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New research by a University of Rhode Island professor suggests that the length of human pregnancy is limited primarily by a mother's metabolism, not the size of the birth canal. The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the week of August 27, challenges the long-held notion of an evolutionary trade-off between childbirth and a pelvis adapted for walking upright.
Two traits that set humans apart from other primates -- big brains and the ability to walk upright -- could be at odds when it comes to childbirth. Big brains and the big heads that encase them are hard to push through the human birth canal, but a wider pelvis might compromise bipedal walking. Scientists have long posited that nature's solution to this problem, which is known as the "obstetric dilemma," was to shorten the duration of gestation so that babies are born before their heads get too big. As a result, human babies are relatively helpless and seemingly underdeveloped in terms of motor and cognitive ability compared to other primates.
"All these fascinating phenomena in human evolution -- bipedalism, difficult childbirth, wide female hips, big brains, relatively helpless babies -- have traditionally been tied together with the obstetric dilemma," said Holly Dunsworth, an anthropologist at the University of Rhode Island and lead author of the research. "It's been taught in anthropology courses for decades, but when I looked for hard evidence that it's actually true, I struck out."
The first problem with the theory is that there is no evidence that hips wide enough to deliver a more developed baby would be a detriment to walking, Dunsworth said. Anna Warrener, a post-doctoral researcher at Harvard University and one of the paper's co-authors, has studied how hip breadth affects locomotion with women on treadmills. She found that there is no correlation between wider hips and a diminished locomotor economy.
"That throws doubt on the assumption that the size of the birth canal is limited by bipedalism," Dunsworth said. "Wide hips don't mean you can't walk efficiently."
Then Dunsworth looked for evidence that human pregnancy is shortened compared to other primates and mammals. She found well-established research to the contrary. "Controlling for mother's body size, human gestation is a bit longer than expected compared to other primates, not shorter," she said. "And babies are a bit larger than expected, not smaller. Although babies behave like it, they're not born early."
For mammals in general, including humans, gestation length and offspring size are predicted by mother's body size. Because body size is a good proxy for an animal's metabolic rate and function, Dunsworth started to wonder if metabolism might offer a better explanation for the timing of human birth than the pelvis.
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To investigate that possibility, she enlisted the help of Peter Ellison of Harvard University and Herman Pontzer of Hunter College in New York, two experts in human physiology and energetics. Building on Ellison's prior work on human pregnancy and childbirth, the researchers developed a new hypothesis for the timing of human birth called the EGG (energetics, gestation, and growth).
"Under the EGG, babies are born when they're born because mother cannot put any more energy into gestation and fetal growth," Dunsworth explains. "Mom's energy is the primary evolutionary constraint, not the hips."
Using metabolic data on pregnant women, the researchers show that women give birth just as they are about to cross into a metabolic danger zone.
"There is a limit to the number of calories our bodies can burn each day," says Pontzer. "During pregnancy, women approach that energetic ceiling and give birth right before they reach it. That suggests there is an energetic limit to human gestation length and fetal growth."
Those metabolic constraints help explain why human babies are so helpless compared to our primate kin, like chimpanzees. A chimp baby begins crawling at one month, whereas human babies don't crawl until around seven months. But for a human to give birth to a newborn at the same developmental level as chimp, it would take a 16-month gestation. That would place mothers well past their energetic limits. In fact, even one extra month of gestation would cross into the metabolic danger zone, the researchers found.
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"It would be physiologically impossible, regardless of pelvic bone anatomy, to birth a more developed baby," Dunsworth said. "Our helplessness at birth is just a sign of how much more brain growth we have to achieve once we start living outside our mother."
The energetics, gestation and growth hypothesis would downplay an implication of the obstetric dilemma that Dunsworth finds odd.
"We've been doing anthropology with this warped view of the male pelvis as the ideal form, while the female pelvis is seen as less than ideal because of childbirth," she said. "The female births the babies. So if there's an ideal, it's female and it's no more compromised than anything else out there. Selection maintains its adequacy for locomotion and for childbirth.
"If it didn't, we'd have gone extinct," Dunsworth said.
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Barack Obama’s great strength was always his ability to shape himself into a vessel for the hopes of a wide array of different people. For Nancy Pelosi, it’s been the reverse, as she manages to become a symbol of the varying fears of the opposing factions of the Democratic Party. For the party’s left, she’s too tied to big money and the corporate PAC model of fundraising, and embraces a “paygo” politics of austerity. For the party’s right, she’s a spend-happy, San Francisco liberal whose presence at the top puts the new majority at risk. The legend of Pelosi has it that after raising her five children, this stay-at-home-mom decided to throw herself into politics and thus was born the first woman speaker of the House in U.S. history. The impressive feat of child-rearing is accurate, but the rest leaves a lot out. And onto that blank page, foes have been all too happy to write their own stories of Pelosi. Pelosi’s confounding image is built on her unique political foundation. It’s true that she did not enter elected public office, in 1987, until she had finished raising her five children. But she was by no means new to politics. Democratic Rep. Phil Burton, upon seeing the San Francisco mansion she shared with her husband, investor Paul Pelosi, noted that it would make a tremendous location for political fundraisers. Pelosi, it turned out, had a gift for just that, and her fundraising prowess would eventually turn her into a power center in California politics in her own right. In 1976, more than a decade before entering Congress, she was elected as a member of the Democratic National Committee. Over the next five years, she would become chair of the northern California Democratic Party and then the statewide Democratic Party. In 1985, she lost a bid for DNC chair. Burton, who served in Congress for 19 years, was a transformative political figure both in California and in the education of Pelosi. Labor reporter Harold Meyerson once called him “the single most important member of the House of Representatives in the ’60s and ’70s.” Pelosi is often lauded for her uncanny ability to count votes, something that was also said repeatedly of Burton. He was a role model for Pelosi, someone who was enthusiastic about fundraising and took politics seriously, rather than a purist who stood aloof from what many on the left saw as a corrupt endeavor. “I’m a fighting liberal,” Burton would famously say. His biographer, John Jacobs, agreed: “A ruthless and unabashed progressive, Burton terrified his opponents, ran over his friends, forged improbable coalitions, and from 1964 to 1983 became one of the most influential Representatives in the House. He also acquired more raw power than almost any left-liberal politician ever had.” Fighting meant getting your hands dirty. Burton pioneered gerrymandering in California (“My contribution to modern art,” he called it; he even drew a district so that his brother John could have a House seat, too) and began what is now a common practice of spreading PAC money around to colleagues in tough races in order to build power within the caucus. He helped shape the House floor process so that lobbyists would have more ability to tweak individual pieces of legislation, uncorking contributions from K Street and helping to create the Washington ecosystem we know today. Burton encouraged Pelosi to run in one of the new districts he had drawn, but she demurred. First elected in 1964, he took on the power of the Southern bulls, who had used seniority and one-party rule in the South to lock down control of key committee chairpersonships. The sooner the party could crush its Dixiecrat wing, he argued, the better. Burton organized his liberal colleagues and reformed the process for selecting chairs, replacing it with a secret vote, which was the beginning of the end of Southern dominance of the House Democratic caucus. In 1976, he fell one vote short in a bid for majority leader. In Pelosi, Burton had a ready student. If your knowledge of Pelosi comes from Republican attack ads, you know her as a “San Francisco liberal” or even “radical,” but she was raised in Maryland by her father Thomas D’Alesandro Jr., the boss of the Baltimore political machine, who was by turns a congressman and mayor of Charm City. D’Alesandro’s operation, like most big-city machines of the era, was linked in public to local Mafia figures, according to his FBI file. Burton rightly saw in Pelosi that rarest of breeds, a liberal born to fight. In Burton, Pelosi found someone who knew how to make progressive change actually happen. His list of legislative achievements was long — Supplemental Security Income, a higher minimum wage, compensation for black lung, food stamps for striking workers, the abolition of the House Un-American Affairs Committee — despite or, in part, because of his legendary ruthlessness and rage. John Burton, Phil’s brother and himself a former congressman, said that Phil never quite mentored Pelosi. “I mean, Christ, this is a woman who was brought up in Baltimore politics. He wasn’t working with some neophyte that all of a sudden he had to explain, ‘Well, here’s how it works.’ They got along because even though she was an ‘amateur’ at that time, she was still a pro,’” Burton told the author Vincent Bzdek for the book “Woman of the House.” He acknowledged, though, that Phil helped “hone her skills.” Pelosi said that her Baltimore education made Burton easy to handle. “Actually, my family really prepared me for Phil Burton. One of the reasons I got along with Phil is because I wasn’t afraid of him. I knew a lot of people like him,” she told Bzdek. In April 1983, at the age of 56, he died of a heart attack; his wife Sala Burton won the special election to replace him. But four years later, she lay dying herself and made a parting death bed endorsement: “Nancy.” The nod helped, and Pelosi won the special election in 1987 to represent the Burtons’s San Francisco district. She ran on the prophetic and on-brand slogan “a voice that will be heard,” and brought with her the conviction that effective fundraising was the key to building power and that without power, she couldn’t enact her agenda. By 2002, she’d become the first progressive in a generation elected to leadership, serving as minority whip. When Democratic leader Dick Gephardt stepped down, she became minority leader, using the position to rally her caucus against the war in Iraq. Pelosi, who’d become the first female speaker of the House after the Democrats took the House majority back in 2006, got the opportunity to go big and fulfill a centurylong liberal dream, after Obama’s 2008 election. But it almost all fell apart.
On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signs the health care bill in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. Photo: J. Scott Applewhite/AP
The train wreck that nearly derailed the Affordable Care Act in 2009 and 2010 was visible from miles away. Michael Capuano, a congressman from eastern Massachusetts, saw it coming. When Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy died in August 2009 of brain cancer, his passing created a vacancy that was filled by Paul Kirk, a longtime Kennedy aide appointed as a placeholder while a special election was organized. (Coincidentally, it was Kirk who had beaten Pelosi in the ’85 DNC chair race.) On December 24, 2009, Kirk cast the 60th vote to break a filibuster and pass the Senate version of the Affordable Care Act, a slightly more corporate-friendly plan than the one that had passed the House on November 7. That bill, shepherded through by Pelosi, included a public health insurance option to compete with private plans in the marketplaces that would be created by Obamacare. It was not the more robust version of the public option that the Congressional Progressive Caucus had pushed for, but the bill was broadly considered more aggressive, and the two chambers planned to hash out their differences in a conference committee. Two weeks earlier, Democrats had held a Senate primary contest, pitting Capuano against Attorney General Martha Coakley. Former President Bill Clinton, EMILY’s List, and other party leaders got behind Coakley. The only statewide official in the race, she easily dispatched of Capuano in the December primary. “They said that women don’t have much luck in Massachusetts politics,” she declared at her party that night. “And we believed that it was quite possible that that luck was about to change.” Assured of victory in the coming January general election, she tried that luck and departed for a two-week vacation in the Caribbean. Yet Capuano returned to Washington shaken by what he’d seen on the campaign trail. He was invited to brief a private gathering of House Democrats in the basement of the Capitol. He leaned into a standing microphone, looked around the room at his colleagues, and, according to one of the lawmakers present, delivered a two-word speech: “You’re screwed.” As the gathered House Democrats gradually realized they had heard the extent of his speech, the silence was punctuated only by soft, nervous laughter. Later, Capuano elaborated on the theme: Everywhere he went in Massachusetts, he said, he met people who were absolutely livid at the anemic approach to job creation in the wake of the crisis. That rage, he warned, was going to be turned against Democrats at the polls if they didn’t deliver. Coakley, still on the beach, saw it too late. In January 2010, Scott Brown, the butt of jokes for his nude Cosmo centerfold, delivered a stunning upset, depriving Democrats of their 60-vote supermajority. That meant that any bill that would emerge from conference committee would need at least one Republican to support it, or Democrats would have to nuke the filibuster. Neither possibility appeared likely, and the fate of bill was suddenly in doubt. Democrats, including Pelosi ally Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, began writing its obituary. Offered Frank: I feel strongly that the Democratic majority in congress must respect the process and make no effort to bypass the electoral results. If Martha Coakley had won, I believe we could have worked out a reasonable compromise between the House and Senate health care bills. But since Scott Brown has won and the Republicans now have 41 votes in the senate, that approach is no longer appropriate. I am hopeful that some Republican senators will be willing to discuss a revised version of health care reform. Because I do not think that the country would be well served by the health care status quo. But our respect for democratic procedures must rule out any effort to pass a health care bill as if the Massachusetts election had not happened. Going forward, I hope there will be a serious effort to change the senate rule which means that 59 are not enough to pass major legislation, but those are the rules by which the health care bill was considered, and it would be wrong to change them in the middle of this process. “If [Coakley] loses, it’s over,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., before the votes were tallied. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., facing his own re-election, was inclined to back burner the ACA, with New York Sen. Charles Schumer, the No. 3 Democrat in the Senate, urging him to move to a jobs bill. But even on election night, there was at least one politician who wasn’t giving up. “We don’t say a state that already has health care should determine whether the rest of the country should,” Pelosi said. “We will get the job done. I’m very confident. I’ve always been confident.” The reaction from White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel had been the opposite, and he began pushing to back off the ACA and instead do piecemeal reform focused largely on expanding care for children. The White House, Obama included, began sending mixed signals about whether it wanted to go big or small, with Obama endorsing a plan that included “the core elements” of reform. “I would advise that we try to move quickly to coalesce around those elements of the package that people agree on,” Obama said in one interview. Pelosi, in a conference call later that month with House leadership, dubbed Emanuel an “incrementalist” and mocked the small-ball idea as “kiddie care.” The House would be going big, she said. To do it, the lower chamber would pass the version of the ACA that had already moved through the Senate. And the Senate would use the reconciliation process, which requires just 50 votes but is only available for legislation that impacts the budget, in order to make some changes to the original bill. “I was a mid-level staffer on the Hill during the original ACA fight. I vividly remember the feeling on Capitol Hill the week after Scott Brown won — suddenly the wheels were coming off. People were talking about scuttling a major bill and doing something piecemeal,” recalled Ezra Levin, who would later become a co-founder of Indivisible, a progressive political organization. He said that he and his eventual co-founder Leah Greenberg, also a Hill staffer at the time, drafted an op-ed they never published, since Pelosi’s push made the issue moot. The unpublished piece argued that “abandoning the ACA would turn off millennial idealists like us from the possibilities of politics. Why work in government, policy, and politics if the result of a generational win like 2008 resulted in barely anything at all? But Pelosi saved it. She demonstrated serious leadership at a time of real uncertainty. It was, corny as it sounds, inspirational. And tens of millions of Americans got health insurance as a result of that leadership in that moment.” The Affordable Care Act, even the House-passed version, was a flawed piece of legislation, for a host of reasons, some that can be laid at Pelosi’s feet and some that can’t. But as an act of legislative prowess, her revival of it remains a signature accomplishment.
Just ahead of the final vote, Pelosi sat down with progressive reporters and bloggers for a last pre-passage interview. She relished her victory over Emanuel and the incrementalists. “My biggest fight was against those who want to do something incremental versus those who want to do something comprehensive. We have won that,” she said proudly. “In our midst, there’s the small-bill crowd — here,” she said, referring to the Capitol, then added, gesturing out the window behind her, where Pennsylvania Avenue stretched to the White House, “and there.”
Was the ACA perfect? Obviously not. But blame Joe Lieberman & the other D Senators who watered it down for that. Pelosi fought for the progressive version of the bill and rallied her caucus to get it across the finish line. Quite simply, it would not have happened without her. — Leah Greenberg (@Leahgreenb) November 19, 2018
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Solo Is Disaster - Deadpool 2 Down- Infinity Continues
Solo - A Star Wars Story is a disaster in India with collections of just 35-40 lakhs nett. The Star Wars brand has little value in India as none of the Star Wars films have ever done well in India and that goes for the original Star Wars film of the 70's which is one of the biggest blockbusters ever in Hollywood but was a washout in India.
Deadpool 2 has dropped in the second week with second Friday collections being around 85% down from the first Friday. The english version has some some collections which has helped to collect in the 1.25-1.50 crore nett range. If it was as bad as Hindi and regional then the film would not even had 1 crore nett. The collections of Deadpool 2 till date are as follows.
First Week - 41,00,00,000
Friday - 1,35,00,000
TOTAL - 42,35,00,000
Avengers - Infinity War is still continuing to run in its fifth week and will hit 225 crore nett at the end of its fifth weekend.
The collections of Avengers - Infinity War till date is as follows
Week One - 1,56,52,00,000
Week Two - 46,93,00,000
Week Three - 15,88,00,000
Week Four - 4,75,00,000 apprx
Friday - 20,00,000 apprx
TOTAL - 2,24,28,00,000 apprx
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Über die SPD-Beteiligungsgesellschaft DDVG funkt die SPD in viele Tageszeitungen hinein.
Wie der Journalist und Herausgeber des Magazins „Tichys Einblick“, Roland Tichy, mitteilte, hatte er seinen Artikel „Wie SPD in die Zeitungen kommt – Zeitungen, auf die die SPD heimlich und indirekt Einfluss nimmt“ zurückgenommen, weil er sich einem großen Druck von außen ausgesetzt sah. Ironischer Weise drehte es sich bei besagtem Artikel um die immer größer werdende Einflussnahme der SPD auf Medien über die Beteiligungsgesellschaft DDVG der SPD.
Der AfD-Bundestagsabgeordnete Thomas Ehrhorn, stellvertretendes Mitglied im Bundestagsausschuss für Kultur und Medien, betrachtet das mit Sorge: „Die zunehmende Beteiligung der SPD an Medienunternehmen und die damit verbundene Einschränkung der Medienfreiheit hat überhandgenommen. Ob als größter Anteilseigner, wie bei der deutschlandweit agierenden Madsack-Gruppe, oder dem Zeitungsverlag Neue Westfälische mit einhundertprozentiger Beteiligung, nimmt die SPD-Beteiligungsgesellschaft Einfluss auf über fünfzig Tageszeitungen.“
Wenn die ehemalige SPD-Bundesschatzmeisterin Wettig-Danielmeier damit zitiert wird, dass selbst dort, wo nur eine Minderheitsbeteiligung vorliegt, in den Verlagen nichts mehr gegen die SPD laufen könne, besteht Handlungsbedarf. Ich werde mich dafür einsetzen, dass Zeitungen künftig auf ihre wirtschaftlichen Verbindungen mit Parteien deutlich hinweisen und derartige Verflechtungen, wenn es um Lokalzeitungen geht, grundsätzlich unterbunden werden müssen. Wo Medien unerkannt zum Parteiensprachrohr werden, ist politische Korruption nicht mehr fern.“
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CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Deven Hunter was fed up with losing to Stanford.
The Oregon State senior forward had lost all her previous career games to the Cardinal. In fact, the Beavers hadn't defeated Stanford in the past 29 tries.
Hunter had 19 points with 12 rebounds and No. 12 Oregon State rallied to beat No. 11 Stanford 58-50 on Sunday night. The last time Oregon State beat Stanford was in 2001, an 81-65 victory in Corvallis.
Jamie Weisner added 18 points, including a key 3-pointer with just under a minute left, as the Beavers (14-3, 5-1 Pac-12) erased a 15-point third-quarter deficit.
Weisner said Hunter made her intentions clear during a late timeout: "We were all trying to calm Deven down, but she's `No, no, I'm not getting blown out by this team four years in a row."
Kailee Johnson had 14 points and Erica McCall added 12 for the Cardinal (14-4, 4-2 Pac-12).
Hunter's 3-pointer cut Stanford's lead to 46-40 with 6:14 left, before Weisner added a jumper and Katie McWilliams nailed a 3 to get Oregon State within two with 4:46 to go. The Beavers had a chance to tie it but Weisner missed one of a pair of free throws. It didn't matter, because she hit a 3-pointer that gave Oregon State a 48-46 lead with 3:03 left.
Weisner sealed it with a 3-pointer that gave the Beavers a 55-48 lead with 57 seconds left. She pumped her fists as the crowd at Gill Coliseum erupted.
Oregon State and Stanford are among five ranked teams in the Pac-12. USC, which was ranked No. 25, fell 69-60 at Washington. Arizona State, the league's top-ranked team at No. 10, beat Utah 80-60 to remain undefeated in conference play.
"You know you're going to get (Stanford's) absolute `A' game when you play them especially with what's riding on it, like it was tonight. And for 30 minutes it was like a depressing scene out there," Oregon State coach Scott Rueck said.
"We're off our game, it's not fun, it's a struggle. When you're off your game it's just miserable," Rueck said. "Then, things changed. The last 12 or 13 minutes were an absolute blur. It's a stretch of basketball we'll never forget."
Although there was some speculation she might return for the Cardinal, the Beavers remained without Sydney Wiese because of a right hand injury. Wiese has missed seven games.
McCall started for Stanford after missing Friday night's 64-62 victory at Oregon.
"I thought we did a really good job for three quarters and the fourth quarter really got away from us," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. "The game is four quarters and it doesn't do any good to win three of them."
Hunter had eight points and three rebounds early and Oregon State led 12-11 after the first quarter. But when OSU's shooting went cold in the second quarter, Stanford responded and went up 24-16 after McCall's jumper.
Stanford's 11-0 run was broken when Hunter hit a 3-pointer and Weisner added a pullup jumper to narrow the gap to 30-21 at the half.
The Cardinal stretched the lead to 38-23 in the third quarter after McCall's layup, but Oregon State pulled within 40-30 heading into the last period.
The Beavers were coming off a 70-48 rout of Cal on Friday night.
TIP INS
Stanford: The Cardinal are 53-7 all-time against Oregon State. ... Stanford's other loss came against Arizona State on Jan. 4.
Oregon State: The last time the two teams met was back in February, when the Cardinal defeated the Beavers 69-58 in Corvallis. The loss delayed Oregon State from clinching its first conference regular-season title. ... Oregon State's lone conference loss came at UCLA on Jan. 4.
HUNTER'S 3s:
Hunter finished with a career-best five 3-pointers. In total, Oregon State had eight compared to just two for Stanford.
"To be honest, in warmups I didn't miss one," she said. "So I was like `Don't think about it. Don't think about it. Because then you're going to miss every single one!"
UP NEXT
Stanford visits USC next Friday night.
Oregon State visits Utah on Friday night.
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Monero Price Analysis Signalling a Rally
Monero (XMR), the 10th largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization (according to CoinMarketCap.com), is now riding the bulls. Trading volume is picking up in light of the recent reversal seen in Monero’s price. Down 70% since its record high (on December 20, 2017), it has finally reversed its course. The crypto has been trading in the green and treading upwards at a steady pace. XMR is up 50% over the past 10 days. One fundamental reason driving the demand for Monero is the shift in investor preference towards privacy coins.This has especially taken prominence in the light of increasingly reported instances of crypto thefts and fraud. (Read, Less Risk, More Return: 4 Privacy Coins That Are Now Outperforming Bitcoin, for our analysis of privacy coins’ performance with regards to other cryptocurrencies.)
1 Fundamental and 4 Technical Indicators Now Support the Monero Price Rally
From a technical perspective, we currently see 4 solid reasons for supporting XMR. The crypto has seen 3 prominent swing highs since the beginning of the year. However, none have been strong enough to break the long-term downward sloping trend line (dark green in chart above). However, the mood is entirely different now. XMR seems to be setting the stage for a price rally. Factors supporting this stance, include:
The August 31st breakout marks XMR’s entry into the bullish territory, well supported by 3 other technical indicators. Monero price is steadily treading towards its immediate resistance level of $148, with a high probability that this level could be breached anytime soon. The RSI above 70, confirms market bullishness. The relative strength index (or RSI) is a momentum indicator which indicates strength in market movement. Anything beyond the neutral 50 indicates strength in market trading volume that is driving the current trend. A number below 50 signals weakness in market activity driving the current trend. A bullish crossover is about to be formed anytime now. The 14-day simple moving average line (SMA-14) is about to crossover the SMA-50 from below.
However, such breakouts are sometimes followed by a downward correction towards the trendline. Subsequently, it bounces back from the trendline support to confirm the bullishness. So, those looking to enter Monero (XMR) could watch for any short-term correction here.
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DAPHNA I’m sorry but I still, I mean — you can see the Hudson River! From the bathroom! This apartment ... Really, Jonah? Boxers and black socks? Is that supposed to do it for me? Let me — I would never want you to do it for me, you’re my cousin and, gross. Just, like, if you’re at all interested in people of the opposite sex who are not your cousins? [She gestures at his current get-up.] Don’t.
MR. HARMON “My play takes place in real time in one space, so the later I can start the action, the better. Her coming out of the bathroom is the latest possible beginning. I don’t think that first line will ever get a laugh, but it establishes that she doesn’t live there, and it hopefully sends a message about the tone, which is super important in a comedy. Also, when you see a man and a woman dressed like this, you assume they’re romantically involved. So I had to get the cousin reference in there.”
The Good Mother
By Francine Volpe
IN PREVIEWS, opens Nov. 15 at the Acorn Theater at Theater Row.
PREMISE Primping for an evening out, a young mother natters on to her baby sitter.
LARISSA I’ll never forget what else he said to me he said — and it’s a simple thing he said — he said, he said to me anyway he looks at me and he says, he looks at me and he says he goes: “Remember who you are.” ... What do you mean? Who am I? I don’t know who I am, who am I supposed to be? What am I supposed to remember? I’m a child.
MS. VOLPE “This line woke me up in the middle of the night in my freezing loft in Williamsburg. I had a phone conversation with my father that ended with: ‘One more thing: Remember who you are.’ I don’t belabor the first line of my plays. (I mean, I belabor every line I’ve ever written.) But in this play and many others the line presented itself to me. And as a writer you have to assume that something stirring within you is going to stir within others too.”
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Last week, former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions made it official by announcing his candidacy for the Republican nomination for the 2020 U.S. Senate election. Since announcing his candidacy, his opponents have charged him to be part of the so-called Washington establishment given his 20-year tenure as a U.S. Senator and his time in the early part of the Trump administration.
During an appearance on Birmingham, AL radio Talk 99.5 “Matt & Aunie” program, Sessions addressed those criticisms. He dismissed the Washington establishment moniker and said if reelected to the U.S. Senate, he would represent the people of Alabama.
“I feel fresh having been out for a year and resting up, number one,” Sessions said. “But number two, everybody promises to be this new great thing. How many of them deliver? I delivered. I was the only senator that supported Donald Trump. I led the fight for years on immigration. I helped kill the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, which gave the Sultan of Brunei the same vote as the President of the United States in this [European Union] type of agreement.”
“Was I part of the establishment?” he continued. “Nobody that knows Washington would say that. I’ve been the voice for the people. I believe the average American working person is not being respected in Washington. They don’t know our problems. They spend too much time in fundraising groups with these very nice corporate executives and not enough time dealing with a family that wonders where they’re going to get $400 for a set of tires for their car. Are they going to put it on a credit card at 25% interest? This is the world.”
“Finally, we begin to see in the Trump agenda an increase in wages,” Sessions added. “I would just say to you the idea that Jeff Sessions is going to be part of the Washington establishment is ludicrous. I deny that. I’m going to represent our people.”
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor
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Posted on July 18, 2011
Carney: Obama Never Banned Lobbyists In WH, Just No "Special Access"
White House press secretary Jay Carney is asked about President Obama's meeting with Microsoft's top lobbyist:
REPORTER: "One of the participants in the President's education roundtable with business leaders was Fred Humphries, whose Microsoft's top lobbyist. Why isn't that a violation of the President's pledge to eliminate access and influence?"
Posted By Email Share
Carney says there were "numerous participants" in the meeting, including a former Bush cabinet secretary. Carney then clarifies Obama's so-called pledge: "The president's promise was not to eliminate or prohibit lobbyists from entering the property [White House], but to not give them special access."In 2008, then President-elect Obama and his transition team said he would prohibit lobbyists from working in his administration or influencing policy decisions.Earlier this year, NPR reported President Obama's administration started giving "waivers" to certain lobbyists so they could get around his self-imposed ban.Carney did not explain the difference between "special access" and participating in a meeting with the President.
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Sevilla fullback Sébastien Corchia is delighted with his first weeks with the LaLiga club.
Corchia left Lille for Sevilla this summer.
"Sevilla is a great and very old club with many traditions. It is a real first class club in the best championship in the world," said Corchia.
