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by LetsRun.com July 21, 2017 Ajee Wilson went to Herculis meet – the IAAF Diamond League track and field meet in Monaco – looking for the American record and she left with it as she ran a huge personal best of 1:55.61 to knock more than two full seconds off her previous best (1:57.67) and destroy Jearl Miles-Clark‘s American record of 1:56.40 which had stood since 1999. Wilson’s incredible run wasn’t good enough to get her a victory or a runner-up finish but she did put a scare into the Olympic gold and silver medallists. The Olympic champ Caster Semenya closed in 28.55 to win in a world-leading and new personal best of 1:55.27 (.01 faster than what she ran to win gold in Rio; her time was also a DL record) as Rio silver medallist Francine Niyonsaba broke 1:56 for the first time to grab second in 1:55.47 (previous best 1:56.24). The top three weren’t the only ones to run fast as the top 7 finishers in the race ran at least a seasonal best. Sifan Hassan, the 2017 world leader in the 1500, showed she’s going to be tough to beat in London as she was fourth in a huge pb of 1:56.81 (previous best 1:58.13). Canada’s Melissa Bishop ran one-hundredth of a second faster than what she did to grab fourth in Rio, 1:57.01 (a new Canadian record), and that only placed her fifth today as Lynsey Sharp (1:58.01) and Brenda Martinez (1:58.43) ran seasonal bests to get sixth and seventh. The Race Article continues below player Semenya had said she wanted to run fast and asked for a 55-second first lap and that’s exactly what the rabbit, American Laura Roesler, delivered (55.37) but Semenya was nowhere close to her. Semenya was the first racer but her split was just under 57 (56.7) and she was followed closely by Niyonsaba (56.9) and Wilson (57.3) with the Olympic third and fourth placers Margaret Wambui and Bishop just behind Wilson. Semenya, who was right with Roesler for most of the first 200, backed off the pace even more on the third 200 which she’d run in just 30 flat. As a result, between 500 and 600, Niyonsaba had pulled up nearly even with Semenya with Wilson just behind Niyonsaba as the three ran nearly three abreast. As they rounded the final turn, it was a four-person race between Semenya, Niyonsaba, Wilson and Bishop, who had stayed on the inside throughout. Coming off the final turn, Semenya, Niyonsaba and Wilson were three abreast once again. Who would take it? For 50 meters nothing separated them, but then Semenya did what she has consistently done over the last few years and gradually pulled away. This time she didn’t pull away until the final 50 but in the end she got the job done and extended her unbeaten streak in the 800 to 26 races, counting prelims. Semenya admitted she was surprised the others gave her such a fight. “I showed my strength, it was a hard fight until the end. The girls surprised me how good they ran. The pace was ok for me I wanted to go around 56. But I did some small technical mistakes which slowed me down. I knew I should not allow Nyionsaba take the lead. My coach back home Jean Verster will be amazed. I think I can run really really fast we are training for that,” said Semenya. “Now we still must decide, maybe tonight what I will do in London, if only 800 or also 400 or 1500. Main thing is to stay healthy and then a top result will come.” As for Wilson, she said she’ll head back to the US for a few weeks to get ready for Worlds. “US Record? Waouh! I hadn’t seen the time yet! It felt so good to be competitive again, it was great! Now going home in Philadelphia to prepare for London,” said Wilson to race organizers after it was over. Results Race video: Quick Thought: Semenya’s win streak continues but only after a fight The women’s 800 is going to be a very interesting event to watch in London. Semenya has won 26 races in a row counting prelims but two of her last three wins have been very tight. At the Pre Classic in May, she won over Margaret Wambui, who was last in 2:02.13 today, by just .10. Today she won by .20. None of Semenya’s victories in 2016 were that narrow. After the Olympics, she beat Niyonsaba by .32 in Zurich but her two closest pre-Olympic victories were won by .88 and .91 of a second. Quick Thought: History repeats itself The parallels between Wilson’s record today and Miles-Clark’s in 1999 are numerous. Both races were run in Europe (Miles-Clark’s AR came in Zurich) and both came when the American finished third in the race about 1/3rd of a second behind the winner in a race where the top 4 all broke 1:57. Miles-Clark lost by .36 – Wilson by .34. American fans will hope history doesn’t continue to repeat itself at Worlds. At the 1999 Worlds, Miles-Clark was 4th. 1999 Zurich Top 4 1. Maria Mutola MOZ 1:56.04. 2. Svetlana Masterkova RUS 1:56.37 3. Jearl Miles-Clark 1:56.40 4. Ludmila Formanova CZE 1:56.50 Quick Thought: Good news and bad news for Ajee Wilson The good news for Ajee Wilson: she ran the race of her life tonight and was rewarded with an American record that will likely stand for some time (unless the 23-year-old Wilson lowers it herself). The bad news: it was only good enough for third place. In an alternate reality where the Court of Arbitration for Sport doesn’t overturn the hyperandrogenism guidelines in 2015, we’re talking about Wilson as the clear favorite for gold at Worlds and one of the greatest 800 talents of her generation. The fact remains that, other than Margaret Wambui, no one else has beaten Niyonsaba or Semenya since the start of 2016. Still, Wilson’s run tonight was spectacular and by pushing Niyonsaba and Semenya to the line, she will have hope that not just a medal, but a gold medal, is possible in London. Quick Thought: Down goes Wambui Entering tonight’s meet, Semenya, Niyonsaba and Wambui were undefeated against the rest of the world since the start of the 2016 outdoor season. That streak finally came to an end in Monaco, though it took a real stinker from Wambui (last in 2:02.13) for it to happen. Talk about the meet and race on our fan forum:	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Joe Biden spoke on the US elections and warned about xenophobia during his Australia visit. (File Photo) The "better angels in America will prevail" in the upcoming presidential elections, Vice President Joe Biden said as he warned about xenophobia during a visit to Australia.Biden said both the US and Australia were dealing with the legacies of racism and exclusion but would inexorably move forward."Don't worry about our election. The better angels in America will prevail," he assured Australians in Sydney at the end of his three-day visit."So at a time like this, when the forces of xenophobia and nationalism and demagoguery are once again being trumpeted around the world, including in my own country... we have to remember who we are as Australians and Americans and reflect our best selves back to the world."His comments came as Donald Trump was formally chosen by Republicans as the party's presidential nominee, despite relentless controversy over his campaign rhetoric.Trump has sparked international concerns with his call to build a wall on the US border with Mexico to keep out illegal migrants, for a ban on Muslim immigration, and for his suggestion that Japan and South Korea should develop nuclear weapons.Biden's trip Down Under also came days after an international tribunal ruled against China's claims in the South China Sea, and the vice-president sought to reassure the staunch American ally that the US would maintain a "laser focus" on the Asia Pacific region."I made the point, I've said to (Chinese) President Xi (Jinping) directly what I said to (Australian Prime Minister Malcolm) Turnbull yesterday, our resolve to play a part in shaping the future of this dynamic region is real," Biden added."We are not going anywhere. And that's vital because our presence in the region... is essential to maintaining peace and stability, without which the economic growth and prosperity I believe would falter."The US administration has called on China to respect international rules as Beijing asserts sovereignty over almost all of the strategically vital South China Sea, despite rival claims from its Southeast Asian neighbours.Biden next visits New Zealand, where he is due to meet with Prime Minister John Key for talks in Auckland.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Women speaking out about the men who have sexually assaulted, abused or harassed them will take to the national stage on Wednesday where organizers and past victims will call for Sen. Al Franken (D-MI) and Reps. John Conyers (D-MI) and Joe Barton (R-TX) to resign. All three lawmakers have been accused of sexual misconduct, including unwanted sexual advances and groping, and, in Barton’s case, texting explicit messages and a photo of himself naked. Some of the women who will be at the National Press Club in D.C. have been speaking out for years about former president Bill Clinton assaulting or abusing them, including Juanita Broaddrick (who said Clinton raped her), Paula Jones (whose suit against Clinton for sexual harassment was settled before a trial) and Leslie Millwee, (who said she was stalked and assaulted three times by Bill Clinton while she was a TV reporter in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Melanie Morgan, a radio talk show host and co-founder of Media Equalizer, which organized the Media Equality Project and Wednesday’s event, will share her experience with Franken. Morgan told Breitbart News that she met Franken in 2000 at a roundtable discussion about the federal budget. She said he got in her face several times and then, after getting her phone number from a producer of the event, Franken called here repeatedly. “I felt very threatened, very intimidated by his behavior,” said Morgan, who finally stopped the harassment after she told Franken she was going to contact the police. “He completely freaked me out,” Morgan said. And that’s also what resonated with her after hearing radio talk show host Leann Tweeden’s story about Franken groping her when she was sleeping and force kissing her while they were taking part in a USO trip abroad. “I knew in that moment that her story was true,” Morgan said. https://twitter.com/MelMorgan1350/status/935221070944124929 “Dozens of women and other victims of sexual harassment are joining together this Wednesday with this message: #ShowUsTheList of representatives or staffers who received taxpayer-funded pay-outs,” the press release announcing the protest and press conference said. The Media Equality Project wants to confront these abusers and hold them accountable. “We believe that this effort should be in a spirit of bi-partisanship in order to end sexual harassment on Capitol Hill and across the country,” the press release said. And yet, according to Morgan, efforts to get the women in Congress who have spoken out again sexual misconduct and harassment on Capitol Hill have not responded to the invitation to join the event on Wednesday. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, (D-NY), Diane Feinstein (D-CA), and Reps. Jackie Speier, (D-CA) Kathleen Rice (D-NY), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-VA) and Melanie Sloan, head of the liberal watchdog group Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility, were invited. As of Tuesday morning, none had agreed to attend the event. “If they are serious about ending sexual assault and other degradation of women then they should stand with us,” Morgan said. Other speakers include radio talk show host Blanquita Cullum and Alveda King, niece of the late Martin Luther King Jr. “Our message is clear: Senator Franken, Congressmen Conyers, and Barton must resign now! And Congress must end taxpayer-funded payouts to harassment victims in an effort to silence their voices and complaints,” the press release said.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Martedì 20 febbraio 2018 - 07:40 Il procuratore Mueller indaga sul genero di Trump per i contatti con la Cina Stampa Usa: nuovo filone d'inchiesta dopo quello russo Roma, 20 feb. (askanews) – Il procuratore speciale Robert Mueller, incaricato di indagare sulle interferenze russe nelle elezioni presidenziali americane, sta indagando anche sugli sforzi di Jared Kushner, genero del presidente Usa Donald Trump, per attirare capitali stranieri, in particolare dalla Russia e dalla Cina, nella sua azienda immobiliare, durante il periodo di transizione presidenziale: lo riferiscono oggi i media statunitensi. L’indagine di Mueller, fino a questo momento, si era focalizzata sui contatti in Russia del consigliere speciale e genero di Donald Trump, e sui legami di Kushner con l’ex consigliere Michael Flynn, caduto in disgrazia. Il team di Mueller sta esaminando ora i colloqui di Jared Kushner svoltisi durante il periodo di transizione presidenziale per ottenere capitali per l’immobile che ospita uffici nella Fifth Avenue di New York, di proprietà della sua società Kushner Companies, in difficoltà finanziarie, spiega la Cnn, citando fonti vicine all’inchiesta. Secondo l’emittente, gli inquirenti del procuratore speciale non hanno ancora contattato la società di Kushner, e le ragioni dell’attenzione prestata agli investitori stranieri non sono chiare. red	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
X-Wing is a terrific tournament-game, fast-paced and well-balanced for competitive events, but to take a break from the competitive 100 vs 100 tournament scenario we’ve been playing, some of our local players and I decided to do try something a little different: A 2 vs 2 battle over the surface of the planet Hoth. Here’s a brief battle report and some photos from the game that I hope will inspire other people to try different sizes and formats. This 4 player, 200 v 200 game was played on a 4×4 board, which gives a playing area considerably larger than 3×3. We increased the obstacle count to 9, ranging from AT-Asteroids to Taun-Taun-Debris. The game looked great, played to conclusion in less than 2 hours, and frankly everyone had a great time. Leela and Matt’s Rebels Han Solo YT-1300 Jake Farell A-Wing Green Squadron A-Wing Chewbacca YT-1300 Corran Horn Ewing – R2D2 Engine Upgrade Predator (That’s an E-Wing that clocks in at 46 points, a remarkable price for a 5 HP fighter, but IMHO one of the few that can justify that sort of price tag). Innocent and Doobleg’s Empire Shuttle – Darth Vader Phantom – Echo Phantom – Whisper Shuttle – Colonel Jendon, Heavy Laser Cannon (At the start of the Combat phase, you may assign 1 of your blue target lock tokens to a friendly ship at Range 1 if it does not have a blue target lock token.) 3 Tie Bombers Tie Bomber – Captain Jonus (When another friendly ship at Range 1 attacks with a secondary weapon, it may reroll up to 2 attack dice) The centre of the rebel base is held by Chewie in the Century Hawk YT-1300 and Corran Horn in a Snowspeeder (it just felt more appropriate for this game!) The Empire’s Heavy Laser Cannon shuttle starts towards the hidden Rebel Base, flanked by tie bombers and lead by Vessery. The rebels attempt a refused flank deployment, not having the numbers to spread out to meet the Imperials one-for-one. Chewie cuts across the centre. Stage one of the Imperial’s plan commences, as Jendon is able to assign Target Locks at any range and distribute them to his allies. This means that as the Rebels approach, Chewbacca’s YT is getting lit up with Locks that will guide missiles into his craft. The rebels skirt around the AT-Asteroids but can’t afford to delay the battle by too much – the Imperials advantage grows with every long-range Target lock placed. Tie Bombers glide up the field, before making a sharp turn towards their prey. A Green Squadron pilot curves gracefully around the Taun Tauns below. The Empire orders an Advance, and the battle is rapidly compressed into one third of the board as all pilots jockey for shots in this target-rich environment. Corran Horn’s Snowspeeder engages a shuttle head-on, ignoring the two almost untouchable phantoms in the distance in order to score more certain hits. The Shuttle took 3 damage, giving one in return. Ships roar over the ice, lasers blasting. The Phantoms open fire with their vicious 4-shot guns, while the Bombers engage from the flank, angling in towards the Wookie. Chewbacca screams into a hard turn, finishing his move mere millimetres from the enemy but still managing to get his action. He is festooned with Locks though, and about to come under massive firepower. All hell breaks loose, Han solo rushing to Chewie’s support and firing into a phantom as Corran dives through the gap. Corran had double-tapped in the last round, and used this one to recharge a shield. Chewie managed to take out a bomber but under the firepower of almost the entire Imperial invasion force was shot down himself. The target-locked missiles and rerolls from Jendon made sure that even 5 shields and 8 hull couldn’t last forever. An A-Wing managed to put 2 hits on an otherwise untouched Imperial Shuttle. Alert to even the smallest weakness, Corran swooped in, hit it 4 times and then another 4 in the end phase for a remarkable 8 damage to take it out in a single turn. Bombers duel the snowspeeder as it tries to regain shields. A combination of bomber phantom firepower and Darth Vader take out an A-Wing. Corran takes out another bomber – cementing his position as Man of the Match. The Rebel defenders have now been reduced to Han Solo, Corran Horn and an Awing, but it is the Imperials who are closer to breaking under pressure. Han comes under fire as he manages to strip a couple hull from a bomber, before he and Corran finish it and its comrade off. A this point, Leela had managed to keep her Han Solo’s hull intact and my Corran Horn had managed to finish the game on full health and shield despite taking about 8 hits during it. Thanks R2! A Rebel Victory, Hoth is saved! This frenetic battle was a tremendous amount of fun, as witnessed by the fact that we immediately played another 2v2 Battle for Hoth (come on, this is what Sundays are made for!). I’d highly recommend trying out larger scale games with multiple players to any X-Wing players; it definitely does not require the addition of the larger ships to make a 200 vs 200 point battle possible. Give it a try!	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Cape Town - The actions of truck driver Zain Small were lauded as heroic on Monday after he tried stopping a drunken motorist who drove into oncoming traffic on the N1 highway in Cape Town. Had it not been for him trying to get in front of the silver Jaguar, or flashing his bright lights to warn others, lives surely would have been lost, said the city's safety and security mayoral committee member JP Smith. The errant driver, in his early 70s, travelled at a speed of around 70km/h in the fast lane of oncoming traffic late on Thursday night. Miraculously, the drama played out on the highway for around 6km without any collisions. Traffic officials said the man's breathalyser result was 0.69, three times over the legal limit. "That kind of behaviour comes from a mix of alcohol and testosterone," chirped Smith. He said Small's bravery was "something you don't see every day". 'I don't know what went through my mind' Small, 24, an independent distributor for Golden Crust Bakery, blushed at the praise. He explained how he was driving home to Goodwood on Thursday when he spotted the silver Jaguar just as he got onto the highway. He had more than two tons of bread in his truck. Footage from highway cameras showed the truck making a U-turn when it was safe to follow the Jaguar. "I don't know what went through my mind at that stage but as a Capetonian, and many mistakes in my life, I just decided I need to save this guy and other Capetonians as well," he said. City officials got a call around 23:15 about a flashy vehicle and a white truck travelling the wrong way. At first they did not realise the truck was trying to stop the Jaguar, said Smith. The footage featured a number of hair-raising moments when vehicles narrowly missed hitting the Jaguar, either by swerving or by slowing down in time and changing lanes. Charges laid Smith said Small put his life in danger a number of times. At one point, he managed to get in front of the vehicle and force it to stop. "I tried to get him to open his windows but he refused and kept on going," said Small while looking at the footage. During the cat and mouse pursuit, the Jag blew a tyre and later, hit a barrier. Traffic officials soon closed in on all sides and the vehicle came to a stop. An officer took the car keys away. The driver was charged with reckless and negligent driving, driving while intoxicated and possession of an unlicenced firearm. "I am very grateful that I did my part. I was a nervous wreck and fortunately it ended well," said Small. 'Don't drink and drive' Smith said this was not an isolated incident. Previous accidents such as this had resulted in the deaths of innocent motorists. With the festive season approaching, Smith warned motorists to be responsible. Motorists should preferably not drink even one alcoholic beverage when driving as it affected judgement. "Don't do something that causes us to dispatch 20 traffic officers at you because by the end of that, there are a lot of supporting affidavits that are going to make very sure you will sink when you get to court." The driver was booked in at Maitland police station and was apparently appearing in court on Monday.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Van Jones, host of "The Messy Truth," says that President Donald Trump should give Susan Rice the Presidential Medal of Freedom for doing her job.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
She was the embodiment of irresistible force. Joanna Lumley, blonde tresses flowing, moved at the head of a legion of the British army's most doughty and romantic fighters whose warcry is Jai Mahakali, Ayo Gorkhali – "Glory be to the Goddess of War, here come the Gurkhas!" She swept all before her: civil servants, MPs, ministers, even the then prime minister. Like some Boadicea of British decency and fair play she forced the last government into a climb-down so that all the former Gurkha soldiers who had served more than four years in the British Army now have the right to settle in the UK if they wish. But has it now all gone terribly wrong for the actress who was born in Kashmir and whose father served for 30 years with the 6th Gurkha Rifles bringing her up as a "daughter of the regiment" before she turned to more prosaic activities like being a Bond girl, experiencing close encounters with Dracula, saving the world as a New Avenger and ending with a touch of louche living in Absolutely Fabulous? The Home Office now estimates that since her famous victory in 2009, more than 7,500 former soldiers and their families have been given visas to settle in the UK. They have settled around garrison towns like Aldershot, Reading, Folkestone, Colchester, Catterick and Warminster. But Britain has not proved the land flowing with milk and honey as they had been led to believe. Instead, according to the British Gurkha Welfare Society, Joanna Lumley's campaign has resulted in thousands of elderly and infirm Gurkha pensioners living in poor accommodation on paltry incomes. "They are thoroughly miserable," says Chhatra Rai, the general secretary of the Gurkha charity. It would have been far better, he believes, if retired Gurkhas had been paid better pensions and encouraged to stay at home in Nepal. "We told Joanna Lumley that. We are grateful to her for campaigning but entitlement to come to the UK was not the problem. There is also the pension problem. The whole situation is much more complicated than people realise." There is not much room for complexity in British attitudes to the Brigade of Gurkhas, whose service to the British Crown goes back as far as 1815 and the days of the East India Company. They have served with immense courage and distinction in numerous conflicts worldwide and yet they remain one of the repositories of British imperial mythology, plucky little natives who had to draw blood once they had drawn their curved kukri blades in the service of their masters. With what delight the popular press reported an incident only last month in which a Gurkha serving with the British Army in Afghanistan had severed the head of a dead Taliban warlord to bring home proof that the regiment had got their man. The truth has always been more tricky. The Gurkhas, feared fighters from Nepal recruited into the British Indian Army, were divided in two when India became independent in 1947. Twelve battalions were transferred to the new Indian Army while eight battalions were taken into the regular British Army. The governments of Britain, India and Nepal under the Tripartite Agreement settled that the Gurkhas should receive the same pay and conditions whichever army they had joined. The British Gurkhas were then based in Malaysia and Hong Kong. After 15 years they were given pensions which would allow them to retire and live as well as a middle-ranking civil servant back in Nepal. But then in 1997 Hong Kong was handed back to China and the Gurkhas moved to Britain. There they served alongside English soldiers whose pensions were three times their own. In 2007, the rules were changed to give Gurkha soldiers who retired after 1997 full pension rights. But there are still about 25,000 Gurkhas who retired before 1997 who still get only about a third of the pension that other British Army regulars receive. What makes things even more complex is that there are thousands of ex-Gurkhas in Nepal who get no pension whatsoever, because they served less than the minimum 15 years. It is from this group that around 70 per cent of the new arrivals in the UK are drawn. Having no income at all beyond their savings, they rely utterly on the state to survive. Had they been paid even the basic pension, Rai argues, they would probably have stayed in Nepal. The quality of life for many of these new arrivals is terrible," Rai adds. "They have no money. They are old and frail and have medical problems. They are separated from their family. Many cannot speak English and find it difficult to mix with the community. They are even intimidated by crossing the road." One such individual is Man Bahadur Sunuwar, 67, who with his wife sleeps on a mattress on the floor of his Gurkha cousin Jit Bahadur Sunuwar, 70, in a cramped one-bedroom flat in Aldershot which has a tiny kitchen and bathroom. "Life in the UK is very different from what he was told it would be like in Nepal," says Rai. He, like others, had been told their adult children would be allowed to enter the UK to look after them. But relatives are not eligible over the age of 18. Sunuwar's 25-year-old daughter has been denied a visa. "We told the government that these would be the problems," Rai says. "If they had increased the pension it would have cost, we estimate, an extra £26m. It was a no-brainer." The British Gurkha Welfare Society and other groups have now taken the pension disparity to the European court of human rights, arguing that it is wrong for someone like Chhatra Rai, who served in the British Army for 20 years before retiring as a Warrant Officer Second Class in 2005, to receive a pension of £290 a month, where his English comrades-in-arms get around £1,000. They also got lump sums of around £22,000 compared to his £3,000. "It doesn't seem right," he concludes, with considerable under-statement. It will be two years before the court rules. Joanna Lumley, who had remained silent on the issue for some time, has just issued a statement in response to the plight of the Gurkha arrivals. "We should remember that there would be no Great Britain, no National Health Service and no welfare state were it not for the blood spilt by Gurkhas and others to protect this country in much darker and more dangerous times than those we face now," she says, with her accustomed rhetorical flair. Her campaign was a success. "It was a wonderful moment in our democratic history, where a public desire for justice turned into a massive campaign that changed government policy in the face of strong resistance from the Ministry of Defence." She may have forgotten the law of unintended consequences. Political reality is a bit more serpentine than celebrity campaigners sometimes admit. Celebrity campaigners Bob Geldof: Africa The quintessential celebrity campaigner and arguably the one who has achieved most for his chosen cause: raising awareness of extreme poverty in Africa. The former Boomtown Rat co-wrote the 1984 charity song "Do They Know It's Christmas?", organised Live Aid in 1985, Live 8 in 2005 and regularly uses his international fame as a platform to berate western politicians. Although criticised for his abrasive anti-diplomatic style, Geldof has been awarded an honorary Knighthood and the Man of Peace title for his "outstanding contribution to international social justice and peace". Audrey Hepburn: UNICEF After retiring from acting in the 1980s, Hepburn devoted her life to raising awareness of the plight of children in the developing world. As well as raising money in the US and Europe, she made frequent visits to Africa and Asia in her role as UNICEF "goodwill ambassador", and was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George Bush in 1992 for her efforts. Wyclef Jean: Haiti Inspired by Bob Geldof and Bono's work setting up the DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade in Africa) organisation, Jean set up his own non-governmental organisation in 2005. Yéle Haiti is focused on the development of Haiti through youth programmes in education, sports, the arts and the environment. In its first year, the NGO provided scholarships to 3,600 children. Jean's abortive run for Haiti's presidency in 2010 drew criticism, as did allegations that the charity has mismanaged donations. Jean admitted the organisation had "made mistakes" but said he had never personally benefited from the foundation. Angelina Jolie: Refugees When first appointed as a "goodwill ambassador" for the UN refugee organisation UNHCR, staff took bets on whether she would wear high heels on her first field trip – but Jolie quickly proved herself equal to the role. She has taken up politically divisive issues: she visited Iraqi refugees in Syria in 2009, has spoken out against the detention of asylum seekers along the US-Mexican border, and donated $1 million to set up a National Centre for Refugee and Immigrant Children in the US. Mia Farrow: Human Rights	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Tommy Robinson has avoided being banned from YouTube but faces tougher restrictions on his videos. The English Defence League founder has been kicked off Facebook and Instagram in recent months, over claims he is fuelling hate among followers. But Google-owned YouTube has defied calls for a similar ban on Robinson's videos on its site. Instead, his videos will now come with a content warning and are removed from recommendations. Viewers will no longer be able to comment, suggest or like the videos. Tommy Robinson has been told he can stay on YouTube, but faces restrictions following hate speech complaints YouTube said that although the 36-year-old's videos are not illegal, it decided to apply tougher treatment in response to users flagging his content as potentially violating its rules against hate speech and violent extremism. Robinson, who has more than 387,000 followers on his YouTube channel, will also be blocked from live streaming. The move was welcomed by anti-extremism group Hope Not Hate. A spokesman for the group said: 'Stephen Lennon [Tommy Robinson's real name] has flouted the law, raked in hundreds of thousands of pounds promoting his conspiracies and stoking communal hatred, all while social media giants have provided the platforms that are vital to his high profile. 'YouTube is a powerful tool for the likes of Stephen Lennon and the DIY fascists who try to use the platform to radicalise young people. 'Pew research suggests that a whopping 81% of users watch recommended videos, so turning that tap off for Lennon is a good start. But people will rightly ask why YouTube are providing a platform for hate speech at all.' A YouTube spokesman said: 'After consulting with third-party experts, we are applying a tougher treatment to Tommy Robinson's channel in keeping with our policies on borderline content. 'The content will be placed behind an interstitial, removed from recommendations, and stripped of key features including live streaming, comments, suggested videos and likes.' YouTube is the last big online platform where internet users can find Robinson's content YouTube is Mr Robinson's last big online space, after bans on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and PayPal. Deputy Labour leader Tom Watson and Damian Collins, chairman of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, are among the growing number of voices who are calling for the activist to be shut down online. Mr Watson sent a letter to Google's chief executive Sundar Pichai, saying: 'I am now writing to implore you as a matter of utmost urgency to follow the lead that has been, belatedly, set by Facebook, and remove forthwith all 'Tommy Robinson' and related pages from your YouTube platform.' Mr Robinson has previously said that efforts to ban him online were part of the 'corrupt media and the establishment' trying 'to silence any opposition to their globalist plans'.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Branding & Strategy Whether a new or established business or organization, you can look to us to best articulate who you are, what you do, and most importantly, why any of it matters – beautifully.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
From the June 8, 1951 edition of The Island Beacon. We Will Never See His Like Again by Roland Schoolmeester Last night’s gathering at the Island Society of Affluent Men was unprecedented. The usual members were there and the usual names — Bonney, Stolarz, Ambriz, Redfern, Caddell, Mariable, Costello, Sugar, and many others were represented in the dark, paneled room reserved for only the most special events. Smoke from Havana cigars hovered overhead, and liquor twirled gently in glasses held by the powerful men who are the quiet — and often not-so-quiet — forces behind the headlines Islanders read in the Beacon. Roy Bonney, as always, called the proceedings to order, and all present turned towards him and listened to his brief speech. Nothing said in that room can be repeated outside the environs of The Society, so I cannot quote it here, but there is no rule against describing someone’s demeanor. It is possible Roy Bonney sounded a little more uncertain this evening. It is possible his eyes once wandered briefly over the room as if looking for someone who was not there. And it is certain that as his remarks closed, his voice faltered slightly, and he drew the cloth from the portrait with a smile that was more than a little sad, even as a waiter passed Sazaracs out to the attendees, in preparation for a toast to a man who, for half a century, had been the true face of The Society. The man who poured the drinks, who hovered quietly in the background, who ensured the malts were single-blended, the brandy at just the right temperature, the Port smooth, the Sazaracs perfect. The man whose eye was quick to detect the speck of dust on the mantle, the slightly askew tie on a waiter. The man who was quietly acknowledged and respected as Touperdu’s true historian and racounteur, who had at his fingertips facts, incidents, anecdotes and hard facts about great and small players of the Island. The man who knew the secrets. Tel Duday, for more than half a century the Steward of the Society for Affluent Men, is no longer with us. Telesphore Fortune Duday was born on April 1, 1874, in a village somewhere in the Champagne region of France. His actual place of birth was unimportant. “Best forgotten,” he once told me with his gallic shrug. He preferred to date his true nativity from the day in 1880, when he arrived with his family on the shores of Touperdu. Like so many who came over on the Amber Cat, he had a humble pedigree. He also had, even as a boy, a will to succeed that would be the envy of far wealthier and established families. He began working at The Society in 1888, passing out towels in the steam room. This was an era early in the Society’s history, when men now considered founders of Touperdu still frequented the halls and meeting rooms of the Society. People like Abner Pardee, right hand man to the formidable Ellen Reckoner, The Reverend Dr. Mordecai Street, who so faithfully oversaw the Island’s fledgling library and ensured not just its literacy, but its moral purity. And Robert Jefferson Abbot, that powerful force for the business interests on the Island, who could both attract profitable businesses to the Island and ensure they remained here. From the very beginning, even merely passing out towels to such successful pioneers, Telesphore stood out. and quickly established himself as one who could find what had been otherwise considered either lost or unobtainable. Anyone searching for a hard to find objects, rare books, or even just a longed-for introduction, They soon learned the fastest way to what they wanted was through young Tel. It was natural that such a talent would not long remain folding towels outside the steam room. Tel was quickly promoted to waiter, Where he could work in closer proximity to the educated and successful entrepreneurs who were shaping Touperdu society. He later told me that his true education took place serving drinks in the society lounge and overhearing the conversations of these great men. It was the eminent banker, Scott Thibodeaux Bonney, who recognized the extent of Tel’s talents “That Duday boy is a wide-awake lad. He’ll go far,” Bonney is said to commented to my father, who at the time was working in the club kitchen. “Tel always has something worthwhile to say.” And it was Bonney’s influence with the board which got Telesphore Duday his appointment — at the age of twenty-five — to what at the time was the relatively minor, uninfluential post of Society Steward. The rest, as they say, is history. Tel’s amazingly rententive memory, his energy and organizational skills, and above all, his gift for meticulous record-keeping, soon drastically expanded the responsibilities of club steward. It could truly be said that within a year, nothing could be done or said within the walls of The Society without Tel’s knowledge. Those who’d had reservations about the increased prominence of the position were soon won over. And even those very few who remained at heart unconvinced, soon acknowledged –admittedly with some grumbling– that Tel’s position was unassailable and a new fact of Island life. When, just a few years later, Telesphore Duday won the heart of one of our most prominent island beauties, the dashing and irrepressible Felicia Finnegan, there was much talk, but nobody was truly surprised. Today, it is impossible to imagine either of them ever being married to anybody else. It is customary in obituaries to list the accomplishments, the milestones in the career of the deceased. The nature of Telesphore Duday’s impressive career and accomplishments makes that dificult. He was, as the bible says, a good and faithful servant, a man of modesty, discretion and taste, who preferred to act in the background, and considered himself successful only if he remained there. There are exceptions, of course. His Saint Nicholas at the yearly children’s holiday play has been a Christmas tradition on the Island for decades, and I fear many parents will be hard-pressed this December to explain the absence of that jolly old elf who did magic tricks and could conjure up oranges, peppermints, chocolates, puppies and dolls for children longing for oranges, pepperments, chocolates, puppies and dolls. During the last war, there was not more active and successful advocate for the effort than Tel Duday. His speeches for war bonds, volunteer work and refugee assistance always got results, and spurred Islanders to greater efforts. Telesphore Duday after a War effort speech in 1943 Sadly, those of us who knew him believe that war was his undoing. When news reached him of the disappearance of a young relative, a journalist covering the war in Europe, the shock brought on a stroke from which Tel never entirely recovered. He returned to work after an absence of some weeks, his mind intact, but his physical being seriously diminished. From then on, it was plain his health was failing. Telesphore Duday’s death last Tuesday was sudden, but it came as no surprise to his friends. It was also, I believe apt. As someone who knew Tel as a boyhood friend, who grew up with him, grew old with him, I am certain he died as he would have wished to die, at the Society, enjoying himself. There have been rumors flying around the Island about my friend’s passing, many of them quite ridiculous and downright scurrilous. Mrs. Telesphore Duday and Leon Duday esq., have given me permission to give my account of it here…. (Nope. Not ’til next week.)	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
A sneaky sea lion was spotted brazenly surveying the contents of a truck outside what seems to be a fish processing plant in Kamchatka, Russia in an apparent attempt to steal a snack. The hilarious footage was captured in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, on the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia and uploaded to Facebook on Monday by Lina Vasilyeva. “Kamchatka sea lions are not the most lazy,” Vasilyeva wrote. READ MORE: Mutilated and bullet ridden sea lions wash up on Washington shores (PHOTO) Amused bystanders captured footage of the scoundrel and his sea lion buddy as he contemplated stealing a mid-morning snack from a truck parked close to the water. The animals obviously to have a coordinated plan to pull of the heist, as the seemingly more chilled out of the pair appears to be keeping watch while his oversized pal stands to an impressive height to reach the forbidden food. At one point a dog attempts to foil the duo’s plan by barking at the lounging sea lion, before thinking better of the challenge and giving up. The footage has been view more than 7,000 times by delighted Facebook users. Like this story? Share it with a friend!	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
← Sidebar · Posted by Sergei Rzhevsky in Art , History , Religion The following book “Anti-Religious Alphabet” was published in Leningrad in 1933. The author of the pictures was Mikhail Mikhailovich Cheremnykh (1890-1962) – a Soviet graphic artist, cartoonist, book illustrator. Each word in the poetic phrases accompanying the pictures begins with the corresponding letter of the Russian alphabet. Translation gives just a general meaning of these short phrases, but of course, if you know Russian, then this historical document is especially interesting. However, the illustrations themselves give some insight into the attitude to religion during the first decades of the Soviet regime. Source 1. Anti-Religious Alphabet. 2. Brothers, stop fearing the gods. 3. Religion. Faith is harmful, more harmful than wine. 4. Be patient. Voice of the Lord is good for the lords (magnates). 5. Down with the old village life of our grandfathers. 6. Episcopacy could barely eat. 7. The priest’s sting waiting for the victim. 8. Political literacy. Replace healer spells with knowledge. 9. Gandhi. They exposed the traitor’s name. 10. The end of the bells – work for the blacksmith. 11. Pouring lava of crafty lies. 12. Holy relics interfere with the power of machines. 13. 5 in 4 (meaning the early implementation of the five-year development plan of the country). Don’t need heavenly reward. 14. Myrrh-flowing icons – fraud. 15. Proletarian plaster for the holy shepherds. 16. Paradise. Picture, expose paradise of religions. 17. List of saints and holy days – the fairy tales, which worth laughing. 18. Collectivization (collective farms and private landholdings). Drag this way comrade tractor. 19. Agrotechnology, MTS (Machine Tractor Station), Fertilizers. Destroy the saints, multiply the harvest. 20. All people are brothers. The fabricant Ford is a fascism fort. 21. Love each other. Praising Christ and ruling with the whip. 22. The world of churches – the world of chains. 23. Read clearly: rosary – rubbish. 24. Godless. Assault shamans – the gang of charlatans. 25. Tongs, crush these bristly tentacles. 26. Electric excavator to get rid of these exploiters. 27. “Don’t join the collective farm”. Don’t trust the holy fool. 28. Intervention. The flaming rage of the poisonous tongue. Tags: propaganda · Saint Petersburg city · Soviet past << Chita – the view from above Veliky Novgorod Kremlin >> No comments yet.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
