the next. I'm thinking over the long run." Cook also cautioned that investors may not see a "miraculous" improvement in year-over-year performance over the near term.The statement suggests Apple may not release substantial changes to the iPad lineup in the next six months. Rumors of a supposed 12-inch "iPad Pro" have been making the rounds for months, though little hard evidence has surfaced proving its existence. In January, a photo turned up online purporting to show a 3D rendering of the alleged device. In line with previous rumblings, the image showed a speaker grille positioned near the top-mounted power button, suggesting the tablet could support stereo sound when used in landscape mode.On the merits of iPad, Cook pointed out that recent sales statistics show a large percentage of first-time buyers, hinting at low saturation levels and room to grow. For example, 50 percent of iPad buyers in the U.S, Japan and UK were new to Apple's tablet. Looking at the booming China market, that number jumps to more than 70 percent, Cook said.Aside from future growth, iPad usage rates are up to six times Apple's nearest competitor, he said. As defined by Cook, iPad usage is measured in total share of tablet Web browsing and commerce, which stand at 71 percent and 80 percent of those respective markets.Overall, Cook appears to be taking a long haul approach to iPad, noting hardware, innovation and unannounced plans will keep the platform relevant for the foreseeable future."So I'm not predicting the 90-day clips and so forth, but over the long arc of time," Cook said. "I really believe that iPad is a great space, a great product and coupled with the product innovation we've got, I think there's a very bright future for it." |
John Taylor didn’t like the idea of being forced by the Federal Aviation Administration to register his drones. The requirement was “authoritarian,” the Maryland attorney said, and wouldn’t deter reckless fliers. So the aviation law novice — he works in insurance — took the federal government to court. And won. A federal appeals court this month struck down a 2015 FAA rule that compelled owners of drones used for recreation to register them. Taylor’s unexpected success has upended a system meant to balance public safety and the rights of hobbyists who have purchased millions of drones. While he has been treated as a conquering hero by many recreational drone pilots — the editor of sUAS News wrote that Taylor “should never need to buy a beer at a model aircraft event again!” — others fear his win could be a Pyrrhic victory for the broader world of unmanned aircraft. “Why do we have restrictions? Because we don’t want a drone ingested into an aircraft engine,” said Brian Wynne, a licensed pilot and president of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, a leading industry group based in Arlington, Va. Wynne said putting registration numbers on all aircraft should be seen as a basic safety requirement. But that was part of what was overturned by Taylor’s challenge. “We have to have rules,” Wynne said. Wynne’s group is working to expand what the FAA allows for commercial drone operators, including seeking broader authority to fly over people and laying the groundwork for unmanned delivery services. Such efforts will require new air traffic control abilities and a high level of coordination. A bunch of unmarked recreational drones complicates such efforts, he said. “We want to create separation up there in order to maintain the phenomenally high level of safety we have,” Wynne said. Registering through the online system cost $5 and required a name, email and physical address. Users also had to acknowledge that they would follow basic safety guidelines, including flying below 400 feet; staying clear of stadiums, aircraft, airports and emergency response efforts; and not flying drunk. Taylor, who lives in the Silver Spring area, began getting deeply into drones in 2015, and has a fleet of about 20 quadcopters, hexacopters and fixed-wing planes. At his most active, he was flying over Maryland parks and fields, and sometimes in his back yard, several days a week and on weekends. People have questioned him about his registration stance, saying: “‘It’s five bucks. Who cares?’” But, Taylor said, “it was about more than $5 bucks. It was the idea of government overreach.” He argued that a federal law, passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama in 2012, explicitly prevented the FAA from making rules covering “model aircraft,” defined as “unmanned aircraft” flown for recreational purposes. (Operators must also be able to see the vehicles in the sky.) “It sounds corny. But as an attorney and citizen, the fact that they would so flagrantly violate a law . . . really stuck in my craw,” Taylor said. In an opinion May 19, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. circuit agreed. Although the court said that drone-related safety incidents have been increasing and registration as a policy may help “to some degree,” the letter of the law was clear. “In short, the 2012 FAA Modernization and Reform Act provides that the FAA ‘may not promulgate any rule or regulation regarding a model aircraft,’ yet the FAA’s 2015 Registration Rule is a ‘rule or regulation regarding a model aircraft.’ Statutory interpretation does not get much simpler,” the opinion reads. And so the requirement was vacated. The FAA said it is reviewing the decision and considering its options. Registration and other regulations were put “in place to ensure that drones are operated in a way that is safe and does not pose security and privacy threats,” the agency said in a statement. The ruling is likely to pull Congress into legislating the matter, a process that could either lead to a relatively simple fix or open the door to broader debates. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), a proponent of unmanned technologies, said he expects Congress to take up the ruling in the coming months. “With the unmanned aerial industry growing at such a rapid clip, we need some basic rules of the road in place sooner rather than later,” Warner said. The registration process was “a reasonable step,” he said. [This state wants to usurp California as the capital of driverless cars] Some remain skeptical. The Academy of Model Aeronautics, which was founded in the 1930s to represent model airplane builders and includes drone enthusiasts, said it was “encouraged” by the court’s decision. Although registration makes sense in some cases, it “shouldn’t apply at such a low threshold that it includes toys,” the group said. Members comply with the group’s registration system, it said, and “we shouldn’t be burdened by overly broad regulations.” As of May 23, there were 836,577 registrations in the FAA’s system, according to the agency. That included 764,830 hobbyists, who each were given a single identification number covering all the drones they own. The rest were mostly commercial drones that are registered individually, and that system remains in place. The FAA says the number of reports from pilots, law enforcement and others of “potential encounters” with drones has been rising sharply, and warned that operating “around airplanes, helicopters and airports is dangerous and illegal.” There are now more than 100 such reports a month, it said. Last October, a California helicopter pilot caught a glimpse of an unauthorized white drone flying at 1,800 feet above sea level near the “Hollywood” sign. No “evasive action” was necessary, according to FAA records. The next month, a pilot in Mesa, Ariz. said a large black drone “passed just above me” at 2,200 feet. Police were notified. The agency said that local authorities, using the federal registration numbers on crashed drones, have been able to trace the identify of operators in a handful of enforcement cases. Taylor says there are bad citizens in the air, and a quick search of YouTube would give the FAA plenty of targets for more aggressive enforcement, such as the operator he saw boasting of illegally flying his drone from miles away. He said the great majority of fliers are law-abiding, responsible and courteous. When dog-walkers or baseball players showed up on a field he was flying over, “I would stop what I was doing to leave,” Taylor said. “I don’t want to hog the field and bring a bad name to the hobby and annoy people.” Taylor goes hard after his hobbies. He was a beer maker before he spent five years as a beekeeper. After he taught himself to code and wrote billing software for his law firm, he built himself a cabin in West Virginia, which got him started on stained-glass window making. He took to drones with the same zest, captivated by the science of flight and intricacies of in-air cinematography. But lately his drones have gotten dusty. He has been too scared to fly them. Taylor said he doesn’t want to sound paranoid, but “I don’t want to give the FAA anything they can hold over me.” The legal case puts a “bull’s eye” on him, he insists, and given legal uncertainties he said he can’t risk selective enforcement. In a statement, the FAA said: “There is no reason why Mr. Taylor shouldn’t join the thousands of other hobbyists who continue to fly their drones safely and responsibly after the ruling.” |
The New York Times will increase spending specifically on coverage of the incoming Donald Trump Donald John TrumpHouse committee believes it has evidence Trump requested putting ally in charge of Cohen probe: report Vietnamese airline takes steps to open flights to US on sidelines of Trump-Kim summit Manafort's attorneys say he should get less than 10 years in prison MORE administration but plans to cut its overall budget this year, the newspaper's top editors revealed in a public memo Tuesday. The budget cuts, according to executive editor Dean Baquet and managing editor Joe Kahn, will be targeted more on production and editing systems instead of journalism resources. "Our job is to keep producing original, reported, boots-on-the-ground journalism, the best report in the world, so good it’s worth paying for," the editors write. The company also said it plans on earmarking an additional $5 million to produce more coverage of the incoming Trump administration. "Has there ever been a story more tailor-made for The New York Times?" the memo reads. "Or a moment when our mission was more crystal clear?" Trump has attacked the Times on multiple occasions, calling it a "failing" institution that covered him “with a nasty tone." But has also praised the paper of record after meeting with the paper's staff in late November, referring to it as “a great, great American jewel." |
NEW ORLEANS -- Authorities say Los Angeles Lakers forward Derrick Caracter was arrested in New Orleans, accused of public drunkenness and shoving a cashier at a pancake restaurant. Police said the 22-year-old player was arrested early Sunday and booked into jail on charges of battery, public drunkenness and resisting arrest. They say Caracter allegedly grabbed and shoved the cashier at an International House of Pancakes after he was refused service and became belligerent. The woman wasn't injured. Police initially said the cashier was pregnant, but later said that was an error. Authorities say Caracter was freed later Sunday morning on $1,000 bond Lakers spokesman John Black said the team was looking into the allegations. The Lakers declined to make Caracter available to the media after Monday's workout at their training complex in El Segundo, Calif. The Lakers drafted Caracter in the second round last summer out of UTEP. He played just one season for the Miners after transferring from Louisville, which dismissed the former surefire high-school prospect following numerous clashes with coach Rick Pitino and his staff. The Lakers picked Caracter in the second round last summer, and the power forward played sparingly as a rookie, averaging 2.0 points and 1.1 rebounds in 41 games. He was assigned to the D-League's Bakersfield Jam twice during the regular season, but returned to Los Angeles before the playoffs. Caracter hasn't played for the Lakers in their first four postseason games against the Hornets, and he wasn't likely to play any significant role in Los Angeles' postseason run. His arrest comes with the club in the middle of a tough matchup with New Orleans, which evened the series at 2-2 on Sunday night heading to Game 5 in Los Angeles on Tuesday. |
# begin build properties# autogenerated by buildinfo.shro.build.id=LRX16Ero.build.display.id=LRX16Ero.build.version.incremental=F400S19c.1414594896ro.build.version.sdk=21ro.build.version.codename=RELro.build.version.all_codenames=RELro.build.version.release=5.0ro.build.date=Thu Oct 30 00:05:21 KST 2014ro.build.date.utc=1414595121ro.build.type=userro.build.user=jungkyun.parkro.build.host=LGEARND12B1ro.build.tags=release-keysro.product.model=LG-F400Sro.product.brand=lgero.product.name=g3_skt_krro.product.device=g3ro.product.board=MSM8974# ro.product.cpu.abi and ro.product.cpu.abi2 are obsolete,# use ro.product.cpu.abilist instead.ro.product.cpu.abi=armeabi-v7aro.product.cpu.abi2=armeabiro.product.cpu.abilist=armeabi-v7a,armeabiro.product.cpu.abilist32=armeabi-v7a,armeabiro.product.cpu.abilist64=ro.product.manufacturer=LGEro.product.locale.language=koro.product.locale.region=KRro.wifi.channels=ro.board.platform=msm8974# ro.build.product is obsolete; use ro.product.devicero.build.product=g3# Do not try to parse description, fingerprint, or thumbprintro.build.description=g3_skt_kr-user 5.0 LRX16E F400S19c.1414594896 release-keysro.build.fingerprint=lge/g3_skt_kr/g3:5.0/LRX16E/F400S19c.1414594896:user/release-keysro.build.characteristics=default# end build properties# from device/lge/galbi/qcom/device/msm8974/system.prop# system.prop for msm8974rild.libpath=/vendor/lib/libril-qc-qmi-1.sorild.libargs=-d /dev/smd0persist.rild.nitz_plmn=persist.rild.nitz_long_ons_0=persist.rild.nitz_long_ons_1=persist.rild.nitz_long_ons_2=persist.rild.nitz_long_ons_3=persist.rild.nitz_short_ons_0=persist.rild.nitz_short_ons_1=persist.rild.nitz_short_ons_2=persist.rild.nitz_short_ons_3=ril.subscription.types=NV,RUIMDEVICE_PROVISIONED=1# Start in global mode#ro.telephony.default_network=10debug.sf.hw=1debug.egl.hw=1debug.composition.type=c2dpersist.hwc.mdpcomp.enable=truepersist.hwc.ptor.enable=1debug.mdpcomp.logs=0dalvik.vm.heapsize=36mdev.pm.dyn_samplingrate=1persist.demo.hdmirotationlock=falsero.hdmi.enable=truepersist.speaker.prot.enable=falseqcom.hw.aac.encoder=true# system props for the cne modulepersist.cne.feature=1#system props for the MM modulesmedia.stagefright.enable-player=truemedia.stagefright.enable-http=truemedia.stagefright.enable-aac=truemedia.stagefright.enable-qcp=truemedia.stagefright.enable-fma2dp=truemedia.stagefright.enable-scan=truemmp.enable.3g2=truemm.enable.smoothstreaming=truemedia.aac_51_output_enabled=true#37491 is decimal sum of supported codecs in AAL#codecs: AVI AC3 ASF AAC QCP DTS 3G2 MP2TSmm.enable.qcom_parser=37491# VIDC: debug_levels# 1:ERROR 2:HIGH 4:LOW 0:NOLOGS 7:AllLOGSvidc.debug.level=1# system props for the data modulesro.use_data_netmgrd=truepersist.data.netmgrd.qos.enable=truero.data.large_tcp_window_size=true#system props for time-servicespersist.timed.enable=true# system prop for opengles version# 196608 is decimal for 0x30000 to report version 3ro.opengles.version=196608# System property for cablro.qualcomm.cabl=1# System props for telephony# System prop to turn on CdmaLTEPhone always#telephony.lteOnCdmaDevice=1# System props for bluetooth# System prop to turn on hfp clientbluetooth.hfp.client=1#Simulate sdcard on /data/mediapersist.fuse_sdcard=true#snapdragon value add featuresro.qc.sdk.audio.ssr=false##fluencetype can be "fluence" or "fluencepro" or "none"ro.qc.sdk.audio.fluencetype=fluencepersist.audio.fluence.voicecall=falsepersist.audio.fluence.voicerec=falsepersist.audio.fluence.speaker=falsero.qc.sdk.sensors.gestures=truero.qc.sdk.gestures.camera=falsero.qc.sdk.camera.facialproc=false# system prop for NFC DTro.nfc.port=I2C#property to enable user to access Google WFD settings.persist.debug.wfd.enable=1#property to choose between virtual/external wfd displaypersist.sys.wfd.virtual=0tunnel.audio.encode = false#use VERY_HIGH_QUALITY for audio resampleraf.resampler.quality=4#Buffer size in kbytes for compress offload playbackaudio.offload.buffer.size.kb=32#Enable offload audio video playback by defaultav.offload.enable=false#enable voice path for PCM VoIP by defaultuse.voice.path.for.pcm.voip=true#hwui propertiesro.hwui.texture_cache_size=72ro.hwui.layer_cache_size=48ro.hwui.r_buffer_cache_size=8ro.hwui.path_cache_size=32ro.hwui.gradient_cache_size=1ro.hwui.drop_shadow_cache_size=6ro.hwui.texture_cache_flushrate=0.4ro.hwui.text_small_cache_width=1024ro.hwui.text_small_cache_height=1024ro.hwui.text_large_cache_width=2048ro.hwui.text_large_cache_height=1024#disable dsp gapless mode by defaultaudio.offload.gapless.enabled=false#// LGE_CHANGE_S, [Net_Patch_0300][CALL_FRW][COMMON], 2012-05-25, Airplane Mode Pop-Up display property value {ro.airplane.phoneapp=1#// LGE_CHANGE_E, [Net_Patch_0300][CALL_FRW][COMMON], 2012-05-25, Airplane Mode Pop-Up display property value }# reserved wifi related propertydhcp.ap.macaddress=dhcp.wlan0.dns1=dhcp.wlan0.dns2=dhcp.wlan0.dns3=dhcp.wlan0.dns4=dhcp.wlan0.gateway=dhcp.wlan0.ipaddress=dhcp.wlan0.leasetime=dhcp.wlan0.mask=dhcp.wlan0.pid=dhcp.wlan0.reason=dhcp.wlan0.result=dhcp.wlan0.server=dhcp.wlan0.vendorInfo=dhcp.p2p.dns1=dhcp.p2p.dns2=dhcp.p2p.dns3=dhcp.p2p.dns4=dhcp.p2p.gateway=dhcp.p2p.ipaddress=dhcp.p2p.leasetime=dhcp.p2p.mask=dhcp.p2p.pid=dhcp.p2p.reason=dhcp.p2p.result=dhcp.p2p.server=dhcp.p2p.vendorInfo=init.svc.dhcpcd_wlan0=init.svc.dhcpcd_p2p=init.svc.p2p_supplicant=init.svc.iprenew_wlan0=net.dns1=net.dns2=net.dnschange=net.p2p-p2p0-0.dns1=net.p2p-p2p0-0.dns2=net.wlan0.dns1=net.wlan0.dns2=wlan.driver.status=persist.sys.security=# LGE_CHANGE_S [CFW][Memory][ [email protected] ] Add oomAdj valuero.sys.fw.bg_apps_limit=32ro.sys.fw.mOomAdj1=0ro.sys.fw.mOomAdj2=1ro.sys.fw.mOomAdj3=2ro.sys.fw.mOomAdj4=4ro.sys.fw.mOomAdj5=9ro.sys.fw.mOomAdj6=15ro.sys.fw.mOomMinFree1=49152ro.sys.fw.mOomMinFree2=61440ro.sys.fw.mOomMinFree3=73728ro.sys.fw.mOomMinFree4=114688ro.sys.fw.mOomMinFree5=196608ro.sys.fw.mOomMinFree6=245760# LGE_CHANGE_E# ADDITIONAL_BUILD_PROPERTIESlog.tag.GpsLocationProvider=DEBUGlog.tag.LocationManagerService=DEBUGlog.tag.NlpProxy=DEBUGlog.tag.LocSvc_java=DEBUGro.build.target_operator=SKTro.build.target_country=KRro.lge.swversion=F400S19cro.lge.swversion_short=V19cro.lge.swversion_rev=0ro.lge.factoryversion=LGF400SAT-00-V19c-SKT-KR-OCT-30-2014+0ro.telephony.default_network=9ro.lge.lcd_default_brightness=177telephony.lteOnCdmaDevice=0ro.config.vc_call_vol_steps=9ro.config.vc_call_vol_default=5ro.config.ringtone=01_Lifes_Good.oggro.config.notification_sound=Crystal.oggro.config.alarm_alert=Lifes_Good_Alarm.oggro.config.timer_alert=Timer.oggpersist.audio.nsenabled=OFFpersist.audio.spkcall_2mic=ONpersist.audio.sm_fluence=OFFpersist.audio.spk_sm_fluence=OFFpersist.audio.voip_nsenabled=ONpersist.audio.nxp=ONro.lge.bt_gain_control_factor=0.9tangible_device_config=B1BCNAOTNAro.lge.vib_magnitude_index=0,20,40,60,80,100,120,1 27lge.normalizer.param=version2.0/true/9.6/true/10500/0.8/5200/0.42ro.sdcrypto.syscall=378ro.com.google.gmsversion=L_gms_preview.LRX21Fro.setupwizard.mode=OPTIONALro.com.google.apphider=offlge.nfc.vendor=nxpro.lge.capp_emotional_led=truewlan.lge.wifidisplay=bothro.lge.capp_splitwindow=truepersist.splitwindow.support_all=falsero.lge.capp_ZDi_O=truelge.zdi.actionsend=falselge.zdi.onactivityresult=truelge.zdi.dragdropintent=falsero.sf.lcd_density=640persist.sys.strictmode.disable=truero.opengles.version=196608tunnel.audio.encode=falsepersist.service.crash.enable=1persist.debug.sensors.hal=idebug.qualcomm.sns.daemon=idebug.qualcomm.sns.libsensor1=ewlan.chip.vendor=brcmwifi.lge.patch=truedhcp.dlna.using=falsewlan.lge.concurrency=MCCwlan.lge.supportsimaka=yespersist.radio.apm_sim_not_pwdn=1persist.audio.fluence.voicecall=truepersist.audio.voice.clarity=noneaudio.offload.min.duration.secs=30persist.qcril.disable_retry=truero.com.android.dataroaming=falsero.afwdata.LGfeatureset=SKTBASEro.support_mpdn=truenet.tethering.noprovisioning=truepersist.lg.data.fd=-1persist.data.netmgrd.qos.enable=falsesys.knockon.knockoff.distance=10ro.lge.audio_soundexception=truero.lge.qslide.max_window=2persist.service.main.enable=1persist.service.system.enable=1persist.service.radio.enable=1persist.service.events.enable=1persist.service.kernel.enable=1persist.service.packet.enable=1persist.service.power.enable=1ro.lge.lcd_auto_brightness_mode=falsero.vendor.extension_library=libqti-perfd-client.soro.carrier=unknowndalvik.vm.heapstartsize=8mdalvik.vm.heapgrowthlimit=256mdalvik.vm.heapsize=512mdalvik.vm.heaptargetutilization=0.25dalvik.vm.heapminfree=4mdalvik.vm.heapmaxfree=16mrild.libpath=/vendor/lib/libril-qc-qmi-1.sorild.libargs=-d/dev/smd0ril.subscription.types=NV,RUIMro.sys.fw.bg_apps_limit=32ro.sys.fw.mOomAdj1=0ro.sys.fw.mOomAdj2=1ro.sys.fw.mOomAdj3=2ro.sys.fw.mOomAdj4=4ro.sys.fw.mOomAdj5=9ro.sys.fw.mOomAdj6=15ro.sys.fw.mOomMinFree1=49152ro.sys.fw.mOomMinFree2=61440ro.sys.fw.mOomMinFree3=73728ro.sys.fw.mOomMinFree4=114688ro.sys.fw.mOomMinFree5=196608ro.sys.fw.mOomMinFree6=245760ro.lge.vib_duration_margin=20lge.signed_image=truedrm.service.enabled=truewlan.chip.version=bcm4339wifi.lge.common_hotspot=truewlan.lge.softap5g=truewlan.lge.dcf.enable=truewlan.lge.dcf.poor_link_cnt=4wlan.lge.passpoint_setting=truero.config.vibrate_type=1ro.lge.skt_background_call_opt=truepersist.sys.dalvik.vm.lib.2=libart.sodalvik.vm.isa.arm.features=divnet.bt.name=Androiddalvik.vm.stack-trace-file=/data/anr/traces.txtpersist.gps.qc_nlp_in_use=0ro.gps.agps_provider=1ro.pip.gated=0 |
The European Court of Justice has declared legal supremacy over the sovereign state of Germany, and therefore of Britain, France, Denmark and Poland as well. The ECJ's advocate-general has not only brushed aside the careful findings of the German constitutional court on a matter of highest importance, he has gone so far as to claim that Germany is obliged to submit to the final decision. "We cannot possibly accept this and they know it," said one German jurist close to the case. The matter at hand is whether the European Central Bank broke the law with its back-stop plan for Italian and Spanish debt (OMT) in 2012. The teleological ECJ - always eager to further the cause of EU integration - did come up with the politically-correct answer as expected. The ECB is in the clear. The opinion is a green light for quantitative easing next week, legally never in doubt. The European Court did defer to the Verfassungsgericht in Karlsruhe on a few points. The ECB must not get mixed up with the EU bail-out fund (ESM) or take part in Troika rescue operations. But these details are not the deeper import of the case. The opinion is a vaulting assertion of EU primacy. If the Karlsruhe accepts this, the implication is that Germany will no longer be a fully self-governing sovereign state. The advocate-general knows he is risking a showdown but views this fight as unavoidable. "It seems to me an all but impossible task to preserve this Union, as we know it today, if it is to be made subject to an absolute reservation, ill-defined and virtually at the discretion of each of the Member States," he said. In this he is right. "This Union" - meaning the Union to which EU integrationists aspire - is currently blocked by the German court, the last safeguard of our nation states against encroachment. This is why the battle is historic. "His opinion is a direct affront to the German court. It asserts that the EU court has the final say in defining and creating the EU's own powers, without any national check," said Gunnar Beck, a German legal theorist at the University of London. "This