"The players are at a very high level, the coach has the perfect football style for me, and the club has shown this winning mentality so special in international football. I admire that.
"To think that this club has won the title in three of the last four seasons of the Europa League - it's amazing. "
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What is really going on in politics? Get our daily email briefing straight to your inbox Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email
Angela Merkel confronted Barack Obama today over suggestions that US spooks eavesdropped on her mobile phone calls.
The German leader demanded “immediate and comprehensive” clarification from the President.
The exchange came after Berlin received information the German Chancellor’s mobile calls may have been monitored.
Mrs Merkel told Mr Obama it would be “completely unacceptable” if it had taken place.
Her spokesman said: “This would be a serious breach of trust. Such practices should be stopped immediately.”
The confrontation between the leaders came just 24 hours after the US was accused of spying on France – with Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault saying he was “deeply shocked” by the claims that American spooks listened to millions of calls.
Yesterday, a White House official said the President told Mrs Merkel that the US “is not monitoring and will not monitor communications of the Chancellor”.
But in Germany, it was reported the US gave no assurances about what had gone on.
Mr Obama had promised a review of American spies’ activities after the whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed in June the alleged extent of the National Security Agency ’s surveillance network.
(Image: Getty)
German magazine Der Spiegel, which has published stories based on Snowden’s leaks, claimed details about Mrs Merkel’s calls came from its investigations.
France’s Le Monde newspaper said on Tuesday the country’s diplomats in Washington and at the UN had been spied on.
The NSA internal memos obtained by the paper detailed the use of a surveillance programme, known as Genie.
The US ambassador was summoned to the French foreign minister after the reports claimed the NSA spied on 70.3 million phone calls in France in just 30 days from December last year.
The information Snowden, a former NSA worker, leaked led to claims of systematic spying by the NSA and CIA globally.
The NSA was forced to admit it had captured email and phone data from millions of Americans.
Snowden, wanted in the US on criminal charges, is in Russia after getting asylum.
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Conspiracies may or may not exist in the NBA. We can only speculate on the matter, but Tim Donaghy, former league referee who spent 15 months in prison over rigging games who may or may not have some insight on how things work, thinks the league wants the Brooklyn Nets to defeat the Toronto Raptors in favor of good ratings.
“(The Raptors) are not only going against the Brooklyn Nets but going against the league office,” Donaghy said in a radio interview in Canada. “They have a very talented team and have to be that much better than the Brooklyn Nets. “In this situation, Brooklyn would be put at an advantage. A Brooklyn-Miami matchup (in round 2) would bring great ratings and that’s what this is all about for the NBA and the league offices — bringing in as many dollars as they can. … Some of the things that the league does and continues to do puts these teams at a disadvantage — like the Toronto Raptors — because moving forward they won’t bring in the big dollars for the league.” via Disgraced former referee Tim Donaghy claims NBA has pressured officials to call games for Nets in Raptors series | New York Daily News
It’s not often that former league officials speak out on what the league is or isn’t doing, but Donaghy’s speculation shouldn’t shock many considering the situation that forced him out of the league. He isn’t a trustworthy source, but his comment makes some sense. Fighting for a new television deal, ratings will be ever important for the NBA this season. The more ratings they draw during the playoffs, the more revenue the league will get from networks such as ESPN. It’d actually give them leverage, forcing more money from network companies.
The league won’t likely respond to Donaghy’s allegation, but it’s an interesting comment and forces viewers to keep a keen eye on the Raptors-Nets series as Toronto looks to tie the series 1-1 before heading to Brooklyn
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The now-defunct Calgary Bid Exploration Committee (CBEC) asked the Calgary City Council Monday for an additional CAD $2 million (USD $1.57 million) if the Canadian city wishes to “proceed with a competitive bid.”
Planners warned that if city council doesn’t vote to move forward and approve funding when they reconvene in Chambers next Monday (November 20), “our recommendation would be to not continue.”
CBEC ceased operations last month after developing a comprehensive report revealing that Calgary was capable of organizing the 2026 Olympic Winter Games but the organization stopped short at recommending that the city move ahead with the project, instead suggesting that City Council investigate whether five financial principles could exist before determining the next steps.
CBEC only spent about CAD $3.5 million of the CAD $5 million allocated for the research and returned the surplus to city coffers.
But City Director Kyle Ripley told Council that now the creation of a bidding corporation (BidCo) early in 2018 would be required in order to deliver a 2026 bid book to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) by the January 2019 deadline. He said the project will “require additional funds in the order of $2.0 million; however, the exact amount requires further investigation and refinement.”
The urgency is due to an accelerated schedule announced by the IOC last month.
However even if the City Council approves the funding, it will still have more time to decide whether it will invest an additional $25 to $30 million to formalize and submit a bid. The application deadline is March 31, 2018 before the IOC decides which cities are invited to move forward in October 2018. The final election will take place September 2019 in Milan, Italy.
Innsbruck in Austria dropped out of the race last month after losing a referendum. Sion faces a difficult referendum next June if the Swiss city hopes to remain in the race. Sapporo in Japan as well as Telemark, Norway and U.S. cities Denver, Reno-Tahoe and Salt Lake City are all considering bids, but could also be preparing to host the 2030 Games instead.
That leaves Calgary in with a compelling opportunity.
“The competitive landscape is changing in favour of Calgary,” Ripley told Council, later elaborating that as cities drop out of the race, there is an opportunity to have “a different conversation” with the IOC.
He referenced the IOC’s dual-allocation in September of the Summer Games to Paris in 2024 and LA in 2028 as evidence that the Olympic organization is willing to work differently when its options are limited.
He warned, however, that could change if the city doesn’t move quickly.
“Currently we are not positioned well for race day,” Ripley said.
“If we continue at our current pace, we run the risk of not showing up prepared for the race.
“Unless we are showing up race ready we are in essence pulling ourselves out of the bid process.
Ripley maintained that the bid is still a project by Calgary and would not include Alberta’s Capital Edmonton, later adding that planners are working to understand how the city could move forward with only one arena for the Games. Suggestions have been made to leverage the new Rogers Place arena in Edmonton, and the IOC has relaxed rules and is allowing events to be hosted across a broader geographical footprint.
Councillor Jyoti Gondek pushed for confirmation of financial support from Provincial and Federal government partners, a critical bid component not yet secured by the Calgary project.
Councillor Druh Farrell observed during the debate that the decision by City Council to bid seems “predisposed” and though she wouldn’t be supporting the project with her vote – she understood it could well move forward.
But Farrell warned that the risks haven’t been well explained and the IOC was moving too slow with its reforms, only reacting when another city drops out of contention.
“Are we going to be the only one wanting to date the IOC, at the end of the day, because everyone sees the relationship as toxic?” she asked.
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V. Khouri - Carolina Thunderbirds
By his own estimation, Scott Brand got to spend about 24 hours as the most brilliant man in hockey history. Then he spent the next 24 as the much-maligned pseudo-mastermind behind one of the worst ideas the sport has ever seen.
You see, Brand, president and GM of the Federal League’s Carolina Thunderbirds, had himself an idea during the off-season, one that could change the game forever. It was a simple modification to the rulebook, too: he wanted to move the shootout to the pre-game proceedings, ahead of the opening faceoff, with it holding all the usual implications should a game remain tied following overtime. It took some convincing — of the league, of Thunderbirds ownership, of his players and coaching staff — but eventually Brand got the green light. And one weekend in late-November, the pre-game shootout made its debut when Carolina hosted the Port Huron Prowlers in a back-to-back set.
On that first night, the idea was a smash. Fans ate it up. Players did, as well. It was hard not to, too, when the Thunderbirds rolled to a 4-0 victory and the pre-game shootout was entirely inconsequential to the outcome. But the Saturday night meeting was a different story. After Port Huron won the skills competition, the two teams played to a 4-4 draw through 60 minutes. Overtime solved nothing. Thus, the Prowlers earned the 5-4 victory in what Brand called “the best worst-case scenario.” The reaction from the Thunderbirds faithful was decidedly unpleasant.
“I got probably things close to a death threat,” Brand told The Hockey News, adding he was shocked at the vulgarity directed his way. “People really being nasty about it.”
That’s not to say Brand doesn’t understand. He does. He gets the emotional investment fans have in the outcome of the games. But Brand sticks by the idea and what it can do, in theory, to inject added excitement into the contest in a non-traditional market. He said the period leading up the extra frame during the 5-4 loss to Port Huron, when Carolina knew they had to either score in the dying minutes of regulation or rely on an overtime winner, was thrilling hockey that required a departure from normal strategy. The coaching staff made adjustments. And that led to an overtime free-for-all that those with the best seats in the house enjoyed.
“I can tell you the players liked it,” Brand said. “They thought the last three minutes of that overtime was the most intense hockey we played…We pulled our goaltender, there were three goal-mouth scrambles in the last minute and even our coach said it was playoff intensity. So, I got it, the players got it, the coaching staff got it, but unfortunately, the fans didn’t get it.”
Nor will they have the chance to understand, either. Three weeks after the rule was instituted, Brand and Co. made the decision to shelve it indefinitely. In a sense, it was Brand sticking by his word. He said at the time the pre-game shootout was announced that the Thunderbirds would strike the rule change if the fan response was overwhelmingly negative. It was. And so the ill-fated pre-game shootout met an early grave.
That doesn’t mean the rule was an out-and-out bad idea, however, nor that it’s about to go the way of “Charles Finley and the white skates or when the AHL made the bluelines two-feet wide,” never to be seen again. The hybrid icing rule in the USHL, which Brand implemented and has since been adopted at the NHL level, wasn’t universally beloved when it arrived. So, maybe there will be a revival for the pre-game shootout, one that comes when fans are willing to be a bit more open-minded about the results. And why not, particularly when, in Brand’s mind, it didn’t necessarily have any impact on the final score?
“People will say, ‘Oh, it cost you two points!’ It didn’t cost me two points. It cost me one. And that’s assuming we would have won the shootout, and our team is awful in shootouts anyway,” Brand laughed. “So I have nothing to lose there.”
If the pre-game shootout comes back, though, would Brand make any changes? Not quite. In fact, looking back, he seems to have only one regret.
“If there was a mistake made it’s that I probably should have just stuck with it and kept trying it for another two weeks,” Brand said. Then he paused, moved his mouth from the phone receiver and hollered to someone in the background. When he continued, he was chuckling: “And we have yet to have a game go to overtime since then and we’re on an 11-game winning streak. So, I’m single-handedly taking credit because of that for our 11-game win streak. So, I think it was a great rule.”
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BALDWIN TWP, MI -- Plastic Trim International is aiming to boost the workforce and economy in Iosco County by investing $16.1 million and creating 210 new jobs.
The plastics company was approved for a $1.5 million performance based grant from the Michigan Strategic Fund board to invest $16.1 million into its Baldwin Township manufacturing plant and Tawas City logistics center.
The investment, officials say, will generate 210 new jobs with an average wage of $24 per hour.
The investment is going toward a 42,000-square-foot expansion and upgraded technologies at the company's Baldwin Township plant. Its Tawas City logistics center will also have some growth due to the increased production in Baldwin Township, according to officials.
"This project demonstrates how the state's attraction strategy reaches all parts of the state, and provides key support in the intense competition for new businesses locating and expanding in Michigan," said Jeff Mason, chief executive officer of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
Penny Payea, managing director for the Tawas Area Chamber of Commerce, said the Tawas area is always in need of jobs. She said the area is best known for water and tourism, but natives who live there "relish for job opportunities" like the ones Plastic Trim International is creating.
Lindsy Adkins, business services professional for Michigan Works! Region 7B said she remembers Kalitta Air, an American Cargo Airline based in Ypsilanti, generating a lot of jobs at its Oscoda location. But besides the cargo airline, Adkins couldn't recall any other recent, large employment opportunities in Iosco County similar to the announcement made on Tuesday, April 24.
Adkins said Michigan Works! Plans to help the plastics company with their employment needs.
Currently, there's an estimated 8,750 employable workforce in Iosco County in a population of 25,400, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. About 16 percent of that workforce is in manufacturing with about the same employed in health-care services. The additional 210 jobs at Plastic Trim marks a 15 percent increase in the county's manufacturing employment, according to MEDC officials.
Plastic Trim manufactures trim, molding, decorative parts, body structural parts, set frame systems, and roof racks for General Motors, Chrysler, Volkswagen, Nissan, and BMW.
The Company is a subsidiary of Minth Group US Holdings, Inc., a China-based manufacturer of trim, molding, decorative parts, body structural parts, set frame systems, and roof racks for the automotive industry.
"This project will increase the skills of the current workforce, train new hires in the skilled trades and have a significant impact on the community," said Mark Berdan, executive director, Michigan Works! Region 7B.
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I know a guy who did this with a Lynx and she got scratched and bitten for the trouble.
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A series of pencil drawings by a north London artist has been amazing art critics.
Kelvin Okafor, from Tottenham, has scooped a number of national awards and exhibited at galleries across the country.
The 27-year-old Middlesex University Fine Art graduate's drawings are often mistaken for photographs.
Sarah Harris reports.
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As revealed last night by Motorsport.com, the FIA and owners of the former Force India team have been working hard in recent days to create a new entry and new team for the Silverstone-based outfit.
Following intense scrutiny of the legal situation surrounding the takeover of the Force India team by a consortium led by Lawrence Stroll, the FIA has subsequently approved an all-new entry.
It means the former Force India entry has been officially annulled, with the FIA ruling that the team is excluded from the world championship with immediate effect. This action forfeits its constructors’ championship points.
Racing Point’s team principal Otmar Szafnauer said: “The new Racing Point Force India Team is delighted to be able to race when the championship resumes in Belgium this weekend.
“This heralds a new and exciting chapter for us. Just a few weeks ago, an uncertain future lay ahead, with more than 400 jobs at risk; now the new team has the backing of a consortium of investors, led by Lawrence Stroll, who believe in us as a team, in our expertise and in our potential to achieve success on the track.
“We are grateful to the FIA, the Joint Administrators and Formula One Management for their support in helping us achieve such a welcome outcome and ultimately, we trust, for the sport and its many fans.”
FIA president Jean Todt added: “I am very pleased that a strong, positive outcome has been reached and welcome the mid-season entry of Racing Point Force India.
“Creating an environment of financial stability in Formula One is one of the key challenges faced by the sport, however thanks to the hard work of the FIA, the Joint Administrators, Racing Point and Formula One Management we have a situation now that safeguards the future for all of the highly-talented employees, and will maintain the fair and regulated championship competition for the second half of the season.”
New F1 constructors' standings
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How can you see into my eyes like open doors?
Leading you down, into my core
Where I’ve become so numb Leading you down, into my coreWhere I’ve become so numb
Without a soul
My spirit’s sleeping somewhere cold
Until you find it there, and lead it, baaaaaack, home
Wake me up
WAKE ME UP INSIDE!
I can’t wake up
WAKE ME UP INSIDE
SAVE ME
Call my name and save me from the dark
HI. ARE YOU TOO BROKE TO MAKE THE META KONOSUBA LIST IN ENGLISH? ARE EVEN THE JP BUILDS TOO EXPENSIVE FOR YOU? YOU’RE SCARED YOUR SET 1 KONOSUBA CARDS WILL ROT IN THE CORNER OF YOUR CLOSET SINCE YOU DIDN’T BUY ENOUGH MAGIC TRAIT CARDS? FEAR NOT, SALTNORI IS GOING TO TEACH YOU THE WAYS WITH THIS NEW DECK DECK PROFILE FROM AN ANON. AND FOR SOME REASON THIS TIME, THIS ENTIRE ARTICLE WILL BE WRITTEN IN ALL CAPS FOR MAXIMUM EDGE.
Jokes aside, ALLCAPS is hurting my brain so let’s do this normally. I can’t say for certain but if you basically have all the set 1 cards in this list along with a few of the promos for going out to your locals and actually playing (unlike me who potatos at home), then you’re in for some luck! More than 90% of this build will be from set 1 and the only expensive cards will be at level 3. Plus, this deck will be plenty playable for a budget build.
The Church of Borden can get things done. And because you can play leafa counters, even if it doesn’t go well, it’s not your fault!
It’s society’s fault that rogue and budget decks don’t work out!
You can run away from unpleasant things! That doesn’t mean you’ve lost! Because sometimes as they say, scooping turn 1 is winning by saving time!
The answer you figured out after doubting yourself is usually something you’ll regret, no matter what you choose. If you’re gonna eat damage anyway, do whatever’s easiest for you at the moment!
Do not fear growing getting rekt! Not even God knows whether you’re gonna cancel, so you should, at least, be happy now!
ERIS PADS HER CHE-
1x DUDE WHO DESERVED THE SP THE MOST
[A] [(1) Discard a card from your hand to the Waiting Room] When this is placed from hand to the Stage, you may pay cost. If so, look at up to 3 cards from top of your Library, choose up to 1 of them and put it in your hand, and put the rest in the Waiting Room.
Holy crap I swear these images looked bigger before I copy pasted them. Anyway, Kazuma is a useful tech for digging and hand-fixing and can be good at any stage in the game as long as you have stock. I should also emphasize that he can grab CLIMAXES or events and DON’T BE THAT PERSON WHO SHOWS WHAT YOU GRABBED AFTERWARDS TO YOUR OPPONENT. Seriously DON’T! Not even axis cult members would do something that stupid.
2x RIPPED CRUSADER WHO SOMEHOW LOSES TO CABBAGES
[C] During your Opponent’s turn, this gains +X Power. X = 4000 times Level of the Character Opposite this.
[A] At the start of your Opponent’s Attack Phase, you may move this to an empty Slot in your Front Row that has an Opponent’s Character Opposite that Slot.
Man, is this not the definition of beautiful design? Not only does this Darkness do exactly what she does in the show but she can also get BIG at certain parts of the game. If you happen to play with people who tend to double/triple field aggressively at level 0, you can actually bamboozle them with this card by running in front of a weaker card they didn’t expect. Mind games people! For that reason, I like cards like this when they come out at turn 2 and beyond to abuse those extra attackers.
More importantly, this card can potentially dodge on-reverse effects especially during that crucial transition from level 0 to 1 for your opponents when they slam down that climax. During this phase your opponent’s field will be full so as long as you have an open slot you can use this to your advantage! I suggest using this against Yuuki Sinon players (if they still exist that is) for the maximum laughs.
3x CHUUNIBYOU LOLI WHO IS PROBABLY TERRIBLE AT CHESS
[A] Discard a Climax card from your hand to the Waiting Room] When this is placed from hand to the Stage, you may pay cost. If so, choose a Character with either ::Adventurer:: or ::Magic:: in your Waiting Room and return it to your hand.
[A] At the start of your Opponent’s Attack Phase, you may move this to an empty Slot in the Front Row.
I don’t like 1k runner. It’s weak and puny and irritating and it can’t trade everywhere.
However this card is an exception since its utility is useful throughout almost all stages of the game. Its ability to turn your climax-filled hand can salvage any relevant character, and by relevant I mean NOT ERIS. My rule of thumb is to always run 4 runners in every build I play if I’m running them at all EXCEPT for maybe Konosuba, because this secondary effect allows you to slot other starting cards without sacrificing too much utility. This goes for outside this deck profile as well, no matter what build (unless it’s themed) I highly suggest running a minimum of 2 these runners if possible.
But yeah you can’t grab Eris with this effect. Not that its super important or anything because the only Goddess you need in your life is Aqua.
3x HIGH ROLL BRAINSTORM
[C] Your other Character in the Front Row Center Slot gains “[A] ENCORE[Discard a Character card from your hand to the Waiting Room]”.
[S] BRAINSTORM [(1) Rest this] Flip over the top 4 cards of your Library and put them in the Waiting Room. For each Climax card revealed this way, choose up to 1 Cost 0 or lower Character in your Waiting Room and put them in separate Slots on the Stage.
Our first Aqua card features some dank high risk high reward plays. If you’re feeling lucky, you can tap this card and maybe hit a climax to bring out a level 1 to smash your opponent with. At level 0, there are rarely any series that can get above 5k unless they shit out a level 1 at level 0 just like this which makes trading super easy if you pull this off. However, this card is not without its downsides since it can only bring out cost 0 or lower characters. The longer the game goes on, the more you’re going to wish you had a traditional salvage or search brainstorm that adds your target to hand.
However, it is also important to remember that Aqua gives hand encore which will be extremely useful for having strong field presence with walls or Early Plays. Aqua sama is a merciful goddess who gives people second chances and your cards deserve that too. For that reason, you should probably put your most important front row cards that you don’t want to lose in the middle so you can use them again next turn.
3x OVERRATED GODDESS WHO IS ACTUALLY FLAT AS MEGUMIN
[A] When this is placed from hand to the Stage, choose 1 of your other Characters with either ::Adventurer:: or ::Goddess::, and that Character gains +1000 Power for the turn.
[A] [Return this to your hand] When your Climax is placed in the Climax Zone, you may pay cost. If so, draw a card, and discard a card from your hand to the Waiting Room.
Yes I know, I know… What the hell is an Eris card doing here? Well the Goddess of Water happens to also give her rivals a chance…
Let’s be honest, unless you’re a new player you already know exactly what kind of level 1 game we’re going to play based on this card alone since it has so much synergy with a specific card. And since this deck profile is meant for most of you folks with existing set 1 Konosuba cards, I’ll do you a favor and spend the least time on Eris as possible :3
3x TOTALLY NOT ERIS’ EARLY PLAY CONDITION OR ANYTHING
[A] [Put a card from your hand in Clock] When this is placed from hand to the Stage, you may pay cost. If so, search your Library for up to 1 ::Goddess:: Character, reveal it, put it in your hand, and shuffle your Library.
OK, I swear we’re playing this card mostly for the ability to search Aqua cards :^)
Although it’s not the greatest ability, the option to clock yourself from hand to force level yourself to level 1 is something to keep in mind if you really want to gain a lead on your opponent depending on the circumstances. Alright, and let us pretend like we’re resorting to playing Early Play Eris or something… Running more copies of this card would allow us to fufill her condition more easily. But surely we wouldn’t do something so blasphemous right?
1x A SET 2 CARD! ABOUT FRICKEN TIME!
[A] When this is placed from hand to the Stage, reveal the top card of your Library. If it’s a Character with either ::Adventurer::, ::Goddess::, or ::Axis Cultist::, put it in your hand and discard a card from your hand to the Waiting Room. (Otherwise put it back where it was)
[A] [(2)] When this is placed from hand to the Stage, you may pay cost. If so, return all cards in your Waiting Room to your Library and shuffle your Library.
Ok, so let me get this straight off my chest, you’re not going to have enough stock to be abusing this refresh ability like meta Konosuba so unless you’re reaaaaaaaaaaaally desperate, I would start having second thoughts. However it would be a stretch to say we’re not running this card as a 1-of for that ability since just having the option to do this is really powerful even in the decks that can’t build stock too well. I do have to say that I’ve been saved by this ability many times more than I would like to admit sadly.
Otherwise, this card is quite neat for hand-fixing since unlike Megumin runner, she can actually grab Goddess cards…
Wait, are you accusing me again of implying that we’re running this to grab Eris more easily? SMH you’re being delusional. Go eat Axis followers’ soap or something.
3x DANK PROMO YOU GET IF YOU’RE NOT A POTATO
[C] Your other Character in the Front Row Center Slot gains +1000 Power.
[A] This ability activates up to 3 times per turn. When your other Character is placed from the Waiting Room to the Stage, that Character gains +500 Power and “[A] ENCORE [Discard a Character card from your hand to the Waiting Room” for the turn.
A very interesting card indeed since it stacks TONS OF POWER into the middle and gives power to any character that was TURN UNDEAD by Aqua sama. This is quite useful for lvel 1 Eri- I mean, ABUSING any characters that you hit with your lovely Aqua brainstorm that we covered earlier. As long as you have the hand size actually, you can do some neat tricks with cards that resolve their effect when they hit waiting room!
NOW, LET US MOVE ONTO OUR LEVEL 1s!
3x SMASH THAT ABUSE BUTTON FOR AQUA
[A] When this is placed from the Stage to the Waiting Room, you may reveal up to 3 cards from top of your Library. If you reveal at least 1 card this way, choose up to 1 Character among them with either ::Adventurer:: or ::Goddess::, put it in your hand, put the rest in the Waiting Room, and discard a card from your hand to the Waiting Room.
YES, you can combo this card with the PR Aqua you get from just joining your weekly tourneys. When this Aqua hits the waiting room during “encore” step, you can first pay cost and hand-fix/mill through your deck and then just ditch another card to encore this to field. Why you ask? Well if you have the hand size to spare, you can actually use this ability to hand-fix AGAIN when this dies on the swing back and mill through your deck once more. Notice how I specifically said if you have the hand size to spare.
Now, I know what you’re probably thinking. The Aqua brainstorm just isn’t enough reason for you to use this dank strategy because it isn’t consistent enough. Well, about that~
2x SLIMED LOLI THAT ONLY LOLICONS FIND ATTRACTIVE
[A] This ability activates up to three times per turn. When your other Character is placed from the Waiting Room to the Stage, this gains +2000 Power for the turn.
OOOOOOH now we’re really hitting the big power levels. Aqua brainstorm + hand encore strategies allow this card to get stupidly big and run over pretty much anything, even some level 2s! If you stack the abilities, you’re going to be reaching powers big enough to potentially even run over Early Plays!
Man, this card would have been even more hilarious had we gotten standby for this set but then again, standby triggers would have probably made this set potentially a bit too strong…
So now that you have an idea with what we’re trying to achieve with this deck, what else better cards are there to pair with this gimmick of shitting out cards from the waiting room? Well there’s another Aqua we can use~
3x STACKED GODDESS
[C] If you have another ‘”Troublemaker” Aqua’, this gains +3000 Power.
Just like how we plan to stack our powers, this Goddess also comes stacked with great ASSETS. BTW, “Troublemaker” Aqua is the brainstorm we play so make sure you have that in the back by the time you play this card… Although if you haven’t realized it by now, you’re probably summoning this card out of all things with this brainstorm. If you bring it out at level 0, you can be sure this card won’t be dying unless your opponent randomly hits level 1 when you least expected it. Unlike your other two cards, this card reaches a respectable number on defense so it has a higher chance of survival, meaning that’s one less card you have to play from hand potentially next turn.
1x WHAT YOU’LL LOOK LIKE AFTER GETTING FREE STOCK
[C] If there are 3 or fewer cards in your Stock, this gains the following ability. “[A] When the Battle Opponent of this becomes Reversed, you may put the top card of your Library in your Stock.”
This is a pretty sugoi tech 1 considering you run cards that can search Goddess trait at level 0 without paying stock and a brainstorm that can potentially bring this out early for some dank gainz. Just don’t be that guy who can’t do basic mental math before starting your attack phase and please count your stock.
Any more copies of this is unnecessary since further copies after you get the initial one off is unlikely, as you’ve probably amassed 3 stock or more which downgrades this card into a 5k vanilla. Unless you use your Aqua refresher, chances that you use this again are slim since it’s not worth using up all that stock to get this off again.
Wait, you’re STILL not satisfied with our level 1 game? FINE.
4x THE WRONG GODDESS BUT WE HAVE NO CHOICE
[A] When your Climax is placed in the Climax Zone, this gains +1500 Power for the turn.
[A] CX COMBO When “Revive” is placed in your Climax Zone, if this is in the Front Row and you have another ::Goddess:: Character, you may choose a Cost 0 or lower Character in your Waiting Room with either ::Adventurer:: or ::Goddess:: and put it in any Slot on the Stage.
Ok, everything was leading up to this point and we just had to put her in. She procs your PR effect for the dank hand encore and attack buff stacking and just has perfect synergy with her level 0 that bounces to hand as it creates space for her to summon a character from waiting room. Furthermore, she makes your Megumin level 1 get STUPIDLY big. She also allows you to play less characters from hand since you’re going to summon them from waiting room anyway.
She even lets you play a character from waiting room over your on-death mill/hand-fix Aqua which you can technically use to proactively go through your deck.
Let’s be real though, because she is ERIS she must have her downsides right? Well there definitely are more than one. She doesn’t exactly give plusses to hand and the combo feels very underwhelming without her level 0 bounce to hand. While she doesn’t have to reverse to net you plusses, she’s also a glass cannon and 100% going to die on the swingback unlike ASTOLFOPHA.