If you have/have not seen Melissa’s social media, I am going to note the baby elephant in the room. She was pregnant while Total Madness filmed. It had to have been very early into the pregnancy as she probably didn’t show visible signs, or she got eliminated before she figured it out. Or maybe she was removed from the game once she did. Regardless, it is a scary subplot for this season. Melissa seems super pregnant currently, so hopefully, that means the baby is healthy! Usually, I would be thrilled to see Melissa on the cast because she is a top tier reality television villain. Melissa can lie or stir up drama with her words and actions, and show no remorse in such a way that’s a bit nerve-shaking. Sadly, she hasn’t been able to last long on these shows because she has started too much trouble. Knowing she is pregnant makes me wonder if she will be tone down, or if she’ll be going 110%. Introducing Melissa: She was one of the original five UK reality stars to debut on the Challenge. It’s honestly crazy to consider how much of an impact those 5 UK cast members have had. Kyle has hooked up with tons of girls and had a fantastic two-season feud with Cara Maria and Paulie. Joss has been a remarkable athlete with a 3–1 elimination record and was seconds away from winning Final Reckoning. Kayleigh won three eliminations on Final Reckoning, politically knocked out players like Jenny and Georgia on War of the Worlds 2, and then Rogan is the first UK Champion from out of nowhere. Melissa had the most significant immediate impact out of anyone as she came on the show, hooked up with Nicole Zanatta, got into a fight with Kam, won an elimination, and then lost a wild headbanger elimination to Sylvia. MTV liked her so much that they brought her back for the final as a mercenary twist. Then on Final Reckoning, she and Kailah were kicked off on day two for a fight between them on night one. It was a massive setback if her goal was to be on television, as it meant she was essentially not on the season. Then MTV seems to have put a 2 season ban on any form of violence as Kailah, Melissa, and Cory are all finally back. Or it could just be a coincidence. If Melissa has another quit, then she’ll be the 5th most important of that original five, which is something most fans would have never expected. Player Vitals Melissa Reeves: 26 Years Old, 5'7, 2 Seasons, 1–1 Elimination Record Skills and Physical Strength: One of the weirdest Challenge fans moments is when people began calling Melissa an MMA fighter. She did some workouts at an MMA gym and took some pictures/videos of her fun time at the gym, but that doesn’t make you a fighter in any regard. Hell, people at the lower levels with actual fight(s) on their belt likely wouldn’t even consider themselves fighters. Melissa’s elimination round was Sylvia was thoroughly entertaining, but it’s not a good look that she lost to someone with a massive fever. She keeps incredibly fit as looking good is her livelihood. During Vendettas, Melissa only participated in the opening purge and the first real daily challenge. Despite having two seasons under her belt, Melissa is essentially a rookie. Her rail-thin frame has always made her look a bit fragile, and especially with this cast where the females are bigger than average. SSMP (Social, Strategic, Mental, and Political) Game: She got into a skirmish with Kailah on Final Reckoning and has shown no remorse for it, and even accused her and Tony of hooking up (both people in relationships) during one of the reunions. There is bad blood between them. Kailah has tons of friends on this cast while Melissa only has Kyle and maybe Rogan. From a jumping-off point, Melissa should be fearful. On Vendettas, she was openly polidicking, and it backfired against her as the other females did not like the way she was playing the game. I would love to see an Ashley and Melissa alliance, the two could raise hell together. Melissa being pregnant makes me wonder if she entered the season in a relationship. Some of these UK cast members treat themselves as single when on television, which I wish all cast members did (sorry, it’s Trashy Reality TV). Eliminations & Winning Potential: Melissa owns an elimination win. It was not an impressive win, as it was against Alicia. The elimination itself was way too simple and didn’t make her stand out. However, she does know what an elimination is like. Her elimination loss to Sylvia did prove that Melissa was willing to play dirty as she knee’d Sylvia in the stomach multiple times during the elimination itself. I appreciate a competitor who will play hard and do anything to win. While Melissa might not be a strong competitor, she will at least try to win. Can she win this season? Probably not. If Melissa can get to the halfway point, that would be a huge win. The girl is ridiculously good as a villain, and I want her to last as long as possible. Sadly, her actions are way too problematic for someone who isn’t a dominant competitor. You need to be a top tier competitor to be able to get away with what Melissa does. Melissa’s Overall Rating: 72/100	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Wenger you wily old dog you. This is as much a Wenger loving post as it is a Cesc one. Rumours are rife regarding the return of Cesc to Arsenal and pretty much all Gooners agree that this would be a good thing. I do not claim to know the details of Fabregas’ transfer to Barcelona and don’t want to get into the “he forced his way out” stuff. From where I was sat all I could see was a player desperate to go to one team and one team only. As a business person, in fact just as an ordinary bloke, I can tell you that this put us in a very weak negotiation position. For Arsenal to sell their crown jewel for £35m in a market that sees Carroll go for the same was a bitter pill for me to swallow. This and only this is/was my gripe with Cesc but it wasn’t only with Cesc; it was with Arsenal too. I felt they could have put a stick in the ground and said £50m or no deal but they didn’t. That’s over and done with now and we’ve moved on as such. So, back in the present day and after almost a week of some Gooners tearing their hair out and raising their own blood pressure at the thought of Cesc going to United, news has “broken” that Arsenal have first refusal etc. Cast your memories back to the time we sold Cesc and try to remember the sneers directed at Arsène and the board for dragging their heels over Cesc. “They knew he was going so why wait so long to buy a replacement” “Well, they needed to make sure he was sold first, we can’t afford to buy players we don’t need” “Yeah but we knew he was going to go so why take so long over the negotiations” “Well, Wenger insisted on a buyback clause” “Buyback clause, what a waste of time, Cesc is never coming back here”. Remember that? I do. At the time I wasn’t concerned about buyback clauses et al. I was concerned about selling the best midfielder of his generation for what I considered to be a pittance. How wrong I was, how foolish I was to question our savant manager. Epictetus once said: If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid. Most of us know Wenger fell on his sword for Arsenal a long time ago to aid our transition to our state-of-the-art new home. Now it seems, in the search for improvements, he was willing to paint himself the fool for us too. Putting all of the reported clauses into the Fabregas sale may yet turn out to be Wenger’s greatest ever transfer deal. The reports suggest Arsenal have not only a first-refusal clause but a 50% sell on clause and a buyback clause of £20-25m. If that is true then that is an amazing piece of business and something no other deal can match or will be able to match in the future, you can bet on that and get matched free bets to boot. When Arsenal sold Fabregas and even during the 2 year tap up by Barcelona I repeatedly said, as did many others, Fabregas would not “fit” at Barcelona and he was better off waiting a few more years. I felt that Barca didn’t need him and he was only being pursued because they wanted a marquee signing and he fit the bill with an added tick because of his birthplace. Wenger clearly saw the same thing and probably a little bit more. Did he see Cesc struggling to be the starter he was for Arsenal and maybe wanting a move back home (his real home) just as Arsenal have the cash to do so? I wouldn’t put it past him. We all know that Cesc wanted to play for Barcelona and especially for Pep Guardiola and he got his wish. He’s had his fill now so maybe it’s time to come back to Arsenal. What is so amazing about the potential return of Cesc is that he fits almost every bill that Arsenal need. He is world-class – TICK – fans appeased He is creative – TICK – the team needs more creativity He fits at Arsenal – TICK – he isn’t a gamble He is cheap – TICK – Coffers remain mostly full Cheap might seem a little off but if the reports are true then he would be cheap. If Arsenal have a 50% sell on clause AND a buyback clause of £20-25m AND first-refusal then any club wishing to purchase Cesc would require a bid of £40-50m just to match Arsenal. If Arsenal were willing to go up to the price we sold him for then other clubs would need to bid a whopping £70m just to match us AND we’d get half of that fee if we decided to step aside. I’m sceptical that all of those clauses exist together but even individually they are potent enough for the pendulum of favour to swing in our direction. There are other factors to consider too. Barcelona owes Arsenal money for Cesc in add-ons for winning trophies as well as owing us money on the Song transfer and his add-ons too. There is also the will of the management at Barcelona to consider too. Is Cesc needed at Barcelona? Is he wanted? Maybe, maybe not but according to those who know more about Barcelona than I, they are looking to make some purchases this summer and also want to trim the squad a bit. The return of Cesc doesn’t seem so far-fetched now and coincides amazingly well with our new-found financial prowess. If it happens and under the circumstances the reports claim it could happen then all we can do is stand up and applaud the mighty Wenger. Even if he doesn’t come back it seems Arsenal will benefit from it regardless. Arsène, you wily old dog you. Thanks for reading! Please comment on this post, subscribe by email, share with friends and follow me on twitter (@thedanielcowan). Please check out the official NLIR Facebook page http://facebook.com/northlondonisredblog for news, views, freebies and more. Advertise your business here! Click here for details .	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Check out our new site Makeup Addiction add your own caption add your own caption add your own caption add your own caption add your own caption add your own caption add your own caption add your own caption add your own caption add your own caption add your own caption Call you dad, not Bill? I eat motherfuckers like you for breakfast.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
SAN DIEGO -- The dream stands as a simple one for Jeff Samardzija, who is the newest member of the Chicago White Sox following the announcement of a six-player deal with Oakland at the Winter Meetings on Tuesday. Samardzija's goal is to get a start in an Interleague game at a National League ballpark where he actually can hit and connect on a home run. It's not so much about the thrill of helping the White Sox with his bat, as he already has two career homers. It's about going deep and hearing Ken "Hawk" Harrelson, the team's venerable and colorful play-by-play man who Samardzija listened to growing up in Indiana, call said long ball. • Hot Stove Tracker "He's not going to have to say 'Stretch!' because it will be way over the wall," said Samardzija with a laugh during a conference call Tuesday. "But I've got to get some at-bats and hit a homer strictly so I can get it on tape with his call. "I'm excited. What a story that is to come around and listen to the guy on TV so long, and I have the opportunity for him to call my games." Winter Meetings: Monday through Thursday in San Diego A connection to Hawk becomes one of the many things that has the native of Merrillville, Ind., and the onetime Notre Dame baseball and football standout excited to join the White Sox. His new team is equally thrilled. In order to acquire an elite right-handed starter in Samardzija and right-handed reliever Michael Ynoa, the White Sox gave up infielder Marcus Semien, catcher Josh Phegley, infield Rangel Ravelo and right-handed pitcher Chris Bassitt. The White Sox didn't want to give up any of the four players, per general manager Rick Hahn, with Semien and Bassitt probably figuring into the 2015 White Sox equation before the deal. With Samardzija being in his final year prior to free agency and looking almost certain to test the open market after 2015, Hahn did not want to give up any of the top-tier prospects for possibly just one season. That one season ultimately didn't matter for a team that plans to contend now and hopes to sign Samardzija to a long-term deal. "This was the guy we wanted. This was the guy that fit for us," Hahn said. "This was the guy we felt was a perfect complement to [Chris] Sale and [Jose] Quintana, and at the same time has the ability to fit in seamlessly within our clubhouse, obviously knows the market, has had success in the market. It might be a little bit of a gamble, but we're optimistic we're [going to be] able to extend his stay as well." "Just the approach the White Sox had to get me, how it seemed they were really on a tear to put me on their roster," Samardzija said. "That's all you can ask for as a player, for an organization to circle a name on their list saying, 'This is a guy we have to have on this team.'" Video: White Sox make splash at Winter Meetings Hahn made it clear that weekly or monthly updates about potential Samardzija extension negotiations weren't going to happen. The point is just as clear that the White Sox want Samardzija in their rotation past 2015. When asked about signing an extension with Chicago, Samardzija sounded like a player who continues to be committed to exploring free agency. It also was hard for him to hide the excitement for him and his family over his White Sox addition. Getting Samardzija inherently includes getting his exclusive negotiating rights for the next year in Hahn's big-picture view. Samardzija is looking forward to the getting-to-know-you process and how it could influence any future deals. "Long-term deals are all about relationships and the future," Samardzija said. "Obviously, I just got traded. Winning on the field takes care of a lot of future talk. To be there for a whole year, to be with the team, to get to know the organization in and out, that's huge, because ... a big part of that process of being a free agent is trying to quickly learn an organization and what they're all about. "Sometimes you have to do that in a month. It's important for me to be able to be on this team all year and really get to know all the players and what the future holds is exciting. I've been pretty adamant about being a free agent. It's really something you shoot for. You are so close to it and you really want to experience it, but like I said before, when the situation is right, it's right. When the numbers are right, the numbers are right." Samardzija joins Sale, Felix Hernandez, Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer as the only pitchers to record 200 more strikeouts over each of the past two seasons. Samardzija has fanned 739 over 777 2/3 career innings, with 81 homers and 277 walks allowed. Those numbers should play well at hitter-friendly U.S. Cellular Field, where the 2014 All-Star has a 0.47 ERA over four appearances. It's a ballpark Samardzija visited many times as a kid and drove past countless other times on his way from Chicago to his Valparaiso, Ind., home. Now, he has the chance to pitch for the White Sox, something he told Hahn on Tuesday was a "dream come true." "It's a trade on paper geared toward improving us for 2015," Hahn said. "At the same time, we are hoping to extend that period beyond." "For it to work out this way, it's even more mind blowing," Samardzija said. "I'm still here soaking it all in and thinking about all the old ties I had and how fun it's going to be to go back."	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
By of the The Green Bay Packers have received NFL approval to conduct a stock sale to help pay for the team's $143 million expansion project at Lambeau Field. In a statement, the NFL said Commissioner Roger Goodell determined that the stock sale "meets the appropriate conditions established in 1997 for such a sale in order to raise funds for stadium renovation." On Tuesday in Houston, NFL owners will be briefed on the Packers plan, but there is no ownership vote required. The NFL statement said the Packers have an atypical ownership structure that is "grandfathered." "In connection with the club's last proposed stock sale in 1997, our office determined that the Packers are entitled to sell stock for certain purposes consistent with the 'grandfather,' namely for capital raising purposes such as stadium improvements. "The proceeds of the stock sale are required to be segregated from other funds and only used for that purpose. In this case, the Packers are planning to sell shares that were authorized, but not sold, in 1997. Jason Wied, the Packers' vice president of administration and general counsel, issued this statement: "The Packers appreciate the NFL's review of our information relating to a potential stock sale. Proceeding with a stock sale would also involve regulatory steps and other actions, which we are exploring. We intend to keep our fans informed of further developments to the greatest extent possible." Regulatory approval would be needed through the federal Securities & Exchange Commission, and at the state level. The team has said it is using the 1997-'98 stock sale as a guide. At the time of that sale, the team sold 120,010 shares at $200 each. There are approximately 280,000 shares available. The franchise has not yet established a price or how many shares would be made available. But team officials say it is reasonable to say at least 100,000, and likely more, will be sold. Two hundred dollars is being considered as the price. In addition to the stock sale, the team plans to impose a user fee on new ticket holders for the additional 6,600 seats being added to Lambeau Field, as well as taking an NFL loan. The team plans to finance the rest of the expansion project.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
338.8k RÉACTIONS Facebook Twitter Linkedin Whatsapp Flipboard Mail Kokopelli agissait en toute illégalité… et elle va devoir continuer ! Malgré la décision du Conseil constitutionnel, cette association qui distribue des semences anciennes a en effet décidé de poursuivre son action. Pourquoi ? Parce qu’elle la juge légitime et nécessaire. Explications. - PUBLICITÉ - Le 2 octobre dernier, l’Assemblée nationale légalisait enfin la vente de semences anciennes. Seulement voilà, quelques jours plus tard, le Conseil constitutionnel censurait l’essentiel de cette loi. Résultat : la vente de ces semences libres de droits et reproductibles (qui échappent donc au contrôle des industriels) reste parfaitement illégale. Une décision regrettable et difficilement compréhensible qui n’a cependant pas refroidi les militants de Kokopelli. Être hors la loi, ils y étaient déjà habitués… Le 29 novembre dernier, Ananda Guillet, président de l’association, se confiait face à une caméra de La Dépêche. Regardez : - PUBLICITÉ - « Pourquoi cet article de loi a-t-il été censuré ? Bah la réponse est assez simple : il y a la pression des lobbies, comme d’habitude, il y a les agro-industriels derrière, comme d’habitude, et on est sans cesse dans le même schéma de la mainmise de l’agro-industrie sur la politique. » Dans les colonnes de La Dépêche, Ananda Guillet, réaffirme la raison d’être et la légitimité de son association : « L’agriculture est née il y a 45 000 ans alors que l’agro-industrie, telle que nous la connaissons, date de la Seconde Guerre Mondiale. Ce qui est illégal aujourd’hui existe en fait depuis des dizaines de milliers d’années. Les agriculteurs ont toujours échangé et reproduit leurs semences. C’est une industrie récente qui a décidé de changer ces règles fondées sur la gratuité et la libre distribution (…) « Cela fait vingt ans que nous faisons notre travail dans l’illégalité et nous allons continuer. Pour nous, cela ne change rien » En 2017, Kokopelli a distribué (illégalement, donc) 700 000 sachets de semences anciennes à ses 130 000 clients français et étrangers. Grâce à elle, c’est un peu de la biodiversité qui est ainsi préservée. Et tant pis si cela doit être fait en dehors de la loi. Il existe des intérêts plus essentiels que ceux de l’agro-industrie. Bravo Kokopelli ! Lire aussi : Dealers de graines : ces hors-la-loi qui oeuvrent pour la survie de notre biodiversité. (VIDÉO) - PUBLICITÉ -	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
IT'S been a 42-year wait but the decision to rezone Badgerys Creek land in Sydney's west would be like winning the lottery for Harry and Brigette Green. The couple, in their 60s, bought their 11-acre property for $12,000 in 1970. But with the land around what could be Sydney's second airport due to be rezoned from residential to industrial, the Greens said their home would be worth millions. "It's been a waiting game for 40 years, this airport,'' Mr Green said. That will make up for the $250,000 they lost when they sold their other Badgerys Creek property 20 years ago. "Nobody wanted to buy in this area after everyone heard about the plans for the airport,'' he said. The Daily Telegraph revealed yesterday the planning department was moving ahead with the controversial rezoning, which stands to make businessman Ron Medich and his developer brother Roy up to $400 million. Planning Minister Brad Hazzard said he did not know who owned land and the decision was about getting western Sydney moving: "Rezoning for employment lands adjacent to the land reserved 20 years ago for a possible airport would work well for western and southwestern Sydney, irrespective of whether or not the federal government ever decides to proceed with the development of an airport.'' Chris Brown, an aviation capacity taskforce member, said the land could be rezoned industrial and still allow a second airport. Originally published as Sitting on a gold mine	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
0 Facebook 0 Twitter 0 WhatsApp 0 La Voz de Galicia Domingos Sampedro 07/08/2016 16:55 h «Un mar de xente Podemos». Este es el nombre de la candidatura lanzada este domingo por Podemos Galicia para promover a la persona que concurrirá a las primarias para ser candidata a la presidencia de la Xunta. El nombre propuesto por Carmen Santos, secretaria general de Podemos Galicia, es Magdalena Barahona Martín, profesora de Sociología de la Universidade de Vigo, a la que se refirió como una «persoa leal», a la que la preparación «sóbralle», por lo que puede presentar perfectamente un «proxecto común» que le devuelva el poder de San Caetano y de O Hórreo «á xente». La elección de la candidata a la Xunta de Podemos es independiente de la fórmula que adopte para concurrir a las elecciones, una vez que la militancia eligió acudir a las urnas con En Marea. De este modo, Podemos elige de manera unilateral a sus candidatura y después, según los acuerdos que se alcancen con sus aliados, se buscará su encaje en una lista común. Dos días después de que Luis Villares hiciese oficial su decisión de concurrir a las primaris de En Marea, el partido de Pablo Iglesias ha lanzado su baza, durante un acto que tiene luegar este mediodía en un restaurante de Santiago. Santos ya había descartado ser candidata y ya adelantó que presentaría a una compañera de filas a las primarias internas de su formación para designar el aspirante a residente en Monte Pío.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Playing scary games lately has made me acutely aware of the fact that my ice machine is TERRIFYING. It apparently knows exactly when the creepiest possible moment would be to drop some ice into the drawer. It’s just enough to make me question my life choices and perhaps never sleep again. Speaking of which, if you like watching people get scared playing video games, I just recently played an indie horror game called Notes of Obsession. You can see the video here. Or watch below. Do you like watching people play scary games? What’s your favorite game to watch people play? Let me know in the comments! Oh, and one more thing. I’m hosting a giveaway until the end of the month for my birthday! #IndieGame Bundle Giveaway!	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Will the Kaka‘ako Condo Boom Ease Honolulu’s Housing Crisis? With plans for new towers on hold (and a splashy luxury condo scratched), experts are arguing if we’re in a lull or a bust. Either puts an end to the idea that Kaka‘ako would lead to a housing solution. A closer look at O‘ahu’s most intractable issue. By Don Wallace (page 1 of 4) Photos: Aaron Yoshino We’ve gotten so used to the cranes doing their dip-and-peck dance in Kaka‘ako, dominating our skyline and the conversation, that it comes as a bit of a shock now that the dust is settling. After all the fuss, the new towers have barely made a dent in Honolulu’s acute housing shortage. Surely, after so many units built (3,971, including those under construction), we should be seeing some relief by now. But no. Instead, rents are up and housing prices are setting records every month. What happened? We’ve actually lost ground, given that Hawai‘i needs about 5,200 new units a year, according to state economist Eugene Tian. But, in 2015, the number of units completed sank to a low not seen since 1947; the state granted just 800 permits in 2014, also a low. Finally, while we’re certainly grateful for the 1,865 units set aside in Kaka‘ako as affordable or “reserved,” the latter’s income levels seemed unrealistic, favoring the better off, considering the all-important reality of what the average resident can afford. Maybe we’ve let the new Kaka‘ako distract us—all the Howard Hughes towers and promise of “live, work, play,” the artists lofts, Kamehameha Schools’ industrial-chic SALT complex, movies on the lawn, ice skating, Pow! Wow! murals, and hipster food and drink offerings. Fun stuff. But Honolulu, O‘ahu and the state overall haven’t built housing to keep pace with a rising population, so we’ve been boxed in. And, while we love our ‘ohana, too much togetherness is beginning to wear on us. We’re being squeezed financially to pay the rent or the mortgage, or being squeezed into too little space with too many other people. One effect of the shortage is predictable: The price of housing keeps going up and is staying up. Rentals, too, shot up more than 10 percent over the past two years. “I’ve seen a 30-percent appreciation in the better neighborhoods three years in a row,” says appraiser and real estate expert Stephany Sofos. “Everybody says we’re not in a bubble. We’re in a bubble.” It may be hard on real estate developers when it pops, but the end of a bubble is usually a good thing for renters or buyers. But the moment we are in today seems different from, say, the 1980s or 2009. People in the know seem to be saying that the bubble will continue, but the construction of new units will end. Why? Costs are in a bubble, too. And then there’s the paradise tax: “On the most isolated island in the world, everything needs to be imported,” says Stanford Carr, who started out a flooring contractor and now heads his own development company, which has built luxury housing from Hawai‘i Kai to Maui and the Big Island but has recently focused on Kaka‘ako, pulling off several complicated projects for low-income residents. “Our challenge here is the freight will cost more than the materials.” “When you have a very hot construction market like you do now, the costs of your materials and equipment are too high,” explains Ryan Harada, principal at Downtown Capital LLC, developer Marshall Hung’s company. Downtown Capital specializes in workforce housing, not luxury units. “We were very fortunate to get into the market at the right time,” says Harada. “We completed our 801 South St. Building A in June of 2015, and we finish Building B in January of 2017. Our costs are locked in, so we’re still within the sweet spot.” And then? “After that,” Harada says, “I don’t see the market doing much—there will be a lull for a few years. Especially the luxury market. These things go in cycles. Sometimes you go five, 10 years without anybody building. It all comes to a close in 2017.” On the heels of a boom and a concurrent shortage in Hawai‘i housing, we can now expect future housing development to just dry up. Wait, what? Future historians may note Jan. 16, 2016, as the day illusions of solving O‘ahu’s housing crisis anytime soon were laid to rest. Eight months before, in May, developers started taking deposits on a luxury high-rise called Vida at 888 Ala Moana, with units priced from $1.8 to $3.3 million and amenities that included two pools, a gym, a yoga room, movie theaters and private dining rooms (with chefs), guest suites for visitors, play areas, storage areas, even a “tool workshop.” Vida wasn’t the ritziest address in the strip that stretches along Ala Moana and Kaka‘ako—that honor goes to Park Lane and its $22-million to $28-million penthouses. But when buyers rushed in to grab 40 percent of its units in the month of May, the local condo market seemed certified golden for the next decade, with plans for up to 20 new high-rise towers on the books of major players like Howard Hughes and Kamehameha Schools. Brokers gushed: “Kaka‘ako will be Hawai‘i’s fastest growing and most exciting new market for some years to come,” tripling in size to 30,000 residents. Vida’s developers, The MacNaughton Group and The Kobayashi Group, are credited with sparking the current boom—back in 2002 with Hokua, a luxury condo. The first high-rise in Kaka‘ako in more than 10 years, Hokua sold out 95 percent of its units before groundbreaking, at an average of $1.1 million each. By the time all 247 condos closed on a single day in 2006, a development dash was on. The housing shortage was news back then, too, but even so there were heated battles over the Hawai‘i Community Development Authority’s greenlighting so many tall, view-blocking towers, especially while repurposing hip and funky Kaka‘ako at price points that seemed directed at offshore investors, not local residents. But the HCDA is an authority, not a democracy, and developers carried the day again and again. Various rationales were offered: The luxury condos would be offset by 20 percent affordable housing; millennials prefer cozier urban environments where they can skateboard to work. Mayor Kirk Caldwell even painted more high-rises as a means to “Keep the country country,” by preserving ag land from development. (North Shore activists cried foul.) Then came Jan. 16, 2016, and the Vida announcement that it was returning deposits and would never be built. That there hadn’t been a single sale since May warranted a gulp and a fresh look at reports of stalled luxury condo sales and frozen condo resales. Locations executive vice president Scott Higashi had signaled concern nearly three months earlier: “Certainly at the high price points, from $1.7 million and up, the market is tight. I don’t think there are enough buyers in that marketplace to support the inventory, and it has slowed.” By January, Higashi had scaled back that $1.7 million to $1 million and up. The boom was over. And yet Stephany Sofos was still seeing a boom. And so were others, as long as they weren’t looking in the Kaka‘ako-Ala Moana districts. What the heck was going on? A tale of two markets, it seems. And, possibly, a core problem: We’ve been building for everyone but ourselves.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The endocannabinoid system consists of cellular receptors found in very large amounts throughout the body In order to consume medical cannabis in a responsible and efficient manner, a person should completely understand what exactly goes on in the body upon introducing it the active molecules from the cannabis plant. The way these cannabis-derived compounds interact with our organism is astonishing. The endocannabinoid system consists of cellular receptors found in very large amounts throughout the body, and the endocannabinoids—the body’s internal chemical compounds that entice these endocannabinoid receptors. Because this is such a complicated topic, wrapping one’s head around everything requires some patience and dedication. However, fathoming the endocannabinoid system is really rewarding and extremely beneficial to anyone looking to consume cannabis for healing purposes. It should be taken into consideration that the science of cannabis still has a long way to go, and because of this there are some blanks waiting to be filled. The almost century-long, worldwide illegality of this plant should be held, in large part, accountable for the limited body of research today, and the reasons that led to banning cannabis are also quite sketchy and play a role. Nonetheless, the available collection of scientific works confirms that consuming cannabis-derived cannabinoids compels the body to produce more endocannabinoid receptors, but also to create additional quantities of internal endocannabinoids. Both endocannabinoids from the body, and the cannabinoids from the cannabis plant activate cell receptors that cause that individual cell to react in a certain way, and this reaction is dependent not only on the type of cell activated through these receptors, but also on the condition the body is struggling with at the time. This may sound like science fiction, but exploring the science behind the endocannabinoids system will help make all this much more understandable. Let’s start with checking out the most notable aspects of the topic. What exactly is the endocannabinoid system, its purpose and when was it discovered? What are the main types of cellular receptors within the endocannabinoid system? What are the main types of endocannabinoids and how they influence the endocannabinoid system? What is endocannabinoid system deficiency? Role of the endocannabinoid system First, the endocannabinoid system, also known as the ECS, is a vast “network” comprised out of the following: Cellular cannabinoid receptors : These receptors are located on the membranes of many different cells found throughout the body. : These receptors are located on the membranes of many different cells found throughout the body. Endocannabinoids: These active signaling molecules produced by the body are structurally very similar to active compounds found in cannabis. These internal cannabinoids—just like the ones from cannabis—activate the cannabinoid receptors, and by doing this, trigger a specific response from a cell. These active signaling molecules produced by the body are structurally very similar to active compounds found in cannabis. These internal cannabinoids—just like the ones from cannabis—activate the cannabinoid receptors, and by doing this, trigger a specific response from a cell. Enzymes: Different enzymes are responsible for the creation (synthesis), and later the degradation of these compounds. What’s truly amazing about the endocannabinoid system is that the cells that express these specialized endocannabinoid receptors are located in all of the most important parts of our body, including the following: the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord); all vital organs; The reproductive organs various glands; the immune system; the gastrointestinal tract; and connective tissues. So, the body has this extremely widespread network of cell receptors that react to endocannabinoids and cannabinoids, but what is the function of this system? The sole purpose of the ECS is to maintain balance within an organism. This is achieved by performing different tasks within an individual cell, because depending on what type of cell it is—nerve cells, immune cells, skin cells, muscle cells, secretory cells and so forth—the precise mechanism of action of that specific cell will be different. The way a specific cell reacts when a endocannabinoid (or a cannabinoid) activates its receptor is also dependent on the type of condition with which an organism is afflicted. This means the ECS is very adaptive and can trigger an extremely wide range of biological responses inside of a single cell, depending on what exactly is wrong at that given time. In an ideal situation, where all the systems of the body—including the circulatory, digestive, endocrine, integumentary/exocrine, lymphatic/immune, muscular, nervous, urinary/excretory, reproductive, respiratory and skeletal—function optimally, this perfect functioning of an organism is called the homeostasis, which can be also understood as a dynamic state of equilibrium. The endocannabinoid system is a primary “instrument” in charge of maintaining homeostasis, and this is why the cells of all these different systems and tissues have (endo)cannabinoid receptors. In a nutshell, the endocannabinoid system oversees maintaining health on a cellular level in every system of the body, vigilantly reacting and adapting to the continuous changes that the body encounters. Unfortunately, the ECS does not function properly in everyone, and this malfunction is associated with the body’s inability to heal itself optimally. Even though the precise causes of ECS malfunction remain elusive, it is hypothesized that numerous different factors—including genetics, diet, lack of exercise, various pollutants and stress—are all responsible for an insufficiently effective endocannabinoid system. An inactive ECS can also be responsible for “helping” some conditions and diseases to occur, which the article will later address. Endocannabinoid system discovery Uncovering how the cannabinoids from cannabis, and the internal endocannabinoids, stimulate the cellular receptors across the body was not a simple task. Over the course of history, numerous cultures have been using cannabis for medicinal reasons. During the 19th century, cannabis-derived products were also used for health-related purposes across Europe and the U.S. because of the pioneer work of Williams O’Shaughnessy, a doctor from Ireland, and French scientist Jacques-Joseph Moreau. As the science of chemistry wasn’t fully developed, they only understood that cannabis brings relief for numerous conditions, without comprehending how the healing actually occurs. Consider the brief, but precise, timeline of scientific discoveries in the field of cannabis: 1895: the first cannabis-based compound named cannabinol (CBN) was isolated; 1930: the precise chemical structure of cannabinol (CBN) was mapped; 1940: the second cannabis-based compound cannabidiol (CBD) was isolated; 1963: the precise chemical structure of cannabidiol (CBD) was mapped; 1964: the psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) was isolated; 1988: the cannabinoid receptors were first located; 1990: a cannabinoid receptor was first cloned; and 1993: internal endocannabinoids anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) were first identified. As can be seen, discoveries over the last three decades include the identification of both the cannabinoid receptors and the endocannabinoids, discoveries that are absolutely crucial for understanding how the endocannabinoid system functions, and how the cannabinoids from the cannabis plant affect and influence this system. Through all these years, numerous scientists gave their contributions to help reveal the secrets of cannabis and the ECS, but the person who improved the science behind cannabis the most is Dr. Raphael Mechoulam, a famed Israeli organic chemist and a professor of medicinal chemistry in Jerusalem. Mechoulam was involved in mapping the structure of CBD in 1963, and one year later, he and his team identified and isolated THC. During the 1990s, he also participated in the discovery of the body’s own endocannabinoids anandamide and 2-AG. Learn more about his magnificent work in our article on THC. The ECS was discovered by accident, so to speak. In the 1980s, researchers were trying to uncover how cannabis, more precisely THC, induces the psychoactive high, and found that certain cells in the body have specific cellular receptors, in which THC fit perfectly. Researchers theorized the body must produce its own endogenous compounds that are structurally similar to THC, and after several years of research, more precisely in 1993, anandamide and 2-AG were identified. By discovering the endocannabinoid receptors and internal endocannabinoids, scientists have confirmed the existence of a previously unknown physiological system. It is now known that the ECS has an incredibly beneficial influence on practically every other system in the body, and functions as a tool for healing, but also for maintaining optimal health. Below are a few interesting facts about the ECS in general: besides humans, every other vertebrate species (animals with a spine) possess an endocannabinoid system; the most primitive animal that expresses an ECS is the sea-squirt (also called tunicate), which evolved around 600 million years ago; and in humans, a 2009 study shows the endocannabinoid system is fully operational before leaving the mother’s uterus. Receptors of the endocannabinoid system These cellular receptors are responsible for the body’s reaction to endocannabinoids, but also the cannabinoids from cannabis. There are two main, distinct types of cannabinoid receptors, and they can be considered “locks” present on the membranes of different types of cells in the body. The endocannabinoid and cannabinoid compounds, for their parts, act as “keys” that trigger a specific response from these cells, upon entering the “lock” of the receptors. CB1 Receptor CB1s are the most abundant cannabinoid receptors in the body and are mostly located in the central nervous system (CNS), more precisely the brain and the spinal cord. In the brain, the largest quantity of the CB1 receptors is present in the following: frontal cortex: where thinking happens; hippocampus: in charge of memory; cerebellum: in charge of movement; and basal ganglia: associated with voluntary movement, learning, cognition and emotion. Other than the central nervous system, CB1 receptors are found in the vital and reproductive organs, various glands, gastrointestinal and urinary tract, white blood cells and connective tissues. CB2 Receptor CB2 is the second most prominent cannabinoid receptor, and unlike CB1, it is mostly found in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, where most of the body’s immune system is located. Large concentrations of CB2 receptors are also found in the tonsils and the thymus gland, and both sections of the body are also valuable assets of the immune response. Like CB1, CB2 receptors are expressed in some neuron cells, like the microglia, in the brain and other parts of the central nervous system, but in much smaller quantities. Another captivating attribute of the ECS is that both the cannabinoid receptors and the internal endocannabinoids get synthesized in the body on demand. This basically means that when the body “senses” that additional receptor/endocannabinoid expression will return the organism into a state of homeostasis, both the receptors and the compounds get synthesized on demand. Studies, including one published in 2007, have shown that this trait of the ECS occurs in situations like nerve injury, inflammation and tissue damage. Here are a few more facts about ECS receptors: It is speculated that CB1 and CB2 receptors are more numerous than any other receptor system in the human body, including the receptors of neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin. Numerous parts of the body contain both CB1 and CB2 receptors, and they are found on many intersections—the borders of two or more different physiological systems—of the body, contributing to the communication and co-operation of differing types of cells. Besides CB1 and CB2, certain endocannabinoids activate other receptors in the body, including the transient receptor potential (TRP) and peroxisome proliferator activated receptors (PPARs). Endocannabinoids Very similar to the current understanding of cannabis-derived cannabinoids, contemporary science has currently figured out the precise mechanisms of action of two internal endocannabinoids, anandamide and 2-AG. Even though not everything is understood, the ongoing research has provided great insight about the functioning of the ECS, and the extremely diverse roles of these endogenous compounds. Anandamide (N-arachidonoylethanolamine, or AEA) Discovered in 1993 by Mechoulam, anandamide is the most thoroughly studied endocannabinoid. The name is derived from the sanskrit word “ananda”, meaning bliss or delight, which is one of the main cerebral effects of anandamide. The role of this compound is profoundly diverse, helping to regulate numerous processes that include immune system function, central nervous system function, appetite, pain, memory and much more. Anandamide is an activator, or agonist, of both CB1 and CB2 endocannabinoid receptors, meaning it is created (synthesized) throughout the tissues of the body, which also explains its divergent effect on the organism. As previously mentioned, both endocannabinoids and endocannabinoid receptors get synthesized on demand, meaning the body makes them once it “senses” the need for these compounds. Exercise boosts anandamide levels The best example of this phenomena is the “runner’s high”, where long-distance runners experience an intensely visceral euphoric feeling, and this sensation is actually anandamide’s doing. Scientists have observed that prolonged aerobic exercise, for over 30 minutes, increases anandamide levels, complementing the joyous feeling experienced after hard physical labour. Marathon and triathlon competitors, for example, experience increased levels of anandamide in the greatest possible extent as their aerobic exercise is intense and very durable at the same time. Anandamide affects memory and forgetting What’s also fascinating is the effect that anandamide has on memory. Naturally, one would assume that it increases or enhances memory, but the truth is, this compound has a very important role in forgetting. This might seem somewhat unusual at first, but consider how much input humans receive from their senses daily. For instance, the amount of faces seen every time as a person, for example, rides the subway. For the brain to store things worth remembering, unneeded information has to be “deleted”. Anandamide’s so-called forgetting function is also very important for traumatic and extremely stressful events, and people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have a very difficult time disconnecting from the trauma they’ve experienced. This is why CBD works wonders for anxiety and also PTSD patients. As noted previously, endocannabinoids are created and degraded by certain enzymes in our body. Cannabidiol (CBD) lessens the production of a specific enzyme that is responsible for degrading, or “recycling”, anandamide. By diminishing the amounts of the FAAH (fatty acid amide hydrolase) enzyme, anandamide is left to engage the receptors of the endocannabinoid system for extended periods of time, leading to a diminishment of general anxiety, but also the stress caused by PTSD. Genetic mutations increase anandamide levels The exact same mechanism of degrading anandamide with FAAH enzyme is also what separates entire happy from unhappy nations, which was noticed by examining their “levels of happiness.” This research provided an insight that specific genetic mutations are responsible for different levels of FAAH enzyme in the body, and lesser quantities of this enzyme directly correlates with a constantly better mood, and a general sense of well-being. The science team behind this study also noted that a sense of happiness, of course, isn’t only dependant on this connection, but also depends on a complex mixture of economic and political factors. Foods that increase anandamide production Some foods are can actually boost anandamide levels, and some can slow down the metabolization of the FAAH enzyme that degrades it. Dark Chocolate Pure chocolate affects anandamide levels in two ways: First, it increases the number of available endocannabinoid receptors that can be triggered by anandamide and, second, it diminishes levels of FAAH enzyme that destroys it. Black Truffles Unlike chocolate, which influences the ECS in more subtle ways, black truffles contain the anandamide compound, and when eaten, they directly increase the levels of this endocannabinoid in the body. What’s also fascinating about these mushrooms is that they don’t have any endocannabinoid receptors whatsoever, and it is theorized the presence of anandamide acts as a tactic for spreading the spores—their asexual reproductive units—by attracting predators to eat them, and, subsequently, spreading the spores to nearby surfaces. Kaempferol This compound is found in many fruits and vegetables, such as apples, grapes, onions, potatoes, tomatoes and broccoli. Besides being a powerful antioxidant and reducing oxidative stress, kaempferol also inhibits the synthetization of FAAH enzyme, thus prolonging the duration and effect of anandamide. Omega 3 Fatty Acid Consuming these polyunsaturated fatty acids found in fish oil, krill oil, hemp and flax seeds has been shown to increase the vigilance of the endocannbinoid system. 2-AG (2-Arachidonoylglycerol) This is the second most prominent endocannabinoid found in the body, but currently it isn’t nearly as researched as anandamide. What is known so far is that 2-AG is present in much larger quantities in the central nervous system—brain and spinal cord—than anandamide. 2-AG is also an agonist—it triggers a biological response—of both CB1 and CB2 endocannabinoid receptors. What’s also interesting is that 2-AG is a high-efficiency agonist of endocannabinoid receptors, while anandamide is described as a low-efficiency agonist for CB1, and a very low-efficiency agonist of CB2 receptors. What additionally separates anandamide and 2-AG is that the enzymes that synthesize and degrade these endocannabinoids are completely different—anandamide is degraded by FAAH, and 2-AG is degraded by an enzyme called monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL). As such, they have completely different roles within the ECS, although both are tools for maintaining balance within an organism, which is the primary function of the endocannabinoid system. Researchers will, undoubtedly, provide additional knowledge about this enigmatic compound soon. Endocannabinoid system deficiency Clinical endocannabinoid deficiency, or CECD, is a health condition where the body doesn’t produce adequate quantities of endocannabinoids, or it doesn’t produce the needed amount of endocannabinoid receptors. A possible cause for CECD be that the body produces too many enzymes (FAAH, MAGL), that break down the endocannabinoids before they get the chance to affect the receptors. As a result of this deficiency, a weakened ECS cannot properly maintain homeostasis. The condition was first described by Dr. Ethan Russo, who’s been on the forefront of modern cannabis research during the last two decades. Russo’s research shows that clinical ECS deficiency can have a negative influence on many conditions and diseases, including the following: migraines; irritable bowel syndrome (IBS); fibromyalgia; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); depression; multiple sclerosis; Parkinson’s disease; chronic pain; muscle spasms; and mood imbalances and irritability. All of this may seem a bit far-fetched to someone who isn’t acquainted with the incredibly diverse role that the ECS plays in the body. But if official scientific research concluded that a malfunctioning endocannabinoid system is connected to so many physiological issues, this directly coincides with why cannabis is a valid and successful treatment method for so many conditions, disorders and diseases, such as the following: * anxiety ; * depression ; * insomnia ; * PTSD; * epilepsy ; * pain ; * cancer ; * concussions ; * fibromyalgia ; * arthritis ; * amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) ; * asthma ; * diabetes ; * lupus ; * autism ; * glaucoma ; * Parkinson’s disease; and * Crohn’s disease . Combating skepticism through awareness Even though the number of scientific studies dealing with medical cannabis, endocannabinoid system and cannabinoids from cannabis have already been the subject of over 24.000 different articles, many people are still very skeptical about the healing properties of this plant. Considering the decades-long global illegality of cannabis, this doesn’t really come as a surprise. Taking one’s health into one’s own hands is something I consider a personal responsibility, especially when the medicine in question is something completely natural and has existed on this planet long before humans. Another reason that demands self-education about cannabis and health is that very few doctors know anything about the ECS, and the effects of endocannabinoids and cannabinoids. This survey from 2013 was conducted by the Medical Cannabis Evaluation. It questioned medical schools in the U.S. if the endocannabinoid system is a part of their curriculum. The survey found that only 13 percent of surveyed schools were teaching future doctors about the ECS. The hope is that this percentage has increased since 2013, but it’s believed that the increment is miniscule. This implies that the chances of one’s personal doctor knowing anything about the ECS—and how it can be positively influenced by cannabis—are very slim. What’s also very important to understand is that by consuming cannabinoids from cannabis, which are health-beneficial by themselves, people can also increase the quantity of both cannabinoid receptors, and the internal endocannabinoids. Small and carefully thought-out doses spur the body to produce more of its endogenous cannabinoids, like anandamide and 2-AG, and at the same time, increase the concentration of cannabinoid receptors CBI and CB2. This is very valuable to people whose endocannabinoid system is not functioning properly, but more importantly, it demonstrates that cannabinoids from cannabis aren’t just a simple cure—they are also a tool that helps the body increase production of its own internal health regulators. A greater number of receptors means that lesser quantities of cannabinoids are needed to produce a desired effect, and a carefully planned intake of cannabinoids also increases the amount of available endocannabinoids. Check out the all-inclusive dosage guidebook—for which Greencamp collaborated with Dr. Dustin Sulak, who has extensive experience with treating patients with medical cannabis—to learn more about how to correctly and accurately dose cannabis. What’s also very important to mention when consuming cannabinoid-based derivatives for medicinal purposes is that it is of utmost importance to consume products that aren’t isolated compounds, but, instead, have a full spectrum of cannabinoids in them, just like the real plant. Besides THC and CBD, each strain of cannabis has a vast number of accompanying compounds that—even if found only in trace amounts—add to the synergistic effect of cannabis as a whole, in what’s dubbed the entourage effect. Synthetic cannabinoids or isolated THC/CBD medications don’t have any minor cannabinoids or terpenes in them, and because of this they lack the cooperative effect leading to a much weaker therapeutic impact. The state of the endocannabinoid system is very important as its purpose is to help regulate the proper functioning of all other physiological system of the body. The cellular receptors of the ECS can be positively influenced by cannabinoids from cannabis, causing incredibly diverse effects that are completely dependent on the medical issue in question, but the end goal is always the same: Homeostasis, a state of equilibrium of an entire organism. Cannabis is such a powerful medicine for an incredibly large number of conditions because it directly influences an ancient and all-encompassing system in the body. Further educating oneself on this complex and fascinating topic can bring nothing but good. Want to keep up to date on what’s happening in the world of cannabis? Subscribe to the Cannabis Post newsletter for weekly insights into the industry, what insiders will be talking about and content from across the Postmedia Network.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
