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Last week, the general manager and CEO of Seattle City Light, Larry Weis, briefed the Seattle City Council on its Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) program — a grid of so-called “smart meters” that provide more timely and accurate information about home energy use. In his 10-minute update, however, he did not mention that if the program continues as scheduled, its cost will balloon by more than $12 million. So, in order to stay below the roughly $84 million set aside for the project, the utility company has decided to only deliver 70 percent of what it promised on schedule and to delay the rest, according to the program’s project manager J.R. Gonzalez. The hope is that by delaying the full rollout, the costs will not run quite so high. Accounts of what that means vary. Several City Light employees were under the impression it could scuttle some of the most user-friendly aspects of the project, including ones that would allow city residents to get a better handle on their electric usage and bills. But Director of City Light’s Customer Care Division Kelly Enright said that was not the case and the delay would affect "business processes" — namely, the ability to disconnect meters remotely and service-problem alarms to go directly to the city's central system. According to one employee with Seattle City Light, who asked to remain anonymous because the disclosure of the troubles would anger the department's managers, leadership has been discussing this partial “pause” since at least November. But until Crosscut reached out late last week to City Light and the office of Councilmember Kshama Sawant, who chairs the Seattle City Council’s energy committee, none of this had been communicated to the Council, despite the recent council appearances by City Light’s CEO Weis. “The very short answer is that we had not heard anything about this,” said Ted Virdone, staff member for Seattle Councilmember Kshama Sawant, who heads the council’s energy committee. “That is particularly surprising to us because Larry Weis gave the General Manager’s report to the committee [last Tuesday] and didn’t mention it.” When asked if City Light should have communicated the delays to the City Council earlier, Enright answered, "I will say yes." The benefits of advanced metering to City Light are clear: rather than sending out meter readers to collect what is often an estimated measurement of energy use, advanced meters can feed that information directly back to the utility company. The data that comes in is also much more precise. Further, disconnections, because someone has moved or due to an unpaid bill, can — eventually — be done remotely rather than in person. The appeal to the customer is they can pinpoint energy waste. A fully functional advanced metering system should provide energy updates in as narrow as 5-minute intervals. In theory, it could also tell you if you’re wasting energy through an outdated refrigerator or a hidden power-strip. Customers could even download an app to check in on their home while they’re away. Enright was emphatic that the full benefits of the program will eventually be realized, even if it is not in the time frame originally forecast in 2012 and budgeted for in 2014. The problem, says Gonzalez, is that the budgeting was done based on a 2012 business case for the metering infrastructure. Several things have changed since then. First, the original budget assumed City Light would have to replace 410,000 meters. But the city is growing at an incredible pace and that number has climbed to 466,000 meters — 56,000 additional meters. Gonzalez said that has added “at least 7.5 million, 8 million dollars to the program.” In a meeting requested by Sawant's office Monday, Enright told the councilmember's staff that number was more like $4 million. The second and larger issue relates to the troubled rollout of a new billing system for Seattle City Light and Seattle Public Utilities — the New Customer Information System (NCIS). The city budgeted $2.7 million to integrate AMI with the old billing system, said Gonzalez. But the new billing system, with all of its bells and whistles, makes meshing the two much more expensive. If SCL had proceeded as planned with AMI, integrating the program with NCIS would have pushed the city another $8 million over budget. Overall, Enright said, "The cost came in a lot higher than we thought." As a result, the higher estimates spurred City Light to look at the project "very carefully" to find the best option for containing costs. In the end, a steering committee decided to pull back from full integration with the new billing system. It would be more cost effective, said Enright, to fully integrate the AMI program at a later date, when the city would have to perform updates to the billing system anyway. How much, ultimately, full deployment would cost is still not clear. The lag between an early business case and actual implementation has gotten City Light into trouble before. The same thing happened with the NCIS billing system, which ended up delayed and $34 million over budget. According to the City Auditor’s autopsy of those issues, the budget was similarly based on a 2012 business case. As the project dragged on and scope grew, the budget went up. That delay and cost overrun, revealed in the March 2016, put both SCL and SPU in seriously hot water with most of the City Council, which felt the issues were not well communicated. Sawant went a step further, accusing the departments and Mayor Ed Murray of a cover-up. This newest hiccup is rekindling that tension. Virdone, the aide to Sawant, said the council committee will want City Light staff or Weis to come back next week "to properly brief the council.” Enright said there was no cover-up intended and that the lack of communication was an oversight. "We had just not gone and done the updated briefing on the project," she said. "That’s where we should probably have been more proactive. And I'll take responsibility for that. We were just trying to keep the project moving." Advanced metering has already been controversial among privacy advocates, who feel it creates an unchecked data pipeline from private citizens to the city. City Light has attempted to fend off some of those concerns by providing an “opt-out” option. But the delay to the AMI program is separate from citizens’ privacy concerns, instead indicative of the continuing headache for the department to bring its billing and metering services into the 21st Century, a task likely complicated by the city's ongoing consolidation of its IT department. AMI program manager Gonzalez said the project is moving forward. “The network is fairly robust,” he said, saying deployment will begin in July. “This is all very, very positive news that this train is moving.” “It’s just that full system integration is moved three years down the road.” |
Changes are happening fast at the Pruneyard Shopping Center, which is undergoing a major renovation that began a few months ago and should see its first phase completed by year’s end. Some new businesses swooped into the Pruneyard, others moved out and many are being remodeled inside, outside or both. When the first phase is over, the center will have improved walkways, lounging areas for communal gatherings and better vehicle traffic flow. “It’s been exciting to see the physical progress of the renovation,” said Ellis Partners co-founder and managing principal Jim Ellis. “As a developer, it’s always exciting to see the progress on the ground.” “We’re creating spaces for people to come and hang out,” Ellis added. Following two years of community and city meetings to determine what residents and other stakeholders believed the Pruneyard needed, the Campbell City Council in October authorized Ellis Partners to proceed with the massive makeover. A ground-breaking took place in January to signal the first phase of the project. The next three phases are expected to produce five new retail buildings, 100,000 square feet of office space and 680 additional parking spaces at the shopping center, located at East Campbell and South Bascom avenues. For the first phase, the east parking lot along Main Street was closed until July 31, although there are still spaces available near Sports Basement and the covered parking garage. To date, Lisa’s Tea Treasures has relocated and Camera 7 is being transformed into a luxury theater. Marshalls’ interior is getting a big remodel, and other businesses are getting exterior upgrades. The DoubleTree by Hilton saw a fresh coat of paint and new decor in its lobby, as well as the launch of a new restaurant, PY Kitchen & Wine Garden. Trudys brides/special occasions store added a second floor and a grand staircase. Meanwhile, Tin Pot Creamery, a new organic ice cream shop, had its grand opening on July 9. “We’re also facilitating a renovation and expansion of the Trader Joe’s,” Ellis said, adding the expansion was sparked by community input. “I’m really excited about Books Inc., Lulu’s, and Asian Box,” Ellis said, noting that those coming businesses have been successful at Town & Country Village in Palo Alto, which Ellis Partners also renovated. Asian Box will take over the Sugar Butter Flour location. New businesses such as Burger Lounge, Mendocino Farms, Peet’s Coffee & Tea and Blossom Nail Spa should be coming soon too during the first phase, Ellis said. He said the first phase should wrap up by the time the holiday shopping season arrives. Ellis said new businesses planning to move into the retail and office space yet to be built are currently negotiating leases. Once leases are secured, the next phase can commence, he noted. “There are a lot of moving pieces,” Ellis said. “This is going to provide a real destination for visitors in the area and for the community.” |
Looking to add a center fielder, the Washington Nationals have reportedly contacted free agent Gerardo Parra, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com. Parra, who split last season between the Milwaukee Brewers and Baltimore Orioles, has drawn interest from at least four teams this offseason. The free-agent outfield market remains deep, with Yoenis Cespedes, Justin Upton, Alex Gordon, and Dexter Fowler all remaining, though Parra is arguably the most capable defender of the group, with two Gold Glove awards on his resume. The 28-year-old is coming off a year in which he hit .291/.328/.452 with a career-high 14 homers to go with 36 doubles and 51 RBIs. The Nationals have a need at the position, with Denard Span hitting free agency following an injury-plagued 2015 season. Michael Taylor will likely be used as the team's fourth outfielder. |
One of the questions New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was posed at Sunday's news conference was how the team was going into this season without being the defending champs. Ever so smooth, Brees handled it perfectly: "So many of the questions going into last season were: what have you done about the Super Bowl hangover, how do you defend against that and how do you prepare for a season after being the champs," he said. "That's a fun thing to be called defending champs, but everybody also tries to make it a stressful thing. In the end, I felt like we handled that situation very well even though we started off with a 4-3 record which was not optimal for us, but I felt like we finished playing some of our best football at the end of the season. "Unfortunately, the playoffs did not go the way we expected. I still felt like we had as good a shot as anybody going into the playoffs and that's all we wanted. That's all you can ask for in this league. I feel like we learn a lot from every season whether it goes really well or we fall a little bit short. I feel like we have a lot of guys on this team that went through both of those seasons - the 2009 and 2010 seasons - and I think that's going to benefit us moving forward." |
On Wednesday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” former DNC Chair Donna Brazile commented on her leaking debate questions to the Clinton campaign when she was at CNN by stating that CNN never gave her anything in advance, and people never got to see all the things she gave to Democratic presidential candidates Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley. Brazile said, “I said last year, that CNN never provided us with any questions. CNN never gave us anything in advance. What I did say, and what I’ve said in the past, and what I say in this book, is that I, as an officer of the DNC — and I know WikiLeaks gave everybody certain questions in certain emails. But as an officer of the DNC, I sought to expand the number of debates, and I wanted to make sure that we had diverse voices, and we covered issues that had not been discussed in previous debates. … What I sought to do, Tucker, was to ensure that we had these issues on the table, and I made sure that our candidates — I didn’t want them blindsided. That’s what I admitted to.” She added, “WikiLeaks sought to divide us. These were active measures where you got to see the things I gave to Hillary. You never got a chance to see the things I gave to Bernie or Martin O’Malley.” Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett |
Members of YPJ militia fighting ISIL take vow of celibacy to ensure total commitment to battle. AIN ISSA // In the Syrian village of Skero, two groups of Kurdish fighters face off with ISIL, which occupies the villages and compounds beyond the deep trench that demarcates the Kurdish frontline. One is a People’s Protection Units (YPG) platoon, men of the armed wing of the PYD. The other is a platoon of fighters from the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), the YPG’s female counterpart. The female fighters of Rojava – a Kurdish-controlled autonomous region in north Syria – have shot to international fame. Inspired by the ideology of Turkey’s Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), they have broken with the region’s conservative social norms to fight on equal terms alongside the men. Behind an earthern berm that surrounds the position at Skero, men and women in combat fatigues sit together chatting and sharing jokes. The men smoke, the women do not, one of the few gender distinctions to survive at the front. Kalashnikovs are propped against an oil barrel alongside a rocket-propelled-grenade launcher. In a machine-gun nest on top of the berm, a female fighter surveys the no man’s land. The camaraderie is real, as is the strong esprit de corps amongst the fighters – male and female. “I am not afraid of dying, my only worry is that something will happen to my comrades,” says one of the women. The YPJ fighters know what to expect if they are captured by ISIL. They would rather die than fall into the hands of the extremists, who brutally raped and enslaved thousands of Yazidi girls after attacking the Sinjar region in August last year. But the unforgiving conflict and the barbarity of their enemies has done little to dampen the morale of the uniformed women at Skero. In joining the YPJ, they have pledged their lives to a cause. The Kurdish women fighters have vowed to remain celibate and never marry in a bid to escape the strictures of traditional society, where women are often treated as inferior to men, and have little say over their lives. “When I think about Apo, I think of freedom,” says Hezel, a young YPJ fighter at Skero, referring to Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK leader now jailed in Turkey. “At the front I am free, in society I wasn’t.” foreign.desk@thenational.ae |
Craft beer fans, pucker up, because the award-winning Beachwood BBQ and Brewing has released details about its highly anticipated new facility and sour beer venture, Beachwood Blendery. In a 4,500-square-foot space adjacent to its downtown Long Beach brewpub, Beachwood Blendery will house a sour beer barrel room, a blendery, a lab and, eventually, a tasting room, where you can sip all the tasty results of this experiment in old-world tradition. In an admittedly geeky undertaking, owner Gabe Gordon and his team (including brewmaster Julian Shrago and barrelmaster Ryan Fields, the latter formerly of Lost Abbey and Pizza Port San Clemente) will, through a series of guesses and checks, attempt to re-create authentic Belgian lambic and gueuze beers. Continue Reading As barrel-aged, spontaneously fermented golden ales, lambics and gueuzes are some of the most highly acclaimed and fervently sought-after beers in the world. However, the styles are technically a protected cultural product and are currently only made, aged and blended in the Zenne River Valley outside of Brussels. Just last month, Beachwood BBQ and Brewing hosted a handful of these inspirational beers and brewers — Cantillon and 3 Fonteinen among others — the day before the Shelton Bros. Festival. Just a few minutes after opening, the wait for a table was well over two hours. Those in line were steadfast and resolute because the available beers are virtually impossible to track down in this country. Beachwood Blendery will tap into this captive and eager audience who crave the tart complexity of these traditionally produced beers. So what motivates an established brewery to attempt such an monumental project? “At its core, this is a search to figure out what factually differentiates a Belgian lambic from what we do here in the United States," Gordon says. "The truth is that lambics are different from [sours made in the U.S.]. Is it something in the air? In the equipment? In the wort profile? Is there a weird brewing method? I don't know, but I want to start ticking off boxes of what it isn't.” Beachwood Blendery, in defining what makes a traditional Belgian sour beer, will also redefine what makes a modern American sour beer. Sour beer is not a new undertaking for American breweries. Many barrel programs incorporate strains of wild yeast and bacteria — the “bugs” that give sour beer its signature pucker. Beachwood Blendery will be different (and internationally significant) because it will meticulously re-create the conditions that produce traditional Belgian sours. “My theory is that it's a function of temperature and humidity [that] makes the lambics from Belgium so good," Gordon says. "I will design an environment to mimic a barrel room in Belgium and its daily fluctuations.” Careful climate control will foster an environment in Long Beach that is as close to the Zenne River Valley as possible. Traditional ingredients such as unmalted wheat and aged hops will provide a foundation to nourish the wild yeast and bacteria. Beachwood Blendery also will mimic the method and aging process of these Belgian beers, using a copper koelschip (a big, flat, open-air fermenting container) to spontaneously ferment the beer before tucking it away in French oak barrels. The result of these first batches will be akin to the lambics produced in Belgium. Gueuze, however, is a style of beer that defies our impulse for instant gratification. The typical beer lifespan, for any given IPA, for instance, is measured in months — from brew kettle to pint glass. Gueuze, on the other hand, is a blend of lambic beers that have been aged for one, two and three years. Its untamed flavors and complex aromas can be haunting and refreshing, and always make an impression. But this lengthy aging process means we won’t see Beachwood Blendery’s pièce de résistance until at least 2017. In the meantime, Gordon and Fields will not be standing idly by. They will use the coming months and years to explore each element of Belgian sour beer while also using contemporary American brewing methods to modernize the style. The Propogation series will feature single strains of wild yeast and bacteria to isolate the flavors that each produce. They will also make young, fruited sours, sweetened by nontraditional choices such as passion fruit, orange and guava (POG, inspired by Gordon’s surfing trips) and other tropical delights. Beachwood Blendery is a beer geek dream, realized. An all-American gueuze would be the ultimate refreshment for sour beer drinkers. But it isn’t just we consumers who will benefit from Beachwood Blendery’s tart ambitions. “For the Blendery team, this is as much an experimental platform for sours as it is a beer business,” Gordon says. You brew it for the science, Gabe — we’ll drink it for the glory. Beachwood Blendery is located at Long Beach Boulevard and Third Street, Long Beach. Follow the project on Instagram at @The_Blendery. Want more Squid Ink? Follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook. |
Fans of retro-style twin-stick shooters will want to pay attention to one of the latest games announced with Xbox Play Anywhere support, Tower 57. Coming soon to Xbox One and Windows 10 , Tower 57 looks to offer some solidly retro action as you battle your way through a steampunk-inspired tower with new twists around every corner. Players must also be aware of Tower 57's treacherous interior. It may look alluring, even beautiful, offering some seemingly harmless distractions — it's one of the last enclaves of humanity in our dystopian, dieselpunk world — but don't forget that you were summoned here for a reason. Your main objective is to discover the mystery of this Megatower while making things go boom in the process. Along your journey through the tower, you'll wield wild, upgradeable weapons and find items strewn about each floor. Co-op will also feature prominently, allowing you to team up with someone either locally or online, with plenty of complimentary skills to boot. There's no word on when Tower 57 will arrive, but we should hear much more about the game in the coming months. This post may contain affiliate links. See our disclosure policy for more details. |
Georginio Wijnaldum is the footballer who doesn’t like watching football. He will not watch next summer’s World Cup now Holland are not in it and he has not even watched a re-run of the seven goals Liverpool buried past Spartak Moscow on Wednesday night. ‘I find it strange seeing myself on television,’ he said with a sheepish smile. ‘I don’t like it. I don’t really watch football much.’ Sometimes, though, the Liverpool midfielder has no choice. Modern football is built around video analysis. And it is the uncomfortable session in the dark of the Melwood TV room after October’s 4-1 drubbing at Tottenham that Wijnaldum feels may have turned around Liverpool’s season. Liverpool ace Georginio Wijnaldum has reflected on the turning point of his side's season Jurgen Klopp’s team have won seven and drawn two of nine games since that horror show and Wijnaldum said: ‘That room was a really painful place to be that day. How we defended was painful also. But what the manager made us watch was the truth and we had to look in the mirror. ‘It was a good thing as we learned from it. It won’t happen again.’ Wijnaldum was talking ahead of Sunday’s derby against Everton at Anfield. ‘It is Everton’s biggest game of the season,’ he said, without meaning to be provocative. ‘It is one of our biggest games.’ Having scored seven in the Champions League on Wednesday and five at Brighton in the Premier League last Sunday, Liverpool are flying. Ten of those 12 goals — in fact 22 of their last 26 — have been scored by Liverpool’s Fab Four: Philippe Coutinho, Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane. As such, it is tempting to ask Wijnaldum if he feels a little like the fifth Beatle. But to do so would be to disrespect the role this disarming, cheerful Dutchman plays for Klopp’s team and also the way footballers are encouraged to view things at Anfield. Wijnaldum revealed how Jurgen Klopp made players watch re-runs of the Tottenham drubbing Asked if the four players are ready to be accepted as true greats of the game, Wijnaldum’s answer is honest. ‘They can be a high level but you can only really say it if they have done it for a long time, not only for a few games,’ he said. ‘We have to see. Everyone knows they are wonderful and world-class, but we as a team have to help them show they are world-class players every game. ‘The way it is now, they get all the credit and the glory from outside, but if you make a mistake at the back you get criticism. But where is the criticism when we don’t score? Nowhere. ‘So here we work together. We defend as a group and that starts up front. On Wednesday, OK they all scored, but the defence also did a good job. Nobody will say anything about that when it’s good, only when it’s bad. That’s something I don’t like in football.’ Wijnaldum has only scored once this campaign, but did contribute the crucial first goal against Middlesbrough at the end of last season that enabled Liverpool to clinch the fourth Champions League spot on an Anfield Sunday when things had appeared to be going wrong. ‘That was a beautiful moment,’ he said. He is yet to score away from home for Liverpool and he did not manage that either for Newcastle, whom he joined from PSV Eindhoven in 2015. The Dutchman speaks with Sportsmail's Football Editor Ian Ladyman at Melwood Liverpool were at their lowest ebb when they were humiliated by Tottenham back in October Wijnaldum seems unconcerned by that but was interested to hear Brighton manager Chris Hughton had suggested Liverpool’s attack could prove more potent than Manchester City’s by the end of the season. The 27-year-old played as an emergency central defender for the first time in his career that day on the South Coast, but added: ‘Is that what he said? It’s a good compliment as everyone knows how good City are. Yeah, we can do it but we have to show it more. We should not be as far behind as this (14 points). ‘We have given games away and City have played fantastic. They have scored a lot of goals in the last minute and the luck they have had in some games we haven’t had. But they deserve to be where they are and we deserve to be where we are.’ Improvement is a theme of our conversation and it is clear Wijnaldum thinks there is some way to go for himself and this team. He chose Liverpool over Tottenham in the summer of 2016 after meeting Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino. ‘The first two questions Klopp asked me were not about football and I liked that,’ he said. ‘He asked about my family and my relationship with them. It was nice.’ A keen child gymnast, Wijnaldum was forbidden from pursuing that as a career by his grandmother Francina, who was his guardian. Klopp soon stuck the boot into his side and made them watch re-runs of the Spurs capitulation Wijnaldum starred recently as Liverpool smashed Spartak Moscow by seven goals at Anfield Turning instead to football, Wijnaldum made his debut for Feyenoord when he was 16 and still at school, before moving to PSV where he won the 2015 league title. He was part of the Holland team who reached the last four of the 2014 World Cup and his take on why his country has subsequently fallen off the football map is interesting. ‘The first problem was that Louis van Gaal left (for Manchester United),’ he said. ‘He was good for the team as he watched every single thing that we did. ‘Guus Hiddink is great but he gave us more freedom and we didn’t know how to deal with that. If you have young players, it’s good to have a manager like Van Gaal telling you what to do.’ On the touchline at Anfield on Sunday, another boss who likes to micro-manage will watch over his players as Liverpool seek to continue their explosive form. The departure of Louis van Gaal from the national set-up hindered Holland, admits Wijnaldum Everton manager Sam Allardyce will not allow his team to be turned over like some have in recent weeks, but it could still be a long afternoon for those in blue. ‘I believe we can beat anybody and believe we can get better,’ Wijnaldum said. ‘We can be better than on Wednesday. We scored seven goals but it was not a perfect game. ‘It can get better even than that. I know it can.’ |
