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A BIZARRE new trend has surfaced which sees exhibitionist young women exposing their bums near the faces of passed out men. The saucy snaps are then posted online with the slumbering participants none the wiser. TNI Press 13 A bizarre new trend has seen women posting pictures of their nude bottoms next to sleeping men TNI Press 13 The trend simply involves ladies exposing their bums next to passed out blokes TNI Press 13 The men remain unaware that the ladies' bums are so near their faces In the naughty pictures the lively ladies can be seen dropping their trousers to show their bottoms to the camera. They tend to twist themselves into provocative poses as well as making cheeky facial expressions. In some of the images they appear to be twerking on the unsuspecting victims of the raunchy prank. One images shows that they are equal opportunity stealth twerkers as they target an out of it female friend. TNI Press 13 Some of the photos show derrieres clad just in thongs sitting on faces TNI Press 13 Sometimes the women straddle the slumbering men without their knowledge TNI Press 13 This tattooed man is completely unaware a woman's bottom is right next to his face Much of the bottom based photography appears to have taken place in a car park after a party where number of revellers seem to be done for the night. At this point the outgoing pranksters strike, stripping from the waist down and posing provocatively near their slumbering compatriots. MOST READ IN NEWS Exclusive BRUTE FARCE Albanian killer fighting deportation over right to happy family life beats wife TREE OF TERROR Mum horrified to learn what the strange 'pods' were hanging from branches Exclusive PIE ROLLER £148m EuroMillions winner scoffs 50 home-delivered Cornish pasties every WEEK NET NASTY Stacey Solomon fears for kids after Momo Challenge spreads to YouTube & Fortnite Latest brink of war India ‘shoots down Pakistani jet' after two of its own planes blasted from sky HEN DO MYSTERY Brit newlywed, 27, 'CLUNG to balcony before fatal Benidorm hotel plunge' MOMO NO-NO Momo Challenge in 'Peppa Pig and Fortnite vids' as YouTube and Instagram slammed ROCK STAR DEAD The Cure and Iggy Pop drummer Andy Anderson dies aged 68 after cancer battle CRUISE YOU LOSE Clueless couple stranded as cruise leaves WITHOUT them because they're late MOMO SHOCK Creepy 'suicide character' Momo told lad, 8, to 'stab himself in neck' In some images they can be seen straddling a sleeping bloke who remains blissfully unaware a scantily clad woman is gyrating on top of him. This odd new trend comes hot on the heels of the "sun's out, bums out" craze that has swept the UK following the heatwave. TNI Press 13 Two woman join the fray as this man gets pranked TNI Press 13 Many of the photos seem to be taken at a camp site following a party TNI Press 13 The exact location of the photographs is not yet known TNI Press 13 Many of the men seem to be a little worse for wear during the night's festivities TNI Press 13 Twerking seems to be a common occurrence in the snaps 13 And it's not just men that get the treatment as in this picture they pose next to a passed out woman TNI Press 13 In one image a woman in a purple thong straddles the face of man in a vest The images were posted on Instagram account Cheeky Exploits which has so far attracted 231,000 followers. One punter said: "People who follow this account for only women's butts, or perfect airbrushed butts, are not at all in the spirit of cheeky exploits! "I'd like to see you haters have the guts to show yours!" |
London: British Prime Minister David Cameron will postpone publication of the Iraq war inquiry report until after the European Union referendum, leading to accusations that he is deliberately delaying controversial announcements. Senior government sources confirmed that it is likely to be published after the June 23 vote, even though it will be handed to ministers next month. Mr Cameron had previously suggested he wanted to publish the report, which is expected to heavily criticise senior political figures, within two weeks of receiving it. Lambs to the slaugher: David Cameron has delayed publication of the Iraq war report. Credit:Getty Images The prospect of a further delay was denounced on Friday by families who lost loved ones in the conflict. The report of the six-year-long Chilcot inquiry has been repeatedly delayed after those criticised within it were given the right of reply, a process known as Maxwellisation. |
An application filed with the US federal government suggests that Amazon has plans to experiment this year with wireless communications technology, perhaps signaling aims for a new product or service. But the company has remained reticent with the details, declining to elaborate publicly on the sparse filing. Amazon asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for permission to test undisclosed prototypes and their related software for five months in and around its Seattle headquarters. The experiments will involve mobile devices and anchored stations alike, according to an FCC application made public last week and first reported by Business Insider's Eugene Kim, who noted the project could be part of Amazon's drone-delivery initiatives or something even more novel. Amazon has repeatedly declined to answer questions about the application and any related plans. "We don't comment on rumors and speculation," a company spokesman told The Christian Science Monitor in an email Sunday. In recent years, Google and Facebook have begun conducting wireless experiments of their own with FCC approval, pursuing a number of innovative projects, such as self-driving cars, as Mr. Kim reported. Amazon, meanwhile, has focused on its aspirations of drone delivery service for its online retail business – a service the firm has pursued in Britain and several other countries as well. Given the company's wide-ranging interests, it is difficult to anticipate precisely what the tests entail. Last year alone, Amazon unveiled projects to change the way people grocery shop, offer drivers a voice-activated driving assistant, and ship cargo with its own branded planes, as the Monitor reported. "Innovation is one of our guiding principles at Amazon, and it’s created hundreds of thousands of American jobs," founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos said in a statement last week, announcing plans to create 100,000 new full-time jobs company-wide over the next 18 months – a move that would grow Amazon's existing 180,000-person workforce by more than 55 percent. "Many of the roles will be in new fulfillment centers that have been announced over the past several months and are currently under construction in Texas, California, Florida, New Jersey and many other states across the country," the company said. Get the Monitor Stories you care about delivered to your inbox. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Amazon's application to the FCC notes that the tests would begin indoors at the Seattle headquarters then later move outdoors to a customer service site more than 220 miles away, in Kennewick, Wash. The tests would last five months, beginning as early as Feb. 11, 2017, the documents state. Neil Woodward, a retired astronaut with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration who now serves as senior manager for Amazon's drone-delivery project, is listed as the company's main point of contact. |
If aliens came to Earth they might be able to work out the rules of cricket but they would wonder why we bother playing the sport. Why do we love it? Let’s imagine a group of ultra-intelligent extra-terrestrials who visit Earth and find themselves at a cricket match. I’d submit that, given sufficient time, they would be able to deduce the rules of the game in their entirety (even the lbw law) from direct observation, without the aid of a native interpreter. The mechanism of the competition would become intelligible to them: runs and wickets, overs and innings, the ten ways of getting out, the no-ball, the draw. What would remain a mystery to them is: why? Why did earthlings expend so much time and passion on this apparently pointless exercise? What purpose did it serve? A school of functionalist anthropology sees games as rituals designed to reproduce social norms and integrate the individual. Post-modernists read games as texts, successions of signifiers. A psychoanalytic approach sees them as sublimations of sexual desire. A sociological approach sees modern-day leisure in general as a means of maintaining a productive workforce. A political lens sees games as nation-builders or release valves for social conflict. And then there’s the brutalist school, which sees them purely as a means of generating profit. None of these explains what it is that drives people to watch cricket or other sports. We don’t go seeking social integration, even if in some cases that is the upshot of the exercise. We don’t go in order to be more efficient workers or to fulfil a social duty (most of us, that is). And while unconscious drives are certainly at work, as a vehicle of sexual gratification cricket is pretty inefficient. It seems to me that we watch sports precisely for all those things that lie beyond the functional. The poet WC Williams put it well, though he was talking about baseball: The crowd at the ball game is moved uniformly by a spirit of uselessness which delights them – all the exciting detail of the chase and the escape, the error the flash of genius – all to no end save beauty the eternal… Sports are wonderfully pointless. They are their own means and ends. That’s central to their appeal. Whatever social function is assigned them, they exceed that function, impose their own demands and disciplines, and beguile the spectator in their own manner. The rules governing games are empty forms, fleshed out by the human bodies engaged in them. Therein lies, I think, a key to their perplexing fascination. Sports offer a living mixture of the abstract and concrete, the impersonal and the personal, fixed laws and ceaseless spontaneity. The paradox is that – precisely because they are empty, impersonal mechanisms without intrinsic meanings – they can be filled by the spectator with all manner of significance. They can soak up every conceivable desire or emotion, every interpretation projected on to them. Sometimes, at a tense moment in a big match, you can feel vast ocean-streams of desires, fears, hopes, swirling around the ground. We are not just “consumers” of cricket. Watching is not a passive process; it engages a range of faculties – imagination, interpretation, memory. CLR James found “the beautiful” in cricket and identified it with drama, dance and the visual arts. Derek Birley dubbed this “the aesthetic fallacy”. Beauty in cricket is abundant, but it’s always an incidental by-product. It’s not the aim, the driving purpose, of the exercise, as it is in the arts. In fact, I’d suggest that the appeal of sport lies in the crucial ways it differs from the arts. Unlike novels or movies, the drama of sport unfolds spontaneously, without a controlling author, with no predetermined plot, climax or conclusion. Unpredictability is its bedrock. That’s why bookies accept bets on sports, and also why even the most marginal act of spot-fixing undermines the legitimacy of the spectacle as a whole. It must be unscripted or it’s not sport. That’s not to say that cricket doesn’t have its aesthetic pleasures: balance in movement, elegance of form and delicacy of touch. However, there’s no beauty if the effort fails. If the fielder drops the catch, no one remembers the balletic leap. The front foot drive, however graceful, is always incomplete if it’s intercepted at cover. Unlike a dancer, a cricketer faces an opponent, whose aim is to throw him or her off balance, to make the graceful follow-through look an ungainly air-shot. Competition is the foundation, the necessary platform of the aesthetic in sport, which doesn’t exist apart from it. That’s why it’s possible to enjoy and appreciate “ugly” cricket, even find it beautiful in its way, depending on the circumstances and the personalities involved. The pre-condition for the pleasures of sports competition is that in itself it has no costs (at least for the spectator). Unlike other forms of competition – wars, elections, competition for jobs or markets – it is fundamentally inconsequential. Defeat may be crushingly disappointing but that disappointment is the only cost and it’s ephemeral. Unlike competition in other spheres, the aim is not to destroy or remove the opponent; on the contrary, if the opponent can’t turn up for the next game, there’s no game. The premise of competitive sport is that each match is a fresh start on a level playing field. That’s why we are free to enjoy it, to invest what we like in it, and to divest ourselves when it’s convenient. So it comes back to that primal fact in sport’s appeal: its triviality in the scheme of things. Cricket offers all the pleasures of sport in general, plus a highly distinctive appeal of its own to which many elements contribute. One of the chief of these is the way it treats time and space. As the world’s first and oldest modern spectator sport, cricket is marked by an earlier era whose patterns of leisure and work have long vanished. It keeps its own, archaic kind of time. Test cricket, in particular, defies the appetite for instant gratification, offering instead something that matures and acquires depth along the way. I think this expanded sense of time also mitigates the aggressive, hyperventilating individualism on conspicuous display in many other sports. With a distinctive use of time comes a distinctive use of space. Cricket is a game with a determined centre and an indeterminate periphery. It’s quite different from baseball’s uni-directional diamond or the rectangular formats of other games. There’s a fixed centre (the straight line between the two wickets) around which the game rotates as on an axle. All 360 degrees of the circle are in play. And, thanks to the change at the end of the over, the whole field is active. No space is neglected or goes to waste. As a team game, cricket demands an exceptional variety of specialist skills, as well as accommodating a variety of physical types. Players have to perform different roles in different phases of the match. So you get the joy of the occasional slow bowler who only comes on so that the front liners can change ends but winds up taking a clutch of wickets. Or the perversely engaging spectacle of tail-enders coping with, and occasionally confounding, master bowlers. Then there’s the fascination of the pitch, which decisively shapes the matches played on it. Tennis requires adaptation to hard courts or grass courts, but cricket requires adaptation to a much wider spectrum of conditions, which vary even in the course of the match. As a result, cricket, however global its spread, always acquires a local flavour. The enduring mystery of the pitch – so frequently defying expert predictions – is complemented by the peculiarities of the ball, another legacy of cricket’s pre-industrial roots (using leather, twine and cork, but not rubber), whose behaviour can be wildly variable. Unlike other ball games, in cricket the ball is allowed to age, and therefore dealing with both old and new balls is a necessary craft for bowlers and batters alike. That leads to another one of cricket’s curiosities: its mysterious physics. It’s hard even for scientists to explain the vagaries of swing bowling or a slow bowler’s drift and dip, how they’re produced and why in some conditions they can’t be produced. Cricket is all about the behaviour of spheres in motion – and spheres in motion, as it happens, is also what the universe is about, at macro and micro level. But the most intriguing of cricket’s mysteries lie within: in the mental world of the players, in the fluctuations of form, in the struggle with doubt, inhibition, uncertainty. We talk about “determination” or “aggression” or “competitiveness” as if these were self-evident. But behind the words lie complexly shaded psychological realities. The whole past of the individual and the team comes into play; it’s the deep, ever-present background. In cricket the impersonal and implacable rules of the game generate an array of situations in which highly individual moods, attitudes and habits are revealed. The transformation of a losing into a winning position, the interplay of attack and defence, are subtler than in other sports, with more scope for ups and downs and changing tempos. It’s a cumulative process but never merely an arithmetical one. A passage of play in which not much seems to happen can be seen retrospectively, after the batting collapse or the run glut, as a passage in which all kinds of things were happening: small adjustments made or unmade, stamina and concentration stretched. Dramatically, I can think of few spectacles in sport more engrossing than a team chasing a victory target or battling for a draw in a fourth innings on a deteriorating pitch. Whichever side you support it’s intense. Each ball affects the balance of probabilities. For both sides, it’s a test of nerve, skill and judgment, plus a dash of luck. For the spectator, it’s a rollercoaster, a wild ride that’s risk-free. Cricket also has its guilty pleasures, not the least of which is schadenfreude, something generally kept under wraps in other spheres of social activity. For the crowd, the misfield is always a highlight, and the bullying batter brought low by the innocuous-looking floater a cause of merriment. Then there’s the perversity of simultaneously wanting the other side to fail and to make a game of it (not to fail), wanting to see stiff competition but apprehensive of defeat. These are contradictory emotional states which in daily life could cause psychological damage; in cricket, they’re something that can be enjoyed and relished, with no harm done. The Victorians developed their ethic of cricket (leadership, teamwork, character-building) because they were ashamed of their fondness for this silly game and sought a higher justification for playing it. In the 21st century, in a world where economic “productivity” is the measure of the individual, where only what is “useful” is valued, cricket’s justification is that it has no justification. It is a sublime exception, an oasis of the useless and the unproductive. Of course, we don’t always get the pleasures we seek in cricket. Play can be boring or one-sided or mediocre, not to mention rain-interrupted. That’s the risk the spectator takes. Cricket doesn’t have the reliability of fiction, where the narrative is controlled for dramatic effect. But while the drama may not be guaranteed, what matters is that it is always possible. So what exactly are the pleasures we seek in watching cricket? What desires does it satisfy? They belong to everything about us that is all-too-human. Which is why they’d remain unintelligible to our extra-terrestrial visitors. The Nightwatchman’s Christmas bundles are now available • This article first appeared in Wisden India Almanack 2014 • Follow The Nightwatchman on Facebook and Twitter |
The musician was among a pool of potential jurors in an Oakland County murder trial Kid Rock performs during the last of his ten sold-out shows at the DTE Energy Music Theatre on Saturday, August 22, 2015 in Clarkston. (Photo: John Froelich, Special to the Free Press) Superstar Kid Rock was on the hot seat for less than five minutes before a judge agreed to boot him from jury duty in an Oakland County murder trial. Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert James Ritchie, was one of 160 citizens called as potential jurors for a trial to begin next week in Oakland County Circuit Court. This afternoon, Kid Rock, juror number 335, took a seat in the jury box along with 13 other potential jurors to answer questions from attorneys and the judge to determine if he could be fair and impartial. He was immediately charming, causing a courtroom full of starstruck spectators to laugh. He said he had law enforcement friends around the country and would likely give police "the benefit of the doubt" in the murder trial. When Oakland County Circuit Judge Martha Anderson asked him if he had ever been the victim of a crime, Rock said he had been the object of many lawsuits. "I don't know if you call that a crime, but it seems pretty criminal to me," he said, prompting laughter. He also noted that he knew the assistant prosecutor, Jeff Hall, who is handling the murder trial. Hall prosecuted the man who ran through Kid Rock's security gate and attempted to break into his home in the Clarkston area in 2013. "Jeff prosecuted him successfully," Rock told the packed courtroom "So thank you, Jeff!" Noting the musician's close ties to law enforcement and his connection to the assistant prosecutor, the judge dismissed him from the pool. Rock was escorted out of the courtroom by deputies and declined to comment. Related:Kid Rock before the fame: The definitive Detroit oral history Rock arrived at the courthouse in Pontiac early this morning, and Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies provided him with an escort to the jury room. He sat at the back of the room in the morning, reading a paperback book. Two older women sat at the same table, perhaps unaware they were seated next to one of the world’s most famous musicians. The three men on trial are accused of shooting a Waterford man to death during a robbery in his home Nov. 8. Blake Marcum, 26, of Waterford, Terrence Bunting Jr., 21, of Rochester, and Donald Michael-John Davis, 23, of Pontiac, are charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery. Police say they broke into Jacob Hershberger’s home on Villa Drive that day and shot him in the chest. He died at the scene. Contact L.L. Brasier: 248-858-2262 or lbrasier@freepress.com. Read or Share this story: http://on.freep.com/1KiWurj |
A senior North Korean diplomat said on Saturday that Pyongyang would engage in talks with the U.S. for negotiations “if conditions are set.” Choi Son Hui, North Korea’s foreign ministry director general for U.S. affairs, spoke briefly with reporters on Saturday in Beijing on route to Pyongyang. She was traveling from Norway, where she led a delegation that held an informal meeting with U.S. experts. NORTH KOREA SAYS IT HAS RIGHT TO 'RUTHLESSLY PUNISH' DETAINED AMERICANS The diplomat’s comments seemed to mirror that of President Trump’s from an interview earlier this month with Bloomberg News. “If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it,” Trump said, adding: “If it’s under the, again, under the right circumstances. But I would do that.” Choi did not elaborate on what the North’s conditions are, but her comments raise the possibility of North Korea and the United States returning to negotiations for the first time since 2008, when six-nation talks over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program fell apart. ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE ATTACK ON HAWAII WOULD DEVASTATE THE STATE When asked if talks were in the works with the new South Korean government as well, Choi said “we’ll see,” the New York Post reported. Tensions with North Korea and the U.S. have increased drastically in recent weeks as Congress voted overwhelmingly to impose new sanctions on Pyongyang for continued missile test launches despite several warnings. As of this week, North Korea has detained four Americans over alleged hostile acts and threaten to “ruthlessly punish” them. The State Department was unable to comment specifically on the cases of the four Americans who have allegedly been arrested by the North Korean government. “In regards to reports of recently detained U.S. citizens,” the State Department said, “we have no further comment due to privacy considerations.” In Norway, Choi met with former U.S. officials and scholars for what are known as "track 2" talks. The talks, which cover a range of nuclear, security and bilateral issues, are held intermittently, and are an informal opportunity for the two sides to exchange opinions and concerns. The Associated Press contributed to this report. |
Vancouver Vehicular Collisions Involving People Walking and Cycling 2009-2013 By Darren Proulx and Samuel Baron Utilizing data from ICBC’s pedestrian and cycling collisions, Slow Streets compares the number of vehicular collisions with road width in the City of Vancouver (The ICBC data defines collisions as those resulting in both injuries and fatalities). Slow Streets found that larger roads widths were correlated with higher rates of collisions between vehicles and people walking and cycling. Our findings are compiled in a brief report and interactive map. REPORT PDF DOWNLOAD: INTERACTIVE MAP: Slow Streets also created an interactive map so that you can examine these numbers yourself. You can customize the graph and averages by selecting a specific group of intersections. Selecting specific intersections will also show you the breakdown of walking versus cycling collisions. You can also retrieve the raw data and coordinates for any selection of intersections. To view the interactive map, please visit: Vancouver Vehicular Collisions with People Walking and Cycling. Advertisements |
It seems increasingly likely that when investigators determine the precise cause of the oil-rig explosion that threatens to poison huge swaths of the Gulf of Mexico, what they'll conclude is that something went catastrophically wrong with the work done by Halliburton. BP owns the well, and Transocean Ltd. owns the drilling rig, but Halliburton was the subcontractor in charge of sealing the bottom of the well. At two Senate hearings Tuesday, executives from Halliburton, BP and Transocean will be furiously blaming each other for the diaster. For Halliburton, it's just the latest in a seemingly endless series of brushes with notoriety. During the Bush years, Halliburton was so omnipresent that its very name became synonymous with crony capitalism and the corrupt intersection between government and the military-industrial complex -- particularly when oil and/or big money were involved. The company most famously reaped huge profits by bilking the government on billion-dollar sweetheart contracts to support a war in Iraq that its former chairman, Dick Cheney, helped lead the nation into as vice president. Under just one of the deals, as the Washington Post reported in 2006, "Halliburton had exclusive rights to provide the military with a wide range of work that included keeping soldiers around the world fed, sheltered and in communication with friends and family back home. Government audits turned up more than $1 billion in questionable costs. Whistle-blowers told how the company charged $45 per case of soda, double-billed on meals and allowed troops to bathe in contaminated water." There were also multiple allegations that while in Iraq, the company sanctioned sexual violence against women employees. Jamie Leigh Jones, a 20-year old Texas woman, was drugged, stripped, beaten and gang-raped by her co-workers on her fourth day in country -- after which Halliburton put her under guard in a shipping container for 24 hours with no food or water and warned her that if she left Iraq for medical treatment, she'd be out of a job. In 2009, Halliburton and its former subsidiary, KBR, paid $569 million in fines to settle bribery charges. It turns out that from 1995 to 2004, Halliburton had bribed a long succession of Nigerian officials to obtain lucrative construction contracts. In this country, the influence-peddling is done with a little more subtlety, at least most of the time. Consider this episode, also reported by the Washington Post: "As the government prepared for war in Iraq in the fall of 2002, a senior political appointee in the Defense Department chose oil services giant Halliburton Co. to secretly plan how to repair Iraqi oil fields, and then briefed Vice President Cheney's chief of staff and other White House officials about the sole-source contract before it was granted." (Historical note: It was a dig from Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), about Cheney's ties to Halliburton that earned him the infamous "Go fuck yourself" comment from the vice president on the Senate floor.) People who get in Halliburton's way get mysteriously crushed. For instance, in 2005, as the New York Times reported, a top Army contracting official who criticized a large, noncompetitive contract to Halliburton was demoted. And time and again, Halliburton (and its now spun-off subsidiary, KBR) get away with it all. A 2004 GAO investigation into Halliburton's contract to provide essential services to the troops in Iraq "found significant problems in almost every area, including ineffective planning, inadequate cost control, insufficient training of contract management officials, and a pattern of recurring problems with controlling costs, meeting schedules, documenting purchases, and overseeing subcontractors." Just last month, the Justice Department brought a civil fraud suit against KBR, alleging that it charged the government for unauthorized security services in Iraq. "In 2007 and 2008, the Defense Department disapproved $103.4 million paid to KBR under LOGCAP III for unauthorized security services," Reuters reported. "Separately, the Justice Department said on Wednesday it had joined a lawsuit against KBR that alleges employees of two freight forwarders provided unlawful kickbacks to KBR transportation department employees." And yet despite all that, the Army suddenly reversed itself last week and said it will stick with KBR to supply "up to another $568 million of food, laundry and other essential support to U.S. troops in Iraq until their scheduled withdrawal at the end of next year." Charlie Cray is an activist and policy analyst who co-founded the Halliburton Watch website because "nobody else seemed to be keeping track of all their various misdeeds in one place." "We've got a recidivist corporate criminal, basically, with a long track record of violations and seeming impunity from significant enforcement consequences for their most egregious transgressions," Cray told HuffPost. "The track record obviously suggests that there is an ongoing and continuing question of responsibility and reasonable willingness to comply with the law." Cray said that if Halliburton turns out to be "at least partially culpable for this incident, what we would say is the least that can be done, given their track record, is suspend them from any new leases or federal contracts for a certain amount of time." As it happens, this latest incident harkens back to Halliburton's roots in the early 1900s as an oil-field services company specializing in "cementing" oil wells -- or sending cement slurry down the pipe of an oil well to create a seal when it hardens. Halliburton was doing just that -- albeit several thousand feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico -- less than a day before the Deepwater Horizon oil platform exploded, burned and sank, killing 11 workers and leaving an out-of-control gusher spewing millions of gallons of oil into the water. The Wall Street Journal reported that a 2007 study "found that cementing was a factor in 18 of 39 well blowouts in the Gulf of Mexico over a 14-year period. That was the single largest factor, ahead of equipment failure and pipe failure." Meanwhile, Halliburton continues to actively market its deepwater services. Its Web site states that: "Halliburton technologies have played a key role in the success of many deepwater Gulf of Mexico wells." |
Find a language Enter an ISO 639-2 code to find the corresponding language article ISO 639-2:1998, Codes for the representation of names of languages — Part 2: Alpha-3 code, is the second part of the ISO 639 standard, which lists codes for the representation of the names of languages. The three-letter codes given for each language in this part of the standard are referred to as "Alpha-3" codes. There are 487 entries in the list of ISO 639-2 codes. The US Library of Congress is the registration authority for ISO 639-2 (referred to as ISO 639-2/RA). As registration authority, the LOC receives and reviews proposed changes; they also have representation on the ISO 639-RA Joint Advisory Committee responsible for maintaining the ISO 639 code tables. History and relationship to other ISO 639 standards [ edit ] Work was begun on the ISO 639-2 standard in 1989, because the ISO 639-1 standard, which uses only two-letter codes for languages, is not able to accommodate a sufficient number of languages. The ISO 639-2 standard was first released in 1998. In practice, ISO 639-2 has largely been superseded by ISO 639-3 (2007), which includes codes for all the individual languages in ISO 639-2 plus many more. It also includes the special and reserved codes, and is designed not to conflict with ISO 639-2. ISO 639-3, however, does not include any of the collective languages in ISO 639-2; most of these are included in ISO 639-5. B and T codes [ edit ] While most languages are given one code by the standard, twenty of the languages described have two three-letter codes, a "bibliographic" code (ISO 639-2/B), which is derived from the English name for the language and was a necessary legacy feature, and a "terminological" code (ISO 639-2/T), which is derived from the native name for the language and resembles the language's two-letter code in ISO 639-1. There were originally 22 B codes; scc and scr are now deprecated. In general the T codes are favored; ISO 639-3 uses ISO 639-2/T. However, ISO 15924 derives its codes from ISO 639-2/B when possible. Scopes and types [ edit ] The codes in ISO 639-2 have a variety of "scopes of denotation", or types of meaning and use, some of which are described in more detail below. Individual languages are further classified as to type: Living languages Extinct languages Ancient languages Historic languages Constructed languages Collections of languages [ edit ] Some ISO 639-2 codes that are commonly used for languages do not precisely represent a particular language or some related languages (as the above macrolanguages). They are regarded as collective language codes and are excluded from ISO 639-3. For a definition of macrolanguages and collective languages see [1]. The collective language codes in ISO 639-2 are listed below. The following code is identified as a collective code in ISO 639-2 but is (at present) missing from ISO 639-5: him Himachali Codes registered for 639-2 that are listed as collective codes in ISO 639-5 (and collective codes by name in ISO 639-2): Reserved for local use [ edit ] The interval from qaa to qtz is 'reserved for local use' and is not used in ISO 639-2 nor in ISO 639-3. These codes are typically used privately for languages not (yet) in either standard. Special situations [ edit ] There are four generic codes for special situations: mis is listed as "uncoded languages" (originally an abbreviation for "miscellaneous") is listed as "uncoded languages" (originally an abbreviation for "miscellaneous") mul (for multiple languages) is applied when several languages are used and it is not practical to specify all the appropriate language codes (for multiple languages) is applied when several languages are used and it is not practical to specify all the appropriate language codes und (for undetermined) is used in situations in which a language or languages must be indicated but the language cannot be identified. (for undetermined) is used in situations in which a language or languages must be indicated but the language cannot be identified. zxx is listed in the code list as "no linguistic content", e.g. animal sounds (added 2006-01-11) These four codes are also used in ISO 639-3. See also [ edit ] |