One day we may be able to ingest tiny robots that deliver drugs directly to diseased tissue, thanks to research being carried out at EPFL and ETH Zurich. The group of scientists - led by Selman Sakar at EPFL and Bradley Nelson at ETH Zurich - drew inspiration from bacteria to design smart, biocompatible microrobots that are highly flexible. Because these devices are able to swim through fluids and modify their shape when needed, they can pass through narrow blood vessels and intricate systems without compromising on speed or maneuverability. They are made of hydrogel nanocomposites that contain magnetic nanoparticles allowing them to be controlled via an electromagnetic field. In an article appearing in Science Advances, the scientists describe the method they have developed for "programming" the robot's shape so that it can easily travel through fluids that are dense, viscous or moving at rapid speeds. Embodied intelligence When we think of robots, we generally think of bulky machines equipped with complex systems of electronics, sensors, batteries and actuators. But on a microscopic scale, robots are entirely different. Fabricating miniaturized robots presents a host of challenges, which the scientists addressed using an origami-based folding method. Their novel locomotion strategy employs embodied intelligence, which is an alternative to the classical computation paradigm that is performed by embedded electronic systems. "Our robots have a special composition and structure that allow them to adapt to the characteristics of the fluid they are moving through. For instance, if they encounter a change in viscosity or osmotic concentration, they modify their shape to maintain their speed and maneuverability without losing control of the direction of motion," says Sakar. These deformations can be "programmed" in advance so as to maximize performance without the use of cumbersome sensors or actuators. The robots can be either controlled using an electromagnetic field or left to navigate on their own through cavities by utilizing fluid flow. Either way, they will automatically morph into the most efficient shape. Inspired by nature "Nature has evolved a multitude of microorganisms that change shape as their environmental conditions change. This basic principle inspired our microrobot design. The key challenge for us was to develop the physics that describe the types of changes we were interested in, and then to integrate this with new fabrication technologies," says Nelson. In addition to offering enhanced effectiveness, these miniaturized soft robots can also be manufactured easily at a reasonable cost. For now, the research team is working on improving the performance for swimming through complex fluids like those found in the human body. ### Source: H.-W. Huang, B.J. Nelson, F.E. Uslu, M.S. Sakar, P. Katsamba, E. Lauga, Adaptive locomotion of artificial microswimmers, Science Advances	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
ANTIOCH — A motorist died and authorities shut down the eastbound direction of Highway 4 after gunfire erupted Saturday night, the California Highway Patrol reported. Related Articles Man stabbed on BART train in Fremont area, suspect arrested Officers’ response to East Bay apartment complex tied to earlier double shooting, police say Two men shot in West Oakland One dead after double shooting at East Bay shopping center 16-year-old East Bay girl fatally shot in Oakland, teen boy arrested Authorities pronounced the male driver of a blue Toyota Solara dead at the scene and did not immediately release his age or identity. The suspect in the shooting fled the scene, and police were searching for the vehicle. They did not provide a description of it. The shooting happened about 9:03 p.m. on eastbound Highway 4 just west of Hillcrest Avenue, according to a statement from the CHP. It was not immediately known what may have led up to the shooting. The CHP shut down all lanes of Highway 4 for more than an hour to investigate. The CHP is seeking witnesses, as well as anyone who may have seen the Toyota Solara before the shooting. They can be reached at 1-800-835-5247. There have been three freeway shootings on Bay Area freeways reported by the CHP since the start of 2017. A person suffered nonfatal injuries in a shooting on southbound Highway 242 near the Grant Street exit in Concord on Jan. 15, hours after a shooting on westbound Interstate 80 near Carlson Boulevard. Check back for updates Contact Rick Hurd at 925-945-4789.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The previous incarnation of Flattr, the equivalent of an Internet tip jar, worked only when users hit a "Flattr" button. Now, it's all automated. The browser extension works with Flattr's algorithm (which is privacy focused) to figure out how often you visit websites. Users previously allocate a set budget that was divided between the websites they "Flattred." Now, users can use their credit cards for automatic monthly payments. Additionally, Flattr is switching from Euro denominations to US dollars. For content creators, things have also changed. Creators will be levied a processing fee of 7.5 percent for all payments, along with an initial payment processing fee of 9 percent. To start, websites and creators must sign up with Flattr and link up sites and social media. Flattr also (unsurprisingly) encourages creators to spread the word about Flattr, so more of their readers will use it. If a creator has not signed up for Flattr, the service will hold their payments in reserve for them until they do. The entire idea of a service to pay creators from the same company that is responsible for ad blocking software is certainly interesting. The idea is sound; after all, internet content should be able to be monetized, and if people choose to block ads (a traditional source of revenue), then there should be some sort of alternative option. But it's hard to say whether the company behind AdBlock Plus will actually entice creators to sign up for the platform after the mistrust it has fostered over the years. As it currently has Wordpress, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and more on board, it's worth keeping an eye on Flattr to see what happens in the future.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The 7 Biggest SEO Lessons I Learned from a Google Employee In the past, I broke down the most vital SEO strategy I learned, which came from a Google employee. This time, I thought I would do something similar and share the 7 biggest SEO lessons that I learned from a Google employee. Some of these things you may already know, but most you probably aren’t too familiar with. And of course, I am not telling you anything that would jeopardize my relationship with or the career of the Google employee. So here goes, these are the 7 biggest SEO lessons I learned from a Google employee. Lesson #1: Penalizations and bans don’t work the way most people think Google’s goal isn’t to penalize sites. Their goal is to serve the most relevant listing to each searcher. For example, if BMW had a handful of bad links pointing to it or they were caught building links, it could be foolish to ban or penalize BMW. The reason being is that BMW is a popular brand… there are millions of people each year who search for the term “BMW.” See, the average person doesn’t know what SEO is. They also don’t care about link building or even Google’s algorithm. They just expect to see BMW.com when they search for “BMW” and if they don’t, they are disappointed in Google. Plus, BMW is a brand. Google loves brands and trusts them more because you as a consumer trust brands. As the Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt once said: Brands are the solution, not the problem. Brands are how you sort out the cesspool. Now, hypothetically speaking, if Google decided to remove BMW.com from their index and showed you a random site when you searched for “BMW”, Google knows you will be disappointed based on click-through data. And when users are disappointed with Google, there is a higher chance they won’t come back and use Google again, which means less ad revenue in the long run. For this reason, Google doesn’t just ban or penalize sites, they keep fine-tuning their algorithm to ignore bad signals such as paid links or negative SEO. For example, if your competitor all of a sudden sends 1,000 spammy backlinks to your site, there is a high likelihood that Google sees this as negative SEO and ignores it. I experienced this when I started a nutrition site years ago (I no longer own it). Someone built thousands of adult links to the site and it made up the majority of the backlinks. The site was generating well over 100,000 visitors a month from Google before the adult links kicked in… and can you guess what happened when they indexed all of those bad links? Nothing! Google was smart enough to see that it was unnatural so they just ignored it. My traffic stayed the same. As long as you aren’t doing anything bad, you shouldn’t worry about penalizations. Lesson #2: Google prefers automation Yes, there is a webspam team, but Google prefers automation. They leverage technologies like machine learning to figure out what’s wrong and how to fix it in the future. And, of course, in an automated fashion. They don’t want to hire thousands of people to manually fine-tune their algorithm. This is one of the big reasons that Digg didn’t get acquired by Google years ago… it was because Digg’s algorithm required a lot of human intervention and their engineers weren’t up to par with Google’s. You are going to see constant updates on Google’s algorithm on sites like Search Engine Land and Search Engine Roundtable. But if you focus on what’s best for your users, you should do well in the long run. As for your traffic swings because of algorithm updates, it’s natural. It happens to all of us. If their algorithm was perfect you wouldn’t see constant updates. But like every good company, they learn from their successes and failures and adapt. And, of course, they try to do this in an automated way. Again, as long as you do what’s best for your users, you should see a nice growth in search traffic over time. Don’t worry if you see a slight drop due to an algorithm update if you are doing what’s best for users. And don’t worry if a spammy competitor outranks you because it won’t last forever. Their ranking algorithm isn’t perfect, but it is really good and keeps getting better over time. Lesson #3: Don’t waste your money on expired domains (or other shortcuts) When I was in my early 20s, I thought I was a hotshot marketer. I thought I was smarter than a multi-hundred-billion-dollar search engine and that I figured out a shortcut to climb to the top. One of those tricks was to purchase expired domains and optimize them. I purchased domains that had EDU and GOV backlinks and skyrocketed to the top of Google for terms like “online casino.” Can you guess what eventually happened? My rankings tanked! Just like any shortcut that can drastically boost your rankings, it will get closed. The question becomes when. I know for a fact that expired domains don’t work that well. Not just due to my experience but because Google knows marketers buy them and either 301 redirect them to their site or create a network of blogs to leverage for backlinks. Google is also a registrar like GoDaddy, don’t you think they have all of the information you have, plus more, on domains? 😉 Lesson #4: Google ignores most guest post links Do you get those emails from people offering you paid links on Entrepreneur, Forbes, Buzzfeed, and many other sites that have a high domain authority? Well, we all do. And they just don’t stop… Nowadays, most of the big sites like Entrepreneur nofollow their links. But even if they didn’t, it isn’t hard to figure out which URLs and profiles on these sites are guest posts. Just search for “guest writer” on Entrepreneur and you’ll find tons of articles like this. By no means am I saying that the author above is selling links, I am saying that it isn’t hard for Google to spot these type of posts and devalue the links even if the publication decides to use do-follow links. Heck, Google even commented on how links from Forbes were useless. As Google commented… Google devalues or ignores bad links, which reflects the changes we saw in Penguin, where Google devalues those links rather than penalizing for them. If you want to build links through guest posts… especially obvious ones that clearly state the article was a guest post, don’t expect those links to have much of an impact on your search rankings. Lesson #5: Google isn’t trying to take clicks away from your website, they are trying to build a better product Over the last few years, I continually saw SEOs complaining about how Google is just trying to keep people on Google and not drive any traffic to their websites anymore. Some of these marketers even claim it is unfair because they are just scraping content from your site and using it for their own benefit. Let’s be honest here… none of you are going to block Google from crawling your site. You should be happy that you are getting traffic for free! Who cares if Google scrapes your content… some free traffic is better than none. It’s a big misconception that Google just wants to keep people on their own site. The real truth to this is that Google wants to do what is best for searchers, not marketers. For example, one could say that they only care about ad revenue and they should blanket the page with ads… funny enough, though, over time they have reduced the number of ads per page by removing all sidebar ads. Yes, they are placing a few more ads at the top to make up for it, but overall it is still fewer ads per page. I know many of you don’t like this, but they are a publicly traded company… they have to make money. And, ideally, more money each quarter. Whether it is the knowledge graph or a mobile-first index, their goal is to do what is best for searchers. They know that if they do that their traffic will go up over time and a small portion of you will click on ads. It really is that simple. They don’t make these decisions based on what they want to do… they are logical engineers that use data. For example, if 99% of their traffic said they hate knowledge graphs, there would be no knowledge graphs. Or if 99% of their users wanted more links per page going to external sites, then that is what they would add. They do whatever you want, assuming you have the same opinion as of the masses. The lesson to be learned here, don’t worry about Google taking your content or not driving as many clicks to organic results versus paid. You will constantly see changes coming, especially with the popularity of voice search. Know that these changes are based on data that the masses want. Lesson #6: The biggest search opportunity currently lies in YouTube Google loves text-based content. That’s part of the reason why so many companies have a blog. But it isn’t as easy to rank on Google as it used to be… unless you expand internationally. But even that is getting more competitive as we speak. The biggest opportunity in search is YouTube. According to Alexa, it is the second most popular site on the web and people tend to find their content on YouTube using the search feature. If you aren’t convinced that you should start going after YouTube SEO, here are some interesting stats for you: YouTube has 1.9 billion monthly active users Only 50 million users are creating and sharing video content Average viewing session is 40 minutes Roughly 5 billion videos are watched per day Mobile devices account for 500 million daily video views If that doesn’t convince you to go after YouTube, just look at my stats. I should have done it much sooner as the employee at Google pushed me to create videos years ago but I was a bit slow to move on their advice. And now I am generating 724,464 views a month: Of which 185,290 comes from YouTube search: How many of you can say your website is generating over 100,000 visitors a month from Google? That’s the power of YouTube… it has volume and it is easier to rank than on Google. Just look at me, I generated over 100,000 views a month in less than a year from YouTube SEO. Lesson #7: You are not going to like the future I saved the biggest lesson for last because it affects most marketers who are used to Google in its current form and how it has been for years. From all of my conversations with people who work at Google, they all know the world is changing and they want to make sure Google adapts with it and, more importantly, stays ahead. For example, they know a lot of searches are going through voice devices like Alexa and Google Home. If you just look at mobile devices, voice already accounts for 20% of the searches. And it is happening at a rapid pace based on the graph below: And it isn’t stopping there. Both the Internet world and the real world are starting to be connected. From self-driving cars, which Google has spent billions of dollars on, to simpler things you use every day that Google is starting to connect with (like your stove and fridge). They want to control it all. And not in a creepy way, more so in a way that makes your life easier. For example, if you are cooking and are unsure about a recipe, they want to be there to make sure that you are doing everything correctly. As for what it will look like in the future, no one knows yet, not even Google. But they are paying smart product people and engineers to solve these problems. For example, they know that kids aren’t using Google search the same way adults are. A good example of this is when my 8-year-old nephew isn’t sure about something, he asks Alexa. I, on the other hand, will perform a search on my laptop. All we can do here is make sure that we adapt with technology to ensure that we keep getting traffic from Google. This doesn’t mean to just adapt your SEO strategy but more so to adapt your business and ensure that you are staying on top of things and providing users with what they want. Conclusion As SEOs, we continually try and play a game of cat and mouse. But why? Instead of wasting our time on short-term thinking, why not start putting yourself in your customers’ shoes? That’s what Google is doing. And the changes they are making to their search engine, their future product roadmap, and even to their algorithm are based on what people want. If you want to continually do well, yes you still need to do traditional SEO. But you need to start thinking about your end user and do what’s best for them. So, what’s your SEO game plan now?	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
A small but helpful new features arrived in this week’s Chrome OS Dev Channel update (v43.0.2357.3). The sidebar of the Files.app (the Chrome OS File Manager) plays home to a new entry titled ‘Add new services’. Clicking this button opens a modal window that lists File System Provider extensions that are currently available to install from the Chrome Web Store. Among them are a few we’ve written about previously, like add-ons that integrate popular cloud storage services Dropbox, SFTP and Microsoft’s OneDrive directly into the Files.app. But why is Google suddenly promoting these extensions/apps so prominently? ‘Increase Awareness’ Chromium developers themselves say they the feature is designed to help ‘significantly increase awareness of new providers’. Chrome OS’s lack of native integration with cloud services other than Google Drive had been a sticking point for many looking to switch. Business users, for example, may be heavily reliant on Dropbox or a custom in-house server. With the File System Provider API now stable developers are free to help fill in those gaps and bridge the divide. Google plans to make further improvements to the integration of cloud providers in future updates. These tweaks may include allowing users to ‘pin’ files offline; a more thoughtful way to unmount and remount cloud providers (i.e. no more ‘eject’ button) and improvements to the way files are displayed as loading.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Taxes are never popular, especially in April of an election year. But the Republicans’ latest effort to tilt the tax code in favor of the wealthy, and starve the government of needed revenue, is particularly cynical. This week, the House Republican leadership is expected to bring up the “Small Business Tax Cut Act,” a bill to let most business owners deduct up to 20 percent of their business income in 2012 — a $46 billion tax cut. Despite the Mom-and-Pop label, it is designed so that nearly half of the tax cut would go to people with annual income over $1 million, and more than four-fifths would go to those making over $200,000, according to the Tax Policy Center. The bill’s proponents, led by Majority Leader Eric Cantor, say that lower taxes would lead to more hiring. But the economic reality is that employers, big and small, are hesitant to hire because of slow or uncertain demand for their products and services, not because of their tax burden. And companies would receive the tax cut even if they did not hire new workers — making it a windfall, not an incentive. The bill is predicated on an overly broad definition of “small business” — one with fewer than 500 employees, which can include multimillion-dollar partnerships and corporations. It is also based on a willful denial of the reality that small businesses are not the big job creators politicians often say they are.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
A federal judge had tough questions for the lawyers leading the effort by President Trump and his businesses to block a House subpoena of Trump’s accounting firm for his financial records. At a hearing on Tuesday in D.C., U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta grilled Trump’s lawyer William Consovoy about his arguments that the subpoena exceeded Congress’ constitutional authorities. At one point, Mehta asked Consovoy if it was his view that Congress’ investigations into Whitewater and Watergate were beyond the scope of their authority. Consovoy stammered a bit, before telling the judge he would need to look more closely at the bases of those investigations. Tuesday’s proceeding was the first public hearing in a matter related to the multi-front showdown between President Trump and House Democrats over Congress’ oversight abilities. But it’s likely to be the first of many. In this case, private attorneys working on behalf of Trump and his business sued to stop their accounting firm from complying with a House subpoena for business records. The House Democrats have intervened to defend their subpoena. The accounting firm, Mazars has not taken a position in the matter. Judge Mehta indicated at Tuesday’s hearing that he would decide matter quickly based on what had already been argued. It is almost guaranteed, however, that whatever his decision is, it will be appealed to a higher court. Trump has claimed in legal filings that the subpoena should be blocked because it serves “no legitimate legislative purpose.” House Democrats argued that Trump is misconstruing their investigative authorities. Outside legal scholars have mostly sided with Democrats in their analysis of the case so far. Trump and his family brought a similar lawsuit in New York against their banks Deutsche Bank and Capital One. On Tuesday, Consovoy argued that Congress was inappropriately seeking to take on the role of law enforcement in its investigation to Trump. “They have made clear this is not about legislation,” he said. Mehta asked Consovoy if he was asking the judge to look beyond what facially acceptable reasons for Congress’ investigations are and to get to their motives, which the judge was “expressly prohibited” from getting to. Consovoy claimed he was not asking the court to look for “secret motives.” “We think that when you look at those letters in the full context,” Consovoy said, referring to the letters that the committee sent regarding the document requests, “this is law enforcement.” The judge, however, seemed wary of the argument that Congress could only investigate matters it could specifically tie to legislation. He asked Consovoy whether Congress “has a function of informing itself and informing the public” of wrongdoing, such as corruption. Judge Mehta also grilled Consovoy on the relevant case law and asked the lawyer specifically whether there was a case more recent than one decided in 1880 that found a congressional subpoena overstepped its authority. After some quibbling, Consovoy went on to concede that the 1880 case, Kilbourn v. Thompson, was the most recent one dealing with that particular issue but he stressed that the case was “good law” and relevant to the Trump lawsuit. When it was the House’s turn in front of the judge, Mehta asked their lawyer Doug Letter about the lack of an official statement or resolution defining their accusations. “It really does, open the door, it seems to me to the accusations… valid or not,” that this was about an effort to get into the President’s private affairs for political reasons, the judge said. The judge also asked Letter if there were any limits, under his theory of Congress’ investigative theory, to what the committee can investigate about the president’s private life. Letter said he could think of some hypotheticals — like a subpoena for a president’s diary from when he was seven years old — that would stretch his legal arguments, but “fortunately, for the House, they are nowhere even close to that.” Letter argued that it was within Congress’ interest to investigate whether the President broke any laws, and stressed that didn’t mean Congress was trying to prosecute the President. He put forth the hypothetical that a president, before taking office, may have committed bank fraud by lying on a loan application, and that he might now be “beholden” to a bank or foreign government that knows he broke the law. Mehta last week indicated that he planned to consolidate some of the procedural steps in the case — putting it on a fast track for resolution. Trump’s lawyers objected to the move on Monday, in a filing that asked that the judge either postpone Tuesday’s hearing or reverse his decision to consolidate the matters that he planned to hear on Tuesday. House Democrats opposed Trump’s request. Mehta declined to cancel Tuesday’s hearing but said on Monday he’d hear Trump’s objections to the consolidation move. At the beginning of the hearing he made clear that he was not going to rule from the bench on Tuesday. However, he also quizzed Consovoy about what more Trump’s legal team needed to do to complete the record so that the judge could make a ruling on the merits of the case. The judge ultimately denied Consovoy’s request for additional briefing in the case, and instead said he would keep the record open until May 18 for any additional information that the parties wanted to submit. “We’re not going to drag this out,” the judge said.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Rhelena of Crochet Pattern Bonanza AND CrochetN’Crafts When choosing guest bloggers for my Cre8tion Crochet I primarily work with blogs that I either really love or with bloggers who are open to sharing and helping each other. Rhelena of Crochet Pattern Bonanza fits into both categories. Crochet Pattern Bonanza is a pattern directory run by Rhelena that offers free crochet patterns. Crochet Pattern Bonanza is the sister site to CrochetN’Crafts which is where Rhelena primarily shares her own patterns, as well as patterns from other crochet designers. I “met” Rhelena when she approached me about putting some of my patterns on Crochet Pattern Bonanza. We have since formed a great friendship. I truly believe in reciprocity and so does Rhelena. We have both tried to help each other along the way. Rhelena is also a fantastic crochet designer. I love her patterns. This pattern is offered exclusively to fans of Cre8tion Crochet. This gorgeous Picot Arm Warmer and Picot Cowl are definitely going on my list of things to crochet. Click HERE for FREE Crochet Pattern Picot Cowl and matching Picot Arm Warmers Lets get to know a little more about Rhelena and her sites Crochet Pattern Bonanza and CrochetN’Crafts 1- How long have you been crocheting? I was taught the basics of crocheting when I was about 9 or 10 and crocheted on and off throughout my childhood and teenage years. It wasn’t until my early 20’s that I got serious about it and taught myself to read patterns. In 2006 I started playing around with my own designs and started publishing them online in 2008. 2- How long have you been blogging? I started my first website in late 2008 after I lost my job due to health reasons. 3- What are your favorite items to make? When I first got serious about crocheting I enjoyed making thread doilies. I made them for all my coffee tables and dressers. Now I enjoy anything that allows my mind to be free, such as blankets, bags, hats and scarves. I also enjoy making tops for myself and hope to get into designing more of those in the near future. 4- What is your favorite thing about crocheting and or blogging? My favorite thing about crocheting is that it helps me to relax while giving me a sense of accomplishment. As for having a website, it gives me the hope of earning a living one day by doing what I enjoy most. 5- What are your favorite yarns (brands or types) to work with? It depends on how I look at it in terms of price and what I enjoy working with most. But I tend to favor Patons Canadiana – The New Generation and Aunt Lydia’s Size 3 Crochet Thread because they are reasonably priced and result in beautiful fabrics. 6- What was your inspiration for your pattern? A lot of my inspirations come from what I actually need for myself, or from requests. It forces me to brainstorm and often one project idea will lead to another. I keep a list of things I need/want to make for myself, and I usually take it from there as time and inspiration allows. Also, a lot of my inspiration comes from other designs. That’s one of the beauties of owning a crochet pattern directory as it allows me to see many inspirational designs. 7- Tell me a little something about your personal life… kids, family, pets, etc. Currently I live by myself in a small apartment. I’m trying to overcome a life-long illness with natural remedies and cleansing. So naturally, solitude is one of the best friends I could ask for at this time. Also, I love to do yoga and meditation. 8- Tell us a little bit about Crochet Pattern Bonanza and CrochetN’Crafts. When were they created. CrochetN’Crafts was created in late 2008. That’s where I have published the majority of my free patterns. All patterns are free at the time, but I hope to design some for sale in the future so as not to put all your eggs in one basket. As for Crochet Pattern Bonanza, a free crochet pattern directory, it was started in 2011. 9- What type of patterns are you looking for. I’m looking for all types of crochet patterns as long as they are free and the designer/publisher is allowing me to use the image in a thumbnail link. 11- How do fellow bloggers get their patterns featured on your sites? To get listed on the directory, simply send me an email or fill out the submission form on my directory. You’ll find my contact information under the “contact” and “submit link” tabs at the top of the page. You can write up a short summary of yourself or website and I’ll put you in the “featured designers” spot for a day. I hope you enjoyed getting to know Rhelena as much as I have. If you are a crocheter you will want to visit Crochet Pattern Bonanza for lots of free patterns. Be sure to take a peek at CrochetN’Crafts which features more of Rhelena’s original designs.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Merusk Posts: 27447 Badge Whore Terracotta ArmyPosts: 27447 Reply #1 on: December 12, 2008, 04:11:14 PM I can't say I disagree with the assessment. Ed 12/23: The Times fails on all kinds of levels here. Wow. « Last Edit: December 23, 2008, 10:13:32 PM by Merusk » The past cannot be changed. The future is yet within your power. Ingmar Posts: 19280 Auto Assault Affectionado Terracotta ArmyPosts: 19280 Reply #2 on: December 12, 2008, 04:23:18 PM What a bunch of crap (he said while posting from work...) The Transcendent One: AH... THE ROGUE CONSTRUCT. Nordom: Sense of closure: imminent. Hawkbit Posts: 5391 Like a Klansman in the ghetto. Terracotta ArmyPosts: 5391 Reply #3 on: December 12, 2008, 04:24:29 PM Generally, I don't tell people that I game on a computer. I usually chat with people irl about consoles and their games, but there has always been a stigma about PC gamers that sticks wtih people. It's like telling them you're into BDSM or something... once they know they'll always look at you differently. It sounds stupid, but it's the truth. Nebu Posts: 17613 Terracotta ArmyPosts: 17613 Reply #4 on: December 12, 2008, 04:31:49 PM If they were smart, they'd avoid people in fantasy leagues too. "Always do what is right. It will gratify half of mankind and astound the other." - Mark Twain Lucas Posts: 3283 Further proof that Italians have suspect taste in games. Terracotta ArmyPosts: 3283 Reply #5 on: December 12, 2008, 04:35:05 PM Quote from: Hawkbit on December 12, 2008, 04:24:29 PM It's like telling them you're into BDSM or something... once they know they'll always look at you differently. It sounds stupid, but it's the truth. Hehe, yes: in the past, I tried to speak with some of my close friends (none of them is into gaming) about videogames, and when I tell them I still play regularly, try out different gaming genres and stuff, that look starts surfacing on their faces and it ends with: "yeah, but c'mon, that is kids' stuff, I sure played them but I stopped when I was around twelve, you need to grow up!". Alright. Hehe, yes: in the past, I tried to speak with some of my close friends (none of them is into gaming) about videogames, and when I tell them I still play regularly, try out different gaming genres and stuff, that look starts surfacing on their faces and it ends with: "yeah, but c'mon, that is kids' stuff, I sure played them but I stopped when I was around twelve, you need to grow up!".Alright. " He's so impatient, it's like watching a teenager fuck a glorious older woman." - Ironwood on J.J. Abrams sam, an eggplant Terracotta Army Posts: 1518 Reply #6 on: December 12, 2008, 05:14:44 PM Shrug. They recently fired someone with a MMO addiction. It doubtless impacted his performance at work. I conduct interviews and hire/fire all the time and I don't ask (or care) what people do when they're not working. It's none of my business so long as it doesn't impact their performance, and I haven't seen anything to indicate that MMOs are worse than spending all your money/time on filthy streetwalkers ("setting up whore websites for freebies"), smoking a shitton of pot, or singing in a church choir. Actually the choir guy was the worst, because the fucker kept asking to leave early to make rehersals. I liked the whoremonger and pothead while the churchmonkey, umm, decided to quit. « Last Edit: December 12, 2008, 05:16:37 PM by sam, an eggplant » Rasix Posts: 14705 I am the harbinger of your doom! ModeratorPosts: 14705 Reply #8 on: December 12, 2008, 05:27:27 PM Quote from: Lucas on December 12, 2008, 04:35:05 PM Quote from: Hawkbit on December 12, 2008, 04:24:29 PM It's like telling them you're into BDSM or something... once they know they'll always look at you differently. It sounds stupid, but it's the truth. Hehe, yes: in the past, I tried to speak with some of my close friends (none of them is into gaming) about videogames, and when I tell them I still play regularly, try out different gaming genres and stuff, that look starts surfacing on their faces and it ends with: "yeah, but c'mon, that is kids' stuff, I sure played them but I stopped when I was around twelve, you need to grow up!". Alright. Hehe, yes: in the past, I tried to speak with some of my close friends (none of them is into gaming) about videogames, and when I tell them I still play regularly, try out different gaming genres and stuff, that look starts surfacing on their faces and it ends with: "yeah, but c'mon, that is kids' stuff, I sure played them but I stopped when I was around twelve, you need to grow up!".Alright. Say anything other than Madden, Halo, or "the Wii" and most people will look at you like you've got some sort of contagious nerd super-flu. I don't even mention MMOs. Those creep out even the few "gamers" I know at work. I've had some people that know I play MMOs talk to me about WoW due to its cultural relevance. It's mostly in hushed tones and away from other people like they're buying weed off me or something. Most people are going to have things that make them shitty hires. It's called vetting and people management. Try it! Say anything other than Madden, Halo, or "the Wii" and most people will look at you like you've got some sort of contagious nerd super-flu. I don't even mention MMOs. Those creep out even the few "gamers" I know at work. I've had some people that know I play MMOs talk to me about WoW due to its cultural relevance. It's mostly in hushed tones and away from other people like they're buying weed off me or something.Most people are going to have things that make them shitty hires. It's called vetting and people management. Try it! -Rasix Ingmar Posts: 19280 Auto Assault Affectionado Terracotta ArmyPosts: 19280 Reply #9 on: December 12, 2008, 05:31:58 PM Quote from: Rasix on December 12, 2008, 05:27:27 PM Quote from: Lucas on December 12, 2008, 04:35:05 PM Quote from: Hawkbit on December 12, 2008, 04:24:29 PM It's like telling them you're into BDSM or something... once they know they'll always look at you differently. It sounds stupid, but it's the truth. Hehe, yes: in the past, I tried to speak with some of my close friends (none of them is into gaming) about videogames, and when I tell them I still play regularly, try out different gaming genres and stuff, that look starts surfacing on their faces and it ends with: "yeah, but c'mon, that is kids' stuff, I sure played them but I stopped when I was around twelve, you need to grow up!". Alright. Hehe, yes: in the past, I tried to speak with some of my close friends (none of them is into gaming) about videogames, and when I tell them I still play regularly, try out different gaming genres and stuff, that look starts surfacing on their faces and it ends with: "yeah, but c'mon, that is kids' stuff, I sure played them but I stopped when I was around twelve, you need to grow up!".Alright. Say anything other than Madden, Halo, or "the Wii" and most people will look at you like you've got some sort of contagious nerd super-flu. I don't even mention MMOs. Those creep out even the few "gamers" I know at work. I've had some people that know I play MMOs talk to me about WoW due to its cultural relevance. It's mostly in hushed tones and away from other people like they're buying weed off me or something. Say anything other than Madden, Halo, or "the Wii" and most people will look at you like you've got some sort of contagious nerd super-flu. I don't even mention MMOs. Those creep out even the few "gamers" I know at work. I've had some people that know I play MMOs talk to me about WoW due to its cultural relevance. It's mostly in hushed tones and away from other people like they're buying weed off me or something. At least it isn't D&D? At least it isn't D&D? The Transcendent One: AH... THE ROGUE CONSTRUCT. Nordom: Sense of closure: imminent. NiX Posts: 7770 Locomotive Pandamonium Wiki AdminPosts: 7770 Reply #10 on: December 12, 2008, 05:53:58 PM Up here that would be a very terrible thing to say to a candidate. Discrimination for the win. Teleku Posts: 10276 https://i.imgur.com/mcj5kz7.png Terracotta ArmyPosts: 10276 Reply #11 on: December 12, 2008, 06:33:56 PM . He only said WoW because thats the big name one that everybody and their mother plays. The basic jist though is "Don't hire people who play MMO'S". Which I'm not sure I can disagree with based on the reasoning they are applying "My great-grandfather did not travel across four thousand miles of the Atlantic Ocean to see this nation overrun by immigrants. He did it because he killed a man back in Ireland. That's the rumor." -Stephen Colbert Ghambit Posts: 5575 Terracotta ArmyPosts: 5575 Reply #12 on: December 12, 2008, 06:40:04 PM Seriously though; at least when hiring gamerz you know where and what your workers are doing. It's sort of like having a pseudo-RFID tag on everyone, which I find empowering (plus zombies make good slaves). I've found that "normal folk" tend to phuck up WAAAY worse when they've got nothing to do with their time except work. So no, he's not right. Not by a longshot. Quote from: sam, an eggplant on December 12, 2008, 05:14:44 PM I conduct interviews and hire/fire all the time and I don't ask (or care) what people do when they're not working. It's none of my business so long as it doesn't impact their performance, and I haven't seen anything to indicate that MMOs are worse than spending all your money/time on filthy streetwalkers ("setting up whore websites for freebies"), smoking a shitton of pot, or singing in a church choir. Actually the choir guy was the worst, because the fucker kept asking to leave early to make rehersals. I liked the whoremonger and pothead while the churchmonkey, umm, decided to quit. exactly If I had a company of my own I'd probably only HIRE PC gamers, and probably give the MMO peeps management positions.Seriously though; at least when hiring gamerz you know where and what your workers are doing. It's sort of like having a pseudo-RFID tag on everyone, which I find empowering (plus zombies make good slaves). I've found that "normal folk" tend to phuck up WAAAY worse when they've got nothing to do with their time except work.So no, he's not right. Not by a longshot.exactly « Last Edit: December 12, 2008, 06:42:21 PM by Ghambit » "See, the beauty of webgames is that I can play them on my phone while I'm plowing your mom." -Samwise Ratman_tf Posts: 3818 Terracotta ArmyPosts: 3818 Reply #13 on: December 12, 2008, 06:47:00 PM My gaming habits come up in interviews since I'm into testing. But I'm wondering why anyone would bring up WoW in any other kind of job interview? Most people probably don't even understand what they hell you'd be talking about. I DPS for DKP on teh mobs, lol! "What I'm saying is you should make friends with a few catasses, they smell funny but they're very helpful." -Calantus makes the best of a smelly situation. "What I'm saying is you should make friends with a few catasses, they smell funny but they're very helpful."