would be a fundamental transformation of the EU from a treaty organisation, which depends on the democratic assent of the sovereign states, into a supranational entity." Germany's judges have never accepted the ECJ's outlandish claims to primacy. Their ruling on the Maastricht Treaty in 1993 warned in thunderous terms that the court reserves the right to strike down any EU law that breaches the German Grundgesetz or Basic Law. They went further in their verdict on the Lisbon Treaty in July 2009, shooting down imperial conceits. The EU is merely a treaty club. The historic states are the “masters of the Treaties” and not the other way round. They set limits to EU integration. Whole areas of policy “must forever remain German”. If the drift of EU affairs erodes German democracy - including the Bundestag's fiscal sovereignty - the country must “refuse further participation in the European Union”. The opinion of the ECJ's advocate-general is not binding. But he works alongside the judges in the same building on the Kirchberg Plateau and it is fair to assume that he is cleaving closely to the court's outlook in such a pivotal case. In a free speech case that I once covered - Connolly v Commission (C-274/99 P) - another advocate-general suggested that criticism of the EU is akin to "blasphemy" and may legitimately be suppressed. His musings on blasphemy did not reach the final judgment, but everything else did. The European Court has this time departed a long way from the rule of the law, even by its own elastic standards. The opinion contradicts previous ECJ case law in the 2012 Pringle case, when the court ruled that the ECB's purchases of government bonds amount to economic policy, and implies fiscal union by the back door. It gives the ECB almost unfettered discretion, adding for good measure that the courts should refrain from meddling in monetary policy. Not only is this an attempt to tie the hands of the Verfassungsgericht when the inevitable case against QE is filed, it is also enthrones the ECB over a monetary dictatorship answerable to nobody. From a strictly economic view, my sympathies lie with the advocate-general and the ECB's Mario Draghi. The eurozone needs QE a l'outrance to avert a deflation trap. It also needs the OMT to reassure markets that there is a lender-of-last-resort in case a crisis erupts in Greece and sets off contagion. But the political destiny of Europe should not be decided in this fashion, lurching from crisis to crisis towards a sovereign union that no citizen has ever voted for. The difficulty for the ECJ is that Verfassungsgericht ruled a year ago that Mr Draghi's OMT "manifestly violates" the Treaties and was most likely "Ultra Vires", creating "an obligation of German authorities to refrain from implementing it”. Germany's judges said OMT “infringes the powers of the Member States, and violates the prohibition of monetary financing of the budget”. In short, the ruling was ferocious. The Verfassungsgericht did not refer the case to the ECJ for superior guidance. It pre-judged the case and sent it to the ECJ for ratification. The advocate-general acknowledged that the German court's referral was double-edged, and almost treats the ECJ as a mere think-tank. He protested that no national court should be allowed to request a ruling from the ECJ while also refusing to give up its "own ultimate responsibility to state what the law is". "Therein lies all the ambiguity with which the Court of Justice is faced. In such circumstances, a request to the Court of Justice to give a preliminary ruling could even end by having the undesirable effect of embroiling the Court in the chain of events ultimately leading to the breakdown in the ‘constitutional compact’ underlying European integration," he said. That is the heart of the matter. The ECJ has been drawn into a dangerous dispute with the very powerful court of Europe's most powerful country. It has done so on the weakest possible terrain, failing to address fully the objections raised by Karlsruhe. It claims that OMT is a monetary policy tool that does not breach the Treaties by rescuing specific insolvent states, when everybody can see that it does. Instead of pushing its claims on an abstruse case - the usual salami tactic - it is fighting over an incendiary issue that has German eurosceptics up in arms. It is far from clear what will happen when the case goes back to Karlsruhe for a final ruling. The Verfassungsgericht may capitulate, but you never know. "In extremis, the court may prohibit German institutions from taking part in bond purchases," said the Frankfurter Allgemeine. This is the Investiture Contest of our times, echoing the 11th century clash between the German emperor Henry IV and the imperial papacy of Gregory VII over supremacy in Europe. Gregory choose to challenge the settled dominance of secular princes, angling for an absolutist and unworkable theocracy. He won a Pyrrhic victory when Henry prostrated himself in the snow at Canossa, but only to stir up forces that he could not control. It was Henry who conquered Rome. It was a deposed Pope Gregory who died in exile. |
UPDATE: You can find the latest Madden 16 Connected Franchise details here. Original Article: Within weeks after a new edition of EA Sports’ popular Madden NFL series drops, a number of message boards and discussion forums will have a ‘wish list’ posted with dozens of criticisms, complaints, and suggestions for added features in future editions. Given that I have been managing an online Madden NFL league off and on since October 2002, I feel like I have a good sense from a Commissioner’s perspective on what should be added to the game. Unlike many ‘wish lists’ I have perused across the internet, mine is going to concentrate specifically on the Connected Franchise Mode (CFM) which is how the vast majority of online league commissioner’s execute their competitive seasons. #10 – The ability to preview CFM playoff seeds before the playoffs actually begin This feature was actually included in Madden NFL ’13, but then it was taken out. Bring it back! Please! This is very helpful to those who participate in online Madden NFL leagues. #9 – The ability to engage in CFM practice games against the CPU and/or against other league members This feature is an absolute MUST!! Everyone I have talked to wants to play some practice games before their next scheduled league game. Implement this in the game!! Please! #8 – A wider variety of commentators, particularly during the CFM playoffs With all due respect to Phil Simms and Jim Nantz, we need a wider variety of commentators. Let us hear Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth, as well as Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. This would give the game, and particularly playoff games, a higher degree of realism. #7 – Give each League Commissioner the ability to cancel and/or reverse improper trades I would assume that each online league has it’s own set of rules and guidelines regarding the trading of player personnel. Inevitably, someone is going to violate those rules. Implement a feature where the League Commissioner can ‘void’ an improper trade. #6 – Give each online league the ability to create and draft realistic college players as rookies League members will be much more excited to draft QB Connor Cook or HB Ezekiel Elliott than some fictional quarterback or halfback that they have never heard of. #5 – The ability to create personalized touchdown celebrations in CFM games Give each online league member the ability to press a button, or series of buttons, to have his QB, RB, WR, or TE perform their own unique, individual celebration dance. This would really add some much needed ‘spice’ to each CFM contest! #4 – Bring back the ability to have league coaches import their actual facial images into CFM This feature was actually included in Madden NFL ’13 and Madden NFL 14/25, but then it was eliminated in Madden NFL 15. Bring it back! Please! #3 – The ability for multiple CFM players to engage in an online team play CFM Pro Bowl contest Allow the CFM Pro Bowl to actually be played!! Everyone wants this feature added!! Are you listening EA Sports?? C’mon fellas. Add this in right now. #2 – The ability to simulate a CFM contest in favor of a particular team This is an absolute MUST! Currently, you have to leave it up to chance. This should not be. Each online league commissioner needs to have the ability to simulate a CFM contest in favor of one team or the other. Also add in the ability to simulate an individual CFM contest via the maddencfm.com website!! #1 – The ability to have the CFM system automatically save the individual and team statistics for a CFM contest that inadvertently ‘froze’ or was prematurely disconnected and ended If two players are engaged in an offline contest, and suddenly the power goes out, Madden NFL 15 automatically saves that contest, and allows you to continue playing that same contest without having to play the game over again. This feature should definitely be applied to online CFM contests. NO DOUBT. This feature is MUCH NEEDED. I mean, very much needed. There you have it. My list of the Top Ten suggestions for improvement for Madden NFL 16, 17, and beyond. EA Sports, it is time for you to take the Connected Franchise Mode to the NEXT LEVEL!! |
KUALA LUMPUR: Supporters of Pakatan Harapan (PH) today marched to the United States embassy to protest President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a week after a similar demonstration by Umno and PAS members. About 500 PH supporters, joined by members of various NGOs, assembled in front of Bangunan Tabung Haji after Friday prayers and marched to the embassy. Among them were PH chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad, president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin. Other PH leaders included Mohamad Sabu, Salahuddin Ayub, Khalid Samad, Mujahid Yusof Rawa, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Tian Chua and Liew Chin Tong. The protesters shouted slogans that included “Allahuakbar” (God is great), “Hidup Palestin” (Long live Palestine) and “Merdeka Palestin” (Independence for Palestine). Some marchers carried placards printed with “Selamatkan Palestin” (Save Palestine) and “Hancur Zionis” (Destroy the Zionists). About 200 police personnel, including members of the Light Strike Force, kept a watchful eye on the crowd. The area fronting the embassy was cordoned off but some of the protesters were seen shoving at the policemen as they tried to press forward. The protest leaders handed over a memorandum to a representative of the embassy before the demonstrators dispersed. Prime Minister Najib Razak was in Istanbul earlier this week to attend the Extraordinary Islamic Summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) called to discuss the Jerusalem issue. Najib told the Muslim leaders that Trump’s decision undermined efforts towards finding a comprehensive, just and durable solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. “The final status of Jerusalem should not be decided by a unilateral recognition, as it must be resolved through bilateral negotiations between Palestine and Israel under the framework of the two-state solution,” he said. http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/bahasa/2017/12/12/dr-m-sebagai-kawan-baik-najib-boleh-pujuk-trump-isu-baitulmaqdis/ |
Shaker lemon pie is a very old fashioned type of pie – so old fashioned that it goes way beyond retro and isn’t likely to be found in your average diner, unlike the far more common lemon meringue pie. Shaker lemon pie has an unusual filling that is made up of lemons. Sliced paper-thin, the lemons go into the pie rind and all (minus the seeds), along with some sugar to sweeten things up and eggs to hold everything together. I decided to try making this type of pie for a couple of reasons. First, it is pretty unique and I was very curious as to how the pith and peel of the lemons would work into the pie. Second, I had – some of you might be able to guess at this part – a bunch of meyer lemons sitting in my kitchen and was sure that the extra-sweet lemons would really work well in this type of dessert. The pith of the lemon is the white part between the flesh of the fruit and the rind. It is the most bitter part of the fruit, which is why most recipes either call for the zest or the flesh alone. Meyer lemons tend not to have as much pith as other types of lemons on average, which is another reason that they make such a good choice for this recipe. To put the pie together, you need a double crust pie dough prepped (recipe is below) before you mix the filling. I used a very sharp chefs knife to slice up my lemons, but if you have a mandolin this would be an excellent application for it. That said, you shouldn’t worry about the thickness of the slices too much; just try to get them as thin as you can manage and pick out the seeds as you go. I used two whole lemons and one lemon with the pith and peel removed just to bulk up the fruit. My lemons were very large for meyer lemons, so you may want to use 4 average size ones (a good tip is to compare their size to that of “regular” lemons in the store and try to match the number of meyer lemons to the size of 3 regular ones). The overall effect of the pie filling is somewhere between marmalade and lemon curd, with tender but slightly bitter pieces of rind mixed in with a sweet and gooey lemon curd-like filling. If you like marmalade, you’ll probably love it. If you don’t like either marmalade or lemon curd, this may not be your cup of tea. I really liked the way that the soft and tart filling contrasted with the tender, flaky crust and found the whole pie to be really well balanced, even if it wasn’t as sweet as a lemon meringue type of pie. Meyer Lemon Shaker Lemon Pie 1 recipe double-crust pie dough (below) 3 large meyer lemons (or 4 medium) 4 large eggs 2 cups sugar 1/4 tsp salt 1 tbsp coarse sugar, for topping Preheat oven to 450F. Working with a very sharp chefs knife, very thinly slice 2 of the meyer lemons, peel and all. Remove peel and pith from third lemon and thinly slice that as well. Remove all seeds as you work and try to preserve the juice as much as possible. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Stir sugar, salt and eggs into the bowl of lemon slices. Let stand for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Roll out 1/2 of chilled pie crust into a circle large enough to fill a 9 or 10 inch pie plate (I used a deep dish plate). Carefully transfer pie crust into plate and press gently into place. Fill pie plate with lemon mixture. Roll out top crust and lay on top of the pie filling. Crimp edges, sealing tightly. Brush the top of the pie with a bit of water or cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Cut 4 or 5 vents into the top crust with a sharp knife. Bake at 450F for 15 minutes. Without opening the oven door, lower temperature to 375F and bake for an additional 20 minutes (if using a deep-dish pie dish, add an extra 5 minutes to the baking time). When the crust is golden brown and a knife inserted into the center of the pie – preferably through one of the vents – comes out clean, the pie is done. Cool completely on a wire rack before serving. Serves 10. All Butter Double Pie Crust 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour 1/2 tsp salt 1 tbsp sugar 1Â cup butter, chilled and cut into several pieces 6-8 tbsp ice water Combine dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Add in butter and pulse until mixture is coarse and sandy and no chunks of butter larger than a big pea remain. Add water and pulse several more times to wet the dough. Gather into two balls with your hands, wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. |
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Labour leader Ed Miliband pledges to end an "epidemic" of worker exploitation A Labour government would set up a task force to target firms who encourage low skilled migration and undermine the minimum wage, Ed Miliband has said. The unit would slap heavier fines on firms that exploit low paid workers, the Labour leader said in a speech on immigration. The Conservatives said Labour was "in denial" and "nothing" being proposed would help to control immigration. Meanwhile, the Lib Dems have outlined plans to boost apprenticeships. And David Cameron pledged to make pensions campaigner Ros Altmann a minister for consumer protection, if the Tories are re-elected. In other election news: UKIP's Nigel Farage will be among leaders to face audience questions in regional election programmes, the BBC has announced Conservative Chief Whip Michael Gove has appeared to rule out any deal with UKIP, telling the Telegraph: "We're not going to get into bed with them" Mr Cameron and his wife Samantha visited a Sikh temple in Gravesend where he paid tribute to British Sikhs, saying "they help make Britain great" In a speech in the Wirral, in the north-west of England, Mr Miliband repeated his admission Labour had made mistakes in immigration policy, highlighting the party's failure to ensure there were maximum transitional controls when new countries joined the European Union in 2004. But he said his party had "listened, learned and changed". He said it was not "prejudiced" to be concerned about immigration. "As prime minister, I will always address concerns not ignore them. As prime minister, I will always put working families first and that's why we'll have proper controls and rules," he said. 'Target criminals' He set out five principles to help tackle the issue: "Securing our borders; restoring the principle that you contribute before you claim; achieving integration in our communities; ending the undercutting of wages of local workers through the exploitation of migrant workers and rebuilding trust by only making promises we can keep and proposing solutions that will work." Mr Miliband announced plans to create a 100-strong new task force to target firms who exploit migrant workers and do not pay the minimum wage. The enforcement unit based in the Home Office would fine firms that exploited low paid workers, he said. Minimum wage prosecutions According to a written parliamentary answer last October, there were four prosecutions of employers who failed or refused to pay the national minimum wage between 2006 and 2014. HMRC, which enforces the minimum wage, said it employed "selective and exemplary criminal investigation" for "deliberate non-compliance or obstructive behaviour". Most cases of failure to pay are settled without recourse to the civil or criminal courts. Responding to Mr Miliband's task force plan, the CBI warned about "burdening" firms with inspections, saying any changes should target criminals. "Mixing up employment rules with criminal offences like trafficking and illegal migration issues should be avoided," added deputy director-general Katja Hall. Immigration Labour Main pledges 1,000 new border staff and exit checks Keep cap on workers from outside the EU Make it illegal for employers to undercut British workers by exploiting migrants Two-year wait before EU migrants can claim out-of-work benefits Labour said the unit would bring together teams from the Gangmasters Licensing Authority and specialist police units with extra Home Office staff. The coalition has increased penalties on employers who pay less than the legal minimum and has placed a cap on non-EU migration. UKIP has said the the new policy on gangmasters is necessary only because of Labour's lax control of Britain's borders in the past. But Steve Murphy, general secretary of the building workers union Ucatt, said: "This commitment demonstrates that Labour is serious about ending the misery caused by the exploitation of migrant workers and rightly targets the employers who profit through the mistreatment of workers." 'Must speak English' Mr Miliband also said in his speech that "everyone in Britain" should know how to speak English and this was "especially important" for those working in public services. He acknowledged the "crucial contribution" people from overseas played in the NHS, adding in future "all healthcare professionals will be required to speak English to a sufficient standard so they can care effectively for patients". The coalition government has given some health regulators the power to impose language tests, but Labour says the process has been too slow and does not cover all staff, such as paramedics, social workers and physiotherapists. Image caption Farms in some areas rely on workers from overseas who, if paid through agencies, can get less than the minimum wage Home Office Minister James Brokenshire, for the Conservatives, said: "Nothing Ed Miliband is proposing today would help control immigration. Labour sent out 'search parties for people' and under them net migration increased more than five-fold." He said the Conservatives had cracked down on illegal working and would seek to change EU free movement rules if they won the election. The Liberal Democrats also mention English language in their manifesto, saying people who cannot speak good English and want to claim Jobseeker's Allowance should have to attend courses. The Conservatives say EU migrants should have to wait four years before they can claim certain benefits or social housing and that child benefit payments should not be made for children living outside the UK. Recently, some Labour figures complained about the party's messages on immigration. David Lammy warned that the party should not be "trying to out-UKIP UKIP". Pensions help The Conservatives' key announcement on Saturday is that pensions campaigner Ros Altmann would be made a Tory peer and given responsibility for financial education and consumer protection. David Cameron says he wants the "country's leading expert" on these issues to be at the heart of government, helping give people "more power to save, to access their pension, to pass their pension on to their children". The Liberal Democrats focused on apprenticeships, with a promise the party would double the number of employers offering apprenticeships to young people. Business Secretary Vince Cable said this would mean 360,000 firms offering on-the-job training. Companies would be offered exemptions from National Insurance and apprenticeship grants as extra incentives. The policy would mean the creation of "more apprenticeship starts per year than Germany", he said. Subscribe to the BBC Election 2015 newsletter to get a round-up of the day's campaign news sent to your inbox every weekday afternoon. |
