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Kurds and Alevis, a moderate Islamic sect who make up 20 percent of Turkey's population, said they were demonstrating "for democracy, peace and freedom" and against sweeping purges by Turkish authorities since the failed July coup. Some held up pictures of jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan, detained since 1999 on the prison island of Imrali, off the coast of Istanbul. Others held portraits of Selahattin Demirtas, the young co-leader of the People's Democratic Party (HDP), arrested last week with several other members of the pro-Kurdish group accused by Erdogan of being a front for the PKK. Cologne police reported a group of young Kurdish troublemakers at the edge of the demonstration. "Flares were ignited by a few individuals. When police tried to prevent them, stones and other objects were thrown at them," said a police statement. One policeman suffered an injured hand and one protestor was detained, according to DPA. Germany is home to about 1 million Kurds, more than any other European country, as well as the world's largest Turkish diaspora community, and fears of tension between them on German soil are fuelled by Erdogan's repression. |
The database will store what a passenger ate, where they sat and whether they were flying on to another destination. The same data could be handed over to any other EU country in which the plane lands. That would include British tourists on package tours to Spain or travellers going to parts of Eastern Europe. The proposal will be enforced despite the Tories coming to power on a promise to row back the surveillance state. The new policy, once approved, means immigration and police authorities will be handed a variety of additional data including a passenger’s phone number and how they paid for their ticket, such as credit card details and billing addresses. The information can also be shared with other countries if it helps solve or prevent a crime or terrorist attack. But critics attacked the Government for signing up to a diktat that could see details of Britons handed around Europe without proper parliamentary scrutiny. Damian Green, the immigration minister, told the Commons yesterday that Britain would opt in to the EU directive on passenger name records. Bill Cash, the Tory chairman of the Commons European scrutiny committee, said: “There is certain concern about opting in on the hoof because these important negotiations are still going on. We will keep them closely under scrutiny.” Britain currently collects the data on a passenger’s passport, such as name, date of birth, country of birth and gender. Under the new EU wide power, airlines will be forced to hand over all the other information they collect — at least 19 extra pieces of data. It will be stored for up to five years. Details will be made anonymous after 30 days but approved individuals can read the information for crime or security purposes. The draft directive initially applied to flights in and out of Europe. Britain wants the power to apply to flights within Europe as well and has proposed an amendment as part of its deal to opt in. Mr Green said: “Opting in to this directive is good for our safety, good for our security and good for our citizens.” Stephen Booth, research director of Open Europe, said: 'Despite their tough rhetoric in opposition, Conservative ministers have handed over crime and justice powers to Brussels at an alarming rate.” Labour’s Emma Reynolds said the Government was right to opt in at the start of negotiations so that it could be at the “forefront” of the discussions. |
BOSTON — Conservative party leader hopeful and Bostonian Kevin O’Leary says that if elected Prime Minister, he promises to come back to Canada at least 4 times a year. “I hope to get more involved in the country during Shark Tank’s summer hiatus,” O’Leary told an audience of party members. O’Leary is best known as a television personality and venture capitalist, but enjoys a variety of eclectic hobbies like wine-tasting and running for Prime Minister of Canada. When asked why he thinks Canadians should vote for him considering he spends most of his time in the U.S. and has failed to attend several debates, O’Leary responded: “One of my children was born in Canada, and in the summer I go fishing there. You won’t find a prouder Canadian living in the state of Massachusetts than me.” “If I get elected to be Conservative leader, then yes, I know I will eventually have to visit the old-country, but until then, I really don’t see any reason to set foot in Canada. It’s so cold!”, commented O’Leary, speaking to reporters via Skype from his yacht off the coast of Miami. O’Leary’s Conservative opponents have pointed to the candidate’s frequent absenteeism as a sign that he doesn’t take the job of running for a major political party seriously, which O’Leary calls “nonsense.” “My main priorities right now are Shark Tank, O’Leary Financial Group, Wicked Good Cupcakes, Canada and Easy Daysies Magnets. Considering how much I have going on, ranking anywhere in the top 5 is really quite special.” |
Meet Granny – at 102, she is America’s oldest – and most adorable – schoolteacher. Agnes Zhelesnik, affectionately referred to by her preschool and elementary-aged pupils as “Granny,” has been teaching sewing and cooking classes at The Sundance School in North Plainfield, New Jersey, since she was 80. “In school here they call me granny, and I’m just a natural granny. I know that they love me!” the affectionate educator, who celebrates her 102nd birthday Tuesday, tells The 74 Million. New Jersey's Agnes 'Granny' Zhelesnik, one of America's oldest active teachers, turns 102 Tuesday Courtesy Heather Martino / The74Million.org Zhelesnik, who hand-sews aprons for all of her students, guarantees that some of her basic cooking and sewing tips will stay with her kids as they get older. “This is something that they’re going to use for the rest of their lives. They’re not going to have it just for today. You’ll be surprised how they are going to remember it when they get older,” she says to The 74 Million. Get push notifications with news, features and more. Although many elementary schools and middle schools have taken home economics out of their curriculums, the school’s principal W.J. O’Reilly says it’s important to teach kids practical things like sewing and cooking “in these times.” “Granny is a beam of light, this gentle strength and warmth that emanates from her at all times. We have this incredible opportunity to be in her presence and to be able to learn from her,” he tells the news site. O’Reilly adds that Zhelesnik herself is an inspiration and a lesson in humility and love. “There are messages in education. When I see her at nearly 102 with 3-year-olds and interacting in this way, I can’t even begin to understand the profundity of that kind of interaction,” he says. The beloved schoolteacher, who is driven to work every day by her daughter Agnes, recalls growing up in a simpler time, with less technological burden. “When I was a young girl, school was different – completely different,” Zhelesnik tells The 74 Million with a laugh. “We didn’t have the equipment they have today – computers, television, cameras. We didn’t even have an inside toilet!” • Need a little inspiration? Click here to subscribe to the Daily Smile Newsletter for uplifting, feel-good stories that brighten up your inbox. The loving educator adds, “When I was growing up it was a different life.” Zhelesnik, who doesn’t plan to retire anytime soon, says the secret to living a long, fulfilled life is very easy: “Just be happy with what you’re doing! My favorite part of teaching here is taking care of the children.” Go, Granny! |
141 SHARES Facebook Twitter Linkedin Reddit Sony’s new VR peripheral, the PSVR Aim, launches today alongside Farpoint, a sci-fi VR FPS that was specially made with the controller in mind. Those who have been PlayStation fans for many years will remember that this isn’t the first time the company has made a gun peripheral, and those prior attempts didn’t see much success. Can Farpoint and PSVR Aim avoid repeating history? Read on to find out. Farpoint Details: Official Site Developer: Impulse Gear Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment Available On: PlayStation Store (PlayStation VR ) Reviewed On: PlayStation VR + Aim on PS4 Pro Release Date: May, 16 2017 Gameplay Farpoint opens by introducing players to two astronaut scientists around which the game’s story will revolve. Meanwhile the player inhabits a male character who does a lot more shooting than talking. The opening sequence sets up the mission of the astronauts: study a strange space anomaly. And we all know what happens with strange space anomalies…. In this case it’s a destabilization of the anomaly which becomes a wormhole and sucks our two astronaut friends inside, along with the player who is piloting a shuttle that was on its way to pick them up. Oh, and the big space station they were stationed on gets pulled in too, presumably with all the crew on board. It all sounds pretty cliche (and it is), but actually it’s relatively well produced and the novelty of VR made it a pretty cool starting point for Farpoint. After getting sucked inside you’ll find yourself plummeting toward a planet of unknown origin, the alien life of which you’ll soon get to know pretty well. Ejecting in an escape pod let’s you survive the landing on the planet’s surface—which resembles a more rocky mars with some active volcanoes—and you’ll set off on foot to search for those missing astronauts, and any other survivors who might have been inside. Thank the person who decided to make sure the escape pods come equipped with an assault rifle—you’re gonna need it. As you wander forward looking for signs of wreckage and hopefully survivors, you’ll quickly come to find a holographic beacon of sorts which you can scan to reveal a short holographic recording. Such holographic recordings act as breadcrumbs of the game’s story to keep you trodding along. There will be lots of trodding; the vast majority of the game will involve you walking from one place to the next and battling enemies along the way. This continuous stick-based locomotion is a departure from most VR games today which use teleportation or another method (like being designed for no movement at all, like Job Simulator). The game doesn’t offer other methods for getting around, but the movement has been carefully designed to maintain comfort, and I was very surprised to find that it didn’t make me nauseous, even for play sessions of an hour or more. I talk more about the locomotion in the ‘Comfort’ section of the review below. Anyway… now that you’re walking along… you’ll find that the planet’s inhabitants are instantly hostile, you can tell by the way they like to scream as they fling themselves at your face; the first foes you met are nasty little spider monsters which will be very familiar to anyone who has fought Half-Life’s ‘headcrabs’, and though the face-sucker enemy is a well worn sci-fi trope, I can promise you that you will be afraid to see a writhing, screaming, basketball-sized spider-monster flying at your face. What I mean to say is that VR makes these enemies frightening at an instinctual level. Luckily your assault rifle (which has infinite ammo but can overheat) is up to the task. A holographic scope on top has a convincing look to it where the reticle will fade out if you aren’t looking straight down it. And look straight down it you will: there’s not a lot of hip-shooting in this game and you’ll be encouraged to make your shots count. Thankfully, wielding a two-handed gun like the assault rifle feels very natural with PSVR Aim. All the guns in the game are designed to make sure your virtual hands are placed roughly where they should be on the aim controller, offering a convincing sense of holding the weapons within the game world. This is backed up by the subtle detail of clicky-clacky sound effects when you move the gun around, as well as the faint creaking of your thick space suit. Although I was worried about the lack of a shoulder-rest on the Aim controller (meaning you need to hold the gun out in front of you with no support) I ultimately found the game very playable with its design, which seems to have been especially made to make it easy to get your head down to look through the weapons’ scopes without bumping the headset on the controller. This was achieved quite effectively as I don’t recall bumping my headset on the gun even once, and peering down the scope of each gun was easy. The weapon mechanics are well made. Weapons feel functional and utilitarian without being simple laser pointers of destruction. You can only hold two guns at a time; a gesture whereby you raise your weapon to the side of your head is a quick and immersive way to change between your two guns. You’ll find a standard set at first: assault rifle, shotgun, long rifle, and a few more interesting ones later in the game (though you’ll likely have at least one of the initial three because they are quite flexible). The assault rifle and shotgun each have secondary fire modes which shoot explosives (rocket for the assault rifle, grenade for the shotgun) which bumps up their utility. Since the guns feel so physical, I would have liked to find some upgrades here or there to improve them over time (maybe a better scope that I get to physically attach, or a larger clip, etc), alas the weapons remain static throughout the game. Opposite your weapons are a number of different different aliens. Early on it’s bug-type creatures you’re fighting which range in size from the little basketball-sized headcrabs I described earlier all the way to truck-sized chargers (and occasionally beyond). Each enemy attacks differently and is best dispatched using different weapons and different tactics. That means that if you’re battling say, a field full of headcrabs, you’ll want your shotgun handy. If it’s a field full of headcrabs and the mortar-style yellow-back beasts which lob giant projectiles at you, you’ll want your assault rifle to be able to shoot the incoming mortars and get range on their origin while also dispatching headcrabs. With several enemies types at play in one battle, you’ll need to be on the lookout for danger coming from the sky, ground, and sometimes even underground. Later in the game there’s a shift in the type of enemies you fight and things change fast. I don’t want to spoil much, but I can say that you will come to favor a different set of weapons and your foes will have significantly different tactics. Ultimately Farpoint has a well made combat sandbox of weapons and enemies; it’s fun to shoot and kill things, and often times fun (or more accurately, frightening) to be shot at. More than once I found myself involuntarily physically bracing for impact as I saw a mortar coming down on my head. And I’m telling you, the spider creatures flying at your face are as scary as they are satisfying to blow away with a shotgun as the last moment. The weapons are functional, but they always seem to leave the player feeling just a little bit underpowered compared to the threats at hand; this is reinforced by the sound design on the weapons that makes them feel further like they don’t pack that much punch. Occasionally you’ll briefly feel like you have the right tool for the job, but then the enemies will change things up and you’ll be right back to feeling like you’re just able to scrape by with what you got. That makes sense thematically for the game, but I think it would have improved the game to have occasional moments of significant firepower where you get to feel like for once you have the upper hand. So it’s a lot of relatively satisfying run-and-gun. Sadly there’s essentially no environmental interaction; you won’t push any buttons or pull any levels, or cause the environment to react in any significant way. In fact, there’s no reason to shoot at anything except for enemies, and the PSVR Aim exclusively takes the form of a gun. Intertwined with the gunplay is both the holographic recordings and more significant cutscenes involving the two astronauts from earlier who we find are alive but standed on the planet. Most of the game involves tracking the path of Eva, the female astronaut, to try to catch up to her so that you can regroup and form a survival and escape plan. Fairpoint’s single player campaign took me a little over five hours to complete. And while in the traditional world of gaming that’s on the shorter end of things, for VR it’s quite substantial. It’s tremendously refreshing to come to a climactic moment, which would easily be the end of some other VR game—many of which last for only one or two hours—and have the game actually keep going and the story continue to develop. The solid production values of Farpoint, along with its quality combat sandbox, and enough of a story to keep things moving along, make the game feel like one of the most complete single-player VR experiences on any platform to date, and surely a must-play for PSVR fans, so long as you’re into FPS gameplay. Immersion It seems almost silly, but simply holding a tracked-prop that roughly matches the objects you’re holding in VR can be a serious immersion booster. That’s exactly what the Aim controller does, and it also rumbles to offer some nice additional feedback. Wielding the game’s weapons feels very natural thanks to the Aim controller, and you’d be smart to keep those weapons held tight to the chest. Farpoint is downright challenging, and occasionally unforgiving. Every enemy in the game is potentially deadly, even the headcrabs (especially when you don’t thin their numbers sufficiently). Which leads to a constant sense of danger which immerses you deeply in the game. The game uses sound as a crucial signal to alert the player to enemies, and the positional audio feels very accurate. Because of the deadliness of the enemies, you’ll be on edge throughout; every creak and groan of the environment will perk your ears and make you swing in that direction with your weapon at the ready. Details large and small make Farpoint a very immersive game, though the strings of immersion are unfortunately regularly broken due to the tracking limitations of PSVR. The game is pushing the system’s tracking capabilities to its limits, and you will occasionally see those limits broken (more on this in the Comfort section). Impressive graphics and detailed sound design help to build a world around you, and so too do interesting and aggressive enemies. At one point in the game you’ll meet an enemy that shoots a high-powered instant-kill laser at you and you may find yourself recoiling in fear as it nearly skims your head. When it comes to small details, at one moment in the game I was confronted by a character at gunpoint who asked me a question. Although shaking your head yes or no was not a mechanic introduced anywhere in the game, I instinctively nodded to answer. It was ultimately a trivial moment, but I was delighted to find that it actually worked, and it definitely reinforced my belief in the world that I was standing in. Unfortunately, beyond a pretty environment and strong visual and audio details, the planet and its inhabitants felt somewhat hollow despite their deadliness. Sure, the enemies are fun to fight, but you never learn anything about them, or about the planet you’re on. The enemies are just… enemies. And the planet is just ground and obstacles for you to fight through. And while there’s some serviceable character development, the character you actually interact with is someone who you know little about (making it especially hard to infer their motivations), which makes the choice to spend so much time developing the other characters quite odd. Comfort I’ll come out of the gate and say that I am surprised to report that (for me) Farpoint was comfortable from start to finish. I say I’m surprised because continous stick-based locomotion is generally regarded as a bad design choice for moving players through virtual environments. The key, it seems, is relatively slow movement and no artificial turning. It’s abundantly clear that the game was made for comfort from the ground up. Throughout the game you’ll cover a lot of ground, but the entire world is designed such that you’re almost only ever walking directly forward or at 45± degrees off-center from forward. The direction you walk is thoughtfully determined by the direction of your controller rather than your head, which I liked immensely because it meant I could look off to the sides to admire the world (or scan for enemies) while walking in a different direction; the more technical among you will know this as ‘decoupled’ movement. By default, any artificial turning is disabled which might seem like an odd choice, but for the most part you can navigate the game entirely without artificial turning (and I would say this is actually recommended so that your forward position stays where the developers intended it). Turning around completely was clearly not meant to be part of the game, as the turning options just make for clumsy navigation; the only time you’ll feel the need to do so is when you’re occasionally falling back for cover or trying to kill an enemy that got behind you. The enemies are pretty clearly designed to come at you from the front and kindly wait until you are looking at them to attack you, which helps eliminate the need to turn around. I actually found it so awkward to turn around artificially that I preferred to simply walk backwards or physically turn at an extreme angle to walk backwards in most cases. And although it happens rarely, it’s still frustrating and discomforting to need to make large movements backwards in the game, not only because you don’t know exactly what’s behind you, but it’s just awkward to need to retreat at a diagonal (to your forward position) but be largely required to stay facing forward. The game isn’t very instructive as to how it expects players to stand or orient themselves to best play the game. I happen to understand the way the tracking works so I think I utilized the system mostly as intended, but not every player might understand how they are supposed to interact with the game, potentially leading to occlusions and frustration. Sony has made a big deal in its marketing of the PSVR Aim controller about the “precision,” but the irony is that, while the shape of the device offers a good platform for a VR weapon, it doesn’t feel any more precise than the Move controllers. And that makes sense as it’s fundamentally based on the same tracking tech. And while I’d venture to guess that there’s some improved IMUs inside the Aim controller compared to the 7 year old Move controller, it doesn’t seem to be helping. I’d say the Aim works reasonably well about 90% of the time. 8% of the time the virtual gun will drift several degrees in horizontal rotation compared to the real controller. The result is that the barrel of the virtual gun and the real controller are misaligned, which leads to the player needing to hold the gun at slightly awkward angles to compensate for the drift in the midst of combat. The remaining 2% of the time is prone to extreme drift where the gun rapidly drifts out of place and doesn’t stop: You’re supposed to be able to calibrate things by holding the Options button, but this didn’t seem to work for me and only ever resulted in a quick flash of a view showing the virtual PS camera and its bounds. It seemed at times like shaking or swinging your gun around could fix the drift, but other times didn’t seem to help at all. There were times when I wanted to quit and restart the game because of how much the drift was impacting my aiming. I will say that developer Impulse Gear has done an excellent job of designing a VR FPS around the limitations of PSVR’s tracking system, but even the very best content design can’t fix the underlying imprecision that feels only just good enough for serious VR gameplay. |
Dieters who go vegetarian not only lose weight more effectively than those on conventional low-calorie diets but also improve their metabolism by reducing muscle fat, a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition has found. Losing muscle fat improves glucose and lipid metabolism so this finding is particularly important for people with metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, says lead author, Dr. Hana Kahleová, Director of Clinical Research at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington DC. Seventy-four subjects with type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to follow either a vegetarian diet or a conventional anti-diabetic diet. The vegetarian diet consisted of vegetables, grains, legumes, fruits and nuts, with animal products limited to a maximum of one portion of low-fat yoghurt per day; the conventional diabetic diet followed the official recommendations of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). Both diets were restricted by 500 kilocalories per day compared to an isocaloric intake for each individual. The vegetarian diet was found to be almost twice as effective in reducing body weight, resulting in an average loss of 6.2kg compared to 3.2kg for the conventional diet. Using magnetic resonance imaging, Dr. Kahleová and colleagues then studied adipose (fat-storage) tissue in the subjects' thighs to see how the two different diets had affected subcutaneous, subfascial and intramuscular fat (that is, fat under the skin, on the surface of muscles and inside muscles). They found that both diets caused a similar reduction in subcutaneous fat. However, subfascial fat was only reduced in response to the vegetarian diet, and intramuscular fat was more greatly reduced by the vegetarian diet. This is important as increased subfascial fat in patients with type 2 diabetes has been associated with insulin resistance, so reducing it could have a beneficial effect on glucose metabolism. In addition, reducing intramuscular fat could help improve muscular strength and mobility, particularly in older people with diabetes. Dr. Kahleová said: "Vegetarian diets proved to be the most effective diets for weight loss. However, we also showed that a vegetarian diet is much more effective at reducing muscle fat, thus improving metabolism. This finding is important for people who are trying to lose weight, including those suffering from metabolic syndrome and/or type 2 diabetes. But it is also relevant to anyone who takes their weight management seriously and wants to stay lean and healthy." |
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, shook hands for the first time before their much-anticipated meeting in Hamburg. Syria, Ukraine, and North Korea are among the potential talking points. FIRST IMAGES: Putin and Trump shake hands at #G20 Summit in Hamburg https://t.co/PPooXMzWDP pic.twitter.com/EmCzvTlg2e — RT (@RT_com) July 7, 2017 As the G20 summit kicked off in Germany, the leaders had their first short contact, shaking hands and confirming the upcoming full-fledged meeting. Donald Trump announced the meeting over Twitter, while Putin’s spokesman provided confirmation. “They shook hands and said that soon they will hold a separate meeting, that they will see each other soon,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/883229754077392896 The Kremlin has said that it will not be a brief contact on the sidelines, but “a full-fledged ‘sit down’ meeting.” Previously, the leaders spoke only by phone. In the lead up to the meeting, Moscow and Washington have voiced some of their expectations. The Kremlin sees the event as an opportunity to “establish a working dialogue” between Putin and Trump, which is vital for resolving “a critical mass of conflicts and problems,” according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. He also said that the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine and the ways of resolving them may be discussed, among other issues, in the first meeting between the two leaders. The US State Department also outlined its vision for resolving the conflict in Syria ahead of the July 7 event. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that Washington is ready “to explore the possibility of establishing with Russia joint mechanisms for ensuring stability, including no-fly zones.” In response, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow is awaiting clarification on the no-fly zones mentioned by Tillerson. He also stated that Russian proposals on Syria were presented to the Americans in spring in preparation for the first contact between the leaders. There is also the North Korean issue, which Moscow and the US have different approaches to. At a UN Security Council (UNSC) meeting over Pyongyang’s recent missile launch, the US delegation urged the implementation of new sanctions against North Korea, while Moscow called on the UNSC member states to follow a joint Russia-China initiative which envisages a halt to joint US South-Korean drills in exchange for North Korea freezing its nuclear weapons programs. US President Donald Trump pledged during his visit to Poland on Thursday that the North will face repercussions over its “dangerous” behavior. Just one day ahead of the G20 summit and the long-awaited meeting, Trump visited Warsaw, where an agreement on delivering American Patriot missile defense systems to Poland was signed. The systems are to be delivered by 2022. During his short visit, Trump also stated that Washington is working with NATO ally Poland to deal with Russia’s “destabilizing behavior.” The Trump-Putin meeting is grabbing attention in light of the worsening Russia-US relations, which are currently “at the zero mark,” according to Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov. Meanwhile, the US is still investigating alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US election. Moscow has consistently dismissed the accusations as baseless. |
An Austrian man, who was previously sentenced to drug treatment, ordered narcotics from the dark web during his therapy. As the customs authorities discovered that the packages contained drugs, they stopped them at the border offices. Law enforcement reported that the parcels contained heroin and amphetamine. Since the suspect violated the conditions imposed by the court, he was sentenced to prison. During his court trial, the previously convicted 25-year-old man from Purkersdorf, Lower Austria, Austria begged the judge for another chance. The defendant stated that he already had “enough chances” but if his life does not get under control, “everything’s over”. The St. Pölten court, instead of a prison sentence, ordered the man to participate in a drug treatment therapy. However, the 25-year-old couldn’t resist the temptation and ordered narcotics from the dark web while he was being treated at a patient center for drug addicts. “I know I’ve had enough chances. But I still ask for one more. Because if I do not manage my life now, everything is over,” the defendant said during his court trial. According to the court records, the 25-year-old was standing before the St. Pölten court since he placed two orders for narcotics at the dark web while he was in therapy. However, the customs officers identified that the parcels were containing narcotics. One package, containing 50 grams of heroin, was caught at the Vienna Schwechat airport while the other parcel, which was also stopped by the Austrian customs, contained 50 grams of amphetamine. Both of the packages, especially the one with the 50 grams of heroin, contained large amounts of narcotics. It is unknown whether the defendant sought to resell some of the drugs to local customers or he purchased all for his own use. However, investigators suspected that the man was also selling a portion of the drugs. During the 25-year-old’s court trial, the prosecution highlighted the fact that the defendant ordered the drugs while he was being treated. Furthermore, the judge stated that law enforcement authorities suspected that the defendant ordered large amounts of drugs since he wanted to resell a portion of the substances to other inmates who were also on treatment. The 25-year-old regretted his actions and admitted to the judge that he was using ketamine since he heard it could not be discovered during a drug test. Since the 25-year-old breached the conditions, which were previously imposed by the court, the judge sentenced the defendant to 18 months in prison with 11 months already imposed conditionally. According to the court documents, the previous sentence of the court will be revoked, however, this is not legally binding. Since it was not clear whether the 25-year-old is eligible for another drug treatment, the judge ordered an evaluation by a psychiatrist to decide whether the defendant is willing to participate in a drug treatment program. |