I am a good bipolar Rachel KallemWhitman Blocked Unblock Follow Following Apr 13, 2017 I am a good bipolar. I am a watchful bipolar. I research myself every day. In order to manage mental illness you need to recognize the triggers and the tells that alert you to the fact that you’re not-so-slowly inching away from sanity. As those with mental illness know, there are some actions that universally signal that we’re moments away from sinking into nothingness or setting ourselves on fire. Not sleeping, sleeping too much, not eating, eating too much, never leaving your house, going out all night every night, all the drugs, all the drinking, all the money spent on all the dumbest things, making bad decisions, or doing nothing at all. These can be easier to spot. But in addition to that we all have little things, little bizarre behaviors and skewed logic, little inklings unique to us that whisper and wail to the rest of the world that we’re starting to slip sideways into being fucked up. They all start out so infuriatingly under the radar. Cloaked in self-sabotage. Designed to go unnoticed, fatally subtle. Mental illness is an abusive dark shadow. Think Eeyore with unrelenting lightning bolts and fist sized bullets of hail. And thunder telling you to go fuck yourself. You need to constantly be on the lookout for all these little, idiosyncratic signs that signal you’re starting to lose it. complete and unabridged journal Anyway, to be a good bipolar you need to understand your illness, yourself, and take a lot of notes. Here goes it. For me, depression is listening to an instrumental version of the Pixie’s “Where is My Mind” on repeat. It’s feeling fat. It’s not eating. It’s realizing I’m a failure at everything I do. Realizing that no one truly likes me and I’m full of mistakes — some that already happened and so many more yet to be made. I second-guess, I trillionth guess, everything I do. I have no patience for anything, anyone, especially not for myself. I have no energy for the catastrophe that is me. I start having panic attacks, every day it feels like I’m losing more and more of my right to breathe, my stomach is full of concrete and my eyes won’t dry. I can’t stop tensing my hands, so tightly that my rigid, pained fingers make it practically impossible to crack open my pillbox full of ativan. Depression is crying in the car after I hang out with friends because it physically hurts to keep pretending that I am happy. It’s fondly remembering how it felt to self-harm, fantasizing over the release I used to get from pooling blood around the point of a pair of scissors, practically drooling over the phantom pain I could cause, getting light headed just remembering how such delectable physical pain freed me from emotional wreckage. When I am depressed I look wistfully at the scars on my body because they remind me of a time when I was free to self injure, when survival meant dissecting my pain all night long assuming I had the right number of band aids. But then again, depression is also dreaming of dying. Dreaming of letting go and leaving everything and everyone behind. Coming to terms with the fact that you will always be a burden. It’s your fault. Why are you still here? Stop dreaming already. For me, hypomania and mania are listening to Grimes too loudly, too often. She’s the musician who invented the genre “ADD music;” she’s a psychedelic alien sprite — right up my alley. My desire to hear everything and look at everything and touch everything is insatiable. To others it looks obsessive and that’s because it is. I want to devour words, noises, colors, laughter. I want to flit around feverously and the only thing keeping me paced is the need to rub my hand across brick buildings, smooth countertops, finger fabrics, and caress everything that I deem too tender to pass up. Strong heightened sensations make me salivate — except I don’t need to eat because I’m too beautiful for food. When I start to cycle I always get this sly knowing smile that slinks sweetly across my face. It’s because I’ve figured out the universe and I’m the only one in on the secret. But I have a shoddy poker face so when my husband asks me if I’m “too happy” I can try to lie but he sees how unbelievably sick and happy I am and that I need help. When my mania revs full force I rock my body and wring my hands. I’m energized and agitated and I fidget ferociously in a way that is utterly unsatisfying but compulsive. My eyes feel too big for my face and everything looks louder in both good and bad ways. “This time it’s different,” I always say, “this is the real me.” My speech is pressured, erratic, loud, confusing, and brilliant. I don’t recognize myself. For me, psychosis is being suspicious of my husband’s basil plant because it has been looking at me funny all week. I decorate it with office supplies to make it look like a makeshift Christmas tree, like if a mentally unstable Office Depot employee threw an underwhelming, low-budget, holiday party. Christening the plant with a purple paperclip “Christmas tree” topper, decorating it with rubber band tinsel, and nesting four grapes at the base to mimic gifts at first made the plant less menacing. But ultimately it never works and I cry to my husband to throw it out, which is a bummer because we both like Caprese salads when I’m sane. When I’m psychotic I don’t trust any food that isn’t pre-packaged. My husband knows that things are amiss when I throw out our economy, bulk size tub of applesauce and insist on buying individual applesauce cups with tight, tamper proof seals. The menu of a psychotic leads little to the imagination. Hypergraphia hits me hard. If I don’t write down exactly what I’m thinking — with 100% correctness — it is the end of the world. I get so mad my hair falls out and I can’t see straight. I can probably attribute that to the countless times I’ve leapt out of the shower, with no time to find my glasses, because I HAD to write down a paragraph that at the time was my manifesto but after the antipsychotics kick in is actually just fucking nonsense. Which is devastatingly disappointing. To not be brilliant after all. Sometimes I just hug my knees to my forehead and cry on the floor. Or on the bed. Or on the couch. Or in the car because I’m stuck in skin that’s scratchy, loud, vicious, and I’m equal parts dying to be lost forever and frightened of being alone. Sometimes I hear or see things that aren’t there and I wonder if it’s the real world or my real craziness- the confusion monopolizes so much of my time. I talk about Princess Diana and Mother Theresa with rave reviews. If these two ladies come up in conversation my husband knows my meds aren’t cutting it. And I’m probably on the verge of cutting myself. I’ve lived with this illness for over fifteen years and I’ve studied myself intently. I observe my behaviors and analyze my cognitions. I see a therapist and a psychiatrist and a fundamental component of my marriage is talking authentically about my bipolar. Over the years I’ve gotten so much better at comparing my notes with those of my treatment team. Of trying to intervene when things start to blur. Being proactive to prevent trashing innocent basil plants. I’m trying so hard to pay attention to the illness and not pretend that the illness is who I am — the “me” that I celebrate and the “me” that I despise. But with mental illness it is so hard to be objective. The illness excels at distracting you and seeping into your skull without you even knowing there was an invasion, so you get sick but it just seems normal. Insanity is status quo. I’m a good bipolar but it is challenging to successfully track and catch my crazy. I slip up a lot it seems. It is exhausting to be hyper vigilant 24/7 hoping to catch a glimpse of the beginnings of a brush fire. There’s just been a lot on my mind lately because I graduate in May and I need to get a job. I also haven’t been sleeping much and I’m pretty fucking tired. Today I downloaded “Where is My Mind” by Maxence Cyrin– I totally recommend it. The melancholic nature of the song is so beautiful the way it lingers and lays heavily across your shoulders. I forgot to pick up my ativan prescription. I am so completely worthless. It will never get better. Why am I even here? I am tired of waking up. |
On Sunday nights, I play saxophone in the backing band for a blues jam that is held at a local club. Most of the people who come are musicians or other folks from the neighborhood who wandered in for a drink. As I look around the room, most people have a drink in front of them. They are talking and . Everybody seems to be having a good time. Of course, there is a lot going on there. The music adds to the atmosphere. Many of the people who are there know each other, and so they are continuing conversations that have been going on for weeks (if not years). What role does alcohol play in this? This question was addressed in a paper by Michael Sayette and 8 of his colleagues in paper in the August, 2012 issue of Psychological Science. They did a fascinating and well-designed study of the influence of alcohol on social interactions. A total of 720 people participated in this research. One set of participants drank about 3 drinks over a 30 minute period. The drinks were a mixture of vodka and cranberry juice. The second set drank 3 drinks. The placebo was a mixture of flat soda and cranberry juice. Before participants entered the lab, though, the glasses were wiped with vodka to give them an alcohol taste. The third set drank cranberry juice and was told that they were given no alcohol. The reasoning behind these three groups is that it helps to distinguish between the effects of alcohol and the effects about the that you are drinking. Participants came to the lab in groups of three. The experimenters ensured that the group members had never met before. Participants sat around a table to consume their drinks. They thought that the purpose of the study was to test the effects of alcohol on other tasks that they would do later, but the experimenters were really interested in the interactions among people as they drank and how that affected how much the group members got along with each other. After finishing their drinks, the group members filled out evaluations of how much they liked the other members of their group. What happened? First, the manipulations of the drinks worked as expected. Participants in the alcohol condition had the highest blood alcohol levels (about .06 by the end of the study). The other two sets of participants had very low blood alcohol levels. Second, both the alcohol and placebo participants rated themselves as feeling somewhat intoxicated, though the participants who drank alcohol rated themselves as much more intoxicated than those in the placebo group. Consistent with that, the alcohol participants estimated that they drank about 7 ounces of alcohol, while the placebo participants estimated that they drank about 4.5 ounces of alcohol. Overall, the people who drank alcohol rated that they got along better with their group members than either the people who drank the placebo or the non- drinks. The difference between those who drank alcohol and those who drank the placebo was particularly large. Why did this happen? The researchers did a painstaking analysis of the facial expressions of the group members and the speech patterns. The groups that drank alcohol smiled more and gave fewer signs of negative feeling than the other groups. So, on a moment-by-moment basis, the groups that drank alcohol seemed to be having a better time than the other groups. In addition, everyone in the groups that drank alcohol seemed to participate in the conversations to a greater degree than the people in the other groups. In the groups that drank alcohol, there were more conversations in which each person took a turn speaking. Putting all of this together, then, a moderate amount of drinking gets people to participate in social interactions and to enjoy those social interactions. In that way, alcohol helps people to get along well with others. This seems to be an effect of the alcohol itself, and not just the belief that you are having alcoholic drinks with other people, because the results of the placebo condition were similar to those of the control condition. Follow me on Twitter. And on Facebook and Google+ Check out my book Smart Thinking (Perigee) |
Man shot during home invasion; suspect in custody Copyright by WAVY - All rights reserved WAVY Photo/LaVoy Harrell [ + - ] Video NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) -- Police have a man in custody for a burglary that ended with two people shot. Officers were called to a home in the 7900 block of Victory Drive in Wards Corner around 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday. They arrived to find two men suffering from gunshot wounds. Copyright by WAVY - All rights reserved WAVY Photo/LaVoy Harrell Copyright by WAVY - All rights reserved WAVY Photo/LaVoy Harrell Both men were taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital and are both expected to fully recover from their injuries. Detectives have determined that 22-year-old Robert Hicks forced his way into the home, then exchanged gunfire with a 23-year-old man inside. Both men were shot. Hicks is charged with armed burglary, according to Norfolk Police. A witness at the scene told 10 On Your Side, "I was sleeping and about an hour ago, and we heard, pop, pop gunshots. My son immediately came to the room, woke me up ... I look out my window, and I see them (police) out there with their guns drawn." This witness, who did not want to be identified, said she heard police tell a man to "get on the ground" at least 10 times. She said she feared there was going to be a standoff between that man and officers. Detectives continue to investigate the home invasion. If you have any information that could help them, call the Norfolk Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP. |
MINNEAPOLIS — Media analysts warn that a proposed merger between AT&T and Time Warner is more likely to enhance corporate bottom lines and pad the pockets of Wall Street investors than benefit consumers. “Big mergers like this inevitably mean higher prices for real people, to pay down the money borrowed to finance these deals and compensate top executives,” said Matt Wood, policy director at Free Press, an NGO that protects net neutrality and online press freedom, in an Oct. 22 press release. The media first reported that AT&T was in “informal” talks to merge with Time Warner on Oct. 20. By Oct. 24, AT&T announced that Time Warner had agreed to be bought out by the telecommunications giant for $85.4 billion. Currently, Time Warner represents one of a shrinking number of mass media conglomerates that increasingly control the vast majority of news available to Americans. AT&T is one of the world’s largest providers of mobile phone and landline services, and, as owner of DirecTV, a major player in the television marketplace as well. Corporate executives have promised that the merger could make more content available to consumers, offer new options for mobile viewing, and provide alternatives to traditional cable TV. Representatives of both companies have also tried to mollify concerns that the deal would violate antitrust laws, claiming it represents the “vertical integration” of two different markets, rather than a merger of competitors. Many media experts have expressed concern and skepticism about these claims, particularly in regard to the potential benefits to consumers. Wood suggested AT&T’s buyout of DirecTV, which was completed in July 2015, should serve as a warning about the possible effects of this new, larger merger model. He warned: “The deals are driven by Wall Street’s insatiable desire for short-term growth at any cost. And just as AT&T’s recent purchase of DirecTV was quickly followed by price hikes, there’s every reason to expect this potential tie-up would cost internet users and TV viewers dearly too.” Kevin Kelleher, a reporter at Time magazine, weighed in on Oct. 24. He wrote that the deal “makes sense for media executives, less so for consumers,” as it’s unclear how bringing content creators and internet service providers together would actually benefit the end user. He continued: “For now, concerns over the deal seem to be outweighing the benefits, which could end up being negligible. For decades, the pipes that streamed digital content remained largely independent from the companies that provided the content. And no consumers complained.” Meanwhile, several senators have come out in opposition to the proposed merger, citing concerns about the ultimate implications for consumers, the role of Washington’s “revolving door” into the corporate world, and what this buyout could mean for the future of media consolidation. On Sunday, Al Franken, a former TV actor and senator representing Minnesota, told The New York Times’ media reporter Jim Rutenberg that the merger could increase prices and reduce the number of choices available to consumers. “When the company that controls the pipes, so to speak, owns this very, very large content provider, it can cause a whole bunch of different horribles for consumers,” Franken said. Elizabeth Warren, a senator from Massachusetts known for her consumer advocacy, objected to Christine Varney’s involvement in the deal. Varney, an antitrust lawyer who has been hired to oversee the AT&T and Time Warner merger, previously worked for the Obama administration investigating antitrust claims. On Monday, Warren told Fortune: “Americans have had it with regulators like Varney, who talk a good game about holding the bad guys accountable while counting down the days until they can collect a fat paycheck from the corporations they were supposed to regulate. The revolving door is out of control. If we want to hold corporate lawbreakers accountable, we can’t ask their friends to do it.” Bernie Sanders, the senator from Vermont and former 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, also objected to the deal in an open letter published Wednesday on Medium. In addition to echoing the concerns shared by others like Franken, he warned that the buyout could provoke future media mergers that would further consolidate an already limited market. “At a time when our telecommunications and media industries are already too concentrated, we should be focused on opening those markets to more competition, not less,” he wrote. In the case that the merger does go through, AT&T’s ties to the national security state may also give rise to serious privacy concerns. A day after the AT&T-Time Warner merger was officially announced, Kenneth Lipp, a reporter at The Daily Beast, revealed that AT&T is storing customer information and selling it for profit. That, of course, came more than three years after Edward Snowden leaked classified information which detailed the telecommunications giant’s close collaboration with the NSA to spy on millions of Americans. “Where you go, what you watch, text and share, with whom you speak, all your internet searches and preferences, all gathered and ‘vertically integrated,’ sold to police and perhaps, in the future, to any number of AT&T’s corporate customers,” Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman and her frequent collaborator, Denis Moynihan, wrote in an editorial published on Thursday. “We can’t know if Alexander Graham Bell envisioned this brave new digital world when he invented the telephone. But this is the future that is fast approaching, unless people rise up and stop this merger.” |
Controversies about the safety of medicines given to millions of people can’t be settled unless data is made more freely available Simon Danaher TENS of millions of people took Vioxx for their arthritis between 1999 and 2004. Tens of thousands probably had a heart attack as a result. It was a similar story with the anti-diabetes drug Avandia. In both cases, the drugs’ makers were accused of withholding trial data that would have revealed the risks to doctors and patients. Access to data is at the centre of many controversies in modern medicine – not just to do with the usefulness of drugs, but also of treatments (such as exercise for chronic fatigue syndrome) and screening programmes (for breast cancer in younger women, say). Big trials are hard to organise, and so researchers often keep a tight grip on the data they create. As preventative medicine has become more common, concerns have risen that we may be missing key evidence about the effects of drugs given to huge numbers of people. Recently, statins – given to manage cholesterol levels in those deemed at risk of heart attacks – have come under scrutiny. Advertisement The trials run to assess statins’ efficacy didn’t focus on possible adverse effects. Those most worried about these – debilitating muscle pain is often cited – have so far been unable to assess the data for themselves. Other critics say there isn’t strong enough evidence for mass prescription of statins (see “Cholesterol wars: Does a pill a day keep heart attacks away?“). That has provoked a furious war of words with those who do have access to the data. They say complex ownership and usage conditions mean it can’t be released widely. That’s a familiar problem: similar issues dogged the release of raw data from the 2011 PACE trial of chronic fatigue syndrome treatments, which a tribunal finally ordered to be released last year. So the controversy over statins, whether well founded or not, rages on with no resolution in sight, damaging confidence in medicine. This simply isn’t good enough. When it comes to treatments for millions, data should be gathered with a view to its eventual release. That won’t be easy. But evidence-based medicine requires no less. This article appeared in print under the headline “Hearts on our sleeves” |
(Reuters photo: Yuri Gripas) As John F. Kennedy once remarked, sometimes your party asks too much. If I’ve heard this once, I’ve heard it a thousand times. The argument goes something like this: “The GOP is so stupid. Look at how the Democrats handle controversy. They circle the wagons, no one breaks ranks, and their media help. Clinton commits perjury? Democratic leaders stand with him in solidarity on the day of the impeachment vote. The Clinton State Department botches security in Benghazi and then the Obama administration lies to the American people about the attack? Phony scandal. The IRS systematically targets conservative groups? Also a phony scandal. The Obama White House and the Democratic National Committee backed Hillary to the hilt even though she was under criminal investigation. Our Republican president is under attack, and what do you so-called conservatives do? You help the Democrats bring him down.” Advertisement Advertisement The argument usually ends like this: “That’s why they win and we lose. That’s why we have to take a page from their playbook. They play hardball. We should play hardball.” Or, to put it the way it was put to me in a call yesterday, “Put on that red jersey and get on the field.” It’s stunning to see such a bad argument gain such broad currency. It’s politically wrong, it’s wrong in concept, it’s wrong morally, and it represents a fundamental misunderstanding as to how the Left truly does prevail (when it does) in politics and culture. Advertisement First, let’s dispense with the idea that blind and unrelenting loyalty is good politics. Yes, it can help you escape impeachment. Yes, it can enable you to kick the can down the road in any given political scandal. But let’s review some rather salient political facts. Compared to the day when Bill Clinton survived his impeachment, Democratic fortunes have declined. Compared to the days when the Obama administration was burying its own political scandals, Democratic fortunes have declined. Advertisement The party is at its lowest ebb in generations. It doesn’t hold any branch of the federal government, and it’s being routed at the state level at a historic rate. Its success in short-term scandal management has arguably blinded it to its own trust problem. It nominated one of the least-liked, least-trusted Americans in modern political history (a Clinton, no less) and then was gobsmacked not only when she lost but also when it suffered crushing defeats up and down the ballot. It turns out that there is a difference between short-term wins and long-term fortunes. Next, when we speak about “teams,” let’s define terms. My “side” isn’t just the side that supports limited government, the original meaning of the Constitution, and a strong (and realistic) commitment to national defense. It’s the side that supports those values with honor and integrity. I’m opposed to those who either oppose those values or choose to advance them dishonorably. Now, given that definition, is Michael Flynn on “my team?” How about Paul Manafort? Given the manifold and multiplying allegations of misconduct against both of those men, there is no reason for loyalty and no reason to stop or curtail investigations into their activities — no matter how much Donald Trump may want the inquiries to go away. Republican politicians in contested elections in key swing states outperformed Trump despite campaigning differently and with far more integrity. Advertisement Consider, for example, the report that broke last night: “One of the Trump administration’s first decisions about the fight against the Islamic State was made by Michael Flynn weeks before he was fired — and it conformed to the wishes of Turkey, whose interests, unbeknownst to anyone in Washington, he’d been paid more than $500,000 to represent.” Advertisement Flynn refused to sign off on an Obama-administration plan that would have to be executed under Trump, a plan to support a rapid allied march on Raqqa, the capital of ISIS’s caliphate. The Turks opposed the plan because of the level of Kurdish involvement. It could well be that this report is false. If the story is true, it could be that Flynn exercised his best military and political judgment independent of his undisclosed Turkish funding. Or there could be a more nefarious explanation. In any case, are you telling me that team loyalty dictates that I should cry out “deep state!” every time news like this hits the media? Sorry, but no. There is a desperate need for a credible, independent investigation into Trump associates’ ties to foreign powers. Simply put, we need to know whose “team” they were on. As for morality, it’s simply childish to assert that another man’s misconduct and lies justify your own dishonesty. “They lie and win, therefore one must lie to win” isn’t even logically coherent. Much, much less is it morally defensible. When values matter — and they do — the urgent political and cultural task is to persuade the public of the importance of those values while modeling them as best as imperfect people can. Advertisement Advertisement And no, fighting with integrity doesn’t mean that you’re not fighting. One of the great hoaxes of the Trump era is the idea that fighting like Trump defines what it means to fight. False. Republican politicians in contested elections in key swing states outperformed Trump despite campaigning differently and with far, far more integrity. Fighting dirty is not the same thing as fighting well. Finally, the true record of leftist success is cultural, not political, and it’s not the product of reflexive loyalty to dishonest politicians but rather a generations-long march through the key institutions of American culture — the academy, Hollywood, the media, and even large segments of American Christianity.The Left has not only captured these institutions, it’s largely slammed the door on its way in — closing these communities to meaningful conservative influence. Bill Clinton couldn’t have survived impeachment, for example, without the cultural changes that relaxed American morality. His short-term political win piggybacked on a much longer-term (and far more significant) leftist cultural victory in the sexual revolution. A Republican party that mimics Democratic scandal management is a party that would forfeit its principles for the sake of adopting the tactics of the losing political side. And it would do so in a way that harms its credibility in the longer and far more important cultural fight. The moment when social-justice hysteria and radical intolerance are causing millions of citizens to shake their heads is not the time to adopt fact-free brawling and blind loyalty as the signature styles of the American conservative movement. Advertisement READ MORE: Editorial: Trump Brought the Special-Counsel Investigation on Himself Robert Mueller: A Solid Choice for Trump-Russia Investigation Against the ‘25th Amendment Option’ |