Two asylum seekers have been flown to Australia for treatment, one for a fractured skull and another for a gun-shot wound. Immigration Minister Scott Morrison addresses the media on the Manus Island breakout. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Refugee advocates say locals and the PNG police attacked the centre with machetes, knives and other weapons and have again condemned Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers in offshore detention centres, saying Manus Island is dangerous and lawless. They say Australia has put the lives of people seeking asylum, who have already fled torture, war and gross human rights violations, at risk. On Monday night, one asylum seeker from Lebanon who is in the Manus Island compound wrote in a Facebook message that the violence had started again. ''Tonight polices [sic] and g4s attack us again. Many peoples in the yard. Injure please we need one to help us. May be till morning they will kill us. We are human or animls [sic].'' Ghulam Murtaza, whose brother is currently in the detention centre, said his brother Ghulam Mustasa had rung him at 11.40pm crying, bleeding and terrified that he would be killed, saying the locals had come inside the compound as it had become dark. "My brother was inside. He said 'I am covered in blood' and a stone hit his head," Mr Murtaza said. "He said, 'they will kill us'. He was in the compound saying 'I am going to run away to save my life.'" The security firm G4S, which manages the detention centre, said claims of ''internal attacks'' within the centre were unfounded. In a statement, the firm said it had removed all ''non-essential'' staff from the compound with asylum seekers who were not participating in the protest. The statement said that the asylum seekers were injured once they left the detention centre. Inherently dangerous Ian Rintoul, from the Refugee Action Coalition, said it was obvious that Manus Island was an ‘‘inherently dangerous place that the minister cannot secure’’, saying there should be no question that these asylum seekers should be brought back to Australia. The Refugee Rights Action Network’s Victoria Martin said: ''Last night’s attack was a massacre.'' ''It was a pre-meditated attack on unarmed and defenseless asylum seekers some of which have escaped war and are now being put back into, what is essentially a war zone. Manus Island is lawless. These are dangerous people,'' she said. Mr Morrison, however, denied reports that the PNG police entered the compound, saying that asylum seekers who left the centre were putting themselves in danger and ''subjecting themselves to the response of the local law''. ''If people choose to remove themselves from that centre then they’re obviously putting themselves at much greater risk and in an environment where there is violent behaviour,'' he told reporters at a media conference in Darwin. ''Those who are breaching the perimeter fence and going out of the centre, then this is a disorderly environment in which there is always great risk. ''When there are people who are charged under Papua New Guinea law to maintain law and order in that situation, now if you behave an unruly way and in a disorderly way, then you subject yourself to the response of law enforcement.'' Mr Morrison said the news of the death was a ''great tragedy'' and ''our sympathies are extended to the transferees - that person’s family and friends who would have been in the facility as well''. Opposition immigration spokesman Richard Marles has called for an inquiry into the violence at Manus Island, saying it was "melting down" under Morrison's watch, but maintained he would not back away from the PNG solution. "I can't stress enough how important the Manus Island detention facility is to Australia's strategy for dealing with boats coming from Indonesia," he said on ABC. "It is the single piece of public policy which has made the biggest difference in seeing an end to the number of boats coming from Indonesia." Close Manus: Greens The Greens have demanded that the Manus Island centre be closed. Greens leader Senator Christine Milne accused the government of ''bragging'' about poor conditions at the facility and said Mr Morrison needed to provide a full explanation. ''Ministerial responsibility has to mean something and Scott Morrison has to stop hiding,'' Senator Milne said. President of the Human Rights Commission, Professor Gillian Triggs, said Australia was not upholding its international responsibility to asylum seekers. ''Clearly there needs to be an inquiry into this,'' Professor Triggs told Fairfax Media. ''The primary obligation that Australia has is to offer protection for asylum seekers and we cannot abdicate that responsibility by sending people to a third country, in this case Papua New Guinea, but it is clear that responsibility is not being met.'' Professor Triggs said the Australian government had exposed asylum seekers to these conditions and it was inevitable asylum seekers would suffer mental illness, stress and, in some cases, violence. On Monday evening, asylum seekers said they were fearful of a violent attack by the local PNG police, which have been dubbed as the ''death squad'', and angry locals who they said would be wielding machetes, knives and guns. At the same time, a spokesman from Mr Morrison told Fairfax Radio that any information about a second attack on Monday was ''completely untrue'' and we should be ''more sceptical of stories coming from activists''. On Sunday night, asylum seekers in Manus Island used pieces of bunk beds as weapons in battles with guards, destroyed fences and pulled down light poles. Loading Do you know more? Email swhyte@fairfaxmedia.com.au Follow us on Twitter |
Cats behind bars Updated Inside the walls of the high-security Brisbane Women's Correctional Centre, prisoners and foster cats help one another towards a positive future. 'A bit of normality' In one unit, mother cat Lillian pads around the room while her four-week-old kittens, Ed Sheeran — named for his ginger fur — and Little Miss, nap. In another unit, the slightly overweight Bumble rests on his cat bed, giving a wary glance to anyone who gets too close. According to correctional supervisor Marilyn Cook, who oversees the cat foster program, Bumble is here to lose weight, and he is none too pleased about having been put on a diet. Eight units at the Brisbane Women's Correctional Centre at Wacol, in Brisbane's south-west, can accommodate foster cats — either two adult cats or one adult cat and up to three kittens. It is thanks to Ms Cook that the program came to fruition in late 2010. A foster carer outside of work, she says seeing the trouble the RSPCA had trying to find homes for the animals at their shelters sparked the idea. Eight or more cats can come out of a shelter environment in cages and go into a foster home with a bed that they can sleep on, company, someone that can brush them and groom them and take care of them RSPCA programs assistant Jasmine Lebet "I knew it would be great for the prisoners to be a part of the program and have somebody to come home to after they go to work, a bit of normality in their lives," she says. "I kept pushing and pushing and pushing [prison management] and it took me six years to finally find a general manager who was willing to look at the concept." Ms Cook says the majority of the cats fostered at the prison go on to be adopted, but some cats with ongoing medical problems, like current foster Missy, are long-term residents. "She keeps pulling her hair out all the time and she has to get medication and we have to try and keep her calm," Ms Cook says. "We have had a lot of long-term kittens with us here, especially if the RSPCA have got a court case against some people — it sometimes takes two years for the court case." Offender development manager Martina Gavin says some cats have gone on to be adopted by prison staff, prisoners' families or even by prisoners themselves when they are discharged. Programs assistant for the two prison foster programs — the RSPCA also co-ordinates a dog foster program at the nearby men's Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre — and the Pets In Crisis program, Jasmine Lebet, says having eight prison units is like having eight extra foster homes. "That means eight or more cats can come out of a shelter environment in cages and go into a foster home with a bed that they can sleep on, company, someone that can brush them and groom them and take care of them," she says. "It is such a rewarding experience, for the prisoners and for us, to see how well they're doing. "I've put some of the cats that have been so sick and haven't recovered out into the prison units and they're recovered really well, so they do such an amazing job out there." 'It's not cell doors closing' There has been little research into prison animal programs, according to a 2013 review by Claire Mulcahy and Deirdre McLaughlin of the University of Queensland's School of Public Health, published in Australian Psychologist. The authors of Is the Tail Wagging the Dog? A Review of the Evidence for Prison Animal Programs suggest: "More extensive research is needed to identify the program features that most commonly benefit prisoners, particularly prisoners with mental health needs." However Lorana Bartels, Associate Professor at the University of Canberra's School of Law and Justice, says anecdotal evidence from foster programs overseas has demonstrated positive outcomes for prisoners. Having them be a part of the program has brought them out of that and they've actually now progressed on to low security custody centres. It gives them somebody to come home to, it normalises their life a little bit more — it's not cell doors closing and all that. Correctional supervisor Marilyn Cook "There's a bunch of benefits for all of us, whether on the outside or inside, when we get pets. There are physical health benefits ... [and] also mental health benefits," she says. "If we bear in mind that the prisoners cohort, especially women, generally have pretty high physical needs, obviously any improvement there is going to be a good thing. "We can all get those benefits but when we're talking about a population who are often in very poor physical and mental health, if it can benefit them in that way, that's obviously a win." Ms Cook says that over the lifetime of the program, she has witnessed some prisoners come to terms with their mental health issues. "Having them be a part of the program has brought them out of that and they've actually now progressed on to low-security custody centres," she said. "It gives them somebody to come home to, it normalises their life a little bit more — it's not cell doors closing and all that." Ms Cook says one participant, who has now moved to a low-security custody centre, is still involved in the cat foster program. "What the RSPCA does is they give us all their sheets that are donated and we'll send them down to the low-security centre and she will turn them into crate covers," she says. "So that's really good — she's progressed from here down to there and is still involved with the program." 'It's generally seen as a reward' Associate Professor Bartels said the benefits of such a program could have multiple steps, beginning with the good behaviour required to enter the program. "To stay in the program they need to continue to show good behaviour, and it can have still other effects where they're wanting to do other things as a result of participating in the program," she says. "There was a US program ... they found that the prisoners were motivated to get into the program because it's generally seen as a reward, and then motivated by experiencing the program to get involved in other things, so enrolling in education programs or get jobs." Some of these inmates, it's the third or fourth generation where nobody's had a job. They don't have a lived experience of, you get up in the morning, you get dressed and you go to work Associate Professor Lorana Bartels Ms Cook says she has witnessed prisoners in the higher security area of the prison motivated to move into the lower security area, where the program operates. "We find a lot of people that are insecure who want to be a part of the program, their behaviour gets better as time goes on, just so they can come over here and be a part of the program," she says. Prisoners go through an extensive application and training process before being accepted into the program, and Ms Cook says they need to continue to show good behaviour to remain in the program. "When a prisoner wants to apply to be in the program they have to send in an application form that comes in to me directly," Ms Cook says. "I'll go through that application form and have a look at their case notes, check their behaviour, see if they've got any incidents or breaches on their history and check roughly when their discharge date is. "The RSPCA will then do their checks and balances down there to make sure there are no litigations of animal cruelty against the person who is applying to be a part of the program. "The general manager will have a final decision on whether they get to be a part of the program and then Martina's staff and my own will liaise with the RSPCA and they will come up and do a training package for those prisoners. "Their case notes have to be really good and I'll check their case notes on a regular basis." 'Getting that structure to a day is really important' Associate Professor Bartels says rehabilitation programs are important for correctional management, and that having animals inside may also benefit the whole facility. "It can be pet programs, music programs, literacy and mental health ... having programs in prisons is really, really vital, in terms of alleviating that boredom and giving them a sense of there's something they need to do in the day," she says. "It's also important for correctional management ... some of these inmates, it's the third or fourth generation where nobody's had a job. "They don't have a lived experience of, you get up in the morning, you get dressed and you go to work ... that normal structure to a day is missing. "Whether it's, OK, I've got my cognitive behavioural therapy at 10:00am and I will groom my dog at 12:00pm and then I have a yoga program at 3:00pm. "It might sound trivial but just getting that structure to a day is really important for the individuals, and for the correctional system, to help them develop a normal functioning approach to one's day. "Not just for those individual prisoners but for saying, look, it's calmer on the wings and there's a better environment as a by-product of that." Ms Cook says the foster program at the Brisbane Women's Correctional Centre has gone from strength to strength. "All of the staff have come on board, the prisoners have come on board, the management has come on board," she says. "It's been really good for everyone, all around — staff, prisoners, RSPCA, the community — it's benefitting everyone." Topics: prisons-and-punishment, law-crime-and-justice, human-interest, animals, brisbane-4000, wacol-4076 First posted |
On Monday, October 21st, Alan Forbes was attacked in the Lower Haight neighborhood of San Francisco. The attack left him with two skull fractures and damage to his right eye. As do a lot of artists, he has no insurance to cover the growing medical expenses. To help cover the medical expenses there are two benefit shows set up in San Francisco as well as other fundraisers. Each show will have silent auctions. Current contributors include: The Black Crowes, Queens of the Stone Age, AFI, the Melvins, Graveyard, Band of Horses, Norah Jones, The Jerry Garcia Estate, Eagle Rock Entertainment, Last Gasp Publishing, Hot Fog, Diesel Fuel Printing, Monolith Press, Bad Skulls, TRPS, Dr. No Effects Pedals, Deluxe Skateboard, The Fillmore, Bimbo’s, Great American Music Hall, Bottom of the Hill, Slims, Thee Parkside, Austin Psych Fest, and more. Current artist contributors include: Marco Almera, Ralph Bakshi, Tyler Stout, Matt Leunig, Neal Williams, Big Toe, COOP, Malleus, Arik Roper, Skinner, Junko Mizuno, Robert Bowen, Morning Breath, Decoder Ring Design, Marq Spusta, Mishka Westell, Bobby Dixon, Joe Triscari, Delano, John Howard, Jared Connor, Adam Pobiak, Gary Houston, Viral Graphics, Gregg Gordon, Stainboy, and more. In addition, Marq Spusta will be creating a benefit poster. If you would like to donate to the silent auction, please contact: info@secretserpents.com ————————— Monolith Press has donated printing for an art print: Poster orders can be made here: http://www.secretserpentsstore.com/servlet/the-1003/Alan-Forbes-benefit-art/Detail ————————— Jared Connor of Mexican Chocolate Design created a shirt design with an Alan Forbes piece and Bad Skulls has donated printing: Shirt pre-orders can be made here: http://www.secretserpentsstore.com/servlet/the-1008/Alan-Forbes-benefit-shirt/Detail ————————— Benefit shows: Date: Saturday, December 7th, 2013 Venue: The Make Out Room Door time: TBA Bands: Jello Biafra (DJ) Harderships (members of Earthless, Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound, Zen Guerrilla) Hot Lunch (Tee Pee Records) The Freeks (from OC) Ethan Miller (of Howlin Rain / Comets on Fire) plus special guests ————————— Date: Saturday, January 4th, 2014 Venue: Bottom of the Hill Door time: TBA Bands: Black Cobra (Southern Lord Records) Lecherous Gaze (Tee Pee Records) Kicker (Tank Crime Records) Pins of Light (Alternative Tentacles Records) plus special guests Advertisements Like this: Like Loading... Related |
White House press secretary Sean Spicer dodged questions Tuesday afternoon about President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and what Trump did or didn’t know about Kushner’s meetings last year with Russian officials. “Mr. Kushner’s attorney has said that Mr. Kushner has volunteered to share what he knows with Congress about the meetings,” Spicer told reporters during the daily press briefing. The Washington Post and other major outlets reported last week that Kushner and Russian officials discussed the possibility of opening up a secret channel for communications last year. But Spicer argued he could not address those claims because the stories were “unconfirmed” and based on “anonymous sources.” Yet just a few hours before the briefing, Trump himself tweeted out a Fox News story that had no named author and was based on anonymous sources, and that also confirmed such discussions took place. The Huffington Post The Fox story claimed that it was Russian officials, and not Kushner, who proposed a backchannel for communications between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. When asked whether the president’s tweet meant Trump acknowledged that the backchannel discussion had occurred, Spicer dodged again. “What I just said speaks for itself,” he answered. Fox News’ version of events, which it said came from one anonymous source “familiar with the matter,” contradicts numerous reports from news outlets including The New York Times and The Washington Post. Those reports said it was Kushner who first raised the possibility of a secret communications channel, an idea that the Russians ultimately rejected. Kushner’s meetings have attracted the attention of the FBI in its ongoing investigation into Russian efforts to disrupt the 2016 presidential election and potential contact between Trump campaign staff and Russian officials. Earlier this month, Trump reportedly retained a team of experienced Washington attorneys to help him navigate the ballooning investigations by the FBI and congressional committees, which have so far enveloped his former national security adviser, his son-in-law, numerous campaign officials, and as of late Tuesday morning, his longtime lawyer, Michael Cohen. Trump fired former FBI director James Comey in late April, a decision for which the White House and the president have offered a variety of conflicting justifications. Since then, the Department of Justice has named a special counsel and the investigation has continued. |
Posted 07 November 2011 - 17:39 FQMQ54 LFPW 070840 Weather bulletin on METAREA 3, METEO-FRANCE, Toulouse, Monday 7 November 2011 at 09 UTC. - Wind speed in BEAUFORT SCALE - Sea : Total significant. - Please be aware, wind gusts can be a further 40 percent stronger than the averages given here, and maximum waves may be up to twice the significant height. Part 1 : WARNING : 302. Part 2 : General synopsis, Monday 7 at 00 UTC Low 1003 over EAST OF CABRERA, moving northeastward, expected 1005 this evening over north of SARDAIGNE, expected 1008 over south of PROVENCE by 08/12 UTC. Associated strong thundersqualls with severe gusts. Part 3 : Forecasts to Tuesday 8 at 12 UTC EAST OF CABRERA : Decreasing Westerly 6 or 7, then 4 to 6 tomorrow morning. Severe gusts. Rough, locally very rough in east, decreasing at end. BALEARES : North or Northeast 6 or 7 in east, at times 8 at first, but Northwesterly 3 or 4 in west, becoming Westerly 3 or 4 everywhere overnight. Severe gusts. Moderate or rough, becoming slight or moderate. MINORQUE : Northerly 5 to 7, at times 8 in west at first, decreasing Westerly 4 to 6 at end. Severe gusts. Moderate or rough, becoming moderate. LION : North or Northeast 4 to 6, increasing Northerly 5 to 7 overnight. Gusts. Moderate, locally rough in far southeast. PROVENCE, West of LIGURE : Easterly 5 to 7, increasing 6 or 7 in the afternoon, at times 8. Severe gusts. Moderate or rough. East of LIGURE : East or Southeast 5 or 6. Gusts. Moderate or rough. CORSE : Easterly 4 or 5, increasing Southeast 6 or 7 from south in the evening, at times 8. Severe gusts. Moderate, becoming rough, locally very rough. SARDAIGNE : Cyclonic 5 to 7, at times Southeasterly 8, decreasing Westerly 4 to 6 at end. Severe gusts. Rough or very rough, temporarily high in south. MADDALENA, ELBE : South or Southeast 5 or 6, at times 7. Gusts. Moderate or rough. Weather bulletin on METAREA 3, METEO-FRANCE, - Please be aware, wind gusts can be a further 40 percent stronger than the averages given here, and maximum waves may be up to twice the significant height. ALBORAN : Westerly 5 or 6, decreasing 4 or 5 overnight. Moderate, becoming slight at end. PALOS : West or Southwest 4 to 6, decreasing 3 to 5 overnight. Moderate or rough, becoming slight or moderate. ALGER : West 6 or 7, at times 8, decreasing 5 or 6 in the evening. Severe gusts. Rough or very rough, temporarily high in east at first, becoming moderate tomorrow. WEST OF CABRERA : Westerly 3 to 5, locally 6 in far east at first. Moderate locally rough in east, becoming slight. ANNABA : West or Southwest 6 or 7, at times 8, decreasing 5 or 6 in the evening. Severe gusts. Rough or very rough, temporarily high at first, becoming moderate or rough. TUNISIE : Southerly 4 or 5, at times 6, veering Southwesterly 3 or 4 in the morning. Moderate or rough. CARBONARA : Southerly 4 to 6. Moderate or rough. LIPARI : Southerly 3 to 5. Moderate. CIRCEO : South or Southeast 4 to 6. Moderate, temporarily rough in far north. Part 4 : Outlook for next 24 hours : Cyclonic near gale or gale over north of basin. NNNN Meteo-France warnings.WOMQ50 LFPW 071618WARNING ON METAREA 3, METEO-FRANCEWARNING NR 303 , MONDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2011 AT 1615 UTCGENERAL SYNOPSIS, MONDAY 7 AT 12 UTC :LOW 1004 OVER SARDAIGNE, MOVING NORTHWARD, EXPECTED 1008 OVER SOUTHOF PROVENCE BY 8/12 UTC.PROVENCE, WEST OF LIGURE :CONTINUING TO 8/15 UTC AT LEAST.EASTERLY 8. SEVERE GUSTS.CORSE :FROM 8/03 UTC TO 8/12 UTC.SOUTH OR SOUTHEAST AT TIMES 8. SEVERE GUSTS.SARDAIGNE :CONTINUING TO 8/12 UTC.SOUTH OR SOUTHWEST LOCALLY 8. SEVERE GUSTS. SEA TEMPORARILY HIGH INSOUTH AT FIRST.ANNABA :CONTINUING TO 7/18 UTC.WEST OR SOUTHWEST AT TIMES 8. SEVERE GUSTS. SEA TEMPORARILY HIGH ATFIRST.=----- |