-Calantus makes the best of a smelly situation. Ghambit Posts: 5575 Terracotta ArmyPosts: 5575 Reply #14 on: December 12, 2008, 07:30:22 PM Quote from: Ratman_tf on December 12, 2008, 06:47:00 PM My gaming habits come up in interviews since I'm into testing. But I'm wondering why anyone would bring up WoW in any other kind of job interview? Most people probably don't even understand what they hell you'd be talking about. I DPS for DKP on teh mobs, lol! Kinda sad that most managers dont know what WoW is, given the share they've got of our GDP and how successful their business model was/is. Ironically, the only businesses that seem to be working lately are drugs, oil, and WoW in the USA. Naturally, all 3 are pretty well hated-on, but all 3 still go strong. Kinda sad that most managers dont know what WoW is, given the share they've got of our GDP and how successful their business model was/is. Ironically, the only businesses that seem to be working lately are drugs, oil, and WoW in the USA. Naturally, all 3 are pretty well hated-on, but all 3 still go strong. "See, the beauty of webgames is that I can play them on my phone while I'm plowing your mom." -Samwise Tale Posts: 8021 sıɥʇ ǝʞıן sʞןɐʇ Terracotta ArmyPosts: 8021 Reply #15 on: December 12, 2008, 08:07:19 PM Quote from: Teleku on December 12, 2008, 06:33:56 PM . He only said WoW because thats the big name one that everybody and their mother plays. The basic jist though is "Don't hire people who play MMO'S". Which I'm not sure I can disagree with based on the reasoning they are applying But the genre is unknown outside gaming circles. In most people's minds, WoW is a kind of game, not a kind of MMO. It is the first game of its type that most people are aware of, and that's if they've even heard of WoW at all. That's why he only said WoW. Quote from: Ratman_tf on December 12, 2008, 06:47:00 PM My gaming habits come up in interviews since I'm into testing. But I'm wondering why anyone would bring up WoW in any other kind of job interview? Most people probably don't even understand what they hell you'd be talking about. I DPS for DKP on teh mobs, lol! Correct. I did not specifically bring it up. But it wasn't a job interview, we were just doing lunch. He had a new iPhone 3G, we started talking technology and games, and I happened to mention I considered myself to have played too many online games several years ago. When I said "the ones that came before World of Warcraft", he had heard of WoW so he told me what employers had told him about its players. And I thought "I'll post that on f13". If I had a reason to bring something like that up in an interview, it would be to demonstrate my broad awareness of what's going on culturally. My employability in online media is partly based on having been an oldschool internet user. It gives me a bigger bag of tricks to engage today's online users and make them click on stuff. So having done the MMO addiction thing and got out before most of today's WoW players got in, I might have some insight into "what the kids are doing". But that's not a particularly strong thing to bring up, especially as WoW players are probably too busy to click on my content. (edit - whew - post restored via Google cache after accidental edit) But the genre is unknown outside gaming circles. In most people's minds, WoW is a kind of game, not a kind of MMO. It is the first game of its type that most people are aware of, and that's if they've even heard of WoW at all. That's why he only said WoW.Correct. I did not specifically bring it up. But it wasn't a job interview, we were just doing lunch. He had a new iPhone 3G, we started talking technology and games, and I happened to mention I considered myself to have played too many online games several years ago. When I said "the ones that came before World of Warcraft", he had heard of WoW so he told me what employers had told him about its players. And I thought "I'll post that on f13".If I had a reason to bring something like that up in an interview, it would be to demonstrate my broad awareness of what's going on culturally. My employability in online media is partly based on having been an oldschool internet user. It gives me a bigger bag of tricks to engage today's online users and make them click on stuff. So having done the MMO addiction thing and got out before most of today's WoW players got in, I might have some insight into "what the kids are doing". But that's not a particularly strong thing to bring up, especially as WoW players are probably too busy to click on my content. « Last Edit: December 16, 2008, 02:07:50 PM by Tale » Slyfeind Posts: 2037 Terracotta ArmyPosts: 2037 Reply #16 on: December 12, 2008, 08:37:00 PM Those darn kids, next thing you know they'll be hanging in pool halls, and saying things like "sure" and "swell!" (The ladies gasp and swoon) "Ooooooo!" We got trouble! (Trouble! Trouble!) Right here in River City! (Right here in River City!) With a capital T and that rhymes with P and that stands for pool! THAT STANDS FOR POOL! I SAY YOUR YOUNG MEN WILL BE FRITTERIN AWAY!!!!11 FUCKING FRITTEREN OMFG WATCHTHETAIL50DKPMINUS111!!!!!!11111 "Role playing in an MMO is more like an open orchestra with no conductor, anyone of any skill level can walk in at any time, and everyone brings their own instrument and plays whatever song they want. Then toss PvP into the mix and things REALLY get ugly!" -Count Nerfedalot Numtini Posts: 7675 Terracotta ArmyPosts: 7675 Reply #17 on: December 12, 2008, 08:47:20 PM I tend to not be obsessed by money though that is tempered by always being lucky enough to end up with enough. But really? I wouldn't want a job with a company like that. Life is too short. If you can read this, you're on a board populated by misogynist assholes. angry.bob Posts: 5442 We're no strangers to love. You know the rules and so do I. Terracotta ArmyPosts: 5442 Reply #20 on: December 13, 2008, 01:25:34 AM Quote from: Nebu on December 12, 2008, 04:31:49 PM If they were smart, they'd avoid people in fantasy leagues too. Supertruth. Fantasy Leagues are a fucking blight upon all of mankind. Every IT shop I've worked in, people have spent the bulk of their day fucking around on the web with their teams and looking up stats for trades or whatever stupid shit you do with those things. Even though sports fans are usually far more retarded about their mancrush obsession than videogamers are, it's a "normal" obsession. When I point out that videogamers at least interact with their medium and most sports enthusiasts pay tons of money to sit on their ass doing nothing but eating shit food while they pretend they're the "XXth player" on the team when in reality no one on the team really gives a fuck about the city they "represent" in some quasi-tribal pseudo warfare, they just shrug and go back to trying to find player's medical reports or whatever. I will make the qualification that despite the universally low quality of professional athletes, Lebron James is constantly doing really great things here in Akron locally and seems to have a strong sense of connection to the city, especially to children's causes. I'm glad I changed my mind at the last minute about running onto the court when he was in high school and beating on his knees and hips with a claw hammer. Supertruth. Fantasy Leagues are a fucking blight upon all of mankind. Every IT shop I've worked in, people have spent the bulk of their day fucking around on the web with their teams and looking up stats for trades or whatever stupid shit you do with those things. Even though sports fans are usually far more retarded about their mancrush obsession than videogamers are, it's a "normal" obsession. When I point out that videogamers at least interact with their medium and most sports enthusiasts pay tons of money to sit on their ass doing nothing but eating shit food while they pretend they're the "XXth player" on the team when in reality no one on the team really gives a fuck about the city they "represent" in some quasi-tribal pseudo warfare, they just shrug and go back to trying to find player's medical reports or whatever.I will make the qualification that despite the universally low quality of professional athletes, Lebron James is constantly doing really great things here in Akron locally and seems to have a strong sense of connection to the city, especially to children's causes. I'm glad I changed my mind at the last minute about running onto the court when he was in high school and beating on his knees and hips with a claw hammer. Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muß man schweigen. Murgos Posts: 7474 Terracotta ArmyPosts: 7474 Reply #22 on: December 13, 2008, 09:21:59 AM My office is very nerd-centric. Many people actually know what WoW is and it's not hard to find someone actively playing, usually because they are surfing WoW forums all day. However, you can start a fantasy sports conversation with anyone. "You have all recieved youre last warning. I am in the process of currently tracking all of youre ips and pinging your home adressess. you should not have commencemed a war with me" - Aaron Rayburn FatuousTwat Posts: 2223 Terracotta ArmyPosts: 2223 Reply #24 on: December 13, 2008, 05:29:19 PM I spend most of my free time either gaming or reading sci-fi or fantasy. So, pretty much nothing to bring up in any social situation, unless I want a bunch of morons staring at me. Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like? Malakili Posts: 10596 Terracotta ArmyPosts: 10596 Reply #25 on: December 13, 2008, 05:29:52 PM Quote from: Slyfeind on December 12, 2008, 08:37:00 PM Those darn kids, next thing you know they'll be hanging in pool halls, and saying things like "sure" and "swell!" (The ladies gasp and swoon) "Ooooooo!" We got trouble! (Trouble! Trouble!) Right here in River City! (Right here in River City!) With a capital T and that rhymes with P and that stands for pool! THAT STANDS FOR POOL! I SAY YOUR YOUNG MEN WILL BE FRITTERIN AWAY!!!!11 FUCKING FRITTEREN OMFG WATCHTHETAIL50DKPMINUS111!!!!!!11111 This just made my entire day better. This just made my entire day better. Tale Posts: 8021 sıɥʇ ǝʞıן sʞןɐʇ Terracotta ArmyPosts: 8021 Reply #26 on: December 13, 2008, 09:22:42 PM Quote from: Slyfeind on December 12, 2008, 08:37:00 PM Those darn kids, next thing you know they'll be hanging in pool halls, and saying things like "sure" and "swell!" (The ladies gasp and swoon) "Ooooooo!" We got trouble! (Trouble! Trouble!) Right here in River City! (Right here in River City!) With a capital T and that rhymes with P and that stands for pool! THAT STANDS FOR POOL! I SAY YOUR YOUNG MEN WILL BE FRITTERIN AWAY!!!!11 FUCKING FRITTEREN OMFG WATCHTHETAIL50DKPMINUS111!!!!!!11111 Yeah, I meant to say, that was awesome. Yeah, I meant to say, that was awesome. Tale Posts: 8021 sıɥʇ ǝʞıן sʞןɐʇ Terracotta ArmyPosts: 8021 Reply #27 on: December 13, 2008, 09:24:34 PM Quote from: Tarami on December 13, 2008, 05:22:31 PM I can't say I disagree. I wouldn't have hired me in 2006. Would you hire you now? I mean, has it made you less employable for life? Or did you go back to being as employable as before, or more so? Would you hire you now? I mean, has it made you less employable for life? Or did you go back to being as employable as before, or more so? sam, an eggplant Terracotta Army Posts: 1518 Reply #29 on: December 13, 2008, 11:47:26 PM Shrug. Everybody does something when they're not working. Just as an example, (and to be clear I do not do this, it's very illegal) I would love to avoid hiring married people with young children. Nothing sucks more time than kids, and children are always prioritized over work. I've had major problems with parents in the past. Major, major problems. If it weren't illegal, I'd hire the unkempt surly gamer with a neckbeard over the married professional guy with a lovely wife and infant at home any day of the week. Any day, any way. If only it were possible. I also wouldn't hire anyone over 50, women, or cripples. Old people leave at 4:59:59.999, women get married and quit working or take long maternity leaves or sue your ass for harassment, and no matter what they may think, being unable to hobble with that crutch faster than 0.4MPH does impair your ability to do a white collar job, Quasimodo. But hey, all illegal. sinij Posts: 2597 Terracotta ArmyPosts: 2597 Reply #30 on: December 14, 2008, 04:45:06 AM Just like I wouldn't talk with anyone who is not involved in it about my sex life, I wouldn't discuss my gaming habits. For example I wouldn't discuss WoW at my BDSM meets, they would think I am a pervert. « Last Edit: December 14, 2008, 04:52:57 AM by sinij » Eternity is a very long time, especially towards the end.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Graphic scenes show Neda – her name means "the call" – walking with her father among demonstrators, then separately when she was shot as well as attempts to save her life.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The Pentagon quietly announced on Friday that US military troops are on the ground in yet another Middle Eastern country – this time in Yemen – and have been there for the last two weeks. That’s how US wars get started these days: no public debate, no congressional authorization, no presidential address; just an after-the-fact pre-weekend news dump. This time, instead of Isis, the US military “advisers” (don’t call them “boots on the ground”!) are supposedly assisting Yemeni forces fighting a resurgent al-Qaida organization, the same terrorist group that the US has helped strengthen over the past year by giving Saudi Arabia all sorts of support for their appalling and destructive war against Yemen. The US has sold the Saudis billions of dollars worth of weapons, handed them surveillance data from drones for picking targets and given military assistance with other logistics in their fight with Iran-linked Houthi rebels who stormed the presidential palace last year. As the Intercept reported on Sunday, the Saudis have “used US-produced aircraft, laser-guided bombs, and internationally banned cluster bombs to target and destroy schools, markets, power plants, and a hospital, resulting in thousands of civilian deaths.” While the Saudi’s bombing campaign hasn’t defeated the Houthi rebels or solidified the Yemeni government’s grip on power, it has been a boon to al-Qaida, which has quietly grown in stature and size inside the country as the US media has stayed mostly focused on Isis. Reuters published an important investigation last month in which its journalists detailed how the US-backed war “has helped al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to become stronger than at any time since it first emerged almost 20 years ago.” But the investigation wasn’t picked up at all by US television media. As Reuters reported: Once driven to near irrelevance by the rise of Islamic State abroad and security crackdowns at home, al-Qaida in Yemen now openly rules a mini-state with a war chest swollen by an estimated $100m in looted bank deposits and revenue from running the country’s third largest port. This should have been entirely predictable: since the bloodshed in Yemen started, it has been obvious to experts in the region that the Saudi bombing campaign would only turn the Yemeni population against the United States, create sympathy for al-Qaida and a breeding ground for terrorists. So now the US apparently has to – or at least is choosing to – help fight a separate military campaign within the country’s civil war, in an attempt to tamp down the terrorist organization that the initial Saudi bombing campaign helped bolster. The fact that the Obama administration has not only stayed largely silent on the war but actively supported it behind the scenes should be one of the true scandals of its foreign policy posture toward the Middle East, yet you can bet the vast majority of Americans have no idea it’s happening. As far as I can tell, not a single question has been put to any of the presidential candidates about US policy in Yemen, despite an obsession with covering the ”war on terror” and its latest metamorphosis with Isis. You can expect the US troops, or “advisers”, that are supposedly “assisting” Yemeni and Emirati forces, will soon morph into a direct fighting force, just like when the Pentagon was saying the same thing about troops Iraq and Syria just months ago, only to later announce that some troops are now, in fact, fighting themselves. And we will spin around, once again, in the never-ending cycle that we refuse to escape in the now entirely predictable ”war on terror”.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Home to wholesale decorating showrooms, art galleries, and a technology incubator, Chicago’s 4 million square foot Merchandise Mart is preparing to take on yet another role as a giant projection screen. According to the Chicago Tribune, the iconic 1928 Art Deco building will host projected, multimedia art along its nearly three-acre, river-facing southern facade beginning in 2018. The possibility of utilizing the Merchandise Mart as an artistic canvas was first revealed back in 2014 as part of a preliminary study conducted by the Mayor’s Office and Choose Chicago to light the Chicago River and boost tourism. Known as the Lighting Framework Plan (LFP) initiative, the document also looked at creative ways to illuminate other waterfront structures such as Chicago’s bridges, Civic Opera House, and Lower Wacker Drive. New York based architecture firm A+I and creative partner Obscura Digital are currently evaluating lighting options for the building’s 25-story river frontage. Obscura has previous experience with similar lighting projects including St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City and New York’s Empire State Building. While next year’s lighting of the Merchandise Mart compliments the city’s commitment to invest more in public art, the Tribune reports that the project will be funded through private—rather than public—channels.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
It’s common for major corporations to sponsor political conventions to buy favor with political parties. But what about when the convention nominates a presidential candidate who’s an out-and-out racist? That’s a deal breaker, right? For some big tech companies, apparently not. Facebook recently announced that it will provide funding and other support for the Donald Trump-led Republican National Convention. And Google will be the event’s official livestream provider via YouTube. These companies need to find their moral compass and divest from hate. [[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”media_original”,”fid”:”612662″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”height”:”456″,”style”:”width: 600px; height: 456px;”,”typeof”:”foaf:Image”,”width”:”600″}}]] "Trumped into a Corner," an OtherWords cartoon by Khalil Bendib Trump’s violent rhetoric has inflamed a national atmosphere that’s already hostile toward Latino, Muslim, and black communities, as well as women and people with disabilities. He’s called for the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, promised to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, and vowed to ban all Muslims from entering the United States. Trump has also incited actual physical violence against people of color, and refused to denounce the white supremacist organizations that openly support him. If that weren’t enough, Trump’s also threatened to shut down the open internet, censoring the dissident voices standing up against his hate and racism. He’s called for greater surveillance of communities of color, and has encouraged violence against protesters and journalists. In short, Trump’s campaign isn’t “business as usual”—and corporations shouldn’t treat it as such. That’s why the racial justice group ColorOfChange has launched a campaign called Divest from Hate. They’re urging major tech companies not to bankroll a platform for hate while Trump continues to incite violence against marginalized communities. Other groups, including my own, have joined the effort to push tech companies to pull their support from the Republican convention, including both direct financial donations and in-kind contributions. This isn’t about left or right, but right and wrong. People of color make up a large portion of the users of services like YouTube and Facebook. These companies are essentially profiting off the very communities that Trump’s rallying against. Erin Egan, a Facebook vice president for publicity, claims that the company’s involvement in the convention will “facilitate an open dialogue among voters, candidates, and elected officials.” But throwing a coronation ball for Trump and his white supremacist supporters has nothing to do with democracy. It’s important to note that these companies have taken stands on other political issues. Both Google and Facebook recently spoke out against North Carolina’s transphobic “bathroom bill.” And earlier this year, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg circulated an internal memo calling out employees who crossed out the words “Black Lives Matter” on the signature wall at the company’s headquarters. He called the behavior “malicious” and “unacceptable.” Now it’s time for Facebook and Google to take another stand against hate—and to join companies like Coca-Cola, Hewlett-Packard, and Microsoft that have already scaled back or cut their support to the Republican convention.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Rating: 9.5 / 10 "You’d think, to hear some people talk, That lads go West with sobs and curses, And sullen faces white as chalk, Hankering for wreaths and tombs and hearses. But they’ve been taught the way to do it Like Christian soldiers; not with haste And shuddering groans; but passing through it With due regard for decent taste." — Siegfried Sassoon, How to Die (1918) War, to me, had always been intriguing as I reiterate through questioning its existence and its purpose while continuing to look into the dehumanization that the cyclical hell of history has brought upon mankind. Dehumanization, on one hand, constitutes the treatment of troops as mere pawns in a blood-smeared checkerboard, while on the other, it reeks of the decrepit morals of said pawns like a crumbling house of cards as they were trained to accept their designations as cogs in the global wheel of organised pandemonium and not living, thinking, feeling beings in a functional society. Melville's Army of Shadows, despite being a major overhaul of the base literature, is the very sombre take on warfare that exposes the latter form of mass slaughtering of the inner humanity through a small sample set of fringe participants. The French Resistance is outnumbered and outgunned and in spite of the fullest efforts of the crew, members land themselves in unexpected predicaments due to no fault of their own. The visual aesthetic in pastel palettes of muted cobalt, cyan and teal accompanied by foggy, bleak and quiet streets manifest the seeping doubts and internal turmoil eroding the crew bit by bit, mistrust turns corrosive and is complemented by executions based on probabilistic guessing. No decisions are objectively clear, no member can be deemed objectively correct. Having been a fighter in the French Resistance himself and clearly not interested in the combative aspects of the war or of the Resistance, Melville paints the picture of the human mind, a depiction of its solemn misery in the midst of chaos. Such intentions can be best comprehended in the scene where Philippe Gerbier is in London in the midst of a ball — soldiers dancing away with their ladies, straight out of Byron's "The Eve of Waterloo". However, there is neither hopeful light nor glory in this; dust falls at the impact of bombs dropping in the vicinity, and unsure of what to do, mirroring the central theme of moral uncertainty in the film, Gerbier is seen to be genuinely scared for the first time in the film. British men continue to dance away. This is normal, this too shall pass. Concluding with a hastily carried out execution of a supposedly compromised agent based on a plausible "theory", Melville deconstructs the fatality of war through intimately personal subjects. It's not people getting squashed like ants in a siege, it is the banality of war-induced chaos striking the characters we know, the reward for their courage, determination and moral fortitude is as bleak as choosing not to run in the race against their failure and their own mortality. A low-key suspenseful, gritty masterpiece.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
A man was found hanging from an overpass in an apparent suicide on Friday morning in New York's Central Park. The unnamed 45-year-old man was spotted by a passer-by at the park around 5:45 a.m. The man was reportedly hanging from a long cord with a bag around his head at the Winterdale Arch, located at the northwest area of the park at Central Park West and West 82nd Street. “He hung himself. Right off the railing at the edge of the arch,” a parks worker told the New York Post. 20 INDIAN STUDENTS COMMIT SUICIDE AFTER EXAM RESULTS “I saw a long orange cord. He had tied a plastic bag around his head, too. … It was awful to see." Police also reportedly found a suicide note with the body but chose not to publicize its contents. The identity of the man was not revealed, pending notification of kin. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP An autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of his death.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
If your adolescent is sexting, they may be already sexually active and engaging in risky behavior, a new study suggests. Researchers are trying to better understand if young people are at greater risk for HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases because they are sending sexually explicit photos or text messages via cell phones. "Sexting" is not an alternative to "real world" sexual behavior among adolescents, according to a new study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics. "The same teens who are engaging in digital sex risk taking through sexting are also the same teens that are engaging in sex risk with their bodies in terms of being sexually active and not using condoms," said lead study author Eric Rice, an assistant professor at the University of Southern California's School of Social Work in Los Angeles. A 2009 report from the Pew Research Center found that some teens "view sexting as a safer alternative to real life sexual activity." While the term "sexting" may also include messages also sent over the Internet, this particular study looked solely at cell phone text messages and images. It was conducted via questionnaire in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Researchers surveyed 1,839 students ages 12 to 18 at random. Most were Latino or African-American. Three-quarters of those surveyed had cell phones. "Even though a minority of teens sext - we only found 15% - but that 15% are much riskier with their physical sexual behaviors as well as their digital sexual behaviors," says Rice. He add that teens who reported sexting were seven times more likely to be sexually active than their peers who did not sext. The data suggests there are norms about sexting, according to Rice, meaning teens are starting to think that sexting is a normal part of their behaviors. More than half of the teens surveyed reported that they had a friend who sexted. "A lot of young people think that their friends are sexting, and if you think that your friends are sexting, you're much more likely to sext yourself," he said - 17 times more likely, according to study. "I think that the implications are that teens who are sexting may be at greater risk for sexually transmitted diseases because the teens who sext are about 1.5 times more likely to not use condoms when they're having sex," in addition to increasing the risk of teen pregnancy, Rice says. This study was conducted in only one urban area; the authors realize that some of the results may not accurately represent rural areas. In addition, recent nationwide research found much lower rates of sexting. However, Rice said this information can be valuable for parents. "We [parents, clinicians, educators] should be talking about sexting and the fact that it's part of the risky sex behaviors and it's not just something that exists in a virtual space, so to speak," he said. "Talking about sexting might be easier for [parents] than talking about sex and it could lead into a larger conversation about sex."	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
@dewyulsc Many years from now, when Teddy Bridgewater is a Super Bowl Champion and NFL MVP the narrative will change and the naysayers will beg for revisionist history. Teddy Two Gloves will be a national icon and inspiration, and children everywhere will beg their parents for skinny knees and small hands. In a time where the NFL needs a new class of role model and our society begs for a symbol of unification, the NFL and national media should be, and should have been, all aboard the Bridgewater bandwagon. I am not claiming Teddy is already on the level of Brady, Manning, or Rodgers, but an argument could be made that those first ballot hall of fame quarterbacks would struggle mightily to get this Vikings team into the playoffs. The special teams are borderline incompetent and have cost Minnesota back to back victories. The offensive line has been one of the worst in the league, giving up 48 sacks and allowing the quarterback to be hit 92 times. The best running back in the league hasn't played a down all season, and their number two running back is on injured reserve. The receiving core is average at best, and it appears the goal will be upgrading that department during the offseason. The deck has been stacked against Teddy all season, and against all odds Bridgewater has continued his very impressive improvement. Teddy has now completed at least 70% of his passes in four straight games, the first rookie to ever do so, and a stat unmatched by Rivers, Romo, Rodgers, Brees, Wilson, Brady, Roethlisberger, Luck, and Manning. His outing against the Dolphins was perhaps his best of the year, and the one interception was 100% due to his running back not handling a ball that hit him between the numbers. The touch on his over the shoulder fades was miraculous and he even delivered a few flawless bullets over the middle. Teddy also showed great poise by leading his team on a 15-0 run to retake the lead late in the fourth quarter. Bridgewater continues to showcase why he was undoubtedly the best quarterback in his draft class, and will be a franchise play caller throughout the next decade. A few of the national pundits are beginning to take notice, but many of them are still too busy trying remove both of their feet from their mouths while simultaneously getting their heads out of their asses. The Teddy smear campaign that was force fed down our throats for months was a travesty, but a perfect example of why Teddy is the new face of Vikings and should be the future face of the NFL. While the Manziel apologists scramble to make every excuse for their media hero, Teddy goes about his business while carrying a franchise. Teddy doesn't draw attention to himself, he doesn't ask for apologies, he simply smiles and exudes a level of humility unseen in professional sports. Teddy is a great player and even greater role model. He takes care of his family, he worships his mom, he sticks up for his teammates and shoulders responsibility, Teddy doesn't showboat or showoff, he doesn't blame anyone but himself for his mistakes, and best of all, Teddy is just a good person. In period where the NFL is struggling to redefine its image, they seem to think that creating awkward "No More" commercials will make viewers and sponsors feel better about Adrian Peterson, Ray Rice, and Roger Goodell. Their answer is a purple clad kid from Miami that deserves all the attention while asking for none. Teddy is the answer for the NFL, and will be for years to come, but our country as a whole could benefit from his leadership as well. Race division seems to be widening and a culture of hate and blame is threatening to engulf the United States. People of all colors and backgrounds could learn a lesson from Bridgewater. Take care of your family, work tirelessly to meet your goals, treat people with respect, thank people who afford you opportunities, remain humble, and smile. It is easy to be a Bridgewater fan, and the old phrase "kill em with kindness" has never been exemplified better than the way Teddy does it. Teddy Bridgewater's play is beginning to catch up with his character, and when Minnesota assembles the necessary parts around their franchise quarterback the NFL could witness a new Vikings dynasty. Louisville was ready for Teddy from the moment he visited campus as a heralded recruit, and after three quick years he became one of the most beloved athletes in the school's history. The media and NFL tried to downplay his ability and ignore his accomplishments, but as we generally witness, good things happen to good people. The era of Bridgewater is beginning and America is finally ready for Teddy.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Former Respect MP announces he has begun legal proceedings to have result of Bradford West election set aside George Galloway has said that he has begun legal proceedings to overturn the election result in Bradford West, after he lost by more than 11,000 votes to the Labour candidate, Naz Shah. Labour called the former Respect MP “pathetic” after he said he was hoping to get Shah debarred as an MP. Galloway accused her of lying about him on Urdu television and of falsely claiming to have been forced into marriage at 15. Galloway also claims to have uncovered “widespread malpractice” in the battle for Bradford West, including postal voting fraud. The Bradford West contest was dogged by claims and counter-claims between Labour and Respect over a number of issues, especially relating to Shah’s family background. Shah – who won the seat on a 29.7% swing from Respect, polling 19,977 votes to Galloway’s 8,557 – has vowed to sue Galloway for calling the circumstances of her marriage into question. George Galloway loses Bradford West seat to Labour's Naz Shah Read more Announcing his legal bid to overturn the election result, Galloway said: “It has come to my notice that there has been widespread malpractice in this election, particularly over postal voting. We are in the process of compiling the information which will form part of our petition to have the result set aside.” Galloway has also added to a previous complaint he had made under section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983, which concerns false statements made with the intention of affecting the result of an election. “An allegation made by Naz Shah in Urdu on a well-watched Asian TV show is both untrue and extremely serious,” he said. According to the Respect party, Shah alleged on the TV programme that Galloway had travelled to Pakistan and posed as her dead father to obtain her nikah, an Islamic wedding certificate. Before polling day, Galloway made a complaint to the director of public prosecutions about the authenticity of a nikah that Shah produced during the campaign to prove she was forced to marry her cousin in Pakistan when she was just 15. In a dramatic moment during hustings last month, Galloway produced a nikah which he claimed showed she actually married the cousin when she was 16. He later admitted he had sent an intermediary in Pakistan to obtain it. George Galloway may have lost his seat – but this isn’t the last we’ll see of him Read more In a personal piece widely shared on social media following her last-minute selection as Labour’s prospective parliamentary candidate in March, Shah referred to her “own forced marriage through emotional blackmail when I was just 15 years old whilst in Pakistan”. The Guardian understands the Respect party has spoken to one of Shah’s paternal uncles who said he was not at the Islamic wedding ceremony Shah claims to have had in Pakistan on 25 December 1988, when she was 15. He is said to be the only surviving witness listed on the 1988 nikah. Respect claims there are are “other discrepancies” on the 1988 document and says the Labour party was informed of this prior to the election. A Labour spokesman said of Galloway’s legal action: “This is pathetic and without any foundation. George Galloway should accept he was booted out by the people of Bradford West. They saw through his divisive politics and made a positive choice, by a majority of well over 11,000, to elect a brilliant new MP, Naz Shah.” Galloway was reported to police on Thursday after he sent a tweet about exit polls before voting closed, which is banned under election law. Conceding defeat in the early hours of Friday morning, Galloway said: “I don’t begrudge the Labour members here their moment of celebration, of course. “But there will be others who are already celebrating: the venal, the vile, the racists and the Zionists will all be celebrating. The hyena can bounce on the lion’s grave but it can never be a lion and in any case, I’m not in my grave. As a matter of fact, I’m going off now to plan the next campaign.” Galloway claimed last week that he was going to sue a number of media organisations for defamation, along with his former parliamentary assistant, Aisha Ali-Khan, who was jailed for contempt last year.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Senator Larry Smith has been elected the new Leader of the Opposition and the Conservative caucus in the Senate. Smith defeated Ontario Senator Linda Frum and Nova Scotia Senator Stephen Greene in the Tuesday vote. Senator David Wells was elected Conservative Senate Caucus Chair. Smith is the former commissioner of the Canadian Football League and president of the Montreal Allouettes. He was appointed in December 2010 by prime minister Stephen Harper to fill a Senate vacancy in Quebec. Conservative senator Larry Smith talks about his new job as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. 7:01 In the federal election later that year, Smith ran for a seat in the House of Commons in a Montreal riding and lost. He sparked some controversy when he lamented the cut in pay he experienced moving from the CFL to the Red Chamber. Smith takes over the Conservative caucus as it navigates Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's reforms to the Senate. Independent Senators became the plurality in the Red Chamber after the Trudeau government's round of Senate appointments in November 2016. Conservatives still have the second-largest bloc of representatives in the upper chamber. Smith introduced an amendment to the Liberal budget bill last November that would have changed the government's middle class tax plan. The move was ruled out of order; it's rare for the unelected Senate to try to modify a spending bill. Brad Smith, the senator's son and a television personality who has appeared on the Canadian versions of The Bachelor and Chopped, tweeted a congratulatory message for his dad. Couldn't be prouder of my Dad, a great man with amazing character..just what the Canadian Senate needs!! <a href="https://t.co/2b1unYPXZC">https://t.co/2b1unYPXZC</a> —@bradcsmith Smith replaces Senator Claude Carignan, who left the post at the end of February. Carignan led the Conservative caucus as government leader in the Senate from 2013 to 2015 and shepherded the caucus through the first two years of Liberal government on the opposition benches. He was critical of Trudeau's plan to reform the Senate, though he did co-operate with Senate Liberals to allow non-aligned senators to take seats on committees.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
There was no curbing the enthusiasm of audience members during the Q-and-A session portion of Sunday’s Citi Presents Larry David and David Steinberg in Conversation. Some of the more cringe-worthy moments: three women begging for hugs from Mr. David after propositioning him for dates (he obliged the hugs), one guy asking him to autograph a DVD copy of season 2 of “Curb your Enthusiasm” and then bum rushing the stage, and an aspiring female comedian desperately pleading for David to have a conversation with her “in real life,” a request that drew equal parts awkward laughter and boos. Of course, the gruff Emmy-winning “Seinfeld” co-creator handled it all with signature bone-dry wit, at one point telling a fan, “Thank you for that idiotic question.” Produced by Carolines on Broadway’s live entertainment division and held at The Theatre at Ace Hotel in downtown L.A., it was the unexpected bursts of poignancy that made the hour-and-a-half-long conversation between these two comedians (to filch a David phrase) “prettay prettay prettay” engaging. First on the menu of topics was David’s upbringing in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, and how it influenced his comic style. “It was a bunch of old Jews living on top of each other,” said David. “I had an aunt next door and my grandmother on the next floor and it was rife with comedy. I walked to school (and) the Irish kids would beat me up on the way. That’s where the bad self-image is born.” Steinberg, who directed scores of “Seinfeld” and “Curb” episodes, then asked David, “What was your mother’s expectation of you?” David’s answer: “Zero. Less than zero. She wanted me to be a mailman.” “I had no plan,” he confessed of the period following college (where he majored in history). ”I had no idea what to do with my life.” From his stint as the private driver for an elderly blind women (“I can’t say enough good things about a blind employer”), to an underwhelming year as a staff writer on “Saturday Night Live” (“In one season (Dick Ebersol) only put one sketch of mine on the air and it was at 12:55”), to how he and Jerry Seinfeld wrestled for creative control on “Seinfeld” (“Just say no and you get your way”), David sketched a spirited portrait of his life as a fledging stand-up comic trawling grocery store aisles for comedic material who found fame and fortune as the author of his own TV universe. When it came to the future of HBO’s “Curb,” which quietly trailed off after season 8 with no confirmation as to whether or not it would continue for a ninth, David said, “After eight seasons on ‘Curb,’ I’m just not sure my ideas are gonna be good enough for a whole season.” When a heckler called out, “Yes, they will!” David replied, “I’ve been heckled a lot, but that was the nicest one.” David also made sure to remind attending fans that the “Larry David” on “Curb” is not the same Larry David in real life. “In a way I wish I was that character because he’s so honest,” said David, citing “Palestinian Chicken,” “Ski Lift” and “The Doll” among his top favorite episodes. “As Larry David on ‘Curb’ I get to say everything I want to say which I can’t in real life. It’s freeing. This was a great vehicle for me to have all of these thoughts that go unexpressed.” Currently gearing up for his Broadway play about shiva (Jewish mourning ritual) that opens in February 2015, he’s not kicking “Curb” to the bucket just yet. “I feel bad that I don’t have shows for them,” he told Steinberg of obsessed series fans, “and I haven’t given up the hope.”	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Omar Samuel Orozco does tile work on a home in the 2500 block of N. 46th St., part of Common Ground’s house rehabilitation program. Credit: Michael Sears SHARE By of the Theresa Utschig remembers the house at 2528 N. 48th St. as a bit of a nightmare. It was a foreclosure and was vacant. The roof leaked, badly. You could see the water running into the kitchen. Scavengers had busted out the back door and punched holes in the walls to strip out copper, pipes, electrical fixtures and anything else that might have scrap value. Some rooms were heaped with garbage. "It was dangerous to walk in," Utschig said. Not anymore. It's a bright, lovely bungalow, with its built-in cabinets, coved ceilings, leaded glass windows and a black granite countertop in the once-leaky kitchen. It's also one of the first houses to be offered for sale under what community group Southeastern Wisconsin Common Ground hopes will be a self-sustaining program to help address the foreclosure crisis — about 2,600 houses are in either city- or bank-owned foreclosures — that has plagued some Milwaukee neighborhoods. A few years ago, Common Ground, where Utschig is a volunteer, got more than $2 million in federal money to acquire foreclosed houses in the Sherman Park neighborhood, rehab and sell them. So far, the group has sold 30 homes and is working on more than 20 more. But when the government money ran out more than a year ago, Common Ground acted to keep the effort going. It formed an entity called Milwaukee Rising, which has received more than $800,000 from private organizations, most of it from Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank. The group is using the money in a revolving loan pool to continue the rehabbing. On Saturday, the group held an open house to show an early result of that work, the bungalow on N. 48th. "This house is beautiful," Ald. Russell Stamper II, who lives just a few blocks away, said to a gathering of about 30 people before the home — asking price, $112,900 — was opened for inspection. "It's going to make me go home and paint my porch. I'm the alderman. I've got to make sure I can keep up with Common Ground." Common Ground representatives have traveled to Germany and California to press deed-holding banks to address the foreclosure crisis, and the efforts seem to have paid off. Banks have given foreclosed homes to the group. That lets Common Ground concentrate its limited money on rehab. Randy Jones vouches for the quality of the work. Athletic director at a Milwaukee Boys & Girls Clubs, Jones, 47, bought a Common Ground-restored house more than two years ago. "Love it," he said of his home, near N. 51st and W. Chambers streets. "I didn't have to do anything to it." It's Jones' first house, and he was a welcome addition to the neighborhood; before his purchase, the building had been abandoned for two years. "When they take houses like this and make them livable, make you have pride in them, they get people together," Jones said. "It changes people's whole dynamic of just being a human being. It helps values. When you live low, you act low." House by house, Common Ground wants to work on that — an effort that drew praise Saturday from both Stamper and Common Council President Michael Murphy. "Too many problems in our city occur when people are so apathetic they walk away and don't choose to take action because they think it's too big a problem they can't make a difference," Murphy said. "Every long journey begins with a first step, and that's what Common Ground is all about."	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