An open letter to Sir Alex Ferguson Fergie's Hairdryer FOLLOW ANALYST Editor's Pick 10.18K // 03 Nov 2011, 20:48 IST SHARE Share Options × Facebook Twitter Flipboard Reddit Google+ Email Dear Sir Alex, I cannot start writing a letter to you in any way other than expressing my deepest gratitude for making Manchester United the club and that brand that it is today, for giving me, and all the other Man Utd fans a reason to rejoice every other year, for being a source of inspiration when we were down, and most of all for teaching us that the fight does not end when you lose, it only ends when you give up. What could I tell you more, that hasn’t been told countless times by the greatest of players, managers and pundits? What more accolades can I shower upon you, one of the greatest managers of all time, a legend at Old Trafford, hailed by Sir Matt Busby, and knighted by the Queen? What more could I ask of you, when you have beaten all the competition there were, conquered all that there is, demolished all the barriers that there could be, and have already laid foundations to the next generation at Old Trafford? Yet, here I am, a simple fan sitting in front of a laptop more than 7000 miles away, trying to write a meaningful letter. Success is sometimes overwhelming, and it does not last forever. But in your case, success was just a byproduct to excellence. You made an important decision of your life by choosing to manage Manchester United, rejecting offers from Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and other clubs, who were keen on appointing you as their gaffer. Whether it was luck or destiny that Man Utd signed you, we would never know. And there started a love affair of the highest quality, one that is 25 years young this week, and is interlaced with many an interesting anecdote, many a fairytale ending and a lot of success. You taught us the value of trust, when you showed us that the trust you had placed in the young crop of 92 was not misplaced. You were responsible for giving us the ‘Golden Generation’ of Manchester United, comparable only to the Busby Babes. You showed that you can win, and win big with kids. You showed us that everyone are not alike, and everyone needs to be respected for who they are. Convincing Eric Cantona to return to football after his lengthy ban and making him the ace orchestrator he was on the pitch is one of the many instances. While it may seem impossible to be protective of the players in the open while giving them the hairdryer treatment they deserve behind the doors, you executed it to perfection. You were a fatherly figure to the players, and in a way, to us, Man Utd fans all over the world. You had to manage the personal lives of the players as well as their professional lives, and you always did it to the best of your abilities. Out went the partying culture at Man Utd, and its place was taken by unparalleled success. Paul Scholes, David Beckham and Roy Keane are but few examples of the same. At a time when loyalty is a foreign word in any walk of life, let alone the money-driven world of football, you have shown that there are some things money can’t buy. To strive to succeed for 25 years is hard enough, to do it at one club is even harder. But to do it at a club of the stature of Manchester United is what makes the word ‘legend’ seem insufficient to describe it. The longevity can be truly illustrated only with the fact that the “kids” you nurtured are past their career and have taken to television punditry and coaching, while you still turn out on the pitch every single day, shouting instructions to the players. English football has seen more than a thousand managers come and go ever since you took over the reins at Old Trafford. You saw off the challenge of the rich Blackburn Rovers, the mighty Arsenal under Arsene Wenger and Chelsea with their Roubles, all the while playing spectacular football in a run that saw us increasing our league tally from 7 to 19 over the past 20 years, in the process silencing the Kop faithful. You always placed the club above individuals, including yourself, which in my humble opinion, is the greatest trait of a great human being. You have created a legacy at Old Trafford. One that would live on even after you. Even as we rejoice our landmark league title, the noisy neighbours are raising their voices. And if there is one thing I am sure of, it is that even as I write, you are preparing to take the bull by its horns and toss it away. I am sure that every Manchester United fan will agree with me when I say that 25 years as our boss are just not enough for us. Here’s wishing you another 25! To a legend who has been in charge of the club for more years than I have been alive, that is all that I could offer you. Advertisement There is a lot more to be said, but words do not suffice to truly express what I feel. I wish that someday I will make a trip to the Theater of Dreams, and see you live in action. To meet you would be a dream come true for any United supporter, and it would be no different for me. A few years down the lane, when my kids ask me who the greatest manager ever was, I would reply with dreamy eyes, “I don’t know.” Because frankly, it doesn’t matter. For, the “greatest ever” is a title given to someone who could be compared with another. And for me, Sir Alex Ferguson is beyond comparison. Regards and gratitude, Man Utd fan. I hope that someday it reaches Sir Alex Ferguson. So please keep sharing, it will be much appreciated :) |
Lumina - Lightning Returns Final Fantasy XIII © Toshiyuki Itahana - SquareEnix me as Lumina ~all props and costume made by myself august.2013 I'm not fans of Lumina. I really love her design ~ I love gothic themed dress when my sis epi-corner decided to do Lightning (new outfit) I don't mind to join her as Lumina. We both started in jan 2013 by collecting pic references, drawing patterns. I only got outline design at the time. I don't know the details, especially the belt on the pleat skirt. after Zaltys trailer released finally I revealed all of the details. but, I still missed 3 things that hanging on the cross belt. I haven't wear Lumina to con. I hope this year ~ I hope I can complete all the details ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Lightning Returns Gallery ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
Eugene Laverty is understood to have clinched a MotoGP move for 2015 with the high profile Aspar Honda squad. MCN sources understand Laverty has agreed a deal to ride a production RCV1000R next season after Scott Redding ruled himself out of a possible deal to partner Nicky Hayden in 2015. Redding has signed a dream deal to ride a factory RC213V in the Marc VDS Racing squad he raced for in Moto2 between 2010 and 2013. Having been informed that Redding was no longer a realistic target, Aspar boss Jorge Martinez is understood to have penned a deal with Irishman Laverty in Misano last weekend. Laverty, who currently races for the Voltcom Crescent Suzuki squad in World Superbikes, has made it clear he intended to switch to MotoGP next season and has been locked in talks with Aspar, Pramac Ducati and Forward Yamaha. Laverty has attended the last three MotoGP races to try and nail down a deal. But his preference has always been to jump on a production RCV1000R machine, which will get a major engine upgrade for 2015, including pneumatic valve technology. Speaking to MCN during the recent British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Laverty said: “I had a really good conversation with Aspar and that is my preferred choice. I didn’t know them until Brno last year and we sat down with Gigi (Dall’Igna) when the plan was to go with them at Aprilia. And then that all fell apart when Aspar decided to go with Honda. But because we had some good chats and Aspar were really interested in me, they are still keen.” |
E3 has made me realize that The Elder Scrolls Online thinks it already owns us. When TESO was first announced, all — and I do mean all — of the exclusives went to GameInformer. What’s GameInformer? It’s not a no-name site, but it’s not really on the radar of MMO players. I rarely find anything there of value for our readers, and I can’t remember a time when it’s earned a source credit before its TESO coverage. That’s often true of the more general gaming sites like PC Gamer and Kotaku; they just don’t field a deep enough team to cover MMOs at the level of detail expected by traditional MMO fans. Also, most of them think MMOs are stupid. At best, they are only humoring us for hits. So it was weird that GameInformer was getting exclusive after exclusive while all the other sites were getting nothing, but I figured there was a financial or family connection there. No biggie, right? Except that this PR policy seems to have been carried into E3. ZeniMax didn’t grant many interviews, and those it gave went to big, generalist gaming sites, which often ask all the wrong questions and make MMO gamers facepalm. None of the big MMO sites landed anything but a seat at the open developer presentation, which revealed absolutely nothing new to those of us who have been following the game for the last few weeks. You know — MMO players. So maybe I’ve been thinking about this all wrong. Maybe it’s not favoritism or ignorance (I know they know we exist). Maybe the real issue is that ZeniMax isn’t pandering to MMO players on purpose because it thinks it’s already got us in the bag. Maybe it thinks it needs to entice the thronging masses who made Skyrim game of the year, to sell them on an Elder Scrolls MMO, since surely MMO zealots will buy the game regardless. Except no. If ZeniMax were paying attention, it’d know that vocal MMO gamers are deeply unhappy with the game as its been presented so far, and not for the same reasons as Bobby the Console Bro. Subtract out all the usual “MMOs sux” and “don’t ruin my favorite IP” and “where’s the innovation” angst and you’ll see there’s still considerable concern for the game, even among MMO players who consider themselves die-hard TES fans. The chief complaint is that the game’s setting and mechanics are bland and generic. The videos and screenshots illustrate a fantasy world we’ve already seen in countless other games. The game does the lore no justice. The Elder Scrolls has a base layer of stock fantasy tropes with orcs and elves; it should be working toward pushing past that and highlighting what sets its world apart from all the others. Tucked away in the lore are tinges of Imperial Rome and Britain, a dash of feudal Japan, monkeymen beyond the sea, an interesting take on the Moors, a pantheon of chaotic and meddlesome daedric princes, and on and on. As a commenter reminded me, the games are actually deceptively twisted. The lore has an absurd and bizarre Alice-in-Wonderland quality to it. All of that appears to be lost in the MMO version of the game, or at least in its marketing to this point, and I wonder whether that isn’t just one more step in the evolution of the series. After all, fans have been lamenting the games’ vanilla flavor ever since Oblivion launched and failed to outshine Morrowind’s unique setting. Sure, it’s hard to follow as original a game world as Morrowind’s, but Oblivion didn’t even try, and neither did Skyrim (they possess mechanics improvements, but the settings are dull as dishwater). Let’s face it: ZeniMax and Bethesda have been trying to mainstream the series since 2007. They were already trying to make the weird and wonderful lore more stock and palatable to Bobby the Bro. The MMO is a successor to those games, not to Morrowind. And that’s exactly why ZeniMax must stop neglecting actual MMO players and news outlets. Even Blizzard reaches out to fan sites now! It’s part of the PR machine in this age of fierce AAA MMO competition. Right now, we’re all just stewing in mutual distrust for IP-driven games and a general suspicion that ZeniMax doesn’t give a crap about MMOs or MMO gamers because that’s how it appears when you pander to everyone but us in both your game design and your press partnerships. You need to sell your game to us, and we’re not sold right now. Those console frat boys will only make you cocky, just as happened with Star Wars: The Old Republic. This industry doesn’t need another big IP MMO that sells big to Bobby the Bro and then loses a few hundred thousand subscriptions in just a few months because the game had no soul and nothing of substance that would endear it to dedicated MMO gamers in the long run. Please, learn from BioWare’s mistakes. Don’t take us for granted. February 2014 addendum Since fanboys keep necrospamming links to and fisking this article in some weird and incompetent attempt to show that it proves I have some deep bias against the Elder Scrolls franchise and therefore am intentionally tanking ESO on Massively because of some petty vendetta they imagine I have, I wanted to clarify for anyone with the intellect to actually read an article instead of just believing what the tinfoil hat crowd posts to Reddit. (Actually, I can’t even pick on Reddit because the first person to post this on Reddit was called a fool and downvoted. Score one for Reddit, what the heck.) First, this blog post is almost two years old. Some of what it contains is outdated information. Gameinformer is actually Gamestop’s pet website, which actually makes sense in retrospect since Bethesda obviously has business dealings with a large console distributor like Gamestop. I didn’t know that at the time (and if I had, I would have mentioned it because it supports my hypothesis that ESO is first and foremost a console game for consolers, not an MMORPG for MMORPGers). As the current EIC of Massively, I am also responsible for overseeing all of our ESO coverage, and that includes the creation and staffing of our weekly Tamriel Infinium column, written by ESO fan Larry Everett. And since E3 2012 (when the above entry was written), Massively has been the beneficiary of many hands-on opportunities with ESO, most positive, which anyone who’s been following our site for the last couple of years already knows. Here are some of the bigger ones: the one about butts, the one about cabbages, a different one from that same E3, one from a special event right before E3, and this one and this one from PAX East last year. If had some vendetta, I certainly wouldn’t have published any of those articles or that column, or for that matter, any of the neutral and positive articles from the last hands-on that accompanied our general preview by Eliot Lefebvre. I didn’t make Eliot write a negative preview any more than I make Larry write a positive column every single week. Our writers formulate their own opinions, and if I wanted to trash the game, I would have written something myself. Second, this blog is completely public. “Exposing” it is no big feat since I have it linked prominently on my Massively profile, Twitter account, Steam account, etc. It is not a secret. This specific post was also referenced heavily in a much better article by my colleague on Massively itself. I have discussed the topic of ESO’s marketing campaign ad nauseam in dozens upon dozens of podcasts over the last few years as well as in several other articles on Massively since the business model announcement. My opinion of Bethesda’s marketing and its business model remains largely unchanged: I fully expect it to sell in the 3-4 million range by the time it hits consoles, and I fully expect it to lose subscriptions and go free-to-play, having learned nothing from SWTOR. I don’t believe Bethesda is really in tune with the MMO industry in terms of its marketing or gameplay. There is sadly nothing at all revolutionary in saying so, not when this blog came out or now. It is an opinion now shared broadly across the MMO industry. Perhaps instead of fisking this ancient article, you ought to have read my more recent post on the TES franchise, the one encouraging people to play Morrowind in prep for the ESO launch and offering extensive mod advice to newbies. I wrote that because I am a hardcore Elder Scrolls franchise fanatic who’s been playing since Daggerfall. I have installs of Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim on my machines, and I have logged time in all three in the last month because I still love them. If anyone wants ESO to succeed, it’s me, because my job depends on this industry flourishing and because I don’t want ESO’s failure to herald the end of the franchise, but wanting something doesn’t make it so, and my job requires me to look past what I want to happen to chronicle what likely will and what does. I realize this doesn’t suit the preconceptions of those folks who keep spamming me, who know so little about me and have such elite reasoning skills that they’re calling me a “faggot,” and who want to believe that anyone who says or publishes anything bad about a game must possess some nefarious hidden agenda. I don’t care. Just stop spamming your idiotic frothing fanboy posts. |
Leighton Baines and Maroune Fellaini: United have seen £28m double bid fail United manager David Moyes is very familiar with England left-back Baines and Belgium midfielder Fellaini from his time at the helm of the Goodison Park side. And it has long been speculated that he might be keen to take one or both of the duo with him to Old Trafford. However, Everton are determined to retain two of their most important players and released a club statement which read: "Everton can confirm that it has received bids from Manchester United for two players. "Those bids were immediately rejected out of hand as derisory and insulting. "The club did not make public these details as it was vital Roberto Martinez's preparations for the opening game of the Premier League season were not disrupted in any way." Baines and Fellaini were both in the Everton line-up on Saturday as the Merseyside club began Premier League life under new boss Roberto Martinez with a 2-2 draw at Norwich. Fellaini was signed by Moyes for Everton in 2008 for £15m, which rose to £17.5m with add-ons. But it could be argued United are only offering around £16m for the player, considering they have previously had a £12m bid for Baines rejected. According to reports, Fellaini's contract included a £23.5m release clause, but that expired at the end of July. Not concerned Martinez revealed last week: "Marouane had a buy-out clause where it was very straightforward. If someone met that valuation, the club had no say. "That finished on July 31 so you can imagine during that period everyone was a bit expectant about what would happen. Once that date went, you just focus on working for the next season. "I'm not concerned at all at the moment (about players leaving). "The window is open and until it closes you're going to get speculation, you're going to get a lot of talk, not just at Everton. It's the norm." And the Everton boss also confirmed earlier this month that they had received an offer for Baines, but insisted it fell well below their valuation. He told the Liverpool Echo: "Before we went to Austria one club officially contacted ourselves with an offer, and it was a final offer. "They put something over and the valuation wasn't anywhere near the quality of Leighton Baines. "That was the end of it but since then, there's been all the speculation, which has been part of what the transfer window is. "There's never been another club or anyone else putting in an offer for Leighton. Since then, we've moved on and we're continuing to focus on the start of the season." |
Mayor Rahm Emanuel laid out an ambitious full-court press on Thursday to woo Amazon to build its second headquarters in Chicago, saying the city is perfectly positioned to give the massive company everything it's seeking. In his first public comments since Amazon invited cities to vie to be its second home, Emanuel said the county and state would join him in an "all hands on deck approach" to try to lure the company that could eventually bring 50,000 workers and $5 billion in investments. The Amazon bid presents a test of a core piece of Emanuel's economic agenda: his effort to make Chicago appealing to technology companies in part by focusing on transportation and the types of infrastructure improvements and cultural programming that could make young workers want to live here. The company's request for proposals "is very similar to the very focus we have brought to bear over the past six years on the fundamental economic strengths of the city and also the resources of the state to make that possible," he said. "If you look at their proposal, Amazon's, and you look at what they're looking for: talent, transportation, training, technology," he said, echoing a familiar alliterative "Four T's" list he frequently cites when talking about Chicago's economic strengths. "If you focus on the fundamentals that allow, like Chicago, over the last five years, you know this, we've been the number one city for corporate relocations," Emanuel said. "Why? Because companies, in a period of tremendous uncertainty, are looking for who will have the talent and the certainty around that talent for the next 20 years? Who will have a transportation system, both public and aviation, that will give them the capacity to get everywhere in the world and get their workers to work conveniently?" Unsurprisingly, Emanuel said he would be "intimately involved" in pitching Amazon, saying Chicago presents myriad locations near downtown that could give Amazon whatever type of campus company CEO Jeff Bezos wants. The mayor said that his "priority is the site of Chicago," and that he won't play favorites on a particular location. "If you're very interested in a vertical area, that's possible, if you're interested in more of a horizontal, that's possible, all within the limits or boundaries, so to say, of a central business district," he said while speaking to reporters after an event at the Chicago Cultural Center to launch the Chicago Architecture Biennial. "So the good news is we're not, like any other city, limited to one choice." Possible locations include the old main post office site in the South Loop, the Michael Reese Hospital location in Bronzeville and the former A. Finkl & Sons steel plant site along the Chicago River northwest of downtown. The mayor also sought to give assurances the bid will be unified, given the years of partisan fighting between Chicago Democrats and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, who has said he's spoken to Amazon executives. "This is of a scale that's different (from other corporate moves), therefore it's going to be Chicago, county and state with one voice and all resources, all hands on deck and all creativity to that effort," he said. "And everybody is going to be pulling in the same direction, that's the one thing I want to be clear about." Amazon said last week it plans to invest more than $5 billion on a new campus, with buildings potentially totaling more than 8 million square feet and creating 50,000 jobs over the next 10 to 15 years. The positions will pay an average of more than $100,000 annually, Amazon said. Amazon said "HQ2" will serve as a second headquarters of equal importance to its current 33-building, 8.1 million-square-foot Seattle campus. The company didn't name any potential locations, saying only that it will consider urban or suburban locations in metropolitan areas of at least 1 million people in a "stable and business-friendly environment." Amazon said it will consider sites in and around urban areas with access to international airports, major highways and public transportation. The company said it is asking cities and metropolitan areas to turn in requests for proposals by Oct. 19, and it plans to choose a location next year. jebyrne@chicagotribune.com Twitter @_johnbyrne |
Thanks to Arthur Shippee, Dave Sowdon, Edward Rockstein, Kurt Theis, John McMahon, Barnea Selavan, Joseph Lauer, Mike Ruggeri, Hernan Astudillo, Barbara Saylor Rodgers, Bob Heuman, Rick Heli, Richard Campbell, Richard C. Griffiths, and Ross W. Sargent for headses upses this week (as always hoping I have left no one out). Apologies for being much later than usual … firefox’s latest update didn’t get along well with my Mac this morning. ================================================================ EARLY HOMINIDS ================================================================ A 400 000 years bp cranium from Portugal: https://phys.org/news/2017-03-year-old-fossil-human-cranium-oldest.html https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/bu-4fh031017.php https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170313192729.htm http://www.livescience.com/58256-hominin-skull-is-likely-neanderthal-relative.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/neanderthal-fossil-discovered-portugal-archaeologists-a7642306.html http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2017/0314/400-000-year-old-skull-fragment-holds-clues-to-ancient-unified-humanity http://www.theportugalnews.com/news/archaeologists-unearth-400000-year-old-skull-fossil-in-central-portugal/41394 http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/36407/20170315/40000-year-old-cranium-portugal-blurs-line-evolution.htm http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/03/2017/400000-year-old-fossil-hominin-cranium-discovered-in-portugal http://www.archaeology.org/news/5377-170314-portugal-aroeira-skull Neanderthals in the Po Valley apparently had to deal with leopards: http://www.livescience.com/58259-leopards-might-have-walked-alongside-neanderthals.html http://www.archaeology.org/news/5378-170315-italy-po-plain-leopard … but they had ‘penicillin’ and painkillers: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2123669-neanderthals-may-have-medicated-with-penicillin-and-painkillers/ http://elpais.com/elpais/2017/03/08/ciencia/1488991377_990681.html The hominid skull apparently changed along with the change to bipedalism: https://phys.org/news/2017-03-human-skull-evolved-two-legged.html https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170317131200.htm We mentioned these 105 000 years bp skulls from China: https://phys.org/news/2017-03-skulls-china-scientists-media.html ================================================================ AFRICA ================================================================ Neolithic petroglyphs near Aswan: https://phys.org/news/2017-03-egyptian-ritual-images-neolithic-period.html https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/uob-eri032217.php https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170322094906.htm http://www.livescience.com/58394-ancient-egyptian-rock-carvings-discovered.html http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/03/2017/rock-art-from-the-4th-millennium-bc-found-near-aswan http://www.archaeology.org/news/5403-170324-egypt-neolithic-mask-image Suggestion that the Sahara Desert is the result of human activity: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/f-dhc031417.php https://phys.org/news/2017-03-humans-sahara.html http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/03/2017/was-the-sahara-desert-created-by-humans Petroglyphs in Chad’s Ennedi Caves were defaced: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-39332438 http://www.archaeology.org/news/5392-170321-chad-rock-art Trying to preserve Libya’s archaeological heritage: https://www.libyaherald.com/2017/03/24/thinni-looks-to-protect-libyas-archaeological-heritage/ More on finds during metro construction in Algiers: http://artdaily.com/news/94441/Unearthing-2-000-years-of-history-on-the-site-of-a-planned-metro-station-in-Algiers http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/unearthing-2000-years-of-history-in-central-algiers-.aspx?pageID=238&nid=110789&NewsCatID=375 http://lifestyle.mb.com.ph/2017/03/13/unearthing-2000-years-of-history-in-central-algiers/ https://sg.news.yahoo.com/unearthing-2-000-years-history-central-algiers-044302441.html https://www.apollo-magazine.com/spectacular-archaeological-remains-discovered-in-algiers/ http://www.archaeology.org/news/5370-170313-algiers-metro-station ================================================================ ANCIENT NEAR EAST AND EGYPT ================================================================ Not sure if we mentioned the massive statue purportedly of Ramses II found in a Cairo suburb: https://phys.org/news/2017-03-ancient-egyptian-statue-site.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/pharoah-ramses-statue-ancient-egyptian-discovery-cairo-raised-from-ditch-a7627646.html https://www.yahoo.com/news/colossal-statue-egyptian-pharaoh-discovered-161100423.html http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/03/13/second-part-ancient-egyptian-statue-lifted-from-site/99124520/ https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2017/mar/13/the-pharaohs-rise-again-ancient-egyptian-statues-unearthed-in-pictures http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Colossus-probably-depicting-pharoah-of-Exodus-found-483943 http://www.timesofisrael.com/mammoth-pharaonic-statues-unearthed-from-muddy-cairo-pit/ http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2432812&CategoryId=13936 http://www.dailysabah.com/history/2017/03/15/archaeologists-unearth-more-of-rameses-ii-statue-in-cairo … which was later identified as Psammetich: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/261102/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Newly-discovered-Matariya-colossus-is-probably-of-.aspx https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/17/world/middleeast/egypt-cairo-pharaoh-statue-ramses-psamtik.html https://phys.org/news/2017-03-egyptian-statue-ramses-ii.html http://www.reuters.com/article/us-egypt-archaeology-idUSKBN16N2RR?feedType=RSS&feedName=lifestyleMolt http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-39298218 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170317-3000-year-old-statue-recently-found-in-cairo-might-be-psamtik-i-not-ramses-ii-as-previously-thought/ http://artdaily.com/news/94557/Colossus-found-in-Egypt-may-have-depicted-Psammetich-I http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/90610981/Egypt-says-ancient-colossus-pulled-from-slum-likely-not-Pharaoh-Ramses-II http://www.sfgate.com/news/media/Ancient-Egyptian-statue-not-Ramses-II-but-Psamtek-794248.php http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Colossal-statue-found-in-Egypt-likely-mistaken-for-pharaoh-of-Exodus-484474 http://cultura.elpais.com/cultura/2017/03/17/actualidad/1489752376_188321.html http://www.archaeology.org/news/5384-170317-cairo-psammetich-colossus … and taken to the Egyptian Museum: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/261004/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Royal-convoy-will-transport-huge-statue-from-Matar.aspx http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2017/03/16/ramses-ii-statue-arrives-egyptian-museum-tahrir/ A 4000 years bp tomb from Aswan: https://egyptianstreets.com/2017/03/22/spanish-archaeologists-discover-unopened-4000-year-old-tomb-in-aswan/ A well-preserved alabaster statue of Tiye from el-Hittan: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/261512/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Archaeologists-unearth-statue-of-Queen-Tiye-in-Egy.aspx http://www.livescience.com/58401-statue-of-king-tut-grandmother-possibly-discovered.html http://www.archaeology.org/news/5399-170323-luxor-queen-tiye All sorts of foreign missions are operating in Egypt right now: http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2017/03/16/foreign-missions-financing-excavations-rights-scientific-publishing-ismail/ … and six are resuming underwater excavations: http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/6-archeological-missions-resume-underwater-excavations-egypt Not sure where to put this ‘rediscovery’ of a mummy shroud in Scotland: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-39218939 http://www.archaeology.org/news/5401-170324-scotland-mummy-shroud Feature on a Natufian site in Jordan: http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/half-million-miniscule-stone-flakes-give-clues-natufian-culture-%E2%80%94-archaeologist More on that 4000 years bp dolmen from Upper Gallilee: http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/4000-year-old-structure-with-mysterious-engravings-discovered-in-Galilee-483256 http://www.jewishpress.com/news/israel/4000-years-old-mysterious-tomb-with-rock-art-exposed-in-upper-galilee/2017/03/05/ http://www.timesofisrael.com/massive-4000-year-old-boulder-tombs-force-rethink-of-bronze-dark-age/ https://www.yahoo.com/news/israeli-experts-mystery-bronze-age-dolmen-174531240.html http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/03/13/second-part-ancient-egyptian-statue-lifted-from-site/99124520/ A small hoard of Byzantine coins found prior to road construction near Ein Hemed: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/226915 http://www.jewishpress.com/news/israel/1400-year-old-coin-hoard-discovered-in-highway-1-excavations/2017/03/19/ http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Article.aspx?id=484582 http://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/1.778202 http://www.timesofisrael.com/hoard-of-coins-from-1400-year-old-byzantine-site-tell-story-of-persian-invasion/ http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4937590,00.html http://www.livescience.com/58342-1400-year-old-coins-israel.html http://www.archaeology.org/news/5389-170320-israel-byzantine-coins Prior to Easter, the IAA opened up its warehouse to the press and was showing off items which were associated with Jesus to a greater or lesser degree: https://phys.org/news/2017-03-israeli-warehouse-clues-jesus-life.html https://www.yahoo.com/news/israeli-archaeologists-shine-light-life-time-christ-164356077.html http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/israeli-warehouse-clues-jesus-life-death-46240622 http://www.timesofisrael.com/in-an-israeli-warehouse-clues-about-jesus-life-and-death/ http://www.fredericksburg.com/features/wire/in-an-israeli-warehouse-clues-about-jesus-life-and-death/article_18d3fda7-69c6-5dba-ba36-41efa9af8baf.