Updated Tuesday, Dec. 27 The Bills fired Rex Ryan and his brother Rob prior to the Bills' season finale against the Jets. On the face of it, this seems strange when you consider Ryan reportedly has three years remaining on his contract at $5.5 million a year and through one season and 15 games he was 15-16 — 8-8 last season and 7-8 today. Why is that awful enough to get fired? Normally it wouldn’t be, but Ryan is often his own worst enemy. This season will mark the Bills 17th straight without a trip to the playoffs, the longest drought in the NFL today. Only the Browns with 14 consecutive missed playoffs and the Rams with an even dozen have gone more than a decade without a visit to the postseason. This past summer, Ryan proclaimed his Bills playoff ready and announced anything less that the playoffs this year would be a failure. But that still isn’t enough on its own to get him canned. The Way We Hear It, Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula – who just bought the team early in the 2014 season and then saw their head coach, Doug Marrone, exercise an out in his contract following the season, forcing them to hire a new coach (Ryan) just a few months after taking over the club – have simply had enough of Ryan’s act. Ryan is exceedingly brash, arrogant and has never met a microphone or television camera he doesn’t like. Ironically, that is his coaching style. Off the record, he can be calm, polite, humble and quite pleasant, but it is reportedly his coaching style that has worn thin quickly with the Pegulas as they’ve assimilated to NFL ownership. It also has been reported in multiple outlets that Bills general manager Doug Whaley, who oversaw the hiring of Marrone and Ryan, is likely to stay and have a hand in hiring a third head coach, a rare opportunity for an NFL GM. Some have wondered why, since Whaley hasn’t exactly set the world on fire with the Bills' personnel decisions. We hear the answer may be because the Pegulas already know who their next head coach is going to be, and that is what is giving them some comfort in making the move on Ryan so quickly. Their guy may be more than capable of upgrading Whaley’s end of the operation as well or, if necessary, helping in the process of replacing him down the road. The Way We Hear It, the Pegulas have been in conversations for some time now with Tom Coughlin, and Coughlin is the front-runner to be the next head coach of the Bills following this season. Reports of the Bills owners’ interest in Coughlin date back to last summer, and our sources are telling us that conversations began again a few weeks ago and that the interest is mutual. Unlike some former head coaches of Coughlin’s stature who need to be persuaded, coerced and wined and dined to return to the sidelines, Coughlin can’t wait. We are told he will jump at the first top job that is offered, which may be why the Bills appear ready to move on from Ryan so quickly. While reports have surfaced of the Jacksonville Jaguars' interest in Coughlin, they are really as simple as general manager David Caldwell saying “the right thing” at a press conference discussing their head-coaching search. Coughlin was good but not great – 68-60, four playoffs in eight seasons – as the first-ever coach of the 1995 expansion team. He was fired after consecutive 6-10 seasons. Relatively new owner Shad Khan – he bought the Jaguars five years ago – will be hiring his third coach in five seasons. After missing on veteran Mike Mularkey and Gus Bradley, we hear he is unlikely to want to take the franchise back 15 seasons for a do-over with Coughlin considering his fairly young roster and Coughlin’s age (71 in August 2017). As we reported here last week, we continue to hear that Bucs defensive coordinator Mike Smith is the most likely fit in Jacksonville. Nonetheless, according to our sources, the Pegulas are sold on Coughlin. We hear they could move quickly the week after New Year's Day to put him in charge of their team. |
As President Obama last month launched a sweeping new national program to combat "climate change," including tens of billions of dollars in likely new subsidies for solar and wind power and bio-energy, a separate, groundbreaking study by the National Research Council has warned that those kinds of subsidies are virtually useless at quelling greenhouse gases . The study, which looks at the subsidies and other incentives embedded in U.S. federal tax law after the past several years of climate change initiatives, concludes that they have done little or nothing so far to cut U.S. contributions to global carbon emissions, and are unlikely to do much more before 2035, the project's research horizon. The two-year, $2 million probe was the first of its kind undertaken to examine the relationship between U.S. tax provisions, a key tool of U.S. climate change policy, and the actual reduction of greenhouse gases. The pioneering nature of the study itself speaks volumes about the murkiness of official knowledge concerning how well government can tweak the global thermostat by trying to radically reorient energy production and consumption in the U.S. economy. It was carried out by a 12-member National Academy of Sciences panel of economists, energy experts, environmentalists, tax specialists and climate scientists backed by consultants wielding powerful computerized economic models and a sizeable handful of National Academy of Sciences staff. After a survey of expert literature on the tax and subsidy topic, coupled with extensive customized computer modeling work, the study declared that "their combined impact is less than 1 percent of total U.S. emissions" over the next 25 years, and they are a lousy bargain to boot: "Very little if any GHG reductions are achieved at substantial cost with these provisions." So much so, in fact, that the study concluded "current tax expenditures and subsidies are a poor tool for reducing greenhouse gases and achieving climate-change objectives." They "achieve small reductions in GHG emissions and are costly per unit of emissions reduction." The full cost was something the study was unable to make entirely clear. It estimated that the federal government had spent some $48 billion in just the past two years on "tax expenditures"-meaning subsidies, credits, and other incentives -- related to the energy sector, and also noted that few were specifically enacted to reduce greenhouse gases. (Using figures released by the Obama Administration, the Washington-based Institute for Energy Research (IER) has compiled a more specific figure for subsidies aimed at encouraging wind, solar and bio-fuels: $32 billion over the past four years. Even after that financial infusion, IER cites Department of Energy Information statistics that show combined wind and solar projects made up just 3.6 percent of U.S. electrical power generation capacity in 2012.) CLICK HERE FOR THE STATISTICS A one-percent greenhouse gas reduction "doesn't get you very far," says William D., Nordhaus, a distinguished professor of economics at Yale University and chairman of the study committee. Perhaps as importantly, the probe underlined how little is yet known about the relationship between government tax-and-spend activity and actual climate change results, especially as government spending gets embedded in a growing thicket of regulations and initiatives created to solve different parts of the greenhouse gas puzzle, but all touted to achieve the same ends. Taking an attempt to overcome that lack of a comprehensive assessment of that tangle in climate change terms was a major aim of the study. "The energy sector is full of complex regulations and taxes, and when you put them together, they act in counter-intuitive ways," Nordhaus told Fox News. "I was surprised by a number of them myself." Among other things, Nordhaus pointed out, the study concludes that for some subsidies, notably for bio-fuels like ethanol, the net greenhouse effect has been negative. According to the study, "although it may seem obvious that subsidizing biofuels should reduce CO2 emissions because they rely on renewable resources rather than fossil fuels, many studies we reviewed found the opposite." Instead, "tax credits for biofuels encouraged the consumption of motor fuels because they lower prices, and this effect appears to offset any reduction in the GHG intensity of motor fuels that occurs because of the incentives to blend biofuels with gasoline." At the opposite end of the carbon suppression spectrum, the study found that subsidies that encourage drilling for oil and natural gas, especially depreciation allowances, have "virtually zero impact on emissions." In the case of natural gas - where immense discoveries through hydrological "fracking" are dramatically changing the U.S. energy profile -- "the complex substitution patterns among fuels lead to offsetting market forces and to a minimal impact on overall emissions." Attacks on subsidies for oil and gas production have been a staple at the White House and among many environmental organizations. The same ambiguities and complexities in the tax code make it likely to be even harder to predict the greenhouse gas results of additional billions in administration largesse -- past and future -- to encourage residential and office energy efficiency, as well as rural energy efficiency subsidies and other measures which figure large in the Administration's renewed climate change plans. In looking at the biggest of these spending areas, residential energy efficiency subsidies (about $3.2 billion in 2010 alone), the NRC study declared that "the best existing analytical tools are unable to determine in a reliable fashion" what the beneficial greenhouse impact actually is. So poor are the predictive tools, in fact, that the study committee warned against the formal tallying up - or "scoring," in Washington parlance - of the specific claimed impact of government tax actions on reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. "Much further work needs to be done before it can be accomplished routinely and reliably," the study concluded. CLICK HERE FOR THE STUDY The administration was still willing to take at least a few stabs at that kind of accuracy in its 21-page, largely schematic climate plan. In the course of setting new energy efficiency standards, the plan says, the measures for "appliances and federal buildings set in the first and second [administration] terms combined will reduce carbon pollution by at least 3 billion metric tons cumulatively by 2030." It also claims that "first-ever" fuel economy standards for heavy-duty trucks, buses and vans, saying that once they go into effect in 2014 they will cut greenhouse bases by "approximately 270 million metric tons" over four years. On the whole, however, the action plan focuses more on setting new targets for creating renewable power generation capacity, as well as taking credit for its old ones. "In 2012 the President set a goal to issue permits for 10 gigawatts of renewables on public lands by the end of the year," the action plan says. "The Department of the Interior achieved this goal ahead of schedule and the President has directed it to permit an additional 10 gigawatts by 2020." By way of comparison, that is equivalent to 40 solar generating facilities each producing 250 megaways of power each. (In fact, the Interior Department's ambitions are much bigger than that: all the permitting mentioned by Obama is part of a mammoth integrated solar development region sprawled across six south-western states, with significantly more capacity also available.) According to the National Research Council report, government subsidies for such renewable generation facilities amount to "between $2 and 3 billion per year," which are linked to benefits currently of about 0.3 percent of U.S. power-sector emissions. Those benefits, however, "increase over time, the report states." If anything, the president's plan calls for significantly more subsidies ahead. The Defense Department is committing to deploy about 3 gigawatts of solar, wind, biomass and geothermal energy on military installations by 2025. Federal agencies intend to install 100 megawatts of additional renewable capacity in federally subsidized housing by 2020. Among other things, the plan also calls for $7.9 billion in additional funding for advanced clean energy technology, a hike of about 30 percent. This includes investment in a range of energy technologies, from advanced biofuels to nuclear mini-reactors. Overall, according to the plan, "the federal government will consume 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020 - more than double the current goal of 7.5 percent." CLICK HERE FOR THE ACTION PLAN One certainty: anyone wishing to study further the efficiency and effectiveness of government subsidies - "tax expenditures" - for renewables will have plenty of fresh material to begin. George Russell is editor-at-large of Fox News and can be found on Twitter @GeorgeRussell. Click here for more stories by George Russell. |
Greetings True Christians! Today I am going to talk to you about the children’s Christmas show, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” The show is based on a book by the same title written by the sinful author Dr. Seuss, a heathen that regularly filled his stories with hidden sexual and satanic innuendos. Seuss tried to do the work of Satan and lead our children into sin through his writings, and if you don’t believe me, look at the following book: However, we’re not focusing on Dr. Seuss’ sinful ways in general tonight. Tonight we’re just talking about the Grinch, this text/cartoon that has been inspiring our children to accept communism and other non-Christian doctrines: First, the Grinch teaches our children to be racists. The Grinch offers a badly veiled portrayal of an African American man who tries to steal Christmas. When the Grinch is out to ruin Christmas and steal everyone’s stuff, he looks like a Black guy. The message is clear; Black people are thieves and we cannot trust them. This is unacceptable in today’s modern society. Here’s photographic proof that the Grinch is meant to be African American: Later in the cartoon, the Grinch shifts from trying to steal Christmas to wanting to give everyone’s stuff back. And when this happen, the Grinch turns into a white person. His eyes even turn BLUE! The subliminal message here is obvious; white people are trustworthy, black people are not. Here’s some more photographic proof: So this proves that the Grinch teaches racism. It also teaches us to ignore God! Not once does the Grinch mention Christ, or Jesus. It never even talks about Christianity or love! It teaches a commercialized, unChristian version of Christmas. There aren’t even Christian Christmas decorations or nativity scenes in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, just heathen smut. In this ungodly cartoon, Santa, not Jesus, comes to visit on Christmas. That’s a lie created by Satan, which is, notably, made up of the same letters as Satan: When the writers of the cartoon talk about the “true meaning” of Christmas, that meaning isn’t Jesus, or that Christ became man, or the gift of Christmas, but rather some communal communistic note about “we”. My guess is that Dr. Seuss was smoking cocaine with Jon and Yoko Ono Lennon when he came up with this one! Here are a few examples of communism in How the Grinch Stole Christmas: So we already have communism and racism in How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Not a good sign for a children’s show. Are there any other evils in this show? The answer is yes! How the Grinch Stole Christmas also reflects Darwinist ideology! Since the Darwinists can’t find a real crocoduck in nature, they create a dogodeer in this cartoon! See below: So our count is up to three, one for each member of the Trinity. In How the Grinch Stole Christmas, we have an unholy trinity of Darwinism, communism, and racism. Any other evils at work here? YES! How the Grinch Stole Christmas also has numerous portrayals of bestiality: Parents, keep your children and families away from this sinful show this Christmas season. Let us instead watch A Charlie Brown Christmas or other wholesome Christian Christmas specials this year, as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Let us keep Christ in Christmas and reject the atheists and others that would have us acknowledge “Holidays,” “Hannukah,” “Festivus,” “Kwanza,” or other non-Christian holidays this Christmas season. Jesus is the reason for the season, and let us remember Him. From your friends at http://www.creationsciencestudy.wordpress.com |
News in Science Massive galactic cloud survey begins Galactic gas Astronomers have begun the mammoth task of mapping the largest structures in the Milky Way galaxy, the giant molecular clouds where stars are born. The survey, led by Professor Michael Burton of the University of New South Wales, could answer long standing mysteries about how these clouds are created, and whether they're the missing source of high energy gamma rays. "One of the largest unresolved mysteries in galactic astronomy is how these giant, diffuse clouds form in the interstellar medium," says Burton. "These clouds are the centres of the galactic ecosystem. They play a key role in the cosmic life cycle of the birth and death of stars." Galactic clouds contain molecular hydrogen and other gases, the building blocks of new stars, at temperatures of just a few degrees above absolute zero (-273°C). Only gas at this temperature moves slowly enough to form the molecules that will eventually form new stars. In the Milky Way, a new star is born about once a year on average. Stars that die and explode enrich these clouds with new elements. Each of these clouds can be up to a hundred light years wide, covering vast expanses of interstellar space, and containing up to a million times the mass of the Sun. "But we don't yet have a clear view of where these molecular clouds lie," says Burton. "We're making a new map, scanning along the southern Milky Way galaxy at a higher resolution than has ever been seen before. We only have a fairly murky view of what it looks like at the moment." Cold molecular hydrogen is hard to detect, because it doesn't emit energy at such cold temperatures. So instead, Burton's team are looking for carbon monoxide, which does emit energy. "It is the second most abundant molecule and the easiest to see, so we can use it to trace where these clouds are located." says Burton To find these clouds, Burton's team is using the 22-metre Mopra millimetre wavelength radio telescope at Coonabarabran in outback New South Wales, which survived the devastating bushfires which ravaged the region earlier this year. "Despite being the most massive objects in our galaxy, it's still a big mystery as to how they [the clouds] come together," says Burton. "They must form out of atomic gas, but the process has been completely invisible." The dark side Burton's team will also be looking for "dark" galactic gas clouds, which contain very little carbon monoxide and which are thought to be mostly made up of molecular hydrogen. They'll use telescopes in Chile and at the South Pole to search for the presence of carbon atoms, rather than carbon molecules, a process Burton calls "following the galactic carbon trail". Dark clouds could be the missing source of gamma rays, produced when high-energy cosmic rays generated by extremely powerful events such as supernovae, collide with the nuclei of gas atoms or molecules. "The source of more than 30 per cent of gamma rays remains unidentified - another big mystery our research could throw light on," says Burton. "Telescopes have started to make the first maps of our galaxy in gamma rays, and it's turning out that these maps are looking roughly similar to the molecular cloud maps." "So there's clearly an association between the production of gamma rays and where the molecular clouds are," says Burton. "Part of what we are trying to do is understand what that association is." The results of the initial 'pilot' stage of the survey appears in the journal Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia. |
Mr Arja is believed to have been shot in the head and died at the scene. He was related to the wife of Ali Eid, a man who was fatally shot just a kilometre away three weeks ago. Police at the scene ... a man was killed in a shooting at Punchbowl. Credit:Peter Rae A friend of Mr Arja told Fairfax Media the victim had been at home, where he lived with his widow mother, Maleka Arja, when he received a telephone call to come outside. Mrs Arja told the friend that she yelled out to him "what's that sound?" and when she received no answer she went outside and saw him lying out the front of the house covered in blood. Detective Superintendent Michael McLean said the victim was known to police, but there was nothing in the initial investigation to suggest he had any gang affiliations or there were any links to recent shootings in the area, but that would form part of the ongoing investigation. "We know that the male was inside the house ... shortly before the incident and something certainly alerted him to go to the front of the property,’’ Superintendent McLean said. Police tape off Owen Street after the shooting. Credit:Peter Rae "Upon leaving the front door of his premises, that male was shot a number of times and unfortunately fatally wounded. "He was shot when he was entirely outside the front of his house, but certainly within the confines of the property." Mr Arja’s mother was among a number of relatives inside the home at the time of the shooting and police were planning to interview her. "The family’s deeply traumatised by this shooting," Superintendent McLean said. I heard 'Bang, bang, bang'. I didn’t really know what was going on. I thought maybe it was my Christmas lights exploding One of Mr Arja's sisters, who has been comforting her mother all morning, said: "He is a good boy, a humble boy". One cousin who lives on the same street said she heard eight gunshots. She said Mr Arja "loved kids". Witnesses said a number of rounds were shot at Mr Arja, and at least two people were seen running from the home. A large number of grieving relatives and friends rushed to the street last night, and friends took to Facebook to pay tribute to the 28-year-old. ‘‘Allah yerhamak," said one, which in Arabic means may Allah have mercy on your soul. ‘‘May the eyes of the cowards never sleep," the friend said. Mr Arja's distraught mother was still inside the house this morning with detectives while her sister and other family members waited at a road block. Cousins who have gathered at the scene said Mr Arja loved the water and was always taking his boat and jetski out. "Whenever the weather was good, he'd be out on the water," said a friend. His future brother-in-law's boat is still parked out the front of the house. Mr Arja owned a tobacconist shop in Punchbowl and worked long hours, family members said. "If you ask a favour of him, he'd always say yes, he's very kind," said one family member. A woman who lives opposite the house where the shooting occurred said she woke to three bangs, and initially thought it was her Christmas lights popping. "I heard 'Bang, bang, bang'. I didn’t really know what was going on," said the neighbour, who asked not to be identified. "I thought maybe it was my Christmas lights exploding. Then I heard the mum screaming and crying. People started coming outside, and they said there has been a shooting." The woman phoned triple-0, and later gave a statement to police. The long-time Punchbowl resident said she often waved to the victim's mother, who would sit out the front of her house, but she did not know the victim. "It is not a nice thing to happen here. I've lived here for 30 years, and I've never had a problem worrying about anything like this," she said. "It’s hard to explain, people going crazy killing each other." Superintendent McLean said the shooting was believed to be a targeted attack, and the public should not panic about random shootings. He said there was nothing to suggest the shooting was linked to the shooting of Ali Eid. In that shooting, Mr Eid, 38, a father of four, was doing the tiling work on his Lumeah Avenue, Punchbowl home with an electrician, Mohammed Hanouf, 34, on November 28 when two masked gunmen opened fire on them in a brazen daytime execution. Mr Eid died from three gunshot wounds and was found by police at the back of the property. Police said Mr Eid was a "cleanskin" with no known criminal history or links. Mr Hanouf, also a father, managed to stumble to the front of the house where he collapsed in front of shocked neighbours. He survived the shooting. Police also do not believe the latest fatal shooting is linked to separate drive-by shootings in Sydney on Tuesday. Several rounds of bullets were fired at a home and a car in Cherrybrook in north-west Sydney about 5.30am, police said. Meanwhile, a single gunshot was fired from a vehicle at a home in Milperra just before 2am on Tuesday, police said. Police also are investigating a report of a shot fired during an argument in Sydney’s north on Tuesday night. A witness said an argument occurred between a group of people in a unit block on Shadforth Street, Mosman about 10.50pm, which moved out onto the street. Loading A single gun shot was heard before the group fled. Police found no-one injured at the address. - with Lisa Davies |