A 19-year-old man who authorities believe fatally shot a teenage boy Friday told deputies he thought the gun was empty when he pulled the trigger inside a home on the northwest side, according to court documents. The man said he was in his upstairs bedroom clearing ammunition out of an AK-47 rifle in the home in the 8000 block of North Country Home Lane, north of Cortaro Farms Road, when the incident happened, according to a search warrant filed by the Sheriff’s Department in Pima County Superior Court. He took out the rifle’s magazine and believed the gun was empty when he pulled the trigger, firing a single shot that struck Luis Angel Lopez Jr., 17, who was in the adjacent den area, the warrant said. The man went to check on Lopez and tried to render aid, grabbing a towel to cover his wound, according to the warrant. Deputies say they found Lopez on the couch with the towel behind his head. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Deputies reported there were suspected explosive devices inside the home and called in the Pima Regional Bomb Squad and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to remove them.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. Please enable Javascript to watch this video DES MOINES, Iowa -- Mental health in Iowa is becoming more than a concern. Experts are calling it a miserable situation and the state doesn't stack up well across the nation. Four percent of Iowans suffer from a severe mental illness, but many believe those numbers are being ignored. Iowa is now on a list that's not worth being proud of. “Iowa consistently ranks in the bottom five of all states in every single category of mental health programs and services,” said Peggy Huppert, NAMI Iowa Executive Director. Gov. Terry Branstad vetoed a bill last July aiming to restore services at hospitals in Clarinda and Mount Pleasant. According to a new study by the Treatment Advocacy Center, Iowa now ranks 49th in the country with just 64 state mental hospital beds. “Compare that to the 1950s at the height of people being treated when there were 7,000 beds,” Huppert said. Utah, Mississippi, Arkansas and Kansas are all similar to Iowa in population but have nearly 4 times and in some cases, nearly 8 times the amount of state beds. “We think private beds can certainly meet the needs if they are there and if the money is there,” Huppert said. There is a total of 731 beds public and private in Iowa, but statistics show nearly 123,000 Iowans have a serious mental illness. That number is slightly less than the total population of Iowa’s second largest city: Cedar Rapids. “It’s been an issue for some time, and getting worse,” said Jeff Jarding, of Broadlawns Medical Center. Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines supports mental health in a private setting but rarely has room. “We run at capacity almost all the time,” Jarding said. So they send patients to cities like Sioux City and Dubuque, which are hours away. "We send them everywhere, and we need to on a regular basis,” Jarding said. To make sure these doors stay open to those in need, Broadlawns plans to increase their already 30 inpatient mental health beds nearly 50 percent by July 2017. “It’s huge. Not only for the city, but 14 beds is huge for the state,” Jarding said. But will remain in a critical state until lawmakers bring the growing problem into the spotlight. "Governor Branstad talks about how he wants Iowa to be the healthiest state, but part of being the healthiest state is having a healthy mental state as well,” Huppert said. Help could be on the way in the form of psychiatrists. In March, Branstad announced $4 million in funds to increase the state's psychiatric residency program, which was previously only at the University of Iowa. It now includes Broadlawns, Mercy and UnityPoint. Click here to read the full report.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Some European countries are expected to break with Washington and start supplying the Syrian rebels with weapons in the next few months, the representative of the Syrian opposition in Britain has told the Guardian. The National Coalition's London representative, Walid Saffour, predicted that by the next meeting of the western and Arab Friends of Syria group in Turkey, due in late spring or early summer, "there will be a breakthrough that will end the restrictions of the European countries". "This would be for the ammunition we require, the quality weapons we need to deter the Syrian regime from using aeroplanes and Scud missiles to bomb villages and bakeries," Saffour said. "We on the ground are advancing steadily but we are suffering from a lack of ammunition. We expect that to change at the next Friends of Syria meeting in Istanbul." Another opposition figure involved in supplying the rebels said there had been a noticeable relaxation in recent days of the strict restrictions the US and Turkey had put on arms flows over the Turkish border. He claimed a Syrian army helicopter and a Mig warplane had been shot down in the past two days, for the first time by imported missiles. "These were not weapons that had been captured from Syrian army bases as before. These were released from the Turkish warehouses. These are weapons the opposition had purchased previously but had not been allowed to take across the border," the opposition source said. "Before, 23mm was the maximum calibre for anti-aircraft guns permitted and we were allowed to bring in RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades] but not armour-piercing shells. But there is a major shift on the ground now. The policy is changing. "I think the shift in American attitudes goes far beyond the official reports. I think that Washington knows it can no longer allow to let the problem fester." The EU formally changed its arms embargo on Syria on Thursday to allow the supply of armoured vehicles, non-lethal military equipment and technical aid to the opposition. The move came as the US secretary of state, John Kerry, made his first trip to a Muslim nation since taking office, visiting Ankara, where he met Turkish leaders to discuss Syria. While Saffour did not name the countries he expected to supply arms, the British government, which took the lead in pushing for the relaxation of the sanctions, is expected to act swiftly in reaction to the new EU rules. Foreign secretary, William Hague, is due to make a statement to parliament next week detailing the new equipment and training the UK will give the rebels. The aid is expected to include civilian vehicles – reinforced to provide protection against shelling – of a kind the British government is already supplying to UN aid workers operating in Syria. On British insistence, the EU embargo will come up for review in June and the UK is expected to push for a further relaxation in what can be provided to the opposition if there is no let-up in the two-year-old conflict, in which more than 70,000 people are estimated to have died. Speaking at the Friends of Syria meeting in Rome on Thursday, Hague stressed military aid was possible in the future. "That will be an important decision, of course, and has its own risks, and that is why we haven't done that so far. But I don't rule that out," he said. A British official said: "We are going to keep on raising the pressure on the Assad regime. The Friends of Syria meeting in Rome was not the end of a process. It is the beginning of a process." Saffour, the National Coalition's representative, said: "If the EU embargo doesn't change, then some of the EU countries will change their policy – if not openly, then quietly." He said US officials had also told the coalition that the White House policy of providing non-lethal aid only would come under review in the next few months, as new members of Barack Obama's administration, such as Kerry and the defence secretary, Chuck Hagel, enter the internal debate. There have been reports over the past few weeks that the flow of arms to rebel fighters has increased markedly, including some anti-tank weapons made in the former Yugoslavia. The Croatian government has denied reports that its arms industry supplied some of the weapons. Ivica Nekic, the managing director of the Croatian arms export agency, said: "We would be aware of any sale from Croatia, and no Croatian weapons have been sold to anyone in Syria." Asked about reports that Croatian arms were supplied through Saudi Arabia, Nekic said Croatia had only sold the Saudi military helmets and was in the process of negotiating a sale of pistols. Asked about other customers in the Middle East, Nekic said: "We sell to more than 50 countries around the world. I can't speculate on every country, and every sale we make. It would not be correct." Muhannad Hadi, the World Food Programme's regional emergency co-ordinator for Syria and neighbouring countries, said the British donation of armoured cars had already saved the lives of WFP staff delivering food aid on both sides of the lines. "They turned out to be a life-saving tool. Our weapons were attacked four times in the past several months, by mortar. And the thing is nobody was injured." The WFP currently supplies food to 1.5 million people in Syria in all 14 of the country's governorates, and in many parts of the country there are pockets with unknown populations which are beyond the agency's reach because of fighting. Hadi said the WFP hoped to increase the number of recipients to 2 million this month and 2.5 million next month, but was facing a critical shortage of funding. "If we don't have funds in May for Syria, there will be serious problems. There will be breaks in the pipeline. Food needs a lead time to bring it in, with shipping and logistics, so we need the funds very, very soon."	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Il y a aujourd'hui en France trois gynécologues médicaux pour 100 000 femmes en âge de consulter et leur nombre a chuté de 42% en dix ans. Cette situation, qui va perdurer quelques années encore, n'est pas sans conséquence pour la santé des femmes. "J'ai reçu ce matin en consultation une jeune fille de 20 ans, sous pilule depuis cinq ans et suivie par son médecin généraliste." Anne Noblot, gynécologue médicale à Dunkerque (Nord), a posté ce texte sur Facebook, jeudi 10 janvier. Depuis, il a été partagé plus de 24 000 fois. "Cette jeune fille n'a JAMAIS été examinée (je parle d'examen gynéco bien entendu). Elle est porteuse d'un nodule mammaire de 3 cm de diamètre facilement palpable, et d'un herpès génital qui a été catalogué 'mycose' sans contrôle clinique." En décrivant ce cas alarmant et loin d'être unique, cette professionnelle de la santé des femmes a voulu, comme elle l'explique à franceinfo, "dénoncer la situation préoccupante que vivent les femmes face à la pénurie grandissante des gynécologues médicaux". Une disparition programmée "Impossible de trouver une gynéco. J'obtiens toujours la même réponse : 'Nous ne prenons plus de nouvelles patientes'. Résultat : personne n'a suivi ma ménopause et cela fait bientôt cinq ans que je n'ai pas eu de frottis". Ce témoignage est l'un des 3 500 reçus, en 2017, par le Comité de défense de la gynécologie médicale (CDGM). Ce comité, créé par un collectif de gynécologues et de femmes, se bat depuis 1997 pour que les femmes soient correctement suivies. Contrairement aux gynécologues obstétriciens, qui pratiquent les actes de chirurgie et les accouchements, les gynécologues médicaux assurent, eux, le suivi gynécologique des femmes tout au long de leur vie. Installés dans des cabinets en ville, ils sont de moins en moins nombreux à exercer. Marie Stagliano, coprésidente du CDGM, tire la sonnette d'alarme. Aujourd'hui, il y a en moyenne trois professionnels pour 100 000 femmes en âge de procréer et donc de consulter, c'est très inquiétant.Marie Stagliano, coprésidente du Comité de défense de la gynécologie médicaleà franceinfo Entre 2007 et 2017, le nombre de gynécologues médicaux a chuté de 42%. En 2017, le Conseil national de l'Ordre des médecins (CNOM) a recensé six départements totalement dépourvus de gynécologues. Et cette désertification touche aussi bien les campagnes que les villes. Paris a perdu, en huit ans, 43% de ses gynécologues médicaux. En banlieue parisienne, certaines villes comme Aulnay-sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis) ou Ivry-sur-Seine (Val-de-Marne) sont totalement dépourvues de gynécologues libéraux. Le Dr Jean-Marcel Mourgues, en charge de la section Santé publique et démographie médicale au sein du Conseil national de l'ordre de médecins, confirme à franceinfo, chiffres à l'appui, ce déficit lié au renouvellement générationnel : "Malgré la récente augmentation des places en internat, une très forte baisse va prochainement s'opérer avec la vague de départs à la retraite." Sur les 1 054 médecins en activité en 2018, plus de la moitié ont 60 ans et plus. Et seuls 82 postes en internat ont été ouverts pour la rentrée de 2017. "Nous sommes loin du 'un pour un'", déclare le médecin. Comment expliquer une telle situation ? "En 1987, le ministère a supprimé la spécialité gynécologie médicale, dans le silence le plus total", explique Marie Stagliano, la coprésidente du CDGM. En cause, un coût financier qui avait poussé les pouvoirs publics à la réduction d'un certain nombre de spécialités. La motivation de cette suppression était également liée à l'harmonisation européenne des diplômes, la France étant le seul pays à enseigner la gynécologie médicale.Marie Stagliano, coprésidente du CDGMà franceinfo Ce n'est qu'en 2003 que le gouvernement rétablit cette discipline, rappelle Marie Stagliano, "grâce à la volonté des femmes dans la rue, qui ont fait plier Kouchner et Mattei", ministres de la Santé au début des années 2000. Mais le chemin est encore long. Des 130 places annuelles en internat ouvertes par le gouvernement avant 1987, on est passé à seulement une vingtaine de 2003 à 2011. Depuis, si le nombre de places ne cesse d'augmenter, il est étudié chaque année et reste insuffisant pour assurer le simple remplacement des départs à la retraite. Le Comité de défense de la gynécologie médicale estime qu'il faudrait l'ouverture de 120 places par an. Face à cette pénurie, certaines femmes se tournent vers leur généraliste, à l'instar du cas décrit par la gynécologue Anne Noblot dans son post Facebook. Cet exemple démontre que tous les médecins ne semblent pas être en capacité d'assurer le suivi gynécologique de leurs patientes. En témoigne le récit d'une femme médecin, qui a répondu au texte d'Anne Noblet et qui effectue des remplacements dans le Nord de la France. Je remplace essentiellement des hommes. Très peu d'entre eux font de la gynécologie, seulement un quart d'entre eux possèdent du matériel pour réaliser un frottis par exemple. Il y a donc un manque certain de formation et/ou d'intérêt de certains médecins.Claire van Marie, médecin généralistesur Facebook Une régression pour la santé des femmes "Les progrès de la médecine ont beau être importants, la suppression ou diminution des gynécologues médicaux est un énorme recul, il faut y remédier au plus vite", déclare, parmi d'autres, l'une des 3 500 femmes interrogées par le Comité de défense de la gynécologie médicale. Et ce recul n'est pas sans conséquence pour la santé des femmes. On va se retrouver avec des dépistages tardifs, des frottis anormaux, une augmentation des cancers du col de l'utérus, des problèmes d'infections, des IST difficiles à détecter, des pathologies du sein. Quant à la ménopause, il n'y a que les gynécologues médicaux qui s'en occupent.Pia De Reilhac, gynécologueà franceinfo Cette pénurie de spécialistes peut également "handicaper les femmes dans leur contraception". Un droit chèrement acquis selon Marie Stagliano, pour qui "la pilule a été un énorme progrès car elle a permis un suivi plus régulier des femmes. Et ce suivi a permis une diminution spectaculaire du nombre de cancers du col de l'utérus, divisé par trois en vingt ans." Autre conséquence de cette insuffisance : l'accès à l'information sur la sexualité et le suivi gynécologique se compliquent pour les plus jeunes. Les équipes du Comité ont réalisé, en 2017, une enquête auprès des étudiantes de la faculté de Cergy : 40% des jeunes filles ne connaissaient pas l'existence des gynécologues médicaux. Les jeunes femmes ne viennent plus discuter avec les gynécologues devenus difficiles d'accès, et l'éducation à la sexualité, quand elle est faite par YouPorn, ce n'est pas terrible.Pia De Reilhac, gynécologueà franceinfo Pour Pia De Reilhac, présidente de la Fédération nationale des collèges de gynécologie médicale, c'est un "véritable retour en arrière" qui s'opère. "En France, les femmes étaient, et sont encore pour un temps, bien suivies. Les femmes soignées pour un cancer du sein ont une espérance de vie bien meilleure en France qu'ailleurs en Europe. Nous avons l'un des taux les plus faibles d'hystérectomie (l'ablation de l'utérus) : 6,7% à 50 ans, contre 40% aux Etats-Unis et 20 à 30% dans le reste de l'Europe." Un avenir encore compliqué pour la profession "Pendant les dix, quinze prochaines années, la pénurie va aller en s'aggravant", constate le docteur Pia De Reilhac, qui s'attelle à trouver des solutions avec les unions professionnelles des médecins généralistes et des sages-femmes. "Le gouvernement ne nous aide pas forcément. Il nous écoute mais c'est à nous de trouver des solutions", déplore la gynécologue. L'un des axes de travail de ces professionnels réunis est d'assurer, malgré la pénurie, le suivi gynécologique des femmes pour qu'elles ne subissent pas de retard dans leur prise en charge. Nous en sommes au début. La question est de savoir où s'arrête la surveillance des médecins généralistes et des sages-femmes et où débute celle des gynécologues médicaux.Pia De Reilhac, gynécologueà franceinfo Mais cette solution ne semble pas plaire à tout le monde. "Nous sommes plus inquiètes que rassurées, car cette tentative de pallier la pénurie met en danger la vie des femmes. Les sages-femmes ne sont pas formées pour, ce n'est pas un mois de formation qui va combler 11 ans d'études", dénonce la coprésidente du Comité de défense de la gynécologie médicale. Des propos dénoncés par plusieurs associations de sages-femmes qui ont publié, lundi 4 février, un communiqué remettant en cause "les conséquences délétères sur la santé des femmes" décrites dans notre article. Ces collectifs mettent en avant "le rôle essentiel des sages-femmes dans le suivi gynécologique" et rappellent "que les sages-femmes sont compétent(e)s dans la réalisation de consultations de contraception et de suivi gynécologique (...), œuvrant ainsi au maintien de la bonne santé génésique et sexuelle des femmes". Une situation déjà décrite à franceinfo en décembre 2017 par Marie-Anne Poumaer, présidente de l'Union nationale et syndicale des sages-femmes : "Nous sommes (...) parfaitement capables d'assurer le suivi gynécologique des femmes en bonne santé, même quand elles ne sont pas enceintes". La dirigeante de l'UNSSF constatait au passage avec regret que "le public [ne soit] pas informé de nos compétences". Les associations de sages-femmes affirment par ailleurs dans leur communiqué que "plusieurs professionnel(le)s de santé sont compétent(e)s pour assurer le suivi gynécologique : médecins généralistes, gynécologues-obstétriciens et sages-femmes." Côté patientes, toutes ne sont pas disposées à parler d'intimité avec leur médecin de famille. En attestent les nombreux témoignages recueillis par le Comité de défense de la gynécologie médicale : "Je ne fais pas confiance au médecin traitant, qui n'est pas spécialisé, et je serais même un peu gênée." Ou encore : "Je n'aurais jamais aimé parler de ma vie intime avec un généraliste. Seule une spécialiste dans le domaine peut répondre à toutes nos questions." Une lente prise de conscience Pour beaucoup, la solution à moyen terme semble résider du côté des étudiants en médecine. Cela n'empêchera pas de faire face à un creux générationnel chez les gynécologues médicaux mais Albane Vandecandelaere, présidente de l'Association nationale des internes en gynécologie médicale, confirme l'implication de ses camarades. C'est une spécialité qu'on ne peut pas choisir par défaut, elle a une histoire particulière, bien à elle, beaucoup de personnes se sont battues pour la faire réapparaître et, en tant qu'interne de gynécologie médicale, on se doit de continuer à la faire vivre et de prouver, encore et toujours, notre utilité.Albane Vandecandelaere, présidente de l'Association des internes en gynécologie médicaleà franceinfo Les étudiants, plus nombreux en internat à chaque rentrée, "hyper motivés" selon le Docteur Pia De Reilhac, "ont bien conscience de cette situation critique." Cette prise de conscience semble plus lente du côté des pouvoirs politiques. Marie Stagliano, via le Comité de défense de la gynécologie médicale, interpelle chaque année, et sans relâche, le ministère des Solidarités et de la Santé à ce sujet. Elle demande notamment la réalisation d'une campagne médiatique auprès des jeunes femmes et un plus grand nombre de places en internat. "Mais nous avons aucune réponse du gouvernement, alors qu'il faudrait qu'il prenne la question à bras le corps" regrette la coprésidente du CDGM. Contacté, le ministère n'a pas donné suite aux sollicitations de franceinfo. Notre article a fait l'objet d'une mise à jour et d'une nouvelle publication mardi 5 février.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
If you've been following the tech press at all, you've no doubt heard the term "Windows Blue," referring to the internal code name for the next version of Microsoft's desktop-and-or-tablet operating system. I'm not much on rumors and leaks, preferring to get solid info from the horse's mouth. My Microsoft contacts not only won't comment on this matter, but studiously avoid using the term "Blue" in email. Recent evidence, however, makes a pretty compelling case that Windows Blue is real. Most convincing of all is a leaked installer for a build of the operating system called Windows Blue Build 9364. Ostensibly coming from a Microsoft partner, the build started appearing on file-sharing services like BitTorrent on March 24, and was first mentioned on a post by a site called Windows 9 Beta. [Update: Microsoft has now officially acknowledged that it's working on projects codenamed "Blue," without providing any product details. The info came in a post on the Official Windows Blog by Frank X. Shaw, Corporate Vice President of Corporate Communications at Microsoft. Shaw does note that it's unlikely that the released new version of Windows will actually use the word "Blue" in its name.] So what is Windows Blue? The first thing to know—assuming that what we've seen so far isn't an elaborate hoax—is that it's not going to be the kind of complete re-think of the operating system that Windows 8 was. By all indications, Windows Blue will be an enhancements and refinement release. This makes sense, when you consider that that was the strategy for Windows from Windows 95 all the way to Windows 7. This strategy also jibes well with another release strategy the rumor mill has turned up: That Microsoft will be releasing versions of Windows every year, rather than every three years. This more Apple-like approach lends itself to more incremental, less-drastic overhauls with each new release. Microsoft executives have hinted at this more frequent upgrade schedule, and word on the street is that Windows Blue will launch as early as this summer or fall. As with a lot of the inside dope on Blue, this tidbit comes from Microsoft-watcher-extraordinaire Mary Jo Foley, who put the pieces of evidence together in a piece on Redmondmag.com called Can Microsoft Speed the Pace of Windows? An analysis of the leaked code by MSFTKitchen suggests that Blue will come in flavors for all existing Windows editions, including RT and Server as well as desktop personal and professional. One question that remains is whether we'll see months of public preview versions like we got with Windows 7 and 8. Another involves naming: There's no way to know at this point whether the product will be named Windows Blue, Windows 9, or something else. Microsoft may not even have nailed this down definitely itself yet. What's in Windows Blue? So there's some release framework, but what changes can we expect in the software itself? Based not only on the leaked pre-release code, but also on videos from internal company meetings, most notably one leaked by MSFT Kitchen, we can conjecture on what we can expect to see in Windows Blue/Windows 9. More Touch. The above-referenced video emphasizes new touch capabilities in the OS, showing detailed drawing that becomes possible with the improvements. According to the Verge's Tom Warren, a new swipe up gesture will access app lists in both new and desktop interfaces. More Snapping Options. "Snapping" is Microsoft's term for displaying more than one running app at a time on the screen—something not even possible with the leading tablet, the iPad. With Windows 8, you can display a secondary app in a reduced view that takes up a quarter of the screen alongside your main app. But with Blue, you'll get more options, such as displaying each in an exact half of the screen, or even four apps in vertical quarters. New Included Apps. Leaked screenshots of the alleged Windows Blue build show a few new default new-style apps to complement Mail, People, Calendar, and the rest. An Alarm and Sound recorder show up, as does a tile with numbers, presumably a calculator. Smaller Start Screen Tiles. Windows 8 only offers two tile sizes for its Start screen, a large square, and a rectangle twice that size. With Blue, it looks like you'll be able to use smaller tiles a quarter the size of Windows 8's squares. This should help if you have lots of tiles that lend themselves to organization in groups. New Charm Bar Capabilities. Windows Blue's Charm bar will offer more direct customization than Windows 8's, in which you often have to go to the desktop Control Panel to make the change you want. Users will be able to further customize the Start Screen from a "Personalize" choice, which will let you swap out the background, edit background colors, and edit accent colors directly from the operating system's sidebar. Another new Charm option seems to be improved search capability. Internet Explorer 11. Window 7 users only recently got an update to IE10, the browser that ships with Windows 8, which vastly increases support for HTML5 and speeds up browsing. The leaked build of Blue shows yet another update for Microsoft's browser, which will no doubt make further advances in these areas. PCWorld's Brad Chacos has uncovered one more new capability in IE11—tab syncing. This only makes sense, since it's a feature IE's competitors have had for over a year. Touch Improvements. Windows 8 is already replete with touch input capabilities suited to tablet computing. But Blue looks to go beyond this, as the video linked above shows. SkyDrive syncing. The new-style Windows 8 SkyDrive app doesn't offer syncing the way the desktop and Windows 7 versions do. The Blue code suggests that this lack of ability will be remedied in the new version. Blue Skies for Windows? It's certain that more features and tweaks will show up in the coming months, so this list is far from exhaustive. And as you can see, these new features aren't drastic re-thinkings of basic OS elements, but rather enhancements and improvements to Windows 8. As with any future release, especially one that's not even acknowledged by its maker, many questions remain about Windows Blue, not the least of which is pricing. Will those who just bought Windows 8 or a machine running it have to pay for an update already this summer? If so, we can hope it's at least priced more like a $20 Mac OS X upgrade rather than a $200 Windows OS upgrade. If you're not familiar with Windows 8, a laundry list of Windows Blue improvements won't mean much to you, so be sure to read our review of Windows 8 to get up to speed. Further Reading Operating System Reviews	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
In the early 1990s I was visiting the White House Science Advisor, Sir Prof. Dr. Robert Watson, who was pontificating on how we had successfully regulated Freon to solve the ozone depletion problem, and now the next goal was to regulate carbon dioxide, which at that time was believed to be the sole cause of global warming. I was a little amazed at this cart-before-the-horse approach. It really seemed to me that the policy goal was being set in stone, and now the newly-formed United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) had the rather shady task of generating the science that would support the policy. Now, 25 years later, public concern over global warming (aka climate change) is at an all-time low remains at the bottom of the list of environmental concerns. Why is that? Maybe because people don’t see its effects in their daily lives. 1) By all objective measures, severe weather hasn’t gotten worse. 2) Warming has been occurring at only half the rate that climate models and the IPCC say it should be. 3) CO2 is necessary for life on Earth. It has taken humanity 100 years of fossil fuel use to increase the atmospheric CO2 content from 3 parts to 4 parts per 10,000. (Please don’t compare our CO2 problem to Venus, which has 230,000 times as much CO2 as our atmosphere). 4) The extra CO2 is now being credited with causing global greening. 5) Despite handwringing over the agricultural impacts of climate change, current yields of corn, soybeans, and wheat are at record highs. As an example of the disconnect between reality and the climate models which are being relied upon to guide energy policy, here are the yearly growing season average temperatures in the U.S 12-state corn belt (official NOAA data), compared to the average of the climate model projections used by the IPCC: Yes, there has been some recent warming. But so what? What is its cause? Is it unusual compared to previous centuries? Is it necessarily a bad thing? And, most important from a policy perspective, What can we do about it anyway? The Policy Hoax of Global Warming Rush Limbaugh and I have had a good-natured mini-disagreement over his characterization of global warming as a “hoax”. President-elect Trump has also used the “hoax” term. I would like to offer my perspective on the ways in which global warming is indeed a “hoax”, but also a legitimate subject of scientific study. While it might sound cynical, global warming has been used politically in order for governments to gain control over the private sector. Bob Watson’s view was just one indication of this. As a former government employee, I can attest to the continuing angst civil servants have over remaining relevant to the taxpayers who pay their salaries, so there is a continuing desire to increase the role of government in our daily lives. In 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was given a legitimate mandate to clean up our air and water. I remember the pollution crises we were experiencing in the 1960s. But as those problems were solved, the EPA found itself in the precarious position of possibly outliving its usefulness. So, the EPA embarked on a mission of ever-increasing levels of regulation. Any manmade substance that had any evidence of being harmful in large concentrations was a target for regulation. I was at a Carolina Air Pollution Control Association (CAPCA) meeting years ago where an EPA employee stated to the group that “we must never stop making the environment cleaner” (or something to that effect). There were gasps from the audience. You see, there is a legitimate role of the EPA to regulate clearly dangerous or harmful levels of manmade pollutants. But it is not physically possible to make our environment 100% clean. As we try to make the environment ever cleaner, the cost goes up dramatically. You can make your house 90% cleaner relatively easily, but making it 99% cleaner will take much more effort. As any economist will tell you, money you spend on one thing is not available for other things, like health care. So, the risk of over-regulating pollution is that you end up killing more people than you save, because if there is one thing we know kills millions of people every year, it is poverty. Global warming has become a reason for government to institute policies, whether they be a carbon tax or whatever, using a regulatory mechanism which the public would never agree to if they knew (1) how much it will cost them in reduced prosperity, and (2) how little effect it will have on the climate system. So, the policy prescription does indeed become a hoax, because the public is being misled into believing that their actions are going to somehow make the climate “better”. Even using the IPCC’s (and thus the EPA’s) numbers, there is nothing we can do energy policy-wise that will have any measurable effect on global temperatures. In this regard, politicians using global warming as a policy tool to solve a perceived problem is indeed a hoax. The energy needs of humanity are so large that Bjorn Lomborg has estimated that in the coming decades it is unlikely that more than about 20% of those needs can be met with renewable energy sources. Whether you like it or not, we are stuck with fossil fuels as our primary energy source for decades to come. Deal with it. And to the extent that we eventually need more renewables, let the private sector figure it out. Energy companies are in the business of providing energy, and they really do not care where that energy comes from. The Dodgy Science of Global Warming The director of NASA/GISS, Gavin Schmidt, has just laid down the gauntlet with President-elect Trump to not mess with their global warming research. Folks, it’s time to get out the popcorn. Gavin is playing the same card that the former GISS director, James Hansen, played years ago when the Bush administration tried to “rein in” Hansen from talking unimpeded to the press and Congress. At the time, I was the Senior Scientist for Climate Studies at NASA/MSFC, and NASA had strict regulations regarding talking to the press and Congress. I abided by those regulations; Hansen did not. When I grew tired of them restricting my “freedoms” I exercised my freedom — to resign from NASA, and go to work at a university. Hansen instead decided to play the ‘persecuted scientist’ card. After all, he (and his supporters in the environmental community) were out to Save The Earth ™ , and Gavin is now going down that path as well. I can somewhat sympathize with Gavin that “climate change” is indeed a legitimate area of study. But he needs to realize that the EPA-like zeal that the funding agencies (NASA, NOAA, DOE, NSF) have used to characterize ALL climate change as human-caused AND as dangerous would eventually cause a backlash among those who pay the bills. We The People aren’t that stupid. So now climate research is finding itself at a crossroads. Scientists need to stop mischaracterizing global warming as settled science. I like to say that global warming research isn’t rocket science — it is actually much more difficult. At best it is dodgy science, because there are so many uncertainties that you can get just about any answer you want out of climate models just by using those uncertianties as a tuning knob. The only part that is relatively settled is that adding CO2 to the atmosphere has probably contributed to recent warming. That doesn’t necessarily mean it is dangerous. And it surely does not mean we can do anything about it… even if we wanted to.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Here's a silly little invention that is wonderful because it'll either make you more drunk or more human, preferably both. It's a beer glass. Huh? Yeah, the base of this beer glass is shaved down so that it needs to be rested on top of your cell phone to stand up straight. If you're too busy using your phone? The beer will spill over. If you want to be a human and talk to people? You can sit your beer down perfectly fine. The beer glass, designed by ad agency Fischer & Friends, was put to use in a bar in Sao Paolo, Brazil called Salve Jorge. The shaved off base creates an indentation that either makes you hold the beer glass and drink it or rest it on your phone and ignore Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, text messages and so forth. It's a hilarious way to combat people who just stare at their phones all the time, even when they're around other people. [Mauricio Perussi via Telegraph UK]	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The marijuana stock market has had a great deal of news which has helped to bring in a whole new series of investors and those interested into the marijuana space. The current state of acceptance in the marijuana stock market has created an ecosystem ripe with opportunity. Unlike other industries at the beginning of their lifespan, many of the small to mid-cap companies have seen a large amount of opportunity not otherwise afforded to these businesses. Because of this, investing in the cannabis space has been a very broad and interesting space to watch and participate in. Next Green Wave (NGW) has been one of the primary growers of vertical cannabis for some time now. Next Green Wave recently released the news that they would be entering into a letter of intent with Loud Seeds, LLC. The agreement shows that the former will take over 100% of Loud Seeds including the brand as well as all of its assets. The deal shows that around $2 million worth of common shares will be distributed which shows the amount of devotion that NGW has to bring new innovation into the marijuana stock market. Leigh Hughes, the executive chairman of NGW stated his excitement recently, sharing that “Being able to bring one of the best seed banks in the world into our nursery continues to differentiate Next Green Wave from other cultivators. We are excited to join an award-winning genetics portfolio with world-class breeding skills as the construction of our first facility nears completion and begins cultivation.” The type of cannabis that businesses have been able to produce is a very important variable to how well the business is perceived by the consumer. Aphria (OTC:APHQF) has been one of the primary players in the marijuana stock space for several years now. The company in recent times has been working create a massive presence around the world to help secure future growth for marijuana abroad as well as in the domestic space. Aphria has worked to build partnerships in over ten countries across five continents which shows the dedication that they have to success in the future. The recent news of Canadian sales of recreational cannabis going live was a major exposure boost for the Canadian business. CEO of Aphria, Vic Neufield stated in regard to this happening that “Today we celebrate the end of nearly a century of prohibition and the beginning of an exciting new chapter for the cannabis industry. The Cannabis Act, which comes into effect today, cements Canada’s global leadership in this rapidly expanding industry. This is a historic moment as we march into the future of cannabis.” Marijuana stocks have proven to be resilient to many of the more popular market fluctuations that have occurred in the past few months broadly. As we move forward to a legal cannabis system around the world, there are various steps that have to take place first. Companies like these have become the forefront fighters for broadening the marijuana stock space and continue to represent the future of how smoothly the market can run when operating at a full capacity. Pursuant to an agreement between an affiliate of MAPH Enterprises, LLC (owners of MarijuanaStocks.com), Midam Ventures LLC and Next Green Wave (NGW), Midam has been paid $150,000 from Next Green Wave (NGW) for a period from October 1, 2018 to November 8, 2018. Midam has been compensated an additional $100,000 and has extended its period of coverage to December 8, 2018. We may buy or sell additional shares of (NGW) in the open market at any time, including before, during or after the Website and Information, to provide public dissemination of favorable Information about Next Green Wave. Click Here For Full, Updated Disclaimer MAPH Enterprises, LLC \| (305) 414-0128 \| 1501 Venera Ave, Coral Gables, FL 33146 \| new@marijuanastocks.com	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
There's no denying the fact that the pollution in the oceans is not only threatening the lives of marine creatures, but also creating problems in human lives. The latest research speculated that there would be more plastic in the ocean than fishes by the end of 2050. While a guy from Arizona has started Trashtag Challenge to make the environment clean, two students have discovered a method to convert plastic into useful compounds and water. How They Developed Bacterium That Transforms Plastic into Useful Compounds Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao who have been working on their project for years said they developed a bacterium that could chemically breakdown plastic polymers. Finally, their product is reaping benefits. They have a way of recycling plastic pollution into useful compounds. Do you want to know how they did this? They used genetically engineered bacteria to break polymers such as polyethylene film to turn plastic into more valuable products. What’s amazing is the duo has received all the rights for the product and even secured funding of four hundred thousand dollars to create a product at the age of twenty years. They’re the Youngest Ever to Win Perlman Science Prize Source = Wonderfulengineering The duo has won five prizes for their innovation and became the youngest ever to win the Perlman science prize. They became famous overnight because of this bacterium that can convert plastic into the water. Moreover, this technology can also be used for creating raw materials for clothing and cleaning the beaches. What do you think- is it possible to stop people from using plastic? The same question came in their mind. Miranda said – “It is practically impossible to make people stop using plastic, we need technology to break the material, and everything becomes biodegradable.” The bacterium is developed into two parts where the plastics are dissolved, and enzymes are catalyzed. These elements are then covered in a biodigester station, where they function as if they are the leftovers of any food. You will be surprised to know that this process runs only for 24 hours and converts plastic into the water. The modified bacteria dissolve plastic into water and CO2. They believe that they can turn the plastic crisis into a great opportunity and disrupt the textile industry. You can check more details about their project BioCellection here. (15.1) The Story Behind this BioCellection Project Source = Cnn Unlike most of the people who have concerns about global warming but does not take any action to stop it, these girls took the matter seriously and developed the solution. Each year, we produce over 400 MM tons of plastic, and approximately 80-90% ends up in landfills. The conversion of plastic into usable material is challenging because currently, it is not feasible and economical. Today, we do not have great conversion technologies to enhance product value. Ultimately, global warming and plastic pollution is threatening the safety of wildlife and food exchange of over 4 billion people. According to a study, plastic accumulation is harmful to marine life. The plastic leftovers have been found in the stomachs of whales and turtles. The type of plastic used in bottles is lightweight and durable, but it is resistant to biodegradation. This is not the first time scientists worked on the conversion of plastics into usable materials. In 2016, the Japanese team from Keio University and Kyoto Institute of Technology run by Shosuke Yoshida collected over 200 PET contaminated samples, which include wastewater from plastic bottle recycling site. Then they tested the microbes to see if they were eating the PET (polyethylene terephthalate). It was discovered that there are bacteria responsible for degrading PET. The species was named as Ideonella Sakaiensis. The test proved that the species uses two enzymes to break the PET. Even after doing research, and finding that particular bacteria is responsible for eating plastics, it was not clear how and whether it will stop the plastic accumulation in the region. Now, Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao have developed a bacterium to stop plastic use. I think it is a great innovation! Let us know more about their vision and how can you buy this product. Their Vision and Idea Behind the Project Source = Theconversation The project tackles plastic pollution one step at a time. They started this with polyethylene and polystyrene films, which are the major cause of pollution. The goal is, to recycle the mixed & contaminated plastics that at present cannot be recycled into usable products. By coupling synthetic biology and chemistry, the plastic would break down into building blocks, and then converted into other materials. How Can You Buy This Product? No doubt, their innovation is amazing, and people would love to buy this product. Sadly, their product is not available in the market currently, but it would be commercially available in the coming two years. Watch How Jeanny & Miranda are Helping Restore our Oceans with Biotechnology: Final Words What do you think of this innovation? Isn’t it a great step by these students to protect our environment? Do you have any other idea about how you can stop the use of plastics? If so, share your views below.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