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/how-did-jesus-live-this-new-israeli-excavation-could-provide-some-clues/2017/03/20/a94bd0d4-0d6a-11e7-b2bb-417e331877d9_story.html http://news.nationalpost.com/news/religion/archaeological-discoveries-in-the-holy-land-could-provide-clues-on-how-jesus-and-his-followers-lived http://www.latercera.com/noticia/descubren-objetos-del-siglo-i-permitira-entender-la-vida-la-epoca-jesus/ … and we get news that the Edicule in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre has been restored: http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/03/20/520846214/tomb-of-jesus-is-restored-in-jerusalem http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/21/restoration-jesus-tomb-completed-time-easter/ http://www.dw.com/en/jesus-tomb-site-reopens-after-restoration/a-38063392 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/22/world/middleeast/tomb-of-jesus-reopens-jerusalem.html http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/archaeology/jesus-christs-tomb-resurrected-to-former-glory-after-4-million-makeover/news-story/ff4ba4ba4f6400c4373ce81c79aa9dfe http://www.jpost.com/Christian-News/Thousands-gather-to-see-restored-site-of-Jesuss-tomb-in-Church-of-the-Holy-Sepulchre-484862 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-39357170 … but there are concerns that the shrine might collapse (?): http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/03/jesus-christ-tomb-jerusalem-restored-collapse-tunnels/ http://www.livescience.com/58369-shrine-over-jesus-tomb-could-collapse.html More on that Crusader-era shipwreck: http://theweek.com/speedreads/686106/archaeologists-discover-treasureladen-shipwreck-from-crusades More on that Roman villa with all the phallic amulets: http://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/1.778195 In case you missed it, Jordanian antiquities folk have declared those ‘lead codices’ to be fake: http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/antiquities-agency-chief-says-jordan-codices-fake http://paleojudaica.blogspot.com/2017_03_05_archive.html#3541853932590304956 Concerns for caves near Jerash: http://www.albawaba.com/business/roadworks-threaten-jordans-ancient-caves-near-jerash-949008 Concerns for underwater artifacts off Israel: http://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/1.777473 Suggestion that the palace ISIL ‘revealed’ beneath the tomb of Jonah might be the Hanging Gardens of Babylon: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/03/assyrian-palace-yunus-mosul-iraq.html http://www.salon.com/2017/03/12/did-isis-inadvertently-uncover-the-secret-to-the-lost-hanging-gardens-of-babylon/ ================================================================ ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME (AND CLASSICS) ================================================================ Remains of a 2500 years bp Greek palace at Poseidonia: http://www.tornosnews.gr/en/greek-news/culture/24145-2-500-years-old-luxurious-greek-palace-uncovered-by-archaeologists-in-ancient-poseidonia.html The port associated with the Battle of Salamis has been located: http://greece.greekreporter.com/2017/03/17/archaeologists-find-position-of-greek-fleet-in-battle-of-salamis-480-bc/ http://www.livescience.com/58358-ancient-harbor-for-greek-battle-found.html … coincidentally, ‘In Our Time’ was talking about Salamis: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08j99jl Remains of a second arch of Titus in Rome (actually found a couple years ago … not sure why it’s suddenly news in the Israel press): http://forward.com/fast-forward/366412/roman-archaeologists-discover-second-arch-of-titus/ http://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium-1.778103 Cf: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/11638975/Massive-triumphal-marble-arch-built-by-Romans-to-honour-Emperor-Titus-discovered.html Remains of a huge Roman temple (apparently) at Falerii Novi: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/radar-on-quad-bike-reveals-lost-temple-rl3n77cd0 http://www.archaeology.org/news/5395-170322-italy-falerii-novi-temple A Roman camp at Pontrefact: http://www.hemsworthandsouthelmsallexpress.co.uk/news/archaeologists-discover-new-roman-camp-1-8444842 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-39338956 A Roman bath house from Chester le Street: http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/local/northdurham/chesterlestreet/15167613.Roman_bathhouse_discovered_under_County_Durham_town_residents__39__gardens/ https://inews.co.uk/essentials/news/uk/bottom-garden-archaeologists-find-2000-year-old-roman-baths-residential-street/ Romans and Huns apparently got along better than we might expect: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/tiller-the-hun-farmers-in-roman-empire-converted-to-hun-lifestyle-and-vice-versa https://phys.org/news/2017-03-tiller-hun-farmers-roman-empire.html https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/uoc-tth032017.php https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/p-has031617.php https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170322143213.htm http://www.smh.com.au/world/ancient-romans-depicted-huns-as-barbarians-but-their-bones-tell-a-different-story-20170322-gv4bz7 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/03/22/ancient-romans-depicted-huns-as-barbarians-their-bones-tell-a-different-story/ http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/03/2017/huns-and-settlers-may-have-co-operated-on-frontier-of-roman-empire A very interesting terracotta statue from a Crimean bridge construction site: http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/terracotta-head-found-russia http://tass.com/society/936787 http://rbth.com/news/2017/03/22/ancient-greek-artifact-unearthed-at-crimean-bridge-construction-site_724658 Concerns for a statue of Cybele from Ordu: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/goddess-statue-2100-year-old-castle-threatened-by-dynamite-in-turkeys-north.aspx?pageID=238&nid=110740&NewsCatID=375 Assorted Ides of March features: http://www.stalbertgazette.com/article/Citizens-beware-the-Ides-of-March-20170315 http://www.sfgate.com/news/media/Here-are-some-facts-about-the-Ides-of-March-792115.php http://www.ladailypost.com/content/beware-ides-march-warning-all-republics http://www.sunherald.com/news/local/article138619468.html http://metro.co.uk/2017/03/15/what-are-the-ides-of-march-and-why-should-we-beware-them-6511222/ http://thestarphoenix.com/opinion/columnists/how-to-observe-the-ides-like-a-roman http://www.italoamericano.org/story/2017-3-16/ides-of-march … and facts about Julius Caesar: https://www.forbes.com/sites/drsarahbond/2017/03/15/5-caesar-facts-to-be-aware-of-on-the-ides-of-march/ Touristy plans for the Titus tunnel: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/roman-tunnel-and-inn-to-become-tourism-spot-.aspx?pageID=238&nid=111066&NewsCatID=375 I thought that lead ingot had already been auctioned off … apparently not till last week: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-39366713 http://www.devonlive.com/marcus-aurelius-ingot-discovered-by-devon-detectorist-could-sell-for-18-000/story-30220826-detail/story.html … while a Roman bronze ear is coming to auction: http://www.richmondshiretoday.co.uk/roman-bronze-ear-found-brompton-swale-sold-auction/ That Roman toilet seat from Vindolanda is going on display: http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/15174483.Roman_toilet_seats_among_rare_preserved_artefacts_to_be_seen_in_public_for_first_time/ On some fake statuary that fooled the Met for a while: http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/etruscan-forgeries-met-museum-art On Greek herbal knowledge: http://greece.greekreporter.com/2017/03/12/there-is-still-much-to-learn-about-herbs-from-the-ancient-greeks/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/what-the-ancient-greeks-can-teach-us-about-herbs/2017/01/09/ed623706-d36b-11e6-945a-76f69a399dd5_story.html On immigration and the Aeneid: http://theconversation.com/in-todays-anti-immigrant-rhetoric-echoes-of-virgils-aeneid-74738 On Greek attitudes toward sex: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/03/21/sex-and-the-constitution-the-ancient-greeks/ We’re hearing (again) about possible Gladiator sequels: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/ridley-scott-gladiator-2-russell-crowe-sxsw-alien-covenant-maximus-a7625911.html Folks want to study Classics despite the job market: http://www.statepress.com/article/2017/03/spartcult-spgraphics-asu-classics-graduate-students-face-tough-job-market The Crosby Garrett helmet is returning to Cumbria: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-39279419 http://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/15157718.Roman_helmet_to_return_to_Cumbria/ http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/spectacular-archaeological-find-roman-north-12748963 What Mike Tueller is up to: https://asunow.asu.edu/20170314-creativity-ancient-greek-poems-were-original-tweets-says-asu-professor What Andrew Stewart is up to: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED1703/S00100/beware-of-centaurs-and-others-bearing-rocks.htm Feature on the Gabii project: https://phys.org/news/2017-03-readers-virtually-explore-italian-archeology.html On ancient Greek taxes: http://greece.greekreporter.com/2017/03/16/how-rich-greeks-once-paid-taxes-back-in-ancient-times/ Greece supposedly made offers to the BM in exchange for the Parthenon Marbles: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/elgin-marbles-greece-calls-for-return-to-help-fight-fascism-parthenon-sculptures-a7626781.html http://neoskosmos.com/news/en/Greece-offers-recurring-loans-of-archaeological-wonders-in-exchange-for-the-Parthenon-Marbles … but maybe they didn’t: http://greece.greekreporter.com/2017/03/14/no-specific-proposal-made-to-british-museum-on-parthenon-marbles-says-greek-culture-ministry/ In case you want to find out what ancient statue you look like: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/who-your-ancient-statue-doppleganger-180962585/ More on the search for a director for the Colosseum: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39254552 Review of de la Bedoyere, *Praetorian*: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/praetorian-the-rise-and-fall-of-romes-imperial-bodyguard-by-guy-de-la-bedoyere-vrlztttr5 —– Latest reviews from BMCR: http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/recent.html Visit our blog: http://rogueclassicism.com/ ================================================================ EUROPE AND THE UK (+ Ireland) ================================================================ Possible evidence of cannibalism in Spain 10000 years bp: http://www.livescience.com/58406-mesolithic-humans-were-likely-cannibals.html https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/03/the-10000-year-old-case-of-the-spanish-cannibals/ http://www.archaeology.org/news/5396-170322-spain-mesolithic-cannibalism Oldest Neolithic site from Cyprus: http://in-cyprus.com/oldest-settlement-unearthed-at-akanthou-neolithic-site/ I think we had this a while ago … a Viking female burial from Denmark was apparently born in Norway: http://cphpost.dk/news/immigration-to-denmark-is-nothing-new-just-ask-the-vikings.html http://www.archaeology.org/news/5371-170313-denmark-norway-viking A ‘sensational’ Viking burial from Denmark: http://cphpost.dk/news/archeologists-make-sensational-viking-discovery-in-denmark.html A medieval kiln from Colchester: http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/15148968.Archaeological_dig_reveals_Medieval_pottery_industry_in_north_Colchester/ http://www.archaeology.org/news/5376-170314-colchester-medieval-kiln Remains of Rome’s medieval Jewish cemetery have been found: https://www.mainejewish.org/jta/1345856 http://www.timesofisrael.com/medieval-jewish-cemetery-uncovered-in-rome/ http://www.jta.org/2017/03/23/news-opinion/world/medieval-jewish-cemetery-uncovered-in-rome https://www.forbes.com/sites/drsarahbond/2017/03/24/archaeologists-discover-one-of-romes-lost-jewish-cemeteries/ Plans to search for a 16th century grammar school in Aberdeen: http://www.scotsman.com/heritage/people-places/ancient-grammar-school-at-aberdeen-university-to-be-unearthed-1-4391452 http://www.archaeology.org/5374-170314-scotland-kings-college Plans to dig at Newborough Warren (Wales): http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/lost-welsh-village-buried-sand-12779136 Poking around Castell Dinas Bran: http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/underground-castle-archaeological-search-underway-12790723 Assorted finds from an Oxford dig: http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/yourtown/oxford/15160465.Ancient_secrets_dug_up_beneath_Oxford_road_reveal_its_hidden_past/ Burials and finds from various periods at a Lincoln bypass construction site: http://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/archaeologists-find-more-than-150-skeletons-at-lincoln-bypass-dig/story-30218133-detail/story.html Searching for the remains of Matthew Flinders in London: http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/archaeology/grave-of-explorer-captain-matthew-flinders-to-be-dug-up-to-clear-way-for-rail-project/news-story/2b148ca6e02117f260571592e22fc37a http://www.smh.com.au/world/dig-underway-for-matthew-flinders-in-old-london-cemetery-20170319-gv1noh http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11821520 http://www.theage.com.au/world/dig-underway-for-matthew-flinders-in-old-london-cemetery-20170319-gv1noh http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/90610544/Hunt-for-Flinders-in-old-London-cemetery The Swash Channel Shipwreck has been identified as ‘The Fame’: http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/15181641.Revealed__Identity_of_17th_century_ship_wrecked_off_the_Poole_coast/ http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-dorset-39353551 http://www.archaeology.org/news/5402-170324-rudder-swash-channel-wreck They’re still looking for the owners of that gold found stashed in a piano: http://www.sfchronicle.com/news/world/article/UK-authorities-seek-owner-of-gold-trove-stashed-11006502.php https://inews.co.uk/essentials/news/uk/hoard-gold-coins-hidden-piano-may-lain-forgotten-first-world-war-tragedy/ http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2017/03/17/Piano-found-to-have-hidden-stash-of-gold-coins-from-1847-1915/5571489768963/ Feature on Madame de Mohl: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-39128908 On St Olav and an Icelandic drinking horn: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170320085453.htm Latest from the Jorvik Viking Centre: http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/15169028.Jorvik_Viking_Centre_bounces_back_from_the_deluge/ http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/our-region/north-yorkshire-moors-and-coast/york/culture-clash-as-viking-life-is-relived-in-21st-century-york-1-8448203 … and on the Galloway Viking hoard: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/decision-day-galloway-viking-hoard-10082123 Feature on the Crossrail finds: http://www.voanews.com/a/europes-biggest-construction-project-unearths-london-history/3775078.html Overviewish on the Stonehenge tunnel plans: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170314-stonehenge-the-worlds-most-controversial-construction-site —– Archaeology in Europe Blog: http://archaeology-in-europe.blogspot.com/ ================================================================ ASIA AND THE SOUTH PACIFIC ================================================================ 2000 years bp reindeer antler armour from Siberia: http://www.archaeology.org/news/5385-170317-siberia-reindeer-armor I think we mentioned these boat-coffin burials from Sichuan: http://news.asiaone.com/news/asia/ancient-boat-shaped-coffins-dating-back-770-bc-found-sichuan Interesting 1000 years bp muralled tomb from Datong City: http://www.livescience.com/58232-ancient-tomb-decorated-with-vibrant-murals-found-in-china.html http://www.livescience.com/58231-photos-ancient-mural-tomb-china.html https://www.yahoo.com/news/ancient-tomb-decorated-vibrant-murals-160800273.html http://www.latinpost.com/articles/138028/20170314/archaeologists-discovers-ancient-tomb-china-decorated-colorful-murals.htm http://www.archaeology.org/news/5373-170313-china-datong-city-murals A massive hoardrde of items that sank in a Sichuan river some 300 years bp: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-03/20/c_136141966.htm http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-03/20/c_136143370.htm http://newstodaynet.com/index.php/2017/03/20/chinese-archaeologists-discover-huge-underwater-treasure/ http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/culture/2017-03/21/content_28627969.htm http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/archaeology/chinese-discover-legendary-treasure-buried-in-river-bank/news-story/020d5e022bea4f6c9447be6214254b0d http://www.archaeology.org/news/5387-170320-china-zhang-xianzhong-treasure A Han Dynasty ‘pyramid tomb’: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/pyramid-tomb-mysterious-china-construction-site-archaeologist-zhengzhou-henan-province-han-dynasty-a7633821.html http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/596846/Mystery-ancient-pyramid-tomb-discovered-China A female Buddha: http://telanganatoday.news/man-stumbles-upon-rare-idol-female-buddha A 17th century European style burial from Taiwan: http://www.archaeology.org/news/5393-170321-taiwan-spanish-colony A massive burial capstone from Hyderabad: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/archaeologists-find-worlds-largest-capstone-in-telangana/1/913278.html http://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/170317/telangana-archaeologists-discover-huge-relic-from-iron-age.html http://www.deccanchronicle.com/lifestyle/viral-and-trending/130317/hyderabad-archaeologists-discover-huge-burial-site-capstone.html http://www.archaeology.org/news/5398-170323-india-megalithic-capstone Petroglyphs near Bhopal: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/raisen-district-is-full-of-ancient-rock-paintings/articleshow/57680863.cms More on finds from various periods being found in Khargone: http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/mp-50-000-year-old-archaeological-remains-discovered-in-narmada-valley/story-z7nQYgxard3jP0DzS4fLJN.html http://thehitavada.com/Encyc/2017/3/12/50,000-year-old-350-rare-antiquities-found-in-Khargone.aspx Colonial artifacts from Fort Cornwallis (Malaysia): http://www.archaeology.org/5375-170314-malaysia-fort-cornwallis Finds from Melbourne’s early days: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/treasures-unearthed-dig-reveals-early-melbourne-artefacts/news-story/68b47476d9dc20572d25f3fec08fd1ba Feature on Angkor Wat: http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170309-the-mystery-of-angkor-wat —– Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsblog: http://www.southeastasianarchaeology.com/ New Zealand Archaeology eNews: http://nzarchaeology.blogspot.co.nz/index.html ================================================================ NORTH AMERICA ================================================================ A huge polar bear skull from Alaska’s Walapka site: http://westerndigs.org/giant-skull-found-in-alaska-may-be-evidence-of-elusive-king-polar-bear-experts-say/ http://www.archaeology.org/news/5381-170316-polar-bear-skull Calusa finds from a Florida dig: http://www.news-press.com/story/news/2017/03/23/pineland-wet-site-dig-yields-rare-calusa-artifacts/99210580/ http://www.archaeology.org/news/5397-170323-florida-calusa-midden Searching for Seminole remains on Egmont Key: http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/seminole-tribe-searches-for-remains-of-ancestors-on-egmont-key/2317695 Checking out a Jamestown church: http://wydaily.com/2017/03/20/jamestown-unearthed-archaeologists-explore-tombs-at-center-of-1901-woman-led-dig/ http://www.archaeology.org/news/5390-170320-virginia-jamestown-church Feature on a slave sold to save Georgetown: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/12/us/georgetown-university-slaves-life-campbell.html I think we mentioned the burials found at UGa and the reburial plans: http://newsok.com/105-bodies-found-during-construction-project-to-be-reburied/article/feed/1179149?custom_click=rss Nova Scotia is running out of storage space for artifacts: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/nova-scotia-museum-archeology-artifacts-special-places-protection-act-1.4024443?cmp=rss Erosion concerns at Mikmaq sites: http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1452417-researcher-studying-erosion%E2%80%99s-impact-on-mi%E2%80%99kmaq-historical-sites On evidence of early democracies in the Americas: http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/03/it-wasnt-just-greece-archaeologists-find-early-democratic-societies-americas http://theweek.com/speedreads/686392/archaeologists-discover-ancient-democracy-americas Some Atocha emeralds are coming to auction: http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/16/luxury/guernseys-shipwreck-emeralds-auction/index.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/16/rare-emeralds-found-400-year-old-shipwreck-expected-fetch-millions/ Debunking the myth of Irish slaves: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/17/us/irish-slaves-myth.html Interviewish/reviewish on the Franklin Expedition: http://www.npr.org/2017/03/21/520818684/ghosts-in-the-arctic-how-the-long-lost-franklin-expedition-was-found Arguing over where to bury president Polk: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/03/24/why-theres-still-fight-tennessee-where-bury-president-james-k-polk/99611564/ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/24/us/tennessee-polk-corpse-president.html ================================================================ CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA ================================================================ Excavating a 14 000 years bp mammoth: https://www.mobilemag.com/2017/03/14/14000-year-old-mammoth-mexico/ Caral was well planned to deal with rain: http://www.andina.com.pe/Ingles/noticia-caral-safe-from-rains-thanks-to-ancient-builders-foresight-659116.aspx Feature on the Olmec site of Tres Zapotes: http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/03/it-wasnt-just-greece-archaeologists-find-early-democratic-societies-americas http://www.archaeology.org/issues/249-1703/features/5300-olmec-tres-zapotes-government Feature on Percy Fawcett: http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/24/travel/the-lost-city-of-z-percy-fawcett-james-gray-david-grann/index.html —– Mike Ruggeri’s Ancient Americas Breaking News: http://goo.gl/1VdeA Ancient MesoAmerica News: http://ancient-mesoamerica-news-updates.blogspot.com/ ================================================================ OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST ================================================================ Not sure where to put this study on the European colonization of Asia: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/uok-anp032017.php https://phys.org/news/2017-03-perspective-european-colonization-asia.html http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/03/2017/new-perspective-on-european-colonisation-of-asia Plenty of interest for a pile of WWI era liquor bottles found in Israel: https://phys.org/news/2017-03-israeli-archeologists-liquor-bottles-wwi.html http://www.livescience.com/58397-british-wwi-liquor-bottle-stash-found.html http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/227106 http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Hundreds-of-liquor-bottles-belonging-to-British-Soldiers-from-WWI-unearthed-484859 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/22/israel-whisky-gin-bottles-first-world-war http://www.timesofisrael.com/archaeologists-uncork-100-year-old-liquor-stash-left-by-british-troops/ http://www.archaeology.org/news/5394-170322-israel-liquor-bottles On the history of butter: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/our-messed-up-relationship-with-food-has-a-long-history-it-started-with-butter/2017/03/20/a7e9fe88-0a6c-11e7-93dc-00f9bdd74ed1_story.html Nice feature on becoming an archaeologist: http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2017/03/21/for-anyone-who-ever-dreamed-of-being-an-archaeologist/ Latest ancient ship recreation: the Ma’agen Michael II: http://www.timesofisrael.com/replica-of-2500-year-old-ship-found-off-israel-christened-ahead-of-maiden-voyage/ http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=94561 http://www.archaeology.org/news/5386-170317-israel-replica-ship On the impact of the invention of paper: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/the-reporters-38892687 Review of Nealon, *Food Fights and Culture Wars*: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/03/12/519460915/how-lemonade-helped-paris-fend-off-plague-and-other-surprising-food-fights Review of Cline, *Three Stones Make a Wall*: http://news.nationalpost.com/arts/books/book-reviews/buildings-with-a-storied-past-eric-h-clines-love-of-archaeology-is-infectious Latest ‘hidden image’ in a medieval painting: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-39254184 Hidden message in a Constable: http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170321-why-this-striking-rainbow-may-carry-a-hidden-message Searching for relatives of a Jack the Ripper victim: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-39233978 Some archaeological discoveries that were funded by the US government: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/03/archaeology-discoveries-neh-us-government-troy-jamestown/ On the popularity of Emily Dickenson among moody teenagers: http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170315-why-moody-teenagers-love-emily-dickinson On climate on the shape of your nose: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/16/science/ancestral-climates-may-have-shaped-your-nose.html http://www.voanews.com/a/nose-shape-influenced-local-climate/3769613.html Pondering cannibalism: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/03/18/why-do-cannibals-eat-people.html Spring related slideshow of art: http://www.dw.com/en/the-art-of-spring/a-19121851 Reviewish/Interviewish on Alexander von Humboldt: http://www.dw.com/en/germanys-original-eco-pioneer/a-37976573 On Stradivariuses: http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/22/luxury/stradivarius-million-dollar-instruments/index.html … and one that had been stolen was heard again in concert: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-39262166 https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/on-a-stormy-night-roman-totenbergs-stolen-stradivarius-is-reborn-in-public/2017/03/13/80c9b0c0-0821-11e7-a15f-a58d4a988474_story.html http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Music/2017/0314/Stradivarius-violin-recovered-from-1980-theft-heard-in-concert-for-first-time On the history of the zipper: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170322-the-ingenious-invention-to-better-the-button On bread as an ‘economic marker’ in France: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/03/20/520459332/let-them-eat-bread-the-theft-that-helped-inspire-les-miserables Earliest depiction of ‘fiery serpent’ disease: http://www.livescience.com/58298-earliest-depiction-of-guinea-worm-medieval-painting.html Oldest surviving ‘anime’: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-39301120 On Jane Austen and the alt-right: http://www.dw.com/en/white-pride-and-prejudice-why-the-alt-right-has-adopted-jane-austen/a-38073727 … and her faked marriage records: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-39330703 http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=94625 On timekeeping: http://www.dw.com/en/a-brief-history-of-time/g-37937897 On Machiavelli’s ‘tunnel’/tavern/inspiration: http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20170317-machiavellis-secret-tunnel-to-fame On the invention of heterosexuality: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170315-the-invention-of-heterosexuality More on Mona Lisa’s smile: http://www.livescience.com/58264-mona-lisa-looks-happy.html Archaeology Podcast Network: http://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/archyfantasies/ ================================================================ MUSEUM MATTERS ================================================================ Photos of the Russian Empire: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-39266423 Michelangelo/Picasso drawings: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-39232650 Berlin Painter: https://paw.princeton.edu/article/after-2500-years-fame Gilded Lady: http://www.livescience.com/58312-mummies-museum-exhibit.html http://www.livescience.com/58313-photos-mummies-peru-egypt.html Alma Tadema: http://www.artlyst.com/previews/alma-tadema-exhibition-announced-leighton-house-museum-july/ Rodin’s Legacy: http://www.dw.com/en/rodins-influence-felt-by-artists-even-today/a-38035647 History of the World in 100 Objects: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/world/china-watch/culture/british-museum-roadshow-at-beijing-museum/ Maya: https://www.dmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/2017/03/an-exhibition-at-the-perot-unlocks-the-secrets-of-the-maya/ Aigai Artifacts: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/aigai-artifacts-on-display-at-louvre-.aspx?pageID=238&nid=111067&NewsCatID=375 Cycladic Society: http://www.tornosnews.gr/en/greek-news/culture/24092-%E2%80%9Ccycladic-society,-5000-years-ago%E2%80%9D-exhibition-in-athens-extended-to-april-9.html World of Emotions: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/23/arts/design/review-a-world-of-emotions-in-greek-art-unmasks-the-stony-faces.html New York will have a Center for Women’s History: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/14/arts/design/history-of-women-in-america-museum-exhibit-new-york.html Remembering the opening of the Israel Museum: http://www.timesofisrael.com/from-its-first-curator-a-breathless-memorable-account-of-the-opening-of-the-iconic-israel-museum/ Camille Claudel is getting a museum: http://www.dw.com/en/rodins-lover-sculptor-camille-claudel-gets-museum-in-paris/a-38091782 More on Louvre ‘sanctuary’ plans: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/11/arts/louvre-shelter-for-art-caught-in-the-crossfire.html ================================================================ THE TECHY SIDE ================================================================ A virtual reconstruction of 17th century Edinburgh: https://phys.org/news/2017-03-technology-reveals-16th-century-edinburgh.html Facial reconstruction of a ‘medieval poor man’ from Cambridge: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/face-of-ordinary-poor-man-from-medieval-cambridge-graveyard-revealed https://phys.org/news/2017-03-ordinary-poor-medieval-cambridge-graveyard.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-39346494 http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/archaeology/archaeologists-reconstruct-remains-of-man-buried-in-13th-century-medieval-hospital-graveyard/news-story/28a2f9d884e70ce0622fa15dcc399e7c http://www.livescience.com/58380-archaeologists-reconstruct-medieval-man-face.html https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/mar/22/face-medieval-cambridge-man-emerges-700-years-after-death http://www.archaeology.org/news/5391-170321-cambridge-medieval-man A ‘solution’ (‘data water’) to track smuggled artifacts from Syria (and elsewhere): http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-39331342 http://www.npr.org/2017/03/21/520922468/archeologists-in-syria-use-data-water-to-confound-antiquities-smugglers http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/british-firm-saves-syrias-treasure-from-looters-2pdnsw206 http://www.nwptv.org/blogs/local-national-news/archeologists-in-syria-use-data-water-to-confound-antiquities-smugglers/ More on Pictish murder victim facial reconstruction: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ancient-murder-victim-pictish-man-face-digitally-recreated/ ================================================================ ON THE DNA FRONT ================================================================ Dienekes’ Anthropology Blog: http://dienekes.blogspot.ca/ ================================================================ TOURISTY THINGS ================================================================ Naples: http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20170309-a-city-with-too-much-history-to-handle China’s Karez: http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20170307-an-ancient-oasis-in-chinas-remote-desert Cambodia: https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2017/mar/24/angkor-wat-alternative-cambodia-ruins-banteay-chhmar US historic sites: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/the-shortest-route-to-americas-49603-historic-sites-will-only-take-you-50-years/2017/03/13/cab14daa-d2da-11e6-a783-cd3fa950f2fd_story.html Manaus Opera House: http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170316-the-beautiful-theatre-in-the-heart-of-the-amazon-rainforest ================================================================ CRIME BEAT ================================================================ Egypt thwarted 24 antiquities thefts: http://menafn.com/1095313082/Egypt-thwarts-24-cases-of-antiquities-theft-in-one-week http://aa.com.tr/en/culture-and-art/egypt-thwarts-24-cases-of-antiquities-theft-in-one-week/770389 I think we mentioned this bust in Israel: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/226744 Another attack on a painting, this time in the National Gallery: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39322056 http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/03/20/520825575/man-charged-after-painting-attack-at-londons-national-gallery Overviewish piece on antiquities trafficking: http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/specialseries/2017/02/art-trafficking-170228090044987.html … and in a similar vein, with a focus on items smuggled to the US: http://www.livescience.com/58324-artifacts-shipped-to-us-from-egypt-turkey.html http://www.livescience.com/58338-photos-smuggled-looted-artifacts.html https://www.yahoo.com/news/100-million-artifacts-shipped-egypt-155400489.html Those stolen Van Gogh’s we mentioned a few weeks ago are back ‘home’: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39343747 Two weeks’ worth of Culture Crime News: http://www.anonymousswisscollector.com/2017/03/culture-crime-news-06-12-march-2017.html http://www.anonymousswisscollector.com/2017/03/culture-crime-news-13-19-march-2017.html conflict antiquities: http://conflictantiquities.wordpress.com/ anonymous swiss collector: http://www.anonymousswisscollector.com/ Portable Antiquity Collecting and Heritage Issues: http://paul-barford.blogspot.ca/ Looting Matters: http://lootingmatters.blogspot.com/ Illicit Cultural Property: http://illicit-cultural-property.blogspot.com/ SAFE: http://www.savingantiquities.org/blog/ ================================================================ REPATRIATION AND RECOVERY ================================================================ Fighting to repatriate an Irish skeleton from the BM: https://irishpost.co.uk/a-dying-wish-battle-on-to-return-irishs-giant-skeleton-from-british-museum-for-burial-in-ireland/ An Etruscan pot was returned to Italy: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/16/arts/design/stolen-etruscan-vessel-to-be-returned-to-italy.html France returned a mummy mask to Egypt: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/261181/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/New-Kingdom-mummy-mask-recovered-from-France.aspx http://www.sis.gov.eg/Story/108273?lang=en-us Switzerland is returning a sarcophagus to Turkey: http://www.turkishamericannews.com/turkey/item/19270-ancient-smuggled-sarcophagus-coming-home-to-turkey Benin continues to seek repatriation of items from France: http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=94730 ================================================================ NUMISMATICA ================================================================ A few weeks’ worth of e-Syla: http://www.coinbooks.org/v20/club_nbs_esylum_v20n11.html http://www.coinbooks.org/v20/club_nbs_esylum_v20n12.html http://www.coinbooks.org/v20/club_nbs_esylum_v20n13.html ———————— Ancient Coin Collecting: http://ancientcoincollecting.blogspot.com/ Ancient Coins: http://classicalcoins.blogspot.com/ Coin Week: http://www.coinweek.com/ ================================================================ AUDIO/VIDEO NEWS ================================================================ Audio News from Archaeologica: http://www.archaeologychannel.org/audio-main-menu-cat/audio-news-list/2578-audio-news-from-archaeologica-5-march-2017-18-march-2017 ================================================================ OBITUARIES =============================================================== Geoff Wainwright: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/mar/15/geoff-wainwright-obituary Douglas Birk: http://www.pineandlakes.com/news/4234958-douglas-birk-pine-river-historian-state-archaeologist-remembered http://www.startribune.com/obituary-douglas-birk-pioneer-of-minnesota-archaeology/416479843/ Colin Dexter: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/21/books/colin-dexter-dead-creator-of-inspector-morse.html http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=94636 https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/obituaries/2017/03/23/colin-dexter-creator-inspector-morse-dies/oWSBHxx4ZWAPgPwGTHdY3N/story.html ================================================================ CONFERENCES ================================================================ Canada Before Confederation: Early Exploration and Mapping (Nov. 2017) https://independent.academia.edu/ConferenceCanadabeforeConfederationEarlyMappingandExploration14981763 ================================================================ GENERAL ARCHAEOLOGY NEWS BLOGS ================================================================ Archaeology Magazine News Page: http://www.archaeology.org/news/ About.com Archaeology: http://archaeology.about.com/ Ancient Digger: http://www.ancientdigger.com/ Archaeology Briefs: http://archaeologybriefs.blogspot.com/ Past Horizons: http://www.pasthorizons.com/ Stonepages: http://www.stonepages.com/news/ Taygete Atlantis excavations blogs aggregator: http://planet.atlantides.org/taygete/ Time Machine: http://heatherpringle.wordpress.com/ ================================================================ PODCASTS/VODCASTS ================================================================ Archaeosoup: http://www.youtube.com/user/Archaeos0up?feature=watch The Book and the Spade: http://www.radioscribe.com/bknspade.htm ================================================================ EXPLORATOR is a free weekly newsletter bringing you the latest news of archaeological finds, historical research and the like. 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Spread the love Macungie Township, PA — Imagine being imprisoned for being completely innocent and one hundred percent free of drugs and alcohol in one’s system. While there are many who may be tempted to think it could never happen to them, to Wilfredo Ramos Jr., the possibility quickly became a reality. Ramos was arrested and spent five months behind bars for being completely sober. Problems with law enforcement agents started for Ramos when he was stopped by Pennsylvania State Highway Trooper Justin M. Summa and Kevin Vanfleet on June 16, 2014. He was on his way to visit his mother when he was pulled over near Schantz Road in Upper Macungie Township. Summa believed he smelled alcohol on Ramos’ breath. But when he conducted a field sobriety test and administered a breathalyzer test, the results were immediately clear. Ramos was stone-cold sober. Not only did he blow .00 on the breath test, but his balance and coordination were without question. Still, the troopers insisted Ramos was under the influence of some substance. He arrested the motorist from New York, contending, “Oh you are from New York…You must have guns or drugs? We know you have drugs, just tell us where they are.” Even after an exhaustive search of the vehicle turned up no drugs, alcohol, or guns, the man was still taken into custody. This time, Summa believed if he could do a blood test, the man’s blood would surely convict him of driving under the influence. A drug recognition expert (DRE) was called in to evaluate Ramos. As TFTP has previously reported, the fake title is given to officers to further enable them to violate motorists’ rights by placing more value and weight into the title than the breathalyzer tests, field sobriety tests, and blood tests can demonstrate. In other words, a DRE has more power to convict someone than science does. Based on the DRE’s reported evaluation, who concluded the suspect was probably on “depressants,” Lehigh County Magisterial District Judge David M. Howells, Jr. set bail at $10,000, Ramos had his blood drawn, and then he waited in his jail cell for eleven days while the results of the drug test were being processed. Predictably, the drug tests came back negative for any drugs or alcohol. However, Trooper Summa insisted the samples be re-tested. As a result, Ramos was not free to leave. Instead, he was transferred to the Lehigh County prison where he remained for another 147 days. While in prison, because he could not work, Ramos lost his apartment as well as all of his belongings including his vehicle which was impounded at the time of his arrest. Because he could not retrieve his vehicle, it was confiscated and sold at auction. The proceeds of such sales usually go to the police department which made the arrest. Adding insult to injury, the false imprisonment also led to the man losing his job because he failed to report to work. Even after an exhaustive attempt by police to extort Ramos for bail money, a failed attempt to find him in possession of drugs or alcohol, and a tortuous ordeal being locked up in prison, Ramos was finally released. On November 12, 2014, Judge James T. Anthony found Ramos not guilty of DUI and ordered his release. But instead of immediately returning home to NY, Ramos contracted with attorney Josh Karoly, who filed a lawsuit against the officers and the PA State Highway Patrol. According to McAll, the lawsuit alleged the officers schemed to falsely arrest Ramos: Ramos’ lawsuit alleged Troopers Justin M. Summa and Kevin Vanfleet, assigned to the Fogelsville barracks, conspired to falsely arrest him after finding no evidence that he was intoxicated or that he had drugs or guns in his car. The suit also named top brass in the PA Highway Patrol: The suit also claimed five state police supervisors, ranging from the troop commander to former state police Commissioner Francis Noonan, were liable for racially motivated misconduct, unlawful seizure, due process of law violations, denial of equal rights, conspiracy to interfere with civil rights and other Civil Rights Act violations. Ramos won his lawsuit and was given $150,000 in compensatory damages for having been deprived of his civil rights. Karoly said of the settlement: It was a mistake that this happened and this resolution is going to go a long way toward getting his life back on track to where it was before this happened…It makes mistakes like that much less likely when they’re brought to the public’s attention Here at TFTP, we cannot think of another more appropriate example of how Civil Asset Forfeiture (CAF), Drug Recognition Experts, the practice of forcible blood drawing, ineptitude on behalf of the officers involved as well as unscrupulous judges, all work together to abuse our citizens’ civil liberties. Maybe Mr. Ramos’ story of false arrest/imprisonment is necessary to force others, who are still blinded by their undying loyalty to the boys in blue, to realize what’s really going on out there in our nation’s streets. It really should come as no surprise the incident took place in Pennsylvania. For the better part of two years, the highway patrol there has been embroiled in a wide-spread cheating scandal. Apparently, they’re so desperate to fill the ranks of state troopers they’re willing to hire individuals with broken moral compasses—the results of which can be seen in Mr. Ramos’ story. |