Being productive requires focus and energy — and Add-ons! When you’re at school, at work or at home surfing the Web, these are the top six Firefox Add-ons that can help you get through your to-do list faster. 1. ReminderFox makes sure you remember all of your important dates via easy-to-use lists, alerts, and alarms, right in your browser without the need for a separate calendar program. Make sure to put “download ReminderFox” on your to-do list! 2. It’s easy to get distracted on the Web. Turn to Evernote Clearly to get focused. With one click, Clearly makes blog posts and articles clean and easy to read. It eliminates all distractions from your online reading experience, and even allows you to browse multi-page articles in one, seamless view. 3. Have you ever wanted your own personal assistant? Your wish is Zotero’s command! Zotero is like a personal research assistant inside your browser that helps you collect, manage, and cite your sources. It’s not just useful for school or work (for research papers or projects), but for hobbies as well. (like writing blog posts). Now you can focus freely Zotero keep track of who needs to be credited for what. 4. In a world of typing shortcuts like BRB or B4, it seems we may have forgotten how to spell. Let After the Deadline help you out with that. This Add-on uses artificial intelligence to check spelling, style, and grammar. Use it for things like checking your tweets or finding mistakes in your email. 5. If you love highlighting in books, you’ll enjoy Wired-Marker. It is a permanent highlighter that you use on Web pages. The highlighter, which comes in various colors and styles, is like electronic bookmark that serves as a guide when you revisit a Web page. 6. We all have those Web sites that encourage us to waste our time online (like looking at funny cat pictures!) When you need to hunker down and get things done, use LeechBlock. This Add-on is a simple productivity tool designed to block those time-wasting sites that can suck the life out of your working time. All you need to do is specify which sites to block and when to block them. These Add-ons are tops, but not all-inclusive. With thousands of Add-ons to choose from, you’re certain to find one that makes your Web life easier. |
Microsoft HoloLens is receiving overwhelmingly positive praise from press and social media, with one outlier in some reports: its Field of View (FOV). In this article, I discuss the implications of FOV, the challenges of designing devices for a wider FOV, a number of business use cases where real value exists at the current FOV, and UX techniques to help compensate for it. What is Field of View, or FOV? FOV is the total vertical and horizontal angle extending out from the eye within which you see the world. This visible world can be the physical world, a virtual world, or a combination of the two. The total unobstructed binocular field of view of a typical person (not wearing glasses) is 130-135° vertical and 200° horizontal. Devices such as eyeglasses, binoculars, virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) devices all generally restrict our natural field of view. All else being equal, we tend to desire the widest FOV possible for devices we choose to use, because it most closely matches our natural view of the world, lets us see more, and requires the least amount of mental adjustment. Although our full perception of our environment involves a wide natural FOV, in reality our brain focuses primarily on fovial vision which represents only 1.5-2° of our FOV, and secondarily on paracentral vision offering intermediate visual fidelity up to 8° of FOV. Visual acuity and color perception taper off rapidly beyond that. Basically anything beyond 8° is blurry, black & white, and most useful for detecting the motion of predators and other hazards. Experiencing a more limited FOV is a matter of mental and behavioral adjustment. The primary reasons a device such as HoloLens requires a period of adjustment are: It requires more head movement and less eye movement compared to unconstrained eyesight to keep our fovial (central) vision within the FOV of the holograms. Holograms clip within a smaller FOV than the overall visual field available when wearing the device. We're simply not used to objects "disappearing" before it encounters the edge of our visual field. The awkwardness of these two traits melt away after an adjustment period of learning to move your head more, building the missing mental context of your environment and grasping that holograms don't go all the way to the edges of your field of view. Well designed user experiences can help build and maintain helpful context of the virtual environment that extends all around you. Given current technological limitations, wider FOV comes at the expense of other tradeoffs. Two popular VR devices, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, offer a relatively wide FOV. For VR, this is key to creating the best possible fully immersive experience. Yet, offering this wide FOV in today's devices is typically at the expense of angular pixel density or other design compromises such as a cable tethering you to a powerful desktop PC. Angular pixel density is key consideration. This is the number of pixels per degree of FOV. A lower pixel density results in an effect commonly referred to as the "screen door" effect because you can discern each individual pixel as if looking at the world through the holes in a screen door, like this close-up shot of a digital screen: Unfortunately, seeing the individual pixels breaks the illusion of reality and presence. Lower pixel density also tends to make it more difficult to read text unless it is presented unnaturally large. For a tethered device, where a powerful desktop PC is providing the processing horsepower, pixel density is more a function of current display technology, cost and form factor, and less about available GPU power. For an untethered, full self-contained device, available GPU power, battery life and heat dissipation factor into the equation as well. Angular pixel density is an area where HoloLens shines. Its angular pixel density is higher than any other VR/MR device on the market and the benefits are obvious. There is no screen door effect, text is easy to read, and holographic objects can look real enough to be mistaken for actual physical objects. Choosing a particular target FOV when designing any optical device is a complex series of compromises between a variety of design choices such as battery capacity, battery life, form factor, heat management, cost, size, and weight. Any increase in FOV requires deeper compromises in other areas. Make it tethered, bigger, heavier and/or more expensive and any device manufacturer most assuredly can offer a larger FOV. There are some limitations of the physics of bending light that impact the widest FOV achievable with current waveguide technology, but ongoing technological and manufacturing innovations will most assuredly conquer those limitations. This limitation factors into cost and manufacturability. Here's an interesting Reddit article (with many links to other eye opening white papers) delving into this in more detail. As I try more of the emerging palette of VR and MR devices, my belief continues to strengthen that Microsoft found a critical, viable balance of all these considerations for HoloLens given the current state of technology. As the industry innovates in optics, rendering technology and manufacturing processes, I’m convinced FOV will continue to improve rather rapidly. Further, if I were told, for the next generation mixed reality device, that I had to pick between substantially improved GPU or greater FOV, I would choose better GPU. GPU performance would actually do more to improving the utility of HoloLens for business use cases than greater FOV, by allowing support for more complex 3D geometry. Thankfully, I suspect the next generation of devices will improve on both fronts. I pose that the most pertinent question today is this: “Can I solve real business problems and deliver tangible value with the current FOV, battery life, mobility and other design choices?” The answer is a resounding “Yes!” for HoloLens. High Value Use Cases We and our clients are consistently finding real business value with today's HoloLens. Some of the areas where it's easiest to find tangible value are: skills training – practice a skill requiring manual dexterity and spatial understanding such as surgery or machine repair, and receive real-time feedback both during training and after the fact. – practice a skill requiring manual dexterity and spatial understanding such as surgery or machine repair, and receive real-time feedback both during training and after the fact. scenario planning – review and plan a dangerous, expensive or otherwise difficult procedure beforehand in a virtual environment to identify concerns and improve chances of success. – review and plan a dangerous, expensive or otherwise difficult procedure beforehand in a virtual environment to identify concerns and improve chances of success. 3D FEA/simulation – experience 3D simulations of airflow, fluid dynamics, material stresses, mechanical systems and other normally invisible data. – experience 3D simulations of airflow, fluid dynamics, material stresses, mechanical systems and other normally invisible data. product design – visualize products in high fidelity and at true scale before they exist while avoiding the production of expensive and time consuming 3D prints, models or other props. – visualize products in high fidelity and at true scale before they exist while avoiding the production of expensive and time consuming 3D prints, models or other props. remote collaboration – collaborate with remote teams to discuss projects that are 3D in nature, where everyone views, manipulates, tags and discusses 3D models in 3D. – collaborate with remote teams to discuss projects that are 3D in nature, where everyone views, manipulates, tags and discusses 3D models in 3D. IoT – control intelligent systems throughout a physical environment. Visualize the analysis of collected telemetry data at the point in the controlled environment where the information is relevant. – control intelligent systems throughout a physical environment. Visualize the analysis of collected telemetry data at the point in the controlled environment where the information is relevant. physical space planning – visualize a space and/or its contents before it exists, such as retail store layouts, interior designs and events. – visualize a space and/or its contents before it exists, such as retail store layouts, interior designs and events. architecture – walk through architectural designs or modifications before they exist to accelerate design progress, or to help sell the vision before project sign off. – walk through architectural designs or modifications before they exist to accelerate design progress, or to help sell the vision before project sign off. assisted selling – visualize unique product features. Experience personalized products and product features where it is not feasible to stock all options in a retail venue. – visualize unique product features. Experience personalized products and product features where it is not feasible to stock all options in a retail venue. medical image analysis – visualize CT and MRI scans in 3D with the ability to see into the interior from any angle in real-time. – visualize CT and MRI scans in 3D with the ability to see into the interior from any angle in real-time. assisted manufacturing – for products that are highly customized and/or built in low quantities, provide guidance and feedback during the manufacturing process to increase quality, reduce errors and train personnel. – for products that are highly customized and/or built in low quantities, provide guidance and feedback during the manufacturing process to increase quality, reduce errors and train personnel. warehouse logistics – increase efficiency by guiding workers through optimized warehouse tasks with hands free access to all relevant information. – increase efficiency by guiding workers through optimized warehouse tasks with hands free access to all relevant information. data on a map – visualize any variety of geospatial data on maps in 3D, including animations of data changes over time. – visualize any variety of geospatial data on maps in 3D, including animations of data changes over time. big data analysis – offer an additional dimension of data visualization over 2D screens to aid in identifying patterns and gleaning insights. True stereoscopic vision provides faster and deeper insights compared to 2.5D (rotations of 3D models on a 2D screen). – offer an additional dimension of data visualization over 2D screens to aid in identifying patterns and gleaning insights. True stereoscopic vision provides faster and deeper insights compared to 2.5D (rotations of 3D models on a 2D screen). storytelling – tell the story of the company, brand, product or service using interactive 3D and spatial audio. This list of opportunities represents just the most obvious in this new era of mixed reality solutions. We expect many more to become evident over the next few years. FOV in Binoculars To give another perspective on FOV, consider binoculars. I dream of magical binoculars that are light, compact, high magnifying power, bright, and offer a really wide FOV. Unfortunately, there's a relationship between magnifying power, FOV, brightness, size and weight. The higher the magnifying power, the harder it is to also achieve a wide FOV without also increasing size and weight. Some people do choose to buy heavy, extra-wide-angle binoculars that are 2+ pounds and painful to wear around the neck. I have an amazing pair with electronic image stabilization that weigh almost 3 pounds and they make me smile when I use them, but more often than not, I actually choose to pack my compact binoculars on most trips. In the end, I find real value even with high-quality binoculars offering painfully small FOVs. The benefit is that they weigh only 12 oz and pack in the smallest of spaces. For many of us, a smaller FOV is actually the right choice to achieve the right balance of smaller size and weight. Lower weight and compactness trumps higher FOV. Like binoculars, any increase of the FOV of the HoloLens, given the current state of technology at the time, would have required a bigger, heavier and/or more expensive device. FOV in Eyeglasses Over the years, I've chosen to wear progressively smaller eyeglasses, largely from a perspective of style – I like how I look in them. Coincidentally, the FOV of my current glasses are about the same as HoloLens and I realized that I was already gladly choosing to view my world through a HoloLens-sized FOV for the sake of fashion. My progressive lenses further reduces my FOV, forcing me to look through specific zones of the lens for different focal distances, requiring me to move my head more to keep what I am looking at in the right zone of my progressive lenses. Honestly, to this day, this can be annoying, but I'm okay with the balance of choices. When choosing glasses with a smaller frame (ie. smaller FOV) than before, there's a real adjustment period of a few hours or even days before the brain accepts the new reality. After that, the limitation becomes increasingly invisible and out of consciousness. A side note – the adjustment to a device that constrains our FOV appears to be easier for those of us who wear eyeglasses. We're already accustomed to a smaller FOV. As a wearer of small progressive-lens eyeglasses, I move my head a lot more to experience my world than a person with 20/20 vision, yet I still find it a worthwhile compromise. Demoing HoloLens For demoing HoloLens, this adjustment period to a constrained FOV presents a challenge. Unfortunately, any 5 or 10 or even 30 minute demo is within that initial adjustment period before the FOV becomes normal to the brain. For some people, this can leave an initial sense of disappointment. That quickly vanishes within a few hours with the HoloLens. Once you adjust to the FOV, you begin to truly grasp the real value it offers. This adjustment period poses a genuine first impression challenge. When we demo HoloLens to prospective clients, we try to allocate at least an hour of relatively unsupervised time on the HoloLens. With that amount of time, almost everyone forgets about the FOV and leaves with an overwhelmingly positive impression of its value. I firmly believe that once a larger number of people experience HoloLens for more than an hour or two, that the popular opinion will be that HoloLens is an amazing experience that brings value to our lives, even at its current first-generation FOV. The reality is that after a few hours, or at most, days, the brain adjusts to whatever FOV we limit ourselves to, and it becomes normal for our brain. HoloLens UX Tricks With thoughtful application of a variety of UX methods, a UX designer can enhance the experience and accommodate design challenges that might be posed by the current FOV. Here are a few examples. Spatial audio – 3D spatial audio cues can let you know where something that wants attention exists in our surrounding even if not currently visible. – 3D spatial audio cues can let you know where something that wants attention exists in our surrounding even if not currently visible. Attention directors – Visual attention directors can appear within the FOV to subtly indicate the directions of points of interest and guide the use to them. – Visual attention directors can appear within the FOV to subtly indicate the directions of points of interest and guide the use to them. Menus – Tag-along menus can stay just out of your FOV, yet always be available with a slight head movement. – Tag-along menus can stay just out of your FOV, yet always be available with a slight head movement. Anchoring – Anchor objects in specific locations in your work environment so you can get back to them easily by simply remembering how you organize your space and where you put those holographic objects. – Anchor objects in specific locations in your work environment so you can get back to them easily by simply remembering how you organize your space and where you put those holographic objects. Start small – Start the experience with small objects that fit the FOV, then transition with visual cues to larger versions of the object so the wearer is properly oriented and has enough context to fill in the blanks of what can't be seen. We've found that thoughtful UX design can make a huge difference in usability and can make nearly any experience intuitive and informative. Conclusion Although greater FOV is desirable, it is not necessary for business applications to deliver tangible value with today's HoloLens. I prefer the other (perhaps not so obvious) benefits that a smaller FOV affords me. For HoloLens, I prefer that it's an untethered device with great battery life, and offers high resolution holograms with a strong sense of realism and presence. Food for thought. Michael Hoffman, Co-founder, Object Theory Twitter: m_the_hoff | LinkedIn: mthoffman | Web: objecttheory.com |
Advertisement Ever since the day that Grooveshark died The Day the Music Died: A Grooveshark Retrospective The Day the Music Died: A Grooveshark Retrospective Grooveshark is dead. But how did this infamous streaming piracy service stay alive so long? And what does its closure mean for users? Let's take an in-depth look. Read More , millions of music fans are feeling lost. Where should they discover new bands? It depends on what kind of music you want. If you want to listen to music from the big labels, you need to look into Spotify or Rdio Spotify vs. Rdio: A Complete Comparison Spotify vs. Rdio: A Complete Comparison I recently cancelled my Spotify Premium membership after a year of uninterrupted monthly payments to the company. This decision came about when I accidentally signed up for 14-days of free Rdio Unlimited. Quite frankly, I... Read More . But if you want to discover new, independent musicians you should check out SoundCloud and Bandcamp. We’ve made the argument that music lovers should all obsessively use SoundCloud Music Lovers: Why Aren't You Using SoundCloud? Music Lovers: Why Aren't You Using SoundCloud? Discovering a new artist, album or record label that corresponds with your tastes and expectations can be a rewarding experience. These golden discoveries can be few and far between and that’s where I turn to... Read More , which is in practice everything Grooveshark pretended to be: a site where independent artists can share their work and users can find a never ending supply of free music. Bandcamp is another site with tons of independent offerings, and it basically powered our Sound Sunday column of music giveaways for years. If you’re curious about the music all these sites might offer, but have no idea how to get started finding music you like, today’s Cool Websites and Apps has you covered. We’ve got five services that make it easier, or just better, to find and enjoy new music. Noise.Supply (Web): SoundCloud Powered, Ad-Free Alternative to Pandora We begin with an extremely simple way to start exploring SoundCloud. Find a song you like on SoundCloud – any song – and paste the URL into Noise Supply. You’ll hear that song, followed by similar music. It’s a really simple design right now, but creator Jackson Palmer (also behind DogeCoin) plans on adding a bunch of new features in the months to come, including a list of previous songs. I used this for an afternoon and enjoyed it a lot, give it a shot yourself if you want to discover new bands. Music Suggestions Ninja (Web): Generates YouTube Playlists of Recommended Music Another Pandora-esque tool, this one is powered by YouTube. Just type the name of any band or performer and Music Suggestions Ninja will create a YouTube playlist for you, full of artists it thinks you might enjoy. Here’s how the site’s creator summarizes Music Suggestions Ninja: Music Suggestions Ninja is not a music recommendation service. It offers no guarantee that the generated playlist is favorable or the best possible selection. Instead, like sampling the different sounds at a music festival, it collects music for your consideration and gives you the opportunity to explore Go ahead: do some exploring. QCast (Android, iOS, Chromecast): Collaborative Playlists For Parties Picking a playlist for a social gathering isn’t easy, especially if people have differing music tastes. QCast makes things easier for you by allowing everyone in the room with a smartphone to add tracks from Google Play Music or Spotify. Don’t worry about that crazy cousin who likes country, though: everyone at your party can down vote songs, and the host has veto power. Songhop (iOS): Tinder-Style Music Discovery [Broken Header Link Removed] Discover new music on your iPhone. Song hop doesn’t play full versions of songs, just short samples, meaning it’s less of an online radio station and more of a discovery service. The idea is to quickly listen to a bunch of music, then make a quick note of the songs you like. The familiar Tinder swipe mechanism is at work, and you just might find your next favorite band. Give it a shot. Spotifree/Blockify (Mac/Windows): Mute Ads in Spotify Spotify offers a free, ad-supported version of their service – meaning you can listen to all the music you want without paying. If you’d rather not hear the ads, though, Spotifree and Blockify can help. They’re not ad-blockers per se; instead, they mute Spotify’s volume while ads are playing. The ads still play, but instead of hearing them you get a few moments of quiet. Of course, some people think Spotify will make everyone pay The End of Free Music: Should Spotify Make Everyone Pay? The End of Free Music: Should Spotify Make Everyone Pay? Apple is trying for another revolution with the rumored launch of Apple Music, a music streaming service. But along the way, Apple might be trying to kill existing free music streaming services. Boo! Hiss! Read More soon enough, and apps like this aren’t going to help matters. If you like Spotify a lot, pay for it. How Do You Find New Music? We’ve outlined plenty of ways to discover new music online Top 10 Free Ways to Discover New Music Online Top 10 Free Ways to Discover New Music Online Read More over the years, but we’re always finding more. So we want to know: how do you find new music on the modern web? Let’s talk about the apps, sites and services you’ve found in the comments below. Image Credits: Electric guitar via Shutterstock |