Looking for news you can trust? Subscribe to our free newsletters. Update (3/18/2013): The US State Department confirms that Bosco Ntaganda has turned himself in to the US Embassy in Kigali, Rwanda. After entering the embassy, the wanted warlord requested a transfer to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. “We are working to facilitate the requests Ntaganda has made,” a State Department spokesperson tells Mother Jones. Bosco Ntaganda loves a dinner party. Hell, even a brunch party. And pretty much any time of day is perfect at Le Chalet, Goma’s premier restaurant, where the inside is all slate floors and licheche-wood furniture and Latin jazz, and outside tables dot a manicured lawn that slopes down to Lake Kivu. It has what may be the best selection of booze—Blue Label, pastis, whatever you like—in this provincial capital in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The chicken samosas in curry sauce with pineapple are delightful. And Bosco, a man about town who owns the bar Kivu Light and the Bunyole cheesery, is a fixture here, enough that the first time I walk in, someone says casually, “Oh! You just missed Bosco.” That’s why one Congolese driver told me he couldn’t take me around Goma because he would be killed the moment I left. That’s why my Congolese sources stay out of nice restaurants, stay out of the city if they can, and when they have to flee the country, they don’t tell their families where they’ve gone or why. That’s why one guy I meet wears a light disguise whenever he goes out (“Oh hey!” an old friend says after initially walking right past him. “I didn’t recognize you!”): Because recently, Bosco tried to kill him. That’s not included in the official indictment against Bosco. The warrant (PDF) the International Criminal Court issued for his arrest on August 22, 2006, charged him only with the war crimes of enlisting, conscripting, and using child soldiers back when he was head of military operations for a rebel militia in the early 2000s. These days, he’s technically legit, wearing the uniform of a general in the national Congolese army. In 2009, a peace deal (PDF) between Congo and Rwanda folded in the Rwandan-backed Congolese militia he headed, the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), which frankly was kicking the national army’s ass. Both before and since, the ICC and the United Nations and watchdogs like Human Rights Watch have continued to catalog further atrocities he’s alleged to have ordered or participated in: 800 civilians massacred in one town in the Ituri district in 2002; 150 civilians massacred in North Kivu province in 2008; ongoing assassinations and disappearances; ongoing conscription of child soldiers, the very crime he was indicted for. Etcetera. His last day in Goma, the filmmaker pushed the furniture in his hotel room up against the door, passing the night barricaded behind it, with his eyes wide open and a knife in his hand. And that’s why everyone in this dusty, volcano-fringed capital (PDF) talks like spies. “It’s probably best you keep your voice down everywhere all the time while you’re here,” an American aid worker says the moment we meet. “They have people working everywhere,” a Congolese guy tells me, specifically referring to waiters who eavesdrop at bars, saying that when they do you can’t leave because it will look suspicious, so you have to always pretend like you don’t suspect them, so they won’t in turn suspect you. Ex-CNDP soldiers loyal to Bosco are armed and prevalent, in this town of 500,000 and beyond. Consider: This year, when Bosco was implicated in selling $20 million in gold for $7 million in cash to a shady Texas diamond dealer, a Frenchman, and two Nigerians, the regional military spokesperson said it looked like Bosco was smuggling, but really he was just pretending to smuggle to thwart the smugglers. It’s all part of the reason why you’ve never heard of Bosco, why detailed stories about atrocity-witnessing and near escapes and car chases can’t be told for the sake of protecting sources. You wouldn’t believe the opening we had to cut from this piece. It was about a guy who wanted to tell his story to the world in hopes it would change the “hell” he lives in. But then he was cornered by a soldier who reminded him that it’s awfully easy to get killed around here. So. Take instead what happened to an American filmmaker, now safe at home. Earlier this year, he took it upon himself to shoot mining operations in Goma’s province, North Kivu. Here’s the thing about that: In 2010, President Joseph Kabila temporarily banned mining in this province and two others, on account of armed groups controlling the mines; an estimated 80 percent of what is mined in Congo is smuggled out, a lot of it from this area on the border with Rwanda. And indeed, there, running the mine (PDF), were officers from the CNDP—sorry, ex-CNDP, since they’ve technically been integrated into the national army and technically don’t operate for their own profit anymore—wearing CNDP uniforms. They were overseeing workers loading coltan (used in consumer electronics) into produce trucks. There, getting it all on camera, the American filmmaker got caught. He managed to escape, but word spread through the command, back to Goma, when he returned. “Soldiers followed me all over town,” he says, until he fled to another country. And they didn’t even know he also filmed those women who were raped, and people who were shot by ex-CNDP soldiers now in the national army! His last day in Goma, the filmmaker pushed the furniture in his hotel room up against the door, passing the night barricaded behind it, sleepless, with his eyes wide open and a knife in his hand. He was lucky. “Even if you have a gun, it doesn’t mean you cannot die,” one Congolese source told me. “You cannot stop them from killing you.” Some 4,000 miles away from North Kivu, the International Criminal Court sits in a tall, drab office block rising up against seemingly ever-cloudy Dutch skies. The building at Maanweg 174, The Hague, was previously occupied by a telephone company. Proceedings against warlords take place in three low rooms built into the former parking garage. The court is slated to get its new digs in 2015; these are the temporary offices of the fledgling institution, which was established in 2002. That’s when the requisite 60 countries ratified the treaty that created it, four years after the 1998 UN Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court—which itself had been years in the making—brought 160 governments together to spend a month fighting out the terms. Not everyone agreed that such a court should exist at all. Leading the haters was the United States, which had grave objections to “an arrangement whereby US armed forces operating overseas could be conceivably prosecuted by the international court.” But in a decade that saw a couple of high-profile genocides, justice was an especially pressing ideal. As the head of the US delegation summed it up (PDF) to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee afterward, the goal was “accountability, namely to help bring the perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes to justice,” via “creating a permanent court that could be more quickly available for investigations and prosecutions and more cost-efficient in its operation.” Supporters wanted to make international justice swifter than the infamously tardy International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and cheaper than the $1.9 billion, still-ongoing International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Members Only The International Criminal Court is international, but it’s not global. Only the countries shown in red are legally obligated to execute its arrest warrants. And sometimes legal obligations run afoul of political realities. The delegates decided that there would be three roads to prosecution: A case could be referred to the ICC by a member state; crimes could be referred to the court by the UN Security Council; or the Office of the Prosecutor could launch an investigation on its own. (Well, not all the delegates decided that. The United States—along with China, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Qatar, and Yemen—voted against the treaty. The US later signed but did not ratify it.) If an ICC investigation finds war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide, and the state in which the crimes occur is unwilling or unable to prosecute the case itself, the “court of last resort” can issue warrants of arrest or summonses to appear. On this early April day, there are two trials in session—both of Congolese former rebel leaders. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo stands accused of conscripting, enlisting, and using child soldiers in Congo. Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo was arrested for multiple war crimes and crimes against humanity, including rape, torture, and pillaging in the Central African Republic. In the case of Lubanga, today’s testimony is too sensitive to be opened to the public—maybe a witness who’s in particular danger of retribution. But anyone can observe Bemba’s trial (PDF). Between the two prosecutors on the right, two defense lawyers on the left, and three judges sitting center, there are a lot of black robes in the room. Observers listen to testimony via a UN-style translation system. Bemba’s in a suit under guard in the corner; the witness chair is oriented so he can’t look squarely at the person testifying. I know Bemba came to check out his troops, the witness is saying. He knew what his troops were doing. The witness is kind of worked up. The soldiers were raping and looting, he’s saying. Bemba must have known what was happening. For his part, Bemba has got his cantaloupe head sunk into burly shoulders. He’s looking impassive, sometimes taking notes, licking his fingers to turn the page, flicking his eyes again and again toward the observation gallery just a few feet away, but refusing to meet anyone’s gaze. Upstairs, Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has his sleeves rolled up behind the desk of his expansive office on the 11th floor. In the ’80s, he prosecuted mass-murdering military commanders in his native Argentina. In the late ’90s, he was the star of an Argentine show very much like Judge Judy. He’s grayer now, but still brash and deep-voiced and having an answer for everything. And, for a guy who spends all of his time thinking about war crimes, he has some very happy things to say. “We are building a new global system,” he informs me. He says the idea that so many countries came together to build this court is insane. The fact that they managed to arrest someone is ridiculous. That they had a first trial was “impossible.” And now, the world is getting smaller. Technology is bringing us closer. Facebook, goddammit. “Cambodia was ignored. Nothing happened. Darfur was not ignored, but took two years to react. Libya? Ten days. Ten days. Bam. And the Security Council, immediately, without hesitation: ‘Refer the case to the ICC.’ Now we’re normal.” He tells me about an Australian fighter pilot who wouldn’t drop a bomb in Iraq because he was afraid of someday being prosecuted. He says a legal adviser told NATO commanders to watch the orders they sign so they don’t end up retiring on the beach only to be surrounded by cops ready to drag them to The Hague. Nepal, he says, demobilized 3,000 child soldiers because of the ICC. “The court’s existence is important. The message is pretty strong: You cannot commit massive atrocities to remain in power or to gain power,” Moreno-Ocampo says. In the case of Bemba, his arrest probably did teach warlords a lesson about whether they can retire or vacay in Europe, as he was snatched by Belgian authorities while comfortably ensconced in Brussels. Although 44 UN member states have still not signed the Rome Statute, the ICC has 700 staff members from 75 countries. The more countries that are on board, the more the world manages to “create one community called humanity,” the more effective the court can be. “Everything is changing in the world. We can do it.” “It’s the best job in the world,” says ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo. Because “I love this mission, to save the world.” Also: “It suits my megalomania.” Moreno-Ocampo has sunk 10 years of his life into the ICC, separated from his home and his own life and his family. Because “it’s the best job in the world.” Because “I love this mission, to save the world.” Also: “It suits my megalomania.” That makes him well suited to weather scathing criticism, and does the ICC ever have its share. Those who say that issuing arrest warrants for war criminals still in the throes of warmongering—as in the case of Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir—complicates the peace process and could even incite more violence. Those who complain that the court only goes after Africans, which so far has been true. That the first trial, Lubanga’s, has had disastrous flaws, including the prosecution’s failing to share key documents with the defense. That as an independent court, accountable to no other body, the ICC operates with impunity. But the issue that could most undermine the very purpose of the court’s existence is its difficulty executing arrest warrants. As a court representative will explain if you sign up for an ICC visitor’s tour, “We don’t have a police force. So when it comes to enforcing our warrants, we rely on state parties.” That means countries that have ratified the treaty, like Congo; all of them are technically obligated to arrest indicted criminals on their soil. Yet out of 26 people for whom warrants and summonses have been issued, 10 of the alleged criminals remain at large. None of the three outstanding warrants (PDF) against Ugandans have been enforced, even though Uganda is an ICC party—but that’s because, the tour guide offers as explanation, the guys are hiding in the no man’s land near the border between Congo and the Central African Republic. When Sudanese President Bashir flew from (non-member-party) Sudan to (member-party) Kenya, he should have been arrested; if he goes into international airspace again, the rep asserts, he will be. I ask Moreno-Ocampo if it’s only a matter of time for Bosco Ntaganda, too. “Yeah,” he says. “In fact, it is difficult to arrest Bashir, I understand, but it’s not difficult to arrest Bosco. There is no excuse not to arrest Bosco. And he’s committing massive crimes in the DRC.” This is the part of a paragraph that would usually contain a description of a room, in a (adjective here) building on (this kind of) a street. But I can’t write about any of that. Nor could I bring any Congolese translators along to this interview—the risks to them and the witnesses would have been too great. So I’ve dragged a 22-year-old Columbia University student and fluent French speaker named Joey from the United States. Joey and I are at the indescribable place to hear a story. It’s about Lt. Colonel Antoine Balibuno, a colleague of Lt. Colonel Innocent Zimurinda, a terrifying Bosco crony who’s been sanctioned by the UN for raping “a large number” of women and girls and murdering a lot of refugees and his own child soldiers. In 2009, Balibuno and Zimurinda were together in Masisi, a few hours from Goma, under Bosco’s command. But Balibuno and Zimurinda had also been integrated into the national army, deployed to the region officially. Not so lucrative a position, working for the broke army of a failed state. Masisi had a lot of trees. Balibuno told friends that Zimurinda enslaved the locals, making them cut down trees, morning and night, to make boards the ex-CNDP could sell. Balibuno said those who resisted were immediately killed. Balibuno said Zimurinda, a Tutsi, was also killing random Hutus. After a while, Balibuno returned to Goma, claiming he didn’t want to be associated with any Bosco-related carnage and corruption in case Bosco took his colonels down with him if he ever did get arrested. The men telling Joey and me this story are three of Balibuno’s friends. Balibuno called one the night of September 14, 2010. “He wasn’t talking to me, but the call was still open,” the friend remembers. “I heard him yelling, ‘Where are you taking me? You told me that we were going to a dancing club. Now we’ve just passed it. What are we doing here? Now there’s a military jeep full of soldiers in front of us, blocking the road. Tell me if you’re going to kill me. Tell me if you’re going to kill me; we didn’t agree on this. I’m not okay with this. I didn’t tell you I wanted to go to Bosco’s. If you want to kill me, tell me so.’ Then the call cut. I called back. It rang; no one picked up. I called back again. It didn’t go through.” Balibuno’s friends weren’t surprised when his body was found outside a restaurant with bullets in the chest, neck, and head. They knew his failure to pledge loyalty to Bosco, his walking away from Zimurinda, was trouble. He’d been claiming for months that Bosco’s men were arranging his assassination. Soon, soldiers came looking for Balibuno’s friends, too, because they’d given testimony to local military officials. There was evidence to suggest who’d killed him—men who were, in fact, staying with Bosco. But when the military commander of the region sent soldiers to arrest the assassins at Bosco’s house, other soldiers loyal to Bosco turned them away. Balibuno’s friends ran. They’re now far away from home, separated from their families and out of work. They are desperate. They think their families might be slaughtered. They don’t have any money. If they are found today, they tell us, they will die today. They can’t talk to the government because the government has turned a blind eye to Bosco since the peace deal. They emailed the ICC to tell them they want to testify because it’s impossible to get help from their own government. Lots of people are hiding like this. Lots of people have fled Goma. Please could I give them money so they can pay rent? Actually money for rent will only sustain them in the short term, so please can I find a way to relocate them to another country? Even if I’m just a journalist, maybe I have friends or contacts who can evacuate them. As long as they stay in this country they will have to hide. Wait for them to leave, the witnesses say. Let them leave first, in case there are men outside waiting to kill them. “You’ll never be able to live freely in Congo?” I ask. “If they arrested Bosco,” one of them replies instantly, “I’d go home.” For now, they’re going back to the tiny place they share. We stand up when they stand up, and they immediately tell us to sit back down. Wait for them to leave, they say. Let them leave first, in case there are men outside waiting to kill them. They file out one at a time—without saying a word to each other—each waiting a few minutes after the one before so that if an ambush is there, only the first will be killed and maybe the others can escape. The last witness out puts this face on before he exits, sort of a deep-breath, head-up, resolved-but-fearful look as he makes his way toward the door. Shortly before, he’d lamented Congo’s policy of integrating former warlords into its national army in the interest of everyone getting along. Congo’s minister of communications has said that the government prioritizes peace over justice. In addition to reigning over the former CNDP, Bosco is a friend of the Rwandan government, and it’s imperative that Rwanda stays an ally, since it went to war with Congo twice in the ’90s. “What does that mean?” the witness asks rhetorically. “It means people can die, but Bosco will always stay in power.” For the last few years, with foreign donor money and partners like the American Bar Association, Congo has been working to mitigate its history of impunity by finally trying some war criminals. It currently runs itinerant courts that travel to remote spots to talk to victims of rape and other atrocities. One mobile court official whose name can’t be used or likeness described—you see the theme here—has worked on dozens of such cases, and wishes Bosco were one of them. But he knows what impunity looks like better than almost anyone: Sometimes when ex-CNDP soldiers are arrested, a bunch of other soldiers come to the jail with guns and demand them back. “These crimes [Bosco’s] done are inexplicably horrible,” the official says when I meet him. “If we could, I would arrest him.” This judicial official performs one of the most dangerous jobs in the country from a filthy office with ripped couches. Though any conviction is a real milestone here, some experts argue that the government is going after only smaller fish. If anyone ever does arrest Bosco, the official says, he’s ready to assist in the prosecution. They’ve got some files on him that would give you nightmares. “The ICC listed only a few reasons on the warrant. We could arrest him for many more.” “So why aren’t you guys arresting him?” I ask. “I can’t say it directly. As we’re working for justice, there are always people working in the opposite direction.” “Are you talking about people in the government, like President Kabila?” “In the name of peace, I have to keep it a secret.” Being this vocal about justice does not make the judicial official’s life easier. He’s had plenty of threats on his life. “I left my house,” he says. When I tell him he has giant balls to keep coming to work and keep his composure, he says simply, “No one can know that I am ever afraid.” “We want zero tolerance,” he says, and Kabila has stated the same. The official says that overall, “What we ask of the world is to help us have the authority of the state, in all corners of the forest.” He walks Joey and me out, and we emerge into the blazing sunshine. He squints while he shakes our hands, and though I can feel his palm and fingers warmly, hugely enclosing mine, I have the weird feeling that it’s not really happening—a reaction, I suppose, to my understanding that the human currently touching me is pretty likely to be murdered. Before the witnesses ended up in the place that can’t be named, they sought refuge from a very manly sounding acronym: MONUSCO. The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a peacekeeping force nearly 25,000 strong, a whole massive international ICC-cooperative army. It’s headed by Roger Meece, who’s from the United States, which picks up the largest share of its cost—$1.37 billion between July 2010 and June 2011. Meece was out of town when I was in Congo’s capital. But his No. 2, Leila Zerrougui, and her special assistant, Francesca Jannotti Pecci, received me in a cool office in the UN’s Kinshasa compound. “For us,” Zerrougui explained, “the most important issue that we have to address—because it’s the high-profile issue that attracts interest—is the protection of civilians.” (They will not comment on why they only protected Balibuno’s friends for a month.) The second, and sometimes competing, priority of the mission is to get rid of rebel groups by supporting the Congolese army’s operations against them. “You cannot imagine the time that we spent to screen the commanders that we work with,” Zerrougui says. “You cannot imagine the time that we put in to make sure that we will not work with people that could put the population at risk. It’s the government of the DRC who decides to have an agreement, to integrate a former armed group in the national army. We are not an occupying force. We are a force that is in support of the government—that is sovereign, that has its own institution, its army, etc.” And though there’s not as much improvement in places like Masisi, Zerrougui says, all in all there are big improvements in regional security. She laments that “people are always talking about what is not done.” Guilty! “Are you guys going to try to arrest Bosco again?” I ask. “What?” “Are you guys going to try to arrest Bosco again?” The UN force in Congo attempted to apprehend him once, several years ago, before the peace deal, but the commander of the arresting force reportedly lost his nerve. “If the government would like to arrest Bosco, we are here to support the initiative taken by the government.” “Well, but I mean the government did request that.” Years ago, the Congolese government wrote a letter to the UN mission in Congo formally requesting that it arrest Bosco. That was back before he was integrated into the national army, though, Zerrougui says. But they never formally rescinded the request, I say; so they would have to ask again for MONUSCO to arrest him? “Why are you expecting MONUSCO to do that?” Zerrougui asks me. “Why are you not asking this question to the government?” “He’s a living insult to international justice. Everybody knows where he is, and logistically speaking, he would not be very difficult to arrest.” Well, I tried. Nobody in Congo would answer my questions, but eventually I heard from the DRC’s ambassador to the United States, Faida Mitifu: “We are not protecting anyone who has committed crimes against humanity. But at the same time there are certain priorities one has to make in the name of peace, and in the name of putting an end to the humanitarian crisis, it was a choice between the bad and the worse. So we chose the bad.” That might not satisfy Jason Stearns, formerly the coordinator of the UN’s Group of Experts on Congo and author of Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa. “Some people think that arresting Bosco would unravel the peace deal between Congo and Rwanda,” he says. “I think that that’s not true. You could certainly make a case that arresting him could be stabilizing.” He’s divisive within the former CNDP. He’s become an incredibly powerful mineral smuggler, the cause of much of Congo’s conflict. Also: “He’s a living insult to international justice, and the fact that he wines and dines next to the largest peacekeeping mission in the world in full sight? And everybody knows where he is, and logistically speaking, he would not be very difficult to arrest.” Foreign diplomats are not, Stearns says, “pushing the envelope” nearly as far as they could—”which is typical of diplomacy in the region.” Foreign aid makes up an estimated 50 percent of Congo’s budget, so foreign governments have plenty of leverage were they interested in wielding it. But instead, they “don’t get too involved, even if by not getting involved serious offenders remain at large, because by getting too involved, that increases your responsibility for whatever happens.” True, the conflicts in this huge country are transnational and extraordinarily complicated, and observers fear that the peace is tenuous. Also, there’s China, which has a $9 billion mineral deal with Congo—and, just in case, is looking to increase military cooperation with Rwanda. “I sympathize with the UN, to be honest with you,” Stearns says, but “they can do more.” Those are the politics. As for the legal issues, I put them to Zerrougui and Jannotti Pecci in Kinshasa. “The people at the International Criminal Court apparently are of the opinion that legally MONUSCO could arrest Bosco,” I say. “That’s not true,” Jannotti Pecci says. “I mean, it’s subject to interpretation.” “We have so many things to do here,” Zerrougui says, “that are extremely important for the DRC and for the people of the DRC, and I don’t think that we can just decide what is our priority. If the Security Council decides that we have a mandate as a priority to go and arrest Bosco, then we will certainly do it.” Because of the courts they’ve been setting up, the trials like the ones the anonymous judicial official has been working on, human rights violators are getting arrested, tried, sentenced. Not all of them—not, say, the officer who’s been accused of commanding his troops to rape and machete young girls—but some, and that’s a great stride. “I understand that one who’s indicted by the ICC should not continue to enjoy impunity,” Zerrougui says. But MONUSCO collaborates with a government and an army that has alleged war criminals in it, yeah. If stability weren’t important, former Nazis wouldn’t have been integrated into the civil service to help govern post-World War II Germany. And think of how long it’s been taking America to heal the wounds of our own civil war, which lasted only four years, had only two sides, and ended with a clear victor. “This is the reality we have to work with,” Zerrougui says. “And we try to influence in the best way, because it’s the only way to ensure that we won’t continue in an ongoing conflict situation for years.” Bosco’s colonels don’t necessarily seem scary when they’ve got Tommy Hilfiger polos on and glasses of Chivas and Coke in their hands. When I meet one, Seraphin Mirindi, at the Hotel Mbinza bar, he’s reserved, slight, and smiles politely at the appropriate times. Although, when I order the same thing he’s having, to be simpatico, he says something that makes me paranoid. “I think she usually likes her whiskey straight,” he tells Joey in French. And I say it like I’m impressed and delighted that he’s got my number when I respond, “Ha ha, how do you know that?” but really I don’t know if he means, “Anybody can tell this chick drinks her whiskey straight,” or “I know for a fact she drinks her whiskey straight because someone’s following her.” I don’t feel better about it either way when he answers me expressionlessly, “I’m not a prophet.” We’re here because Mirindi is in Bosco’s inner circle, as a spokesman for ex-CNDP soldiers, and since I didn’t run into The General at Le Chalet, I’m requesting an audience. I’ve brought Joey; Mirindi’s brought Lt. Colonel Munyakazi Dieudonné. “General Bosco is so happy you’re here,” says his lieutenant. “He’s so glad you’re interested in Congo, and he really wants to meet with you.” He says maybe we can all go out dancing. Mirindi kicked off our meeting with a spectacularly long-winded and boring history lesson. Among the highlights: the First Congo War in the late ’90s, when rebel leader Laurent Kabila overthrew President Mobutu and renamed Zaire the Democratic Republic of the Congo; the soon-to-follow Second Congo War, in which eight African nations and countless rebel groups battled over Congo’s vast minerals, and millions were killed; the postwar strength of the CNDP, led by Laurent Nkunda and backed by the Rwandan government; the peace deal between Congo and Rwanda that integrated the CNDP into the national army, had Nkunda turned in by the Rwandans and arrested, and saw Bosco Ntaganda handpicked by the Rwandans to take Nkunda’s place as general. “How can we compare what he’s accused of and what he’s done for his country?” Mirindi asks when I add Bosco’s ICC indictment to the story. General Bosco Ntaganda is the peace-glue holding this country together, Mirindi says. He also insists several times that Bosco is 10 feet tall. “General Bosco is so happy you’re here,” he tells me. “He’s so glad you’re interested in Congo, and he really wants to meet with you.” He says maybe we can all go out dancing. He’ll let me know. Then they give me a very thorough rundown of the financial woes of a Congolese soldier who makes only $55 a month. For that kind of money, it’s impossible to be a patriot with the love of your country at heart. For that kind of money, you do whatever you have to do to make more on the side. When Mirindi comes to our next meeting several days later, I’m not surprised that he arrives without Bosco, who he said might be joining us. Area researchers, experts, and aid workers agree that though the warrant hasn’t put the fear of God in Bosco, it has instilled a wariness of foreigners, any of whom could be ICC spies. At our second meeting, Mirindi relays the same strange pleasantries on Bosco’s behalf—”He would love to meet you!”—but says he was called away from Goma on business. That may or may not be true; he said that about the other day, too, when I know for a fact Bosco was in town. He’s all over town, actually, with his empty eyes and his cheeks smooth and fat as a baby’s. We see his truck, which rolls with a small pack of bodyguard/soldiers in the back, driving down Boulevard Kanyamuhanga in the center of town, but lose him in traffic when we give chase. We frequently pass the location of his hotel. A foreign (read: less likely to be murdered) aid worker volunteers to drive us to his lovely house. It doesn’t look like he’s there—no convoy parked out front, just a few soldiers milling around outside. And who can say if the motorbike that starts instantly following us is really following us? And who can say if it’s a coincidence that when we go to a restaurant to lose our possible tail, there’s a truck full of soldiers waiting outside by our car when we come back out? And that they pull out when we do? My driver almost tosses me off the back of a motorbike while executing a hard skid to turn around because he thinks some soldiers are stalking us. Paranoia all around. The next day, a driver almost tosses me off the back of a motorbike while executing a hard skid to turn around because he thinks some soldiers are stalking us. “I gotta get the fuck out of here,” Joey tells me that morning at breakfast; he’s having nightmares about Mirindi and his men coming to find him. And as for Bosco, people think he’s more worried about leaving witnesses around since the ICC indictment. Human Rights Watch strongly believes that he recently disappeared a man who told researchers that Bosco murdered his sister. His men recently threatened some UN peacekeepers; several years ago, his troops allegedly killed one. He switches cell phone numbers constantly. On our last night in town, I decide to give him a call directly, my last resort for acquiring comment. Even though I got the number from a guy who had a meeting with him just days before, a recorded woman’s voice politely informs me in French that the number is out of service. “They can, yeah,” Chief Prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo tells me the next time I see him. We’re at the Mercer Hotel in New York, which has funky purple leather chairs. I’ve just asked him whether MONUSCO can legally arrest Bosco Ntaganda. “They can,” I repeat after him. “Yeah.” “MONUSCO’s position now is that they can’t arrest him because the government would have to ask again, and so if they arrested him without the government asking, it would be against the mandate. You’re shaking your head.” Silence. The prosecutor scowls. Eventually, he says, “This is new for me. I…I…” He pauses, and there’s silence again. “I was thinking the mandate was clear, the request was clear.” “That they should arrest him.” “It’s easy! I agree with you! [Arresting] Bosco’s just a matter of will,” says ICC Chief Prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo. “Mmm-hmm. Because the mandate is they can assist the government in arrest, and the government requested that they arrest him. So.” “But that was a while ago.” “Yeah, but there’s no letter saying not to arrest him.” The ICC’s official line on Bosco Ntaganda is that Kabila will arrest him eventually, and that the UN and the rest of the international community need to pressure him to do so. So MONUSCO saying they’re legally, definitively just not allowed sounds a little buck-passy. When I tell Moreno-Ocampo he seems unhappy—in that he’s glaring at me furiously—he says, “I am. Because I think it’s a big shame that Bosco hasn’t been arrested, and then, I figure we should do better.” Moreno-Ocampo repeats often that one of the keys to international justice is consensus among the players, and he considers it his job to create it. “So. Yeah. Because if we are not doing all the things we can do…I have to focus on that. I have to focus on that, and I’m totally pressured to do that. See because…” Rough throaty exhale. “Fuck.” When I ask him if Bosco sashaying around Goma next to that big expensive peacekeeping force is making international justice look bad, he says, “It’s easy [to arrest him]! I agree with you! Bosco’s just a matter of will.” “It’s a matter of will,” he repeats. “That’s the point. In all these issues, it’s a matter of will. If you live in the Kivus, you are full of fear of Bosco—you have fear that you could be killed or raped or looted. It’s not life. My clients out there are the people who live in the Kivus. And my way to protect them is to arrest the leaders who are committing the crimes.” He says again that they can do better. He says again—five times—that it’s only a matter of will. On the recording of this interview, he says many of these things over the sound of his knocking something agitatedly against the table. It’s the base of a champagne glass. It’s after 9 p.m., and the Bellinis were ordered a half-hour ago. It’s been a long day. I started shadowing Moreno-Ocampo at 8 in the morning, when he was in Chucks and jeans and finalizing the statement he was about to make to the Security Council on the Libya investigation they’d asked him to undertake. It was difficult but important, he told me as he tapped on his MacBook, to get people passionate about law: “When the world is divided, criminals profit.” And he and the ICC staffers in New York were excited about this speech! A situation like Libya, after all, is why the ICC was conceived, why now 116 member nations entrust the institution with the power to prosecute war criminals, to deter aspiring ones, to issue arrest warrants when a guy like Moammar Qaddafi launches a war against civilians. That morning, Moreno-Ocampo told the assembled council (PDF) that the international community would have to cooperate in making the arrest. A new world of action, a new frontier of never again. He quoted UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon: “Now we have the ICC, permanent, increasingly powerful, casting a long shadow. There is no going back. In this new age of accountability, those who commit the worst of human crimes will be held responsible.” |
By time NBC Bay Area broke the story on Tuesday of 62-year old stowaway Marilyn Hartman, Transportation Security officials had known about the security breach for 15 hours, but neither the airport nor the TSA planned to disclose this information to the public. Tony Kovaleski reports. (Published Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2014) By the time NBC Bay Area broke the story on Tuesday of 62-year old stowaway Marilyn Hartman, Transportation Security officials had known about the security breach for 15 hours, but neither the airport nor the TSA planned to disclose this information to the public. Hartman's odyssey started around 9 p.m. Monday night at San Jose International Airport. After a few failed attempts to bypass gate security, she bypassed a document checker and successfully boarded Southwest Airlines Flight 375 to Los Angeles. The incident follows two other successful security breaches earlier this year at San Francisco International Airport. The San Francisco resident has attempted to board airplanes to Hawaii without a ticket at least six other times. Marilyn Hartman Mug Shots from Past Arrests at SFO SJC Acting Assistant Director of Aviation John Aitken defended the decision not to inform the public as soon as they discovered Hartman: "There are a lot of incidents that happen at the airport that are never intended to become public," said Aitken. "We investigate them, we work through them, but there are a lot of things that are dealt with internally and this was one of them." Investigative Stowaway Arrested at LAX After Boarding Flight from SJC Aitken confirmed that if NBC Bay Area had not reported the incident on Tuesday, it would not have been disclosed. "We would not have communicated it to the general public," he said. A TSA spokesperson confirmed with The Investigative Unit that the agency did not plan to disclose the security breach, but had a statement prepared in case a news agency discovered Hartman's arrest. Woman Pleads No Contest to Boarding Flight Without Ticket A woman who is accused of making it through airport security without a boarding pass and taking a Southwest Airlines flight from San Jose to Los Angeles pleaded no contest Wednesday to a misdemeanor trespassing charge after being arrested at LAX two nights earlier. Robert Handa reports. (Published Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2014) Marilyn Hartman pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge Wednesday and was sentenced to three days in jail with 24 days probation. Aitken confirmed with The Investigative Unit that despite Hartman's many well-known attempts to stow away at SFO, SJC was not alerted that she might make an attempt in San Jose. Security personnel did not have photos of Hartman to prepare. "In our opinion," said Aitken, "after our investigation it did not fail to the point that there was a security threat...she was screened like every other passenger here." Hartman did indeed pass through TSA security gates where her identity and belongings were inspected like any other passenger. Unlike other passengers, she never bought a ticket. |