She’s also more useful depending on the time she’s fielded, aka 2 Eris which will give you either a front row attacker and some backrow but the problem issometimes you’ll already have your backrow ready by the time you hit level 1. This causes an issue since you want to ideally field her in multiples for maximum gainz and if you already have 2 backrow slots that means fielding 2 Eris is MUDA. This is something I dislike greatly since I believe one should be rewarded for being able to set up for their level 1 game instead of the opposite. Just look at our pretty boi, when he successfully triple fields he gets u like 10 cards in hand!
Regardless of these issues, we should still play Eris because all our cards basically have high synergy with her and she will get the job done. Although I have yet to introduce the biggest downside…. YOU’RE PLAYING ERIS INSTEAD OF AQUA!
AND NOW, IT IS TIME FOR OUR LEVEL 2 GAME. OH WAIT, BUT WHAT IF I TOLD YOU THERE WERE NO LEVEL 2S IN OUR ROSTER?
Ok then, let’s introduce some 3s that actually comprise of our level 2 game…
1x AQUA THAT MIGHT TOO TOO EXPENSIVE FOR YOU SO WE LIMITED HER NUMBER
[C] If you have 4 or more Characters with either ::Adventurer::, ::Goddess::, or ::Axis Cultist::, this gets -1 Level while in your hand.
[C] During your turn, if all your Characters are either ::Adventurer::, ::Goddess::, or ::Axis Cultist::, this gains +2000 Power.
[A] [Discard a card from your hand to the Waiting Room] When this is placed from hand to the Stage, you may pay cost. If so, put the top card of your Clock in your Stock.
Hmmm if this card eventually spiked to 2480 yen to 3280 and fluctated there in JP… Chances are it’ll be even more expensive in English so let’s be merciful to our wallet for the sake of our sanity.
This card is great mostly for one reason; its condition to be played early. It’s stupidly easy to play it down from hand. Otherwise, it’s actually not that great… It dodges anti-heal which was really neat and it basically means it was a 3/1! But the problem is it will almost always die on the swingback due to being a measly 9k base.
And before you guys start yelling at me NO SALTNORI IF THIS CARD IS SO BAD WHY WAS IT SO EXPENSIVE, well let me tell u folks why.
In meta Konosuba, you didn’t really care if it died on the swing back. You had so many resources and stock that you could just play another copy of this down on the turn after and feel like nothing happened. This card was basically ABUSABLE.
In this deck however, it certainly isn’t and most importantly our wallets cannot sustain the damage it will do to our bank account. However, what’s neat is that we have a lot of hand encore we can use thanks to our level 0-1 game so just put this in the middle and you can just ditch 1 card in hand to basically use it again on the next turn. Pretty neat eh? Instead our main level 2 game will feature a not-as-cool Goddess…
3x I LIED TO YOU GUYS WE’RE PLAYING HER
[C] If ‘”Meaning for Killing Snow Sprites?” Aqua’ is in your Clock, this gets -1 Level while in your hand.
[A] When this is placed from hand to the Stage, you may choose a Character with either ::Adventurer:: or ::Goddess:: in your Waiting Room and return it to your hand.
[A] [(1) Discard 2 cards from your hand to the Waiting Room] This ability activates up to once per turn. When your Character in the Front Row Center Slot attacks, you may pay cost. If so, reveal the top card of your Library. If it’s a Character with either ::Adventurer:: or ::Goddess::, Stand this. (Put the revealed card back where it was)
Ahh… THIS FUCKING CARD. I HATE IT. I ABSOLUTELY FUCKING HATE IT. BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN WE SHOULDN’T PLAY IT. It fits our game plan just so well and in specific scenarios, you can do that good ol’ strategy of killing your opponent while you’re at level 2.
Let me do this real quick though as I have built up a lot of salt from whiffing with this card’s finishing cost. For this, let’s put a montage of sad reacts only for all the games I literally had in my reach that I lost because this evil Goddess revealed a climax since I’m apparently too compressed for this game. In fact, I should be punished for reaching otherwise a good deck state in every other deck.
This one is for that one time I lost in top 8 regionals thanks to Eris
This one is for every time I was denied store credit because Eris lost me the game
This one is for Alonne who I was stuck on for several weeks. Great boss fight btw.
And this one is because I didn’t pull Mordred on FGO and she would certainly be useful for farming cheesecakes atm in the Christmas Event IF I HAD HER. FUCK YOU GATCHA
Now that the salt is mostly gone, let’s remember the other 50% of the time where I absolutely destroyed people with this card. For the sake of saving time, I shall let u click a video that essentially summarizes my feelings.
S S S STYLISH!
2x NOT ERIS BUT SOME THIEF
[A] When this is placed from hand to the Stage, you may put the top card of your Clock in the Waiting Room.
[A] When this attacks, choose 1 of your other ::Adventurer:: Characters, and that Character gains +X Power for the turn. X = 500 times # of your other ::Adventurer:: Characters.
[A] [(1) Discard 2 Character cards from your hand to the Waiting Room] When this attacks, you may pay cost. If so, look at up to 3 cards from top of your Opponent’s Library, choose up to 3 of them and put them in the Waiting Room, return the rest to the Library and shuffle that Library.
Ahhhh running 2 of these almost reminds me of the JP ratios that keep coming up in topping lists. This is quite useful as a yellow splash and a healer finisher that can help against opponents that have reached dank compression levels. If you’re opponent is looking smug and acting cocky as if they’d already won, you should probably get this card ready in hand so you can tell them to basically piss off.
Other than that, this is also another healer that can help you live longer. It also has that nice attack pump that can help Eris get over cards so in the case you are against Standby SAO or something, you won’t get memory kicked to oblivion and can maybe get your re-stand off.
4x HEALER FINISHER THAT DESERVED LN ART FOR HER FOIL
[A] When this is placed from hand to the Stage, you may put the top card of your Clock in the Waiting Room.
[A] CX COMBO [(1)] When this attacks, if “First Time Feeling Uplifted” is in the Climax Zone, you may pay cost. If so, choose 1 of your Characters, and that Character gains +2000 Power and the following ability for the turn. “[A] This ability activates up to once per turn. When the Damage dealt by this is Cancelled, you may deal 2 Damage to your Opponent.” (Damage Cancel can occur)
Ahhhhh more healers. I looooooooove healers. I know that some of you guys don’t but damn I love them. On the other hand, had this card NOT been a Darkness card and it didn’t heal, I wouldn’t like this card as much.
Paying 1 for a cancel burn2 isn’t necessarily bad since it’s cheap but it’s not great either when you compare it to other healer finishers like Yukina that have high damage output. I’ve had games where some guy just takes the damage and I’m like wow I wish I didn’t have a cancel burn.
What is neat though is that you’re able to stack these burns onto Eris, who if able to get off her re-stand, will most likely do tons of damage to your opponent. As long as Eris survives her level 2 game (which you can also technically hand encore), you only have to play stock for 1-2 of these to pull off your endgame which is honestly not bad as long as her re-stand succeeds. Now getting off that re-stand is the hard part, but let’s be real… it’s hella exciting. It’s almost like playing Dark Souls again…
10/10 right?
CLIMAXES:
4x MASOCHISTIC ORGASMS
4x BOOK INTO A BOOK
FINAL THOUGHTS AND SOME THINGS I WANT TO SAY ABOUT SET 2
First of all, thank you guys for reading these deckprofiles and more importantly, thank you to the anons who always send them in. They’re always fun to review and talk about and I appreciate them a lot. I think it’s great to also give back to the community in this form of entertainment since it’s not just only fun for you guys but it’s hella entertaining for me even if I’d rather be playing FGO most of the time…
Once again, this deck is a budget build that anyone with a lot of set 1 Goddess/yellow cards can improve with a few set 2 cards. There are some things however that I would like to add since they could substantially improve the deck if you’re willing to shell out more $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
This Aqua Fumio has been getting only better over time and holy crap she is nuts in the Meta build. Unsurprisingly, she would also be great in this deck too since pulling off her effects will make your re-stands stick more… as long as you don’t reveal those climaxes!
ANOTHER ERIS CARD. I KNOW. However, for the low cost of 1 stock you can bottom deck troublesome Early Plays and it’s well worth it especially since you play lots of cards that can fetch Goddess trait. Her first effect is pretty niche but you can do it sometimes too.
This card is quite decent if there are no AOT players around… And due to the current English Meta this Aqua shouldn’t be too expensive. As long as you get 1 reverse off, you can easily plus up to 3 which replenishes the stupid amounts of cards in hand that Eris Early Play consumes. The real problem is that you’re probably playing 8 of these 2 soul triggers which I ABSOLUTELY DETEST even more than whiffing Eris.
Undoubtedly one of the best cards in the set. The big issue stopping this from being in this deck is that it’s another potential whiff for Eris. If you do happen to be a person with BIG BALLS or you switch Eris out for another level 2-3 game, please put 2-3 of these in. It will absolutely turn the tide of certain matches.
I can make more suggestions but you’re probably getting bored of them so let me end with this. Set 2 Konosuba is stupidly expensive if you’re making the meta deck but it doesn’t have to be that way. You can make a fun, playable deck such as this and it can honestly net surprising wins in tourneys as long as you reveal those climaxes. So don’t let that stop you from killing your wallet…
AND DON’T FORGET.
ERIS PADS HER CHEST!
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WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump told Vice President Mike Pence to cancel his plans to attend the inauguration of Ukraine’s new president earlier this year after initially pushing for him to go, according to a person familiar with the matter, confirming an assertion from the whistleblower now at the center of an impeachment investigation into Trump.
Aides to Pence disputed that, blaming logistics _ not Trump _ for the decision.
The aides who rushed to defend Pence added that the vice president never mentioned Trump’s potential Democratic rival Joe Biden in repeated conversations he has had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, including some that were part of a campaign to pressure the new government on corruption.
Trump has said he raised Biden as an example of corruption in Ukraine in a summertime phone call with Zelenskiy that now at the center of the impeachment probe. There is no evidence that Biden was involved in corruption in the eastern European nation.
Throughout Trump’s presidency, Pence has been a loyal lieutenant, praising him effusively and defending him aggressively. But the vice president has rarely been drawn into any direct controversy involving the president until now.
The controversy focuses on a July 25 phone call in which Trump, according to a rough transcript released by the White House, repeatedly pressed Zelenskiy to investigate Biden and his family. The intelligence community whistleblower said it was part of a broader effort by the president and his lawyers to solicit a foreign country to dig up dirt on a political rival for president in 2020.
Pence, according to aides, did not listen in on that call.
Pence has served as a key intermediary between the United States and Ukraine. In the complaint, the whistleblower says he or she had learned from U.S. officials that “on or around 14 May, the President instructed Vice President Pence to cancel his planned travel to Ukraine to attend President Zelenskiy’s inauguration on 20 May” and sent Energy Secretary Rick Perry to lead the delegation instead.
The whistleblower also alleged that Trump had made clear that a meeting or phone call between himself and Zelenskiy would depend on whether Zelenskiy “showed willingness to ‘play ball’” on issues including investigating the Bidens and a conspiracy theory about the origins of the investigation into Russian election meddling.
A person familiar with the discussions, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations, said it was Trump who directed Pence to skip the event.
Pence aides offered an alternate explanation for the whistleblower’s assertion that the vice president had canceled his attendance at Zelenskiy’s inauguration as part of an alleged broader pressure campaign. They cited logistical challenges, noting Ukraine’s Parliament formally set the date of Zelenskiy’s inauguration just a week before it took place on May 20.
“As of May 13, no inauguration date had been set and no advance team had been sent to advance the trip, no USSS sent, nothing confirmed. So we told them we wouldn’t attend,” said Marc Short, the vice president’s chief of staff, using an abbreviation for the U.S. Secret Service.
Pence instead traveled to Canada to promote the benefits of the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.
“I think that there’s a lot of facts that would run counter to the whistleblower’s,” Short said.
Pence, according to his aides, had two phone conversations with Zelenskiy. They also met last month in Warsaw, Poland, a meeting Pence attended at the last minute in Trump’s place. Pence told reporters the next day that he and Zelenskiy had not discussed Biden during their closed-door meeting, though they had discussed the White House’s decision to halt security aid to the nation meant to counter Russian aggression.
“As President Trump had me make clear, we have great concerns about issues of corruption,” Pence said, adding that, to invest additional taxpayer money in Ukraine, “the president wants to be assured that those resources are truly making their way to the kind of investments that will contribute to security and stability in Ukraine. And that’s an expectation the American people have and the President has expressed very clearly.”
Katie Waldman, the vice president’s press secretary, said in a statement, “It is crystal clear that the Vice President directly and effectively delivered the President’s anti-corruption and European burden sharing messages overseas and, upon his return, the financial aid to Ukraine was released.”
Trump, however, said Wednesday that he restored the funding because of concerns raised by congressional lawmakers that the military assistance was necessary to help Ukraine serve as a bulwark again Russian aggression in the region.
Pence aides said the Bidens were also not discussed during Pence’s two phone calls with Zelenskiy _ one on April 23 and one on Sept. 18 _ nor had Biden come up in Pence’s other conversations with world leaders. They also said the vice president had not spoken about the matter with the president’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.
Trump and Giuliani have sought, without evidence, to implicate Biden and his son Hunter in the kind of corruption that has long plagued Ukraine. Hunter Biden served on the board of a Ukrainian gas company at the same time his father was leading the Obama administration’s diplomatic dealings with Kyiv. Though the timing raised concerns among anti-corruption advocates, there has been no evidence of wrongdoing by either the former vice president or his son.
It was notably Trump who publicly flagged Pence’s phone calls with Zelenskiy, telling reporters at a news conference last week that they should request transcripts of Pence’s calls.
Short said his office was still reviewing whether the transcripts should be released.
Aides to the vice president also pointed to comments Pence has made on Twitter and in television interviews in recent days trying to diminish the seriousness of the controversy.
“The American people deserve better,” Pence tweeted last week. “I’ll make you a promise. Whatever Democrats in Congress want to do to obstruct our agenda or roll out their latest accusations to divide our country, President @realDonaldTrump & I will never stop fighting for the policies & ideals that have made this country Great Again!”
___
Follow Colvin and Miller on Twitter at https://twitter.com/colvinj and https://twitter.com/ZekeJMiller
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Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC.
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ONE of the perks of being governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is the use of a colonial bungalow on Carmichael Road, a posh street that weaves along a ridge in south Mumbai. On one side live some of India's richest industrialists, modern-day pharaohs with flashy architectural tastes. On the other, a stone's throw down a cliff, is a small slum—a monument to desperation and government failure. Both sets of neighbours are part of the 1.2 billion population that India's central bank must look out for. In normal times this is a task that would furrow the brow; now that the country's boom is faltering, it risks causing a blinding headache.
Judging by the numbers, the RBI is among the world's best central banks. Its record on balancing growth and inflation is decent enough (see chart 1). Since 1995 wholesale prices have risen by an average of 6% a year, not too far from the RBI's comfort zone of about 5%. Growth has averaged 7% a year. The RBI is also in charge of the safety of the financial system, to which end it yanks more levers than Willy Wonka in a chocolate factory. Its record here is excellent. Despite a current-account deficit that leaves India vulnerable to global jitters, the country sidestepped the 1997 Asian crisis (“nobody gave us a chance,” recalls a former governor) and the West's banking crisis in 2008. The RBI also coped with big and potentially destabilising capital inflows in the euphoric years before Wall Street began to totter, and has avoided a domestic financial crisis despite fast growth in banks' assets for many years. Some fancy the RBI is a model for the kind of full-service central bank that is back in fashion worldwide—both the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, among others, are now in charge of financial stability as well as interest rates. In truth, it would be hard to run a rich economy the way the RBI does India, with its financial system only partly liberalised. But the central bank has new clout abroad and at home its stock is high. Under the present governor, Duvvuri Subbarao, a softly spoken figure, it has made a tough series of rate rises in the past two years to try to curb a stubborn spell of inflation (a battle that may not be over). And although the bank finds it hard to tempt star graduates to work in its tower overlooking Mumbai harbour—“if you look at its people and those of the Fed, there's no comparison,” laments one bigwig—relative to most Indian state bodies the RBI has more brains, muscle and integrity. It is about the only institution in the country you never hear accused of graft. That's a big turnaround for a body that became a politicians' plaything after India nationalised its banks in 1969. For two decades the state controlled lending and also fixed as many as 200 separate interest rates. It used the RBI as a piggy bank, forcing it to print money to finance its short-term needs. After 1991, when a balance-of-payments crisis led India to deregulate, the central bank rediscovered its spine. Agreements fully enacted in 1997 and 2006 stopped the state using it as an ATM, and as interest rates were liberalised and the bond market developed, the RBI began to look more like a normal central bank, setting short-term policy rates to try to balance inflation and growth.
This journey never reached the destination that was until recently in vogue in the West—that of a statutorily independent central bank narrowly focused on setting interest rates and targeting inflation. The RBI's independence is not enshrined in law, although none of the four central-bank governors since 1992, interviewed by The Economist for this article, raised this as a big concern. The RBI consults the government but it has enough breathing-space to set rates as it pleases, they say.
And like a triumphant wearer of flares that have at last come back in fashion, the RBI's wide remit—minting coins, managing the exchange rate, acting as banker for the government, and supervising banks and the bond market—is now seen as a template. These responsibilities helped it deal with the 2008 crisis: in short order it defended the currency, loaned money to cash-strapped banks, gave forbearance on troubled loans, soothed the bond market and eased banks' capital requirements. Today a process of constant tweaking continues. In December, after a panicky fall in the rupee, the RBI introduced several obscure measures to bolster it, such as making it more attractive for Indians resident abroad to deposit money in the homeland.
Such fiddling has a cost. In 2007 an official report on making Mumbai a global financial centre—a work of great imagination—identified nit-picking and suspicion of foreign financiers (who are welcome to buy shares in India but not to play in debt markets) as a big problem. In 2009 an official review of finance chaired by Raghuram Rajan, a former chief economist of the IMF, worried that conservative regulation was inhibiting India's potential. One local bank boss says the RBI “runs a repressed financial system which is intolerant towards innovation. If the US was at 90 out of 100 in terms of complexity and sophistication, we are at 10…I sometimes get the impression it [the RBI] is resting on its laurels, not realising that more financial innovation could help India's development.”
Still, after years of financial convulsions abroad it is hard to say that the RBI has got the balance between safety and thrills wildly wrong. Indeed, the thing that endangers India today is not its financial markets but its government.
Heady talk of 9-10% as India's new natural rate of growth is long gone. Many blame the government, which has not passed a significant reform for years while running a fiscal deficit of almost a tenth of GDP, including the states and off-balance-sheet items (see chart 2). The deficit—which began as an electoral giveaway in 2007, morphed into a stimulus package and is now just a product of indiscipline and populist politics—is widely seen as bad for India. Government borrowing crowds out the private sector, which has to live with higher interest rates than might otherwise be the case. Because the state is less likely than private business to spend the cash on investment, it does less to boost the economy's potential. At the RBI the boom of 2003-07, when growth was near double-digits and inflation comfortable, is now seen as a distinct era during which the deficit was falling, bullish firms were investing freely, a critical mass of reforms were in the bag and the state was productively solving day-to-day problems. Those conditions do not exist today. The central bank's rule of thumb for the non-inflationary rate of growth has fallen to 8%, but that seems to bake in an assumption that the political class will recover its wits. If, hypothetically, that does not happen, insiders at the RBI accept that trend growth could be significantly lower. Bears outside the central bank talk of 6%. The uncomfortable question for the RBI is whether it is partly responsible for the slowdown, albeit indirectly. If you have a central bank that always gets you home safely at the end of the night the temptation for politicians may be to go crazy. The RBI's position is especially delicate on the fiscal deficit. The central bank oversees a financial system that is a conduit for funnelling savings into government bonds, 70% of which are owned either by the central bank or by the banking system, which remains dominated by state-owned lenders. Although the ratio has come down, the RBI still forces banks to invest 24% of their core deposits in government bonds, far above what is needed to give banks a safety buffer of liquid assets. This creates captive demand for public borrowing (although during an economic soft patch such as today's, cautious banks may voluntarily hold more than the minimum). The RBI also buys government bonds in the market. It argues this makes markets work smoothly, but most outsiders think the aim is to put a lid on government-bond yields. A spike in yields in November has been followed by a big, $14 billion RBI bond-purchase programme.
The RBI is thus in the weird position of publicly rebuking the government about its deficits while being the guarantor that they are financed. An extreme remedy would be for it to stop buying nearly so many bonds and to ease the rules on banks' bond holdings. Without captive buyers interest rates would rise, perhaps by a percentage point or two. Some doubt whether the politicians would pay any attention—their appetites are insensitive to the government's borrowing costs, it is argued. But the RBI would still probably like to try; in December 2010 it cut the liquidity requirement from 25% to 24%. The trouble is, anything more dramatic might be seen as meddling in politics and could prompt a bond-market rout that endangers stability.
Prop trading
In this respect, as with its strong supervisory record, the RBI may have lessons for the world. Other central banks, including the euro zone's, are propping up sovereign-bond markets. Mr Rajan talks of “the conceit that central banks are independent. When they find that the governments are not going to budge [on cutting their deficits] few feel able to just walk away.” In a speech on February 1st, Mr Subbarao, the RBI's governor, worried that “in the presence of large sovereign borrowing…central banks typically have little choice.”
One possibility is that slower growth, high borrowing and lack of reform might eventually prompt a fiscal or balance-of-payments scare that even the RBI, with its impressive array of tools, struggles to keep a lid on. That might frighten the political class enough to act. The more benign scenario is that politicians will anticipate this risk and act spontaneously to get India's public finances back on track. But politics is one thing India's central bank cannot control. As he settles down at his villa to watch the sun set over the metropolis of Mumbai, all the governor of the RBI can do is cross his fingers.
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Take part in the epic bully battle in parallel worlds. Fight with your rivals, complete the numerous levels and become as firm as a stone!
Almost every man got into a fight at least once. If you are a real fighter you have to be prepared for the endless mortal battles with your fierce enemies.
Swipe the screen to wing smoothly to trick the opponent, block his hooks and avoid dangerous kicks. Use different types of weapons to cripple your enemy. Watch a level of red in your character’s body: if it becomes critical you will die. Сompile items of your own collections. Level up your character to try out a Survival mode with one more rival every level up to fighting against 10 rivals simultaneously. Do you accept this challenge?
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PEARLAND, Texas – Beer for life is one of the perks a Pearland brewery is offering in a promotion designed to pay for its upgrades after a near-fire last week.
Bakfish Brewing Company officials said in a Facebook post that its current design began malfunctioning, and after repeated attempts to fix it, it began smoking and nearly caught fire.
Instead of a costly fix to the current system, the brewery company said it has decided to move forward with a likewise costly overhaul to its taproom.
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A LETTER FROM OUR CO-OWNER. Membership is priced at a one-time charge of $1000. This is a lifetime membership. Enjoy... Posted by BAKFISH Brewing Company on Monday, January 21, 2019
To help fund the changes, officials with the brewery is turning to a lifetime membership program to reward those willing to invest in its renovations.
For $1,000, members receive free beer for life. That translates to a free beer for every visit to the Pearland brewery. Membership also includes a mug engraved with your name, and the option to create a pilot batch of beer that you can name.
Bakfish Brewing Company is located in the 1200 block of East Broadway in Pearland.
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How do you spot a psychopath?
One self-proclaiming psychopath has described how he presents himself in society and given a breakdown on his behaviour in different situations in what may provide an answer to that question.
Jacob Wells shared this information in response to a question on Quora asking psychopaths generally present themselves in society.
A psychopath, according to the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), which is often used as a diagnostic tool to determine levels of psychopathy and antisocial behaviour will often display some or all of several key signs. Psychopaths are often pathological liars, have very high self-estimation, are impulsive and fail to regulate and take responsibility for their behaviours. Pyschopathy exists on a spectrum, and not all psychopaths will display all the signs.
The first thing that Wells shares about his behaviour is that how he acts is strongly dependent on the circumstances. He deliberately changes how he acts according to the situation he finds himself in.
“I usually present myself as normal at first,” he says, “Some exceptions being academic settings where I try to present myself as either or a good student or a genius (the first of which I am not, at all), dating settings where I present myself as being perfect, but unaware of it (both lies), or competitive settings where I act humble but intimidating (neither is true in this case either).”
After at first presenting himself as ‘normal’, Wells starts to show some more of his true self, and tries to gain people’s trust in a carefully calculated, tried and tested ways. “If I haven’t already, I will subtly show some intelligence, I will behave a bit abnormally, as that is more comfortable, and I will try to be become the most interesting person they know by telling them a true story about myself.”
Wells claims that his stories about lying his way through school and getting away with it strangely seem to earn people’s trust. “By this point,” he says, people usually find him “intelligent, eccentric and a bit psychopathic, but fairly normal.”
Mental Health Awareness: Facts and figures Show all 10 1 /10 Mental Health Awareness: Facts and figures Mental Health Awareness: Facts and figures Mental Health Foundation: Living With Anxiety report 30 per cent of people deal with anxiety by talking to a friend or relative, or by going for a walk. Getty Mental Health Awareness: Facts and figures Mental Health Foundation: Living With Anxiety report Almost one in five people feel anxious all or a lot of the time. PA Mental Health Awareness: Facts and figures Mental Health Foundation: Living With Anxiety report 22 per cent of women feel anxious a lot or all of the time, compared to 15 per cent of men. Roman Levin/Flickr Creative Commons Mental Health Awareness: Facts and figures Mental Health Foundation: Living With Anxiety report 45 per cent of people who feel anxious in everyday life cite financial issues as their biggest cause of worry. Getty Mental Health Awareness: Facts and figures Mental Health Foundation: Living With Anxiety report And 26 per cent of people who feel anxious say fearing for the welfare of their children and loved ones leaves them burdened with worry. And 26 per cent of people say fearing for the welfare of their children and loved ones leaves them burdened with anxiety. Mental Health Awareness: Facts and figures Mental Health Foundation: Living With Anxiety report 27 per cent of people who suffer from anxiety say work issues, such as long hours, are the source of the problem. Getty Mental Health Awareness: Facts and figures Mental Health Foundation: Living With Anxiety report But 16 per cent use alcohol to cope, while 10 per cent turn to cigarettes in the face of anxiety. Unemployed people are more likely to resort to these harmful strategies: 27 per cent use alcohol and 23 per cent use cigarettes. AFP/Getty Mental Health Awareness: Facts and figures Mental Health Foundation: Living With Anxiety report Only seven per cent of people who say they suffer from anxiety seek help from their GP. Getty Mental Health Awareness: Facts and figures Mental Health Foundation: Living With Anxiety report People are thought to be more anxious than they were five years ago. Alessandra/Flickr Creative Commons Mental Health Awareness: Facts and figures Mental Health Foundation: Living With Anxiety report The stresses of modern life are thought to have created "The Age of Anxiety". Getty
If Wells becomes close to a person, he aims to gain their trust fully, which he does by “doing and/or offering to do immense favours that nobody else would do.”
“I offer to solve their problems, in any way possible, and then ask them how far to take it so I don’t violate their morals.”
“If they don’t like a teacher/co-worker/neighbour I’ll offer to get rid of them. If they say 'don’t put them in prison', I’ll get them fired. If they say 'don’t get them fired', I’ll trash their reputation or scare them into backing off.”
The process of becoming friends with someone that Wells describes seems extremely superficial – every move he makes is calculated. Any favours or nice things he does to someone he is ‘close’ to seem to be purely part of a carefully conceived process which aims at eventually being in control of their relationship and making them useful to him.
“I keep secrets, and tell them fake secrets to gain their trust, and once they trust me enough, I ask for favours, reminding of the favours I did them. I can get literally anything from them, which is incredibly useful”.
Wells' behaviour does not seem to be atypical of a psychopath. Dr Xanthe Mallett, a forensic anthropologist and criminologist who specialises in criminal behaviours, said that psychopaths often manipulate others, and appear to be very engaged in relationships, when in actual fact they lack emotional attachments to others and will only engage for the sake of personal gain.
According to Dr Mallett, when a psychopath appears to be friendly or to have an emotional connection one should not be fooled: “They are the social snakes in the grass that slither and smile their way in to your life and emotions,” she says. “They feel no empathy, and only care about themselves.”