TGSNT Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Posts: 585 Re: How Israel is 'cleansing' Palestinians from Greater Jerusalem Quote: whiteuser1 Originally Posted by They do nothing wrong by doing this. Israel is their home and the Palestinians are descents of invaders - technically "squatters". Every country and ethnicity has a right to their OWN people. What you said is counter to what National Socialism (Socially-Minded Nationalism) is and stands for, and Hitler being the embodiment of National Socialist Germany makes him the embodiment of National Socialism; Thus National Socialism disagrees with that statement as well; Seeing as National Socialism as an Organized Movement [pretty much] Died With Them (as did the German gov, they never surrendered officially So what does that say?), For Now. Refer to this: Adolf Hitler and the Army of Humanity - Full Documentary UNCENSORED - YouTube Adolf Hitler The Man Who Fought The Bank (TRUTH GONE VIRAL - New Version) - YouTube Adolf Hitler & The Army of Humanity - Leon Degrelle & The Walloonian Waffen SS WWII Documentary - YouTube Fight For The Führer, As He Did For You - YouTube The ALL-LIES pushed lies about German racism throughout the Arab world, but the Arabs laughed at such claims. German actions spoke much louder than Allied ZOG lies. Here is an important quote from a letter written by the Prime Minister of Iraq, Rashid Ali Al-Gaylani, to Germany's Dr. Walter Gross' Office of Racial Policy in October 1942: Quote: 'The Axis enemies in their propaganda state that the Germans consider the Arabs among the lower castes. In my capacity as the Premier of Iraq, I can give an assurance that the Arabs do not give this claim any importance after what they have seen and felt Germany's treatment and help to them. But as the enemy propaganda goes on repeating these lies, I should like to receive an answer from an official source regarding the German consideration of the Arab race. I should be very grateful to get from you a reply on the opinion of Germany on the subject.' Dr. Gross, a German physician who was head of the Office of Racial Policy for the NSDAP from 1933 until his suicide at the end of WWII, officially replied to Al-Gaylani as follows: Quote: 'In answer to your Excellency's letter of 17th October, 1942, I have the honor to give you the racial theory regarding the Arab caste. The racial policy has been adopted by Germany to safeguard the German people against the Jews who, biologically, are different from the Middle East races. Accordingly, Europe has been opposing Jews for decades. The Germans do not fight the Jews because they are Semitic or because they come from the East, but for their character, egoism and their hostility to society... while Germany forbids the entrance of the Jews into her territory, she welcomes all Arabs of Semitic origin and cares for them. The attitude of the Germans for the Arabs is that of respect. Not a single official German source ever stated that the Arabs originated from a lower caste. On the contrary, the racial theory of National Socialism considers the Arabs of a very high caste. The oppression of the Arabs of Palestine is being followed in Germany with great interest and Germany confirms the demands of the Arabs.' (Forced into Suicide to not have this happen to him - Another great historical fact to point out on this topic is an highly illuminating article written by Dr. Walter Gross, who, I remind you again because of its importance , was the head of the Office of Racial Policy for the NSDAP: National Socialist Racial Thought Quote: 'Most open to misinterpretation are National Socialist views on the relations between the various races of the world. It has been questioned whether the fundamental racial principles of the new world theory must not breed condescension, even contempt of people of different race. Quite the contrary; these very principles offer the very best guarantee for mutual tolerance and for the peaceful co-operation of all. We appreciate the fact that those of another race are different from us. This scientific truth is the basis, the justification and, at the same time, the obligation of every racial policy without which a restoration of Europe in our day is no longer practicable. Whether that other race is "better" or "worse" is not possible for us to judge. For this would demand that we transcend our own racial limitations for the duration of the verdict and take on a superhuman, even divine, attitude from which alone an "impersonal" verdict could be formed on the value or lack of such of the many living forms of inexhaustible Nature. But we of all people are too conscious of the inseparable ties of the blood and our own race to attempt to aspire to such an ultra-racial standpoint, even in the abstract. History, science and life itself tell us in a thousand ways that the human beings inhabiting the earth are anything but alike; that, moreover, the greater races are not only physically but especially spiritually and intellectually different from each other. Yesterday one passed this fact by, and in attempting to unify political, economic, cultural and religious standards for all nations of the earth, one was sinning against Nature, violating the natural attributes of various racial and national groups for the sake of a false principle. Today we bow to the racial differences existing in the world. We want every type of being to find that form of self-expression most fitted to its own particular requirements. The racial principles of National Socialism are, therefore, the surest guarantee for respecting the integrity of other nations. It is incompatible with our ideas to think of incorporating other nationalities in a Germany built up as a result of conquests, as they would always remain, because of their alien blood and spirit, a foreign body within the German State. Such foolhardy thoughts may be indulged in by a world which has as its goal economic power or purely territorial expansion of its frontiers, but never by a statesman thinking along organic, racial lines whose main care is the preservation of the greatness and along with it the essential unity of his people held together by the ties of blood relationship. For this reason, we have nothing in common with chauvinism and imperialism because we would extend to other races peopling the earth the same privileges we claim for ourselves: the right to fashion our lives and our own particular world according to the requirements of our own nature. And if National Socialism would wish to see the unrestricted mixing of blood avoided for the individual, there is nothing in this to suggest contempt. After all, we Germans ourselves, viewed ethnologically, are a mixture. The National Socialist demand is only that the claims of the blood and the laws of biology should be more closely observed in future. Here again our standpoint is not so very far removed from that of other people with a sound mental outlook. The American Immigration Laws, for instance, are based on definite racial discrimination. The Europeans and the inhabitants of India, the Pacific Islands, and so on, have instinctively held aloof from a mingling of the blood, and both sides genuinely regard any transgression as very bad form. Nevertheless, this natural attitude in no way detracts from the possibility of close co-operation and friendly interaction. And, speaking on behalf of the new Germany, let me once more emphasize: We do not wish our people to intermarry with those of alien race since through such mingling of the blood the best and characteristic qualities of both races are lost. But we will always have a ready welcome for any guests who wish to visit us whether of kindred or foreign civilization, and our racial views only lead us to a fuller appreciation of their essential peculiarities in the same way as we would want our own peculiarities respected.' - Dr. Walter Gross (Forced into Suicide to not have this happen to him - They've invested untold riches in hiding these Basic Facts Presented from us. They've hidden the fact that Europe was fighting for its very existence . Far from what they've shoved into our heads, Germany was not alone in this fight . Europe and the world knew what was at stake. Adolf Hitler defined it bes t, in a speech on January 30, 1942: Quote: 'Lord God, give us the strength that we may retain our liberty for our children and our children's children,not only for ourselves but also for the other peoples of Europe,for this is a war which we all wage, this time, not for our German people alone,it is a war for all of Europe and with it, in the long run, for all of mankind.' - Adolf Hitler (Forced into Suicide to not have this happen to him - Hitler's Muslim Waffen SS Nazis Praying Islamonazism - YouTube Was Adolf Hitler a Racist White Supremacist? - YouTube And maybe we should also consult National Socialist Freedom Fighter Julius Streicher as well, he was Holocausted after World War ZOG (WW2) by The Allied ZOG Forces of White Genocide, for speaking The Truth : The Key To Solving The Worldâs Problems - YouTube But... Your avi..... The Legend, The Leader, The Example-Setter, The Embodiment of Europa, The Movement to Save Europe & Unite Mankind, The Freedom Fighter, The Hero; Disagrees with your analysis of the subject. It's not me who says this, it's he himself who says this.What you said is counter to what National Socialism (Socially-Minded Nationalism) is and stands for, and Hitler being the embodiment of National Socialist Germany makes him the embodiment of National Socialism; Thus National Socialism disagrees with that statement as well; Seeing as National Socialism as an Organized Movement [pretty much] Died With Them (as did the German gov, they never surrendered officially So what does that say?), For Now.Refer to this:, toinwho was(Forced into Suicide to not have this happen to him - (C) Mourning the Ancient Another great historical fact to point out on this topic is an, who,, was(Forced into Suicide to not have this happen to him - (C) Mourning the Ancient that, in aon(Forced into Suicide to not have this happen to him - (C) Mourning the Ancient And maybe we should also consultas well, he wasafter World War ZOG (WW2) by, for Last edited by TGSNT; 12-03-2017 at 03:49 PM . |
Tucked away in this Sports Business Daily article about Fox's ongoing quest to amass an empire of regional sports networks is this nugget, concerning Fox's attempts to buy MASN, the network that broadcasts Orioles and Nationals games, from Orioles owner Peter Angelos: Fox's involvement in talks with MASN came at MLB's urging, sources said. MASN still is involved in a rights fee dispute with the Nationals. That dispute hasn't been resolved, though both parties met at MLB's New York offices last week. MLB hoped that a deal with Fox would solve the dispute. MASN and Fox have not met for several weeks, and no further talks are scheduled. Why is MLB encouraging Fox to buy up the baseball network? Because baseball is at the mercy of the existing local monopoly that Angelos holds over Baltimore and Washington. The rights-fee dispute, as the Washington Post has written, is about Angelos refusing to give the Nationals a bigger share of MASN's baseball revenue. The Nats, citing the exploding value of sports broadcast rights, have reportedly asked for $110 million a year in rights fees. Angelos has offered them $34 million. Angelos is in a position to screw the Nationals, as the Baltimore Sun writes, because the league specifically awarded him the power to do so: MASN formed when MLB wanted to move the Montreal Expos to D.C. Angelos pointed out how much that would hurt his market and eventually leveraged his complaint into a remarkable deal. He owns most of the network, and his decreasing share will eventually bottom out at 67 percent (it's currently at 87). Advertisement So now the Nationals, an up-and-coming young club, want more money to help keep their core together. And Angelos, the owner of a neighboring and competing franchise, doesn't feel like giving them more money. He agreed to accept the team's relocation to Washington in exchange for being granted control of a moneymaking machine—and now, in addition to merely making money, he can protect his own team's regional market share by putting the squeeze on the competition's revenue stream. In other words, Angelos got exactly what he negotiated for. And now the league is trying to get out of the deal through back channels, by "urging" Fox to buy their way out. But what can Fox offer that's more valuable than what Angelos already has? |
So-called enhanced buy-ins are gaining traction for defined-benefit pension plans which promise staff a pension based on salaries. A deal allows a pension plan to transfer the risk of people living longer than expected to an insurer. "We have found pension plans can save between 15-20 percent using an enhanced buy-in over a traditional insured approach," said Will Hale, director of corporate partnerships at pension provider Partnership, one of the few insurers quoting on enhanced buy-in transactions. Insurers are targeting pension schemes heavy with expensive executive pensions or those with about 300 members and liabilities of 30-50 million pounds ($48-$80 million) - usually made up of blue-collar workers - to try to weed out the unhealthy and bring down the cost of an insurance transfer deal. Pension plans ask members to answer a handful of questions requiring a 'Yes/No' response and to give permission for insurers to request a medical report from their doctor. Insurers may then underwrite the scheme, based on the health information volunteered by the employees. Hale said Partnership have quoted on more than 50 schemes. "We are hopeful we will complete the first deal in the next few months," he said. Currently, around 3-5 billion pounds of business per year is completed via traditional pension transfer deals under which liabilities are transferred to an insurer. Pension consultants expect 10 percent of that market could become enhanced annuities in the near future. Critics of enhanced buy-ins say the move will distort the marketplace and make it harder to insure healthy members of the scheme. "It creates a non-level playing field if one insurer has obtained far more information than other insurers", said Jay Shah, co-head of origination at Pension Insurance Corporation. "Traditional insurers are reluctant to quote on these transactions." |
Animorphs Audiobook: Let the Auditions Begin! Hi there! In case you missed the news, we’re launching an Animorphs Audiobook project! It’s been attempted a few times across the years by various groups but never completed, so we’d like to try our hand at it. In this post you’ll find links to the audition scenes, some (hopefully) helpful information, and the audition guidelines! We decided to cast each book as read by its main character, as opposed to finding a narrator and a separate voice for every line of dialogue. Audition Monologues: To audition: Please record each chapter and save it as an mp3 . Good programs for doing so are Audacity (which is free and works on both Mac and PC), or GarageBand (for Mac users). . Good programs for doing so are Audacity (which is free and works on both Mac and PC), or GarageBand (for Mac users). Please try and get as good-quality a recording as you can; there’s no way I can filter out background noise in post-production. Static and other computer issues will be all right for auditions, but if you’re chosen, you may want to invest in a better computer microphone! Please only audition if you’re willing to completely commit to reading all your books. Main characters will each be reading up to and over ten books; we will have a schedule so it’s not like you have to do them all in one day, and we can be flexible in unforeseen circumstances, but please don’t disappear halfway through! This project is slated to begin in January of 2014. Main characters will each be reading up to and over ten books; we will have a schedule so it’s not like you have to do them all in one day, and we can be flexible in unforeseen circumstances, but please don’t disappear halfway through! Send your completed audition to >> animorphs.audiobook@gmail.com <<. In the subject, please write your tumblr username and the character you’re auditioning for ( example : “fyanimorphs - Tobias”) . If you’re auditioning for more than one character, please send separate emails! (This is just to make it easy to find each character in my inbox.) I’ll reply to each one with a confirmation that I received it. <<. In the subject, please write your tumblr username and the character you’re auditioning for example . If you’re auditioning for more than one character, please send separate emails! (This is just to make it easy to find each character in my inbox.) I’ll reply to each one with a confirmation that I received it. If the file is too big to email (i.e., over 10mb), feel free to upload it to a media hosting service (sendspace, box, etc. - they’re free to use!) and then include the download link in the email. There’s no age limit here! Obviously there’s an age group that was catered to when the books were originally coming out (hello, fourth grade), but if you’re a young new fan or an old new fan, please don’t hesitate to join in on the fun. Obviously there’s an age group that was catered to when the books were originally coming out (hello, fourth grade), but if you’re a young new fan or an old new fan, please don’t hesitate to join in on the fun. Please list one or two characters you’d be willing to do as backups. You don’t necessarily have to send in an audition for them at this point– just send the one for the character you want– but just mention the others in the body of the email. If you don’t get cast as your number one choice, I may ask you later to record an audition for one of your backups. :) This is just to save time instead of me asking everyone individually if they have a backup, and it also helps ensure that every part gets covered. Deadline for submitting auditions: Tuesday, December 31st, 2013 (11:59pm EST) If you have any other ideas or ways to help, PLEASE let me know!! :D Seriously! I gladly welcome any and all suggestions and potential helpers. |
Monitor children’s height, weight and body mass index, their fitness levels, lifestyle and eating habits, doctors are urging parents and pediatricians in new Canadian guidelines on preventing childhood obesity. The recommendations – made by the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care – are the first update to childhood obesity guidelines in more than 20 years. The guidelines for youth, published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, follow the task force’s adult obesity report released in January. “Childhood obesity is complex – influenced by different parenting styles, family lifestyles and parents’ knowledge of what constitutes healthy growth,” Dr. Patricia Parkin, a SickKids Hospital doctor and chair of the child obesity guideline working group, said. READ MORE: Canadian task force issues new guidelines on treating adult obesity “Primary care doctors and other health care professionals play an important role in the battle against childhood obesity, which is a major health challenge in Canada. To be successful, we must involve the entire family and tailor solutions that meet their varied needs,” she explained. The task force is combing over recommendations for a string of guidelines – Pap tests for cervical cancer, breast cancer screening and chronic conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity. READ MORE: How this Danish doctor is battling childhood obesity around the world This time around, they zeroed in on childhood obesity. Their recommendations include: Growth monitoring (height, weight and body mass index) should be done for all children and youth under age 18 during visits to the family doctor For children aged 2 to 17 years who are overweight or obese, family doctors should offer or refer to structured behavioural programs aimed at achieving healthy growth. This includes exercise, healthy eating as well as counselling and other support Medication to treat weight loss should not be offered to children or youth who are overweight or obese Surgery for overweight and obese children and youth is also not recommended “Parents often underestimate their children’s weight, which is why continual growth monitoring by a health care provider is important,” Dr. Paula Brauer, another member of the working group, said. READ MORE: This anti-obesity ad may scare parents into stashing the junk food away “Children naturally gain weight as they grow – by regularly measuring and plotting a child’s growth, a physician or nurse can determine if the child is maintaining a healthy growth pattern or if he or she is at risk of being overweight or obese.” While the task force is calling for more studies into tackling childhood obesity, research on the contentious and incredibly relevant subject is far and wide. Plenty of research is pointing the finger at early childhood education and parents’ feeding habits as critical health factors. READ MORE: Your child’s weight in kindergarten could predict obesity later on Being overweight in childhood is often seen as a phase, a “baby fat” kids grow out of. But a study out earlier this year suggests that our weight by the time we enter school could predict our path into obesity as adults. Kids who are overweight in kindergarten are four times more likely to become obese by their eighth grade graduation than their normal-weight counterparts, a U.S. study that followed the health of 7,000 students suggests. READ MORE: Parents’ feeding habits may be increasing childhood obesity In another piece of research, U.S. scientists wagged their fingers at busy, multitasking parents who cut corners and adopted habits that they say may be contributing to obesity in their children later on in life. The study suggested that some parents may be feeding their babies fruit juice, or leaving them in front of the TV with a bottle propped up to his or her mouth, for example. The World Health Organization calls childhood obesity “one of the most serious public health challenges” of the 21st century. By 2013, the number of overweight children under the age of five was estimated to be more than 42 million. In 2007, Statistics Canada said 29 per cent of adolescents had unhealthy weights and if the trend continued, by 2040, up to 70 per cent of adults would be overweight or obese. In the U.S. the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pegs one in three kids as overweight. Read the task force’s full recommendations in the CMAJ here. carmen.chai@globalnews.ca Follow @Carmen_Chai |