Spread the love Brainwashing can be most effectively accomplished through subtle — preferably imperceptible — repetition and reinforcement of ideas. Targets of efficacious brainwashing campaigns will never realize the tactic being used — unless someone provides clear evidence of the perpetrator’s methods. On that note, consider the captive audience cable television and mainstream, corporate news outlets have at their disposal — when a big story hits headlines, the American public sits for hours, glued to nonstop coverage and overanalysis of every detail. This week being no exception, when Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton fainted after an early exit from a 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York City, conservative mainstream media scrambled to theorize on the ever-deepening questions surrounding her health. Qualifying to head the empire, after all, would ostensibly require a person in their physical prime. On the other side, left-leaning corporate media — previously exposed for colluding with the Democratic National Committee to bathe the former secretary of state in the glowing light of positivity — was forced to scramble to explain away her sudden inability to stand, while Facebook blatantly censored coverage of the incident in its trending topics section. After a laughably thin attempt by the Clinton camp to attribute the fainting spell to early autumn heat, we learned she’d been coping with pneumonia — and that her appearance at the memorial actually represented an act of bravery and strength. Keeping in mind the aforementioned collusion, it’s imperative to also note just six corporations own no less than 90 percent of all media — cable television outlets, radio, and print — in the United States. In technical terms, this is an oligopoly — essentially, through mergers and corporate ownership, the news Americans see, hear, and read largely spouts whatever its sponsors approve of because, otherwise, the outlets would suffer financial ruin. In a research study appearing in a Gonzaga University Master’s Thesis by Frank McCoy in 2012, the effects of this hugely concentrated media ownership are presented as highly problematic for the public, but keenly advantageous for the corporations. McCoy urges the public to remain alert to this fact, because, as he wrote, “Without an awareness of the grave consequences involved with an increasingly concentrated media environment the public (i.e. non-elites) will continue to be systematically brainwashed by the propagandist arm of the government that is the mass media and will unknowingly acquiesce to the interests of the dominant elites.” This is how brainwashing so exclusively serves the corporate and political plutocrats — vast swaths of the public have no idea what they’re being subjected to. Repetitive pounding of an idea or phrase gradually shapes thought by reinforcing an idea that might otherwise be doubted. When you hear something enough times, it’s easier to accept — as if the number of mentions somehow validates the idea, regardless of merit. Nowhere has this been more apparent, all political collusion aside, than in coverage of everything pro-Hillary Clinton — and one thing this oligopolistic media couldn’t stand for, all puns intended, is negative publicity from a fainting spell. But it’s okay — as you’ll see in the telling compilation video below — Hillary might have fainted, but that’s only because she wanted to “power through” her harried schedule despite suffering such a serious illness as pneumonia. Notably, the intentional choice of the word “power” for its triple-entendre — not only does this push the idea that Clinton isn’t seriously ill, it intimates her desire to work when necessary, no matter the consequences, and subtly reiterates her status as an elite at the height of, well, political power. Behold, the mainstream media brainwashing in the laughable collection of media pundits touting the “powering through” of Hillary Clinton: |
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - History and high-tech showmanship will collide on Huntsville's Courthouse Square next month. On Saturday, March 8, students from the University of Alabama in Huntsville will illuminate the west side of the Square with colorful, pulsing laser and LED lights timed to music. "It's basically a digital art show with downtown buildings serving as the canvas," Downtown Huntsville Inc. CEO Chad Emerson said Wednesday. "We think this has the potential to grow into a large regional festival that draws people from throughout the Southeast to Huntsville. That's our five- to 10-year plan." Called LIT (Light + Innovation + Technology), the unique nighttime event will mainly focus on the marble-columned old State Bank of Alabama building constructed in 1835, and the eight-story Central Bank Building that is now home to The Huntsville Times and AL.com. Emerson said UAH students are developing all of the "creative content" for LIT. There will also be a DJ on hand spinning music, plus glow sticks and LED hula hoops for the crowd. The light show is scheduled for 7-11 p.m., overlapping with the hours of the Quigley arts and entertainment district. Emerson said the best vantage points will be from the north and south sides of the Square. Admission is free. Arts Council Inc. is co-sponsoring the event with Downtown Huntsville Inc. and UAH's College of Liberal Arts. Updated at 10:59 a.m. to correct that the Central Bank Building is eight stories tall, not 10 stories. |
Telsa has confirmed it will be raising its prices from the middle of January, seemingly in the wake of Brexit. An email from Tesla Motors initially said that from January 1 prices would be set to rise by 5 per cent due to "currency fluctuations". Later, the company delayed the increase by two weeks so it will now coincide with the end of free Supercharger access for new vehicles. Any orders placed after January 15 will pay the higher rate and will no longer qualify for free unlimited refuelling on Tesla's charging network. Advertisement There were also reports on Twitter and Tesla forums of people being warned about impending price rises in the New Year when shopping at showrooms. The increases will push the price of a Model S in the UK up to £55,020 from £52,400, for example. Email from @TeslaMotors. “Due to currency fluctuations we will be increasing our UK prices by 5% on 1st January 2017”. — Bond Vigilantes (@bondvigilantes) December 22, 2016 Read next Tuesday briefing: Elon Musk may have breached his SEC gag with another dubious Tesla tweet Tuesday briefing: Elon Musk may have breached his SEC gag with another dubious Tesla tweet Since the vote to leave the EU, prices for the likes of Marmite, Toblerone, and – most recently Lego – have increased. Similar to the price rises expected from Telsa, Lego prices are expected to increase by five per cent from next month. The Danish toy company confirmed this was also due to currency fluctuations. In a letter signed by Fiona Wright, Lego UK and Ireland's general manager and vice-president, the company revealed the price hike is a "direct result of the continuing devaluing of the UK Pound", per The Guardian. Advertisement Leon Neal / Getty Images Wright's letter goes on to say that the Lego Group was monitoring the exchange rates closely and hoping the Pound would recover. However, as the "complete opposite has occured" and the Pound is down approximately 20 per cent, "holding prices is no longer sustainable for Lego Company Ltd." Already, companies such as Microsoft, Apple, and OnePlus have raised costs, while Japanese company Softbank was able to acquire UK-based ARM for £24bn less than it would have cost prior to June 23. |
Ireland dismissed British proposals for the Irish border after Brexit as unconvincing on Friday, a day after the EU chief negotiator said they amounted to a demand the bloc suspend its laws for Britain. But British foreign secretary Boris Johnson, speaking at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Tallinn, said a solution was “not beyond the wit of man”. The border between the Irish Republic and the British province of Northern Ireland is currently open to free flow of goods, being an internal EU frontier. But when Britain leaves the bloc, it will become subject to EU customs regulation. Establishment of a physical border could revive security concerns, 20 years after a peace deal involving Dublin that ended a long civil conflict in Northern Ireland and led to the end of army and police checkpoints. Britain has proposed an “invisible border” without border posts or immigration checks between the two after Brexit, but given no firm proposals how the customs frontier between Northern Ireland and the Republic would be monitored. EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on Thursday British proposals would undermine the bloc’s single market. He said Britain in effect wanted the EU to “suspend the application of its laws” as a test case for broader EU-British customs regulations. “This will not happen.” Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said on Friday: “The maintenance of an invisible border on the island of Ireland would be a lot easier if Britain were to remain in the customs union.” That is something UK prime minister Theresa May has said would not happen, though her cabinet is split on the issue and some have floated the idea of a transition period after Brexit that would still leave Britain in the EU customs union. “Britain is the one leaving, they have an obligation to try and design unique solutions.... We cannot have a physical border on the island of Ireland again that creates barriers between communities,” Coveney said. “We cannot and will not support that and nor will the European Union,” he said, adding that Britons wanted to avoid a hard border too. “The problem is that the solutions to actually get us there so far haven’t been convincing.” Negotiations to extricate Britain from the EU have seen a slow start and Brussels has repeatedly warned that time is running out to answer complex questions before Britain is due to leave in March, 2019. The bloc, which will have 27 member states after Brexit, wants to solve key exit issues before opening talks about any future trade cooperation with Britain. London says divorce talks should run in parallel with discussions about future ties. But, with slow progress on agreeing Britain’s divorce bill, ensuring expatriates’ rights and deciding on the Irish border, the EU now doubts it will give a green light in October for starting talks about the post-Brexit order, as had been planned. The EU worries London may try to use the Irish border as a template for a broader trade pact with the EU after Brexit. It believes Britain’s proposals risk affecting the bloc’s single market and customs union. The European Parliament’s chief Brexit speaker, Guy Verhofstadt, dismissed Britain’s plans for an “invisible border” as surreal. “We are nowhere on border issues,” one senior EU official said. But, asked if he was confident that Britain would get a deal with the EU, Johnson said in Tallinn: “Absolutely, with rock solid confidence.” He reiterated London’s stance that the divorce talks should run together with discussion about the post-Brexit relationship. “Article 50 makes it very clear that the discussion about the exit of a country must be taken in context with discussion of the future arrangements. And that’s what we’re going to do,” he said. |
Let’s take a break from the primary battles and check in on the latest antics unfolding out in California. This month, having solved all other problems plaguing their state, the California legislature has taken up a new measure which would ban government funded travel to states which they deem to be insufficiently supportive of LGBT rights. The author of the bill, Evan Lowe, seems to feel that such a move will be a way to take a stand for the little guy, I suppose. (Time) A California lawmaker has introduced a bill that would ban government-funded travel to states with laws that he says discriminate on sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. “No one wants to send employees into an environment where they would be uncomfortable,” said Democrat Evan Low, Jon Ortiz, a reporter for the Sacramento Bee, reported this week. Low said he decided to introduce the bill after Indiana signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law in March 2015. Without even getting into the specifics of this proposal, isn’t there something oddly familiar about the tone Low is taking in describing his legislation? We wouldn’t want to send employees into an environment where they would be uncomfortable. Are the state employees a group of workers with a job to do or are they hot house orchids? That’s language taken in whole cloth from the current plague of protests on our nation’s campuses where addled students complain of microagressions which make them feel either uncomfortable or unsafe and demand safe spaces to shield them from the world. Congratulations, California! You’ve now become a full scale demonstration of life imitating very bad art. As for travel to Indiana (and more than twenty other states at last count) by Golden State employees, does Low have any idea how many agencies that will affect? The states all work together on a multitude of projects, many of which demand reciprocal travel arrangements. Will he simply pull California out of all of those organizations and efforts with half the nation? Granted, there are probably more than a few of them we could likely do without, or at least some which could benefit with less left coast influence, but the principle remains the same. Oh, wait… Low doesn’t plan on allowing the bill to impact his own travel plans. Low said he doesn’t know which states his bill would apply to yet. He said it would not cover lawmakers and political trips but would affect administrative travel. So the people at the top of the government food chain wouldn’t be affected. And, of course, political trips could still be covered. You’d just be shutting off the spigot for the drones who ostensibly do some actual work in the halls of government. And to top it all off, you don’t even know what states it applies to but you’re ready to move forward with the legislation anyway, eh? This idea is a bit too California to exist even in California. |
While food, clothing and shelter may be the most basic human needs, mere survival also means having the ability to purchase them. The cost of living: The amount of money the average black family has to cover its needs is not very high. According a 2013 U.S. Census report, the average black family earned $34,958 versus the average for all races of $51,939. For the average black family living in cities, this distinction means rent prices are simply too high, as the cost of renting nationwide is rising. "White flight" became the standard of the mid-1900s, as white families left major cities for the suburbs, leaving behind people of color, urban blight and mass disrepair. Banks also resorted to redlining: refusing to lend money to people in cities to start businesses or buy property. Decades later, as young people especially flock to cities in record numbers, they're bringing jobs and economic opportunities with them, but many areas are now financially out of reach for those who lived there before the influx of money and services. This is called gentrification. British sociologist Ruth Glass, who first wrote about gentrification in her 1964 book, London: Aspects of Change, wrote that gentrification is rooted in class privilege. Where an area may have been reserved as a last opportunity for people with nowhere else to go, those going into the neighborhood could elect to live there — and have the means to leave. How much does a black family need to spend to keep living in an area that was historically unwanted but is presently thriving? According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, "families who pay more than 30% of their income for housing are considered cost burdened." Based on the average income for black families, that makes anything more than $873.95 per month a potential burden. Can an average-earning black family afford a two-bedroom apartment in some of the United States' historically black, urban neighborhoods? Tweet Central District, Seattle Seattle's Central District was home to a nearly 80% black population in the 1970s and 1980s, as landlords wouldn't rent to black people, Asians or Jews in most pockets of the city. Now, according the Seattle Times, residents flock to the area because of its proximity to their offices during the day, and to bars at night. However, new residents find the area expensive; one young woman told the Times she calls one of her two monthly paychecks a "rent check" because half her monthly income goes to rent. After the Times ran that article, Rosalie Johnson contacted the paper to tell them about when she moved to Seattle's Central District in 1956. "We didn't have a choice," she told the Times. "The banks wouldn't lend you a penny." According to Rent Jungle, the average apartment in Central District runs about $1,811, though this metric includes apartments of all bedroom sizes. At $2,200/month, this apartment eats up 76% of an average black family's income. If the family earned $88,000 per year, the apartment would be affordable. At $2,307/month, this apartment eats up 79% of an average black family's income. If a family earned $88,000 each year, the apartment would be affordable. Harlem, New York Harlem may be most well known worldwide as a center of black culture. The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s was a cultural, social and artistic movement that influenced black culture for decades to come. Harlem has been home to some of the most notable figures in American culture, like W.E.B. DuBois, Louie Armstrong, Billie Holiday and Zora Neale Hurston. Many are wondering, however, what will happen when Harlem becomes white. According to real estate brokerage MNS's Manhattan Rental Market Report, rents in Harlem have increased 17.9% since July 2014, and the average two-bedroom clocks in at $2,693. This Harlem apartment would mean the average black family would hand over 79% of their income for a place to live. To take a bite out of the Big Apple in this apartment, a family would need to earn $92,000 a year. This apartment would ask residents to fork over 77% of their income for a place to sleep. A family looking to occupy this apartment would need to earn $90,000 a year to live here. U Street Corridor, Washington, D.C. Prior to the 1920s, the U Street Corridor was the nation's largest urban African-American community. Known as "Black Broadway," it was the childhood home of Duke Ellington. As of July 2013, the Washington Post reported that the area had more than 1,200 condos and 100,000 square feet of retail either built or waiting to sell in the nine months prior alone. Kai Reynolds, a resident of nearby Logan Circle just a decade prior, told the Post, "If you lived there in 2000, 2001, intuitively you knew things were moving in a certain direction," Reynolds, 43, said. "But I never would have guessed there would be 50 restaurants, and that you couldn't get into one on a Tuesday night." These days, according to Rent Jungle, the average rent in U Street Corridor runs about $2,620. If a black family wanted to lay their heads down here, it would take about 79% of their monthly income. A family looking to move to U Street would have to bring in $92,080 a year to make it a reality. This isn't even in the ballpark for black families of average incomes. This is 110% of a black family's monthly income: $128,000 a year. Bywater, New Orleans After Hurricane Katrina, many thought New Orleans wouldn't be able to bounce back. A decade later, some consider the city "a crowning example of resilience in the face of disaster and a reminder of how decades of broken schools, corruption and inequality crippled the Big Easy," according to Bloomberg Business. But not everything is perfect. Compared to the New Orleans that Katrina destroyed, the New Orleans of today has more prosperity, unless you're a person of color. According to the Data Center, white households in New Orleans earn a median income on par with nationwide figures, while black household income is 20% lower than the nationwide average. The Bywater is often referred to as the Upper Ninth Ward. Combining the amount of open housing in Bywater, the economic downturn in 2008 and its proximity to popular neighborhoods like Marigny and the French Quarter, it's a perfect storm for gentrification. The percentage of black residents in the area dropped by 50% during the 2000s while the white population grew by 20%, according to the Times-Picayune. According to Rent Jungle, the average rent in the Bywater is $1,461, though that includes apartments of all sizes. This apartment for rent in New Orleans' Bywater neighborhood requires 86% of the average black family's income. Want to live here? If you earn a flat $100,000 a year, then it's considered affordable. Bayview-Hunter's Point, San Francisco Originally the hub of shipbuilding and naval activity in San Francisco, Bayview-Hunter's Point became extremely poor and marred by pollution, bad housing, poor infrastructure and limited employment opportunities. In a 1963 documentary, James Baldwin called the neighborhood "the San Francisco America pretends does not exist." Bayview is 33.7% black and houses 21.5% of San Francisco's black population, according to U.S. Census figures. In July 2014, the San Francisco Business Times reported that home prices in the area had increased by 59% in only two years. One Bayview resident told the Times he did not anticipate the neighborhood's change to be so rapid. "Two years in, it's like day and night," he said. According to Rent Jungle, the average rent in Bayview is $3,038 a month, though that includes apartments of all sizes. For a black family to move to this historically black neighborhood, they'd have to at least double their income. This West Oakland property currently costs 117% of a black family's monthly income: Living in this abode will set a family back $136,000 a year. If you want to move into this house on the average black family's income, expect to hand over 117% of your monthly income, as well. You'll need $135,000 a year to move here. Point Breeze, Philadelphia In South Philadelphia, the neighborhood of Point Breeze has long held a "no-frills working class neighborhood" reputation, according to the Philly History Blog. After a string of discrimination-related race riots in the 1960s, white business and white families fled to the suburbs, leaving an economically devastated area behind. Residents welcomed many of the benefits of redevelopment in an article for Philly.com, but there's still a fear of people being pushed out of their homes due to rising housing costs. Gentrification is not happening as rapidly in this area as it has in other cities, but the percentage of black residents has declined by 4%, while the white population has increased by 3%, according to U.S. Census data cited by Philadelphia news site Billy Penn. As of May 2015, Rent Jungle estimates Point Breeze's two-bedroom rentals go for an average of $1,483. At $1,500, an average black family should expect to part ways with 51% of their monthly income for this apartment. For families earning $60,000 a year, this apartment shouldn't be a problem. With this rowhouse coming in at $1200, 41% of a black family's monthly income will go toward rent. A family needs to bring in $48,000 a year to live here. Greater Third Ward, Houston The center of Houston's black community is in Houston's Third Ward, which holds Trinity United Methodist Church, the city's oldest black church congregation. It began in 1848. While the neighborhood was historically mixed black and white (though the populations were geographically separated), after World War II, many white residents moved to the suburbs. By the late 2000s, new developments sprang up throughout the Third Ward. Houstonia reported the area's recent revival has attracted new residents who want affordable apartments and proximity to Houston's downtown. While urban renewal has brought 600,000 jobs to Houston, neighborhoods that are majority-minority have seen declines in job opportunities between 8.3% and 7%, according to the Houston Chronicle. One of the more affordable options in the area, a black family wanting to live here would need to give up 33% of their income for this house: Making $38,000 a year is enough to afford it. A black family looking to live here would have to shell out 46% of their monthly income for this two-bedroom townhouse. An annual income of $54,000 is enough to lock this house down. Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Bedford-Stuyvestant, or Bed-Stuy, became a popular destination for black families during the Great Migration throughout the early to mid 1900s, in addition to its large Caribbean population. As of 2010, the area was 70% black, while the amount of white residents grew from 2.5% to 14%. In west Bed-Stuy, white residents make up more than 25% of the population, according to the New York Times. Bed-Stuy has been the site of a lot of anti-gentrification tension in New York City. In June, signs saying "Show these developers WE OWN THIS HOOD" began popping up throughout the neighborhood, Brownstoner reported. In February 2014, Spike Lee went on a now-infamous anti-gentrification rant where he asked, "And why does it take an influx of white New Yorkers in the south Bronx, in Harlem, in Bed-Stuy, in Crown Heights for the facilities to get better?" @SpikeLee Have you seen #StandUpBedStuy #TheLastSupper http://www.brownstoner.com/blog/2015/06/anti-gentrification-fliers-appear-in-bed-stuy/ ... http://7online.com/realestate/anti-gentrificatio-flyers-pop-up-in-bedford-stuyvesant/779499/ ... pic.twitter.com/7MExqGFX5k In its Brooklyn Rental Market Report from February 2015, real estate brokerage MNS reported that Bed-Stuy had an average two-bedroom rental price of $2,312. A black family should expect to lose 79% of their monthly income to pay for this Bed-Stuy brownstone; $92,000 a year is all that stands between a family and this brownstone. For this brownstone, a family would lose 89% of their monthly income for a roof over their heads. Only families that make $104,000 a year need apply for this home. Central East Austin, Austin The neighborhood of East Austin was established in the late 1920s to segregate its its black population. The area was already home to many of its black segregated schools, and it soon became a commercial and residential hub for black Texans. Over time, the area became an archetype of urban blight in the 1960s as integration happened in Austin. These days, however, as more people flock to Austin, this area has become a hub for development. When asked about changing face of the area, Dr. Emily Skop of the University of Texas told KLRU, "The pressures of development and the tremendous amount of change that is going on in that part of the city, suggest to me that this is indeed what is going to happen." The city's black community decreased by 5.4% between 2000 and 2010, according to CNN. East Austin resident Exalton Delco told CNN, "now newcomers are getting exorbitant prices for the homes, and that drives up the cost." Current listings in central East Austin showed no two bedrooms available, but there were some three bedrooms. An Austin family looking to plant its roots in this house would lose 72% of their income to this house. If the family makes $84,000 a year, this house is a possibility. Moving into this 3 bedroom will cost a black family 89% of every dollar they earn. Bring home $104,000 a year and this rent is no problem. West Oakland, Oakland West Oakland became predominantly black after dilapidated buildings were bulldozed and turned into housing projects in the early 1940s and 1950s. When the Cypress Freeway opened in 1957, it isolated the neighborhood from the rest of downtown Oakland. The city also became the home of Oakland's Black Panther movement throughout the late 1960s. The freeway was destroyed in the earthquake of 1989, after which the area became much more open to development. Developers have put a much higher price tag on living in West Oakland, according to the East Bay Express. The development process is "transferring homes where people have lived a long time, raised families, been part of the community, to younger folks, mostly white," Maurice Weeks, campaign coordinator for the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) told the Express. Patty Flores, a real estate agent in West and East Oakland, told the Express a lot of the blight is being addressed, "but it's kind of pushing the poor or average buyer out of the loop." This San Francisco house is within reach of a family making $136,000 a year, or 117% of the income of the average-earning black family. Gentrification is a cycle. The black families moving into or within these neighborhoods haven't been there forever, but these neighborhoods became black because they often had no choice. They were forced into these spaces by structural racism and the desire to keep people of color away from economic opportunity. Follow the money. Services and amenities are often reserved for those with money. Spike Lee ended his speech on gentrification by saying, "[W]hy did it take this great influx of white people to get the schools better? Why's there more police protection in Bed Stuy and Harlem now? Why's the garbage getting picked up more regularly? We've been here!" Lee is expressing frustration with the treatment of poor minorities by the city as people who are unworthy of basic services, including sanitation, protection and education. For Lee, the right to live in a clean, safe neighborhood where children can receive a good education is more than an amenity, it's a need. |
Traffic fumes render the scent of flowers barely recognisable to honeybees and could have a serious impact on their ability to find food, new research has found. Scientists discovered that reactive pollutants in diesel destroyed key chemicals in the odour of oilseed flowers making them smell different to the bees. "Honeybees have a sensitive sense of smell and an exceptional ability to learn and memorise new odours," said Tracey Newman, a neuroscientist at the University of Southampton. "The [effect of diesel fumes on flower scent] could have serious detrimental effects on the number of honeybee colonies and pollination activity." Three-quarters of the world's food crops rely on bees and other natural pollinators, a service valued at £135bn a year globally. "Pollinator services are crucial to humankind," said Newman. But there have been serious declines in natural pollinators in recent decades. A combination of factors is blamed, including the huge loss of the flower-rich habitats that sustain bees, as well as disease, and the impact of agricultural insecticides. The revelation that traffic fumes could be adding to the problems is significant, said Guy Poppy, a professor and ecologist at Southampton, who also worked on the research. He said: "Diesel exhaust is not the root of the problem, but clearly, with all the other stressors, adding another one is likely to be detrimental to bee health." The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, tested bees' ability in the laboratory to recognise the aroma of oilseed rape flowers. Bees were strapped down and taught to associate floral scents with food in the form of sugar solutions. Once the bees learned the connection they began sticking their tongues out in anticipation of food even if it was not offered – an indication that they recognised the smell. When the scent was presented without pollutants the bees recognised it 98-99% of the time. But after the scent was mixed with levels of diesel exhaust matching those found at roadsides, the bees only recognised it 30% of the time. "Honeybees are very, very selective on what they home in on – they want the best pollen and nectar yield. They do not go randomly from flower to flower," said Newman. The detrimental affect of diesel fumes on the ability of forager bees to sniff out the best flowers would harm hives over time, she said, as the bees working in the hives would not be getting enough food. The team found it was the highly reactive nitrogen oxides (NOx) that chemically altered the smell by removing key chemicals within a minute of exposure. "NOx gases represent some of the most reactive gases produced from diesel combustion and other fossil fuels, but the emissions limits for nitrogen dioxide are regularly exceeded, especially in urban areas," noted Newman. Emissions from petrol vehicles contained even higher levels of NOx, she said. A field trial has been completed which has tested the effect of traffic fumes on flower scents and directly on bees. The data is now being analysed. Newman said that diesel nanoparticle pollutants, already known to harm human health, may also be affecting bees. The researchers said the disruption of flower odours by exhaust pollution could be detrimental to many insects. Their paper concludes: "In the case of pollinator species, including the honeybee, these effects would have major economic and ecological impacts, particularly when in conjunction with other stressors detrimental to pollinator health." |