You’ll be amazed by these stories from our Video Appeal Part 2:A man forced to plead guilty to assault with weapon despite being innocentA woman witnesses male suicides and lack of shelters for men with childrenOliver, Sammy and Kristina need your support at this critical time. Don’t waste this amazing opportunity. It’s time to build on our momentum. Yes, I’m donating to support boys, men and families Click her to learn about other ways to give From Sex Abuse of Boys to a Family in Trouble: Watch our Video Appeal Part 1 Mark shares the pain of child sex abuse and the lack of men’s services. Carol fears her son will lose his child to a dangerous woman. Mark and Carol are asking for your support at this critical time. Against all odds and despite campaigns of misinformation, we successfully opened Canada’s first comprehensive “Men’s Centre” in late 2014. But we need you to donate so we can keep this home for boys, men, fathers and families open in 2015. Contact us at info@menandfamilies.org or 1-844-900-CCMF(2263). ___________________________________________________________________________________ The Canadian Association for Equality has succeeded in its Campaign to Establish the Canadian Centre for Men and Families, Toronto’s first “Men’s Centre.” The Centre will be open to the public as of Tuesday, September 2, 2014. We are planning a kick off celebration and open house with details to be announced. The mission of the Canadian Centre for Men and Families #CanadianCMF is to establish a space in Toronto that will provide research, outreach and public education dedicated to men’s issues, and to operate a social service agency focused on workshops, support groups and counselling for boys, men, fathers and their families. We aim to create a better future for our sons and daughters through mutual understanding and compassion. Follow our progress and read the Canadian Centre for Men and Families Status Updates Support the Canadian Centre for Men and Families. Please contact info@equalitycanada.com to help out with: #1. Take a Shift at the Canadian Centre for Men and Families The Canadian Centre for Men and Families has been built over the last few weeks by an amazing team of volunteers. We couldn’t have done it without all of you. As we prepare to open our doors in September, we are putting together a schedule with regular weekly volunteer shifts. In order to more effectively serve our community we need your help. Please be a part of something truly unique. Let us know if you are available for a regular shift at the Centre. Ideally this would mean a 4 hour/week commitment, but anything of a minimum 2 hours every other week would be helpful, provided you can commit to at least a 3 month period. #2. Contributions Amazingly we have built the Centre entirely with your donation of furniture, equipment, supplies and artwork. While we are almost done we do have a few final items that would be of tremendous use to our operations. Please let us know if you can donate these items or make a financial contribution to defray their cost: Little Fridge: $150 Drill Set: $75 Plants: $50 Chairs (foldable): $20/chair up to 30 chairs Men’s issues books: any amount Kettle: $30 Lamp: $40 Magnetic dry erase whiteboard: $95 Wall hanging Calendar: $65 Long foldable tables for meetings: $75 each X 2 tables ************************************************************************ SUPPORT OUR ON-GOING OPERATIONS Support the campaign today. Make a donation or join our organization Options Regular $60.00 CAD Student/Low Income $20.00 CAD Founding Member (2 Years) $100.00 CAD Donations Please support our efforts to bring awareness to critical – but neglected – causes and issues! If you are donating to a particular fund (eg. Campus Outreach Campaign Fund) please email us to let us know where to direct your support) There are additional options for making donations or joining. Please click here Join our Founders Club: Spearheaded by an anonymous supporter who has donated $5,000, the Founder’s Club has been created to provide a special program of recognition, access, and engagement for nine additional supporters who each contribute a matching donation of $5,000. Help us get the word out: Tweet about the Campaign using #CanadianCMF then follow us on twitter and like CAFE on facebook Campaign Poster and The Disposable Man PSA Video in support of the Campaign: OLDER UPDATES: BREAKING: Indiegogo campaign launched in support of the Canadian Centre for Men and Families. Visit the Indiegogo Page Media Advisory: Canadian “Men’s Centre” Soon a Reality as Fundraising Nears Goal Click here for the Matching Campaign media advisory Read the Toronto Star article:Controversial Mens Rights Group Fundraising for a Centre for Men and Families Read the Media Advisory: Campaign to Establish Toronto’s First “Men’s Centre” Receives Leading Donation: Canadian Association for Equality Announces “Founder’s Club” for $5,000 Level Donors Find out more about the Campaign at the following links: ************************************************************************** CAMPAIGN LAUNCH EVENT FEATURING PROFESSOR LIONEL TIGER On June 12, prominent Anthropologist Lionel Tiger joined the Canadian Association for Equality leadership to launch the Campaign to Establish the Canadian Centre for Men and Families at Screen Lounge in Toronto. Watch the video here. Lionel Tiger is a Canadian-born, American-based anthropologist. He is the Charles Darwin Professor of Anthropology at Rutgers University, a consultant to the U.S. Department of Defense on the future of biotechnology, contributor to Psychology Today and The New York Times, and the author of Men in Groups, The Decline of Males, The Pursuit of Pleasure and The Manufacture of Evil: Ethics, Evolution, and the Industrial System. As a Big Thinker speaker Tiger has also contributed to the wider discussion of the changing relations between men and women. Professor Tiger, an authority on the sociological, cultural and anthropological study of gender – and an Advisory Fellow to CAFE – provided a short address regarding the current status and wellbeing of men and women in our society. Following this presentation, the Board of the Canadian Association for Equality will discuss the new Campaign, call for your feedback, and provide ways by which you can support this unprecedented initiative. ************************************************************************** ENDORSEMENTS Dr. Lionel Tiger, author and anthropologist, Rutgers University Dr. Warren Farrell, best-selling author and Pioneer in the men’s issues movement Dr. Miles Groth, Editor of New Male Studies, Wagner College Psych Prof, and co-editor of Engaging College Males |
Fullvisions6: Spherical Panorama 6 GoPro Mount (source: Shapeways) As my profession lies in writing, photography and videography, I’ve always tried new things that could enhance my work quality as well as achieve the unachievable. So you can only imagine my excitement when I discovered Fullvisions6, a spherical panorama 6 GoPro mount. At first, I didn’t expect too much from it, but I must say that so far, I am amazed at the professional quality of the video this handy little gadget can accomplish. Fullvisions6: Spherical Panorama 6 GoPro Mount in white (source: Shapeways) Using the Fullvision6 mount you can attach up to six GoPro Hero cameras to record full spherical immersive video (360 x 180 degrees). The GoPro mount Designer UberStyle is designed for Hero3, Hero3+, Hero4 and Hero4+ cameras. So far it is the only mount we know that works with the GoPro tabbed ear mounting system. The strong Clip-in buckle system holds your precious camera safely. The Fullvisions6 spherical panorama 6 GoPro mount is available in various colors offering a wide selection to choose from according to preferred taste. They are made from nylon plastic with a smooth finish, and cost $299. Buy from Shapeways |
EXCLUSIVE: Having pushed the next installment of its Spider-Man franchise out of 2016 and into 2018, Sony Pictures is doing a top-to-bottom revamp of its most important property, insiders say. And that includes a female superhero movie which is being eyed for a 2017 release date, Deadline has learned. Sinister Six, the next installment from writer-director Drew Goddard, was announced in April and its release date revealed during this year’s Comic-Con. It will bow November 11, 2016. The villain bash is the first of several planned character and story expansions for the Spider-Man franchise which the studio is hanging onto by developing other character spinoffs — much like Fox has done with its successful X-Men franchise. Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach are producing Sinister Six, which revolves around all the villains of Spider-Man converging after the evil Dr. Octopus summons them. There are a lot of different Sinister Six team-ups so it has yet to be revealed which characters might appear, but one possibility is Vulture, Mysterio, Electro, Kraven the Hunter and Sandman. And Goddard is said to be a supreme comic book geek — not that there’s anything wrong with that — who truly understands all the aspects of the Spider-Man universe and its characters and storylines which is key for that movie and the next. “Having Goddard on board places the movie in the hands of someone who has lived in this world,” said one person who knowledge of the property. “If you look at Cabin In The Woods, he did such a phenomenal job on that in redefining and commenting on the genre while also completely embracing it. He’s a fanboy which compliments his talents as a filmmaker.” Related: ‘Ghostbusters’: Not Just For Old White Guys After the villains emerge, get ready for the power of the women from the Spider-Man universe. Which characters they will develop is up for speculation, but we know that Lisa Joy (Westworld, Reminiscence) has been hired to script and that again Arad and Tolmach are producing. There are several strong possibilities — Silver Sable, Black Cat, Stunner, Firestar and Spider-Woman, to name a few. The moves come only two weeks after Marvel Comics announced a gender change for its Thor character during The View — a change in the comic book world that sparked heated debate among fans. Also last month, filmmaker Zack Snyder and Warner Bros. unveiled the first images of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman in the summer 2016 release of Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice. Related: First Look: Gal Gadot As Wonder Woman In ‘Batman V. Superman’ It was only a matter of time that someone would announce a female superhero movie — and it happens to be Sony who is the first out of the gate. So who are these superhero women possibles? I’m no comic book geek so I’ll do the best I can. Spider-Woman is known in the comics both as Jessica Drew, then Julia Carpenter, Mattie Franklin, Veranke and also as Charlotte Witter, a fashion designer who is genetically altered by Dr. Octopus. Silver Sable has virtually no superhuman powers but is an adept fighter, skilled in martial arts and sword play who wears a lot of techno gizmo weaponry. Black Cat was introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 as Felicia, Harry Osborn’s assistant, and was played by Felicity Jones; she is also a trained fighter and acrobat. Stunner was a video store clerk who ended up getting a makeover by Dr. Octopus to make her a powerful evil. This is a wise move for Sony because it’s capitalizing not only on the audience’s changing appetite, but also the studio is digging into its powerful asset base and mining other characters — thereby extending the asset and keeping the rights. “What other movies we could do was something everyone started talking about when shooting the last movie,” said one person with knowledge of the plans. “With Salt, Wanted and Lucy, there is a huge appetite for this right now.” As for the Spider-Man movie itself, “The one thing you can’t ignore is the fans. There was a rejection going on with having another Spider-Man come out so soon, and you have to listen to the fans in this world. We all took a good look in the mirror and said, we have to try to have to figure it out and revamp it.” SPIDER-MAN RETOOLED Looking at its history of the performance of the Spidey movie property over the years, the real question that has been eating at everyone is how in the heck Sony was going to maintain this franchise without a top-to-bottom retooling? With initial plans to drop The Amazing Spider-Man 3 smack dab in the summer on June 10, 2016, observers wondered whether there was even enough time to change anything. But when the studio switched things up and announced it would first go with Sinister Six as the next film in the series and the Amazing Spider-Man 3 in 2018, there was plenty of time to rethink it. And I hear that they are doing just that now. The fact is that Sony has produced five Spider-Man movies in 12 years. So one question is obvious: How can there be much anticipation from audiences to see another one again so quickly? You could call it Spider-Man fatigue. Makes a lot of sense to give it a rest and then bring it back again in four years revamped, re-suited and rebooted for a new generation of kids. The studio is also clearly responding to the fact that the domestic audience for Spider-Man has continued to shrink over the years. This year’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opened to $91.6M but then was killed in its second weekend, mowed down by Universal’s R-rated comedy Neighbors as it dropped a surprising 61%. And everyone thought the franchise, which actually has decent demos and always has been family friendly — and does so because it is also softer on violence — would perform better than it did domestically. The one fly in the ointment for kids is that — true to the comic series — they have killed off some of the characters which is hard to absorb for younger children. The fact of the matter is that the audience for this (and other franchise properties in Hollywood) are just performing better overseas than they are in the U.S. But you can’t rule out Spider-Man fatigue. PRESSURE TO PERFORM After being under tremendous pressure to perform, Sony management under Michael Lynton and Amy Pascal have been slowly changing the ranks and also their balance sheet to the positive, and so it goes to reason that it has included a hard look at their most important franchise — one that has taken in over $4B at the box office. ButAmazing Spider-Man 2 did not perform up to anyone’s expectations. The studio was really looking for it to make at least as much as the first one, which made $757.9M in 2012 all in. ASM2 is basically over and out at $707M worldwide. Even still, the worldwide box office performance of ASM2 along with its summer hit 22 Jump Street (which just crossed $100M overseas yesterday for a $288M ww gross to date) propelled the studio to a strong fiscal first quarter. Pascal and Lynton are also making huge changes in their executive ranks. The past few months and weeks have also seen a major changeover. With vice chairman Jeff Blake’s departure this past month, there was almost an immediate shake-up in the marketing department as Mike Pavlic was promoted to president of worldwide creative advertising and Tommy Gargotta was pushed out. Another EVP of creative, David Singh, exited a couple of weeks ago to join the Fox ranks. And Home Entertainment head Dave Bishop was replaced a couple of months ago. But many of the changes occurred after the Sony summer box office came to a close. And they are also looking outside the studio for other executives in marketing. This latest round of shake-ups is seen as a last-ditch effort of management to save themselves and turn the studio around. To that point, Pascal and Lynton are not only getting a new house in order but also mining the studio’s library of titles for reboots and remakes. They have been talking about casting women instead of men for the leads in a reboot of its beloved 1984 title Ghostbusters which has caused a lot of chatter online and even within Deadline itself. They have also entered into a big $200M co-financing deal with Lone Star Capital and Citibank, which will help finance the majority of Sony’s film for the next several years; they entered into a smaller co-financing arrangements with Village Roadshow, and are waiting for former Warner Bros’ executive Jeff Robinov to arrive with a treasure chest, partially financed by Chinese partner, Fosun. VENOM CARNAGE AND FEMALE SUPERHEROES Lynton talked about an expansion of the Spider-Man universe in 2013, saying that they were going to create a number of spinoffs including Sinister Six and one revolving around the Venom character which first appeared in Spider-Man 3 and was portrayed by Topher Grace. The Venom movie — which we hear is entitled Venom Carnage — is still said to be in development with old pros Alex Kurtzman and Ed Solomon scripting. The Venom pic, which Kurtzman will direct, may also now come out in 2017. So now we have a female superhero movie coming out in two years. The question is will Pascal and Lynton be there when the movies drop? For right now, they are safe and the answer may be in whether these franchise spinoffs are profitable, but they are clearly making aggressive moves in a concerted effort to right the ship. One big disadvantage at Sony has always been the lack of vertical integration at the studio … others major companies like Fox, Disney, Universal and Time Warner all have television concerns helping to feed the bottom line of the entertainment silo. |
RISING UFC middleweight Rob Whittaker is convinced Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza will be just another scalp on his way to becoming Australia’s first UFC champion, saying: “I’ll slog my way through every name until that belt falls in my lap”. As announced on the UFC 209 broadcast this morning, Whittaker will fight Brazilian superstar Souza -- the number three-ranked middleweight contender -- at UFC on Fox 24 in Kansas City on April 15. Apart from being the biggest fight of the Sydneysider’s career, the event will also be shown on American free-to-air television. media_camera Sydney UFC fighter Rob Whittaker will fight Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza. Picture: Brett Costello Currently ranked sixth in the division, Whittaker is also on a six fight win streak in the UFC. “This fight against Jacare is massive for me,’’ Whittaker told The Daily Telegraph today. “The biggest fight of my career no doubt. “And a win, it puts me right up there. “Whether it’s a title shot or another big name, who knows? But I’m going to slog my way through every name in this division until that belt finally falls into my lap.” Whittaker was supposed to get a first hand look at Souza back in November, when the Brazilian was slated to fight former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold as the headline event on Australia’s Melbourne card. media_camera Whittaker has labelled the fight as the biggest of his career But when Rockhold withdrew with injury, Whittaker was pushed up to headline against rising American Derek Brunson, whom he finished via a first round TKO. “And after that fight I told you I wanted a top five guy,’’ Whittaker continued. “And that’s what the UFC has given me. “I really feel like things are building up perfectly. “I’ve earned my way into this spot. And that is the way I want it to be. I’m here to fight.” Asked his thoughts on Souza, the 26-year-old joked: “Well, his jiu-jitsu is okay. “He’s just a tough dude. A top five guy. You know he’ll always go out on his shield too so it’s going to be a great fight.” media_camera Ronaldo Jacare Souza is the number three-ranked middleweight contender And as for his thoughts on the announcement earlier this week that reigning middleweight champ Michael Bisping will fight returning legend Georges St-Pierre? “It is what it is,’’ Whittaker said. “I’m not in a position to say which people should or shouldn’t fight. “But whatever happens, happens. “I don’t care who has the belt ... I’ll get to them all eventually.” |
One of Hawaii's four electors voted for Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernard (Bernie) SandersPush to end U.S. support for Saudi war hits Senate setback Sanders: 'I fully expect' fair treatment by DNC in 2020 after 'not quite even handed' 2016 primary Sanders: 'Damn right' I'll make the large corporations pay 'fair share of taxes' MORE (I-Vt.) for president Monday. While Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonSanders: 'I fully expect' fair treatment by DNC in 2020 after 'not quite even handed' 2016 primary Sanders: 'Damn right' I'll make the large corporations pay 'fair share of taxes' Former Sanders campaign spokesman: Clinton staff are 'biggest a--holes in American politics' MORE won the state's popular vote in November, one of Hawaii's electors backed Sanders, her rival in the Democratic presidential primary, while the other three voted for Clinton, The Associated Press reports. Sanders won Hawaii's Democratic caucuses in March, defeating Clinton 69.8 percent to 30 percent. Members of the Electoral College met across the U.S. Monday to officially cast their votes for president. ADVERTISEMENT Trump officially clinched the presidency, earning 304 electoral votes. Two Republican electors in Texas chose alternatives to Trump. One, who had said weeks earlier he would switch his vote, chose Ohio Republican Gov. John Kasich, a former Republican presidential candidate. The other chose former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas). In the end, that meant more Democratic electors defected than Republicans, despite a coordinated effort by some to block his victory. After all that pressure from left on Rs, more Dem electors defected from Hillary than Rs did Trump. — Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) December 20, 2016 Four Democratic electors in Washington state defected Monday. Three voted for former Secretary of State Colin Powell, while one voted for Faith Spotted Eagle, a Sioux Tribe elder who led protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota this year. Democratic electors in Maine, Minnesota and Colorado separately tried to cast votes for different candidates, but saw their ballots barred. Clinton carried all three states. |
Sekta's Addon and UI Settings a guest May 12th, 2014 1,499 Never a guest1,499Never Not a member of Pastebin yet? Sign Up , it unlocks many cool features! rawdownloadcloneembedreportprintdiff text 3.32 KB Sekta's Addon Settings Optimized for 1920x1080, UI Scale 0.75 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Download Links: • Ge.tt - http://ge.tt/119UUtg1?c • Dropbox - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ihnlnx567voqd0l/SavedVariables.zip • Mega - https://mega.co.nz/#!0wh0FbTK!eBklV95Vp3A7jUN8zbSJf68sqDeMjUeI4Zf59ZkpDIU --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What it looks like: • Image Album - http://imgur.com/a/ANQTQ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Requirements: Make these changes in your UserSettings.txt: SET CustomUIScale "0.75000000" SET UseCustomUIScale.2 "1" --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How to get these settings on your account and character: Download the addons in the list below. Download the settings from one of the links above. Drop the settings into your SavedVariables folder (\Documents\Elder Scrolls Online\live\SavedVariables). Download Text Crawler (http://download.cnet.com/TextCrawler/3000-2352_4-10805637.html?part=dl-&subj=dl&tag=button). Install it and open it. Set START LOCATION to your SavedVariables folder. Set FILTER to *.lua and FIND ["@Sekta"] and REPLACE with ["@YourAccountName"], click REPLACE button. You should get 20 occurrences in 20 files or something similar. Repeat for ["Sekta"] with ["YourCharacterName"]. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bugs: Player interaction prompt always resets it's Y position upon login. To fix, go to Azurah settings and unlock then lock the UI. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Addon List: - Advanced Filters by ingeniousclown - Azurah - Interface Enhanced by Kith - BestFriends by Aiiane - Codex by Dieonar - Combat Cloud by Sideshow - Combat Indicator by Getbackyoupansy - Cyrodiil Alert by Tanthul - Dialog Tweaks by Biki - DynamicConfig by gamecreature - Equipment Level by Biki - Exterminatus Rainbow Reticle by Mitazaki - Feed an Army by KatKat42 - Greymind Quick Slot Bar by bsrealm - Group Leader by Aedin - GuildRosterHideOffline by sirinsidiator - Harven's Extended Stats by Harven - Harven's Provisioning Tooltips by Harven - Harven's Stack Split Slider by Harven - Harven's Trait and Style by Harven - HarvestMap by Shinni - Inventory Item Borders by Biki - Joviex's Addon Settings Transfer by Joviex - Kill Counter by mikethecoder4 - LibAddonMenu by Sheehan - LibDebug by thelegendaryof - LibStub by Sheehan - Loot Filter by Kallak - LootDrop, Continued (All in One) by Cairenn - Lorebooks by Garkin - Luminary - BankerShutUp by awesomebilly - Luminary - Teleporter by awesomebilly - pChat by Puddy - pNames by Puddy - QueueQueue by Aiiane - RAETIA Information Bar by Kraeius - Rapidchant by Aiiane - Simple Chat Bubbles by Dio - Simple Combat Alerts by Dio - Skyshards by Garkin - Social Indicators sirinsidiator - SorcererHelper by Stjobe - SpamFilter by pjt15253 - Srendarr - Aura, Buff & Debuff Tracker by Kith - T's Combat Stats by Tingle0x539 - Tamriel Time by NWDD - Target Lookup by mra4nill - Wykkyd's Framework by Wykkyd - Wykkyd's Full Immersion by Wykkyd - Wykkyd's Outfitter by Wykkyd - Wykkyd's War Tools by Wykkyd RAW Paste Data Sekta's Addon Settings Optimized for 1920x1080, UI Scale 0.75 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Download Links: • Ge.tt - http://ge.tt/119UUtg1?c • Dropbox - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ihnlnx567voqd0l/SavedVariables.zip • Mega - https://mega.co.nz/#!0wh0FbTK!eBklV95Vp3A7jUN8zbSJf68sqDeMjUeI4Zf59ZkpDIU --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What it looks like: • Image Album - http://imgur.com/a/ANQTQ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Requirements: Make these changes in your UserSettings.txt: SET CustomUIScale "0.75000000" SET UseCustomUIScale.2 "1" --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How to get these settings on your account and character: Download the addons in the list below. Download the settings from one of the links above. Drop the settings into your SavedVariables folder (\Documents\Elder Scrolls Online\live\SavedVariables). Download Text Crawler (http://download.cnet.com/TextCrawler/3000-2352_4-10805637.html?part=dl-&subj=dl&tag=button). Install it and open it. Set START LOCATION to your SavedVariables folder. Set FILTER to *.lua and FIND ["@Sekta"] and REPLACE with ["@YourAccountName"], click REPLACE button. You should get 20 occurrences in 20 files or something similar. Repeat for ["Sekta"] with ["YourCharacterName"]. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bugs: Player interaction prompt always resets it's Y position upon login. To fix, go to Azurah settings and unlock then lock the UI. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Addon List: - Advanced Filters by ingeniousclown - Azurah - Interface Enhanced by Kith - BestFriends by Aiiane - Codex by Dieonar - Combat Cloud by Sideshow - Combat Indicator by Getbackyoupansy - Cyrodiil Alert by Tanthul - Dialog Tweaks by Biki - DynamicConfig by gamecreature - Equipment Level by Biki - Exterminatus Rainbow Reticle by Mitazaki - Feed an Army by KatKat42 - Greymind Quick Slot Bar by bsrealm - Group Leader by Aedin - GuildRosterHideOffline by sirinsidiator - Harven's Extended Stats by Harven - Harven's Provisioning Tooltips by Harven - Harven's Stack Split Slider by Harven - Harven's Trait and Style by Harven - HarvestMap by Shinni - Inventory Item Borders by Biki - Joviex's Addon Settings Transfer by Joviex - Kill Counter by mikethecoder4 - LibAddonMenu by Sheehan - LibDebug by thelegendaryof - LibStub by Sheehan - Loot Filter by Kallak - LootDrop, Continued (All in One) by Cairenn - Lorebooks by Garkin - Luminary - BankerShutUp by awesomebilly - Luminary - Teleporter by awesomebilly - pChat by Puddy - pNames by Puddy - QueueQueue by Aiiane - RAETIA Information Bar by Kraeius - Rapidchant by Aiiane - Simple Chat Bubbles by Dio - Simple Combat Alerts by Dio - Skyshards by Garkin - Social Indicators sirinsidiator - SorcererHelper by Stjobe - SpamFilter by pjt15253 - Srendarr - Aura, Buff & Debuff Tracker by Kith - T's Combat Stats by Tingle0x539 - Tamriel Time by NWDD - Target Lookup by mra4nill - Wykkyd's Framework by Wykkyd - Wykkyd's Full Immersion by Wykkyd - Wykkyd's Outfitter by Wykkyd - Wykkyd's War Tools by Wykkyd |
Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan Filmstar Amitabh Bachchan has clarified that he is not associated with any advertisement film of the Narendra Modi government. There were reports that the 72-year-old actor would feature in a TV ad which seeks to ask Indians to rise above religion for inclusive development. Bachchan took to Twitter to set the record straight. Bachchan has, however, been the brand ambassador of many government campaigns, including polio eradication, saving the tiger and Swachh India campaign. Reports of Bachchan featuring in the ad campaign had taken a political colour, with the Congress taking potshots at the government. "Now the crow is imitating the swan's movement. All this camouflaging, all this gimmickry and advertising will not substitute what the government has done on issues like conversion," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said on Wednesday. Singhvi was reacting to questions on media reports that while MoS Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi is set to tour areas which have a high minority population, Bachchan has been roped in for an ad film that stresses the need to rise above religion and caste for inclusive development and growth of education. Reports suggested that the advertisement was expected to be out by Republic Day. |
Wild Game Recipes: Plucking Ducks with Paraffin Wax After years of talking & thinking about it I finally decided to try using some hot wax to clean my ducks. We had a great first part of the season and I had a strap of birds aging in the fridge so figured it was time! I’ve tried it twice now and the second time I was twice as fast so I figure after a few more rounds I’ll get even better. It’s a lot of fun and also great if you have a few buddies around to help. My kids even got in on the action after being timid at first and loved it. Although they aren’t as neat with the feathers in their plucking so it was a bit of a mess they really got into it. I also found some great resources to help me get setup: Hank Shaw’s How to Pluck a Duck video. The Field to Table Cookbook by Susan Ebert (it has a great how-to on the wax method) I think I may still need to tweak a few things but here’s how it went: Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save |
What are the best investing books according to the world’s best investors? To find out, I sought out the favorite books of investors such as Warren Buffett, Nassim Taleb, Seth Klarman, and Howard Marks. Tracked down the reading lists from top finance programs such as Columbia, MIT, Florida, and New York University. Found the recommended reading for new security analysts at investment banks like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. All in all, I curated a total of 24 books lists, which produced a total of over 575 book recommendations. I combined every single one of those recommendations into excel. Then, I sorted them by count. What I got was a list of the best investing books ranked by the number of recommendations received. Here are the top 14 books on that list. Best Investing Books of All Time #1 The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham (13 out of 24) Warren Buffett has said about The Intelligent Investor, “By far the best book on investing ever written.” He continues, “Chapters 8 and 20 have been the bedrock of my investing activities for more than 60 years. I suggest that all investors read those chapters and reread them every time the market has been especially strong or weak.” First published in 1949, Benjamin Graham’s classic The Intelligent Investor has impacted generations of investors. Today’s top hedge fund managers such as Seth Klarman, Joel Greenblatt, and Bill Ackman have all recommended the book. Graham himself revised the book four times, with his last revision being published in 1971. In 2003, respected Wall Street Journal financial columnist Jason Zweig, updated the book with his own commentaries and footnotes. Recommended on 13 reading lists, The Intelligent Investor comes in at #1 on the list of best investing books of all time. # 2 – You Can Be A Stock Market Genius by Joel Greenblatt (10 out of 24) Michael Burry, David Einhorn, Dan Loeb, Bill Ackman, and Seth Klarman have all recommended Joel Greenblatt’s “You Can Be A Stock Market Genius“. While not a hidden gem, it’s fair to say You Can Be A Stock Market Genius has gone under the radar with a ranking of #79 in Amazon’s finance section. (Greenblatt’s second book, The Little Book That Beats The Market is #23) You Can Be A Stock Market Genius details how individual investors can use special situation investing to beat the market. This involves investing in: Spin-offs Restructurings Merger Securities Rights Offerings Recapitalizations Bankruptcies Risk Arbitrage Researching these opportunities does require work. Which may be part of the reason the book hasn’t caught in with the individual investor. However, with 10 recommendations, You Can Be A Stock Market Genius has greatly influenced the many of the best investors of our generation. # 3 – The Essays of Warren Buffett (9 out of 24) Coming in at # 3 on the best investing book of all time is Warren Buffett’s annual letters. Buffett has shared his wisdom and methods for over 30 years in his letters to shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway. There are two separate books, that have curated the letters: The Essays of Warren Buffett edited by Lawrence Cunningham – An edited version which groups similar topics from different years together. Berkshire Hathaway Letters to Shareholders edited by Max Olson – A compilation of the unedited versions of Warren Buffett’s letters (Only $2.99 on Kindle). Buffett’s unedited letters are also available for free on Berkshire’s website. # 4 – Security Analysis by Benjamin Graham (8 out of 24) Benjamin Graham’s first book Security Analysis comes in at # 4 on the best investing books of all time. Warren Buffet, who also wrote the forward, is quoted on the back cover saying, “A roadmap for investing that I have now been following for 57 years.” While Benjamin Graham’s The Intelligent Investor is by no means a light read, Security Analysis is a more detailed overview of Graham’s stock-picking methods. (Tip: start with The Intelligent Investor) The newest version, published in 2008, includes insight from some of today’s top investors such as Seth Klarman, Howard Marks, Bruce Berkowitz, Bruce Greenwald and more. # 5-7 – Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Edwin Lefèvre (7 out of 24) Written in 1923, Edwin Lefèvre classic Reminiscences of a Stock Operator comes in at # 5. The book is a fictionalized biography of one of the greatest investors of the time Jesse Livermore. Livermore made and lost millions multiple times throughout his career. His most famous move–shorting the market in 1929. Livermore ended his own life in 1940, after losing most of what he made (reportedly over $100 million). The life story of Livermore remains relevant today for its views on investor psychology, speculating, and the nature of the market. # 5-7 – The Money Masters by John Train (7 out of 24) The classic The Money Masters by John Train was tied for 5th as the most recommended book. While popular among hedge fund managers, The Money Masters is ranked only #2,584 in Amazon’s finance section. Originally published in 1980, The Money Masters goes deep into the strategies of the most successful investors of the time. Including in-depth profiles on the strategies used by Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Phil Fisher, and John Templeton. In a day with no Internet, blogs, and 24-7 investment news, The Money Masters was one of the first books to uncover the range of strategies used by the top money managers of the day. # 5-7 – The Warren Buffett Way by Robert Hagstrom (7 out of 24) There’s no question Warren Buffett has and will continue to influence the investment community. Having written decades of letters containing his wisdom and never one to back away from an interview, Buffett’s been generous sharing his investment philosophy over the years. So