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D.C. mayor arrested at protest near Capitol
Washington, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray has been arrested after joining protestors who closed part of Constitution Avenue across from the Senate Hart Office Building.
Some 200-300 protesters gathered Monday in protest of the federal budget, which blocks the city from using local funds on abortion procedures.
Capitol Police also arrested City Council Member Muriel Bowser and City Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown and about 15 other protestors.
The arrests have been civil. Officers have been heard asking those sitting in the street if they'd like to be arrested. Those that agree are helped to their feet and placed under arrest.
Protestors are chanting "Free D.C." and "We can't take it no more!"
Capitol Police responded to a query from POLITICO saying they are monitoring the situation.
The protest is in the wake of the House Republican budget, which prohibits D.C. from using government funds to subsidize abortion.
-- Jake Sherman contributed to this report.
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WASHINGTON ― Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) unveiled legislation on Friday to protect young undocumented immigrants from deportation under President-elect Donald Trump ― now the question is whether it will work.
The bipartisan bill, called the Bridge Act, would effectively maintain the protections of President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. More than 740,000 young people were granted deportation reprieve and work permits under the program, but could now lose those protections, should Trump follow through on a promise to end DACA immediately upon taking office.
The Durbin-Graham measure could serve two purposes: If it passes, so-called Dreamers could live without constant fear of deportation and continue to legally work and drive. If it doesn’t, it could still put pressure on Trump to keep away from DACA recipients.
He and other Democrats, joined by only a few Republicans, are scrambling to find ways to protect the Dreamers they’ve urged to come forward to the government. Durbin has been one of the top advocates for Dreamers. He introduced the Dream Act that gave them their name in 2001 and he pushed for Obama to create DACA when that legislation failed.
“I feel, as President Obama feels, a personal responsibility to help these young people weather this political storm,” Durbin told a small group of reporters.
Chris Maddaloni/Roll Call/Getty Images Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) worked together on a comprehensive immigration reform bill in 2013.
The Dream Act would have granted Dreamers a path to legal status, as would the 2013 immigration reform bill that Durbin and Graham helped draft. The new bill would put DACA recipients into a new type of status, “provisional protected presence,” that would last for three years from enactment. It would not be constrained to only those who currently have DACA: eligible individuals who have not yet applied could be granted provisional protected presence as well. All would have to pay a fee, undergo a background check and meet the eligibility requirements for DACA.
The bill would also ensure that information individuals gave the government for DACA or for the new provisional protected presence could not be used for immigration enforcement, with exceptions for national security or non-immigration felony investigations.
The politics could be tough, but Durbin said he is hopeful. Thus far, the Bridge Act has three other co-sponsors: Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). Durbin said there is a long list of Democrats who want to join, but they are aiming to add people in pairs ― one Republican and one Democrat. They will reintroduce the bill in 2017.
Durbin said he thinks other Republicans might sign on. Even though they don’t say it publicly, Durbin said, “most of them feel it’s only fair to take care of these young people.”
Graham explained his decision to push for the bill in a series of tweets Friday afternoon.
In my view, the DACA Executive Order issued by President Obama was unconstitutional and President-elect Trump would be right to repeal it. — Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) December 9, 2016
However, I do NOT believe we should pull the rug out and push these young men and women -- who came out of the shadows.......(continued) — Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) December 9, 2016
.....and push these young men and women - who came out of the shadows and registered with the federal government - back into the darkness. — Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) December 9, 2016
Durbin told reporters that Trump’s recent comments on DACA recipients were, at least in tone, relatively sympathetic to them. Like Trump’s previous efforts at softening on immigration, this should probably be taken with many grains of salt. A Trump aide later told the Associated Press that the president-elect still plans to end DACA.
“We’re going to work something out that’s going to make people happy and proud. But that’s a very tough situation,” Trump told Time Magazine. “They got brought here at a very young age, they’ve worked here, they’ve gone to school here. Some were good students. Some have wonderful jobs. And they’re in never-never land because they don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Durbin acknowledged that Trump often contradicts himself, but said he was encouraged anyway. “I’m going to seize on every encouraging word,” he said.
Durbin also noted that House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) had expressed sympathy for DACA recipients. Ryan said on Thursday that they “should have something that balances the concerns of all parties involved and makes sure that we don’t pull the rug out from under people.”
Some Democrats have argued that Obama should do something more to protect DACA recipients before he leaves office. The White House has said that isn’t an option, especially House Democrats’ pleas for him to issue pardons for DACA recipients. Those Democrats say this would be legal and that he can do so for civil offenses even in a way that would preemptively pardon future unlawful presence in the U.S.; White House officials and Durbin have said that is not the case.
On Thursday, White House press secretary Josh Earnest once again shot down the idea of pardons for DACA recipients. He said Obama and his team were briefing Trump and his team on why they decided to create the program and its benefits.
“We’re also continuing to encourage Congress to take action,” Earnest said in a press briefing. “Ultimately, the kind of executive action that President Obama has pursued was largely pursued because of congressional inaction.”
Since the Bridge Act would only last for three years from enactment and because it doesn’t include everyone, it would be crucial to continue to press for broader immigration reform, Durbin told reporters. Democrats and Republicans have been opposed to piecemeal immigration reform efforts in the past, and Durbin said he had heard concerns about pushing for a bill that would leave out so many other undocumented immigrants.
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), for example, spoke on the Senate floor on Thursday about the need to protect DACA recipients’ parents, neighbors and others as well.
Durbin said he and Menendez had talked about the matter repeatedly. Menendez’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether he supports the bill.
“We still have an important job in comprehensive immigration reform,” Durbin told reporters, “but it would be disastrous and just wrong to say that we are going to ignore what’s going to happen to the lives of these DACA individuals.”
This story has been updated to reflect that Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) signed on as a fifth co-sponsor and to include tweets from Sen. Lindsey Graham.
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The fact that researchers and historians alike are not quite sure if the deaths of nine experienced mountain hikers is a UFO case or not, only adds more intrigue to an already macabre but darkly-appealing incident. The events took place during the opening months of 1959 in the wicked coldness of winter in the Ural Mountains, one of the northernmost regions of Russia, then the Soviet Union.
Researchers and investigators are not exactly sure of the group’s final moments, or what ultimately caused their deaths. Nor are they sure why such experienced hikers would suddenly run from their tent, some of them barefoot, most of them ill-clothed for the conditions, seemingly choosing to leave their specialist attire inside the tent which, incidentally, was discovered cut from the inside. What we know comes from the recovered diary entries.
However, these entries, stop approximately twenty-four hours before what is believed to have been some terrifying and bizarre event in the subzero, dark, and inhospitable conditions of a mountain range rather ominously known by the locals as “Dead Mountain” or “Mountain of the Dead”. Their bodies would be discovered buried under the snow in two separate locations. One group several weeks after disappearing, one group nearly three months later. Immediately upon the grim discoveries, the authorities would assert close control over the details. Details which many believe are still somewhere under wraps today. Just what scared these young men and women so much they chose to run to their certain deaths? Why were they discovered apart? Was a UFO involved? Might that resolve the bright lights witnessed on the evening in question? As well as the apparent damage to several of the trees near the crippled tent?
The Last Inhabited Settlement This Far North
On the morning of 27th January 1959, a group of ten hikers were making last minute preparations for their trip into the Ural Mountains. The group’s leader, 23-year-old radio engineering student from Ural Polytechnical Institute (now Ural Federal University), Igor Alekseievich Dyatlov, would oversee the preparations as the unit planned to set off from Vizhai, the last and most northern inhabited area of northern Russia.
The goal of the group, eight men and two women (including Dyatlov), all of whom could boast Grade-II certification experience in hiking, was to reach the Otorten mountain and then return. The hike would pass all of them for Grade-III certification – essentially making them as qualified and experienced as was possible (at the time). Most of the group were also students at the same university, with 38-year-old Alexander Zolotaryov being the exception, although he was a staff member and alumni of the school. The rest of the group would consist of 24-year-old Alexander Kolevatov, 22-year-old Zinaida Kolmogorova, 21-year-old Yuri Doroshenko, and Georgiy Krivonischenko, Rustem Slobodin, and Nikolai Thibeaux-Brignolles – all twenty-three.
In terms of “luck” or “circumstance” or perhaps even “fate”, the tenth and final member of the group, 21-year-old, Yuri Yudin, although he would set out with the unit, would fall ill shortly after, and within twenty-four hours, on the 28th January, he was forced to turn back. In retrospect, it was an illness that likely saved his life, and surely something the young man would think about repeatedly in the months and years that followed the unsettling events of the winter of 1959. Incidentally, he would pass away on 27th April 2013 at the age of seventy-five.
Documented Movements Up Until 1st February 1959
The hike seems to have gone as planned for the first two days. Dyatlov had agreed with their families and the University authorities that upon their return to Vizhai, a telegram would be sent so they would know of their safe return. They would estimate, all being well and even allowing for any slight delays, that this telegram should arrive with them no later than 12th February.
By 31st January it would appear the nine-strong team had reached a highland area. However, they now faced the prospect of climbing higher in order to reach their destination on the other side of the pass. Instead of carrying their full inventory of supplies, they would make the decision to store some of their food and other provisions in a woodland area just to the side of the route.
The following day, it appears things went as planned and the group went through the pass. It seems at some time here, however, a strong blizzard moved in. So strong, in fact, that the group soon lost their bearings. They would find themselves severely west of their desired location. Instead of climbing the pass as they intended, they were now heading up Kholat Syakhl. Incidentally, the local Mansi tribe’s translation for this ominous mountain is “Mountain of the Dead” or “Dead Mountain”. And it is steeped in local legends and folklore.
It would appear that they soon became aware of their error. However, the weather was worsening at such a pace it was unwise to proceed anywhere. They would make the decision to make their camp where they stood and wait out the storm until morning.
That is the last definite fact of the group’s journey.
Widely Accepted Basic Version Of Known Events
Everything after the evening of 1st February is speculation and theory based on the eventual discoveries. The pre-arranged date of 12th February came and went with no word whatsoever of the group’s return. Families would wait another week. Then, on 20th February they would insist against the wishes of the hiker’s collective institute that a search was arranged. Even then, the search party was made up of students and teachers who had volunteered. However, it soon became apparent that such a search party would achieve little and take a long time to do it.
Several days later, the Soviet military would conduct an official and widespread search of the area. The air force also covered huge areas of snowy mountain ranges with helicopters and search and recovery planes. Several more days passed. Then, the first of two chilling and gut-wrenching discoveries came.
On 26th February a battered and shredded tent was discovered. The campsite was a particularly puzzling scene. It would appear that the vast majority of the hiker’s belongings, including their clothes and even shoes, were still present. Wherever the hikers were, they appeared to have left barefoot and not fully dressed. Even more alarming, though, was the state of the tent’s ruins. Most specifically, the tent had the appearance that it was cut from the inside, suggesting that the scene wasn’t the result of some wild and unknown beast trying to gain entrance to the tent. More likely that the hikers were desperate to cut themselves out. So desperate to leave, it would appear, that they left their clothes and shoes. Despite the blizzard-like conditions.
Then, there were the footprints.
The First Discovery
Not only did the footprints show both shoed feet and barefoot prints (most likely on the same person), but they would suddenly stop, in the middle of the snow, a short distance away. All around them was undisturbed snow as if they had just vanished into thin air. They appeared to have been headed towards woodland towards the edge of the campsite. Indeed, it was there where five of the hikers’ bodies were found.
The first two bodies were those of Yuri Krivonischenko and Yuri Doroshenko. They were discovered under a cedar tree on the very edge of the woodland. Interestingly, the tree looked to have a substantial number of branches broken, damaged and in some places “snapped” off. All at a height of over fifteen feet. There were also the remains of a fire near to the two bodies.
As grim as these first two finds were, the discoveries of the next three bodies of the group’s leader, Igor Dyatlov, Zinaida Kolmogorova and Rustem Slobodin were equally as perplexing. The positioning of all three of their corpses would suggest they were heading back towards the makeshift camp near the cedar tree when they were literally “frozen” in their positions. As if by some bizarre “ice-ray” from a science-fiction movie.
All five of the corpses were poorly dressed, some with no shoes on their feet. How long they lasted in such hazardous conditions after fleeing the tent is unknown. Was the fire the remains of the hikers? Were they mentally together enough, and physically able to start a fire? And where were the remaining four hikers?
Over two months would pass before the second grim find. A discovery which would raise even more questions.
The Second Discovery
Over two months following the discovery of the “first group”, came the discovery of the remaining four hikers. The find occurred on 4th May 1959, buried under over twelve feet of snow in a ravine and over eighty yards away from the location of the first five hikers’ bodies.
What was immediately apparent was these last four remaining hikers were substantially better dressed than the first five. In fact, all four of them were practically fully dressed. Perhaps even stranger, some of them were dressed in clothes and wearing shoes that had belonged to their fellow hikers who died near the cedar tree. For example, Zolotaryov was discovered wearing Dubinina’s fake-fur coat and hat. Perhaps even stranger, Dubinina had wrapped her foot in a piece of Krivonishenko’s woolen pants
How long after the first group of hikers did these four meet their end? Were they moved to the ravine and buried? Or did they make their own way there, huddling up in a desperate attempt to get warm? Might they have been present at the cedar tree location where their fellow hikers died? Does this explain why some of them were wearing their clothing and shoes? Is it even possible that the second group were responsible for the deaths of those in the first group? Or had they simply passed away first leaving the surviving members of the group with a grim but needed opportunity to increase their chances of remaining alive?
What is perhaps interesting is that when the inquests were opened into the deaths of the first five hikers discovered at the end of February they were quickly, and perhaps suspiciously, wrapped up. It was “likely”, it said, they had died of hypothermia. The inquest into the remaining four hikers, however, wouldn’t be as simple.
Injuries Akin To Someone Hit By A High-Speed Truck!
The inquests of the last four hikers would reveal some bizarre and terrifying injuries. They would find that all four had injuries akin to someone who had been hit by a high-speed truck. While between them they all had severe chest fractures and skull damage, there were no other external injuries. Certainly not consistent with the severe internal injuries each of them had. The report would even state that the internal injuries were in line with someone who had been “subjected to a high level of pressure”. We will come back to this point a little later.
There were, though, some extremely puzzling injuries to some of the second group members. For example, Dubinina was missing her tongue, eyes, and even part of her lips. What’s more, these injuries appeared to be the result of surgical precision. Furthermore, fragments of skull-bone and even facial tissue appeared to have been carved out – again with medical precision. Further still, skin maceration on her hands was also present. Officially, the inquest would state Dubinina’s injuries were the result of the putrefaction process due to her lying face down in the ravine. Some researchers, however, were not convinced with this take on the situation.
Although authorities had an obvious desire to wrap up the case as quickly and as quietly as possible, members of the family, as well as independent researchers would continue to pry into the case. And as the years passed by, theories, speculation, and conspiracies would run increasingly rampant.
Claims Of UFO Activity
On what is widely agreed to have been the night in question, there were several reports of strange lights in the skies over the mountains where the group’s battered tent was eventually discovered. Had they been present at a UFO event? If so, were their deaths a result of this? And furthermore, was this a purposeful murderous act, or a tragic accident? A case of the hikers being at the wrong place at the wrong time?
There are many reports of glowing orbs over the mountain range. On the nights in question, these same lights were allegedly witnessed by settlements below. To some, the deaths of the hikers were not of a supernatural nature, and not to do with any of the long-standing legends. To some, the deaths were the result of a close encounter with a vehicle from another world. And given some of the injuries – in particular, those to Dubinina – their deaths may not have been a mere accident.
Were the broken branches of the cedar tree at the location of the first two bodies, for example, the result of a nuts-and-bolts craft? Might that explain why the footsteps suddenly stopped with all around them undisturbed snow? Might they have been “scooped up” and then “dropped” near the cedar tree? If this was the case, why was Dubinina discovered with the second group of hikers? And why were three of the group found “frozen” in the positions of returning to camp? Might the hikers, if we assume that a UFO was responsible for their deaths, have been returned separately?
Or might the glowing orbs and strange activity on the mountain ranges not be the result of alien intelligence? Might it be a top-secret region for military weapons testing?
Secret Cold-War Military Testing?
Another popular, and credible theory is that the deaths share a connection to secret military weapons testing. Again, whether they were an intentional target for an unknown test or their deaths an unintended and tragic accident is again open to debate. Although it should be said, it is mere speculation that the group might have been an intentional target. That the Soviet authorities played the situation tight to their chest and, whether intentional or not, gave a general feeling of having something to hide, isn’t.
Might the glowing orbs witnessed by locals in the settlements around the foot of the mountain range have not been extraterrestrial but of a clandestine military nature? Might the area, otherwise cut off from the population, have been home to a secret military installation? Again, the questions arise as to whether the deaths were accidental or a consequence of being somewhere “off-limits” to most. Even if they didn’t realize or intend to trespass?
As we will explore a little later, two of the hikers, Zolotaryov and Brignolles, would leave the tent seemingly before the others. It is thought they did so to relieve themselves or to picture some kind of activity outside of the tent. If we assume for one moment that this activity was of a clandestine military nature, it is perfectly reasonable to assume an extreme and coldly effective response would follow.
While this is all speculation, it would certainly explain why the military wished to have the incident neatly tied together and forgotten about. And what’s more, some of the aforementioned injuries just might endorse these speculations more than not.
Sonar Or Pulse Technology?
One of the most interesting theories is the testing of some kind of pulse or sonar weapon over the Ural Mountains. As we mentioned earlier, the injuries sustained by the four members of the group of the second discovery were particularly interesting. They appeared relatively undamaged on the outside, while internally their injuries resembled those of someone who might have been hit at high speed by a large truck or who had been “subjected to a high level of pressure”.
Was this, in fact, the result of some kind of unimaginable wave of energy that crumbled their insides and presented the military with an unseen problem? Either admit their error publicly and face embarrassment, not to mention the wrath of the people that ten young lives had been needlessly cut short? Or they had to create a situation that wouldn’t be questioned by anyone who might poke a little further than the official story?
It is certainly a credible theory, and not at all one that required too much of a stretch of the imagination. Furthermore, while we won’t examine them here, there are some similar “UFO cases” that very well might be more in line with sonar, pulse, or some other exotic but deadly weapons testing on record. Perhaps the Guarapiranga Reservoir Man case being one of the best examples.
The short video below, while not looking directly at the Dyatlov Pass incident, looks at other “secret weapons”. Including sonar weapons.
Secret Intelligence And Untranslated Tattoos
Perhaps they are simply a product of their time, but several theories regarding the fate of the nine hikers revolve around secret missions for the KGB. At the time of the incident, and certainly over the following three decades that followed, the Soviet Union was all but at war with the Western world. And in particular, the United States, who themselves would keep a constant close eye on Soviet activities.
With that in mind, some theories suggest that several of the group were actually working for the KGB. Their mission was to plant “radioactive clothing” at the site to simply serve as a false trail for Western intelligence services with the hope being they would divert funds and resources investigating it. Not to mention, if Soviet forces could capture them, the embarrassment for the Americans on the international stage. In fact, going a stage further, Alexei Rakitin would write in his book ‘Dyatlov Pass’ that Alexander Zolotaryov, along with two other members of the group, were actually KGB agents looking to uncover a CIA cell operating in the country. He would assert that it was the CIA who was ultimately responsible for the death of the nine hikers.
While there is little proof of the CIA’s involvement in the incident, the involvement of the aforementioned Alexander Zolotaryov is rather interesting. Not only was he much older than the rest of the group, he had extensive military and combatant training. Furthermore, he had joined the group at the very last minute. Even stranger, was a tattoo on his person which would read “DAERMMUAZUAYA”. No translation, into any language exists.
We will come back to Zolotaryov a little later.
The Gulag Theories
At the time of the incident, Gulags would surround the location of the group’s hike route – official and otherwise. Many theories suggest the group may have been suddenly ambushed by Soviet authorities who mistook them for escaped prisoners. Even if the authorities hadn’t directly caused their deaths, the panic perhaps caused them to flee into the freezing elements. Perhaps such an operation would explain the glowing orbs and the damage to the cedar tree nearby. Is it even possible that upon realizing their mistake, they would receive orders to “cover-up” the deaths to save the embarrassment of such an error in front of the Soviet public and the world, no less?
However, it might not have been the Soviet authorities that were responsible. Many of the prisoners of the Gulags did indeed escape. Some of them had been there since the Second World War and many were there due to their political views or associations. Given how isolated such prisoners would have been from the rest of the world, anyone that did escape would have little knowledge of happenings since their incarceration. Many such escapees would “disappear” into such otherwise desolate landscapes. And with skills learned on the front lines of war, and already hardened by the prison camps, they would survive on what they could catch and steal. And kill.
Might such an escaped prisoner have come across the group of hikers. Might he have believed the group to be looking for him and so decided to strike first? Or perhaps the group had witnessed him, in his mind leaving him no choice but to kill them so they wouldn’t report his presence and so sending him back to the Gulags – or worse.
Avalanches And Speculation About The Mansi Tribe
Perhaps more mundane, although no less credible, at least initially and on the surface, are suggestions that the group fell to a sudden avalanche. Maybe they suddenly heard or felt the onset of such an avalanche. Or perhaps they became trapped due to rolling snow blocking the entrance and so forcing them to cut themselves out of the tent, not to mention having to vacate the scene quickly due to the oncoming rush of thick, crushing ice.
However, more intense scrutiny on such a theory would soon reveal it to be less credible. In fact, it is highly unlikely. Not least, there was no visible indications nor aftermath of such an avalanche. And while it is much less scientific a reason, all of the hikers, in particular, Dyatlov, was highly unlikely to have set up the camp in any such “danger” area.
Once again, while it is only speculation with no evidence to back it up, some researchers have suggested the group might have fell victim to local tribes of the region, specifically the “Mansi” tribe. However, despite the assertions of some, the Mansi tribe were, in reality, peaceful in nature. Furthermore, if the hikers did indeed fall victim to the Mansi, or any other tribe in the region, that doesn’t explain the lack of tracks or any other signs of an outside presence.
As we will look at slightly later, it would appear any blame put at the door of the Mansi tribes likely stem from an opportunistic desire of the wider Russian population to paint who they saw as heretics in a bad light.
The Menk – A Russian Supernatural Bigfoot?
More recently in the 2000s, some theories would surface revolving around the notion that the culprit behind the deaths of the nine hikers was a “menk”, a legend of the Siberian region similar to Bigfoot. However, unlike Bigfoot, the menk have a supernatural element to them, with many of the oral traditions of the story revolving around “formidable forest spirits”. Furthermore, and possibly a slight connection to the ancient astronaut theory, these strange creatures have protection “by the gods”. Did they suddenly face attack from such a creature? And why would they choose to cut themselves out of the tent? As flimsy as it was, it was surely preferable to whatever beast might be outside, not to mention the subzero conditions.
Realistically, an attack from local tribes or wild beasts, mythical or otherwise is highly unlikely. Not least due to the lack of tracks around the site that would have declared their presence to all who followed. Unless, of course, considering again the menk’s supposed supernatural abilities, maybe such a creature wouldn’t leave any tracks.
Another thing to consider, leaving out the supernatural element for a second, although there were great internal injuries to the four hikers in the second group of discoveries, and seemingly minor external injuries on the first group of five hikers, there was no shredding, cuts, or lacerations that would perhaps be consistent with an attack from such a beastly creature.
However, one picture surfaced from the many developed from the group’s recovered cameras which is certainly worth looking at.
The “Frame 17 Bigfoot” Picture
Although most dismiss it, many researchers point to a picture cataloged as “Frame 17” of Nikolai (Thibeaux) Brignolle’s camera as rather interesting. The picture’s perspective from below a rise in the landscape. A pathway is visible with snow-covered trees on either side. In the middle of the frame, is a blurred yet unmistakable picture of a humanoid figure. Although it could easily be a person (and almost certainly is) the shading of the figure appears to be of the same color or material. Even the most ardent skeptic would have to admit the figure certainly bears a resemblance to what many people would recognize as a Bigfoot-type creature. A Russian Yeti? Or a menk? You can check out the picture below.
It is also clearly facing forward as if walking back down the slope towards the cameraman. Incidentally, this was the last picture on Brignolle’s camera. Was this mysterious creature some kind of wild beast-like man, a Bigfoot? And was it responsible, one way or another for the deaths of the nine hikers?
Detractors from these claims insist that a trail leading away from the photographer is visible. This would suggest that whoever the mystery figure is, they are likely one of the nine hikers. They most likely walked away from Brignolle, likely to gain a better view of their position. At the time of the picture, they were likely in the process of returning to Brignolle.
You can check out a recent documentary looking at this aspect of the incident.
The Zolotaryov “Second Camera” Pictures
As well as the reasons already highlighted previously for assuming Zolotaryov may not have been all that he seemed, he and Brignolles were each substantially better clothed than the rest of the group. They also each had some type of inner soles in their footwear, unlike the others. This has raised the question as to whether they had equipment especially supplied that the others didn’t. Or were they simply the last of the group to perish and so took clothes from their dead friends in an attempt to survive?
Other theories suggest that the pair likely left the tent slightly before the other nine. Perhaps they left to relieve themselves and so dressed in whatever clothes they could find. The intention being that they would be back in a matter of minutes. However, something happened which caused them not to return to the tent.
What is interesting, though, is Zolotaryov’s camera on his body. In fact, he had the camera still around his neck. What is perhaps even stranger, this camera was a different one to the one at his disposal throughout the journey, which would turn up among the ruins of the crippled tent. Why had he changed cameras? Was this another hint towards some kind of clandestine mission? And if so, what was he hoping to capture on camera? Had the pair not left the tent in order to relieve themselves, but because of some kind of disturbance outside?
Whatever the reason, the eleven pictures he captured were mysterious and slightly chilling. While none of them are clear, they show strange flashes, bizarre manifestations, and perhaps most intriguing, “glowing orbs”. You can see several of those pictures below.
An Intelligence Mission Or Demonic Manifestation?
These pictures and the events leading up to them would seem to be of obvious importance. Why did Zolotaryov and Brignolles leave the tent in dark, freezing conditions? Why did Zolotaryov feel the need to take a camera, and why did he take a different one? And of most importance, what took place once they were outside? Were the pictures a purposeful attempt to capture some strange but initially non-threatening activity? Or did the pictures come under extreme pressure? Perhaps as the pair ran through the icy snow away from some unknown entity or force?
What is perhaps also of interest, of all the cameras, this camera around Zolotaryov’s neck was the only one that would receive a label. Why was this? Does this indicate that there was something special about these pictures? Or even something special about Zolotaryov. If we assume for a moment that the intelligence claims are true, why would he have gone to take photographs for the Soviets, who could surely have done so themselves? Is it possible that Zolotaryov was spying for another body, possibly the Americans? Is this why he and the group met such a sudden and brutal end?
Or do the pictures, as Cora Hull in the book ‘Fallen Angels Exposed’ suggests, show supernatural manifestations? According to Hull the Zolotaryov pictures “are a clear indication of fallen angel/higher level demonic involvement”. Hull would even go as far as to state that several of the pictures show a “partial physical manifestation, shape-shifting demon”. Furthermore, according to Hull, the glowing orbs are “typical of fallen angels or higher-level demons manifesting in orb form”.
Is this why the locals call the range the “Mountain of the Dead” (or Dead Mountain)?
The Gravity Fluctuation Theory
Perhaps one of the most intriguing theories is also one of the most scientific. Professor and physicist, German Erchenko would claim that the nine hikers were the victims of “gravity fluctuation” – a set of circumstances, including the location, which causes the external gravity to literally fluctuate.
According to Erchenko, he believes that a “significant external pressure” literally threw the hikers out from the tent. He would explain it as a “corridor” forming in and around the valleys of the land. As the campers were getting ready to settle down for the night, they would suddenly find themselves lifted off the ground and “dragged into the corridor”.
This, Erchenko would continue, would explain the damage to the tent from the inside, as the air pressure inside the tent was significantly higher than outside. The hikers would, in theory at least, have raced through the air towards and through the material of the tent. This set of circumstances would also explain the harrowing internal injuries to at least four of the hikers, who perhaps were already outside at the time of the incident. Furthermore, this would explain why they were so far away from the campsite. And perhaps why the remaining five were in such bizarre and awkward positions as if trying to get towards the cedar tree. Perhaps they were not trying to reach the tree so much as pull themselves out of the apparent corridor.