This weekend, the controversial whistle-blowing organization WikiLeaks released a pair of documents produced by the CIA. The documents, leaked by an unidentified source and dated from late 2011 and early 2012, serve as a guide for covert agents attempting to get through foreign airport security without blowing their cover. One of the Central Intelligence Agency documents explained the procedures in a general sense, the other specifically focused on issues affecting the Schengen Area, a zone of 26 European nations that have abolished internal passport controls. This region contains American allies like Germany, France, Poland, Italy, Spain, Greece, and Sweden. “The CIA has carried out kidnappings from European Union states, including Italy and Sweden, during the Bush administration,” said WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in a statement. “These manuals show that under the Obama administration the CIA is still intent on infiltrating European Union borders and conducting clandestine operations in E.U. member states.” Assange is currently holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over sexual assault allegations. Secondary screening occurs when airport security officials flag individual passengers for significant additional scrutiny—an invasive process many Americans will experience this holiday season. Selection typically occurs at the discretion of the security officers and can be triggered by anything from irregularities with a traveler’s documentation to random selection. “The resulting secondary screening can involve in-depth and lengthy questioning, intrusive searches of personal belongings, cross-checks against external databases, and collection of biometrics—all of which focus significant scrutiny on an operational traveler,” the report reads. A comprehensive list about what triggers secondary screening doesn’t exist, largely because such procedures vary from airport to airport. However, being pulled out for secondary screening can often be the result of the visa application process required to enter many countries around the world, such as Russia and China. Visa applications ask for a whole host of personal information, ranging from height to work supervisor’s phone number, that is often checked against external records, such as those provided by the hotels or government intelligence agencies. If things don’t add up, it could be an indicator that the traveller is a terrorist, drug smuggler, or even a spy. “Confirmed or suspected government or military affiliation almost certainly raises the traveler’s profile,” the report notes. Even in countries that don’t require visas for relatively short stays, travelers can still be pulled out for secondary screening, the report notes, if the screener “suspects that something about the traveler is not right.” The report says that some foreign airports use cameras, one-way mirrors, and undercover officers to look for passengers “displaying unusually nervous behavior,” such as “shaking or trembling hands, rapid breathing for no apparent reason, cold sweats, pulsating carotid arteries, a flushed face, and avoidance of eye contact.” Here is a list from the report of things can potentially trigger a secondary screening: Sometimes, being randomly pulled out for secondary screening serves an ulterior motive. The document mentions a 2010 report that found that the manager of Somila’s Mogadishu International would regularly pick one passenger from a flight and accuse them of breaking the law as a way to extract a bribe from the unlucky target. A similar thing also reportedly occurred at Chittagong Airport in Bangladesh. For the average traveller, being selected for secondary screening can be time-consuming or, in the case of a Mogadishu-like shakedown, expensive. For an undercover CIA agent trying to enter a country undetected, it’s another matter entirely. The report explains that “the combination of procedures available in secondary, a stressful experience for any traveler, may pose a significant strain on an operational traveler’s ability to maintain cover.” Airports deploy their most experienced agents for secondary screenings to determine if a traveler isn’t who they say they are, or if that person’s intention in the country maybe something considerably more underhanded that simple tourism—say, espionage. During that process, travelers usually can be held for hours without access to the embassy of their home country or any other outside assistance. The report notes that the Estonian Border Guard Service gives people selected for secondary screening the chance to log into their social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to prove their identity. “Security officials might also expect a sales or marketing traveler to have a Twitter account,” the report explains. “The absence of such business-related Web accounts probably would raise a business traveler’s profile with officials.” As such, the guide recommends undercover agents spend time building up believable social media histories that compliment their cover stories. The report adds that devices like smartphones can pose a problem because they typically require a link between the device and someone’s real-world identity. If a screening agent can dig through a smartphone to find that data, it has the potential to blow the cover of an agent traveling under an alias. The key to surviving a secondary screening, the report notes, is having a “consistent, well-rehearsed, and plausible cover” backed up by everything from the contents of one’s luggage to their hotel reservations to their “pocket litter.” Rehearsal is key because it allows undercover agents to rattle off their stories without giving off tells, such as using long pauses to delay before answering questions, fidgeting, or using qualifying phrases like “to be honest” or “swear to God.” The most important takeaway from the report is the importance of maintaining cover no matter the circumstances, since sticking to even an unconvincing lie could allow an agent to pull through in the end. In one incident during transit of a European airport in the early morning, security officials selected a CIA officer for secondary screening. Although the officials gave no reason, overly casual dress inconsistent with being a diplomatic-passport holder may have prompted the referral. When officials swiped the officer’s bag for traces of explosives, it tested positive, despite the officer’s extensive precautions. In response to questioning, the CIA officer gave the cover story that he had been in counterterrorism training in Washington, D.C. Although language difficulties led the local security officials to conclude that the traveler was being evasive and had trained in a terrorist camp, the CIA officer consistently maintained his cover story. Eventually, the security officials allowed him to rebook his flight and continue on his way. As WikiLeaks notes in a press release about the leak, the anecdote raises far more questions than it answers. Primarily, what was a CIA official doing traveling into the E.U. with traces of explosives on his clothing? The second document is specifically focused on helping agents sneak their way into the European nations of the Schengen Area—specifically in the context of the prevalent use of biometric screening techniques in place at many national entry points. The report’s message, however, is largely not to worry. “The European Union’s Schengen biometric-based border-management systems pose a minimal identity threat to U.S. operational travelers because their primary focus is illegal immigration and criminal activities, not counterintelligence, and U.S. travelers typically do not fit the target profiles,” the report reads. Even so, biometric screening is something that clearly has the CIA concerned. If Americans were subjected to biometric analysis, it would be far more difficult for them to maintain their covers. “The European Commission is considering requiring travelers who do not require visas to provide biometric data at their first place of entry into the Schengen area,” the report insists, “which would increase the identity threat level for all U.S. travelers.” Photo by David Benbennick/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) |
I’m very excited about this project and it feels great to start running the comics online, the first step in a long process. I plan to direct an independent film of Last Blood in 2007, with shooting currently scheduled for September. This comic is a graphic novel of the film’s story, which will run for about 100 pages. Sequels and prequels are planned as well, so this site will be up for a long time. New pages will run every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This blog will serve as a pre-production diary for the film as well, and it will probably contain a good deal of spoilers as I talk about future plans. This first page shows a zombie breaking out of his coffin at the bottom of the ocean. He’s a very important character, as you’ll discover later. This opening scene will be animated in the film for a creepy credits sequence with spooky music to set the tone. We’re going to cut to live action the moment the zombie comes out of the water on the beach, which you’ll see in a couple pages. I have to thank Owen Gieni for the great artwork he’s providing on this project. He also draws Sore Thumbs and Wicked Powered. |
Dear Reader, As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before. Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications, like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations, we have not put up a paywall. We want to keep our journalism open and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news and analysis from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World. The infamous Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns and “apartheid week” displays on college campuses are not the only threat to Jewish students. A much greater threat looms: the inability for students to publicly defend their beliefs. While universities claim to be havens of open debate and intellectual curiosity, they are in reality black holes of political correctness. On campus, only certain ideas are worthy of consideration and Zionism is definitely not one of them. This culture doesn’t just threaten members of the Jewish community, who are terrified to challenge those who accuse Israel of the most heinous crimes. Rather, it threatens all of us who value free speech and its ability to encourage criticism, debate, and original thought on college campuses. While speech codes are thought to be a thing of the 90s, the truth is that college students today are facing the most serious threats to their civil liberties. From “trigger warnings” to “free speech zones,” universities are slowly training students to become hypersensitive and incapable of deviating from ideologies that are in vogue. But unlike the 90s, universities are now controlling speech in a much more insidious manner. Speech codes today manifest in vague and poorly written policies that try to protect students against harassment, sexual assault, and bullying. Seemingly, these policies serve the best interest of students who face these issues on campus. But practically, they give university administrators the power to punish students for harmless speech protected by the First Amendment, while ignoring due process for the accused. It is shocking how many universities have such policies. Lehigh University, for example, defines harassment as “…unwelcome statements, jokes, gestures, pictures, touching, or other conducts that offend, demean, harass, or intimidate.” I suppose they weren’t planning to invite Sarah Silverman (or any other decent comedian) anytime soon. Georgetown University’s Code of Student Conduct includes punishable measures against incivility defined as behavior that “disrespects another individual.” Since when is being disrespectful a crime? In Minnesota, St. Olaf College has a policy that disallows “creating or posting material that is offensive” on a campus computer. In other words, no emailing political memes, cartoons, or opinion articles…all of which could potentially offend someone. Therein lies the real danger. How can we punish students or professors for saying something that might be understood as disrespectful? And should universities have the authority to decide what does and does not fall under these definitions on a case-by-case basis? For many students, the positions that conservatives take on social issues are offensive: anti-gay marriage, anti-abortion, etc. But that shouldn’t mean that these positions are illegitimate and that those who hold these opinions should be discriminated against. These policies, though, allow for exactly that. The problem for Jewish students is that showing support for Israel on campus can be very offensive to anti-Israel students. Despite being the only progressive democracy in its region, many college students are absolutely convinced that Israel is to blame for all the problems of the Middle East. University departments, professors, and student groups are all actively pushing an anti-Israel agenda through divestment campaigns, apartheid week protests, and bigoted propaganda. They create a colonialist narrative that depicts Israelis as powerful white Westerners taking over an indigenous and vulnerable Arab population. As such, students regularly accuse Israel of crimes against humanity and label her supporters as promoters of those crimes. Examples of this are endless. In 2011, SJP at Rutgers barred Jewish protestors from their ‘free and open to the public’ Emboldened by anti-free speech policies created by administrations and by a “PC” culture, students are outraged when their peers try and pollute their egalitarian learning environment with offensive ideas (i.e. a Jewish state). So when pro-Israel students openly defend Israel against her haters, breaking down the intellectually homogeneous bubble Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and its followers try to create on campus, students are left with no other option but to silence their opponents.Examples of this are endless. In 2011, SJP at Rutgers barred Jewish protestors from their ‘free and open to the public’ event that equated genocide in the Holocaust to destruction in Gaza. While most guests entered for free, as advertised, those with Jewish garb were forced to pay an entrance fee or leave. At UC Irvine, in an attempt to silence his message and demonize his character, anti-Israel students disrupted the then US ambassador to Israel, Michael Oren, during his speech on campus. The first one to do so shouted, “Michael Oren, propagating murder is not an expression of free speech” as he took the stage. Others joined in, cheering, booing, and screaming at him while he tried to address the audience. Perhaps one of the most egregious assaults on campus free speech happened in 2006 at San Francisco State University. Members of the College Republicans, in an anti-terrorism protest, stomped on the flags of Hamas and Hezbollah (both US-designated terrorist organizations). The student protestors were unaware that these flags contain the word “Allah” inscribed in Arabic. Offended by the protest, a student went to the administration complaining that the demonstration created a “hostile environment.” Officials agreed and soon after informed the president of College Republicans that the school would be taking disciplinary action. Were the College Republicans being insensitive to their peers? Perhaps. But insensitive speech is protected speech and cannot be criminalized by universities. At my own school, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the newly formed pro-Israel organization Madison Israel Club (MIC) has already experienced the dangers of idea discrimination. A student leader in MIC recently submitted an opinion piece to the student newspaper discussing matters related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In it, the author argues that the core issues in the conflict, such as Hamas’ vile use of human shields, are often ignored in American media and on college campuses. Shortly after he emailed the op-ed to the newspaper, a student editor responded with some suggestions. She asked if she could change the sentence that read, “Hamas regularly uses its own civilians as human shields” to “[Hamas] has been implicated in using its own civilians as human shields” (emphasis added). Doing so, the editor claimed, would allow the author to make his point while not conclusively stating that Hamas has in fact used civilians as human shields. This fact, she wrote, “has no definitive proof.” While her claim that there is no definitive proof that Hamas uses civilians as human shields is in itself troubling (there is overwhelming video and photographic evidence of this), perhaps what is most disturbing is her push to change the author’s message…in an opinion piece. Must all editorials be based entirely in objective, definitive, empirical evidence? If that were the standard, surely they would never be able to allow anti-Israel authors who accuse Israel of apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and genocide to publish anything, ever. I would argue that these anti-Israel claims are rooted in intolerance, perhaps even anti-Semitism. Still, they should not be silenced because of their offensive nature. Opinion articles are supposed to be full of controversy, bias, and information that may or may not be agreeable to readers. If we are concerned about egalitarianism then the answer is not to limit speech, it is to encourage it. It is not the place of college newspaper editors or university administrators to determine what kind of material college students can or cannot be exposed to. The anti-speech movement on college campuses has implications far beyond the pro-Israel movement. It is a dangerous trend towards stifling debates and dismissing legitimate points of view. Ironically, the effort to create tolerance and equality by being overly cautious about what is said has only created an atmosphere of fear for those who have unpopular opinions. Administrators need to be training students to think critically and openly, rather than granting them the ability to filter ideas that may be unpleasant and punishing those who stir harmless controversy. The real education, after all, is not in the classroom. It is outside—where students consider, challenge, and debate their ideas. To destroy these critical opportunities is to destroy the educational process itself. 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With Star Trek: Discovery premiering in the fall and a fourth movie in development, it’s a good time to be a Star Trek fan. But with so many good offerings in our immediate future, it’s easy to forget the discarded projects that could have been part of the franchise. With that in mind, let’s look at some abandoned ideas that deserve a second look. Assignment: Earth In 1968, the original series was in its second season, and ratings were low. Fearing cancellation, series creator Gene Roddenberry designed the season finale as a backdoor pilot for a potential spinoff show. The result was “Assignment: Earth”, which saw the crew of the Enterprise travelling back to 1968 and encountering mysterious intergalactic secret agent Gary Seven, played by Robert Lansing. Seven is a human who has been conscripted by an advanced alien race. His mission is to ensure that 20th century Earth doesn’t annihilate itself through war. He is assisted in this mission by his advanced Beta 5 computer, his shapeshifting cat, Isis, and his flower child secretary, Roberta Lincoln, played by a young Teri Garr. When the network renewed the show for a third season (its last), Roddenberry shelved the concept. Gary Seven, unfortunately, never reappeared in the franchise’s canon. He remains a perennial favourite in non-canon books and comics, which have depicted him participating in the Eugenics Wars, dealing with the aftermath of the crew’s antics in 1980s San Francisco in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, and time-travelling to the future. He even appeared, alongside the rest of his team, in an acclaimed comics miniseries by industry legend John Byrne. Clearly there is an appetite for more “Assignment: Earth”, and Gary Seven and his eclectic supporting cast could easily headline a new TV show or spinoff movie. Federation Bryan Singer is known for his comic book adaptations, but he is also a Star Trek fan. After the cancellation of Star Trek: Enterprise in 2005, Singer and frequent collaborator Christopher McQuarrie began developing a pitch for a new show. The new series, titled Star Trek: Federation, was set in the year 3000. Humanity has become complacent and isolationist. The Federation has begun to break apart, leaving the Ferengi as the local superpower. Against this backdrop, a new USS Enterprise is commissioned and given to “Alexander Kirk”, whose mission is to lead Starfleet and the Federation back to being a force for good. Unfortunately, Singer and McQuarrie never delivered the pitch to the studio after Paramount announced that the 2009 reboot was in development. While the new movie did rejuvenate the franchise, the storytelling potential of Federation‘s concept is tantalising. With a story about the decline and fall of a benevolent, diverse political union, the rise of corrupt oligarchs, and the complacency of a species that was once seen as a great unifier, the series essentially predicted today’s geopolitics. A return to these ideas would allow Star Trek to deliver more of its trademark thoughtful political and social commentary. Captain Sulu This one was never in development, but it makes the list because many people supported it all the same. With Voyager – a show that had once devoted an episode to showcasing Tuvok’s service under Sulu on the Excelsior – beginning to wind down, producers Rick Berman and Brannon Braga began developing a new spinoff to take its place. Fans petitioned for a show about Hikaru Sulu’s time as captain of the Excelsior, with George Takei reprising his iconic role. Takei, for his part, seemed enthusiastic about the prospect. When fans learned that the new show would be set prior to the previous spinoffs, some believed their wish had been granted. Of course, the new show turned out to be the prequel series Enterprise instead. Regardless of your opinion of that series, it’s a bit disappointing that we never got to see a show featuring Captain Sulu in all his glory. At 80 years old, Takei is unlikely to commit to a regular TV schedule or a series of films. It’s a good thing, then, that we have another Sulu to fill his shoes. Seeing John Cho’s Kelvin timeline version of the character take command of the Excelsior, either on TV or in later films, could give us the Captain Sulu experience we sadly never got enough of with Takei. Final Frontier This pitch is quite similar to Federation but more developed. After Enterprise was cancelled, series producer David Rossi and colleagues Doug Mirabello and Jose Munoz decided that an animated series would be a good replacement. The show is set in the 26th century where the Federation has become dark and militaristic after a war with the Romulans. The newest Enterprise, under the command of Alexander Chase, patrols the edge of friendly territory. However, Chase resolves to live up to Starfleet’s old legacy and return to the days of exploration and peace. Rossi and his colleagues developed a detailed series bible, character descriptions, gorgeous concept art, and even multiple scripts, all of which are available on a website that still receives occasional updates. The dedication that its creators continue to show makes Star Trek: Final Frontier the unrealised project whose loss hurts the most. Some fans, however, have embraced the defunct concept with enthusiasm. Author Christopher L. Bennett even included a reference to it in one of his Star Trek novels, thereby incorporating the idea into the franchise’s non-canon expanded universe. If, one day, the concept receives new life, the resulting show could be a breath of fresh air for the franchise. As Star Trek continues to move forward, it’s important to remember what might have been. Each of these ideas has merit and could have been successful in its own right. Perhaps a time will come when the minds behind the franchise choose to revisit good concepts that have fallen by the wayside. Until then, we can look forward to the next chapter in the Star Trek saga when Discovery premieres this fall. Worried that Star Trek: Discovery is doomed? Here are 3 reasons why we have faith in the upcoming series. |
Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines business of Sanofi-Aventis, is one of the largest seasonal influenza vaccine producers in the world. With the increased risk of H5N1 bird flu being passed by human to human and also the increase in inoculations in Western countries of ‘at risk’ areas of the population against seasonal influenza the company has been increasing its production capabilities. In 2005, Sanofi Pasteur initiated a $150m investment in the US at Swiftwater in Pennsylvania for a new influenza vaccine manufacturing facility, which is anticipated to double its US production capacity to over 100 million doses of influenza vaccine (Fluzone) per year (170 million doses in 2006 out of a total global production of 350 million doses). “The facility will enable Sanofi Pasteur to support public health and protect individuals against seasonal and pandemic influenza.” The new production capacities were originally planned to come online for the 2008–2009 influenza season. However, the production could not be started till the FDA approval and licensing for the plant was obtained in May 2009. The company therefore planned to produce the vaccine for the 2009–2010 influenza season. The Swiftwater plant will bring more than 100 new jobs, but will not speed up vaccine production which can take three to four months; it will just make larger batches at once. A €160m investment, the largest capital investment to date for Sanofi Pasteur in France, has also been approved for a formulation and filling facility in Sanofi Pasteur’s Val de Reuil facility. The new state-of-the-art facility will boost Sanofi Pasteur filling capabilities, thus significantly reducing time to market for the vaccine. Construction completed The construction of the new Swiftwater vaccine facility was completed in July 2007 and following FDA (Food and Drug Administration) validation and licensing approval obtained in May 2009, production of the vaccine has been underway for the 2009–2010 flu season. The new 140,000ft² (13,000m²) facility will further enable Sanofi Pasteur to support public health and protect individuals against both seasonal and pandemic influenza. Sanofi Pasteur is the only company manufacturing inactivated influenza vaccine in the US. Sanofi Pasteur chairman and CEO David Williams said: “As the world’s largest supplier of influenza vaccines, Sanofi Pasteur is committed to addressing current and future public health needs by investing in a robust research and development programme and an ambitious production plan for pandemic preparedness. “The completion of this new facility, incorporating the latest technology in vaccine production, illustrates the company’s priority to produce the largest number of doses of vaccine in the shortest time frame to face the threat of seasonal and pandemic influenza.” A further boost The completion of construction of the new plant came after an announcement in June 2007 by the US Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, which awarded Sanofi Pasteur a $77.4m contract to retrofit its existing Swiftwater influenza vaccine manufacturing facility (H5N1 readiness). Sanofi Pasteur will contribute approximately $25m toward the retrofit project. Combining the capacities of new facility with the retrofitted facility should enable Sanofi Pasteur to triple its influenza vaccine capacity in the US. This will make the company the largest supplier of influenza vaccine in the US and the world. “Combining the capacities of new facility with the retrofitted facility should enable Sanofi Pasteur to triple its influenza vaccine capacity in the US.” Sanofi Pasteur has also led the way with the first US licensed avian influenza vaccine for humans and has successfully achieved manufacturing scale-up of this first-generation vaccine using proven, licensed and existing technology. In April 2007 the FDA announced the first approval in the US of a vaccine for humans against the H5N1 influenza virus (avian or bird flu is a severe form of the disease and can cause multiple organ failure). Andrew C von Eschenbach, Commissioner of Food and Drugs, said: “The threat of an influenza pandemic is, at present, one of the most significant public health issues our nation and world faces. The approval of this vaccine is an important step forward in our protection against a pandemic.” Two influenza subtypes, H5 and H7, have caused highly pathogenic avian influenza. While most vaccine development has focused on H5N1 strains, avian H7-containing viruses remain a significant pandemic threat and have caused infections in humans in Europe over the last three years. Contractors Calori and Vanden Eynden were design consultants for the Sanofi Pasteur Swiftwater campus. Borton-Lawson Architecture and Engineering were also involved in the Swiftwater expansion particularly for the waste water treatment facilities. Vanderweil Engineers were selected to develop a concept design for the new vaccine research and development facility. The facility, totalling approximately 140,000ft², provides space to support new vaccine development and production of clinical products. It consolidates and integrates all development and administrative functions into one building. The current programme includes cGMP production and support space, GLP laboratories and support space, BSL-3 lab for tissue culture, office/administrative space for Clinical Development, Regulatory Affairs and related support functions. Sanofi Pasteur retained Global Project Services to manage and provide process engineering for the conceptual design and basic engineering of the facility. Sanofi Pasteur also wanted to install over 20,000ft² of tile and stone in its main lobby, lobby staircase, cafeteria and other highly visible areas of its new administrative building, and the job was awarded to Fromkin Brothers painting and flooring contractors. Influenza preparedness Influenza is a highly infectious virus that spreads easily from person to person, primarily when an infected individual coughs or sneezes. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 5–15% of the population is affected with upper respiratory tract infections in annual influenza epidemics. Hospitalisation and deaths occur mainly in high-risk groups (elderly, people with chronic conditions/illness). Although difficult to assess, these annual epidemics are thought to result in between three and five million cases of severe illness and between 300,000 and 500,000 deaths every year around the world. Most deaths currently associated with influenza in industrialised countries occur among the elderly over 65 years of age. It is the ‘at risk’ groups that are targeted for annual immunisation. According to WHO, the next pandemic is likely to result in 1 to 2.3 million hospitalisations and 280,000 to 650,000 deaths in the industrialised nations alone. “According to WHO, the next influenza pandemic is likely to result in 1 to 2.3 million hospitalisations and 280,000 to 650,000 deaths in the industrialised nations alone.” Its impact is expected to be even more devastating in developing countries. In an attempt to minimise the impact of a pandemic, many countries are developing national and trans-national plans against an eventual influenza pandemic situation. Lucrative contracts for vaccines As part of the ongoing bird flu pandemic preparation Sanofi Pasteur has received several contracts to support efforts in both the US and Europe. A $100m contract awarded by the US department of Health and Human Services (HHS) calls for Sanofi Pasteur to manufacture the vaccine in bulk concentrate form at its US headquarters in Swiftwater, PA from early September through to late October. The agreement provides for additional fees to be paid to Sanofi Pasteur for storage of the vaccine as well as for formulation and filling of the vaccine upon government request. The contract with HHS is Sanofi Pasteur’s fifth pandemic-related agreement with the US government. The Swiftwater plant was under warning from the FDA in 2006 due to some monovalent concentrate problems in the manufacturing process. The company also has ongoing supply contracts for bird flu vaccines with France, Australia and the UK. The H7N1 vaccine (another virulent strain) was produced at Sanofi Pasteur’s Marcy l’Etoile facility in France using PER.C6 cell-based technology from its partner CRUCELL N.V., allowing an alternative production process expected to offer advantages over traditional manufacturing methods. The H7N1 vaccine strain was developed from an avian influenza virus by the UK’s National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC) and the University of Reading, UK. |