it’s no wonder why his footprints are all over this list of best investing books. What’s unique about The Warren Buffett Way is that it dives deep into the actuall strategies Warren Buffett has used to succeed. It’s the definitive book on his strategies from an outsider’s point of view. Originally written in 1997, The Warren Buffett Way was revised in 2013 to analyze Buffett’s latest investments. # 8 & 9 – Market Wizards by Jack D. Schwager (6 out of 24) What are the skills that top investment traders across asset classes such as commodities, equities, currencies, and bonds possess? According to Schwager, it’s discipline, capital preservation, risk management, individual responsibility, flexibility, consistency, and intellectual honesty. In Market Wizards, Jack D. Schwager interviews 16 “wizards” of the day to distill the traits which make them successful. The format of introduction to the interviewee, the edited transcript of the interview, followed by a brief summary, makes Market Wizards a must reading lists of Goldman Sachs, Wharton, and The University of Florida. Originally written in 1989, Market Wizards was updated in 2012, with interviews from this generation’s top traders. # 8 & 9 – Margin of Safety by Seth Klarman (6 out of 24) Margin of safety is the difference between the intrinsic value of a stock and its market price. Seth Klarman has used the concept to become one of the most successful hedge fund managers of the day at The Baupost Group. Often called the “next Warren Buffett” by the media, Klarman is a classic value investor. In his book, Klarman dives deep into the Margin of Safety philosophy, showing why it’s the most important thing for investors to understand. As the book is out of print, used copies often go for over $1,000. The lowest price on Amazon for a used copy is $899. # 10 – Extraordinary Popular Delusions by Charles Mackay (5 out of 24) Originally published in 1841 (to help put that in perspective, that’s 19 years before the American Civil War) Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds shows that economic bubbles have existed long before the stock market. With stories from the famous bubbles such as The Mississippi Company, South Sea Company, and Tulip Mania, Mackay provides plenty of insight into how humans have committed financial folly over time. What makes this book so popular today is that history has shown to repeat itself. Whether the internet bubble of the late 90’s to the housing crash in 2008, the same principles of human behavior are around today. So, it should come as no surprise that this book is on the reading lists of Goldman Sachs and Universities like Florida and New York. # 11 – 14 – Capital Ideas: The Improbable Origins of Modern Wall Street by Peter Bernstein (4 out of 24) What are the origins of modern finance? Where did the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), The Efficient Market Hypothesis, and The Black Scholes Options Model and other theories which shape our markets come from? In Peter Bernstein’s Capital Ideas: The Improbable Origins of Modern Wall Street, you’ll learn the why and how these big ideas came about. With its richness in financial history, the book is very popular among colleges and investment banks. However, doesn’t make the list of any of the top investors of today. #11 – 14 – Common Stock, Uncommon Profits and Other Writings by Philip Fisher (4 out of 24) Originally published in 1958, Common Stock, Uncommon Profits and Other Writings by Philip Fisher was one of the books that helped shape a young Warren Buffett’s investment philosophy. Buffett has said about the book, “I sought out Phil Fisher after reading his Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits…A thorough understanding of the business, obtained by using Phil’s techniques…enables one to make intelligent investment commitments.” With insight into evaluating earnings and management, it’s easy to see how Phillip Fisher’s classic Common Stock, Uncommon Profits and Other Writings helped Buffett build upon the concepts he learned from Benjamin Graham. Common Stock, Uncommon Profits and Other Writings was updated in 2003, by Philip Fisher’s son, and popular Forbes columnist, Ken Fisher. # 11 – 14 – One Up On Wall Street by Peter Lynch (4 out of 24) Operating the Magellan Fund between 1977 to 1990, Peter Lynch returned an annual average return to investors of 29%. Beating the S&P Index in 11 of the 13 years. In his book One Up On Wall Street, Peter Lynch explains how individual investors discusses his philosophy and methods, to help the individual investor succeed. First published in 2000, making it the 2nd youngest book on the list, One Up On Wall Street has become very popular among individual investors (over 590 reviews on Amazon) for its view on how the average investor has advantages over large money managers. For its simple approach to investing (one sentence summary: invest in products/companies you know and love), there’s no question One Up On Wall Street will continue to impact not only the individual investors but tomorrow’s top hedge fund managers as well. #11 – 14 – When Genius Failed by Roger Lowenstein (4 out of 24) Warren Buffett has said, “What we learn from history is that people don’t learn from history.” When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management by Roger Lowenstein is a book that dives into one of the biggest financial follies of our time, the failure of Long-Term Capital Management a $100 billion dollar hedge fund. Investors such as Seth Klarman, investment banks like Goldman Sachs, and Universities such as Columbia all recommend the book. When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management was recently updated with a new chapter to discuss the similarities between the failure of LTCM in 1998 and events that took place in 2008. The Individual Book Lists Want to check out the individual lists? Here they are: Investors Colleges Investment Banks Other Best Investing Book Lists You Might Like |
Tibet is burning: exiles mourn latest in string of self-immolation suicide protests A Tibetan exile in Dharamsala, India, weeps as the body of Jamphel Yeshi is carried for cremation inside the Tsuglagkhang temple, in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamsala on March 30, 2012. Yeshi, 27, a Tibetan man, set himself ablaze on Monday at a protest criticizing China's President Hu Jintao's visit to India. He died in a local hospital from his injuries, the general secretary of the Tibetan Youth Congress said in a statement. Born in Tibet but living in exile in India, Yeshi was an activist with the youth organization, which seeks independence for the Himalayan region, under Chinese rule for more than six decades. A photograph of Yeshi as he set himself on fire is below. More graphic images here. Tibetan settlements throughout India were "fortified" with heavy police presence following the incident. Within three days, two more Tibetan monks in China set themselves on fire in a similar act of protest. Dozens of Tibetans have self-immolated in the past year to protest Chinese oppression. In addition to dousing themselves with fuel, some drink kerosene, so that the flames will explode from within. More on the ongoing phenomenon, and why the world doesn't seem to be paying much attention: Associated Press, CNN, NYT. A response to the latest protest-suicides in the state-controlled China Daily proposes a solution for Tibetans: "embrace the goodwill of the central [Chinese] government." (REUTERS) |
Image copyright SPL A vaccine to prevent cancer as well as anal and genital warts should be given to men who have sex with men, according to the government's experts. The HPV jab is already given to schoolgirls in the UK, but there have been calls for the vaccination programme to be extended. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said immunising gay men would be cost effective. Campaigners said the government was still leaving boys at risk. HPV (human papillomavirus) is linked to 5% of all cancers worldwide. Girls are vaccinated at the age of 12 or 13 to reduce their risk of cervical cancer, which is largely caused by the virus. But HPV also causes cancers of the throat, anus and penis as well as causing genital warts. There are 48,000 cases of genital warts in UK men each year. Image copyright SPL The JCVI's latest report recommends offering the jab at sexual health clinics to men who have sex with men, aged between 16 and 40. It says: "Although such a programme would be very likely to prevent HPV associated cancers in men who have sex with men, the model had indicated that an even more substantial benefit could be realised from the prevention of ano-genital warts." A full analysis of the merits for vaccinated adolescent boys will not start until next year. However, the committee noted that the success of the girls vaccination programme would "provide indirect protection for boys to such an effect that there may be little additional benefit to be accrued from vaccinating most boys". Peter Baker, the director of the campaign group HPV Action, said: "While vaccinating men who have sex with men is a step forward, it is not sufficient to protect the UK population as a whole from the human papillomavirus and the entirely preventable diseases it causes. "As things stand, the UK government is still putting parents in a position where they can see their daughters protected but not their sons." The group says the move "will not protect the majority" of men who have sex with men if it is offered only at sexual health clinics. The government said it would wait for a direct recommendation by the JCVI before responding. Shirley Cramer, the chief executive of the Royal Society for Public Health, said: "While extending the vaccination to men who have sex with men is a positive step, we implore the committee to reach a decision and introduce a vaccination for all boys. "Vaccinating men who have sex with men still leaves a significant proportion of the population at risk of HPV and vaccinating all girls and boys is the only way forward." |
SINGAPORE: The chassis of a lorry trailer fell off while the vehicle was navigating a bend and hit a lamp post along Jalan Buroh on Wednesday (Dec 27) morning. The police said they were alerted to an accident involving a trailer along Jalan Buroh at 8.40am. Advertisement No one was injured in the incident and police investigations are ongoing. Photos of the incident showed a lorry trailer chassis overturned on its side, blocking the entire road. What looked like a lamp post by the side of the road was also shown bent over, seemingly after having sustained an impact. The accident happened around 8.40am on Wednesday morning (Dec 27). (Photo: Facebook / Zhang Dong) Advertisement Advertisement The scene along Jalan Buroh after an accident involving a trailer. (Photo: Watson Wong) The Land Transport Authority warned motorists of an accident on Jalan Buroh towards Jurong Port Road after Jurong Pier Road in a tweet at 9am. Accident on Jalan Buroh (towards Jurong Port Road) after Jurong Pier Road — LTATrafficNews (@LTAtrafficnews) December 27, 2017 About five minutes later it tweeted warning of an accident on Jalan Buroh towards Jurong Pier Circus. |
Police dog put down after one final ride in squad car Copyright by WTNH - All rights reserved Video RIDGEFIELD, Conn. (WTNH) -- A flag waved at half staff next to a draped black cloth at the Ridgefield Police Department, the place where a K-9 officer once worked. Zeus, who served the department for nine years, took a final, one-way ride in a squad car to Ridgefield Veterinary Hospital Wednesday. Copyright by WTNH - All rights reserved Ridgefield K9 officer Zeus was given one last ride in a police cruiser Wednesday (WTNH / Josh Scheinblum) Copyright by WTNH - All rights reserved Ridgefield K9 officer Zeus was given one last ride in a police cruiser Wednesday (WTNH / Josh Scheinblum) "This is an honor to be here for him during his last moments," said Chief John Roche. "The disease that had racked him had deteriorated to such a point where it was just so difficult for him to exist and continue on." Copyright by WTNH - All rights reserved Fellow police officers and Ridgefield residents pay tribute to K9 officer Zeus (WTNH / Josh Scheinblum) Copyright by WTNH - All rights reserved Fellow police officers and Ridgefield residents pay tribute to K9 officer Zeus (WTNH / Josh Scheinblum) Zeus retired from the department in 2014 because of a degenerative hip disorder and said his final goodbye Wednesday. He was wheeled through a row of police from all over the state with his partner, officer Shawn Murray, at his side every step of the way. Scott Murray, Shawn's brother, says with Zeus's passing they've lost a member of their family. "He was in the yard when there were picnics," said Scott. "He played, he chased the ball, he did what all normal dogs do, what all normal family dogs do, except he had a job." Copyright by WTNH - All rights reserved Memorial flower wreath for Zeus (WTNH) Copyright by WTNH - All rights reserved Memorial flower wreath for Zeus (WTNH) He had a long resume of helping people. During his time with the department he located six people in life-threatening situations, and assisted with hundreds of arrests. After the police cruiser ride Wednesday night, the Ridgefield Police Department posted one more tribute on their official facebook page. Copyright by WTNH - All rights reserved Tribute to Zeus posted on the Ridgefield Police Department facebook page (Image courtesy: facebook / Ridgefield Police Department) |
Sometimes I feel like I can’t do anything right. Sometimes I have this constant feeling of inferiority. The thought passes over me “not good enough.” A few years ago I was in a relationship where nothing I did felt “good enough.” I was always met with disappointment and intense criticism. According to the one I loved I “needed fixing.” I had an “inferiority complex.” Perhaps they were correct about that, but it never failed to make me feel even more inferior. They would compare me to other women. Tell me how much more reasonable those women are. My friends, his friends girlfriends and on our very first date he told me liked his ex girlfriend more than me. Why did I put up with this? I don’t know. I have some ideas. One is that my mother, who was a very excellent, but also very fearful mother, used to compare me a lot. Compare me to my female friends. A very vivid memory I have is her telling me one of my other friends was “just more aware of her surroundings” than I was and that was why I could not walk home from school alone.. in our Yuppie neighborhood.. at 3 PM.. when tons of yuppie moms with concern or children were out. That is just one of my theories, but to tell you the truth I just don’t know why I am like this. I could go and blame it on the media. I am sure that plays a role, but that really just doesn’t help anything to continue blaming it on outside sources. I am in an open/polyamorous relationship with my central partner, whom I live with, handle finances with, etc. In theory I believe that love is not exclusive. One can love multiple people, in different ways, no hierarchy. I am an anarchist. I do not believe in one being more important than another. It is dehumanizing to look at someone and let them know they are “not as important” as their other partner. I do understand priorities. It can be hard to make long term life plans with multiple partners, yet I have still seen it done. In theory and much of the time I want my central partner to have meaningful and fun experiences. I want them to lead a full life and to not be limited by me. I believe in autonomy. Being a couple does not make two people one. Exclusivity is what makes capitalism work. I do not love capitalism so why would I want to bring the lives and inequality of capitalism into my love life? Yet, I still fear. I still fear I am not good enough. I have this overwhelming feeling of needing to be “better”. Needing to by the “best” compared to any of my partners or partners or even potential partners. I get into this mindset where I HATE them. Where I hate everything about them, where I think they have to suck at everything or they will steal my partner away. I think I have to beat them in everything or I will be alone. This jealous competition is unhealthy and will probably drive my partner away unless I work on it. It feels terrible. It feels unloving and it goes against my values. I feel confused and ashamed. Because I feel these feelings it perpetuates the feeling of being “not good enough.” Like, why can’t I be like one of those super groovy and open anarchists ladies. Why are they so much better than me? Why don’t I like me? And thats what it comes down to. Maybe I just don’t like me, but I want to like me. Its going to be a lot of work, but I think I can do it. I can overcome the pain, the inferiority, the abuse and maybe I will end up alone… and maybe this will be okay, because I will love myself. I love you. Check out more of my art on Instagram and Twitter @2kedalow Advertisements |
Update: Facebook: No plans to sue employers asking for your password Update: Senator vows to stop employers asking for your Facebook password Facebook today weighed in on the issue of employers asking current and prospective employees for their Facebook passwords. The company noted that doing so undermines the privacy expectations and the security of both the user and the user's friends, as well as potentially exposes the employer to legal liability. "If you are a Facebook user, you should never have to share your password, let anyone access your account, or do anything that might jeopardize the security of your account or violate the privacy of your friends," Facebook Chief Privacy Officer for Policy Erin Egan said in a statement. "We have worked really hard at Facebook to give you the tools to control who sees your information. As a user, you shouldn't be forced to share your private information and communications just to get a job. And as the friend of a user, you shouldn't have to worry that your private information or communications will be revealed to someone you don't know and didn't intend to share with just because that user is looking for a job." In fact, Facebook points out that sharing or soliciting a Facebook password is a violation of the social network's Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. Here's the relevant excerpt: You will not share your password, (or in the case of developers, your secret key), let anyone else access your account, or do anything else that might jeopardize the security of your account. The social networking giant is considering using the law to protect its 845 million users. There are two routes Menlo Park is looking at: a) getting politicians to pass a law barring employers from this practice and/or b) suing employers who are asking you for your Facebook credentials. "Facebook takes your privacy seriously," Egan said in a statement. "We'll take action to protect the privacy and security of our users, whether by engaging policymakers or, where appropriate, by initiating legal action, including by shutting down applications that abuse their privileges. While we will continue to do our part, it is important that everyone on Facebook understands they have a right to keep their password to themselves, and we will do our best to protect that right." This is great news for all Facebook users. Previously, the only organization protecting Facebook users from this problem was the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which refers to the practice as privacy invasion. "It's an invasion of privacy for private employers to insist on looking at people's private Facebook pages as a condition of employment or consideration in an application process," ACLU attorney Catherine Crump said in a statement. "People are entitled to their private lives. You'd be appalled if your employer insisted on opening up your postal mail to see if there was anything of interest inside. It's equally out of bounds for an employer to go on a fishing expedition through a person's private social media account." Update: Senator vows to stop employers asking for your Facebook password Update: Facebook: No plans to sue employers asking for your password See also: |
Hello. I would like to present to you a statement linking steampunk and new legendary fractal backpack. But this is not the end. I used to present the new series of blue colors. Ghost Dye, Blue Steel Dye, Valor Dye and Powder Blue Dye. I am aware that probably the new legendary backpack does not fit into anything. I took a chance and created something next combined armor and backpack. In the history of the form I will try as far as reasonably explain how it works. Now the story: April was brought up in the spirit of peace and love. Combined with the Pale Tree had never in his heart did not accept the realm of Sylvari. This led her to eventually to the fact that joined the sky- pirates. Also called Aetherblade. In his ministry he decided to be an assassin. Outsourced its mission performed without scruples. Noticed and supported by the organization. Fascinated by the technology they possessed the pirates agreed to take part in the experiment Inquest Asuras. He had to rely on joining the magnetic shoulder to stones of Jade. The result was a mute all sounds within a few meters. This gave the obvious advantages in the art of killing. The experiment was a success, but pay with the fact that April never can detach from each other Jade stones. Since then, April wears armor Aetherblade 3rd generation. I keep a corset stiffened magnetic bangles, which are frame for stones from Jadite. Gloves made of steel of the same which are made Peacemaker armor. Pants and shoes made of durable leather of lizards from Southsun Cove islands. The plans such armor were to be used in an attack on Lion Arch. The project, however, was discontinued due to a problem with the acquisition of Jade. Weapons that uses April is a lightweight and quiet Plasma sword and dagger. Screens show April at the headquarters of Aetherblade and effectiveness of the mission reflection of one of the crew members from prison in the Black Citadel. Purpose of the mission. Kill the guard silently and release prisoner. I invite you to watch. |
CLOSE Dwan Wakefield, DeAllen Washington, and Byron McBride have been arrested in the shooting death of the 6-year-old. Therese Apel/The Clarion-Ledger District attorney says three suspects arrested will face capital murder charges Martin Archie carries the grief stricken Ebony Archie, mother to Kingston Frazier, 6, down stairs after learning her son, Kingston, was found dead after being kidnapped during the theft of his mother's vehicle from the Kroger parking lot Thursday. (Photo: Elijah Baylis/The Clarion-Ledger) Story Highlights View photo gallery of family, friends mourning Frazier's loss Watch video of law enforcement about Frazier's shooting Map shows route suspects believed to have taken after stealing car Ebony Archie collapsed after learning her child had been killed. Unable to stand, a family member carried her down a flight of stairs at the district attorney’s office in downtown Jackson. In between screams and sobs, Archie cried out, “I told y’all that s—t wasn’t right, I told y’all.” The body of her 6-year-old son, Kingston Frazier, was shot to death in the backseat of his mother’s car, abandoned on a dead-end road in Madison County. The car was 15 miles from the Kroger parking lot in Jackson where it was stolen early Thursday morning with Frazier asleep in the backseat. UPDATE: What happened to Kingston Frazier? Hinds County Sheriff Victor Mason told media that a deputy stationed at Kroger on I-55 saw Archie exit the grocery store at about 2:30 a.m. Thursday. Archie approached the deputy and said that her car was missing, and authorities began an auto theft investigation, he said. It was not until later, Mason said, that Archie told authorities that her son was in the car. "When we found out later that there was a child in the back, we immediately notified the highway patrol (who) put out an Amber Alert," Mason said at an evening press conference. It is unclear how long it took Archie to tell law enforcement that her son was in the car or how long after that the Amber Alert was issued. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety sent the Amber Alert at 4:30 a.m. Kingtston Three suspects are in police custody. Madison-Rankin District Attorney Michael Guest said he planned to file capital murder charges against each of the three. Dwan Diondro Wakefield, 17, of Ridgeland, was taken into custody by the Madison Sheriff's Department Thursday morning. Wakefield, a senior at Ridgeland High School, was the starting quarterback on the school's football team, according to Superintendent Ronnie McGehee. He was dismissed from the team last year, McGehee said. DeAllen Washington, 17, turned himself in to the Hinds County Sheriff's Department Thursday afternoon. Story continues below photo. Bryon McBride Jr. was taken into custody and transported to the Madison County Sheriff's Department by the U.S. Marshals late Thursday. At 9:47 a.m., approximately seven hours after Kingston was taken, the Amber Alert was canceled. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation confirmed the car had been found, but authorities did not immediately release if Kingston was dead or alive. Family members gathered at the Kroger parking lot began praising God and pointed to the Facebook page of Kingston's father as proof the child was alive. The father had posted that Kingston was found alive in Greenwood, Mississippi, two hours north of Jackson. Less than 30 minutes later, police called Kingston's uncle, David Archie, and asked him to meet them at the district attorney’s office downtown. When family arrived, Ebony Archie was on the building’s second floor speaking with law enforcement. The mood was still one of optimism, with Kingston's grandfather, Walter Williams, saying, “We believe he’s alright. It’s going to be OK.” Story continues below gallery. As the minutes went by with no update on Kingston's condition, a crying Williams yelled out, “Someone said the child is safe. Is it too much to ask to know if he’s safe?” In an instant, the mood changed. One by one, family members began hearing that the boy was dead. A scream rang out. And another. And another. “Oh God, my baby.” “Why, God, why?” Kingston's grandmother, Ruby Archie, doubled over and sank to the ground. David Archie’s phone rang and his face fell. He screamed out, “It don’t look good.” Ebony Archie’s friends rushed the locked office door, desperately trying to reach their friend. “She needs us,” they screamed, banging on the door. Authorities let her cousin, Martin Archie, inside. He emerged moments later, Ebony Archie limp in his arms. Barefoot and crying, her words were inaudible. While carrying her to the car, a family member asked about Kingston's body. Suddenly alert, Ebony Archie asked, “Kingston? Where is Kingston?” Her family members tried to get her to stand, to no avail. She collapsed again. Martin Archie and another family member carried her to a waiting truck, laying her in the backseat. As the truck drove away, those left behind sank into each other’s arms. For a moment, the street was silent. A man sat on the curb, his head in his hands. Law enforcement on scene wiped away tears. Walter Williams was led away, shaking with sobs. Grief then gave way to anger. Story continues below photo. Kingston Frazier (Photo: JPD) Kingston's father showed up, shirtless, yelling at the police. Family members calmed him down and pulled him away. Velma Eddington, Kingston's great-aunt, said the family appreciated the outpouring of support but said the child’s death was the result of evil. “Everyone that was praying for us, that we would find Kingston alive, we want to thank everybody for that, but this is, really, this is, it’s hard to know that people out there are evil, that would kill a child. That’s evil,” Eddington said. “That baby hadn’t done anything to him. That baby hadn’t done nothing. They could have left that child on that backseat, asleep. They didn’t have to kill him. Those people are evil. Evil. They need to find that other one before we find him…it’s evil what they did.” Remembering the boy, David Archie said, “Kingston was all outgoing. He didn’t want to be serious about anything.” "He just liked to have a lot of fun. He was dedicated to his uncles, to his aunties and anytime he saw any of them he would take off running to them, no matter where. If he was at my house or one of the other uncle’s or aunt’s house, he doesn’t want to go home with mom because he knows that we’re going to baby him and we’re going to have fun. “Since the day he was able to talk he was like that. Just a great, great, 6-year-old who we just can’t imagine that something like this would happen, that people would have in their heart to do that to a 6-year-old. Even if I was mad at the world, I couldn’t do this to a 6-year-old. To me, it’s hatred. There is nothing out there worth taking a 6-year-old’s life,” he said. David Archie said the family was committed to helping police find those responsible for Frazier's death. "I can tell you this, we won't rest until they're brought to justice," he said. "You can believe that." Original story and updates 4:14 p.m. update: The third suspect has been identified as Byron McBride, Jr. He is currently in the custody of the Madison County Sheriff's Department. He was brought in by the U.S. Marshals. 4:07 p.m. update: A third suspect is in custody. Their identity is currently unknown. 2:42 p.m. update: The second person of interest, DeAllen Washington, is in custody, according to law enforcement. 12:18 p.m. update: After hearing that Kingston had been killed, family and friends reacted to the news. Remembering Kingston, his uncle, David Archie said, "Kington was all outgoing…He didn’t want to be serious about anything." "He just liked to have a lot of fun. He was dedicated to his uncles, to his aunties and anytime he saw any of them he would take off running to them, no matter where. If he was at my house or one of the other uncle’s or aunt’s house, he doesn’t want to go home with mom because he knows that we’re going to baby him and we’re going to have fun. Since the day he was able to talk he was like that. Just a great, great, 6-year-old who we just can’t imagine that something like this would happen, that people would have in their heart to do that to a 6-year-old. Even if I was mad at the world, I couldn’t do this to a 6-year-old…to me, it’s hatred. There is nothing out there worth taking a 6-year-old’s life." HIs great-aunt, Velma Eddington, said the family appreciated the outpouring of support but said the child's death was the result of "evil." "Everyone that was praying for us, that we would find Kingston alive, we want to thank everybody for that, but this is, really, this is, it’s hard to know that people out there are evil, that would kill a child," she said. "That’s evil. That baby hadn’t done anything to him. That baby hadn’t done nothing. They could have left that child on that backseat, asleep. They didn’t have to kill him. Those people are evil. Evil. They need to find that other one before we find him…it’s evil what they did." David Archie said the family was committed to helping police find those responsible for Kington's death. "I can tell you this, we won’t rest until they’re brought to justice," he said. "You can believe that." 11:32 a.m. update: A person of interest in the death of Kingston Frazier, 6, is in custody. Dwan Wakefield is in the custody of the Madison County Sheriff's Dept. Authorities are also searching for DeAllen Washington in connection to the case. 10:35 a.m. update: Authorities confirm that 6-year-old Kingston Frazier was found dead in Madison County. Officials said Kingston died from a gunshot wound while sitting in the backseat of the vehicle. 10:05 a.m. update: Reports say that 6-year-old Kingston Frazier and the stolen vehicle were recovered in Gluckstadt. His condition is not known. 10 a.m. update: The family of 6-year-old Kingston Frazier says he was found in Greenwood. His condition is not known. 9:47 a.m. update: The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation has canceled the Amber Alert issued earlier for 6-year-old Kingston Frazier. No details were given. Original story: An Amber Alert was issued Thursday morning after a car was stolen from a grocery store parking lot with a child inside. Authorities are looking for a 2000 silver or gray Toyota Camry taken from the Kroger parking lot on Interstate 55 with 6-year-old Kingston Frazier was inside. The boy was last seen wearing a white tank top with khaki shorts and black and gold Jordan shoes. The license plate on the Toyota Camry is HYX 783. Jackson police chief Lee Vance held an emotional press conference Thursday morning, asking whoever has Kingston to bring him home. "Just drop him off at the store," Vance pleaded, emphasizing the desperation of the situation. According to the Hinds County Sheriff's Department, the child's mother, Ebony Archie, left her Camry running with Kingston inside. David Archie, Ebony Archie’s uncle, said Kingston was sleeping in the car when his mother went inside the store. Within a short time, two men in a two-door Honda Civic pulled up and the passenger jumped in Archie’s car with the child inside. Both vehicles sped away. Authorities are searching for a 2014 Honda Civic Coupe with license plate MDV 361 with a dent on the rear passenger side. Hinds County, JPD and Mississippi Bureau of Investigation are working the case. “When a child is taken, we pull all resources available to us. This is the type call that hits home with every officer involved," said Major Pete Luke. “This is a very emotional time for everyone and we ask the public’s help to bring Kingston home." David Archie begged for his nephew’s safe return. “We’re just asking, regardless of who you are, what you are and where you are, if you could just return the child. Leave him somewhere, find a way to get him to a store, to a gas station, to a restaurant, Wal-Mart, anywhere people are and just drop him off.” “He doesn’t even know what was going on,” David Archie said. “We just want a safe return of the child, this 6-year-old child shouldn’t be, of course, caught up in this matter of stealing a vehicle. “This is a 6 year old innocent child and, at the end of the day, regardless of how and what took place, that is the only thing that we’re concerned about at the moment.” A 2014 Honda Civic is being sought by police. (Photo: JPD) Read or Share this story: https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/local/2017/05/18/jackson-amber-alert/329460001/ |
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way. Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way. Someone who has been enskied has been raised, figuratively, as high as the sky. The "en-" prefix indicates putting something or someone into or on whatever the second part of the word indicates-in this case, the sky. Lots of words have been formed this way; some of them are quite familiar ("enthrone," "entrap"), whereas others are as high-flown as "ensky." "Enisle," for example, means "to put someone on an island," or, figuratively, "to isolate someone." "Enwomb" means "to shut one up as if in a womb." The very first, and most famous, use of "ensky" occurs in Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, when Lucio tells Isabella, a novice in a convent, "I hold you as a thing enskied and sainted." Examples "Since his death, he has been enskied and sainted by people who put heavy emphasis on his later, serious books…." - From Robertson Davies' 2008 book Selected Works on the Pleasures of Reading "Hoisted up by the cranes of populist bombast to the platforms of great expectation, the newly enskied 104th Congress confronts an ancient problem in socioeconomics…." - From an essay by Lewis Lapham in Lights, Camera, Democracy!, March 27, 2001 |