So far this year, 171 "doorings" have been reported on Toronto streets. Cyclists must wonder why the word appears in quotation marks like that. Although it may not be in the dictionary, in Toronto and other big cities, the danger of having a car door suddenly swing out in front of you while cycling is very real. Toronto District School Board trustee Chris Glover was introduced to dooring last spring, as he cycled past a parked car on Bloor Street. "He opened the back door on me," Glover said in an interview. "I hit the back door. I got bruises all down my left arm and left leg. My bike wheel was twisted." The injuries took a few months to heal and now he's trying to fix what he sees as broken policies. A cyclist narrowly avoids getting doored by a driver. (CBC) Glover is the education representative on the Toronto Board of Health and after his experience he started to investigate doorings. The effort has landed at city council's Public Works committee as a motion, to be discussed Wednesday, that recommends city council asking the province to change the Highway Traffic Act as it concerns dooring. Glover was doored by the passenger of a car and he says he was "shocked" to learn the driver was not legally liable. When a driver opens the door, they can be ticketed for dooring and, if convicted, fined up to $1000 and three demerit points. But when it's a passenger, the driver is off the hook. "We need drivers to be partly responsible," Glover said. TDSB Trustee Chris Glover was doored while cycling on Bloor. He's now trying to get Toronto city hall to adopt new safety measures. (Sue Goodspeed/CBC ) According to the motion, there were 132 reported doorings in Toronto in 2014, 175 in 2015, and 209 in 2016. The Dutch Reach The trustee for Ward 2, Etobicoke Centre also wants driver education to be adapted so that the G1 exam includes a simple, preventative measure motorists can take to avoid dooring. The "Dutch Reach" is when a driver or passenger uses the arm opposite their door to open it. The maneuver forces the person in the car to rotate their head and shoulders towards the road and the direction of approaching cyclists. The Dutch Reach is a simple measure drivers and passengers can take to help avoid dooring cyclists. (CBC) In a statement, Ontario Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca pointed out that the penalties for dooring were increased just two years ago, but added he's "open to any conversation that proposes to make our roads safer for all that use them. "We know that dooring continues to be a challenge for cyclists on our roads," Del Duca said. Taxis and Uber Glover was doored by someone getting out of an Uber vehicle and says his experience exposed what he sees as a discrepancy between ride-hailing services and traditional taxi companies. The motion suggests that drivers working for services like Uber don't get the same cyclist safety training as taxi drivers and asks city staff to come up with new requirements. A Beck taxi equipped with a rear-view mirror on the rear passenger door. (Beck Taxi) It also calls for the installation of rear-view mirrors on all passenger doors of vehicles-for-hire. Currently, some taxis do have mirrors mounted on the rear doors to help passengers view oncoming cyclists, but they are not mandatory. Kristine Hubbard, operations manager for Beck Taxi, calls the mirrors "fantastic" and says the company strongly encourages their use. Some Beck taxis also have stickers on the rear windows warning passengers about cyclists. (Beck Taxi) When it comes to training, Hubbard says Beck drivers must complete a course at Centennial College where they're instructed to warn passengers about cyclists to avoid doorings. "Our focus is on preventing incidents like doorings as much as we can," Hubbard said in an interview. Technology to prevent dooring Last July, Uber Canada partnered with Share the Road, a non-profit cycling safety organization, in an effort to educate Toronto drivers and passengers about safety. Uber Canada spokesperson Susie Heath tells CBC Toronto that Uber drivers and passengers regularly receive "vital safety information ... like remembering to keep bike lanes clear and watching for bicyclists when they open car doors." The safety information is shared through the Uber app and videos. Uber is trying to use its technology to help prevent doorings. An example shows the app directing the passenger to a safer pick-up spot. (Uber Canada) The company is also "actively examining" the use of its technology to help reduce doorings. According to information Uber plans to present at city hall on Wednesday, it's possible through the app to direct a passenger to an area with less bicycle traffic to avoid potential doorings. As well, the Uber app is able to turn certain locations into "venues," which would move passenger pick-ups away from bike lanes. |
It wasn’t that long ago that Australia was being praised around the world. Remember when we had an intelligent, articulate, diplomatic leader with a vision for the future? We survived the GFC with Wayne Swan being awarded the world’s best Treasurer by the magazine Euromoney “for his careful stewardship of Australia’s finances and economic performance, both during and since the global financial crisis”. Julia Gillard led the way in action on climate change by introducing a price on carbon prompting praise from around the world. “Australia will create tens of thousands of clean jobs in the coming years. You will save billions by eliminating wasteful energy usage, money that can be directed to other pressing social and infrastructure demands. Australia will be helping lead the world out of this crisis, sending a powerful message that, yes, it can be done. Despite all the barriers, despite all the bitter, misleading opposition, Australia is leading the world toward a brighter, more sustainable future.” In April last year, Julia Gillard also displayed her diplomatic skills in China. “TEN foreign leaders visited China this week but only Julia Gillard scored what could turn out to be the deal of the decade. The Prime Minister’s coup in striking a “strategic partnership” and securing annual talks with China’s leaders will be her foreign policy legacy. It guarantees Australia access to the growing superpower at the highest levels and is being hailed by some as one of the most significant breakthroughs since Gough Whitlam’s courageous step 40 years ago to establish diplomatic links with China. The China deal locks in formal annual talks between Australia’s PM and the Chinese Premier, as well as meetings for Australia’s foreign affairs minister, treasurer and trade minister with their counterparts.” I could go on listing the previous government’s achievements – introducing our first paid parental leave scheme, environmental protections with water trigger and Murray-Darling buyback and marine parks, the NDIS, the NBN, education funding – the list is long and visionary. But for some unfathomable reason, the majority of Australians were convinced that Abbott could do a better job. We could blame the media (and I do) but in reality, it is us who are to blame for our unquestioning acceptance of the lies we were being told. It is our own fault that we have moved from a position of world admiration for a responsible egalitarian society to one where we are being lampooned internationally and well and truly screwed domestically. The Coalition began by stating we didn’t need Indonesia’s permission for our asylum seeker policy, a statement which infuriated them. We then had the odious Mark Textor suggesting that Indonesia’s foreign minister looked like a 70’s porn star, and the revelation that we spied on the President’s wife – something for which Abbott was incapable of saying sorry. We also violated their sovereign waters because apparently our Navy can’t tell where they are. We have been vilified for setting people adrift in life rafts, and censured for presumptuous plans to collect intelligence in Indonesian villages and to buy their fishing fleet. We insulted the Prime Minister of PNG by suggesting he had lied, and then confiscated documents from the lawyer representing Timor l’Este in the International Court where we stand accused of bugging their Parliament to gain trade advantages for private firms. Abbott also had to “offer an act of contrition” to Malaysia for his previous comments about their human rights record. Abbott offended war veterans and their families by praising the “honour” of the Japanese who attacked us, while Julie Bishop infuriated China by calling in their ambassador to berate him for the dispute over islands in the East China Sea prompting this response in the Chinese version of the Global Times: “China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs doesn’t even have the tools to deal with this kind of ‘complete fool’ of a foreign minister.” When Tony Abbott rushed to condemn the Russians in the hours after the downing of the plane in the Ukraine, he incurred the wrath of both China and Russia. The official Xinhua news agency said in an English-language commentary that officials from the United States, Australia and other Western countries had jumped to conclusions in pointing their fingers at the rebels in eastern Ukraine and for blaming Russia for the escalating violence. “The accusation was apparently rash when the officials acknowledged they did not know for the time being who is responsible for the attack, while condemning Russia’s military intervention,” Xinhua said. “Without bothering himself about evidence and operating only on speculation, Mr T. Abbott assigned guilt,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. “Abbott’s statements are unacceptable” going on to say “Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has gone farther than others in making irresponsible innuendoes against our country even though one would think that her position presupposes building bridges between countries, not destroying them.” In another inexplicable brain fart that even the US was quick to distance itself from, our Attorney General decided to inflame tensions by deciding that East Jerusalem would no longer be referred to as Occupied Territory. In the process, Australia was hailed by Israel’s government, scolded by a group of 57 Muslim-majority countries, and had multibillion-dollar export trades put under threat. Along with defending the rights of bigots and then linking the backtrack in the repeal of the Racial Discrimination laws to ramped up anti-terrorist laws, Brandis and Abbott have alienated the Australian Muslim community. And one can only wonder as to why Abbott has chosen to instruct the Scottish people on how they should vote in their upcoming referendum on independence. Their response: “Mr Abbott’s comments are hypocritical because independence does not seem to have done Australia any harm. They are foolish, actually, because of the way he said it. To say the people of Scotland who supported independence weren’t friends of freedom or justice, I mean, the independence process is about freedom and justice.” The first minister said Scotland’s referendum on independence was a “model of democratic conduct” and Mr Abbott’s comments were “offensive to the Scottish people”. Whilst alienating Russia, China, Indonesia, Palestine, Scotland, Malaysia, East Timor, PNG, the Muslim community, and veterans, we have also earned ourselves the title of Colossal Fossil for our refusal to take part in global action on climate change. Domestically the picture is even more ridiculous. We reinstate knights and dames, we defend the rights of bigots, poor people don’t drive cars, breast cancer is linked to abortion, we are “unprepared for global cooling”, and can someone please explain to Brandis and Abbott what metadata is? The Australia Institute, in a scathing review of the Commission of Audit, asked the following questions: As one of the richest countries in the world Australian people have the potential, when working together, to do anything they want. But, we cannot do everything we want. Australia will need to make choices and it is our choice whether we want to: have the world’s best education and health systems or the world’s lowest taxes continue to outspend our neighbours on defence or underspend on tackling climate change increase the incomes of the elderly and the sick or to cut the taxes of our wealthiest residents. Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away Now it looks as though they’re here to stay Oh, I believe in yesterday Share this: Facebook Twitter Reddit Email Print LinkedIn More |
ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The following statement is attributed to Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, Consumer Technology Association (CTA), regarding the House Energy and Commerce Committee today approving the Food Drug Administration (FDA) user fee legislation with over-the-counter hearing aid provision: "We applaud Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Joe Kennedy III (D-MA) for shepherding the over-the-counter provision in the broader FDA user fee legislation. We are pleased that the provisions of the Over the Counter Hearing Aid Act are included in both the House and Senate versions of the FDA user fee legislation. Getting over the counter hearing aids on the same shelf as over-the-counter eyeglasses would be a major win for consumers with mild-to-moderate hearing loss. The high cost of hearing aids, the inconvenience and the cost of doctor appointments means nearly half of online U.S. adults – 98 million Americans – have some degree of hearing loss and don't get the hearing assistance they need. We urge expeditious consideration of these bills on the House and Senate floor. “While both hearing aids and non-prescription devices can improve hearing, a pair of hearing aids can range in price from $1,000 to $6,000. Non-prescription devices such as PSAPs are one-tenth that cost, ranging from $100 to $600. According to the CTA's Personal Sound Amplification Products: A Study of Consumer Attitudes and Behavior study, price is a significant barrier to seeking help for a hearing deficiency. “The over-the-counter provision will change lives for the better by directing the FDA to create a new regulatory class of hearing aids that could be sold over the counter. This new regulatory class will address the needs of adults with mild to moderate hearing loss, a population that desperately warrants attention.” About Consumer Technology Association: Consumer Technology Association (CTA)TM is the trade association representing the $292 billion U.S. consumer technology industry, which supports more than 15 million U.S. jobs. More than 2,200 companies – 80 percent are small businesses and startups; others are among the world’s best known brands – enjoy the benefits of CTA membership including policy advocacy, market research, technical education, industry promotion, standards development and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CTA also owns and produces CES® – the world’s gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. Profits from CES are reinvested into CTA’s industry services. UPCOMING EVENTS |
A city at its best, wrote the philosopher René Descartes, provides “an inventory of the possible.” The city Descartes had in mind was 17th-century Amsterdam, which for him epitomized those cities where people go to change their circumstances and improve their lives. But such aspirational cities have existed throughout American history as well, starting with Boston in the 17th century, Philadelphia in the 18th, New York in the 19th, Chicago in the early 20th , Detroit in the 1920s and 1930s, followed by midcentury Los Angeles, and San Jose in the 1980s. Yes, the great rule of aspirational cities is that they change over time, becoming sometimes less entrepreneurial, more expensive, and demographically stagnant. In the meantime, other cities, often once obscure, suddenly become the new magnets of opportunity. To determine America’s current aspirational hotspots, we focused in large part on economic indicators, such as employment growth, per capita income, and unemployment. But we also took into account demographic factors, such as the growth of domestic migration and the movement of college-educated people and the foreign born. Finally, we considered quality-of-life factors such as traffic congestion, housing affordability, and crowding—which are keenly relevant to young families hunting for the places with the best “inventory of the possible.” In a sense, we believe aspirational cities reflect a kind of urban arbitrage, where people look for those places that provide not just economic and cultural opportunity but a cost structure that allows them to enjoy their success to the fullest extent. Our top two cities reflect the importance of this arbitrage opportunity. Both No. 1, Austin, Texas, and No. 2, New Orleans, are places where people can enjoy the cultural amenities and attitudes of “progressive” blue states but in a distinctly red-state environment of low costs, less regulation, and lower taxes. These places have lured companies and people from more expensive regions, notably California and the Northeast, by being not only culturally rich but also amenable to building a career, buying a home and, ultimately, raising a family in relative comfort. Like the Texas state capital and the legendary Crescent City, most of our top cities are located in the American South and lower Midwest, and they attract businesses and people not only from other sections of the country but also increasingly from abroad as well. These include No. 3, Houston, and the smaller but burgeoning oil town of No. 4, Oklahoma City. These are followed by three fast-growing, low-cost Southern cities: No. 5, Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina; No. 6, Nashville; and No. 7, Richmond, Virginia. Not all our top aspirational cities are in Dixie. If there’s enough growth and opportunity, solidly blue-state regions can perform well enough to stay near the top of these rankings. Such cities include No. 8, Washington, D.C., and No. 10, Minneapolis–St. Paul, as well as No. 12, Seattle; No. 16, Denver; and even No. 22, Boston. In these cities, high-tech and professional-service growth has created enough wealth to offset higher costs while offering the next generation the chance to live in a culturally vibrant place where affording a home and raising a family are still possible. Perhaps more surprising is the high aspirational ranking of some old Rust Belt and Great Lakes cities. The middle part of the country has been losing people and jobs for half a century, but more recently several urban areas within or bordering the Midwest have established enough of an aspirational culture to reverse the pattern of out-migration and begin luring people from the coasts. These include such diverse places as No. 15, Columbus, Ohio; No. 17 Louisville, Kentucky; No. 21 Pittsburgh; and No. 23, Indianapolis. Of course, not everyone will find a perfect match in one of these cities. For those with extraordinary technical skills, for example, it still may make sense to move to the hotbed of the San Francisco Bay Area—notably No. 24, San Francisco, and No. 27, San Jose—where economic opportunity partially offsets extraordinarily high costs, at least for a certain portion of the population. This applies as well even to cities toward the bottom of the list, including No. 46, New York, and, in last place, No. 51, Los Angeles. If you want to break into businesses such as finance, media, and entertainment, you have little choice but to concentrate on New York or Southern California. These areas may also prove more attractive to people who have inherited money (critical to affording houses or paying high rents), as well as those whose business is closely tied to these great cities’ ethnic economies. People must also make tradeoffs when they decide where to locate. Some value a big house and yard, while others cannot abide a city without a decent opera or good Thai food. And those obsessed with, say, their children’s educations will clearly find a broader variety of schools and cultural institutions in San Francisco or New York than in Oklahoma City. But for those who lack these specific demands, and for those whose priority is achieving a middle- or upper-middle-class quality of life, the less expensive, often smaller, and less congested cities seem to have the greatest appeal. This may offend the sensibilities of retro-urbanists, who tend to cluster in the great legacy cities, along with our tribes of cultural tastemakers, but the hard reality shows that, for the most part, people move to places that offer not merely the best lattes or artisanal pizzas but the great opportunity for advancement. The Geography of Growth We give economic growth roughly half of the weight in these rankings. This consists of three factors: employment growth, unemployment, and per capita income. This is where some of the coastal cities still do well, notably San Jose, whose recent job growth places it first, as well as No. 4, Washington, and No. 7, Seattle. The local economies in these areas have all been driven by the rapid expansion of high-tech and professional services, which explains their particularly high per capita GDP numbers. Yet most of the big winners in the economic-aspiration sweepstakes are concentrated elsewhere, notably in Texas. Since the recession, the Lone Star State has created 1 million new jobs, five times as many as New York state. In contrast, Florida and California have lost a half million positions. Not surprising, Texas accounts for four of the top 11 regions for economic opportunity (No. 2, Austin; No. 3, Houston; No. 9, San Antonio; and No. 11, Dallas). No big economic region outperforms Houston, a metropolitan area of more than 5 million people that boasts arguably the strongest big-city economy in the nation. Not only the global hub of the energy industry, it also boasts the nation’s largest medical center and has dethroned New York City as the nation’s leading export center. Other strong performers include No. 7, Salt Lake City; No. 8, Oklahoma City; and No. 11, New Orleans, all of which have enjoyed strong job growth over the past five years. What Do You Get for the Money? Strong economic growth—particularly high per capita incomes—represents half of our ranking, but this is balanced by considerations such as cost of living, housing, and traffic congestion. “Everyday life,” observed the great French historian Fernand Braudel, “consists of the little things one hardly notices in time and space.” This reality is particularly critical for young and prospective families, for whom a higher salary or glamorous environment may mean less than the prospect of owning a decent home, particularly without the necessity of a long, dispiriting commute. These factors, we believe, will become more paramount as members of the large millennial or “echo boom” generation enter their late 20s, 30s, and even 40s over the next decade. This demographic—projected by the census to expand by roughly 8 million by 2025—is likely to prove intensely interested in owning their own homes. Indeed, research by generational analysts Morley Winograd and Mike Hais demonstrates that not only do millennials aspire to homeownership, but among the oldest cohorts of this group, now just entering their 30s, interest in buying a house actually surpasses that of their boomer parents. This difference in the affordability of housing relative to incomes plays a major role in boosting the rankings of some strong aspirational areas, notably Raleigh; Richmond; Charlotte, North Carolina; Kansas City; and Indianapolis. Along with traffic congestion, it tends to bring down the rankings of most California metropolitan areas, including San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, and San Diego, as well as such hipster hotspots as New York and Miami. We also include “doubling up,” where more than one family lives in a household, as a surrogate for poverty (since metropolitan poverty rates are not adjusted for the cost of living). Demographic Destiny The last component of our rankings, accounting for roughly a quarter, lies in demographic trends. Like playing defense in basketball, the most important thing here is to watch the feet. The question is movement: where are people going, and where are they not? This tells us much about future trends and how people, as opposed to the media, actually view the best places for them to settle. Our methodology concentrates on three metrics: domestic migration, growth of foreign-born population; and growth in the number of college-educated people. These groups reflect what may be thought of as “the canaries in the coal mine”—indicators of where people seeking a better life are choosing to settle. This factor seems to jibe with our overall rankings more than any other component. The biggest beneficiaries tend, not surprisingly, to be places that are economically vibrant but not prohibitively expensive, such as Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Raleigh, Nashville, Richmond, and Charlotte. Over the past decade these areas have enjoyed by far the fastest growth not only in migration, but in college-educated people and perhaps most surprisingly in number of foreign-born people. Today immigrants are flocking to such unlikely places as Nashville, Richmond, Louisville, and Charlotte. As for the college-educated, they, too, are also migrating to these same aspirational cities, as well as to new hipster hotspots such as New Orleans and Nashville. The increase in B.A.-degree holders in these cities averages in the double digits or higher over the past decade, in some cases more than twice the growth in such traditional “brain gain” cities as Seattle, San Jose, San Francisco, New York, and Boston. The Urban Future As the younger generation, as well as newly arrived immigrants, begins to look for places to settle, raise families, and start businesses, they will flock increasingly to these affordable and demographically, economically dynamic regions. Yet it is likely that other factors—global economics, shifts in immigration, and technological changes—could influence the aspirational landscape in the years to come. In thinking about the future, then, it is important to recall that not long ago some of the cities near the top of today’s aspirational list were facing seemingly irreversible economic decline, demographic stagnation, and even loss and deterioration of basic infrastructure. You only have to recall the dismal ’70s in Seattle, where post-Vietnam budget cuts inspired some to ask that “whoever is last to leave turn out the lights,” or Houston and Dallas–Fort Worth after the oil bust in the ’80s, when those cities were widely known for their “see through” office buildings and abandoned housing complexes. It’s always possible that unpredictable and major shifts could topple today’s aspirational cities from the top of the list. However, given current conditions and the most likely accrual of current trends, we can expect that most of the cities at the top of the aspirational rankings will remain there for some time to come. Joel Kotkin is working as a consultant in New Orleans. |
The Orlando Magic will formally end their relationship with Glen Davis Friday by buying him out of his contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The transaction is not yet official, but the sides have agreed to terms of a buyout. Once the veteran power forward clears waivers, he'll be free to sign with any NBA team willing to offer him a contract. According to Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel, the Magic have informed Davis "that younger guys are going to play." Another factor in Orlando's decision to part ways with Davis, Schmitz says: it "wants his mood swings out of lockeroom [sic]." Davis' contract called for him to earn $6.6 million in the 2014/15 season, according to ShamSports' salary database. Basketball Insiders scribe Steve Kyler notes that Orlando still owes Davis $2.07 million for the balance of the 2013/14 season. The NBA trade deadline passed Thursday without the Magic making any deals. Following the deadline, the team acted swiftly to remove Davis from its roster and, one presumes, free playing time for the likes of Andrew Nicholson and Kyle O'Quinn. Davis made 45 appearances for the Magic in the 2013/14 season, posting per-game averages of 12.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists. With his ouster, Jameer Nelson becomes the only Magic player whom the team acquired before Rob Hennigan took over as general manager. |
Mar 8, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic guard Elfrid Payton (4) is congratulated by forward Terrence Ross (31) against the Chicago Bulls during the second half at Amway Center. Orlando Magic defeated the Chicago Bulls 98-91. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports The Orlando Magic have spent the entire season looking for a player to take them forward. In Elfrid Payton, they look to have found him. To the naked eye, it doesn’t look like much has changed for the Orlando Magic. They’re 4-6 over their last 10 games and Sunday night’s one-point loss to the Washington Wizards was tough to take. But while their playoff hopes are essentially done, games have now been about building something for next season. Certainly this year will be looked on as kind of a lost one, the team failing to ever reach the heights of playoff outsiders. While that is reason to once again look at this roster negatively, something fantastic has occurred over the last number of games. It began with the addition of Terrence Ross from the Toronto Raptors, with Serge Ibaka going in the other direction. From there, it seemed that the court opened up for everybody else. Nobody has taken advantage of this more than Elfrid Payton. The point guard now has five career triple-doubles with the Magic. Astoundingly, that is the highest in franchise history. This is difficult to comprehend when you consider some of the star players who have graced this team down through the years. There’s been something wonderful about the way in which Payton is putting up these numbers though, and that is the key to him emerging as the leader of this team. Whereas Russell Westbrook gets there through sheer will and because his team needs him to, Payton quietly stockpiles his numbers. You don’t notice him nearing a triple-double because he is doing so while ensuring his teammates are having big nights themselves. Wednesday’s impressive 98-91 win over the Chicago Bulls was no different. While Payton certainly was the team’s best player, he didn’t completely take over. Triple-Doubles in Consecutive Games – This Season Elfrid Payton Russell Westbrook James Harden LeBron James Nikola Jokic — ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 9, 2017 No, there was Evan Fournier right beside him, putting up 20 points and nine rebounds. Similarly, Ross (14 points, three rebounds) and Aaron Gordon (13 points, four rebounds) helped. This is the key to Payton’s future success with this team and to see it happen so rapidly after the roster shakeup has been so encouraging. Many times in the past, I had been concerned with Payton as the starting point guard of this team. His skill set most closely resembles that of Rajon Rondo and Dennis Schroder, two guards who many believe you can no longer win big with in this league. With the NBA going three-point crazy, Payton is actually trending in the other direction. His 26 percent from distance this season by far a career-low. But in a smaller lineup (another trendy league-wide move) and backed up by a more traditional center in Bismack Biyombo, Payton is thriving. This would ordinarily be an expensive price to pay, fitting the other four players in the lineup around the unique skills of their floor general. But with everybody else looking more comfortable on the court as well (with Gordon being deployed as a power forward again), the team looks in much better shape. Playing with those smiles on their faces has driven their intensity up and this was especially evident in that win over the Bulls. The team grabbed15 offensive rebounds and generally outworked a Bulls team that was stubborn and tough to put away. Payton was central to that and his 22 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists (on 6-of-7 shooting) led to a game high rating of plus-13. This wasn’t even a one off though, as on Monday in a tough loss to the New York Knicks, Payton put up 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. .@elfrid joins Jason Kidd & LeBron James as only players with 2 triple-double streaks at 23 or younger (in last 30 yrs) per @EliasSports! pic.twitter.com/8e9fq8PYkF — Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) March 9, 2017 They didn’t get the win, but Payton’s strides are exactly what this team needs heading into next season. It has also come at a great time, as along with Fournier, Ross and Gordon, this team suddenly has a young core with some promise. All it took was the trading of Ibaka (who took 12.6 shots per game) and the inserting of a spot-up shooter like Ross who can also create for others. In the short term, it has helped Payton’s numbers, with the 12.5 points he’s averaging per game a career high, as are his effective field goal (49.1 percent) and free throw percentages (67.9 percent). Small gains, but consider this. With 17 games to go in the season, even if Payton starts them all, it will still be the fewest amount of games he’s started in his three years in the league. As it stands, the 29 minutes he plays each night are also a career low. As little as six weeks ago, head coach Frank Vogel was experimenting heavily with rotations at that position. Payton’s rookie deal expires after next season and the question of if he was worth keeping around had crept up on a number of occasions. His back was against the wall and since the All-Star break, Payton has delivered. He’s been this team’s best player, without ever being in your face about it. He still excels at providing for others and it’s easier to do this when guys such as Ross and Fournier can spread the floor. It also helps having Biyombo next to him, as he is the perfecter screener and rebounder when Payton drives to the basket. Which is all to say that finally both player and team have found a balance. It may have cost them some players, but the Orlando Magic look like a functioning roster. As for Elfrid Payton, well he looks a lot more like the talent the team thought they were getting back in 2014. |