Maria lives in a house protected by saints in Little Village, a Chicago neighborhood torn by the street gang wars. "They protect us, I hope," Maria said of her saints. "We ask them to always pray for us." A man was shot to death on her street the night before. Two men had been standing outside near a white livery limousine. A black van pulled up. The van doors opened and bullets came out. One dead, one wounded. "Don't use my name," she said, standing in her doorway, closing her housecoat against the cold. "Just Maria." We talked outside her house Friday morning, just as outgoing Obama administration Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Mayor Rahm Emanuel were about to hold court on the sins of Chicago police. The Department of Justice report criticized the CPD for excessive force, lousy training and lax discipline. At the downtown news conference, many fine and earnest things were said by the politicos, and many flowery words were spoken about police trust and police responsibility, and the need for police to be respected by the community. But the politicians — meaning Lynch and Emanuel and others — protected themselves by ignoring the most important aspect of Chicago police culture. It wasn't the Chicago cops who shaped the police culture. The political corruption and cynicism of politicians over decades in a one-party Democratic machine town shaped the culture. Police are just part of that culture. They're the part with guns. So all that was shaped by City Hall, by Emanuel's predecessors, mostly. And now Chicago is paying for it. After a year-long investigation of the Chicago Police Department, the U.S. Department of Justice released a 164-page report on Jan. 13, 2017. The report condemns Chicago police for excessive force, lax discipline and bad training. (Chicago Tribune) After a year-long investigation of the Chicago Police Department, the U.S. Department of Justice released a 164-page report on Jan. 13, 2017. The report condemns Chicago police for excessive force, lax discipline and bad training. (Chicago Tribune) SEE MORE VIDEOS The police didn't order the hiring and promotion of top Outfit-controlled boss cops to run things for decades, cementing a cynicism that oozes to this day. It wasn't the police who didn't want better training for officers. It wasn't the police that sat on the video of Laquan McDonald, the black kid shot 16 times by a white cop until dead. It wasn't police that refused to release the video until Emanuel was safe and had won a tough re-election. City Hall sat on that video. And for all the talk of "police accountability" there was nothing said by Lynch or Emanuel or U.S. Attorney Zach Fardon about investigating how the political types squelched the video until after the mayor's politics were covered. What isn't said is often the most important part of the story. The release of the Department of Justice critique of the CPD made an impact on political types and journalists. It was a TV show, a way for Emanuel to begin his re-election campaign. But it didn't make much of an impact on Maria. She didn't know about it. She didn't care. "The politicians are talking?" she said, standing in her doorway, shuddering against the cold. "That's nice. They like to talk." What made more of an impact on Maria was the man killed on the street in front of her house, another victim of the gang wars that savage Chicago. Some 4,000 people were shot in Chicago last year — meaning at least 4,000 times somebody tried to murder someone else. And more than 750 were killed. If the gangbangers weren't such lousy shots, there could easily have been a thousand dead, or 2,000. Across the street from the house of the saints was the white limousine. I could see bullet holes in the icy windows. "But they didn't hit my house," Maria said, pointing to her saints. Mosaics of Roman Catholic saints are set into the outer walls of her home near the door. A statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe, draped with crucifixes, stands under her window. Another statue of the Virgin Mary stands in the parkway facing the front door. The Virgin's back is to the street where the shooting took place. I asked Maria if she'd seen anything. "No," she said, shaking her head vigorously. "No. No. No. I didn't see anything." Did you hear anything? "No," she said. "I was taking my pills. I take eight pills, including for the diabetes. So I was inside, in my kitchen taking my pills. I was drinking water for my pills. I didn't know anything happened. I didn't see anything. Nothing." Little Village is only a short drive to City Hall, but in real terms it is of another universe. In Little Village, people with jobs wear work gear and boots. They break their hands and hurt their backs. At City Hall, the politicians wear nice suits and their backs don't ache. At their news conference, Lynch and Emanuel sounded almost positive about the police, saying they were doing everything they could to help the cops help the communities they served. Lynch was asked about the enablers of the police culture, the mayor's office, the city Law Department and the local prosecutors. She dodged that one. "We are one Chicago with one goal," Emanuel said. "It is my fervent hope that this report doesn't lead to another round of finger-pointing or more acrimonious debate of us vs. them." What he didn't say was that if there was any finger-pointing to be done, fingers should point at City Hall. In Little Village, where Maria lives, there wasn't any talk about fingers or the political sins of omission. "The politicians talk," she said. "I pray. Some people say we shouldn't pray to the saints. But we don't pray to the saints. We ask them to pray for us." Listen to The Chicago Way podcast with John Kass and Jeff Carlin, and guests Tribune editorial cartoonist Scott Stantis, and I'll tell you about being kicked out of an Outfit cop's wake here: http://wgnradio.com/category/wgn-plus/thechicagoway. jskass@chicagotribune.com Twitter @John_Kass |
Former Canadian prime ministers have largely eschewed the highly visible globetrotting, do-gooding, and glad-handing common to ex-U.S. presidents, preferring to take ceremonial roles at law firms and sit on a few boards. Given his interests while in power, it seemed that Stephen Harper’s post-politics career would be padded out with a few energy company directorships and maybe another hockey book. But while he’s got the obligatory LLC affiliation (Denton’s), Harper’s collection of interests has confounded expectations. The ex-PM has started an international business consulting firm based in Calgary and joined the board of real estate giant Colliers International. His latest gig: Advisor to Silicon Valley venture capital firm 8VC. In a Medium post announcing his appointment, Harper wrote that the firm “is at the leading edge, tackling the deep and difficult problems that institutions and citizens are facing today.” 8VC’s most notable portfolio companies are virtual reality player Oculus and putative health insurance disruptor Oscar. Other advisors include Valley entrepreneurs, actors, and former FORTUNE500 executives. Harper’s decision to associate himself with 8VC is surprising said one Canadian venture capitalist (VC) with knowledge of the firm who asked not to be named. The firm was started after the breakup of Formation 8, where founding partner Joe Lonsdale and other members of the team worked; Fortune and Buzzfeed reported that the split was partly the result of personal tensions that were worsened by Lonsdale’s handling of a sexual assault lawsuit against him, the filing and subsequent complete withdrawal of which were widely covered by the business and tech press. The 34-year-old has been on Forbes Midas List of top tech investors for the last two years, and Formation 8’s first fund reportedly had an internal rate of return (a common VC performance metric) of around 90 per cent, well above industry average. Advisors are typically brought on board to help a firm raise more capital, determine how to distribute capital, or prevent the loss of capital due to bad investments, said the Canadian VC. The third category usually involves entrepreneurs and executives with substantial domain expertise who can provide insight into a particular industry or market; Harper, who has no substantial previous private sector experience, is unlikely to be able to provide such guidance. Harper could bring public policy and government connections built up over a decade in office and the stature of a former G8 prime minister to conversations about procurement, infrastructure, health insurance and other highly-regulated or tightly-managed sectors in which 8VC portfolio companies operate. The Canadian source highlighted Hyperloop One, a startup attempting to create a high-speed transportation system, as the 8VC-linked company for which Harper would be the most obvious fit. It’s not all one-way traffic. Harper’s new friends at 8VC have a wealth of connections of their own. Through the firm’s partners and his fellow advisors, the former prime minister is now connected to three presidents, three of the Valley’s most buzzy CEOs, a Canadian business dynasty, plus Deepak Chopra and Jay-Z. If Harper wants to, say, reeducate sometime environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio on the oil sands, he has only to ask fellow advisor Tobey Maguire for the number of his confederate in the crassly-named Pussy Posse. And if he’s mislaid his invite to Power Corp.’s next shindig, he can text Daniel Saks, who co-founded AppDirect with one of the controlling Desmarais family scions. We mapped Harper’s new network, using some simple rules. First, while six degrees may be fine for Kevin Bacon, a former prime minister shouldn’t have to ask more than twice to get in touch with someone. So three connections is the max. Second, since advisors rarely work directly with portfolio companies, any connection to an 8VC holding goes through the managing partner. So Harper would need to call Lonsdale to be put in touch with Oscar’s Josh Kushner, brother of presidential consigliere Jared. Third, Harper likely doesn’t need Lonsdale to introduce him to Larry Summers to get in touch with president Barack Obama—as contemporaneous leaders of neighbouring nations, it’s safe to assume they have each other on Snapchat. But the exercise does reveal how closely entwined Washington and the Valley have become. Let’s play Three Degrees of Stephen Harper. Zoom in or out with the magnifying glass for a closer look, and drag your cursor or finger to follow the connections. This article has been updated to reflect the print version. |
Letter to singer, who called the plan ‘idiocy’ and actor, who said it was ‘animal genocide’, says feral cats have caused the extinction of 27 native species The Australian government has written to Morrissey and Brigitte Bardot to defend its decision to kill 2 million cats. The planned cull is aimed at protecting Australian wildlife decimated by feral cats. But last month the singer called the cull “idiocy” and said the cats were “smaller versions of Cecil the Lion”. Brigitte Bardot to Greg Hunt: killing two million feral cats is ‘animal genocide’ Read more Morrissey said the Australian government was a “committee of sheep-farmers who have zero concerns about animal welfare or animal respect”. The former Smiths frontman is not the only famous figure to be miserable about the death of 2 million cats. Bardot, a long-standing animal welfare advocate, has written an open letter to Greg Hunt, the federal environment minister, decrying the cull. “This animal genocide is inhumane and ridiculous,” the French actor wrote. “In addition to being cruel, killing these cats is absolutely useless since the rest of them will keep breeding. “Your country is sullied by the blood of millions of innocent animals so please, don’t add cats to this morbid record.” The Australian government has now formally responded to Morrissey and Bardot through its threatened species commissioner, Gregory Andrews. In letters seen by Guardian Australia, Andrews tells both: “I would like to commend you for your commitment to, and advocacy for, animals and their welfare.” Andrews adds, however, that feral cats are an invasive species responsible for the extinction of at least 27 Australian mammals, such as the lesser bilby, desert bandicoot and large-eared hopping-mouse. “We don’t want to lose any more species like these,” he wrote. “It is with this sentiment in mind that the Australian government has taken a stance on feral cats; for the protection of our native species that belong here.” The government considers feral cats to be the greatest threat to Australia’s small mammals, birds and lizards, with 124 endangered species at risk from predation. There is a rough estimate of 20 million feral cats in Australia. Each kills at least five animals a day. The government plans to reduce this number by 2 million by 2020 through trapping, shooting and a new poison bait. Andrews told Guardian Australia: “I never thought I’d write to Brigitte Bardot. It’s an unusual situation. I’m glad people like them care about animal welfare and I care deeply about animal welfare too. “The threat to our wildlife are clear and feral cats are top of the list. We don’t hate cats but we don’t have a choice. We will do this as humanely as possible and we will reduce the net suffering of animals in Australia.” Andrews said the RSPCA was involved in the process of the cull to ensure it was done humanely. He rejected Bardot’s argument that the feral cats could be desexed. Sorry Brigitte Bardot, but Australia's hordes of feral cats have got to go | Oliver Milman Read more “Trapping, neutering and releasing 20 million cats would not be justifiable in terms of cost,” he said. “Also, we’d be releasing a predator that will kill five animals a day for the rest of its life. It’s not justifiable. We can’t accept feral cats as part of the Australian ecology because if we do then we accept the extinction of bilbies, bandicoots and numbats. “I sleep very well at night knowing what we are doing. Australians support this. Brigitte Bardot and Morrissey have a lack of understanding of Australia and what we are losing. They aren’t Australians, they aren’t experiencing the extinction crisis we have here.” |
Australia Spied On Japanese Companies To Help Its Industries Negotiate Trade Deals from the not-many-terrorists-here dept As more information comes to light about the global snooping being conducted by the NSA and GCHQ, it is becoming clearer that much of it had little to do with combating terrorism, as a recent EFF article makes plain. But most damaging to the idea that massive surveillance was justified, because it was to protect people from extreme threats, is the revelation that commercial espionage was also being conducted. So far, the chief example of that is in Brazil, but The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) now has information about large-scale industrial spying on Japanese companies carried out by Australian secret services: BHP [BHP Billton -- the world's largest mining company] was among the companies helped by Australian spy agencies as they negotiated trade deals with Japan, a former Australian Secret Intelligence Service officer says. A former diplomat has also confirmed Australian intelligence agencies have long targeted Japanese companies. Writing in The Japan Times, Professor Gregory Clark said Australian companies were beneficiaries of intelligence operations. "In Australia, favoured firms getting spy material on Japanese contract policies and other business negotiations used to joke how [it had] 'fallen off the back of a truck'," Professor Clark wrote. The article has more details, but doesn't reveal how the materials were obtained. However, since Australia is part of the "Five Eyes" inner circle of snooping countries that also includes the US, UK, Canada and New Zealand, it seems likely that information of interest from those partners also found its way to Australian companies. SMH quotes Clark as saying: Business information is a main target for [intelligence] agencies It will be interesting to see if later releases from Snowden's hoard of documents show any evidence of this Australian use of NSA materials for industrial espionage. Follow me @glynmoody on Twitter or identi.ca, and +glynmoody on Google+ Filed Under: australia, economic espionage, gchq, nsa, surveillance Companies: bhp billton |
Alexandra Olins Winooski, Vt., Feb. 15, 2008 To the Editor: Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein (Op-Ed, Feb. 15), writing about the superdelegates to the Democratic convention, posit that the superdelegates are more likely than other delegates to transcend emotions to find a reasonable outcome to the Democratic contest, including whether to seat delegates from Michigan and Florida. But no outcome brought about by the superdelegates other than ratifying an otherwise clear choice of the Democratic electorate will be seen as fair by the loser or his or her supporters unless the candidates have agreed to the role of the superdelegates. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content , updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. I am a Democrat who above all wants a unified party after the convention. So I propose that Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama agree now that if, at the convention, the pledged delegates for one of them — apart from any delegates from Florida or Michigan — exceed the other’s total by more than 5 percent, the superdelegates should support that candidate; but that if the difference between them in those pledged delegates is less than 5 percent, then the choice of the superdelegates should be respected. Tom Litwack New York, Feb. 15, 2008 To the Editor: In “Superdelegates, Back Off” (Op-Ed, Feb. 10), Tad Devine draws comparisons between the current Democratic nomination race and that of 1984, in which both he and I were involved. My recollection of the circumstances of the 1984 contest varies from that of Mr. Devine in significant degrees. Mr. Devine suggests that the superdelegates were persuaded to support former Vice President Walter Mondale after the primaries were over, when in fact a large majority of superdelegates committed to Mr. Mondale even before the primaries began. Mr. Devine further says the superdelegates “provided the margin of victory to the candidate who had won the most support from primary and caucus voters.” In fact, Mr. Mondale and I won almost the same number of overall votes and divided almost evenly the number of states won. In this regard, I could not agree more that the superdelegates “should resist the impulse and pressure to decide the nomination before the voters have had their say.” That is exactly what they did not do in 1984. Finally, Mr. Devine states that the superdelegates should support the candidate “who has proved to be the strongest in the contest that matters — not the inside game of the delegate hunt, but the outside contest of ideas and inspiration, where hope can battle with experience.” Once again, I could not agree more, but that is not what happened in 1984. Gary Hart Kittredge, Colo., Feb. 10, 2008 |
From the moment he declared his candidacy, President Donald Trump commanded legions of online followers. Now, having helped him win the White House, factions of self-made social media operatives are redirecting their skills and infrastructure to promote other candidates nationwide. Some are even vying to spin their experiences from the presidential race into new business models, seeking to promote other candidates by paying pro-Trump Twitter users to tweet and retweet scripted messages. Story Continued Below Pro-Trump tweeters say they deserve at least partial credit for defeating Hillary Clinton, as well as for the string of Republican victories in recent special elections. A handful are pursuing paid gigs from aspiring conservative politicians, pitching their organized — and often secretive — follower networks to “America First” candidates willing to pay. It’s an unproven concept, one viewed with skepticism by established campaign veterans and with varying levels of disdain by those who tweet Trump’s virtues for free. After all, Twitter derives its power from authentic, grass-roots messaging. But pay-to-tweet enthusiasts say they’re selling the future of social media strategy and that candidates won’t have any choice but to pay. One for-profit operative, Robert Shelton, promises client-candidates “name recognition beyond anything other mediums can offer” via his network of “social media warriors” in every state, according to a freshly launched website. Tamara Leigh, a former business partner of Shelton’s and image consultant for commercial and political clients alike, claims her own network of loyal tweeters. Leigh said plenty of other Twitter operatives are “chasing candidates,” although she didn’t name her competitors or clients. The most reliable politics newsletter. Sign up for POLITICO Playbook and get the latest news, every morning — in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. “We have a few irons in the fire, and are gearing up for fall 2017 and kicking off the 2018 midterm elections,” said Leigh. These Twitter networks are organized around “rooms” — message boards created by bringing up to 50 individuals into ongoing, private conversations. Shelton advertises that he and his business partner, Anita White, manage dozens of rooms. Hundreds or even thousands of these pro-Trump forums coalesced on Twitter during the presidential campaign, members said in interviews. Impossible to count or even find except by invitation from an administrator, the rooms vary in internal rules, structure and focus. They share the unified purpose of coordinating tweets, videos and memes in support of Trump and his platform. Many people are members of multiple rooms, and a single administrator may likewise oversee several rooms simultaneously. “If you do a tweet, you can put it into every group you’re a member of,” Shelton said. “It’s an expectation that everyone in the room will retweet what you put in there.” The rooms started as a loose network to ridicule Clinton with the hashtags and memes du jour — #LockHerUp or Soros-as-puppetmaster, for instance. But administrators learned to harness them to spread new talking points, often based off Trump's own early morning post or breaking events, like Clinton's stumble at the 9/11 memorial service that was spun into #ClintonCollapse and scores of memes about her health. Room members who spoke with POLITICO said their efforts during the presidential race were unpaid and that they worked without input from the Trump campaign, aside from his own Twitter flurries. “It actually is quite incredible how many dedicated patriots devoted a great deal of time, effort and talent to tweeting for Trump and America with no expectation of financial benefit, or at least that was a secondary motivation,” said Leigh. After the election and a couple months off Twitter, Shelton realized the rooms could be repurposed to support like-minded candidates across the country, and decided to pitch them as a paid promotional service. He filed to reinstate a business he incorporated in Georgia, his home state, and rebranded both his Twitter handle and assemblage of rooms — which up to that point had various names for organizational purposes — under the @RobertsRooms umbrella. Asked about the rebranding, Shelton said it arose from the need to project professionalism. “@RobertsRooms became the vehicle for monetizing,” said Leigh a bit more bluntly. Shelton sent out a call: "We are adding more rooms. In these rooms you will be PAID for your RETWEETS. THIS IS FOR REAL." “Stop the noise and make some money,” he added. The very idea of marketing this kind of online advocacy is contentious among the room dwellers. “This could turn into an IRS nightmare! Good luck,” one member, who goes by the name Pinball, gloated on Twitter recently. “I do not associate with anyone trying to monetize supporting POTUS and his efforts at draining the swamp,” another said when asked about Shelton’s venture. Shelton and Leigh have no such qualms. “I would never advocate paying someone to tweet for, say, some product, say, towels. That would be worse than shady,” Shelton said, arguing that his aim is to maximize exposure for candidates. “So, if paying people to hit the retweet button works, then I believe paying is a good thing for the candidate in question.” Twitter defines itself as a grass-roots forum. But the 2016 race spawned a number of studies suggesting that plenty of tweets about the election were automated. One research group estimated that 20 percent or more of posts about the presidential debates came from highly automated accounts. Room members said they are careful to weed out bots, but some worry that a profit motive might similarly undercut Twitter's validity as a platform for political debate and expression. Philosophical controversies aside, it’s unclear whether monetizing #MakeAmericaGreatAgain will get results worth buying. Shelton’s first two attempts failed to land any lucrative contracts. Chris Chamberlin, a gubernatorial candidate in Minnesota, was not impressed with his test run, particularly given Shelton’s proposed fee of $6,000. Shelton did not remember whether that was the figure, but Leigh, who was working as press secretary for Chamberlin at the time, confirmed it. For a couple weeks in April, the @RobertsRooms network coordinated retweets of Chamberlin’s posts and distributed memes, including one claiming a Minnesota state legislator is “pro-jihad.” None of this material took off in the way Chamberlin expected. “That’s kind of a concern if you’re boasting as part of the reason Trump got elected,” Chamberlin said in an interview. “Not to say Robert isn’t talented,” he added. “But being charged dollars for a service that may or may not work is at best a risky option.” Another preliminary contract was structured around how much money the @RobertsRooms network could help raise for Michel Faulkner, who at the time was running for New York City mayor. The contract fell apart when Faulkner pivoted to run for NYC comptroller in late May. Faulkner declined an interview about his campaign’s arrangement with Shelton and Leigh. Shelton said he will bill future clients based on “impressions” — how many people see a given tweet — and that the value of his network is visibility. This can enhance fundraising efforts, he believes, but indirectly. “I honestly don’t think I can instigate somebody giving you money. I think I can facilitate — make your name a household word,” he said. “After 60 days, we’ve publicized so much that your fundraiser calls somebody up on the phone, and they remember the tweets they saw.” Coordination in the Twitter rooms can make them a booming megaphone, particularly for candidates without much of a social media presence themselves. As evidence, room members point to their efforts in recent special elections. In an analysis of Twitter posts about the Georgia special election, POLITICO found that Shelton’s network — which is easily traceable via a distinct hashtag, unlike activity originating in many other rooms — accounted for a starkly disproportionate share of traffic. More than one-third of positive tweets in our sample that mentioned GOP nominee Karen Handel by name came from accounts that used his hashtag, and more than 70 percent that tagged her official campaign account. Handel’s campaign staff and Shelton alike said he received no payment for promoting her candidacy. Shelton estimates that the network he and White manage contains around 1,500 people total with a combined following of 10 million on Twitter. Most members are 35 to 55 years old, he guesses, and approximately 80 percent of them are women. But skeptics wonder how much of a role, if any, Shelton and his compatriots’ work can play in reaching undecided voters or getting conservatives to the polls. “Twitter is a mouthpiece to be able to get a message out quickly and efficiently, but is limited in its ability to reach individual targets at scale given the limited user base,” said Matt Oczkowski, former head of product at the conservative data firm Cambridge Analytica and one of the heads of Trump’s digital team. “It all comes down to proving that a program like this works, and I'm not sure there is an easy way to quantify its effect." Two candidates in talks with Shelton said they see plenty of measurable value. “When they approached us, it was, ‘Let us show you what we can do. Then we’ll talk about pricing,’” said Angel Rivera, a gubernatorial candidate in Florida. Rivera gained 8 to 10,000 followers during a test run with @RobertsRooms, plus millions of views on his campaign’s social media posts, he said. Omar Navarro, a California candidate hoping to challenge Democrat Maxine Waters for her House seat, has also been impressed with Shelton’s preliminary work on his campaign. Neither Navarro nor Rivera said how much money they would consider paying. Shelton said he had other contracts in the works but that nondisclosure agreements barred him from discussing them. Leigh expects some may try to get these kind of services for free after watching so many volunteers tweet enthusiastically for Trump. But campaigns will have to start paying, she insists. “People tweeted for Trump 24/7 for almost two years because we were all so passionate about making sure he was elected,” said Leigh. “But that's not sustainable, and people grow weary.” “So you can rely on ‘volunteers,’ but campaigns need the professionals organizing it. And that will cost them.” |