A Cy Young-winning ace in his prime. A Rookie of the Year-winning, world-beating infielder about to win a bunch more hardware in the years to come. A Manager of the Year-winning skipper liked and respected by everyone in the organization. A front office loaded with forward-thinking minds who value both present and future success. A passel of young talent poised to fortify the major-league roster for years to come. An old but beloved ballpark. A fan base pining for success after a long October drought. The Los Angeles Dodgers resemble the Chicago Cubs in more ways than you can count. All that's left is a World Series. They might now have the horses to do it. On Monday, the Dodgers traded young right-hander Jose De Leon to the Tampa Bay Rays for second baseman Logan Forsythe. While not a blockbuster deal, the swap still showed how L.A.'s brass approaches roster construction. It also reminded us that the organization's cupboard of prospects is loaded, a great sign for a team vying for sustained success. Forsythe enjoyed a breakout season in 2015, batting .281/.359/.444 while playing half his games at pitcher-friendly Tropicana Field -- numbers that worked out to 25 percent better than league average, per the park-adjusted metric wRC+. His numbers ebbed slightly in 2016 to .264/.333/.444 -- still 13 percent better than league average. Forsythe also socked a career-high 20 homers in just 127 games while playing slightly better-than-average defense for the third year in a row, per Baseball Info Solutions' Defensive Runs Saved. A better-than-average offensive player who's just 30 years old and locked up for the next two seasons for the relatively tiny price of $14.75 million (up to $16.75 million if he meets certain playing time-based incentives) represents a huge asset for the Dodgers. Add the team's glaring need at second base and a lefty-heavy lineup that needed a jolt of right-handed balance, and Forsythe's acquisition checks all the boxes. No ad available New second baseman Logan Forsythe is the perfect fit for the Dodgers. USATSI Some pundits have wondered aloud why the Dodgers didn't nab Twins second baseman Brian Dozier instead. It's a fair question, given that Dozier blasted 42 homers last season, emerging as one of the best players in the American League. Consider that the Dodgers came up just two games short of making the World Series last season, and you would think that going after the best player possible would be the no-brainer way to go. Two factors pushed the Dodgers toward Forsythe instead. First, Dozier's 42-homer explosion marked a massive spike from previous production levels. Which means it's tough to tell if those kinds of numbers will become typical for him, or if we might look back at that season a bit like we did at, say, Brady Anderson's 1996 season or Davey Johnson's 1973 campaign -- a good player having one random, all-world season at his peak. Second, the Twins' asking price for Dozier was reportedly sky-high, with De Leon just one of several prospects Minnesota was demanding in return. The Dodgers refusing to stretch for Dozier continues their recent tradition of not overextending for players who might fill their needs. After the 2015 season, the Dodgers had a glaring need for starting pitchers to complement Clayton Kershaw. But rather than spend $200 million-plus to re-sign Zack Greinke (or sign David Price), they shopped in the discount aisle, snagging Kenta Maeda and Scott Kazmir instead. Though Kazmir struggled with injuries and erratic performance, the combined investment in those two pitchers was about one-third of what Greinke and Price got on the open market, with Maeda posting numbers that topped Greinke's and weren't too far from what Price accomplished in Boston. No ad available This offseason, with starting pitching again a need, the Dodgers could have strip-mined their farm system, the way the Red Sox did when they acquired Chris Sale. They opted to re-sign veteran lefty Rich Hill to an affordable three-year deal instead, avoiding the talent exodus that Boston oversaw in the Sale deal, and that the Nationals went for in acquiring Adam Eaton. The Dodgers passed on big names to re-sign veteran lefty Rich Hill. USATSI All of that is by design. As Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi explained in detail last spring, the large-market Dodgers and their bottomless-pit-of-insurance-money owners want to win now. But they also want to win for many years to come. As Zaidi explained, the best way to accomplish those twin goals is through a combination of data, depth and youth. There will be no shortage of data crunching in Los Angeles this year, with a front office featuring four past or present analytically inclined GMs (Zaidi, team president Andrew Friedman, as well as Josh Byrnes and Alex Anthopoulos) running the show. Manager of the Year Dave Roberts leads an open-minded coaching staff that includes spectacularly well-prepared pitching coach Rick Honeycutt. By acquiring Forsythe, and re-signing Hill, Justin Turner and Kenley Jansen, the Dodgers now project as one of the deepest teams in baseball. Six f the Dodgers' eight projected lineup regulars, all five projected starting pitchers and the team's closer all project as better-than-average players this season. Lefty phenom Julio Urias is on everyone's list of best breakout candidates of 2017. The outfield is loaded with timeshare options that could help the corner-outfield spots become more productive than they were last season. It's possible that the team's worst everyday player will be Adrian Gonzalez, a five-time All-Star who still put up numbers 12 percent better than league average in 2016. No ad available The bullpen beyond Jansen could use reinforcements, and middle relief has been an issue for the Dodgers for the past few years. But Hot Stove season isn't over, and non-star relievers rank among the cheapest and easiest assets for any team to pick up. The organization's youth might be its biggest asset of all. Corey Seager, 22, is a franchise player on a team that already had one in Kershaw. He's joined by Yasmani Grandal, 28, and Joc Pederson, 24, both near-elite up-the-middle players in or entering their prime, as well as a trio of excellent, under-30 starting pitchers in Maeda, Urias and the indomitable Kershaw. Corey Seager gives the Dodgers a second franchise player. USATSI Further, by resisting the urge to sacrifice top prospects in trade or top draft picks on iffy free-agent signings, the Dodgers have built a farm system that remains strong even with De Leon moving on to St. Pete. Slugger Cody Bellinger, 21, could crack the majors this season and could be ready to take Gonzalez's job in a hurry. Cuban right-hander Yadier Alvarez, 20, has just 59 professional innings under his belt, but also has the talent to rise quickly through the minors, following Urias as the next potential big-time Dodgers pitching prospect to crack the rotation. Outfielder Alex Verdugo, 20, offers additional promise for the future, with Yasiel Puig, Andre Ethier and Andrew Toles all unlikely to be strong long-term answers. On top of all that, the Dodgers have the kind of money that allows them to overcome mistakes. The team's $62.5 million signing of Hector Olivera just 22 months ago would go down as a nuclear disaster for a small-revenue club like the Rays or A's. In L.A., it's a blunder no one even talks about, because the Dodgers have more than enough scratch to realize mistakes, then spend a ton to make them disappear. No ad available With a cautious approach that allows them to dodge the really huge albatrosses like Arizona's Greinke deal, they're left with enough flexibility to re-sign key players like Hill, Turner and Jansen. With the last remnants of massive spending by the previous regime (chiefly Gonzalez and Carl Crawford) disappearing in the next year or two, even a slide below the luxury-tax threshold (and a windfall of tens of millions in penalty savings for the team's owners) could eventually be in play. The kicker to all this is how the Dodgers stack up for 2017. Fiscal discipline and hypothetical prospects contributing years from now might not thrill Dodgers fans who haven't experienced a World Series parade in nearly three decades. For those title-starved die-hards, there's this: With three weeks to go until pitchers and catchers report, Fangraphs pegs the defending champion Cubs as the second-best team in baseball. The best? Your 2017 Los Angeles Dodgers. With all that these two teams have in common, we might see the Dodgers and Cubs collide in the playoffs multiple times in the next few years. As other traditional powers regroup, L.A. vs. Chicago could become the best rivalry in baseball. |
The Secret Surge Debate As the grim casualty counts filtered in from Iraq in November 2006, a group of top Bush administration officials gathered in National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley’s office for a Saturday-morning brainstorming session. The U.S. strategy for tamping down the sectarian violence was in tatters, but there was no agreement within the administration on what should replace it. The White House was moving to publicly inaugurate a policy review, but the president’s team was badly divided. "What can we really do?" asked Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who wondered aloud if the Shia-dominated government in Baghdad might be "playing us for a sucker." Much of the discussion, which is chronicled in a classified transcript described in detail here for the first time, was dominated by Rice’s argument that the United States should abandon a strategy in which "nothing is going right" and instead focus on "core interests" like fighting al Qaeda and contesting Iranian influence. Instead of trying to stop the burgeoning sectarian violence, Rice suggested, the American military might concentrate on averting "mass killings" –attacks on the order of Srebrenica, the 1995 massacre in which more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslims were killed. But Hadley and his aides on the National Security Council were pushing in the opposite direction and making the case for sending more troops. "On force numbers in Baghdad, we have never had a level of forces that historical case studies, such as those conducted by Rand, find to be necessary," said Brett McGurk, an Iraq hand on the NSC. "There is an argument that coalition forces are not only critical to preventing mass killings, they are also critical to establishing the conditions for a political deal." Ten years after the American-led invasion of Iraq, the conflict remains a subject of fierce debate. By all accounts, President George W. Bush’s decision to send five additional combat brigades, more than 20,000 troops, for the "surge" was among the most fateful of the nearly nine-year conflict. I covered the war in Iraq before, during, and after the surge, and it is clear that it played an essential role in tamping down the sectarian violence and catalyzing the tribal awakening in Anbar province so that it spread to Diyala, areas south of Baghdad, and to the Iraqi capital itself. The United States owed it to the Iraqis it sought to liberate to try to reduce the violence before heading toward the exit, and it owed it to the American troops. As overstretched as the U.S. military was, defeat would have been even worse. For all that, the political reconciliation the United States sought to encourage through the surge was never fully achieved. A host of other decisions over two administrations also aggravated that problem, and the Bush and Obama administrations each fell short in curbing Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s drift toward authoritarianism. But leaving Iraq in the grips of a spiraling civil war in 2007 would have been a disaster for U.S. national security. And it is one of history’s larger ironies that the surge Barack Obama so strenuously opposed as a candidate later enabled him as president to withdraw American forces without unleashing a tidal wave of fresh violence. Still, the decision to surge was not an easy one for Bush’s Iraq team — and the internal debate was more pointed than is commonly realized, with lessons for Iraq, Afghanistan, and other potential conflicts that reverberate even today. * * * In October 2006, Hadley made his first trip to Baghdad, where he heard an earful from military officers about the fighting in the Iraqi capital and the increasingly sectarian role of the Shia-dominated Iraqi government. That visit helped frame the problem. And when Hadley, Rice, and their aides gathered on Nov. 11, the war was shaping the political debate at home. Just days earlier, the Republicans had taken a drubbing in the midterm elections, and Donald H. Rumsfeld had finally been pushed out as secretary of defense. If there was to be a new strategy, Hadley believed, it was imperative that the Joint Chiefs be brought on board. But as the meeting in Hadley’s office got under way the civilians were hardly united, with the State Department and the NSC staff forming opposing camps. Rice put the question on the table: What were the United States’ core interests in Iraq and could Iraq, which had managed to hold elections, build a genuine democracy? "Is Iraq so fractured that democracy, for the majority Shia, means one man, one vote, only once?" Rice asked. "In other words, are the Shia simply pursuing a hegemonic agenda? "Let’s go around the table and focus on Condi’s key question," Hadley said. "Can this government overcome narrow sectarian interests? Is there room for compromise?" Meghan O’ Sullivan, the deputy national security advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan, answered with an emphatic "yes." Iraq, she argued, could overcome its sectarian differences, but Maliki’s government would not be able to rise above its sectarian "impulses" unless the United States did more to improve security and thus showed that a multi-sectarian Iraq was possible. Rice challenged the argument: "With 140,000 troops, how can they doubt our level of commitment?" she asked. "We see this as a huge commitment," O’Sullivan responded. "But they see that we are not doing enough to provide security. The point is that the Iraqis are not predetermined to choose the sectarian piece every time." Rice still seemed skeptical and wondered if the Maliki government was simply "using us as a shield" while pursuing a sectarian agenda. Peter Feaver, a Duke University professor who had been recruited to run the NSC’s strategic planning office, backed up O’Sullivan’s analysis. "We may in fact be doing just enough to encourage hedging behavior from all sides, but not enough to set the conditions for a political deal," he said. At this point, David Satterfield, Rice’s senior advisor on Iraq, joined the debate on the other side. The sectarian demons appeared to have been unleashed, and Satterfield made the State Department’s case for a more limited American role, one that narrowed the administration’s goals in Iraq to "core interests" like counterterrorism. "This drive for dominance is fully consistent with the Shia historical narrative of enemies on all sides and betrayal lurking around the corner," Satterfield said. "In this regard, Maliki’s intentions must be seen as part of this overarching Shia agenda. It is going to play out." "We need a fundamental reconsideration of our presence and purpose in Iraq," Satterfield continued. "No application of forces is likely to make a discernible difference. The Shia will pursue their own agenda regardless. We need to focus on our core interests and deploy our resources accordingly." But then John Hannah, Vice President Dick Cheney’s national security advisor, pushed back. It was too soon to give up on the White House’s ambitious goal to foster and build ties with a moderate Iraq, albeit one that would be dominated by the Shia. "I do not agree with the deterministic quality to David’s view," Hannah said. "We have one last chance to change this situation. I do not believe it is fated that the Sunnis will reject a deal, or that the Shia won’t offer one. Looking at the Shia, they have had a reasonable deal on the table for some time. There are just too few Sunnis willing to accept their position as a minority power in a coalition government." Philip Zelikow, the State Department counselor and Rice confidant, argued that while the situation might not have been predetermined, the political die had since been cast. "We contained but did not defeat the insurgency last year," he said. "I think the communities have become more polarized and the Shia narrative has become entrenched. Our focus is Green Zone-centric. Will there be a political deal? Can the moderates have a role? In fact, the central government at this stage has little ability to control the security situation outside the Green Zone. As a consequence, all sides are going to self-help. The locus of power is now diffuse and decentralized." "We need to cut deals as necessary with these local bases of power," he added. "We need to embed and support not the ISF [Iraqi Security Forces] as a whole, but the particular units that we identify as able to help advance our interests. That is a much more deliberate and calibrated approach than what we’re doing now." * * * At this point, the NSC staff made a new argument, one that sought to link the fraught situation in Iraq with the political realities at home. The time for taking corrective action was growing short and there might only be sufficient political support in the United States for one last push. If the United States aimed low, as State was advocating, it might squander the only chance to change the military and political equation in Baghdad. "We need to keep in mind, as we consider the options, that we have a window here — a short window, of course, but one in which we might be able to make the pitch that we need to focus on building up Maliki’s capabilities to deal with issues," Feaver said. "Once we adopt another approach, particularly if it deals with limiting our footprint, we will never be able to recapture this window." Advancing the NSC’s case, McGurk argued that the discussion of a Shia narrative was too simplistic. The sectarian violence was being stoked by a very specific Shia agenda, that of Muqtada al-Sadr, the fiery anti-American cleric. Maliki, McGurk continued, was "beholden" to the Sadrists, who had joined the Shia political alliance, been granted control of the Health and Transportation ministries and were using them to pursue their campaign of sectarian cleansing. "To a Sunni, what is important at this moment is not the constitution or an oil law," McGurk said. "It is the fact that you can’t go to the hospital without risk of showing up in a gutter with a drill through your skull. That’s what happening in the Health Ministry, and it’s a Sadrist phenomenon, not a Shia one." Not all Shia were opposed to an American role, McGurk reported. When Mowaffak al-Rubaie, then Maliki’s national security advisor, said that he planned to recommend that American forces move to the periphery of Baghdad, the son of the influential Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani responded that Iraq still needed "more neutral forces." "Are we prepared to simply say the Sadrists won, and we have lost?" McGurk asked. "Is a Shia center, represented by Sistani, no longer salvageable? I am not prepared to go that far." Rice acknowledged that there were numerous Shia groups, but did not necessarily see that as a plus. "We need to work with different actors within the Shia community," Rice said. "But nothing is going right. This is a devastating conclusion. But this is not an academic seminar. OK, so what should we do?" "Is the situation in Iraq irretrievable?" Rice asked. "I do not think so. It might be retrievable. But not with more of what we’ve been doing with this government. Deploying U.S. forces to force Iraq to do more also won’t get there." Bush was moving to embrace a troop surge and Rice, his closest aide and confidante, was not yet on board with what would be the president’s biggest Iraq decision since his decisions to go to war itself. * * * After the long back and forth over what was not working, Rice outlined her plan. The United States would need to reassert itself diplomatically in the region. "We have lost the initiative in the region. We look like Gulliver, tied down. The region is scared. Bandar is worried that if we talk to the Iranians we will cut a deal with Iran," Rice added, referring to Prince Bandar bin Sultan, then the head of the Saudi national security council. "We must get this initiative back." She also argued for a more limited role for U.S. forces in Iraq. The United States would continue to fight al Qaeda and it would become more "aggressive" about Iranian-sponsored attacks in Iraq. But it would limit its role in containing sectarian violence to stopping mass killings "on the scale of Srebrenica." "On the security side, we will do less ‘door-knocking’ police work, give up on neighborhood ‘clear, hold, and build,’ concentrate more on Special Forces work with McChrystal’s people," she said, referring to Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s Joint Special Operations Command, which was hunting al Qaeda and Iranian-backed operatives in Iraq. "The chiefs might come up with strategies for preventing mass killings," Rice said, referring to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "This should not need a large force. In Darfur, we are talking about limited deployments of far less able troops than our own. "But we will still need to fill this out with a political dimension, economics, work on the border and using JSOC against the IRGC," Rice added, using the acronyms for the Joint Special Operations Command and Iran’s paramilitary Quds force. Satterfield endorsed Rice’s argument. "In the case of mass violence, we may need a strong demonstration case to enforce the ‘no mass killings’ red line. We would need to be willing to act unilaterally. But this in itself could trigger events beyond our control." O’ Sullivan was skeptical that the United States could limit its military role in Iraq and still succeed politically. "It’s counterintuitive that we can shrink our footprint while also increasing our ability to build up local institutions," O’Sullivan said. "We’re back around on what to do," Hadley observed. "We just can’t stay in a posture that is unsustainable," Rice shot back, making her case again for a more limited role for U.S. forces. "We should not rush to the door, clearly. But we cannot stay in an indefensible posture." O’Sullivan stood her ground. What if the U.S. military pulled back and the Mahdi army "goes crazy?" she asked. There might be executions in Baghdad’s squares that did not rise to the level of mass killings. Would the United States simply stand by and watch that unfold? And if the sectarian violence increased, that might create new opportunities for al Qaeda in Iraq to cast itself as a protector of the Sunnis. "Taking our hand off the sectarian boiling in Baghdad," she argued, could backfire. "Does that make sense from our perspective?" "We are not achieving our objectives now," Rice said. "The current posture is not sustainable." Hadley gently intervened. "Condi described what may now be our core objectives: fight al Qaeda, don’t allow mass killings, build the institutions, limit Iranian aggression, and recover the strategic initiative in the region. But here is what I am struggling with. In two years, we have not provided an adequate level of security," he said. "Can we really achieve these objectives with less?" "I don’t think we can equate force levels with security," Rice said. "Maybe we need to cut deals with the power brokers, even Muqtada Sadr." "But is there a time and sequencing issue here?" responded Hadley, who suggested that one option was to step up the American mili tary effort and then transition down the road. McGurk jumped in and noted that one of the CIA’s top counterinsurgency experts had done an assessment showing that the presence of U.S. forces was key to stability. "When we have a presence we are able to help resolve local disputes before they get out of control, police illegal conduct by Iraqi forces, and ultimately help the Iraqis develop their own patterns of interaction," McGurk said, outlining the CIA analysis. "But where we leave before these patterns of interaction develop, violence takes hold, sectarian incidents accelerate, and the violence becomes self-sustaining with deepening roots." The problem, McGurk argued, was that the United States never had sufficient forces in Baghdad to give its political strategy a fighting chance. "Right now, the Shia won’t disband militias because of the terrorist problem, and the Sunnis won’t come fully inside the political process because of the JAM problem, "McGurk said. "We can help break that cycle. Nobody else will." Taking up Rice’s case, Zelikow argued that that it was too late to think about sending more troops. The United States, he insisted, did not have enough forces and by the time they got to Iraq the situation might have deteriorated to the point where it could not be salvaged. "To secure Baghdad, you probably need around six to eight U.S. brigades beyond what we have there now, and six to eight Iraqi brigades," Zelikow said. "But the window is probably closed from our end," he added. "We do not have the capability to provide comprehensive population security." "We would also need to be confident that an increase of this kind would work," Zelikow said. "We would be betting the house." "The house and the whole farm," Hadley said. If the United States were to add forces, Zelikow continued, they should embed with select Iraqi military units to create joint Iraqi-American units in mixed sectarian areas. The United States, he insisted, needed to retain the flexibility to deal with other military challenges, mainly Iran. The discussion drifted to the Iraqi political situation and the challenges in forming a multi-sectarian state. "We have been in the business of micromanaging," Rice said. "Maybe we say to the Sunnis, ‘Deal with it’: allow a Shia and Kurdish coalition and let the Sunnis find a way in. We can be more tolerant of a Shia and Kurdish deal so long as they don’t do certain things along the lines of our objectives: no mass killings." Hadley had a word of caution. "We need to be careful that in taking our hand off the driving wheel that we don’t create the conditions for Iraq to be a place where a regional Sunni and Shia war plays out," Hadley said. "Sunni Arab states may look at a Shia-Kurd government and decide they need to throw their lot in with the Sunnis. Iran may see the Shia government as a proxy. We need to be mindful of these dynamics in the course we choose." Before the meeting closed, Feaver spoke up again to challenge State’s "smaller footprint" approach. There was sufficient public support if the Bush administration wanted to be more ambitious. "That is the judgment of Rove and Bartlett," Feaver said, referring to Karl Rove and Dan Bartlett, respectively the White House political operative and White House counselor. State’s plan also risked alienating the shrinking but still significant group of supporters who were still backing the Iraq war. "We cannot make this look like anything other than a big retreat," Feaver said. Importantly, Feaver argued, the more limited approach the State Department was arguing for might turn out to be equally unpopular. Focusing on al Qaeda and Iranian-backed groups might entail increased American casualties. Meanwhile, sectarian violence might increase, raising questions about the value of the war effort. Nor was it clear that a "smaller footprint" would give the United States the freedom of maneuver it needed to go after al Qaeda. Rice was not persuaded. "Peter, I don’t think I accept any of your assumptions, particularly on casualties," she said sharply. "We also are not talking about retrenchment. Think about where we want to be in 2008. If we increase our forces significantly, it better work and work fast. I’m not sure we can make that assumption, either." The State Department and NSC aides, it seemed, were as divided as ever. Rice would eventually come to accept the surge after talking with Ray Odierno, the day-to-day commander of U.S. forces in Iraq who played a major role in devising the plan that was eventually carried out by his superior Gen. David Petraeus, but that change of heart was not yet in the offing. Before the meeting ended, Hadley hinted at the strategy President Bush would announce two months later, noting that a surge of American reinforcements might serve as a "bridge" to the reduced American presence that would eventually follow. "I also want to clarify that even with a focus on core objectives, as Condi has laid out, we cannot back away from a broader freedom agenda," Hadley said. On this much, Rice agreed: "No, that’s right," she said. |
Hong Kong (AFP) - Police repeatedly fired tear gas after tens of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators brought parts of central Hong Kong to a standstill Sunday in protest at Beijing's refusal to grant the city unfettered democracy. The rare chaotic scenes -- in which crowds fought running battles with riot police in the streets of the international financial hub -- forced protest leaders to warn supporters to "retreat and save their lives" if rubber bullets were fired. Protesters screamed "Shame!" at officers, many in gas masks and riot gear, as they tried to shield themselves from the clouds of gas which was last used in Hong Kong in 2005. It marked a dramatic escalation of protests in the city, which rarely sees such violence, after a tense week of largely contained student-led demonstrations exploded into mass angry street protests. Many officers had rubber bullet rifles slung over their shoulders, prompting protest leaders to call on demonstrators to pull back if police used them of they felt their lives were threatened. "This is a matter of life or death. If their lives are threatened they should retreat and save their lives," said professor Chan Kin-man, a co-founder of the Occupy Central group which threw its weight behind the protest on Sunday. As acrid plumes of smoke wafted across the city, demonstrators expressed outrage at the city's police but remained defiant. "We are unarmed, just standing here, there was no warning for the gas," Harry Hung told AFP after a volley was fired. "This is unbelievable. This is a peaceful protest and the police are the ones using violence," added demonstrator Jade Wong. "The level of police violence here is just like mainland China, it was never like this before." - New protests spring up - The tear gas did little to stem the tide of demonstrators occupying more than 800 metres of a vital multi-lane highway usually filled with whizzing vehicles. Fresh protests also sprung up late Sunday night in the busy shopping district of Mongkok in an indication that demonstrators were planning to stretch the city's police force further. Around three thousand demonstrators blocked a major road, bringing traffic to a standstill and opening up a second significant flashpoint in the key financial hub. A dozen police looked on helplessly as the demonstrators took over Nathan Road, chanting slogans and wrapping their eyes in clingfilm to protect themselves in the event of pepper spray being deployed, an AFP reporter said. "We need to strike for freedom and for our democracy. We've come to Mongkok because it's very dangerous now in Central and Admiralty," 20-year-old student Calvin Chan told AFP, referring to the two districts where tear gas had been deployed. Protesters have defiantly stuck to their demands for full democracy, after Beijing last month said it would allow elections for the city's next leader in 2017 but will vet the candidates -- a decision branded a "fake democracy" by protesters. - 'Treating us like rioters' - Police said they had made 78 arrests for offences ranging from forcible entry into government premises, unlawful assembly, disorderly conduct in public place and assaulting public officers. The protesters in central Hong Kong were warned to leave the area which was under lockdown. "Otherwise police will take arrest and removal action to restore public order," they said in a statement. Twenty-six people were being treated for injuries, the hosptial authority said. China, which stations a People's Liberation Army (PLA) garrison in Hong Kong, said it was confident the city's administration could handle the protest. Beijing "firmly opposes all illegal activities that could undermine rule of law and jeopardise 'social tranquility' and it offers its strong backing" to the Hong Kong government, a spokesman for China's Hong Kong and Macau affairs office was quoted by the Xinhua news agency as saying. In a statement the Hong Kong government said it had "no intention to seek help from the PLA". Students have boycotted classes in the past week, which saw the central government complex stormed, with the prominent pro-democracy group Occupy Central joining on Sunday, bringing forward a mass civil disobedience campaign that had been due to start on October 1. |
An Ontario Superior Court Justice has rejected legal efforts to rescind deals on behalf of investors in pricey hotel-condo units in Toronto’s Trump International Hotel & Tower, saying buyers knew that “all investments are risky.” Justice Paul Perell makes clear in his 49-page judgment that marketing materials provided to buyers — setting out potential revenues that could be generated based on projected occupancies and room rates of more than $500 a night — were “deceptive documents.” An Ontario Superior Court Justice has rejected legal efforts to rescind deals on behalf of investors in pricey hotel-condo units in Toronto’s Trump International Hotel & Tower, saying buyers knew that “all investments are risky.” Google Streetview But they did not constitute an “investment contract” and they did not breach an Ontario Securities Commission ruling that set out specific conditions for how Talon International, developer of the hotel, was to market the unusual hotel-condo suites, the court found. In a sort of buyer-beware ruling released late Friday, Justice Perell seems to take the view that it was ultimately up to buyers to do the math for themselves and review legal documents more carefully. He notes that some who had serious concerns about unexpected fees and thousands of dollars per month in losses on the units, right from the minute the glitzy hotel opened in January, 2012, took occupancy anyway. Article Continued Below Perell also dismissed allegations that billionaire hotelier and would-be U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump should be held personally responsible for any investor issues: A number of buyers have said they bought units largely because the hotel was a Trump enterprise. Perell called it “some form of guilt by association” noting that Trump’s corporation simply licensed the Trump name to Talon International, the rookie developers of the oft-delayed project. Trump’s lawyer, Alan Garten, called the ruling “a vindication of my client and the company. The judge made it pretty clear that he has no liability to any of these buyers and was named just because his name is on the building.” “Talon is pleased they can continue with their landmark Trump Toronto project and feel vindicated,” said Talon lawyer Symon Zucker. Mitchell Wine, the lawyer for some 22 investors, just two of whom were cited in the ruling as they are test cases for all the others, said his clients were “obviously disappointed” and will consider an appeal. The investors, some of whom borrowed from their aged parents for down payments, had been seeking damages of $200,000 to $1 million, based on the costs of their hotel suites and the mounting, monthly losses. The ruling, which comes after a two-day hearing in late June, also dismisses any personal liability in the case by Talon chairman Alex Shnaider and former company president Val Levitan, the executive who prepared marketing materials that were used to woo investors, many of them first-time condo buyers. Article Continued Below Those materials, presented in power point presentations and handouts, were meant to assure potential buyers that they could make big money by renting out the hotel-condo units, based on projected room rates of $500+ per day and occupancy rates of 75 per cent to a worst-case scenario of 55 per cent. Those estimates were “uninformed and ill-informed opinions, and his (Levitan’s) figures were essentially just pick-a-number speculation about what might be charged and what might happen in the marketplace,” says the ruling. In fact, the project suffered so many delays that by the time it opened, it was faced with a raft of other five-star competition and ended up having to discount room rates considerably to boost lower-than-expected occupancy, court was told. Read more about: |
