Datasets:
suolyer
/
pile_openwebtext2

Dataset card Data Studio Files
xet
Community
text
stringlengths
19
100k
meta
dict
While the Demo­c­ra­t­ic Par­ty has lined up behind Joe Biden as the pre­sump­tive nom­i­nee to take on Pres­i­dent Trump in Novem­ber, the pres­i­den­tial field may not yet be entire­ly set. A promi­nent con­ser­v­a­tive is mak­ing new rum­blings about shak­ing up the gen­er­al elec­tion with a third-par­ty bid. The time for change is now. Inde­pen­dent Michi­gan Rep. Justin Amash, a for­mer Repub­li­can and an out­spo­ken Trump crit­ic, said on Twit­ter last week that he is ​“look­ing close­ly” at a run. “Amer­i­cans who believe in lim­it­ed gov­ern­ment deserve anoth­er option,” Amash wrote, kick start­ing spec­u­la­tion that Lib­er­tar­i­an Par­ty might nom­i­nate him at its con­ven­tion next month. It may seem like an unex­pect­ed twist: A high-pro­file third par­ty can­di­date with the poten­tial to draw votes from Democ­rats, Repub­li­cans and inde­pen­dents, and remake the race in dif­fer­ent ways across numer­ous states. But soon­er than you could say ​“Ross Per­ot” or ​“Ralph Nad­er,” Amash’s flir­ta­tion restart­ed an all-too famil­iar, if frus­trat­ing, debate about third par­ties. Media out­lets from Fox News to Haaretz to the Hill raised alarm about ​“spoil­er can­di­dates” and ​“wast­ed votes” while spec­u­lat­ing about who’d be helped and who’d be hurt. Would Amash drain Repub­li­can votes from Trump? Would his stance on decrim­i­nal­iz­ing mar­i­jua­na appeal to young vot­ers? Would he tip his home state of Michigan’s cru­cial Elec­toral Col­lege votes toward the pres­i­dent, by pro­vid­ing dis­af­fect­ed Repub­li­cans with anoth­er option? This polit­i­cal chat­ter might fuel cable-news pan­els from now until Novem­ber, but the truth is that no one real­ly knows. What’s baf­fling is that the major par­ties cede con­trol of their elec­toral des­tiny to minor par­ties and inde­pen­dents who cer­tain­ly have every right to run for office, yet under cur­rent elec­tion laws can change out­comes, either wit­ting­ly or unwittingly. Both Repub­li­cans and Democ­rats could stop com­plain­ing and fix this once and for all: Change the law and let vot­ers tru­ly decide. This repet­i­tive ​“Groundhog’s Day” argu­ment could be set­tled if we adopt­ed ranked choice vot­ing (RCV), and rein­forced the foun­da­tion­al Amer­i­can notion of ​“major­i­ty rule.” This isn’t a the­o­ret­i­cal option. For the first time this fall, vot­ers in Maine will use RCV to elect the pres­i­dent, and it’s already been used in sev­er­al pres­i­den­tial pri­maries this spring. We would have bet­ter elec­tions and more rep­re­sen­ta­tive out­comes if vot­ers in all 50 states had this valu­able, non-par­ti­san option to improve our democracy. RCV is easy, pop­u­lar, and increas­ing­ly used in the Unit­ed States and around the world. Because it func­tions like an instant runoff, it’s espe­cial­ly use­ful for ensur­ing the fairest result when there are more than two can­di­dates in a race. If some­one wins more than 50%, they win, just like any oth­er elec­tion. But if every­one falls short of a major­i­ty, then the last place can­di­date is elim­i­nat­ed, and back­up choic­es come into play. Vot­ers han­dle the bal­lot with ease — more than 99.8% cast a valid bal­lot in Alaska’s first use of RCV this spring in its pres­i­den­tial pri­ma­ry, with near­ly all rank­ing mul­ti­ple can­di­dates. There are no plu­ral­i­ty win­ners with RCV — which means there are also no spoil­ers and no wast­ed votes. It advan­tages no par­ty, just the voters. In our cur­rent sin­gle-choice, non-major­i­ty sys­tem, it’s cer­tain­ly pos­si­ble that Amash could end up play­ing the spoil­er. In 2016, a Lib­er­tar­i­an tick­et led by two for­mer gov­er­nors, New Mexico’s Gary John­son and Bill Weld of Mass­a­chu­setts, earned more votes than the mar­gin of vic­to­ry for Trump and Hillary Clin­ton in 10 states and near­ly 4.5 mil­lion votes nation­wide — greater than Clinton’s nation­al pop­u­lar vote margin. What might hap­pen in 2020 with­out RCV? In GOP-lean­ing states like Ari­zona and Geor­gia, a strong Lib­er­tar­i­an can­di­date could split the anti-Biden vote. Else­where, a per­sis­tent and artic­u­late Trump crit­ic on the right could ​“dou­ble team” Trump and dri­ve him down. Or, in com­pet­i­tive swing states, Amash could divide the anti-Trump vote. RCV changes this cal­cu­lus. In any state where Amash fin­ished third, he’d be elim­i­nat­ed as part of the instant runoff. His vot­ers would go to their sec­ond choic­es. An Amash vot­er who’s also a ​“Nev­er Trump” Repub­li­can might put Biden sec­ond. An Amash vot­er who wants to send a mes­sage but sees back­ing a Demo­c­rat as a bridge too far can put Trump second. No one would spoil any­thing. No vot­er would have to set­tle for a less­er of two evils. We’d have a very dif­fer­ent cam­paign — and a true, rep­re­sen­ta­tive majori­tar­i­an result. The win­ner in every state would col­lect more than 50% of the vote. Democ­rats and Repub­li­cans would try to per­suade Lib­er­tar­i­ans to their side. Instead, get ready for Trump and Biden back­ers to brow­beat third-par­ty vot­ers. They will insist that they fall in line and repeat all the famil­iar argu­ments about Ralph Nad­er and Susan Saran­don. Repub­li­cans will point out all the times that a Lib­er­tar­i­an can­di­date helped allow a Demo­c­rat to cap­ture a U.S. Sen­ate seat or gov­er­nor­ship — most recent­ly in Ken­tucky. Both sides could claim that their side might have won had third-par­ty vot­ers not demand­ed ide­o­log­i­cal perfection. But all that vit­ri­ol didn’t con­vince peo­ple in 2016 and it’s not like­ly to work in 2020 either. Mil­lions of Amer­i­cans, once again, will be dis­sat­is­fied by a bina­ry choice between Biden and Trump, and look instead toward a third par­ty or inde­pen­dent option. We should not blame vot­ers for want­i­ng more choice when it hap­pens again and again. Blame starts with pol­i­cy­mak­ers who sit on their hands. We ought to make it eas­i­er for vot­ers to express the full­ness of their opin­ion, while still gen­er­at­ing win­ners that the widest num­ber of peo­ple support. After all, when sup­port­ers of a major-par­ty can­di­date com­plain about ​“spoil­ers,” they’re real­ly com­plain­ing about plu­ral­i­ty win­ners. It’s not that they dis­like hav­ing more than two choic­es. They’re wor­ried about an unrep­re­sen­ta­tive result. They’re com­plain­ing that a divid­ed field will allow some­one to win with less than 50%. So let’s fix that. RCV is the best way. The time for change is now. Democ­rats and Repub­li­cans can spend the next year try­ing to hec­tor inde­pen­dents out of the race. Or, every state could join Maine, embrace RCV and give Amer­i­cans the tools to bring order to our messy pol­i­tics all by themselves.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Summary I nching closer and closer to the halfway point of fantasy regular season and breakout candidates are starting to look like the real deal. Week 9 sees double digit counts for games on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, so streaming off night guys is really going to help! We're here to help you find them. Show Notes Grammar School - 1:35 Week Review - 2:05 Injury News - 6:30 Long Term Pickup Suggestions - 9:50 Week Preview and Pickup Suggestions - 16:25 Scripts Gambi's script Brandon's script Players Talked About Grammar School Nikolay Goldobin Week's Notable Players Tom Wilson Auston Matthews Jonathan Huberdeau Mikko Koskinen Devan Dubnyk Mikko Rantanen William Nylander Injury News Ilya Kovalchuk Tyson Barrie Timo Meier Alex Pietrangelo Patric Hornqvist Hampus Lindholm Micheal Ferland Dustin Byfuglien Ben Bishop Auston Matthews Jonathan Quick Brian Elliott Shea Weber Brock Boeser Long Term Pickup Suggestions Oscar Klefbom Alexander Edler Nick Schmaltz Kevin Fiala Brandon Saad Mikko Koskinen Sami Vatanen Short Term Pickup Suggestions
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
What if five years from now robo-advisors are a thing of the past? That would seem counter-intuitive given the current trend and the enthusiasm for it, with technology accelerating as quickly as the many startups competing in FinTech and related verticals, and as the industry for robo-advisors is still in the very early stages of development. How then, could the future of automated financial advice be further transformed, taking on a different dimension that makes the current approach obsolete? Join the iFX EXPO Asia and discover your gateway to the Asian Markets By 2020, the market for machine learning will reach $40 billion, according to market research firm IDC. Combine that with the potential for more than 20% of financial services companies to be at risk of losing business to FinTech firms by 2020, according to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) report from earlier this month, and a change in the landscape may be underway, accelerating as approaches to technology cause industries to converge. The next version of robo-advisors could be greatly enhanced compared to their predecessors. The advantages of robo-advisory generally have been seen as savings costs and using a systematic and non-biased approach. However, the real potential benefit could be leveraging machine-learning to take advantage of tailored investment opportunities, not based on just pre-selected criteria or underlying pre-determined assumptions. Machines are increasingly able to do cognitive tasks, opening up a much broader set of things that only humans were previously able to do A.I. will transform finance The potentially all-encompassing prospects for artificial intelligence appear significant and inevitable. MIT professor Erik Brynjolfsson, speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) earlier this year, said that in the future people won’t need to know how to program, we’ll just talk to computers normally (to write a program), and other natural “new” skills will be more valuable for humans (than their current perceived value) because of how technology will evolve. While on a panel at Davos, Mr. Brynjolfsson said “Machines are increasingly able to do cognitive tasks, opening up a much broader set of things that only humans were previously able to do,” and differentiated between automating tasks – which he called “lazy” – with the more valuable strategy of using machines to add value to human roles. Convergences in related fields In terms of why the current approach to robo-advisory could be drastically transformed, the answer may be due to convergences. The race to advance artificial intelligence is speeding up so that earlier this month in South Korea, Google’s AlphaGo beat a human player in a game of ‘go’, and elsewhere, new approaches to wireless technology are fast underway thanks to a recent military inspired initiative by U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) which could help find technologies applicable to industries beyond defense, including in finance. We want to radically accelerate the development of machine-learning technologies and strategies… DARPA unveiled last week what it called the world’s first collaborative machine-learning competition. “DARPA Challenges have traditionally rewarded teams that dominate their competitors, but when it comes to making the most of the electromagnetic spectrum, the team that shares most intelligently is going to win,” said SC2 program manager Paul Tilghman of DARPA’s Microsystems Technology Office (MTO), commenting in the agencies press release. “We want to radically accelerate the development of machine-learning technologies and strategies that will allow on-the-fly sharing of spectrum at machine timescales.” The below chart of the allocated frequencies shows how new approaches could be applied towards the vast number of applicable industries that communicate and connect wirelessly. Radiowaves might seem like the furthest thing from financial markets, yet observations into the remnant background cosmic microwave radiation from billions of light years away by astrophysicists have inspired algorithmic approaches to identify non-random data from all the random background noise. A similar quantitative approach applies to finding opportunities in big data and financial markets here on planet earth. Algorithmic trading and even the use of A.I. inspired approaches have been in use in foreign exchange markets for more than a decade already. One of the first non-banks to trade on EBS when it first opened its API was a Cambridge-based company named Financial Labs LLC where a group of scientists developed trading systems using genetically programmed algorithms. This firm was later acquired by Bank of America. Fintech: old to new Algorithms have been around in financial markets working behind the scenes for a while now and are nothing new, yet their recent application to the customer-facing side for qualitative purposes has helped take a more quantitative approach to investment advice, based on pre-determined options as seen in robo-advisory offerings. Many of the large online brokerages in the U.S. including Charles Schwab and Vanguard, among others, have jumped on the robo-advisor bandwagon already, as well as testing out social trading platforms. Fintech startups like Betterment and Wealthfront have picked up vast numbers of customers in a very short period of time thanks to their high-tech approach to financial services. “FinTech is shifting the paradigm of traditional intermediary roles by making them obsolete.” Suggested articles ForexTB Set to Launch New Innovative Trading PlatformGo to article >> Expert advisors that allow clients to robotize their investments, for example on MetaTrader4 (MT4), TradeStation, NinjaTrader, cTrader and many other retail platforms, have been around for many years already, yet the approach taken to robo-advisory uses a variation of automated-like features to achieve its goal. FinTech innovations will create opportunity and competition, coupled with a changing landscape due to convergences between analytics and A.I. in financial services. In the aforementioned PwC report, compiled from a survey of nearly 550 respondents, Manoj Kashyap, PwC Global Financial Services FinTech Leader, said: “FinTech is shifting the paradigm of traditional intermediary roles by making them obsolete. While Financial Services organisations have acted as intermediaries in the financial system by providing an invaluable service to clients, their functions are being usurped by new technology-driven business models.” A.I. versus automated Currently, the pre-determined options that robo-advisors have to choose from in order to provide clients with relevant choices is exactly where their weakness lies. In other words, robo advisors are only as good as the underlying assumptions programmed into them, and the subsequent related product options available to offer clients. For example, there could be 10 ETF products that a robot advisor can choose from to build a portfolio for clients, based on 100 client variables, thus resulting in 10,000 possible variations of particular advice scenarios. Furthermore, rules may be implemented to enable automatic portfolio rebalancing based on target weightings or to adjust for a new target holding based on changes in the underlying market drivers. Even if firms have dynamic assumptions that are correlated to underlying markets or other changing variables that could cause the advice to be adjusted based on changing conditions, this would appear to be a smart engine underlying the robo-advisors, yet the decision-making process behind that engine is still likely to be human-driven. Silver bullet far away but getting closer The silver bullet solution to robo-advisors is not a genetically programmed one that can make all its own decisions with minimal primordial configuration, but instead the ability for such technology to be commonplace inside all trading platforms and client mobile apps. This is based on well-defined goals and client objectives, with the aim of increasing the effectiveness of market analysis and accuracy of predictions. The likes of Amazon, Google, IBM, and Microsoft could be some of the first to branch A.I.into financial markets retail facing platforms, and they already offer numerous A.I related solutions in other industries (i.e. such as recognizing people’s faces from photos). “The relationship between big companies and deep machine intelligence is just starting.” These offerings are still far from mastering financial market predictions or finding the best investment advice to offer, but perhaps not for long. However, the technology likely already exists on a very small scale, such as by high-frequency trading firms or data research companies who use proprietary programs for trading. Therefore, while it may be some time before A.I. driven robo-advisors show up on the retail facing side, they are indeed already here, just in different forms and to a lesser degree. Diana B. Greene, head of Google Compute Engine, was quoted in a recent WSJ article saying: “The relationship between big companies and deep machine intelligence is just starting”, and she added: “just teaching companies how to use A.I. will be a big business.” All about data analytics Big data and the use of analytics is one of the driving forces behind firms that are incorporating qualitative news with quantitative market data, for example, a company named Kensho can find answers to as many as 65 million question combinations by scanning 90,000 different actions, in order to find meaning. It’s been nearly fifteen years since the early days of algorithmic trading took place via EBS’s API for foreign exchange markets, and retail-driven automated trading already accounts for a significant amount of retail trading volumes. Yet, the context of what automated means may be further refined to include A.I. driven, and not just a rules-based algorithm. Because at some point its hard to tell the difference between a highly automated technology and an artificially intelligent one, especially if the technology combines both automation and A.I. There is a fine line between where one ends and the other one begins. Artificially intelligent platforms A.I. isn’t the real thing, it’s artificially intelligent (pun intended). Its advantages could be nonetheless wide-ranging across all electronic mediums and industries, and likely to invade nearly all digital mediums and household electronics too. Even after software becomes conscious or aware of itself, there should always be a human element underlying key rules and permissions, otherwise rogue machines could find ways to circumvent rules or manipulate the market – paralleling a flash-crash style event again. A.I could include more than just complex event processing, neural networks, and genetic programming – we may soon see quantum algorithms coupled with machine learning from the vast amounts of data generated, in order for the programs to identify which markets/instruments have the highest predictability probability over a given time frame, and choosing which strategy to employ to help best meet client’s goals. The limitations of efficient market theory may become tested and redefined. The near-future will be different Right now the convergences happening within algorithmic trading, robo-advisory, automated trading signals, social trading, crowdfunding, payments, FinTech, along with artificial intelligence and big data, and last but not least the latest initiative from DARPA, all point towards a different future. But the human touch will not be replaced anytime soon, and the goal of A.I. and automation might not be just to replace human jobs, but to help redefine new positions that can help free up time for new roles and positions that will be created as the manner in which products are used changes. The market is moving towards a future where the complexity of the client-facing side is largely removed – coupled with improvements in UI/UX designs – while on the back-end, legacy systems are replaced with new approaches. Thus, if robo-advisors aid market efficiency this could either hamper or amplify returns, depending on geopolitical and regulatory changes, and how effective A.I. robo-advisors in finance prove to be.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Better Puppet Modules Using Hiera Data When writing Puppet Modules there tend to be a ton of configuration data – generally things like different paths for different operating systems. Today the general pattern to manage this data is a class module::param with a bunch of logic in it. Here’s a simplistic example below – for an example of the full horror of this pattern see the puppetlabs-ntp module. # ntp/manifests/init.pp class ntp ( $config = $ntp::params::config, $keys_file = $ntp::params::keys_file ) inherits ntp::params { file{$config: .... } } # ntp/manifests/init.pp class ntp ( $config = $ntp::params::config, $keys_file = $ntp::params::keys_file ) inherits ntp::params { file{$config: .... } } # ntp/manifests/params.pp class ntp::params { case $::osfamily { 'AIX': { $config = "/etc/ntp.conf" $keys_file = '/etc/ntp.keys' } 'Debian': { $config = "/etc/ntp.conf" $keys_file = '/etc/ntp/keys' } 'RedHat': { $config = "/etc/ntp.conf" $keys_file = '/etc/ntp/keys' } default: { fail("The ${module_name} module is not supported on an ${::osfamily} based system.") } } } # ntp/manifests/params.pp class ntp::params { case $::osfamily { 'AIX': { $config = "/etc/ntp.conf" $keys_file = '/etc/ntp.keys' } 'Debian': { $config = "/etc/ntp.conf" $keys_file = '/etc/ntp/keys' } 'RedHat': { $config = "/etc/ntp.conf" $keys_file = '/etc/ntp/keys' } default: { fail("The ${module_name} module is not supported on an ${::osfamily} based system.") } } } This is the exact reason Hiera exists – to remove this kind of spaghetti code and move it into data, instinctively now whenever anyone see code like this they think they should refactor this and move the data into Hiera. But there’s a problem. This works for your own modules in your own repos, you’d just use the Puppet 3 automatic parameter bindings and override the values in the ntp class – not ideal, but many people do it. If however you wanted to write a module for the Forge though there’s a hitch because the module author has no idea what kind of hierarchy exist where the module is used. If the site even used Hiera and today the module author can’t ship data with his module. So the only sensible thing to do is to embed a bunch of data in your code – the exact thing Hiera is supposed to avoid. I proposed a solution to this problem that would allow module authors to embed data in their modules as well as control the Hierarchy that would be used when accessing this data. Unfortunately a year on we’re still nowhere and the community – and the forge – is suffering as a result. The proposed solution would be a always-on Hiera backend that as a last resort would look for data inside the module. Critically the module author controls the hierarchy when it gets to the point of accessing data in the module. Consider the ntp::params class above, it is a code version of a Hiera Hierarchy keyed on the $::osfamily fact. But if we just allowed the module to supply data inside the module then the module author has to just hope that everyone has this tier in their hierarchy – not realistic. My proposal then adds a module specific Hierarchy and data that gets consulted after the site Hierarchy. So lets look at how to rework this module around this proposed solution: # ntp/manifests/init.pp class ntp ($config, $keysfile) { validate_absolute_path($config) validate_absolute_path($keysfile) file{$config: .... } } # ntp/manifests/init.pp class ntp ($config, $keysfile) { validate_absolute_path($config) validate_absolute_path($keysfile) file{$config: .... } } Next you configure Hiera to consult a hierarchy on the $::osfamily fact, note the new data directory that goes inside the module: # ntp/data/hiera.yaml --- :hierarchy : - "%{::osfamily}" # ntp/data/hiera.yaml --- :hierarchy: - "%{::osfamily}" And finally we create some data files, here’s just the one for RedHat: # ntp/data/RedHat.yaml --- ntp::config : /etc/ntp.conf ntp::keys_file : /etc/ntp/keys # ntp/data/RedHat.yaml --- ntp::config: /etc/ntp.conf ntp::keys_file: /etc/ntp/keys Users of the module could add a new OS without contributing back to the module or forking the module by simply providing similar data to the site specific hierarchy leaving the downloaded module 100% untouched! This is a very simple view of what this pattern allows, time will tell what the community makes of it. There are many advantages to this over the ntp::params pattern: This helps the contributor to a public module: Adding a new OS is easy, just drop in a new YAML file. This can be done with confidence as it will not break existing code as it will only be read on machines of the new OS. No complex case statements or 100s of braces to get right On a busy module when adding a new OS they do not have to worry about complex merge problems, working hard at rebasing or any git escoteria – they’re just adding a file. Syntactically it’s very easy, it’s just a YAML file. No complex case statements etc. The contributor does not have to worry about breaking other Operating Systems he could not test on like AIX here. The change is contained to machines for the new OS In large environments this help with change control as it’s just data – no logic changes This helps the maintainer of a module: Module maintenance is easier when it comes to adding new Operating Systems as it’s simple single files Easier contribution reviews Fewer merge commits, less git magic needed, cleaner commit history The code is a lot easier to read and maintain. Fewer tests and validations are needed. This helps the user of a module: Well written modules now properly support supplying all data from Hiera He has a single place to look for the overridable data When using a module that does not support his OS he can deploy it into his site and just provide data instead of forking it Today I am releasing my proposed code as a standalone module. It provides all the advantages above including the fact that it’s always on without any additional configuration needed. It works exactly as above by adding a data directory with a hiera.yaml inside it. The only configuration being considered in this hiera.yaml is the hierarchy. This module is new and does some horrible things to get itself activated automatically without any configuration, I’ve only tested it on Puppet 3.2.x but I think it will work in 3.x as is. I’d love to get feedback on this from users. If you want to write a forge module that uses this feature simply add a dependency on the ripienaar/module_data module, soon as someone install this dependency along with your module the backend gets activated. Similarly if you just want to use this feature in your own modules, just puppet module install ripienaar/module_data. Note though that if you do your module will only work on Puppet 3 or newer. It’s unfortunate that my Pull Request is now over a year old and did not get merged and no real progress is being made. I hope if enough users adopt this solution we can force progress rather than sit by and watch nothing happen. Please send me your feedback and use this widely.
{ "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 Going to bed? Perfect time to relax your bladder
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Trainer, es ist an der Zeit, eure Stärke unter Beweis zu stellen! Die Legendären Pokémon Groudon und Kyogre können für eine begrenzte Zeit zusammen mit Rayquaza erneut in Raid-Kämpfen herausgefordert werden. Dies ist die perfekte Gelegenheit, um alle drei urzeitlichen Legendären Pokémon zu fangen, die in der Hoenn-Region entdeckt wurden. Groudon, Kyogre und Rayquaza haben unterschiedliche Stärken und Schwächen – alle drei zu besiegen erfordert daher viel Können! Trainiert eure stärksten Pokémon, versammelt eure Freunde und besucht die Arenen in eurer Umgebung, um diese Pokémon bis zum 5. März zu besiegen und zu fangen. Macht euch auf legendäre Kämpfe gefasst! Wenn Rayquaza häufiger als Groudon und Kyogre zusammen besiegt wird, schlüpfen vom 5. bis zum 16. März häufiger Pokémon aus Eiern, die windiges Wetter bevorzugen, zum Beispiel Kindwurm. Andernfalls ist es wahrscheinlicher, dass Pokémon wie Knacklion oder Loturzel aus Eiern schlüpfen, die sonniges bzw. regnerisches Wetter bevorzugen. Auf euch kommen harte Kämpfe zu, deshalb sind ab dem 24. Februar neue Spezialboxen verfügbar, die z. B. Raid-Pässe enthalten, um euch bei der Vorbereitung zu unterstützen. Besucht den In-Game-Shop für weitere Informationen. Lasst euch diese Gelegenheit nicht entgehen, um euer Team mit diesen Legendären Pokémon zu erweitern. Seid vorsichtig und viel Spaß beim Entdecken! —Das Team von Pokémon GO
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The National Wildlife Federation and its affiliates is asking Americans to buy federal duck stamps to show their support for protecting wildlife habitats and public lands in response to the armed protests at a wildlife refuge in Oregon. “Whether a hunter, angler, birder, hiker, or wildlife enthusiast, every American benefits from the amazing public lands that have been protected for generations for the benefit of all Americans,” Collin O’Mara, the federation’s president and chief executive officer, said in a statement. ADVERTISEMENT “By purchasing Federal Duck Stamps, we can show our strong support for conserving wildlife, enhancing wildlife refuges, and ensuring that America’s public lands remain accessible to all Americans.” The federation is pushing the federal duck stamp because 98 cents of every dollar spent goes directly to purchase vital habitat or acquire conservation easements to protect land in the National Wildlife Refuge System. The armed protests began Saturday night at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The protesters say they are acting in response to unfair prison sentences for a pair of ranchers convicted of arson on federal land. The federation said the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, home to over 320 species of birds, follows multiple unsuccessful state-level and congressional efforts to privatize public lands, which are now accessible to all Americans.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Update, 9/25: Porsche CEO Matthias Müller has been named the new CEO of Volkswagen Group by the company's Supervisory Board. In a statement, Müller wrote, "My most urgent task is to win back trust for the Volkswagen Group—by leaving no stone unturned and with maximum transparency, as well as drawing the right conclusions from the current situation. Under my leadership, Volkswagen will do everything it can to develop and implement the most stringent compliance and governance standards in our industry." Update, 9/24: The Wall Street Journal reports that a source close to the matter has re-affirmed that Porsche CEO Matthais Müller will take over as head of Volkswagen Group. Rumors of Winterkorn's resignation and Müller's succession were reported on Monday, but Volkswagen denied the reports. Our original report on Winterkorn's resignation is below. Martin Winterkorn, the CEO of Volkswagen Group, resigned today amid a scandal involving the emissions control systems on Volkswagen and Audi diesel vehicles. According to Bloomberg, he could benefit from a $32 million pension on his way out. If the company's supervisory board decides he is not responsible for the circumstances surrounding his exit, Winterkorn could also reap millions more in severance. In his notice of resignation, published on Volkswagen’s website, Winterkorn wrote, "I am shocked by the events of the past few days. Above all, I am stunned that misconduct on such a scale was possible in the Volkswagen Group." The Volkswagen Group owns automotive brands such as Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, and others. Last week, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Notice of Violation to the company, saying that a variety of Volkswagen and Audi vehicles made after 2009 were shown to have “defeat devices” on them. The software on a defeat device reduces the efficacy of a car’s emissions control system while it operates under normal conditions, but it allows the emissions control system to operate normally while the car is being tested for emissions compliance. That way, Volkswagen could allegedly offer cars with better performance while ignoring federally mandated emissions regulations in the US. At first, the EPA cited about 500,000 vehicles in the US that were affected by the device. After Winterkorn publicly apologized for the scandal over the weekend, Volkswagen released a statement saying that nearly 11 million vehicles worldwide had the deceptive software on them. Rumors suggested that Winterkorn would be ousted and replaced by Porsche’s CEO, but Volkswagen denied the information. In his resignation notice today, Winterkorn wrote, "As CEO I accept responsibility for the irregularities that have been found in diesel engines and have therefore requested the Supervisory Board to agree on terminating my function as CEO of the Volkswagen Group. I am doing this in the interests of the company even though I am not aware of any wrong doing on my part.” In the US, Volkswagen could face up to $18 billion in fines, and executives like Winterkorn could face criminal prosecution. "Volkswagen needs a fresh start—also in terms of personnel,” Winterkorn continued. "I am clearing the way for this fresh start with my resignation." In a statement to Ars, a Volkswagen spokesperson said Winterkorn's successor has not been decided yet. The new CEO—very likely Matthais Müller, according to the WSJ report—will be decided at Volkswagen's Friday supervisory board meeting.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. Saying that serving in the job has been “the greatest honor of my professional life,” Attorney General Eric Holder announced his resignation Thursday at the White House. Appearing with President Barack Obama, Holder – who has served in the post for six years – said that “work remains to be done, but our list of accomplishments is real.” Let our news meet your inbox. The news and stories that matters, delivered weekday mornings. This site is protected by recaptcha Obama called Holder’s departure “bittersweet” and praised the former prosecutor’s role as "America’s lawyer – the people’s lawyer.” “Thanks to his efforts, since I took office, the overall crime rate and the overall incarceration rate have gone down,” Obama said. Aides told NBC News earlier Thursday that Obama has not yet decided on a successor but that Holder will stay on the job until his replacement is confirmed. Holder informed the president "very recently" of his decision to step down, officials said. Holder, the first African American to hold the job of attorney general, is among just a handful of cabinet officials who have stayed in their posts since the beginning of Obama's presidency. After his departure, just two - the Department of Agriculture's Tom Vilsack and the Department of Education's Arne Duncan - will remain from Obama's original cabinet. Holder became a lightning rod for criticism from congressional Republicans, who have pushed for his dismissal over the Fast and Furious gun operation, the IRS targeting scandal, and other high-profile controversies. In 2012, he became the first sitting Cabinet official to be held in contempt of Congress. This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates. — Carrie Dann
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
"There’s something happening here." — Buffalo Springfield, 1967 Every major leftist movement the world has seen has been totalitarian by nature. Occasionally this brand of extremism arises elsewhere along the ideological spectrum, such as Islamo-fascism, but Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany remain the archetypes of the socialist genre of dictatorship among many incarnations which clearly include today’s “liberal Democrats” in the United States. Contemporary liberal Democrats reveal their totalitarian proclivities in many subtle ways, such as support for single-payer healthcare and all other forms of big government, and some that are not so subtle. Recent years have seen a surge in the latter variety. Shouting down conservative speakers on college campuses to silence their views has been ongoing, but now the practice has graduated to violent attacks on speakers and audiences. There is no record of comparable suppression of speech by conservatives. And why is it only the left that abides no dissent from its preferred orthodoxy? The adherents expose through their own behavior that they fear a fair debate of ideas, so they attempt to quell intellectual challenge through brute force—just as all autocrats do. America’s so-called liberal Democrats resort to the most aggressive tactics out of the Saul Alinsky manual, i.e., destroy any threat to the radical agenda. Truth is beside the point to them. To substantiate via illustration of such Stalinist “politics of personal destruction,” here are a few examples: (1) Mitt Romney, as 2012 presidential candidate, was Mr. Nice Guy until Democrats got ahold of him. Then the public found out that he had abused his dog, caused an employee to die of cancer, and sadistically imprisoned women in a torture device known as a binder! All this derived from the Obama campaign’s suitably-named “ kill Romney” strategy. Of course, candidate Obama’s own personal history was deemed off-limits. Hypocrisy is a familiar trait of leftist totalitarians. (2) Poor George W. Bush. Investigations by three different governmental commissions concluded that he did not lie about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. If anything, he received the same information worldwide intelligence agencies did about Saddam’s WMD arsenal. Yet “Bush lied” was burned into the national consciousness through liberal Democrat propaganda, paving the way for election of a true leftist president. (3) Barack Obama advanced the practice of despotic repression by weaponizing every office of his government for domestic political use. The IRS campaign of terror against conservative groups was only one of the most obnoxious. Richard Nixon received an article of impeachment for much less. (4) The grand master of personal destruction politics was Bill Clinton, who slimed anyone seen as a threat whether James McDougal, Ken Starr, or Juanita Broaddrick. This m.o. was the whole point of the “war room” of Clinton’s permanent campaign, not to mention Hillary’s “bimbo eruption" squad. A colorful couple, those Clintons. Hillary, in particular, was a disciple of leftist Saul Alinsky. (5) Currently we have liberal Democrat rioters, following the Occupy Wall Street slow-motion riot. Black Lives Matter extremists demand the murder of police, and the misnamed Antifa ironically lives the fascist ideal of causing mayhem whenever someone utters a thought contrary to liberal Democrat political correctness. After the first violent act by a right-wing fringe fanatic in many years, in Charlottesville, the fake news narrative is that conservatives are the violent ones. In reality, almost all political violence in this country is committed by the far left (for example, a Bernie Sanders-supporting maniac actually attempting to assassinate Republican members of Congress). (6) A telling symptom of the left’s nascent despotism is the public shaming of any entity that disagrees with them, e.g., organizing against businesses that violate leftist dogma by supporting a traditional position. For instance, dare to agree with the view on homosexual marriage held until a few years ago by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and you become a target. (Recall Alinsky’s “isolate it, freeze it, personalize it.”) Likewise, the revelations about leftist groups such as the Southern Poverty Law Center demonizing those they disagree with. The left decided long ago to downplay debate over ideas—their ideology having failed empirically all over the world—and to simply use neo-McCarthyist tactics instead. (7) In Animal Farm, some pigs really are more equal than others. Hillary Clinton was found to have committed numerous email felonies, and then the gutless James Comey said “never mind.” Clinton’s Benghazi malfeasance with Barack Obama also has gone unpunished. The political elite elevating itself above the law is a hallmark of leftist dictatorship. (8) One of the liberal Democrats’ favorite slander devices is the accusation of racism, which has become the supreme insult in our society. White-on-black racism, in particular, has become socially unacceptable, which actually is a measure of how anti-racist America has become in overcoming vestiges of its more primitive state. Recognize, however, that for the past 45 years, the only legally permissible, sometimes legally mandated, racial discrimination in the U.S. is that which is committed in favor of minorities against Caucasians. This is the extreme state of our social law, for better or worse, yet many on the left trot out “white supremacist” allegations more often than we can count. There is a more substantive reason for the liberal Democrat amalgam’s resort to this odious tactic, beyond findings of its marketing effectiveness: Liberal Democrats cannot permit the mass healing of race relations in our country. They need to aggravate those relations so their side is better able to exploit the issue. Is there no limit to their neo-McCarthyist cynicism? Politics is everything to liberal Democrats, because government power is everything to them. (9) Perhaps the worst of the Big Lies was “if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor,” designed to give liberal Democrat government absolute life-and-death power over all citizens through the enactment of Obamacare. What better way to achieve totalitarian rule than mortal power over all the ruled people? See why socialized medicine is the liberal Democrats' Holy Grail? A broader explanation for the liberal Democrats’ current hysteria: Their camp had some very sinister plans for the country, and was oh-so-close to ultimate success. With the election of President Hillary Clinton, a prospective second straight subversive in the office, Democrats could have finally amnestied 11 million illegal aliens, i.e., new Democrat voters, thereby ensuring that no Republican could ever again be elected president. This outcome would establish their goal of a one-party dictatorship, in effect―if only it had happened. The dream scenario having been snatched away is what has driven the liberal Democrats over the edge. So, in their delirium, they lash out. It is all understandable for a group of closet totalitarians in the throes of catastrophic disappointment. And if they tear the nation apart as they act out, so much the better, in their warped view. They always despised the country anyway. Now the plan is for arch-socialist Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren (who misrepresented her own race for financial gain), to win the presidency in 2020 for a slightly postponed takeover. Pleasant dreams, America. There is something happening here. John Gaski is an associate professor at the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame. He is a long-time registered Democrat and long-time registered Republican—intermittently, not simultaneously. If you would like to write an op-ed for the Washington Examiner, please read our guidelines on submissions here.