Unbeaten boxer’s troubled past has helped him stay humble and focused on the biggest fight of his fledgling professional career against the strutting American Kevin Johnson at the O2 Arena on Saturday On a hazy spring afternoon in a farmyard gym outside Brentwood in Essex, Anthony Joshua’s face lights up as he anticipates the most important contest of his brief but highly impressive boxing career so far. He faces the swaggering American Kevin “Kingpin” Johnson at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday and his opponent has talked up a storm. “We squared off at the first press conference and it’s great that Johnson has no fear of me and I have no fear of him,” Joshua says with a wide grin. “He’s been in with Vitali Klitschko and he’s thinking: ‘If Vitali can’t drop me, who the hell is this kid?’” The 25-year-old laughs softly at the apparent logic of Johnson. “Look, he’s an American. They’re a different breed. They’re arrogant. Their egos are bigger than themselves but that’s what makes it interesting.” Amir Khan can dominate welterweight division for years, says Virgil Hunter Read more Joshua, with his imposing physique and cheerful character layered by a bright intelligence and past adversity, is an Olympic champion with a 12-0 professional record. None of his opponents have lasted more than three rounds but Joshua thinks carefully and talks fluidly whether assessing Johnson’s mentality or revealing that, while still a Watford teenager, he was on remand and preparing for a 10-year prison term. That candid admission indicates a serious resolve to make up for his youthful mistakes and, one day, become the undisputed world heavyweight champion. But, first, he is genuinely engaged when asked if he thinks Johnson really believes he can win their fight. Joshua leans back in his chair and savours the question. “Hmmm … let me put myself in Johnson’s shoes. If I do that then the answer is ‘yes’. He will be looking at me as a green novice who has had only 12 fights. He’s going to throw some sneaky lefts which he thinks might shock me. I think he really does believe he has a chance.” Johnson is canny and he has not been stopped in 36 fights. He is expected to last longer than any of Joshua’s previous opponents – even if that means he adopts a strategy of survival to avoid being hit cleanly. In his quieter reflections Johnson will have seen how Joshua’s pulverising power appears more evident with each new victory. “The last guy was supposed to last,” the 6ft 6in Joshua says of Raphael Zumbano Love, the experienced Brazilian heavyweight, whom he knocked out inside two rounds in Birmingham this month. “A lot of guys I’ve fought as a pro have been shorter than me and they’ve been trying to counter me. Zumbano was about the same height so I could counter him. I slipped more punches and that’s how I got Zumbano. I threw a lazy jab just as he did and I knew I was coming over the top. That’s why I got that spectacular KO. I’m not punching down. I’m punching straight over the top of his jab. “But I’m not hitting anywhere near as hard as I can because I want the rounds. People say of every opponent: ‘When are you going to knock him out?’ But I’m not like Mike Tyson who came flying out of his corner. I’m much more composed. A guy is supposed to be durable but then I start finding my range and, well, it comes together. Boom.” James DeGale wins IBF title with unanimous decision over Andre Dirrell Read more Joshua spreads his hands and smiles helplessly at his power. Over the course of the afternoon we talk a lot about great old heavyweights, from Joe Louis to Tyson, and Joshua is acutely aware how even once seemingly impregnable champions were not only defeated but ended up in chaos, debt and drug addiction. He pinpoints the need to keep the myth of invincibility in check and, even more pressingly, to avoid a vast retinue of admirers and hangers-on. He may have looked like a sculpted wrecking machine in his first dozen fights but Joshua admits he has yet to be examined. The heavyweight thinks long and hard when asked if he can identify even a small moment of difficulty for him as a pro. The pause lasts 10 seconds before Joshua shakes his head. “In the gym, during sparring, there have been some. But in the arenas, during fights, not one hard moment springs to mind. The only thing I could say is that I boxed Michael Sprott with a fractured back [Joshua’s injury was diagnosed after his first-round win]. But it’s still early days.” Joshua knows that, eventually, there will be hard nights ahead. And so it feels important to ask him about his last defeat at the 2011 amateur world championships. “Magomedrasul Majidov was an unbelievable fighter,” he says of the renowned amateur from Azerbaijan. “But I had only been boxing for two and a half years then because my first amateur fight was in November 2008. So he was much more experienced. “Majidov wasn’t big or tough-looking. I thought I would have him easy. But in the first round I was like a novice, missing shots, spinning off. I still thought it was going to be easy. But he came steaming out in the second and caught me with a beautiful shot. Boom. I was OK but I thought: ‘You want to take it there? Suits me.’ I lost my composure and went toe-to-toe with him. That cost me the fight. He won 21-20. I shed a tear afterwards.” Muhammad Ali’s phantom punch has us scratching our heads 50 years on | Richard Williams Read more As we discuss his two other defeats as an amateur, Joshua selects his second loss at the European Championships, also in 2011, as a way to understand his troubled background. “That was when I had my one court case,” he says, remembering how he had been caught in possession of cannabis and charged wrongly with an intent to supply. “They had banned me from all boxing internationally and domestically for my club. I thought I’m done with boxing. So I went back to Watford and started hanging around with my mates. But that’s when GB Boxing called me up and asked if I want to go to the Europeans. They said: ‘We’re still looking into your case …’ So I had a week’s training and then lost in the quarter-finals. “It was a turning point. Before the world championships I said: ‘Man, I have to change. I have an opportunity with boxing that I believe in. I am going to focus all my energies in boxing.’ I was 21 and I’d had my share of problems. Another court case actually got me into boxing. I was facing a long sentence … and when I beat that I decided to start boxing.” Was this earlier case also cannabis-related? “No,” Joshua says. “It was fighting and other crazy stuff. I was actually on remand, when you’re in jail waiting for your sentence. There are idiots inside and this is when you realise what you are dealing with in prison. I was on remand in Reading for two weeks. Once you’re there it’s 50-50 because you’ve been found guilty, so I was preparing myself for the worst. It could have been 10 years. I would’ve been there until I was 28 because I was 18 at the time. So I would have still been there right now …” Joshua shakes his head bleakly at his narrow escape but then brightens. “My guardian angel decided I didn’t need to be punished with a jail sentence. But I was on tag for over a year and that helped. I became so disciplined when I was on tag. I would be at home by eight o’clock and because I had boxing, I lived the disciplined life. I started reading because I learnt that so many champions educated themselves. Joe Louis, Mike Tyson, Bernard Hopkins. Before it was ‘act now, think later’ – but the discipline and reading changed me. “Before, I was just with guys my age or younger and we’d drive past fancy houses and say: ‘Oh, when I make my money I’m going to buy that house.’ But it was a far-fetched dream. People who do crime do it for reward. But you end up in jail – that’s no reward. Through crime your ambitions are low. It’s strange but now I am being invited into these fancy houses. And I enter them polite and humble. It’s amazing how boxing turned me around.” We’re at a farmyard house, owned by a friend of Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, where there is a helicopter in the back garden. And yet I like the fact Joshua has not swapped his council house in Golders Green in north-west London for a swanky penthouse. “I’m happy where I am,” he says. “I bought the council house and I’ve got another small flat as an investment. It’s humbling and it shows I’m only 12 fights in and I’m not in the big-money fights yet. And it’s so expensive in London. So I am doing more investments rather than buying luxury things. You can make a lot of money in boxing – but you have not come from an educated background. Guys have come from jail or poverty-ridden backgrounds and suddenly they’re in million-dollar fights. That’s why I’m staying sensible and making sure it’s structured. It’s also why I went into camp with Wladimir Klitschko. I chatted to him as much as possible. I wanted to see how a champion operates and I achieved that. I also got to showcase some of my skills.” When I last spoke to Klitschko he was effusive in his praise for Joshua – both for his prowess between the ropes and his maturity outside the ring. Klitschko told me he had no doubt Joshua would follow him as the dominant force in the heavyweight division for years. “It’s very interesting,” Joshua says. “A lot of UK heavyweights never give you a compliment. But Wlad, who has an Olympic medal and is the second-longest-running world champ after Joe Louis, can give me these unbelievable props. Someone like Tyson Fury says he would knock out Wlad but it’s not based on logic. He just says: ‘Wlad’s shit.’ I want to say ‘shut up’ to those kind of guys. They’ve done nothing compared to Klitschko.” The Ukrainian is 39 and it is surely unlikely he will still be fighting in another 18 months when Joshua may be ready to challenge him. “No man!” Joshua exclaims. “It’s very likely. You know boxing. A great world champion and the new prospect would be a huge fight. My gut says it will definitely happen. What makes a champion great is how he dethrones the guy before him. Look at Mike Tyson against Trevor Berbick and how he crushed him. You have to rip the title away from him. In order to become a great you have to beat the current champion in totally dominant fashion. That’s why I would like to fight Klitschko.” A supposedly durable big-mouth in “Kingpin” Johnson, however, needs to be beaten next. “No one has ever stopped him so I am in a win-win situation – unless I lose,” Joshua quips. “He’s a credible opponent for my 13th fight. If I don’t stop him I will have gone 10 rounds for the first time. If I knock him out? Well it’s just another guy who, once I hit him, stays hit. How can I lose?” |
Aside from rats, dollar pizza shops and the homeless, New York City is also chock full of toxic waste sites, according to this new map from Property Shark. Helpfully plotted are Superfund and brownfield sites, solid waste and major oil storage facilities, along with areas polluted by tank failures and gasoline spills -- including those containing MBTE. For New York residents getting a uneasy feeling about the number of icons plotted on their block, Property Shark cautions that not all toxic sites are created equal. According to Nancy Jorisch, a senior data analyst for the company, “properties closest to manufacturing plants, gas stations and landfills have the highest amounts of potential toxicity," while others are much more benign. Still, as ThinkProgress points out, these are a lot of environmental hazards for a city that's particularly vulnerable to storm surges. |
Installing MQSeries module on Windows XP is a piece of cake, as long as you get the right tools before you even try. Update: October 29, 2018 I haven’t worked on Windows for the past 8 years when we switched to Macs company wide so I haven’t really been keeping up with the MS world. Fortunately, a kind soul reached out to tell me that Visual Studio Express has been discontinued in favor of Visual Studio Community (thanks, Laura!). I’ve updated the download link to get C++ below. Feel free to read more about VSC in this post that Laura wrote. Update: July 2, 2009 I had to install the module on a new computer running Windows XP and it looks like I had missed a few steps in the original how-to below. It’s been updated with the manual editing steps. From step 3 down, it’s all new. This is what you need: MQSeries installed (get the 90-day trial version here. You will need to register, but there’s no charge for that) Microsoft Visual C++ (it’s free, and you can get it here) Perl (I use ActiveState) Steps to get it installed: Open a command prompt (Start->Run->cmd.exe) (Extremely important!!)Set up your build environment by running vcvarsall.bat. Mine is under C:Program FilesMicrosoft Visual Studio 9.0VC An alternative to this step is to open a Visual Studio 2008 Command Prompt (Start->All Programs->Microsoft C++ 2008 Express Edition->Visual Studio Tools->Visual Studio 2008 Command Prompt) Make sure your environment variables are set with MQ data: INCLUDE=pathtotoolscinclude directory, LIB=pathtotoolslib directory (typing set will show you your env vars) Install pre-requisite Params::Validate by running perl -MCPAN -e “install Params::Validate” Download MQSeries manually by running perl -MCPAN -e “get MQSeries” cd into the directory where you have your cpan (mine is c:Perlcpanbuild) and enter MQSeries-x.xx-* (where * is a series of random chars if you’re using the latest CPAN) With a decent text editor (I’m using Notepad++ and also like Crimson Editor and Programmer’s Notepad 2), edit CONFIG file: uncomment MQMTOP = … and replace the path with the path to your MQ Tools directory. It’s OK to use long directory and file names (e.g c:Program FilesIBMWebsphere MQTools) Now cd into the utils directory, open parse_headers file and comment out or delete the line near the top where it says “my $include = ‘/opt/mqm/inc’;”. The reason for this is that my overwrites the $include variable previously populated by parse_config file. Save your changes and in the base directory for the MQSeries build, run perl Makefile.PL. It might complain about some libs not being found, but that wasn’t a show stopper for me. Run nmake. It came with your MS Visual C++ install and should be in your PATH. Run nmake test. It’ll fail, since you didn’t set any valid data in the CONFIG file. If you have any valid data such as QM and Queues to test it with, go ahead and set them in the CONFIG file and run nmake test again. If not, that’s OK. If nmake test was the only place where it failed, then you’re good to run nmake install. That’s it – Perl MQSeries module should now be installed. |
The Minneapolis City Council is putting on a clinic on how to pass unpopular legislation. Mayor Betsy Hodges' "Working Families Agenda" (WFA) has been placed on the fast track for approval. But the City Council has rigged the game in order to minimize input from the agenda's critics, while making themselves look like benevolent, reasonable champions of the working class. Their strategy is based on a simple three-step approach: STEP 1: Publicly propose an ordinance so eye-poppingly ridiculous that any reasonable person would look at it and say, "What are you thinking?" In this case, the shiny object chosen by the council to draw focus was an advance-scheduling mandate. The original WFA proposal required that all schedules for hourly employees be published 28 days in advance and that they couldn't be changed without a financial penalty. For industries like food service that are highly dependent on unpredictable and uncontrollable variables such as weather, playoff-game schedules and customer-initiated event bookings, the idea of putting together a complete and unchangeable schedule over a month in advance is utterly unworkable in the real world, suggesting it was dreamed up in a left-wing echo chamber filled with people who have never held a nongovernment job. Unless, of course, it was the brain child of someone with a clever plan, such as one that includes … STEP 2: Establish an artificial timeline — preferably one that is shockingly short — to create a false sense of urgency. The work group responsible for the WFA presented the details of its proposal in late August. As part of the initial presentation, they included a timeline for the review and approval process that called for "robust" stakeholder engagement, policy proposals, ordinance language drafting and review, and public hearings all to occur in time for the measure to be adopted on Nov. 6. In other words, the council was planning to impose sweeping regulatory changes that would overhaul the entire scheduling, compensation and benefit structure for the hourly employees of 39,000 businesses operating in the city — and get it done, from concept to approval, in about eight weeks. An optimist would call that timeline aggressive. A realist would call it delusional. But it fits very well into a plan that anticipates … STEP 3: Compromise your original proposal to a still unworkable but relatively more sane position, and then celebrate the fact that you have "found middle ground." On Oct. 6, Hodges announced that, after a meeting with business leaders, the WFA proposal would be modified to include a few employer-friendly concessions in service of the overriding goal of "consensus." The concessions include the reduction of the advance-scheduling mandate from an absurd 28 days to a merely unworkable 14 days; some undefined but earnestly promised phase-in timelines for small businesses, and the assurance of assistance from the city in the implementation process ("We're from the government and we're here to help"). All in all, the city's plan seems to be unfolding perfectly. The business owners who stand to be crippled or killed by the agenda have erupted with a predictable furor over a set of regulations that are unhinged from reality. But the artificially compressed legislative timeline forces the large and disparate opposition group to focus its legitimate and multifaceted message on a handful of the most attention-grabbing grievances. The political class is therefore well-positioned to hand down compromises from its over-the-top proposals and, in so doing, to cast themselves in the role of business-friendly compromiser who still cares about the little guy. Fortunately, this kind of legislative gamesmanship can be disrupted with a simple question: Why now? Why is it so urgent that this agenda be passed by November? Certainly, there is minimal harm in extending the process three or six months to allow for legitimate participation from business owners who, for the most part, agree with the kinds of worker protections and safety nets proposed — so long as they take into account the employer's legitimate concerns in a realistic way. Why all the urgency, Mayor Hodges? If you legitimately want to build a city based on strong, profitable businesses with happy, well-protected workers, then you should be willing to take the time to do it right. Bill Sheahan, of Maplewood, is a writer and restaurant industry consultant. |
In coming years, hanging cameras and sophisticated tracking systems will offer NBA coaches troves of new data on their teams–information that could yield new metrics for evaluating players and fundamentally reshape how we think about the game. For now, though, the standard stats will have to do. And while looking up a player’s averages for points, blocks, steals, and the rest is informative enough, visualizing them all together is much more fun. That’s just what Rami Moghadam did for the players of last weekend’s All Star Game. Moghadam, who spent four years as a designer at Pentagram and has been an NBA devotee since childhood, plotted various stats for each of this year’s All Stars on the same circular charts, resulting in 24 shapes that offer rough visual summaries of those players’ careers. Each footprint is anchored by the player’s average minutes per game, at 12 o’clock. From there, the statistics are grouped around the circle by type. Activity in the top right quadrant reflects good scoring; the bottom left includes defensive tallies like steals and blocks. Glancing at the East’s lineup, you can tell LeBron James is dominant. Not only is his scoring section nice and thick, but he puts up significant numbers in rebounds and assists, too. His teammate, Dwayne Wade, gets a remarkably similar shape. It’s no wonder that the Heat are so good. Other players’ shapes reveal particular strengths. Tim Duncan’s rebounding prowess can be seen as a sharp downward tentacle; point guard Chris Paul has one jutting off at a different angle for assists. “The idea was that you can step back and appreciate the poster as a colorful visual,” Moghadam explains, “but at the same time look closer and dig into the information and learn more.” Of course, the visualizations don’t show the whole picture. Teams are shaped not just by the numbers their players put up but also by things like chemistry and morale. And even in terms of individual players, the box scores can capture only so much. There’s no statistic for tight D, say, or overall hustle. At least not yet. |
Bellinger Valley experiencing driest Spring in 40 years Posted A long time Bellinger Valley resident and amateur weather man said the current spring is the driest he has seen since 1970. Darcy Browning runs cattle in the Darkwood area in the upper Bellinger river catchment. As far as the dryness goes I'd say it's the driest I've ever seen it here." Darcy Browning, Bellinger Valley weatherman He said the area is better known for being isolated by flooding. But Mr Browning said the last few months are the driest he's seen since he started collecting rainfall data for the Weather Bureau over 40 years ago. "For the four months up until the end of October we've recorded 50ml," he said. "That includes a fall yesterday which was only 3mls. "So that brings it up to 53mmls for four months to the 1st of November, which is the lowest we've recorded for 43 years. "I've seen it browner than it is, you can have a severe winter, lots of frost and that sort of stuff, but as far as the dryness goes I'd say it's the driest I've ever seen it here." Topics: weather, rainfall, regional, bellingen-2454, coffs-harbour-2450, port-macquarie-2444 |
Supernatural star Jared Padalecki has said the show is hugely important to him because he has spent a third of his life working on it. Jared stars as Sam Winchester in the Channel 4 drama, a tale of two brothers fighting evil forces in the hope of discovering what supernatural being took their mother 30 years earlier, which is heading into its ninth series. The actor said of his long-running role: “We’re one of the longest running shows on television. When I turned 31, I remember thinking, ‘Wow… I’m 31 and this is my ninth season. This is a third of my life!’ “It’s pretty amazing. I feel that what we’re doing this season could go on for however long the writers, and the fans, want to keep it going. We’ve opened so many doors and we didn’t close any; we didn’t kill this or stop that, we just left it so that we can do anything. “What the writers have chosen to do is so awesome. I want to strangle them because I’m really excited about it – but I’m not allowed to tell you anything more at this stage. My hands are tied.” Jared added that he’d developed a real affection for his character: “I really love Sam. He’s become a part of my life and he forever will be. I care about protecting him and I care about being true to him. He’s an entity that I respect and he’s a friend of mine. “They allow us a lot of freedom because they know we care about the show; they trust us. It’s not like I think it’d be cool if Sam had a motorcycle and a hot chick. I want to be true to Sam and they know that.” Supernatural series nine airs on Channel 4 from January 6. |
After saying it won’t be sending any women to the London Olympics, Saudi Arabia seems to be rethinking. Saudi Arabia may send women to the 2012 Olympics in London. As I wrote about a month ago, the country has always sent male athletes in the quadrennial hunt for gold medals.But according to reports in a London-based pan-Arab newspaper, Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz isn’t against women heading to London with the proviso that the sports “meet the standards of women’s decency and don’t contradict Islamic laws.” The encouraging signs have met with approval from the International Olympic Committee. “The IOC is confident Saudi Arabia is working to include women athletes,” the body said in a statement. “After the assessment of the level of each athlete by the IOC and the international federations concerned, a formal proposal will be submitted to the next meeting of the IOC executive board in Quebec City in May.” Qatar and Brunei have allowed women to participate in national and regional competitions, but not the Olympics. Qatar is set to change that policy this time around, prompted at least in part by the fact that it’s bidding to host the 2020 Olympic Games. The country will send swimmer Nada Arkaji and sprinter Noor al-Malki to England. Brunei has said that it will send Maziah Mahusin. The 400 meter runner and hurdler won a scholarship last year that pays for her training and expenses in London for four months. “I’m excited and nervous because there will be new coaches to work with, and the training regime will be highly intensive compared to Brunei, conducted by high-level athletic coaches,” the 19 year-old told the Brunei Times. It remains to be seen how many Saudi women would go, and what events they would compete in. According to the New York Times, horse rider Dalma Rushdi Malhas is a possibility. Martha F. Davis, a professor at Northeastern University School of Law, told the newspaper that she supported the idea. “I think it’s a savvy move,” she said. “It’s trying to make sure there isn’t a groundswell of Arab Spring-like activities and being responsive to those yearnings to participate. It’s being proactive.” If the Saudis do allow this to happen, then London may be the first Olympic Games to feature women from every country in the world. |