Sitting at the front of the room, only occasionally cracking a smile at the long line of people that has queued up largely to accost him, John Rogers diligently takes notes. He has the auspicious title "president of Comic-Con," but what this mostly boils down to is making sure the event runs as efficiently as possible. The lines must keep moving. The fans must be placated. The system must stay in place. What Rogers is racing against is the simple fact that if you put 130,000 human beings — plus staff, plus the onlookers who crowd into downtown — in one place, things are going to start going haywire somewhere along the line. And that's what this session is for. It's the part where people tell Rogers all about what went wrong, and he writes it down, in hopes that 2015 will be the year everything works out perfectly. He doesn't move much, mostly looking down at his pad as he takes notes. His head goes up, then down again, almost like an animatronic character, and it's easy to forget he can even speak, so long do some of the harangues go on. But then he does, and it's inevitably laced with a kind of acid wit, particularly if he doesn't think much of the complaint being lodged. When something genuinely awful has happened, he apologizes and pledges to try harder next year. When someone is just talking to talk, he lets them run themselves out of steam. But most of the time, his answer to these queries is simple: he doesn't know. The town hall meeting The official name of the session, one of the last at Comic-Con, is Comic-Con Talk Back, but I've taken to calling it the Comic-Con Town Hall Meeting, so strongly does it remind me of the town hall meeting scenes from the comedy Parks & Recreation. At it, Rogers and Rogers alone sits at a table at the front of a room and listens to the complaints of a long line of people. When the session begins, the line very nearly stretches out of the door of the room, and when I finally have to leave to catch my train two hours later, it's still going. Technically, Comic-Con is supposed to wrap at 5 p.m., but Talk Back lasts until everyone has said their piece. It's easy to see why the session is as popular as it is. Comic-Con is so self-evidently flawed that it's a fun game for attendees to play to imagine how to make it better. The event is so wedded to its origins as a fan-driven convention that its management of its explosive growth has been a little weird at times. In particular, the show is never quite sure what to do about its line problem, about the fact that someone could get in line at 4 a.m. and not get into the event they're hoping to see. No one – not the city of San Diego, not the convention center, not the Con – particularly wants to see people camping out overnight, but there's also no good way (nor enough incentive) to stop them. And so the balance of the Con continues to shift toward those who have massive amounts of time to devote to it and only it. There are ostensibly simple answers to this. The larger panels could shift to an even bigger location. (One woman at the Talk Back suggested nearby baseball stadium Petco Park.) The Con could clear the room after every panel, so there's greater turnover (though this might have to result in a multiplicity of lines for different events). It could sell premium passes to certain events, or offer the convention equivalents of Disneyland's E-tickets, offering the truly passionate a chance to skip the line at any time with a ticket they paid a heightened fee for. But as much as these sorts of solutions might add a fun level of strategic gamesmanship to Comic-Con that many of the attendees would likely welcome, they're not likely to be implemented any time soon. The Con very much takes pains to project a vision of itself as being fundamentally by and for fans, and no one else, and forcing people out after a panel to just get back in line for something they might want to see later, say, is the antithesis of that. Plus, there's just not a lot Rogers or anyone can do. Logistical impossibilities This is a theme that crops up again and again throughout the Talk Back. There are a handful of times when Rogers is confronted with a problem he can solve or look into solving easily enough. Yes, he can check to make sure that certain information is included on the website, and sure, he can look into whether the curb by the smoking area can be improved to allow greater access for people in wheelchairs and carts. But a lot of the complaints people have are simply complaints about trying to make sure other people behave in certain ways, when there's no good way to do so. Take camping out. As camping out for events has become a part of the Con (and its ramping up as a thing lots and lots of people did is a relatively recent addition to the convention), it's brought with it a host of new logistical nightmares. For instance, one person might camp out all night, then suddenly turn into six people when her friends join her in the morning, well-rested from staying in their hotel rooms. This kind of line-cutting was aggravating to the faithful. So Comic-Con decided to try doing something about it. Enter the wristband system, which has been by far the most discussed change to the Con in several years. The basic idea is this: if you want to have one person stand in for a whole group of people by camping out overnight for something happening in Hall H the next day, fine. But before everyone who's not that person heads off to their hotel rooms or homes, they need to be in line with their friend in order to get a wristband of a particular color. Once they have their wristbands, they can leave, and when they return in the morning to the friend they made sleep on the cold ground, the Con will know they're not technically "cutting," because they'll have wristbands of the same color as everybody else in their section. This also allows Comic-Con to get a rough idea of how many people are in line for the next morning's events, so anyone who arrives at, say, 5 a.m. without much of a prayer of getting in can be properly warned. The number of wristbands given out should roughly correspond to the number of people who are going to enter the hall, and the color-coding allows for even more ability to drill down into that data. If all of the red wristbands are given out, then that means X number of people got into line between 8 and 9 p.m. And so on. It's an elegant idea in theory, but in practice, it led to plenty of complaining in the Talk Back, complaining that wasn't always aimed solely at Rogers but occasionally at fellow Talk Back attendees, who spoke up for or against the new system. The central issue, as those who disliked the new system (or at least thought it could be improved) saw it, was the use of deadlines. See, wristbands for Hall H would only be given out until 1 a.m. each night, then resume distribution at 5 a.m. What happened, ultimately, was that those who wanted to get into Hall H rushed to get into line before 1 a.m., and on Friday night, they had actually gotten the entire capacity of the Hall into line before 9 p.m. for panels that wouldn't start for another 13 hours. Yet what can Rogers do? Certainly, he can modify or improve upon the wristband system. And certainly, he could abandon it entirely. (Ballroom 20, the other big venue for long lines, didn't adopt the new system, and it had far fewer problems with that kind of camping out.) But as he pointed out again and again, he can't exactly stop people from camping out in what's, ultimately, a public area. He and the city can keep people from putting up tents, and maybe he could send police officers through the area on periodic sweeps to keep people from sleeping there. But that wouldn't be in the spirit of what the Con believes itself to be, so it's not going to happen. The actual problems Amid the concerns, complaints, and exercises in game theory, however, there were several legitimate, horrifying issues raised, particularly with the Con's treatment of disabled people. Because of a miscommunication somewhere along the line, disabled fans who lined up for Hall H were left with nowhere to camp out, outside of the cold, hard cement, and when one man raised this issue with someone who at least seemed to be in charge, he was told that Comic-Con did not "condone" the disabled camping outside. Again and again, stories like this were told by disabled Con-goers or their caregivers as the session wore on. Someone had separated a caregiver from the person she cares for. A woman with crutches was made to wander up and down long lines in search of where she was supposed to go. And always, always, there were concerns about how too often, the Con's staff simply didn't know where disabled attendees were supposed to go. Usually, they're let in via a separate entrance or at a separate time, but too many staffers were confused on this point. These, of course, are the problems that will arise with a hastily trained, mostly volunteer workforce. Comic-Con has a number of full-time employees, but they mostly work on behind the scenes stuff. The public face of the Con is too often volunteers who don't yet know the entire lay of the land or missed something important in training. Or, worse, the public face of the Con becomes the security guards who patrol it at the behest of the convention center, not the Con itself, and often don't know the Con's own policies on things, like letting disabled attendees camp outside on the grass just like anyone else. To a degree, Rogers has no control over this. He can't personally step in and make sure every person who volunteers knows exactly what to do and when to do it, and he doubly can't control security guards or other convention center staff. The best he can do — and what he does throughout the Talk Back — is listen, and offer apologies, and say that the Con will try harder in 2015. But that doesn't matter to someone whose convention was ruined by a casual, callous remark. It only takes one person behaving poorly to ruin somebody's good time, and Rogers seems acutely aware of the fact that Comic-Con has 130,000 potential day-ruiners floating around out there. The lost city What became abundantly clear while following the Talk Back, however, was that the majority of those who attended were there to discuss long-running issues and offer their opinions on them. Despite the fact that the event has fallen under scrutiny this year for how hard it is to locate its (rather lax) sexual harassment policy, this issue doesn't once come up while I'm at the session, and is only alluded to in the most oblique of fashions, when one man says that he knows some women aren't comfortable camping out under the tents outside. And though the disabled attendees raise substantive issues that Rogers and the Con will have to do their best to deal with, the vast majority of the complaints raised here are simply raised by people who feel, in some way, that Comic-Con has changed out from under them, and they don't know what to do about that. Someone described the Talk Back to me as an Internet comment section come to life before I went to it, and there's some truth to that. There are a number of genuine concerns. There are slightly more helpful suggestions. And then most people just want to make sure their voices are heard on issues that extend from the wristband situation to how hard it can be to find exclusive merchandise on the show floor, even if they know there's minimal chance of anything happening. If Rogers ever lets his façade crack, it's to people in this lattermost group. One man asks him to "take a stand" for Comic-Con by telling movie studios they can't have panels at the event unless they allow for the rebroadcast of exclusive footage in the Hall H playback room. And while Rogers allows that he can see where the man is coming from, he also isn't going to take a stand on something so ultimately trivial, where the studios have very real legal concerns about the footage leaking (never mind that almost all of it immediately leaks to YouTube every year). "As a convention about comic creators, we understand the importance of intellectual property," Rogers concludes, and if he lets a slight tone of irritation crowd into his voice, well, it's been a long day and a long Con. What's interesting, though, is how the room reacts to all of this. The room is filled with people about to ask questions, yes, but it's also filled with people who've just come to watch. And while they're more than happy to applaud someone who makes a good point to Rogers forcefully, they're just as thrilled to applaud when he answers a question so definitively that it need never be asked again. (One early example involves his explanation for why Comic-Con's badges have an overhang at the top of the pouch holding them, instead of resting flush with it. The reason: it allows for easier, quicker access to the badge when attendees need to pull it out to let vendors scan the personalized barcode on it.) What's happening here is that everybody in the room believes, quite earnestly, that Comic-Con should be better, and they really do believe that being in that room and having this conversation will help that happen. But to listen to many of these questions, particularly ones that ask Rogers why the show doesn't just go back to the way things were however many years ago (when the Con invited its founders back as guests, or allowed for on-site registration a year in advance, or...), is to see people who are deeply invested in something that is disappearing beneath them. Camping out or refreshing a website endlessly to obtain a badge are all well and good for the young kids, some of these questions all but come out and say, but what about the people who've been coming for decades? Are they going to get some love? The answer to that, more or less, is no. There's just no way to go back to the way things were, not exactly. The Talk Back is wonderful and raucous and, oddly, intentionally funny. But it also suggests the frustration that arises when something you love, something you've devoted a part of your life to, is simply becoming something else. Comic-Con is an institution now. It can do pretty much whatever it likes. Yet for many who attend it, it's a kind of Brigadoon, a magical, lost city they can see disappearing into the mists all around them. The old Con is still there, if you're willing to look for it, but many of those who've gathered to air their grievances long to return to the days when that smaller event was the only one available. And so they trundle up to the microphone, and they offer their thoughts, and they hope Rogers is listening. And he nods and smiles and maybe cracks a quick joke, and he writes down some thoughts on his pad. But even though all of these people are in this together, even though all of them are pushing toward the same thing, so many of them will see the city vanish around them all the same. Everything, even Comic-Con, changes. |
Move mouse across image to view more The Bala Hissar fortress in Kabul was already centuries old when William the Conqueror built the Tower of London. Here it is, showing its age, in 1879, in a panorama that John Burke created by joining together two of his photographs. He had accompanied the British force invading Afghanistan the previous year, after a British mission was refused entry. This, the beginning of the Second Afghan War, had been prompted by the appearance of a Russian mission in Kabul in the middle of 1878. In recent years the First Afghan War of 1838-42 has been brandished regularly by journalists and commentators as an awful warning of what happens when others interfere in Afghanistan. The Second has not, which seems strange since it was as ill-advised as the First, even if its military outcome was not a humiliating disaster. In the 1840s there had been 2,000 miles between the Russian and British India frontiers; by the 1870s Russian penetration of Central Asia meant the gap had shrunk to less than 500 miles. This was what gave strength to the arguments of the ‘forward’ school, that the safety of India required the absorption of Afghanistan before Russia moved in there. In mid-1879 it seemed that this target had been achieved: a treaty had been signed with the Emir Mohammed Yaqub Khan by which, in return for a subsidy, Afghanistan’s foreign affairs were to be handled by Britain, with Sir Louis Cavagnani installed as Resident. The main British forces were withdrawn but Cavagnani retained an escort of about 80 men from the Corps of Guides, one of the elite irregular units which emerged from the Sikh Wars of the 1840s and the Indian Mutiny of 1857. However, just as the Resident Sir William Macnaghten and others had been slaughtered in 1841, so Cavagnani and all but one of the guides were killed when the Afghans turned on them in September, despite the ferocious resistance they put up around the residency buildings in the Bala Hissar. The British response was swift and General Sir Frederick Roberts fought his way back to Kabul with 2,500 men in October, hanging 49 Afghans in revenge and threatening to demolish the Bala Hissar, only for its magazine mysteriously to blow up a few days later. He moved his forces to an unfinished cantonment at Sherpur north of the city, where, in December, they survived a siege lasting several weeks. The emir abdicated and Afghanistan went quiet. Roberts dismantled part of the Bala Hissar before making the remainder properly defensible. Ayub, the brother of the emir, rose up and defeated a British force, of which nearly 1,000 were killed, in the west of the country at Maiwand in July 1880. Roberts responded with his much-lauded march to Kandahar, in which his force of 10,000 men covered 313 miles in 23 days. They defeated Ayub the next day. Gladstone, the new prime minister, committed to an ethical foreign policy, determined the war must end, so Abdur Rahman, a claimant acceptable to the Russians, was made emir. There were to be no more Residents and British forces withdrew. But Abdur Rahman had an English governess for his children, an Irish dentist and a Cockney engineer making artillery for him and he was no more prepared to give the Russians free rein than he was the British. When, in 1884, the Russians advanced from Merv to Panjdeh, 200 miles from Herat, his forces confronted them. The Afghans were defeated, but this turned out to be the last Russian throw in the region until 1979. Assisted by the building of the Trans-Siberian Railway, they turned their ambitions away from India and towards the Far East. |
US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has described Iran as a “global threat” in a news conference outlining evidence of the nation’s “destabilizing behavior” in the Middle East. Under the current administration the US attitude towards Iran has hardened. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump claimed that a 2015 financial deal intended to limit Iran’s nuclear program has helped the nation fund terrorism. Speaking about the new strategy on Iran, ambassador Nikki Haley indicated US agencies and their international partners are currently scrutinizing Iran’s ballistic missiles program, arms exports and “its support for terrorists, proxy fighters and dictators.” Under the 2015 UN resolution on Iran’s nuclear program, the supply, sale or transfer of ballistic missiles from the country must be approved by the UN security council on a case-by-case basis. Standing in front of a partially incinerated missile shell purported to have been fired into Saudi Arabia from Yemen, Haley told reporters at a Washington military base that illegal Iranian weapons are spreading throughout the Middle East. “Our new strategy was prompted by the undeniable fact that the Iranian regime’s behavior is growing worse. The nuclear deal has done nothing to moderate the regime’s conduct in other areas.” Haley said the US will attempt to build a international coalition to “push back” against Iran. She said missiles from Iran have been found in war zones across the Middle East. “It’s hard to find a conflict or a terrorist group in the Middle East that does not have Iran’s fingerprints all over it.” There is something very Bush-administration-y about this @nikkihaley press conference, staged in front of a captured Iranian missile fired from Yemen pic.twitter.com/yTkOM58rX3 — Mark Leon Goldberg (@MarkLGoldberg) December 14, 2017 The Iran government has stated that the country’s weapons program is for defense purposes. The US envoy presented remains of a missile found in Saudi Arabia as proof of Iranian enabled attacks against US allies in the Middle East. Haley said the missile’s intended target was a civilian airport in Riyadh. Weapon parts from a “kamikaze drone” and a boat fitted with a warhead were also mentioned as evidence of Iran backed aggression in the region. A date or location for when this weaponry was found was not announced by Haley. Iran's Foreign Minister compares Nikki Haley's speech today to Collin Powell's anthrax vial used to justify the Iraq War at the UN https://t.co/BXW4wGtJ0E — Josh Billinson (@jbillinson) December 14, 2017 The Government of Islamic Republic of Iran has since released a statement describing the evidence as “fabricated,” report Reuters. Saudi Arabia has welcomed the US stance and called for "immediate measures" to ensure the 2015 UN resolution is adhered to. Claims that Iran has misused its weaponry comes as a new study reveals arms manufactured in Europe, China, and Russia inadvertently fueled Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) arsenals between 2014-2017. READ MORE: Weapons supplied to Syrian opposition boosted ‘quantity & quality’ of ISIS arsenal According to the Conflict Armament Research report, the US and Saudi Arabia were the biggest culprits in transferring such arms to regions where they subsequently fell into the hands of ISIS-linked groups. “The United States and Saudi Arabia supplied most of this material without authorisation, apparently to Syrian opposition forces,” the report states. |
Sen. Richard Burr Richard Mauze BurrFive things to watch as Michael Cohen testifies Cohen grilled by Senate Intelligence panel Hillicon Valley: Senators urge Trump to bar Huawei products from electric grid | Ex-security officials condemn Trump emergency declaration | New malicious cyber tool found | Facebook faces questions on treatment of moderators MORE (R-N.C.), the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee leading the probe into Russia’s meddling in the presidential election, said Friday that President Trump’s tweet about FBI Director James Comey was “inappropriate.” "But to say more would be a mistake,” Burr added, according to WRAL. Burr was referring to Trump’s Friday morning tweet in which the president threatened the former FBI chief. ADVERTISEMENT “James Comey better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!” Trump wrote on Twitter. But Burr, who earlier this week said the timing and reasoning behind Comey’s firing "troubled" him, also noted on Friday that the president has the authority to fire the FBI director. “Make no mistake: The president has every right in his job to pick the head of the FBI and to trust the head of the FBI. Clearly, the president lost trust in James Comey. Why? That’s a question the president will have to answer,” Burr said, according to the Winston- Salem Journal. Trump fired Comey on Tuesday in a signed letter that called for “a new beginning” at the FBI. Four candidates were being interviewed Saturday as potential permanent replacements for the FBI chief. |
In addition, Ventana biologists began to look for possible sources of DDT. Condors are carrion eaters, and in recent years the Big Sur birds have turned to what was historically a major food source: marine mammals. Mr. Burnett now suspects that animals like California sea lions may present a hidden danger to condors. Even today, sea lion blubber contains high levels of DDE, a toxic metabolic breakdown product of DDT. Ventana biologists have been comparing the thickness of the eggshells recovered from the Big Sur birds with those produced by the Southern California condor flock that lives many miles from the coast. The Southern California birds do not feed on marine mammals, and their eggs are normal. Mr. Burnett says that preliminary results from Ventana’s study suggest that the Big Sur eggs are “substantially thinner” than those from the inland birds, and that early indicators point to DDT as the principal cause of the thinning. Although no known source of DDT exists near Big Sur, a large DDT hot spot in the marine sediments off the Southern California coast called the Palos Verdes Shelf has attracted Mr. Burnett’s attention because it is near a breeding ground for California sea lions that eat the area’s fish. The sea lions then migrate up the coast. Hundreds of these sea lions use a rocky beach near Big Sur as a stopping point on the trip north. In recent years, this sea lion “haul-out” has become a favorite feeding spot for the Big Sur condors. The DDT that pollutes the Palos Verdes Shelf originated half a century ago with the Montrose Chemical Corporation. At the time, Montrose was the world’s largest producer of what was once hailed as a “miracle pesticide.” According to Carmen White, the Environmental Protection Agency’s remedial project manager for the site, in the 1950s and ’60s Montrose discharged its untreated DDT waste directly into the Los Angeles County Sanitation District’s sewer system. An estimated 1,700 tons of DDT settled onto the seabed, where it continues to contaminate Pacific Coast waters. The E.P.A. has declared the area a Superfund site, and Ms. White is coordinating a plan to cover the most contaminated parts with a cap of sand and silt in 2012. 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. According to David Witting, a fishery biologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, diet determines how DDT affects various species. By 1971, when local officials forced Montrose to stop its discharge, Dr. Witting said brown pelicans and other surface-feeding birds had been hit hard. The pelicans were feeding on small, DDT-contaminated fish that picked up the pesticide as it drifted to the surface near the sewer outfall. Once Montrose stopped discharging DDT into the sewer, that contamination source disappeared. “Brown pelicans rebounded fairly quickly after the dumping stopped,” Dr. Witting said. James Haas, the environmental contaminants program coordinator for the Pacific Southwest region of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, noted that other birds in the region that feed higher on the food chain, like bald eagles, continue to suffer from DDT-induced eggshell thinning. Concerns about condors and DDT have prompted the Fish and Wildlife Service to initiate a new one-year project to study how marine mammals might be carrying Montrose DDT up the California coast. The main investigator, Myra Finkelstein at the University of California, Santa Cruz, is also leading a four-year study to investigate risk factors and management strategies to ensure the condor’s long-term sustainability. This includes not only DDT but also poisoning that comes from ingesting lead-bullet fragments found in hunter-shot game. Lead poisoning was a major factor in the bird’s brush with extinction and remains the primary danger today to released condors. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Because of the lead poisoning problem, in 2008 California enacted legislation requiring hunters in condor country to use ammunition without lead. Despite lead poisoning and the emerging DDT challenge, Mr. Burnett remains optimistic. He is hopeful that taking steps like capping the DDT-contaminated Montrose marine sediments as well as continuing research will provide solutions. He notes that in 1982 the population of California condors had been reduced to 22 birds. Although problems remain, bringing back the condor has been a conservation success story. There are now 380 California condors in the world, with about half of these titans of the sky flying free in the Western United States. “There is a light at the end of the tunnel,” Mr. Burnett said. “We just don’t know how far out that light is.” |
Alexa is the AI digital assistant to beat right now, and adding skills only makes it better. Here are 10 Skills to try if you have an Alexa unit at home or work. What you need to know about Amazon Alexa Amazon's voice assistant, Alexa, is taking over homes everywhere. Here are the top five things to know about it. Did you find an Amazon Echo under the Christmas tree this year? If so, or if you've had one for a while, you're probably wondering how to make it more useful. Amazon Alexa is already handy without any additional apps, but why limit yourself? SEE: Alexa Skills: Cheat sheet (TechRepublic) Alexa apps, called Skills, can do a number of things. Some are purely for entertainment and don't add much practical value to Alexa, but plenty do. Here are 10 of Alexa Skills that you'll probably find pretty useful. 1. Where'sMyPhone Are you constantly misplacing your phone? We all do it from time to time, and if there isn't someone else around to call it you might be searching for a while. That problem is a thing of the past with Where'sMyPhone. SEE: Amazon Alexa: The smart person's guide (TechRepublic) The first time you run Where'sMyPhone you'll be prompted to dictate your phone number. The skill will send you a test call to verify the number was correct. From then on you can just ask Alexa to find your phone and it will call you up: A perfect solution unless you always keep yours on silent like I do. 2. Food Finder Looking for a good place to eat? Food Finder just requires you to give it what you want and where you are and Alexa will suggest a place. It reads back the name, gives you a rating, and recites the first listed review. 3. OpenTable You've found your restaurant—now what? Make a reservation with OpenTable! When you activate the OpenTable skill you have to provide your name, email address, zip code, and phone number but that's it. Just request a reservation and you're all set! OpenTable will send you a confirmation email as well. 4. Web Analytics If you are responsible for a web domain you probably spend plenty of time looking at Google Analytics. Now you can just ask Alexa to read back statistics instead of having to sit down at the computer to look at them. Web Analytics isn't a Google product, so use it at your own risk. 5. Uber/Lyft Both Uber and Lyft have Alexa skills that you can use to book a ride, get rates and prices from one place to another, and even select different services like UberX or UberSelect. Lyft and Uber will also tell you where your ride is if you've been waiting too long. SEE: Gallery: Amazon Alexa dominates CES 2017 with dozens of third-party integrations (TechRepublic) Both skills use the addresses you have set in your Lyft or Uber accounts, so be sure everything is set up correctly before trying to use these Alexa skills. 6. Fitbit Fitbit users typically have to pull out their phones or sync their device with a computer to get feedback, but not if they own an Alexa unit. Fitbit's Alexa skill will answer all sorts of questions pertaining to your Fitbit data. Ask it how you slept, how many steps you've taken, or anything else Fitbit is measuring about your life. 7. Census Stats You don't have to install Census Stats to get feedback from Alexa about geographic locations, but you do need it if you want to dig down into specifics. If you've ever needed demographic information about somewhere in the United States, Census Stats is a must-have. It can answer a multitude of questions, and it even tells you where it pulls the data from if you need to cite a source. 8. CNET If you've used an Alexa unit for long you're probably familiar with the Flash Briefing. This morning roundup of news, weather, and traffic is one of the best things about having an Amazon Echo, especially since it's so customizable. Our sister site CNET has its own Alexa skill, so if you're looking for the latest tech news in your Flash Briefing be sure to install it. TechRepublic doesn't have a skill yet, but who knows what the future may hold? 9. Alexa Things To Try One of the most daunting things about Alexa is how much it can do. It's hard to remember all the commands that activate its different useful abilities, which is why Amazon released Alexa Things To Try. This skill simply adds an Alexa tip to your Flash Briefing, allowing you to learn what it's capable of skill by skill. 10. Ask My Buddy Accidents happen and when they do you don't always have the time—or ability—to get to the phone. Ask My Buddy is an essential Alexa skill for those living alone. After adding contact information for one or more emergency contacts you can tell Ask My Buddy to alert a particular person or the whole list that something is wrong. Ask My Buddy definitely isn't a replacement for calling 911, but it is great for peace of mind or getting ahold of someone in an emergency situation. What Alexa skills do you love? Ten is hardly an exhaustive list, so if we missed one of your favorites add it to the comments below! Next Big Thing Newsletter Be in the know about smart cities, AI, Internet of Things, VR, autonomous driving, drones, robotics, and more of the coolest tech innovations. Delivered Wednesdays and Fridays Sign up today Also see |
Re: Politico - Sanders: 'It will be a contested convention' From:hrtsleeve@gmail.com To: PaustenbachM@dnc.org CC: MirandaL@dnc.org Date: 2016-05-01 23:53 Subject: Re: Politico - Sanders: 'It will be a contested convention' So much for a traditional presumptive nominee. DWS > On May 1, 2016, at 8:01 PM, Paustenbach, Mark <PaustenbachM@dnc.org> wrote: > > Sanders: 'It will be a contested convention' > > By Daniel Strauss > > 05/01/16 04:33 PM EDT > > Bernie Sanders predicted Sunday that Hillary Clinton would not win enough pledged delegates to claim the nomination ahead of the Democratic convention in Philadelphia, and he delivered his most forceful call yet for superdelegates in states he's won to consider throwing their support to him. > > Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., the Vermont senator argued that Clinton "will need superdelegates to take her over the top at the convention in Philadelphia. In other words, it will be a contested convention." > > Sanders said that in the states where he handily defeated Clinton, superdelegates who aren't supporting him should reconsider aligning themselves with the will of voters of those states. > > "In the state of Washington, we won that caucus with almost 73 percent of the vote there — 73 percent of the vote. In anybody's opinion, that is a massive landslide. But at this point Secretary Clinton has 10 superdelegates from the state of Washington, we have zero," Sanders said, offering an example of a state where he won the popular vote but did not collect any superdelegates. "I would ask the superdelegates from the state of Washington to respect the wishes from the people in their state and the votes they have cast." > > Sanders' comments came just ahead of Tuesday’s Indiana primary, as his path to the nomination has become even more narrow due to recent defeats. The campaign recently laid off a large number of staff members in states that have voted. > > Clinton currently has 1,645 delegates and 520 superdelegates, while Sanders has 1,318 delegates and 39 superdelegates. In total, 2,383 delegates are needed to win the Democratic nomination. > > Sanders conceded that it wouldn't be easy for him to close the margin, but he said he would continue fighting. > > "For us to win the majority of pledged delegates, we need to win 710 out of the remaining 1083," Sanders said. "That is 65 percent. That is, admittedly, a tough road to climb, but not an impossible one. And we intend to fight for every vote and delegate remaining." > > |
By Yi Whan-woo North Korea tested a new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) on March 16, two weeks after the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) imposed its latest sanctions in response to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests in January and February, respectively, according to an online U.S. newspaper. Citing defense officials, the Washington Free Beacon reported Tuesday that a "pop-up" or "ejection test" of a KN-11 missile was carried out. It said last week's test took place from a canister at the Sinpo shipyard on North Korea's east coast. The site is where a KN-11 missile is under development along with the new Sinpo-class submarine that can carry ballistic missiles. Both the U.S. and South Korean governments refused to verify the report. "We're not going to comment on matters of intelligence," U.S Department of Defense spokesman Cmdr. Bill Urban was quoted as saying by the Beacon. "It's a matter of intelligence and we can't confirm whether the report is true or not," Ministry of Defense spokesman Moon Sang-Gyun said, Wednesday. If confirmed, the test will be in violation the UNSC's Resolution 2270 approved on March 2. This imposed the toughest U.N. sanctions on the Kim Jong-un regime for defying previous rounds of U.N. resolutions. The latest SLBM test comes after the reclusive state test-fired a KN-11 missile on Dec. 21 from a submerged vessel in waters near Sinpo. Pyongyang also failed in an underwater release test of a KN-11 missile on Nov. 28. An SLBM equipped submarine would make it more difficult for South Korea and the U.S. military to detect a missile attacks in advance. Since March 2, North Korea has carried out a series of both short- and mid-range missile tests, in an apparent show of anger over the UNSC's punitive measures. Kim also hinted at carrying out another nuclear test and long-range rocket launches. The Seoul government said Monday that Pyongyang was capable of conducting its fifth nuclear test "at any time." |