It is likely, according to Erchenko’s theory, that those outside at the time of the gravity drop “died instantly”. The remaining members may have remained alive for a short while afterward. All of them, “once outside the tent (would) remain hovering in the air as though lying on a horizontal surface”.
Bizarre Natural Phenomenon, Or Top-Secret Gravity Weapons?
Is this really as extreme as it sounds? Erchenko insists that this is not at all uncommon for the area. Furthermore, the incident likely lasted only a matter of minutes, which would still be enough time to scatter all nine of the hikers to the positions they were discovered. This, of course, would also explain the complete lack of tracks of an outside influence or predator. Furthermore, Erchenko would theorize that had the hikers remained firmly in the tent, they would likely have remained unaffected from the temporary drop in gravity outside. Even unaware of it.
However, what about the glowing orbs witnessed by the locals, and by the hikers? At least by Zolotaryov, who appears to have left the tent to investigate them. Might they too be some kind of consequence of such a bizarre phenomenon? In the same way that some people claim to see bright lights before earthquakes?
Or might the glowing orbs, while certainly being an indicator of such an upcoming drop in gravity, be of a more manufactured nature? Perhaps, although certainly a lot more unlikely, this “gravity fluctuation” was not the result of a natural phenomenon. Maybe it was part of a top-secret military experiment? If that was the case, then the need for secrecy, although not to endorse such behavior, would certainly be easier to understand.
What is also interesting is the several plane crashes in and around the hikers’ final location. As well as the wild animals that are often drop dead in unnervingly similar circumstances.
While there is no proof that this is the case, the claims by a member of the original search team just short of a decade later would light the touch-paper on many of the conspiracies that surround the incident today.
Yuri Yarovoi – Another Case Of Fact Hiding As Fiction?
In 1967 one of the members of the search team, Yuri Yarovoi, would write and publish ‘Of The Highest Degree of Complexity’ – a fictional story that was based on not only his personal experience with the search unit, as well as his capacity as the official photographer, but also on access he claimed to have to secret leaked files on the incident. Given the political and social climate of the Cold War era of the late-1960s Soviet Union, some researchers have suggested releasing the account in this way was the only method of avoiding persecution from the Soviet authorities.
Even more intriguing, Yarovoi, who died in 1980, had several “alternative” versions of the manuscript, each of which wouldn’t see the light of day because of the aforementioned censorship around the issue. The whereabouts of his archives, including the alternative manuscripts, is unknown.
His work, however, would inspire others to look at the case again. Among them was Anatoly Gushchin who would write the book ‘The Price Of State Secrets Is Nine Lives” in 1990 following the demise of communism in the Soviet Union. Although many were highly critical of his work, it would indirectly produce “new” witnesses who, under threat of the Soviet regime, had remained silent regarding who they knew of the incident.
One of these witnesses was former police officer, Lev Ivanov. He would publish an article the same year as Gushchin’s book. In it, he would state that the police investigating the case were at a complete loss as to what had happened. Furthermore, and of interest, were the reports from his team about the “flying spheres”. The ones from their search. According to Gushchin, he received direct orders from high-ranking officials ordering him to retract the claim.
Could It Really Happen Again?
Claims such as those by Yarovoi and Gushchin certainly make many of us reexamine this most strange of cases once again. Whatever the truth of the situation, it certainly appears there was something, or the perception of something that required covering up. While we will go over once more the theories and claims as to just what happened in this most uninhabitable area of northern Russia in the brutal winter of 1959 in summing up this morbidly fascinating case, it could prove to be, if we assume that one day we will be privy to the real and accurate events, that aspects of all areas will be found contained within them.
Perhaps it is worth returning to the aforementioned, German Erchenko, who would state that gravity fluctuation was responsible for the hiker’s deaths. He would assert that this phenomenon occurs more than people think. Only the fact the area is so uninhabited prevents more deaths like those of the nine hikers, at least according to Erchenko. Perhaps, interestingly or not, this is actually the origins of the ominous moniker, “Mountain of the Dead”. Erchenko would issue a stern warning to any adventure seekers who might wish to visit the Dyatlov Pass in the future. He would state, “It is worth bearing in mind that the corridor where the gravity to Earth is decreased can ‘open’ again”.
Whether this phenomenon is real, or whether it is some menacing secret technological weapon, the image below is extremely interesting. It is from the European Space Agency and claims to show the discrepancies of gravity on Earth. The blue areas show where the gravity is lower, while the red areas similarly show the areas with higher than normal gravity.
Still An Enigmatic Mystery Sixty Years Later
Despite the intense interest in the case, the numerous investigations, both official and otherwise, just what happened in the dark, freezing elements on the Ural Mountains in early-February 1959 remains a mystery. And an ominous one at that.
We can likely rule out an avalanche being the cause of the hiker’s deaths. Aside from there being no evidence to suggest an avalanche to have happened, it wouldn’t explain a whole manner of details, not least the bizarre positioning of the bodies. Or why they would end up in two different groups. And the damage to the cedar tree and the remains of a fire where the first two bodies were discovered. Even the perceived threat would unlikely have resulted in such a panic to have caused the group’s deaths.
It also appears unlikely to have been the local Mansi tribe who killed the group. They were indeed familiar with the terrain and expert at negotiating it in all manner of weather conditions. They were even expert hunters and efficient at covering their tracks. However, it seems unlikely such an attack would go ahead. Not at least in the middle of a blizzard at night. Researchers since have uncovered what appears to have been a simmering resentment. Largely from the wider, mostly-religious population towards the Mansi tribe. And in particular for their “pagan ways” which were only a little short of heretical. In short, there would have been a large number of people only too happy to see the Mansi blamed for such a heinous act as the murder of nine defenseless hikers.
So, what about the grittier conspiracy theories involving the military, UFOs, and even supernatural beasts.
How Credible Are The Bigfoot And UFO Connections?
It is likely within this sphere that the answer lies. If we start first by ruling out with what is perhaps the least likely suggestions among the three. That the hikers met their grisly end at the hands of a Bigfoot-like creature or a supernatural entity.
So then, what about the UFO claims? There are reports of many strange lights in this area of the mountain range. The main reason for the UFO claims here, however, is the bizarre and precise facial injuries. In particular, the removal of skin tissues.
And because of two pictures on Zolotaryov’s first camera.
The first – Frame 15 – wasn’t initially of interest. Mainly as it would seem to show nothing more than just a blur. However, in light of recent research, as well as the pictures on Zolotaryov’s second camera, this changes. The picture perhaps takes on a little more significance. Was it just a blur? Or might it have been some type of strange interference? You can view that picture below.
The second picture, and certainly most well-known is Frame 34 – the last picture on this camera. It appears to be an out-of-focus orb of some kind. Was it a picture that was merely an accident, as some skeptics insist? Or was it an attempt, perhaps by one of the other hikers to use Zolotaryov’s camera? The one left by him in the tent. Perhaps to document the bizarre and frightening events unfolding around them?
Initially, the incident looks to be a UFO encounter. And has certainly remained in the UFO arena. Particularly since the account became better known around the world following the fall of the Soviet Union. There might, however, be a more down-to-earth, but no less unnerving scenario.
Military Intelligence – A Likely Epicenter Of The Conspiracy?
Might there be, then, a clandestine military connection? Maybe the hikers had innocently wondered onto the land? Or perhaps they were discreetly “led off course” by Zolotaryov (if claims of his “intelligence” connections are true). It would seem that Zolotaryov and Brignolles left the tent, likely to investigate some kind of activity outside. This might explain their increased clothing and their “borrowing” of their campmates’ attire. Perhaps the remaining two hikers of the second group would join them at some stage.
Whether through a military weapons experiment, an aircraft test, or indeed an extraterrestrial-controlled craft, something seems to have gone wrong. Perhaps the object crashed or there was an explosion overhead. Or, if we say that it was a weapons test, perhaps these explosions were the result of such testing. It would seem that whatever “it” was, panic in the hikers remaining in the tent was the result. While the four already outside ran further away, desperately looking for cover.
Perhaps this explains why the first five hikers were almost naked and relatively near to the tent. Maybe this is why three of them were in bizarre positions? As if making their way to the first two hikers under the cedar tree. However, might it be that the “fire” was not a makeshift campfire? Perhaps the remains of some kind of explosion? One that not only damaged the tree but perhaps killed the two hikers presumably under it. Remember, their hands were “in the fire”. Hardly a position to put oneself in voluntarily.
Perhaps the four hikers in the second group met a similar fate near the ravine. Although their extensive internal injuries would suggest a much closer proximity to whatever was being tested.
An Event So Terrible…?
If the deaths were through secret military testing, is the real conspiracy the covering up of the acts? And not necessarily upon the bodies’ discovery. Might it be that the military, realizing their mistake, purposely manipulated the scene? Perhaps even the positioning of their bodies and their ultimate final locations?
There is, for example, some discrepancy as to whether the remains of the tent had even been put up correctly. These hikers had experience in hazardous conditions. It would have been highly unlikely for them to overlook such a basic yet essential procedure. Was the tent, then, put back up in haste? By inexperienced military officers in order to cover-up events that still remain unknown to the rest of us? Was there such a cover-up? Was it so terrible there was a perceived need to hide them from the potential prying eyes of the world?
There remains hope that somewhere in a vault in Russia explanations await. Perhaps deep below the modern cities, in a building once utilized during the Cold War era. Maybe there sits a file with the real story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident. Until that day, there remains only the theories and speculations. The findings of those who still, over half a century later, have a grim fascination with this dark event. An event, that perhaps we should keep in mind, resulted in the very real deaths of nine very real people.
The video below looks at this most fascinating, if grim, cases of the twentieth century a little further.
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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s senior aides are looking for “leakers” in the State Department in light of recent media reports that have angered the new secretary, Axios reported.
What did the State Department say?
Heather Nauert, a State Department spokesperson, recently held a public affairs meeting to discuss the leaks, according to Axios. The meeting came after an Associated Press article reported that Brett McGurk — a Special Presidential Envoy appointed under former President Barack Obama — was remaining on the job for an six more months.
“There were a couple of articles that pissed off Pompeo," a source familiar with the meeting told Axios. "One was an article about McGurk. Another about slow-rolling Palestinian funding."
State Department employees phones were checked as part of the investigation. Pompeo, who took the State Department lead after serving with the CIA, was shocked to see news stories about internal matters, the report states. Some of the leaks were discovered when reporters attempt to confirm information they received from overseas sources.
Was the response warranted?
State Department employees told Axios they believe Pompeo’s response is heavy-handed and unwarranted.
"They've gotten diplomatic security involved in the leak investigation — the internal security of the State Department — which is bananas," a source told Axios. "These are the people who stand outside diplomats' doors when they sleep overseas."
Nauret told Axios that the unauthorized release of information, whether it's classified or not, is always a concern.
"It can jeopardize ongoing operations and negotiations in which the State Department is involved," Nauret said. "Also, Diplomatic Security doesn’t 'stand outside diplomats' doors. DS is the security and law enforcement bureau for the entire agency. Their mission is to provide a secure environment for the conduct of U.S. foreign policy."
A senior State Department official told Axios that leaks on internal deliberations “have a debilitating effect on our prosecution of foreign policy."
"Most diplomats working on these issues support any effort to ensure our messages are appropriately controlled and coordinated through official channels,” the source said.
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After Sigma announced the new 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art lens last month, according to trusted source, Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG Art lens will also be announced soon, we will see announcement in late August, just before Photokina 2014. Perhaps this would be a cheap choice for people who want the Zeiss 85mm f/1.4 OTUS lens that will also be announced at Photokina 2014.
Rumors said Sigma will also announce some super telephoto zoom lens like 300-600mm in 2015. Stay tuned for more detail.
via: CR
Read More: Sigma Rumors
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Brickshelf member, YOGURT, has created some AWESOME LEGO models of Megatron. Sure, anyone can dream up and build a transformer out of LEGO bricks. But can your models TRANSFORM? Didn’t think so. Check pat the break for the complete step by step transformation of Megatron from Gun to Robot form.
[via Brickshelf]
EDITED: For correct usage of the word LEGO
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A doctor shows phosphorus bomb injuries in Gaza. Warning: contains graphic footage of war injuries International Solidarity Movement
Video showing injuries consistent with the use of white phosphorus shells has been filmed inside hospitals treating Palestinian wounded in Gaza City.
Contact with the shell remnants causes severe burns, sometimes burning the skin to the bone, consistent with descriptions by Ahmed Almi, an Egyptian doctor at the al-Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.
Almi said the entire body of one victim was burned within an hour. It was the first time he had seen the effects of what he called a "chemical weapon".
The Israeli military has denied using white phosphorus during the assault on Gaza, but aid agencies say they have no doubt it has been used.
"It is an absolute certainty," said Marc Garlasco, a senior military analyst at Human Rights Watch. He had seen Israeli artillery fire white phosphorus shells at Gaza City, Garlasco said.
The shells burst in the air, billowing white smoke before dropping the phosphorus shell.
Garlasco said each shell contains more than 100 incendiary rounds, which ignite and pump out smoke for about 10 minutes.
Severe respiratory problems can result in anyone exposed to the smoke and burning chemical particles that rain down over an area the size of a football pitch.
According to the International Solidarity Movement, many patients at the hospital near Khan Younis were suffering from serious breathing difficulties after inhaling smoke.
Human Rights Watch compares the use of white phosphorus shells over Gaza to the impact of cluster munitions, which scatter "bomblets" over a wide area. Children may kick and play with a lump of phosphorus, stirring up the embers and producing more fire and smoke.
The use of white phosphorus as a weapon – as opposed to its use as an obscurant and infrared blocking smoke screen – is banned by the UN's third convention on conventional weapons, which covers the use of incendiary devices. Though Israel is not a signatory to the convention, its military manuals reflect the convention's restrictions on using white phosphorus.
Israel initially claimed that it was not using white phosphorus. It later explained that shells being loaded for a howitzer, identified from photographs as phosphorus rounds, were empty "quiet" shells used for target marking. However, images of exploding shells and showering burning fragments are now acknowledged by independent observers as having been phosphorus.
At the centre of the controversy is the way white phosphorus air burst shells have been used in heavily built-up urban areas, with an overwhelmingly civilian population.
The M825A1 rounds, which are the kind identified as being fired by Israeli forces, are made primarily for use as a smokescreen in a way that limits their effect as an incendiary weapon, experts say.
Neil Gibson, a technical adviser to Jane's Missiles and Rockets magazine, said the shells did not produce high-velocity burning fragments like conventional white phosphorus weapons once did.
Instead, he said, they produced a "series of large slower burning wedges which fall from the sky". The wedges would then ignite spontaneously in the air and fall to the ground, burning for five or 10 minutes, he said.
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When Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Houston, Texas, the city’s biggest sports star, Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, set out to raise $200,000 for Harvey’s victims on the crowdfunding website YouCaring. Less than a week later, he’s already raised nearly $15 million – and counting.
He’s far from alone. His teammate, offensive lineman Jeff Allen, is donating money for every offensive touchdown the team scores this year to the Houston Food Bank. Every NFL team has tweeted out links to Red Cross donations in support of Houston. The Green Bay Packers donated $100,000 to Houston Flood Relief Fund, the Baltimore Ravens donated $1 million, Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett announced a campaign in support of Harvey victims. And that’s just the NFL.
You know who hasn’t encouraged people to donate money to relief efforts, or even so much as tweeted out a link to the American Red Cross’s campaign?
President Donald Trump.
Trump did visit Texas this week, but he did not (depite his initial claims) witness any of the devastation first hand, offer any sympathy for those who lost their lives, or promote any of the relief organizations on the ground, which particularly irked Alyssa Mastromonaco, who formerly served as the White House Deputy Chief of Staff for President Obama.
“That moment is a moment to stand there with relief organizations on television and say, ‘Give to these guys,'” Mastromonaco said on the politics podcast Pod Save America this week. “That’s how they raise money. That was one of the most important things President Obama did when we went to these places. We stood with FEMA, and the Red Cross, and local food kitchens and said, ‘These people are helping. Give them money.'”
In the past week, Trump has pardoned a racist convict, yammered about TV ratings, bragged about crowd sizes, attacked Hillary Clinton, marveled at HISTORIC rain falls, angrily tweeted about fake news, and talked about cutting taxes for the country’s wealthiest people. Oh, and he’s hocked Trump-branded hats — as a fundraiser for his own campaign, not for Harvey victims. So, you know, he’s been busy.
Thankfully, the sports world — which doesn’t often play the role of “good guy” these days — has been stepping up.
In the NBA, the owner of the Houston Rockets is donating $10 million to the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund, and the owner of the Miami Heat is donating $2 million to relief efforts. In the MLB, the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers have pledged $4 million and $1 million, respectively, to relief efforts. The Arizona Diamondbacks raised over $370,000 for Harvey relief.
The Houston Dash of the National Women’s Soccer League have raised more than $10,000, and have partnered with the Houston Dash and Major League Soccer to donate a combined $1 million to relief efforts. Proceeds from Sunday’s Dash match against the Seattle Reign will go to Harvey victims, and the Dynamo and Dash opened their stadium for physical donations, such as baby food, diapers, wheelchairs, and toiletries.
WNBA players from around the league, including Houston natives Brittney Griner and Chiney and Nneka Ogwumike, have been holding fundraisers and donating to campaigns. The Washington Mystics of the WNBA have teamed up the the Red Cross to send care packages to victims, and are donating a portion of ticket sales from their game on Friday night to relief efforts. The NHL and the NHLPA have donated $200,000 to the Red Cross. College basketball teams across the NCAA are donating clothing and shoes to those displaced, and the list just goes on and on and on.
In these troubling times, sports organizations big and small are providing a much-needed dose of leadership, empathy, and generosity.
Watt, particularly, has been paving the way. He’s been talking to those who survived Hurricane Katrina to figure out what went right and wrong in the relief efforts there, and he’s also being very transparent about where the donations are going.
“My first phase is what I’m doing is this weekend, my teammates and I have semi-trucks rolling in from out of town that we filled up,” Watt told CNN. “We have about nine semi-trucks that are going to come to town. And we have those all filled with stocks, supplies, water, food, clothing, everything. So, we’re going to give that out this weekend.”
“I’m not just here for the initial fundraiser,” he said. “I’m here to make sure that we take care of you down the road.”
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The UN refugee agency has said fighting over Libya’s capital Tripoli has displaced more than 105,000 people since April, when a Libyan commander launched an offensive to take the city from the UN-backed government.
The UNHCR tweeted on Friday that its relief aid could only reach about 2,200 out of 21,000 displaced families.
In April, the self-styled Libyan National Army of commander Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive on Tripoli.
Haftar, who is based in eastern Libya, boasts support from key Arab governments, but his military campaign has so far resulted in a stalemated conflict, AP said.
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— The parents of a 6-year-old girl say her quick thinking saved the life of her little brother.
The girl was traveling in a GMC Yukon when another vehicle hit it Saturday. It happened on Highway 210 in Angier.
"It was on fire,” daughter Alexis Pencola said Wednesday.
The SUV caught fire immediately after being struck.
"All I thought about was the truck was going to explode. The trooper told me that doesn't happen, only in movies, but that's what you think about,” mother Chrystal Pencola said.
The Highway Patrol said the Yukon slid about 83 feet before stopping.
"I couldn't get my seatbelt off, the door wouldn't open and my kids were in the back,” Chrystal Pencola said.
So it was up to Alexis, 6, to get her 3-year-old brother, Tyler, out of the vehicle. The airbags had deployed and the automatic locks had shut down.
"I unlocked his seatbelt and I unlocked mine and I unlocked my door and everything,” Alexis Pencola said.
"She could have just gotten out and ran from being scared. She could have locked up and not even been able to get the door open or even get her seatbelt off, but she didn't,” Chrystal Pencola said. "We are blessed. We are very blessed that none of us were hurt or killed."
The driver of the vehicle that hit the Pencola family was charged with failure to yield.
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Sebastian Kurz speaks to media after a meeting with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen | Thomas Kronsteiner/Getty Images Austria’s (not so) pro-European government Incoming chancellor vows to stay close to the EU, but some raise doubts about his far-right coalition partners.
Austria's incoming right-leaning coalition took pains over the weekend to reassure partners the country would remain firmly "pro-European," amid growing concern over the populist influence at Europe’s geographic and political crossroads.
After two months of talks, Austria’s center-right People’s Party (ÖVP) and the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) agreed to form a government. The country’s president is expected to inaugurate the new coalition Monday, making Austria the only Western European nation with a government that includes an anti-immigrant, populist force.
“We have two parties forming a coalition here that want to actively help shape Europe,” said Sebastian Kurz, the ÖVP's leader and the future chancellor, as he presented the new government on Saturday.
But that’s exactly what worries some European capitals.
“It’s never good news when the extreme right joins a government,” said Sandro Gozi, Italy’s state secretary for European affairs. Rome has been annoyed by Freedom Party calls to impose border checks on the Brenner Pass, Europe's key north-south trade corridor, in order to keep out migrants.
“Democrats that believe in European values must keep a watchful eye on the coalition that is now in power in Austria,” said Pierre Moscovici, European commissioner for economic and financial affairs, on Twitter Sunday.
The Freedom Party, whose last foray into government in 2000 sparked censure from Austria’s EU partners, has flirted with anti-European positions for years and considers France’s National Front a close ally.
Europe’s political mainstream is concerned that Vienna will drift right on hot button issues such as migration and the future of the EU, positioning Austria closer to the more nationalist stances taken by some Central and Eastern European capitals.
Over the weekend, FPÖ leader Heinz-Christian Strache, who recently suggested Austria join Central Europe’s Visegrad Group alongside EU renegades Hungary and Poland, struck a more conciliatory note.
“We stand by the European Union, we stand by Europe’s peace project,” he said standing alongside Kurz. “We view one or the other position critically and have different positions that we will naturally articulate and look for partners on. That’s the democratic game.”
Just what game Strache is really playing isn’t clear, however. The FPÖ belongs to the Euroskeptic Europe of Nations and Freedom in the European Parliament, an affiliation critics say is inconsistent with a “pro-European” philosophy.
Even as Strache was intoning his allegiance to the EU, National Front leader Marine Le Pen and Dutch populist leader Geert Wilders were calling for its dissolution at a far-right summit in Prague. An FPÖ representative was also present. Le Pen called the party’s participation in the new government “excellent news for Europe."
“We are opponents of the European Union," Le Pen told the gathering, adding that the EU was “killing” Europe.
"I think this is something we have in common because the European Union is a disastrous organization, which is leading our Continent to destruction through dilution by drowning it in migrants, by the negation of our respective countries, by the draining of our diversity."
The Freedom Party’s position on Russia is also full of contradictions. The party, which struck a partnership agreement with Vladimir Putin’s political party earlier this year, opposes the international sanctions regime against Russia, but will nonetheless support the sanctions at the EU level, Strache said.
It’s unclear how much influence the Freedom Party will have on EU policy. Though it nominally will control the foreign ministry, its nominee, Middle East expert Karin Kneissl, doesn’t belong to the party. More importantly, Kurz, who served as Austria’s foreign minister in the previous government, plans to shift core responsibilities for the EU to the chancellery. That means he will have firm control of EU policy, much like Angela Merkel in Berlin and Viktor Orbán in Budapest.
“Tusk is right when he says that mandatory refugee quotas in the EU are not working” — Sebastian Kurz, future chancellor of Austria
While the ÖVP, which has been in government in various constellations since 1987, is solidly pro-European, Kurz has shown a willingness to divert from the political mainstream, most notably during the 2015 refugee crisis. He spearheaded an effort to close the migration route through the Western Balkans in the face of strong resistance from Merkel.
With Europe poised to make important decisions in the coming months on how to handle refugees fleeing Africa and other regions, Kurz’s voice will likely be an important one in the debate. Vienna is also due to take over the EU’s rotating presidency in the second half of 2018, offering him a prominent stage.
After recent comments by European Council President Donald Tusk reopened the divide over migration, Kurz made it clear on which side he stands.
“Tusk is right when he says that mandatory refugee quotas in the EU are not working,” Kurz said. “I’m going to push to change this dysfunctional refugee policy.”
That could end up putting Vienna in direct conflict with Merkel, who continues to insist on a quota system.
Many German conservatives, especially those to the right of Merkel, have welcomed Kurz’s ascension. Some Merkel opponents who believe the chancellor has taken her party into the center left regard Kurz as a model for re-energizing their own conservative values.
That’s also true within the European People’s Party, the alliance of center-right parties to which both Kurz’s ÖVP and Merkel’s conservatives belong. Kurz’s success in turning around the moribund People’s Party at just 31 to become the world’s youngest government leader has made him the group’s star.
While some in the group might frown over the fact that the Freedom Party will control both the interior and defense ministries, Kurz has met with little resistance at the European level.
The new Austrian coalition’s top priorities — security and migration — mirror those in most European countries and Kurz’s law-and-order approach has many adherents.
He is likely to make that case on Tuesday when he travels to Brussels for dinner with Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Tusk. The purpose of Kurz's first foreign trip as chancellor: to underscore the new government's commitment to Europe.
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Kollam Thulasi was addressing a public gathering in Kerala's Kollam city
Malyali actor Kollam Thulasi made a shocking statement today, saying women entering Sabarimala temple should be ripped into half. Hitting out at both the central and the state governments, he said one half should be sent to Delhi while the other half should be thrown towards Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's house.
"Women coming to Sabarimala temple should be ripped into half," the actor said while addressing a public gathering in Kerala's Kollam city, according to news agency ANI.
The Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala has traditionally barred all women of menstruating age. The temple's rule followed the still widely-held belief in India that menstruating women are "impure". The custom in the temple was challenged by a clutch of petitioners who argued that women cannot be denied the constitutional right to worship.
In a four-one majority verdict last month, the top court had revoked restrictions on women entering the temple following a 20-year legal battle, ruling that patriarchy cannot be allowed to trump faith.
The verdict has received mixed reactions from people in the state. The Kerala government and the Travancore Devaswom Board, which runs the shrine, have accepted the verdict. Mr Vijayan has said all necessary arrangements will be made for the safety and comfort of women pilgrims and that state government would not go in for a review of the ruling of the Supreme Court.
The opposition Congress, BJP and various Hindu outfits have launched protests, demanding that the state government file a review petition against the September 28 top court order.
Four review petitions have already been filed against the Sabarimala judgement, but the Supreme Court earlier this week said there will be no urgent hearing. "It will be listed in due course," a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said on Tuesday.
The LDF has alleged that the ongoing stir over the Lord Ayyappa shrine was to "destabilise' the government.
With inputs from agencies
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The openly difficult relationship between Saudi Arabia and Muslim Brotherhood chapters across the region has become a salient feature of Middle East politics since the advent of the “Arab Spring.” This mutual mistrust has increased in the wake of the Kingdom's recent support for the military takeover in Cairo and the generals' subsequent repression of the Brotherhood there. But how is the Islamist organization affected by this dynamic in Syria, where the Muslim Brothers and the Saudis both battle against Bashar al-Assad?
The question has become ever more relevant since Saudi Arabia's takeover of the “Syrian file” from the hands of the Qataris last May.[1] Yet the answer is steeped in ambiguities. On the one hand, the relationship between Riyadh and the Syrian Brotherhood suffers from political contradictions and a lack of genuine trust. On the other hand, the two actors know each other well and have a common short and medium-term interest: to see the Iran and Hezbollah-backed Syrian regime replaced by a new political system dominated by Sunnis. But the moving sands of Egypt might soon reach Syria too, and the consequences for the local Brotherhood branch there may one day be significant.
A Long-standing Relationship
To understand the relationship between the Syrian Brotherhood and Saudi Arabia, often described by Syrian Brothers themselves as “complex,”[2] one first needs to look a few decades back. For it was after the Syrian Brotherhood's rebellion in the late 1970s that both actors really started to know each other. Fleeing harsh repression in the early 1980s, tens of thousands of Muslim Brothers escaped Syria and took refuge in Jordan, Iraq, and, to a lesser extent, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. It is estimated that the number of Brothers residing in the Kingdom today is in the low thousands.