If Delhi’s new designer vehicle registration plates are anything to go by, India seems to have become a part of the European Union (EU). Cars bearing number plates like those used in the scenic continent –with EU’s flag of twelve yellow stars arranged in a circle against a blue background – along with the acronym ‘IND’ beneath it are common these days. These ‘German Style’ plates, as they are called, are quite the rage, said plate makers and dealers in Karol Bagh — a hub of auto accessories and spare parts. For the price conscious, these stickers for number with the EU emblem are sold for for a Rs 50 per piece in Karol Bagh spares parts market. (HT Photo) “These are presently our best selling plates. Car owners like them because their cars look so foreign with these new number plates,” said Sonu Srivastav, who runs a registration-plate shop in Karol Bagh. The plates are sold at Rs 800 a piece. He said customers even replace their high-security registration plates ( HSRP) with the ‘German Style’ ones. Nikki Kumar, a wholesale dealer of the number plates in Karol Bagh, agreed. It constitutes 40% of his total business these days , he said. The trend of European Union-style number plates began about a year back. (HT Photo) Kumar, Srivastav and others, however, are unaware that twelve yellow stars arranged in a circle against a blue background is the emblem of the European Union. “This is just a new logo created by some Indian artist that has caught the fancy of car owners here,” Kumar said. He claimed the ‘German Style’ moniker was “because of their unique German fonts”. While Srivastav offers customers a variation with white stars instead of yellow, Kumar caters to the price conscious with his stickers of the EU emblem for Rs 50 per piece. The business has also gone online, with many Delhi-based manufacturers selling the plates on e-Bay for Rs 800-Rs 1,100. The ‘German Style’ plates, as they are called, are quite the rage in Delhi. (HT Photo) Vendor Rahul Kapur of JMD Designs said Delhi is his biggest market. “Most of my customers are in the 20- 30 age group. I ship about 50 German Style plates every day.” Youngsters want to make a style statement with customised number plates, he quipped. “Some even like to put their own name or that of their company below the circle of stars. I am not aware of these significance of the circle of stars, but people just love it.” But aren’t such number plates illegal and don’t customers get in trouble with the traffic police? “Not really. So far it has worked well in Delhi. It is just part of car accessorising,” said Kapur. First Published: Feb 28, 2016 07:40 IST |
KIEV: India was the biggest market for Ukrainian agriculture products in the first 10 month of 2017, importing 11.3 percent of exports in cash terms, Ukraine’s Agriculture Ministry said on Tuesday. Ukrainian agriculture exports were worth $14.7 billion in the 10 months to October, about 23 percent more than in the same period last year, the ministry said in a statement. Egypt was the second-largest importer, with a 7.5 percent share, and the Netherlands was the third, with 6.9 percent. The ministry said sunflower oil dominated Ukrainian agriculture exports in January-October, worth $3.6 billion. Ukraine also exported 15.6 million tonnes of maize for $2.4 billion and 14.2 million tonnes of wheat for $2.2 billion. Ukraine is among the world’s biggest exporters of sunflower oil, maize and wheat. Agriculture consultancy UkrAgroConsult said Ukrainian sunflower oil available for export was expected to fall 4 percent to 5.58 million tonnes in the 2017/18 season due to a smaller sunflower harvest. Ukraine has almost completed the 2017 sunseed harvest, threshing 11.9 million tonnes compared with 13.3 million tonnes in 2016. Sunflower oil exports in the first two months of this season set a record of 850,000 tonnes, up from 710,000 tonnes a year earlier. UkrAgroConsult said 334,000 tonnes of sunflower oil was exported to India in September-October against 206,000 tonnes in the same two months of 2016. Ukraine’s share of the Indian market rose by 10 percentage points to 39.4 percent. India is a key market for Ukrainian sunflower oil, taking about a third of exports. The EU takes about 29 percent, while 10 percent goes to China. |
In recently leaked emails, Colin Powell, former secretary of state, National Security advisor and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff wrote: “the whole birther movement was racist. That’s what the 99% believe. When Trump couldn’t keep that up he said he also wanted to see if the certificate (Obama’s birth certificate) noted that he was a Muslim.” Powell went on to describe Donald Trump as “a national disgrace and international pariah.” After President Obama has served in the White House for almost two terms, Donald Trump, one of the most visible voices in the birther movement in recent years, told The Washington Post he remains unwilling to say the president was born in the United States. Some day presidential historians and professors of psychology will write write at length—as virtually all reputable journalists do today—about the political dementia and bigotry that led some opponents of President Obama to spread the lies that the president is not an American and that he is Muslim and not Christian. Powell is right. Birtherism is racism. The lie that the president was not born in America was an attack on the legitimacy of America’s first black president. The lie that the president is a Muslim is a play for votes based on bigotry against Muslims and fear of Muslims—which is based on another lie, that Muslims as a group should be tarred as terrorists when the truth is the exact opposite. For the record, if President Obama was indeed a Muslim, there would be nothing wrong with that. Many Muslims serve courageously, wearing the uniform of our nation in the battle against terrorism. Many Muslims are gold star mothers and fathers who embody the highest patriotism of the nation, as Trump learned the hard way after some recent ill-fated comments he made. Virtually all American Muslims are patriotic Americans. It is astounding, absurd and nauseating to huge numbers of voters that anyone who aspires to the presidency could state that the president is not an American. Lets ignore the various statements offered by various Trump staff and supporters that the Republican nominee does indeed believe the two term president is an American. That is not what he said to The Washington Post this morning. Considering the timing and magnitude of Trump’s latest birther gaffe, and the damage it will do to his campaign, Trump will almost certainty, finally, admit after almost eight years of the Obama presidency that the president was, indeed, born in America and is, indeed, an American. Perhaps Trump will even admit that the president is, indeed, a Christian. But that is not enough. Trump owes President Obama an apology and a call for the entire birther movement to end the barrage of falsehoods that birthers have directed against the president. Trump should state unequivocally that he was wrong for the entire Obama presidency in refusing to accept the president’s American birth and apologize to the president and the nation about being so wrong about a matter so fundamental. Trump should call on all birthers to recognize the error of their ways and also offer their apologies to the president and the nation. Trump should apologize to every African American for the hurt and pain he inflicted with the falsehood he repeatedly told against the first black president whose election, rightfully, made them so proud. The man who prides himself about never apologizing, no matter how much he wrongly hurts those he falsely attacks, should also apologize to a list of people and groups he has wrongly offended that is so long it would not fit in a single column. Trump should apologize to Hispanics for wrongly suggesting that the Mexican government is “sending” rapists and criminals to America when the facts prove that most immigrants to America are not rapists or criminals. Trump should apologize to Sen. John McCain and all former American prisoners of war, who are national heroes in the eyes of most of us, for saying that he prefers troops who were never captured. Trump should apologize to every woman he has called a fat slob, bimbo or any other insulting name. Trump should apologize to every disabled American for his ghoulish and vile impersonation of a disabled New York Times reporter. Trump should apologize to Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen for insulting her with his ridiculous suggestion that she is keeping interest rates low to benefit President Obama, which no financial analyst believes. If he wants to call for higher interest rates he should do so in the presidential debates, not by making a transparently false representation insulting the chair of the Federal Reserve Board. Trump should apologize to Sen. Ted Cruz for suggesting the preposterous lie that his father was complicit in the assassination of President Kennedy. Trump should apologize to every courageous Russian fighting for democracy and a free press in Russia for his repeated praise of Russian strongman and dictator Vladimir Putin. Each of these offending Trump insults—and others on a list too long to fully state here—are alien to the tradition of American democracy, in a nation founded on the principle of mutual respect and a community of shared values. In the final analysis President Obama has triumphed over the birther lie that Trump worked years to spread. Obama’s popularity and favorable ratings tower over those for Trump and his fellow travelers in the birther movement. It is not enough for Trump to reluctantly and belatedly admit, because his latest birther gaffe could do fatal damage to his presidential campaign, that in the eighth year of Obama he will finally concede that the president is, in fact, an American. Donald J. Trump owes the president of the United States—and others he has wrongly offended—a full and unequivocal apology. Birtherism is racism. It should end today and never again rear its ugly face in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Disclosure: Donald Trump is the father-in-law of Jared Kushner, the publisher of Observer Media. |
Pete Tierney first met Penn State quarterback commit Jake Zembiec in 2014 at Aquinas Institute’s homecoming game. The two shared a picture, a few words and the opening coin toss and went on their own way. Tierney, who is months away from hitting 102 years old, had a big part in creating the football team at Aquinas, where Zembiec now attends, so he was excited about the chance to meet the local quarterback creating a ton of buzz around the community. In October, 1930, Tierney’s senior year of high school, he and some friends tried to form a football team at Aquinas. The group practiced, but had no scheduled games, no real coach and no uniforms. Tierney recalls that Johnny Sullivan, the freshmen coach at the University of Rochester, came down to help with some coaching and organize the team. “The goal was to find a local high school that had an open date that would arrange a game. They finally got one that had an open date, but hardly any of the guys had uniforms,” Tierney said. “We got a batch of uniforms from the University of Rochester freshmen, who used hand-me-downs from the varsity team. They were well worn, but they got pants and pads.” Since there was no stadium, the make shift team played its first game in an area where they held horse shows. The following year, Tierney, a running back and defensive back, went on to the University of Rochester to play on the freshmen team and Aquinas had its first formal team with uniforms and everything. All the history and stories Tierney was a part of interested Zembiec, so he decided to surprise his new friend with a visit. The ESPN 300 quarterback called Tierney to let him know he would come see him at his apartment, but because of his hearing, Tierney didn’t fully understand who was headed over to pay him a visit. “He called and I misunderstood who it was, so I thought it was an alumni who I had seen before. So when he showed at the door I was dumbfounded,” Tierney said. “I was overly impressed in what a fine young gentleman he was. There was no bravado, no reference to his athletic ability, it was just a great visit and I was more than grateful.” Brought my guy Pete Tierney a gift today ! Oldest living Aquinas alum..Almost 102 years old! Great opportunity for me pic.twitter.com/osCrvoPrZ2 — jake zembiec (@jakezembiec) August 12, 2015 Zembiec asked Tierney of his time at Aquinas and what it was like to be a part of creating a football team back in his day. The two spent over an hour together talking and building a friendship. Tierney appreciated the company and the visit itself, but Zembiec took away an important message. “He was just telling me to be thankful for everything because in his position he’s talking about losing his vision and hearing,” Zembiec said. “Health wise he’s doing awesome for 101 years old, but just be thankful for everything you get and don’t take anything for granted.” After their meeting at the homecoming game, Tierney had sent Zembiec a card and a gold coin to show how highly he thought of the Aquinas quarterback. So this time around Zembiec figured he would return the favor and bring a gift of his own in the form of an autographed picture of Zembiec in his Aquinas uniform. The picture and the meeting were just small gestures, but both meant quite a bit to Tierney, who easily recalls the days he was in Jake’s shoes over 80 years ago. To get to spend some time with a local athlete who plays on Friday nights because of the work Tierney and his friends put in back in the 1930’s was something very special to the Aquinas alum. “He gave me a beautiful picture, autographed with a very nice, personal note on it so I’m going to have it encased. It was a real treat for a guy my age,” he said. “The thing that got me the most was at the doorway, about to leave, Jake bent over and said he wanted to give me a hug and that really touched me.” |
LOUVAIN, Belgium ACROSS the developing world, millions of people are migrating from farms to cities in search of work. The migrants are mostly men. As a result, women are increasingly on the front lines of the fight to sustain family farms. But pervasive discrimination, gender stereotypes and women’s low social standing have frustrated these women’s rise out of poverty and hunger. Discrimination denies small-scale female farmers the same access men have to fertilizer, seeds, credit, membership in cooperatives and unions, and technical assistance. That deters potential productivity gains. But the biggest barriers don’t even have to do with farming — and yet they have a huge impact on food security. As sole or principal caregivers, women and girls often face a heavy burden of unremunerated household chores like cooking, cleaning, fetching water, collecting firewood and caring for the very young and the elderly. These uncompensated activities are equivalent to as much as 63 percent of gross domestic product in India and Tanzania. But they result in lost opportunities for women, who don’t have the time to attend classes, travel to markets to sell produce or do other activities to improve their economic prospects. To be sure, some female-headed farm households get remittances from absent men, but that is often not enough to compensate for the economic pressures they face. And we know that when women get more education and improve their social and economic standing, household spending on nutrition increases, child health outcomes improve and small farms become more productive. |
Some where surprised when it was revealed that the Eagles had signed Demetress Bell to a 5 year deal. Soon after it made more sense when it was reported that only the first year had guaranteed money. So what's the strategy here? I can see two main reasons. One, the Eagles have hedged themselves against Jason Peters' injury being worse than expected. Typically an Achilles rupture is a 9-12 month injury. So, by the start of 2013 he'll have had a year and a half and should be ready to go. Still, it is also an unpredictable injury, so if Peters is not ready to go Bell will still be here and signed. But if we look at the best case scenario, which is that Jason Peters comes back healthy next season, then what to do with Bell? The interesting thing about this deal is that if he starts and plays even league average level LT next season, he'll become a very valuable trade chip in 2013. 28 year old, starting caliber LTs are not plentiful in this league, it stands to reason that he would be in demand (again, should he stay healthy and play well.) The best part is, since the last four years of the deal have no guarantees, he can be traded with no cap penalty. Of course, the worst case scenario is that Bell can't stay healthy and/or struggles... but at least the Eagles can just cut him after this year. It's really one of those deals without much downside for the team. |
Opinion writer Ohio Gov. John Kasich is showing fellow Republicans how to respond to President Trump’s daily outrages and assaults on democracy. Too bad most of them aren’t paying attention — or are too nervous to depart from the example set by House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (complete acquiescence and self-debasement). Asked on Sunday about Roy Moore on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Kasich was emphatic: “I think he should step aside. If not, maybe you can get a write-in candidate. Lisa Murkowski did it in Alaska. She was elected. I think she’s urging somebody down there to do that.” He had no problem saying flat-out that “this is not acceptable.” Compare that with the response on “Face the Nation” from Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who sounded tethered to a mindless script: SCOTT: Well, certainly, the allegations are very, very strong. The denial was not as strong as the allegations. I think, if the allegations are true, there’s no doubt that he should step aside, and not for the party, but for the American people. We have to find a way to restore trust and confidence in our elected officials, in our government. And this goes in the wrong direction. JOHN DICKERSON: In this case, though, if the allegations are true, he’s denying them. How do you find proof? What seemed interesting about what Mitt Romney said and [Sens. Mike] Lee and [Steve] Daines have said is, they have looked at the case as presented by The Washington Post, and that was sufficient evidence for them. SCOTT: Yes, there’s no doubt that the case is compelling. The judge and the jury in this case will be the people of Alabama, the voters of Alabama. They will have an opportunity to weigh in very clearly and decisively and very shortly. DICKERSON: Do you — what’s your reaction to some of the supporters in Alabama, Republicans, who have said, even if this is true, they still support Moore? That’s the voters of Alabama having their say, but does that have any effect on the larger Republican Party? SCOTT: Well, certainly, I think the reality of it, the voters will be heard. Scott sounds as though he knows the women are telling the truth, but he cannot find the gumption to say so. Who will look like the more principled and decent leader in a possible 2020 run — Scott or Kasich? It’s not even close. Perhaps Kasich and a few daring Republicans have gotten through to leadership. The Associated Press reports that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) now says he believes the women and that Moore should step aside. Strenuously backing a write-in candidate and vowing to expel Moore would be an indication that the GOP finally grasps the gravity of the situation. McConnell’s statement now makes equivocators such as Scott look even worse. Kasich was also asked about Trump’s remarks in Asia, where he disparaged our intelligence services and put confidence in the word of Russian President Vladimir Putin. “I couldn’t believe it. I was sort of incredulous at what the president was saying,” Kasich said. “Now, apparently, he’s walked back his comments to some degree. There’s no question what Russia did. They Russia meddled in our election. They support a butcher over in Syria. They invaded Ukraine. I mean, the whole thing is just crazy.” He went on: “And, look, I just — I just don’t understand it. And I don’t know why he’s saying those things. I would just tell you that Putin is a — is a former KGB agent. This is not a guy you can trust or a guy you can really have any confidence in.” No “what-aboutism” and no claim that the reports of what Trump said were “fake news.” The GOP president sounds nutty — period. Who will sound more decisive and responsible — Kasich or someone like Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who was eager to side with the White House when it came to giving code-word intelligence to the Russians in the Oval Office, defended the firing of former FBI director James B. Comey (and played Trump’s defense attorney at the hearing) and has been a willing spinner for the White House? It’s not even close. Likewise, Kasich is ready to take on Trump’s deference to China (“You now have 11 countries agreeing that they’re going to get together and be involved in trade. You have China rising with their economic program, trying to influence the world, and we’re, like, coming home. We’re staying home. And it doesn’t make any sense, both from an economic point of view, but also from a geopolitical point of view. The United States matters. We need to have influence in the world.”) Who will sound like a more robust defender of American interests — Kasich or silent Republicans who would have been enraged if President Barack Obama had behaved as deferential to China’s president as Trump did on his trip? It’s not even close. Kasich is now considered some kind of liberal sellout by the right-wing media. In fact, he’s showing moral clarity and voicing traditional center-right views. (“Look, the Republican Party has just gotten smaller here, you know, [being] anti-trade, anti-immigrant, trying to take health care away from folks. This is not going to work.”) He recognizes that the GOP may be in the process of blowing itself up. “The millennials and the Gen Xers are going to equal the baby boomers in 2018. And the millennials and the Gen Xers are coming. They’re pro-environment, pro-trade, comfortable with America’s place in the world,” he said. He cautioned that if “the Democrats [are] moving farther and farther to the left, [and] the Republicans [are] worried about everything on the extreme right, playing to their base, if this continues, these — these millennials and Gen Xers are totally up for grabs.” That’s a good thing, he says. Whether or not the GOP implodes, who is going to look better in 2020 to the American people — Kasich or Tim Scott, Tom Cotton and the rest of the Trump enablers? The Ohio governor who wouldn’t endorse an unfit candidate in the 2016 race, or the GOP tribalists who made excuses for him? Will Kasich seem more prepared to lead, or will it be the people who wouldn’t defend our intelligence services against Trump, wouldn’t admonish the White House for being weak on Russia and China and wouldn’t reject a Senate candidate against whom there was ample evidence of child sexual predation? It’s not even close. |