I recently gave a talk about recommender systems at the Data Science Sydney meetup (the slides are available here). This post roughly follows the outline of the talk, expanding on some of the key points in non-slide form (i.e., complete sentences and paragraphs!). The first few sections give a broad overview of the field and the common recommendation paradigms, while the final part is dedicated to debunking five common myths about recommender systems. Motivation: Why should we care about recommender systems? The key reason why many people seem to care about recommender systems is money. For companies such as Amazon, Netflix, and Spotify, recommender systems drive significant engagement and revenue. But this is the more cynical view of things. The reason these companies (and others) see increased revenue is because they deliver actual value to their customers – recommender systems provide a scalable way of personalising content for users in scenarios with many items. Another reason why data scientists specifically should care about recommender systems is that it is a true data science problem. That is, at least according to my favourite definition of data science as the intersection between software engineering, machine learning, and statistics. As we will see, building successful recommender systems requires all of these skills (and more). Defining recommender systems When trying to the define anything, a reasonable first step is to ask Wikipedia. Unfortunately, as of the day of this post’s publication, Wikipedia defines recommender systems too narrowly, as “a subclass of information filtering system that seek to predict the ‘rating’ or ‘preference’ that a user would give to an item” (I should probably fix it, but this wrong definition helped my talk flow better – let me know if you fix it and I’ll update this paragraph). The problem with Wikipedia’s definition is that there’s so much more to recommender systems than rating prediction. First, recommender is a misnomer – calling it a discovery assistant is better, as the so-called recommendations are far from binding. Second, system means that elements like presentation are important, which is part of what makes recommendation such an interesting data science problem. My definition is simply: Recommender systems are systems that help users discover items they may like. Recommendation paradigms Depending on who you ask, there are between two and twenty different recommendation paradigms. The usual classification is by the type of data that is used to generate recommendations. The distinction between approaches is more academic than practical, as it is often a good idea to use hybrids/ensembles to address each method’s limitations. Nonetheless, it is worthwhile discussing the different paradigms. The way I see it, if you ignore trivial approaches that often work surprisingly well (e.g., popular items, and “watch it again”), there are four main paradigms: collaborative filtering, content-based, social/demographic, and contextual recommendation. Collaborative filtering is perhaps the most famous approach to recommendation, to the point that it is sometimes seen as synonymous with the field. The main idea is that you’re given a matrix of preferences by users for items, and these are used to predict missing preferences and recommend items with high predictions. One of the key advantages of this approach is that there has been a huge amount of research into collaborative filtering, making it pretty well-understood, with existing libraries that make implementation fairly straightforward. Another important advantage is that collaborative filtering is independent of item properties. All you need to get started is user and item IDs, and some notion of preference by users for items (ratings, views, etc.). The major limitation of collaborative filtering is its reliance on preferences. In a cold-start scenario, where there are no preferences at all, it can’t generate any recommendations. However, cold starts can also occur when there are millions of available preferences, because pure collaborative recommendation doesn’t work for items or users with no ratings, and often performs pretty poorly when there are only a few ratings. Further, the underlying collaborative model may yield disappointing results when the preference matrix is sparse. In fact, this has been my experience in nearly every situation where I deployed collaborative filtering. It always requires tweaking, and never simply works out of the box. Content-based algorithms are given user preferences for items, and recommend similar items based on a domain-specific notion of item content. The main advantage of content-based recommendation over collaborative filtering is that it doesn’t require as much user feedback to get going. Even one known user preference can yield many good recommendations (which can lead to the collection of preferences to enable collaborative recommendation). In many scenarios, content-based recommendation is the most natural approach. For example, when recommending news articles or blog posts, it’s natural to compare the textual content of the items. This approach also extends naturally to cases where item metadata is available (e.g., movie stars, book authors, and music genres). One problem with deploying content-based recommendations arises when item similarity is not so easily defined. However, even when it is natural to measure similarity, content-based recommendations may end up being too homogeneous to be useful. Such recommendations may also be too static over time, thereby failing to adjust to changes in individual user tastes and other shifts in the underlying data. Social and demographic recommenders suggest items that are liked by friends, friends of friends, and demographically-similar people. Such recommenders don’t need any preferences by the user to whom recommendations are made, making them very powerful. In my experience, even trivially-implemented approaches can be depressingly accurate. For example, just summing the number of Facebook likes by a person’s close friends can often be enough to paint a pretty accurate picture of what that person likes. Given this power of social and demographic recommenders, it isn’t surprising that social networks don’t easily give their data away. This means that for many practitioners, employing social/demographic recommendation algorithms is simply impossible. However, even when such data is available, it is not always easy to use without creeping users out. Further, privacy concerns need to be carefully addressed to ensure that users are comfortable with using the system. Contextual recommendation algorithms recommend items that match the user’s current context. This allows them to be more flexible and adaptive to current user needs than methods that ignore context (essentially giving the same weight to all of the user’s history). Hence, contextual algorithms are more likely to elicit a response than approaches that are based only on historical data. The key limitations of contextual recommenders are similar to those of social and demographic recommenders – contextual data may not always be available, and there’s a risk of creeping out the user. For example, ad retargeting can be seen as a form of contextual recommendation that follows users around the web and across devices, without having the explicit consent of the users to being tracked in this manner. Five common myths about recommender systems There are some common myths and misconceptions surrounding recommender systems. I’ve picked five to address in this post. If you disagree, agree, or have more to add, I would love to hear from you either privately or in the comment section. The accuracy myth Offline optimisation of an accuracy measure is sufficient for creating a successful recommender Reality Users don’t really care about accuracy This is perhaps the most prevalent myth of all, as evidenced by Wikipedia’s definition of recommender systems. It’s somewhat surprising that it still persists, as it’s been almost ten years since McNee et al.’s influential paper on the damage the focus on accuracy measures has done to the field. It is therefore worth asking where this myth came from. My theory is that it is a feedback loop between academia and industry. In academia it is pretty easy to publish papers with infinitesimal improvements to arbitrary accuracy measures on offline datasets (I’m also guilty of doing just that), while it’s relatively hard to run experiments on live systems. However, one of the moves that significantly increased focus on offline predictive accuracy came from industry, in the form of the $1M Netflix prize, where the goal was to improve the accuracy of Netflix’s rating prediction algorithm by 10%. Notably, most of the algorithms that came out of the three-year competition were never integrated into Netflix. As discussed on the Netflix blog: You might be wondering what happened with the final Grand Prize ensemble that won the $1M two years later… We evaluated some of the new methods offline but the additional accuracy gains that we measured did not seem to justify the engineering effort needed to bring them into a production environment. Our business objective is to maximize member satisfaction and month-to-month subscription retention… Now it is clear that the Netflix Prize objective, accurate prediction of a movie’s rating, is just one of the many components of an effective recommendation system that optimizes our members’ enjoyment. The following chart says it all (taken from the second part of the blog post quoted above): An important question that arises is: If users don’t really care about predictive accuracy, what do they care about? The answer is that predictive accuracy has some importance (as evidenced by the above chart), but it is not the only thing. In my opinion, the key consideration is UI/UX. You can have the most accurate recommendations in the world, but no one would know about it (or care) if they are not served in a timely manner through a friendly interface. Of course, even with a great user interface and accurate predictions, there are other issues that require attention when designing recommender systems. Examples include diversity (showing various types of items), serendipity/novelty (showing non-obvious recommendations that users don’t already know about), and coverage (being able to generate recommendations for all users and items). Many other considerations are covered in an excellent survey by Guy Shani and Asela Gunawardana. It’s also worth noting that there is an inherent problem with common accuracy measures. Specifically, when using a measure like root mean square error, a rating prediction algorithm can be made to perform better by reducing errors on low ratings. This is rather pointless, because items with low ratings will not be shown to users in any case. Finally, a key issue that arises with offline evaluation is that there are biases in offline datasets that do not necessarily carry over to online scenarios. For instance, in many cases there is an implicit assumption that data is missing at random, when it really isn’t, e.g., the fact that users took the effort to watch and rate a movie already tells us a lot about a bias they have towards this movie (the team that won the Netflix prize used this bias to their advantage). Hiding this rating and trying to predict it is not the same as predicting a rating for a movie that is picked at random from the entire set of movies. The black box myth You can build successful recommender systems without worrying about what’s being recommended and how recommendations are being served Reality UI/UX is king, item type is critical A good recommender system has to consider how users interact with the recommendations. For example, the number of displayed recommendations should inform the optimisation procedure (e.g., are you aiming for precision@1 or precision@10?). How these recommendations are laid out (e.g., horizontally/vertically) tends to influence user interaction. In addition, being able to explain the reasons for the recommendations can yield easy wins. Finally, in many cases there are constraints on the amount of time that can be spent generating recommendations. In addition to UI/UX, the design of good recommender systems has to account for what’s being recommended. For example, music tracks and short videos can be played many times, so it’s probably a good idea to recommend items that the user has already seen. On the other hand, items like washing machines and cars don’t get consumed as often. If a user has just bought a washing machine, they’re unlikely to want another one anytime soon (but they may want a dryer or a clothes line). Hynt is a recommender-system-as-a-service for e-commerce whose development I led up until the middle of last year. The general idea is that merchants simply add a few lines of JavaScript to their shop pages and Hynt does the hard work of recommending relevant items from the store, while considering the user and page context. Going live with Hynt reaffirmed many well-known UI/UX lessons. Most notably: Above the fold is better than below. Engagement with Hynt widgets that were visible without scrolling was higher than those that were lower on the page. Engagement with Hynt widgets that were visible without scrolling was higher than those that were lower on the page. More recommendations are better than a few. Hynt widgets are responsive, adapting to the size of the container they’re placed in. Engagement was more likely when more recommendations were displayed, because users were more likely to find something they liked without scrolling through the widget. Hynt widgets are responsive, adapting to the size of the container they’re placed in. Engagement was more likely when more recommendations were displayed, because users were more likely to find something they liked without scrolling through the widget. Fast is better than slow. If recommendations load faster, more people see them, which increases engagement. In Hynt’s case speed was especially important because the widgets load asynchronously after the host page finishes loading. Another important UI/UX element is explanations. Displaying a plausible explanation next to a recommendation can do wonders, without making any changes to the underlying recommendation algorithms. The impact of explanations has been studied extensively by Nava Tintarev and Judith Masthoff. They have identified seven different aims of explanations, which are summarised in the following table (reproduced from their survey of explanations in recommender systems). Aim Definition Transparency Explain how the system works Scrutability Allow users to tell the system it is wrong Trust Increase user confidence in the system Effectiveness Help users make good decisions Persuasiveness Convince users to try or buy Efficiency Help users make decisions faster Satisfaction Increase ease of usability or enjoyment Explanations are ubiquitous in real-world recommender systems. For example, Amazon uses explanations like “frequently bought together”, and “customers who bought this item also bought”, while Netflix presents different lists of recommendations where each list is driven by a different reason. However, as the following Netflix example shows, it is worth making sure that the explanations you provide don’t make you look stupid. The solved problem myth The space of recommender systems has been exhaustively explored Reality Development of new methods is often required When I finished my PhD, about three years ago, I joined a small startup called Giveable as the first employee (essentially part of the founding team that was formed after Adam Neumann, the original founder, graduated from AngelCube and raised some seed funding). Giveable’s original product was a webapp where users could connect with their Facebook account and find gifts for their friends. At the time, there wasn’t much published research on gift recommendation, and there was more or less nothing about the specific problem of recommending gifts for Facebook friends using liked pages. Here are some of the ways this problem differs from classic recommendation scenarios. Need to consider giver and receiver. Unlike traditional scenarios, the recommended items aren’t consumed by the user to whom they’re shown. In practice, this meant that we had to ensure the items are giftable , and take into account the relationship between the giver and the receiver. For example, the type of gift your mum may give you is different from gifts your partner may give you. Unlike traditional scenarios, the recommended items aren’t consumed by the user to whom they’re shown. In practice, this meant that we had to ensure the items are , and take into account the relationship between the giver and the receiver. For example, the type of gift your mum may give you is different from gifts your partner may give you. Likes are historical, sparse, and often nonsensical. This is best illustrated by an example: What does liking a page such as Tony Abbott – Worst PM in Australian History tell us about gifts the user may like? Tony Abbott is no longer prime minister (thankfully), so it’s historical, and while this page is quite popular, there are many other pages out there that are difficult to interpret and are liked by only a handful of people (this video is a good summary of why Tony is disliked, for those who are unfamiliar with Australian politics). This is best illustrated by an example: What does liking a page such as Tony Abbott – Worst PM in Australian History tell us about gifts the user may like? Tony Abbott is no longer prime minister (thankfully), so it’s historical, and while this page is quite popular, there are many other pages out there that are difficult to interpret and are liked by only a handful of people (this video is a good summary of why Tony is disliked, for those who are unfamiliar with Australian politics). Likes are not for recommended items. As the above example shows, just because you like disliking Tony, it doesn’t exactly lead to useful gifts. Even with things that are more related to interests, such as authors and bands, the liked pages aren’t recommendable as gifts. As the above example shows, just because you like disliking Tony, it doesn’t exactly lead to useful gifts. Even with things that are more related to interests, such as authors and bands, the liked pages aren’t recommendable as gifts. Likes are not always available offline. This was an important engineering consideration: We didn’t have much time to generate recommendations from the point where a new user gave us permission to view their likes and the likes of their friends. Ideally, recommendation generation would take less than a second from the time we got all the data from Facebook. This puts a strong constraint on the types of algorithms we could use. The key to effectively addressing the Giveable recommendation problem was doing as much processing offline as possible. Specifically: Similar pages were inferred using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (which can be seen as a collaborative filtering technique). This made it possible to use information from pages that are not directly linked to giftable products, e.g., for the above Tony Abbott example, people who dislike him are likely to be left-leaning, which implies many other interests. Facebook pages were matched to giftable products with heuristics + Mechanical Turk + machine learning. This took a few iterations of what was essentially partly-manual semi-supervised learning, where we obtained high-confidence matches through heuristics and manual tagging, and then used this to train a classifier that was used to classify uncertain matches. The results of classification on a hold-out set were then verified through manual tagging of subsamples. We enriched the page and product data with structured information from the Freebase knowledge graph (which has since been deprecated). This allowed us to easily match giftable products to liked pages, e.g., books to authors. The online part included taking a receiver’s liked pages, inferring likes for similar pages, and matching all these pages to a ranked and diversified list of giftable product recommendations. These recommendations came with explanations, which were quite important in this case because the giver of a gift has to know why they’re giving it. The silver bullet myth Optimising a single measure or using a single algorithm is sufficient for generating a good recommendation list Reality Hybrids work best Netflix provides another example for how focusing on a single algorithm or measure of success is far from sufficient. In a recent blog post, they talk about how they use multiple algorithms to optimise the order of different recommendation lists and each list’s internal ranking, while considering device-specific UI constraints, relevance, engagement, diversity, business requirements, and more. An example from my experience comes from Giveable (which ended up evolving into Hynt), where a single list was generated by mixing the outputs of the following recommendation approaches: contextual, direct likes, inferred likes, content-based, social, collaborative filtering of products, previously viewed items, and popular interests/products. The weight of each algorithm in the mix was static – it was either set manually or through A/B testing, and then left as a hardcoded constant. This kind of static mix can get you very far, but there’s a better way that I haven’t gotten around to implementing before leaving to work on other things. This way is described in a series of posts on bandits for recommenders by Sergey Feldman of RichRelevance. The general idea is to train recommendation models offline using a small number of strategies/paradigms. Online, recommendations are served from strategies that maximise clickthrough and revenue, given a context of features that describe the user, merchant, and web page where the RichRelevance widget is embedded. Rather than setting static weights for the strategies, the bandit model continuously adjusts the weights, while balancing between exploring new strategy weights and exploiting strategies that have been known to work well in a specific context. This allows the overall recommendation engine to adjust to changes in reality and in the underlying data. The omnipresence myth Every personalised system is a recommender system Reality This one is kinda true, but not necessarily useful… The first conference I attended as a PhD student was the 18th International Conference on User Modeling, Adaptation and Personalization (UMAP), back in 2010. The field of recommender systems was getting increased attention, and Peter Brusilovsky, who has been working in the UMAP field for decades, argued that recommender systems are the new expert systems. This was partly because the hype was causing people to broaden the definition of the field to allow them to say that they’re working on recommender systems. I don’t think it’s incorrect that personalisation and recommender systems are different things. However, one problem that this may cause is making people think that common recommendation techniques would apply in scenarios where they’re unlikely to work. For example, web search can be seen as a recommender system for pages that gives a high weight to the user’s intent, as captured by the query. Hence, when personalising web search, it seems sensible to use collaborative filtering techniques. This was indeed my experience with the Yandex search personalisation competition: employing a matrix factorisation approach that was inspired by collaborative filtering turned out to be a waste of time compared to domain-specific methods. In conclusion, recommenders are about as murky as data science. Just like data science, the boundaries of recommender systems are hard to define and they are sometimes over-hyped. This hype may lead to people investing in a recommender system they don’t really need, just like the common issue of premature investment in data science. However, the hype is based on real value, which can definitely be delivered by recommender systems when they are used correctly. |
From surveillance video of Kalief being assaulted in Rikers Thursday, on what would have been his 24th birthday, an intersection in the Bronx was renamed in honor of Kalief Browder, the 16-year-old African-American boy flung into New York's grisly Rikers Island Prison in 2010 after he was wrongly accused of stealing a backpack and his family couldn't raise bail. At Rikers, known as a de-facto "penal colony" for its brutal conditions, Kalief endured three years of "documented torture," including two years in solitary, at the hands of both guards and fellow inmates. He was repeatedly beaten, assaulted, starved; he attempted suicide at least five times, and was punished each time; he faced unending legal delays until he became "an unheard voice," as though he "didn't exist." Throughout his harrowing ordeal, documented at length by Jennifer Gonnerman in The New Yorker, he maintained his innocence and refused all plea deals. In June 2014, the charges were suddenly dropped and he was freed. After struggling for two years with post-Rikers trauma, depression and paranoia, Kalief hanged himself outside his family's Bronx home in what Gonnerman calls an “American tragedy almost beyond words.” He was 22. SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT Help Keep Common Dreams Alive Our progressive news model only survives if those informed and inspired by this work support our efforts Kalief's short life and tragic death "put a human face" on New York's broken criminal justice system, personified by the barbarous Rikers, and sparked a host of actions. In quick succession, Spike TV aired “TIME: The Kalief Browder Story,” a six-part documentary series produced by Jay Z, and city and state officials stopped the practice of charging 16-and-17 year olds as adults or putting them in solitary, passed a bill to speed up pre-trial detention, and announced a 10-year plan to close Rikers, "New York’s premier institution of punishment (that) churns out human carnage." Still, Kalief's family and other prison reform advocates say there's a long way to go. His brother Akeem, who works to shutdownRikers and raise New York's age of criminal responsibility, notes the plan to close Rikers would see the "villainous" opening of four smaller jails that would likely change little in a toxic prison culture: "The walls of Rikers Island didn’t kill Kalief. Those officers that work there (did)." At Thursday's modest, rainy unveiling of Kalief Browder Way, Akeem vowed to Kalief to "do more in your honor and in your memory." But he'll be racing against time: Recounting his torments after he was freed, a weary Kalief told an interviewer, "This happens every day." |
Abstract: The fear that Moroni’s soldier’s speech (Alma 44:14) aroused in the Lamanite soldiers and the intensity of Zerahemnah’s subsequently redoubled anger are best explained by the polysemy (i.e., multiple meanings within a lexeme’s range of meaning) of a single word translated “chief” in Alma 44:14 and “heads” in Alma 44:18. As editor of a sacred history, Mormon was interested in showing the fulfilment of prophecy when such fulfilment occurred. Mormon’s description of the Lamanites “fall[ing] exceedingly fast” because of the exposure of the Lamanites’ “bare heads” to the Nephites’ swords and their being “smitten” in Alma 44:18 — just as “the scalp of their chief” was smitten and thus fell (Alma 44:12–14) — pointedly demonstrates the fulfilment of the soldier’s prophecy. In particular, the phrase “bare heads” constitutes a polysemic wordplay on “chief,” since words translated “head” can alternatively be translated “chief,” as in Alma 44:14. A similar wordplay on “top” and “leader” in 3 Nephi 4:28–29, probably again represented by a single word, also partly explains the force of the simile curse described there. Alma 44:12–14 recounts a prophetic threat uttered by “one of Moroni’s soldiers” to the defeated Lamanite leader Zerahemnah and his soldiers after Moroni’s soldier had taken off a part of Zerahemnah’s scalp with his sword. His soldier’s prophecy and its reported fulfilment verses later in Alma 44:18 turn on the words “chief” and “head.” Both “head” in the anatomical sense and “head”/“chief” in a sociological leadership [Page 40]sense are represented by a single word in Hebrew (rōʾš) and Egyptian (tp), both languages that the Nephites themselves said they used. In this brief note, I propose that the intensity of the fear aroused in the Lamanite soldiers and the intensity of Zerahemnah’s redoubled anger are best explained by the polysemy (i.e., the range of meaning) of a single word translated “chief” in Alma 44:14 and “heads” in Alma 44:18. Mormon’s use of the latter term in Alma 44:18 completes the fulfilment of the soldier’s prophecy, a polysemic wordplay initiated with his use of a term translated “chief” in Alma 44:14. “This Scalp, Which Is the Scalp of Your Chief” Mormon records that the Nephite armies under Moroni’s leadership had defeated the armies of the Lamanites under the leadership of the Zoramite Zerahemnah in the eighteenth year of the reign of the judges (Alma 43:3–44:20). In particular, Alma 44:1–11 details an exchange between Moroni and Zerahemnah in which the former dictated terms of peace (an “oath” that the Lamanites lay down their weapons and not come again to battle) and the latter rejected those terms. In verse 11, Moroni issues an ultimatum: surrender or be destroyed. What follows is one of the more dramatic and intriguing episodes in the Book of Mormon. Zerahemnah, angry at Moroni’s ultimatum, attempts to assassinate Moroni: And now when Moroni had said these words, Zerahemnah retained his sword, and he was angry with Moroni, and he rushed forward that he might slay Moroni; but as he raised his sword, behold, one of Moroni’s soldiers smote it even to the earth, and it broke by the hilt; and he also smote Zerahemnah that he took off his scalp and it fell to the earth. And Zerahemnah withdrew from before them into the midst of [Page 41]his soldiers. And it came to pass that the soldier who stood by, who smote off the scalp of Zerahemnah, took up the scalp from off the ground by the hair, and laid it upon the point of his sword, and stretched it forth unto them, saying unto them with a loud voice: Even as this scalp has fallen to the earth, which is the scalp of you r chief , so shall ye fall to the earth except ye will deliver up your weapons of war and depart with a covenant of peace. (Alma 44:12-14) Mark Morrise cites the speech of Moroni’s soldier in Alma 44:14 as an example of a “simile curse” or a “treaty curse,” in which the symbolic action enacted on the scalp becomes the penalty for violating the terms of the treaty (in this case by not accepting them). The treaty comparison here is appropriate because the Lamanites are being offered a “covenant of peace” or “peace treaty” (cf. Hebrew bĕrît šālôm) and on very generous terms. The only apparent requirements are to hand over their weaponry and to never come to battle against the Nephites again. In the soldier’s “prophetic curse,” as Donald W. Parry describes it, we also hear cultic echoes and the divine-warrior language of the Psalms: “But God shall wound the head [rōʾš] of his enemies, and the hairy scalp [qodqōd šĕʿîr] of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses [baʾăšāmâw — i.e., “his guilt”]”(Psalm 68:21 [MT Psalm 68:22]); “He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound th e heads [lit. singular the head, rōʾš] over many countries … therefore shall he lift up the head [rōʾš]” (Psalm 110:6–7). These two Psalms — hymns of the Jerusalem temple having particular pertinence to Davidic kingship and leadership — promise or prophesy [Page 42]that the Lord will wound the “heads” of his enemies, especially the enemies of the Davidic king. The polysemy of the term rōʾš (“head”) is evident: the Lord will wound the “head[s]” (body parts) of his enemies, but he will also wound their heads (chiefs or leaders), just as he will uphold Judah’s head — i.e., the Davidic king (cf. the title of Jesus as “our great and eternal head,” Helaman 13:38). “They Were Struck With Fear” Mormon reports that the soldier’s visually-enhanced prophetic rhetoric struck many of the Lamanites with abject fear: Now there were many, when they heard these words and saw the scalp which was upon the sword, that were struck with fear; and many came forth and threw down their weapons of war at the feet of Moroni, and entered into a covenant of peace. And as many as entered into a covenant they suffered to depart into the wilderness. (Alma 44:15) Parry states that soldier’s “symbolic actions … were so effective that … the audience reacted immediately and positively.” I would further argue that the great fear that the Lamanite soldiers exhibited was due to how they heard the word “chief” used by Moroni’s soldier. If “chief”/“head” (sociological) and “head” (anthropological) were represented by the same term in their own language, they would have not only heard “this is the scalp of your chief,” but “this is the scalp of your head” — i.e., your own “heads.” The scalp, of course, was the extension of Zerahemnah’s anatomical “head,” just as they were extensions of him as their sociological “head” or “chief.” Not wanting their own “heads” to become like their “head”/“chief” Zerahemnah and his fallen scalp, these warriors “threw down their weapons” (i.e., caused them to “fall”) at the feet of Moroni. Their “thrown down,” or “fallen,” weapons, in a sense serve as substitutes for themselves (who would have otherwise “fallen”). It is further noteworthy that the image of the “weapons … at the feet of Moroni” provides a vivid contrast to the Zerahemnah’s “scalp … upon the point of [Moroni’s soldier’s] sword,” or “the scalp which was upon the sword.” “Zerahemnah Was Exceedingly Wroth” The soldier’s “simile” or “treaty” curse has the opposite effect on Zerahemnah himself, who does not react positively: “Now it came to [Page 43]pass that Zerahemnah was exceedingly wroth, and he did stir up the remainder of his soldiers to anger, to contend more powerfully against the Nephites” (Alma 44:16). Of course, Zerahemnah’s wounding coupled with the speech by one of Moroni’s subordinates laying out a set of demands would have been enough to make Zerahemnah angry. However, Zerahemnah apparently also heard the double entendre of the word rendered “chief”/“head,” referring to himself both as “chief” of the Lamanites but also to his own wounded “head,” which the soldier made into a metonym for the “heads” of the individual Lamanite soldiers. Additionally, the “scalp” of Lamanite “chief”/“head” Zerahemnah becomes a metonym for their soldiers’ own persons or bodies, which are both extensions of the “head” (see below). Thus, the soldier’s prophetic speech with its polysemic pun on “chief”/“head” redoubles Zerahemnah’s anger. He then stubbornly and foolishly incites some of his more loyal soldiers to continue waging an unwinnable battle. The results of this stubbornness, in terms of additional and unnecessary loss of human life, are tragic. “Their Bare Heads … Were … Smitten” Mormon indicates that Zerahemnah’s being “exceedingly wroth” coupled with the “anger” of Zerahemnah’s more loyal soldiers, in turn redoubles Moroni’s own anger: And now Moroni was angry, because of the stubbornness of the Lamanites; therefore he commanded his people that they should fall upon them and slay them. And it came to pass that they began to slay them; yea, and the Lamanites did contend with their swords and their might. But behold, their naked skins and their bar e hea ds were exposed to the sharp swords of the Nephites; yea, behold they were pierced and smitten, yea, and did fall exceedingly fast before the swords of the Nephites; and they began to be swept down, even as the soldier of Moroni had prophesied. (Alma 44:16–18) The “heads” of the Lamanites who refuse the “covenant of peace” become like their head, Zerahemnah and his scalp: “pierced and smitten” (cf. “smote,” vv. 12–13), and they “fall [to the earth] exceedingly fast.” The correspondence between Mormon’s use of the term translated as “heads” here and “chief” (Alma 44:14) becomes clearest when we consider that both are most likely represented by the same word in the underlying text. [Page 44]Mormon’s statement that the Lamanites who continued to fight “did fall exceedingly fast” recalls the image of the “scalp [that] fell to the earth” and the soldier’s prophetic declaration, “Even as this scalp has fallen to the earth, which is the scalp of your chief, so shall ye fall to the earth” (44:14). In fact, the words “did fall exceedingly fast” confirm the fulfilment of the soldier’s prophetic simile curse that regarded not merely the fate of their “chief” but also the fate of their own bare “heads,” which were “smitten” like Zerahemnah’s scalp because of their “expo[sure] to the sharp swords of the Nephites.” It is additionally possible that Mormon incorporates a similar simile involving a polysemic play on “head” in 3 Nephi 4:28–29, when the righteous Nephites and Lamanites make a public example of Zemnarihah, the leader of the Gadianton robbers: And their leader [head, rōʾš], Zemnarihah, was taken and hanged upon a tree, yea, even upon the top [rōʾš] thereof until he was dead. And when they had hanged him until he was dead they did fell the tree to the earth, and did cry with a loud voice, saying: May the Lord preserve his people in righteousness and in holiness of heart, that they may cause to be felled to the earth all who shall seek to slay them because of power and secret combinations, even as this man hath been felled to the earth. (3 Nephi 4:28–29) At least part of the simile here seems to consist in the “top” or “head” of the tree upon which the “leader” or “head” of the Gadianton robbers had been executed being “felled” (i.e., caused to “fall”) to the earth, much like the scalp of Zerahemnah’s “head” and the Lamanite “heads” falling in Alma 44. Both episodes serve as object lessons on the consequences that wicked leaders or “heads” bring upon their people.[Page 45] Conclusion Identifying the polysemic play involving “chief” and “heads” in Alma 44:14, 18 as reflecting a single underlying term helps us further appreciate the richness of the Book of Mormon as an ancient text reflecting an ancient Israelite background and set within an ancient milieu. This pericope, moreover, offers a vivid didactic example of the collective corporate toll that faulty leadership can incur: the wound inflicted upon the unrighteous head (leader) is liable to be inflicted figuratively (if not literally) upon the heads of that leader’s followers who “go on still in [their] trespasses” (Psalm 68:22), rather than submitting themselves to their “great and eternal head,” the Lord Jesus Christ (Helaman 13:38). |