This relatively sizeable presence initially posed challenges to Saudi rulers, who considered the Brotherhood's goal of politicizing Islam a threat to the apolitical nature of their deeply conservative Wahhabi society. “The Saudi government believes that the implementation of the Brotherhood's political project—calling for elections and the formation of parties—would mean the end of its own model, which depends on the control of a ruler who has all powers,” argued a leader of the Syrian Brotherhood who has family in the Gulf. The Kingdom therefore regulated the Syrian Brothers’ presence in Saudi Arabia by allowing them to carry out political activities in private but forbidding any politicization of Saudi society, with the promise of an uncompromising and harsh response as a deterrent. “We would be very cautious not to cross these lines,” recounted another Brother who was raised in Saudi Arabia. “There would be Syrian Brotherhood gatherings in houses or mosques but, to be discreet, we would only go and leave by a group of two or three individuals. We wouldn't mix with members of other Brotherhood chapters, and we would almost never disclose our political affiliation in the presence of Saudi citizens.”
Thus, despite a sometimes heavy intelligence surveillance, the Kingdom nonetheless allowed the Syrian Brotherhood to operate underground. Saudi Arabia even became the place of residence for two leaders of the organization: Hassan al-Houeidi from Deir Ezzor, who lived in Medina, and Abdel Fatah Abu Ghuddah, a distinguished Islamic scholar from Aleppo who was based in Riyadh. This 30-year presence of an important share of the Syrian Brotherhood in the Kingdom helps explain why, short-term mutual interests aside, the Saudi rulers have for a long time tolerated the group more than its Egyptian counterpart.
Caught in the Crossfire: Between Qatar and Saudi Arabia
Yet the advent of the Arab Spring and the rise of Qatar as a major backer of Brotherhood chapters in the region have changed the Saudi-Brotherhood equation, and the Syrian chapter is no exception. The backing it received from Doha, mainly through political and material support for the Brotherhood-dominated Syrian National Council (SNC), helped reinforce the perception that the group had sided with Qatar in the emirate's emerging competition with the Kingdom for regional influence.
The political reality, however, sometimes differed. It was not primarily the Syrian Brotherhood but a group of “local” Syrian activists headed by Mustafa Sabbagh that supported Qatari interests and positions within the SNC and its successor, the National Coalition (NC). But because the Brotherhood often voted with Sabbagh’s group, the Saudis started making the organization's life difficult—within opposition bodies but also at home.
In the Kingdom, it became difficult to fundraise for the Syrian Brotherhood. “You don't fundraise for the Brotherhood but for the Syrian revolution; otherwise you risk being thrown in jail by the police,” explained a Syrian Brother who travels regularly to Saudi Arabia. Those who nonetheless want to give to the group must now operate through complex financial channels. “It's not like donating to Oxfam,” another Muslim Brother with family in the Kingdom summed up ironically. The Saudis also started to support the inclusion of secular activists in exiled Syrian opposition bodies, with the idea that the activists would dilute the Brotherhood's influence.
The Kingdom's takeover of the Syrian file from the hands of the Qataris became effective in July, when the opposition elected as its new head Ahmad Assi al-Jarba,[3] a tribal leader nicknamed by many as “the man of Bandar bin Sultan,” chief of Saudi intelligence. “The election of Jarba changed the NC's landscape,” recounted a prominent Syrian opposition activist. With the Qatari-Saudi competition for influence diminished, Mustafa Sabbagh's group became sidelined from the decision-making process, and the Syrian Brotherhood was left looking for new allies. Over the summer, some figures in and around the group began to advocate for an effort to reach out to the Saudis and improve relations on a pragmatic basis. “After all, we both need each other,” whispered a high-ranking member of the Brotherhood. One man in particular seems to entertain a particularly close relation to the Saudi rulers—Farouk Tayfour, deputy head of the group and also deputy leader of the NC. Two months ago, he called on Syrian activists to vote in favor of Jarba, and therefore may have been the one tipping the balance for the Saudi-sponsored candidate. There are also reports that he enjoys friendly relations with Saad Hariri and Okab Sakr, both Lebanese nationals in charge of lending Saudi support to the Syrian opposition, and that he is getting closer to Louay Meqdad, Michel Kilo, and Ahmad Assi al-Jarba, who all act as important channels for Saudi influence in the NC.
But the extent to which Tayfour's rapprochement with Saudi Arabia was sanctioned by Brotherhood leadership is disputed. When Tayfour argued for Jarba's election as head of the NC, he actually did so against the collective decision of the Brotherhood to support Sabbagh and was afterward severely reprimanded by the leadership. “We welcomed Saudi support for the Syrian opposition, but our opinion was that Sabbagh would have been a better candidate than Jarba,” explained a leader of the Brotherhood. “Farouk Tayfour…thought that welcoming Saudi support should translate into voting for the Kingdom's candidate.” Long seen as the group's strongman, Tayfour’s position within the Brotherhood's hierarchy is now being questioned.
Bringing in a “Syrian el-Sisi?”
Tayfour's unilateral rapprochement with Saudi Arabia coincided with the Kingdom's support for the crackdown of General Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi on the Brotherhood in Egypt, and as a result gave rise to suspicion that the Kingdom was devising strategies to politically crush the Syrian group as well.
“If, by allying with Tayfour, the Saudis are trying to use a divide and rule tactic to break the Brotherhood's neck, they are failing,” asserted one of the Brotherhood's leaders, hinting at the fact that even Tayfour's usual allies in the Hama and Idlib leadership had joined in his reprimand. Mistrust of the Kingdom's intentions is heightened by the parallel improvement of relationships between Riyadh and the National Action Group (NAG), a platform of former Muslim Brothers led by Ahmed Ramadan that split from the Brotherhood a few years ago and broke all relations with the group recently.
“The Brotherhood is now dealing with Jarba and with Saudi Arabia but there is a fear that the group risks being used by the Kingdom before eventually being completely neglected—if not one day even repressed,” explained an NC official who has knowledge of such matters.
An anti-Brotherhood source in the Free Syrian Army (FSA) went as far to hope that the Saudi support for el-Sisi in Egypt would one day translate into a similar process that could also remove the group in Syria. “Some of us want to issue arrest warrants for those Brotherhood leaders who go back to Syria because of what they have done to the revolution,” the source said. “We also want to shut down their new office in Aleppo and confiscate their weapons and ammunitions inside the country.”
Such intentions, though unlikely to represent the entire FSA leadership or to become reality in the near future, are sources of deep concern to many Brotherhood members and leaders who, on the ground, have started to rebuild a degree of influence after 30 years of exile and to gather some armed groups under the umbrella of the “Shields of the Revolution.” But what seems to worry Brotherhood leaders the most is the Saudi temptation, resurfacing regularly, to negotiate an “authoritarian transition” with a prominent defector who would get rid of the Assad clan while keeping his hands on Syria's strong security apparatus. Such figures could include Brigadier General Manaf Tlass, son of a former defense minister, or Chief of Staff Ali Habib. Both are highly prominent defectors from the Syrian military.
“If the Saudi agenda in Syria is similar to that of Egypt and aims at bringing in a ‘Syrian el-Sisi,’ things will not go down well with many of us,” a leader of the Brotherhood said. “We do share the same short-term goals with the Kingdom,” he insisted, “but our long-term relationship is currently being reevaluated.”
[1] Hassan Hassan, “Syria is now Saudi Arabia’s Problem,” Foreign Policy, 6 June 2013, http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/06/06/syria_is_now_saudi_arabias_problem. [2] Sources quoted in this article are the product of a series of interviews carried out in August and September 2013 with high-ranking members of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, the National Coalition, and the Free Syrian Army. [3] “Saudi-backed Jarba Defeats Qatar’s Point Man in Syria Opposition,” Middle East Online, 6 July 2013, http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=59926.
Also See: The Syrian Brotherhood: On the Sidelines, by Aron Lund
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There is an increasing amount of noise surrounding “freedom of speech,” “fake news,” and everyone’s right to be heard. This has particular bearing on the gaming community, where the term “freedom of speech” is often used incorrectly.
On the other hand, online personalities are often playing a role in game marketing, and issues with GamerGate and other hate groups latching onto gaming means that games, studios and publishers are confronted with the task of moderating community and forum posts and interactions while being told they are censoring others. Hence, depriving someone of their right to free speech.
As an entertainment attorney with over seven years of experience in a practice dedicated exclusively to gaming culture and industry, this has been an ongoing cause for concern. It’s an issue my clients face daily.
Legally, there’s no argument to be had. Let me explain why.
No One is Entitled to a Platform
Felix Kjellberg, aka PewDiePie, blamed the press immediately after apologizing for his bad judgement, which brings up some interesting legal points about his situation.
He seemed to be operating under the assumption that the Wall Street Journal and mainstream media intentionally destroyed his business relationships. However, based on his own explanation, it’s more than likely he broke his contract under any number of contract theories, as we’ll examine below.
This was my first notice of PewDiePie, so I’m not bringing any baggage into this debate. I don’t like him or dislike him. I just know he’s being widely discussed, and I’m familiar with the legal aspects of these situations.
His departure from Google and Disney seems like a no-brainer to anyone with a basic understanding of entertainment contracts. His first mistake likely came from his presumption that either Google or Disney have a sense of humor, or value him for his comedic chops.
Companies typically won’t support you when doing so will harm their brand or otherwise expose them to liability
The contracts he signed with Google (through YouTube) and Disney (through Maker Studios) should have made it apparent that they do not. Any tolerance on their part would be based on financial interest, not out of any respect for his freedom of expression or his budding career as a “rookie comedian.” That is not the business they are in, as evidenced by how quickly they dropped him when his humor became a liability.
Companies typically won’t support you when doing so will harm their brand or otherwise expose them to liability. That’s why YouTube has a code of conduct, and why most contracts for endorsement include rather robust non-disparagement/no disparaging effect clauses. Disney includes this in its terms of use:
“You may not submit or upload User Generated Content that is defamatory, harassing, threatening, bigoted, hateful, violent, vulgar, obscene, pornographic, or otherwise offensive or that harms or can reasonably be expected to harm any person or entity, whether or not such material is protected by law.”
Or, if you’d like a more direct example from one of my own agreements:
“Influencer may not: [….] engage in conduct or a pattern of behavior that may: (i) diminish Influencer’s reputation as a personality in the gaming community; or (ii) as a result of [Company’s] association with Influencer, harm [Company’s] reputation.”
Typically a non-disparagement clause won’t act alone to limit influencer conduct in an agreement. Some agreements will include strong “moral” clauses, broad warranties and representations, and at will termination as additional means of controlling the influencer or providing backers a buffer if the Influencer’s conduct creates a problem.
For example, a moral provision may prohibit an influencer from engaging in behavior in his or her private life that may amount to a scandal, while almost any reps and warranties provision will include a proviso prohibiting content that is defamatory or otherwise subject to legal action. The goal is to make sure, if you get into a scandal, you can be cast off quickly and with little legal repercussion.
Read every word of your contract
In the interest of fairness, it is possible that the relevance of such provisions weren’t made clear to Kjellberg. In an effort to court lucrative talent, backers may treat such verbiage as boilerplate until and unless something triggers it. I’ve heard “they said we don’t need to worry about that part,” from more than a few clients.
This doesn’t absolve responsibility on the part of the talent. You should read and treat as enforceable anything you want to sign. If you’re not sure, consult an attorney and save yourself trouble down the road. However, it’s generally common sense that companies like Google and Disney are in this for two main reasons: it helps their bottom line, and it’s good for brand building.
When an influencer under contract does something that harms that brand, that influencer is materially breaching their contract. That means termination.
It’s possible that the relationship can still be repaired. However, he broke the rule any competent attorney would advise in a matter concerning an open dispute: the less you say, the better. An eight minute diatribe placing blame on third parties and treating your business partners as complicit in the conspiracy against you probably isn’t going to help smooth this out.
Thus my surprise when Kjellberg admitted that his content was offensive and he crossed the line, that he exhibited poor judgment and that his amateurish attempt at comedy was a failure. He effectively admitted to breaching his contracts with Disney and Google, and then immediately sought to blame the press.
The context for his “joke,” and whether mainstream media took it out of context, never really had anything to do with it. It’s reasonable for companies like Disney and Google to consider mainstream media as the litmus test for what is considered offensive; their respective brands cater to a far broader demographic than PewDiePie’s followers, after all.
Welcome to the wonderful world of entertainment, Felix. You’ve joined an elite club of performers, comedians and artists who crossed the line. No one is entitled to a platform, and your platform is a privilege that you will lose if you breach the terms under which that platform operates. In all likelihood you broke your contract. You even explained how you broke that contract in a video. It’s irrational to conclude that a third party is responsible for the failure of your contract.
This Has Nothing to do With Free Speech
More alarming is the response by supporters, or rather, the response against detractors. The idea that companies or institutions are infringing on someone’s freedom of speech is commonly expressed, often in very strong language. When Twitter banned Milo Yiannopolous, we heard the same refrain. Kjellberg himself has already confirmed that a subset of his fan base consists of white supremacists. As many of us have witnessed, that particular subset is known to be more vocal about a perceived injustice than your average netizen.
Let me go ahead and get this out of the way:
A private individual’s right to tell you to shut up, and a company’s right to censor your offensive content, are both protected by the first amendment.
If a client of mine terminates a player’s subscription because they violated a game’s code of conduct by spamming a chat channel with anti-Semitic rhetoric, they are well within their contractual rights to terminate that subscription. Your participation on a platform like Twitter, YouTube or one of the excellent games offered by my clients, however, is not. That is strictly governed by the Terms of Service or EULA you agree to when you sign up.
If you are an Influencer, your continued support from your backers is contingent on your compliance with whatever non-disparagement language you’ve agreed to. Almost every platform available to you is offered by a private entity. Surprise! Welcome to Capitalism!
The first amendment isn’t prohibitive against society at large; it protects society from government action. This typically shouldn’t be a point of confusion, as the text itself is clear and unequivocal:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
The context of “free speech,” in roughly every territory where free speech exists, is uniformly a limitation on government power to suppress that right. Your personal feelings about censorship notwithstanding (or mine, for that matter), your only recourse against censorship on a platform provided by a private company is to not use that platform. There is no legal recourse. In fact, if there were, that really would violate the First Amendment. Clearly no one wants that.
When someone decries “censorship” and claims “free speech,” they generally are not talking about the right to say what they want. They are talking about the right to say what they want wherever they want to share it, and that is a distinction that crosses the line between “fundamental human right” and “moral rationalization.”
No one is morally obligated to listen to another person’s opinion. No one should feel morally obligated to offer a platform for someone’s message when they consider that message offensive. Freedom of speech does not place one person’s rights above another person’s right, simply because the other provides the platform. That rationale subverts the fundamental right to freedom of speech generally.
What does this all mean?
We like to see the Internet as an open platform for the free exchange of ideas. Many of the companies who make the Internet possible, and they are each and every one private corporations, do their best to make that a reality.
But as we begin to recognize the risks associated with that free exchange, companies must take measures to safeguard the privacy and happiness of their consumers. This necessarily means censoring the content shared online. We are comfortable with censorship intended to protect us (e.g., prohibitions against sharing your personally identifiable information, passwords, etc. online), but we are less comfortable with censorship designed to protect others (e.g., codes of conduct).
The bottom line is that when you engage in free speech online, you typically do so as a consumer of the platform you are using. Normally you won’t have the opportunity to negotiate the contracts you are bound to (whether it be a ToS or EULA) when you use those services.
Even the most successful influencers, Kjellberg included, are bound by provisions that limit their behavior. Ironically, they are often subject to greater restrictions because of their influence on the brand. The reality is that your right to free speech may directly conflict with the agreement you’ve entered, and engaging in some kinds of speech will almost certainly cost you a contract.
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The al-Qaeda-Inspired Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has ordered all girls and women between the ages of 11 and 46 in and around Iraq's northern city of Mosul to undergo female genital mutilation, the United Nations said on Thursday.
“It is a fatwa (or religious edict) of ISIS, we learnt this this morning,” said Jacqueline Badcock, the number two U.N. official in Iraq.
Read the latest on this story: Iraq NGO: ISIS likely to implement FGM fatwa
The “fatwa” would potentially affect 4 million women and girls, Badcock told reporters in Geneva by videolink from Arbil.
“This is something very new for Iraq, particularly in this area, and is of grave concern and does need to be addressed,” she said, according to Reuters.
“This is not the will of Iraqi people, or the women of Iraq in these vulnerable areas covered by the terrorists,” she added.
No one was immediately available for comment from Islamic State which has led an offensive through northern and western Iraq.
Also read:
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The world body has “zero contact” with ISIS, but works through tribal leaders in the affected areas, Badcock said. “I can't give you any more details until we have been on the ground to get information,” she said of the directive.
Doubts over the fatwa
The text of the purported “fatwa” being circulated on the internet, however, has raised questions of authenticity. It appeared dated July, 11, 2013 and referred to the group as the “The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.” Since the group declared an “Islamic Caliphate” last month, it rebranded itself as the “Islamic State.”
ISIS FGM
Besides, the document appeared to be stamped in the city of Aazaz, north of the Syrian province of Aleppo. ISIS has reportedly withdrawn from Aazaz under pressures by the Syrian Free Army several months ago.
FGM, the partial or total removal of external female genitalia, is a tradition practiced widely in many countries and often justified as a means of suppressing a woman's sexual desire to prevent “immoral” behavior.
Female Genital Mutilation in U.S. sparks warnings
Worldwide, more than 130 million girls and women have undergone FGM and more than 700 million women alive today were children when they were married.
The practice of FGM previously occurred only in isolated pockets of Iraq, mainly Kurdistan, according to Badcock.
Mosul city currently has some two million people, more than half of whom are women as there are many female-headed households in the area, she said. Several more million people live in surrounding areas, she added.
“There are reports of rapes of women, of forced marriages,” Badcock added.
Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:42 - GMT 06:42
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Ontario Passes Law Allowing Gov't to Seize Children From Parents Who Oppose Gender Transition
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Canada's Ontario province has passed legislation that allows the government to seize children from families that refuse to accept their child's chosen "gender identity" or "gender expression."
The so-called Supporting Children, Youth and Families Act of 2017, or Bill 89, was approved by a vote of 63 to 23, according to The Christian Times.
It requires child protection, foster, adoption service providers, and judges to take into account and respect a child's "race, ancestry, place of origin, color, ethnic origin, citizenship, family diversity, disability, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression."
"I would consider that a form of abuse, when a child identifies one way and a caregiver is saying no, you need to do this differently," Minister of Child and Family Services Michael Coteau, who introduced the bill, was quoted as saying. "If it's abuse, and if it's within the definition, a child can be removed from that environment and placed into protection where the abuse stops."
The bill replaces the Child and Family Services Act, or Bill 28, which governs child protection, foster care and adoption services.
Bill 28 stated that the parent of a child in care retains the right "to direct the child's education and religious upbringing." However, the new law amends it thus: "to direct the child or young person's education and upbringing, in accordance with the child's or young person's creed, community identity and cultural identity."
Irwin Elman, Ontario's provincial advocate for children and youth, said in a statement, "I believe that this new Act, in its principles, represents a paradigm shift for the province with its commitment to the participation of children and youth in every decision that affects them, the creation of a child-centered system of service, and commitment to anti-racism and children's rights."
Jack Fonseca, senior political strategist for Campaign Life Coalition, disagrees, and was quoted as saying, "With the passage of Bill 89, we've entered an era of totalitarian power by the state, such as never witnessed before in Canada's history. Make no mistake, Bill 89 is a grave threat to Christians and all people of faith who have children, or who hope to grow their family through adoption."
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In April, a Christian couple filed a lawsuit against Hamilton Children's Aid Society for removing two foster children from their home because they refused to lie to the girls by saying that the Easter bunny is real.
"We have a no-lying policy," Derek Baars, one of the foster parents, said at the time, pointing out that a child support worker insisted that he and his wife, Frances Baars, tell the two girls in their care, aged 3 and 4, the Easter bunny is real. "We explained to the agency that we are not prepared to tell the children a lie. If the children asked, we would not lie to them, but we wouldn't bring it up ourselves."
The eligibility of the Baars, members of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, was canceled and the children were taken away. The CAS worker, who insisted that the Baars teach the kids that the Easter bunny is genuine, told them that the Easter bunny was an important part of Canadian culture.
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Q: Can it be used as swim diapers? A: It better not.The covers are supposed to be water proof but pee leaks through.
Q: How to avoid mold problems? A: We recommends bleaching once a month, try bleach, or sun drying, making sure they dry completely between uses.
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Google yourself. Go ahead, we'll wait. Include some easily discoverable details: the city where you live, the name of your employer, and maybe your middle name.
If you're like most people, the results page will be full of data brokers offering anyone doing a cursory online search a host of information including your address, your phone number, your email, the names of your relatives and their addresses, and so much more. In a world rife with random doxxings, swattings, and scams, this is a problem.
Thankfully, there's something you can do about it.
While removing all personally identifiable information from the internet is extremely difficult, there are a few simple steps you can take in your spare time to snip the low-hanging fruit. To be clear, if you have a specific reason to be concerned about a stalker or threats to your safety, then you'll want to take steps above and beyond what's laid out here. However, if you're simply worried about your privacy in general and want to clean up your online footprint, then this act of privacy hygiene can go a long way.
A good first stop is the World Privacy Forum, a nonprofit "dedicated to reimagining privacy in a digital era." The organization has an extremely detailed opt-out list for data brokers, with the respective links and steps needed to remove your info from the companies' clutches. More broadly, the WPF put together what it calls the top 10 opt-outs — a detailed step-by-step guide to pulling your information from the data brokers of the world.
Want the schools you've attended to stop releasing your home address and phone number? Check the FERPA opt out information. How about an easy and direct way to get on the National Do Not Call Registry? WPF has you covered, too.
SEE ALSO: The only app that matters this year is Signal
But why stop there? Stop Data Mining Me, a website that bills itself as the "Do Not Call" list for data brokers, has its own opt-out list. Consumer Reports also has a helpful list of its six recommended opt-outs.
Importantly, the above is by no means an exhaustive list, and should not be considered as such. However, if you have an afternoon to spare and want to better protect your privacy in this mixed up and crazy world, it's a great place to start.
So go ahead and get clicking now. Your newfound privacy will thank you later.
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The lawyers behind the suit maintain that customers have a direct relationship with Apple (and thus an antitrust case) since they send money to that company, not the individual app developers. The attorneys further argue that Apple has extensive control over pricing, to the point where prices must end in 99 cents.
Don't expect to learn the outcome for a while. A decision in the case is expected by late spring. And if the Supreme Court allows the lawsuit to go forward, it could be longer than that before there's a verdict. Should the lawsuit succeeed, though, it could have significant repercussions for how Apple operates the App Store in the US. Apple may have to lower its slice of app revenue, or give customers easier ways to find apps outside the App Store.
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LGBT+ employees earn 16% less on average than their heterosexual peers, which equates to £6,703 a year
By Amber Milne
LONDON, July 3 (Openly) - LGBT+ people in Britain on average earn almost 7,000 pounds ($8,800) less than their straight colleagues each year, a shortfall that dwarfs the country's gender pay gap, according to a new workplace study.
According to research by networking site LinkedIn and LGBT+ organisation UK Black Pride, gay, bisexual and transgender employees earn 16% less on average than their heterosexual peers, which equates to £6,703 a year.
"LGBT+ people often put huge amounts of time and energy into fitting into their workplaces," said Jon Miller, founder of Open For Business, a group of companies promoting LGBT+ inclusion.
"(The survey results) should be worrying for employers – it shows they aren't getting the most of their LGBT+ employees."
The study, released on Tuesday, canvassed more than 4,000 heterosexual and LGBT+ workers across Britain. It did not say if the pay gap sprang from discrimination or other reasons.
More than a quarter of the LGBT+ respondents said they hid their sexuality or gender identity at work, which could be holding them back professionally, said Joshua Graff, who manages LinkedIn in Britain.
"Concealing such a huge part of your life from colleagues can be extremely stressful and takes up energy that could be spent excelling at your job," Graff said in a statement.
Almost two-thirds of LGBT+ respondents said they had been made to feel uncomfortable due to their sexuality or gender identity, the study showed.
"Business can always do more to promote an inclusive workplace culture - many are doing so – but more need to step up," Iain Anderson, executive chairman of communications agency Cicero Group, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Anderson said he was unaware that a pay gap between LGBT+ and heterosexual employees even existed, describing it as "shocking".
Britain's gender pay gap sits at 8.6% for full-time employees, according to the most recent government data, in comparison to the 16% gap suffered by LGBT+ workers.
Many companies have rushed to flag their diversity credentials in recent weeks, as countries around the world celebrated Pride month with parades, events and marches.
However, Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, co-founder of UK Black Pride, said companies should bring inclusive practises into the day-to-day running of a business, "and not just during Pride month". "The more we hear from LGBTQ employees, the more we begin to understand that the fight for equality is far from over," she added.
($1 = 0.7954 pounds)
(Reporting by Amber Milne; Editing by Hugo Greenhalgh and Lyndsay Griffiths. Please credit Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, property rights, and climate change. Visit www.trust.org)
Openly is an initiative of the Thomson Reuters Foundation dedicated to impartial coverage of LGBT+ issues from around the world.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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A limited Collector’s Edition Box Set featuring new live orchestra recordings of music from Turrican 1, 2 & 3 + a new Bonus Amiga Album
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While Gearbox Software is no stranger to the Half-Life franchise, having worked with Valve on the Opposing Force and Blue Shift expansion packs, as well as the PS2 version of Half-Life, studio president and CEO Randy Pitchford isn't so sure his team should return to the franchise.
On the latest episode of our monthly interview show IGN Unfiltered , we asked Pitchford if, given the opportunity, Gearbox would be interested in making the long-awaited and seemingly never-coming third episode that continues the Half-Life 2 story, and he replied with an air of uncertainty."I don't know what Half-Life 2: Episode Three is, so I don't know. I don't know that we could or should," Pitchford said. "It's a fun universe, I'd love to spend more time in it. I don't know what way that would make sense, though."After emphasizing that he can't speak for the entirety of Gearbox, which boasts a staff of a few hundred people, Pitchford added, "I feel like we got done with what we wanted to do. We did Opposing Force, we did Blue Shift, we did the PlayStation 2 version of Half-Life, and that was a lot of fun because we got to clean up a lot of things and really tune it."Pitchford noted the PS2 version of Half-Life was helpful in teaching Gearbox how to make console games, as prior to that, the studio had developed games strictly for PC. Gearbox also aided in the development of the Dreamcast version of Half-Life, which was ultimately canceled.Stay tuned for part one of our full IGN Unfiltered interview with Pitchford for more on his thoughts about working on the Half-Life franchise with Valve, as well as his experience working with Bungie on Halo: Combat Evolved for PC.
Alex Osborn is a freelance writer for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @alexcosborn
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Check out our new site Makeup Addiction
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Start American History class Same year Assassin's creed 3 comes out
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The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee says he plans to not only reignite a full-blown Russia probe if the House flips in November, but he will also prioritize investigating the Trump Organization's ties to Russia.
Rep. Adam Schiff Adam Bennett SchiffPelosi, Democrats unveil bills to rein in alleged White House abuses of power Chris Matthews ripped for complimenting Trump's 'true presidential behavior' on Ginsburg Trump casts doubt on Ginsburg statement, wonders if it was written by Schiff, Pelosi or Schumer MORE (D-Calif.) told The Hill on Wednesday that he specifically intends to look into allegations of Russians laundering money through the Trump Organization.
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"There was one issue we were not allowed to look at and the Senate hasn’t been either that concerns me a great deal and that is the issue of whether Russians were laundering money through the Trump Organization and [if] that is the leverage they have over the president," Schiff said.
"Someone needs to determine whether those allegations are true or they are not. That certainly would be a priority for me."
Republicans on the panel voted along party lines earlier this year to conclude the yearlong Russia probe that became marked by bitter partisan infighting.
Schiff said while the GOP decision limited his party's efforts — since the minority lacked power of subpoena — their efforts to examine ties between the Trump’s campaign and Russia never ended.
"It is ongoing and it will continue if we are in the majority with power of subpoena," the California lawmaker told The Hill, declining to name ”specific individuals" he would like to interview.
“We never closed the Russia investigation. A few months ago the Republicans decided they were going to end their participation. They were solely going to focus on investigating investigators. But we continue to bring in witnesses and review documents,” Schiff added.