A British tourist and his French companion have been arrested in Peru after posing naked for photos at the ancient site of Machu Picchu. The police stopped 23-year-old Adam Burton and French national Eric Xavier Mariec, 28, while they were still naked at the ancient site, which re-opened this week after maintenance work. They were arrested on the spot and police later released the images from a mobile phone, showing the two men posing in body-builder stances with no clothes on. The police stopped 23-year-old Adam Burton and French national Eric Xavier Mariec, 28, while they were still naked at the ancient site, which re-opened this week after maintenance work They were arrested on the spot and police later released the images from a mobile phone, showing the two men posing in body-builder stances with no clothes on The men were prosecuted for offences against morality, according to state news agency Andina, and the photos were released to warn other tourists against lewd behaviour at the ancient site. The photos showed the Incan citadel in the background, which is a proud part of Peruvian heritage and one of the Seven Wonders Of The World. Millions of tourists from all over the world visit the site every year, which is set in the Andes mountains. It had been closed throughout February but the Inca trail route was open again on Tuesday, according to the Department of Culture of Cuzco. The incident is almost exactly two years after police in Peru announced a crackdown on tourists taking naked photos at the site after a number of online photos and videos emerged. Foreigners stripping off and streaking across the Incan ruins, prompting a response from the Ministry of Culture. In 2013, two Antipodeans - an 18-year-old Australian and 30-year-old New Zealander - were detained by guards for baring their backsides at the citadel. They were briefly held in custody and forced to delete naked photographs from their digital camera - but not before it had gone viral on Peruvian social media after it was 'irresponsibly published to the Internet,' a police statement said. 'They were made aware that it is totally forbidden to take photographs of this magnitude,' the report, obtained by local travel agency Fertur Peru Travel, added. In February 2014, a video was posted to YouTube showing a naked couple streaking across Machu Picchu, considered to be a sacred holy site, as a park guard gave chase. The couple could be seen running through the grass, holding their clothes in their hands, jumping over the ancient stone walls, and the incident was filmed by another tourist. The incident is also reminiscent of Eleanor Hawkins, a 24-year-old student who jailed last year for stripping off on a sacred mountain in Malaysia. Miss Hawkins, along with Canadian siblings Lindsey and Danielle Petersen and Dutch national Dylan Snel, pleaded guilty to a public nuisance offence after going topless while on Mt Kinabalu. A recent graduate with a masters degree from Southampton University, Miss Hawkins was in the middle of a gap year travelling around south-east Asia. A spokesman for Fertur Peru Travel, which organises tours to Machu Picchu, said: 'Stripping naked at Machu Picchu probably isn't a great idea, unless you want to be removed from the citadel and possibly face criminal charges. Prudish perhaps, but those are the rules.' An FCO spokesman said: 'We are in contact with local authorities in Peru following an incident involving a British national in Machu Pichu.' However, it is not believed that the FCO have been asked for any assistance in this case.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Exceedingly odd comment, but I do not think she'd enjoy that idea of "Frozen Fever Forever" because it might mean she'd have a fever Forever. I'm not making fun of you, this is a beautiful picture, but the idea is a lot of fun. I love her too- it's just a little crazy thinking of having a fever forever- that's all!	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Barely a month goes by without someone muttering optimistically about what Apple might be planning with Apple TV, or talking up how set top boxes, smart TVs and even game sticks could eventually usurp consoles as our living room gaming systems.The assumption seems to be that the technology at the heart of the current (and future) generation of these devices is already more than powerful enough to produce a great gaming experience.But while that's true, the appetite from the industry to support these platforms seems to be limited to say the least.A less polite assessment of the scene as it stands is that it's a bit of a joke. It's now a full year since Apple last updated its Apple TV range, and the initial momentum behind it - from a gaming perspective - has dwindled to a crawl.A year ago, Apple received plenty of praise for the promise of AirPlay gaming, with groundbreaking apps like Real Racing 2 showing the promise of dual screen gaming fully nine months before the Wii U came along and showed the world how to do it properly.After the initial flurry of support from a couple of dozen of games last Spring, it was evident that developers weren't focusing on AirPlay gaming at all.At least in part, this collective industry shrug was because Apple made it a strangely convoluted process for gamers to access this innovative feature, but also no doubt because of the control lag that tended to blight the experience.It was perhaps telling that Real Racing 3 launched a couple of weeks back without the much-trumpeted feature. If Apple's not getting behind the feature, why should anyone else?You'd imagine that other platforms would be taking full advantage of Apple's disinterest, but it's just as bad in smart TV land.Take the latest range of Samsung Smart TVs.In terms of design and functionality, they're a thing of great beauty. And if the bundled version of Angry Birds is anything to go by, they're fully capable of running familiar gaming apps in HD without really breaking sweat.Who knows what else these TVs could run? It's hard to tell, because right now the only other games available on the system are junk free apps that were considered crap in the early noughties. Why is there so little gaming content available? No-one's saying.Meanwhile, there are plenty of other set top boxes dabbling in the app gaming market with varying degrees of commitment.The Apple TV-esque Roku is one such example that I've played around with lately, and is probably one of the few to consider the potential outside of basic TV, movie and music streaming.Without delving too deep, you can find the likes of Fieldrunners, Storm In A Teacup, Pac-Man CE, Super Stickman Golf alongside the ubiquitous Angry Birds games.Sure, it's hardly going to keep Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft up all night, but it has always seemed like a no-brainer to offer simple games like these to the millions of casual gamers out there.Taking that a step further are upcoming platforms like Ouya and PlayJam's GameStick, which plan to take full advantage of the oceans of Android-compatible content out there.But while being able to access a vast catalogue of great games is theoretically attractive to gamers, both devices involve investing in another platform.I can't help but think that if you're that bothered about playing Android games on a big screen, you'll hook up your existing device to a TV and maybe grab a third party controller.To make this rather peculiar segment of the games market work for everyone, there needs to be an ease and ubiquity to it that is currently lacking.Only Android and iOS can legitimately claim to offer this to consumers, and the moment a TV or set top box takes advantage of this, consumers will doubtlessly get on board in compelling numbers.The basic point is that millions of consumers have spent years buying games and apps, and don't really appreciate having to start over.If they can seamlessly integrate their apps and purchasing history with that device without arbitrary gouging and penalties, they will gladly remain within that expanding content ecosystem.Apple must know this all-too-well. Like many millions of people out there, I've been locked into its ecosystem for years. With apps, it's approaching five years, and with other content it's nearly ten.However much I might like the look of a Galaxy S III or Windows Phone 8 device, I'm not going to kiss goodbye to that content archive lightly. The moment Apple pushes the button on a proper gaming-capable Apple TV, it's going to be extremely difficult to resist getting involved.I'm fully invested, and so are millions of others.But right now it's all ifs, buts and maybes. People might report on the latest rumours and try valiantly to read between the lines, but such all-encompassing entertainment systems won't launch until all the dots are joined up.In this case, these involve convincing vast, unyielding, unwieldy old media giants to buy into the idea, while also making devices cheap enough for us to want to replace our existing kit.Whoever manages to make this nightmarishly complicated scenario work internationally deserves to win, frankly. Until then, let's continue to endure this fractured no-man's land and wonder how it's all going to pan out.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
I cannot contain my excitement. I read a LOT as a kid. Tons. All kinds of stuff. I loved the older books, Cheaper by the Dozen, Nancy Drew, the intrepid Boxcar Children. You know what kids in those books often had? Green Stamps. Booklets, and stamps, and the store was involved, and you saved for stuff. Sisters fought with brothers over roller skates vs. microscopes. I remember wishing that somehow my grocery store would give me a microscope for collecting things. It’s possible the stamps were part of the war effort and my horrendous history education is confusing fiction with the era of women drawing lines on the back of their calves to emulate stockings. It’s possible romance novels have played too large a part in my history education. I’m still happy. Randalls is bringing back green stamps! For knives and stuff. I can’t believe I spent $80 there today and the damn thing starts tomorrow. More on that later. There was a reason, I swear. If you’re also now very excited, every $10 gets you a stamp. Stamps get you stuff. That’s all I know at this point because I’m a tiny blogger and Randalls isn’t sending me press releases (though they should, since I’m one of the few that hate them in a mocking way, rather that just hate them). Yes, I know it’s not a solid investment, But as someone that spends dollars at Randalls, between this and the gas rewards I’m amused by the weird way grocery pricing works. Here are the deals. Nothing too striking, just a few swipes at the Apple Wars to come. I hope you’ve stocked up on meat, since we’ve got a dry spell heading into the poultry bonanza of November. Cheep Cheep! Fiesta large avocados 69c/ea (C15) Fiesta long grain rice, 4lb sack $1.50/ea chicken drumsticks, large bag 39c/lb (Fiesta limit) center cut pork chops, bone in, value pack $1.79/lb (Fiesta limit) Randalls pork chops, assorted, bone-in, value pack $1.79/lb Pantry Essentials milk, gallon $1.99/ea Campbell’s condensed soup, selected varieties 50c/ea HEB red seedless grapes 87c/lb (DD) Gala, Fuji or Pink Lady apples 77c/lb (DD) organic Gala apples $1.97/lb (DD) whole pork butt or country style ribs $1.27/lb Sprouts seedless grapes 88c/lb (DD) cantaloupes 88c/ea (C15) organic Gala apples 98c/lb (DD) bulk oats 69c/lb frozen organic fruit/veg, selected, 12-16oz $2/ea Weekly Flyer Links	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc is expanding a financial advisory service for top executives to target millions of other affluent employees at some of the biggest U.S. companies, as it seeks to build its retail and wealth management businesses. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Dow Jones Industrial Average stock market index listed company Goldman Sachs (GS) is seen on the clothing of a trader working at the Goldman Sachs stall on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, United States April 16, 2012. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Goldman’s Ayco unit provides high-end tax and wealth advice to top executives at some 400 companies, including 60 Fortune 100 companies. According to the bank’s estimates these firms employ at least 8 million people and Goldman now wants them as clients, too. Goldman began rolling out a new Ayco personal finance website for rank-and-file workers in October and has so far signed up 70 companies. By the end of 2019, the bank hopes to have signed up around 100 companies, which employ 2 million employees, Larry Restieri, the unit’s chief executive, said in an interview this month. In recent weeks, it has also started pitching high-yield savings accounts and personal loans from its online bank Marcus through the Ayco website, Restieri added. The rollout is the latest effort of the Wall Street trading and advisory firm to reposition itself as a traditional bank. Goldman seeks to reach a wider customer base. Its trading business has been shrinking. In the first quarter, the bank’s corporate clients helped it grow mergers and acquisitions revenue but overall revenue slumped. Chief Executive David Solomon must deliver on a target of $5 billion in new annual revenue by 2020 or risk getting squeezed by rival behemoths like JPMorgan Chase & Co and Bank of America Corp . [tmsnrt.rs/2H81K9a] The bank took its first step toward that goal with the creation of Marcus in 2016. In March, Goldman announced a co-branded credit card with Apple Inc, which will connect it to hundreds of millions of iPhone users. Expanding Ayco is the next step into the $9 trillion U.S. mass affluent customer market and offers the bank an opportunity to gain new clients cheaply. The primary cost to the bank - developing the online platform - will be offset by fees companies will pay to offer the service to their workers, Goldman executives said. Some investors fret Goldman is expanding into an area where it has little experience. They worry the bank is making $40,000 personal loans and extending credit card debt to iPhone users when the economy is showing signs of slowing. Goldman thinks otherwise. Executives there say the Ayco expansion is part of a bigger plan, culminating with the launch of a retail wealth management offering later this year. Restieri said it is too early to put numbers on the contribution the expanded Ayco could make toward Goldman’s $5 billion goal. In November, the bank said that it was halfway toward meeting that target and that Ayco, along with private wealth management and asset management, had so far contributed $400 million. ONLINE QUESTIONNAIRE Ayco’s website, called Financial Wellness, starts with an online questionnaire. Employees of corporate clients such as Google’s parent Alphabet Inc answer questions like, “Do you generally live within your means?” and “Do you have an emergency fund?” After workers answer questions about their savings, credit card debt, student loans and other finances, Ayco offers what it calls solutions such as Marcus savings accounts, personal loans or products from other financial institutions. Adoption rates are a question. One company that offered a financial incentive got as much as 60 percent of its employees to use Financial Wellness. Others have seen lower pick-up rates. But as Ayco rolls out its mass-market offering, Restieri thinks it will benefit from brand cachet of having already served the bosses. “When this offering is presented to employees, the top C-suite of those companies would have already been using us for 10-15 years,” Restieri said.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
In just more than a week, the Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill has gone from its introduction as a fringe proposal to a serious prospect for overhauling the US healthcare system. Despite its rapid rise, the latest Republican attempt at repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, the healthcare law better known as Obamacare, faces challenges both policy-based and political. Perhaps one of the biggest challenges for the bill will come next week when the Senate parliamentarian – an umpire of sorts for the chamber’s rules – takes a look at the bill. The parliamentarian will evaluate whether parts of the Graham-Cassidy bill violate a provision known as the Byrd rule – and if certain aspects of the bill run into trouble, it could throw the entire legislation into jeopardy. A bit about the Byrd rule The Byrd rule, named for the West Virginia senator Robert Byrd, was passed in 1985 to erect guardrails on the types of bills that could be brought up through budget reconciliation. Reconciliation allows a bill to pass the Senate with just 50 votes and no threat of a filibuster to block the bill. Republicans, who control 52 Senate seats, are using the process to try to pass the Graham-Cassidy bill through the Senate without any Democratic votes. Lees ook op Business Insider Zalando start in oktober met de verkoop van tweedehands kleding in Nederland – klanten krijgen geen geld, maar een cadeaubon The Byrd rule, however, restricts what can be considered under budget reconciliation. If a provision of a bill is considered an “extraneous matter” or something “merely incidental” to the federal budget, it can be stripped out of the legislation. Byrd hunting The Graham-Cassidy bill will most likely be reviewed under the Byrd rule – a process colloquially known as a “Byrd bath” – sometime next week. Most healthcare experts say the focus will be on the bill’s proposed waivers that would allow states to relax Obamacare regulations, most notably so-called essential health benefits. EHBs are health services, including emergency-room visits and prenatal care, that Obamacare mandated must be covered under insurance plans. Under Graham-Cassidy, states could ease these rules or even eliminate EHBs if they could show that doing so would bring down overall health costs. Foto: President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. source Evan Vucci/AP Images A previous iteration of the Senate GOP’s healthcare bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act, already showed what may happen with the waivers in the new bill. During the Byrd bath, the waivers in the BCRA that allowed the loosening of EHBs and other regulations were deemed to have nothing to do with the budget and were ordered stripped from the bill. Health-policy experts say this could indicate that the waivers in the Graham-Cassidy bill will also have to be stripped. “My own prediction is that the parliamentarian is likely to strike the waiver provision,” said Daniel Hermel, an assistant law professor at the University of Chicago. “The state innovation waivers were cloaked in budgetary language (a state could qualify for a waiver only if it produced a plan that would not add to the federal deficit), but the parliamentarian evidently saw that the intent was to transform health insurance markets rather than save the federal government money,” Hermel wrote in a post on Tuesday. Foto: source Jacquelyn Martin/AP Images The language for the waivers, however, has been slightly tweaked from the BCRA’s iteration, designed to hold up under the Byrd bath. As Vox’s Dylan Scott reported, some experts believe it could be successful. Others, like the University of Michigan law professor Nicholas Bagley, say the parliamentarian won’t be fooled by what they see as a rewrite with a crystal-clear purpose. “The waiver provision is not exactly the same; it’s been drafted to dodge reconciliation concerns,” Bagley tweeted Wednesday. “But the dodge is transparent.” If the waivers are eliminated, the bill would simply shift the funding from the current percentage-based system, which adjusts based on how much money states actually spend, to the lump-sum block grants in the Graham-Cassidy bill. The block grants are much less generous overall than the current system. In such a circumstance, states would get less funding for healthcare with little of the freedom proposed by the bill’s authors.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
EU: Mit "nuklearer Option" gegen Ungarn Thomas Pany EU-Fraktionen wollen ein Rechtsstaatsverfahren vorbereiten. Die EU-Kommission droht wegen der Nichteinhaltung der Flüchtlingsvereinbarung mit dem nächsten Vertragsverletzungsverfahren Ungarn stand in den letzten Wochen durch eine Reihe von politischen Maßnahmen in der Kritik, zuletzt durch das neue ungarische Hochschulgesetz und durch das Gesetz zu Transitzonen für Asylsuchende. Auch die im Herbst vergangenen Jahres gescheiterte Volksabstimmung Ansiedlung "nicht-ungarischer Bürger" kam bei der EU nicht wirklich gut an. Kein Wunder war ihre Fragestellung doch auch gegen die Europäische Union gerichtet. Immer wieder wird von Kritikern der nationalistischen, "illiberalen Demokratie" (Orbans Rede, August 2014) darauf verwiesen, dass dies doch schlecht vereinbar sei: eine Politik, die im grundsätzlichen Konflikt mit Vorgaben der EU stehe, und zugleich das Ausschöpfen von Vorteilen der Gemeinschaft. Als Kritiker mit der schärfsten Forderung tat sich der Luxemburgische Außenminister Asselborn hervor, der im vergangenen Jahr forderte, dass Ungarn "vorübergehend oder notfalls für immer aus der EU ausgeschlossen" werde, weil dort "massiv Grundwerte der Europäischen Union verletzt" würden. "Diesmal soll Orban nicht so einfach davonkommen" So deutlich ist die Resolution, über heute im europäischen Parlament verhandelt wird, nicht. Aber sie geht in diese Richtung. Laut einem Tagesschau-Bericht sind sich Sozialdemokraten, Grüne, Linke und Liberale einig: "Diesmal soll Viktor Orban nicht so einfach davonkommen." Sie drohen, wie es die Tagesschau formuliert mit der "Atombombe" unter allen möglichen Strafmaßnahmen, nämlich mit einem Verfahren nach Artikel 7 des EU-Vertrages. Darin geht es um die "eindeutige Gefahr einer schwerwiegenden Verletzung der in Artikel 2 genannten Werte durch einen Mitgliedstaat". Gemeint sind Werte wie "Achtung der Menschenwürde, Freiheit, Demokratie, Gleichheit, Rechtsstaatlichkeit und die Wahrung der Menschenrechte". Das ist ziemlich schweres Geschütz. Auch die deutschsprachige ungarische Zeitung Pester Lloyd spricht in diesem Zusammenhang von "nuklearer Option". Nach der Feststellung einer schwerwiegenden Verletzung könnte nämlich beschlossen werden, "bestimmte Rechte auszusetzen, einschließlich der Stimmrechte". Die SPD-Europaabgeordnete Birgit Sippel wird von der Tageschau damit zitiert, dass es nach mehr als sechs Jahren Gespräche über unterschiedliche Gesetze in Ungarn, die in eine falsche Richtung gingen, Zeit werde, um ein klares Signal zu setzen: "Deshalb ist Artikel 7 jetzt mal angesagt." Hohe Mehrheitshürden, fehlende Einigkeit Wahrscheinlich muss sich Orban aber nicht wirklich fürchten, denn die Entsendung der EU-rechtlichen "Atombombe" benötigt große Einigkeit in der Sache. Sie setzt sehr hohe Mehrheitshürden. Wie schwierig es ist, Einigkeit zu erreichen zeigt sich im EU-Parlament: Neben dem Resolutionsantrag der Fraktion S&D (Sozialdemokratien), ALDE (Liberale), den Grünen und weiteren linken Gruppen, die für ein Rechtsstaatsverfahren plädieren, gibt es einen weiteren Resolutionsantrag von Manfred Weber, dem Fraktionschef der konservativen EVP. Der CSU-Politiker Weber ist dagegen, die "härteste Waffe zu zücken". Es würden ja Gespräche laufen ja zwischen der Kommission und der ungarischen Regierung. Man müsse "im Verfahren fair bleiben, in der Sache aber hart sein." Allerdings besteht nach Informationen des EU-Observers auch im Lager der EVP Uneinigkeit. Nicht alle sind dem ungarischen Regierungschef gegenüber so konziliant eingestellt, wie es CSU-Politiker sind. Manchen Abgeordneten aus der rechten Mitte hätten genug davon, Orban zu verteidigen. So könnte heute aus dem EU-Parlament ein Stimmungssignal nach Budapest erfolgen, das Orban gewisse Toleranzgrenzen seiner gegenüber der EU "auf Krawall gebürsteten Politik" (Pester Lloyd) zu berücksichtigen hat.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Här kan du läsa om fler förutsättningar för skattereduktion och hur du gör för att få reduktionen. Max 1 500 kronor i skattereduktion Skattereduktionen är 25 procent av gåvobeloppet och får högst vara 1 500 kronor per år. Det motsvarar gåvor på totalt 6 000 kronor per år. Har du givit gåvor för mindre än 2 000 kronor på ett år får du ingen skattereduktion. Om gåvan För att du ska kunna få skattereduktion måste det vara en penninggåva. Ändamålet du ger till ska vara att främja social hjälpverksamhet vetenskaplig forskning. Hjälpverksamheten kan vara ekonomisk eller bestå av stöd och omsorg till exempelvis personer med psykisk funktionsnedsättning, asylsökande eller socialt utsatta personer. Det är viktigt att du talar om för gåvomottagaren vilket ändamål gåvan ska användas till. Gör det senast vid gåvotillfället för att mottagaren ska kunna avgöra om gåvan ska ingå i underlaget för skattereduktion och därmed särskiljas från eventuella övriga gåvor. Ofta kan gåvomottagaren hjälpa dig med hur du ska göra. Gåvomottagaren ska lämna kontrolluppgift för gåvor som är skattereduktionsgrundande. Om du inte vill att kontrolluppgift ska lämnas kan du lämna gåvan anonymt, eller skänka pengar till ändamål som inte omfattas av reglerna för skattereduktion för gåva. Ett tredje alternativ är att du ger en gåva som inte uppgår till 200 kronor per gåvotillfälle. De gåvor som du ger kan lämnas till en eller till flera gåvomottagare. Varje enskild gåva måste vara minst 200 kronor för att den ska räknas med i underlaget för skattereduktion. Om du delar upp betalningen ses varje inbetalning som ett gåvotillfälle, även om betalningarna går till samma gåvomottagare. Gåvomottagaren måste vara godkänd För att du ska kunna få skattereduktion måste gåvomottagaren vara godkänd av Skatteverket när du ger gåvan. Det är din skyldighet att kontrollera detta vid varje gåvotillfälle. Det är organisationen som själv ansöker om att bli godkänd gåvomottagare. Ett beslut om godkännande gäller från den dag beslutet fattats och tre år efter detta år. Godkännandet kan sedan förnyas. Om ett godkännande återkallas på mottagarens begäran eller på Skatteverkets initiativ, gäller godkännandet gentemot dig som givare fram till beslutet om återkallelse. Det betyder att du som givare är skyddad om du vid gåvotillfället kontrollerat att givaren var godkänd. Ett godkännande för en stiftelse, ideell förening eller registrerat trossamfund innebär inte alltid att all den verksamhet som de bedriver omfattas av godkännandet. En gåvomottagare kan nämligen både ha verksamhet som omfattas av godkännandet och verksamhet som inte omfattas. Det är viktigt att du senast vid gåvotillfället talar om för gåvomottagaren vilket ändamål gåvan ska användas till. På så sätt kan mottagaren avgöra om gåvan ska ingå i underlaget för skattereduktion och därmed särskiljas från eventuella övriga gåvor. Vem kan få skattereduktion? Det är bara privatpersoner som har rätt till skattereduktion för gåvor. Du måste fylla 18 år senast den 31 december det år du ger gåvan. Dessutom krävs det att du betalar skatt för alla dina inkomster i Sverige, oavsett vilket land inkomsterna kommer ifrån. Du kan också få skattereduktion om du inte är bosatt i Sverige men betalar skatt för alla dina inkomster, och har begärt att få betala skatt enligt inkomstskattelagen i stället för att betala särskild inkomstskatt. I så fall måste dina sammanlagda inkomster, uteslutande eller så gott som uteslutande, förvärvats i Sverige. För att kunna få skattereduktionen krävs det också att du har tillräckligt med skatt att räkna av skattereduktionen mot. Skattereduktion räknas av mot kommunal och statlig skatt, statlig fastighetsskatt och kommunal fastighetsavgift efter en särskild turordning. Ett dödsbo kan få skattereduktion om den avlidne själv har lämnat gåvan före dödsfallet. Dödsbons gåvor eller gåvor som lämnas i ett testamente ger inte rätt till skattereduktion. Du kan också få skattereduktion om du ska ta upp värdet av en gåva som inkomst i din inkomstdeklaration. Värdet av en gåva kan till exempel vara om din arbetsgivare ger en gåva på minst 200 kronor till en godkänd gåvomottagare i ditt namn. Då ses det som en skattepliktig löneförmån. Omkostnader för en gåva får inte räknas med i gåvounderlaget. Hur får jag skattereduktionen? För att få skattereduktion ska du lämna ditt personnummer till gåvomottagaren. Är alla förutsättningar för att få skattereduktion uppfyllda, behöver du inte göra något mer. Både svenska och utländska godkända gåvomottagarna är nämligen skyldiga att lämna kontrolluppgifter till Skatteverket för de gåvor som de har tagit emot och som omfattas av dessa bestämmelser. Gåvomottagaren ska också lämna ett meddelande till dig som gåvogivare med samma uppgifter som finns i kontrolluppgiften. Kontrolluppgifterna ligger sedan till grund för det underlag för skattereduktion som blir förifyllt i din inkomstdeklaration. Vet gåvomottagaren ditt personnummer ska de lämna kontrolluppgift till Skatteverket. Du kan inte tacka nej till att en kontrolluppgift lämnas. Lämnar du däremot gåvan anonymt har mottagaren vare sig skyldighet eller möjlighet att lämna kontrolluppgift. Om du inte vill att en kontrolluppgift ska lämnas kan du alltså lämna gåvan anonymt, alternativt till ändamål som inte omfattas av reglerna för skattereduktion för gåva. Ett tredje alternativ är att du ger en gåva som inte uppgår till 200 kronor per gåvotillfälle. I din inkomstdeklaration kommer ett sammanlagt gåvobelopp mellan 2 000 kronor och 6 000 kronor att vara förifyllt. Varje gåvomottagares namn respektive mottaget gåvobelopp kommer att finnas angivet, förutsatt att gåvobeloppet är minst 200 kronor vid varje gåvotillfälle. Skattereduktionen beräknas utifrån dessa uppgifter. Begära rättelse Har en gåvomottagare inte lämnat någon kontrolluppgift eller lämnat en felaktig kontrolluppgift till Skatteverket kan du begära rättelse under Övriga upplysningar i din inkomstdeklaration. Skriv namnet på den godkända gåvomottagaren och det totala gåvobeloppet. Du behöver inte skicka med utdrag från ditt konto eller liknande när du deklarerar; vid en eventuell förfrågan från Skatteverket ska du kunna visa att du har haft utgift för gåvan. Under Övriga upplysningar kan du även begära att ta bort redan förifyllt underlag om du inte önskar skattereduktion för de gåvor som du har lämnat.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Come 12th June, the world will be seeing the commencement of the world's biggest Sporting championship in the form Of the FIFA World Cup to be held in Brazil this year. Brazil being the host has gone out of the way in upgrading and developing its infrastructure so as to make it comfortable for the players and well as the audience to have the most enjoyable experience in the their country. There are many facts related to the Soccer World Cup that most people have no idea about. For instance, not many know that the trophy went missing for almost one week before the commencement of the 1966 World Cup.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Broken bones and apocalyptic destruction are as inseparable as preppers and bug-out-bags. So in this, our second post on fracture care (click here to review our first), we’ll be showing you everything you need to know about treating broken bones when medical help is not available. Treating Non-Union Fractures When a bone has been broken and its ends are still touching, it has a good chance of healing with a cast. If the broken ends are not aligned, or are not touching properly, the bone may not heal at all. This condition is called “non-union.” Some fractures may never heal if not reset to their proper positions. Bone setting is known as “reduction” in the medical world. Open reduction is something a surgeon does through an operation. A pin or metal fixation device is inserted, bringing the ends together, and fixing the bone in place. In the field, only closed reduction is possible. Here the bones are moved around by hand and worked back into correct alignment before the cast is applied. Doing this can be painful and challenging. It probably shouldn’t be entertained unless the broken bone has cut off the blood supply to the rest of the extremity. Some fractures will cause this, they’ll pinch or crowd off the blood supply distal to the break. Realigning the bone by moving the broken ends close to one another, should be attempted whenever this occurs (but only if medical help is not immediately available). Most people know how to feel for a radial pulse, if it’s present after a break, you’re probably okay. If not, try to set the bone with the intention of restoring the pulse. Treating Greenstick (Chalkstick) Fractures Greenstick fractures occur mostly in children and young adolescents. Their bones aren’t as brittle as adult’s, and the bone’s covering is thicker. The ends remain attached with this fracture, but are often offset at an angle. The bone covering, called periosteum, contains nerve endings and is responsible for the pain caused in fractures. Normally a physician will grasp both ends of the broken bone, and with a twist of the wrists, break the periosteal attachment so the bone doesn’t heal at an angle. This can be quite difficult to do without an X-ray and analgesia. It’s unlikely you would ever have to set a greenstick fracture, usually you’ll need an X-ray to know this type of break is present in the first place. Regardless of the fracture type, if you don’t feel comfortable setting it, then just cast the extremity when the swelling goes down (use a splint until then.) It may heal at an angle, but at least it will heal. Recent studies have shown that greenstick fractures that are not re-broken, may heal better in a removable splint than a cast. Take a few minutes and watch some YouTube videos on splinting, and casting with plaster. SAM Splint Application and other Splinting Techniques Casting is tricky in the field. You probably won’t have the plaster or fiberglass needed. Pre-manufactured aircasts and pneumatic splints are available, and take up little room. They work best if the patient can remain immobile. If you do cast, remember that before applying any constrictive casting, swelling in the extremity must be allowed to resolve, otherwise the cast will fit too loosely later. This video shows you a SAM splint technique known as the “sugar tong.” But you can also apply an aircast or plaster splint if that’s what you have available. SAM Splint Techniques and Modifications SAM Splints are some of the most versatile and space saving devices for treating orthopedic injuries. Sometimes you’ll need to immobilize two joints (remember you have to immobilize a joint above and below the fracture to ensure it heals correctly). So it makes sense to drop two into your med kit. Click the following link to learn more and / or purchase the SAM Splint kit which I and others most frequently recommend. Applying Improvised Splints – Magazines and Newspapers Magazines, even thick rolls of newspaper, can be used as a splint or makeshift cast. Reinforced with duct tape, they can be left on for the duration. In a psychiatric ward where I once worked, we had to cast (actually splint) patients with newspapers and tape, because they would often assault one another with their “fiber-glassed” arms. This worked well until a patient took off the newspaper and honed it into a cone, then stabbed a person in the abdomen with it. None of us saw that coming. But it’s something to keep in mind if you’re treating a person that’s a threat to themselves or someone else. If someone in your group has had a cast before, enlist their help with the technique. They will know how it should fit and feel, having worn one for two months themselves. If you do decide to buy casting material, purchase the old fashion plaster type. The fiberglass variety is difficult to remove, dries up in the package quickly, and is nearly impossible to remove without a special saw. Plaster casting comes apart when it gets wet, so it must be covered with plastic while bathing. But this can also work to your advantage. When the time comes to remove it, soak it instead of trying to saw it off. Children are in a constant and dynamic state of growth. Their fractures heal quickly, about twice the rate of an older adolescent or adult. For fractures of the arm, their casts should be removed after three or four weeks, while the adolescent and adult will require six to eight weeks before healing is complete. Treating Open Fractures Compound or open fractures occur when a sharp bone fragment has pierced through the skin. Fortunately these don’t occur often, as they usually require a tremendous amount of force. Often the real problem is in trying to figure out if the skin above the fracture has been broken by a sharp bone fragment, or by the trauma that caused the break. Without an X-ray it can be difficult. This is important because the natural impulse is to probe the wound to find out. Doing this is of little value. And almost guarantees the patient will get a deep infection of the bone. So keep the wound sterile, especially for the first 24-48 hours while it’s sealing over. My recommendation would be to use a SAM splint technique, and not cast a simple open fracture (where the skin is broken but the bone is not sticking out). Try to keep the extremity immobilized. If you put a cast over it, you won’t be able to see if the wound has become infected. Also put a sterile dressing over the wound, and do not take it off any more than necessary to look at it. Studies have shown this increases the rate at which the bone gets infected. The person can become septic and die before you even know what’s happening. To review our first post on fracture care Click Here. The above is adapted from: Click to order from Amazon.com -ThePrepperPages.com	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
(CNN) At the age of 19, a young woman from Hoover, Alabama traveled to Syria to join ISIS -- the so-called "Islamic State." Five years and three husbands later, she says she regrets what she did and is begging to return to the US. In a recent handwritten note obtained by CNN from a family representative, Hoda Muthana writes , "When I left to Syria I was a naive, angry, and arrogant young woman. I thought that I understood my religious beliefs." But after witnessing the devastation of war, including the death of two husbands, Muthana said she became disillusioned. "During my years in Syria I would see and experience a way of life and the terrible effects of war which changed me. Seeing bloodshed up close changed me. Motherhood changed me. Seeing friends, children, and the men I married dying changed me," the now 24-year-old wrote. "Seeing how different a society could be compared to the beloved America I was born and raised into changed me. Being where I was and seeing the (people) around me scared me because I realized I didn't want to be a part of this. My beliefs weren't the same as theirs." CNN has not yet been able to speak with her directly. Outspoken support Once described as shy and reserved by a high school classmate, Muthana was fiercely outspoken in her support for jihad after joining ISIS. During the height of the self-declared caliphate, Muthana posted tweets calling for violence, according to the Program on Extremism at the George Washington University. "Hoda was right in the mix for English language propagandists," said terror researcher Seamus Hughes. "We followed her for a number of years. She was a key node." She demanded more Americans come to the self-proclaimed Caliphate and join the fight with ISIS. Coalition jets hit ISIS positions in Susa, Syria, in January. "Soooo many Aussies and Brits here, but where are the Americans, wake up u cowards," she posted in January 2015. And under the name Umm Jihad, she encouraged attacks in the US, tweeting this exhortation in March 2015: "Go on drive-bys and spill all of their blood, or rent a big truck and drive all over them." According to Mia Bloom, who tracks female jihadis at Georgia State University, "She was one advocating for extreme violence, especially against American military and servicemen." JUST WATCHED ISIS wife: It was like Tinder Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH ISIS wife: It was like Tinder 05:43 Regret In a February 19 interview with ABC News, Muthana said she is now ashamed of those posts, and wishes she could take them back. She said she feels remorse and sorrow and regret, and begged to return home. "I hope America doesn't think I'm a threat to them and I hope they can accept me," she told ABC. But if she does end up returning to the US, it may not be on her own terms. Hassan Shibly, head of Florida's Council on American-Islamic Relations and a representative for her family, said the family understands Muthana may be prosecuted, believes in the legal system, and asks only for due process. The Justice Department did not comment on whether she would be extradited or prosecuted. State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said Tuesday that he could not discuss her particular case, but said that for any ISIS members in Syria, the department's policy, "in this regard, would be to repatriate them -- and that's what we call on all countries to do." Asked if ISIS members could be sent to the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Palladino would only say: "The US government is considering various alternative disposition options, for foreign terrorist fighters who cannot be repatriated." JUST WATCHED CNN goes inside last ISIS enclave Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH CNN goes inside last ISIS enclave 01:55 Kurdish refuge According to Muthana, she ran away from ISIS a few weeks ago and headed for the Kurdish area in northern Syria, where she is now in a camp for the displaced with her 18-month-old son. In her note, she speaks of her son's future. "In my quiet moments -- in between bombings, starvation, cold, and fear -- I would look at my beautiful little boy, and know that I didn't belong here, and neither did he," she wrote. Only now does she "really understand how important the freedoms that we have in America are." But Hughes, the researcher, has words of caution. "Let's not put a rosy color on what she did," he said. "She joined a foreign terrorist organization."	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
I'd love to hear your opinion on what this means, not only for Medicaid, but for this broad swath of federal programs that use incentives to get cooperation from the states. My initial reaction is it probably isn't going to mean a whole lot for the Medicaid expansion in the Affordable Care Act, because the Medicaid expansion is such a good deal for the states. You'll probably hear a lot of complaining about it, and then quiet acceptance by the complaining states. The $64,000 question as to Medicaid is how many states are going to decide that they don't want to cover this expanded population, even with the very substantial financial incentive. I think the bigger concern is for other cooperative federal spending programs. This is the first time the Supreme Court has ever invalidated a condition on federal spending on the grounds that it coerced the states. That's a big deal. That's a really big deal. The court has a couple times in the past suggested that there might possibly be a condition that's coercive. But it's never found something coercive until now. The grounds on which they found this Medicaid expansion to be coercive are not entirely easy to figure out. But they are problematic for other federal spending laws, for other cooperative federal programs. I could foresee, and I do foresee, that there will be a number of challenges over the next months and years to a number of cooperative federal spending programs, like the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, particularly depending on what changes ultimately get made to No Child Left Behind and what kind of regulations get imposed on states for federal education funds. I think there could be challenges to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. There could be challenges to the civil rights statutes that impose conditions on the states that accept federal funds, like the Rehabilitation Act, which prohibits disabilities discrimination. So there are lots of possibilities that are opened up by this ruling to challenge well-entrenched cooperative federal spending programs. Those opportunities didn't exist before today because the court had never a condition on federal spending coercive to the states. If this part of the ruling were its own separate decision, it would be a landmark case in the history of federalism jurisprudence. Or that's how it seemed to me. Do you agree? So it is a fractured opinion, there is no majority opinion on the question. So we don't know exactly how much of a watershed this will be. But yes, I will say that if the Medicaid issue were not in the same case as the individual mandate, people would be talking today about what looks like a very significant decision to potentially significantly limit federal conditional spending power, absolutely. We still have to work out exactly what it means. But it is seven justices who voted to conclude that Congress has coerced the states by threatening to take away Medicaid funds from states that don't want to expand Medicaid.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Roller coasters are pretty scary. Some of them go fast, some of them go upside down. And some of them make your son, Callum, disappear. Well, maybe not the roller coaster itself, but in The Park, a new single-player horror game from Funcom, you play as a mother whose son goes missing in a creepy amusement park. It’s their first single-player game since 2006’s Dreamfall: The Longest Journey and draws upon the existing narrative universe in their MMO The Secret World. Funcom CEO Rui Casais implies The Park might not actually be the last in potential series of short, single-player experiments in the press release: "[It’s] actually the outcome of what started with a small group of developers experimenting with new concepts and looking at how we could draw upon the universes we have built for our massively multiplayer online games and expand upon them into smaller-scale single-player games.” While the trailer and release don’t detail how The Park will play, I’m into the premise and idea of pulling stories from existing universes as a place to experiment with shorter narrative games. The Park comes out this October.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Maire Rose Connor A 1930s Tube Train Is Returning To London... And You Can Ride It! Join us to chat about all things related to London transport on our new Facebook group, Londonist Roundel Ramblings — everyone welcome. Woo! Woooo! Start perfecting those pin curls and brushing up on your vintage slang — you could be taking a trip to 1930s London. On Sunday 19 May, London Transport Museum is hosting one of its famous heritage vehicle outings: meaning you've got the rare chance to ride a genuine 1938 art deco tube train. Three trips along the Piccadilly line run as follows: Northfields to Oakwood and back to Northfields. Two trips to Northfields, Heathrow Terminals 4 and back to Northfields. Mmmm... we can practically feel that retro moquette already. The journey to Oakwood aboard the beautifully restored train costs £35 for adults and £25 for kids over 11 and concessions. The shorter trips to Heathrow cost £25 for adults and £20 for kids and concessions. Keep an eye on the website for tickets.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
I'm so sorry it has taken me so long to post. I got some fantastic books from my book Santa! I'm so excited to read Sandman! Thanks so much, stranger!, for indulging my graphic novel obsession!	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
A man who drove the wrong-way down a one-way street in Philadelphia Friday night is nursing gunshot wounds in a Center City hospital after a pedestrian shot him, police said. The 61-year-old pickup truck driver was traveling in the wrong direction along N. 12th Street near Fairmount Avenue in North Philadelphia around 5:30 p.m., police said. As he tried to make a turn onto Fairmount Avenue, the truck nearly hit a man walking across the street, police said. Enraged over the near-miss, police said the pedestrian then pulled out a handgun and fired on the driver, who was hit with bullets four times in the right leg. The driver fled the area and drove to the emergency room at nearby Hahnemann University Hospital. He remains hospitalized in stable condition. The pickup truck, pocked with bullet holes and several broken windows, remains parked along Vine Street outside the hospital. Police said the vehicle is being treated as a crime scene. Police characterized the shooting victim's wrong-way driving as a mistake. The shooter remains at large. He is described as a 25-year-old man with a heavy build standing about 5-feet-11-inches tall.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
2015 - Bernie Sanders Goes Trick-or-Treating Published on Oct 31, 2015 Bernie Sanders took his grandkids trick-or-treating in New Hampshire. 6 Tweet	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Russian artist Dmitry Maximov creates sad mini monsters that are trying to tell us something. Living amongst us, they live a simple life, all they want to do is help us through this crazy and chaotic world..if only we would listen. Via	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Protecting E-Mail from Eavesdropping In the wake of the Snowden NSA documents, reporters have been asking me whether encryption can solve the problem. Leaving aside the fact that much of what the NSA is collecting can’t be encrypted by the user — telephone metadata, e-mail headers, phone calling records, e-mail you’re reading from a phone or tablet or cloud provider, anything you post on Facebook — it’s hard to give good advice. In theory, an e-mail program will protect you, but the reality is much more complicated. The program has to be vulnerability-free. If there is some back door in the program that bypasses, or weakens, the encryption, it’s not secure. It’s very difficult, almost impossible, to verify that a program is vulnerability-free. The user has to choose a secure password. Luckily, there’s advice on how to do this. The password has to be managed securely. The user can’t store it in a file somewhere. If he’s worried about security for after the FBI has arrested him and searched his house, he shouldn’t write it on a piece of paper, either. Actually, he should understand the threat model he’s operating under. Is it the NSA trying to eavesdrop on everything, or an FBI investigation that specifically targets him — or a targeted attack, like dropping a Trojan on his computer, that bypasses e-mail encryption entirely? This is simply too much for the poor reporter, who wants an easy-to-transcribe answer. We’ve known how to send cryptographically secure e-mail since the early 1990s. Twenty years later, we’re still working on the security engineering of e-mail programs. And if the NSA is eavesdropping on encrypted e-mail, and if the FBI is decrypting messages from suspects’ hard drives, they’re both breaking the engineering, not the underlying cryptographic algorithms. On the other hand, the two adversaries can be very different. The NSA has to process a ginormous amount of traffic. It’s the “drinking from a fire hose” problem; they cannot afford to devote a lot of time to decrypting everything, because they simply don’t have the computing resources. There’s just too much data to collect. In these situations, even a modest level of encryption is enough — until you are specifically targeted. This is why the NSA saves all encrypted data it encounters; it might want to devote cryptanalysis resources to it at some later time. Posted on July 8, 2013 at 6:43 AM • 61 Comments	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