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Sebastopol charter school site raises traffic, safety concerns Sebastopol City Council members voiced continued concern this week about plans for a K-8 charter school at the edge of town, saying they fear the new campus would result in serious traffic congestion and safety risks posed in part by up to 600 vehicle crossings expected each day over a public bike and pedestrian trail. The council’s unanimous decision to pursue additional compromise and accommodation in the project’s planning is not what members of the Sebastopol Independent Charter School community wanted to hear at a Tuesday night hearing on the subject, given hopes of having the new campus on the north end of town ready for students by fall of next year. But it’s not clear how much weight the council position carries going forward, as approval of the site’s use for a new school is up to Sonoma County planning commissioners, who are scheduled to consider the project June 2. The city of Sebastopol, which reaches only to the edge of the campus property, can only state its preferences and hope they’re persuasive. But the city’s refusal to grant its blessing is nonetheless extremely frustrating for school parents and officials, who are trying to find a unified campus for students currently divided between two sites, including one where rented classrooms must be vacated by the end of next school year. The Waldorf-inspired school also wants space for agricultural and nature studies that are part of the Waldorf curriculum, as well as a school yard for recess. It plans to leave more than half of its 20-acre site undeveloped. Mayor Sarah Glade Gurney said the council hesitations aren’t sufficient to demand the school find a different location. “I think what we’re interested in is the key issues being addressed and mitigated,” Gurney said. “I think everybody on the council understood this is a dream come true for the school, and the school is a gem for Sebastopol.” Several council members were frank, however, in their wish that the school had been able to find a location in town, rather than the mostly undeveloped lot it already purchased in a rural residential neighborhood east of Gravenstein Highway North, bordered by Hurlbut Avenue, Apple Blossom Lane and the West County Regional Trail. Council members raised questions about morning and afternoon back-ups at key highway intersections, especially Mill Station Road; potential inconvenience to neighboring Hurlbut Avenue, a narrow, rural road; student safety on unimproved county roads along the route to school; and the visual impact of 92 parking spaces expected to be built along the county trail. But council members objected primarily to plans for a campus access road across the trail - a de facto park, albeit a long, narrow one, they say - despite planned driveway stop signs, warning signage and bollards intended to protect the right-of-way of cyclists, pedestrians and others on the trail. Bob Haroche, board president for the Charter Foundation, which actually owns the property, said school officials are analyzing some of the issues and recommendations raised by council members to see if some accommodation can be reached. But Executive Director Chris Topham said the council’s remarks overall were disappointing, given the school’s track record and effort to address similar concerns the council raised 18 months ago. “It is not an easy situation for charter schools, so this feels like a survival situation for us,” Topham said. “We have a clock ticking for us to get a permanent, secure, owned location, and this is by far the best bet that we’ve had in a long time. And we have been so active searching for a place.” Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story misstated the measure of estimated vehicle trips across the county trail.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Rice University’s fluorescent nanotube coating can reveal stress on planes, bridges, buildings A new type of paint made with carbon nanotubes at Rice University can help detect strain in buildings, bridges and airplanes. The Rice scientists call their mixture “strain paint” and are hopeful it can help detect deformations in structures like airplane wings. Their study, published online this month by the American Chemical Society journal Nano Letters details a composite coating they invented that could be read by a handheld infrared spectrometer. This method could tell where a material is showing signs of deformation well before the effects become visible to the naked eye, and without touching the structure. The researchers said this provides a big advantage over conventional strain gauges, which must be physically connected to their read-out devices. In addition, the nanotube-based system could measure strain at any location and along any direction. Rice chemistry professor Bruce Weisman led the discovery and interpretation of near-infrared fluorescence from semiconducting carbon nanotubes in 2002, and he has since developed and used novel optical instrumentation to explore nanotubes’ physical and chemical properties. Satish Nagarajaiah, a Rice professor of civil and environmental engineering and of mechanical engineering and materials science, and his collaborators led the 2004 development of strain sensing for structural integrity monitoring at the macro level using the electrical properties of carbon nanofilms – dense networks/ensembles of nanotubes. Since then he has continued to investigate novel strain sensing methods using various nanomaterials. But it was a stroke of luck that Weisman and Nagarajaiah attended the same NASA workshop in 2010. There, Weisman gave a talk on nanotube fluorescence. As a flight of fancy, he said, he included an illustration of a hypothetical system that would use lasers to reveal strains in the nano-coated wing of a space shuttle. “I went up to him afterward and said, ‘Bruce, do you know we can actually try to see if this works?'” recalled Nagarajaiah. Nanotube fluorescence shows large, predictable wavelength shifts when the tubes are deformed by tension or compression. The paint — and therefore each nanotube, about 50,000 times thinner than a human hair — would suffer the same strain as the surface it’s painted on and give a clear picture of what’s happening underneath. “For an airplane, technicians typically apply conventional strain gauges at specific locations on the wing and subject it to force vibration testing to see how it behaves,” Nagarajaiah said. “They can only do this on the ground and can only measure part of a wing in specific directions and locations where the strain gauges are wired. But with our non-contact technique, they could aim the laser at any point on the wing and get a strain map along any direction.” He said strain paint could be designed with multifunctional properties for specific applications. “It can also have other benefits,” Nagarajaiah said. “It can be a protective film that impedes corrosion or could enhance the strength of the underlying material.” Weisman said the project will require further development of the coating before such a product can go to market. “We’ll need to optimize details of its composition and preparation, and find the best way to apply it to the surfaces that will be monitored,” he said. “These fabrication/engineering issues should be addressed to ensure proper performance, even before we start working on portable read-out instruments.” “There are also subtleties about how interactions among the nanotubes, the polymeric host and the substrate affect the reproducibility and long-term stability of the spectral shifts. For real-world measurements, these are important considerations,” Weisman said. But none of those problems seem insurmountable, he said, and construction of a handheld optical strain reader should be relatively straightforward. “There are already quite compact infrared spectrometers that could be battery-operated,” Weisman said. “Miniature lasers and optics are also readily available. So it wouldn’t require the invention of new technologies, just combining components that already exist. “I’m confident that if there were a market, the readout equipment could be miniaturized and packaged. It’s not science fiction.” Lead author of the paper is Paul Withey, an associate professor of physics at the University of Houston-Clear Lake, who spent a sabbatical in Weisman’s lab at Rice studying the fluorescence of nanotubes in polymers. Co-authors are Rice civil engineering graduate student Venkata Srivishnu Vemuru in Nagarajaiah’s group and Sergei Bachilo, a research scientist in Weisman’s group. Support for the research came from the National Science Foundation, the Welch Foundation, the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Infrastructure-Center for Advanced Materials at Rice.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
James E. Wagner to seek protection under Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act Trichome Financial to provide up to $4 million in DIP Loan financing Special Committee will conduct a Sales and Investment Solicitation Process Trichome Financial agrees to submit "stalking-horse bid" KITCHENER, ON, April 1, 2020 /CNW/ - James E. Wagner Cultivation Corporation ("JWC" or the "Corporation") (TSX VENTURE: JWCA; OTCQX: JWCAF), announces that it has agreed with Trichome Financial Corp. ("Trichome Financial") to a consensual restructuring (the "Restructuring") wherein JWC will seek an Initial Order approving an application for creditor protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (Canada) ("CCAA"). The Restructuring was negotiated and recommended by the Special Committee of the Board of JWC and approved by the Board on March 31, 2020. It is expected that the Initial Order granting JWC's application for CCAA will be granted today by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List). Pursuant to the Restructuring, Trichome Financial and JWC have agreed to (i) a Debtor-in-Possession Loan ("DIP Loan") in which Trichome Financial will provide up to $4 million in interim financing over the term of the Restructuring; (ii) an offer by Trichome Financial to purchase the assets of JWC pursuant to an Asset Purchase Agreement that contemplates that Trichome Financial will be the "stalking-horse" in the Sales and Investor Solicitation Process ("SISP"); and (iii) the appointment of KSV Kofman Inc., as monitor in the CCAA proceedings. The SISP to be conducted in conjunction with the CCAA proceedings is intended to generate interest in the business and/or the assets of the Corporation, with the goal of maximizing value for all stakeholders of the Corporation. During the CCAA proceedings, as a result of the DIP Loan, it is expected that day-to-day obligations to employees, key suppliers of goods and services and JWC's customers payable, from and after the filing date, will continue to be met. While under CCAA protection, management of the Company will remain responsible for the day- to-day operations of the Company under the general oversight of the Monitor. About James E. Wagner Cultivation Corporation James E. Wagner Cultivation Corporation's wholly owned subsidiary is a Licensed Producer under the Cannabis Regulations, formerly the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations ("ACMPR"). JWC is a premium cannabis brand, focusing on producing clean, consistent cannabis using an advanced and proprietary aeroponic platform named GrowthSTORM™. JWC began as a collective of patients and growers under the Marihuana Medical Access Regulations (the precursor to ACMPR). Since its inception, JWC has remained focused on providing the best possible patient experience. JWC is a family-founded company with deep roots planted in the local community. JWC's operations are based in Kitchener, Ontario. Learn more at www.jwc.ca . For additional information about JWC, please refer to JWC's profile on SEDAR ( www.sedar.com ) or the Corporation's website: www.jwc.ca . Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains statements including forward-looking information for purposes of applicable securities laws ("forward-looking statements") about JWC and its business and operations, which include, among other things, statements regarding the CCAA proceedings, the Dip Loan and the Stalking-Horse Bid. The forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of such words as "will", "expected", "approximately", "may", "could", "would" or similar words and phrases. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to differ materially from those implied in the forward-looking statements. There may be factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release and are based on current assumptions which management believes to be reasonable. The Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation, except to the extent required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE James E. Wagner Cultivation Corporation For further information: Company Contact: Nathan Woodworth, President & CEO of JWC, (519) 594-0144 x 421, [email protected]; Investor Relations, Jonathan Leuchs CMA, (949) 432-7758, [email protected]
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Israeli designer Itay Ohaly has proposed a series of chairs called Fracture, made of benches of various materials which are torn or smashed into individual chairs. Ohaly used acrylic, beech, plywood, concrete and cardboard to create the collection. The project explored how the nature of each material affected the appearance of the fracture. Here is some more information from Ohaly: -- Fractures are a part of life and nature. Fractures have different forms that derive from the material structure and the type and strength of energy that is activated upon it. During the years, with the development of industrial processes, we "tamed" the material and took it away from its natural form. Our eyes are accustomed to see flattened, polished and bright materials, as well as our sense of touch that examines the feel and quality of the surface. This project is an exploration of the material characteristics of the fracture. It presents the wild and unique aesthetics of each material and its interaction with intense energy. The “full” object is the starting point of each creation while the fracture brings it to its final shape. More Dezeen stories about Itay Ohaly: . Color Rings Papa Chair
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Conservative politicians and analysts are spouting their usual denial. Gov. Rick Perry and Representative Michele Bachmann have called for taxing the poor and near poor more heavily, on the false grounds that they have been getting a free ride. In fact, low-income workers do pay up, if not in federal income taxes, then in payroll taxes and state and local taxes. Asked about the new census data, Robert Rector, an analyst at the conservative Heritage Foundation told The Times that the “emotionally charged terms ‘poor’ or ‘near poor’ clearly suggest to most people a level of material hardship that doesn’t exist.” Heritage has its own, very different ranking system, based on households’ “amenities.” According to that, the typical poor household has roughly 14 of 30 amenities. In other words, how hard can things be if you have a refrigerator, air-conditioner, coffee maker, cellphone, and other stuff? The rankings ignore the fact that many of these are requisites of modern life and that things increasingly out of reach for the poor and near poor — education, health care, child care, housing and utilities — are the true determinants of a good, upwardly mobile life. Government surveys analyzed by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities indicate that in 2010, just over half of the country’s nearly 17 million poor children lived in households that reported at least one of four major hardships: hunger, overcrowding, failure to pay the rent or mortgage on time or failure to seek needed medical care. A good education is also increasingly out of reach. A study by Martha Bailey, an economics professor at the University of Michigan, showed that the difference in college-graduation rates between the rich and poor has widened by more than 50 percent since the 1990s. There is also a growing out-of-sight-out-of-mind problem. A study, by Sean Reardon, a sociologist at Stanford, shows that Americans are increasingly living in areas that are either poor or affluent. The isolation of the prosperous, he said, threatens their support for public schools, parks, mass transit and other investments that benefit broader society.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
RetroIndy@Indystar.com In 1929, the Indiana Bell Telephone Company purchased the Central Union Telephone Company Building and had plans to demolish and build a much larger headquarters on the site. Architect Kurt Vonnegut Sr. had other plans. He suggested the building could be moved to make room for expansion. John Eichlea Co of Pittsburgh was contractor for the move while Bevington, Taggert & Fowler were the engineers, Vonnegut, Bohn & Mueller were the project architects. Between Oct. 12 and Nov. 14 1930 the eight-story 11,000-ton Indiana Bell building was shifted 52 feet south along Meridian St. and rotated 90 degrees to face New York St. Workmen used a concrete mat cushioned by Oregon fir timbers 75-ton, hydraulic jacks and rollers, as the mass moved off one roller workers placed another ahead of it. Every six strokes of the jacks would shift the building three-eights of an inch - moving it 15 inches per hour. Gas, electric heat, water and sewage were were maintained to the building all during the move. The 600 workers entered and left the traveling structure using a sheltered passageway that moved with the building. The employees never felt the building move and telephone service went on without interruption. And yes, the move took less than 30 days. It remains one of the largest buildings ever moved. The building was demolished in 1963.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Hotel guard Jesus Campos is set to make his first TV appearance, on the Ellen Show, after ‘vanishing.’ On Saturday, a representative for Jesus Campos revealed the hotel security guard checked into a clinic moments before he was set to speak to the media about the Las Vegas Massacre. Campos also vanished moments before he was set to appear on Fox News with Sean Hannity. “Tomorrow, the first people to encounter the Las Vegas shooter are here – security guard Jesus Campos and building engineer Stephen Schuck,” tweeted Ellen DeGeneres. Tomorrow, the first people to encounter the Las Vegas shooter are here – security guard Jesus Campos and building engineer Stephen Schuck. pic.twitter.com/dDmjzN6xBx — Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) October 18, 2017 Today previewed a clip of the interview set to air later today. TRENDING: Black Lives Matter Activist Wearing 'Justice for Breonna Taylor' Shirt Walked into a Louisville Bar and Murdered Three People Video credit: NBC News NBC News reports: “As I was walking down, I heard rapid fire. And at first I took cover, I felt a burning sensation. I went to go lift my pant leg up and I saw the blood,” Campos said on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in an episode airing Wednesday. He said he radioed in that shots were fired, but didn’t immediately say he was hit. Instead, he pulled out his cellphone, he said, “just to clear that radio traffic” because he knew something serious was happening. “Within milliseconds if he didn’t say that, I would have got hit,”hotel maintenance worker Stephen Schuck revealed to DeGeneres. Ellen DeGeneres went on to thank Campos for alerting hotel security about Stephen Paddock, even after he was hit. Campos said he is still emotionally and physically reeling from the attack. “I’m doing better each day,” Campos said. “Slowly, but surely.”
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
There was a second payload on board the SpaceX Falcon Heavy that launched Tuesday (Feb. 6), and (unlike the Tesla Roadster) it's built to last 14 billion years. SpaceX confirmed during its pre-launch livestream that the gadget, called an Arch, is tucked away somewhere inside the red Tesla Roadster now floating through space. It's a simple-looking object: a clear, thick disk of quartz crystal, about an inch across, with lettering across its face. It could almost be a small business award — best car dealership maybe, or top pizza restaurant — except for the data etched microscopically into its body with powerful, high-frequency lasers. And that data, or at least the future suggested by that data, is what earned the Arch a ride aboard the Roadster. [Interstellar Space Travel: 7 Futuristic Spacecraft To Explore the Cosmos] Pronounced "ark" as in "archive," it's part of a very Silicon Valley plan to — as technology investor, self-described futurist and Arch Mission Foundation co-founder Nova Spivack explained it to Live Science — create "a self-replicating, meta-level process to perpetuate human civilization." The Foundation picked the quartz discs for this task because they can store a lot of information very compactly, without degrading much at all over long time spans. Each laser-inscribed point on the disc is just 200 nanometers wide (a bit bigger than a single HIV virus), but can encode six bits of information, Spivack said. And as long as the quartz isn't shattered or blasted with intense waves of radiation, those points should be legible to anyone with the technology to view them — even millions (or perhaps billions) of years in the future. In a phone interview, Spivack explained that the etched quartz is part of a grand plan to seed the solar system with super-durable data-storage devices containing a vast cultural archive of human civilization. The outside of the disks will have visible symbols on them, Spivack said, "symbols that say, 'Look, this is interesting.'" Then, future discs will have tiny images etched into them "like microfilm," he said, big enough to be visible with a good microscope. A future observer who discovers those symbols, the Foundation hopes, will take the time to decode the tiny dots, which will contain huge archives of information. A photo reveals all five Arch discs created so far, including the one now aboard the Tesla Roadster hurtling through space. (Image credit: Courtesy of the Arch Foundation) Why do this? "If you look at the history of civilizations, human civilizations do a very good job of wiping themselves out," Spivack said. And if that happened today, much of the modern cultural record — stored on degradable magnetic disks and drives and tape — would disappear within a century. The Arch project's stated goal is to act as a kind of insurance against civilizational catastrophe. Create a durable, redundant record, leave it where future human (or alien) civilizations might find it, and our culture's collective knowledge will never die out. It's a striking idea, at once utopian, space-age and completely fatalistic — appealing enough to a certain kind of imagination that, according to Spivack, Elon Musk agreed to carry the first Arch into space after hearing about it in a casual Twitter exchange. Spivack insisted that he's not trying to become the author or curator of this distributed monument to modern society. "The idea here is to send not just one or two or 10 one-off Archs, but to send millions — maybe billions — of them all across the solar system into all kinds of locations," he said. The foundation wants to build a lunar Arch library, as well as a Mars library, among many others, and to expand beyond quartz storage into other kinds of long-term data records, including DNA. Still, for the moment at least, Arch technology remains prohibitively expensive. And in that context Spivack reluctantly acknowledges that the foundation will have to play gatekeeper. "The Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia, Project Gutenberg (e-books), human genomes and other large open-data sets are the priority," he said. Later, he hopes to offer small chunks of the record to "donors" — people who pay, he estimated, $20 to $100 in return for the right to place some fragment of data into deep posterity. Those funds, he said, will go into an endowment, which he hopes will fund the foundation long term. Eventually, he said, if the endowment grows big enough, the foundation will give archival rights away for free. Rather than pick and choose what ideas get preserved at that point, he said, the foundation hopes distributing the power of long-term preservation widely enough will create a truly representative portrait of human society that will live on into deep time. "We're not going to make difficult censorship decisions because, you know, the internet is open and so is the Arch," he said. "We'll include everything, including the bad stuff, because the bad stuff is also important." So, what's the point of all this effort? Why go through the trouble to write something down for a far-flung future audience that may never arrive — or, Spivack suggested, might be a silica-eating alien race that consumes the Arch disks as food? [Greetings, Earthlings! 8 Ways Aliens Could Contact Us] Well, it turns out that building the Arch could be pretty lucrative. "Some of the things that are being developed certainly have commercial potential," Spivack said. Right now, the best way to send large amounts of information between Earth and space is via radio signals. But there are some hard bandwith limits on radio, thanks to the speed of light and other issues. Even the internet connection on the multi-billion-dollar ISS in low-Earth orbit is only about as fast as a typical home router. That's fine for the data needs of a small crew, but imagine trying to squeeze all the data needs of a Mars city through that connection, with additional delays due to distance and lightspeed. If/when humans move into space, Spivack thinks dense, lightweight data-storage devices could become more valuable as ways of transporting, say, the contents of the internet between Earth and Mars. And tech like the quartz disks, which he said could one day hold hundreds of terabytes of information, would be perfect for that task. Already, he said, there are plans to spin off patents from research groups involved in the Arch project into side companies — companies whose intellectual property rights will in turn fund the foundation. For the moment though, Spivack said he's focused on getting as much data from "the humanities" up into space as possible. (The foundation, he said, assumes that any civilization that could parse the microscopic data-dots on the disks already understands our sciences.) And as long as the foundation is playing its reluctant (according to Spivack, at least) curator role, they're acting just like you might expect from a group of Silicon Valley techno-futurists: The first Arch disks produced so far, including the one riding through space on that Tesla Roadster, contain Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy. Originally published on Live Science.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The Detroit Tigers are back in their rightful spot atop the American League Central. The Royals’ day in the sun appears to have been short-lived, J.D. Martinez has suddenly turned into the league’s hottest hitter, and a berth in the playoffs again looks like a strong probability. If current standings hold for the next 90 games or so, that would mean a fourth consecutive division crown. It’s a period of sustained excellence that must be given proper respect. Even in today’s watered-down playoff format, such an accomplishment warrants a genuine tip of the cap. This will be the ninth season since the Tigers officially rejoined the Major Leagues as a team not only to be considered, but reckoned with on an annual basis. There have been four playoff appearances, all resulting in at least one series win. Trips to the World Series occurred twice, in 2006 and 2012. Ditto for the ALCS in ’11 and ’13. Tight regular season chases came up empty in a pair of other years. Above .500 in 7 of 8 Seasons All told, the Tigers have finished under .500 just once in the past eight seasons. Include what will assuredly be a plus campaign in 2014, and you have one really bad apple out of nine. Such respectable marks would simply have been unheard of during the 90’s and first half of the 2000’s. In short, this was by far the worst franchise in the bigs. Every year from 1994 to 2005, the Tigers’ losses outnumbered their wins. And it wasn’t even close. Everyone remembers the epic 119-loss debacle in 2003. Don’t be mistaken. That season had plenty of company. The Buddy Bell led-squad in 1996, with Brad Ausmus behind the plate and Alan Trammell making his farewell tour, lost a healthy 109 games. The 2002 model finished a whopping 51 games under .500 (55-106), with no player reaching the 20-HR mark and Dean Palmer literally batting .000 on the season (he was 0-for-12). There were also a slew of 90-plus loss squads along the way. Long story short, this was THE place to watch bad baseball for a period of about a dozen years. Which brings us back to the here and now and how we classify this most recent stretch of Detroit Tigers history. The question is this. Is World Series Necessary? Do the Tigers need to win a World Series in order for this period in time to be considered a success? If we are sitting here in November of 2015 and the Tigers have made six playoff trips in ten years, but without a single championship, do we look back with a sense of accomplishment, taking into account just how far the organization has come since the dark days of Omar Olivares masquerading as the team’s ace? Or is it pure regret and heartbreak, a run remembered not for its many highs and countless victories, but for the inevitable crash and burn each October? The Pistons of 2002-08 come to mind. Those teams were at or near the top of the Eastern Conference every year. They were blessed with a unique blend of outside shooting, tenacious defense, and a constantly weight-fluctuating Lindsey Hunter. The squad was good enough to probably win two, three, or four titles. Instead, they got just one. But history now tells us it was enough. Those teams are looked back on with (almost) nothing but pride by Detroit sports fans. Were there missed opportunities? Sure. There was Darko. Everything associated with him and that draft. There was Lebron coming back from 2-0 down to win four straight and capture the East in 2007. And of course, if Rasheed Wallace had just stayed on the greatest postseason shooter in league history (Robert Horry), you’re most likely looking at back-to-back champs. But that glorious 2004 championship, the famed thrashing of the hated Los Angeles Lakers, washes virtually any bitterness away, acting as an ageless exclamation point for that era of basketball. Without it, we would assuredly have been left with a wholly different way of looking back on that near-decade of title-contending teams. Which makes a full run to the roses so important for these Tigers. While the “perennial contender” label sure beats that of the “perennial cellar dweller,” if the end result is still a big goose egg in the Championships Won column, how happy can the lasting images be? The 2014 Tigers have the opportunity to put their stamp on this era and make certain that any memories or feelings related to this period are those of elation and not frustration. A great movie can do everything right for 115 minutes. But if it bungles the last five, oftentimes that’s all you remember.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Linguist and lexicographer Ben Zimmer was one of the judges for this year's Grammar Day Haiku Contest (stay tuned for the results, which will be announced later today by Mark Allen. Update: The winning haiku is here!). Zimmer told me he hopes Grammar Day can be about more just curmudgeonly nitpicking. "I have to admit that much of the public talk about grammar fills me with sorrow rather than joy, because so often the conversation is dominated by those clinging to outmoded or flat-out bogus rules, and expressing outrage at anyone who doesn't obey those rules," he says. "Cranky indignation becomes the dominant tone about grammatical issues when the 'peevologists' hold sway." (He points out, too, that certain peeves over spelling, punctuation, and word choice aren't about grammar at all. While such linguistic peeves certainly fall into the trade of a good copy editor, they're not technically grammatical. Whoops.) Zimmer says, "Let's use National Grammar Day as an opportunity to think about what grammar actually is, and to be open to differing opinions about grammatical propriety. If grammar evokes anxiety or crankiness, relax for a day! Don't get hung up on the rise of singular 'they' or the decline of 'whom.' Don't fret about the correct placement of 'only,' or whether 'none' needs to take a singular verb. Instead, embrace the living, breathing grammar of English in all of its varieties." Merriam-Webster lexicographer Kory Stamper is in agreement with Zimmer, and has posted a plea for sanity asking people not to turn the day into a free-for-all of railing on bad grammar, running around mocking others for their mistakes. She writes, "You may think you are some great Batman of Apostrophes, flitting through the dark aisles of the Piggly-Wiggly, bringing Truth and Justice to tormented signs everywhere! But in reality, you are a jerk who has defaced a sign that some poor kid, or some poor non-native English speaker, or some educated and beleaguered mom who is working her second job of the day, spent time making... Vigilante peeving does nothing to actually educate people." But it's fun! It's ... fun? It's fun enough that we spend much of the rest of our year discussing our so-called grammar peeves, loudly and emphatically. Perhaps following Stamper's suggestion could be more fun, if only for its uniqueness and karmic goodness: "Instead of calling people out on March 4th for all the usages they get wrong, how about pointing out all the thing things that people–against all odds–get right?" Commending people for what they do well instead of making fun of what they do poorly? Huh. That could be nice. And grammar itself is nice. After all, that we are able to communicate and make ourselves understood in a society is no small thing, Oxford commas or not. From grammar comes pretty much everything else. Stamper told me, "One of the things I adore about grammar and linguistics is that English has such a rich, rich history. Until you really delve into it, you don't appreciate what a wonderful, wondrous language it is. It's managed to survive so much--the Norman Conquest, the Viking invasions, the Great Vowel Shift, the 18th-century grammarians, its export to the wider world, and daytime television. You've got to love and admire anything that sturdy." Another word-minded individual, New Yorker editor Silvia Killingsworth, confessed, "I like to think of it as a day of recognition rather than a holiday," she says. "Just like Father's Day! Here is this great thing that is forever intertwined in our lives, and we should acknowledge what a wonderfully complex (sometimes frustrating, other times beautiful) but ultimately vital relationship we have with it."
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
We call on you to urgently begin a tough review of Wells Fargo’s wrongdoing as well as the grounds for revoking Wells Fargo’s bank charter and terminating the bank’s access to FDIC deposit insurance backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. Wells Fargo’s repeated illegal behavior and unsafe and unsound practices – including opening 3.5 million fraudulent accounts and forcing unneeded auto insurance on more than 800,000 customers – are not only outrageous, they are grounds to lose the large public subsidies enjoyed by the bank. Petition to acting Comptroller of the Currency Keith Noreika and FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg: After Wells Fargo fraudulently opened 3.5 million customer accounts without permission, you would think everyone would agree it’s time to crack down. But Wall Street’s cronies in Congress and the White House just voted in the dead of night to protect banks like Wells Fargo from getting held accountable in court, killing the Consumer Bureau’s rule against banks’ forced arbitration “ripoff clauses.” It's time for bank regulators in Washington to step up. With the power to pull Wells Fargo’s bank charter or access to public FDIC deposit insurance, they can deliver real accountability for the crimes at Wells Fargo. They just need the courage to do it. Sign and share the petition to banking regulators: Cut off government support to Wells Fargo. Every major bank in the U.S. enjoys major public subsidies and benefits. Bank charters are publicly granted, and the FDIC insurance for their deposit accounts is backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Wells Fargo’s regulators at the OCC (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) and FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) have a rule: Engage in “unsafe and unsound practices” like breaking the law and you can lose those public benefits.1 Wells Fargo has repeatedly violated the law. Cutting off their public benefits could even force Wells Fargo to wind down, and send a clear message that banks can’t expect to get away with illegal behavior. Sign and share the petition to banking regulators: Cut off government support to Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo got issued $185 million in fines last year for the fake accounts scandal, but that’s virtually a rounding error in a year they made $22 billion in profits.2 Since then, news keeps coming out about more ways Wells has broken the law – illegal overdraft charges, bogus auto loans forced on 800,000 people, illegal student loan servicing.3 It’s clear Wells Fargo won’t clean house on its own. Twelve out of 15 members on the board of directors today were overseeing the bank during the fake accounts scandal.4 Even the executives who left walked away with millions and no jail time. Bank regulators have a big opportunity to do the right thing. Staff at OCC have already found unsafe and unsound practices at Wells Fargo and recommended tough enforcement action (even if the former Wells Fargo lawyer Trump installed to head the agency5 tries to cover it up). And the situation is even more promising at the FDIC, where only one out of the four current members of the board of directors is a Trump pick. They just need to know the public is with them if they launch a serious investigation into Wells Fargo’s illegal behavior – and cutting off its public deposit insurance. Sign and share the petition to banking regulators: Cut off government support to Wells Fargo. Sources: 1. Demand Progress, "Joint Letters: Key Consumer, Labor, and Financial Reform Groups Push Regulators to Revoke Wells Fargo’s Charter and Deposit Insurance," Oct. 4, 2017. 2. Wells Fargo, "Wells Fargo Reports $5.3 Billion in Quarterly Net Income," Jan. 13, 2017. 3. Demand Progress, "Joint Letters: Key Consumer, Labor, and Financial Reform Groups Push Regulators to Revoke Wells Fargo’s Charter and Deposit Insurance," Oct. 4, 2017. 4. Elizabeth Warren, "Warren Highlights New Evidence of Wells Fargo Misconduct, Renews Call for Federal Reserve to Remove Bank Board Members," Aug. 16, 2017. 5. The Intercept, "More Trump Populism: Hiring a Bank Lawyer to Attack CFPB Bank Rules," July 20, 2017.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
I just want to do well in school. FUCK ME, RIGHT? 159 shares
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Snapchat, the startup that rose to stardom for promising to delete all content sent through its app within 24 hours, is turning out to be more and more like Facebook every day. That's not surprising, given the similarities between Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel and Mark Zuckerberg. Earlier this week, Snapchat unveiled speed modifiers that can add fast-forward, slow-motion and rewind filters to their videos. Along with that update, Snapchat also rolled out a new Terms of Service that, naturally, most people have not bothered to read before accepting. The updated terms grant Snapchat all the rights to all users' messages, photos and videos sent through the platform, short of owning all that content. More specifically, Snapchat says that "you retain whatever ownership rights in that content you had to begin with." However, Snapchat retains the right to a "worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free, sublicensable, and transferable license to host, store, use, display, reproduce, modify, adapt, edit, publish, create derivative works from, publicly perform, broadcast, distribute, syndicate, promote, exhibit and publicly display that content in any form and in any and all media or distribution methods (now known or later developed)." In simpler terms, Snapchat says it can do whatever it pleases with all the content users post on its platform. The terms say whatever user content it runs will be used for research purposes to improve its services, but Snapchat also takes for itself the right to use user content for marketing uses, such as ads. Most worryingly, the terms grant Snapchat and its partners the right to publish user content outside of the Snapchat platform without the user knowing about it. Snapchat previously reserved these rights only to content posted in the Live Story section of its app and other "crowd-sourced" content, but the new terms expand their reach more broadly to cover all kinds of content. Moreover, Snapchat says it can use a user's name, likeness and voice published through Live Story for public broadcast without giving compensation to the user. This right is also extended to Snapchat's partners. But for all the sweeping rights to user content that Snapchat claims for itself, the terms say the user is solely responsible for whatever content is uploaded to Snapchat's servers. The company also says it can access, review and delete any user content anytime, for whatever reason, including but not limited to violating Snapchat's terms. The updated terms are not very different from that of other social media sites such as Facebook and Facebook-owned Instagram, although Facebook only extends its rights to content publicly posted on its platform. Even so, the rapid change of mind for Snapchat, which first billed itself as an ephemeral messaging service where all content is deleted after a day of being sent, has gotten it caught in the ire of some privacy-minded users. Snapchat users expressed their outrage on Twitter. SteFano Langone says, "I love Snapchat. But you gotta read the new privacy policy they just released... #scary" while a user named Revolution MacInnes asks: "Is using the likeness of a minor even legal since they can't sign a contract?" Finally, another user named Sara says, "if everyone read the privacy policy for snapchat.. no one would use it anymore." ⓒ 2018 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
“Become citizens so you can vote Trump away,” was the message at DNC Deputy Chair Keith Ellison’s Community Forum on Immigration Tuesday night. MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges joined DNC Deputy Chair and Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison and a host of panelist to discuss immigration with members of the community. Approximately 100 people arrived at Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, a church in Minneapolis where the panelist discussed current issues facing immigrant communities and ways for them to protect themselves in the days of President Donald Trump’s administration. Ellison spoke of legislation he has proposed in Congress to reverse executive actions handed down by Trump’s White House. Hodges reiterated a long-standing statement to attendees, “they have to go through me,” in reference to immigration policies being handed down from Washington. Calling the federal government “hostile,” she reiterated her promise to support the immigrant community within Minneapolis. Hodges talked about a joint effort with Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau to not ask those arrested by Minneapolis Police Officers their immigration status or origin of birth. This later sparked a question from the audience about those detained by the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, noting Sheriff Rich Stanek’s willingness to work with immigration officials. As reported by Alpha News, both Stanek and Minneapolis City Attorney Mike Freeman called on the Department of Justice to issue an apology after Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) placed Stanek’s office on a list of law enforcement departments that do not comply with ICE waivers. Stanek reiterated during a press conference in March that it’s not the job of his officers to do the work of federal officers. He notifies ICE when the individuals requested via the waiver will be released and then it’s up to immigration officials to do their due diligence. However, Stanek was blasted by the panelists who denounced him for his willingness to work with ICE agents and his cooperation to notify them when a prisoner will be released. Immigration Attorney Danielle Robinson Briand, a panelist told attendees, “raise your voice and raise concerns about collaborations between local and federal law enforcement.” When one Somali attendee asked the Ellison about an FBI investigation at the U of M, Ellison was quick to remind her that the FBI does have a right to investigate a crime, though making the statement with a reminder that he did not have all the information. Panelists also discussed the concerns of potential Somali deportations. Pressure from the federal government to deport 4,000 Somali individuals is mounting. According to attorneys on the panel, the government of Somalia was unwilling to accept deportees, so 4,000 Somali individuals set to return were released under supervision. Breitbart reports that 300 Somali individuals living in the U.S. will be deported within the next few months. This news comes as Minnesota sees a rise in H1B visa applications by employers, which has risen 75 percent since 2012 according to the Star Tribune. Briand gave attendees information to protect themselves from what she described as an “era of anti-immigration.” Briand told the group, “I’m here to encourage everyone that we have a strong Constitution. It protects you even if you don’t have legal lawful status. We all know immigration agents are not your friends, they are your adversaries.” She advised the group to exercise their rights to remain silent, don’t voluntarily give out information, make sure they have a warrant with a judge’s signature, and gave this final piece of advice, “We need more people to become citizens so they can vote and lead us in a different direction and we need to participate in marches.”