Rep. Chris Stewart Christopher (Chris) Douglas StewartAtlanta Wendy's 911 call the night of Rayshard Brooks's death released Tyler Perry offers to pay for funeral of Rayshard Brooks Current, former NHL players form diversity coalition to fight intolerance in hockey MORE (Utah), a Republican member of the panel, dismissed the investigation as a never-ending issue that Democrats are dragging out.
“Of course [Schiff] will [reopen the probe and investigate Trump]. And other allegations as well. It will be years of unending investigations. That's the concern I have had for a year now," Stewart told The Hill. "There is other important work to do and we have been singular[ly] focused on Russia. It's too bad.”
With the upcoming November midterm elections just weeks away, there is increasing buzz on Capitol Hill about what will happen if there is a flip in favor of Democrats while Trump remains in the White House, including what will happen to several congressional committee probes.
The latest FiveThirtyEight forecast rates the chances of Democrats winning control as being highly likely — at nearly 83 percent.
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Zika is no longer a public health emergency, the World Health Organization has proclaimed.
The mosquito-borne virus sparked global panic this year after millions were infected, causing scores of babies to be born with birth defects such as microcephaly.
New infections are still being reported in Florida, home to the only outbreak zone in mainland America, and Floridians are urging the government for funding to fight it.
However, on Friday global health officials released a report to say Zika is no longer as dangerous as once feared.
Scroll down for video
The mosquito-borne virus sparked global panic this year after millions were infected, causing scores of babies to be born with birth defects such as microcephaly
In a statement, the WHO explained: 'Many aspects of this disease and associated consequences still remain to be understood, but this can best be done through sustained research.'
Dr Peter Salama, executive director of the WHO's health emergencies program, insisted the threat is not over, and we should not underestimate Zika.
But it no longer meets the requirements to be deemed an 'emergency'.
'We are not downgrading the importance of Zika,' said Dr Salama.
'Zika is here to stay, and the WHO's response is here to stay.'
The WHO first declared Zika a public health crisis in February.
It meant member states were somewhat obliged to follow global orders on how to handle the situation.
Now, however, states can more freely explore treatment, research, and control measures.
Some fear this will hamper progress being made in vaccine-development, particularly funding.
Nearly 30 countries have reported birth defects linked to Zika, with over 2,100 cases of nervous-system malformations reported in Brazil alone.
The officials also emphasized that the now-lifted 'Public Health Emergency of International Concern' was declared in February, when Zika clusters were appearing and a sharp increase in research was needed - with the looming Rio Olympics in mind.
WHO said the emergency measures had led the world to an 'urgent and coordinated response.' But the virus has continued to spread.
The agency acknowledged 'many aspects of this disease and associated consequences still remain to be understood, but this can best be done through sustained research.'
'It is a significant and enduring public health challenge, but it no longer represents an emergency,' Dr. David Heymann, who heads the WHO emergency committee on Zika, said after the panel met for the fifth time this year. 'There was no downgrading of this.'
Heymann said recommendations made in recent months were now being 'internalized' at the Geneva-based agency.
'If anything, this has been escalated in importance by becoming activities that will be continued in the long-term in the World Health Organization,' he said.
Containing the spread of the virus was one reason for the February declaration, Heymann said. But its real purpose was to stimulate more study on the alarming link between Zika and devastating birth defects.
Zika, which first was observed as a more minor health threat in 1947, is mainly spread by mosquitoes, but also can be spread through sex. Most infected people don't get sick. It can cause a mild illness, with fever, rash and joint pain.
But the recent outbreak shows it can also cause microcephaly, or abnormally small heads, and brain damage in newborn children whose mothers were infected, leading to severe developmental problems and sowing grave concerns of would-be parents in countries hit by the virus.
Zika has been linked as well to a temporary paralysis condition called Guillain-Barre syndrome.
Since the last emergency committee meeting on September 1, two countries in southeast Asia and six other countries have reported microcephaly potentially linked to Zika virus, WHO said.
Responding to the WHO announcement, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control called the move 'technical' and reiterated its position that pregnant women should avoid traveling to areas with local transmission of Zika.
The WHO's decision is understandable, given that the pace of new Zika infections has dropped off considerably in recent months, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease chief for the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
But he also noted that Brazil - which for a long time was the focus of the international epidemic - is heading into its hottest months, when mosquito activity peaks. And it's possible that the outbreak could re-intensify, he said.
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This interview has been edited and condensed.
Known in mainstream media as a young “Bitcoin millionaire,” within the crypto and blockchain industry, Jeremy Gardner is a known more for what he does than how much he makes.
As a serial blockchain entrepreneur, educator and investor, Gardner has founded the global educational nonprofit the Blockchain Education Network and co-founded the blockchain-based prediction platform Augur. Most recently, he launched his own impact investing fund called Ausum Ventures.
Breaking down mass adoption
Olivia Capozzalo: Can you walk me through what mass adoption is — not from the tech or building side of things, but from the side of regular people? What does it look like? What does it mean?
Jeremy Gardner: So, my point during the panel discussion was that mass adoption has nothing to do with education. Mass adoption has to do with building products that people want. Mass adoption happens no other way.
You don’t suddenly educate hundreds of millions or billions of people on the virtues of decentralization and libertarian values and then expect that it is going to make them want to use Bitcoin or use blockchain-based applications.
No. What you’re going to do is create tools that people want in their lives that they don’t have today.
The reason why Bitcoin was initially adopted — the reason why Bitcoin and blockchain technology exists today — is that it exists for primarily one reason and one reason only. People don’t like to say this, but it’s because of the dark markets.
If there was no Silk Road, if there was no reason for people to actually buy and use Bitcoin to buy drugs online, I’m not sure it would exist today. I think otherwise it’s just a libertarian, cypherpunk thought experiment.
It was only once individuals in the developed world actually had a purpose for acquiring these crypto tokens to exchange in commerce that Bitcoin achieved meaningful value — once people understood that Bitcoin allowed people to do something they could not do before.
There are other examples in Cyprus, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe — places that have had really awful hyperinflation — places like India with demonetization, China with capital control, South Korea with capital controls.
The use cases have emerged, but initially, you know, initially the use case of Bitcoin was buying drugs on the internet, and that was great. But it didn’t actually have to do with the underlying ideological ethos that its earlier adherents had been attracted to.
And that’s going to be true with all blockchain technology. We’re simply going to build tools that people want in order to get adoption. No ideology, no education about the virtues.
We could try to act like missionaries and spread the word like a religion, but it’s not the best way to do things. As long as we build tech that people want, they will come, and they will adopt it.
Watch the full interview with Jeremy Gardner here:
Crypto vs. fiat in crime
OC: It’s just funny because I spoke with Jason Bloomberg recently who also says Bitcoin first became popular for buying drugs on the darknet. But he says that’s a problem, and we need to do something about it — we need to outlaw or ban permissionless cryptocurrencies.
JG: Well, that is beyond idiotic. First of all, the DEA (United States Drug Enforcement Agency) recently said that use cases of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies — or crypto assets, in particular — have dropped from 90 percent [80 percent] being black market to 10 percent today. And it’s only going to get lower because, guess what? blockchains are publicly transparent ledgers.
The whole value of public blockchains are these transparent, immutable, censorship-resistant ledgers that allow for an open world of finance — compared to the closed world of finance that we have today.
I mean, look at what Credit Suisse did in Mexico. They literally made deposit boxes so cartels could fit massive boxes of cash into them. It’s not like the current financial system is protecting us from organized crime and criminal activity.
I mean, who is paying more in fines for fraud than anyone in history? I mean, it’s JPMorgan. These banks are not a better system than today. The financial system today is much more culpable for things like terrorism and crime than blockchain technology perhaps ever will be.
You know what can be used for illegal activity and is actually is used for illegal activity more than anything else in the world?
OC: USD?
JG: $100 bills. Benjamins. More than 80 percent of black market activity is used with American $100 bills. Should we go and ban the dollar? I don’t think anybody in their right mind would argue that — I would, because Bitcoin would go up. Come on, I mean, that is just an absurd statement!
I mean, look, Bitcoin is digital cash, digital gold — whatever you want to call it. It is an online form of value. It is no different than the money systems that we have today, besides the fact that it may be better.
Technology is morally agnostic. It can be used for good, it can be used for evil.
I think collectively — as a community — whether you have that impact thesis or not, you should aim to invest in technology that makes the world better, because blockchains are all about network effects. And so, to suggest that we should ban it, to me, is just mind-boggling. I could never get behind such an option.
OC: I fully agree with you.
Porn and radical innovation
OC: I’m wondering about something like Pornhub using crypto — in terms of what that does for adoption. Is that something that you think is important or impactful?
JG: So, I’m very biased here. I know the MindGeek [Pornhub’s parent company] guys. I’m not a huge fan of the porn industry, but they got in touch with me and told me that they want to get involved in this space. I was nothing short of thrilled.
If you think about what the porn industry has done over the past two decades when it comes to technology adoption, it’s mind-boggling.
I mean, they are the reasons why we used VHS. They are the reasons why we used DVD over Betamax. They have increased streaming capacity and the capacity of content delivery networks more so than any other technology company on the planet.
Porn companies are technology companies. They have been radical innovators in the world of tech.
If they show this technology works — I mean, they are one of the largest content delivery networks on the planet — if they show this tech works, other content delivery networks that may not be in not such a sketchy industry may adopt as well, and they will see a massive upside and increase of their holdings.
So, look, I feel very ambiguous about porn — I’m not a huge fan of it — but their ability to be, kind of, thought leaders and trailblazers in the space is remarkable. And they have historically been in the world of tech, and internet technology and even cinematography.
A lot of other industries are very nervous about adopting blockchain tech because it’s so new, it’s so cutting-edge, and they don’t want to piss off shareholders — they are the largest tech companies in the world. But guess what? MindGeek is privately owned and they have more of a capacity to innovate and adopt new technology than a lot of the big, publicly traded companies that are out there. So, I’m hopeful.
Who needs blockchain?
OC: So, to get a little bit of a bigger picture than the entertainment industry — who needs blockchain adoption? What does it mean that they need it?
JG: Who needs to learn about blockchain technology and who needs it are different. It’s the disenfranchised who need blockchain technology.
And when I say disenfranchised or disadvantaged, I mean a massive subset of the world’s population. I mean, pretty much everyone except for me — like, a white, middle-class, heterosexual man who lives in the United States, who lives in San Francisco. Unless I want to buy drugs off of the internet, I literally have no really strong use cases. Maybe decentralized prediction markets are an exception.
But for the two billion people in the world who have no access to financial services and the four billion that have limited access — that includes that initial two billion — that’s what blockchain technology is made for. That’s where we will see the real adoption.
The ability to have a bank account in your pocket, to have something that is secure and safe in your pocket, cryptographically, in a way that money under your bed or behind your wallet is now — that is revolutionary.
It affects the people that are dealing with predatory institutions — whether they are governments, whether they are financial services, businesses or, you know, governments that exploit their positions of power as middlemen to disenfranchise their consumers and their users.
Because what blockchain technology affords is radical disintermediation.
Blockchain technology is the most radically disintermediated technology that’s ever existed. In that, if you want to transfer value — whether it’s money, the title to your house, the rights to your land — you can now do it in a way that only requires a single counterparty: the person who’s buying it from you.
And that is a massive upgrade from the world that we live in today, in which all sorts of clearing houses and third-party institutions that are necessitated due to a lack of trust in transactions. But with blockchain technology, you can actually have trustless financial or value exchange.
Now, how do we get there? It’s not entirely clear. You know, with remittance solutions today, trials today, about giving directly to folks such as this, but we’ve historically primarily been building the blockchain technology for the people that need it least: you and me, people in the United States, people in the West.
And that’s not where the blockchain technology is going to have its biggest impact.
But first, we need to be bringing in entrepreneurs from these places where they are disenfranchised. Bringing the disenfranchised and having them build products out of their own experiences.
That way it can be paired with technology companies in the West that are probably most well-equipped to build this software and tech.
But, we need to include the people who have the most benefit from this technology, and we haven’t done a great job doing that, yet.
Blockchain and government
OC: And do you see that happening really on the private scale? How is regulation going to affect this process?
JG: We’ve convinced regulators that blockchain technology is the Holy Grail of everything. I don’t find regulators to be any sort of hinderance on getting this tech adopted.
Whether it’s in the EU or U.S., even in Africa or East Asia, governments are getting behind trials of this technology to improve the lives of their people — sometimes for more authoritarian purposes, such as distributed ledger-based money in China and Russia — but overwhelmingly, governments have actually been a massive catalyst for the adoption of trials with this technology.
What I do think about is how we do reach the people that need this most and actually understand how this technology can help them. And that’s just kind of a long-term undertaking that will require the help of many governments and NGOs to really understand.
Because entrepreneurs often have this problem, especially in this industry, where they create solutions for problems that don’t exist. What we have to do is be identifying problems and then seeing if a blockchain can help mitigate that problem.
The general answer is ‘no,’ but you have to take a problem-first approach. Trying to build solutions without problems is probably the greatest fallacy of Silicon Valley and beyond.
Path to mass adoption
OC: What’s your opinion on government-backed cryptocurrencies?
JG: They’re going to do them, but they’re not cryptocurrencies in the traditional sense. They are distributed ledger-based, centrally banked money that is issued and monitored and controlled and validated by central banks.
I think there’s a lot of good evidence that suggests that central bank-issued cryptocurrency — crypto assets or e-money, if you want to call it that — actually would be better than the digital cash that we have today.
But it is the antithesis of what we’ve been building in the blockchain space/cryptocurrency space so far, because this is going to be incredibly Orwellian.
They’re going to see every transaction that’s ever been made, there’s going to be KYC (Know Your Customer) and they’re going to know who’s making those transactions.
And that, in fact, in my view, will be the greatest catalyst for the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies as we know them today, whether it’s Bitcoin or something else.
When there’s government-backed cryptocurrencies and we move to a cashless society in which there is no financial privacy in our daily financial transactions, that is when something like Bitcoin or a stablecoin — something that is not bank- or government-issued — will become popular. That’s when we’ll see mass adoption, not before.
You know, if Bitcoin were going to be mass-adopted this decade, it would have happened five years ago, three years ago. But it’s too volatile, it’s too hard to use, it’s too hard to understand.
But when people are forced to use it — because there’s no longer cash, which is kind of a grey economy and a massive part of the global economy overall — once that economy disappears in its current form without cash, which will happen over the next 50-70 years, that’s when we’ll see mass adoption of cryptocurrencies — decentralized cryptocurrencies — as we know them today.
Because people want to use cash. People want to make financial transactions that the government doesn’t know about — whether it’s paying your babysitter or your illegal immigrant.
OC: You think a lot of people care about that? I just feel like most people don’t care about their privacy.
JG: Literally, almost every family in America pays their nanny in cash and that nanny is not reporting it to the IRS and they are not reporting that to IRS. It is not uncommon that people want to do business in a way that is not being traced by the government or just want some privacy in their financial transactions — virtually almost every person on the planet.
The grey economy is absolutely massive, and the second you take away cash, it becomes much harder to engage in — especially if we’ve moved to a distributed ledger-based financial system, where not only is every transaction traceable, but it’s also tied to your identity, which is way worse than what we have today.
So, you really have to think about the ramifications of a world in which there is no cash, no ability to take place in an informal economy. That, for sure, will lead to the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies.
Outdated laws
JG: We need, kind of, an open sandbox for innovation before we’re really ready for a lot of regulations. But there are certain areas, like securities laws, where it would be great if we could, kind of amend them for the reality of these tokenized securities, which are a very new concept.
OC: How exactly?
JG: So, if you think about the securities today, the reason why they are so heavily regulated is that they are not transparent — you don’t have any insight into the cash flow except for quarterly reports.
But, in theory, a lot of use cases for tokenized securities could be securities that pay automatically based off of the revenue of a software project — like, I should be able to sell tokens from my software project that every user, every transaction goes back to investors, like a portion of revenue. It’s transparent, it’s immutable, it’s on blockchain.
And thus, I shouldn’t have file an S1 and take a company public to offer that to your everyday consumer. People should be able to buy that in an ICO [Initial Coin Offering] and gain access to upside of this new software company that I’m building, because it’s so straightforward how they get paid out — where the revenue or the dividends are coming from.
OC: Right, yeah. And there are just a lot more hoops to jump through. And the law is from the 1930s...
JG: Right. You generally have to assume that a law that was written in the 1930s with regard to financial regulations is going to be at least partly outdated by 2018.
Crypto markets and the media
OC: I still want to talk a little bit more about your personal opinions on crypto, not about regulation. You’ve definitely publicly stated that you own crypto.
JG: Yes. Most of my money is in crypto.
OC: Right. So there is the fact that governments, consumers — people on a mass scale — pay attention to crypto and blockchain in relation to its price.
The price of Bitcoin going up a lot in December got a lot of press, mainstream media started reporting on it, etc. Since you’ve been in it a long time, what do you say to that kind of reaction?
JG: You know, I was somewhere in the world — I was either in India or Greece — when the markets last dropped and I actually didn’t learn about the drop in market price for, like, several days.
I don’t pay attention to the price. I kind of knew from following crypto Twitter that there had been a price drop, but people, kind of, speak about it ambiguously.
I don’t care about the price at all. If there were any underlying investment fundamentals driving the price of the crypto assets, I’d be concerned.
In crypto, price fluctuations are just hocus pocus — it’s just totally sentiment-driven. Nothing really drives the price increases or decreases besides just, like, FOMO [fear of missing out] sentiment and irrationality in the market. I’ve got a hedge fund side of my venture fund and it’s performing pretty abysmally right now because we don’t trade. I don’t try to time the market.
What I do is I invest in crypto assets. I believe we’re going to change the world and I just stopped caring. I don’t pay attention.
OC: You personally never trade?
JG: No, look, I’ve been in the industry since 2014. I wasn’t in that early, I didn’t make my money in Bitcoin, I made my money in other crypto assets — a little bit in Bitcoin.
You know, I’m often lauded or labeled as a Bitcoin millionaire — not really how I made my money. I invested in technology that I really believed in — whether it was Ether or, back then, XRP at a much different price — and I just held them. I never thought about it, I never traded them, I never watched the volatility.
I mean, this whole trader ethos that permeates the industry is just flabbergasting to me. These are illiquid markets. A single individual, a single factor in the trade can totally move the market against the way your Elliot-wave analysis predicted it was going to go.
These are not like traditional financial markets, which are deeply liquid, which are based off of companies with really strong fundamentals, cash flow, P-to-E ratios — you don’t have any of that here.
What you have are very speculative commodities that are potentially going to change the world, but none of them are yet. You know, Bitcoin maybe being the exception. So, if you’re not investing based on the long-term value proposition of a crypto asset or some really fantastic insider information about what that announcement about the crypto asset is, you’re never going to make money trading.
You know, I’ve met a lot of smart traders back in the fall of 2017. I don’t know any of those guys today. These guys were not actually that smart.
Everyone is smart in a bull market. But the guys that are smart in a bear market — or a downward market — are the guys that actually have conviction in their investment.
Now, I may go double-down on some of my investments, but I’m surely not selling right now like many people are. But most people who bought crypto assets in the past year, they just bought it because, “Oh, I have a feeling that this one is going to go up,” but now it’s going down and they’re selling, and there’s panic in the market, and there’s blood in the streets, and I love it.
I just get such masochistic joy, like, “Oh, my net worth is down 80 percent,” but I’m not concerned because I know it’s going to go up another 10,000 or 100,000 percent because the investments I made are valuable.
It’s a massive failure on the part of our industry not to be cynical about these price rises. If you look at my interviews back in mid-late 2017, I was calling these ICOs insanity, I was calling the market insanity, It was irrational, it didn’t make sense.
OC: What do you think about the mainstream media’s involvement in all that?
JG: I mean, can you blame them? You have the fastest appreciating asset class in history just roaring and turning 26-year-olds like me into multi-millionaires. It’s a compelling narrative! You can’t ignore it.
There’s never been an asset class like this that has enriched so many normal people. It’s something that the news is of course going to latch onto. Because what does everybody want? Everyone wants to be rich overnight. Who wants to be a millionaire?
Like, everybody wants to make money and they want to make it easily. And so, there’s this incredible new investment class that’s turning average Joes into very wealthy people. They’re going to report it! You just can’t blame them.
Now, do I wish they educated themselves more? Yes, but it is not their job.
I mean, if you want to be educated on blockchain technology and crypto assets, you’re going to have to immerse yourself for 90 percent of your life for the next six to 12 months of your life before you even have a baseline understanding of how this tech works and what its real purposes are and how it’s used.
And so, to expect the mainstream media to be able to report this accurately is not particularly reasonable. Now, I wish they did a little bit better due diligence, but at the end of a day, you really cannot expect the media to do a very good job.
OC: Okay, but I more mean the effects of this media attention.
JG: I mean, they are awful because they bring average Joes, who have no idea what they are investing in, into this new asset class. I mean, god, I just do not want consumer investors investing in this.
I’d love larger institutions, I’d love people who want to go and educate themselves. Your average consumer is buying Tesla because they think Teslas are cool cars or buying Amazon because they use Amazon every day — hey, maybe they could be good investments, maybe bad investments.
But they are sure as hell not using Bitcoin in their daily lives, so it’s not something they should be investing in. You know, unless you understand what you’re investing in, you shouldn’t be investing in it.
Unless you have a very balanced portfolio — like, look I think everybody should put five to 10 percent of their investment portfolio into Bitcoin and Ether, maybe a couple of other crypto assets — but that’s because when you do that, when you put five percent of your investment portfolio into a highly speculative, uncorrelated asset class, you actually mitigate the overall risk of your investment portfolio simply because it is uncorrelated.
And thus, even a grandma should put a tiny bit of her investment portfolio in Bitcoin, but she shouldn’t be mortgaging her house to do it, and it shouldn’t be a huge amount of money. It should only be a very small, yet respectable amount of portfolio — just due to the historical performance of this asset class. But the media narrative has definitely driven people to put way too much of their money into crypto.
OC: I ask because people do argue that the mainstream media’s attention helps with awareness, or it’s something important for, again, mass adoption. But that’s why we have to clarify what mass adoption means.
JG: Yeah, like, what is mass adoption?
Mass adoption of Bitcoin as a payment system? Yeah right, not going to happen. Not any time soon.
Well I’m saying, when we go to a cashless society, people will really have a use case, but using cash is almost always going to be better than using Bitcoin today.
And so, mass adoption is not going to happen until we create tools that actually catalyze that adoption. But that’s certainly not where we are right now.
OC: Okay, cool. Thank you so much!
Cointelegraph’s editorial team thanks Jeremy Gardner and BlockShow for the interview.
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Scottish councils are showing signs of serious financial stress after experiencing further funding cuts, a watchdog has said.
The Accounts Commission, which polices local government finances in Scotland, said several councils were two to three years from draining all their savings to fund services, after the sector experienced average cuts in funding last year of 5.2%.
The total debts amassed by 30 local authorities rose again to near record levels, hitting £14.5bn by the end of March this year, after an increase in borrowing of £836m as councils tried to exploit low interest rates.
At the same time they cut £524m from their budgets and shed 2,200 jobs, spending £33m from their reserves. Although 20 councils dipped into their savings, reserve levels across the sector remained relatively healthy, at £1.1bn for day-to-day spending and £1.9bn overall.
Saying local authorities faced tougher challenges ahead, Ronnie Hinds, the deputy chairman of the Accounts Commission, said: “Our evidence tells us that councils are finding the financial pressures increasingly difficult to manage.”
Conservative councillors in Moray, one of three authorities identified as close to using up all its reserves, were accused by a rebel councillor of being “rightwing extremists” last week after the Tory-led coalition council suggested mothballing libraries and and public toilets and axing school crossings to cut costs.
The Scottish finance secretary, Derek Mackay, faced criticism from the opposition after he said this year that his government was protecting council funding. The commission said it had fallen by 7.6% in real terms since 2010-11.
Mackay is in the final stages of drawing up next year’s draft budget, and is wrestling with serious financial challenges paying for Nicola Sturgeon’s pledges to increase NHS spending by £500m above inflation and to increase public sector pay by more than 1% next year.
Public sector pay rises had been capped at 1%. The commission underlined the pressures facing Mackay and council leaders by pointing out that it would require a 3% increase in council tax rates to fund a 1% pay rise, which would add £68m to local authority wage bills.
A Scottish government spokesman said council borrowing and reserves spending was a matter for councils, but said the overall funding settlement was fair since it included an extra £250m to integrate health and social care.
“We have treated local government very fairly despite the cuts to the Scottish budget from the UK government. Including the extra £250m to support the integration of health and social care, the overall reduction in local government funding in 2016-17 equated to less than 1% of its total estimated expenditure,” he said.
Sturgeon has asked Labour, the Scottish Greens and Scottish Liberal Democrats to discuss some form of compromise deal on income tax rates in Scotland, which are now largely under Holyrood’s control, to help fund a budget shortfall.
Mackay and Sturgeon argue that Scotland’s grant from Whitehall has fallen more than 8% in real terms since 2010–11. Last week’s UK budget offered some relief, however, increasing the Treasury grant for day-to-day spending by £183m more than expected and £340m more for capital spending.
The commission said the funding crisis for councils was worsened by the council tax freeze, which has now ended, and increasing use of national policies directed by Scottish ministers, particularly for schools.
Although councils had been given an extra £250m to pay for the integration of health and social care, central policy drives drained funding for other services. Cultural funding was down 12%, with planning and development down by 14%. Roads and transport spending was down 8%.
The Accounts Commission data does not include Shetland and Orkney councils, which have substantial reserves and investments worth 250% and 300% of their annual income respectively from their oil and gas terminals and harbour charges receipts.
Andy Wightman, the Scottish Green party’s finance spokesman, said the commission’s findings were “stark, damning, but hardly surprising”. After similar warnings from the commission last year, the Greens did a deal with Mackay to modestly increase taxes for middle earners to reduce council funding cuts by £160m.
“The SNP has stalled on local tax reform, but ministers now need to show they seriously want to reverse the cuts made in previous years,” Wightman said.
“The challenge facing Derek Mackay will be in constructing an income tax proposal which meets multiple needs and raises enough revenue to deliver on promises like a real-terms pay rise, without raiding local services to pay for it, and without hitting low earners who are already struggling.”
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-- Posted Thursday, 7 May 2009 | | Source: GoldSeek.com
By: Jake Towne
This February, Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) introduced HR 1207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009 to audit the FED. When I first reported on it in March, privately I was quite ecstatic that there were 11 co-sponsors, and three were Democrats. Why?
Well, Dr. Paul has tried this variants of this theme multiple times before over the past 30 years. For instance, HR 1148 was introduced in 1999 to abolish the Federal Reserve and obtained a whopping zero co-sponsors. This was repeated in HR 2755 in 2007. Result? Zero co-sponsors. Paul's new clever strategy has been to extremely limit the scope of the bill � just audit the books of the FED, nothing more � and has been able to tap into the wide-ranging dissatisfaction surrounding the October 2008 banker bailout, the Obama stimulus plan, and the outright socialization of our banking, auto, and insurance sectors.
It only takes half a brain and a pulse to get angry about the fact that the central bankers gave the American people the equivalent of a middle finger on Bloomberg's Freedom of Information Act request. The FED denied to disclose how they used $2 trillion dollars in open market operations that they executed outside of Congressional authority. Congress has no clue how the FED used the money either since that is not how the FED works. Without an audit, Congress also has no clue how much gold our nation owns. (photo)
So what's the big picture? Basically, the legislative process in Washington is usually as slow as molasses, and most bills die in committee with the obvious exceptions of very long lobbyist bills like the USA PATRIOT Act and urgent banker bailout-stimulus plans that no one in Congress admittedly even has time to read before voting on them. Ron Paul is a veteran legislator, and most of his bills this decade are quite short - HR 1207 is 446 words � and follows the K.I.S.S. Principle: Keep It Simple Stupid. Obviously he has not had a lot of success, but that's mostly been due to lack of cooperation.
In the case of HR 1207, Paul has chosen this battleground wisely - who wants to be on the "No" side with all of the popular sentiment against it? Campaign for Liberty and Liberty Maven, two sites that publish my articles, and many more like-minded sites have thrown all their momentum into winning this one small battle. Galvanized supporters have watched in awe as the number of co-sponsors rise from 11 to 33 to 88 to 124 at present, an impressive feat.