In 1882 the British occupied Egypt. Although they claimed they would withdraw their troops, the British remained, they said, at the request of the khedive, the ruler they had installed. The U.S. Army Area Handbook aptly describes the British decision to stay: At the outset of the occupation, the British government declared its intention to withdraw its troops as soon as possible. This could not be done, however, until the authority of the khedive was restored. Eventually, the British realized that these two aims were incompatible because the military intervention, which Khedive Tawfiq supported and which prevented his overthrow, had undermined the authority of the ruler. Without the British presence, the khedival government would probably have collapsed. The British would remain in Egypt for 70 years until Gamel Abdel Nasser's nationalist revolt tossed them out. They would grant Egypt nominal independence in 1922, but in order to maintain their hold over the Suez Canal, the gateway to British India and Asia, they would retain control over Egypt's finances and foreign policy. On Sept. 13, 2007, George W. Bush issued his report to the nation on the progress of "the surge" in Iraq. Echoing the British in Egypt, he promised "a reduced American presence" in Iraq, but he added ominously that "Iraqi leaders from all communities … understand that their success will require U.S. political, economic, and security engagement that extends beyond my presidency. These Iraqi leaders have asked for an enduring relationship with America. And we are ready to begin building that relationship -- in a way that protects our interests in the region and requires many fewer American troops." (Emphasis mine.) In other words, Iraqi leaders who owe their positions to the U.S. occupation want the Americans to stay indefinitely, and Bush is ready to oblige them, albeit with a smaller force. British Prime Minister William Gladstone insisted in 1882 that the British would not make Egypt a colony. He wanted, his private secretary recorded, "to give scope to Egypt for the Egyptians were this feasible and attainable without risk." But that appeared too risky, and Egypt quickly became part of the British Empire. Bush, too, has insisted that the United States is not engaged in imperialism. America is not "an imperial power," but a "liberating power," he has declared. But Bush's denial rings as hollow as Gladstone's. What Bush has done in Iraq, rather than what he says he has done, is to revive an imperialist foreign policy, reminiscent of the British and French in the Middle East, and of the kind that the United States practiced briefly under William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. Bush's foreign policy has been variously described as unilateralist, militarist, and hyper-nationalist. But the term that fits it best is imperialist. That's not because it is the most incendiary term, but because it is the most historically accurate. Bush's foreign policy was framed as an alternative to the liberal internationalist policies that Woodrow Wilson espoused and that presidents from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Bill Clinton tried to put into effect as an alternative to the imperialist strategies that helped cause two world wars and even the Cold War. Bush's foreign policy represents a return not to the simple unilateralism of 19th-century American foreign policy, but to the imperial strategy that the great powers of Europe -- and, for a brief period, America, too -- followed and that resulted in utter disaster. There have been empires since the dawn of history, but the term "imperialism," and its modern practice, originated in the late 19th century. During that time, Britain and the major European powers struggled to carve up the less developed world into colonies, protectorates, and spheres of influence. The new empires spawned during this period didn't consist of "settler colonies" like the original American colonies or Australia, but indigenous possessions like British India or French Indochina. The United States got into the great game in 1898 when, after successfully ousting Spain from Cuba and the Pacific, the McKinley administration, prodded by Theodore Roosevelt and Henry Cabot Lodge, decided to annex the Philippines. There were two kinds of imperial rule: direct, where the colonial power assigned an administrator -- a viceroy or proconsul -- who ran the country directly; and indirect, where the colonial power used its financial and military power to prop up a native administration that did its bidding and to prevent the rise of governments that did not. The latter kind of imperial rule was developed by the United States in Cuba in 1901 after Roosevelt's Secretary of War Elihu Root realized that direct rule could bring war and rebellion, as it had done, to the McKinley administration's surprise, in the Philippines. The British later adopted this kind of imperial rule in Egypt and Iraq. The impetus for the growth of empires in the 19th century was economic. Britain and the imperial powers sought secure access to raw materials, including rubber, cotton, and foodstuffs -- oil would come later -- and to outlets for capital investment in railroads and other major projects. As their colonial investments grew, they tried to erect an international system of islands and port facilities and canals that could protect their trade routes. (The U.S. originally saw the Philippines as a stepping stone to the lucrative Chinese market.) But the impetus wasn't only economic. By the early 20th century, as the countries strove to divide up the globe, the acquisition of colonies became a source of national power and prestige, and acquired its own elaborate and malignant ideological justification. It gained a life of its own. This growth of imperialism eventually created the conditions for its undoing. By encouraging not merely trade rivalry, but growing competition for national power -- epitomized in the pre–World War I naval arms race between Britain and Germany -- imperialism helped spawn wars among the great powers themselves. The rivalry between top dog England and challenger Germany, and between Germany and Austria, on the one hand, and France and Russia, on the other, contributed to the outbreak of World War I. The Second World War also represented, among other things, an attempt by the Axis powers, a subordinate group of capitalist nations, to redivide the world at the expense of the U.S., Great Britain, France, and the USSR. And the Cold War stemmed from the attempt by the Soviet Union, one of the most vocal critics of Western imperialism, to fulfill the imperial dreams of Czarist Russia by expanding westward and to the south. In addition, the system of imperialism spawned nationalist and anti-imperialist movements in the colonies themselves. Some of these movements, particularly in the Middle East, had a religious coloration. Others took their ideology from Soviet or Chinese communism or from the Wilsonian vision of national self-determination. These movements made it difficult, and finally impossible, for the imperial powers to maintain their control. In the United States, Woodrow Wilson came to realize the pitfalls of imperialism not only from the six-year war with the Filipino rebels and Wilson's own unsuccessful intervention in Mexico in 1914, but also from the outbreak of World War I, which Wilson privately blamed on imperial rivalry. After World War I, Wilson set out to create new international arrangements to replace those of imperialism. Wilson sought an agreement among the great powers through the League of Nations to prevent new conquests and wars over conquests. He wanted to phase out the existing imperialism through "mandates" that would put countries, and groups of countries, that had no vested interest in acquiring colonies in charge of assisting colonies in making the transition to self-government. And Wilson favored economic agreements to ease conflicts over access to markets and raw materials. Wilson didn't think the United States should abandon the leadership role it acquired at the end of World War I. But he wanted the United States to exercise it through international institutions that could ensure a peaceful world in which the United States would not have to prepare perpetually for war and in which America's vaunted economic superiority could come to the fore. Wilson failed to win over his European counterparts and the Republicans at home. But during and after World War II, Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman attempted to put Wilson's liberal internationalism into practice. It was embodied not only in the U.N., but in the IMF, World Bank, and GATT agreements, and in America's multilateral approach to the Cold War. Roosevelt had planned to force Britain and France to divest themselves of their empires -- the new U.N. had a "trusteeship" system for that purpose -- but American resolve was blunted by the onset of the Cold War. Faced with Soviet support for anti-imperialist movements in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, the United States sided with the former colonial powers. That policy came to a disastrous culmination in the Vietnam war, which was an outgrowth of American support for French colonialism. The American defeat in Vietnam dealt a fatal blow to U.S. attempts to prop up the Western imperialism. Subsequently, Portugal's colonies in Africa gained their independence. That left only the Soviet empire. When it collapsed in the early 1990s, the age of empire was over. There were still colonies and quasi-colonies like Chechnya or Tibet, but they were contested extensions of the larger power itself. Some political scientists in the United States and Europe claimed that America remained an imperial power because of its worldwide system of military bases and its clout in international financial institutions, but while America was capable of influencing governments, it could no longer exercise a veto over critical regimes coming to power. The invasion of Panama in 1989 appeared to be the last gasp of America's indirect imperialism. Indeed, the 1990s became a high water mark of liberal internationalism. George H.W. Bush's administration built a coalition through the U.N. to drive Iraq out of Kuwait. Acting through NATO, the Clinton administration built a coalition to end the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo and to oversee the transition to a peaceful breakup of former Yugoslavia. The United States also took leadership in the formation of the World Trade Organization -- which, whatever its imperfections, was designed to prevent the kind of rival trade blocs that could eventually lead to war. At Maastricht, Western Europe, once the center of imperial rivalry, became a model of post-imperial integration. And the world's nations seemed on the verge of agreeing to a new set of accords, including the Kyoto Protocol, that would address problems Wilson never dreamed of -- problems that could not be addressed except through international agreements. When George W. Bush took office in January 2001, however, his foreign policy echoed not only that of neo-isolationist Republicans like former Majority Leader Dick Armey, but also that of America's foreign policy before we decided in 1898 that we had to get involved in the struggle for empire. That was an America that not only scorned empire but was oblivious to much of the outside world. Bush disdained international organizations. He withdrew the United States from the Kyoto climate treaty and whatever other international agreements had yet to be ratified. He was a unilateralist, but he was reluctant to use America's singular power to affect the governments of other countries. His highest defense priority was the erection of an anti-missile system, the purpose of which was not only to make the United States impregnable from foreign attack, but also to reduce the reliance of the U.S. on other countries for its security. All that changed after September 11. Bush retained his unilateralism, but he now wedded it to an aggressive strategy for dealing with America's enemies. In developing a response to September 11, Bush fell under the influence of neo-conservatives in his administration and in Washington policy circles. These neo-conservatives believed that the United States should use its superior military power to intimidate and overthrow the regimes of "rogue states" like Iraq that challenged American hegemony. (One typical slogan was "rogue state rollback.") The neocons didn't favor colonialism, but believed that by exerting its power the United States could produce regimes that did its bidding. After September 11, they spoke openly of creating a new American empire. "People are now coming out of the closet on the word ‘empire,'" Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer exulted. The neo-conservatives found common cause with Bush officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who were concerned about protecting American access to foreign oil in a period of rising demand and stagnating supply. That made them particularly interested in ousting Saddam Hussein, whose government sat atop the third largest oil reserve in the world, and in installing a regime more friendly to the United States. In the buildup to the war, and during the invasion and occupation, Bush officials, who were eager to advertise Iraq's nuclear threat, were reluctant to talk about oil, but in off-the-record interviews I conducted in December 2002, neo-conservatives waxed poetic about using Iraq's oil wealth to undermine OPEC. After he left office, former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill recounted National Security Council discussions about Iraqi oil. And in his recently published memoir, Alan Greenspan wrote, "I'm saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows -- the Iraq war is largely about oil." Bush and other administration officials denied that the United States was trying to create a new empire. But they were less guarded in their private communications. When the White House offered former Sen. Bob Kerrey the job of head of the Provisional Authority in Iraq -- the job that eventually went to Paul Bremer -- officials asked him if he were interested in being "viceroy." Kerrey, taken aback, turned down the job. The administration's actions also belied its denials. In March 2004, the Chicago Tribune reported that the U.S. Army was constructing what it called 14 "enduring bases" in Iraq. These would provide a continuing American military presence in Iraq. And the administration continues work on these bases, including a new one perched on the Iranian border, even as it professes to be committed to turning Iraq over to its government and army. Though opposition to the American presence in Iraq has grown both there and in the U.S., Bush's televised address and Gen. David Petraeus' congressional testimony in September made clear that the administration has grown even more determined to remain there. As Spencer Ackerman points out, Bush's promise to stay in Iraq "as long as necessary, not one day longer" has given way to the promise of an "enduring relationship." And American projections of troop presence in Iraq now extend indefinitely into the future. If the administration's experience in Iraq does not parallel that of the British in Egypt, it won't be for lack of trying. Indeed, this brand of imperialism, as practiced by the Bush administration, is remarkably similar to the older European variety. Its outward veneer is optimistic and even triumphalist, when articulated by a neo-conservative like Max Boot or William Kristol, and is usually accompanied by a vision of global moral-religious-social transformation. The British boasted of bringing Christianity and civilization to the heathens; America's neo-conservatives trumpet the virtues of free-market capitalism and democracy. And like the older imperialism, Bush's policy toward Iraq and the Middle East has been driven by a fear of losing out on scarce natural resources. Ultimately, his policy is as much a product of the relative decline of American power brought about by the increasingly fierce international competition for resources and markets as it is of America's "unipolar moment." Bush and Cheney were hardly unique in worrying about the dwindling supply of oil. Bush's father and Bill Clinton also worried about it. But George H.W. Bush and Clinton acted on the premise that petroleum and natural gas were international commodities to which any purchaser should have access. Oil companies, which pressed for the removal of sanctions on Iraq and Iran, shared this view. When the elder Bush and Clinton sought to prevent Iraq from monopolizing the region's oil -- and using it as a political instrument -- they did so through the United Nations. But George W. Bush has differed from his predecessors in both his concerns and his methods. Bush, prodded by Cheney, sought to win privileged access to Iraq's oil -- not necessarily for any particular company (although Cheney clearly wanted a role for Halliburton in building Iraq's oil infrastructure), but for American producers and consumers in general. That is similar to the strategy of the older imperial powers. And the method they employed was unilateral invasion -- oh yes, with the support of Britain, the former great imperial power in the region. Bush's imperial strategy is sparking a new phase in oil diplomacy, where oil consumers like China are trying to lock up long-term deals with countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and where the producers -- notably at this point Venezuela -- are beginning to use their oil wealth as a political weapon. The eventual outcome -- if this rivalry is not regulated through new international agreements -- could be the kind of tension that gave rise to World War I. As the war in Iraq has turned into a quagmire, neo-conservatives who had goaded the president into action have blamed the war's failure on the administration's flawed strategy. They have propounded a series of "if only's": If only the administration had sent more troops, if only it had not disbanded the Ba'ath army, if only it had handed the leadership of Iraq over immediately to con man Ahmed Chalabi. Of these, only the addition of more troops might have quelled the insurgency, and then only temporarily. If there is any lesson from the 130-year history of imperialism, it is that the natives eventually grow restless. Since World War II, the peoples of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa have been throwing off rather than welcoming foreign control. The Middle East, where Muslims still blanch at the Crusades and later British and French attempts to divide and rule, is particularly sensitive to outside attempts at domination. Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda didn't spring from Mecca but from the battlefield in Afghanistan, from resentment of American support for Israel and of American bases on Arab soil. Bush's policy in the region has reflected a profound ignorance of this history. Wrote former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski in January 2007, "America is acting like a colonial power in Iraq. But the age of colonialism is over. Waging a colonial war in the post-colonial age is self-defeating." What, then, should the United States be doing in Iraq and elsewhere to repair the damage wrought by Bush's exercise in neo-imperialism? On one level, this is an enormously complicated question that is beyond my capacity to answer. But on a simple, much less specific level, the answer is obvious: A new administration has to repudiate Bush's policy of imperialism and reaffirm America's commitment to liberal internationalism. That will entail at least these three kinds of initiatives: The new administration needs to repudiate Bush's strategy of preemptive regime change and reaffirm the United Nations charter, which allows nations to act unilaterally only in their own immediate self-defense. That would have an immediate effect on American policy toward Iran, whose regime the United States is now officially trying to overthrow. The new administration needs to reaffirm the idea behind internationally sanctioned and administered "mandates" and "trusteeship" for countries and peoples going through a difficult transition toward independence and statehood. If countries intervene to prevent war or genocide, they must do so in a manner that assures the peoples targeted that their right of self-determination will be respected. If the United States, for instance, had tried to intervene in the Balkans by itself, it might still be fighting an insurgency there. The new administration needs to reaffirm the importance of international action and agreements -- through the U.N. and other bodies -- to aid in the prevention of wars, pandemics, and environmental catastrophe, and to ease the struggle over scarce resources, including oil and water. That means at a minimum returning to the negotiations over global warming; and attempting to revive the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which the U.S. undermined in signing a nuclear deal with India. But what about Iraq? Should the U.S. withdraw immediately? Should it leave a rump force in place to fight international terrorists? These questions -- now at the forefront of the debate in Washington -- are secondary to questions of diplomacy. A new administration should declare the invasion and occupation of Iraq a mistake and pledge to remove American troops from the country. It should not do so, however, with any hope of ending the civil war there, but rather of gaining international support for a "trusteeship" that would guide Iraq back toward genuine self-government and independence. The U.S. can contribute financially, but it will have to take a subordinate role in any international peace-keeping force that enters the country. None of this will be easy. At this point, the Bush administration might have dug such a huge hole in the region that nothing the United States does will prevent more war and greater chaos. But it is certain that the Bush administration will not change course, and, equally, that a new administration will enjoy a honeymoon not only with American voters, but with the rest of the world in which it could advance a new foreign policy that breaks decisively with that of the Bush administration. If it doesn't do this -- if it equivocates and seeks half-measures, or if it tries (as some Republican candidates threaten) to reinforce the American occupation -- then its actions will not lead to an enduring relationship with the Iraqis and the peoples of the Middle East, but to an enduring nightmare. |
Could Issey Miyake’s Yusuke Takahashi have known in advance that he would be staging his Spring show in a Paris university quadrant on a day when the temperature topped 90 degrees Fahrenheit? Well, yes, that’s the point of weather reports—and the reason Takahashi didn’t draft in a layer of polyurethane to protect us from theoretical showers. Instead, the sun burned, perspiration beaded and dripped, and globules of sweat suspended from hairs and trickled uncomfortably down scorched skin, as models paraded in his collection. They quivered in the heat like mirages, the air throbbing. The clothes were inspired by India. How appropriate. It was also a built-in advertising opportunity. Who in the audience didn’t wish they were wearing Takahashi’s opening looks: easy and breezy, wide-cut tunics and capacious trousers in subtly crumpled and rumpled monochrome fabrics—Japanese in design, Indian in inspiration, but with a decided Italian or Iberian undertone, like a Vittorio De Sica scene, or a still from Suddenly, Last Summer? Neither were intentional. As ever, the obsession at Miyake was manipulation of fabric, techy treatments, intentional pleating and creasing. As the show progressed, color crept in: the patterns and hues of Holi—the festival of colors—were hand-printed across cotton, wool, and hemp modal, the pale suits blossoming into brilliant color. Shots of imperial blue or sulphur yellow had a visceral force. Prints varied: Some were abstract, misty watercolor notions; others were brilliantly multicolored marble prints, comprising five to ten printing blocks per design. After all that black and white, they popped. Yet it was the actual fabrics themselves—the touch, not the look—that made the biggest impact. Intentionally creased means non-iron; others resisted creases. A minimum of fuss—including buttons, zips, and most formal forms of fastening—both simplified and streamlined. It made the clothes look both antique and modern. |
The Pittsburgh Steelers chose not to tag soon-to-be unrestricted free agent linebacker Jason Worilds and with the start of the new league year just a few days away, he will almost certainly be hitting the open market. So what should Worilds and his agent be looking for when it comes to a long-term deal? According to former agent Joel Corry, the Steelers former second round draft pick should start with an asking price of $10.75 million per season. In a Friday afternoon article on CBSSports.com, Corry, who helped found Premier Sports & Entertainment, a sports management firm that represents professional athletes and coaches, projected what 19 of the top free agents this offseason should use as a starting asking price, and he thinks Worilds should command $53.75 million over five years with $27.5 million of that being guaranteed. Worilds, who registered 7.5 sacks last season, earned $9.754 million in 2014 after being given the transition tag by the Steelers, so the average yearly value that Corry has projected is just slightly more than that number. The Philadelphia Eagles and Tennessee Titans figure to be two teams interested in Worilds this offseason and we’ll watch closely to see what the final numbers of the contract that he ultimately signs with a team are. The Steelers will more than likely be looking for a free agent player to replace Worilds this offseason and if you’re hoping Baltimore Ravens free agent defensive end/outside linebacker Pernell McPhee will be one of their targets, you might be interested to know that Corry has his free agent value as being just a little less than Worilds’. Corry believes that McPhee, who ranked third in the league last season among edge rushers in PFF’s pass rushing productivity metric, should command fives years for $50 million with half of that money being guaranteed. Another soon-to-be unrestricted free agent that could interest the Steelers, Buffalo Bills defensive end/outside linebacker Jerry Hughes, should command $60 million over fives years with $34 million of that being guaranteed, according to Corry. Hughes has registered 10 sacks in each of the last two seasons and averaged 49 total tackles during that same span. I have a feeling that the Steelers might have to lower their sights some this offseason if they are indeed interested in signing a free agent outside linebacker type. Currently, Brandon Graham and Jabaal Sheard are both set to hit the market next week and both could potentially be targets for the Steelers. Graham, who registered 5.5 sacks last season while only starting one game, is reportedly looking for a four-year deal worth $30 million with $20 million guaranteed. Why the Eagles wont re-sign him for that amount, if it is indeed true, is beyond me. As for Sheard, he registered just two sacks and 44 total tackles last season with the Cleveland Browns. While the Pittsburgh product did play in all 16 games last season, he only started five times. His asking price figures to be lower than Grahams’. While teams must wait until 4 p.m. Tuesday to officially sign free agents, they will be allowed to start negotiating with them as early as Saturday evening. One would think that Worilds and his agent will be busy in the first 48 hours of free agency and come Monday there’s a good chance that he will have already signed a contract with a new team. |
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Leaders of Syria’s Nusra Front are considering cutting their links with al Qaeda to form a new entity backed by some Gulf states trying to topple President Bashar al-Assad, sources said. Members of al Qaeda's Nusra Front gesture as they drive in a convoy touring villages, which they said they have seized control of from Syrian rebel factions, in the southern countryside of Idlib, December 2, 2014. Picture taken December 2, 2014. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi Sources within and close to Nusra said that Qatar, which enjoys good relations with the group, is encouraging the group to go ahead with the move, which would give Nusra a boost in funding. The exercise could transform Nusra from a weakened militia group into a force capable of taking on Islamic State at a time when it is under pressure from bombing raids and advances by Kurdish and Iraqi military forces. It could also boost the influence of Qatar and its allies in the campaign to oust Assad, in line with the Gulf state’s growing diplomatic ambitions in the region. Qatari officials were not available for comment. While it awaits the final word from its decision-making Shoura council, Nusra is not wasting time. It has turned on small non-jihadi groups, seizing their territory and forcing them to disarm so as to consolidate Nusra’s power in northern Syria and pave the way for the new group. Intelligence officials from Gulf states including Qatar have met the leader of Nusra, Abu Mohamad al-Golani, several times in the past few months to encourage him to abandon al Qaeda and to discuss what support they could provide, the sources said. They promised funding once it happens. “A new entity will see the light soon, which will include Nusra and Jaysh al Muhajereen wel Ansar and other small brigades,” said Muzamjer al-Sham, a prominent jihadi figure who is close to Nusra and other Islamist groups in Syria. “The name of Nusra will be abandoned. It will disengage from al Qaeda. But not all the Nusra emirs agree and that is why the announcement has been delayed,” said Sham. A source close to the foreign ministry confirmed that Qatar wanted Nusra to become a purely Syrian force not linked to al Qaeda. “They are promising Nusra more support, i.e. money, supplies etc, once they let go of the Qaeda ties,” the official said. The Qatari-led bid to rebrand Nusra and to provide it with new support could further complicate the war in Syria as the United States prepares to arm and train non-jihadist rebels to fight Islamic State. The Nusra Front is listed as a terrorist group by the United States and has been sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council. But for Qatar at least, rebranding Nusra would remove legal obstacles to supporting it. FIGHTING ISLAMIC STATE One of the goals of the new entity would be to fight Islamic State, Nusra’s main competitor in Syria. IS is led by Iraqi jihadi Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who helped create Nusra before falling out with Golani. Once the most powerful group fighting Assad, Nusra was weakened when most of its commanders and fighters left with Baghdadi to form Islamic State. IS then killed many of Nusra’s remaining leaders, confiscated its weapons, forced its commanders to go underground and seized its territory. But recently Islamic State has come under pressure from air strikes by a U.S.-led coalition. It has also lost ground to Kurdish fighters in Syria and to the Iraqi armed forces. But the group is far from collapse. But if Nusra splits from al Qaeda, some hope that with proper funding, arming and training, fighters from the new group will be able to tackle Islamic State. Jihadi sources said that Golani suggested to the group’s Shoura Council that it should merge with Jaysh al-Muhajereen wel Ansar, a smaller jihadi group composed of local and foreign fighters and led by a Chechen commander. The announcement has been delayed due to objections from some of Nusra’s leaders who reject the idea of leaving al Qaeda. But this was seen as unlikely to stop Golani. “He is going to do it, he does not have a choice. Those who are not happy can leave,” said a Nusra source who backs the move. It seems Golani is already establishing the ground. Nusra wants to use northern Syria as base for the new group. It launched offensives against Western-backed groups who have been vetted by the U.S. to receive military support. In the northern province of Idlib it seized territory from the Syria Revolutionaries’ Front led by Jamal Maarouf, forcing him to flee. Last week it went after another mainstream group, Harakat Hazzm in Aleppo province, forcing it to dissolve itself. The U.S. State Department said the end of Harakat Hazzm would have an impact on the moderate opposition’s capabilities in the north. But if Nusra is dissolved and it abandons al Qaeda, the ideology of the new entity is not expected to change. Golani fought with al Qaeda in Iraq. Some other leaders fought in Afghanistan and are close al Qaeda chief Ayman Zawahri. “Nusra had to pledge loyalty to Sheikh Zawahri to avoid being forced to be loyal to Baghdadi but that was not a good idea, it is time that this is abandoned,” said a Nusra source in Aleppo. “It did not help Nusra and now it is on the terrorist list,” he said. |
The news just boldly went ... somewhere it probably shouldn't have gone. A German newscaster must be wishing his colleagues would beam him up after TV channel N24 accidentally displayed the logo for a 24th century terrorist group depicted on the TV show "Star Trek" -- rather than the real world Navy SEAL team that took out Usama bin Laden. The news team intended to show the logo for SEAL Team Six, the special ops team that ultimately killed the notorious chieftan of the Al Qaeda terrorist organization. Instead, it accidentally used a fan-made logo for the Maquis, an anti-Cardassian rebel group that originally appeared in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, reported fan site TrekMovie.com. The newscaster, identified as Mick Locher, even commented on the emblem, pointing out that "they also have the ‘Team Six,’ that carried out the mission. They don’t have the skull in their emblem for nothing." Locher didn’t seem to notice that the skull in question was from a Klingon and included a bolted-on eyepatch. He and N24 also appear undeterred by the emblem’s inclusion of a phaser, Klingon sword and the word "Maquis" (a French resistance guerrilla group that inspired the name), the site reported. Made up of only a few hundred forces based in Dam Neck, Va., the elite SEAL unit officially known as Naval Special Warfare Development Group, or "DEVGRU," is part of a special operations brotherhood that calls itself "the quiet professionals." SEAL Team Six has reportedly raided targets outside war zones like Yemen and Somalia in the past three years, though the bulk of the unit's current missions are in Afghanistan, the Associated Press reported. Star Trek's Maquis is not scheduled to begin raiding for several hundred years. For more on Star Trek -- the real logo of Navy SEAL Team Six -- see TrekMovie.com. |
KILLINGTON, Vt. – Aging athletes, new skis and a lack of snow are ganging up on the once-edgy sport of snowboarding, which has seen a marked drop in participation over the last decade. Industry experts say it’s a sign of the maturing of snowboarding, which grew at a rapid pace in the 1990s and early 2000s. Participation in the sport dropped 28 percent from 2003-2013, according to the National Sporting Goods Association. Downhill skiing also took a hit over that period but less of one – at 10 percent. “Snowboarding has definitely gone through a maturation phase,” said Jeff Boliba, vice president of global resorts for Vermont-based Burton Snowboards, which pioneered the sport. “We’ve hit our phases where it’s been the fastest growing sport in the world. We’ve reached phases where it started to plateau a little bit, and then you reach phases where the economy crashed and snowboarders definitely were impacted.” After Burton unveiled its first boards in 1977, snowboarding surged in the late 1990s. The sport exploded after making it into the alternative Olympic-styled X-Games competition and the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, with flames later fanned by Shaun “The Flying Tomato” White, Kelly Clark, Lindsey Jacobellis and other Olympic champions. But early shredders have aged and had families, which have kept them from the mountains. Some riders have returned to or taken up skiing or do both, a huge cultural shift from the “us-versus-them” mentality of skiers and snowboarders in the early days. “It’s not tribal anymore.” said Kelly Davis, director of research at SIA in Washington, D.C. “It’s not ‘you’re either a snowboarder or a skier.’ ” Last week, Kyle Skrzyniarz of Flemington, New Jersey, opted to ski with friends instead of snowboard so they wouldn’t have to wait for him to crank down his binding after getting off the lift. But he’s not giving up on riding. “I just got a new board, so I’m definitely going to do both,” he said. The decline in snowboarding continued last season, with snowboarders making up just under 28 percent of visitors to U.S. resorts, down from about 31 percent the year before, according to the Kottke National End of Season Survey for 2013-2014. Snowboard sales dropped 25 percent since their peak in 2008-2009, while ski sales rose 1.5 percent during that time, according SnowSports Industries of America data. An average of 5 million snowboarders and 6.8 million skiers took part in the sports between 2010 and 2013, according to NSGA. The popularity of shaped, dual tip and fat skis have also made skiing easier and more versatile, allowing skiers to do rails and tricks in terrain parks. Rental shops see vacationers rent skis for a couple of days and a snowboard the rest of the week. Snowboarder Leverett Zantzinger, 19, of Barnard, Vermont, acknowledges that skiing has become more “cool” and attractive to young people in recent years, but he’s sticking with his board. “Now, it kind of has a young face on it,” he said of skiing. Colin McLeish of Manchester, Vermont, switched to skiing from snowboarding when he was about 12 because many of the 18-year-old’s friends were skiers and he found it more versatile. “It just kind of unlocks a whole new terrain: you have glades, moguls are iffy on snowboarding. It was just a better fit for me,” he said. The snowboarding industry expects to see an uptick as the next generation of snowboarders – children of the early riders– take up the sport. Burton Snowboards has set up learn-to-snowboard parks to teach young kids how to ride and introduces young students to the sport in school gym classes worldwide. “I think the other key factors to pay attention to are snowboarding is evolving and as we’ve gotten older, some of our snowboard participants who used to ride 100 days a year are now building families, they’re starting a career,” Boliba said. “What we’ve been seeing with programs like this is we’ve been able to get some moms and dads who had stopped to build their careers and build their families back into it,” he said. Share |