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
PUBLISHED February 5, 2020 The Batagaika crater in eastern Siberia, caused by thawing permafrost, is half a mile wide and growing. The crater holds the organic remains of leaves, grasses, and animals that died thousands of years ago. Photograph by Katie Orlinsky, Nat Geo Image Collection In the black spruce forests along the Tanana River in central Alaska, scientists Miriam Jones and Merritt Turetsky watched for years as trees tipped, leaned, and toppled into boggy ground. Over time, the earth below weakened and grew soupy. This once-hard soil, thick with ice, was heating up, sinking and filling with rain and snow melt. Scientists have known for decades that as rising temperatures thaw the northern latitudes, previously frozen soil called permafrost will release greenhouse gases, which in turn will speed up global climate change. But based in part on what they learned by studying Alaska’s “drunken forests,” Turetsky, Jones and a team of experts this week confirmed something else: Warming of small patches of frozen ground that contain large veins of ice will release far more emissions than once thought. This process, called “abrupt thaw,” will probably hit just 5 percent of Arctic permafrost. But that will likely be enough, conservatively, to double permafrost’s overall contribution to the warming of the planet, the team of researchers led by Turetsky concluded in a study published Monday in the journal Nature Geoscience. “It’s a little change, but it can have a big punch,” says Turetsky, director of the Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research at the University of Colorado. Abrupt thaw is not a cause for alarm, the scientists say. Permafrost will still produce fewer emissions than our own burning of coal, oil and natural gas. David Lawrence, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, said that—until now— thawing permafrost had been expected to amplify human-caused climate change by about 10 percent. But doubling that figure is significant because the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change—the global organization that estimates how quickly we need to stop burning fossil fuels to keep the worst warming at bay—has not taken permafrost fully into account. In other words, if we hope to hold warming to 2.7 to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius), we’ll have to make the shift to renewable energy faster than we think. Carbon freezer breaking down While Turetsky’s results weren’t published until this week, her years of research, and that of several of her co-authors, formed the basis for a story in the September 2019 issue of National Geographic magazine. The story showed that scientists have known for a long time that permafrost holds nearly twice as much carbon as the atmosphere—mostly the partially decayed remains of ancient plants and animals. No one expects all or even most of that ground to thaw, and most of what does will thaw gradually over decades, slowly releasing mostly carbon dioxide. Some portion of that CO2 will even be taken up by plants as warming temperatures spark increased greening of Arctic vegetation. But a small fraction of the Arctic’s nine million square miles of permafrost is packed with solid ice. When that ground thaws, the ice melts, dramatically altering the landscape. The ground slumps to fill the void left behind by once-frozen water, creating divots in the earth that turn into ponds, even lakes. All that moisture speeds up thawing even more. Warming ground also exposes carbon-rich peatlands that have been locked in this freezer for thousands of years. It can spark landslides, churn up old soils. And across many parts of the Arctic these changes are happening faster than once expected. On one northern Canadian island, ground slumps already have increased 60-fold from 1984 to 2013. Here’s why all of this matters: Once that solid ice begins to drain, many landscape shifts can take place virtually overnight, in just days, weeks, or months. And when the changes happen, far more of the carbon held in those ice-thick lands gets released as methane, which can be at least 25 times more potent a greenhouse gas than CO2. Sometimes scientists can even see it. Katey Walter Anthony, with the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, often goes out in the dark of an Arctic winter and pokes holes in iced-over ponds. By holding out a flame she can document whether methane is escaping. Each spring for years, Jones and Turetsky, both Arctic wetland experts, took snowmobiles into interior Alaska to sample permafrost. Once, a few years ago, Jones, with the U.S. Geological Survey, looked into a hole in the ground she’d just created with her instruments. Down several feet she saw bubbling. The ground had become so warm that microbes were feeding on the ancient plant matter, releasing methane through the moist soil. “It looked like it was boiling,” Jones says. Permafrost counts The study Turetsky published this week is the first that attempts to quantify all of the ways these permafrost changes can contribute to greenhouse gas emissions—and just how large that contribution is. “Most of us going in thought it would be much smaller,” co-author Lawrence says. “It was surprising.” The takeaway, Lawrence says, is that permafrost will make it even harder to meet our emissions targets. Computer models that project how emissions affect global temperature changes are only just beginning to simulate permafrost thaw. The last major IPCC assessment in 2014 didn’t incorporate permafrost emissions in future temperature targets at all. In 2018, the IPCC’s special report on how to cap temperature rise at 2.7 degrees F said global fossil fuel emissions needed to be cut 45 percent by 2030 and completely by 2050. That report used a simplified model to estimate gradual thaw—and didn’t incorporate abrupt thaw at all. Scientists know that must change. “We need to be setting our policy targets now” to begin hastening the transitioning to cleaner energy, Turetsky says. If governments don’t account for permafrost feedbacks, “how realistic are our projections?” But it’s also not entirely clear how researchers will resolve this. Arctic landscapes are vast and poorly monitored, and other factors—such as increases in Arctic wildfires—can prompt even more speedy thawing. Charles Koven, a staff scientist with the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, is a lead author on the next IPCC assessment, tackling a chapter on the carbon cycle. He’s also a co-author on Turetsky’s paper. “We are aware of and will be taking into consideration these results,” Koven says. In one strange way, Turetsky argues, the odd landscape behavior researchers are documenting as ice-rich permafrost thaws could be considered a gift. “Changes in the Arctic sound scary,” she says. But “the Arctic is revealing its lessons while we are still in control of our future. The Arctic is telling us what’s going to happen around the world in coming decades.”
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The 4.6 per cent ABV beer is set to go on sale at the opening night of BrewDog's latest venue in Soho on November 6. They say the new club is a step to "take back" an area previously renowned for its diversity.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Travis Kelce has been a productive player for the Kansas City Chiefs in each of the past two seasons, but this season he’s blossomed into the best pass-catching tight end in the NFL. That begs the question: Is Kelce in his third NFL season that much better, or are the Chiefs using him more effectively? “Both," quarterback Alex Smith said. “I think he’s picked up his play every year. As he’s gotten older and played more, he banks all of that stuff. “We move him around and do different things with him. He’s a guy that has so many tools for a tight end. We do a ton with him, and he’s capable of it. He’s handled it mentally and physically. Certainly he’s gone out there, won and separated [from coverage]. The cool thing for everyone was being able to watch him go out and have a monster night. It was a spark for us and it got us going." Tight end Travis Kelce caught 11 passes for 160 yards and a touchdown against the Broncos. Dale Zanine/USA TODAY Sports Kelce had a career game in Sunday’s win over the Denver Broncos. He caught 11 passes for 160 yards -- a team record for tight ends -- and scored an 80-yard touchdown on a screen pass. With Sunday’s game against the San Diego Chargers remaining, Kelce already has shattered his season bests for catches with 84 and yards with 1,117. He leads NFL tight ends in both categories. Kelce has caught fewer passes lined up as a traditional tight end than in either of the past two seasons. He has 19 such receptions, compared to 22 in 2014 and 25 last season. But he has 26 catches when lined up as a wide receiver, which is more than he had in the previous two seasons combined. The Chiefs are working harder to find ways to get Kelce favorable matchups. “He’s a good athlete, so you can put him in a lot of different spots," coach Andy Reid said. The screen pass he took for a touchdown against the Broncos is an example. Kelce lined up as a wide receiver to the right. He received some good initial blocks, but mostly the Chiefs were relying on Kelce’s speed, which is considerable for a 260-pound player, and his ability to run after the catch. “The acceleration on those quick screens outside, that’s important, those first three steps after the catch and getting yourself up and rolling," Reid said, explaining why the Chiefs are comfortable getting the ball to Kelce in that manner. “The first 5 yards, however you want to term it, are important. He gives you the flexibility to do it. “I think he’s taken his game to another level. I would say that. Just knowing what to do from that standpoint. He’s not out there thinking, ‘Where do I have to line up? What route gets this coverage?’ and all those things. He just goes out there and he plays, so you’re getting the full [range] of his skill.”
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
I’ve been writing PHP code for almost 15 years, and next year will be the 10 year anniversary of this blog. Back when I started the blog, PHP 5 had just come out. It occurred to me that it might be interesting to take a quick look how my PHP code has changed in this timespan. It might also not be interesting, in which case: leave now! So I dug up some old code and created two fictional code samples, representing a class I might have written in 2006 and 2016. 2006 This first example is based off an old open source project that originally had PHP 5.0.4 as the minimum version requirement. Back then my toolkit contained: Vim. Firefox 1 (and installing it on anyone’s computer, whenever they weren’t looking). A borrowed Powerbook G4 running OS X Tiger, or maybe a custom built PC running XP and two yellowed 15” CRT monitors. Basically all development in a SSH session on a Slackware Linux box. Or maybe Debian. PEAR. Subversion. A worn down F5 button on my keyboard for debugging. <?php /** * A music player! * * @package Sabre_MusicPlayer * @version $Id$ * @copyright 2006 Rooftop Solutions * @author Evert Pot <evert@rooftopsolutions.nl> * @licence http://www.freebsd.org/copyright/license.html BSD License (4 Clause) * @uses Sabre_MusicPlayer_Song * @example ../examples/player.php */ class Sabre_MusicPlayer_Player { /** * Some id * * @var int */ public $id ; /** * Secret key * * @var string */ private $key ; /** * Repeat the song x times * * @param int $times * @return bool */ public function repeat ( $times ) { } /** * Adds a new song to the playlist * * @param Sabre_MusicPlayer_Song $song * @throws Sabre_MusicPlayer_DrmException * @return void */ public function addSong ( Sabre_MusicPlayer_Song $song ) { } /** * Returns all songs * * @return array */ public function getSongs () { return array (); } /** * Returns a singleton instance * * @return Sabre_MusicPlayer_Player */ public static function getInstance () { } /** * Secret stuff! */ private function secret () { } } ?> For some crazy reason all my sources were indented by 4 spaces! Everything! @version $Id$ was a special tag that subversion could recognize and would automatically insert version information in every file. was a special tag that subversion could recognize and would automatically insert version information in every file. @licence was misspelled, and it would take me several years to find the mistake in hundreds of files. 2016 It’s almost 2016 now and PHP 7 is out. This is the style I’ll use for new projects: <?php namespace Sabre\MusicPlayer ; /** * A music player! * * @copyright Copyright (C) fruux GmbH (https://fruux.com/). * @author Evert Pot (http://evertpot.com/) * @license http://sabre.io/license/ Modified BSD License */ class Player { /** * Some id * * @var int */ public $id ; /** * Repeat the song x times */ function repeat ( int $times ) : bool { } /** * Adds a new song to the playlist * * @throws DrmException * @return void */ function addSong ( Song $song ) { } /** * Returns all songs */ function getSongs () : array { return []; } /** * Returns a singleton instance */ static function getInstance () : self { } /** * Secret key * * @var string */ private $key ; /** * Secret stuff! */ private function secret () { } } Starting next year, I’m dropping the copyright years from all source files. As far as I’m aware, there’s no real legal reason to keep them, so it’s vanity. It causes a massive ‘Happy new year’ commit every year in the Git repository though, so 2016 will be the last! Since PHP 5.3, we got namespaces! This has a pretty major impact on line lengths in lots of places. It also removed the @package declaration and in many cases @use . declaration and in many cases . A somewhat recent change is that I removed all public function and property modifiers where possible. The public keyword literally does nothing, and I’m unconvinced that it actually helps people understand the source. In fact, I think the opposite. The public keyword pushes the functionname further to the right which means more scanning. function and property modifiers where possible. The keyword literally does nothing, and I’m unconvinced that it actually helps people understand the source. In fact, I think the opposite. The keyword pushes the functionname further to the right which means more scanning. I’m removing all @param , @var and @return tags where they can be inferred from the source. In the past I’ve always kept an entire block of @param tags for every argument. Now that most types can be typehinted (in PHP7) it’s not really needed anymore. , and tags where they can be inferred from the source. In the past I’ve always kept an entire block of tags for every argument. Now that most types can be typehinted (in PHP7) it’s not really needed anymore. Before, I would list all properties in a class first, and functions second. Now I’ve started grouping them based on visibility. That means that the public properties come first, public functions next, protected properties, and so on. This makes a lot more sense for people reading the source, as someone who only interacts with the public API of a class, does not need to read about protected or private properties. It will move the things that are more likely to be relevant upward. PHP 5.4 array syntax. Even though this change was mostly cosmetic, it’s the primary reason I dropped PHP 5.3 support when I reasonabily could. Since many years none of my sources have had a ?> , which probably helped me avoid a bunch of bugs before I used PHPUnit/PHP-CS-Fixer consistently. I still don’t care about PSR-2. I helped split PSR-1 and PSR-2 to ensure that people can follow the important stuff (PSR-1) while keeping creative freedom with their sources (PSR-2). I’m not about to change that in 2016. Right now I’m considering two more controversial changes: Reducing all indentation in classes by 1 more level. This will place every function right on the first column. There’s no super strong argument against this, as you kind of know you’re working inside a class. Change my public $foo declarations back into var $foo , to really drive home the point that “we don’t need public ”. I’m worried that that one doesn’t really carry many benefits other than “nonconformance is fun”. Other changes Moved from Google Code Hosting to Bitbucket (briefly) to Github. Moved from Subversion, to Mercurial to Git. Moved from PEAR packages on “Pearfarm” to Pirum hosted on free SourceForge hosting to Composer and Packagist. Moved from PSR-0 to PSR-4. Really went all-in with PHPUnit, running all my tests on Travis CI. Went from being really excited about OS X, to kind of hating it. Last thoughts Looking back that’s a fair amount of changes. Some of them were painful, either because it was a lot of work (moving to namespaces) or because it meant it’s hard to change habits (for example mercurial. Still sad about that) or because I’m plain stubborn. Aside from that, most of these changes were gradual, and it’s kind of interesting to take a step back and look at them all at once. What’s also interesting is how forward looking PHP Documentor has been. Many things that were in PHP Docblocks are now core PHP language features, the latest examples being scalar typehints and the splat operator. I wonder if that’s one day true for the following expressions as well: /** * @param int|string * @param int[] * @throws Something * @property-read int $myProperty */ Aside from my sources, I also think that architecturally I’ve moved to a more minimal ‘get the job done’ type of approach. In the early days of PHP 5 I think a lot of us copied a lot of things that were happening in the Java-world, but the reality is that that’s a widely inappropriate place to look for architectural inspiration when you’re developing PHP applications. The reality of PHP is that your entire program will need to initialize, handle the request, serve the response and die again in milliseconds. A Java developer only has to optimize the middle part. So over time I feel like my source has become more Javascript-like. Less typing, less objects for every bit of data, less configuration and a lot more more convention, assumption, functional and event-based. Whereas before I might have started a new bit of functionality as an abstract class or interface, now it’s likely to be a function until the point where I know polymorphism will pay off. I think many people have seen this and moved from heavy java-inspired frameworks (such as ZF1, Doctrine) to lighter solutions (such as Silex and Slim and using non-relational datastores or plain PDO). Bonus 2004 version I also dug up an even older project to look at my style then. My code back then was pretty awful, and I didn’t really bother with many things such as escaping or PHPDoc. So instead, here’s how it might have looked like if I was a developer in 2004 and knew what I was doing. I tried to largely follow PEAR’s coding standards from back then. <?php /** * A music player! * * @package Sabre_MusicPlayer * @category Music * @author Evert Pot <???@hotmail.com> * @copyright 2004 Rooftop Solutions * @license http://www.freebsd.org/copyright/license.html BSD License (4 Clause) * @version CVS $Id$ * @uses Sabre_MusicPlayer_Song * @since File available since version 2.0 */ /** * A music player! * * @package Sabre_MusicPlayer * @category Music * @author Evert Pot <???@hotmail.com> * @copyright 2004 Rooftop Solutions * @license http://www.freebsd.org/copyright/license.html BSD License (4 Clause) * @version Release: @package_version@ * @uses Sabre_MusicPlayer_Song * @example ../examples/player.php * @since Class available since version 2.0 */ class Sabre_MusicPlayer_Player { /** * Some id * * @var int * @access public */ var $id ; /** * Secret key * * @var string * @access private */ var $_key ; /** * Repeat the song x times * * @param int $times * @access public * @return bool */ function repeat ( $times ) { } /** * Adds a new song to the playlist * * @param Sabre_MusicPlayer_Song $song * @access public * @return true|PEAR_Error */ function addSong ( Sabre_MusicPlayer_Song $song ) { } /** * Returns all songs * * @access public * @return array */ function getSongs () { return array (); } /** * Returns a singleton instance * * @access public * @static * @return Sabre_MusicPlayer_Player */ function getInstance () { } /** * Secret stuff! * * @access private * @return void */ private function _secret () { } } ?> A few notables here:
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Les Victoires du jazz are a French annual awards ceremony devoted to . For the 2017 edition, which took place last month, all the winners were men. Joëlle Léandre, the great French musician, who played around the world with many of the great musicians of jazz and free improvisation, and who coached many young artists, reacts to this all-male podium ... with anger and in her own authentic style. We publish her letter in full, translated from the original French version. Dear Sirs, No it's not too late or too old yet to write to you It is true that with social networks everything goes so fast I could also say that everything is also quickly forgotten So then, because of that evening, without joking and totally despirited I refuse to shut up to let bygones be bygones I accuse I accuse and I take sole responsibility to write about it because too much is too much. It is a farce (Daniel, a producer, will recognise this) All these Awards these Prizes these "Victoires du Jazz" or rather the "Defeat of Jazz" (Joël, a jazz fanzine editor, will recognise this) shock me and make me think. I'm sorry about the results and I'm sorry about the looks of these 15 p enguins united on stage and smiling about their great talents, I know several of them, and I have even performed with some All this makes me question things How is it possible that there is not one single woman young or less young in the list of winners of 2017? Is this a provocation? Is it a game? Is it a I-don't-give-a-damn or I-couldn't-care-less? What kind of jury was there? Are the labels the agents behind all this? How is it possible that in the 21st Century again and again not one single woman was nominated? What is this charade? What is this masquerade? What is this archaism these dusty parlors with powdered wigs? Jazz did not stop in 1950. Some of us propose provoke shock and make waves and we question ourselves we question forms or structures instruments rhythms and timbres ... and even more than all that we question. Jazz has always been about risky and adventurous meetings. What is this kind of mess to see and read these results? Do you not think that a woman can think, reflect, compose, create projects, lead bands ... hit the road and present her music everywhere? What planet do you live on? How do you want a young woman leaving the music academy with or without a degree, wonderfully playing her clarinet her sax her piano, to feel that she can take this adventure further, this curiosity for elsewhere, and to be attracted by another kind of music, more free and more creative and To be attracted by Jazz (because Jazz has always been a creative music, as for the rest, I won't expand on it ... even if I could) In short, to love this Music and then to see to read again and again your male results!! You are totally indifferent to the world. It is shameful. I told you I would take the risk on me to write to you. Well, I do. You should do the opposite. Get out of your seats and go listen to female musicians, listen and be curious. Instead of remaining stuck in your ancient views, and congregating in a self-congratulatory atmosphere. All these little friends. All this little power. Yes, I am angry. I am 66 years old and on the road for 41 years, around the globe, with my dear friends, male and female, creating, inventing my Music, ... crying even, shouting ... Do you think that I called Steve Lacy, Anthony Braxton, George Lewis or Marilyn Crispell or many others to Europe ... or even younger people ... and that we play Mozart or Monteverdi together? Stop this! It is all about desire this, to be, to be Oneself, to create collectively, men and women, women and men That is the history of Jazz. Today, with women too. Don't forget it!! Don't ever forget them again!! They are brilliant, strong, disturbing, full of talent, full of surprises. Sometimes laughing, sometimes hard workers. A word to the wise. My word to the wise. Joëlle Leandre
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
It has begun. Starting with the Star Ladder i-League Invitational this weekend, there is a ranking tournament for the next three weekends straight. The DotA 2 competitive dry spell is finally over. The PGL Open Bucharest tournament is yet another Valve Minor, meaning 300 Qualifying Points will be up for grabs. While they are not weighed as heavily as Valve Majors, these early points can be very important for players to establish their position on the leaderboards. Very few teams from Star Ladder will make an appearance at PGL, so we have a lot to talk about. Let’s get started. Invited Teams Evil Geniuses Roster: Position 1 – Artour “Arteezy” Babaev Position 2 – Sumail “Suma1l” Hassan Position 3 – Saahil “UNiVeRsE” Aurora Position 4 – Andreas “Cr1t-” Nielsen Position 5 – Clinton “Fear” Loomis — The TI5 Champions have played less than 20 games since TI7, but their performance has been healthy. It is hard not to contribute at least a portion of this success to the return of Fear as 5 position support and captain. Zai’s departure surely dealt a blow to team morale, but Cr1t- is perfectly capable of stepping up to that 4th position in his stead. Now freed from the stress and responsibility of captaining, Cr1t- can focus more on being the playmaker he needs to be. Other than a surprise loss to Leviathan during the i-League Invitational Qualifiers, EG has been proving that they’re as strong as ever coming into this season. LGD Gaming Roster: Position 1 – Wang “Ame” Chunyu Position 2 – Lu “Maybe” Yao Position 3 – Xu “fy” Linsen Position 4 – Yao “Yao” Zhengzheng Position 5 – Chen “Victoria” Guanhong — LGD’s performance has been a little more shaky since TI7 than our previously mentioned direct invitee. Thanks to their participation in a few extra Chinese tournaments, we have a pool of nearly 50 games played since TI to base this assertion off of. Nevertheless, this lineup contains some of China’s best talent, and it would be a mistake to underestimate them. After all, this is more or less the lineup that placed 4th at TI7. You don’t achieve that kind of accolade by being a second rate team. Qualified Teams Team Secret Roster: Position 1 – Marcus “Ace” Hoelgaard Position 2 – Yeik “MidOne” Nai Zheng Position 3 – Adrian “Fata” Trinks Position 4 – Yazied “YapzOr” Jaradat Position 5 – Clement “Puppey” Ivanov — There isn’t much to say about Team Secret that wasn’t already said in my StarLadder competition analysis. They have not had the chance to play enough since then to trigger a change of opinion. After qualifying for three minors back to back they’re still in a great position to get a head start in Qualifying Points this season. Na’Vi Roster: Position 1 – Vladislav “Crystallize” Krystanek Position 2 – Danil “Dendi” Ishutin Position 3 – Victor “GeneRaL” Nigrini Position 4 – Vladimir “RodjER” Nikogosyan Position 5 – Akbar “SoNNeikO” Butaev — Na’vi’s performance at StarLadder so far has been defined by solid team play and unpredictable picks. Unfortunately for Na’vi, their odd drafting picks have been met with mixed success. During their first game against Team Secret, Secret punished Na’Vi’s first pick Tiny hard. This effectively rendered the hero useless during the mid game where he needs to snowball into the late game. The third game was where things got really interesting, as Na’vi last picked an Ancient Apparition for Dendi to take mid. Ancient Apparition mid has not been seen in the meta for years, but it turned out to be exactly what their draft needed to counter Secret’s Timbersaw and Alchemist duo. Regardless of the results of their erratic drafts, it makes for an incredible DotA watching experience. As long as the fans get good DotA to watch, isn’t that what is really important? Immortals Roster: Position 1 – Kim “QO” Seon-yeob Position 2 – Pyo “MP” No-a Position 3 – Lee “Forev” Sang-don Position 4 – Kim “Febby” Yong-min Position 5 – Kim “DuBu” Doo-young — My familiarity with this roster as MVP.Phoenix makes it strange to call them The Immortals. Nevertheless, it’s exciting to see the Korean powerhouse make its return no matter what form it takes. Their return to DotA 2 has not been easy either. Qualifying for this PGL Open required The Immortals to beat teams like OpTic Gaming and Digital Chaos, which is no simple task. After the original MVP.Phoenix disbanded in January of 2017, the players went their separate ways and played on other teams. Ironically enough, each player still participated in TI7 on teams like Fnatic, Secret and Digital Chaos. After gaining experience on those teams, they decided it was time to get the gang back together. The results will be exciting to watch. Infamous Roster: Position 1 – Alonso “Kotaro Hayama” León Position 2 – Mariano “Papita” Caneda Position 3 – Steven “StingeR” Vargas Position 4 – Elvis “Scofield” De la Cruz Peña Position 5 – Christian “Accel” Cruz — Other than 5 position support “Accel”, this is not the same Infamous that attended TI7. With the departure of most of their TI7 roster, Infamous absorbed most of the roster of Elite Wolves in early September. It is interesting to note that Infamous did not originally qualify for PGL Open Bucharest. Digital Chaos.SA originally held that spot. However, thanks to the disbandment of most of DC.SA’s roster after winning the South American qualifiers, Infamous took their spot after beating SG Esports in a replacements finals match 3-1. It would be great to see a South American Dota team start to make it in the big leagues, but whether Infamous is that team remains to be seen. VGJ.Thunder Roster: Position 1 – Liu “Sylar” Jiajun Position 2 – Liu “Freeze” Chang Position 3 – Zhou “Yang” Haiyang Position 4 – Pan “Fade” Yi Position 5 – Fan “Ayo” Tianyou — I don’t profess to be an expert on Chinese DotA, but to me, this team seems built around Sylar. He is the most experienced member of this team, as well as the one that has seen the most professional success. At the end of the day though, DotA is a team sport, and the rest of the team are no slouches. After all, VGJ.Thunder had to beat teams like Invictus Gaming and LGD Forever Young to make it to PGL Open. If the team can continue to give Sylar the space he needs to do his thing, this team could go far in this tournament. Mineski Roster: Position 1 – Kam “NaNa” Boon Seng Position 2 – Chai “Mushi” Yee Fung Position 3 – Daryl “iceiceice” Koh Pei Xiang Position 4 – Anucha “Jabz” Jirawong Position 5 – Michael “ninjaboogie” Ross Jr. — Mineski is the final team that is playing in both the current StarLadder tournament as well as the PGL Open. They got off to a bit of a rough start after losing to Team Liquid 0-2 at StarLadder. This result was almost expected though, as Liquid is still playing like the TI Champions that they are. Whatever ends up happening at StarLadder, Mineski can take comfort in knowing they’ll have another opportunity for Qualifying points right around the corner! PGL Open Bucharest will be held in Bucharest, Romania from October 19th – October 22nd. You can ‘Like’ The Game Haus on Facebook and ‘Follow’ us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other great TGH writers along with Ben! You can follow Ben here – https://twitter.com/TheWholeShoe To continue enjoying great content from your favorite writers, please contribute to our Patreon account! Every little bit counts. We greatly appreciate all of your amazing support! #TGHPatreon
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The report said that several senior Justice Department Criminal Division officials raised concerns with the National Security Council in 2003 about the military’s treatment of detainees, but saw no changes as a result of their complaints. John Ashcroft, the former attorney general, declined to be interviewed by the inspector general’s office of the department he had headed, an unusual refusal and one that hampered investigators’ attempts to learn of discussions inside the council, the report said. A Pentagon spokesman had no immediate comment on the report. The inspector general’s office started its investigation in late 2004, following widespread public attention to the question of detainee treatment spurred by graphic photographs of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. The American Civil Liberties Union, through a lawsuit, also unearthed numerous internal e-mail messages from the bureau about agents’ complaints of rough interrogation tactics at Guantánamo Bay, which proved central in the Justice Department’s review. The investigation examined about a half-million documents and included surveys of 1,000 F.B.I. agents regarding their experiences with interrogation tactics by military and C.I.A. interrogators, as well as interviews with hundreds of other bureau personnel, officials said. The investigation centered on the accounts of what the agents witnessed in the treatment of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, in Iraq and in Afghanistan, and how those complaints were handled. The Justice Department’s inspector general does not have jurisdiction over the Pentagon. The bulk of the report was completed last year, but its public release by the inspector general was bottled up for months because of concerns from the Defense Department about the disclosure of sensitive information centering on interrogation tactics. The final report from the inspector general, unlike some earlier terrorism investigations, was released with relatively few blacked-out sections. The bureau stationed agents at Guantánamo Bay and other military detention sites to assist in the questioning of detainees taken into custody after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but the rough tactics by military interrogators soon became a major source of friction between the bureau and sister agencies. Agents complained to superiors beginning in 2002 that the tactics they had seen in use yielded little actual intelligence, prevented them from establishing a rapport with detainees through more traditional means of questioning, and might violate bureau policy or American law.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
About FloraUAE Now send flowers with FloraUAE. It is a dream of delivering happiness in shortest duration of time with flowers and rose delivery service. We have delivered hundreds of thousands of orders in past and we are happy because our customers are happy with our services. Delivery of Flowers is not a easy task unless you find right website or online florist in Dubai to do that for you. FloraUAE can be your partner for flower delivery Dubai making it possible for you to get the best for your money. We are young chaps with full of energy and emotions. We understand the real value of occasion and special persons in life. We understand how a bunch can give your loved one all the happiness you wanted for. Flowers are special like your special loved one. Whether it is valentine day or mothers' day, flowers are always the best way to express your feelings. We make it happen! Flowers Delivery in Dubai in 4 Hours Why Dubai? Who else can know Dubai better than us. We know streets of Dubai, we know traffic of Dubai, and we know summers of Dubai. We understand why it is easier to order flowers delivery online instead of visiting a flower shop. Out of so many online florist, it is always tough to choose one. We suggest to choose the one who shows promptness in their services! An idle website with low cost is like dead whether it makes you save some AED. So when you think of flowers, and you are in Dubai, Go with FloraUAE.com If you are looking for a florist in Dubai or the UAE who can send flowers now, you can trust our services. FloraUAE provides round the clock flowers delivery in the UAE. We take orders up to 2 PM (UAE time) for same day delivery. Our prices are cheapest though we assure best quality. We can assure timely delivery if you select fixed time delivery while checkout. Sending flowers to Dubai was never so easy. The checkout process is itself very simple and can be done in no time. We accept payments via Paypal and you can pay using any currency, though the order will be processed in US$. Try our services and we can assure that you will love them :) Send beautiful bunches to your loved ones and surprise them. Send birthday flowers, anniversary flowers and flowers for all occasions with the best online flower delivery service in Dubai. You can use our midnight delivery service for special occasions. You can choose from our wide collection of Roses, Lilies, Gerberas and mixed flowers bunches. You can order flowers online in Dubai and get it delivered at doorstep Use our same day service to deliver flowers for all occasions. Celebrate special occasions withFloraUAE.. Deliver flowers in Dubai with best service at best rates. Send flowers on Valentine's Day, Mother’s day and to celebrate such special moments with FloraUAE. Now you can order flowers online in Dubai with great ease. FloraUAE can get you Flowers, Cakes and Combos at best prices. We can also create customized combos for you for special occasions. When you need to convey emotions flowers are best way and it is very easy now. Celebrate special occasions with special flowers bunches and arrangements. You can also add Godiva Chocolates and Cakes with flowers and send sweet wishes. Order flowers online in Dubai and get it delivered on same day. Surprise your loved ones with midnight cake delivery service and order flower online in Dubai. Deliver flowers in Dubai with easy process and just in minutes. Get beautiful flower arrangements in bunches, Vases and baskets and celebrate special occasions. When you are looking for flower shop in Dubai, you can order online flowers in Dubai with just one click. FloraUAE assures you timely delivery in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu dhabi & Ajman. The process is fastest of all and if you want you can simply process the order over chat as well. You can also add us on WhatsApp and we can keep you updated about your order. We also deal into providing luxury range of bunches. Beautiful Bouquets by Local Florist FloraUAE ensures that bouquets and flowers arrangements should be of very good quality to make sure that they deliver customers emotions in the best manner. We have partnered with expert local florists to ensure that flower bouquets are prepared with fresh flowers and hand delivered to the address. You just need to order online. Our local florists ensure that Flowers are fresh and designs are good of the flower arrangements. They are experts in beautiful Vase arrangements, Hand Bouquets and Floral patterns which will suit all occasions. If you need something specific or customized in terms of flowers or combos, it can be arranged. Our chat associate will help you finalising best product to suit your floral needs. For us the satisfying customer is our key for business. Order Flowers for All Occasions Send beautiful bunches to your loved ones and surprise them. Sending flowers to Dubai is now just a 5 minute job. We provide best services for online delivery of flowers. Send birthday flowers, anniversary flowers and flowers for all occasions with the best online roses delivery service in Dubai. You can choose from our various combos to give beautiful gifts on Christmas. Send bouquets on New Year and surprise the person you love. You can send Godiva and Patchi Chocolates on various occasions combined with Flowers. You can order flowers online in Dubai and get it delivered at doorstep. Deliver smiles and happiness with best roses delivery in UAE Delivery Options to Suit your Needs Use our same day delivery service to deliver flowers for all occasions. You can also use Midnight delivery service for that grand surprise which you want to give the special one of your life. Celebrate special occasions with flowers to Dubai in just 5 minutes. Deliver flowers in Dubai with best delivery service at best rates. Order flowers on Valentine's Day, Mother’s day and to celebrate such special moments with FloraUAE. Now you can order flowers online in Dubai with great ease. FloraUAE can get you Flowers, Cakes and Combos at best prices. We can also deliver flowers in other emirates like Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Ajman. Please contact our chat representative for more details on same. We can also create customized combos for you for special occasions. You can contact out chat representative if you need delivery at a particular time. We will be glad to provide you with Fix Time delivery option in case of urgent deliveries. Hand delivering happiness When you need to convey emotions flowers are best way and to send them is very easy now. Celebrate special occasions with special flowers bunches and arrangements. You can also add Godiva Chocolates and Cakes with flowers and send sweet wishes. Order flowers online in Dubai and get it delivered on same day. Surprise your loved ones with midnight delivery service and order flower online in Dubai. Deliver flowers in Dubai with easy process and just in minutes. Get beautiful flower arrangements in bunches, Vases and baskets and celebrate special occasions. When you are looking for flower shop in Dubai, you can order online flowers in Dubai with just one click. Online florist like FloraUAE.com offer variety of options in terms of flowers and chocolates and same is delivered at your doorstep. Round the clock assistance Let us delivery the flowers online from anywhere in the world and surprise your loved ones. FloraUAE assures you timely delivery in Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi & Ajman. The process is fastest of all and if you want you can simply process the order over chat as well. You can also add us on WhatsApp and we can keep you updated about your order. We also deal into providing luxury range of bunches. You can always right to us at info@florauae.com and we will reply to you shortly with best deals in flowers bouquets and bunches. We provide chat assistance from 7am till Midnight. You can contact our chat representative and they will assist you with best possible flower arrangements and combos of flowers and chocolates and yummy cakes. Garden of Emotions Flowers are best possible gifts to show your love and warmth for your loved ones. Flowers convey your emotions in best possible manner. Red Roses for Love, Yellow Gerberas for care, Pink Flowers for that first love, White Flowers for peace and Lilies for that special occasion, you can choose from amazing Flower varieties to deliver your emotions. You have may have relatives living in Dubai, Sharjah or Abu Dhabi and you want to deliver flowers to them on occasions like Birthday, Anniversary, Christmas or any other important occasion. Roses delivery in Sharjah is now just one click away. Do not worry when you choose us as your online florist in Dubai and deliver flowers to Dubai. It is just click away Flowers are best way to send your wishes and be a part of all important occasions. You can use best online flower delivery service for quick and hassle free service. You just need to select the product and fill in details and make online payment. In just 5 minutes you can send your care and love in form of flowers from anywhere in the world. FloraUAE.com makes it very easy to deliver flowers in Dubai. We as online florist in Dubai will help you select best floral bunches and it will hand be delivered to the address. We provide best variety on Hand Bunches, Basket arrangements, Flower Bouquets and Combos etc. You can also flowers with Chocolates, Cakes and other related products and show how much you care. Select from Roses, Lilies, Calla Lilies, Tulips, Gerberas, Daisies, Orchids and other variety of flower to choose the best flower bouquets which convey your feelings in best manner. We value our Customers very High FloraUAE.com values its customers very high. We make sure that we deliver high quality products on time and of high quality to satisfy our customers. We understand that at FloraUAE.com that customers send their feelings with floral gifts and it is important that same should be delivered with high quality. We can deliver flowers in Dubai at very reasonable rates while ensuring quality and integrity. Our chat representative will be very keen to help you in selecting right Flower Bouquets and arrangements for your occasion. You can choose from arrangements in Glass Vase, Hand bouquets, Basket arrangements and various combos and surprise your loved ones with the beautiful gifts. We understand that customers are created for lifetime hence we try and provide best assistance to ensure that your order is placed easily and you are happy with our services.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Did you know that we try to compile the most accurate and comprehensive list of vets specializing in rabbit care? You can add vets, search for vets, write reviews about your vet and read what others have to say.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