Iraqi officials say that the United States is due to send 13,000 soldiers to Iraq, despite its claims of complete military withdrawal from the country. The vice president of the local council of Iraq’s Saladin Province made the announcement on Thursday, adding that the troops, along with their vehicles, would be stationed at the Speicher airfield in the city of Tikrit, located 140 kilometers (87 miles) northwest of the capital, Baghdad. Washington has already sent 1,600 troops to Iraq, most recently on September 10, when an additional 475 soldiers were deployed to the country. The US claims most of them serve as advisers to Iraqi and Kurdish forces or provide security for the US embassy and the international airport in the Iraqi capital. Washington has also been conducting airstrikes against the positions of the Takfiri ISIL militants in Iraq. The Iraqi official, meanwhile, confirmed that there are dozens of military advisors on the ground in the province. The deployment comes as US President Barack Obama said earlier this month that he would not pursue another ground war in Iraq after US troops’ pullout from the country in 2011. “As your commander in chief, I will not commit you and the rest of our armed forces to fighting another ground war in Iraq,” said Obama in a speech to troops at US Central Command headquarters in Florida on September 17. Senior religious and political figures in Iraq, including Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, have in recent days called on the Baghdad government not to rely on foreign powers in the battle against the ISIL. Political experts believe that the real objective of the so-called international coalition recently formed by Washington to fight ISIL is to expand the US military presence in the region. |
President Trump’s foray to Texas on Tuesday didn’t include stops in neighborhoods that were hardest hit by Hurricane Harvey. It focused more on the response, meetings with state officials and so on. There was one opportunity to address a small group of people in Corpus Christi, during which he praised the size of the crowd and held aloft a Texas flag. What Trump no doubt hoped to see in the aftermath of that visit was newspaper front pages that looked something like what the New York Daily News offered. There’s Trump, flag held aloft, the focus of the story. Sure the “heckuva job” line, evoking the failed response to Hurricane Katrina by the administration of George W. Bush, isn’t ideal, but generally, Trump’s visit resulted in a cover that he was no doubt happy to see. The New York Post, though, didn’t come through. No Trump at all! This from the tabloid that’s been a ready source of Trump news for decades, but on this day, the president didn’t even get a small photo anywhere on the cover. In fact, a survey of major newspapers from across the country shows that, for the most part, front-page coverage was dominated by photos and stories about the storm, playing down or ignoring Trump’s visit. When he appeared at all, the front-page coverage was a small picture of Trump accompanying a story mostly about something else. (Compilation of front pages via the Newseum) Of newspapers in the area hit by Harvey, only the Corpus Christi Caller-Times dedicated its full front page to the president’s visit — not unexpected, given that he visited the city itself. Trump will have a second bite at the apple, with another trip planned to Texas this weekend that his press secretary insisted would include meetings with evacuees. Just in time for the Sunday papers. |
Claim: Handles of shopping carts are laden with germs. Status: True. Origins: The invention of the shopping cart during the Dirty Thirties altered how consumers shopped for groceries by removing the weight of accumulated goods from the equation. Thanks to the new wheeled assistance, those looking to reprovision could shop longer and for greater quantities than in the days when prospective purchases were all toted by hand. But the newfangled gadgets also created yet another common field upon which harmful bacteria and viruses could be easily passed from one person to another, because the handles of shopping carts are grasped by a great many people day in and day out. And, of that horde of shoppers, some will undoubtedly be carrying some nasty bugs on their unwashed hands. Yet, just as we rarely think about giving our purses, briefcases, and backpacks a good scrub-down, so do shopping carts fly under our germ awareness radar. The very folks that fuss with disposable toilet seat covers often won’t think twice about manhandling a grocery cart around a store for half an hour, even though the surface they’re hanging onto so fiercely for that interval has likely been coughed on, sneezed on, and grasped by shoppers who’d just finished handling packages of raw chicken and meat, or who just weren’t the sort to wash their hands all that often. As for the fold-out child’s seat found in most carts, even though it is routinely graced by the diapered bottoms of infants, it remains the cart’s transport region of choice for fruits and vegetables, items that are often eaten uncooked or unwashed. According to a four-year study conducted by the University of Arizona’s Environmental Research Lab and sponsored by Clorox, grocery carts are veritable petri dishes teeming with human saliva, mucus, urine, fecal matter, as well as the blood and juices from raw meat. Swabs taken from the handles and child seats of 36 grocery carts in San Francisco, Chicago, Tucson, and Tampa showed these common surfaces to rank third on the list of nastiest public items to touch, with only playground equipment and the armrests on public transportation producing more disgusting results. In terms of playing host to germs and bacteria, the carts are far worse than public bathrooms, which at least are cleaned more often. Bacteria and viruses such as E.coli, staphylococcus, salmonella, and influenza can live on grocery carts, a sorry fact most shoppers are blissfully unaware of. There are efforts afoot to render these surfaces less germ-laden. In March 2007, a bill (A4109) was introduced into the New Jersey State Assembly calling for supermarkets to provide shoppers with sanitary wipes to clean off their carts. In February 2007, Arkansas passed its “Health-Conscious Shopper Act” (HB1040), which encourages businesses in that state to voluntarily provide consumers with sanitation wipes to use on the carts. Nice-Pak Products of Rockland County, New York, the company that enhanced your fried chicken eating experience with Wet-Naps, has devised a wipe specifically for use in sanitizing shopping cart handles and child seats. Its SaniCart is designed to remove salmonella, staphylococcus, and other germs from such surfaces. As of late 2005, more than 6,400 supermarkets were using them. Meanwhile, another system on the market focuses on cleaning the entire cart rather than just parts of it. PureCart is a sort of drive-through washer that sanitizes the whole contraption. It works by coating the carts with a safe mist of a peroxide-based disinfectant, the same solution used to clean dialysis machines and poultry processors. Critics of the various efforts to clean up the carts point out that a great many things routinely used by the public also harbor germs and viruses, therefore targeting the handles and child seats of shopping carts will not render the common world free of contagion. While it is true that which causes illness also lurks upon the latches of bathroom stall doors, elevator buttons, and stairwell handrails (to name just a few bacterial hot spots), those shared surfaces are generally handled relatively fleetingly compared to the interval the average person hangs onto the handle of a shopping cart or the length of time a leaky-diapered baby or a food item is left resting on the cart’s fold-out seat. Those looking for a less technological approach to staving off the nasties ferried about by their shopping buggies should attempt to fall into the habit of always washing their hands as soon as they return home from any retail foray and eschewing touching their faces or blowing their noses in the interim. In April 2007, the truth about the nasty state of shopping carts was bent to a hellish purpose when an e-mailed rumor about Hispanics polluting the wheeled conveyances with staph infections spread through Guntersville, Alabama. In that anonymous note, Dr. John Packard Jr., a local pediatrician, was falsely described as having advised a patient that her baby, along with twelve other children, had picked up the potentially deadly contagion from an infected cart at a local grocery store. The doctor was moreover reported to have said Hispanics had put it there, themselves being immune to that form of bacteria. Hispanics have no special immunity to staphylococcus. All the statements attributed to Dr. Packard were not his; they were the invention of the letter’s anonymous writer. As for the wave of illness that had supposedly felled thirteen children who had come into contact with the sickness-laden carts, Packard assured the community no such infection existed and that the alleged incidents never happened. Barbara “cart blanched” Mikkelson Additional Information: Shared surfaces most favored by germs: Household: Kitchen sponge, kitchen sink, toilet bowl, garbage can, refrigerator, bathroom doorknob. Kitchen sponge, kitchen sink, toilet bowl, garbage can, refrigerator, bathroom doorknob. Workplace: Phone receiver, desktop, keyboard, elevator button, toilet seat. Phone receiver, desktop, keyboard, elevator button, toilet seat. Outdoor/public surfaces: Playground equipment, escalator handrail, shopping-cart handle, picnic tables, portable toilet. Ten things more germ-laden than the average household toilet: Phone receiver Desktop Computer keyboard/mouse Doorknob Escalator handrail Elevator button ATM buttons Shopping cart handle Kitchen sink Subway turnstile Last updated: 29 May 2007 Sources: Crosby, Jackie. “Putting the Wash Before the Cart.” [Minneapolis] Star Tribune. 23 October 2006 (p. D3). Deam, Jenny. “Sanitized for Your Obsession?” The Denver Post. 19 September 2005 (p. F1). Doty, Cate. “Cleaner Shopping Carts Are Bill’s Goal.” The New York Times. 7 February 2007 (p. A11). Jones, George. “Staph E-mail Is a Local Hoax.” The Sand Mountain Reporter. 21 April 2007. Morley, Hugh. “Wiping Away Grocery Carts’ Health Hazards.” The [Bergen County] Record. 4 April 2007 (p. B3). Verdon, Joan. “What’s on a Shopping Cart Handle?” |
Stefanie Wright The last one Around since 1904 and reopened on Taylor Street this spring, Scafuri Bakery exudes cozy. The walls, hung with family photos, are a warm shade of ochre. Midcentury-style chairs clustered around a faux-wood Formica table could transport you to a nonna's kitchen. Visiting late one Sunday morning, we saw neighborhood ladies shopping, coffee drinkers in for a pick-me-up, a family making a pit stop for pizza, pans of focaccia-like Roman-style pies sold by the square ($3.50 and huge) or by the sheet ($12.95; order ahead). We, however, were there for baked goods, like a truly delightful almond croissant—the very last one, it turned out. Rich and satisfying, it was well worth $3.99, especially paired with a perfectly brewed iced coffee. My companion went for an equally good espresso brownie, dense with chunks of chocolate, doubling down with an iced mocha. There are other sweets to choose from: pies, pastries, decorated cakes, cannoli filled to order. Fresh breads range from Italian and whole-wheat to a loaf with figs, walnuts, fennel, and rosemary. Courtesy Scafuri Bakery A gamut Among the Italian specialties are biscotti, cuccidati (fig cookies), and pignoli (almond macaroons with pine nuts). Courtesy Scafuri Bakery Pignoli I was intrigued by the bomboloni, filled Italian doughnuts, and tried a couple with a filling of mild goat cheese and honey, a steal at $1.25 apiece. Another lure was a family recipe, a lemon-glazed loaf cake made with zucchini and olive oil (there's a whole spread of olive-oil cakes and recipes here). It's not exotic; in fact, it reminded me a bit of carrot cake. But like the place itself, it summons home—which is where we polished off it off later, a la mode. Stefanie Wright Olive-oil zucchini cake, from a Scafuri family recipe If you need more than that to tempt you, this Sunday, July 14, Scafuri Bakery hosts live jazz and swing dancing beginning at 11 AM; it's free. Courtesy Scafuri Bakery Lace-curtain Italian Scafuri Bakery, 1337 W. Taylor, 312-773-8881, scafuribakery.com; Sunday, Tuesday-Saturday 6 AM-3 PM |
CLOSE On May 29, 2016 the National Weather Service's Lubbock station posted on Facebook about a wall of dust that was approaching the city. The wall of dust is called a haboob, which is the same of a dust storm. USA TODAY US National Weather Service Lubbock, Texas posted a photo of an incoming haboob on Facebook. (Photo11: Facebook) Texas is used to sandstorms, but not haboobs. When the U.S. National Weather Service of Lubbock, Texas, posted a photo on Facebook saying “A Haboob is rapidly approaching the Lubbock airport and may affect the city as well,” people seemed more concerned with the term “haboob” than the incoming dust. Charyl Espeseth Price: This is The USA.. speak that way. You haboob. Sharla Southerland Hamil: In over 50 yrs of my life that had been a sand storm. We live in Texas which is in the US not the middle east Kathleen Barron: A haboob?? Curious word for the northwest😊😊 Two other comments, that have since been deleted ignited much of the conversation: John Fulbright: Haboob!?! I’m a Texan. Not a foreigner from Iraq or Afghanistan. They might have haboobs but around here in the Panhandle of TEXAS, we have Dust Storms. So would you mind stating it that way. I’ll find another weather service Brenda Daffern: In Texas, nimrod, this is called a sandstorm. We’ve had them for years! If you would like to move to the Middle East you can call this a haboob. While you reside here, call it a sandstorm. We Texans will appreciate you. A haboob is different than a sandstorm because it’s caused by strong thunderstorm winds and can lift dust as high as 5,000, according to AccuWeather. The name comes from the Arabic word habb, meaning, "wind." You might also see it spelled: bub, habub, haboub, hubbob and hubbub. Other social media users came to the rescue of the National Weather Service, citing other commonly used Arabic words and the Arabic number system. Many were ashamed of the conversation overall. Charles Russell: To all of you people complaining about a word. Do you all realize how stupid y'all look? I mean, the rest of the country and the world is laughing at y'all. Lmao stop getting offended over nothing. It's super annoying to the civilized world. We work too hard to make humanity modern and non-draconian to allow this sort of BS. Thanks. Another commenter had another bone to pick. Dustin Shomer: And somehow everyone missed the real assault on language. Why is "haboob" capitalized? It's not a proper noun!!! Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1WYXn0x |
It’s not news to say that rock ’n’ roll is a pretty dangerous lifestyle. From plane crashes, drug overdoses, murders, freak accidents, and even stage mishaps, it makes sense that many musicians contemplate their own premature demise a little more often than most folks. But some stars have had eerily specific visions that tragically came true. Whether in song, interviews, or just in conversations with their loved ones, rockers, rappers and more foretold their deaths with some truly chilling accuracy. Legends like John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Tupac Shakur and even Michael Jackson all appeared to have premonitions about how they’d meet their end. Fate or coincidence? Read their stories above and decide for yourself. Jimi Hendrix Embedded from www.youtube.com Before exploding onto the international music scene two years later, Jimi Hendrix recorded the song “The Ballad of Jimi” in 1965. “Dedicated to the memory of…Jimi,” the tune has haunted fans due to the fact that the guitar god appears to lay out his own tragic demise. “Many things he would try/For he knew soon he’d die” he sang. “Now Jimi’s gone, he’s not alone/His memory still lives on/Five years, this he said/He’s not gone, he’s just dead.” Five years later on September 18th 1970, Hendrix died of asphyxia related to drug overdose. John Lennon Embedded from www.youtube.com Former Beatle John Lennon took a break from the music industry in 1975 to care for his newborn son, but returned in 1980 to begin work on his album, Double Fantasy. One of the first songs he recorded was “Borrowed Time,” a title that proved prophetic. The lyrics showcased his “here and now” philosophy when he sang, “Living on borrowed time, without a thought for tomorrow.” The song would go unreleased until after his death on December 8th of that year, when he was shot in front of his apartment at Manhattan’s famous Dakota building by Mark David Chapman. Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Street Survivors 1977 LP album cover depicted the band happily smiling while being engulfed by flames. “Say you’ll be alright come tomorrow, but tomorrow might not be here for you/Angel of darkness upon you,” the band sing in “That Smell,” one of the album’s most popular songs. “The smell of death surrounds you.” On October 20th 1977, three days after the release of the album, the band’s plane crashed and killed frontman Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines, and others. Marc Bolan Embedded from www.youtube.com Glam rocker Marc Bolan’s fear of driving kept him from ever obtaining a license. Friends also claim that he fostered a life-long belief that he would never live to see 30. These two facts converged in a scary way when he died in a car accident on September 16th 1977, two weeks before his 30th birthday. Even stranger, the lyrics to his 1972 single “Solid Gold Easy Action” contain the lines, “Life is the same and it always will be/Easy as picking foxes from a tree.” The car in which he died had a license plate reading “FOX661L” when it crashed into a tree on the side of the road. Jim Morrison ”] Jim Morrison was out with his friends at the L. A. watering hole Barney’s Beanery in October 1970, mourning the recent death of fellow musician and friend, Janis Joplin. Jimi Hendrix had died just a few weeks before, and the morbid vibe hit the group hard -especially Morrison. “You’re drinking with number three,” his friends remember him saying, in reference to the recent deaths. “That’s right, number three.” On July 3rd 1971 he died under murky circumstances in Paris, becoming the third member of their rock star coterie to die in less than a year. Jeff Buckley Embedded from www.youtube.com Jeff Buckley eerily foreshadowed his death in the song “Dream Brother” in which he sang, “That dark angel he is shuffling in/Watching over them with his black feather wings unfurled/Asleep in the sand with the ocean washing over/Dream brother, dream brother, dream, dream.” “Dream asleep in the sand with the ocean washing over.” Buckley and his friends went to the Wolf River Harbor in Memphis on May 29th, 1997 to swim, where Buckley drowned under cloudy circumstances. He was fully dressed when he went in the water, which has caused some fans to speculate whether it was a suicide. Tupac Shakur Embedded from www.youtube.com In Tupac Shakur’s verse on Richie Rich’s “N-ggas Done Changed,” he raps, “I been shot and murdered, can tell you how it happened word for word.” In an unaired interview with Entertainment Weekly, when asked where he sees himself in ten years, he responds, “Best case, in a cemetery. Not in a cemetery. Sprinkled in ashes smoked by my homies. I mean, that’s the worse case.” Tupac was shot multiple times in a drive-by in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996, and died from his wounds six days later. True to his wishes, members of Tupac’s hip hop group Outlawz claim to have smoked his ashes. The verdict is still out on whether or not this actually happened, or whether or not he even died… By the end of his life ’Pac had taken to calling himself Makaveli, inspired by the Italian war strategist who believed in faking ones death in order to “fool their enemies.” Tupac was a big fan, and many fans hypothesize that he’s still alive today. Biggie Smalls The Notorious B.I.G.’s debut album Ready to Die also proved to be the last he issued while alive. The disc featured a song called ‘Suicidal Thoughts,’ in which Biggie raps, “I swear to God I feel like death is f—ing calling me.” Although he didn’t commit suicide, he was killed in an L.A. drive-by shooting just after midnight on March 9th 1997. His second album was released two weeks later, its title of Life After Death taking on a scary significance. Mikey Welsh Ex-Weezer bassist Mikey Welsh took the bold step of predicting his death over Twitter. In October 2011 he tweeted: “Dreamt I died in Chicago next weekend (heart attack in my sleep). Need to write my will today. Correction – the weekend after next.” Also, when posting the price of an art piece he was selling on Facebook, he offered the caveat, “If I am still alive at time of purchase. Price to increase exponentially if I expire prematurely.” He died due to a drug overdose in his Chicago hotel room exactly two weeks later on the exact day that the dream warned. Michael Jackson As opening night for Michael Jackson’s This Is It 50-date concert series rapidly approached, the King of Pop was increasingly uneasy and supposedly kept trying to reschedule the dates. According to Ian Halperin’s book Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson, the singer told a close confidante, “It’s not working out” and “I’m better off dead. I don’t have anywhere left to turn. I’m done.” This same member of MJ’s entourage also claims that just two hours before he died on June 25th 2009, Jackson was saying that he was “tired of living.” |
In “Risky business: The world is out of control, sociologist Ulrich Beck tells Stuart Jeffries” (Feb. 11, 2006), Jeffries, the Guardian’s feature writer and columnist, published his interview with Beck, a professor for sociology at the University of Munich whose lectures converges on sociology of risk, social inequalities, modernization theory and transformation of work. This 6 years old interview caught my attention and made me ponder if Beck is correct in thinking that atheism is one belief system among many. Jeffries wrote: On the controversial cartoons depicting Muhummad, Beck invoked the German philosopher Jürgen Habermas’s distinction between secular and post-secular societies. “The basic assumption of the secular society is that modernity overcomes religion. In this sense most continental European countries seem to exist as secular states, while Britain and America seem to be post-secular – they see atheism is only one of the belief systems and that religion still is an important voice of humanity.” The dialogue that followed, which I re-edit to capture the interview, left me pondering if atheism could be considered a belief system. Jeffries: Would you have published the cartoons? Beck: “No. It’s important to fight for freedom of speech, but it has to be related to principle. You can’t play with these freedoms. You have to be very careful not to hurt religious feelings.” Jeffries: Are you religious? Beck: “Not at all. Max Weber [the German sociologist] said he was unmusical when it comes to religion. I’m like that, too. But it’s important to understand that not everybody is going to be an atheist.” Jeffries: Was that assumption ever plausible? Beck: “It was the assumption of most social theory. All theory of modernity in sociology suggests that the more modernity there is, the less religion. In my theory we can realise that this is wrong: atheism is only one belief system among many.” Question: Is Beck correct in viewing atheism as one belief system among many? Give reasons |
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