Sacha Kljestan won’t let something silly like a broken nose keep him off the field when the U.S. national team takes on Mexico in the two sides’ highly anticipated “Hexagonal” opener on Friday (7:45 p.m. ET). [ FOLLOW: All of PST’s USMNT coverage ] Not even if the injury to that now-crooked sniffer meant more than 10 minutes spent on the sidelines waiting for bleeding to subside before re-entering Sunday’s MLS Cup Playoffs clash with the Montreal Impact. And, especially not considering the New York Red Bulls’ 2016 season came to an end on Sunday, not long after Kljestan saw his all-important penalty kick, which would have tied the conference semifinals tie at 1-1, saved by Evan Bush. The 31-year-old, who only reclaimed his place as a USMNT regular this fall after making a single appearance in 2014 and 2015, figures to start as the Yanks’ no. 10 against El Tri, but will do so while sporting a bit of extra headgear, he revealed on Tuesday — quotes from MLSsoccer.com: “It’s broken in a couple of places. It was a pretty bad hit, but I think they’re going to build me a mask and I’ll be OK. It will be interesting, but I’ll get used to it quickly and I’ll be ready to go.” … “I had never seen so much blood. The difficult part for me was that the blood was coming down my throat, so they didn’t want to let me back on the field until it stopped going down my throat and was just coming out of my nose.” [ USA vs. MEX: Three important questions ahead of the Hex opener ] Kljestan, alongside 18-year-old Christian Pulisic, will be relied upon as the driving force and creative hub of the USMNT attack on Friday. With his club season over, the 2018 World Cup qualifying clashes against Mexico and Costa Rica (San Jose, Costa Rica — Tuesday, Nov. 15) will be Kljestan’s last chance to end 2016, a year in which he notched 20 assists in 32 MLS appearances for the Red Bulls, on a high note. Follow @AndyEdMLS |
For Kate. Image by Untameable Shrews (@untamableshrews). New Zealand leftist news site The Spinoff recently published a “now what?” article for feminists, following the Women’s March. The piece recommends organisations to support, and tells readers that the “New Zealand Prostitutes’ Collective advocates for the rights, health and well-being of all sex workers. Remember to include these women in your feminism, otherwise it’s not feminism.” The author seems unaware that NZPC’s programmes coordinator is a male. In any case, “listen to NZPC” has become a catch-cry among liberals in Wellington, where discussions of feminism arise. Perhaps because of the organisation’s authority and charitable image, it is also standard practice for New Zealand media to defer to NZPC on issues surrounding the sex trade. But where does “listening to the NZPC” actually lead us? The organisation has long departed from its origins as a grassroots charity. It started in the 1980s, as a group of nine Wellington women in prostitution protecting themselves against the abuses of pimps, the spread of AIDs, and the government’s criminalization of prostituted persons. By 2003, the Prostitution Reform Act (PRA) was passed, finally decriminalizing those prostituted in New Zealand’s sex trade – but also pimps and sex buyers. Though NZPC still leverages their historic, grassroots image, it currently promotes government policy of full decriminalization as a generously state-funded sex trade lobby. The legitimizing of pimps and johns who trade in women has been widely critiqued by prostitution survivors from New Zealand and worldwide. In spite of this, NZPC continues to uphold the party line on prostitution as a government funded lobby, even when this means engaging in spin and denial. In a June 2016 Radio New Zealand interview, ex-New Zealand Prostitutes’ Collective (NZPC) spokesperson Anna Reed was asked whether there is “trafficking going on” in New Zealand’s sex trade. “Nooo,” she responded. “People come here knowing what they’re doing… If I was young and beautiful ,” she said, “I would love to go on a working holiday somewhere where the laws protected me. That would be a great holiday.” Despite crystal clear reports, NZPC glosses over the denies the presence of sex trafficking in New Zealand, calling it “migrant sex work” and even “working holidays”. NZPC also minimises coercion more widely. Community liaison Ahi Wi-Hongi has told me that only 4% of people in prostitution are coerced to enter. That figure relies on definitions of consent and coercion radically opposed to feminist understandings. It comes from a survey in which 4% of respondents reported being “made to work by someone”. That means 4% reported being kidnapped, not coerced. Ahi Wi-Hongi Untameable Shrews Then, when a safehouse to help women exit prostitution recently opened in Palmerston North, NZPC downplayed the need for that exit service. National coordinator Catherine Healy told media that “most sex workers left the trade without much difficulty; about 10 per cent of people needed assistance leaving”. Exiting the sex industry is in fact extremely difficult and often takes several attempts. Healy’s 10% figure is also conveniently cherry-picked, just like Wi-Hongi’s ‘coercion’ statistic. The survey it comes from shows 10% of respondents stating they “don’t know how to leave” prostitution. Healy ignores that a total of 72% of respondents to that survey indicate that they are trapped in the trade by circumstance, selecting the options “can’t get help to leave”; “don’t know what else to do”, or “have no other income”. This is from a survey that already sports evidence of bias, not least because NZPC conducted the interviews for it themselves (see page 46). Reed’s insistence on Radio New Zealand that the “laws protect” women here (and 85% of those in prostitution in New Zealand are women) also does not stand up to scrutiny. For a start, Official Information Act requests have revealed that brothel inspections in the interests of women’s health and safety in New Zealand are few and far between. Aside from 12 that were conducted in the first few weeks following the PRA, only 11 brothel inspections occurred across the whole of New Zealand between 2003 and January 2015. So much for legislation to protect women from the abuses of pimps. What’s more, NZPC advertises that “sex workers” can “seek justice” by taking complaints of abuse and assault to the Human Rights Review Tribunal (HRRT). Access to the court system is hardly a substitute for true prevention of violence, and real social justice. But it is important to know whether this NZPC claim about access to the HRRT is really true. Women need to know whether their assault complaints are likely to be honoured in an industry that is so actively recruiting us, while it is so rife with violence. Globally, 90% of sex workers disclose being subject to high levels of sexual harassment, and 70% to sexual abuse. New Zealand already has extremely high levels of violence against women, and studies show how women in sex work experience the highest rates of abuse. Also in New Zealand, one in three women are sexually assaulted, and only 13% of reported rape cases result in a conviction. Wi-Hongi has told me that only one case taken to the HRRT by a woman in prostitution can be cited in conversation. I was assured that more than one case had been taken, but given no evidence to verify that claim. I was told that the total figures were secret, and called a “creep” for requesting the statistics (Wi-Hongi is very well versed in such tactics). I can see why NZPC may want to hide these numbers, which it should certainly be collecting. If they are high, they’ll speak to the extent of violence in the industry; if they are scarce, they’ll reveal how poor the system NZPC promotes is at responding to that violence. And NZPC insists on depicting the industry in a flattering light. Yet take Rae Story’s heartbreaking account of rape in an Auckland brothel. “This one particular john,” writes Story, had a thick penis, which he liked to jab in and out of me, as hard and fast as he could… the pain was excruciating. I began to hold onto his hips to slow him down, push him away from me, but he got impatient and then angry, before flouncing off to complain, as though he was the victim of some great injustice. When I walked back down to the foyer, the receptionist pulled me aside to inform me of his grievance… She narrowed her eyes cynically, but said she was willing to let it pass as this had been the only complaint leveled against me. Incidents like this demonstrate the reality of prostitution for women. A woman is to a brothel what a burger is to a burger joint: she’s ordered, consumed, paid for, disposed of, reviewed, advertised and capitalised from in the same way. Several women, like Sabrinna Valisce, have written about how this has worsened since the PRA decriminalized pimps and johns along with women. NZPC turns a blind eye to these critiques. Alongside spin, NZPC also engages in a degree of coercion. While Wi-Hongi states that only 4% of those in prostitution are coerced into the sex trade – 22% of respondents to the same survey reported that they entered prostitution because they “thought it looked exciting/ glamorous”. Pimps certainly advertise it that way, with their recruitment ads depicting radiant, assured young women holding wads of cash and smiling. Despite the reality of the trade, NZPC does not seem to count that kind of advertising as coercion – perhaps, because NZPC participates in the same kind of activity themselves. An example: when Massey University’s Massive magazine published an objectifying image of a prostituted female student on a March issue cover last year, students rightly protested. Wi-Hongi joined the chorus, but suggested a telling alternative. According to Wi-Hongi, Massive should have run an image of an empowered “woman in her lecture theatre with a bag of books, spare clothes and condoms”, to keep with NZPC’s party line on prostitution. This, of course, ignores poverty and coercion as important factors diving female students into this violent industry in increasing numbers. It also contributes to both false expectations, and suppressing critique of those. When women do initially enter, perhaps having encountered such sanitising representations, they are issued a “new workers’ starter kit” by NZPC. Reading its manuals, The Ins and Outs of Work and Stepping Forward, is like reading Cosmopolitan magazine if it was produced by Work and Income New Zealand. The state-sanctioned ‘empowerment’, ‘choice’ and ‘you can do it’ narratives are little more than condescension, in the context of structural unemployment, systemic oppression of women and commercialised rape. NZPC vehemently rejects the idea that prostitution is systemic exploitation. Yet it casually instructs women on how to work through menstruation, “burnout”, offer “bi-doubles”, and tolerate anal rape. On offering bi-doubles, NZPC says: The only reason some agree to do bi-doubles is for the money… you don’t have to enjoy it, just pretend you are. Just like any sex job, there is an element of performance. It is the facade of enjoyment and pleasure that all clients pay for, it is what we do; and the same goes for the bi-double. And this is what the organisation tells women about how to accommodate men’s demand for anal rape. It is not uncommon for it to take 20 minutes or longer for the anus and rectal passage to expand and embrace the length of the girth of a penis or object… This has to do with body memory and the more your body becomes familiar with something going in and learns to relax with the sensation, the easier it will become. “Using chemical assistance to help relax is not advised,” this Ministry of Health-funded publication advises, “as it seldom means the body is actually relaxed but that you are less inclined to register the pain or trauma.” Stepping Forward also has a section on “sex worker burnout” (a euphemism for post-traumatic stress disorder). Under instructions on “how to stay a happy hooker”, it suggests “look after your inner self”, “take breaks” (“All work and no play make Jo a dull ho!”) and “cherish your body”. After all, “You are your business’s best asset and without maintenance you can become a liability.” This line reminds me of the words of Robert Money, a pimp interviewed for the documentary Tricked: “Pussy is a commodity. It has to be in selling condition… you have to make sure your commodity is sellable.” The ‘advice’ comes from the same booklet that also bombards women with poor-quality photos of men’s genital infections whilst telling them that anal rape shouldn’t hurt for more than 20 minutes. Rich is one word that springs to mind, among others. NZPC also flippantly acknowledges the difficulty of prostitution without drug use: “if realistically you are unable to work straight,” they say, “try and reduce the harm happening to yourself, by working around others who care enough to watch out for you.” Take the drugs, if you need to, and get other prostituted women to protect you from violent men. By the way, “Your behaviours could bring heat down on those around you, so don’t be surprised if people do not want to work with you”. This leaves women in a bind. So they need to work, obviously; some cannot work straight, so they need help, but may not find it. Stepping Forward offers more ‘advice’ to women who might find this situation difficult. If you don’t like your job, the thought of going to work makes your skin crawl and you think you’d rather chew off your own leg than do another shift, maybe this is not the job for you. Sure the money is lucrative, but how much are you going to make if you keep spitting at the clients in the lounge and swearing at them in the room if they haven’t asked you to talk dirty? There is no shame in quitting a job you don’t like. Getting out can be tricky, but there are lots of us who have done it and will help if you ask. Work to live and don’t live to work. Sure. Here is an account from one New Zealand woman, from the South Island, who has managed to exit prostitution: As a 16 year old street worker Anna Reed certainly never tried to help me, even though I was underage and going to the NZPC on a weekly and sometimes even daily basis. If anyone needed help it was me. Of course there is no shame in quitting. It’s just that it’s statistically very hard to do. This same organisation points out one of the factors, dismissively, when it encourages women to “expand your mind”. Now I’m not saying there’s not a lot to learn from [sex] work, in fact it’s a job that can teach you many skills you would be hard pressed to learn anywhere else, but it’s sometimes a little tricky incorporating these into your CV. So it’s still a “job like any other” – you just can’t put it on your CV, even after say – 15 years? That’s no problem, though, according to NZPC. They suggest women “Take a course, read good books, get a hobby… so if at any stage burnout is no longer a passing phase, you have other options”. In this objectification, and porn-saturated culture, women do not enter prostitution in the numbers we do because hobbies and reading books magically generate options for us everywhere. 92% of respondents to the aforementioned NZPC survey said that they entered the trade for “money”. NZPC might write that off to say that that’s the reason people enter any industry – end of story, it’s just like working in a supermarket. Many survivors however say that what this figure indicates is that pimps and johns violently exploit women’s economic disadvantage. Which is what patriarchy is, and feminism resists: the individual and collective, institutional and domestic maintenance and exploitation of women’s economic disadvantage in the interests of male dominance. NZPC and its supporters have zero tolerance for such feminist critiques, and another tactic NZPC engages in to control public discussion on prostitution is scare-mongering. Programmes coordinator Calum Bennachie is the author of a 2010 article for the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP), ironically titled Their words are killing us. The article exposes how Bennachie considers himself mandated to actively and explicitly suppress feminist criticism in New Zealand. Referring to prostitution abolitionists, Bennachie says: “We must challenge them, their language, at every opportunity,” he says; “reveal their language of hate for what it is”. Bennachie does not hide the fact that he is talking about women, feminists, including prostitution survivors (women like Rae Story, quoted above) who recognize the industry as sexual exploitation. This article appeared in a newsletter published by the global sex trade lobby, NSWP – of which NZPC is a member. Until February 2014, the NSWP’s vice-president of was Alejandra Gil, who was arrested that month for sex trafficking. She was sentenced to fifteen years in prison the following year. So it is no wonder that NZPC spokespeople have sought to minimise sex trafficking, calling it ‘migrant sex work’ or even a ‘working holiday’: the organisation is that closely affiliated with organized crime, pimps and traffickers. Such people have vested interests in promoting a legitimized sex trade and creating a climate hostile to debate on policy. Working in collaboration with both government and the international sex trade lobby, NZPC keeps women ignorant of alternative legal models, like the Nordic Model, which uses fines from criminalized pimps and johns to fund exit services for women. Sex trade lobbyists like to manipulatively suggest that full decriminalisation of prostitution is the only legal model that works in women’s favour. Anything other than a fully legitimated sex trade means the de facto criminalisation of women. Many women here remember being criminalized before 2003, and none of them want a return to that. Part of this ploy too, is to insistence on a narrative that violence in the sex trade is caused by “stigma” – stigma being the negative perceptions society holds of prostitution. This convinces women that societal attitudes are the biggest threat to them in the sex trade, not pimp or punters. This is another way that NZPC gags women: by suggesting that critiquing the trade, talking about the epidemic and inherent violence, contributes to generating lethal “stigma”. So if women find reason to develop a critical opinion of the sex trade, for instance through abuse – bringing this to light will make them responsible for putting other women in jeopardy. This also means trafficking, assault and murder are reduced basically to bad publicity – the myth that “stigma kills” has women frantically providing redemptive narratives on “sex work” to legitimize the very trade that would have them raped tomorrow. Where women in the sex trade take this notion up (often strippers and escorts, rather than women in brothels or on the street) “liberal feminists” parrot it with initiative and gusto. Yet the idea that “stigma kills” is preposterous, when pimps aggressively promote and profit from violence; johns commit it, pornographers film and publicize it, and lobbyists cover their backs. Stigma is in fact just what Hugh Hefner had to battle in the 1950s to begin to enable the shameless, daylight sale of his pornography magazines. In fact – shouldn’t rape, objectification and abuse be stigmatized? Many women who have come out the other side of the prostitution industry recognise the lobby’s spin, and some have gone on to form their own anti-prostitution organisations, like SPACE International, Survivors For Solutions, and NorMAC. To say that stigma – realistic representations of the sex trade – “causes violence”, is to blame these women for their own abuse. Victim blaming is something NZPC and associated organisations are certainly not above. The events surrounding 2016’s release of Prostitution Narratives: Stories of Survival in the Sex Trade – illustrates this. The book is an anthology of recollections and critical writing on prostitution by women who have been in the trade. Organisations associated with NZPC in Australia, like Scarlet Alliance, protested, picketed and disrupted seven out of ten events and readings, in different centres. In some places, the women had to engage security guards. When the Townsville event was held in a domestic violence shelter, the lobby threatened to go after the shelter’s funding, and intimated violence if the book launch went ahead. Elena Jeffreys, ex-president of Scarlet Alliance (also an NSWP member) stood on a stool during one reading event and interjected as survivors shared their stories. She also attempted to recruit the most recently exited woman, Alice, who had been trafficked from the age of five, back into prostitution. In Wellington, I have personally experienced the hostility of the sex trade lobby when speaking out against prostitution; their tactics have lead to my being banned from a local art market, accused of “misconduct” in my workplace, and victim to an online bullying pact launched by Wi-Hongi. Victoria University ni-Vanuatu academic Pala Molisa has also suffered similar silencing and threats as a result of speaking out against prostitution as a form of male violence. Silencing, scare-mongering, coercion and spin are not the hallmarks of an honest, trustworthy and charitable organisation. The recruitment of women into prostitution is taking place through a collaboration between our neoliberal government, pimps and the global sex trade lobby. This kind of fraternity is what we call a Pimp State, and it is high time we stopped falling for its tactics. Activists and liberals need to stop helping the sex trade lobby suppress and demonize feminist critiques of prostitution. Instead, we need to open up the dialogue. Most importantly, we need to amplify and join the chorus of survivor sisters: to stand with them, refuse to be silenced, and resist. Advertisements |
Snake Caught in Spider's Web Photographs FW: Spider catches snake: An office receptionist got the shock of her life earlier this week when she found a 14cm long snake entangled in the web of a deadly spider. Tania Robertson, a receptionist at an electrical firm , came in to work on Tuesday and spotted the strange sight next to a desk in her office. The snake, which had obviously died from the spider's poisonous bite, was off the ground and caught up in the web. Leon Lotz of the arachnology department at the National Museum said it was only the second time that he had heard of a snake getting caught in a spider's web. It is believed the snake got caught in the web on Monday night. But it did not take the spider long to bite it. A red mark on the snake's stomach was evidence of where the spider had started eating it. Throughout Tuesday, the spider checked on her prey, but on Wednesday she rolled it up and started spinning a web around it. She also kept lifting it higher off the ground, while continually snacking on it. Even a fly that accidentally landed on the snake was chased off aggressively....... Photos credited to Charles Smith, Volksblad) An office receptionist got the shock of her life earlier this week when she found a 14cm long snake entangled in the web of a deadly spider. Tania Robertson, a receptionist at an electrical firm , came in to work on Tuesday and spotted the strange sight next to a desk in her office. The snake, which had obviously died from the spider's poisonous bite, was off the ground and caught up in the web. Leon Lotz of the arachnology department at the National Museum said it was only the second time that he had heard of a snake getting caught in a spider's web. It is believed the snake got caught in the web on Monday night.But it did not take the spider long to bite it. A red mark on the snake's stomach was evidence of where the spider had started eating it. Throughout Tuesday, the spider checked on her prey, but on Wednesday she rolled it up and started spinning a web around it. She also kept lifting it higher off the ground, while continually snacking on it.Even a fly that accidentally landed on the snake was chased off aggressively....... Bloemfontein - An office receptionist got the shock of her life earlier this week when she found a 14cm long Aurora house snake entangled in the web of a deadly spider. Tania Robertson, a receptionist at an electrical firm in Bloemfontein, came in to work on Tuesday and spotted the strange sight next to a desk in her office. The snake, which had obviously died from the spider's poisonous bite, was off the ground and caught up in the web. Leon Lotz of the arachnology department at the National Museum immediately identified the spider as a female brown button spider. Bloemfontein - The spider that had the country talking after it caught and devoured a snake, found a new home on Friday. Tania Robertson, a Bloemfontein secretary, was very relieved to get rid of her unwanted office mate. Leon Lotz of the department of arachnology at the National Museum in the city is now the proud owner of the poisonous button spider and what's left of the Aurora house snake. Message claims that attached photographs show a snake caught in the web of a venomous spider ().Photographs are authentic - Spider is often misidentified(Submitted, April 2008)A series of unusual photographs depicting a small snake caught in a spider's web is currently circulating via email and has also been posted to numerous blogs and online forums. According to the description that accompanies the images, the spider's capture of the hapless reptile was first observed by receptionist Tania Robertson near a desk in her office.Although some have questioned the authenticity of the photographs, they are in fact genuine. The description of the incident in the message is an abridged version of an article first published by South African online news outlet, News24 in February 2004. The article notes:According to a follow-up article on News24, the spider and what remained of the snake were later relocated to the National Museum:The version of the story that is currently circulating omits location information along with identification details about the creatures shown in the photographs and these omissions have caused some confusion. Africa's Brown Button spider is related to Australia's Redback spider and America's Black Widow spider. All three have distinctive red markings on their bodies and are similar in shape. Thus, some commentators have misidentified the spider in the photographs as a Redback and therefore falsely assumed that the snake's demise occurred in Australia. Others wrongly believe the spider is a Black Widow and relocate the action to the United States.Deadly interactions between spiders and snakes are not unprecedented. Another 2004 news article describes how a 12 inch snake was trapped in the web of a Chinese house spider and subsequently killed by the spider's bite. And, along with the photographs of the Brown Button snake and Aurora snake shown above, an article on the Spiderzrule website includes photographs of other types of snakes that have apparently been caught and bitten by Redback spiders.Spiders of this family, which includes Button spiders Redback spiders and Black Widow spiders , are certainly venomous enough to kill smaller reptiles, other animals and, occasionally, humans. Last updated: 8th April 2008 First published: 8th April 2008 Write-up by Brett M. Christensen Similar Articles: Snake Inside Computer Photographs Giant Rattlesnake Photograph |