– Det är ganska många. Jämför man till exempel med andra världskriget var det bara omkring 180 svenska frivilliga i SS, säger Hans Brun som forskar om kontraterrorism vid Kings College i London. Av de 125 svenskarna är 90 män och 35 kvinnor, enligt Säpo. 40 unga svenska män har hittills dött i strider, men Säpochefen Anders Thornberg säger att siffran kan vara högre. Bland dem som åkt ned finns även barn, enligt Thornberg. Många dör Förlustsiffrorna är förhållandevis höga, ungefär tio procent. Det är avsevärt högre än vad som anses acceptabelt för reguljära styrkor. – De är ofta dåligt utbildade och har begränsad sjukvård. Men det anses också positivt att dö, att bli martyr. De är en sorts bärsärkar 2.0, en högteknologisk variant som inte är rädda för att dö för sin sak, säger Hans Brun. – Männen är där för att strida, men de är också där tillsammans med sina familjer för att bilda en stat, ett kalifat, säger Anders Thornberg till TV4 Nyhetsmorgon. Kvinnornas uppgift är att hjälpa till med logistik, utbildning av barn och att vårda andra kvinnor och barn. – Men främst ska de gifta sig och föda fram nya jihadister, säger Hans Brun. Rekryteringen ökar 115 svenskar har återvänt hem, samtliga dessa är identifierade av Säpo. Rekryteringen ökar fortfarande, men färre återvänder hem. Enligt Thornberg kan det bero på att de inte tillåts lämna. – Vi tror inte att det är 115 potentiella terrorister som kommer hem. Men de som kommer hem kan få lite av en rockstjärnestatus och bli förebilder för andra ungdomar. Vår uppgift är att identifiera och sortera ut dem. Finns det en eller två som är terrorister så måste vi göra något åt dem, säger han till Nyhetsmorgon. Den föreslagna lagen mot terrorresor kan göra det svårare att få information, enligt Säpochefen, som dock välkomnar skärpningen av lagstiftningen. – En nackdel är att vi inte får använda Försvarets radioanstalt, som vi använder för att spana i utlandet. Det är delvis därför vi har så bra koll på vad de gör och när de kommer hem, säger han till TV4. Löfven: Oacceptabelt Statsminister Stefan Löfven reagerar ”med avsmak” på uppgifterna om svenskarna som krigar för IS i Irak. – Att kriga för de här grupperna, till exempel IS, är fullständigt oacceptabelt, säger Löfven till TT. För en månad sedan presenterade regeringen förslag till en ny nationell strategi mot terrorism. Där finns en rad åtgärder, bland annat kriminalisering av terrorkrigsresor och organisering, rekrytering och finansiering av resorna. – Det kan säkert uppkomma behov av ännu fler åtgärder vad det lider. Men nu inväntar vi riksdagens behandling av de här förslagen, säger inrikesminister Anders Ygeman till TT. Anders Ygeman tycker att Säpos öppenhet kring sitt arbete mot terrorresorna är mycket bra. -Det räcker inte med att Säpo bekämpar terrorkrigsresor och radikalisering, vi måste ha med oss hela samhället. Och då är det förebyggande arbetet med att strypa nyrekryteringen en viktig del, säger Ygeman.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Reddit banned “alt-right” subreddit, /r/altright, on Wednesday, quickly sparking speculation online as to why the popular channel was shut down. Users who attempt to enter the page receive an error message, which explains the subreddit was banned due to a violation of “content policy, specifically the proliferation of personal and confidential information.” A similar subreddit, titled /r/alternativeright, was also banned, though the page didn’t list a specific reason for the removal. Reddit simply states that the channel violated “the Reddit rules.” “Alt-right” refers to an extreme right-wing movement whose members often espouse white nationalism. Its supporters have been a vocal presence in a number of controversial and conspiracy-fueled Reddit discussion threads. Get Breaking News Delivered to Your Inbox The company explained to CBS News in a statement via email that /r/altright was banned for “repeated” violations of terms of the site’s content policy. “Reddit is the proud home to some of the most authentic conversations online,” a spokesman said, explaining that Reddit is clear in its terms of service that users and communities can get banned for violations. “We strive to be a welcoming, open platform for all by trusting our users to maintain an environment that cultivates genuine conversation and adheres to our content policy.” According to CNET, some /r/altright users had been engaged in recent efforts to “dox” or expose private information about the person who reportedly punched white nationalist leader Richard Spencer in the face during an interview in Washington, D.C. on Inauguration Day. However, Reddit did not confirm that doxxing was the reason for the ban. The ban was enacted the day Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian shared an open letter to the Reddit community, speaking out against President Donald Trump’s executive order halting refugees and nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Reddit says it will continue to monitor subreddits for possible site violations. “There is no single solution to these issues and we are actively engaging with the Reddit community to improve everyone’s experience,” a spokesman said.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Incoming: Guild Missions By GM Amelia Hi-ya, Elpeeps! Are you willing to take one for the team?! For tomorrow’s patch, we’re introducing Guild Missions, an additional system in Elsword Online that gives players a chance to earn guild honor points for their respective guilds, as well as exclusive rewards—El Energy Fuel, Weird El Tree Seed, and Profession EXP 20% Medal—through the weekly missions. Not a guild member yet? There’s now an epic quest for that. Watch out for it once you reach Lv. 20! What’s more, we’re making it extra exciting with a special Guild PVP event! For the next two weeks, the 3 vs. 3 Guild PVP option will be open for one hour at a time—once on weekdays, and twice a day on weekends. Up for grabs are the very elusive one-day Powerful Guild gold, silver, and bronze titles for the top 3 ranked guilds of the hour! At the same time, you can also participate in the special events called Absolute Class, where you can earn Class Points and trade them in for rewards such as Luriel’s Magic Amulets, Ice Burners, Fossil Readers, and more. Play daily for your Premium Class Attendance Stamps, which you can also trade in for rewards through Glave. Guild PVP ranks 1 to 100 get class points, too! Hop right to it once the patch kicks in tomorrow! Item Mall Goodies Have you been waiting for the perfect accessories to go with your wedding costume? Well, they’re arriving with this patch! Check out the wedding accessories that appear to be from Charming Cupid himself. Finally, be the cat’s meow with the newest customization item. Get your Cat’s Eyes tomorrow! See y’all in-game!	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Almost Human alum Anthony Konechny is set for a recurring role on the upcoming fourth season of the CW’s Supergirl. Konechny will play Agent Jensen, a DEO agent recruited by Alex (Chyler Leigh) who struggles to find his footing at the DEO. His character will be introduced in the season premiere on Sunday, October 14. In Season 3, Kara (Melissa Benoist) grappled with the sacrifices she’d made and whether she should give up her human identity altogether while still battling the threats to National City, including new villains Morgan Edge (Adrian Pasdar), and the “Worldkiller,” known as Reign (Odette Annable). Based on the DC Comics characters, Supergirl is executive produced by Greg Berlanti (Arrow, The Flash), Jessica Queller (Gilmore Girls, Felicity), Robert Rovner (Crossing Jordan, American Dreams), and Sarah Schechter (Blindspot, The Mysteries of Laura). Konechny recently wrapped films 2 Hearts and Noelle. His TV credits include Almost Human and Witches of East End. He’s repped by Robert Stein Management, Play Management, and Global Artists.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Preparing the right food survival kit is one of the most challenging factors in making sure that you and your family will survive a disaster. Although it sounds easy there are a lot of important things that needs to be considered when planning which food to store like knowing what each of your family member likes or dislikes, storage space, shelf life, medical needs and nutritional concerns. Before going through the details of your food storage plan it is important to understand the 3 main factors that could make your planning easier and effective and that is space, shelf life, and survival food selection. Space Considerations According to FEMA recommendation each family member should have a three-day food and water supply. Although it doesn’t sound like a lot, proper storage could ensure this survival food lasts as long as possible. If you are looking to store more food that will last for more days you will need a lot of space to store it all. Keeping your food storage dry and kept at a minimum light exposure will make your food supply deteriorate less quickly. Shelving is also a good option for storing your food items like canned goods, packed food, and more. Using plastic rubber maid totes is also advisable as it can be stacked on top of each other conserving a lot of space. When buying your supplies you might need to consider buying specially made freeze-dried and dehydrated foods as they are packed to take up less space. Shelf Life Freeze-dried and dehydrated food (like this) is considered to be the ultimate survival food because it doesn’t have a lot of moisture content which makes it less likely to spoil faster and has a shelf life of up to 25 years. Canned goods on the other hand can last up to many years but needs to be changed with the regular meals as their expiration date draws near. As Redditor J973 pointed out however, he is more than comfortable with eating canned goods beyond their expiration date Many canned foods like some veggies, beans and meats have a MUCH LONGER SHELF LIFE THAN A YEAR….. and that’s just the expiration date that is arbitrarily stamped on there, I would feel comfortable eating many foods well past the stamped date. I have bought canned beans that have an expiration date of 2017, that is way more than a year. Home canned and pickled stuff can last YEARS. Dry canned rice, beans and flour can also last years. Foods that are high in fat and snack foods are the fastest to spoil so they should be changed when needed. Food supplies that have expiration dates should be stored in an accessible area. Remember to keep any food item that is not airtight to be stored in an airtight container. Here’s a video of how to properly store food for emergency survival. Picking the Right Foods Knowing the right food to store and the right place to store them is very important to ensure your survival in a disaster. Having the right plan on how you should you use the food on your stock pile and being able to provide the basic food everyone in your family should have will make the difference in a survival situation. Everyone knows that wheat, milk, honey, and salt are the four basic products that should be included in a good food survival plan. You have to keep in mind that eating wheat meal after meal may have negative effects on the human body. A lot of people are allergic to wheat and statistics show that having a diet rich in wheat for a long period of time is not applicable to a lot of people because of its negative effects. It is best to include other foods on hand and not have wheat as your main staple. If you want to include wheat on your basic survival plan just be sure that no one in your group is allergic. Including other staples in your plan is recommended to allow you to change things up and give your body the nutrients it needs to be healthy from different sources. Foods such as dehydrated and freeze dried foods, canned goods, and powdered eggs are great food staples that you can add on your food storage plan. Vitamins are very important and should always be included in your emergency storage. As your space will be limited and the time may come when you are unable to get a healthy meal, vitamins can give your body the nutrients it needs, but keep in mind that vitamins alone cannot keep you healthy. It is still best to keep a variety of food storage supplies to meet most of your body’s needs. Foods that are easy to prepare and do not require cooking is also important and must be added to your emergency food supply plan as they come in handy when you have very little time or too tired to prepare a meal. Freeze dried foods (great picks from Amazon) are some examples of this type of meal. Including snack foods in your supply is also important as it helps children cope and feel better emotionally if times are hard. Although it’s really hard to completely prepare for a disaster knowing the essential things to store will greatly raise your chances of surviving. Having the right food supply on your emergency storage will put your heads above the majority of the population as you will not be starving and will be strong enough to help your family and the people around you.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
[llvm-dev] I am leaving llvm Summary: I am leaving llvm effectively immediately. I am sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. Practicalities: I can unsubscribe myself from the email lists and I disabled email notification on bugzilla and phabricator. Could someone please disable my account on phabricator and delete my svn access? Thanks. The long story: I first became aware of llvm during a compiler course at university. I wanted to write a toy scheme frontend to a real compiler. To my shame I missed that llvm had a mem2reg pass and selected gcc to avoid having to compute ssa form myself. After contributing a few patches to gcc it was clear that the frontend interface needed some cleanup. At the time llvm was being considered as a potential new gcc architecture and the idea of a well defined IR with a textual representation was a revolution. On my first job (indt) we were using arm cpus and I was able to sell the idea of starting an llvm backend for arm. My first commit was on May 14, 2006. I am incredibly grateful to both indt and the llvm developers for trusting and helping such an inexperienced and unknown developer with such a large task. It is only in May 2007 in the dev meeting that I got to meet the other developers in person. It was an incredibly fun event and people were as friendly in person as on the list. In the next few years I was working at google. First as an sre and then a compiler developer on gcc. During that time I kept llvm as my 20% project as much as possible. Working on it was always a refreshing experience. It was far easier to change and far less political than gcc at the time. My opportunity to be back full time on llvm came with portable native client (pnacl). They needed to be able to emit elf objects from llvm ir and so I went to work on elf support for mc. Unfortunately another job change (mozilla) made llvm a side project again after that. I still managed to contribute to llvm/clang as I helped mozilla transition away from gcc 4.2 on OS X. It is only about 5 years ago that I started working on llvm full time again. The big item this time was elf support in lld. I was really excited when Rui posted a new design for a coff linker and did my best to find a corresponding design for elf. Unfortunately the last few years haven't been the same. On the technical side llvm now feels far bigger and slower to change. There are many incomplete transitions. That, by itself, would not be sufficient reason to leave. llvm still seems better than the competition and lld itself is still awesome. The reason for me leaving are the changes in the community. The current license change discussions unfortunately bring to memory the fsf politics when I was working on gcc. That would still not be sufficient reason to leave. As with the code, llvm will still have the best license and if the only community change was the handling of the license change I would probably keep going. The community change I cannot take is how the social injustice movement has permeated it. When I joined llvm no one asked or cared about my religion or political view. We all seemed committed to just writing a good compiler framework. Somewhat recently a code of conduct was adopted. It says that the community tries to welcome people of all "political belief". Except those whose political belief mean that they don't agree with the code of conduct. Since agreement is required to take part in the conferences, I am no longer able to attend. The last drop was llvm associating itself with an organization that openly discriminates based on sex and ancestry (1,2). This goes directly against my ethical views and I think I must leave the project to not be associated with this. So long, and thanks for all the bugs, Rafael [1] http://lists.llvm.org/pipermail/llvm-dev/2018-February/121161.html [2] https://www.outreachy.org/apply/eligibility/	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Worried that your children aren’t getting enough sleep? You’re not alone. As one prominent educational psychologist put it, “physicians and writers on school hygiene agree that children are likely to receive less sleep than is needful to them.” That assessment was offered way back in 1913, and it came from Lewis Terman, who went on to develop the Stanford-Binet IQ test. Terman certainly wasn’t right about everything, but his concern for sleep-deprived kids tapped into a longstanding source of parental angst. It turns out that experts have been fretting about tired children since at least 1897. According to an article published online Monday by the journal Pediatrics, 32 sets of sleep guidelines for kids – containing 360 distinct recommendations for children of specific ages – were published between 1897 and 2009. During that time, the amount of recommended sleep fell by an average of 0.71 minutes per year. That added up to about 70 fewer minutes of suggested nightly sleep over the course of the 20th century. And how well did parents of yore live up to those recommendations? Not very well, according to the Pediatrics article. Of the 360 sleep recommendations made over the years, Australian researchers found data that corresponded to 173 of them. In 83% of the cases, children were falling short of the ideal – and doing so by an average of 37 minutes. Overall, the actual amount of nightly sleep for children fell by an average of 0.73 minutes per year. Among all the expert recommendations put forth, the researchers could find only one case for which the expert guidelines were rooted in medical evidence of a need for a particular amount of sleep. That was a 1926 study that measured the actual sleep of 500 kids between the ages of 6 and 15 who were deemed “healthy.” Other than that, it seems that experts simply looked at the amount of sleep children around them were getting and figured that they really needed a little bit more, the authors wrote. And what’s to blame for all this pediatric sleep deprivation? Why, new technology and the increasingly rigorous demands of modern life, of course. “The hurry and excitement of modern life is quite correctly held to be responsible for much of the insomnia of which we hear,” according to an editorial published in the British Medical Journal way back in 1894. As the Australian researchers explain, “In the early 1900s, artificial lighting, radio, reading, and the cinema were considered to be the causes of delayed bedtimes. By the late 1990s, video games, television viewing, the Internet, and mobile telephones were largely held responsible for such delays.” It’s always something. The full article is behind a paywall, but you can read a summary of it here. Return to the Booster Shots blog.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Imagine the international uproar and condemnation if any country around the world would conduct a nuclear test anywhere around the world, now look at the hysterical US-led campaign against Iran for their ambition to acquire nuclear power for civilian use and the fact they're a signatory to the IAEA non-nuclear proliferation treaty and been very much obliged to the international watchdog's policies? Did you get the message? Israel carried out a nuclear test in the South Atlantic, the latest revelation tells which was suppressed for 40 years. Israel never signed to any treaty that oversees activities that could be deemed harmful whether nuclear, chemical, biological, even human rights abuses. They can get away with it only with a super power's absolute support. Israel is a rogue state by all standards, its policies since the first immigrants were shipped to Palestine which was under the British occupation has not been less than evil, starting with introducing terror to the world by the likes of the Haganah, Stern, Irgun and other terrorist groups that later were merged under the IDF umbrella, to assassinations of notables and dignitaries, to massacres of complete villages like Deir Yassin, to massacres of complete refugee camps like Sabra and Shatella in South Lebanon, to massacres of refugee children taking shelter in United Nations designated buildings like Qana 1 and Qana 2, to sniping children and kidnapping others, placing thousands of Semite Palestinians in concentration camps, it's endless. Again, they can only get away with all these crimes against humanity with the full support of a super power, or more than one super power, like the USA, Britain, France, and heavyweights like Germany and others. Iraq got invaded and destroyed despite obliging to UNSC resolutions, same with Libya, former Yugoslavia, and numerous other states, but Israel has rejected to implement dozens of UNSC and UNGA resolutions, was spared of over 70 UNSC resolutions condemning its policies, just why? The USAians keep wondering why the rest of the world hates them, especially the people of the Middle East, here's the best reason: Because you support terrorists, criminals, rogue states, and you are by yourself a rogue superpower. The above report was first published in Foreign Policy magazine and the cover story screenshot above taken from Israeli Haaretz magazine. Follow @ArabiSouri on Twitter: Arabi Souri Syria News: www.syrianews.cc Donations are highly appreciated, just click on the Donate button via PayPal or Credit Card: Donate You can also donate with Steem or SBD or even delegate some much needed SP here :) #Syria #Iran #Russia #InformationWar #Wahhabism #Zionism #alQaeda #FSA #Nusra #ISIS #Terrorism #Saudi #Qatar #Israel #Net #Neutrality #Mainstream #MSM #Control #WarOfTerror #RegimeChange Posted using Partiko Android	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Earlier this month, MLB had a drawing where they selected a sole team that would possibly head to Cuba and take on their national team in the Cuban capital of Havana. This would be a huge opportunity for any franchise, as well as major league baseball, and for another rare occasion we can score one for the little guys. The Rays won the Cuba If the Rays do get to travel and play in Cuba, it would be the first time since 1999 that an affiliated baseball team played there. Cuba used to be a spring training home for numerous franchises, but that was decades ago, before Fidel Castro's revolution in the late 1950's. In 1961, the United States severed political ties with the island country as well as an embargo not allowing any American exports to reach the isle, including most activity for major league baseball. The Orioles were the last team to visit the island nation in 1999. Baseball has always been one of the most popular sports among the Cuban population, and over the recent years, the country has produced several big name stars, including White Sox thumper Jose Abreu, playoff star Yoenis Cespedes, and video game cover athlete Yasiel Puig, and this without the benefit of professional scouting or free passage between nations. So last March when President Obama announced that relations with Cuba were in the process of being restored, major league baseball jumped at the chance to potentially aide the cause. With the Rays officially first in line for a series in Cuba, reporter Marc Topkin is reporting that could come as soon as 2016: Government approvals for the late spring Cuba trip are considered likely, and expanding it to two games over three days makes it, and the necessary logistics, more worthwhile. If all goes well, Cuba could see regular games during spring training, as well as in-season visits from major and minor league teams. If we dream big, we could even see a major league expansion team reach the island in the years to come, pushing baseball ever closer to that illustrative claim of having a World Series.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Greengo papers are the most pure papers available. The papers are made of 100% Totally Chlorine Free paper pulp. The packages are made of 100% recycled material. On top of that, Greengo papers are made of FSC certified wood pulp. Greengo grinders are being made from recycled plastic. The most unique feature of this product is that the plastic once was used for packaging cannabis. These packages are returned by means of a deposit system and the base material is used to make grinders. This is not only very cool, it is also better for the environment! We call this upcycling! Take a look at the whole range of Greengo products.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
【びっくりサイエンス】太陽系の外から来たことが人類史上初めて確認された天体が、実は宇宙人が送り込んだ探査機かもしれないとの説を、米国の科学者らが論文で提唱した。もし本当なら有史以来最大のニュースだろう。その可能性をめぐり議論が白熱している。 ■米ハーバード大「魅惑的なシナリオ」と発表この論文は米ハーバード大の研究者２人が昨年１１月に発表した。太陽系外から飛来したと確認された小天体「オウムアムア」が太陽に接近後、謎の加速をした原因について考察したものだ。太陽光の圧力を受けて加速した可能性を説明したのに続き、「より魅惑的なシナリオとしては、オウムアムアが宇宙人文明によって意図して地球付近に送られた、完全に操縦可能な探査機かもしれない」と驚きの見解を示した。名門の同大で天文学科長を務める有力な研究者が著者の１人だったことや、権威ある学術誌に掲載されたこともあり、一気に注目を集めた。ネット上では「本当なら人類史上最大の発見」「太陽系の外には、こんなのがたくさん行き交っているのでは」などの肯定的な反応から、「この天体から微弱な電波すら確認できていないので、宇宙人のものということはまずない」「仮に自然の天体だとしても、この説は宇宙人に対する関心を維持するのに効果的だ」といった冷めた意見まで、一般人や科学者の間で議論百出の状況が続いている。 ■細長い形状、謎の加速オウムアムアは２０１７年１０月、米ハワイ大などのチームが望遠鏡で発見。太陽系の天体では考えられない猛スピードで移動していることから、軌道などを詳しく調べたところ、太陽系の外から旅してきた「恒星間天体」と結論づけられた。この発見を科学者らは「太陽系以外の星を理解する手がかりになる」と大歓迎した。オウムアムアの命名はハワイの言葉の「最初の偵察者」に由来する。	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Earlier this season, ESPN writer Zach Lowe revealed a mostly innocuous bit of inside basketball chatter when he published an exchange he had with a Spurs official regarding the team’s move for Pau Gasol. I was underwhelmed [with the Gasol signing]. He was astonished anyone could feel that way about even the creaky, aging version of Gasol. "He knows how to play," the official said. He kept repeating that. He seemed confused that I didn't find "knowing how to play" a super-compelling reason to sign someone. Lowe’s skepticism with such a basic explanation for an expensive and somewhat lengthy investment in a player in the twilight of his career isn’t all that disagreeable. But as he later noted, seeing five players who know how to play operate on the court together looks a lot more impressive than it sounds. The Spurs released another exclusive deal for PtR readers who want to watch the Celtics play in San Antonio. When searching for reasons why the Spurs find themselves third in the tough, if slightly diluted, Western Conference after a quarter of the season despite Tony Parker’s lengthy absence and Kawhi Leonard’s ongoing recovery, the most obvious answers are the tremendous individual play from LaMarcus Aldridge and their savvy and collective defensive approach. The easiest answer, however, might just be that the Spurs still have a bunch of guys who know how to play. Because when you have a bunch of guys who know what they are doing, brilliant, beautiful and, perhaps most importantly, simple basketball materializes naturally, almost out of thin air. This is the essence of patient basketball. All five guys touch it. Everyone on the perimeter holds it longer to make the defense react until the best shooter is open in the best spot. pic.twitter.com/SB3TwWzSmy — J.R. Wilco (@jollyrogerwilco) November 30, 2017 Two minutes into San Antonio’s game against Memphis on Wednesday night, Tony Parker pushed the ball up the floor after Pau Gasol secured a defensive rebound. Within 10 seconds, the ball had rotated from one side to the other, every Spur on the floor had touched the ball and San Antonio had acquired one of the most efficient shots in basketball without calling a play or setting a single screen. Parker's initial pass ahead to Danny Green helps set the tone for the Spurs on this possession, and even though it seems completely harmless, it is critical because it sets Memphis back a split second as the Grizzlies attempt to get organized defensively. It might be easy to overlook, but with the Spurs, tiny cuts so often prove to be fatal.. As Danny receives Parker’s pass on the left wing, JaMychal Green gets his arms high so Danny has no space for his favored transition three. Crucially, though, Green-on-Green is not the defensive matchup Memphis is looking. JaMychal is supposed to be guarding LaMarcus Aldridge, whose rim run off the rebound has forced a cross match with Tyreke Evans. In the time it takes for Danny Green to pass the ball up to Pau Gasol, who was the last Spur to arrive in the front court after securing the rebound, at the top of the key, JaMychal Green and Evans will recognize the need to switch and start moving toward their correct man. Knowing how deadly a passer Pau Gasol can be, Evans hangs around on the backside of Aldridge for an extra beat to ensure JaMychal Green can get into position to deny an entry pass to Aldridge. Unfortunately for Memphis, once they started switching, Gasol wasn’t looking to find Aldridge down low, because the Grizzlies’ desperate swap had just opened an even more profitable set of possibilities. Instead of looking inside, Gasol tossed the ball back to Green, who was open again on the left wing. As Green catches the ball and brings it into his shooting pocket, you can tell he has already spotted Evans sprinting at him to close out, exposing his vulnerability to the baseline drive. When Green puts the ball on the floor, showcasing his improved handle with a confident lefty drive, JaMychal Green lurks off of Aldridge on the baseline, Marc Gasol cheats off of his brother around the free throw line and an overeager Dillon Brooks darts from the opposite wing toward the paint. Danny Green has made incredible strides as a finisher this season, but he’s not LeBron James, and now that the Grizzlies have all five defenders in or around the paint, he makes the simple pass to Pau Gasol at the top of the key. From here, the Grizzlies are in scramble mode, and though you might have expected the peak Grit-n-Grind Grizzlies to scrap their way into the right spots to at least contest the Spurs on this possession, without the insane lateral quickness and impressive defensive instincts of Mike Conley and Tony Allen on the perimeter, Memphis was left chasing shadows as the Spurs unleashed a trademark string of hot potato passes. Kyle Anderson’s role here is small, but significant. He never lifts the ball to shoot, instead pausing until the very second JaMychal Green took a single step in his direction. As soon as that commitment was made, it meant Aldridge would be free in the corner, and given Anderson’s recent playmaking form, you’d bet your house on him making the that final dish. Aldridge's intellect on this play is commendable as well. Having started the possession with somewhat of a faux post-up on the smaller Evans, which forced that crucial switch early on, watch him as he drifts toward that corner spot as soon as JaMychal Green's attention is stolen away on Danny Green's drive. It's a basic but vital spacing concept, and his awareness of the situation is impressive; he recognizes how the dominoes are going to fall as soon as Green kicks the ball to Gasol and positions himself properly for the best possible shot. The benefit of his time with the Spurs is that he has become accustomed to taking a couple of extra steps back for the corner three, whereas that baseline mid-ranger used to be his bread and butter in Portland. In the end, these were just three points of a season-high 41 that Aldridge poured in against Memphis, but even though Aldridge hit a number of more difficult (and more important) shots in this game, I wouldn't argue with you if you said this bucket was his most enjoyable. So much of San Antonio’s success during the Gregg Popovich era has been derived from a group of individuals mastering the simplicities of the game, which leads to a collective effort that is often too complex for the opposition. In other words, the Spurs just know how to play the game.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
If the price of political freedom is division and polarization, it comes at a steep opportunity cost. While the West — including a Europe riven by populist and separatist movements — stalls in internal acrimony, China is boldly striding ahead. It has proactively set its sights on conquering the latest artificial intelligence technology, reviving the ancient Silk Road as “the next phase of globalization,” taking the lead on climate change and shaping the next world order in its image. If the West does not hear this wake-up call loud and clear, it is destined to somnambulate into second-class status on the world stage. Waiting for China to stumble is a foolish fallback. AD AD That is not to suggest, of course, that open societies ought to turn toward authoritarianism to unify the body politic. But it is to say that unless democracies look beyond the short-term horizon of the next election cycle and find a way to reach a governing consensus, they will be left in the dust by the oncoming future. If democracy has come to mean sanctifying the splintering of society into a plethora of special interests, partisan tribes and endless acronymic identities instead of seeking common ground, there is little hope of successfully competing with a unified juggernaut like China. The WorldPost this week plumbs the meaning — for China and the world — of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China that met in Beijing to affirm the consolidation of power by President Xi Jinping and chart the path ahead for the Middle Kingdom. In conversations I’ve had over the years with the late sage of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, he always returned to a theme dissonant to the tin ear of Westerners. China will never become a democracy or an honorary member of the West, he lectured, but will move forward and succeed on its own terms. And so it has. Writing from Shanghai, Eric Li follows up this theme. Despite nearly unanimous predictions in the Western media and political class during the last three decades that China was on the wrong side of history, he chides, it has not failed but has grown stronger and more powerful. Standing “tall and firm in the East” is how Xi put it at the party congress. AD AD “The prevailing theories that have guided the world’s thinking about the rise and fall of nations no longer make sense,” Li argues. “If elections and privatization are the prerequisites to development, why has China succeeded without them, while so many others have failed after taking these prescriptions? In the past 30 years, China has effectively combined socialism and the market economy.” Despite critiques in the West that the idea of a socialist market economy is an “oxymoron,” Li sees Xi’s project of “sinicizing” Marxism as akin to China’s ancient capacity to absorb the foreign ideas of Buddhism into Confucian civilization. This ideological innovation, writes Li, “may be China’s most significant contribution to the 21st century. Not since the European Enlightenment has the world been so hungry for new approaches.” As one of China’s more prominent venture capitalists, Li has no doubt where to place his confidence. “My bet is that Xi will indeed ‘change China, and the world, for the better,’” he concludes. Veteran China watcher Steve Tsang also sees this week’s party congress as marking a departure from the Deng Xiaoping era of “reform and opening” to a new era in which “the Chinese Communist Party is confident of its own socialist developmental model. It no longer looks outside its borders for inspiration, and it emphatically rejects any democratic or Western model.” AD AD But, most worrying to Tsang is that Xi has signaled that “he will not relinquish power at the next congress in 2022. He has left open the possibility for him to stay in charge, altering the party’s practice since the Deng era of institutionalizing leadership succession ahead of time.” With that kind of unrivaled authority that can’t be contested even by his colleagues, Tsang fears what others have called the “bad emperor problem.” “If Xi’s advisers do not dare to contradict him, the risk that Chinese policies will be grounded in inappropriate assumptions or calculations will increase, carrying a danger that misguided policies will be introduced and forcefully backed by the full might of the party and military,” he concludes. Yu Jie acknowledges China’s accomplishments but also sees big hurdles in the times ahead. “Unlike the Soviets,” she writes, “Chinese leaders have repeatedly demonstrated an impressive capability to surmount existential challenges. But rarely have those challenges looked greater than they do for the coming decade.” On the domestic front, says Yu, “continuous economic growth has produced vested interest groups that refuse to give up their power and authority which — together with extreme wealth inequality and severe environmental damage — could challenge the very survival of the party leadership. If the party defends a status quo that is manifestly unfair in its distribution of wealth and opportunity, trust from ordinary people will collapse.” AD AD Yu, who heads the China Foresight project at the London School of Economics, also worries about the nationalist tone the country has taken under Xi’s leadership. “A dangerous mixture of China’s historical humiliation and its staggering economic success,” she warns, “has unfortunately bred a strong sense of complacency on one level and an equally powerful current of hubris on another. This could turn out to be lethal inside China as well as detrimental to its neighbors and distant great powers.” Spanish-Catalan crisis comes to a head This week, the confrontation between Spanish authorities and the Catalan independence movement met its denouement as Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, backed by the opposition Socialist party, imposed Article 155 of the Spanish constitution, which annuls Catalonia’s elected government and turns over power to Madrid. He did so just after Catalonia’s parliament declared the region’s independence Friday. AD AD One of Catalonia’s most well-known intellectuals, the sociologist Manuel Castells, passionately writes that “the intervention in Catalan institutions by the Spanish government is an assault on democracy without precedent in the European Union.” For Castells, the issue is not independence but the right of Catalan citizens to express their will through a referendum not unlike those we’ve seen in Scotland and Quebec in recent years. “The key issue at stake is whether constitutional legality has to follow the evolution of people’s minds. The law must adapt to reality through political mediation,” says Castells. “Ultimately, only a political dialogue can solve the current crisis. In the meantime, one of the most democratic and tolerant areas of Europe is being deprived of its basic civil rights.” This was produced by The WorldPost, a partnership of the Berggruen Institute and The Washington Post. ABOUT US: The WorldPost is an award-winning global media platform that aims to be a place where the world meets. We seek to make sense of an interdependent yet fragmenting world by commissioning voices that cross cultural and political boundaries. Publishing op-eds and features from around the globe, we work from a worldwide perspective looking around rather than a national perspective looking out. AD AD EDITORIAL BOARD: Nicolas Berggruen, Nathan Gardels, Eric Schmidt, Pierre Omidyar, Arianna Huffington, Juan Luis Cebrian, Walter Isaacson, John Elkann, Wadah Khanfar, Yoichi Funabashi CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Moises Naim, Nayan Chanda, Katherine Keating, Sergio Munoz Bata, Parag Khanna, Seung-yoon Lee, Jared Cohen, Bruce Mau, Patrick Soon-Shiong AD AD	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Media advisor Tzachi Lieber, who is currently being investigated as a suspect in the submarine affair , admitted he acted as a middleman to transfer money from state witness Miki Ganor, to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s former cabinet chief David Sharan Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter In the latest development on the affair, also known as Case 3000 involving the scandal-ridden purchasing of Israeli vessels from the German submarine company ThyssenKrupp, Lieber said he was willing confront Sharan directly on the claim that such a transfer was made on two occasions which he currently denies. Tzachi Lieber (L) and Miki Ganor (Photo: Orel Cohen) When his interrogators pressed him on why Ganor paid the money to Lieber's media consultancy firm and to his business partner and strategic advisor Nati Mor, Lieber admitted that no strategic advice was given to Ganor in return. “We didn’t provide a service for Ganor, I transferred the money to Sharan,” Lieber told his investigators, raising further suspicion that the money had been funneled as a front in its use for other purposes. David Sharan (Photo: Motti Kimchi) Despite his willingness to talk to Sharan on the issue, Lieber also pointed out that the two had been good friends, implying the transfer, from his viewpoint, was simply an innocuous favor. “The bottom line is that I did a good thing for a friend,” Lieber said as he explained to investigators the lump sums were transferred in cash. Miki Ganor (Photo: Ra'anan Ben Tzur) Asked to account for Sharan’s denial that any such transfers were made, Lieber doubled down, telling his interrogators: “I am telling the truth. I am prepared to confront David Sharan on this.” Lieber’s testimony also corroborated that provided by Ganor positing that Sharan did indeed take the money. 'Tzachi, I told them everything' After giving his testimony, Lieber ceased cooperating with the investigators. At this point, for the first time since he became a state witness, Miki Ganor was brought by the police to confront a suspect—Tzachi Lieber, who used to be a good friend of Ganor before the affair. "Tzachi, I told them everything. Now tell them yourself," Ganor pleaded with Lieber, but he refused to cooperate any further. According to the details, Ganor transferred the cash to Lieber and Mor’s business in the amount of NIS 28,000 plus VAT. On another occasion, NIS 50,000 were transferred plus VAT. Excluding the VAT Lieber claimed all the money ended up in Sharan’s pockets. A breakthrough was made in the investigation when on Thursday Lieber’s defense attorneys admitted on his behalf during court discussions regarding the extension of his remand that he transferred money to Sharan from Ganor.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