Video Members of the EU are planning to form a 'new country' that Britain would never join, said a former Tory environment secretary. Owen Paterson is calling for the UK to kick off a formal two-year consultation on leaving the EU, claiming it would never join the euro, or take part in further political integration. He told Jo Coburn on the Daily Politics that the British were told the European project was an "economic one", but he said "it was always intended to be a political one". Since he was sacked by David Cameron in his summer reshuffle, Mr Paterson has set up his own think tank, and embarked on a series of speeches calling for a return to real Conservative values. More: Follow @daily_politics on Twitter and like us on Facebook and watch a recent clip and watch full programmes on iPlayer |
The Chicago Department of Aviation will review some of its security protocols after airport officers dragged a man off a United airplane, an incident that left the passenger with a broken nose, missing teeth and a concussion. Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans disclosed the department’s next steps during a public hearing Thursday before the City Council’s Aviation Committee that included testimony from city officials and representatives for United Airlines. The impromptu hearing was called by aldermen after cellphone videos of the incident made national headlines and lead to widespread criticism of United. Dr. David Dao was dragged off a United flight at O’Hare International Airport on Sunday after he refused to give up his seat to a United employee. Three airports officers have been placed on paid leave, according to an Aviation Department spokeswoman. Evans said the department hired an international expert months ago to evaluate airport security, but since the incident, the department is reviewing its training programs and security procedures. The commissioner said the department will also cooperate with any additional investigations and has notified the city’s inspector general. Commissioner Evans giving statement now, expresses "extreme regret" for actions of the officers on flight 3411 Stay up-to-date with the latest news, stories and insider events. Please enter a valid email address Oops, something went wrong! Sign Up Try Again You've signed up to receive emails. Please check your email for a welcome confirmation. April 13, 2017 But this wasn’t enough for powerful Ald. Ed Burke (14th Ward), who arrived at the hearing Thursday with prepared questions that he nearly yelled at United and Aviation Department officials. Burke questioned how much money the incident could cost Chicago taxpayers. Burke: It's especially troubling for Chicago taxpayers who will be saddled with settlements from potential lawsuits — Lauren Chooljian (@laurenchooljian) April 13, 2017 An attorney for Dao said Thursday that his client is out of the hospital but will require reconstructive surgery. The attorney, Thomas Demetrio, said a lawsuit is likely. Both city officials and representatives from United told aldermen Thursday their remarks would be limited due to potential litigation. But they all apologized for how the situation was handled. Margaret Houlihan Smith, managing director of government affairs for United, told aldermen that the airline is also conducting its own review and will publicly release its findings by the end of the month. Smith: We're committed to fixing this. She says review will be of policies/procedures for handling oversold flights, moving companies, etc — Lauren Chooljian (@laurenchooljian) April 13, 2017 John Slater, vice president of United in Chicago, said the airline “failed” to properly handled the situation on Sunday, which should have taken place at the gate instead of on the airplane. |
Gov. Chris Christie can't seem to catch a break. Critics are pouncing on Christie Monday for calling for "balance" on the measles vaccine debate - just as a measles outbreak led to calls for more vaccinations. Christie said he would allow for parental choice - separating himself from President Obama who called on parents to vaccinate their children. Later, he walked back those remarks in a statement to the Washington Post. "The governor believes vaccines are an important public health protection and with a disease like measles there is no question kids should be vaccinated," Christie's office said in a statement. "At the same time, different states require different degrees of vaccination, which is why he was calling for balance in which ones government should mandate." Christie's comments follow the December measles outbreak at Disneyland that had the CDC and President Obama urging the public to vaccinate children. Ninety-four individuals from 8 states were infected as a result of the outbreak, with 67 cases clearly linked to Disneyland, California, NBC reports. The CDC has reported 100 confirmed Measles cases so far this year, with most connected to the Disney Land outbreak, Fox News reports. The criticism comes just as Christie continues to take heat from conservatives and liberals for his handling of last week's "snowmaggedon." Conservatives like writer Cal Thomas have been taking him to task: "The network meteorologists barely had time to come up for air while "forecasting" the latest snowstorm non-disaster. Politicians, fearing what might happen to their approval numbers if a blizzard hit, went on TV to announce they were taking proactive measures. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio shut down tunnels, bridges, even the subway to prepare for the worst. Governors Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie announced road closings in New York and New Jersey... "One year ago we were treated to another of these "Snowmageddon" scenarios. At the time, USA Today quoted Gary Szatkowski, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, as saying: 'It's a little surprising that people are falling for this.' "I'm not surprised. People are gullible. Look at our politicians. On measles, Christie has been taking heat from liberals and conservatives for suggesting that parents don't need to vaccinate their children. "Disappointing that Gov. Christie, so well known for real talk, hedges on vaccines," said Gabriel Malor, a conservative writer, on Twitter. "What's a balanced approach to polio? Go on. I'll wait," said GOP strategist Rick Wilson on Twitter. Jonathan Chait of New York magazine also chimed in on Christie's remarks. "So for the first time in a public career defined by overweening and often-bullying certainty about everything, Christie has finally found an issue where he sees both sides. And it's an issue where science and public health are utterly unanimous!" According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, since Jan. 1 84 people from 14 states were reported to have measles. in 2014, the U.S. experienced the highest number of measles cases reported in 20 years, over 600. The CDC is seeing more adults than in a typical outbreak. The state of New York is also on high alert, after a Bard College student infected with Measles rode an Amtrak train up the Hudson River, exposing the public to the disease. Anyone believing they might have the measles should call their doctor or hospital emergency room instead of going in, according to state health officials. "This is not a problem with the measles vaccine not working. This is a problem of the measles vaccine not being used. Measles can be a very serious disease and people do need to be protected. Measles spreads quickly among unvaccinated people and can spread quickly from state to state or around the world," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, the assistant surgeon general, United States Public Health Service and director of CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, at a CDC briefing Jan. 29 on "Measles in the United States, 2015." |
The great French writer Voltaire famously said: 'I disapprove of what you say and would defend to the death your right to say it'. In this way, he encapsulated what it meant to be an enlightened human being — someone prepared to consider all points of view. But in recent years the principle of freedom of speech, sacred since Voltaire's 18th century, has been lost, and this is surely one of the most sinister features of our times. It is as if we are entering a new Dark Age of Intolerance. The irony is that this intolerance has come about as a result of what were initially good intentions. One of the things which makes me happy as I grow older is the thought that during my lifetime we have all tried to become a kinder society. In recent years the principle of freedom of speech has been lost, and this is surely one of the most sinister features of our times When I was a boy and a young man, for example, racist jokes were the norm on radio and TV. Now they would be unthinkable. Mockery of homosexuals, and the equation of being gay with being limp-wristed and camp, were absolute norms of comedy when I was growing up. Now no longer. Such jokes have gone the way of boarding-houses which used to put 'NO BLACKS. NO DOGS. NO IRISH in the window'. Obviously, all civilised people feel pleased by this. But somehow those initial good intentions — to be kinder to and more tolerant of others — have morphed into a political correctness that has had the very opposite effect. Two notorious recent examples of this concerned the treatment of a Christian baker in Northern Ireland, and some Christian bed and breakfast owners in Berkshire. The baker had not wanted to make a wedding cake for a gay couple who were getting married. The B&B owners had refused to let a gay couple share the same room in their establishment. In each case they were successfully sued for unlawful discrimination. Now, a gay activist would no doubt say this was a good thing, arguing that the baker and bed and breakfast owners' behaviour was comparable to the racism of the past. Yet this is surely getting things wholly out of proportion. The baker was not persecuting homosexuals, as Hitler did. He was not saying they should be put in prison, as all Home Secretaries in Britain did until the Sixties. He was merely saying that, as a Christian, he thought marriage should be between a man and a woman, and that two chaps tying the knot were doing something rather different, which is contrary to traditional Christian teaching. Whatever you think about this matter, the Northern Irish baker and the B&B couple were merely holding on to Christian beliefs. I don't happen to share their views myself, and think that if two people are rash enough to promise to live together for the rest of their lives, good luck to them, whether they are gay, straight, trans or anything else. But surely you can understand both sides of this dilemma, can't you? Well, the answer, more and more in our intolerant society, is 'No'. My concern here is not about the rights and wrongs of gay marriage, transgender rights, our colonial history, or any of the other emotive issues that are subject to endless debate in the modern age. It is about freedom of thought and speech; freedom to disagree in a liberal society; freedom to have thoughts which are different from the current orthodoxy. What began as our very decent desire not to be nasty to those of a different ethnicity, or sexual proclivity, from ourselves, has turned into a world as intolerant as monkish Christianity in the days of the Dark Ages, when any freedom of thought is questioned. Tim Farron, leader of the Lib Dems during the General Election, was asked repeatedly about his views on gay marriage. As a fairly old-fashioned Christian, he did not believe it was possible — marriage should be between a man and a woman. As the leader of a modern political party, he knew that it would be political death to admit this. He was finally forced to resign. This was a signal to the world that if you want to succeed in modern politics, it is simply not allowed to hold views which, until a very short time ago, were the consensus among the great majority of people in the Western world. I use the words 'not allowed' advisedly. What is sinister about living in the new Dark Ages, however, is that it is by no means clear who is doing the allowing and not allowing. In Mao's China, it was obvious: thought crimes were ideas which contradicted the supreme leader. In Britain today, however, it seems an army of self-appointed censors — from internet trolls to angry students, lobby groups, town hall officials, craven politicians and lawyers and Establishment figures, as well as a host of other sanctimonious and often bilious busy-bodies — have taken it upon themselves to police what we can and cannot think or say. Not believing in abortion, like not believing in gay marriage, is now, unquestionably, a thought crime. It was hardly surprising that the Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg recently said he did not believe in abortion, because he is a man of conviction as well as a Roman Catholic, and this is the teaching of his Church. Yet his view was treated with incredulity and disdain by everyone from trolls and women's groups to the higher echelons of the political Establishment. As in the case of abortion, debate is no longer allowed on transgender issues. There was a BBC2 Horizon Programme last Tuesday night called Being Transgender. The close-up shots of transgender surgery in a Californian hospital will not easily leave the mind. We met a number of nice people who had decided for one reason or another that they were not the gender which they had once supposed. They were all undergoing some form of transformative medical treatment, either taking hormones or having surgery. What made the programme strange as a piece of journalism was the fact that it did not contain one dissenting voice. Not one psychiatrist or doctor who said they doubted the wisdom of some of these procedures, especially in the very young. Still less was there anyone like the redoubtable feminist and academic Dr Germaine Greer who once expressed her view that a man did not become a woman just because he had undergone transgender surgery — and was, as a result, decried from the rooftops with everything from petitions launched to stop her from speaking at university campuses to death threats. Dr Greer had also been bold enough to say 'a great many women' shared her view, which is obviously true — a great many women do not think that transgender people have really changed sex. What has changed is that it is no longer permitted to say so. A friend of mine who likes bathing in the women's pond on Hampstead Heath in London says that at least one person now uses the female changing rooms who is obviously in a stage of transition from man to woman, and is simply a hairy man wearing lipstick. However uncomfortable this makes the women feel, they know that they cannot say anything. There was an ugly incident lately at Hyde Park's Speakers' Corner, which used to be the place where anyone could go and stand on a soap-box and hold any opinion they liked. Speakers' Corner was a symbol of British Freedom of Speech. As a schoolboy, I had a Jewish friend whose grandfather used to take us there to listen to people proclaiming that the earth was flat, preachers praising Hitler, Stalin, and others saying whatever they liked. It was the freedom to do so, said the old man who had escaped Hitler's Germany, which made the very air of Britain so refreshing to him. What would he have thought had he witnessed the scene earlier this month at Speakers' Corner when a 60-year-old woman called Maria was smacked in the face, allegedly by a transgender fanatic, while listening to a talk on planned reforms to the Gender Recognition Act. Reforms which would allow men to 'self-identify' as female, and enter women's changing rooms or refuges unchallenged. For Maria, as for the intimidated women of Hampstead swimming pool, and for Germaine Greer, it is by no means clear that transgender people have changed their sex. Transgender activists have labelled women like Maria TERFS — Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists. When news of the assault on her reached the internet — ie instantaneously — the trolls began baying, like the bloodthirsty mob during the guillotine-executions of the French Revolution. 'Burn in a fire, TERF'. 'I want to f*** some TERFS up, they are no better than fascists'. The use of the word 'fascist' is commonplace in our new Dark Age for anyone with whom you happen to disagree. You hear it all the time in the Brexit arguments which rage all around us and which I dread. As it happens, I voted Remain. But I do not regard Brexiteers as 'fascists', and many of their arguments — wanting to reclaim the power to make our own laws and control our own borders — are evidently sensible. Yet I have lost count of the number of times I have heard Remainers say that Brexiteers are fascists. As a matter of historical fact, many of the keenest supporters of a united European superstate were actual fascists. The only British politician who campaigned on the ticket of Europe A Nation during the Fifties was Sir Oswald Mosley who was leader of the British Union of Fascists. But then, today's PC censors don't let facts get in their way of bigotry. Branding anyone you disagree with a fascist; hitting people in the face; tweeting and blogging abuse behind the cowardly anonymity of the internet — these are the ugly weapons used to stifle any sort of debate. And it is often in the very places where ideas should be exchanged and examined that the bigotry is at its worst: our universities. This week on the Radio 4's Today programme, we heard James Caspian, a quietly-spoken, kindly psychotherapist, describing what has become a cause celebre at Bath Spa University. He has been working for some years with people who for one reason or another have begun the process of gender-transition, and then come to regret it. Caspian is evidently not a judgmental man. He wanted to write a thesis on this subject from a sympathetic and dispassionate point of view. What makes people feel so uncomfortable with their own apparent gender that they wish to undergo painful and invasive surgery to change it? What makes people then come to reassess their first idea? These are surely legitimate questions about a subject many of us can't quite comprehend. I have two friends who started out as men, and decided in mid-life that they were really women, or wanted to become women, which is what they have done. I do not really understand what has happened to them, even though they have tried to explain it to me. Surely a man like James Caspian, who has worked with transgender men and women, should be encouraged by a university to explain this area of medicine or psychology? But no. The university, having initially approved of his idea for a thesis, then turned down his application. 'The fundamental reason given was that it might cause criticism of the research on social media, and criticism of the research would be criticism of the university,' he told Radio 4 listeners. 'They also added it's better not to offend people.' This is all of a piece with students at Oxford wanting to pull down the statue of 19th century imperialist Cecil Rhodes from his old college, Oriel, on the grounds that he was racist. Rather than having a reasoned debate weighing the evils of racist colonialism against Rhodes's benevolence, the student at the forefront of the movement — who had actually accepted a £40,000 Rhodes scholarship funded by the fortune the colonialist gave to Oxford — wanted to pull down the statue. This is the same attitude of mind as that which led monks in the Dark Ages to destroy the statues of pagan gods and goddesses, or the Taliban to do the same to age-old Buddhist artefacts. Reason, debate, seeing more than one side to an argument, surely these are the foundations of all that has fashioned the great values of the West since the Enlightenment started in the 18th century with an explosion of new ideas in science, philosophy, literature, and modern rational thought that ushered in the Age of Reason. Realising that human actions and ideas are often mixtures of good and bad — isn't this what it means to have a grown-up mind? Surely we should be allowed to discuss matters without being accused of thought crime? In universities, as at Speakers' Corner and in the public at large, there used to be the robust sense that sticks and stones may break our bones but words can never hurt us. Now, the 'hurt-feelings' card is regularly played to stifle any debate. Little by little, we are allowing the Dark Ages of intolerance to come again. We should not be letting this happen. We should be able to say: 'We disapprove of your views — on Europe, on Transgender Issues, on Islam, on absolutely anything, but we defend to the death your right to express them'. |
Outside Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) Mosque: After suicide bomber explodes bomb outside Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) Mosque in Madinah: Video after suicide bomber explodes bomb outside Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) Mosque in Madinah #globaljihadistinsurgency pic.twitter.com/F5qK49uyWt some say its a cylinder explosion… but sound was huge #madina pic.twitter.com/NZIeKKrkiw From Aljazeera: Photos on social media show smoke billowing from a fire outside the mosque where Prophet Muhammad is buried. Two other explosions struck near a mosque in the eastern city of Qatif on the Gulf coast on Monday evening, residents said. Witnesses said a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a Shia mosque without causing any other injuries. They reported seeing body parts lying on the ground in the city’s business district. “Suicide bomber for sure. I can see the body” which was blasted to pieces, a resident told the AFP news agency. Nasima al-Sada, another resident, told AFP that “one bomber blew himself up near the mosque”. A third witness told Reuters news agency that one explosion destroyed a car parked near the mosque, followed by another explosion just before 7pm local time. “We are in the last 10 days of Ramadan and those places are crowded because of that for Maghreb [sunset] prayers,” Khaled Batarfi, a Saudi Gazette columnist, told Al Jazeera. Early on Monday morning, two security officers were injured as a suicide bomber blew himself up near the US consulate in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah. |
May 19, 2016 – Tackling Drug-Resistant Infections Globally: final report and recommendations This report outlines the Review’s final recommendations. It first discusses the mounting problem of resistance and why action is needed to combat it and then provides an overview of the solutions that the Review thinks should be implemented to curtail unnecessary use and increase the supply of new antimicrobials. It then looks at the role of public awareness campaigns, the need to improve sanitation and hygiene, reduce pollution from agriculture and the environment, improve global surveillance, introduce rapid diagnostics and vaccines, the need to increase the number of people in this area, and use of market entry rewards and an innovation fund to generate more drugs. Finally the paper examines how these solutions can be funded and looks at ways to build political consensus around them. Supporting Documents Commissioned study by Dr. Nimalan Arinaminpathy the impact of diagnostics and new treatments against TB main report . Commissioned study by the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), into the future of TB diagnostics main report . . Commissioned paper by ReAct-Action on Antibiotic Resistance Strategic Policy Program and Center for a Livable Future in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health main report. Commissioned study by Katy Turner et al. into the impact of rapid diagnostics against gonorrhea main report and the model used . and the . Study by LSE Master’s in Public Administration students on the cost and benefit of WASH interventions in Brazil, India, Nigeria and Indonesia main report . . Commissioned study by NIHR Diagnostic Evidence Cooperative Oxford, into the future of diagnostics for antimicrobials main report . . Commissioned study by Pierre Nouvellet et al. into the impact of new drugs and better diagnostics in the treatment of E. Coli main report . 22 March 2016 - Infection prevention, control and surveillance: Limiting the development and spread of drug-resistance This report examines the central role that infection prevention, control, and surveillance need to play in combatting the rise of drug-resistant infections. This is based on the recognition that fundamental improvements in these areas are the key to sustainable gains in health outcomes, and yet are often given insufficient attention in our response to the global challenges of rising drug resistance. The paper looks first at the role of infection prevention in the community through improved water and sanitation infrastructure. It then looks at the need to prevent and control of infections in health and care settings. Finally, it looks at monitoring resistant infections through surveillance systems that will provide valuable information for doctors, patients as well global and national policymakers. 11th February 2016- Vaccines and alternative approaches: reducing our dependence on antimicrobials This report provides an overview of the markets and the pipelines for vaccines and other alternative approaches to tackling drug-resistant infections, by reducing the need for, and the use of antimicrobials. It makes three recommendations: First, available vaccines should be more widely used; both in humans and animals, and that this may require financial support. Second, there needs to be a renewed push for research into new vaccines and alternatives, through the Review recommended Global Innovation Fund and long-term sustained funding from philanthropic, public and private sources. Last, it recommends strengthening the market for new vaccines and alternatives through interventions such as market entry rewards and Advance Market Commitments (AMCs). 8 December 2015 - Antimicrobials in agriculture and the environment: reducing unnecessary use and waste This report provides an overview of the use of antibiotics in animals and agriculture, and the role that manufacturing and use of antimicrobials play in bringing these into the wider environment. It calls for three interventions: First, a global target needs to be set to reduce use of antibiotics in food production and that we should reassess which antibiotics should be used in both animals and humans. Second, it recommends that there be minimum standards set to limit the release of active pharmaceutical ingredients during the manufacturing process. Finally, it proposes that there be improved surveillance to monitor the situation with respect to both these issues and to help to inform global standards and targets. Supporting Documents A list of the papers used in our literature review and how they were characterised Safe, Secure and Controlled: Managing the Supply Chain of Antimicrobials This report examines two specific aspects of the AMR problem: the online sale of antimicrobials without prescription, and the supply of poor-quality and falsified antimicrobial drugs. A growing number of online pharmacies exploit gaps in the global regulatory mechanisms to offer antibiotics for sale around the world, often without prescription or clinical guidance – something that fuels dangerous self-medication habits and encourages the development of drug-resistant strains of infection by increasing unnecessary and excessive antimicrobials use. Meanwhile, poor quality and falsified antimicrobials fuel the development of resistance by delivering a sub-therapeutic dose of antimicrobials, providing enough exposure for the drug for microbes to begin developing resistance, without properly treating the infection. November 20, 2015 - The paper calls for improved global regulation and monitoring of both of these issues. The material in the paper relating to poor quality and falsified medicines is drawn from a paper prepared for the Review by Elizabeth Pisani. October 23, 2015 - Rapid Diagnostics: Stopping unnecessary use of antibiotics This report provides an overview of how diagnostics can play an important role in the fight against antimicrobial resistance, by reducing unnecessary use. It addresses how we can improve innovation as well as encourage the uptake of diagnostics. We suggest that Diagnostic Market Stimulus pots, to subsidise the purchase of diagnostics, would increase both uptake and innovation. We also propose that diagnostic developers should be able to bid into a global innovation fund to support early stage research, and that we need more research into the long-term economic case for rapid diagnostics. |
In ten days, an important book about the conflict will be published, Max Blumenthal’s Goliath: Life and Loathing in Greater Israel. The book is important because it will change the paradigm of Israel inside liberal American opinion, by demonstrating how occupation and ethnocracy have transformed the Israel of so many Americans’ dreams into an intolerant, tough, and often racist society. Blumenthal performs this shift by marshaling facts about a highly distressing reality inside the occupation and in Israel itself. And because we see that change as so vital to American awareness and policy-making, I’m going to be getting Blumenthal’s ideas out in weeks to come. Last week I interviewed him inside the Ramallah fruit and vegetable market. It’s 5 minutes, above. Blumenthal explains that almost all of the fruits and vegetables in the market are from Israeli farms, especially in the Jordan Valley, on expropriated land. He describes the ways that the Palestinian agricultural sector has been almost completely destroyed, by occupation and by the Oslo process, which kept Palestinians from developing an independent economic base. And he says that one of the best ways to resist occupation is by generating your own economy and boycotting. Palestinians have been unable to do this. Gaza and the West Bank are treated as captive markets. |
(CBS) — A trip to O’Hare International Airport left a young woman paralyzed after a horrific accident involving a shelter commonly used for weather protection. Travelers may still be in danger. CBS 2’s Dave Savini reports. The structures were missing what could be critical hardware to help secure these massive shelters, which pedestrians use to stay out of the bad weather while at O’Hare. Tierney Darden and her family tried to take cover during heavy winds and storms that swept in Aug. 2, says her father, David Darden. The shelter, with rusted brackets and bolts missing, blew over and crashed on top of the 24-year-old dancer, pinning her to ground. “She couldn’t feel her legs, couldn’t move her legs, and she knew it,” he says. “She was scared.” Tierney Darden’s mother and sister also were hurt, but Tierney’s injury was the worst. She had a severed spinal cord. She is paralyzed from the waist down permanently, David Darden says. The shelter that injured her daughter had been missing some bolts to secure it, he says. Since the accident, the 2 Investigators have been inspecting the pedestrian shelters located in the arrival lanes of O’Hare Terminals 1, 2 and 3 and uncovered alarming safety problems from bolts missing or not secured; there also were plenty of corroded parts and missing or broken brackets. One shelter was missing 22 bolts that are supposed to connect it to the ground and eight more screws in various spots that connect to the structure itself. Also, an entire mounting plate was missing. “These nuts and bolts are everything to these shelters,” says Darden family attorney Jeff Kroll. “If there was any kind of proper inspection going on by the Department of Aviation, if there was any kind of proper maintenance protocol, this would have never happened.” CBS 2 informed an airport worker of some of the problems and he replied: “It’s rusted, I can see that. All right, I’ll have to let somebody know.” Another worker, this one inside an airport operations van, showed up and said all the shelters will be taken down. That is too late for Tierney Darden. “She won’t be able to dance using her legs again,” says David Darden, who describes what hurts the most: “Seeing her there, lying there, knowing she’s going through this, in that much pain and anguish.” As of Thursday night, only a few shelters had been removed. The city did not respond to various requests for comment and for documentation and video of Darden’s accident. Kroll filed a lawsuit against the city on behalf of the Darden family Thursday night. |
GETTY US President Donald Trump says Marine Le Pen is the strongest character The president’s comments come just 24 hours before an anxious nation goes to the polls to finally decide on who is to be the Republic's president. Mrs Le Pen has not yet met Mr Trump and while he stopped short of giving her a full endorsement he said he thought she was the "strongest" candidate. Mr Trump said in an interview with the Associated Press that Mrs Le Pen is “strongest on borders, and she’s the strongest on what’s been going on in France”. GETTY Mr Trump has said he believes Marine Le Pen is the strongest candidate It has been the longstanding policy of this and previous governments not to engage with the Front National Theresa May, Downing Street Spokesman However White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Mr Trump didn’t have a preference in the election. The comments come just a day after En Marche! candidate Emmanuel Macron filmed himself talking on a speaker phone with former US president Barack Obama and broadcast it on Facebook. Around 50,000 police officers and anti-terror military officers are on the streets of France after the country was hit by dozens of terror attacks in just two years. GETTY Marine Le Pen is angry at the current establishment Now amid growing scepticism in the European Union over the breakdown of the relationship between France and Germany, it appears Mr Trump backs the Front National candidate's hardline policies. Mrs Le Pen, a former immigration lawyer, had her office targeted by arsonists and previously survived a bomb attack. She has offered to give the French public a say on their membership of the EU as well as pledging to immediately clamp down on security, a major concern for the public. Mrs Le Pen has large swathes of support from the security and police services and immediately condemned the shooting to death of a police officer in Paris outside Marks and Spencer this week. She has further stated that she intends to reinstate France's borders against EU policy, a move that could motivate voters. A spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May, who has just called a General Election, said the Government would not deal with the Front National party. Things you didn't know about Marine Le Pen Fri, May 5, 2017 Marine Le Pen is a French politician who is the president of the National Front, a national-conservative political party in France and one of its main political forces. Play slideshow AFP/Getty Images 1 of 10 Described as more democratic and republican than her nationalist father, she has led a movement of "de-demonization of the Front National" to detoxify it and soften its image |
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