iPhone 5 (Photo by Brett Jordan via Flickr) Authorities in Glendale may have a new crime trend on their hands, after a second incident in which a would-be Craigslist sale of cellphones morphed into an armed robbery took place within a day of the first incident This most recent incident took place last Friday on the 500 block of Hazel Street, according to the Glendale Police Department, reports the Glendale News-Press. A 25-year-old man from Montebello says he spoke to the seller of two iPhones as advertised on Craigslist, and arranged to meet him where the seller allegedly lived, on Hazel Street. The victim took along over $1,000 in cash and his 18-year-old cousin to the meeting spot. After exiting the vehicle and engaging in a brief conversation with the seller, an assailant jumped out of the nearby bushes, brandishing what police say was a "black, semiautomatic handgun," aimed at the would-be buyer, and demanded the victim hand over his belongings and money. The potential buyer explained his wallet was in the parked vehicle, and the men walked over to the car. The buyer sat in the passenger seat and looked for his wallet, and his cousin was at the wheel. The buyer then tried to wrangle the gun away from the robber, and managed to direct it away from his head. The cousin stepped on the gas and the two fled the scene unharmed. Authorities caution that in an armed robbery situations, victims should avoid denying the robbers the property or attempting to engage them in a physical confrontation. The News-Press provided the following details about the assailants: The first man was described as Latino or white, about 6 feet tall, 180 pounds, with a mustache and wearing a dark-colored jacket. The second man was described as white, about 6-1 and 170 to 180 pounds. He was wearing a blue bandanna with white dots over his face and a dark-colored jacket. Police say this incident is similar but not related to the incident one day earlier in which two men meeting a potential buyer for several cellphones instead became the victim of an armed robbery.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
You sir, are a prophet. I just started the Skyrim dlc Dragonborn, which is set in solstheim (for the uninitiated that is an island you visit in morrowind:bloodmoon. As a result of being quite close to vardenfell you can actually see red mountain and the ash it is spewing. in skyrim it looks a little bit hazy but its basically the image above, so either a bethesda developer is a fan of your work or you are prophetic. In morrowind things red mountain and the telvanni towers were limited in their beauty by the graphics of the time, but this brings it all back and really brings to life what i reckon is the best game bethesda have ever done. Also another of your works, the telvanni tower looks exactly like the tower that is featured in dragonborn. Oh and for all those who havent got dragonborn yet, do it, it's bethesda's hat tip to morrowind.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Russian ships and fighter planes tracked an American warship out on the same Black Sea exercise that saw its military aircraft “buzz” a Canadian frigate, a source has confirmed to CTV News, despite Russia’s denials. Three small Russian surface vessels got within 1.6 nautical miles of USS Ross, which is part of a NATO exercise that includes HMCS Toronto, CTV’s Mercedes Stephenson reported Tuesday. While the Canadian frigate was not shadowed by the Russian ships, one of them passed within 1.2 nautical miles, a senior government source told Stephenson. As well, three SU-24 fighter aircraft out of Crimea also “focused” on the USS Ross, coming to within 18 nautical miles of the vessel. The news comes after a Russian military spokesperson confirmed that an SU-24 and a transport plane flew near HMCS Toronto on Sunday, but said it was just the planes’ flight path that took them close to the frigate. In an interview with the Itar-Tass news agency, Maj.-Gen. Igor Konashenkov denied Canadian Defence Minister Rob Nicholson’s charge that the action was "unnecessarily provocative." "The planes' flight path passed through the area where the Canadian naval ship Toronto was, but without making an approach on the foreign military vessel," Konashenkov was quoted as saying. On Monday, CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife reported that two Russian fighter jets and a Russian surveillance aircraft "buzzed" the Canadian frigate. One of the fighter jets came within 300 metres of the ship. HMCS Toronto locked its radar weapons system on the Russian aircraft, but took no further action because the planes were unarmed, sources said. Although the move did not pose a threat to HMCS Toronto or its crew, Russia’s actions were "unnecessarily provocative and risk escalating tensions even further," Nicholson’s office said in a statement. HMCS Toronto is currently operating in the Black Sea along with other NATO warships. At the time of the incident, the ship was en route to Operation Sea Breeze, a three-day, U.S.-led exercise with the Ukrainian navy. The Black Sea borders Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and Romania, along with other countries. One naval expert says it’s not surprising that Russia sent warplanes since it considers the Black Sea its backyard. "There is always an opportunity for something stupid to happen and somebody get in too close or somebody do something provocative that would actually escalate the incident and get quite dangerous," Hugh Williamson told CTV News.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The Supreme Court on Monday accepted a second important case on digital privacy, agreeing to hear a dispute between the federal government and Microsoft about emails stored overseas. The justices increasingly have been called upon to settle legal battles between law enforcement and technology companies, and to interpret laws written before the technology revolution that now raise pertinent questions about privacy. The justices next month will hear a case involving prosecutors' access to the historical data stored in cellphone tower records. Legal experts noted that the court accepted both that case and the one involving Microsoft even though there was no split among lower courts on the law underlying the decisions, something that usually happens before the Supreme Court gets involved. "It's plausible that the splitless grants in both [cases] signal a recognition among the justices of the tremendous importance of digital evidence collection," George Washington University law professor Orin Kerr wrote in a blog post. "Whatever the right answers are, the justices need to provide them." The case the court accepted Monday began in 2013 when U.S. prosecutors got a warrant to access emails in a drug-trafficking investigation. It was served on Microsoft in Redmond, Wash. But the data sought was stored on its servers in Ireland. (The company has more than 100 centers in 40 countries.) Microsoft turned over information it had stored domestically but contended that U.S. law enforcement couldn't seize evidence held in another country. It said that if it was forced to turn over such information, it would lead to claims from other countries about data stored here. A judge upheld the warrant, but a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit overturned the ruling. The full circuit then split evenly on whether that decision was correct, and one judge wrote that the Supreme Court needed to provide the ultimate answer. The Justice Department asked the justices to do just that and to reverse the lower court. It said that a "domestic recipient of a subpoena is required to produce specified materials within the recipient's control, even if the recipient stores the materials abroad." Thirty-three states also urged the court to take the case, U.S. v. Microsoft. They said that the decision has implications for other technology giants such as Google and Yahoo and that it was "remarkable" that the 2nd Circuit had held "that a private company has unfettered discretion to shield evidence of crime from law enforcement, simply by electronically sending that evidence out of the jurisdiction." Deputy Solicitor General Jeffrey B. Wall told the court that "hundreds if not thousands of investigations of crimes — ranging from terrorism, to child pornography, to fraud — are being or will be hampered by the government's inability to obtain electronic evidence." But Microsoft contends that the Stored Communications Act of 1986 did not imagine a world in which "a technician in Redmond, Washington, could access a customer's private emails stored clear across the globe." In a blog posted after the court's announcement, Microsoft president and chief legal officer Brad Smith wrote that the government's position endangers privacy. "If the U.S. government can unilaterally use a warrant to seize emails outside the United States, what's to stop other governments from acting unilaterally to seize emails stored inside the United States?" Smith wrote. "At a time when countries are rightly worried about foreign government hacking, the DOJ's interpretation would open the door to accomplishing the same thing." But the company had urged the court to stay out and allow Congress to amend the law, which Smith noted the Justice Department has asked Congress to do. "The current laws were written for the era of the floppy disk, not the world of the cloud," Smith wrote. [U.S. battle over Microsoft emails could result in ‘global free-for-all’] The justices already are scheduled to consider in late November whether police need a warrant to access cellphone location data held by wireless service providers, another major case involving digital privacy. The court accepted two other cases Monday that touch on law enforcement. In one, the justices will decide whether defendants can suppress wiretap evidence if the warrant that allowed collecting the data exceeded the court's discretion. Brothers Los and Roosevelt Dahda were indicted on drug distribution conspiracy charges. In obtaining their convictions, the federal government relied on wiretaps authorized on several cellphones. Some of the incriminating evidence was gathered when the cellphones were outside Kansas, where the authorizing judge was located. A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit agreed that a federal law seemed to say such evidence could be suppressed. But it reasoned that the evidence from the warrant did not violate Congress's "core concerns" of privacy and uniformity when it wrote the law. Justice Neil M. Gorsuch sat on the panel that heard the case, although he was not part of the rendered decision. He recused himself from the case, Dahda v. U.S., when it got to the Supreme Court. The court will also decide a double-jeopardy case from Virginia. Michael Currier was charged with three counts arising from the theft of a safe that contained cash and 20 guns. He was charged with breaking and entering, grand larceny, and being a felon in possession of a firearm, which referred to the guns inside the safe. To keep the jury from being prejudiced by the knowledge that Currier was a felon, he and the commonwealth agreed to have the charges tried separately. A jury found Currier not guilty of the first two charges, which involved stealing the safe. But over Currier's objections, prosectors then tried him on the third charge — possession of the guns — and this time a different jury convicted him. He was sentenced to five years in prison. Lower courts did not agree with Currier that the second trial was a violation of his constitutional protections against being tried repeatedly for the same offense. The case is Currier v. Virginia.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
A model of the structure of clathrin, a protein that researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio used to study how a heat shock protein disassembles protein complexes. Credit: Drs. Eileen Lafer and Rui Sousa/UT Health Science Center at San Antonio Studies at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio are providing basic new understanding about "heat shock proteins," also called "chaperone proteins." These proteins, first identified in cells subjected to heat, are very important under many stressful and non-stressful metabolic conditions. They maintain proper protein function and, importantly, prevent the inappropriate accumulation of damaged proteins. For example, accumulation of damaged proteins such as beta amyloid, tau and synuclein are thought to be very important in the development of diseases of the brain such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Aug. 1 in the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, a Health Science Center research team led by Rui Sousa, Ph.D., and Eileen M. Lafer, Ph.D., both professors of biochemistry in the School of Medicine, presented data that show how heat shock proteins break apart protein complexes. They found that when heat shock proteins with molecular weight 70 (Hsp70s) are recruited to protein complexes, rather than simply binding to these complexes, the Hsp70s collide with them and generate a force that dissolves the complexes. "No one knew how the heat shock proteins pull apart bad protein complexes," Dr. Sousa said. "At the molecular level, everything is moving, colliding and bumping, and smashing into other components of the cells. We found that the system moves Hsp70s to where they are needed. Once this occurs, collision pressures pull things apart." Model system Previous attempts to glean this information failed because the proteins studied were too heterogeneous—of too many different sizes, shapes and actions—to isolate the Hsp70 behavior. The UT Health Science Center team studied clathrin, a protein that is uniform in size and shape and is important in making intracellular cages that transport other proteins. Previously clathrin was only available from animal specimens, making it very difficult to manipulate experimentally. Dr. Lafer made a technical breakthrough when she was able to grow clathrin in bacteria for the first time using recombinant DNA technology. The clathrin could then be genetically engineered for mechanistic studies. Dr. Lafer grew clathrin "cages"—shaped like microscopic soccer balls—that provided the biological raw material for Dr. Sousa and the team to study the force that occurs with Hsp70 collisions. The clathrin model system could be manipulated to yield precise results. A wrecking machine Dr. Sousa gave this analogy of the study: The heat shock protein is like a worker with an ax who, when moved to a wood pile, begins swinging. The wood pile represents a protein complex. The scientists give the worker both thick trees and thin trees to swing at, and spindly wood and hard wood. They change the angle of the wood pile, and every other variable, to learn how this affects the chopping. By making variants of clathrin with recombinant DNA technology, team members were able to manipulate this biological material in ways that allowed them to determine the mechanism by which it is taken apart by Hsp70. "This work was a tour de force, requiring the convergence of exceptional biochemical and molecular genetic skills with a deep understanding of the principles of physical chemistry," said Bruce Nicholson, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Biochemistry at the Health Science Center. "Such insights into the most basic aspects of protein chemistry and cell biology are often, as in this case, driven by a curiosity to find out how the molecular machines that drive our bodies work. But from these basic pursuits of scientific curiosity will often stem great benefits to human health." Hsp70 in disease Understanding Hsp70 behavior may have relevance to human disease. By increasing Hsp70 function, scientists cured Huntington's, a neurodegenerative disease, in a fly model. Cancer is another interesting focus. Tumors rely on Hsp70s to survive, so lowering Hsp70 function is a topic in cancer research. "This is an impressive study that not only improves our understanding of cellular biology, but could lead to therapeutic discoveries for neurodegenerative diseases," said Francisco González-Scarano, M.D., dean of the School of Medicine and executive vice president for medical affairs of the Health Science Center. "It is a tribute to scientists who ask hard questions and develop tools to answer them. My congratulations to the team." "We attacked this problem because it was a really important question in cellular biology," Dr. Lafer said. "We didn't do it because we wanted to cure neurodegenerative disease or cancer. We know, however, that when we attack really important questions in science and biology, it ultimately leads to translational applications down the line." "Sometimes as a scientist you just increase understanding of the way the world works," Dr. Sousa said. "This is something scientists have wanted to know." News online For current news from the UT Health Science Center San Antonio, please visit our online newsroom, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or view us on YouTube. About the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, with missions of teaching, research and healing, is one of the country's leading health sciences universities. Its schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions and graduate biomedical sciences have produced 33,000 alumni who are advancing their fields throughout the world. With six campuses in San Antonio and Laredo, the university has a FY 16 revenue operating budget of $801.8 million and is the primary driver of its community's $30.6 billion biomedical and health care industry. For more information on the many ways "We make lives better®," visit http://www.uthscsa.edu. Explore further Researchers gain insight into key protein linked to cancers, neurodegenerative disorders More information: Rui Sousa et al, Clathrin-coat disassembly illuminates the mechanisms of Hsp70 force generation, Nature Structural & Molecular Biology (2016). Journal information: Nature Structural & Molecular Biology Rui Sousa et al, Clathrin-coat disassembly illuminates the mechanisms of Hsp70 force generation,(2016). DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.3272
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Zaragoza El centrocampista del Castilla jugará en el equipo aragonés la próxima temporada El futuro de Aleix Febas ya está decidido. El centrocampista del Castilla jugará finalmente en el Zaragoza la próxima temporada, y el club podría oficializar la cesión del joven de 21 años este mismo lunes. El equipo aragonés lleva negociando con su agente, Dani García Lara, varias semanas, y finalmente ha logrado convencer al futbolista. El principal rival para hacerse con sus servicios ha sido el Almería, con Ramis en el banquillo, un viejo conocido de Febas. Coincidieron en el Castilla antes de la llegada de Solari. Tras hacerse oficial su llegada este lunes, el canterano blanco cambiará la pretemporada del Real Madrid de Zidane- con el que viajó el año pasado a Estados Unidos- por la del Zaragoza, que inicia el próximo 10 de julio la preparación para la próxima campaña.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
For nearly seven years I was a CMS implementer and contributor, mostly with Drupal, but occasionally with Joomla! and WordPress. Then about 3 years ago I encountered Jekyll and I had a revelation, a system that let me manage and render content, but in a manner that suited me as a writer, using markup formats such as markdown, reStructuredText, and Asciidoc. Whilst the plain text and version control approach is great for some, and despite best efforts from vendors such as GitHub and GitLab, it’s still not that accessible to less technically minded people. Many projects have attempted to bridge this gap and merge the best of the two worlds, from commercial SaaS providers such as Contentful, Prismic, or CloudCannon to open source options like Cockpit and getmesh. Just over a year ago, Netlify, the fantastic host for static sites announced ‘Netlify CMS’ and it looked promising, adding a CMS-like interface to the git workflow. I made some initial investigations, but now finally have time for a proper dive into how to set it up and use it. I will use Netlify CMS (NC) with Jekyll, but you can find instructions on how to add it to other existing static sites or get started from scratch with a new site. Adding Netlify CMS to Jekyll Create an admin folder with an index.html and a config.yml file; these act as the gateway to your admin interface and the settings behind it, respectively. Inside index.html, add the skeleton HTML, JavaScript, and CSS needed to create the admin interface, for full custom branding, you can add links to your style sheets too, but as this is an admin ‘backend,’ you may not need them. <!doctype html> <html> <head> <meta charset="utf-8" /> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" /> <title>Content Manager</title> <!-- Add your own styles here --> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://unpkg.com/netlify-cms@^1.0.0/dist/cms.css" /> </head> <body> <!-- Include the script that builds the page and powers Netlify CMS --> <script src="https://unpkg.com/netlify-cms@^1.0.0/dist/cms.js"></script> </body> </html> Naturally, the configuration file varies for your use case, but I’ll show you what I use for my ‘Gregarious Mammal’ site, and you can extrapolate from there. First, determine the backend type and if users need to authenticate to access it, you can use users defined in Netlify, or in GitHub (those with push access). I want to allow users to change content outside of Netlify, so use the GitHub method: backend: name: github repo: GregariousMammal/Main-Site # Path to Github repository branch: master # Branch to update To define which users can access the admin backend and edit content I recommend you read Netlify’s steps. You can authenticate with a variety of different methods, or handle the process via Netlify’s identity service that you might have setup already (I do). If you add the setting below, then posts go through a workflow process where specific users can review and edit posts held in pull requests until you publish them. Otherwise, NC commits posts to the branch defined above. publish_mode:editorial_workflow The site uses lots of images, and I want people to add an image with every post, so you need to define where to store them, add that with the media_folder parameter, and also public_folder that sets where to serve images from: media_folder:"images"# Media files will be stored in the repo under images public_folder:"/images"# The src attribute for uploaded media will begin with /images I did find some issues with images I had stored in sub-folders, there is an issue discussing sub-folders, but I’m unsure if it’s related. Now comes the most complicated part. My site has a lot of different ‘content types’ to represent different items of content, sometimes using collections and sometimes using different fields in different places. This section will be the section of your configuration and consists of a series of YAML sections representing your content. The general structure is: collections: - name: "posts" # Used in routes, e.g. /admin/collections/blog label: "Posts" # Used in the UI folder: "_posts" # The path to the folder where the documents are stored create: true # Allow users to create new documents in this collection slug: " {{year}} - {{month}} - {{day}} - {{slug}} " # Filename template i.e. YYYY-MM-DD-title.md filter: - field: publication_url - value: "" fields: # The fields for each document, usually in front matter - {label: "Layout", name: "layout", widget: "hidden", default: "post"} - {label: "Title", name: "title", widget: "string"} - {label: "Publish Date", name: "date", widget: "datetime"} - {label: "Featured Image", name: "image", widget: "image"} - {label: "Categories", name: "categories", widget: "string"} - {label: "Tags", name: "tags", widget: "string"} - {label: "Body", name: "body", widget: "markdown"} - {label: "Publication URL", name: "publication_url", widget: "string"} You can use one of about 12 default widgets, and it’s not too hard to create your own if you know React. By default, fields are set as required , so add required: false if they are not in your content model, i.e.: -{label: "Publication URL", name: "publication_url", widget: "string", required: false} My site has a lot of content, and I couldn’t get Netlify CMS to load it all - this might be limits with JavaScript calls or the GitHub API. There’s probably a way to fix this, but as a lot of the posts are autogenerated stub files for aggregated content, I don’t need to edit them anyway. Netlify CMS offers a way to filter these using the filter property on a field value. filter: - field: language - value: en I wanted to filter by date to load the most recent posts, but that wasn’t possible, so I tried to filter posts that didn’t have a publication_url but didn’t have much luck getting filters to work, your mileage may vary. There are also limits on how much you can pull from the GitHub API, so I might need to reorganize my content into more collections or sub-folders. You can see the complete content types for my site here. Using Netlify CMS Fire up your static site generator as normal and visit _admin. You should see sections for each of the content types you defined, plus one for media and workflow (if enabled). The interface has limited filter and sort options, but there is a search box. You use the add buttons to create content with a handy GUI and preview it. When you click save, posts are held in a pull request until you publish them when they are then merged into the master. There’s a summary here of what GUI action results in what git action. SSCMS (Static Site CMS!) In my opinion, Netlify has, so far, made the best effort to create a CMS-like front-end for static sites that suits the workflows of technical and non-technical users. It’s early days with bugs and features needed, but with the strength of the Netlify commercial product and community drive, I hold a lot of hope for its development.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The site for everything tricycle.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Only one week left to Double your gift It’s becoming increasingly clear that kids, not grownups, are driving the global conversation around climate action. As you read this, young people in Europe and the United States are organizing marches, walk-outs, and sit-ins to protest the way their governments are handling (or ignoring) climate change. It’s not just a cute stunt, in many cases, these kiddos are getting serious results. In the latest round of the kids v. adults showdown: A bunch of children and young folks stormed Senator Dianne Feinstein’s office to ask her to back the Green New Deal. And the California Democrat took the opportunity to publicly back the proposal! Just kidding. This is how @SenFeinstein reacted to children asking her to support the #GreenNewDeal resolution — with smugness + disrespect. This is a fight for our generation's survival. Her reaction is why young people desperately want new leadership in Congress. pic.twitter.com/0zAkaxruMI — Sunrise Movement 🌅 (@sunrisemvmt) February 22, 2019 The meeting was organized by the Sunrise Movement, the same climate group that staged a sit-in in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office to demand she support the GND after the midterms. The kids, and at least one adult, presented Feinstein with a handwritten letter asking her to vote “yes” on the progressive climate plan. Judging by the video, Feinstein appeared prepared to negotiate at first. “I’ll tell you what,” she said. “We have our own Green New Deal.” But after being interrupted multiple times, Feinstein got a little feisty, and things turned testy. “Some scientists have said we have 12 years to turn this around,” a little girl told the senator. “Well, it’s not going to get turned around in 10 years,” Feinstein responded, which is the political equivalent of telling a kid that the tooth fairy doesn’t exist. Except maybe meaner. Whether you’re on the side of the kids or the grandma (not an insult, Feinstein reports she has seven grandchildren), one lesson here is that telling a bunch of kids that you won your race by “a million vote plurality” isn’t the best way to endear yourself to an increasingly rambunctious climate movement.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Chennai witnessed a staggering 92 per cent increase in office space absorption at 2.3 million square feet, followed by Pune, which saw 50 per cent growth at 2.1 million square feet. Bengaluru with 34 per cent growth saw record highest absorption at 7.9 million square feet amongst seven (Chennai, Pune, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata) key markets. Delhi-NCR witnessed 25 per cent at 4 million square feet. Mumbai office space absorption grew marginally at 2 per cent with 4.2 million square feet. Hyderabad and Kolkata recorded absorption of 2.2 million square feet and 0.7 million square feet respectively. Also read: Rising demand for office space pushes up rentals in 10 key office markets On all India basis, the commercial office sector continued to witness strong growth momentum with an 18 per cent on year increase in net absorption at 23.4 million square feet during January–September 2018 period. “This double-digit growth is driven by strong economic fundamentals, demand for good quality grade A office space, institutional investments in commercial office assets along with the co-working office trend catching up in key markets,” said Ramesh Nair, CEO and Country Head, JLL India. Read also: Ram Chandnani, Co-Chair, CoreNet Global, India Chapter and Managing Director, Advisory and Transaction Services India, CBRE, speaks on the changing trends, companies’ real estate requirement, and the outlook for corporate real estate in India. Full interview here
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Climate change is the defining issue of our time, and the discourse regarding plastic pollution is everywhere. We are told to avoid buying plastic, to reuse plastic bags, to make small differences. But to truly impact the climate crisis, we need the companies who produce the products we buy to reduce their usage of unnecessary plastic packaging, so that we are able, as consumers, to choose more sustainable products. This is why, upon, noticing the plastic seal on my Hellman's mayo jar, which serves no true purpose and is thrown away immediately upon opening it, I decided to email Hellman's about this ridiculous and, ultimately, polluting, plastic use. Disappointingly, but predictably, the response was a list of promises: "Unilever has made an industry-leading commitment..."; ""we have a framework,"; "our Five Point Plastic Plan.". However, the theme was clear: "by 2025,"; "working to accelerate this process."; "ambitious 2025 targets.": the action is not immediate, and their commitments are not enough. This petition is my response. As a consumer, I do not think that these words and promises are enough. I want action now, and removing these unnecessary plastic seals would be the first step towards a sustainable and climate-stable future, in which my buying of everyday food items does not have to involve 'climate guilt'. Please join me in requesting Hellman's to remove these unnecessary plastic seals and paving the way - in action, not plans and promises - towards a more sustainable future. Thank you.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Note: This review covers the first two episodes of Happy! and is spoiler-free. Happy! is unlike anything you’ve ever seen on television. It tells the story of Nick Sax (Christopher Meloni), an ex-cop turned hitman who is greasiness personified. After a near-fatal heart attack, he begins to see a tiny blue horse named Happy (voiced by Patton Oswalt). Happy is an imaginary friend and needs Nick’s help in order to save his creator, a kidnapped girl named Hailey (Bryce Lorenzo). Sounds a little nutty, doesn’t it? You don’t even know what you’re in store for, my friends. Happy! is the craziest thing you’ll see on TV this year. It’s also one of the best new shows in years. The Lunatics Running the Asylum There is such a perfect marriage of mad talent behind Happy!. The show is based on the limited series by comics legends Grant Morrison and Darick Robertson. Morrison is deeply involved with the show’s production and that kind of input from the property’s creator goes a long way. We’ve also got showrunner Brian Taylor, the director of the Crank films — madcap masterpieces that are essential viewing — bringing a frenetic and fresh approach to TV storytelling. Happy! doesn’t have any problem with pacing or energy and that definitely feels like one of Taylor’s big contributions. The cherries on top? Christopher Meloni and Patton Oswalt. Meloni plays Nick Sax with putrid comic perfection. This is one of the grossest, crassest, and most entertaining characters to grace the small screen in a while. When I saw the pilot of Happy! at New York Comic Con, I described Nick Sax as a combination of two of Meloni’s previous roles: Elliot Stabler from Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and Gene from Wet Hot American Summer. He’s that and so much more. It’s a vile yet strangely endearing performance that I can’t get enough of. And Patton Oswalt as Happy is such spot-on casting that it hurts. His relentlessly cheery and childish disposition is a welcome contrast to Nick’s nonstop nihilism. Happy is the kind of cute character that doesn’t feel forced or manufactured simply to be cute. He’s a personification of the show’s central theme: the constant battle between optimism and pessimism. And Oswalt’s vocal performance — along with the talented animators who help bring Happy to life — nails that dichotomy while also being genuinely funny and adorable. Put the Kids to Bed ‘Cause This Gets Naughty All of this is in service to two violent and disturbing plots that are going to be ugly for viewers who are too sensitive for such over-the-top antics. Nick Sax receives a secret password from a dying mobster member. This puts him in the crosshairs of head mafioso Blue (Ritchie Coster from The Dark Knight) who will do anything to get that password. That means sending waves of disposable soldiers after Nick Sax. And boy, does Nick make them hurt. The violence in the show is so off-the-wall that it’s impossible not to see the anarchic fun of it all. Bad guys are blown away with Nick’s hand cannons or get their heads beaten in with fire extinguishers and it’s all with a sense of juvenile glee. This isn’t a mean-spirited show but it is a nasty one. If that ain’t your cup of tea, then that just means more for the rest of us. Add to that a whole lot of sexual depravity — which I’m sure my editors don’t even want me to hint at — and general scumminess that permeates throughout the whole endeavor. The other main thrust of the story centers around children being kidnapped by a crack-smoking Santa Claus, and if the show follows the plot of the comic book, this is going to tread into some very uncomfortable waters. Look, it’s difficult material for those who prefer their entertainment to be safe and fluffy. But, it’s so clearly coming from a place of intelligence mixed with the right understanding of transgressive shock factor. This isn’t an Adam Sandler movie or Entourage. Happy! is knowingly gross and tempers that with an obvious knowledge of what it is. When it needs to pull back and be serious, it achieves that with a strong sense of balance. The first episode ends with a moment of emotional clarity that sells you on the believable weight of everything going on. Is Happy! Good? Happy! is f—–g perfect. It’s as violent and disgusting as it is silly and sweet. The cast is firing on all cylinders, the show moves at a brisk and breathless pace, the level of insanity continues to steadily grow, and all of this is anchored by characters and a story that we are actually invested in. Out of all the new shows I’ve seen this year, Happy! is the one that has cut through the crowd and demands to be seen. It’s going to ruffle some feathers but who cares? For those of us that love the devil-may-care attitude of shows like Preacher and Ash vs. Evil Dead and movies like Deadpool, Happy! is a godsend from the lord of lunacy. Happy! premieres December 6 on SYFY at 10/9c. Get ready to overdose on WTF in the best way possible.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Those of us who spend two or more continuous hours at a computer most days are, the American Optometric Association says, at risk for eye problems. Here are some things to do to avoid the specter of Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS). We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Fifteen years after invading Iraq over weapons of mass destruction and ties to al Qaeda that both proved non-existent, the United States is again steering toward a possible confrontation with a Middle East power for suspected work on nuclear weapons and support for terrorism. US President Donald Trump's Iran policy sounds hauntingly familiar to some current and former US officials who witnessed the buildup to the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, where sectarian and ethnic fractures and some 5,000 US troops still remain. More than 4,400 US troops and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis died in the conflict, which many analysts have called one of the major US foreign policy debacles of modern times. "There are disturbing and eerie similarities" in the misuse of intelligence then and now, said Paul Pillar, who was the top US intelligence analyst for the Middle East from 2001 to 2005. "The basic thing that is going on is a highly tendentious, cherry-picked, ‘We know what the conclusion is'" use of intelligence, Pillar said. Trump on Tuesday withdrew the United States from a six-nation agreement with Tehran that limits Iran's nuclear work in return for relief from economic sanctions. The president charged that the deal, negotiated under his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, did not address Iran's ballistic missile program, its nuclear activities beyond 2025 or its role in conflicts in Yemen and Syria. Trump made no mention of assessments by the US intelligence community and the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency, which has nuclear inspectors in Iran, that Tehran is complying with the 2015 deal. Instead, he cited a cache of Iranian documents made public by Israel on April 30 that he said showed Iran's leaders lied when they denied ever pursuing a nuclear weapons project. While the documents' authenticity has not been challenged by Western governments and intelligence experts, critics said they added little to previous assessments that concluded that Iran mothballed its effort to develop nuclear weapons in 2003. Iran called Israel's allegations "childish and ridiculous." Beginning shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, President George W. Bush and top aides made the case for invading Iraq by citing intelligence that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had ties to al Qaeda and was secretly developing nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. Both claims were proved false. Bush and his aides had exaggerated the available intelligence, relied on dubious claims from Iraqi exiles and ignored contradictory information. On some points, the CIA and its sister intelligence agencies were just wrong. Why Iran is not Iraq US officials, as well as analysts in Washington and the Middle East, cautioned that there were key differences between Bush's Iraq policy and Trump's approach to Iran. While Trump's move on Tuesday ratcheted up regional tensions and widened a rift with US allies in Europe, no one is predicting an American invasion of Iran. "The question is are we facing the same scenario that happened in Iraq with regards to the WMD, and will the region be dragged to war?" said Faysal Abdul Sater, a Lebanese analyst close to the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah. "In my view, the situation is different, even if the degree of hostility has increased" between Gulf countries and Israel on one hand and Iran on the other, Sater said. "As for a direct attack on Iran, it is unlikely because it would lead by necessity to a comprehensive war that none of the parties could bear." Mark Dubowitz, chief executive of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, said the war in Iraq resulted partly from a perception that economic sanctions on Saddam, imposed after his 1990 invasion of Kuwait, were rapidly losing effectiveness. "I think the opposite is true now," Dubowitz said, noting that Trump appeared to favor tougher economic pressure on Iran, not military action. Despite the different tools, two US officials familiar with Iran policy said they believed Trump's ultimate goal in Iran was similar to the Bush administration's in Iraq: replacing an anti-American government with a friendly one. But if the Bush administration's belief that grateful Iraqis would greet invading US troops with flowers was fanciful, it is "at least equally naive" to believe that "democracy will take root in Iran" if the Islamic Republic collapses, one of the officials said. Neither Trump nor his hawkish new national security adviser, John Bolton, has publicly called in recent days for the overthrow of Iran's theocracy. Two current and one former US official said America's intelligence agencies were not being pressured to provide evidence to support the White House's policy but instead were being ignored. Retired General Michael Hayden, a former director of both the CIA and the National Security Agency, called it "remarkable" that Trump made no mention of US intelligence assessments in his speech announcing withdrawal from the Iran deal. Trump's director of national intelligence, Dan Coats, told Congress in February that the Iran deal had extended the amount of time Iran would need to produce fissile material for a nuclear weapon and enhanced the transparency of Iran's nuclear activities. "It's not that they're being leaned on to provide justifications," Hayden said of US intelligence analysts. Trump "neither needs nor wants justification."