We’ve heard that you loved our end-of-year email, which included a tally of the photos, reviews, and info you shared on Google Maps in 2017. So we’re really excited to announce a new way to see your contribution totals any time. Just visit Local Guides home while you’re signed in on any desktop or mobile device. There, you’ll find a fun infographic that shows what you’ve shared on Google Maps over the last six months. You’ll see your contribution totals, along with a breakdown of all the different things you’ve shared, added, and edited. Click the bars to see your contribution totals for each month. A snapshot of a 6 month contribution windowTake a look, and let us know what you think! Frequently Asked Questions My contribution totals are different on the graph than in the Google Maps app. Why? It might take up to 24 hours for your points to sync between Google Maps and the graph. Can I see other Local Guides’ graphs? You can share your screenshots here on Connect or on social media with #LocalGuides. Feel free to share and compare at anytime! How did my photos and reviews get so many views? When you add a photo or review to a place on Google Maps, it becomes viewable by anyone in the world across Google. The more popular a place is, the more likely it is that someone will see your photo or review. I am not available to respond on the weekend	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Slideshow ( 3 images ) ROME (Reuters) - The newly installed Italian government will not raise sales taxes, Italy’s deputy prime minister and head of the 5-Star Movement, Luigi Di Maio, said on Thursday. Italy must find an estimated 12.5 billion euros ($14.77 billion) of savings to stave off the threat of an automatic increase in sales taxes because of previously missed deficit targets. Speaking to a conference organized by the Italian retailers’ lobby, Di Maio said the coalition would find a way of avoiding this hike and also pledged to be careful with public accounts. “Sales taxes will not increase and the safeguard trigger will be defused,” Di Maio said. “We are committed to keeping our accounts under control, (but) we also know that ... we have to renegotiate some conditions at the EU level which Italy can no longer sustain. We will do this by discussing with the other countries but also sometimes by saying ‘no’”.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Let’s start with two photographs. The first was shot by me in China’s Hunan Province. It shows a warehouse that contains roughly 5,000 old locally-collected televisions awaiting recycling. This photo only captures a portion of what is a big inventory, and a big operation. Every day more arrive. Most people outside of China have never heard of this place, mostly because it is indoors, and difficult for journos and activists to gain access to. Next, a photo tagged “e-Waste – field of computers” that I came across while looking at a Google map of Agbogbloshie, a suburb of Accra, Ghana that everyone from the Guardian to Motherboard has called the world’s “biggest” or “largest” e-waste dump. There’s nothing good or right in the Agbogbloshie photo. The pollution it depicts is nasty. But if you can get past the shock and evaluate the volume of e-waste in the image, it’s not much – especially compared to what we see in the China photo. Indeed, despite the parade of Agbogbloshie slideshows posted by media outlets over the years, there’s a curious dearth of images showing large volumes of e-waste at the site. Rather, the genre is almost exclusively devoted to pictures of laborers, oftentimes not even processing waste – see this useless and exploitative New York Times slideshow, or this more recent one from Motherboard. My long-standing suspicion has been that there aren’t any great volumes of e-waste at Agbogbloshie, and that most of the journalists and photographers who go there – having had no experience with developing world recycling – document their shock, but not what’s actually happening, frankly because they don’t know better. This matters. Agbogbloshie has become a global symbol for what’s alleged to be a vast and growing environmental problem: the export of e-waste from the developed world to West Africa. Yet in recent years, academic and UN-sponsored research has shown that the problem is far more complex – and, in all respects, smaller – than what’s being depicted. In other words – we’re not talking about the world’s largest e-waste dump. So what I’m going to do is show how somebody with actual experience reporting in and around the global recycling industry – especially in the developing world – looks at Agbogbloshie. My background is that of a journalist who has been writing about and photographing the industry for 15 years, and has visited hundreds of recycling facilities, especially in the developing world. In March and April, I visited Accra. There are two possible meanings for “biggest.” Let’s start out with scale. In April, Jakob Schiller at Wired described the areas as follows: “A former wetland turned slum, the kilometer-long stretch of land is a toxic graveyard of computers, refrigerators and other trash.” This description, and the many, many others that like to describe Abgobloshie as “vast“, is false (I’ve reached out to Schiller for his source – did he visit? – but he hasn’t responded). Agbogbloshie is, in fact, small. Its street frontage is roughly 200 meters, and it extends back roughly 450 meters. But I’d estimate that only about half of it is actually utilized; overall land use is extremely inefficient, especially for a scrap zone home to perhaps 200 small businesses. Below, I’ve pasted a Google map showing the outlines (click to enlarge). If you want to know more about what’s actually going on in there, here’s a geo-tagged map showing various activities by the fantastic folks at the Agbogbloshie Makerspace Project. Note that the geo-tagged map shows activity to the left of what I show below – that’s because the geo-tagged version hasn’t been updated since the local government shut down those businesses in late March (mostly plastic recyclers). That’s right, Agbogbloshie is shrinking. In human terms, that means you can walk from one end of Agbogbloshie to the other end in a couple of minutes (which I did, several times). If, like me, you spend time in the world of globalized recycling, that’s nothing special size-wise, equivalent to a large – but not unusually so – scrap yard in the U.S. or EU, and much smaller than most landfills. Elsewhere in Africa, there are far larger recycling and dump sites (Dandora outside of Nairobi comes to mind), and in Asia they’re even bigger (Guiyu is an actual town). That’s why, five minutes after taking my first step in Agbogbloshie, I found myself utterly bewildered, and turning to my companion and guide to ask: “This is IT?” It was. So what, then, are we to make of images, such as the one below (taken by me), that seem to suggest a much bigger space, extending out into the horizon? If you look at the above satellite view of Agbogbloshie, you’ll note quite a bit of empty space abutting the site – much of that is open fields and a city dump. It is not, however, related to the recycling of electronics. For a photographer, though, it’s a great backdrop (I’ll get to the question of what’s being burnt, shortly). Since we’re on scale, I’d like to touch on a related point. Is Agbogbloshie a slum? Yes and no. Yes, in that the tens of thousands of people who live in the area do not live well. No, in the sense that it’s primarily a traffic-choked industrial zone home to – among other businesses) a Pepsi bottling plant directly across the street from the scrap zone (the Pepsi plant’s manager, according to this source, doesn’t appear to want anything to do with its recycling neighbors), car dealerships, a brewery, a vegetable market (specializing in yams and onions) and hundreds if not thousands of small workshops devoted to making everything from cooking pots to electrical transformers. Here, for example, is the traffic heading into Agbobloshie. Note the load of yams definitely not bound for the recycling zone. And here’s what the actual frontage directly outside of the scrapping zone looks like. “Agbogbloshie,” the scrap zone, is entered via one of two entrances abutted by the onions. Here’s one of them. This image brings me to the question of volume. Specifically, how much e-waste can be jammed into a 200 x 450 meter space in the middle of one of Africa’s busiest, most traffic-choked cities? Let’s take a look at that photo, above, again.You don’t need to be an expert in international shipping and logistics to know that this driveway, and the mud/dirt road that connects to it, is unlikely to support a lot of traffic, much less the frequent loading and unloading of shipping containers and other means of transporting e-waste. And, in fact, during my time at the site, there weren’t any shipping containers flowing into the site. Rather, the primary means of delivering scrap – not just e-waste – was this one: At any given time, there are perhaps 10 to 20 men (always men) pulling these four wheelers. The scrap they carry mostly comes from within Accra itself, sold or given to them because the devices no longer function. The closest port – Tema – is roughly 21 miles away, and though these men are incredibly fit, it’s unlikely that they’d find it worthwhile to traipse a near Marathon distance for the meager profits from three microwaves, four televisions, and a transmission case. To be fair, I also saw scrap delivered in taxis, and pickup trucks, and one rickety flatbed. But shipping containers? Never. So how much scrap ends up in Agbogbloshie every day? The only study that’s ever tackled the question systematically was published in 2011 (funded by the European Commission, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the Dutch Recyclers Association, and coordinated by the Secretariat of the Basel Convention), and it found that – in 2009 – Ghana (not just Accra) imported 215,000 tons of used electronics. That sounds bad until you read the kicker: of that imported electronics, 70% was still functioning and usable, and the other 20% could be repaired. And it was repaired. Indeed, Ghana, like much of West Africa, is a major hub for the re-use, repair, and refurbishment of used goods from around the world – everything from furniture to mobile phones. Drive around any city in Ghana, and you’ll see entrepreneurs who’ve imported and refurbished used goods (increasingly from China), and now offer them for sale to the large swath of the population that can’t afford new (the wonderful Yepoka Yeebo recently produced an excellent photo essay on this industry for Roads and Kingdoms). There are, without exaggeration, thousands of stalls like this around the country: And, for that matter, like this (yes, there are markets in everything, including used chairs, coffee makers, and waffle irons): So let’s do some math. The UN’s Solving the E-Waste Problem [StEP] initiative estimates that global e-waste generation in 2014 was 46.8 million short tons [41.8 million metric tons]. Let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that the amount of e-waste imported into Ghana tripled since 2009 (probably not, but I can feel the gaze of my critics), to 645,000 tons. If 90% of that is re-usable and/or repairable, that means 64,500 metric tons – or 72240 short tons – is not usable a.k.a. it’s e-waste needing to be recycled. In other words: .15% of global e-waste flows into Ghana (not just Accra and Agbogbloshie) under this calculation, making a rather thin case for “the world’s largest digital dump.” And that figure is undoubtedly too high. How much too high? And what do the scrappers say? Around Agbogbloshie, I was told that the scrappers recycled between 30 and 50 televisions and computer monitors per day (monitors are the heaviest component of the e-waste stream). I checked with some folks I know in the monitor recycling business, and they told me that 50 lbs per monitor is a good average. So, as a safe conservative estimate, let’s say that Agbogbloshie recycles one short ton of monitors per day, and 365 tons per year. Now, it’s not hard to do this calculation (thanks to Robin Ingenthron at the Good Point Recycling blog for doing a version of it first). But, for some reason, the media organizations that insist on sending photographers to document Agbogbloshie never bother to look up the 2011 study, or do the calculation. Rather, they just say whatever sounds most shocking. For example, as far back as 2008 (to be fair, pre-study), PBS Frontline claimed that “hundreds of million of tons” of e-waste arrive at Agbogbloshie annually (which would make e-waste one of the world’s most shipped manufactured goods)! Most news organizations, however, are a bit more responsible, and either hedge their bets by sticking to “biggest” and “largest” or – as in the case of Gizmodo – show a bit more courage (though not more sourcing) and say “millions of tons.” None of this is even remotely true. So let’s go back to the beginning of this post. Here’s what roughly 5000 monitors look like (there’s more both to the right and left that didn’t fit my frame). And here are a few images of what Agbogbloshie – dimensions of 200 x 450 meters – looks like on a weekday. Of course, there is one unanswered question. If not e-waste, what on Earth is being recycled under these deplorable conditions? First, there is e-waste processed at Agbogbloshie – I saw it – but not much. Instead, as the above photo hints, on a volume basis Abgobloshie is a vehicle recycling facility, where whole vehicles are dismantled by hand, primarily, and the various components are then sorted and sold for recycling or further processing. It starts like this: And like this – note the young man pushing the cart piled with car doors and other parts. And one of the product streams it produces is stuff like this (note the engine block, transmission case, and other auto scrap), that can be sold as metal. Unfortunately, if you don’t have the proper equipment, automobiles are just as difficult, if not polluting, to recycle as old electronics. Ghana doesn’t have the equipment. This creates problems with two waste streams. First, the wires and cables that are part of our ever-increasingly computerized automobiles. And second, the tires. This brings me back to the question of what to make of all those photos of fires and burning scrap at Agbogbloshie. Here’s a photo of a typical, just-completed burn scene at Agbogbloshie. It caused a lot of smoke, a lot of fire, and a lot of coughing (mine included). And here’s a close-up of what was burnt. That’s right, tires. Now, I can’t tell you that I know what percent of what’s burnt at the site is tires, and what’s everything else (getting to that). But I can tell you that the tire burn area takes up 80% of the space devoted to burning. And it’s nasty. But because Ghana’s automobile recycling sector is very undeveloped, there isn’t much alternative (tires are notorious breeding grounds for mosquitoes, which in Ghana – where malaria and yellow fever are endemic – is unacceptable). Meanwhile, further down the burn area, workers torch 10 lb bundles of wire and cable that are outsourced for burning (to get rid of the insulation) to them by businesses within Agbogbloshie. Anyone who knows scrap metal – or the inside of a computer or television – should be able to tell right away that these bundles contain far more than wires from an old ThinkPad or VCR. They contain, rather, wiring from a broad range of electrical goods, including – and primarily – automobile harnesses (the wiring hub within and beneath your car). I want to be clear. Just because it’s automobile cabling – rather than ribbon cables from inside a PC – being burnt, doesn’t mean it’s ok. Pretty much nothing at Agbogbloshie qualifies as a best or even adequate practice when it comes to human health and the environment. They are, instead, the practices available to a small-scale recycling industry that functions on very little capital. That could and probably will change as some of the scrap dealers start making more money, and the government decides that it wants to improve Accra’s air quality. But other groups – NGOs in particular – have other ideas about how to help Agbogbloshie, including bans on the export of repairable electronics from the developed world, and the installation of totally inappropriate equipment at the recycling site. But here’s the thing. If you want to fix Agbogbloshie, you need to understand what’s happening there. Calling it the world’s biggest digital dump and erecting trade and even criminal barriers to prevent used electronics will only serve to deprive Ghanaians of access to affordable information technology, while doing nothing to prevent them from selling those cheap electronics to Agbogbloshie when they’re done with them. And that won’t be any time soon – Ghana’s culture of use, repair, re-use, and further repair and re-use ensures that Ghanaians will utilize used electronics much longer than their original owners would ever have believed possible (ten-year-old functioning Windows 95 PCs are common throughout Ghana). Understanding Agbogbloshie as an electronics dump only serves to ensure that far bigger problems – such as what to do with Ghana’s dead cars – won’t get attention. What I fear is that my friends in the media, always looking for an interesting angle on “the tech story” won’t find Agbogbloshie as worthy of their attention if the problem turns out to be Toyotas and Fords, rather than Apples and Dells. If that’s the case, they’ve not only mis-served themselves, but also the good people of Agbogbloshie who are – ostensibly – the reason their workplace is worth photographing in the first place. [The May/June issue of Scrap Magazine includes a long feature – by me – touching on e-waste in Ghana and Kenya. Thanks to Christine for very smart edits of this very long post.]	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Scott Wood UFOs Over London — We Investigate Latest Reports The collective noun for a spate of UFO sightings is a ‘flap’ — which is exactly what some UFO sightees get themselves into. London’s skies have been flapping like crazy in the days around Christmas and New Year. As we previously reported, ghosts and out-of-place animals have dominated the strange news stories in recent years, but right now, it's unearthly airborne objects that are causing a stir. On 23 December, a video was posted on YouTube by a group called UFO Watch UK. The footage is called Group of White Orb UFO's Over West London and the filmmaker, Mark Bennis, describes himself as a “a UFO watcher and researcher, and an avid enthusiast to this fascinating phenomenon”. It’s a strange video and we weren't sure what we were watching — perhaps distant birds or drones buzzing around. There is clearly a flight path in the area, and maybe some photographers were taking close-up shots of landing planes, with their drones. We showed the video to Sheffield Hallam University's Dr David Clarke, author of The UFO Files: The Inside Story of Real-life Sightings, who also thought these were drones — pointing out that one had got within 20ft of a plane at Heathrow in July 2014. Mark Pilkington, writer of the book and film Mirage Men, was more cautious: “They could be balloons, or perhaps drones of some kind. For the time being anyway, I'll have to agree that these are genuine UFOs — Unidentified Flying Objects.” This does not necessarily mean spaceships or inter-dimensional orbs — just something unidentifiable in the sky. Meanwhile in Bexleyheath on 30 December, contractor Tony Histed was leaving his work site beneath gathering clouds. He looked up and saw “a bright light in the sky to the east” so he “stopped and watched it as it came across the sky towards the storm. Another light appeared in front of the first, and they both flew silently on into the oncoming storm.” Tony went back to the site and saw two more of these ‘orbs’ rise from the ground, level off and fly in a north-easterly direction. He was able to get one photograph which appeared in an 8 January 2015 news report, along with photos of Tony recreating the moment he saw the UFOs. He doesn’t look pleased to see them. Bexleyheath is a veritable UFO hotspot, having previously experienced close encounters of the first kind in 1952, 1955 and 2004. The first UFO sighting of 2015 took place while the New Year fireworks were still exploding about the London Eye. One viewer not too distracted by trying to remember the second verse of Auld Lang Syne saw a circular light arcing around the wheel amongst the pyrotechnics. One YouTube comment advised that “It’s not uncommon for UFOs to be curious about our lights and electricity.” The UFO also got a very fine live view of the New Year fireworks without paying the Mayor of London's office a penny. The final part of the video below has a green object descend into the top right hand corner of the screen and gaze out as if it were scanning the viewer’s very soul. The original footage has been picked up and shared among a number of UFO enthusiasts, and received a warmer and more credulous welcome than the original YouTube post. It looks like it has been filmed from a television screen by someone using a camera and the first UFO is clearly a camera drone filming the fireworks. That's made even more evident when the footage cuts to an aerial shot of the London Eye, almost certainly taken from the drone itself. The green light is a little trickier to work out. Some have suggested it was the drone again, some that it was a decoration on the South Bank caught by an in situ camera. Others, noting that this is a screen being filmed, insist that someone has plopped an LED light or decoration between the camera and screen; hence the object's jerky motion. The day after, another UFO was spotted on some BBC footage. According to the poster’s Twitter feed this was an interview with someone from Clapham Rovers, during which time a UFO coasted into view from the right-hand side of the screen. We can’t actually make anything out on the video except for sunlight breaking through the clouds and as there is no sound, and the video jumps from scene to scene, it's hard to work out whether the video is linear or arranged in a way to make sunbeams look extra-terrestrial. Which they are, of course, but not in the way we’re talking about here. Just to prove our point, seminal 1990s UFO show The X-Files is hovering back in to view and, just this very morning, Camilla Noble, of Caroline Road, Wimbledon shared her footage of ‘flashing spaceships’ filmed from her bedroom window with the Wimbledon Guardian. Camilla has been seeing UFOs regularly down in SE19: "Sometimes they will appear as fire-flies dots and sometimes as really really bright stars” she says, “then they stop and pretend to be a star and then they go in another direction and turn back into UFOs with flashing lights." London, of course, is full of wonders, and we shall continue to bring them to you from above, below, and all the stuff in-between.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
At the end of the 19th century, American economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen said that people take their cues about what to consume from the social class immediately above their own. They want things just beyond their reach. A new paper in the journal Communication, Culture and Critique shows how this theory explains some dynamics of the influencer economy and the rules that govern Instagram. In it, researchers Emily Hund and Lee McGuigan at the University of Pennsylvania investigate the mechanics of “a shoppable life.” The term describes the contemporary phenomenon of influencers marketing their lifestyles, then selling aspects of it, like the beauty products they use or elements of their home’s decor, through nearly seamless technological infrastructure, and the finding that more and more commercial opportunities rise with the way people present themselves and interact with each other. One influencer told the researchers that a favorite part of her job is getting freebies, like a new set of furniture, from brands that want to be promoted in her channels. “They’re things that I love and never could have afforded on my own, and it’s going to bring a lot of value to the blog, so I’m excited about those just for that reason.” Veblen wrote in his 1899 book Theory of the Leisure Class that the “ideal of consumption” for most people is what they can’t acquire, or which, at best, could be acquired only through considerate effort. “The motive is emulation—the stimulus of an invidious comparison which prompts us to outdo those with whom we are in the habit of classing ourselves,” he writes. The researchers write in their paper that the influencer’s perspective on the furniture she gets for free can be understood through “a sort of social media age update” to Veblen’s theory. “These products give influencers, who are themselves models of aspirational lifestyles” —whether for luxury, fashionability, eco-consciousness or ethical spending— “for their followers, access to a lifestyle that is aspirational for them.” A key to Veblen’s theories is the notion of “conspicuousness” in consumption or leisure. The point of buying or doing certain things is to communicate a certain lifestyle or class aspirations. The researchers put it another way, quoting the 2014 St. Vincent song Digital Witness: “If I can’t show it, if you can’t see me/What’s the point of doing anything?” This, of course, describes a lot of how Instagram works, from the Rich Kids of Instagram and the daily displays of wealth by the Kardashian sisters to many of the pictures mere mortals post while on vacation to show their friends that they too can drink craft cocktails under a palm tree. And Instagram’s marketing and technology infrastructure brings the life that is just “out of reach,” as Veblen says, just a little bit closer. The “shoppable life” phenomenon is about more than just display. “To be made to matter, consumption choices and aspirational lifestyles must not only be displayed visibly, but audiences, or witnesses, should be able to acquire the elements defining the lifestyle and the self-identity,” the paper argues. “The shoppable life is not only branded; its constitutive elements can be bought.” Influencers make their posts a seamless way to acquire their highly-curated lifestyles. Affiliate link platforms like LikeToKnowIt, which allows users to buy items straight from the influencer’s photo, eliminate barriers to buying their lifestyle—and make heaps of money in the process. Users who sign up with LikeToKnowIt accounts only need to “like” an influencer’s photo on Instagram to get an email from the company where they can purchase the product the influencer is promoting. The “shoppable life” is an effort to “separate people from their money with less and less friction,” says Hund. There is one major difference between Instagram today and American society more than a century ago: In the past, people were after an unattainable lifestyle they saw in the class above them, which was created mostly by inherited wealth; Today, on Instagram, they are after the lifestyle of the “class” above them that is largely an illusion crafted by technology and marketing. It’s hard to say which is worse.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
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Rights group charges Syrian rebels with war crimes AP BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian villagers described watching rebels advance on their homes, as mortars thudded around them. By the end of the August attack, 190 civilians had been killed, including children, the elderly and the handicapped, a human rights group said Friday in its most detailed account of alleged war crimes committed by those fighting the Damascus regime. Human Rights Watch said the offensive against 14 pro-regime villages in the province of Latakia was planned and led by five Islamic extremist groups, including two linked to al-Qaeda. Other rebel groups, including those belonging to the Free Syrian Army, a Western-backed alliance, participated in the campaign, but there is no evidence linking them to war crimes, the 105-page report said. The new allegations are bound to heighten Western unease about those trying to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad and about who would take over if they were to succeed. "It creates justifiable alarm that the opposition has been infiltrated and undermined by radicals," said David L. Phillips, a former U.S. State Department adviser on the Middle East. The Free Syrian Army distanced itself from the five groups identified by HRW as the main perpetrators, saying it is not cooperating with extremists. "Anyone who commits such crimes will not belong to the revolution anymore," said spokesman Louay Mikdad. Human rights groups have said both sides in the civil war, now in its third year, have violated the rules of war, but U.N. investigators have said the scale and intensity of rebel abuses hasn't reached that of the regime. The new allegations come at a time when the regime appears to be regaining some international legitimacy because of its seeming cooperation with a program to destroy Syria's chemical weapons stockpile by mid-2014. Human Rights Watch researcher Lama Fakih said rebel abuses in the Aug. 4-18 Latakia offensive are the "most egregious and widespread" violations by opposition fighters her group has documented in Syria. "They certainly amount to war crimes" and may even rise to the level of crimes against humanity, said Fakih, who visited the area a month after the attack, with regime permission. The offensive targeted villages that are home to Alawites, or followers of an offshoot of Shiite Islam who form the backbone of Assad's regime. Alawites are considered heretics by Sunni Muslim extremists among the rebels. The rebels launched their attacks Aug. 4 at dawn, quickly seizing three regime military posts, Human Rights Watch said. Once those posts fell, no pro-government troops were left in the area and the rebels overran the villages, according to the report. "Witnesses described waking up to the sound of fighters coming into their villages, the sound of mortar and gunfire, and they frantically tried to leave," said Fakih, who interviewed more than three dozen villagers, medical staff and officials from both sides. Some couldn't run fast enough, witnesses said. One man from a hamlet near the village of Blouta told Human Rights Watch he escaped with his mother, while black-clad rebels were shooting at them from two directions. The man said he left his elderly father and 80-year-old blind aunt behind because of their disabilities. After regime forces retook the area, he said he returned home and found his father had been killed in his bed, and his aunt, Nassiba, in her room. Another man, Hassan Shebli from the village of Barouda, said he fled without his wife, who was unable to walk without crutches, and without their paralyzed 23-year-old son. When Shebli returned days later, he found his wife and son buried near the house and bullet holes and blood splattered in the bedroom, the New York-based group said. Human Rights Watch said it compiled a list of 190 civilians killed in the offensive, and that at least 67 of them were killed at close range or while trying to flee. There are signs that most of the others were also killed intentionally or indiscriminately, but more investigation is needed, the group said. The rebels also seized more than 200 civilians from the villages, most of them women and children, and demanded to trade the hostages for prisoners held by the regime, the group said. A rebel from Latakia, who goes by the name Mohammed Haffawi, denied rebels killed civilians in the area but said one of the rebel groups was holding about 100 women and children. The rebel groups that led the offensive were identified in the report as Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, both linked to al-Qaida; Ahrar al-Sham; Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar; and Suqqor al-Izz, which is believed to have many foreign fighters in its ranks, including from North Africa. Human Rights Watch urged Turkey, a rear base for many rebel groups and transit point for foreign fighters, to increase border patrols and to prosecute Turkey-based rebels linked to war crimes. The report appealed to Gulf states to crack down on private donations to extremist rebel groups, saying the Latakia campaign appeared to have been funded in part this way. The rights group said the Western-backed rebel alliance must cut ties with the five extremist groups. The military commander of that alliance, Gen. Salim Idris, visited Latakia province Aug. 11 and in public statements "indicated that he was coordinating with the other commanders in the operation and that his fighters were participating," Fakih said. Most of the abuses are believed to have taken place Aug. 4, and Fakih said there was no evidence fighters under Idris' command were involved. Still, future cooperation with extremist groups could make the FSA complicit in war crimes, she said. Mikdad, the FSA spokesman, said the al-Qaida-linked groups frequently attack FSA fighters and denied any cooperation between the two. He said Idris went to Latakia to visit the wounded and to assure Christian and Alawite residents of their safety. The spokesman said the rebel alliance condemns any abuses committed by opposition fighters, but that they cannot be compared to regime atrocities, including attacks on civilians with Scud missiles and chemical weapons. More than 100,000 Syrians have been killed in the conflict. Phillips said the regime is seizing on reports about rebel abuses to delegitimize the opposition. "It's very damaging to them," he said, referring to the Western-backed groups. "It opens another front in the public relations campaign." Fakih said that even though she visited the Latakia village with the government's permission, there was no attempt to interfere with her investigation.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange welcomed President Obama’s decision to commute the prison sentence of Chelsea Manning on Thursday, but it is not clear whether he will agree to extradition to the US, as WikiLeaks previously said. "Ms. Manning is a hero, whose bravery should be applauded," Assange said in the statement released Tuesday. "Journalists, publishers, and their sources serve the public interest and promote democracy by distributing authentic information on key matters such as human rights abuses and illegal acts by government officials. They should not be prosecuted." In a tweet published last week, WikiLeaks said: “If Obama grants Manning clemency Assange will agree to US extradition despite clear unconstitutionality of DoJ case.” The organization posted a similar tweet in September 2016. If Obama grants Manning clemency Assange will agree to US extradition despite clear unconstitutionality of DoJ case https://t.co/MZU30SlfGK — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) January 12, 2017 Assange, an Australian national, has been avoiding extradition to Sweden, where investigators have sought to question him in relation to sexual assault accusations. Assange has denied the accusations and believes that Sweden would extradite him to the US, where he could face charges related to WikiLeaks’ publication of classified material. Assange did not directly address WikiLeaks’ promise in the statement released Tuesday, saying only that “the Obama administration's war on whistleblowers and publishers, which has seen more prosecutions than all previous presidents combined, including against myself, my organization and my alleged sources, must come to an end." “Everything that he has said he's standing by." Melinda Taylor, one of Assange’s lawyers, told the Associated Press: “Everything that he has said he's standing by." She added, however, that it was still unclear whether American authorities have actually requested Assange’s extradition to the US. Emails and a phone call to Taylor seeking clarification went unanswered on Wednesday morning. Speaking on a call with reporters yesterday, a White House official said that Assange’s promise did not influence Obama’s decision on Manning, who was convicted in 2013 for leaking troves of classified military material to WikiLeaks. Obama’s decision was met with criticism from Republican leaders, with House Speaker Paul Ryan describing it as “outrageous.” “The president’s decision to offer commutation was not influenced by public comments by Mr Assange or the WikiLeaks organization,” The Guardian quoted the official as saying. “I have no insight into Mr Assange’s travel plans. I can’t speak to any charges or potential charges he may be facing from the justice department.”	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Quebec occultist Yacouba Fofana (a.k.a. Professor Alfoseny) did a pretty nifty magic trick for some clients: he made their money disappear. Any services he managed to conjure up in exchange were apparently invisible. Before he himself could perform a vanishing act, though, he was charged under Canada’s Criminal Code, with both fraud and — wait for it — witchcraft. People are shocked. In modern-day Canada, in the year 2014, you can actually be charged under an obscure provision of the Criminal Code with “pretending to practice witchcraft.” The law specifically targets Every one who fraudulently (a) pretends to exercise or to use any kind of witchcraft, sorcery, enchantment or conjuration, (b) undertakes, for a consideration, to tell fortunes, or (c) pretends from his skill in or knowledge of an occult or crafty science to discover where or in what manner anything that is supposed to have been stolen or lost may be found The charge is the equivalent of a misdemeanor with a maximum fine of $500 or a six-month jail term. That the law appears as part of a larger section on “Fraudulent Practices” has not been evident in headlines about the case, which trumpet “Fake medium faces sorcery charge… in Canada” and mislead readers to think that Canada actually has a provision to prosecute witches… just like in the Salem Witch Trials or Monty Python. I play it off like a joke, but in some parts of the world (such as Papua New Guinea, India, and parts of Africa) prosecution of witches is not a far-off piece of history, and it’s not something that targets fraudsters scamming the emotionally vulnerable. Rather, it’s based on genuine beliefs that witchcraft exists and is an offense that society’s deity expects to see punished. Headlines like the ones being posted about Fofana’s case take advantage of such injustices, which typically target vulnerable minority populations in the places where they occur, to muddy the waters in the name of clickbait. Let’s be clear: Canadian law enforcement is not exploiting a ridiculous and outdated law to charge Fofana. Nor are they expressing a sincerely-held belief that sorcery is real and worthy of punishment. Rather, they are charging Fofana with fraud using a section of the Criminal Code that specifically addresses charlatans who knowingly and intentionally defraud people through their supernatural claims. ReligiousTolerance.org notes that The law seems to be unevenly applied. Most newspapers contain advertisements by psychics; 900 lines are promoted on television; psychic fairs are periodically held in most large cities. One source estimates that there are in excess of 10,000 practicing psychics in Canada. Prosecutions are rare. And that’s why this story is really interesting. Have all these psychics demonstrated sufficient belief in their own abilities to avoid prosecution? What does “sufficient belief” look like, anyway? What about money-making schemes wrapped up in socially-sanctioned supernatural beliefs? After all, one reader’s fraudulent practice is another’s sacred cow. Exactly who gets to decide what gets prosecuted and what gets ignored? (via Doubtful News. Image via Shutterstock)	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Alex Jones shows up to confront President Trump during his visit to Austin, Texas and is met by leftist demons who are against free speech. Trump Protesters Can’t Explain Why They Don’t Like The President Trump Protester Equates MAGA Hat To Swastika By the way, overhaul your body’s cellular engine with our fan-favorite DNA Force Plus! The Emergency Election Sale is now live! Get 30% to 60% off our most popular products today!	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Bitcoin Cash is meant for people all over EARTH. Most of those people don’t speak english. That’s why today we’re releasing wordLists so you can generate mnemonics in 8 different languages to help spread $BCH to people all over the planet. wordLists BITBOX.Mnemonic now has a wordLists method which returns an object w/ the following keys: { chinese_simplified : [], chinese_traditional : [], english : [], french : [], italian : [], japanese : [], korean : [], spanish : [] } Each of these keys contains an array w/ 2048 words in that language. 4 BITBOX.Mnemonic methods now accept that wordlist as their 2nd argument and will create and validate mnemonics in those languages. The methods which now accepts a wordslist argument are generate fromEntropy toEntropy validate Examples Chinese simplified BITBOX . Mnemonic . generate ( 128 , BITBOX . Mnemonic . wordLists (). chinese_simplified ); // 南英钉油冷馏扶搬特规波顺 Chinese traditional BITBOX . Mnemonic . generate ( 128 , BITBOX . Mnemonic . wordLists (). chinese_traditional ); // 蒸融陣默甲蓋躺靈原富恆份 French BITBOX . Mnemonic . generate ( 128 , BITBOX . Mnemonic . wordLists (). french ); // annonce ampleur sanglier peser acheter cultiver abroger embellir résoudre dialogue grappin lanterne Italian BITBOX . Mnemonic . generate ( 128 , BITBOX . Mnemonic . wordLists (). italian ); // raschiato comodo petalo lira ipotesi mondina scettro ritmico bacino abrasivo attrito eletto Japanese BITBOX . Mnemonic . generate ( 128 , BITBOX . Mnemonic . wordLists (). japanese ); // かいがこけるつねづねけおりものけむりせんろしゃくほうけんみんあわせるひつぎみていたいない Korean BITBOX . Mnemonic . generate ( 128 , BITBOX . Mnemonic . wordLists (). korean ); // 회색 제공 적성 만일 당장 확인 사람 화장 숫자 여군 대도시 하순 Spanish BITBOX . Mnemonic . generate ( 128 , BITBOX . Mnemonic . wordLists (). spanish ); // combate hundir trauma edad élite medio grave pie aduana donar pimienta bodega bitbox paper bitbox paper has also been updated to now accept a --language flag which can set the mnemonic to any of the 8 languages listed above. The default is English. BITBOX GUI BITBOX GUI has also been updated to generate mnemonics in all of the above languages. There is now a language selector on the configuration screen. Select the language that you’d like to use and restart your BITBOX. Chinese simplified Chinese traditional French Italian Japanese Korean Spanish Summary With wordLists it’s now easier than ever to generate mnemonics in languages other than english to help spread $BCH all over the EARTH. More info	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Singapore — Midas Protocol, an emerging blockchain solutions company announces that it will offer a token sale to create an intelligent tool for everyone to manage, invest, trade, exchange and spend crypto-assets. As a decentralized platform built on blockchain technology, token sale funds will be used to develop its products and drive the company’s aim to increase wealth through smart crypto investment and portfolio management. Midas Protocol aims to be the smartest universal wallet for all essential crypto needs, from safekeeping, intelligent trading, portfolio management, easy conversion to fiat and spending of cryptocurrencies. Zcoin was the first cryptocurrency to implement the Zerocoin protocol, one of the world’s leading private cryptocurrency protocols and among the most significant academic developments in Bitcoin research. The Zerocoin Protocol uses zero-knowledge proofs with cryptographic accumulators to provide financial privacy. Zcoin also focuses on decentralization technologies and will be the first to implement MTP, a new breed of ASIC resistant mining algorithm to ensure fair distribution of its coins. The partnership between Midas Protocol and Zcoin will encompass: Cross marketing and cross promotion, Collaboration in community building in ASEAN region (Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia), Priority integration into Midas platform and placement, Market outreach, Staking Znodes on Midas platform and any possible future joint-development. “Midas Protocol’s goals to provide an all in one platform from safeguarding your funds, conversion of cryptocurrencies to fiat and portfolio management make it a holistic platform that is traditionally served by separate services. We are hopeful that Midas’s efforts will simplify the previously daunting task of using and investing in cryptocurrencies for the mainstream market. Zcoin is happy to be partnered with Midas and to be one of the first cryptocurrencies to be on their platform once launched and to collaborate in building the cryptocurrency ecosystem in the region.” - Poramin Insom, Founder of Zcoin commented. “Zcoin has one of the most capable privacy and security research teams. The collaboration with Zcoin will help strengthening our research on security, offering Zcoin in our Midas Wallet for clients that require more privacy transaction will give to Midas Ecosystem a competitive advantage. We are so looking forward to strengthening the global adoption for both Zcoin and Midas” - Dr. David Nguyen Vu, Chairman and CFO of Midas Protocol commented. Visit our social channels for latest update and discussion on Midas Ecosystem: Telegram: t.me/midasprotocolglobal Reddit: reddit.com/r/MidasProtocolOfficial Bitcointalk: bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3718145.0 Blogs: blog.midasprotocol.io ; medium.com/midasprotocol	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
One study showed people who swear have a larger vocabulary than others You might have been told swearing shows a lack of intelligence or a limited vocabulary. But experts have revealed this is not the case, and the use of profanity can in fact be a sign of a smart person. Studies have shown those with foul mouths are more articulate and have a larger vocabulary than their peers. Scroll down for video There is no doubt it can be incredibly offensive to some, but whether swearing is good or bad for us is still up for discussion in the scientific community. Now experts explain the science of profanity, revealing the evidence behind its positive and negative effects. Stock image IS SWEARING A SIGN OF A GOOD VOCABULARY? Research in 2014 revealed people who frequently swear are more likely to have a bigger vocabulary than their clean-tongued peers. A colourful tongue does not mean the talker is lazy or uneducated, the study published in the Language Sciences journal found. Instead, those who are more confident using taboo words are more articulate in other areas. Kristin and Timothy Jay, the US-based psychologists who co-wrote the study, said it proved swearing was positively correlated with verbal fluency. 'We cannot help but judge others on the basis of their speech,' they wrote. 'Unfortunately, when it comes to taboo language, it is a common assumption that people who swear frequently are lazy, do not have an adequate vocabulary, lack education, or simply cannot control themselves.' Advertisement Benjamin Bergen, Professor of cognitive sciences at UC San Diego, says we have many misconceptions about using foul language. Professor Bergen is author of a book called 'What the F: What Swearing Reveals About Our Language, Our Brains, and Ourselves.' 'It turns out that there are amazing things you can find out about how the mind works, how the brain works, people's human sociality just by looking at profanity,' he told CBS. Swearing could be linked to higher intelligence and a bigger vocabulary. Research in 2014 revealed people who frequently swear are more likely to have a bigger vocabulary than their clean-tongued peers. A colourful tongue does not mean the talker is lazy or uneducated, the study published in the Language Sciences journal found. Instead, those who are more confident using taboo words are more articulate in other areas. The experiment asked participants to say as many swear words as they could think of in 60 seconds. They were then asked to do the same with animals. Those who knew the most swear words were more likely to name the most animals as well, the research found. Kristin and Timothy Jay, the US-based psychologists who co-wrote the study, said it proved swearing was positively correlated with verbal fluency. The average profile of a swearer is often sophisticated, like that of the swear-word loving spin doctor Malcolm Tucker (played by Peter Capaldi) in TV political satire The Thick of It TURNING THE NET BLUE: TOP 10 UK SWEAR WORDS ON FACEBOOK 1. F* 2. S* 3. Bloody 4. P* 5. B 6. Crap 7. C* 8. C* 9. Damn 10. D* Source: Slate Advertisement They added that those who used taboo words were able to make nuanced distinctions and could use language expressively. 'We cannot help but judge others on the basis of their speech,' they wrote. 'Unfortunately, when it comes to taboo language, it is a common assumption that people who swear frequently are lazy, do not have an adequate vocabulary, lack education, or simply cannot control themselves.' In their conclusion, they added: 'The overall finding of this set of studies, that taboo fluency is positively correlated with other measures of verbal fluency, undermines the [normal] view of swearing. 'Speakers who use taboo words understand their general expressive content as well as nuanced distinctions that must be drawn to use slurs appropriately. 'The ability to make nuanced distinctions indicates the presence of more rather than less linguistic knowledge.' Forty-nine participants aged between 18 and 22 were used in the experiment. 'There's this idea that swearing might be cathartic' Professor Benjamin Bergen, from UC San Diego, told CBS. But according to Professor Bergen, swearing makes people no less aggressive. Another group of researchers has claimed swearing is a harmless emotional release which could make you feel stronger - though only in moderation. In an experiment, participants were made to play aggressive computer games and could recall a wider variety of swear words after their session, as well as turning the air blue much more often. A colourful tongue does not mean the talker is lazy or uneducated, a study published last year in the Language Sciences journal found. Instead, those who are more confident using taboo words are more articulate in other areas Rather than just proving we swear more when we are angry, the psychologists insisted, the study showed profanity can be an emotional coping mechanism which makes us feel more resilient. The group presented the findings of their study to the British Psychological Society's annual conference. In the video game study, they said, participants were asked to recall as many profanities as they could before and after playing. Senior lecturer Dr Richard Stephens said: 'The video games made people feel more aggressive so their language became more emotional and they swore. This explains swearing and makes it more acceptable.	{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }

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