Germany held regional elections in three states this week and for political analysts the major talking point was the success of the far-right, anti-immigration party the Alternative for Germany, known as the AfD. The results have been interpreted as a rebuke of Chancellor Angela Merkel's pro-refugee stance, which has seen over one million migrants enter Germany in the past 12 months. Merkel's Christian Democrat party lost in two of the three states where the elections were held. The AfD — led by Frauke Petry — made significant gains in all three states, particularly in Saxony-Anhalt where it finished second with 24% of the vote. In fact, an INSA poll cited by German news site The Local say the AfD is currently Germany's third-most popular political party. This is a significant development given the strength of the party's anti-refugee campaign. Petry has previously suggested firearms should be used in certain circumstances against refugees entering Germany. Mike Nudelman / Business Insider One would assume such comments are not likely to help with the party's mission to be seen as a genuine alternative to Germany's "establishment" options. Yet, the regional election results suggest otherwise. But Germany is not alone. The map above shows where far-right parties have made significant gains in state and regional elections in Europe since January 2015. From liberal Scandinavia to the southern reaches of the continent in Greece and Italy, far-right parties by their own standards are showing sizeable growth in multiple nations. In Denmark, long-standing establishment parties are being squeezed by the emergence of a populist movement fronted by the Danish People's Party (DPP). Supporters of AfD celebrate after hearing of the initial results in the following initial results in Baden-Wuerttemberg state election Alexander Hassenstein / Staff In the 2015 general election, the party recorded 21% of the vote to become Denmark's second-largest party. It was the DDP's best performance in its history. The party may only control 37 of the 179 seats in parliament but its growing public support is reshaping the Danish political landscape with tougher policies such as the seizing of refugees' valuables starting to be passed. In Switzerland they have a name for the far-right's growing influence in their politics — the Swiss call it 'rechtsrutsch.' The phrase is being used more and more in Bern, where pressure is being exerted by the Swiss People's Party (SVP) which last year recorded its finest parliamentary election result in over a century with nearly 30% of the vote to become the country's most powerful political force. Then in Italy there is Lega Nord whose colourful leader Matteo Salvini has made a series of virulent remarks towards Muslims, Romani people, and immigrants. The party made notable gains in last year's regional elections including in Tuscany where it won 20% of the vote. This is unheard of in one of Italy's traditional left-wing strongholds. Any talk of Europe being in the midst of a far-right spring is premature. In many nations, such as Spain and Britain, the influence of far-right parties is negligible. But the success of far-right parties cannot be treated as isolated events. Without question, something is happening across Europe. It may not have reached boiling point — but the bubbles are starting to appear. Take a look at Poland, where the hard-right Law and Justice party became the first party to govern alone since the restoration of democracy when it swept to a resounding victory in October's parliamentary elections. The party has since implemented a law allowing it to seize control of the state media broadcasters as well as senior civil service directors. Then there's Slovakia, where in March's election 23% of first-time voters backed the neo-Nazi People's Party Our Slovakia party (L'SNS). For a long time, the prefix "far" denoted distance between parties aggressively-opposed to immigration and the corridors of power. Now, those gaps are being bridged and in a growing number of states right-wing parties are no longer nuisances but realistic parties of office. Supporters of Greek far-right party Golden Dawn wave banners and flags during a rally in Athens Michalis Karagiannis / Reuters Why is this happening? Public mood across Europe is disgruntled right now and there are conditions for populist groups to attract levels of support that years ago they could only dream of. The mass movement of people from the war-torn Middle East into Europe and the greatest refugee crisis since the Second World War has become the single-most dominant political issue across the continent. Traditional parties from the left and right are facing great challenges. Increasing numbers of people are sick of them and trust in politicians in many states is low. It is within this climate of anger and disenchantment that far-right parties have been able grow. |
In a surprise move, Russia has pulled all its military and nondiplomatic civilian personnel out of Syria. That includes a complete evacuation of the naval supply station in the Mediterranean port of Tartus, which is often discussed as one of Russia's key reasons for its long and stubborn support of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. "We have neither servicemen nor civilians in Syria anymore. Or Russian military instructors assigned to units of the Syrian regular Army, for that matter," a Russian defense ministry spokesperson is quoted as telling the Moscow business daily Vedomosti yesterday. The Tartus naval supply station, Russia's only military base outside the former USSR, has been effectively closed, Russian deputy foreign minister and special Middle East envoy Mikhail Bogdanov confirmed in an interview with a Turkish newspaper. He insisted that the base, which housed about 70 fulltime military technicians to service visiting Russian warships, was of no strategic importance to Russia. "It's just a technical facility for maintaining ships sailing in the Mediterranean," he said. That answer seems a trifle inadequate. The obvious question is: Why abandon Tartus now, given that the Russian naval presence in the Mediterranean has never been so large? Earlier this month Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia will maintain a permanent naval flotilla in the region for the first time since the collapse of the USSR more than 20 years ago. "This is a strategically important region and we have tasks to carry out there to provide for the national security of the Russian Federation," he said. The Russian Navy has been holding almost nonstop maneuvers in the eastern Mediterranean for more than a year, and currently has a 16-warship task force in the area. "The first and likeliest reason for the closure is that Russia doesn't want to risk the lives of 70 military personnel stationed at Tartus," says Vladimir Sotnikov, expert with the official Institute of Oriental Studies in Moscow. "Now that the battlefield initiative in Syria's civil war is in the hands of the Assad regime, Russia might fear some [rebel] provocations against our people. Another possible reason may be to help promote the Geneva-2 talks. We have information that Russia, the United Nations and the US have agreed to a format for the talks. So, perhaps Russia wants to dispel impression that its position is based on some desire to hold on to this station," Mr. Sotnikov says. "In any case, Russian ships have the opportunity to go to Cyprus for supplies and maintenance, and it's safer for them to do so right now," he adds. Russia has also been steadily evacuating the estimated 30,000 Russian citizens living in Syria since early this year, and yesterday the Ministry of Emergency Services reported that it had extracted another 130 Russians from Latakia in northwest Syria and flown them back to Russia. Other Russian analysts agree that, whatever the reasons for Russia's personnel pullout, it probably doesn't signal any change of the hard, pro-Assad position that Mr. Putin most recently reiterated at last week's G8 summit in Northern Ireland. Get the Monitor Stories you care about delivered to your inbox. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy "Russia's position hasn't changed. In fact it's getting tougher," says Sergei Strokan, a foreign affairs columnist with the pro-business Moscow daily Kommersant. "The reasons behind this evacuation probably come down to security. That base's importance has been greatly overrated in Western reporting. It just isn't that big a deal. So, I guess the thinking is, why risk some major incident that the rebels might stage by attacking Russians at this sensitive moment when all the hopes are pinned on a new Geneva peace conference?" |
Among the myriad modes of consumption available to the modern human, an increasingly popular method is the use of pre-filled vapourizer attachments that contain THC and/or CBD oils suspended in a thinning agent that keeps them in liquid form for easy consumption. A recent study tested four common thinning agents when vapourized, and found notable amounts of cancer-causing particles in two of the four. In 2016, headlines warning e-juice users of ‘popcorn lung’ spread across Canada, causing hysteria around a common e-juice ingredient, diacetyl. That hysteria turned out to be mostly hype (research indicates diacetyl isn’t a risk factor for popcorn lung), but it also inspired a new study at the Medical Marijuana Research Institute in Tempe, AZ, in which researchers examined the chemicals produced when vapourizing propylene glycol (PG), polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG-400), vegetable glycerin (VG), and medium-chain triglycerides (MCT). All four thinning agents were heated to 230°C, an average temperature for consumer vapourizer models. Researchers then monitored the resultant amounts of three common carcinogens (acetaldehyde, acrolein, and formaldehyde) produced by each during vaporization. The study reached some interesting findings, not the least of which is that PEG-400 produced almost 4 times the amount of formaldehyde produced by PG, and 226 times that of either MCT or VG, both of which produced too small an amount to even reach quantitation thresholds. From the study: “The production of formaldehyde by PEG 400, in particular, may represent a significant health risk, as one inhalation of vaporized PEG 400 isolate may expose an individual to as much as 1.12% of the daily exposure limit, nearly the same exposure as smoking one cigarette.” PEG-400 also produced the most acetaldehyde—two and a half times the amount produced by PG, with MCT producing less than a tenth as much as PG, and with VG producing less than one hundredth as much as PG. When testing for acrolein, all four thinners produced amounts too small to reach quantitation thresholds. To test the levels of the three carbonyl compounds screened for, each thinning agent was vaporized in 3 blocks of 25 ‘puffs’, for a total of 75 puffs per agent. Puffs were vapourized every 30 seconds, each for a duration of 4 seconds and a volume of 55 mL. The vapour was then analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography to individually measure amounts of acetaldehyde, acrolein, and formaldehyde. The summary conclusion of the results is that while PG, PEG-400, and MCT all produce increased levels of one or more of the carcinogens tested for, vegetable glycerin “does not produce elevated levels of any carbonyls”. The authors of the study include a call for more research to be conducted on the potential health concerns of vapourized products, and also suggest long-term studies be conducted on the actual health effects of consumption. *Editor’s note: the fluids profiled in this study are also used in nicotine e-juice. Featured image via www.vaping360.com. |
By Charles Suggs, RAMPS organizer More than 50 protesters affiliated with the R.A.M.P.S. Campaign have walked onto Patriot Coal’s Hobet mine and shut it down. Ten people locked to a rock truck, boarded it and dropped banners: ”Coal Leaves, Cancer Stays.” At least three have been arrested, with another in a tree being threatened by miners with a chain saw. Earlier in the day, two people were arrested at Kanawha State Forest before a group of protesters headed to the state capitol. “The government has aided and abetted the coal industry in evading environmental and mine safety regulations. We are here today to demand that the government and coal industry end strip mining, repay their debt to Appalachia, and secure a just transition for this region,” Dustin Steele of Matewan, W.Va. said. Steele was one of the people locked to the rock truck. Mounting scientific evidence shows that strip mining negatively impacts community health and miner health. Recent studies have found a 42 percent increase in risk of birth defects around strip mines, and miners who spend at least 20 years as strip-mine drillers have a 61 percent chance of contracting silicosis, a virulent form of black lung. “The coal companies are poisoning our water and air, and they’re treating the workers no better than the land – fighting workplace health and safety protections to get the most out of labor as they can,” said Junior Walk of Whitesville, W.Va. As coal production declines, protesters are concerned that the region will be left with only illness and environmental devastation as the industry pulls out of the region and companies file for bankruptcy to shed legacy costs. Patriot Coal is currently going through Chapter 11 bankruptcy, in which union contracts and pensions could be on the chopping block. Both UMWA pensions and the state’s Special Reclamation Fund are funded through a per-ton tax on coal. With Central Appalachian coal production in the middle of a projected six-year, 50 percent decline, this funding stream is increasingly unsustainable. Protesters are calling on the coal industry and government to ensure that funding is available both to honor commitments to retired workers and to restore the land. “Coal companies must employ their surface mine workers in reclaiming all disturbed land to the highest standards. Instead of arguing about the ‘war on coal,’ political leaders should immediately allocate funds to retrain and re-employ laid off miners to secure a healthy future for the families of this region,” said R.A.M.P.S. spokesperson Mathew Louis-Rosenberg. Appalachian communities, from union miners to the anti-strip mining activists of the 1960s, have a proud history of confronting the coal industry and demanding an end to its exploitive practices with direct civil disobedience. R.A.M.P.S. and other campaigns have returned to this tradition to eliminate strip mining once and for all. Since its founding in 2011, R.A.M.P.S. has organized a range of actions, from tree-sits to blockades of coal trucks. Today’s protesters are among the hundreds of people across the country who are joining this summer’s National Uprising Against Extraction, using radical tactics to fight oppressive extractive industries and demand a transition to a sustainable economy. From We Are Power Shift: http://www.wearepowershift.org/blogs/mountain-mobilization-shuts-down-largest-mountaintop-removal-mine You can help support RAMPS by making a donation here: https://www.wepay.com/donate/57022?ref=widget&utm_medium=widget&utm_campaign=donation |
For parents, the frontlines of the war on drugs may involve common household items such as nail polish, glue, bleach, or air freshener — this according to the results of a new national health study. In fact, according to information compiled by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) from 2006 through 2008, more 12-year-old children are “huffing” or inhaling dangerous chemicals than using marijuana and cocaine combined. Furthermore, according to a March 11 SAMHSA press release that helped kick off National Inhalants & Poisons Awareness Week, their findings “show a rate of lifetime inhalant use among 12 year olds of 6.9 percent, compared to a rate of 5.1 percent for nonmedical use of prescription type drugs; a rate of 1.4 percent for marijuana; a rate of 0.7 percent for use of hallucinogens; and a 0.1 rate for cocaine use.” In an interview with Reuters, SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde called the findings “frustrating because the danger comes from a variety of very common household products that are legal, they’re easy to get, they’re lying around the home and it’s easy for kids to buy them. Kids and parents don’t think of these things as dangerous because they were never meant to be used to be intoxicating.” According to the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC), symptoms of inhalant abuse are similar to alcohol intoxication and include dizziness, hallucinations, belligerent behavior, impaired judgment, disorientation, inattentiveness, and depression, especially when substances are used over a long period of time. Furthermore, the NDIC website warns that death from huffing harmful products “can occur after a single use or after prolonged use. Sudden sniffing death (SSD) may result within minutes of inhalant abuse from irregular heart rhythm leading to heart failure. Other causes of death include asphyxiation, aspiration, or suffocation.” — On the Net: Comments comments |
The John Batchelor Show, October 18. Nation Contributing Editor Stephen F. Cohen and John Batchelor continue their weekly discussions of the new US-Russian Cold War. (Previous installments are at TheNation.com.) Cohen reports that a statement by Vice President Joe Biden on NBC’s Meet the Press on October 16, released on October 14, stunned Moscow (though it was scarcely noted in the American media). In response to a question about alleged Russian hacking of Democratic Party offices, in order to disrupt the presidential election and even throw it to Donald Trump, Biden said the Obama administration was preparing to send Putin a “message,” presumably in the form of some kind of cyber-attack. The Kremlin spokesman and several leading Russian commentators characterized Biden’s announcement as a virtual “American declaration of war on Russia” and as the first ever in history. Cohen observed that at this fraught stage in the new US-Russian Cold War, Biden’s statement, which clearly had been planned by the White House, could scarcely have been more dangerous or reckless—especially considering that there is no actual evidence or logic for the two allegations against Russia that seem to have prompted it. Ad Policy Biden was reacting to official US charges of Kremlin hacking for political purposes. Cohen points out that in fact no actual evidence for this allegation has been produced, only suppositions or, as Glenn Greenwald has argued, “unproven assertions.” While the US political-media establishment has uncritically stated the allegation as fact, a MIT expert, professor Theodore Postol, has written that there is “no technical way that the US intelligence community could know who did the hacking if it was done by sophisticated nation-state actors.” Instead, Cohen suggests, the charges, leveled daily by the Clinton campaign as part of its McCarthyite Kremlin-baiting of Donald Trump, are mostly political, and he laments the way US intelligence officials have permitted themselves to be used for this unprofessional purpose. Moreover, it is far from clear that the Kremlin actually favors Trump, despite Clinton’s campaign claims. Ready to Fight Back? Sign Up For Take Action Now But the context also includes, Cohen points out, the stunning reversal of the US political-media establishment’s narrative of the ongoing battle for the Syrian city of Aleppo. Only a few weeks ago, President Obama had agreed with Putin on a joint US-Russian military campaign against “terrorists” in Aleppo. That agreement collapsed primarily because of an attack by US warplanes on Syrian forces. Russia and its Syrian allies continued their air assault on east Aleppo now, according to Washington and the mainstream media, against anti-Assad “rebels.” Where, asks Cohen, have the jihad terrorists gone? They had been deleted from the US narrative, which now accused Russia of “war crimes” in Aleppo for the same military campaign in which Washington was to have been a full partner. Equally obscured here, Cohen adds, is that west Aleppo, largely controlled by Assad’s forces, is also being assaulted—by “rebels,” and children are dying there as well. And why is there no US government or media concern about the children who will almost certainly die in the US-backed campaign to recapture Mosul, in Iraq? Cohen thinks the stenographic American media has gone from the fog of cold war to falsification. Cohen and Batchelor end by reflecting on how these developments will affect this week’s negotiations in Europe, not only regarding the Syrian crisis but the Ukrainian civil war as well. If nothing else, Cohen points out, they have already deepened divisions among European governments over future relations with Russia and thus with the United States. |
Special By By Justin King Dec 28, 2013 in World Over the past year, the collective that began as an “Internet hate machine” in the 1990s has reached a level of maturity that makes it an actor on the international stage. The collective successfully staged operations in almost every nation on Earth. Sign directed to the FBI regarding the statement that they had "dismantled" Anonymous. Displayed during the largest Anonymous operation to date. Justin King Austin P. Berglas, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's cyber division in New York set the stage by The movement is still there, and they're still yacking on Twitter and posting things, but you don't hear about these guys coming forward with those large breaches, it's just not happening, and that's because of the dismantlement of the largest players. The statement by the FBI demonstrated how little the feds actually understand the collective and how it operates. There is no doubt that by arresting some of those with technical expertise, the FBI dealt a short-lived blow to the collective’s ability to launch major hacking operations. However, the FBI seemingly failed to realize that the collective had already taken large portions of its operations out of cyberspace and on to the streets. It also reflected a US-centered approach to the “problem” of activism. Tossing hacktivists that reside within jurisdiction of the borders of the United States in prison does little to stop an organization that operates with no regard to national borders. Those associated with Anonymous are from every ethnic, social, economic, national, and ideological background. The organization maintains no hierarchies and has no leaders. There are no subgroups for security services to infiltrate. Every operation Anonymous conducts brings together different individuals for the purpose of the operation, and those individuals decide whether or not to participate in the operation on their own. This hive mentality is a security service’s worst nightmare. There is no effective means to deal a fatal blow to the organization, and trumpeting arrests only turns the arrested into martyrs for the cause. Every arrest seems to create dozens more Anons willing to move to the front lines and become actively involved in operations. Sign mocking the perception of Anonymous being shackled to computer screens. Justin King Operations are conducted for various reasons. Sometimes the operations are in support of the environment, fair trade, privacy, peace, and sometimes they are simply for the “lulz.” Lulz is a corruption of the internet acronym LOL, meaning laugh out loud. Doing something for the lulz is doing it for no other reason than the laughs it will generate. Anonymous operations in 2013 The #Ops, or operations, are as varied as the participants themselves. Examining some of the successes from the last year shows the reach of the collective and the varied tactics employed. Million Mask March occupying the steps of the Capitol. Justin King In the interest of full disclosure, the author was directly targeted by this campaign and was anonymously given information leading to the article found The Anonymous operations listed above represent only a fraction of those carried out in 2013, and were chosen to demonstrate the various methods used by the collective to accomplish its goals. Anonymous in popular culture: The collective has spawned its own genre of music with artists donning the iconic Guy Fawkes mask during concerts and videos. One of the more popular artists, Steve Grant, filmed his most recent video for the song The battle to assist Anons imprisoned or accused of a crime has generated an amazing recruitment tool for the collective. When federal authorities attempt to impose draconian sentences on Anons convicted of relatively harmless and always non-violent crimes, the public outcry often becomes deafening. The arrested activists become household names, typically through the efforts of those associated with the Michael Carr being placed in an unmarked vehicle. Justin King Individuals acting alone can often inspire others, and such was the case of Michael Pendleton. Pendleton set out from Tallahassee, Florida on foot in order to make it to the Million Mask March in Washington, DC. Choosing to walk around Even most of those that have never heard of the collective or their activities have a mental association between the Guy Fawkes mask and internet activism making the collective part of the international narrative for the foreseeable future. Anonymous in 2014 Anonymous is a fluid collective. In 2013, Anons were tracking down and exposing pedophiles one day, and stopping a war the next. The Million Mask March operation has evolved into the Million Mask Movement, and promises to keep up the pressure on the streets while the whistleblowers, hackers, and leakers associated with Anonymous continue their activities online. When asked what could be expected of Anonymous in 2014, Alex Freeman said More Lulz. John Fairhurst, organizer of the DC Million Mask March answered the same question For the next year, in my personal opinion, I think that the world can expect a lot from Anonymous as well as the Million Mask Movement. On the 5th of November we issued a warning to the powers that be; they have apparently not taken heed to this very serious warning. This is a mistake on their part. How many times can you poke the dog before it bites. We are against violence which is absolute, however, we the people are getting sick and tired of what is going on in this world, no one can predict the future. So on that note we make moves and so do they. We are only going ask so many times. The only things that are certain is that Anonymous is anything but dismantled and that the collective will continue to make headlines for quite some time. The leaderless structure of the organization makes it impossible to combat through traditional intelligence gathering means. The collective, made up of those identifying themselves as Anons, demonstrated over the last year the capability of bringing enormous amounts of pressure to bear on governments and corporations just hours after an inciting event. With just a small amount of prior notice, Anonymous can simultaneously flood the streets of hundreds of cities the world over with protesters just to prove a point. There is no denying that Anonymous wields the ability to shape national and international narratives.Austin P. Berglas, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's cyber division in New York set the stage by referring to the dismantlement of Anonymous leadership. As if in response, Anonymous launched a series of operations proving that the organization was barely affected by the FBI imprisoning what it thought were the largest players in Anonymous.The statement by the FBI demonstrated how little the feds actually understand the collective and how it operates. There is no doubt that by arresting some of those with technical expertise, the FBI dealt a short-lived blow to the collective’s ability to launch major hacking operations. However, the FBI seemingly failed to realize that the collective had already taken large portions of its operations out of cyberspace and on to the streets. It also reflected a US-centered approach to the “problem” of activism. Tossing hacktivists that reside within jurisdiction of the borders of the United States in prison does little to stop an organization that operates with no regard to national borders.Those associated with Anonymous are from every ethnic, social, economic, national, and ideological background. The organization maintains no hierarchies and has no leaders. There are no subgroups for security services to infiltrate. Every operation Anonymous conducts brings together different individuals for the purpose of the operation, and those individuals decide whether or not to participate in the operation on their own. This hive mentality is a security service’s worst nightmare. There is no effective means to deal a fatal blow to the organization, and trumpeting arrests only turns the arrested into martyrs for the cause. Every arrest seems to create dozens more Anons willing to move to the front lines and become actively involved in operations.Operations are conducted for various reasons. Sometimes the operations are in support of the environment, fair trade, privacy, peace, and sometimes they are simply for the “lulz.” Lulz is a corruption of the internet acronym LOL, meaning laugh out loud. Doing something for the lulz is doing it for no other reason than the laughs it will generate.The #Ops, or operations, are as varied as the participants themselves. Examining some of the successes from the last year shows the reach of the collective and the varied tactics employed. #OpMillionMaskMarch : An operation that culminated in the November 5th protest that occurred simultaneously in over 470 cities around the world and succeeded in shutting down sections of Washington, DC. Participants used the event to protest various national and international causes, meet other Anons face to face, and most importantly demonstrate that Anonymous is nowhere near “dismantled.” #OpSyrianStrom: An intensive campaign that successfully derailed the march to a US war in Syria. Participants conducted a phone and email campaign targeting US politicians and media sources to build opposition against another war in the Middle East. They also employed twitterbombs, a method of tricking Twitter’s system into forcing a chosen topic to trend, to increase public awareness of the issue.In the interest of full disclosure, the author was directly targeted by this campaign and was anonymously given information leading to the article found here #OpHumanAngels: A global campaign designed to simply make people feel better. Participants leave notes of encouragement, hug strangers on the street, and use chalk graffiti to instill a sense of community and hope in people. #OpMaryville : Anonymous garnered national media attention and massive support for an operation demanding that public officials reopen an alleged rape case in Maryville, Missouri. Participants employed social networks to spread word of the incident to news outlets, politicians, and other activists. The Lt. Governor of the state joined in the call to reopen the case. A special prosecutor was named and the case was reopened. #OpInform: An international team of bloggers, activists, and citizen journalists run multiple outlets from which they disperse information relevant to the Anonymous collective. The information reaches between four and five million people per year.The Anonymous operations listed above represent only a fraction of those carried out in 2013, and were chosen to demonstrate the various methods used by the collective to accomplish its goals.The collective has spawned its own genre of music with artists donning the iconic Guy Fawkes mask during concerts and videos. One of the more popular artists, Steve Grant, filmed his most recent video for the song “The Seventh Seal” in Washington, DC during the Million Mask March. Since it was uploaded, the music video below has averaged 10,000 views per month on YouTube.The battle to assist Anons imprisoned or accused of a crime has generated an amazing recruitment tool for the collective. When federal authorities attempt to impose draconian sentences on Anons convicted of relatively harmless and always non-violent crimes, the public outcry often becomes deafening. The arrested activists become household names, typically through the efforts of those associated with the #FreeAnons campaign. The most recent examples typically include threats of decades-long sentences for people who simply shared information. Jeremy Hammond and Barrett Brown have both become internet icons this year for their alleged involvement with Anonymous and their subsequent arrests.Individuals acting alone can often inspire others, and such was the case of Michael Pendleton. Pendleton set out from Tallahassee, Florida on foot in order to make it to the Million Mask March in Washington, DC. Choosing to walk around 850 miles to get to the protest, removed the ability for others considering attending to make excuses about the traveling distance required.Even most of those that have never heard of the collective or their activities have a mental association between the Guy Fawkes mask and internet activism making the collective part of the international narrative for the foreseeable future.Anonymous is a fluid collective. In 2013, Anons were tracking down and exposing pedophiles one day, and stopping a war the next. The Million Mask March operation has evolved into the Million Mask Movement, and promises to keep up the pressure on the streets while the whistleblowers, hackers, and leakers associated with Anonymous continue their activities online.When asked what could be expected of Anonymous in 2014, Alex Freeman saidJohn Fairhurst, organizer of the DC Million Mask March answered the same questionThe only things that are certain is that Anonymous is anything but dismantled and that the collective will continue to make headlines for quite some time. This opinion article was written by an independent writer. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author and are not necessarily intended to reflect those of DigitalJournal.com More about Anonymous, million mask march, million mask movement, opinform, ophumanangels Anonymous million mask march million mask movemen... opinform ophumanangels opsyrianstorm opmaryville Anon Activist |