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
All Politics Blog From Milwaukee, Madison and beyond, a daily dose of political news and glimpses behind the scenes SHARE By of the Madison -- Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi issued a temporary restraining order Friday, barring the publication of a controversial new law that would sharply curtail collective bargaining for public employees. Sumi’s order will prevent Secretary of State Doug La Follette from publishing the law until she can rule on the merits of the case. Dane County Ismael Ozanne is seeking to block the law because he says a legislative committee violated the state’s open meetings law. Sumi said Ozanne was likely to succeed on the merits. "It seems to me the public policy behind effective enforcement of the open meeting law is so strong that it does outweigh the interest, at least at this time, which may exist in favor of sustaining the validity of the (law)," she said. The judge’s finding – at least for now – is a setback to Republican Gov. Scott Walker and a victory for opponents, who have spent weeks in the Capitol to protest the bill. Asst. Atty. Gen Steven Means, who was part of the state's legal team, said after the ruling that "we disagree with it." "And the reason they have appellate courts is because circuit court judges make errors and they have in this case." Means said the state would "entertain an appeal." "If the Legislature decides to go back and re-act on these provisions, they have the right to do that. And we will see what happens," he said. Means said he had no idea what the Legislature might do. Means said no final decision had been made on an appeal. "But that's where we are pointing at," he said. Means said the state expected Sumi's decision. He said the state had a chance to substitute judges, but decided not to do so. Rep. Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) said he was pleased with the judge's ruling. "I am very pleased with her action," Barca said. "We felt from the beginning this was a violation of the open meetings law. And now we go on from here."
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
There are a variety of issues with development that will cause problems with both achieving and maintaining the proper tongue posture. Fortunately the body has an amazing capacity to correct and heal itself if given the time and effort – indeed even the bones will reform with pressure over time in accordance to Wolff’s Law. The most common tongue posture issues will be discussed in this article, if you have questions or believe there is a tongue posture issue which is not addressed, discuss it in our community forum! Lacking Enough Space for the Tongue The incorrect development of the skull and a lack of sagittal (forward) and transverse (side to side) growth of the maxilla will result in a lack of space for the tongue in both of these dimensions. The way that these bones should have correctly been developed is discussed in our article Proper Development of the Skull and Posture after Birth. The soft tissues of the body, such as the tongue, grow to the size that is given by the instructions in your DNA whether or not you maintained the tongue posture to provide the required space. As a result, you may have one of two issues, or both. When trying to keep proper tongue posture, your tongue is partially in your throat and causes an inability to breathe fully. This means that your maxilla is not developed enough sagittally, and needs to be moved up and forward to give your tongue more room and free up the airway of your throat. Often a lack of development here results in an underbite or overbite. When trying to keep proper tongue posture, you may not have enough room between your molar/wisdom teeth to fit the width of your tongue. This is a result of lacking transverse (side to side) growth, which also results in a narrow nasal airway and is a tell-tale sign of maxillary recession. The upper jaw, which is part of the lower maxilla, needs to be widened to allow the tongue to sit comfortably between the molars and to create a wide nasal airway. Solutions to Lacking Tongue Space First: The free solution that will result in permanent and continuing changes is to fix your tongue posture as much as you can and allow the bones of your face and skull to adapt over time. There is a guide to the posture and terms(which you may have come from) in our article here. If you do not have enough forward growth, you will have to consciously focus on the tongue applying pressure all along the Mid-Palate Ridge, and especially towards the Front Ridges and Tip. This will develop your maxilla forwards and upwards over time, through both repositioning of the maxilla as well as growth at the sutures within the craniofacial complex. If you lack transverse (side to side) growth, you will need to fold your tongue to keep it resting along the Alveolar Ridge and Mid-Palate Ridge which will result in growth in the width of your maxilla as well as forward movement. The younger you are, the quicker these changes have the potential to happen. A child that is still growing will see phenomenally fast results, a fully developed adult will see slower but consistent change. Users are discussing the increase in tongue space that they have developed in our forum. Second: The second solution is to pursue palate expansion with a device. The medical community is slowly moving past the incorrect notion that adult sutures fuse, and many medical professionals are now finding that adult palate expansion works. With a wide survey of your local dentists and orthodontists through email, you will most likely find a local professional who has experience in expanding the palate of adults without surgery (SARPE). There are many different devices on the market which may be used to expand the palate, each moving at different paces and covering different parts of the mouth. This expansion can happen as rapidly as 1mm per week. However you will likely need to wear a retainer, as there will be a relapse if you are unable to maintain proper tongue posture – which is why this is most important. Inability to maintain tongue posture while sleeping This is a very common problem that will take time and effort to correct – but once you are able to Mew / maintain tongue posture while asleep you will see more rapid changes. You will no longer be relapsing on the work done during the day while asleep, and in fact be providing upwards and forwards force on the maxilla virtually 24/7. Your posture is largely subconscious – and this is why changing what your body does subconsciously can be the most difficult and rewarding process that you can accomplish. The key to changing this posture is to realize that the position of the front your tongue is largely a conscious decision, while the back third of your tongue operates subconsciously. If you take care throughout the day to monitor the back of your tongue and police it back into place at the roof of the mouth while awake it will eventually become retrained to the point where you will wake up with your tongue locked in the proper posture. For many people this will correct snoring that is caused by the tongue dropping into the airway. Trouble keeping the teeth together, or teeth grinding Like most postural issues, this is a result of one set of muscles being stronger/weaker than their corresponding set. This particular issue is caused by an imbalance between your muscles of mastication (chewing) and your tongue. When you keep proper tongue posture and find that your teeth now seem to rest apart, your tongue is overpowering the muscles which attempt to close the mouth, thus keeping your jaws open. The method to correct this is by chewing harder foods and/or chewing tough gum in order to strengthen the chewing muscles. The opposite case involves your tongue being too weak to keep the jaws apart, resulting in teeth grinding. This solution to this issue is to consciously apply force against the upper palate with the tongue throughout the day, with which you will find that the tongue gains strength quite rapidly. Eventually you should have both of these sets of muscles (And the muscles associated with them) in balance, and will be able to strengthen both in unison. Stronger chewing muscles will impart more force to a stronger tongue, which will keep the teeth gently touching by transferring this force upwards and forwards into the palate and maxilla. Unable to get the entire tongue to the roof of the mouth This issue is most likely caused by a tongue tie, especially if you are unable to even reach the front/tip of your palate with the tongue. It is recommended that you visit a medical professional to have this examined, and very much urgent that you have this done if you see such problems in a child. The tongue tie keeps the tongue anchored to the floor of the mouth, and will often require surgery in order to correct. However, you need not jump to the conclusion that you have a tongue tie if you are unable to get the back of the tongue to the roof of the mouth the first few times that you attempt proper tongue posture. This position, after many years of holding incorrect posture, can feel so unnatural that you are unable to manipulate your tongue properly to achieve it. One trick is to hold a big and wide cheesy smile, as wide as you can, and then swallow. This ensures that you are swallowing with your tongue and not with your cheeks, and you will be able to feel how far back in your mouth your tongue lands using this method. If you are experiencing other tongue posture issues, or would like to discuss any of the ones mentioned here, join the discussion on our community forum!
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
No look brilhante do compositor Wyman Wong, dobradinha de paetês da Comme des Garçons Homme Plus com blazer e bermuda (hit) que cruzaram o desfile de verão 2018 da grife, em Paris. Encontre as versões das araras de ambas as peças aqui e aqui; o tênis é fruto da parceria entre Off-White e Nike (esgotadíssimo). No link, relembre o desfile original! >>> 👁 772
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
A dog that was allegedly stolen from the St. Paul Animal Humane Society on Wednesday by a man using an altered ID was returned to the shelter Friday afternoon. Zach Nugent, an agency spokesman, said that Ace, a 10-month-old black and white pit bull mix, is “safe and sound.” Ace went missing after a man signed him out to go for a walk, a common practice meant to allow potential adopters to bond with a dog. The Humane Society allows guests the privilege if they leave an ID with employees. The suspect left an ID inside a wallet held together with duct tape. Nugent said the man told employees that he couldn’t take the ID out because the wallet would fall apart. When he didn’t return about an hour later, employees checked the ID and found that the man had taped a photo of himself over an ID belonging to someone else. Police spokesman Steve Linders said Friday that there have been no arrests, but that investigators identified a suspect and are working on the case. Ace will be available for adoption after passing medical and behavioral evaluations, Nugent said. “He seems to be in good shape — healthy and happy,” he said.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The editor-in-chief of Der Spiegel has defended a controversial cover showing President Donald Trump beheading the Statue of Liberty with a bloody knife, saying the German magazine is "defending democracy" in "serious times". Appearing alongside the headline 'America First', the graphic cartoon implies a comparison between Mr Trump and decapitation-heavy Isis propaganda videos. Combatting the terror group is a key policy aim for the Trump administration, but Der Spiegel editor Klaus Brinkbäumer suggested policies like the 'Muslim ban' refusing travel rights to refugees and citizens of seven majority-Islamic countries ran counter to liberal values. Speaking on Reuters TV, he said: “We want to show what this is about, it's about democracy, it's about freedom, it's about freedom of the press, freedom of justice and all that is seriously endangered. "So we are defending democracy... Are these serious times? Yes they are." Mr Brinkbäumer went into more detail in an editorial for Der Spiegel, which, with a circulation of around 840,000, is one of Europe's largest and most influential news magazines. He compared Mr Trump to Nero, "the emperor and destroyer of Rome", writing: "Germany must stand up in opposition to the 45th president of the United States and his government." The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters "It is literally painful to write this sentence, but the President of the United States is a pathological liar. "The President of the US is a racist (it also hurts to write this). He is attempting a coup from the top; he wants to establish an illiberal democracy, or worse; he wants to undermine the balance of power. "He fired an acting attorney general who held a differing opinion from his own and accused her of 'betrayal'. This is the vocabulary used by Nero." His comments came amid fierce debate in the German and international media, with conservative commentators decrying the striking image by illustrator Edel Rodriguez, a refugee who left socialist Cuba for the United States. Conservative broadsheet Die Welt led condemnation of the cartoon, arguing it showed Mr Trump's harshest critics had "lost all their moral guidelines". The cartoon is currently the banner image on the magazine's Twitter and Facebook pages, while a previous Spiegel cover by Mr Rodriguez showed Donald Trump's disembodied head as a blazing comet hurtling towards Earth.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
If you’ve already spoken to a financial expert and decided that selling your future payments is the right move, there’s still more you should know. In fact, there are some big-time mistakes you can make once you’ve decided to sell. CrowFly’s COO, Nita Bhatia, shares three big ones to avoid.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
By | Ah yes, the list the entire universe (including us) saw coming yesterday. After the news that Lucasfilm was developing a new Star Wars trilogy came out, the first question fans asked was obvious; what the hell would it be about? And well we talked about the direction in which the new trilogy could go in yesterday, today we’ll cover the SECOND most popular question that fans asked following the announcement; who will Disney hire to direct it? And even though they probably won’t be chosen for the gig, here’s who we’d like to see in the director’s chair for the new set of Star Wars films. Steven Spielberg Since this list is basically a gigantic nerd circle jerk anyways, let’s just go all out for the first choice. Spielberg was in the running to direct Return of the Jedi way back in the 80’s, but backed out due to a feud he was having at the time with the Directors Guild of America. And well that was disappointing, now that Lucas is pretty much off Star Wars, I’m sure he would be happy with his best friends taking on the reigns. Oh and it would be freaking incredible. There’s that too. Then again, since he’s recently dismissed the idea of doing more action films, who knows if this could EVER come to fruition. J.J. Abrams But if you can’t get it to the iconic director himself, then you can always give it to his protégé! J.J. Abrams is more than versed in sci-fi, what with Lost and Super 8 peppering his resume. He’s also a huge Star Wars fan, and has spoken openly about his love of the franchise. The only thing serving an issue here is Abrams current commitment to the Star Trek franchise over at Paramount. Since that series is essentially Star Wars now (for better or worse), I’m not sure if Abrams would even want to do another sci-fi epic in space. But if Star Trek never existed, you better bet that Abrams would have taken the project almost instantly. Brad Bird Hey if not Abrams, bring on another Bad Robot alum with Brad Bird. Not only is Bird an excellent and imaginative director (The Incredibles remains one of my favorite films ever), but he’s also one of the brain trust (a.k.a All Star Super Awesome Team of Animation) over at Pixar which, yes, is also owned by Disney. He has connections in that company obviously and, following his first foray into live action (the excellent Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol), I’m excited to see what this guy can do in the live action format. And Star Wars could be the perfect property for the man to tackle. Duncan Jones Jones is a relative new comer to the industry with only two films to his name…but they’re both excellent science fiction tales. Moon was incredible, one of the best space stories since 2001. And well Source Code has its issues, its overall a solid film with an concept at its forefront. Since those films, Jones has been relatively quiet, with nothing really in development at this point. But since he’s made some of the best science fiction films of the past few year, I think he’s more than capable to helm a new Star Wars picture. Guillermo del Toro Alright, that’s all the realistic choices…love move back into the realm of never going to happen with the one, the only Guillermo del Toro! Del Toro is kind of an icon for geeks like us, what with his great eye for visuals and overall design. Take for instance the Troll Market in Hellboy II. That’s like the Cantina Bar scene, but about 5x more impressive! He’ll be taking his first real foray into sci-fi next year with the huge sci-fi epic Pacific Rim and, although he has more than his fair share of projects in the pipeline, his aesthetic would be perfectly suited for the world of Star Wars. And being a huge freaking nerd too doesn’t hurt. Joss Whedon Let’s end this list with a huge geek heart attack inducing bang; what would happen if Joss Whedon was handed the reins of the Star Wars universe? First of all, there is zero chance of that happening—Whedon is more than busy handling the Marvel properties, and almost certainly doesn’t have the time to enter another huge geek franchise. But since this entire list is almost pure fantasy anyways, just imagine it; Whedon essentially made his Star Wars with Firefly, although we really never got to see where that would have developed over the years if it hadn’t been cancelled (Serenity aside). And he proved he was more than capable of huge sci-fi action with The Avengers this year. And knowing Whedon, he’s probably a huge Star Wars fan. Improbable? Hell yes. But it would be pretty freaking cool to see a Joss Whedon Star Wars, yes? And that’s our list! Like I said, I seriously doubt any of these men will actually get the gig—but that doesn’t mean we can’t dream! So well we’re in dreamland, let me ask you: who would you pick to helm the new Star Wars movie? Let us know in the comments! -Matthew
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Email Share 217 Shares LGBT rights advocates in more than 120 countries will commemorate this year’s International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT) with a series of vigils, conferences and other events. Geena Rocero, a transgender Filipino fashion model who founded Gender Proud, a trans advocacy group, is among those who are scheduled to take part in an IDAHOT event outside of Manila, the country’s capital, that the Association of Transgender People in the Philippines has organized. Rocero on Thursday also participated in a candlelight vigil in Hong Kong that local LGBT rights advocates organized. The Rainbow Pride Foundation, a Fijian LGBT advocacy group, on May 10 held its own candlelight vigil at a church in Suva, the Pacific island nation’s capital. Cuba’s National Center for Sexual Education on the same day held a “conga against homophobia” in the Cuban capital as part of a series of events throughout the country that will commemorate IDAHOT. The Jamaica Forum of Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays on Friday will hold a symposium at a hotel in the Jamaican capital that will examine challenges that LGBT people in the Caribbean country continue to face. María Eugenia González, co-founder of the Georgia Safe Schools Coalition, is scheduled to attend an anti-bullying conference in the Peruvian city of Iquitos on May 21. So-called rainbow flash mobs are scheduled to take place in at least 11 Russian cities on May 17. An estimated 100 people are expected to gather in Khabarovsk to release rainbow colored balloons in an IDAHOT demonstration that city officials have allowed to take place. Svetlana Zakharova of the Russian LGBT Network told the Washington Blade earlier this week that her colleagues are “willing to defend their rights” in spite of the Kremlin’s ongoing crackdown on LGBT rights. These include a 2013 law that bans the promotion of so-called gay propaganda to minors. “Whatever the difficulties, many LGBT (people) and their supporters in Russia are looking forward to participating in the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia,” said Zakharova. Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays Executive Director Dane Lewis had a similar view, noting anti-LGBT violence and discrimination remain pervasive in the country. “We need to begin to have discussions about the layers of stigma and discrimination experienced by LGBT Jamaicans and the challenges faced by those who identify as Christians,” he said. Kate Montecarlo Cordova, chair of the Association of Transgender People in the Philippines, noted to the Blade that LGBT Filipinos lack legal protections and access to health care. She said hate crimes and speech, anti-trans harassment and bullying in the predominantly Muslim portion of the country that includes the island of Mindanao often go unreported. “We, from the transgender community, feel that the IDAHOT celebration is important in our advocacy and in our lives,” said Cordova. The Mexican government this year is officially organizing IDAHOT for the first time. Enrique Torre Molina, an LGBT rights advocate and blogger in Mexico City, told the Blade earlier this week that he is hopeful that President Enrique Peña Nieto will speak at an IDAHOT event. The British Council Mexico on Friday hosted an event that government officials, local LGBT activists and journalists attended. “The conversation will go beyond the government’s official position and public policy on the subject of homophobia,” said Molina. “Fighting homophobia and promoting respect is, at the end, a task that concerns us all.” The Finnish government on Thursday announced it will increase its contribution to the Global Equality Fund, a public-private partnership founded by C-SPAN co-founder John Evans that seeks to promote LGBT rights, by one million Euros. A State Department press release noted that Helsinki will continue to work with the governments of Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, the Arcus Foundation and other groups to “build on our shared commitment and partnership to advance freedom, equality and dignity for all.” “Today of all days, we are reminded that the cause of justice can and must triumph over hatred and prejudice,” said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. “This is a day of action for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities and their allies all over the world. It is time to reaffirm our commitment to the equality and dignity of all persons, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.” Gays, trans people gain rights in 2013 IDAHOT first took place on May 17, 2005, to commemorate the World Health Organization’s decision to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder. This year’s commemoration takes place against the backdrop of significant progress in the LGBT rights movement in the U.S., Europe, Latin America and other regions of the world. Ten U.S. states, Brazil, Uruguay, France, England, Wales and New Zealand have extended marriage rights to same-sex couples over the last year. The U.S. Supreme Court last June struck down a portion of the Defense of Marriage Act. The Dutch Senate last December approved a bill that would allow trans people to legally change the gender on their birth certificates and other official documents without undergoing sterilization and sex reassignment surgery. A similar measure advanced in the Chilean Senate earlier this year. Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley on Thursday signed a bill that bans anti-discrimination in his state. A similar measure took effect in neighboring Delaware last year. The Indian Supreme Court last month issued a landmark ruling that recognizes trans people as a “third gender.” Jamaican and Belizean judges last year heard lawsuits challenging their country’s laws that criminalize homosexuality. A Lebanese judge in March struck down the Middle Eastern nation’s anti-sodomy statute in the case of a trans woman who faced charges for allegedly having a relationship with a man. Gay Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel was sworn into office last December. Angélica Lozano, a former Council woman in the Colombian capital, in March became the first openly LGBT person elected to the South American country’s Congress. LGBT rights crackdowns continue in Africa, Russia In spite of this progress, anti-LGBT violence and discrimination remain pervasive in many parts of the world. The U.S. and several European countries cut aid to Uganda after the country’s president, Yoweri Museveni, in February signed into a law a bill that imposes a life sentence upon anyone found guilty of repeated same-sex sexual acts. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan in January signed a draconian anti-gay bill that, among other things, bans membership in an LGBT advocacy group and punishes those who enter into a same-sex marriage with up to 14 years in prison. The 2014 Winter Olympics took place in Sochi, Russia, in February against the backdrop of criticism over the Kremlin’s LGBT rights record. Police arrested 10 activists who held rainbow and Russian flags as they sung the country’s national anthem near Moscow’s Red Square just before the games’ opening ceremony began. Authorities earlier in the day arrested four Russian LGBT rights advocates in St. Petersburg as they marched with a banner in support of adding sexual orientation to the Olympic charter’s anti-discrimination clause. The Indian Supreme Court late last year recriminalized homosexuality — it announced in April it will consider a motion to reconsider the controversial decision. A new Brunei legal code that punishes those convicted of homosexuality by stoning them to death has sparked global outrage that includes calls to boycott hotels the Bruneian government owns. A report the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission released earlier this week found discrimination and violence against lesbians, bisexual women and trans people in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, the Philippines and Japan remains pervasive. Grupo Gay da Bahia, a Brazilian LGBT advocacy group, noted more than a quarter of the 338 reported LGBT homicide victims in Brazil in 2012 were trans. Carlos Vela of the Homosexual Community of Hope in the Loreto Region (of Perú) told the Blade that one LGBT person a week is murdered in the South American country. This violence continues to take place, even as Peruvian lawmakers debate a bill that would allow same-sex couples to enter into civil unions. “It is the most extreme expression of systematic violence,” said Vela, referring to the murders of LGBT Peruvians. Jasmine Kaur of Oceania Pride, which took part in the May 10 candlelight vigil in the Fijian capital, noted homophobia, anti-LGBT hate crimes and violence is “quite strong for the LGBTIQ community” in the South Pacific country. She said the Fijian constitution includes a non-discrimination clause, but it is “flawed.” “The bill of rights has many limitations,” said Kaur. “It is not one that can guarantee its citizens protections.” The Human Rights Campaign on Thursday released a report that documents advances and setbacks in the global LGBT rights movement over the last year. “Despite entrenched homophobia and transphobia in many nations around the world, the global fight for LGBT equality made historic gains in 2013,” said HRC Director of Global Engagement Ty Cobb. “At the same time, last year included horrific new anti-LGBT laws as well as alarming trends in anti-LGBT harassment and violence. These serve as important reminders of the many challenges ahead and the tremendous amount of work left to be done.” Henness Wong, a Hong Kong activist who helped plan IDAHOT events in the former British colony, said the climate for the city’s LGBT residents is slowly beginning to improve in spite of lingering institutional and cultural homophobia and transphobia. “Hong Kong is definitely safer than Brunei who will stone gays,” said Wong.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is supposed to be an independent organization watching out for public health, it has repeatedly demonstrated that it is working on behalf of the drug industry. Not only does the CDC accept funding from the drug industry,1 which in and of itself may influence its public health recommendations, it also has front groups that lobby for mandatory vaccinations and seek to suppress information about vaccine risks. CDC Front Group Lobbies for Mandatory Vaccinations One of them is the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO),2 an organization whose mission is “focused on being a leader, partner, catalyst and voice for change for local health departments around the nation.” While its name and mission statement would make you think it’s a member-funded organization, it actually operates primarily on government grants, and the CDC is a primary source.3 Seven of 11 funding priorities for NACCHO programs also come from the CDC.4 As revealed by Sott.net, membership dues only amount to about 2% of the organization’s annual revenues.5 For example, in July 2011, NACCHO issued a policy statement urging legislators in all states to remove vaccine exemptions for religious, conscientious and philosophical beliefs.6 NACCHO also lobbied heavily for SB1327 in 2013, an Oregon state bill aimed at eliminating the religious belief vaccine exemption. In 2015, the group also lobbied in Oregon for SB442,8 which again sought to eliminate all but medical vaccine exemptions granted by a doctor. In fact, NACCHO was portrayed as a primary supporter of the bill.9 The organization has also put its weight behind eliminating personal belief vaccine exemptions in other states. NACCHO policies not only favor mandatory use of vaccines from cradle to grave, but also promote the creation of national electronic registries that monitor the vaccination status of all children and adults. It’s worth noting that, in addition to the 69 doses of 16 vaccines on the federally recommended childhood vaccination schedule, the CDC recommends dozens of doses of vaccines for adults between the ages of 19 and 65, which includes an annual flu shot. CDC Webinar Instructs Doctors on How to Boost Vaccine Uptake In August 2019, NACCHO provided a CDC webinar10,11 in which doctors were given strategic guidance on how to combat “vaccine misinformation” and deal with vaccine hesitant patients in their practice. The webinar was based on CDC research with parents and health care professionals, aimed at developing and refining educational messages about vaccines. As just one example, the CDC found that one of the primary motivations that drive pregnant women to get vaccinated is “the idea of protecting their babies.” They also found that the internet is the primary source of vaccine information during pregnancy. Parents of infants are primarily motivated by messages mentioning local occurrences of vaccine-preventable diseases, the risk of not vaccinating on schedule, and comparison of risks and benefits of vaccines. Messages that focus on the importance of vaccinating your child in order to avoid making others sick did not have a significant motivating impact, according to the CDC. Based on the CDC’s findings, NACCHO urged doctors to “Make vaccination decisions before pregnancy, during pregnancy or before the 2-month visit,” as “once parents start vaccinating at 2 months, there is very little change later to delay or refuse” vaccination. CDC Profits by Undermining Health Freedom Seeing how NACCHO is primarily funded by the CDC, it seems the CDC is actively undermining vaccine exemptions and civil liberties, including freedom of thought, conscience and religious belief. This isn’t entirely surprising considering the agency itself, as well as many of its individual employees and committee members, profit financially from mandatory vaccination policies and laws. As reported by Weltchek Mallahan & Weltchek, a Maryland-based law firm specializing in medical malpractice and wrongful death:12 “The CDC Immunization Safety Office is responsible for investigating the safety and effectiveness of all new vaccinations; once an investigation is considered complete, a recommendation is then made to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) who then determines whether the new vaccine will be added to the current vaccination schedule. Members of the ACIP committee include physicians such as Dr. Paul Offit … Offit and other CDC members own numerous patents associated with vaccinations and regularly receive funding for their research work from the very same pharmaceutical companies who manufacturer vaccinations which are ultimately sold to the public … This situation creates an obvious conflict of interest, as members of the ACIP committee benefit financially every time a new vaccination is released to the market.” CDC Buys HALF of All Vaccines in the US In the June 2019 article,13 “Close Ties and Financial Entanglements: The CDC-Guaranteed Vaccine Market,” the organization Children’s Health Defense describes how the CDC is an integral part of the vaccine industry, protecting vaccine profits above public safety. As noted by Children’s Health Defense: “The CDC is a major player in the vaccine marketplace, buying half of all childhood vaccines in the U.S. and then selling them to contracted public health agencies through the Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program, which pushes free and low-cost vaccines on indigent children. Over the past three decades, the CDC’s vaccine purchases have increased 15-fold as the average cost of fully vaccinating a child to age 18 rose from $100 to $2192 — while vaccine companies have raked in the profits. The agency’s involvement with vaccine manufacturers also extends to patents, licensing agreements and collaboration on projects to develop new vaccines. In fact, the CDC and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) profit handsomely from their ownership or co-ownership with private sector partners of vaccine-related patents. An early 2017 analysis of Google Patents results showed that the CDC held 56 patents14 pertaining to various aspects of vaccine development, manufacturing, delivery and adjuvants. By May 2019, the search terms ‘Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccines’ retrieved 143 results15 in the Google Patents search engine, and a separate legal website displayed 10 screens worth of CDC patents,16 both vaccine- and non-vaccine-related.” CDC Also Supports Prominent Vaccine Educators Prominent medical trade and pro-mandatory vaccination organizations, such as Every Child By Two (ECBT), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Immunization Action Coalition (IAC), are acting on behalf of the CDC and the vaccine industry as well. All three of these organizations, which claim to be independent, receive funding from both vaccine manufacturers and the CDC. (Incidentally, the IAC also provides funding to NACCHO.17) As noted by Peter Doshi, associate editor of The BMJ, in his 2017 article18 “The Unofficial Vaccine Educators: Are CDC Funded Non-Profits Sufficiently Independent?” the ECBT, AAP and IAC “in their advocacy for compulsory vaccination … all have in common a goal that pushes beyond official governmental policy and, in the case of influenza vaccines, the evidence.” Doshi continues: “Officially, the CDC is neutral on vaccine mandates … But the CDC gives money to non-profits that actively work in this void. Presumably, these activities are funded from non-CDC sources, as U.S. federal law prohibits the use of CDC award money for lobbying, a prohibition that ‘includes grassroots lobbying efforts by award recipients …’ according to CDC policy.” The question is, is anyone actually ensuring CDC funds are not used for lobbying? Doshi also points out that the IAC’s use of scientific evidence is “questionable,” as they stand by their flu vaccination campaign for health care workers even though “multiple reviews have found insufficient evidence that mandatory influenza vaccination for health care workers has benefits for patients.” “In broad terms, the CDC and nonprofits share a common goal of increasing vaccination rates,” Doshi writes. And since their primary goals include advocating for mandatory vaccination laws and elimination of vaccine exemptions, that really should not be, considering the CDC is also responsible for ensuring vaccine safety.19 By focusing on increasing vaccination rates, the agency is unlikely to properly tackle the task of finding out whether all of the vaccines on the childhood and adult vaccination schedules are, in fact, necessary, safe and effective, especially when given in combination. Voices for Vaccines Yet another front group for the vaccine industry — and the CDC — is Voices for Vaccinedies, which “advocates for on-time vaccination and the reduction of vaccine-preventable disease.” Its administrators are portrayed as two concerned mothers, who founded the blog Moms Who Vax. In reality, Voices for Vaccines is an “administrative project” of the Task Force for Global Health, the third largest charity in the U.S.,20 which has deep financial ties to the CDC and the pharmaceutical industry. Voices for Vaccines’ scientific advisory board includes:21,22 Merck vaccine developers and mandatory vaccination proponents Paul Offit and Stanley Plotkin. Former CDC immunization director Dr. Alan Hinman, an Emory University professor and program director of the Center for Vaccine Equity at the Task Force for Global Health. Vanderbilt professor and medical director for the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, William Schaffner. In 2018, Schaffner told CNN the influenza vaccine — which had a measly 36% effectiveness rate — was “not perfect,” but that we should “give the vaccine credit for softening the blow” anyway. Deborah Wexler, director of the IAC, which is funded by pharmaceutical companies through the CDC Foundation. 23 Fat for Fuel: A Revolu... Joseph Mercola Check Amazon for Pricing. A former member with financial ties to the industry was Maurice R. Hilleman, a professor of vaccinology and the developer of Merck’s vaccine program. In an interview included in the 2007 film “In Lies We Trust: The CIA Hollywood and Bioterrorism,”24 Hilleman admitted Merck was responsible for unleashing the cancer-causing monkey virus SV40 via its polio vaccine. Hilleman died in 2005. In 2014, the online blog VacTruth also detailed the many connections between Voices for Vaccines, the Task Force for Global Health, Emory University, the CDC, vaccine makers and other pro-vaccine organizations and promoters, including Offit.25 All of these connections, and others not included here, point to the existence of a vast, undisclosed yet well-documented pharma-driven network that uses every propaganda tactic in the book to squash freedom of thought and speech about vaccination — all in the name of protecting profits — and the CDC is a key player. CDC Petitioned to Quit Making False Claims While the CDC has long fostered the perception of independence through the use of disclaimers stating26 it does not accept funding from special interests, in reality, it accepts millions of dollars each year from commercial interests through its government-chartered foundation, the CDC Foundation, which funnels those contributions to the CDC after deducting a fee.27 Several watchdog groups — including the U.S. Right to Know (USRTK), Public Citizen, Knowledge Ecology International, Liberty Coalition and the Project on Government Oversight — are now petitioning28 the CDC to cease making these false disclaimers.29 According to the petition,30 the CDC accepted $79.6 million from drug companies and commercial manufacturers between 2014 and 2018 alone. As reported by the Lown Institute:31 “Many of these contributions could be seen as conflicts of interest — for example, a $193,000 donation from Roche, the maker of antiviral drug Tamiflu, to fund a CDC flu prevention campaign. Despite the significant funding the CDC receives from industry via its foundation, few were aware of these conflicts until Jeanne Lenzer called attention to the foundation in The BMJ32 a few years ago.” In a November 5, 2019, press release, Dr. Michael Carome, director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group stated:33 “That the CDC accepts millions from corporations directly impacted by the agency’s public health programs is indefensible. So, the CDC instead has adopted the strategy of repeatedly denying that it accepts such payments.” The petition asks the CDC to stop publishing the false and misleading disclaimers, remove all previously published disclaimers from the CDC website and its publications, and to issue corrections, retroactively disclosing the agency’s financial relationships with industry. “By issuing these false disclaimers, CDC is misleading health professionals, consumers and others both in the United States and around the world,” the petition states.34 “This deception undermines CDC’s credibility and integrity. But the damage here is not merely to the CDC itself. CDC is a national and global leader on medical and public health matters. It is crucial for the CDC to lead by example on matters of ethics, and, at a minimum, to faithfully and truthfully disclose its conflicts of interest.” The CDC in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services portrays itself as a public health watchdog. It has tremendous credibility within the medical community, and part of this credibility hinges on the idea that it’s free of industry bias and conflicts of interest. Again and again, investigations have shown that funding plays an enormous role in decision-making and in research outcomes. As noted by Shannon Brownlee, senior vice president for the Lown Institute, government-chartered foundations “exist at least in part because they allow industries to directly fund and thus control the work of agencies that are either supposed to regulate them, or conduct research that can help or hurt their business.”35 When it comes to vaccines, it’s quite clear that the CDC is anything but impartial. It owns vaccine-related patents and employs and defers to “experts” who have deep ties to vaccine makers. It funds pro-vaccine front groups that lobby for mandatory vaccinations, and it receives funds from vaccine makers. Aside from the groups already mentioned, the CDC also funds state health programs aimed at implementing “no exceptions” mandatory vaccination policies and laws, including mandatory HPV vaccination programs.36 This, despite the fact the HPV vaccine is one of the most dangerous and unnecessary vaccines ever made. There’s also no evidence it actually helps prevent cervical cancer. As noted by Mark Blaxill, Age of Autism’s editor-at-large:37 “Gardasil is perhaps the leading example of a new form of unconstrained government self-dealing, in arrangements whereby [HHS] can transfer technology to pharmaceutical partners, [and] simultaneously both approve and protect their partners’ technology licenses while also taking a cut of the profits.” One of the Most Powerful Videos I’ve Ever Seen The following video from Barbara Loe Fisher is one of the most powerful videos that I have ever seen. I am hopeful that watching this video will inspire you to take up the cause and join the fight for vaccine freedom and independence. There is a cultural war and collusion between many industries and federal regulatory agencies that results in a suppression of the truth about vital important health issues. If this suppression continues we will gradually and progressively erode our private individual rights that our ancestors fought so hard to achieve. Please take a few minutes to watch this video.  Sources and References The Best of Joseph Mercola
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
شركة نقل اثاث بالرياض 0534920776 لنقل الاثاث بحرفية عالية ( خدمة فورية -24 ساعة) نقل اثاث منزلي و مكتبي . نقل الاثاث من و الي الرياض . تغليف و تعبئة الاثاث . اذا كنت تبحث عزيزي العميل عن شركة لنقل اثاث بالرياض فيمكنك الان الحصول عليها باسرع وقت من خلال الاتصال فورا برقم شركتنا المتميزة لاعمال النقل و الفك و التغليف باعلي مستوي في اي وقت علي مدار اليوم من خلال افضل طاقم متميز لاعمال النقل من الالف الي الياء , حيث تمتلك الشركة اسطول سيارات مغلقة مخصصة لنقل العفش بجميع المناطق , و توفر ايضا الشركة كافة المستلزمات الخاصة باعمال التغليف علي اكمل وجه , تستخدم شركة نقل الاثاث اكثر الطرق امانا لتغليف الموبيليا و لحفظها من الخدوش و التجريح اثناء النقل و الرفع و التنزيل من خلال السلم , و توفر ايضا الشركة طرقية متميزة لرفع العفش ايل اي دور في المبني باسرع وقت و بدون اي مجهود او تعب عن طريق الونش الهيدروليك المميز و السريع , لن تقابلك اي مشكلة عزيزي العميل في نقل عفشك من منزلك اي اي مكان اخر , في دقائق معدودة سوف يتم تنزيل العفش و ترتيبه في السيارة و نقله باسرع وقت فلا داعي للقلق او الخوف علي ممتلكاتك عزيزي العميل انت في ايد امينة , فقط اتصل من اي مكان في مدينة الرياض او المدن الاخري و سوف نوفر لك الخدمة علي اكمل وجه و باسعار تنافسية و مريحة . اهم اعمال نقل الاثاث بالرياض تقوم شركة نقل الاثاث بارسال فريق العمل لديها لمعاينة الاثاث و ترتيبه و القايم بفكه وتغليه علي اكمل وجه . بارسال فريق العمل لديها لمعاينة الاثاث و ترتيبه و القايم بفكه وتغليه علي اكمل وجه . تتمكن الشركة من كافة اعمال الفك و التغليف في وقت قياسي مع دقة القيام بتغليف العفش حفاظا علي كل ممتلكات العميل . تحرص الشركة علي القيام بتغليف الزجاج و الاشياء الحساسة و الزجاجية بعناية خاصة لضمان نقلهم بسلام . توفر الشركة جميع الامكانيات الخاصة بعملية النقل و التغليف لكي تضمن وصول الاغراض كما هي . فاذا كنت حريص علي اثاثك عزيزي العميل فاتصل بنا علي الفور لنوفر لك افضل خدمة نقل عفش . مزايا التعامل مع شركة نقل اثاث بالرياض من اهم المميزات التي تميز شركة نقل الاثاث مصداقية العمل و سرعة الاداء و الالتزام بالموعيد . تمتلك الشركة سيارات نقل عفش جديدة و سريعة و مصنعة خصيصا لاعمال النقل بامان كامل . جديدة و سريعة و مصنعة خصيصا لاعمال النقل بامان كامل . تأمين كافة احتياجات العمالة لاعمال التغليف و التعبئة . توفير عمالة مخصصة لفك و اتركيب الاثاث . تمتلك ونش حديث لرفع العفش الي اي طابق في المبني في اقل من دقائق معدودة . لا تتردد عزيزي و اتصل بنا فورا . by/ A'laa Ahmed