Children's writer Lyman Frank Baum (;[1] May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author chiefly famous for his children's books, particularly The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the Oz series, plus 41 other novels, 83 short stories, over 200 poems, and at least 42 scripts. He made numerous attempts to bring his works to the stage and the nascent medium of film; the 1939 adaptation of the first Oz book would become a landmark of 20th-century cinema. His works anticipated such century-later commonplaces as television, augmented reality, laptop computers (The Master Key), wireless telephones (Tik-Tok of Oz), women in high-risk and action-heavy occupations (Mary Louise in the Country), and the ubiquity of advertising on clothing (Aunt Jane's Nieces at Work). Childhood and early life [ edit ] Baum was born in Chittenango, New York in 1856 into a devout Methodist family. He had German, Scots-Irish and English ancestry. He was the seventh of nine children of Cynthia Ann (née Stanton) and Benjamin Ward Baum, only five of whom survived into adulthood.[2][3] "Lyman" was the name of his father's brother, but he always disliked it and preferred his middle name "Frank".[4] His father succeeded in many businesses, including barrel-making, oil drilling in Pennsylvania, and real estate. Baum grew up on his parents' expansive estate called Rose Lawn, which he fondly recalled as a sort of paradise.[5] Rose Lawn was located in Mattydale, New York.[6] Frank was a sickly, dreamy child, tutored at home with his siblings. From the age of 12, he spent two miserable years at Peekskill Military Academy but, after being severely disciplined for daydreaming, he had a possibly psychogenic heart attack and was allowed to return home.[7] Baum started writing early in life, possibly prompted by his father buying him a cheap printing press. He had always been close to his younger brother Henry (Harry) Clay Baum, who helped in the production of The Rose Lawn Home Journal. The brothers published several issues of the journal, including advertisements from local businesses, which they would give to family and friends for free.[8] By the age of 17, Baum established a second amateur journal called The Stamp Collector, printed an 11-page pamphlet called Baum's Complete Stamp Dealers' Directory, and started a stamp dealership with friends.[9] At 20, Baum took on the national craze of breeding fancy poultry. He specialized in raising the Hamburg. In March 1880, he established a monthly trade journal, The Poultry Record, and in 1886, when Baum was 30 years old, his first book was published: The Book of the Hamburgs: A Brief Treatise upon the Mating, Rearing, and Management of the Different Varieties of Hamburgs.[10] Baum had a flair for being the spotlight of fun in the household, including during times of financial difficulties. His selling of fireworks made the Fourth of July memorable. His skyrockets, Roman candles, and fireworks filled the sky, while many people around the neighborhood would gather in front of the house to watch the displays. Christmas was even more festive. Baum dressed as Santa Claus for the family. His father would place the Christmas tree behind a curtain in the front parlor so that Baum could talk to everyone while he decorated the tree without people managing to see him. He maintained this tradition all his life.[11] Career [ edit ] Theater [ edit ] Baum embarked on his lifetime infatuation—and wavering financial success—with the theater.[12] A local theatrical company duped him into replenishing their stock of costumes on the promise of leading roles coming his way. Disillusioned, Baum left the theater — temporarily — and went to work as a clerk in his brother-in-law's dry goods company in Syracuse. This experience may have influenced his story "The Suicide of Kiaros", first published in the literary journal The White Elephant. A fellow clerk one day was found locked in a store room dead, probably from suicide. Baum could never stay away long from the stage. He performed in plays under the stage names of Louis F. Baum and George Brooks.[13][14] In 1880, his father built him a theater in Richburg, New York, and Baum set about writing plays and gathering a company to act in them. The Maid of Arran proved a modest success, a melodrama with songs based on William Black's novel A Princess of Thule. Baum wrote the play and composed songs for it (making it a prototypical musical, as its songs relate to the narrative), and acted in the leading role. His aunt Katharine Gray played his character's aunt. She was the founder of Syracuse Oratory School, and Baum advertised his services in her catalog to teach theater, including stage business, play writing, directing, translating (French, German, and Italian), revision, and operettas. On November 9, 1882, Baum married Maud Gage, a daughter of Matilda Joslyn Gage, a famous women's suffrage and feminist activist. While Baum was touring with The Maid of Arran, the theater in Richburg caught fire during a production of Baum's ironically titled parlor drama Matches, destroying the theater as well as the only known copies of many of Baum's scripts, including Matches, as well as costumes. The South Dakota years [ edit ] In July 1888, Baum and his wife moved to Aberdeen, Dakota Territory where he opened a store called "Baum's Bazaar". His habit of giving out wares on credit led to the eventual bankrupting of the store,[15] so Baum turned to editing the local newspaper The Aberdeen Saturday Pioneer where he wrote the column Our Landlady.[16] Following the death of Sitting Bull at the hands of Indian agency police, Baum urged the wholesale extermination of all America's native peoples in a column that he wrote on December 20, 1890 (full text below).[17] On January 3, 1891 he returned to the subject in an editorial response to the Wounded Knee Massacre:[18] The Pioneer has before declared that our only safety depends upon the total extirmination [sic] of the Indians. Having wronged them for centuries, we had better, in order to protect our civilization, follow it up by one more wrong and wipe these untamed and untamable creatures from the face of the earth.[19] A recent analysis of these editorials has challenged their literal interpretation, suggesting that the actual intent of Baum was to generate sympathy for the Indians via obnoxious argument, ostensibly promoting the contrary position.[20] Baum's description of Kansas in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is based on his experiences in drought-ridden South Dakota. During much of this time, Matilda Joslyn Gage was living in the Baum household. While Baum was in South Dakota, he sang in a quartet which included James Kyle, who became one of the first Populist (People's Party) Senators in the U.S.[citation needed][21] Writing [ edit ] Promotional Poster for Baum's "Popular Books For Children", circa 1901. Baum's newspaper failed in 1891, and he, Maud, and their four sons moved to the Humboldt Park section of Chicago, where Baum took a job reporting for the Evening Post. Beginning in 1897, he founded and edited a magazine called The Show Window,[22] later known as the Merchants Record and Show Window, which focused on store window displays, retail strategies and visual merchandising. The major department stores of the time created elaborate Christmastime fantasies, using clockwork mechanisms that made people and animals appear to move. The former Show Window magazine is still currently in operation, now known as VMSD magazine[22] (visual merchandising + store design), based in Cincinnati.[23] In 1900, Baum published a book about window displays in which he stressed the importance of mannequins in drawing customers.[24] He also had to work as a traveling salesman.[25] In 1897, he wrote and published Mother Goose in Prose, a collection of Mother Goose rhymes written as prose stories and illustrated by Maxfield Parrish. Mother Goose was a moderate success and allowed Baum to quit his sales job (which had had a negative impact on his health). In 1899, Baum partnered with illustrator W.W. Denslow to publish Father Goose, His Book, a collection of nonsense poetry. The book was a success, becoming the best-selling children's book of the year.[26] The Baum–Parrish Mother Goose used to promote a breakfast cereal (part 1 of 12 as a free premium) The Wonderful Wizard of Oz [ edit ] In 1900, Baum and Denslow (with whom he shared the copyright) published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to much critical acclaim and financial success.[27] The book was the best-selling children's book for two years after its initial publication. Baum went on to write thirteen more novels based on the places and people of the Land of Oz. The Wizard of Oz: Fred R. Hamlin's Musical Extravaganza [ edit ] 1903 poster of Dave Montgomery as the Tin Man in Hamlin's musical stage version. Two years after Wizard's publication, Baum and Denslow teamed up with composer Paul Tietjens and director Julian Mitchell to produce a musical stage version of the book under Fred R. Hamlin.[28] Baum and Tietjens had worked on a musical of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1901 and based closely upon the book, but it was rejected. This stage version opened in Chicago in 1902 (the first to use the shortened title "The Wizard of Oz"), then ran on Broadway for 293 stage nights from January to October 1903. It returned to Broadway in 1904, where it played from March to May and again from November to December. It successfully toured the United States with much of the same cast, as was done in those days, until 1911, and then became available for amateur use. The stage version starred Anna Laughlin as Dorothy Gale, alongside David C. Montgomery and Fred Stone as the Tin Woodman and Scarecrow respectively, which shot the pair to instant fame. The stage version differed quite a bit from the book, and was aimed primarily at adults. Toto was replaced with Imogene the Cow, and Tryxie Tryfle (a waitress) and Pastoria (a streetcar operator) were added as fellow cyclone victims. The Wicked Witch of the West was eliminated entirely in the script, and the plot became about how the four friends were allied with the usurping Wizard and were hunted as traitors to Pastoria II, the rightful King of Oz. It is unclear how much control or influence Baum had on the script; it appears that many of the changes were written by Baum against his wishes due to contractual requirements with Hamlin. Jokes in the script, mostly written by Glen MacDonough, called for explicit references to President Theodore Roosevelt, Senator Mark Hanna, Rev. Andrew Danquer, and oil magnate John D. Rockefeller. Although use of the script was rather free-form, the line about Hanna was ordered dropped as soon as Hamlin got word of his death in 1904. Beginning with the success of the stage version, most subsequent versions of the story, including newer editions of the novel, have been titled "The Wizard of Oz", rather than using the full, original title. In more recent years, restoring the full title has become increasingly common, particularly to distinguish the novel from the Hollywood film. Baum wrote a new Oz book, The Marvelous Land of Oz, with a view to making it into a stage production, which was titled The Woggle-Bug, but Montgomery and Stone balked at appearing when the original was still running. The Scarecrow and Tin Woodman were then omitted from this adaptation, which was seen as a self-rip-off by critics and proved to be a major flop before it could reach Broadway. He also worked for years on a musical version of Ozma of Oz, which eventually became The Tik-Tok Man Of Oz. This did fairly well in Los Angeles, but not well enough to convince producer Oliver Morosco to mount a production in New York. He also began a stage version of The Patchwork Girl of Oz, but this was ultimately realized as a film. Later life and work [ edit ] With the success of Wizard on page and stage, Baum and Denslow hoped for further success and published Dot and Tot of Merryland in 1901.[29] The book was one of Baum's weakest, and its failure further strained his faltering relationship with Denslow. It was their last collaboration. Baum worked primarily with John R. Neill on his fantasy work beginning in 1904, but Baum met Neill few times (all before he moved to California) and often found Neill's art not humorous enough for his liking. He was particularly offended when Neill published The Oz Toy Book: Cut-outs for the Kiddies without authorization. Several times during the development of the Oz series, Baum declared that he had written his last Oz book and devoted himself to other works of fantasy fiction based in other magical lands, including The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus and Queen Zixi of Ix. However, he returned to the series each time, persuaded by popular demand, letters from children, and the failure of his new books. Even so, his other works remained very popular after his death, with The Master Key appearing on St. Nicholas Magazine's survey of readers' favorite books well into the 1920s. In 1905, Baum declared plans for an Oz amusement park. In an interview, he mentioned buying Pedloe Island off the coast of California to turn it into an Oz park. However, there is no evidence that he purchased such an island, and no one has ever been able to find any island whose name even resembles Pedloe in that area.[30][31] Nevertheless, Baum stated to the press that he had discovered a Pedloe Island off the coast of California and that he had purchased it to be "the Marvelous Land of Oz," intending it to be "a fairy paradise for children." Eleven year old Dorothy Talbot of San Francisco was reported to be ascendant to the throne on March 1, 1906, when the Palace of Oz was expected to be completed. Baum planned to live on the island, with administrative duties handled by the princess and her all-child advisers. Plans included statues of the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, Jack Pumpkinhead, and H.M. Woggle-Bug, T.E.[32] Baum abandoned his Oz park project after the failure of The Woggle-Bug, which was playing at the Garrick Theatre in 1905. Because of his lifelong love of theatre, he financed elaborate musicals, often to his financial detriment. One of Baum's worst financial endeavors was his The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays (1908), which combined a slideshow, film, and live actors with a lecture by Baum as if he were giving a travelogue to Oz.[33] However, Baum ran into trouble and could not pay his debts to the company who produced the films. He did not get back to a stable financial situation for several years, after he sold the royalty rights to many of his earlier works, including The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. This resulted in the M.A. Donahue Company publishing cheap editions of his early works with advertising which purported that Baum's newer output was inferior to the less expensive books that they were releasing. Baum had shrewdly transferred most of his property into Maud's name, except for his clothing, his typewriter, and his library (mostly of children's books, such as the fairy tales of Andrew Lang, whose portrait he kept in his study)—all of which, he successfully argued, were essential to his occupation. Maud handled the finances anyway, and thus Baum lost much less than he could have. Baum made use of several pseudonyms for some of his other non-Oz books. They include: Baum also anonymously wrote The Last Egyptian: A Romance of the Nile. He continued theatrical work with Harry Marston Haldeman's men's social group The Uplifters,[34] for which he wrote several plays for various celebrations. He also wrote the group's parodic by-laws. The group also included Will Rogers, but was proud to have had Baum as a member and posthumously revived many of his works despite their ephemeral intent. Many of these play's titles are known, but only The Uplift of Lucifer is known to survive (it was published in a limited edition in the 1960s). Prior to that, his last produced play was The Tik-Tok Man of Oz (based on Ozma of Oz and the basis for Tik-Tok of Oz), a modest success in Hollywood that producer Oliver Morosco decided did not do well enough to take to Broadway. Morosco, incidentally, quickly turned to film production, as did Baum. In 1914, Baum started his own film production company The Oz Film Manufacturing Company,[35] which came as an outgrowth of the Uplifters. He served as its president and principal producer and screenwriter. The rest of the board consisted of Louis F. Gottschalk, Harry Marston Haldeman, and Clarence R. Rundel. The films were directed by J. Farrell MacDonald, with casts that included Violet MacMillan, Vivian Reed, Mildred Harris, Juanita Hansen, Pierre Couderc, Mai Welles, Louise Emmons, J. Charles Haydon, and early appearances by Harold Lloyd and Hal Roach. Silent film actor Richard Rosson appeared in one of the films, whose younger brother Harold Rosson photographed The Wizard of Oz (1939). After little success probing the unrealized children's film market, Baum acknowledged his authorship of The Last Egyptian and made a film of it (portions of which are included in Decasia), but the Oz name had become box office poison for the time being, and even a name change to Dramatic Feature Films and transfer of ownership to Frank Joslyn Baum did not help. Baum invested none of his own money in the venture, unlike The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays, but the stress probably took its toll on his health. Death [ edit ] L. Frank Baum grave at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California. December 2011. On May 5, 1919, Baum suffered a stroke. The following day he slipped into a coma but briefly awoke and spoke his last words to his wife, "Now we can cross the Shifting Sands." Frank died on May 6, 1919.[36] He was buried in Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery.[37] His final Oz book, Glinda of Oz, was published on July 10, 1920, a year after his death. The Oz series was continued long after his death by other authors, notably Ruth Plumly Thompson, who wrote an additional twenty-one Oz books.[38] Baum's beliefs [ edit ] Literary [ edit ] Baum's avowed intentions with the Oz books and other fairy tales was to retell tales such as are found in the works of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen, make them in an American vein, update them, avoid stereotypical characters such as dwarfs or genies, and remove the association of violence and moral teachings.[39] The first books contained a fair amount of violence, but it decreased with the series; in The Emerald City of Oz, Ozma objected to doing violence even to the Nomes who threaten Oz with invasion.[40] His introduction is often cited as the beginnings of the sanitization of children's stories, although he did not do a great deal more than eliminate harsh moral lessons. Another traditional element that Baum intentionally omitted was the emphasis on romance. He considered romantic love to be uninteresting for young children, as well as largely incomprehensible. In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the only element of romance lay in the background of the Tin Woodman and his love for Nimmie Amee, which explains his condition and does not otherwise affect the tale, and that of Gayelette and the enchantment of the Winged monkeys. The only other stories with such elements were The Scarecrow of Oz and Tik-Tok of Oz, both based on dramatizations, which Baum regarded warily until his readers accepted them.[41] Political [ edit ] Women's suffrage advocate [ edit ] Sally Roesch Wagner of The Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation has published a pamphlet titled The Wonderful Mother of Oz describing how Matilda Gage's feminist politics were sympathetically channeled by Baum into his Oz books. Much of the politics in the Republican Aberdeen Saturday Pioneer dealt with trying to convince the populace to vote for women's suffrage. Baum was the secretary of Aberdeen's Woman's Suffrage Club. Susan B. Anthony visited Aberdeen and stayed with the Baums. Nancy Tystad Koupal notes an apparent loss of interest in editorializing after Aberdeen failed to pass the bill for women's enfranchisement. Some of Baum's contacts with suffragists of his day seem to have inspired much of his second Oz story The Marvelous Land of Oz. In this story, General Jinjur leads the girls and women of Oz in a revolt, armed with knitting needles; they succeed and make the men do the household chores. Jinjur proves to be an incompetent ruler, but a female advocating gender equality is ultimately placed on the throne. His Edith Van Dyne stories depict girls and young women engaging in traditionally masculine activities, including the Aunt Jane's Nieces, The Flying Girl and its sequel, and his girl sleuth Josie O'Gorman from The Bluebird Books. Editorials about Native Americans [ edit ] During the period surrounding the 1890 Ghost Dance movement and Wounded Knee Massacre, Baum wrote two editorials about Native Americans for the Aberdeen Saturday Pioneer which have provoked controversy in recent times because of his assertion that the safety of White settlers depended on the wholesale genocide of American Indians. Sociologist Robert Venables has argued that Baum was not using sarcasm in the editorials.[42] The first piece was published on December 20, 1890, five days after the killing of the Lakota Sioux holy man, Sitting Bull (who was being held in custody at the time). Following is the complete text of the editorial: Sitting Bull, most renowned Sioux of modern history, is dead. He was not a Chief, but without Kingly lineage he arose from a lowly position to the greatest Medicine Man of his time, by virtue of his shrewdness and daring. He was an Indian with a white man's spirit of hatred and revenge for those who had wronged him and his. In his day he saw his son and his tribe gradually driven from their possessions: forced to give up their old hunting grounds and espouse the hard working and uncongenial avocations of the whites. And these, his conquerors, were marked in their dealings with his people by selfishness, falsehood and treachery. What wonder that his wild nature, untamed by years of subjection, should still revolt? What wonder that a fiery rage still burned within his breast and that he should seek every opportunity of obtaining vengeance upon his natural enemies. The proud spirit of the original owners of these vast prairies inherited through centuries of fierce and bloody wars for their possession, lingered last in the bosom of Sitting Bull. With his fall the nobility of the Redskin is extinguished, and what few are left are a pack of whining curs who lick the hand that smites them. The Whites, by law of conquest, by justice of civilization, are masters of the American continent, and the best safety of the frontier settlements will be secured by the total annihilation of the few remaining Indians. Why not annihilation? Their glory has fled, their spirit broken, their manhood effaced; better that they die than live the miserable wretches that they are. History would forget these latter despicable beings, and speak, in latter ages of the glory of these grand Kings of forest and plain that Cooper loved to heroize. We cannot honestly regret their extermination, but we at least do justice to the manly characteristics possessed, according to their lights and education, by the early Redskins of America.[43][44] Baum wrote a second editorial following the December 29, 1890 massacre and published on January 3, 1891: The peculiar policy of the government in employing so weak and vacillating a person as General Miles to look after the uneasy Indians, has resulted in a terrible loss of blood to our soldiers, and a battle which, at best, is a disgrace to the war department. There has been plenty of time for prompt and decisive measures, the employment of which would have prevented this disaster. The Pioneer has before declared that our only safety depends upon the total extirmination [sic] of the Indians. Having wronged them for centuries we had better, in order to protect our civilization, follow it up by one more wrong and wipe these untamed and untamable creatures from the face of the earth. In this lies safety for our settlers and the soldiers who are under incompetent commands. Otherwise, we may expect future years to be as full of trouble with the redskins as those have been in the past. An eastern contemporary, with a grain of wisdom in its wit, says that "when the whites win a fight, it is a victory, and when the Indians win it, it is a massacre."[43][45] These two short editorials continue to haunt his legacy. In 2006, two descendants of Baum apologized to the Sioux nation for any hurt that their ancestor had caused.[46] The short story "The Enchanted Buffalo" claims to be a legend of a tribe of bison, and states that a key element made it into legends of Native American tribes. Father Goose, His Book contains poems such as "There Was a Little Nigger Boy" and "Lee-Hi-Lung-Whan." In The Last Egyptian, Lord Roane uses "nigger" to insult the title character, while in The Daring Twins, set in the American South, the only character to use the term is a boy from Boston complaining that his mother uses their money to help "naked niggers in Africa." Baum mentions his characters' distaste for a Hopi snake dance in Aunt Jane's Nieces and Uncle John, but also deplores the horrible situation of Indian Reservations. Aunt Jane's Nieces on the Ranch has a hard-working Mexican present himself as an exception to counter Anglo stereotypes of Mexican laziness.[citation needed] Baum's mother-in-law and Woman's Suffrage leader Matilda Joslyn Gage had great influence over Baum's views. Gage was initiated into the Wolf Clan and admitted into the Iroquois Council of Matrons for her outspoken respect and sympathy for Native American people; it would seem unlikely that Baum could have harbored animosity for them in his mature years.[47] Political imagery in The Wizard of Oz [ edit ] Numerous political references to the "Wizard" appeared early in the 20th century. Henry Littlefield, an upstate New York high school history teacher, wrote a scholarly article which was the first full-fledged interpretation of the novel as an extended political allegory of the politics and characters of the 1890s.[48] Special attention was paid to the Populist metaphors and debates over silver and gold.[49] Baum was a Republican and avid supporter of Women's Suffrage, and it is thought that he did not support the political ideals of either the Populist movement of 1890–92 or the Bryanite-silver crusade of 1896–1900. He published a poem in support of William McKinley.[50] Since 1964, many scholars, economists, and historians have expanded on Littlefield's interpretation, pointing to multiple similarities between the characters (especially as depicted in Denslow's illustrations) and stock figures from editorial cartoons of the period. Littlefield himself wrote to The New York Times letters to the editor section spelling out that his theory had no basis in fact, but that his original point was "not to label Baum, or to lessen any of his magic, but rather, as a history teacher at Mount Vernon High School, to invest turn-of-the-century America with the imagery and wonder I have always found in his stories."[51] Baum's newspaper had addressed politics in the 1890s, and Denslow was an editorial cartoonist as well as an illustrator of children's books. A series of political references is included in the 1902 stage version, such as references by name to the President, to a powerful senator, and to John D. Rockefeller for providing the oil needed by the Tin Woodman. Scholars have found few political references in Baum's Oz books after 1902. Baum himself was asked whether his stories had hidden meanings, but he always replied that they were written to "please children".[52] Religion [ edit ] Baum was originally a Methodist, but he joined the Episcopal Church in Aberdeen to participate in community theatricals. Later, he and his wife were encouraged by Matilda Joslyn Gage to become members of the Theosophical Society in 1892.[53] Baum's beliefs are often reflected in his writing. The only mention of a church in his Oz books is the porcelain one which the Cowardly Lion breaks in the Dainty China Country in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The Baums sent their older sons to "Ethical Culture Sunday School" in Chicago, which taught morality, not religion.[54][55] Bibliography [ edit ] Works [ edit ] Land of Oz works [ edit ] Popular culture and legacy [ edit ] See also [ edit ] Notes [ edit ] |
I’ve gone back and forth on DIY deodorant. Sometimes I feel all Earth mama and ready to slather homemade cream on the pits. Other times, I want to be 100% confident that there will be no sweating or odors. Because with natural deodorant, you will sweat. And it’s an adjustment. I’ve loved this coconut oil-based deodorant and even this DIY stick deodorant. But for reducing sweat and handling odors, this vodka and essential oil-based spray deodorant is my favorite DIY yet. Flower Power DIY Deodorant Spray I’m calling this a ‘flower power’ spray because the essential oil blend is a mixture of my favorite florals – jasmine and rose – with a bit of lavender and orange. It’s a happy smell. Yeah, you could add some tea tree but that totally takes the joy out of the scent for me. When I shared this recipe on Instagram I got some teasing, asking if it was drinkable (ha!). Which I wouldn’t recommend, but I guess that’s your choice. :) Just don’t leave out the vodka because it’s essential for the spray. Oil and water don’t mix, but adding a little alcohol fixes that. It disperses the essential oils and helps the scent linger longer in the pit area. I also think the vodka dries things out a bit and helps slow down sweating. Supplies needed To make Combine all ingredients in a small, dark colored bottle. The dark colored bottle will help keep the essential oils from degrading. Shake well to combine ingredients. To use Shake before each use to distribute the essential oils. Give each underarm 2-3 spritzes and let air dry. It might sting a tiny bit if applied right out of the shower after shaving. Apply again after exercising or heavy exertion, if desired. I tend to spritz a couple of times a day just because I love the smell. Related |