Thailand's new prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra. "This election is only one step towards restoring democracy. It will take mass participation of the Red Shirts in order to strengthen and speed up the process." [For more on Thailand and the Red Shirt movement, click HERE.] By Giles Ji Ungpakorn July 4, 2011 -- Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal -- The results of Thailand's July 3 general election are a slap in the face for the dictatorship. They prove without any doubt that the majority of people have rejected the military, the Democrat Party and the royalist elites. Pheu Thai, the party closely allied to the Red Shirt movement, has won a clear majority. The result is all the more remarkable, given that the election was held under conditions of severe censorship and intimidation of the Red Shirt democracy movement by the military and the military-installed Democrat Party government of Abhisit Vejjajiva. This election confirms that the Abhisit government never had a mandate from the people. It confirms that the 90+ pro-democracy activists who were shot down by military snipers last year, were shot in order to keep the Democrat Party and the military in power. Every single election since 2001 has been won by the Thai Rak Thai or its descendants, Palang Prachachon and now Pheu Thai. The latest results expose the lies of the military, the mainstream media, the liberal academics, the NGOs and the Democrat Party, all of whom supported the 2006 military coup and claimed that it was “necessary” because the majority of the electorate “didn’t understand democracy” or were “bought off” in election frauds. The latest election is a vindication of the struggles and sacrifices of the Red Shirts and it proves the deep commitment to democracy among the majority of Thai citizens, especially the poor. But the important question after the election is whether the Pheu Thai government will meet such commitments to freedom and democracy shown by those who voted for it. If Thailand is to shake off the legacy of the 2006 military coup and the subsequent destruction of the democratic process by the courts and the Abhisit government, this new government must take some immediate and important measures. These include: 1. freeing all political prisoners, including those jailed or charged under the notorious lèse majesté law 2. ending censorship of all types, especially of the internet and community radio stations 3. sacking army chief General Prayut Junocha on the grounds that he sought to influence the outcome of the election and announced that he opposed Pheu Thai policies in the South; the army chief should be the servant of an elected government and never have special extra-constitutional powers to intervene in politics 4. the indictment and trial of former prime minister Abhisit and his deputy Sutep, along with generals Anupong and Prayut on the grounds of murdering Red Shirt civilians last year 5. the temporary re-introduction of the 1997 constitution, instead of the present military constitution, and the start of a process to rewrite the constitution to increase freedom and democracy 6. scrapping the lèse majesté and computer crimes laws that prevent freedom of expression. In the long term, Thai society must seek ways to totally reform the military, drastically cutting its budget and removing its control of the media. This will reduce its political influence. The justice system, which has been plagued by double standards, must also be seriously reformed and measures should start in the process of building a welfare state in order to reduce inequality. But it is doubtful whether the Pheu Thai Party will have any intention of carrying out these necessary changes. It will be up to the Red Shirt movement to push the new government into making more radical reforms rather than doing secret and dirty compromises with the military and the elites. Of course, the Red Shirt movement has many factions within it. This is normal for such a large mass movement. Some will want to wind down the movement and leave the business of politics to the new government. This would be a serious mistake. The more radical sections of the movement must continue the struggle for justice and equality in order to bring about real changes. This election is only one step towards restoring democracy. It will take mass participation of the Red Shirts in order to strengthen and speed up the process. [Giles Ji Ungpakorn is a political commentator and dissident. In February 2009 he had to leave Thailand for exile in Britain because he was charged with lèse majesté for writing a book criticising the 2006 military coup. He is a member of Left Turn Thailand, a socialist organisation. His latest book, Thailand’s Crisis and the Fight for Democracy, will be of interest to activists, academics and journalists who have an interest in Thai politics, democratisation and NGOs. His website is at http://redthaisocialist.com/.] ประชาชนปฏิเสธเผด็จการมือเปื้อนเลือดอย่างชัดเจน ใจ อึ๊งภากรณ์ การ เลือกตั้งครั้งนี้พิสูจน์อย่างเถียงไม่ได้เลย ว่าประชาชนไทยส่วนใหญ่ มีวุฒิภาวะและอุดมการณ์ประชาธิปไตย เพียงพอที่จะปฏิเสธเผด็จการมือเปื้อนเลือดของอำมาตย์ และสิ่งที่น่ามหัศจรรย์คือมันเป็นชัยชนะของพรรคเพื่อไทยภายใต้สถานการณ์ที่ ยากลำบาก เพราะฝ่ายอำมาตย์ปิดกั้นสื่อ และกลั่นแกล้งสร้างอุปสรรค์ให้กับเพื่อไทยและคนเสื้อแดงมาตลอด แต่คำถามสำคัญหลังการเลือกตั้งคือ รัฐบาลพรรคเพื่อไทยจะมีวุฒิภาวะและอุดมการณ์ประชาธิปไตยที่เท่าเทียมกับ ประชาชนผู้เลือกหรือไม่ และจะเดินหน้าพัฒนาสิทธิเสรีภาพกับประชาธิปไตย หรือจะประนีประนอมแบบสกปรกกับฝ่ายเผด็จการ ผลการเลือกตั้งครั้งนี้ พิสูจน์ว่ารัฐบาลประชาธิปัตย์ ที่ก่อตั้งในค่ายทหาร หลังการยุบพรรคพลังประชาชน ไม่เคยได้รับการสนับสนุนจากประชาชนส่วนใหญ่เลย และประชาชนส่วนใหญ่สนับสนุนขบวนการเสื้อแดงมาตลอด มันพิสูจน์อีกว่าพวกชนชั้นกลาง สื่อมวลชน เอ็นจีโอเหลือง และพวกพันธมิตรฯ โกหกเวลาพยายามแสวงหาความชอบธรรมกับการทำรัฐประหาร ๑๙ กันยา ภายใต้อคติหลอกลวงว่า “มีการโกงการเลือกตั้งในอดีตโดยไทยรักไทย” หรือ “ประชาชนส่วนใหญ่เข้าไม่ถึงข้อมูลและไม่เข้าใจประชาธิปไตย” สรุปแล้ว พวกที่สนับสนุนรัฐประหาร ๑๙ กันยา สนับสนุนพันธมิตรฯ สนับสนุนการปราบปรามคนเสื้อแดง หรือสนับสนุนการฉีกทิ้งรัฐธรรมนูญปี ๒๕๔๐ ล้วนแต่เป็นคนส่วนน้อย ที่โกหกบิดเบือนความจริงเกี่ยวกับสังคมไทย เพื่อปกป้องผลประโยชน์ของคนชั้นสูง ซึ่งตรงข้ามโดยสิ้นเชิงกับผลประโยชน์ของประชาชนคนจน นอกจากนี้ การเลือกตั้งพิสูจน์ว่าประชาชนปฏิเสธพวกนายพลเผด็จการ อย่าง ประยุทธ์ อนุพงษ์ หรือสนธิ ที่แทรกแซงการเมือง ทำลายประชาธิปไตย และเข่นฆ่าคนเสื้อแดง ดังนั้นมันถึงเวลาแล้วที่สังคมไทยจะต้องมาทบทวนบทบาทของกองทัพ และปลดนายพลที่แทรกแซงการเมืองออกจากตำแหน่ง รัฐบาลของอภิสิทธิ์ ที่พึ่งแพ้การเลือกตั้งครั้งนี้ ไม่เคยชนะการเลือกตั้งเลย แต่แย่กว่านั้น ผลงานของรัฐบาลนี้ มีแต่สิ่งเลวร้ายคือ ปกปิดข้อมูลและเซ็นเซอร์สื่ออย่างรุนแรง เพิ่มจำนวนนักโทษการเมืองในคดี 112 อย่างสุดขั้ว เข่นฆ่าประชาชนผู้รักประชาธิปไตย เกือบ 90 ศพ ด้วยทหารสไนเบอร์ และสร้างความตึงเครียดที่ชายแดนเขมรจนเกิดการยิงกันอย่างไร้เหตุผลโดยสิ้น เชิง สรุปแล้วรัฐบาลพรรคประชาธิปัตย์ได้ลากสังคมไทยให้ถอยหลังลงคลองอย่างเดียว และโกหกเพื่อหลอกลวงประชาชนไทยและชาวโลกอีกด้วย .... แต่คนส่วนใหญ่ไม่ได้ถูกหลอกแต่อย่างใด การเลือกตั้งครั้งนี้เป็นก้าวแรกที่สำคัญในการกู้ประชาธิปไตยและสิทธิเสรีภาพกลับมา... อย่างไรก็ตามการเลือกตั้งอย่างเดียวแก้วิกฤตไทยไม่ได้ และที่สำคัญคือ การแก้วิกฤตจะไม่สำเร็จถ้ามีการ “ปรองดอง” หรือ “ประนีประนอม” กับฝ่ายเผด็จการ เพราะภาระสำคัญของชาวประชาธิปไตย คือการสร้างมาตรฐานสิทธิมนุษยชนและเสรีภาพ ผ่านการรื้อถอนพิษภัยของเผด็จการทั้งหมด ในเรื่องนี้ผมไม่ได้เสนอให้ “แก้แค้น” ใคร แต่เราต้องไม่ปล่อยให้คนที่กระทำความผิดลอยนวล และปล่อยให้มีการละเมิดเสรีภาพเกิดขึ้นซ้ำแล้วซ้ำอีก ดังนั้นภาระเร่งด่วนของชาวประชาธิปไตยคือ 1. ต้องปล่อยนักโทษการเมืองทุกคนทันที และการยกเลิกคดีการเมือง อันนี้รวมถึงการปล่อยนักโทษเสื้อแดงในทุกจังหวัด และนักโทษคดี 112 อีกด้วย 2. ต้องปลด ผบทบ. ประยุทธ์ ออกจากตำแหน่ง ในฐานะที่แทรกแซงการเมืองในช่วงหาเสียง และในฐานะที่ออกมาแสดงความเห็นคัดค้านนโยบายของพรรคเพื่อไทย เพราะ ผบทบ. ต้องไม่มีอำนาจพิเศษ ต้องรับใช้รัฐบาลที่มาจากการเลือกตั้งอย่างเดียว ตามกติกาประชาธิปไตยสากล 3. ต้องนำ นายอภิสิทธิ์ นายสุเทพ นายประยุทธ์ และนายอนุพงษ์ ขึ้นศาลในคดีฆ่าประชาชนที่ผ่านฟ้าและราชประสงค์ 4. ต้องยกเลิกรัฐธรรมนูญปี ๕๐ ของทหาร และนำรัฐธรรมนูญปี ๔๐ กลับมาใช้ชั่วคราว ก่อนที่จะร่างรัฐธรรมนูญใหม่ที่เป็นประชาธิปไตยมากกว่านี้ 5. ต้องยกเลิกการเซ็นเซอร์สื่อมวลชน อินเตอร์เน็ด และวิทยุชุมชนทันที เพื่อปกป้องสิทธิเสรีภาพในการเข้าถึงข้อมูลของประชาชน 6. ต้องยกเลิกกฏหมาย 112 และ พรบ. คอมพิวเตอร์ เพื่อปกป้องสิทธิเสรีภาพในการแสดงออก และในระยะยาว สังคมไทยจะต้องเริ่มกระบวนการปฏิรูปกองทัพอย่างถอนรากถอนโคน เพื่อลดงบประมาณทหาร นำกองทัพออกจากสื่อ และลดบาทกองทัพในการแทรกแซงการเมือง นอกจากนี้ต้องทบทวนและปฏิรูประบบยุติธรรมที่มีปัญหาสองมาตรฐานมาตลอด และต้องมีการพัฒนาสังคมไทยสู่รัฐสวัสดิการ ในรูปแบบ “ถ้วนหน้า-ครบวงจร-ผ่านการเก็บภาษีจากคนรวย” เพื่อเพิ่มความเท่าเทียมและความเป็นธรรมทางสังคม สิ่งเหล่านี้จะเป็นเครื่องชี้วัดความจริงใจและอุดมการณ์ประชาธิปไตยของ รัฐบาลใหม่ เพราะแค่การหมุนนาฬิากากลับไปก่อนรัฐประหาร ๑๙ กันยา และการ “ลืม” อาชญากรรมของฝ่ายอำมาตย์ จะต้องถือว่าเป็นความล้มเหลว ภาระทั้งหมดอันสำคัญเหล่านี้ เราคงเดาได้ว่าพรรคเพื่อไทยคงจะไม่มีเจตตนาในการผลักดันหรือกระทำแต่อย่างใด ดังนั้นขบวนการเสื้อแดงจะต้องรวมตัวกัน และเคลื่อนไหวอย่างต่อเนื่อง เพื่อกดดัน หรือ “ช่วย” ให้รัฐบาลกระทำในสิ่งที่ถูกต้อง เสื้อแดงสำคัญอย่างยิ่งในช่วงนี้ เพราะเราจะต้องไม่ปล่อยให้คนเสื้อแดงที่เสียสละและออกมาสู้เพื่อประชาธิปไตย โดนทอดทิ้งหรือหักหลัง |
This thread has been locked, it will not receive new replies. Locked on by Sidebar Moderator, reason: http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3488738/posts Skip to comments. More Blockbuster Developments in the FBI Clinton Corruption Investigations Rush Limbaugh.com ^ | November 3, 2016 | Rush Limbaugh Posted on by Kaslin BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Now, on this program yesterday, bouncing off a column by Andy McCarthy... Yesterday's program was one for the ages, and what happened after this program on Fox News last night expanding it, providing detail... I mean, this is bombshell stuff that happened yesterday in this campaign and in this country. It's bombshell stuff, and you will not find a syllable of it anywhere in the mainstream media. It started with McCarthy's column yesterday: "The Clinton Emails Are Critical to the Clinton Foundation Investigation." What we have learned, ladies and gentlemen, is that the Clinton Foundation is actually the focus. There are two FBI investigations. They are running in tandem, and they should have been one investigation from the get-go. The two investigations are of her private server and whatever classified information has been taking place there that she's been trafficking in, thereby subjecting the country to national security risks. We know that there's a 99% chance that her server has been hacked by five world powers -- a 99% chance her server has been hacked. The other investigation was of the Clinton Foundation. The foundation investigation has been going on since early 2015. But we didn't know until recently -- like this week or late last week -- that there was a serious investigation of the Clinton Foundation. We were of the opinion that the investigation into her email server had bled over and had caused attention to be focused on the foundation. But, no. The foundation is its own investigation, and for specific pay-for-play reasons. Have the Clintons been selling United States foreign policy? Have the Clintons been engaging in pay-for-play? Meaning: You pay them and they'll play ball with you by giving you policy considerations or what have you. There is little doubt in the layman's world that that has been going on. Proving it is quite another matter, but there's little doubt, especially in the political world. There's no doubt in my mind that that's what's been going on and that's why she set up the server in the first place. The entire reason for the server in her basement was not because she wanted privacy per se. It's not because she wanted convenience. It's not because she didn't want to go to the hassle of having a StateDepartment.gov email address. It's not because she didn't trust people. The reason she set up the server in her basement was specific, and it was to be able to conduct business for the foundation and keep those emails from ever being seen by anybody, including Freedom of Information Act requests. And what the Clintons have been doing via their foundation is where the real criminality is. There's negligence and intent over on the email server side with classified data being trafficked and so forth. But over here at the foundation, that is where the Clintons have been engaging... Rudy Giuliani said that if their name were Italian, they would have already been indicted because what they've got going there is essentially a Mafia-type operation, certainly a RICO, racketeering and organized crime-type operation. So after spending some time yesterday detailing all of this and explaining why the foundation investigation is the real key -- and then explaining that the foundation investigation is being stonewalled. There are two different offices conducting these two investigations. The investigation into the foundation is being conducted by the Eastern District of New York U.S. attorney's office. That's out in Brooklyn. That office was headed by Loretta Lynch for six years. She was the US attorney there, and she was appointed by -- dadelut dadelut dadelut -- Bill Clinton. Obama then plucked her from the Eastern District and made her attorney general at the Eastern District for six years. She staffed the place. So all of the lawyers, all the investigators that work there are her hires and thus simpatico with her. The FBI agents that have been conducting this investigation... These two investigations ended up bleeding together, and the agents discovered this and have been asking for further ammunition and permission, and the Justice Department -- Loretta Lynch -- has been stonewalling the investigation into the Clinton Foundation. And again the foundation is the reason why the server was set up in her basement. Now, what was going on? What is pay-for-play? Essentially it is how the Clintons got rich. You set up a charitable foundation... Remember, now, the Clintons leave Washington in 2000, by Hillary's estimation, "broke." They were broke. She has offered that as an explanation for why she had to behave in certain ways. They had to earn some money. They left the White House broke. They even stole some furniture from the White House on the way out. The real purpose of the foundation was to help rebuild Bill Clinton's image from the Lewinsky days. You set up a charity, do good works around the world, recapture an image and a reputation. But it was also a way to get personally rich. Within the umbrella of the Clinton Foundation, you have the Clinton Global Initiative, and they hit donors up all over the world. They hit governments up. They hit wealthy individuals from all over the world up, and they were soliciting these donations for their foundation and soliciting being hired personally to give speeches, to be consultants to companies. And this is how you go from the White House broke to now having a net worth of $350 million plus. Having done what? Set up a charity. Who sets up a charity and gets rich? Charities give money away. But it hasn't worked out that way with the Clintons. Anyway, these investigations have been going on all this time while we've been distracted. Not distracted. But while we've been focused on the classified data and perhaps national security violations, what's really been going on is Hillary Clinton leveraging her position as secretary of state to engender and get donations to their foundation and personal payments to both Bill and Hillary for speech making or to be hired as consultants or what have you. So as secretary of state Mrs. Clinton -- and, by the way, I'm sure as they're soliciting donations for the foundation while she's secretary. They're also concluding she might be president someday. So they are essentially offering the foreign policy of the United States or other considerations to donors to their foundation. And this is what has been learned. So after spending quite a bit of time on this yesterday, I get home last night, turn on Fox News to watch Special Report with Bret Baier, and it was astounding. The timing on this could not have been better. Folks, here's what it seems like. Seems like the FBI rank-and-file, the agents, the investigators who have been thwarted and shut down by the Department of Justice... This is my interpretation of things, but it seems to me that rank-and-file FBI agents know that just reams and reams of corruption has gone on here by the Clintons, and nobody is paying attention. They have done their best to inform people. The media will not do their job anymore. The evidence that has been exposed and presented has been ignored. The FBI agents are, I think, hell-bent on having people find out what they have known, what they've learned. They tried to do all they could for a year or more internally but were met with roadblock after roadblock after roadblock from the Department of Justice. They were left with no option but than to start leaking out all of this information that they have accrued during the investigation of both the foundation and Hillary's email server in the basement, which is essentially the same thing. And is seems to me that they decided to get hold of Bret Baier at Fox News and tell him everything that they knew, and he began his reporting on this last night. And here's how he... Well, gotta take a break here. I just saw the clock. Gotta take a break. But it's astounding. Folks, it's just astounding, and it exists in a cocoon universe. It is the evidence of corruption. It's how the establishment works to protect itself; it's insider-versus-outsider, elite-versus-not. Everything is wrapped up in this, and half the country or more is not gonna find out about it. BREAK TRANSCRIPT RUSH: And here's how Bret Baier began his report last night on Special Report. He's also On the Record with Brit Hume. This is a summation of what he had. Baier: FBI Investigation Into Clinton Foundation is 'More Expansive' than Previously Reported BAIER: The Clinton Foundation investigation is far more expansive than anybody has reported. It was believed that the laptops that they had, after a narrow review for classification emails, were going to be destroyed by the FBI. We have been told that those definitively have not been destroyed. The Clinton Foundation investigation is so expansive they have interviewed and re-interviewed many people. They described the evidence that they have as, quote, "a lot of it," and there is an avalanche coming every day with WikiLeaks and the new emails. They are, quote, "actively and aggressively pursuing this case." RUSH: And they are being slow walked -- Andy McCarthy referred to this in his column a couple days ago, that the DOJ, attorney general slow walking the investigation, trying to impede it, actually, but they are interviewing people. They granted certain people immunity here, like Cheryl Mills and Heather Samuelson. They have discovered, folks, that some of people granted immunity have been lying. You do not lie when you get immunity. The immunity is in the process of being pulled and I'm told that there are people they're talking to that are preparing to rat out major players in this investigation because it's getting to the point where you tell what you know to save yourself. It's that serious. This is not about emails. People say, "I'm sick and tired of hearing about emails." It's not about emails, folks. It's about corruption at the highest levels of our government for all kinds of reasons, including personal enrichment by the Clintons. BREAK TRANSCRIPT RUSH: We'll start in Alexandria, Virginia. This is Sean. Great to have you, sir. Hi. CALLER: Hi, Rush. I am baffled at how corrupt Hillary Clinton is and how she's still being compared to Donald Trump. The stuff that Donald Trump has done is not anything near comparable to Hillary. And beyond that, what has Donald Trump done? He's built a business, he's employed people, and now he's running for president, and he hasn't even been in politics before. He seems to be doing an amazing job. I can't see how you can possibly compare the two. RUSH: Yeah, that's exactly right, and it's exactly why Obama today and Hillary every day are out campaigning on the premise that Trump is unfit and he's unqualified, and they do it on the basis of his character and his personality. And yet everything Obama and Hillary have been in charge of, nobody can say it's going great, and nobody can say they want more of it. We're having an absolute health care disaster, health insurance disaster. We're in a foreign policy disaster. That's continuing to unfold. The economy is no great shakes. You're right; Trump's fingerprints aren't on any of it. I think it's one of the reasons/explanations why they really don't know how to campaign against somebody like this. I mean, it's easy to besmirch somebody who's been in politics. You can lie about 'em and blame this or that political event on them, but Trump's fingerprints are on nothing. Whatever is going wrong in the country, you cannot blame Donald Trump for it. To me, this is another reason why Hillary ought not even be close. So we'll see how it manifests. But you got a great observation there. END TRANSCRIPT TOPICS: Editorial Government Politics/Elections KEYWORDS: fbi hillaryrottenclinton To: Kaslin “Who sets up a charity and gets rich? Charities give money away. But it hasn’t worked out that way with the Clintons.” Con-artists. Put the Arkansas AG’s office up for sale, the Arkansas govenorship up for sale, the White House up for sale and the State Department up for sale. They corrupt everything they get involved with, and the Democrat voter and their media were the easiest mark. To: Kaslin It's bombshell stuff, and you will not find a syllable of it anywhere in the mainstream media. I wonder what the media will say when, having ignored the lead up, the clintons get "Perp Walked"? To: Kaslin The FBIs White Collar Crime Division is handling the investigation. The FBI also needs to get its Electronic/Mail Fraud unit on this....b/c the foundation solicited money for one purpose then used it for another purpose. That is considered electronic/mail fraud. EVIDENCE: PODESTA EMAIL Mentions CHAI, AFLCIO, Deutsche Bank....... <><> ....(money raised for) the Island initiative budget "as is" includes a $100,000 salary for Ira (on top of his CHAI salary) and a staff of nine ..... <><> ...... Swedish post code lottery donor funds (to be split among them)...... <><>....using Clinton Foundation funds to fund AFL-CIO/pension fund retrofit work. LINK https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/9938 ========================================= <><> ITEM----The legal culpability of a tax-free "charity" consists of: <><> soliciting and taking money, and, <><> showing how they spend it. ========================================== REPORT MAIL FRAUD AND ELECTRONIC FRAUD HERE : MAIL FRAUD https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/contactUs/filecomplaint.aspx ELECTRONIC FRAUD---FBI electronic fraud unit FBI tip page https://tips.fbi.gov by 4 posted onby Liz (Experience is a dear teacher, but fools will learn at no other. Benjamin Franklin) To: Kaslin BFL by 5 posted onby rlmorel (Orwell described Liberals when he wrote of those who "repudiate morality while laying claim to it.") To: Kaslin Good synopsis of the situation by El Rushbo. To: Kaslin To: 21st Century Crusader I wonder what the media will say when, having ignored the lead up, the clintons get "Perp Walked"? Won't bother them in the least. They'll just latch on to another leftist ideologue - probably more rigid and dumber than the last. Leftists/statists never quit. They can't be bargained with. They can't be reasoned with. The only way to deal with them is to defeat them utterly. And then they will bide their time working tirelessly to undermine our freedoms and constitutional rights until the next election. To: Senator Goldwater Yeah the Clintons kept the money themselves. That is how their charity works. We knew this would happen when they founded their "Charity", didn't we? by 9 posted onby Kaslin (He needed the Ignorant to reelect him, and he got them Now we all have to pay the consequences) To: Kaslin Rush is falling for the FBI is on the job to take down the Clintons crapola, he has a short memory To: Mr. Mojo I gotta say, despite literally hundreds of people trying to do what he does, nobody can explain what’s really going on in politics in terms that can be broadly understood as well as Rush Limbaugh. He’s the king of that. To: justlurking; Admin Moderator Hmm, I did not see it when I did a search Please delete thread by 12 posted onby Kaslin (He needed the Ignorant to reelect him, and he got them Now we all have to pay the consequences) Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works. FreeRepublic , LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794 FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson |
January 18th 2013, Southampton FC sack Nigel Adkins as their manager, just two days after the 2-2 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, after being 2-0 down at half time. Southampton were also three points clear of the drop zone. Adkins in his greatly lauded two and a half year spell with the club had taken them from the lackluster and financially perilous League One to the dizzying heights and affluence of the Premier league once again, after a 7 year absence. His sacking comes as a huge shock. He is replaced, rather ambitiously by a relatively unknown Argentine, Mauricio Pochettino whose last managerial venture resulted in him leaving Spanish first division side Espanyol, at the bottom of the league table. The media and the fans alike have their knives out once again, mainly directed towards highly ambitious club Chairman Nicola Cortese. The already controversial topics of how English managers are no longer favoured by the hierarchy of English football clubs gets even more impetus. The whole situation is quite possibly summed up by a tweet from Saints legend, Matt Le Tissier. Saddest part of nigels sacking is that i wasnt even shocked #laughingstock — Matt Le Tissier (@mattletiss7) January 18, 2013 Fast forward to the present day, and the “laughing stock” of a club is all smiles. And why wouldn’t they be. They’ve made a superb start to the 2013/14 season, accumulating breathless praise from fans, pundits and even other players and managers in the league, for their attractive brand of football. This is after all the team that was expected to go down after Adkins was sacked last season. They survived by 5 points. This season all that was expected from them was to establish themselves probably with a lower mid-table finish. That’s what makes the start even more so special. Underdog teams who have stood up to the top teams (reference the now surely defunct “Big Four”) in the league haven’t been unheard of. After all who can forget the way Everton sensationally finished 4th in 2004/5 under the stewardship of David Moyes, overcoming the monopoly over these spots held by the “Big four”. Perhaps more recently in the 2011/12 campaign, Newcastle United finished 5th, just a season after returning from a woeful relegation. What sets Southampton apart from these teams is the way they have gone about this season. Their high pressing and possession based football has been a refreshing taste of excitement to the Premier League. The majority of the credit must go to the same “relatively unknown” Argentine appointed at the end of last season, Mauricio Pochettino. Since he was handed the reins of the club, their fortunes have turned around. The Bielsan influence on the South coast He is after all, a student of Marcelo Bielsa, the father of the modern possession based renaissance. The eccentric genius, known for his strong (and somewhat obsessive it must be said) attack minded philosophy. The nickname “El loco” isn’t one which is easily earned. Other esteemed pupils of his include Tata Martino, now at Barcelona, and of course a certain Josep Guardiola at Bayern Munich. You don’t have to be Jonathan Wilson to recognize the Bielsan influence of Pochettino. The frantic pressing, fluid passing approach, the strong vertical play and of course the authenticating “un enganche y tres punta” (a playmaker and three forwards), with the big target man is all very familiar. The swashbuckling Athletic Bilbao team in 2011/12 under Bielsa is very comparable to Southampton this season. Pochettino has increased Southampton’s domination off the ball, but he has done it not with tiki-taka or short sideways passing; he has done it by being more direct and wining the ball back quicker. Gone are the days of Nigel Adkins slow build up.The pressing philosophy has been a hallmark of the side, with high pressing by the forwards in the opposition half. Initially the forward presses the opposition’s defence, followed by a midfielder to press the opposition’s deep lying midfielder. The rest of the midfield (aside from the deepest midfielder) and the two fullbacks must shut off passing lanes andor man mark the remaining midfielders/fullbacks etc. The holding midfielder Wanyama plays a smart game, unlike most of Southampton’s midfield, he restrains from pressing high up the pitch, and is primarily deployed to provide cover for the defence. This approach requires extremely high physical demand and thus far, Pochettino has made his team give 110% on the field. This high intensity play has taken the Premier League by storm. Southampton have performed exceptionally well as a unit, with almost a telepathic relationship between players. The total fluid positional inter-exchanges between the front four is certainly unique to the Premier League. Unlike Barcelona’s approach, the Saints aren’t afraid to setup to cross the ball into their target men, Osvaldo and Lambert. This flexible nature has helped them break down the best of teams. Their defensive strength is perhaps summed up by the simple mantra “The opposition can’t score if they don’t have the ball”. Fonte and lovren have been pillars at the back, with Southampton conceding 14 goals in 15 matches (mind you, 9 of which came in the last four games). Outside the pitch While Pochettino and his tactics have been the most important factor in Southampton’s rise, none of this would have come to be without the support of Nicola Cortese and his board. Sacking Adkins was a huge risk Cortese took, one which did not seem very sensible at the time, but it has paid off. Southampton have progressed to a higher level, and have carved an identity in Pochettino’s still short spell. Cortese’s Southampton are asking the question of, not ‘if’ Southampton can win the Premier League, but ‘how’. To work at St Mary’s it’s immediately obvious that everyone must match his ambition and drive if they are to succeed in this environment. The business in the summer transfer window, when he spent 35 million, was testament as to how much faith he had instilled in Pochettino. These signings were scouted incredibly extensively. Victor Wanyama, whose impressive performances on the biggest stage of Europe against Barcelona in the Celtic colours would have surely put him on the radar of top clubs all over Europe. But it was Southampton who eventually secured his signature. He has been a true midfield general for the saints thus far. Dejan Lovern, a 7 million pound signing has been an absolute steal, considering his performances with Jose Fonte this season. Dani Osvaldo, the club record signing form Roma is a direct striker who can use both feet to his advantage, as well as being an aerial threat. He played as a lone frontman for Espanyol under Pocthettino and has provided depth and variety to the squad. He is still finding his feet but looks like he’s getting there. That beauty of a goal against Manchester City is testament enough. The Saints have a front-line that frightens even the best of defenses. A major part of this revolution is the strong core of English players. Nathaniel Clyne, Luke Shaw, Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Jay Rodriguez and Steven Davis have all been influential. This is probably something that FA chairman Greg Dyke could have only wished for considering the new fears over “England’s future”. Chants of” En-ger-Land” continues to echo in the Saint Mary, with at least six players involved in the National setup. Southampton has always had a superb youth setup producing the likes of Matthew Le Tissier, Alan Shearer, Wayne Bridge, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade -Chamberlain and how could we forget, the world’s most expensive player Gareth Bale. The Coming days Exciting days lie ahead at the Saint Mary’s. Pochettino’s tactics are by no means perfect, and have the same problems Bielsa had such as vulnerability on the counter attack, and the space left behind the fullbacks (both of which were heavily exploited by Aston Villa in their 3-2 win). Four successive games without a win seem to indicate that there had been a wrench thrown in the works. However, such is the cut-throat nature of the English top flight, that, within two weeks of being able to go to the summit, Southampton now find themselves in eighth place. The four fixtures containing three of the biggest teams challenging for the title would have been an uphill task for any team. The injuries to many first team players have also added to their woes, exposing the depth of the squad. The draw against Manchester City though, was a truly outstanding and spirited performance, one which the squad will surely look to build on. A European finish is not out of the cards as yet. For the long term Southampton must keep hold of their promising young English stars. They cannot afford to lose them just as they lost Bale, Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. This is the way forward for the Saints, who look to fly to greater heights. Nicola Cortese with his forward, optimistic and right-minded goal of winning the league is what the club are galloping towards. Now that isn’t loco at all! |
It’s strange how quiet the apartment is now. There’s no music blasting through Clara’s speakers. I can’t hear her gabbing away on the phone with Florian or Lena. I can’t hear anything, except my pencil scratching against the paper. Clara was a total mess when she left this morning. Worrying, apologizing, almost crying. “You shouldn’t be alone.” She kept saying. I know she felt terrible about having to go. But it’s not like she had a choice. The twins are due in less than three weeks – which basically means they could come any day now. And Clara wants to be back home in Windenburg when they do, of course… Which means going home early, and leaving me to spend the last month and a half of the semester on my own. And normally, I think I’d like the peace and quiet. But not now. It’s only been a few hours since she left, and it’s already starting to get to me. The silence. The emptiness. It’s not like I even have any friends on campus I can turn to. I’ve always kinda kept to myself… And Elliot — probably the closest thing to a friend I’d have left here at school — isn’t even on the continent anymore. He went back to Willow Creek at the start of the semester. I’m all alone. There’s nothing to distract me. Nothing to stop me from thinking about… everything. The horrible shitstorm that is my life right now. I’ve been thinking about my parents. I think about when they showed up here last week. I think of how horrible it was to hear maman cry like that. I think of how hurt and sorry Papa sounded when he talked to me. I think of how much I wanted to open the door and rush into their arms. But I didn’t. I stood my ground. I kept the door shut. I told them I hate them. I waited in my room until they finally left me alone. I’ve been thinking about Luc a lot too… I guess I have Florian to thank for that. After he helped Clara load up the car, he pulled me aside. “Lucas is really worried,” he told me. “He wants to talk to you.” Was that supposed to make me feel better, or something? Because it didn’t. Not one bit. All it did was remind me of how angry I am. Of how this is all his and Hazel’s fault. And of how I never want to speak to either one of them again. Of course, there’s one more person I’ve been thinking of too. But that’s not anything new. I’m sure I’ll get used to it eventually – being alone. Having nothing better to do than feel miserable all the time. Sitting in the silence, dwelling on the past, and fearing the future. Guess that’s gonna be my life for the next couple months, until I go back home. And after that… Well, that’s the part I don’t want to think about. Advertisements |
ASTANA -- Kazakhstan has suspended poultry imports from neighboring Russian region of Astrakhan, citing an outbreak of H5N1 bird flu there. The Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture announced on April 30 that the poultry imports had been suspended as of April 28. Last week, Kazakh authorities temporarily banned Russia-made butter, chocolate, candies, and mayonnaise, while Russian agricultural watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor barred the import of 20 tons of wheat flour from Kazakhstan. Earlier in April, Russian authorities suspended Kazakh dairy products imports to Russia. Some media reports in Russia and Kazakhstan have called the situation a "trade war" between the two countries, which are close trade partners and founding members of a four-nation Eurasian Economic Union created this year on the basis of an existing customs union. In separate statements last week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov and Kazakh Deputy Economy Minister Qaiyrbek Oskenbaev said that there is no trade war and that the bans were motivated purely by health concerns. With reporting by KazTAG |
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