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Welcome to Dispute Resolutions Inc. Personalized Credit Repair Services for individuals and businesses Negotiation of wrongful, erroneous or obsolete listings and obsolete credit report correction with creditor validation of error Credit counseling Budgeting Settlement negotiations Negotiate an extension of credit, purchase or loan contract from a third party creditor, with proper Buyer qualifying eligibility Improve Buyer’s credit record, history, and rating. Dramatically raise Buyer’s personal FICO score, according to Buyer’s credit history. What We Do Working under a contract signed for a maximum of six months, we tailor a plan for each individual or business' specific repair needs. We are NOT a letter writing service., We are NOT Debt-Management. We do NOT handle Buyer or Business monies or pay monthly creditor bills. Our customers never have to worry about if a bill has been paid, or how their funds are being allocated or misused. Dispute Resolutions Inc., offers solutions for the Buyer that are reasonable, attainable, practical, and affordable, unlike many of our competitors who charge thousands of dollars for similar services and accomplish very little, if anything. Negotiating by telephone, fax and email, we arrange corrections, settlements, payment plans and more, directly with creditors and collectors for bank debts, public records, student loans, collection agencies, or personal financial obligations. When negotiating, we know who to call, what to say, when to push, when to compromise, how to proceed, how much to offer, and what to expect. Who we are DISPUTE RESOLUTIONS, INC, is a bonded California credit repair service, licensed for business by the City of San Diego, California, and registered as a Credit Services Organization. Our background and other business experience is real estate, property management, and debt collections. With thirty-five years managing credit and collection problems in Southern California, we have become knowledgeable and responsive to today’s financial problems and the growing public need for recovery assistance. Most of the services performed by D.R.I. can be performed by Buyer acting on Buyer’s own behalf, exercising rights under the credit reporting laws and other State and Federal laws. Areas We Serve
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Engegar/Aturar Silenciar Pujar el volum Disminuir el volum Instruccions per interactuar amb el player Després de la publicitat pots interactuar amb el player amb els següents botons El govern de la Generalitat ha aprovat aquest dilluns un decret per millorar l'accés a l'habitatge consensuat amb el PSC i els comuns que inclou mesures proposades per entitats socials com la PAH o el Sindicat de Llogaters. Aquest decret es fa en un moment en què Catalunya viu una situació d'emergència en l'accés a l'habitatge i amb la intenció de potenciar el lloguer social i l'habitatge de protecció oficial. La Generalitat ja va aprovar un decret de mesures urgents per millorar l'accés a l'habitatge al març d'aquest any, però el va retirar perquè no tenia els suports necessaris per aprovar-lo al Parlament. Ara creuen que es podrà aprovar i posar-lo en marxa d'aquí a un mes. Obligació d'oferir lloguer assequible Entre les mesures, per primera vegada es vol obligar els grans propietaris a oferir un lloguer assequible a les famílies vulnerables abans de denunciar-les per impagament. A més de bancs i fons d'inversió, aquí també s'hi inclou els particulars que tenen 15 pisos o més, que es calcula que en el cas de Barcelona en són centenars. Els afectats hauran d'aportar un informe de vulnerabilitat quan se'ls acabi el contracte de lloguer, estiguin en processos de desnonaments o portin més de sis mesos ocupant un habitatge sense títol habilitant en el moment de l'entrada en vigor del decret. El contracte haurà de ser d'un mínim de 5 anys quan el propietari sigui un particular i d'un mínim de 7 quan es tracti d'un banc. Els ajuntaments podran expropiar pisos Una altra mesura és que els ajuntaments podran expropiar temporalment els pisos de bancs i grans propietaris que portin més de 2 anys buits. Encara més: se'ls podran quedar indefinidament pagant la meitat del preu de mercat, i també podran expropiar els edificis inacabats per fer-hi pisos assequibles. En general, la intenció del text aprovat és generar oportunitats perquè les administracions puguin aconseguir prioritàriament, i a un preu fixat, els habitatges que els bancs posin a la venda. Inventari de sòl municipal El decret obliga els ajuntaments a elaborar abans d'un any un inventari de tot el sòl de titularitat municipal, i, en 2 anys a concretar què s'hi farà i començar a desenvolupar-ho. Alhora, se'ls obliga a reservar més terreny per fer habitatge protegit, més com més demanda hi hagi al municipi. Una altra mesura que incorpora és que l'habitatge protegit que es construeixi ho serà per sempre: no es podrà vendre ni llogar després d'un temps, com passa ara. Control dels preus de lloguer Serà obligatori que als anuncis de publicitat i als contractes de lloguer d'un pis surti l'índex de referència de lloguer, és a dir, la mitjana del preu d'habitatges similars. A més, només tindrà accés a ajuts fiscals o, per exemple, de rehabilitació qui ofereixi preus per sota de l'índex de referència. En el cas dels pisos protegits, es fixarà un preu únic, de venda o de lloguer, en funció del municipi, que en el cas de l'àrea metropolitana serà el mateix per a les 36 poblacions. Ara bé, de mitjana serà més car que ara, perquè està calculat sobre els costos de construcció. 2.500 famílies esperen un pis Les mesures busquen solucions per a les 2.500 famílies que esperen un pis d'emergència, més de 600 a Barcelona. El 2018 14.000 famílies van ser desnonades de casa seva, segons dades oficials, la majoria perquè no podien pagar el lloguer, no pas per no fer front al pagament d'una hipoteca. Des del govern, asseguren que tenen el suport polític necessari per aprovar el decret al Parlament i per posar-lo en marxa d'aquí a un mes. Bona rebuda al decret Des de l'administració, s'ha destacat el nou enfocament d'aquest decret de mesures urgents de l'accés a l'habitatge. Això ha dit el conseller de Territori i Sostenibilitat, Damià Calvet: "Amb aquest decret llei estem creant les condicions que ens permeten desenvolupar millors polítiques d'habitatge. Ho fem amb una novetat en relació amb altres entorns legislatius: per primera vegada harmonitzem les polítiques de sòl (de planificació territorial i urbanisme) amb les d'habitatge." També ho ha aplaudit la tinent d'alcalde d'Ecologia i Urbanisme de l'Ajuntament de Barcelona, Janet Sanz: "Feia falta una llei que prioritzés la planificació i que l'urbanisme es posés a fer això, a fer reserves i a fer propostes perquè l'habitatge assequible sigui la norma i no l'excepció, com fins ara." La tinent d'alcalde ha destacat que, amb el nou decret, s'incrementaran les reserves d'habitatge protegit en un 40% i que el seu preu serà únic a tota l'Àrea Metropolitana. Satisfacció també a les entitats socials, però acompanyada d'una advertència que feia la portaveu de la Plataforma d'Afectats per la Hipoteca, Lucía Delgado:
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Omnibus cover art by Kekai Kotaki (Tor, 2014) By nature of the genre, the premise of every fantasy novel asks “what if” questions. What if magic was real? What if children went to school to learn it? What if a pantheon of gods walked among us? As an archeologist and anthropologist, Steven Erikson asked questions about the clashing of cultures and classes, about climate and capitalism, about the relationship between gods and mortals—and not just if magic existed, but if it was available to anyone. What if magical abilities could be learned by anyone, regardless of age, gender, intelligence or skill? As Erikson states, “It occurred to us that it would create a culture without gender bias so there would be no gender-based hierarchies of power. It became a world without sexism and that was very interesting to explore.” In the same matter-of-fact, almost mundane way that magic simply exists in the Malazan universe, so too does equality among the sexes. It just is—and that’s refreshing. With an egalitarian magic system as the foundation to the Malazan universe, the subsequent worldbuilding blocks logically fall into place, building upon each other and supporting that central idea. The definition of power extends beyond male physical strength, equalizing roles of authority. The availability of magical healing means less women and children dying in childbirth, and more opportunity for women to contribute to a society without medical or technological advancements. This creates an even playing field in the realm of power and influence, granting equal opportunity for everyone. The very first magic user we meet in Gardens of the Moon is a woman. Another woman, Tattersail, is a respected sorceress who, although aged and overweight (“The fat lady with the spells” in her own words), enters a romantic relationship with the traditionally attractive male hero of the story. The Malazan Empire is ruled by Empress Laseen. Both her Adjuncts in the course of the series are women and one, Tavore Paran, is in a relationship with another woman. Throughout the books are storylines following sisters and female friendships, matriarchal societies, countless goddesses and queens, female assassins unmatched by their male peers, female pirate captains and several other women in high-ranking positions in different societies. And in a minor but fascinating detail, all military superiors in the series are addressed as “sir” regardless of gender. Erikson could have easily created a gendered honorific but he instead chose to keep “sir”, solidifying that, whether male or female, whoever holds the position is equally deserving of respect. And despite various cultural divisions that arise, these women in positions of power are never questioned by their male subordinates on the basis of their gender. Being female never equates with being seen as weak. But this is the Book of the Fallen, after all. And though it’s a world of equality and diversity, it sure as Hood isn’t a utopia. Erikson presents his readers with some of the most reprehensible qualities of human nature—acts sometimes so degrading that it’s tempting to turn away. Horrible things happen to these characters, but it’s never driven by discrimination. Gender and sexual orientation are never used purely as plot devices. Of course Adjunct Tavore Paran is questioned and even resented by some of her soldiers, but using her gender or sexual orientation against her would never even cross their minds. Neither would a common Malazan soldier hate her enemy simply because of their skin colour. Racism and blind hate certainly do exist within the series but it’s most often used as a foil to the diverse Malazan Empire, supporting the theme that diversity is strength. Inspired by the Roman Empire, Erikson explores themes of cultural and ethnic identity with his Malazans. The Malazan Empire doesn’t completely wipe out subjugated cultures, but incorporates them into their own (for better or worse). The Malazan armies are thus made of dozens of races, both human and non-human alike who, for the most part, manage to get along with each other. There’s significant effort made to show the racial diversity of the Malazan Empire, and the main themes of the series overwhelmingly express the idea that diversity is empowering. “Diversity is worth celebrating,” says Malazan Imperial Historian, Duiker, “for it is the birthplace of wisdom.” Diversity in a society brings wisdom and representation brings compassion. And this is what separates Malazan Book of the Fallen from the rest of fantasy. Steven Erikson has spoken at length about compassion being the main theme of his series. To feel compassionate to those who are suffering, we must first be made aware of their suffering. And throughout history, these suffering voices are always the ones least heard by the rest of the world—the forgotten, the outcast, the other. With a cast of characters diverse in their gender, culture and class, Erikson brings many of these unheard voices to the forefront of his work, challenging the reader’s worldview. How do we respond to suffering? How do we maintain cultural diversity while united under one country? How, in a world without Malazan’s magic, do we address the sexism of our own? For while fantasy often begins with a “what if” question, it usually ends with “what now?” As far as representing every unheard voice in our society, these books aren’t perfect. Gender identity isn’t explored beyond a god who changes their biological sex at will (but with the thin lines dividing male and female roles in many of Erikson’s societies, there’s surely a place for those whose identity doesn’t perfectly align with one or the other). And while the gay male characters are few, their sexual orientation never puts them at a societal disadvantage. So often fantasy presents a perfectly reflective portrait of our own society to address its flaws rather than exploring an alternative. And while many of their contemporaries continue to write epic magic battles and fire-breathing dragons while defaulting to overtly sexist, heteronormative societies because of “historical accuracy”, Erikson has proved that worldbuilding that steps outside of a Eurocentric, patriarchal system can be used as a tool to promote and explore inherent diversity and equality—to show us what reality could look like. It’s a question that’s been asked before, but it’s worth repeating: if fantasy readers can suspend their disbelief to accept the existence of dragons, magic and zombies, shouldn’t they be able to stretch their imaginations far enough to embrace a world where women and minorities exist as active, accepted, and truly equal members of society? Matt Bandstra is a writer and designer whose poetry collection, Birds in Aquariums, was published in 2018. He can be found sharing art on Instagram and talking about music and the environment on Twitter.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
In a new short film called SENTiNEL, a man wakes up in an empty field and discovers that he’s being chased by a flying drone, which sets off a desperate race for survival. That’s the premise behind Ryan Connolly’s intriguing new short film, which premiered earlier this week on YouTube and Vimeo. The film is really short: it clocks in at just under five minutes, but it lays out a gripping action sequence that reveals just enough information to hint at a larger story as it plays out. At first, it seems as though the man is simply trying desperately to escape from his would-be killer, but Connolly flips those expectations at the end when the character discovers a rifle: it seems that he’s part of some violent game. It’s a slickly-shot short, and it shows that you don’t necessarily need dialogue to tell an intriguing story. As a bonus, YouTube channel Punished Props filmed a behind-the-scenes look at how they built the gun featured in the film out of nothing but EVA foam, magnets, and pipes.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Fishermen and scientists questioning how many fish can be sustainably taken from a reef believe they've quantified the tipping point. Nick Graham, from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University, says ecosystems may take decades to recover from overfishing to feed the world's growing population. In a report released today, researchers have demonstrated how overfishing can generate a predictable sequence of events that lead to the collapse of reef ecosystems. It also offers targets in order to keep fisheries sustainable. As "fish biomass" - the number and weight of fish living on a reef - declines due to fishing, a number of tipping points are crossed, from which it is increasingly harder to return.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Manufacturer: Privateer Press Obsessed with finding a way to bring her murdered mother back from the dead, Alexia Ciannor has turned to the life of a mercenary to increase her knowledge of death magic. By wielding the vile and legendary sword the Witchfire, she raises and controls the dead with startling ease, but the relic's dark whispers bring Alexia to the brink of madness. Alexia Ciannor, The Risen and Thrall Warrior come in a box (PIP41097). A player may field one Alexia Ciannor and The Risen unit in a Mercenary, Cygnar, or Khador army. This box contains all the parts necessary to assemble 1 Alexia Ciannor, 20 Risen, and 1 Thrall Warrior, plus 2 color stat cards and 30mm plastic bases. White metal components. Miniatures are supplied unpainted. Preparation and assembly may be required.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The Last Jedi A Desecration of Luke Skywalker and Star Wars We all remember the arc of Luke Skywalker. A farm boy craving adventure who found himself whisked up in a Joseph Campbellian hero’s journey in outer space. He met Obi-wan and followed him on a path to learn the arts of the force, and his mentor later sacrificed himself in a face-off with Vader because he believed that Luke was destined to restore balance to the Force by defeating the Empire. We remember Luke’s later devastation when he found out his father is the evil, heavy-hand of the Empire. But still, Luke, with one flesh hand left, sensed his father had a shade of good in him and believed he could turn his father to the light if he confronted him in person. We remember Emperor Palpatine’s desire to manipulate Luke’s potential: “Let your hatred flow through you and strike down your father to take your rightful place by my side.” We remember Luke refusing; throwing his saber aside, refusing to kill his father, only for Palpatine to torture him with lighting. We all remember the climactic reveal that Anakin (Vader) was the real “chosen one” all along when he stops his son’s slow death and kills the emperor by throwing him off the balcony; erasing the Empire for the New Republic to begin an era of peace. What happened afterward? “Officially,” in film format? Well, that answer was provided by Disney after their purchase of Lucasarts. ( *Spoilers ahead.*) The Last Jedi tells us that Luke Skywalker established a school for educating force users in Jedi tradition. But, for some unknown reason, he sensed that one of his pupils — the son of his sister (Leia) and best friend (Han) — was too forgone to the dark side because Snoke had gotten to him somehow and so Luke decided that Kylo had to die. We watch a slow-motion scene of Luke Skywalker trying to kill his nephew in his sleep. He ignites his lightsaber to strike, then instantly regrets it. But, young Kylo was awake and saw Luke’s murderous intent and so defends himself by bringing the whole roof crashing down on them, along with the rest of Luke’s pupils. Luke, instead of trying everything within his power to right this wrong, becomes a hermit for the next thirty years on an island in the middle of nowhere, occasionally indulging in drinking the breast milk of walrus-looking aliens. What the hell happened? More importantly, that last scene in no way serves the plot and only ends up embarrassing what some considered to be a hero. Me Believing that the Luke from the original trilogy, who never gave up on his father and trained valiantly to be able to reach him in skill, would even consider for a second that there is just no hope for his nephew to see the light, is a damn hard pill to swallow. Mainly since this new franchise has not explained 1) who this Snoke is that has manipulated Kylo, 2) how he rebuilt the empire after the fall of Palpatine, 3) why the New Republic’s reign failed, and 4) how and why Snoke was in contact with Kylo Ren? Those who defend this take on Luke will say that it was to show how even our most celebrated idols can succumb to a moment of weakness. Fine, I agree with that sentiment, but the problem is that the gravitas of this mistake is so immense that Luke comes off as a shameful coward at best. Heroes are supposed to overcome challenges — something Luke has endured. Why would he sit moping with his failure for so long only to finally be motivated to take action by the same hologram from A New Hope of Leia pleading to Obi-Wan for help, which initially inspired Luke all those years ago! Are you telling me Luke forgot that that existed? That he doesn’t remember his values? Really? It was a missed opportunity and a grave oversight not to have the revelation of Han Solo’s death serve to knock some sense back into Luke. Ultimately, Han’s death amounted to nothing in this new narrative, as if any solidarity or closure for these icons is forbidden. The scene that is most symbolic of Disney’s treatment of Luke’s character, and by extension the value that fans found in Star Wars, is when Luke takes his old lightsaber hilt from Rey and tosses it over his shoulder without a care in the world. Why does he do this? Because he wants nothing to do with being a Jedi; its death must ensue with an undisturbed recluse lifestyle. Alright, but then why did Luke program a map of his location into R2D2, the reveal of which was the climax of the last movie? Chalk it up to disjointed, lousy writing. The substance of Star Wars is gone and is now merely a foil wrapping to Disney’s agenda. For Luke to have been so out of character Disney must have either ignored the entire pre-established Star Wars lore or, Disney deliberately wanted the audience to feel betrayed by an icon they’ve held dear to their hearts for years. Given that Mark Hamill himself has stated that he fundamentally disagreed with every choice director Rian Johnson made for his character after reading the script, I suspect the latter… A strange aspect of all of this is that all of the same plot points could have potentially worked if this wasn’t a Star Wars story; if these were characters in an original universe. It wouldn’t have contradicted the world George Lucas strove to create. A science-fiction-reflection of eternal archetypes of human psychology, patterns of trial and error, and persistent optimism in the face of power’s ability to corrupt. Was it just that Disney couldn’t resist recruiting the loyal fan-base and their fistfuls of cash? That was probably a factor, but it seems like a bonus to a more disturbing ambition. The cherry on top to subverting the very notion of nobleness. Consider what the Force was in the original trilogy. Technically, there were theories of bloodlines making individuals more force sensitive, but they would still require training to wield it. Thematically, the Force was the essence of existence which could be mastered and guided with earnest practice, in the same way, that a surfer tames the waves he rides. The force was a metaphor for the individuals potential to control their destiny if they paid attention and were genuinely committed to bettering themselves. “Do or do not, there is no try.” The forces power was an indifferent potential for the individual to manifest how they saw fit; whether for good or for evil, and anywhere in between. The Last Jedi scold us, saying it is silly or naive to conceive of the Force in this way. What has episode eight made the force out to be? Mastering the Force no longer requires training, practice or any refinement of virtues. You merely have to be the right candidate to channel the force, to any degree. How does one become the right candidate? Enter scene: Identity Politics. The film hints at the Force intelligently selecting someone to gift immense force power to when the dark and light are unbalanced, and the Force selects by morphological traits. Sadly, the only thing that makes Rey worthy of possessing immense power is that she is a woman and that a woman has never been the protagonist in a Star Wars film. I’m certainly not opposed to a woman being a Jedi, but when this is the only given explanation for her utterly unprecedented abilities, it’s a bit condescending. Rey may as well be Jesus Christ. She never once asks for help from anyone, is never in any peril, even defeated Kylo (a Sith Lord nearing the end of his training) her first time wielding a lightsaber, and has now bested Luke Skywalker with a broomstick. These are some of the reasons why her character is widely criticized as a Mary Sue, because not only are her skills impeccable but her personality is as pristine and spotless as can be. When Luke was young, he was anxious and had to learn to temper his desire. Rey faces no such struggle. Also, I’m sorry Daisy Ridley, but the accusation of being a Mary Sue is not sexist because it’s commonly known in writing that the male counterpart is referred to as a Gary Stu. They are terms reserved for uninteresting, inherently perfect characters who can never fail and thus no challenge ever poses a threat to them. Result? Unexciting. Luke gives three lessons to Rey, which serve as meta-lessons for the audience to accept as well. After all, they are coming from the mouth of a hero to many. Though, I hope to persuade you to consider that Luke has been used as a puppet. The first Lesson is that the Jedi don’t own the light; anyone can wield it. But before, a Jedi simply was anyone who was able to wield the light: some stayed to study at the temples while others traveled as nomads. Again, now “anyone” can use the light but only as long as they reflect the superficial traits of whatever identifiable group is deemed the victim in our real world. The slave boy in the final shot of the film, who uses the force on instinct, is intended to punctuate this idea. The second lesson is that the legacy of the Jedi was a failure. The meta-implications are that the heritage of western civilization alongside any country adhering to enlightenment ideals of reason, science, and humanism, are failures. Aside from ignoring babies in bathwater, this couldn’t be more wrong in light of any statistical analysis of global health, prosperity, safety, peace, and happiness, as they are all on the rise. Nevertheless, for all the good that it was intended to do, The Jedi Order and the New Republic repeatedly failed and allowed darkness to take hold of The Galaxy, without it ever being explained how or why this has happened. The third lesson is mysteriously missing from the film, at least explicitly. Finding nothing of value in Luke, Rey telepathically contacts Kylo to inquire if maybe the dark side has something better to offer. Luke scolds her for this, driving her away before teaching her the final lesson. Later on, Luke and Yoda burn the remaining Jedi texts because, in a sarcastic jibe, “they were real page-turners.” The implied and breathtakingly irresponsible lesson is that, like Rey, we don’t need to read any work of literature by great thinkers that preceded our birth. All the skills and ideas you would ever need are pre-packaged within you. “Let the past die, kill it if you have to.” Never mind other age-old adages about repeating history out of ignorance of it. Nevertheless, the film itself contradicts its fumbled message when we see that Rey managed to smuggle the texts off the island at the end of the film. I guess she was smarter than Yoda in knowing that these texts do have value. The ending of The Last Jedi is the most insulting aspect of the film. Luke manifests a hologram of himself from his island to serve as a distraction for Kylo, giving the rebellion time to escape. Yes, instead of the greatest Jedi of all time showing up in person to face his unbelievable failure face to face, he sends a projection of himself only to be so exhausted at the end of it that he fades off into the sunset. Now that he’s inspired to become the beacon of hope we expected him to be, he can’t even be bothered to stick around to aid the rebellion. If the writers wanted to kill him off anyway, why not have him die in battle? That would have at least added a pinch of intimidation to Kylo who mostly throws temper tantrums and sulks with his shirt off. Instead, Luke Skywalker’s legacy and death are treated as purposeless like a fart in the wind. Apparently, we were stupid to think he was reliable, let alone brave. I’m almost tempted to say that anyone who likes this movie suffers from brand loyalty; that is, they will love anything, no matter how convoluted, as long as it has the Star Wars Label slapped onto it. I have focused on the treatment of Luke Skywalker and the underlying subversion of any meaning in tradition, but the rest of the film is full of pointless, incoherent story arcs, bland, annoying new characters, and advertisement for toys. All of the questions audiences had going into the film remain unanswered by the end of the film. Disney isn’t interested in continuity or following through on promises, but merely intent on leading you and your values (along with your wallets) through who knows how many spin-offs, using the nostalgia of Star Wars like a carrot on a stick. I will not be going to the theater to see another one, and neither should you if you are upset with this direction, because boycotting is the only way to get any studio to listen.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn The video that opens the annual Develop Industry Excellence Awards is an industry tradition that prompts delight and terror in equal measure, and this year it’s better than ever. And, best of all, you can watch it right now, right here. A parody of the Olympic Torch-bearing saga currently making its way through the United Kingdom’s rain-battered summer, our video includes hilarious cameos from a number of prominent industry figures including Epic’s Mark Rein, Jo Twist of trade body UKIE, 22Cans’ Peter Molyneux, Moshi Monster creator Michael Acton Smith, and Eidos life president and industry legend Ian Livingstone. Who else stars in the video? A wealth of the famous and infamous from the industry. How many can you name? Let us know in the comment thread at the bottom of this article. So, without further ado, below we present the video.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
I t was supposed to be a harmless liaison, starting as it sometimes did: an attractive profile on a gay site, a few messages about nothing much at all, an exchange of photos, and an agreement to meet. Sergei, 38, surname withheld, says he felt something wasn’t quite right about his date when they met in Shabolovka in Moscow’s southeastern suburbs. But it was only when the pair came home, entered the flat, and two assailants jumped out from behind the curtains that he started to realise how badly wrong things had gone. The men announced to Sergei that his date was, in fact, a minor – even though his profile and appearance suggested he was at least 20. The attackers gave their victim a frightening ultimatum: “20,000 rubles (£250) or be outed as a poof and reported as a paedophile.” Sergei was lucky that a 20-year army career meant he could stand up to the men physically. After an hour, he managed to persuade them to go outside so he could try to get money from a cashpoint. From there, he ran. His story is one of several crimes committed against gay men in Moscow over the last month. The Independent was able to speak to three of the targeted men. They suggested that gangs operating in the capital had identified gay men as easy – and silent – victims. The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe Show all 15 1 /15 The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 15. Italy Getty Images The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 14. Macedonia Processed by: Helicon Filter; The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 13. Poland Getty Images The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 12. Liechtenstein The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 11. Lithuania The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 10. Latvia This content is subject to copyright. The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 9. San Marino The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 8. Moldova The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 7. Belarus Getty Images The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 6. Ukraine Getty Images The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 5. Monaco The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 4. Turkey Getty Images The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 3. Armenia The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 2. Russia Getty Images The top 15 worst countries to be gay in Europe 1. Azerbaijan Norway's Mette B. Bjerknaes competes during the Powerboat race on July 6, 2013 in Baku. Baku hosts the second race F2 World Championship 2013. The 2 mile course is designed just in front of the Baku Boulevard facing the Caspian Sea. AFP PHOTO / TOFIK BABAYEV (Photo credit should read TOFIK BABAYEV/AFP/Getty Images) Getty/AFP The mechanism is almost always the same. Handsome young men entrap unwitting victims on dating apps and other gay sites. They lure victims to an apartment, where several other gang members are waiting. The assailants film their victim, extort money and threaten them with outing or worse. Usually, the victims pay up for a quiet life. On the occasions that they don’t, things can end brutally. While an unwelcome reminder of the difficulties of being gay in Russia, these incidents are not an entirely new phenomenon — or even the worst examples of homophobia. Chechnya aside, the peak of anti-gay violence in Russia came about four years ago, when groups led by the nationalist Maxim Martsinkevich (aka “The Hatchet”) entrapped, beat and humiliated dozens of gay men on camera. Martsinkevich and his “Occupy Pedophilia” gang operated on the heels of the Kremlin’s 2013 infamous anti-gay law. But Martsinkevich and his crew were always less concerned with money than with serving a warped ideology. Activists say the vast majority of the more recent attacks have been economic in their aims. When it’s clear homophobic crimes are at play, the state does everything to avoid prosecution Igor Kochetkov, Russian LGBT Network That does not mean there have not been victims of violence. On several occasions, young men have been found in pools of blood following apparent robbery attempts, and without obvious signs of forced entry. But today’s gangs do tend to be less violent, and instead use the taboo of homosexuality in society to keep the crimes as hidden as possible. It’s an effective enough strategy, says Igor Kochetkov, the head of the Russian LGBT Network, a prominent advocacy group. “People are reluctant to go to the police because they don’t want to reveal their orientation,” he says. “And the regular homophobic statements from officials don’t exactly encourage them.” The Russian court system is not set up to help them, the activist says. When the odd case does reach court, it is usually processed as hooliganism or robbery; the hate element is never included as an aggravating factor. When Martsinkevich was finally arrested and jailed in late 2014, for example, it was for a racist video. No mention was made of the anti-gay aspects of his extremism. “When it’s clear homophobic crimes are at play, such as what happened in Chechnya, the state does everything to avoid prosecution,” says Kochetkov. According to Andrei Petrov, programme director of the LGBT+ advocacy group Stimul, a lack of successful prosecutions is allowing the problem of date extortion to become more widespread. In a survey conducted by his organisation in 2018, one in five members of the LGBT+ community reported that they had been victims of such hate crimes. Only a similar percentage report the crimes to police, and even fewer are properly investigated. Given the lack of progress in Russian courts, Stimul has decided to try their luck with the European Court of Human Rights. Their test case, which dates from 2017, follows the familiar pattern. The victim, Yevgeny, 39, surname withheld, answered a profile on a love.mail.ru, a well-known dating site. He sent his picture; the other party sent his, and the pair agreed to meet by a block of flats in Moscow’s suburbs. Again, there were warning signs. The date said his name was Dima in messages, but introduced himself as Danila. But regardless, Yevgeny agreed to go upstairs to the flat. There, a gang of eight men were waiting. They made sure Yevgeny’s quick date instead ended in a heavy beating, a request for money, and a threat to call the police for “paedophilia”. Eventually, Yevgeny plucked up the courage to report the crime to the police. But since then, two years have passed without progress, with investigators refusing to open a criminal investigation. “I believe the police were covering them up,” Yevgeny says. “I’ve no doubt the guys think they are completely untouchable.” Activists and victims allege the Russian government’s own “homophobia” has fuelled the extortion business.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans and Jon Jones have had quite the tumultuous relationship. The pair began as teammates at Jackson's MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico but later became bitter rivals. As Jones rose to join the elite, Evans saw the writing on the wall and decided the town wasn't big enough for both of them. As Evans founded and built the Blackzilians in Boca Raton, Florida, Jones realized his potential when he stole away the world title from Maurício Rua in brutal fashion at UFC 128 in 2011. Evans went on to challenge his former protege at UFC 145 in 2012, becoming the first man to survive 25 minutes with the champ. Jones went on to successfully defend his title five more times over the next three years before his life began to unravel. Prior to his January bout with Daniel Cormier at UFC 182, Jones tested positive for cocaine metabolites but was still allowed to compete under the guidelines of the Nevada Athletic Commission. He was fined $25,000 for violating the UFC's code of conduct policy and spent just a single night in a treatment facility. In April, Jones was stripped of his title for his involvement in a hit-and-run auto accident that left one pregnant woman injured. The misdemeanor charge of leaving the scene of the crime was elevated to a felony due to the woman's injury, a broken arm. Putting his past issues with Jones aside, Evans can't help but feel heartbroken for his former teammate. "It's kind of a sad situation for me honestly," Evans told FOX Sports. "My heart really goes out to Jon because despite us having our beefs and everything, I care about Jon as a person. I think when this journey's over and said and done, I hope we can all grow as people and look back and say we had crazy years training together and fighting together. "I don't wish the hardships that he's going through on anybody. To have a drug problem like he had or be in a situation like he is in right now because it's a serious thing because it tears down so many people around you that care about you. The hardest thing in the world is to watch someone you love really not be able to get themselves together and really struggle on a level so bad when it seems and it appears that they have it all." Jones is due back in court Tuesday morning at 8:30 AM where he will have a hearing in Albuquerque's Second Judicial District Court. Documents obtained by MMA Fighting last week indicated that Jones' legal team is positioning him for a plea deal. "My heart goes out to him and I hope he's able to make a recovery and come back and compete in the UFC again," Evans said. "He's one of the greatest fighters the UFC has ever had. For him to go out in a less than admirable way is not something that I would like to see for him. I've got so much respect for him as a competitor." Evans faces fellow contender Ryan Bader Oct. 3 at UFC 192 in Houston, Texas. 5 MUST-READ STORIES Headed to New York ... maybe. The UFC plans to hold a major event featuring "top champions" at New York's legendary Madison Square Garden on April 23, 2016, pending the result of a federal injunction. Suggestion box. UFC middleweight contender Luke Rockhold says the UFC should oversee and administer post-weigh-in IVs to fighters. ‘We have other plans for Kimbo.' Bellator CEO Scott Coker says Kimbo Slice won't be an opponent for Fedor Emelianenko. "I think he's kind of confused." UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos says Anthony Pettis needs to sort out what he actually wants in his career. "He wants to help Cerrone, he wants a rematch with me, he wants to drop to 145 to fight McGregor." Thanks, Ace. Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin officially retires. Watch The MMA Hour with Rafael dos Anjos, Rich Franklin, Scott Coker, Aljamain Sterling, Dan Hardy, Javier Mendez, Andy Main and Dave Meltzer. MEDIA STEW UFC 192 embedded episode 1. Dan Hardy previews UFC 192. Daniel Cormier isn't impressed with Papelbon's choking technique. Highlights from ONE Championship 31. Javier Mendez says Dana White's "stone age gym" comments have made him a better coach. Dana White reflects on Rich Franklin's career. Jeff Monson gets KO'd, wins by disqualification anyway. (via Bloody Elbow) Long watches. KNUCKLE UP #347 UFC Fight Night Barnett Vs Nelson Surprisingly Delicious ... TWEETS Ace. It's official!!! Today is the day. I'm retired. http://t.co/hc6sx2m7WN — Rich Franklin (@RichFranklin) September 28, 2015 Congrats to a great career and a great champion. It was an honor to stand across the cage from you. Much love. https://t.co/YTi2N0R3IM — Nathan Quarry (@NateRockQuarry) September 28, 2015 @NateRockQuarry Nate, I'll never forget the words you said to me the night I lost my title. You're a champion in my book! — Rich Franklin (@RichFranklin) September 28, 2015 @mark_munoz Mark, thanks for taking the time to reach out to me. I've always admired you as a professional. God Bless brother! — Rich Franklin (@RichFranklin) September 28, 2015 @RichFranklin good stuff Rich! Congrats — Mike Ciesnolevicz (@MikeCies) September 28, 2015 @RichFranklin thanks man for all the great fights you gave us. As a fighter, you have set a standard to follow. Thank you — Efrain Escudero (@effyescudero) September 28, 2015 U are the man rich! Thank u for being a tremendous fighter and champion. DC https://t.co/gBG0h3ARE6 — Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) September 28, 2015 @DavidLoiseau You are a true warrior, and even though you permanently scarred me, it has been an honor. :) — Rich Franklin (@RichFranklin) September 28, 2015 I just saw @RichFranklin just announced retirement. It's been a pleasure being in this sport with you my friend. All the best to you! — Matt Hughes (@matthughes9x) September 29, 2015 Rich Franklin officially retired today. Thank u for all the great fights & representing the sport with class. #DWCOTD pic.twitter.com/JayfIX9BXI — Dana White (@danawhite) September 28, 2015 Beef. @AlexTheMauler I'm gonna make you tap faster than someone mashing buttons while playing #Halo5 #UFC192 — Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) September 28, 2015 Fiiiiiight weeeek!!! Cormier vs Gustafsson this Saturday on PPV! Gustafsson has a slight height and reach advantage pic.twitter.com/DN5Cl4b3Js — Dana White (@danawhite) September 28, 2015 Neither one of those things will matter. #downgoesgus https://t.co/UrlRkBmv5r — Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) September 28, 2015 @AlexTheMauler you're gonna lose so badly that you'll wish Spartan Locke would put you out of your misery #UFC192 #Halo5 — Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) September 28, 2015 @dc_mma Cortana's hologram would be more of a challenge than you #UFC192 #Halo5 — Alexander Gustafsson (@AlexTheMauler) September 28, 2015 Joe Lauzon is eating pizza for charity. Aiming to eat six 10" pizzas Friday at @BakingSteel. They're donating money to @TheJimmyFund for every slice we eat. http://t.co/kgNNg5Gcup — Joe Lauzon (@JoeLauzon) September 28, 2015 Champs. Pleasure to meet this legend at Kings MMA Thanks for the words you are a big inspiration @bjpenn Um prazer encontrar com... Posted by Rafael Dos Anjos on Monday, September 28, 2015 On the move. Quit my job packed my stuff heading to Montreal. You only have one chance we only have one chance... https://t.co/fO0VEKXRDj — Randa Markos (@randamma) September 28, 2015 .@randamma the newest member of team @tristargym! Congratulations on your move to Montreal! pic.twitter.com/FXJL62nd4u — UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) September 28, 2015 Congrats. Feels like a lot of weight was lifted off my shoulders w/this new fight lined up. The hard part will be deciding how I'd like to finish him! — Aljamain Sterling (@FunkMaster_UFC) September 29, 2015 Drop you? Drop them. Update. So my celly is looking for a pen pal single ladies. Please write him if your interested. http://t.co/UxI7d37LdH — Chris Leben (@cripplerufc) September 29, 2015 Funny. FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS Announced yesterday (Sept. 28 2015) Johnny Eduardo vs. Aljamain Sterling at UFC Fight Night: VanZant vs. Calderwood Isao Kobayashi vs. Goiti Yamauchi at Bellator 144 Found something you'd like to see in the Morning Report? Just hit me up on Twitter @SaintMMA and we'll include it in tomorrow's column.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Prof. Wöber explains, "The new analysis provides, for the first time at the individual patient level, information about the association between migraine attacks and a spectrum of potential migraine triggers that might not be evident in a population but important in the composition of an individual's trigger profile." At the population level, a total of eight significant factors were identified and associated with increased risk of attack: menstruation (53%), neck tension (40%), tiredness (21%), bright lights (19%), loud noise (17%), excessive sleep (11%), restless sleep (11%) and odors (10%). In contrast, Curelator's N=1 statistical approach revealed individual factor-attack association profiles for 87% of the patients out of whom an unexpectedly high proportion of patients—85%—had "unique" trigger profiles. In other words, the vast majority of patients were found to have factors significantly associated with their individual attacks that were not apparent at a population level. For example, dietary factors were very strong triggers for some individuals. Other factors, such as weather, also not evident on a population level were, in fact, significantly associated with attacks in other individuals. "The tremendous variation in trigger profiles between individuals has important therapeutic implications because it suggests that one-size-fits-all approaches to avoiding potential triggers may be leading patients in directions that are not helpful to them," explains Alec Mian, PhD, CEO and founder of Curelator, Inc., the Cambridge, MA-based company that funded the study. About Curelator Inc. Curelator Headache is a patient-centric digital platform that enables patients, clinicians and healthcare providers to optimize individual therapeutic pathways in chronic diseases with episodic attacks. (1) Peris F, Donoghue S, Torres, F, Mian A, Wober C. Towards improved migraine management: Determining potential trigger factors in individual patients. Cephalagia 2016; DOI: 10.1177/0333102416649761. (2) Wöber C, Brannath W,S chmidt K,etal. Prospective analysis of factors related to migraine attacks: The PAMINA study. Cephalalgia 2007; 27: 304–314 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160524/371626-INFO SOURCE Curelator Inc.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Gecco Corp. will unveil a new Ultraman Statue at San Diego Comic-Con 2017. The only information available at this time is that sales will be limited to Japan only. If you want to see the new Ultraman Statue stop by Gecco booth #4931 and check it out.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
PGurus has been hard at work, documenting the various scams in progress against the Chidambaram family. We know your time is valuable and you want to get to the crux of the matter quickly, in the short time you have… So we made it easy for you. Every time there is an update on any one of the cases, we will update this interactive Sunburst chart. How to dig deeper We will be improving this chart with more features and functions in the days and weeks to come. Readers wanting to get more details will be able to go to the specific articles on any scam. You have read the Chidambara Rahasya, haven’t you? If you are using a Smartphone to view our site, for best results, we request that you hold your phone in landscape mode, i. e. horizontally to get a wider viewing angle. Click on any slice to get more info. Click one more time and see what happens!