by JAKE NUTTING The Tampa Bay Rowdies have received some backing in their effort to earn an expansion spot in Major League Soccer from someone well acquainted with the league’s first foray into the market in the mid 1990s Former Tampa Bay Mutiny star and current San Jose Earth Quakes assistant coach Steve Ralston voiced his support for the Rowides MLS push in a recent interview with Jason Davis on SiriusXM FC. Having represented the Mutiny in all six seasons of their stint in MLS from 1996 to 2001, Ralston is in a unique position to speak on the viability of the area getting another shot in the top division. “I thought it had ups and downs,” Ralston told Davis. “We had some great crowds, we had a great fanbase and the loyal ones who showed up all the time. There’s a lot to do in Florida and Tampa and it’s a new league and a new sport and we struggled at times, but I think it’s different now. If they were to get a MLS team I think it would survive and I think it would do well. I think where we are as a league, and if you look at the markets and the cities and everyone wanting a piece of it, I think [Tampa Bay] would do well and I’m hoping they get another opportunity.” The Mutiny came out of the gate strong in 1996, claiming the league’s Supporters’ Shield and averaging 11,679 in the the stands at Tampa Stadium. Like many MLS markets, though, the Mutiny’s attendance began to dip five years in and the axe finally came down after the 2001 season when MLS failed to secure local ownership for the team. This time around, Tampa Bay has the local owner willing to invest in Bill Edwards, but Ralston believes the history and recognition that comes a long with the Rowdies name should also go along way toward getting more fans engaged in an MLS team. “Well, I think the Rowdies have us,” he said. “They were there a lot longer than we were, they were there first and I think that name has more appeal in the city. When we came there as the Mutiny, everyone still talked about the Kick in the Grass and the whole Rowdies thing, so I think they’ve got us in the naming rights.” Ralston’s perspective is a common one. Many involved with the Mutiny mention the lasting impact the Rowdies had in the area even after the glory days of the original NASL had come and gone. Unlike many of the teams from the NASL, the Rowdies name stayed alive in one form or another in various leagues until 1993. The fact that the Mutiny were living in the shadow of the Rowdies was something Ralston was well aware of. In his 177 appearances for the Mutiny, Ralston earned plenty of respect with the fans and even won individual hardware with Rookie of the Year honors in the team’s debut season. However, he admits guys like Rodney Marsh and others were in a league of their own. “Those guys, they were kings, they were big, they were outdrawing the Buccaneers probably back in those days. Well, the Bucs weren’t a very good team then, but I think the Rowdies had really implanted themselves in the community and were drawing very well and were a big deal. And those guys, a lot of them stayed in the area and that’s a big part of it as well.” Share this: Tweet Email Pocket Print |
If you have something to say about Ron Lindsay’s insulting and contemptuous talk at the Women in Secularism 2 conference, and/or about his insulting and contemptuous follow-up post responding to the controversy… say it to the CFI Board of Directors. Don’t just say it on Twitter, or on Facebook, or on blog comments, or even on your own blog. Say it to the people who can do something about it. If you’ve already said something on some other forum, please copy and paste it, edit as appropriate, and send it to the CFI Board of Directors. The CFI Board of Directors can be emailed via the Corporate Secretary, Tom Flynn, at [email protected] They can also be reached by snail mail, at: Center for Inquiry Board of Directors PO Box 741 Amherst, NY 14226-0741 The CFI Board of Directors, as posted on the CFI website, are: R. Elisabeth Cornwell, Kendrick Frazier, Barry Kosmin, Richard Schroeder, Eddie Tabash (Chair, Board of Directors), Jonathan Tobert, Leonard Tramiel, and Judith Walker. Their email addresses are not posted on the CFI website: if you already have contact information for these individuals, it would be awesome to go the extra mile and contact them directly. However, if you don’t, please don’t let that stop you: just email [email protected], and/or send snail mail to Center for Inquiry Board of Directors, PO Box 741, Amherst, NY 14226-0741. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, and need some background, here are some links. I will almost certainly weigh on on this sometime soon: for right now, these folks have said much or most of what I want to say. An Open Letter to the Center for Inquiry, Amanda Marcotte The Silencing of Men, Rebecca Watson An Alternate Universe, Stephanie Zvan Taking it Personally: Privilege and Women in Secularism, Ashley F. Miller Some Sadly Necessary Remarks on the #wiscfi Intro, Adam Lee It’s 4am and people are really annoyed, PZ Myers If you have something to say — please say it to the people who can do something about it. That contact info again: The CFI Board of Directors can be emailed via [email protected] They can also be reached by snail mail, at: Center for Inquiry Board of Directors PO Box 741 Amherst, NY 14226-0741 |
Hannah Foslien/Getty Images Minnesota Vikings running back Caleb King was arrested Saturday morning on suspicion of third-degree assault, according to The Washington Post. The victim was a 22-year-old from Coon Rapids. King is accused of punching him repeatedly and throwing him headfirst to the ground. The man was hospitalized in serious condition with skull and facial fractures, as well as with cuts that required more than 50 stitches to close, Sheriff’s Cmdr. Paul Sommer said. The man “may have a very serious brain injury,” Sommer said. King has yet to be charged, but The Washington Post reports that he was jailed. The Vikings are aware of King's situation, but did not offer too many comments since all the information has yet to be gathered. One of the reasons King went undrafted was because of his off-field problems in college. While playing football at Georgia, King was arrested when he did not come to court for a speeding ticket. King is 24 years old and did not play in a single game for the Vikings last year, and according to the Star-Tribune, he spent most of his time last season on the team's practice squad. King went undrafted coming out of Georgia, and signed with the Vikings as a free agent in 2011. He was signed to the team's active roster on December 26. There's no question King has a lot of talent at running back, but he needs to mature as a man before he can become a consistent NFL player. After this latest off-the-field incident, it's time for King to take a break from football and get his life headed in the right direction. |
So last week I tried something new. Before we began I told the group the plot. Not just a little here or there. All of it. I sat them down and told them exactly what was going to happen, in what order, and who is doing what. Then the darnedest thing happened. They started adding to the story. One player decided that there would be a statue of them in the middle of the town. No idea it was there. Another player came up with a plant that grows near by that is like poison ivy on steroids. My newest player got into her character. Like really into her character for the first time. It was an interesting experiment to say the least. When I talked to another player (my wife who is not in this game) and told her how it went she said that the idea of knowing what’s coming would definitely help her to get in the right mindset to role play. She struggles with staying in character and accepting what’s “normal” for the game world, and I can understand that. We’re playing in Eberron which is pretty far removed from Tolkien’s Middle Earth. How would a new player know that magic robots are normal and that not all orcs are mindless savages and there are whole cities of orcs just trying to make a decent living? If you have any people new to the hobby or who struggle with improv and being in character, consider sharing the plot with them before hand. Just as long as they understand that Player Knowledge doesn’t equal Character Knowledge it should be fine. My more veteran players were able to add to the story easily. I wasn’t blindsided by anything they came up with since we had talked about it before hand. The whole process took maybe 15 minutes so we didn’t lose much game time. Heck we even were able to get more accomplished since we all knew exactly where the story was heading. Talk to your players about this before just throwing it at them. If the players really like being surprised then maybe you want to hold off. Maybe just try it once to see if it works for your group. You don’t need to tell them every single detail before hand. Just give them a broad over view of the upcoming session. I was still able to surprise the group when the BBEG turned out to be someone they didn’t know instead of the obvious a-hole from town. There is still room for surprises. Thanks for reading and let me know if you do this or try this with your group. Like this: Like Loading... |
After a devastating car accident on holiday, Ron does his best to adapt to his completely muggle environment, tend to his traumatized wife, keep tabs on his struggling newborn, make time for his out-of-sorts toddler, and deal with his well-meaning but opinionated extended family. Can he figure out a way to hold them all together while everything is falling apart?PG-13NoneNoneYes1683113202October 31, 2010October 31, 2010 Story Notes: I honestly can't believe I got this story finished when life got insanely crazy. I wouldn't have been able to even get close if it werent for my spectacular beta urbanmama and all of her relentless support and ideas. Thanks doll you're awesome. And thank you to my amazing artist as well, your early-stage sketches really pushed me along when I was losing my muse. Thanks to everyone for reading, and the mods for keeping up the R/Hr love! :o) |
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." Sir Winston Churchill Image granted by my colleague and friend Magda Phili Like the post? Share the love! I didn't realise that I could run into scammers. And even if I knew that a client didn't pay some other freelancers, I still thought that maybe it was a misunderstanding, and I will be paid for my work nevertheless. I was wrong.I thought that if I charged little and worked a lot I would earn a lot. In reality, it led to exhaustion and frustration. I didn't have time for anything else except work.I thought that completing my ProZ profile and registering in a few other translation portals was enough for a continuous stream of regular clients. That lead me to the crisis point in 2008-2009 when the agencies I used to cooperate with stopped working with the Russian language and thus stopped sending me new projects.I thought it was enough to just do one type of services, namely translation, and work for only a couple regular clients. But several pretty long slow periods taught me the value of diversifying my income streams.You can guess what the result was, right?As a result, I got overworked and exhausted, and this exhaustion compromised the quality of my work.As a result, I got offended when I should have been listening and learning.I have shared more than once already that money matters is one of the hardest things for me in freelancing. It's not a big problem for some people, but for me it still is.During the first couple years of freelancing I still had an employee's mindset and I didn't realise that I was building my business. Instead, I treated freelance translation as a hobby. And that wrong attitude lead to wrong business decisions.I just wanted to translate. Partly, it was because I didn't treat freelancing as business. Now, as I see how it has evolved and how I have changed, it amazes me. And I can see that my business started growing much faster the moment I started making goals and tracking my progress. |
This package enables quick access directly in the editor to the caniuse.com support tables. Validate your HTML and CSS files from atom using W3C validators. This package allove you to make commits and other git things without the terminal, directly from editor. Support for multiple cursors like the one in Sublime Text. This package for Emmet LiveStyle is bi-directional real-time edit tool for CSS, LESS and SCSS. It enables live CSS editing, from the browser or the editor. Cool stuff! Emmet is the essential toolkit for web developers. It is a very powerful tool which helps you write CSS faster. In case, you still don’t use it, check their documentation. Source code preview on right or left side of your editor. Color picker drop-down for easier color manipulation. If you use SVG regularly, this tool helps you by enabling live preview of SVG code directly in the editor. The package enables browsing remote FTP/FTPS/SFTP just like the built-in Tree View. Pretty useful if you work directly on servers. Opens the Terminal or Command Prompt in the given directory. Simple as that. Enable bookmarking of code lines, useful if you work with more than one file and constantly switching between them. Quick zip files and folder directly from your tree view. Something that you do not know you need until you tried it. Language grammar for ES201x JavaScript, Facebook React JSX syntax and Facebook flow. A Nice tool which performs conversions between different CSS units. Font files preview with all mapped characters. Great stuff to quickly check fonts that you plan to use in your code. |
On New Year's Day Atif Irfan boarded an AirTran flight at Reagan National Airport in Washington with seven members of his family. Edging his way down the aisle, he wondered out loud to his wife whether the back of the plane was the best place to be. As they took their seats, his sister-in-law said she thought it was the safest part, rather than being close to the engine or wings "in case something happened". The conversation was overheard by two teenage girls, who took one look at the mens' dark skin and beards and the women's headscarves and saw a family of suicide bombers, including three small children aged between two and seven. The girls told their parents; their parents told the flight attendant; the flight attendant told the air marshals and then the captain; the air marshals called the FBI and the airport police. The pilot asked the marshals to remove the entire family from the plane. Then officials asked everybody else to get off so they could perform a thorough sweep. The family (as well as a family friend who happened to be on the same flight) was surrounded by armed guards, detained for questioning and then released. The plane eventually took off without them. When they tried to get on a later AirTran flight the airline refused to book them, even though they had been cleared (it has since apologised). The Irfan family's ordeal escalated according to its own humiliating logic. And yet seven years after 9/11 it was no isolated incident. Pre-emptive, presumptive, disproportionate and discriminatory, it speaks volumes about the prevailing values those two American teenagers have lived with for much of their lives. A world that confuses Muslim and terrorist, and conflates the civilian and combatant by taking popular fear and prejudice and handing them over to state power. Driven by the maxim that you are better safe than sorry, it leaves nobody safe and everybody sorry. The only thing that prevented this particular incident from becoming yet another ideal metaphor for the war on terror is that nobody was killed or disappeared. There is nothing particularly American about this. Like Nike or McDonald's, the war on terror may have started here but it quickly got branded and went global. In the months after the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, everybody wanted a piece of the action. President George Bush found himself in illustrious company. Among others, Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe, and India's former prime minster Atal Bihari Vajpayee sought to ride his coattails to their own version of violent despotism. However, few nations pursued it with such consistent zeal as Israel. "You in America are in a war against terror," Ariel Sharon said after he left the White House following suicide bombings in Haifa and Jerusalem in December 2001. "We in Israel are in a war against terror - it's the same war." The trouble is that over the last seven years, the war on terror has been thoroughly discredited - not only morally, but militarily and strategically. Nobody listens to moderates, let alone to reason, when bombs are falling and people are dying. That is as true for the rockets that have killed a handful of Israelis as it is for the barrage of bombs and now tanks that have killed hundreds of Palestinians. By erasing any prospect of negotiation, the violence did not weaken extremists but emboldened them. Israel may want to boost the moderate Fatah faction which governs the West Bank now. But Hamas's electoral rise was a direct result of the contempt the Israeli's showed them in the past. Meanwhile, the Iraq war has left Iran - the primary sponsor of both Hezbollah and Hamas - with far more influence in the region than they would have had. On almost every front in almost every part of the world, including in the US, the war on terror is now seen as a colossal mistake. Only Israel did not get the memo. And it is now set to fail for the same reasons that America has. Diplomatically, Israeli efforts to sell its bombardment and now invasion of Gaza as a straightforward extension of the war on terror have been fairly blatant. It has described the shelling of homes, mosques and police stations as the destruction of "the infrastructure of terror". Even as the rest of the world condemns it, Israel's foreign minister, and Kadima party leader, Tzipi Livni, has been telling anyone who will listen that her country's actions place it firmly within the community of nations and leaves Gazans and their democratically elected rulers outside. "Israel is part of the free world and fights extremism and terrorism. Hamas is not," she said. And from there we are just one small step away from putting the world on notice that either "you're with us or you're with the terrorists". "These are the days when every individual in the region and in the world has to choose a side," Livni said. Meanwhile, Israel has been busy implementing the very tenets of the war on terror that have served the US so badly, primarily that intractable political problems can be solved solely by military means with the aim of not simply bombing your enemies into submission, but eliminating them altogether and then creating resolution on your own terms from the rubble. "What I think we need to do is to reach a situation in which we do not allow Hamas to govern," said Vice-Premier Haim Ramon. "That is the most important thing." Who he thinks should govern when Hamas has gone, and precisely what legitimacy they would have, does not seem to bother him. He does not want to change the government of Gaza, he wants to change the people. On this matter Livni is right. People do have to choose sides. But, so far, it has not been her side. Seven years after 9/11 the world has a good idea of what's coming next and how widespread the ramifications might be - and they want no part of it. The war on terror is over. War lost. For the first time in a long time, that even appears to be true in America. A recent Rasmussen poll shows the American public far less indulgent of Israeli aggression than many previously believed. Opinion on the bombing of Gaza is fairly evenly divided, showing 44% supporting Israel's military action against the Palestinians and 41% saying it should have tried to find a diplomatic solution to the problems. Given the absence of any honest or informed debate about events in the Middle East, this suggests significant room for manoeuvre for President-elect Obama in pursuing a more even-handed policy towards the region, if he should chose to take it. The benefits could strengthen America's hand throughout the region. Majorities in seven Arab nations say their opinion of the US would significantly improve if it put pressure on Israel to comply with international law in its treatment of Palestinians - generally more than say the same about closing Guantánamo Bay, according to Gallup. That is the change both America and the Middle East need. It's also the change most of the rest of the world wants to believe in. g.younge@theguardian.com |
Last year, a third of honeybee colonies in the United States quite literally vanished. Commercial honey operations, previously abuzz with many thousands of bees, fell suddenly silent, leaving scientists and beekeepers alike scratching their heads. The reasons remain mostly a mystery for what is called Colony Collapse Disorder—a disturbing development of the drying up of beehives throughout the industrialised world. Unfortunately, there's a lot more to the problem than simply running out of honey. Bees are one of the most abundant pollinators in the natural world. They are the unsung, unpaid facilitators of human agricultural practices and have been for as long as we have sewn seeds. Their disappearance would spell disaster for our food supply, with some estimating our species lasting only four years on this planet without them. So, what can be done? Open Source Beehives from Open Tech Forever on Vimeo. This is a question the organisations Open Tech Forever and Fab Lab Barcelona have been wrestling with. Their answer is a collaborative, open source effort called the Open Source Beehives project. Their partnership has generated the creation of two beehive designs that can be freely downloaded (and 3D printed) and filled with innovative sensors to log and track bee colony health using the Smart Citizen kit. The Colorado Top Bar (version 3.0) is being fabricated this week, and the Warré hive has active colonies being tested in Barcelona, Paris, and Brussels. The aim of the project is to create a mesh network of data-generating honey bee colonies for local, national, and international study of the causes and effects of Colony Collapse Disorder. The team hope to awaken a responsible backyard beekeeping revolution while improving our understanding of honey bee health in industrialised countries and promoting their recovery. The project is looking for collaborators to help with sensor design and test the hives, especially in areas of the southern hemisphere currently experiencing spring (in South America, southern Australia, and southern Africa). A Kickstarter campaign will be launched in the next few months, so please sign up to the mailing list and follow the Twitter feed @OSBeehives to stay informed. Other ways you can help inform others about and work to solve the problem of Colony Collapse Disorder and the Open Source Beehives Project: |
After the United Kingdom narrowly voted last year to leave the European Union, predictions swirled that the British economy would collapse. Yes, the pound plummeted 9% versus the dollar the day after the surprise result and remains down, but the economy as a whole has held up relatively well. Gross domestic product grew 1.8% in 2016, a tick behind only Germany’s 1.9% growth among the Group of Seven industrialized nations. Economic growth has continued in 2017, home prices are up and unemployment has sunk to a 42-year low at 4.3%. Much uncertainty remains with the official exit from the EU scheduled for March 2019. Some U.K. companies are holding off on investments to see how Brexit effects trade relations, and growth is forecasted to slow in 2018, but Britain’s business climate remains attractive. The U.K. ranks first for the first time in Forbes’ 12th annual survey of the Best Countries for Business. The U.K. ranked among the top 25 countries (out of 153 measured) in each of the 15 metrics tracked, outside of political risk where it ranked twenty-eighth. Great Britain ranked fifth overall last year. Wells Fargo and Apple both made substantial moves within London since the Brexit vote. Wells Fargo spent $400 million to buy a new European headquarters in London's financial district. Apple announced plans to open a new London campus in 2021 that covers nearly 500,000 square feet of space. Facebook is also in the market for 700,000 square feet to accommodate 9,000 employees. "These commitments signal a belief across industries in the long-term strength of the U.K. economy," says Jeff Lessard, who helps companies with location strategies as a consultant for Cushman & Wakefield. The U.K. scored particularly well on technological readiness (fourth) and the size and education of its workforce (third). Its $2.6 trillion economy is the fifth largest in the world. London serves as the central hub for European financial services and is home to financial giants like HSBC, Prudential and Barclays. “The best thing going for the U.K. is that London is one of three global hubs for financial services," says Lessard. "Post-Brexit, a few European cities have the opportunity to challenge London but each has deficiencies.” Britain's reign as the top country could be brief as companies' plans for Brexit unfold. London might lose 10,000 banking jobs as a result of Brexit, according to think tank Bruegel. Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Nomura and Standard Charter are moving their EU headquarters to Frankfurt, with Paris and Dublin landing spots for other banks looking to ensure access to the single market. “The single biggest issue Britain will face is the frictionless participation in their economy of highly educated global talent. Talent is the key that unlocks innovation, growth, and competitiveness,” says Matthew De Luca, a strategic consultant with Cushman & Wakefield. We determined the Best Countries for Business by rating 153 nations on 15 different factors including property rights, innovation, taxes, technology, corruption, freedom (personal, trade and monetary), red tape and investor protection. Each category was equally weighted. We tweaked our methodology this year for the first time in a decade after conversations with multiple site-selection experts. Stock market performance is out, and we added workforce, infrastructure, market size, quality of life and political risk to provide a better gauge of how attractive a country is for capital investment. The data is based on published reports from Freedom House, Heritage Foundation, Property Rights Alliance, United Nations, Transparency International, World Bank Group, Aon, Marsh & McLennan and World Economic Forum (click here for more details on the methodology and the best and worst country on each metric). New Zealand ranks second overall for the third straight year. The island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean is home to only 4.5 million people, but the economy has been on a roll, up 3.6% last year. Among the countries in the top 20, only Ireland's economy expanded faster. New Zealand has transformed from an agrarian economy to an industrialized, free market one over the past four decades. The Kiwi nation privatized dozens of industries like airlines, insurance, banking and telecommunications previously controlled by the government. It scores first overall for red tape, corruption and property rights. Rounding out the top five are the Netherlands, Sweden and Canada. The U.S. previously went on a decadelong slide in our ranking from the top spot in 2006 to No. 23 last year thanks to rising levels of red tape and bureaucracy, along with falling scores on trade and monetary freedom. But the $18.6 trillion economy moves up to 12th this year thanks to improved scores relative to the rest of the world on technological readiness, innovation and trade freedom. “The U.S. has excellent access to both European and Pacific Rim economies, a highly educated and diverse workforce, companies that lead the globe in innovation and a stable business environment," says Lessard. "And the new tax bill will only increase the favorability of basing profitable businesses in the U.S.” The U.S. also benefits from methodology changes with the additions of workforce (size and education level) and market size (gross national product). The U.S. ranks first in both categories. "Foreign direct investment in the U.S. has been strong in recent years as international companies have sought to be closer to their customers and better control over their supply chain in the world's richest market," says Chicago-based site selection consultant Jerry Szatan. The world’s second (China) and third (Japan) biggest economies rank 66th and 21st, respectively, among the Best Countries for Business. China is held back by a lack of trade and monetary freedom. Japan has cut its corporate tax rate by eight percentage points since 2012, but its tax burden still lags the vast majority of developed nations, per the World Bank. Japan rates among the 10 nations for innovation and infrastructure. African nations populate the worst countries for business with six of the bottom 10 (Haiti is the worst performer among non-African countries). Most of these countries fare poorly on innovation, trade freedom and investor protection. Chad ranks last for the third straight year. The landlocked African nation suffers from a lack of infrastructure and trained workers, as well as high levels of bureaucracy and corruption. Full List: Countries Ranked 1 to 153 See also: The Best Countries For Business Mapped |
Recently the Nitro Snowboards team attempted to set the world record on the longest rail, a proper round rail set just over three feet above the ground and measuring 84 meters or 275.59 feet long. The rail is so long that even though there were some close attempts in the the first session, no one was able to make it to the end. The crew needed a rematch. So in June, Marc Swoboda, Dominik Wagner, Ana Rumiha, Žiga Rakovec, Benny Urban and Basti Rittig headed to the Dachstein Glacier in Austria to set the rail for session number two. It was a battle, as the riders fought to balance for the rail’s duration and friction actually caused bases to melt. But, it was a good day because after about four hours, the crew claimed victory as Basti Rittig 50-50’d the mighty metal beast, setting a new world record for snowboarding the longest rail (beating the old record of 79 meters or 259.19 feet). Congrats, Basti! |
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