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
A ROMANIAN NATIONAL who stole at least €85,000 from the State by claiming social welfare under a false name 463 times has been jailed for three years. Stefan Onofrei (34) of Bremore, Castlegate, Balbriggan, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to six sample charges of theft of job seeker’s benefit, job seeker’s allowance, supplementary welfare allowance, emergency means payment, rent property supplement allowance and family income supplement on dates between January 9, 2009 and February 10, 2015. He has no previous convictions. The case Garda Raymond Foley told Ronan Kennedy BL, prosecuting, that his investigation concluded that Onofrei stole €97,207.24 over the course of six years using a false identity. Onofrei admitted to gardaí that he had purchased a Lithuanian passport for €200 and used this to get a PPS number. He then got a job in construction and paid income tax under the false name but when he lost his position, he used the same identity to apply for various social welfare payments. Garda Foley said Onofrei was identified as a suspect by the Special Investigation Unit at the Department of Social Protection – which includes Department inspectors and gardaí. He was arrested at his home after gardaí viewed CCTV footage from various post offices around Dublin and Meath. A search of his home led to the discovery of further documentation which was of “evidential value” to his prosecution. Onofrei made full admissions in a follow up garda interview and said he had been living and working in Ireland since 2003. He is a married man with twin daughters and his wife is expecting their third baby. Total sum Garda Foley accepted a suggestion from Michael Bowman SC, defending, that his client disputes the total amount he stole and claims it is in fact closer to €85,000. He agreed that Onofrei had worked legitimately under the false name but when he lost his job and found himself a father to a young family, “temptation crossed his path and he took it”. Mr Bowman said his client is doing well since his remand in prison last February and handed in a number of testimonials supporting that. He said a letter from the prison chaplain stated that Onofrei is “deeply committed to his family and very proud of them”. Onofrei wrote a letter to the court expressing his remorse. Judge Martin Nolan said Onofrei had “engaged in a pattern of behaviour to deceive and defraud the social welfare system”, which the judge said was there to help people who find themselves in difficulty. He said because of this the system needs to be user friendly and this makes it easy to defraud. Judge Nolan described it as a “serious fraud” that happened over a protracted period of time which Onofrei committed on hundreds of occasions. He accepted that he co-operated with the garda investigation and was a good hard-working family man.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Listen Now via Whooshkaa: Welcome to our new podcast It All Adds Up. This podcast will draw on Fairfax Media's crack team of economics experts to help you get a better understanding of the things that affect your job, your mortgage and your family budget. We'll be focusing on the economics of the everyday – how we work, where we live, what we buy and why we behave the way we do.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Gareth Southgate will keep his job as manager even if his England team lose all three World Cup group games in Russia next year. There would be a national outcry were England to suffer a third successive major tournament humiliation at the hands of Group G opponents Tunisia, Panama and Belgium. But FA chief executive Martin Glenn gave Southgate that extraordinary vote of confidence about his future after a World Cup draw in Moscow that delivered a relatively easy way through to the knock-out stages. Gareth Southgate (left) has been assured that he will not be sacked after the 2018 World Cup And such is Glenn's desire for continuity around the national team that he talked about Southgate still being in charge for the World Cup in Qatar in 2022 although his current contract — understood to be £2.5million a year plus incentivised bonuses — only runs until the European Championship in 2020. Glenn said: 'No-one wants to have a bad World Cup and long-term plans are hard to defend when short-term results go against you. But we're confident Gareth is the right guy to take us through for the next few tournaments. 'We want Gareth there to build for the long term. The World Cup is a really important staging post for our development. We go out there wanting to win but also being realistic.' The knowledge that his job is not on the line has given Southgate the platform to blood young players in the senior team with the view to a future after Russia next summer. It's a strategy wholly supported by Glenn. England were drawn in a World Cup pool with Panama, Tunisia and Roberto Martinez's Belgium 'Gareth has a long-term contract,' said Glenn. 'He's not looking at Russia as a free pass; he wants to go out there and win. 'But we're going to do it in a way that is sustainable. 'So, we're going to make sure that we're picking the kind of players that can do their best in Russia and continue to kick on in 2020 and 2022.' The England World Cup victories at Under 17 and Under 20 level have also given the FA major optimism about a bright future under Southgate's command even if Russia doesn't go according to plan. FA chairman Martin Glenn will stick with Southgate even if England lose every group match Glenn said: 'What we're doing is making sure that the players that have made it through to the first team by 21, 22 have had lots and lots of tournament experience. 'So those under 17 winners and under 20 winners will be coming through and they are serious, serious competitions to win. 'We know that worked for the Germans and we know that worked for the Spanish. So, we're just repeating things they've done with our own emphasis on it.' Meanwhile Southgate's preparations for Russia will include talking to the so-called golden generation of England players to learn more about the intense club rivalries that prevented them fully achieving at international level. Southgate told BBC's Sportsweek programme on Sunday that he intended to have further discussions with those feted set of players after Rio Ferdinand and Steven Gerrard who revealed as TV pundits how their club animosity spilled over to international occasions.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
This solution help to fix not powering on issue or not charging fault. To complete the repair watch the tutorial carefully.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Cebu Pacific is currently facing some operational issues that has been indicated with the cancellation of some domestic flights from April 28-30. To start of the month of May, the Philippine low cost carrier announced additional cancellations in its efforts to “improve on time performance and reduce inconvenience to our passengers." In total, 58 flights – mostly from Manila to domestic destinations – will be cancelled which the airline has described the conditions as “unprecedented levels of disruption.” "To create space in our schedule for operational recovery, minimize rolling delays and give passengers the chance to make alternate travel plans, we have to temporarily reduce the number of our flights given the current operating conditions, particularly in our Manila hub," the airline said in a statement. The airline also addressed customers saying “We are truly sorry for the inconvenience this has caused our passengers.” While Cebu Pacific cancels these flights, the Philippine Civil Aeronautics Board has stated it will investigate the series of cancellations. The cancellations of flights between May 1-10 are as follows: May 1 (Wednesday) • 5J551/5J552 Manila-Cebu-Manila • 5J623/5J624 Manila-Dumaguete-Manila • 5J983 Manila-Davao • 5J639/5J640 Manila-Puerto Princesa-Manila • 5J504/5J505 Manila-Tuguegarao-Manila May 2 (Thursday) • 5J473/5J474 Manila-Bacolod-Manila • 5J569/5J570 Manila-Cebu-Manila • 5J983/5J984 Manila-Davao-Manila • 5J455/5J456 Manila-Iloilo-Manila • 5J891/5J892 Manila-Caticlan (Boracay)-Manila May 3 (Friday) • DG6503/DG6504 Manila-Cebu-Manila • DG6241/DG6242 Manila-Caticlan (Boracay)-Manila • DG6663/DG6664 Cebu-Zamboanga-Cebu • DG6987-DG6988 Zamboanga-Tawi-Tawi-Zamboanga • 5J984 Davao-Manila • 5J 791/5J792 Manila-Butuan-Manila • 5J 859/5J860 Manila-Zamboanga-Manila • 5J 901/5J902 Manila-Caticlan (Boracay)-Manila • 5J 631/5J632 Manila-Dumaguete-Manila • 5J 579/5J580 Manila-Cebu-Manila May 4 (Saturday) • DG6509/DG6510 Manila-Cebu-Manila • DG6462/DG6463 Cebu-Bacolod-Cebu • DG6515/DG6516 Cebu-Dumaguete-Cebu • DG6241/DG6242 Manila-Caticlan (Boracay)-Manila • 5J 791/5J792 Manila-Butuan-Manila • 5J 859/5J860 Manila-Zamboanga-Manila • 5J 621/5J622 Manila-Bohol (Tagbilaran)-Manila • 5J 327/5J328 Manila-Legazpi-Manila • 5j 861/5J862 Manila-Zamboanga-Manila May 5 (Sunday) • 5J641/5J642 Manila-Puerto Princesa-Manila • 5J 859/5J860 Manila-Zamboanga-Manila • 5J 621/5J622 Manila-Bohol (Tagbilaran)-Manila • 5J 327/5J328 Manila-Legazpi-Manila • 5J389/5J390 Manila-Cagayan de Oro (Laguindingan)-Manila May 6 (Monday) • 5J641/5J642 Manila-Puerto Princesa-Manila • 5J 859/5J860 Manila-Zamboanga-Manila • 5J 629/5J630 Manila-Dumaguete-Manila • 5J375/5J376 Manila-Roxas-Manila • 5J377/5J378 Manila-Cagayan de Oro (Laguindingan)-Manila May 7 (Tuesday) • 5J 781/5J782 Manila-Ozamiz-Manila • 5J504/5J505 Manila-Tuguegarao-Manila • 5J389/5J390 Manila-Cagayan de Oro (Laguindingan)-Manila • 5J471/5J472 Manila-Bacolod-Manila • 5J461/5J462 Manila-Iloilo-Manila May 8 (Wednesday) • 5J641/5J642 Manila-Puerto Princesa-Manila • 5J463/5J464 Manila-Iloilo-Manila • 5J389/5J390 Manila-Cagayan de Oro (Laguindingan)-Manila • 5J395/5J396 Manila-Cagayan de Oro (Laguindingan)-Manila • 5J579/5J580 Manila-Cebu-Manila May 9 (Thursday) • 5J991/5J992 Manila-General Santos-Manila • 5J635/5J636 Manila-Puerto Princesa-Manila • 5J 857/5J858 Manila-Zamboanga-Manila • 5J 327/5J328 Manila-Legazpi-Manila • 5J981/5J982 Manila-Davao-Manila May 10 (Friday) • 5J991/5J992 Manila-General Santos-Manila • 5J 859/5J860 Manila-Zamboanga-Manila • 5J 629/5J630 Manila-Dumaguete-Manila • 5J389/5J390 Manila-Cagayan de Oro (Laguindingan)-Manila • 5J395/5J396 Manila-Cagayan de Oro (Laguindingan)-Manila Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
And thus began Starlights kite cartel, all over Equestria ponies were setting up secret meetings, hiding places, and excluded open areas away from the prying eyes of the law, just to talk about, buy, trade, and use kites. Starlight quit being Twilights student when she decided to go full pimp and hid from the pony police, as kites she found were far more profitable then friendship ever could be. But when a filly overdosed on the intense fun that kites brought, the top took notice, the very best that worked for the princess sisters, took charge, in no time Starlight was found snuggling a dozen kites in an abandoned cellar at the edge of Sweet Apple Acres, she freaks out and shot her magic at them, but they fired back, the firefight was intense. But quick. Starlight was stunned, spent 5 weeks in prisons, but only for shooting the cops, turns out kites aren't illegal, and she was let out when she apologized and said she learned her lesson about shooting cops, she went back to being Twilights student the next week. ... I need sleep, so much... Where did that story even come from?
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Twelve years ago today (August 22, 2008), one of our greatest captains joined City. Vincent Kompany went on to achieve wonderful things with City and to celebrate the anniversary of his arrival, we are looking back at his all-time City XI selections. With a City career spanning more than a decade, the skipper had a wonderful group of players to choose from. CITY+ | SIGN UP TO ACCESS EXCLUSIVE CONTENT Some notable members of the team are Joe Hart, Pablo Zabaleta Yaya Toure and Carlos Tevez, who were all part of the FA Cup final squad in 2011 the day Kompany won his first trophy with City. Sergio Aguero and Gael Clichy played alongside the Belgian when he lifted his first Premier League title, and David Silva has been a central part of City's decade of success. Have a look all 11 players and why Vinnie chose them via the video above!
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Updated 17.00 FORMER DUNDALK STAR Daryl Horgan made his first start for Preston North End a memorable one, having a major impact on the game as his side beat Brighton 2-0. Horgan in action earlier today. Source: Clint Hughes Horgan stepped up to the mark from the get-go providing an assist, and received a standing ovation as he was replaced after 90 minutes. Preston went one up after 13 minutes, thanks to a Paul Huntington header. Horgan helped double the lead, providing an assist to Callum Robinson’s second half goal. The winger made his first appearance last weekend, as he came off the bench against Arsenal in their FA Cup tie. Whoops! We couldn't find this Tweet Source: Darren Coyne/Twitter Standing ovation for former #Dundalk player Daryl Horgan and why are we not surprised ?? This player has it all. — Ger Cunningham (@GerCun7) January 14, 2017 Source: Ger Cunningham /Twitter Sounds like Daryl Horgan is on form for Preston today. First start, first assist - terrific news. Roy Keane at the game too — Daniel McDonnell (@McDonnellDan) January 14, 2017 Source: Daniel McDonnell /Twitter The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Ex-Obama official launches bid to unseat MacArthur Show Caption Hide Caption Pine Beach man to Rep. MacArthur: 'I'm a protestor and I am a constituent' Geoff Ginter, Pine Beach, who said 'I'm a protestor and I am a constituent,' got a chance to question US Rep. Tom MacArthur during a Town Hall meeting in Waretown. A former Obama administration national security official is aiming to challenge Rep. Tom MacArthur for New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District seat in 2018. Democrat Andy Kim, who advised former President Barack Obama on fighting ISIS, announced via Twitter Monday that he will seek the Democratic nomination for the swing district seat. "I’ve heard too many stories about people, many with pre-existing conditions, living with constant fear of losing their health care or being forced to pay skyrocketing premiums they can’t afford," Kim said in a release announcing his run. "The economic recovery has forgotten too many of our towns, replaced instead by persistent unemployment, a devastating opioid crisis and struggling communities still in need of help after superstorm Sandy." The seat represents large parts of Ocean and Burlington counties. If Kim wins the Democratic nomination, he is almost certain to face the incumbent MacArthur, who easily won reelection to a second term in November. More: Trump FBI nominee Christopher Wray still Christie's Bridgegate attorney MacArthur has drawn national headlines in recent weeks for helping to revive the House GOP health care bill by leading negotiations between conservative and moderate factions of the party. The bill passed the House last month and the Senate is drafting its own version. The health care debate has made MacArthur a rising star in the Republican Party and led to a fundraiser with President Donald Trump earlier this month. But the plan has also drawn backlash. Democrats have pounced on a Congressional Budget Office finding that found the House health care bill would leave 23 million more Americans without health insurance by 2026. And after first embracing the House measure as a "great plan," Trump reportedly told Senate lawmakers behind closed doors that the House bill is “mean, mean, mean.” He added: “We need to be more generous, more kind.” MacArthur was lambasted by angry constituents at a five-hour-long town hall on May 11. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee put the 3rd District on its list of targeted races for the 2018 midterm elections. Watch a video of a protester question MacArthur at a March town hall at the top of this story. More: Protests greet MacArthur at Willingboro town hall In a tweet announcing his run, Kim called MacArthur the "author" of the health care bill he called "TrumpCare 2.0." Chris Russell, MacArthur's campaign spokesman, said MacArthur was "determined to confront and solve serious problems" like replacing Obamacare, which he said had caused skyrocketing insurance premiums. "As for Andy Kim running on the healthcare issue, if he is as much of an 'expert' on healthcare as he was when advising President Obama on ISIS in Iraq, voters in Burlington and Ocean Counties would be wise to keep him on the JV Team," Russell said in an email, an allusion to Obama's 2014 reference to ISIS as a "JV team." Kim, who grew up in Marlton and Cherry Hill, is a former Rhodes Scholar who also advised Gens. David Petraeus and John Allen in Afghanistan. He then served as the Iraq director on Obama's National Security Council, from 2013 to 2015, where he worked on the administration's efforts to fight ISIS. The National Republican Congressional Committee, which aims to elect GOP members to the House, attacked Kim's record on ISIS highlighting the terror group's territorial gains in Iraq and Syria during his time as director. "Under Andy Kim’s watch, the United States failed to grasp the threat ISIS presented to the world and failed to formulate a strategy to stop them," the group said in the statement. Kim raised more than $50,000 as he considered a run for Congress, according to his fundraising website. More: Beck donates tainted campaign contribution to charity Andrew Goudsward: 732-643-4035; agoudsward@gannettnj.com
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Guest essay by Brandon Shollenberger Last week, John Cook published a piece in the Europhysics News magazine in which he, quite literally, fabricates a quote. You can see the details here, but basically, he took the old quote about a campaign to “reposition global warming as theory (rather than fact)” and changed it to “reposition fact as theory.” It’s mind-boggling. Even if John Cook didn’t make the image himself, it’s hosted on Skeptical Science. He chose to publish it in this article. He is fully responsible for publishing a fabricated quote whether or not he created the fabrication. In my first post here, I accused John Cook (the propietor of Skeptical Science) of lying about evidence. He had written an article which misrepresented multiple sources and even fabricated a quote. To this day, that fabricated quote remains in the piece. John cook has made no indication he thinks it needs to be changed (though he has fixed the quote elsewhere). This led me to observe: Additionally, you have not apologized for fabricating the quote or explained how it happened. That is troubling. One may reasonably wonder what would have happened had I not happened to randomly read this piece and check your reference (something you apparently didn’t do). Had I not caught the mistake, would it ever have been fixed? Nobody will ever know. Being accurate with facts, quotes and references is a fundamental aspect of reporting. If you are as apathetic toward such glaring failures in this regard as you seem to be, why should anyone trust what you say? Why should anyone trust you the next time you “quote” a source? I can now confirm the answer to my question is, “We shouldn’t.” Almost exactly one month after that piece was published, John Cook published another article with a fabricated quote. Figure 2 of that piece includes a this blurb: Western Fuels Association $510,000 campaign to “reposition fact as theory” This quote is apparently a bastardization of an actual quote which suggested people “reposition global warming as theory (rather than fact).” A Google search for John Cook’s exact quote finds two results. A Google search for the actual quote finds tens of thousands of results, including a paper Cook was the lead author for. This shows Cook is aware of the actual quote, and had he done anything to check his figure, he’d have seen his version was wrong. Cook fabricating two quotes in two months is bad enough, but nobody is catching him. I don’t read everything he writes, and I’m the only one who caught either of these. How many fabrications have I not caught? There’s no way to know. And this isn’t a trivial matter like Cook claimed his last misquotation was. The difference between the quotes is enormous. Many people don’t believe global warming is a fact (by definition, it isn’t one). If they’re right, repositioning global warming as a theory rather than fact is a good thing because its true. Even if one doesn’t agree with those people, their behavior is still honest and well-intentioned. John Cook’s quote requires the opposite. A person cannot seek to “reposition fact as theory” without seeking to intentionally mislead people. That means Cook accuses those people of being lying bastards by making **** up. And it doesn’t end there. Cook’s piece says: The result is a significant “consensus gap” between public perception and the actual 97% scientific consensus (see Figure 3). Public polls have found that nearly half of the American public think climate scientists are still in disagreement [6]. In my own research, when I asked Americans what percentage of climate scientists agree on human-caused global warming, the average answer was 55%. Reference six links to this document. A figure on its seventh page and a data table on its eighteenth page provide data for how many people believe: There is a lot of disagreement among scientists about GW In both cases, the value given is 36%. This must be what Cook was referring to as no other part of the document discusses anything close to what he said, but 36% is not “nearly half.” 1/3rd is not 1/2th. Cook is, once again, making **** up. Not only is that inexcusable, it should make wonder skeptical when Cook refers to what he found, “In [his] own research.” This skepticism should be further fueled by the fact Cook didn’t provide a reference for his work. Why would someone refer to work without any providing any reference for it? How can they get away with it? I can’t answer the latter question. The former question is easy to answer though. John Cook didn’t provide a reference for his work because no reference exists. A copy of the Figure 3 can be found here on Skeptical Science. This is said about it: Public perception (55%) comes from a survey conducted by John Cook on a representative USA sample, asking the question “How many climate experts agree that the global warming we are witnessing is a direct consequence of the burning of fossil fuels by humans?” Participants were requested through professional survey firm Qualtrics. That’s it. No publication information. No link or reference. No data or supporting documentation. Nothing at all other than John Cook’s word. I can’t imagine a world in which that should that be enough from anyone. I certainly can’t imagine why anyone should be expected to trust Cook’s description when he makes **** up time and time again, even in this one piece. Two last observations. First, while these accusations of fabricating quotes are relatively new, I’ve accused Cook of lying before. Second, at the bottom of the piece’s first page, there’s an unmatched right parenthesis where it says: As scientific consensus strengthened, efforts to confuse the public about the level of agreement in the scientific community intensified as documented in Figure 2). =============================================================== UPDATE/CORRECTION: Brandon Schollenberger writes in comments. Welp, this is awkward. It turns out while criticizing Cook for getting the quotation wrong, I got it wrong too. The parenthetical should say “not fact” instead of “rather than fact.” A little time with Google shows this is a common mistake, and it’s even made in Al Gore’s, An Inconvenient Truth. I saw the phrasing I used on Wikipedia (which has had that phrasing for six years), used Google to search for it, found dozens of sources using it (including Al Gore’s), and copied and pasted. This doesn’t change anything I said, and it is certainly understandable how I made the mistake. Still, it’s embarrassing. Share this: Print Email Twitter Facebook Pinterest LinkedIn Reddit Like this: Like Loading...
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
As we mentioned earlier in bootstrap button code generator, Bootstrap is one of the popular design framework which will help us to create amazing web apps. In bootstrap 3 they bring plenty of changes compared to their 2.x.x versions. So our old tool is not going to support latest version of bootstrap. So we created this tool to support bootstrap 3. We are trying to improve this tool with plenty of new options. If you find any error or have suggestions, feel free to Send a message. . If you not yet tried twitter bootstrap, Download and try now. New features Now you can easily design and preview buttons for different bootswatch templates as well. This bootstrap 3 button code generator supports bootswatch Amelia, Cerulean, Cosmo, Cyborg, Flatly, Journal, Readable, Simplex, Slate, Spacelab, United and Yeti Credits Bootstrap Bootswatch Glyphicons Follow me on Twitter
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Hamilton Fish, president and publisher of progressive publication the New Republic, has been placed on a leave of absence pending an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment from two female colleagues at the magazine. "I have been made aware that a number of employees have come forward in the last few days to express concern about certain workplace interactions that have created an uncomfortable environment for them," Win McCormack, the publication's editor-in-chief, wrote in an email to staff Sunday announcing Fish would be on leave until "an immediate, independent investigation" takes place. The Huffington Post reported Monday members of the New Republic newsroom were warned of Fish's past behavior towards women, which included claims he allegedly choked a female staffer at the Nation Institute. J.J. Gould will step up as acting president and Art Stupar will serve as acting publisher, McCormack said. "I appreciate the candor our employees have displayed in coming forward with their concerns, and I take the concerns very seriously," McCormack added. "I also want to assure everyone that we will be taking additional steps to ensure that [the New Republic's] work environment is respectful, professional, and free of harassment."
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
With Arsene Wenger's future in the balance, it appears that Arsenal are weighing up the pros and cons of possible replacements for the Emirates dugout. Athletic Club boss Ernesto Valverde has been contacted by an intermediary acting for Arsenal, according to Marca, with the 53-year-old's contract in Bilbao expiring at the end of the season. Valverde, who is also being considered as a replacement for Luis Enrique at Barcelona, has reportedly long held an interest in managing in England. The idea of moving to Arsenal would be enticing for the Spaniard even if they missed out on the Champions League, claims the report. While the former Olympiakos and Valencia boss would represent a cheap, attainable option for the Gunners if they were suddenly having second thoughts about Wenger staying on, the chances are that this is nothing more than an exploratory mission from the north London club to see who would be willing to take over the hot seat in a worst-case scenario.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Harold Archibald must be dancing tonight. He certainly has over a million reasons to do so. There was no question that someone was going to win tonight with only envelope #48 left in the cabinet inside the George Wellington Esquire Club. Mr. Archibald has won – are you ready for this – $1,323,000. That is the combined total for the nights jackpot ($175,774.00) with the progressive jackpot ($1,147,000). The two designated charities, The Group Health Centre Trust Fund and Big Sisters Big Brothers of Sault Ste. Marie are also the big winners in all of this. $1,900,000 has been raised through Catch the Ace. Boomer and Dominica Braido have moved mountains to make this event a success. The line-ups grew week after week, and a few weeks ago, the Sault Police began supporting the effort through traffic control on Second Line. The Esquire Club is where charity and good works, meet ‘porketta bingo’ and a cold barley. It is now synonymous with ‘Catch the Ace.’ The Esquire Club is in fact, an incorporated non-profit organization. In 1947, the Esquire opened on Gore St., and in 1948, became a registered non-profit. The Esquire moved to its current location on Second Line West, 67 years ago. ONNtv’s live coverage of Catch the Ace was challenged by the sheer volume of people tuning into the stream. Over 30,000 citizens logged on to ONNtv tonight. We absolutely appreciate everyone hanging in there with us – Our site was tested to the max. We have recorded the entire event and will re-broadcast portions tomorrow. Thank you to all of our viewers for your patience. A big thank you to the Esquire Club staff and of course the Braido’s. You deserve a medal – and some down time. Of course, the Braido’s won’t be taking a break – as Porketta Bingos begin shortly on Saturdays at The Esquire Club. Lord love a duck.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Oakland backs off increasing Occupy enforcement OAKLAND Shopkeeper Mindy Stone was upset over graffiti in Oakland saying to "Kill the Occupiers". The Oakland City Council is considering a crackdown on the Occupy Oakland protests citywide at their meeting Tuesday February 7, 2012. less Shopkeeper Mindy Stone was upset over graffiti in Oakland saying to "Kill the Occupiers". The Oakland City Council is considering a crackdown on the Occupy Oakland protests citywide at their meeting Tuesday ... more Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close Oakland backs off increasing Occupy enforcement 1 / 7 Back to Gallery Oakland's City Council, amid a rowdy crowd of protesters, narrowly backed off a resolution Tuesday that would have beefed up law enforcement at Occupy protests. The resolution, which lacked the five votes necessary to pass, would have increased police enforcement of laws against blocking streets and assembling without a permit. The proposal came in the wake of a Jan. 28 protest downtown in which 400 people were arrested. Even as they defeated the resolution, council members expressed anger at the tactics of Occupy Oakland during the meeting, particularly group members' persistent shouting. "I am disgusted with the complete lack of respect you have shown," said City Councilwoman Pat Kernighan. "You are hypocrites when it comes to free speech. I have lost all respect for you." City Councilwoman Desley Brooks, who early in the movement supported Occupy Oakland, was even more harsh. "The only thing I can see with this movement is an ever-moving target," she said. "You talk about a movement, but it doesn't go beyond you." Council members Ignacio De La Fuente, Libby Schaaf, Jane Brunner and Brooks voted in favor of the resolution. Rebecca Kaplan and Nancy Nadel voted no, saying they were concerned about devoting more police resources to Occupy as gun violence escalates throughout the rest of the city. Kernighan and Larry Reid abstained. The laws are already on the books, but in the case of Occupy protests, police have generally refrained from intervening unless the protest turns violent. The rationale is to protect free speech rights and to avoid antagonizing protesters, some of whom say they are eager to confront police. The resolution was introduced by De La Fuente and Schaaf, who have argued that the city should use every tool at its disposal to stop the ongoing Occupy protests from escalating into violence and property damage. The resolution focused on Port of Oakland shutdowns, which protesters have attempted twice, but would have applied to all protests. Opponents get personal About 50 people spoke on the issue, packing the chambers and frequently erupting in applause, boos and shouts. At one point the audience sang "We Shall Overcome." The shouting became so loud toward the end of the debate the council recessed for 15 minutes. Most speakers were opposed to the resolution, in some cases threatening the council personally, although some said the resolution would protect port workers and tamp down the protests they believe have gotten out of hand. Gregory McConnell, president of the Jobs and Housing Coalition in Oakland, said truckers, longshoremen and others who work at the Port of Oakland deserve to work without interference from Occupiers. "We respect the right to protest, but the protesters should also respect our right to earn a living," he said. Port protests cost truckers $600 to $700 per day in lost wages, according to the resolution. The Dec. 12 shutdown cost between $4 million and $8 million in total lost pay and tax revenue. But some said the public's right to free speech should trump municipal ordinances, particularly in dire economic times. "Why would we want to silence free speech at a time when the economy is in the tank?" said Mindy Stone, an unemployed Oakland resident. "I don't know where people are supposed to go to redress their grievances. The government, the council, doesn't listen to us otherwise." Barucha Peller, an Occupy activist, said the resolution only galvanizes support for the movement. "I know you guys used to be progressive," she told the council. "But right now you're on the wrong side of history. The whole world is behind us." Port officials said the city needs to take every legal action to protect port operations, which are tied to 73,000 jobs in the region and $462 million annually in tax revenue. Continued protests at the port could dissuade investment in the Oakland Army Base, where the port and city plan to build a major rail-transfer and storage area, said port spokesman Isaac Kos-Read. "If we're going to make the Oakland Army Base happen, we're going to need everyone - government, labor and the community - to work together," he said. "If we don't, failure is almost certain." Several longshore union representatives opposed the resolution because they feared it would limit protests they might stage against port employers. The resolution included an exemption for labor strikes. Going on since November Occupy Oakland protests have been regular occurrences since demonstrators first pitched tents at Frank Ogawa Plaza in early October to protest economic inequality. The city cleared out the encampment in November, but Occupiers still hold regular meetings at the plaza and every Saturday night march to police headquarters to protest what they describe as heavy-handed law enforcement tactics. Oakland requires a special-event permit for gatherings of 50 or more people. The permits cost between $35 and $300 and must be obtained at least 30 days in advance. The event organizers are responsible for cleaning up after the gathering, and must pay for police officers to monitor traffic, if necessary. The city also has a law against blocking streets. The law, which dates to 1915, states that anyone who blocks a road faces misdemeanor charges, a $100 fine or 50 days in jail. The next major Occupy protest is scheduled for Feb. 11 downtown. The event includes a barbecue followed by the weekly antipolice march.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Following a hard fought 1-2 road trip against Western Conference foes to open the season, the Wizards head back to Capital One Arena where they’ll take on another Western Conference team, the Houston Rockets in their home opener. Game Info When: Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 8:00 p.m. ET Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C. How to watch: NBC Sports Washington Injury Report Wizards: C.J. Miles (Day-to-Day), Troy Brown Jr (Day-to-Day), Jordan McRae (finger) Rockets: Gerald Green (Out), Nene (Out) Pregame notes Who’s going to guard James Harden? Through just three games so far, the Wizards do not look super concerned on the defensive end. This isn’t exactly a surprise as Washington was awful last year defensively and now inserts a bunch of young fellas who’re learning the ropes of the NBA. Wednesday night will be Washington’s stiffest test yet and it all starts with stopping James Harden. Unfortunately for the Wizards, they don’t have many options to slow down the All-Star. They can try throwing Bradley Beal on him but Washington will need Brad to save his legs for the offensive end in what figures to be an up-and-down affair. If Beal isn’t checking Harden, that leaves Isaac Bonga as the next candidate to try and slow him down. Bonga has the length to try and stay in front of Harden but that is a very tall task for the 19-year-old. It’s going to take a combination of a cold shooting night from Harden and team effort on the defensive end if the Wizards are going to pull away with the W on Wednesday. Who’s going to guard Russell Westbrook? The newest guy in town is as much of a headache to guard as Harden. With both Wizards point guards standing no taller than 6-feet, Washington doesn’t have many options to throw at Westbrook either. Starter Ish Smith isn’t nearly as quick as Westbrook and backup Isaiah Thomas isn’t big enough to deter the human tornado that is Russell Westbrook in getting to the hole. Once again, the point guards are going to need a lot of help defensively if they’re going to stop Westbrook from cooking. Flashback Highlight: The House of Guards take down the Houston Rockets Feels like it was ages ago. But just last year, John Wall and Bradley Beal had a vintage House of Guards game where the duo combined for 68 points in a 135-131 win over Houston at Capital One Arena.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Richard Lunt, professor i industrikemi vid Michigan State University, växte upp utanför Boston, USA, och slogs där av den väldiga mängden fasadyta på stadens byggnader – en yta som hos exempelvis skyskrapor vida överskrider takets areal, som traditionellt används för att placera ut solcellspaneler på, rapporterar teknikwebbsidan Digital trends. – Vi tänkte att om vi kunde omvandla dessa ytor så att de kunde ta upp solenergi kunde vi verkligen få ut stor effekt, säger han. Använder infrarött ljus Med tidigare solcellsteknik har det inte varit möjligt att framställa transparenta paneler. Men den teknik som teamet i Michigan nu tagit fram, kallad ”transparent luminescent solar concentrator” (TLSC), genererar istället elektricitet ur infrarött ljus som är osynligt för det mänskliga ögat, och tillåter samtidigt ljusets andra spektrum att passera genom glasskivan. Äldre varianter av halvt genomskinliga paneler, som släpper igenom ljus i form av färgade skuggor, har kunnat uppnå en effektivitet om sju procent. TLSC-tekniken når med dagens prototyp bara en effektivitet om en procent, men i framtiden hoppas forskarna kunna uppnå en effektivitet om fem procent. Från solcellsparker till solcellsstäder Även om en effektivitetsgrad om fem-sju procent verkar låg, blir den totala mängden energi genererad av en hel skyskrapa – eller en hel stad – täckt av solcellspaneler långt större än med dagens upptagningsförmåga: paneler utplacerade endast på byggnaders tak, eller paneler utplacerade i vanprydande solcellsparker. – Vilken byggnad som helst skulle kunna bli en solenergigenerator. På så vis kan vi omvandla våra solcellsparker till solcellsstäder, säger Richard Lunt, och tillägger: – Byggnaden skulle se exakt likadan ut, med normala fönster. Du kommer inte ens märka att solcellpanelerna är där. Forskarteamet tror att deras teknik skulle kunna gagna allt från industri till hushållskonsumtion till strömdrivna bärbara teknikprylar.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird will resign from his position in the Harper cabinet as early as Tuesday, CBC News has learned. Sources say that Baird, who has served in several senior portfolios in Prime Minister Stephen Harper's cabinet, has told members of his staff that he won't run again and will be resigning this week. In a statement late Monday, spokesman Rick Roth said Baird would make "an announcement" in the House of Commons Tuesday at 10 a.m. ET. International Trade Minister Ed Fast will be named acting foreign affairs minister, sources tell CBC News. Baird's departure from cabinet, along with the resignation of Jim Flaherty a month before his death last year, means two of Harper's most powerful ministers will have left the prime minister's inner circle in less than a year. As foreign affairs minister, Baird has overseen a busy file, handling Canada's diplomatic response to the war in Libya, the crisis in Ukraine, the Palestinian push for statehood, the coalition mission in Iraq and most recently, the case of jailed Canadian-Egyptian journalist Mohamed Fahmy. Baird represents the riding of Ottawa West-Nepean and was nominated last March as the Conservative candidate in the newly created riding of Nepean for the next federal election, which must be held by Oct. 19 at the latest. Baird, 45, has been in politics most of his adult life. He was first elected as an MP in 2006 after a decade in provincial politics in Ontario, where he served in former premier Mike Harris's cabinet. However, sources close to Baird say that after 20 years in public office, it was simply time to seek other opportunities. His experience and profile are expected make him attractive to the private sector. A source close to Baird said he still supports the prime minister and will campaign for the party in the election. High-profile posts One of Baird's first jobs after the election of the Harper government in 2006 was to get the Conservatives' Accountability Act passed. His cabinet roles have included: Minister of Foreign Affairs, May, 2011 to present. Government House Leader, August, 2010 to May, 2011. Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, October, 2008 to August, 2010. Minister of the Environment, January, 2007 to October, 2008 and again November, 2010 to January, 2011. President of the Treasury Board, February, 2006 to January 2007. Baird was also a member of the House of Commons' Board of Internal Economy in 2010 and 2011.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Corsair’s latest keyboard, the K83 Wireless, is the manufacturer’s new attempt at a keyboard that you can use on your lap in a living room. In addition to a laptop-style 76-key keyboard, the K83 also includes a joystick, two shoulder buttons, and a trackpad that supports up to four-finger gestures in Windows 10. This joystick is the K83’s most unique aspect; it’s a pretty unusual inclusion on a keyboard. As well as allowing you to navigate menus, the joystick can also be set to emulate a mouse, which could be very useful in any game that would otherwise let you use it to control the game’s camera. In this mode, the two shoulder buttons stand in for the mouse’s left and right buttons, or you can click in the stick itself for a middle mouse click. Connect via Bluetooth or using an included 2.4GHz USB dongle This isn’t the first time Corsair has tried to make a keyboard work in the context of a living room couch, although it’s certainly the neatest. Previously, the company released the Lapdog, a $119.99 hunk of plastic that you lay across your lap and strap an existing keyboard and mouse into. It was big, it was bulky, and having to buy a keyboard and mouse separately meant that a complete setup was eye-wateringly expensive. Grid View Image: Corsair Image: Corsair Image: Corsair Image: Corsair Image: Corsair Image: Corsair Image: Corsair Image: Corsair Image: Corsair In contrast, the K83 Wireless is a much more stripped down affair. Instead of mechanical keyswitches you get low-profile membrane scissor switches. The keyboard is backlit, but each key doesn’t have its own RGB LED like on Corsair’s full size keyboards. Corsair claims the keyboard’s battery should give you 40 hours of use, after which it can be recharged using a MicroUSB cable, and you get a choice of connecting over Bluetooth or via 2.4GHz using an included USB dongle. Although the popularity of small form-factor PCs has made it easier than ever to have a desktop computer connected to your living room TV, the fact that so many PC games need to be controlled with a keyboard and mouse has continued to be a problem for would be PC couch gamers. To find out whether the K83 Wireless has solves it, you’ll have to stay tuned for our full review. The Corsair K83 Wireless is available starting today.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Lack of merchandise for female superheroes like Black Widow has been the subject of much discussion recently following the release of Age of Ultron, and it seems Warner Bros. has been paying attention to the criticism of Marvel’s disinterest in marketing to girls. In a Global License report, Warner Bros. Consumer Products emphasized the Wonder Woman merchandise for Dawn of Justice and the Wonder Woman film, with executive vice president of Warner Bros. Consumer Products Karen McTier promising: Our comprehensive program will include Wonder Woman in the merchandise lines and in standalone products supporting the film. We have always had a robust line for Wonder Woman, and her role in this film and future films offers us more opportunities to feature her character and empowering attributes in many creative ways. Although it’s exciting to see Warner Bros. acknowledging and rewarding the power of its female fans, it obviously remains to be seen whether or not Dawn of Justice‘s lady superhero merch (or even Wonder Woman‘s, to be honest) will be more positive than some of DC’s gendered marketing in the past. According to Global License, we can expect to see Dawn of Justice merch roll out 8 weeks prior to the movie’s March 2016 release; key licensees mentioned in the report include Rubie’s Costume Co., LEGO, Bioworld and Hallmark. The report also offered some details on the merchandise designed for the new “DC Super Hero Girls” initiative, including “original digital content and publishing, followed by TV specials, videos, toys, apparel, books and other product categories that will rollout in 2016.” Although it remains to be seen just how often Wonder Woman will show up in Dawn of Justice toys and whether or not DC will manage to distance itself from its poor track record of representation in advertising, I’m tentatively optimistic. What about you, friends? (via Comic Book Resources) —Please make note of The Mary Sue’s general comment policy.— Do you follow The Mary Sue on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, & Google +? Have a tip we should know? tips@themarysue.com
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Theoretical physicist Ali Naji from the IPM in Tehran and the University of Cambridge, UK, and his colleagues have shown how small random patches of disordered, frozen electric charges can make a difference when they are scattered on surfaces that are overall neutral. These charges induce a twisting force that is strong enough to be felt as far as nanometers or even micrometers away. These results, about to be published in EPJ E (1), could help to understand phenomena that occurr on surfaces such as those of large biological molecules. To measure the strength of the twist that acts on a randomly charged surface, the authors used a sphere which was mounted like a spinning top next to a randomly charged flat substrate. Because small amounts of positive and negative charges were spread in a disordered mosaic throughout both surfaces, they induced transient attractive or repulsive twisting forces. This was regardless of the surfaces' overall electrical neutrality, thus making the sphere spin. Using statistical averaging methods, the authors studied the fluctuations of these forces. The authors found that the twisting force, created by virtue of the disorder of surface charges, is expected to be much stronger and far-reaching than the remnant forces. The latter are always present, even in the absence of charge disorder, and are due to fluctuations at the atomic and molecular levels. This could have implications for large randomly charged surfaces such as biological macromolecules, which may be exposed to strong electrostatic forces, inducing attraction and/or repulsion, even if they carry no overall net charge. For instance, this phenomenon could partly explain biological pattern recognition, such as lock and key phenomena. In that context, the twisting force could explain the attraction between biological macromolecules that lead to pre-alignment prior to their interaction. Explore further Northwestern research team turns theory of static electricity on its head
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defense Muhammad bin Salman Al Saud attends the opening ceremony of the G20 Leaders Summit in Hangzhou, China, September 4, 2016. REUTERS/Nicolas Asfonri/Pool RIYADH (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday to discuss regional security, Saudi state news agency SPA reported. The two discussed “ways to combat terrorism” and “coordination of efforts to reinforce security and the stability of the region,” according to the report.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
A new study identifies 2007 OR10 as the largest unnamed body in our solar system, and the third-largest dwarf planet. (Haumea has an oblong shape that is wider on its long axis than 2007 OR10, but its overall volume is smaller.) A faraway object nicknamed "Snow White" is considerably larger than scientists had thought, and is in fact the third-largest dwarf planet in the solar system, a new study suggests. Snow White is about 955 miles (1,535 kilometers) in diameter rather than 795 miles (1,280 km) wide as previously believed, according to the new study. That makes it the largest still-unnamed object in our solar system, NASA officials said. (The dwarf planet has not yet been formally named and currently goes by the placeholder designation 2007 OR10.) NASA released a new video of the dwarf planet Snow White along with its new size figures. If the new measurement is accurate, the only known dwarf planets bigger than Snow White are Pluto and Eris, which are 1,475 miles (2,374 km) and 1,445 miles (2,236 km) across, respectively. [Meet the Solar System's Dwarf Planets] Fourth place belongs to Haumea, which is 1,195 miles (1,920 km) across in the longest direction but has an oblong shape and is therefore less voluminous than Snow White. The 890-mile-wide (1,430 km) Makemake comes in fifth, NASA officials said. A new study identifies 2007 OR10 as the largest unnamed body in our solar system, and the third-largest dwarf planet. (Haumea has an oblong shape that is wider on its long axis than 2007 OR10, but its overall volume is smaller.) (Image credit: Konkoly Observatory/András Pál, Hungarian Astronomical Association/Iván Éder, NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI) However, there is some uncertainty surrounding Snow White's newly determined size; the object's diameter may actually be as large as 1,000 miles (1,610 km) or as small as 814 miles (1,310 km), according to the new study, which has been published in The Astronomical Journal. One of the people who discovered Snow White back in 2007, California Institute of Technology astronomer Mike Brown, urged people to take this uncertainty into account before giving the dwarf planet the third-place trophy. "Be a little skeptical that 2007 OR10 is the third-largest dwarf planet, please. It has the least well measured size. Could easily be [smaller than] Makemake," Brown said via his Twitter account, @plutokiller, on Wednesday (May 11). (Brown's Twitter handle refers to his role in the reclassification of Pluto from full-fledged planet to dwarf planet back in 2006. Brown and his colleagues have discovered a number of large objects in the outer solar system, including Eris and Sedna, that helped spur the International Astronomical Union to rethink its definition of "planet.") A mysterious dwarf planet Snow White orbits the sun every 547.5 years on an extremely elliptical path, getting as close to the star as 33 astronomical units (AU) and as far away as 101 AU. One AU is the average distance from Earth to the sun — about 93 million miles, or 150 million km. For perspective, Pluto orbits the sun at an average distance of 39.5 AU, and completes one lap every 248 years. The size revision should help researchers better understand Snow White's composition and evolution, researchers said. For example, the object probably has an even darker surface than scientists had thought (because a larger amount of area is reflecting the same amount of light). Artist's illustration of 2007 OR10, nicknamed "Snow White." Astronomers suspect that its reddish color is due to the presence of irradiated methane. (Image credit: NASA) Previous observations had suggested that Snow White is reddish, perhaps because of the presence of methane ices. The new results bolster this interpretation, researchers said. "Our revised larger size for 2007 OR10 makes it increasingly likely the planet is covered in volatile ices of methane, carbon monoxide and nitrogen, which would be easily lost to space by a smaller object," lead author András Pál, of Konkoly Observatory in Budapest, Hungary, said in a statement. "It's thrilling to tease out details like this about a distant, new world — especially since it has such an exceptionally dark and reddish surface for its size." Pál and his colleagues studied observations of Snow White made recently by NASA's Kepler space telescope, as well as archival data gathered by the European Space Agency's infrared Herschel Space Observatory, which ceased operations in April 2013. Kepler was built to hunt for exoplanets by noting the tiny brightness dips these objects cause when crossing the faces of their parent stars from the spacecraft's perspective. And Kepler did just that for four years, until the second of its four orientation-maintaining reaction wheels failed in May 2013 and the telescope couldn't point with the required precision. [Gallery: A World of Kepler Planets] But Kepler team members soon devised a way to stabilize Kepler's position in space using the two remaining reaction wheels and sunlight pressure, and the spacecraft embarked upon a second mission called K2 in 2014. Kepler is still searching for exoplanets during K2, but it's also studying a variety of other cosmic phenomena and objects — including Snow White. Kepler measured Snow White's reflectivity, and the Herschel data allowed the study team to determine how much solar radiation the dwarf planet absorbs and later radiates as heat. Combining the two types of information allowed the researchers to calculate Snow White's size, NASA officials said. The team also determined that the object is rotating extremely slowly, completing one spin every 45 hours. Snow White's surface brightness also appears to vary from place to place, researchers said. The dwarf planet 2007 OR10, nicknamed “Snow White,” as seen by NASA’s Kepler space telescope. (Image credit: Konkoly Observatory/László Molnár and András Pál) Official name coming soon? Snow White may not be the biggest unnamed object in the solar system for much longer. "The names of Pluto-sized bodies each tell a story about the characteristics of their respective objects," Meg Schwamb, who discovered Snow White along with Brown and David Rabinowitz of Yale University, said in the same statement. "In the past, we haven't known enough about 2007 OR10 to give it a name that would do it justice," added Schwamb, who's currently at the Institute of Astronomy & Astrophysics at Academia Sinica in Taipei, Taiwan. "I think we're coming to a point where we can give 2007 OR10 its rightful name." Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
MarmoNews New artists, fresh music, and all the good stuff straight to your inbox.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Half a century ago, before the first Apple computer was even sold, climate scientists started making computer-generated forecasts of how Earth would warm as carbon emissions saturated the atmosphere (the atmosphere is now brimming with carbon). It turns out these decades-old climate models — which used math equations to predict how much greenhouse gases would heat the planet — were pretty darn accurate. Climate scientists gauged how well early models predicted Earth's relentless warming trend and published their research Wednesday in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. Most importantly, the results underscore that climate scientists were always right about how greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide trap heat and warm the surface. It was, and is, well-understood science. "The earliest models were so skillful because the fundamental science behind the greenhouse effect and global warming is well established and fairly straightforward," said Henri Drake, a Ph.D. candidate researching ocean circulations and climate at MIT. Drake worked on this project for three years. "The main takeaway is that climate models have, since the 1970s, accurately predicted the future global warming that has occurred since the respective climate model projections were originally published," Drake added. After a year of work our paper on evaluating performance of historical climate models is finally out! We found that 14 of 17 the climate projections released between 1970 and 2001 effectively matched observations after they were published. https://t.co/xbmOh4ZPcn 1/19 pic.twitter.com/xjez5FWwd3 — Zeke Hausfather (@hausfath) December 4, 2019 Some decades-old climate models have been labeled "inaccurate" because they either overestimated or underestimated the notoriously unpredictable factor in the warming equation: how much carbon humans might emit from cars, factories, and power plants over the course of decades. This threw off the timing (or specific years) of when models predicted certain amounts of heating might occur. But, critically, the models still did a fine job of predicting how much atmospheric carbon concentrations — the purely scientific component of the models — would actually heat the planet. "People have for a long time criticized early forecasts for not being perfectly accurate," said Flavio Lehner, a climate scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research who had no role in the new research. But now there's a scientifically-scrutinized (aka "peer-reviewed" which is the gold standard of research) study showing just how well older models worked, Lehner emphasized. "This is case and point," said Lehner. "This is case closed." Of 17 older climate models reviewed (used between 1970 and 2007), 14 closely predicted how much Earth would warm based on the amount of carbon floating around the atmosphere. Scientists had all they needed to build the first climate models, decades ago. Then and now, climate models take into account how much heat greenhouse gases absorb (known from precise lab measurements), the physics of how Earths's atmosphere warms (thermodynamics), how much human-created heat gets soaked up by the oceans (most of it), and other factors like the amount of sunlight Earth reflects back into space. this tweet remains relevant: https://t.co/Twcfq7rmI4 — Andrew Dessler (@AndrewDessler) December 4, 2019 By 1979 the landmark Charney Report, produced by U.S. scientists for the National Academies of Sciences, concluded human carbon emissions were warming the planet. And they accurately projected how much warming would occur in the future. In 1988, NASA scientist James Hansen presented climate projections to Congress, warning the climate would heat up depending on the amount of greenhouse gases civilization ultimately emitted. (Hansen modeled future CO2 concentrations accurately, but overestimated other greenhouse gas influences.) In 1982, even Exxon's own scientists would accurately forecast Earth's temperature increase as carbon emissions soared. For climate scientists, predicting global temperatures is now considered rather rudimentary stuff. It's a "pretty low bar," said Drake. They now have bigger fish to fry. "The questions we really want answers to are things like: How much will the height of storm surges during major hurricanes landfalls along the U.S. Gulf Coast change due to human-caused climate change?" said Drake. "Will snowstorms in Boston get worse? Which crops will grow best in Uganda in 2050?" You can check out the code and data on @github (https://t.co/1IOt92ENf8) and play around with the data directly in your browser thanks to @mybinderteam: https://t.co/xCpNOU3Fdl Warming stripes compare Hansen et al (1988)'s projections with observations, inspired by @ed_hawkins pic.twitter.com/9YTqC0nbch — Henri Drake (@henrifdrake) December 4, 2019 Decades after the first climate models started crunching numbers, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide are higher than they've been in at least 800,000 years — though more likely millions of years. In 2019, global carbon dioxide emissions hit a new all-time high, the same year humanity recorded its hottest month, ever. The many consequences of this warming — melting ice sheets, worsening deluges, and crop failures — are evident and growing worse. For climate researchers, looking ahead and forecasting what's to come is ever-salient. "What we really want to do is move the field forward," said Lehner. "This is an opportunity to put to rest fundamental questions about global temperatures and spend time on things we need to understand."
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Recently I found the need to make a set of async calls with different return types. This is a pretty common task, we'd like to make some calls in parallel and collect the results once everything is done. Let's take a look at the docs for fp-ts async tasks. const tasks = [ task . of ( 1 ), task . of ( 2 )] array . sequence ( task )( tasks )() . then ( console . log ) // [ 1, 2 ] Hmm. Well that's pretty nice, but what happens when the types are different? const tasks = [ T . task . of ( 1 ), T . task . of ( " hello " )] array . sequence ( task )( tasks )() . then ( console . log ) // [1, "hello"] I hope? Uh oh. Well darn. The type of sequence is (simplified) Array[F[A]] => F[Array[A]] , so all the return types would have to be the same. What do? :/ After some googleing, I ran across the magical sequenceT. /** * const sequenceTOption = sequenceT(option) * assert.deepStrictEqual(sequenceTOption(some(1)), some([1])) * assert.deepStrictEqual(sequenceTOption(some(1), some('2')), some([1, '2'])) * assert.deepStrictEqual(sequenceTOption(some(1), some('2'), none), none) */ Nice! Ok, let's try it out. import * as T from ' fp-ts/lib/Task ' import { sequenceT } from ' fp-ts/lib/Apply ' import { pipe } from ' fp-ts/lib/pipeable ' pipe ( sequenceT ( T . task )( T . of ( 42 ), T . of ( " tim " )), //[F[A], F[B]] => F[A, B] T . map (([ answer , name ]) => console . log ( `Hello ${ name } ! The answer you're looking for is ${ answer } ` )) )(); Hello tim! The answer you're looking for is 42 Well that's rad. pipe allows us to chain calls together, so the result of sequenceT is passed in to T.map . T.map destructures the tuple and we can do as we please with some guarantees about our data. But what if our Tasks can fail? pipe ( sequenceT ( TE . taskEither )( TE . left ( " no bad " ), TE . right ( " tim " )), TE . map (([ answer , name ]) => console . log ( `Hello ${ name } ! The answer you're looking for is ${ answer } ` )), TE . mapLeft ( console . error ) )(); no bad Awesome! Ok, time to get fancy with it. What if we are actually making some calls to an API, and we want to ensure that the results we get from the API conform to the expected schema? Let's try it out by hitting a dummy REST endpoint with axios , which is a handy http client. import { array } from ' fp-ts/lib/Array ' import axios , { AxiosResponse } from ' axios ' ; import * as t from ' io-ts ' //create a schema to load our user data into const users = t . type ({ data : t . array ( t . type ({ first_name : t . string })) }); //schema to hold the deepest of answers const answer = t . type ({ ans : t . number }); //Convert our api call to a TaskEither const httpGet = ( url : string ) => TE . tryCatch < Error , AxiosResponse > ( () => axios . get ( url ), reason => new Error ( String ( reason )) ) /** * Make our api call, pull out the data section and decode it * We need to massage the Error type, since `decode` returns a list of `ValidationError`s * We should probably use `reporter` to make this nicely readable down the line */ const getUser = pipe ( httpGet ( ' https://reqres.in/api/users?page=1 ' ), TE . map ( x => x . data ), TE . chain (( str ) => pipe ( users . decode ( str ), E . mapLeft ( err => new Error ( String ( err ))), TE . fromEither ) ) ); const getAnswer = pipe ( TE . right ( 42 ), TE . chain ( ans => pipe ( answer . decode ({ ans }), E . mapLeft ( err => new Error ( String ( err ))), TE . fromEither ) ) ) /** * Make our calls, and iterate over the data we get back */ pipe ( sequenceT ( TE . taskEither )( getAnswer , getUser ), TE . map (([ answer , users ]) => array . map ( users . data , ( user ) => console . log ( `Hello ${ user . first_name } ! The answer you're looking for is ${ answer . ans } ` ))), TE . mapLeft ( console . error ) )(); Hello George! The answer you're looking for is 42 Hello Janet! The answer you're looking for is 42 Hello Emma! The answer you're looking for is 42 Hello Eve! The answer you're looking for is 42 Hello Charles! The answer you're looking for is 42 Hello Tracey! The answer you're looking for is 42 Heck yeah! We did it! Async Typed FP for everyone! :)
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Challenges Maps Self-sufficient Rovers Patch highlights Hello and thank you for checking out this shiny new dev diary dedicated to the upcoming update, codenamed Sagan. While our previous update (Da Vinci) catered mostly to our players that like to focus their efforts on city-building in Creative Mode, Sagan's main feature is targeted towards our more hardcore survivalist crowd. It introduces a new game mode meant to test your colony building skills as well as your mastery of not just surviving under the alien conditions, but being fast and efficient while doing so.How can you measure the skills of a player in a sandbox city-builder? Even in a survival-oriented one, like Surviving Mars, the difference between a very good player and merely a competent one is often in the efficiency and game time they need to accomplish their goals. While the existing Score system tries to evaluate this to some degree, it is far from perfect, and there is really no fair way to balance it for all possible play styles and game rules.Challenges are meant to be our answer to this problem, introducing a new way to test your skills. Each Challenge presents a single objective before you that may be as simple as "complete the Founder stage" or more complex like "research all technologies". All Challenges are time-limited, so you have to optimize your approach and be efficient to pass the test.Each Challenge is set on specific map coordinates, with a particular sponsor and game rules. If you are attempting a Challenge, you are playing under the same basic conditions as any other player. As a side effect, specific Challenges encourage you to try combinations of sponsors and game conditions that you would likely not experience otherwise. No Mysteries are active during the challenges, because we don't want any distractions to get in the way of pursuing the challenge objective.Each Challenge has a time limit to be "completed" - you will fail if the objective is not completed during this time. If you manage to finish a challenge exceptionally fast, in another, much tighter time frame, it will be considered "perfected". While completing some challenges can be a significant feat on its own, perfecting them is balanced to be a challenge. Even our most dedicated players here at Haemimont had to learn new challenges and rethink their approach more than once while pursuing perfection. And if you are really adventurous you can try to set your own record - how quicker than the perfected deadline you can finish a challenge? We expect to discover new ways to play our own game more efficiently once we see what the best players can do.We have created three different Challenges for all sponsors, except Paradox Interactive, since we wanted to avoid exclusive challenges locked behind the bonus sponsor. Challenges vary in playtime greatly - the shortest can be completed in just a few Sols and are ideal for a quick play session that still puts your skills to the test, while the longest can take hundreds of Sols. Each sponsor offers three Challenges spanning different time frames.If you particularly enjoy a given Challenge playthrough, you are free to continue playing the map as a normal sandbox game after the Challenge has ended, even if it was failed.We've made some pretty significant changes to our maps in Sagan with two main goals in mind - to guarantee that players playing on the same map encounter the same technologies in the same order and to increase the overall visual variety of the maps. The accumulated changes will make sure that all maps in the game will be different than the maps on the same coordinates that you've visited pre-Sagan. On the upside, they should remain significantly more stable in future releases.To guarantee an even playing ground for the Challenges and for the players that like to compare their score and accomplishments while playing on the same map, randomization of technologies and possible breakthroughs is now map dependent. This means that if you are playing on the same coordinates the technologies in the research screen will always appear in the same order and encountered anomalies will tend to yield the same breakthroughs. If you are lucky to get a particular breakthrough or technology early, keep in mind that all players playing on the same map will also be able to do so. The one exception is the "Chaos Theory" game rule that will offer a true randomization of technologies, even on the same map just for the players that enjoy a completely unpredictable experience. Of course, technologies added in future updates will also shake the status quo a bit.Revisiting the map generation logic, we noticed that several sets of environment objects and map themes were underused, resulting in many maps ending much more visually similar to one another than our artists and level designers intended. We tweaked the map generation algorithm and you should see more radically different maps from now on. Check out the screenshots below for some beautiful landscapes from the new maps.Managing battery power of your Rovers almost never provided real survival challenges, but was an annoying source of frustration, especially when managing multiple vehicles at the same time. As part of our initiative to reduce tedious micromanagement and focus your attention on more important mechanics, we removed the batteries from all Rovers and made the vehicles self-sufficient. Drone batteries and Charging Station still work like they did before and we are quite happy with them.We also redesigned to Rover Command AI technology that previously removed Rover batteries as part of its effects. Currently, in addition to increasing Commander Drone capacity as before, it provides a much needed automated mode to Explorer and Transport functionality. This handy feature was inspired by some of the most popular mods out there - thanks, Mod creators, keep being awesome!As is tradition, I will end with some highlights from the patch notes. Feel free to check the complete list when it comes out (which will be very very soon!).- Concrete deposits have been reworked to work more like other existing deposits. Their functionality now depends on the deposit marker, instead of the exact coverage over the yellowish terrain patch. Concrete Extractors can now easily exhaust nearby markers without the need to place extractors to cover up the whole patch, a feat that was practically impossible in many previous cases.- Popup messages were getting a bit too intrusive, so most of them now appear minimized as a notification and do not interrupt gameplay. They will be maximized automatically if you don't pay attention to them for a while, but generally are less likely to interrupt you. We were happy to find out that players tend to pay more attention to messages when they are opened manually instead of automatically.- Dust effects of buildings and rockets are now visualized by building placement and selection, making this process more transparent. It is now more obvious why buildings tend to malfunction near Extractors and rocket landing sites.It is time to wrap this up. Please, share your favorite challenge and best time when Sagan comes out! And stay tuned, something big is on the horizon!
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
Welcome to the Wall, An Orlando City Soccer Podcast. A show where Nick, Shawn, Jon and special guests will be bringing you all the new OCSC info and updates. We're all supporters of Orlando City and promise to give you the information you want, good or bad, without sugarcoating the facts and in the process, have a great time. In this episode we review the Portland and Columbus matches, preview the final game of the season versus the Red Bulls, talk OCity News and dive into some other soccer news. We'll see you at the march in!!! GO CITY!
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The U.S. exerted new pressure against Israel by leaving open the possibility of letting the United Nations set a deadline for a Palestinian state, in what would be a departure from using American veto power to protect its close Mideast ally. The prospect of a U.N. Security Council resolution arose Friday when French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Paris would introduce a measure setting a deadline for a negotiated settlement of the conflict and the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, possibly within two years. On dozens of occasions in recent decades, the U.S. has lobbied against approval of such resolutions, using its veto authority as a permanent member of the Security Council as a last resort. In response to past resolutions concerning the Middle East, the White House has echoed Israel’s contention that U.N. action cannot substitute for direct negotiations. But the White House took a markedly different tack on Friday. Press secretary Josh Earnest said the Obama administration was aware of Mr. Fabius’s comments. “But we have not yet actually seen a text of a resolution so I’d reserve comment on a hypothetical resolution,” he said. While he didn’t indicate whether the U.S. would actively favor such a resolution, the absence of any dissuasion was telling. White House officials didn’t elaborate on the Obama administration’s position.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }
The prominent Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan, who is in French detention over several rape allegations, is facing a new accusation of rape, this time in Switzerland, a Swiss daily reported Friday. A Swiss woman is pressing criminal charges against Ramadan, 55, alleging he raped her and held her against her will for several hours in a Geneva hotel room a decade ago, the Tribune de Geneve (TdG) daily reported. When contacted by AFP, the woman's lawyer Romain Jordan confirmed that criminal charges had been filed in Geneva on Friday, but said he did not want to make any further comments at this stage. "We are confident in our case," he said. The alleged victim, who was not identified, is not the first to accuse Ramadan. The prominent TV pundit and Oxford University professor, whose grandfather founded Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood movement, was detained by a French court in February over charges that he raped two Muslim women in France. A third woman has since made further allegations of rape. Ramadan denies all the charges. One of European Islam's best-known figures, he has dismissed the accusations against him as a smear campaign by his enemies and his lawyers argue there are inconsistencies in the women's accounts. In the fresh case, TdG reported it had seen a 13-page transcript of the alleged Swiss victim's testimony, in which she accused Ramadan of attacking and raping her in a hotel room in 2008. The woman, a convert to Islam who was around 40 years old at the time, had been having family difficulties and had sought out the eminent Muslim scholar who like her grew up in Geneva, according to the paper. After meeting him at a book signing in Geneva in 2008, she had begun corresponding with him via social media and voiced interested in attending a conference he was planning in the city. But as the conference was private, she said Ramadan -- who is also a Swiss national -- had offered to meet her for coffee and what she thought would be a recap of the event. Instead, he lured her up to his hotel room, where she said he attacked her, raping her and holding her in the room for hours, TdG reported. "I was afraid I was going to die. I was terrified and paralysed," she said in the testimony, according to the paper. The woman, who said she had been too afraid at the time to go to the police, said she had been emboldened to step forward now by the large number of women who have accused Ramadan of sexual misconduct, TdG said.
{ "pile_set_name": "OpenWebText2" }