The New American recently quoted Austrian economist Thomas Woods's doubts as saying, "[The FED] is too complicated for most Americans. This isn�t going to galvanize people. I was wrong! He�s taken an issue that wasn�t even an issue, and he�s got a lot of Americans suddenly fascinated by the Fed, by monetary policy, by the Austrian business cycle theory." My thoughts are that Woods is severely underestimating both the number and intelligence of Paul's supporters, especially when it is so apparent our future prosperity as a society is at stake.
The fight to pass HR 1207 by the House is winnable. Even if it fails, the rEVOLution will have learned a very important fact � which of the Representatives on either the Financial Services committee or in the House itself can be viewed as domestic enemies.
Disdain for what the FED has done to the American people is one of the reasons I am running for Congress in Pennsylvania's 15th district, and also why I have contacted my current representative multiple times to co-sign HR 1207. I published my latest letter to him, and a reader asked the following questions. As a wanna-be Congressman, I thought I would take a shot at answering them!
Q: "What does it take to get this bill out of committee and on the floor of the House for a vote?"
A: The bill is currently in committee and must pass before a House vote can be called. It is possible the bill will be tabled, or die, while in committee. To pass, the committee must have quorum � the necessary amount of representatives present to vote on it. The exact number needed to obtain a quorum is determined by each committee. Passing requires a majority of those in attendance at committee before moving to a House vote where a simple majority is needed � this is democracy at work! This process is described here, see page 21/67.
Q: "How many co-sponsors does it need to force that? Or does that even matter?"
A: The number of co-sponsors does not matter. However, it does indicate the expected minimum support a bill will receive on the House floor, so is a key indicator while in committee. While bills are in committee, they can be marked up and amended, which is why the simplicity of Paul's bill is key.
Q: "Is it really a matter of getting Barney Frank to move it to the House for a vote? What's the process? Does anyone know?"
A: Representative Barney Frank, D-MA, is the chair of the Financial Services committee of 70 representatives. He has not co-signed the bill, and traditionally is allied closely with the banking special interests and FED, so no cooperation can be expected from him. Several weeks ago, Frank spoke about Paul, HR 1207, and committee politics - while boldly proclaimed that there is no inflation. It is my guess that Campaign for Liberty and Ron Paul will take their time to have their supporters keep banging away on their local representatives to rachet the number of co-sponsors higher. Over 150 would be impressive, to say the least. At this point, page 20/67 states: "Three or more members of a standing committee may file with the committee a written request that the chairman call a special meeting... If the chairman does not call the requested special meeting within three calendar days after the filing of the request, to be held within seven calendar days after the filing of the request, a majority of the members of the committee may call the special meeting by filing with the committee written notice... " Since there are already three co-signers, the first step can be completed at any time. However, I think it would be best to target the remaining 6 of 29 Republicans on the committee who have not co-signed and try to pick up more than one Democrat (the other 40 have not co-signed) before proceeding. These six possible Republican banker-buddies are located in the states of NJ, NY, CA, and PA and here is a downloadable interactive list. Supporters of HR 1207 should contact any red-listed member as a top-priority (see below).
Rely on sites like Campaign for Liberty and Liberty Maven to keep up with the current status. When the bill goes to committee, it will be time to melt the phone wires on the phones of those Financial Services members still in red.
HR 1207 is not just an audit of the FED, it is an audit of your local Representative!
Jake Towne, the Champion of the Constitution
Candidate for US Congress, PA-15th in 2010 [Reach the Author Here!]
-- Posted Thursday, 7 May 2009 | Digg This Article
| Source: GoldSeek.com
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DONATING! Gay Pride Shopping makes sure to empower the LGBTQ+ community by taking action! Visit our store and select a tee of your choice that qualifies so 15% of proceeds from that tee is donated to the nonprofit organization of your choice! At Pride, we give our customers #POWER Read More
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Steelheart has been nominated for another regional award, the 2016 Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Readers’ Choice Award, the oldest children’s choice award in the U.S. and Canada. It was established in 1940 by Seattle bookseller Harry Hartman, who believed every student should have an opportunity to select a book that gives him or her pleasure.
News organizations are reporting that Carter Blanchard (of the new Independence Day and Glimmer) has been tapped by Fox as the screenwriter for the Steelheart movie adaptation currently under development for Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps. (Shawn Levy is the director/producer of Real Steel and Night at the Museum.) You can read one story at this link.
In this week’s Writing Excuses episode, Q&A on Middles, with Marie Brennan, Marie joins us again to help us field your questions about middles. Here are your questions that we collected from social media:
How do you maintain interest without having something explode every other chapter?
In short fiction, how do you prevent try-fail cycles from bloating the story?
How do you prevent the introduction of POVs during the middle of the story from being jarring?
How do you keep subplots from turning into side quests?
In longer stories, how important are “breather” chapters that ease the tension?
Do you have methods for weaving plot and subplot threads together? Do you outline this, or keep it in your head?
Last week, in Tor.com’s continuing reread posts for Words of Radiance, Kaladin went out for drinks with the guys and met some decidedly problematic patriots. This week, in Chapter 47, Shallan continues her researches into Urithiru and Lightweaving, with dubious help from Pattern.
My assistant Adam has updated the Twitter post archive for July.
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Microsoft Corporation Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer speaks during a news conference in Moscow April 20, 2009. REUTERS/Alexander Natruskin
(Reuters) - Microsoft Corp is likely to show a new version of its Internet search engine publicly for the first time next week, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.
The software giant has been testing a new version of the service internally under the name of Kumo.com and it may become part of the firm’s attempt to catch up with Internet search leaders Google Inc and Yahoo Inc.
Microsoft has hired JWT, a unit of WPP Plc, to develop an advertising campaign for the product, the paper said, citing people familiar with the matter. The search engine is expected to be unveiled at the “D: All Things Digital” conference.
Microsoft was not immediately available for comment.
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Pic: Tim Ireland/PA Wire/Press Association Images
HEALTH MINISTER JAMES Reilly has asked his department to examine research around electronic cigarettes because he is not convinced that they are a safe product.
Reilly said earlier today that e-cigarettes are not harmless and because they contain nicotine they can have addictive and cardio-vascular effects.
E-cigarettes are battery-operated products that turn nicotine into a vapor inhaled by the user.
“I am not convinced of [their] safety,” Reilly told the media earlier today. “I don’t like the idea that they are being promoted, particularly on flights. I don’t like that.”
Last week, the British regulatory authority said it was to control the sale of such products by classifying them as medicines and making them available over-the-counter.
There are no regulations controlling the sale or advertising of e-cigarettes in Ireland. They are widely available in some shops and online but not in pharmacies following the advice of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland.
Reilly added: “They might be safer than regular tobacco insofar as they don’t have all the other toxins in them but they still, I believe, are not safe. But I want to be on evidence-based ground when I make any possible decision in relation to them.”
Meanwhile, the minister also said today that it was his intention to ensure that all hospitals in Ireland are smoke-free by the end of the year both inside buildings and on the grounds of the health facilities.
Asked about the possibility of making the grounds of Leinster House smoke-free, Reilly said it was not his decision.
“Leinster House is something I can raise at the Cabinet but it is not within my gift to dictate that particular situation,” he said. “But I would agree that Leinster House ought to go that way and show leadership.”
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web file photos - Cumberland Co. CCH_2382.jpg
Cumberland County Courthouse, Bridgeton
(File Photo)
Bail reform and the need for a more modern facility to house inmates have prompted several counties to jointly examine the idea of creating a regional jail in South Jersey.
Five counties -- Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cumberland and Gloucester -- have joined together to take part in a 10- to 12-month study to assess the feasibility of a regional jail somewhere in South Jersey. County officials would not speculate on any potential locations.
With a 4-to-1 vote Tuesday night, the Cumberland County Board of Chosen Freeholders approved a resolution to join the four other counties in the study.
"Our jail is very antiquated, and I think a more modern jail is a good idea," Freeholder Tom Sheppard said Tuesday night.
Officials said the counties will contribute roughly $160,000 toward the study, which will be billed by Burlington County as invoices for the work conducted.
Those funds will go toward a Trenton-based architectural firm/consulting agency -- Vaughn Collaborative -- which will begin the process by bringing stakeholders in each county together to examine their needs, officials said.
Cumberland County Freeholder Director Joe Derella said Tuesday night that Vaughn Collaborative will bring back its findings and recommendations for the counties to review and consider further options.
Eric Arpert, spokesman for Burlington County, said Wednesday that the condition of the Burlington County Jail is also among the reasons it is pursuing the regional jail idea.
"All five counties, we are all facing similar concerns," Arpert said. "We have an aging jail, and we are (looking) at what are the best and most cost efficient ways of running a jail. We are hoping the study gives us more options, innovative ways ... that's what the study is all about."
Camden County spokesman Dan Keashen said, "a modern facility would be ideal to service the inmate population."
He also said bail reform is a primary factor in the county's decision to get involved.
This past June, legislation was approved by the state Assembly Judiciary Committee to reform bail in New Jersey. According to the legislation on bail reform, rather than the release of an inmate based on a determined amount of money, release would be based on the level of risk to the public and ability to show up for court hearings, previous reports said.
The measure will not officially go into effect until 2017.
Atlantic County Administrator Gerald DelRosso said bail reform is central to Atlantic County's decision to get involved in the study.
DelRosso said the Atlantic County Jail once had nearly 1,200 inmates, but today houses only about 750 on average.
He said bail reform has vastly contributed to the reduction of inmates at the Atlantic County Jail, and said the county is interested in knowing more about how bail reform will affect its jail before officially taking effect.
"Our jail population is ... down roughly 400 people in the jail," DelRosso said. "Other things could happen; could we take inmates from other locations, make some revenue, could we close part of (our) jail down ... those are things we have to look at."
Cumberland County officials on Tuesday said they were surprised that Salem County chose not to participate in the study. However, it appears Salem County has separate plans that include expanding its county jail in the future.
Salem County Freeholder Dale Cross, a Republican, said on Tuesday that Salem County is content with its current agreement with Gloucester County to house Gloucester County inmates at the Salem County Correctional Facility, in Mannington, which took effect on June 1, 2013.
At that time, Salem and Cumberland entered into a shared services agreement with Gloucester County to bring Gloucester County's inmates into both county jails for a fee.
In May 2014, the Salem County Board of Chosen Freeholders voted to authorize a 10-year extension of the contract it currently has with Gloucester County.
That contract appears to be ironclad, Gloucester County officials said.
As for Gloucester County, though it is no longer housing inmates at its jail, officials said it is exploring all options to see if there are any additional savings in the future.
"Gloucester County is out of the jail business," said Gloucester County spokeswoman Debra Sellitto. "However, we are keenly interested in the success of any regionalization with regards to corrections."
She added: "As leaders, in regionalization, it is in the county's best interest to explore all options and this study is a great opportunity for Gloucester County to find if there are further savings down the line. We will continue to send inmates from the county to all of the correctional facilities that we have contracts with. If down the line it makes sense for us to change our options, then we will explore that at the appropriate time."
---
Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@southjerseymedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.
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We're just about two months away from the release of EA Sports UFC 2, which is shaping up to be the most comprehensive UFC video game to date. MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn reported last month that 250 playable fighters would be in the game, including none other than CM Punk, whose actual UFC/MMA debut hasn't even happened yet.
In case you're wondering what the former WWE star looks like, here's a tweet from EA Sports UFC 2.
There's a finish waiting every fight. How you find it, is up to you. #EASPORTSUFC2 pic.twitter.com/2qJJjCECb2 — EA SPORTS UFC (@EASPORTSUFC) January 11, 2016
According to Mike Bohn, CM Punk's overall rating is an 85/100. Yes, that is despite not having any pro fighting experience whatsoever. For context, assuming EA Sports hasn't changed its ratings system from the last game, an 85 rating puts him on the level of Martin Kampmann or Francis Carmont, and above 84-rated Pat Barry. Mark Hunt and Ross Pearson are both 86. The basic criteria include striking, grappling, and submissions, and then additional attributes within those three groupings.
And here's how CM Punk responded to those who have questioned both his inclusion in the game, as well as his rating:
Not since Samus Aran was revealed to be a woman have dummies been this butt hurt about a video game. — Coach (@CMPunk) January 11, 2016
EA Sports UFC 2 is scheduled to hit stores on March 15th.
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I don't always read long paragraph jokes on reddit but when i do, they are usually not very funny
292 shares
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Guddi Devi said she did this to draw attention to the pathetic sanitation situation. (Representational)
Congress councillor Guddi Devi on Monday chose a bizarre way to protest as she dumped trash in front of the offices of the north corporation's mayor and commissioner, alleging poor sanitation condition in her ward.
The Malka Ganj ward councillor deposited dry waste in front of North Delhi Mayor Avtar Singh's office soon after the NDMC House was adjourned for the day in the wake of the death of a councillor.
She then put garbage right outside the door of the office of NDMC Commissioner Varsha Joshi.
Varsha Joshi came out of her office after hearing the commotion and ordered that the area be cleaned.
Guddi Devi told reporters at the Civic Centre, "I did this protest to draw attention to the pathetic sanitation situation in my ward".
"I had gone to a child's funeral and the bereaved family was sitting next to a mound of filth," she alleged.
"If in my ward, people can live alongside garbage, these big officials should also know what it means to live that life," Devi said.
She claimed that she had raised the issue in the NDMC House too but authorities did not pay a heed.
"Number of sanitation workers in my ward has also been reduced," she alleged.
North Delhi Mayor Avtar Singh, when contacted, said, he would look into the case raised by Devi.
"My doors are always open to councillors and the common man. But, this was not a proper way to raise a issue. She could have come and met me, and told the issue, as I am not aware of it," he said.
"I will speak to Devi and also discuss the issue she had raised with the municipal commissioner," the mayor said.
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Brazil's former richest man Eike Batista sent to prison Published duration 31 January 2017
image copyright EPA image caption Eike Batista was initially taken to the Ary Franco prison in Rio de Janeiro
Former Brazilian oil and mining tycoon Eike Batista has been transferred to a high security prison in Rio de Janeiro after being arrested on arrival from New York.
Once Brazil's richest man, he has been accused of paying millions of dollars in bribes to secure contracts with Rio's state government.
Mr Batista has denied any wrongdoing.
He has promised to help the authorities in their efforts to tackle corruption which he says is widespread in Brazil.
Before boarding the plane and turning himself in to police, Mr Batista said he was returning to Brazil to clear his name.
"I'm at the disposal of the courts," he told O Globo newspaper in New York. "As a Brazilian, I am doing my duty."
Under Brazilian law, Mr Batista would have been sent to a special prison wing if he had a university degree.
But as he dropped out before finishing his engineering degree in Germany, he will be serving time in an ordinary cell with six other inmates at the Bangu penitentiary.
Many Brazilian jails are overcrowded and controlled by criminal gangs.
The authorities in Rio say, however, that is not the case at Bangu.
German passport
Mr Batista was met by police as he landed in Rio on Monday morning.
He was escorted off the plane and initially taken to the Ary Franco prison in Rio.
After undergoing medical exams and having his hair cut short, he was transferred to the high security prison in the outskirts of the city.
Mr Batista was declared a fugitive by Brazilian officials after police raided his estate in Rio de Janeiro last week and found he had left for New York just hours earlier.
BBC South America business correspondent Daniel Gallas says there was much speculation on whether Mr Batista would return to Brazil or use his German passport to flee to Europe.
Who is Eike Batista?
image copyright AFP
Seen by many as the face of Brazilian capitalism
Bold, extravagant and charismatic, he made most of his fortune during the commodities boom that brought great wealth to Brazil
Listed in 2012 by Forbes Magazine as the world's seventh-richest man, with an estimated fortune of $35bn
His Grupo EBX conglomerate spanned mining, oil, shipbuilding and logistics
After EBX collapsed following a crash in demand for commodities, his wealth slumped to under $1bn (£800m)
But Mr Batista said the trip to New York was not an attempt on his part to flee justice.
He is now due to be questioned about his alleged involvement in a corruption ring involving powerful business people and influential politicians in Rio de Janeiro state.
Investigators accuse Mr Batista of paying the then-governor of the state, Sergio Cabral, $16.5m (£13.2m) in bribes to win government contracts.
Mr Cabral was arrested in November as part of a larger corruption investigation dubbed Operation Car Wash.
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'House of Cards' shuts down production after Kevin Spacey sexual misconduct allegation There is no word on when production will resume.
-- Media Rights Capital and Netflix, the studios behind "House of Cards," have suspended production on the series’ sixth season in light of the allegation of sexual misconduct made against the show's star, Kevin Spacey.
Actor Anthony Rapp alleged Sunday that Spacey made a sexual advance toward him three decades ago when Rapp was 14.
Soon thereafter, Spacey said in a statement of his own that while he does not remember the incident, he was sorry for "what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior."
The two companies issued a statement today, saying, “MRC and Netflix have decided to suspend production on 'House of Cards' season six, until further notice, to give us time to review the current situation and to address any concerns of our cast and crew.”
There is no word on when production will resume.
Media Rights Capital and Netflix had said Monday that the upcoming sixth season of "House of Cards" would be its last. A Netflix representative confirmed to ABC News that the decision to end the show after its season six was made before the scandal broke.
“Media Rights Capital and Netflix are deeply troubled by last night’s news concerning Kevin Spacey," a joint statement read Monday. "In response to last night’s revelations, executives from both of our companies arrived in Baltimore this afternoon to meet with our cast and crew to ensure that they continue to feel safe and supported. As previously scheduled, Kevin Spacey is not working on set at this time."
Rapp, 46, told BuzzFeed Sunday that Spacey, 58, tried to seduce him at a party in 1986. According to the "Star Trek: Discovery” actor, Spacey picked him up "like a groom picks up a bride over the threshold" and laid down on top of him.
"He was trying to seduce me. I don't know if I would have used that language. But I was aware that he was trying to get with me sexually," Rapp told the website, adding that he was able to push Spacey off him and walked away.
Spacey responded shortly after the article's publication with a statement of his own, in which he revealed that he's gay. The response prompted backlash, with some accusing the actor of coming out as a way of distracting from Rapp's claim.
"Coming out stories should not be used to deflect from allegations of sexual assault," a tweet from GLAAD president Sarah Kate Ellis read. "This isn't a coming out story about Spacey, but a story of survivorship by Anthony Rapp & those who speak out about unwanted sexual advances."
The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences also spoke out against Spacey Monday, and canceled its plans to award the actor with the 2017 International Emmy Founders Award. The honor is meant to recognize individuals who cross cultural boundaries.
ABC News’ Joi-Marie McKenzie contributed to this report.
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Check out our new site Makeup Addiction
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Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
Real-estate heir Robert Durst pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal gun charge in New Orleans, paving the way for extradition to California to stand trial for the 2000 murder of a confidante.
"It was a good result," Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike McMahon said of the plea deal, which calls for an 85-month sentence on the gun rap.
Durst, 72, looked frail, stooped and sickly as he shuffled into the courtroom with a chain draped around his waist. He wore an orange jumpsuit, tennis shoes, and and black prison-issued aviator-style eyeglasses.
"I plead guilty," Durst told the court.
Under the agreement, Durst will likely be sentenced before April and then moved to a federal prison near Los Angeles by mid-August. There, he will serve the gun sentence while awaiting trial in the death of writer Susan Berman.
Let our news meet your inbox. The news and stories that matters, delivered weekday mornings. This site is protected by recaptcha
Durst denies killing Berman, a Las Vegas mobster's daughter who was so close to him that he walked her down the aisle at her wedding.
"Bob Durst did not kill Susan Berman. He doesn't know who did and he wants to prove it," Durst's defense lawyer, Dick DeGuerin, said after the plea hearing.
Prosecutors believe that Berman, 54, was executed because she knew something about the disappearance of Durst's wife, Kathleen, who went missing in 1982 and is presumed dead.
Durst has been locked up in Louisiana without bail since March when FBI agents, acting on the murder warrant out of Los Angeles, nabbed him with a .38-caliber Smith & Wesson that was illegal for him to have as a convicted felon. They also seized $161,000 in cash and marijuana.
"In my opinion, he was on his way to Cuba," McMahon said.
Real estate heir Robert Durst appears in a New York criminal courtroom on December 10, 2014. MIKE SEGAR / Reuters
DeGuerin maintains the search of Durst's hotel room was illegal, but said he negotiated a plea because he wanted to "clear the decks" and get to California to clear his name.
His arrest in New Orleans coincided with the airing of HBO's documentary series, "The Jinx," which explored his links to his wife's disappearance, Berman's murder and the 2003 dismemberment of a neighbor in Texas.
During the show, Durst was confronted with two handwriting samples — an anonymous letter that had been sent to police alerted them to a "cadaver" at Berman's house and another letter he sent to Berman — that appeared to be a match and had identical misspellings of Beverly Hills.
Afterward, he blurted into a hot microphone: "There it is. You’re caught,” and “What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.”
It's unclear whether any of the material from "The Jinx" will play a role in the Los Angeles murder trial. No trial date has been set, and asked when one might start, one of Durst's attorneys, Chip Lewis, said, "Your guess is as good as mine."
During Wednesday's hearing, Durst at times appeared confused and hard of hearing as he answered the judge's questions. He told the court he takes "a whole slew" of medication each day for an undisclosed condition.
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For those unfamiliar with the term, Hacker Summer Camp is the combination of DEF CON, Black Hat USA, and BSides Las Vegas that takes place in the hot Las Vegas sun every summer, along with all the associated parties and side events. It’s the largest gathering of hackers, information security professionals and enthusiasts, and has been growing for 25 years. In this post, I’ll present my views on how to get the most out of your 2018 trip to the desert, along with tips & points from some of my friends.
The Panel
Because not everyone enjoys everything the same way, I’ve asked a few of my friends to chime in for this blog post as well. Some are new to the field, and others have been around a lot longer than myself. These are itsc0rg1, illusorycake, dissect0r, fadec0d3, and Anonymous.
The Events
There are 3 main events: DEF CON, Black Hat, and BSides Las Vegas (BSides LV). Along with this, there are dozens of parties (corporate sponsors, DEF CON local groups, etc.) and a number of smaller events like QueerCon and the Diana Initiative.
As in year’s past, Black Hat begins the week with Trainings Saturday-Tuesday and Briefings on Wednesday and Thursday. DEF CON follows up with DC 101 talks on Thursday, and all the events are open Friday-Sunday. BSidesLV overlaps with Black Hat on Tuesday and Wednesday. This means you can’t realistically do all 3 cons – I’ve tried, it really doesn’t work. The closest might be doing BSidesLV on Tuesday, Black Hat Briefings Wednesday and Thursday, then DEF CON Friday through Sunday. It works on paper, but unless you have way more energy than I do, it’ll get you burned out pretty quickly.
DEF CON
DEF CON is the largest and original of the 3 conferences. Founded in 1993, it is one of the longest running Hacker/Computer Security conferences, drawing an estimated 25,000 attendees for DEF CON 25 in 2017. It’s widely speculated that this year’s attendance will hit 30,000, so be ready to meet some new friends. Introverts and those whose dislike crowds will want to make sure to be prepared to take breaks from the masses at DEF CON.
In case you missed the big announcement, DEF CON will be spread across two hotels this year: Caesar’s Palace and the Flamingo. I’m excited about this change, but it does mean more time out in the Las Vegas sun. This seems to be due to the continued growth of the DEF CON “Village” concept, which is very exciting to me – it gives more space for the niche interests within the hacker subculture to come together and explore their specific topics in more depth.
DEF CON Villages are topic-specific areas with presentations and hands-on activities for a small subarea/niche of the larger hacker/security community, like lockpicking or IoT security. If you’re into one of these areas (or want to explore it), the Villages are a great opportunity. Unlike main track talks, Village speakers will often hang around after their talk slot to talk to attendees, so you might get some opportunities to dig into their knowledge. If you’re really into their area of research, offer to buy them a drink – that’s a great way to show appreciation for them sharing their knowledge!
DEF CON has earned the nickname “line con” among some attendees, as it seems like there’s a line for everything. Want to attend a talk? Line up an hour before. Want to get into a village when it opens? Better be lined up. Want to get your badge early on Thursday? Try lining up at 1AM. That being said, you don’t have to do things this way. The talks will end up on YouTube (or buy them even sooner) or you can always hang out in someone’s hotel room and watch them over the hotel cable. Villages are generally accessible if you don’t go first thing.
DEF CON is the most “hacker culture” of the conferences – lots of hackers, very casual, no corporate sponsors. (This also means no free swag, so you might want to check out Black Hat if you’re looking for the free stuff.) DEF CON does have a fairly decent vendor floor – note that these are not vendors of security snake oil, but vendors of cool hacker stuff to sell right there at the conference. (Including a lot of hacker shirts.)
Black Hat Briefings
Black Hat involves both the “Briefings” (talks) and the “Trainings.” Black Hat trainings are generally very high quality, and the ticket price shows it. The briefings are also high quality, but will also eventually end up on YouTube. As a general rule, those attending either briefings or trainings are getting their pass paid for by their employer or self-employed and able to deduct the expense.
Here you’ll find far more attendees in polos or button-up shirts and khakis than in the black t-shirt and jeans of DEF CON. You’ll also find the occasional suit, which I really don’t understand in the Las Vegas heat.
Black Hat has a much larger vendor area than DEF CON, but in this case, I do mean vendors to sell you security snake oil. Every IDS, endpoint security solution, consultancy, and magic appliance vendor will be there. Some of them will have free things for you. Some of them will not. Such is life.
BSides Las Vegas
BSides Las Vegas is a smaller conference (around 3000 people, so still a decent size) and runs more or less in parallel to Black Hat Briefings. BSidesLV was the first BSides security conference, intended to be the “B-Side” to Black Hat. It’s a great option for those looking for more of a community feel or not wanting to pay for a Black Hat pass. It’s a very “chill” environment, not nearly as crazy or pushy as DEF CON, and not corporate like Black Hat.
BSides is small, but still has a lot of high-quality talks from world class researchers and speakers. Many of them will also be presented at one of the other conferences, but will give you a chance to be up close with the speakers and get a chance to interact with them as well.
BSidesLV also hosts epic pool parties with great music and fewer shenanigans than happen at some of the DEF CON parties. Some people have compared BSidesLV today to DEF CON back in the Alexis Park days.
BSides is also home to my favorite educational CTF: Pros vs Joes. It’s a great CTF designed to give players hands on experience with a variety of tools and techniques, and provide an opportunity to do things they might not have done before.
Edit: thanks to dc0de for pointing out that I was missing some of the best parts of BSidesLV.
Ask the Panel: DEF CON, BSides Las Vegas, Black Hat: pick one. Why?
Matir: Hands down DEF CON. It’s one of the few opportunities I get where I feel comfortable being myself and even talking to strangers. There’s a sense of belonging with many of the other attendees, and it’s amazing how passionate everyone is about what they’re working on. Of the three, it’s the one I feel most embodies the hacker spirit and culture.
fadec0d3: Both DEF CON and BSides for the culture.
illusorycake: BSides Las Vegas because it seems easier to get into the interactional aspects of it due to the smaller crowd. DEF CON is a hell of a fun experience but it seems a bit more difficult to understand what all is there to interact with. I stumbled upon really neat stuff both years I’ve been to DEF CON though, so if you can swing both BSides and DEF CON, I’d recommend it. I’ve been to Black Hat once and didn’t really feel compelled to go again.
itsc0rg1: Defcon, I love the villages and the interactions.
dissect0r: I think they all have their pros and cons, and I know many folks that like to do more than one every year. Based on work schedules, etc., I tend to always shoot for DEF CON, but I should mention that I like DEF CON more for catching up with friends and colleagues than solely for the content of the conference talks/tracks. I also think that DEF CON has more variety overall when it comes to topics, vendors, events, and personalities.
Anonymous: DEF CON. Black Hat is too corporate (and pricey) for my tastes, and while BSidesLV can be fun due to its size, DEF CON is just something that everyone should experience, imo. It can be huge and overwhelming but also small and fun.
Travel Logistics
If you haven’t already booked your hotel and airfare, there’s no time like the present. Rooms at Caesar’s Palace have dramatically increased in price. The other properties in the area still have decent availability. If you don’t want to pay Caesar’s pricing, Flamingo is a good choice for convenience (since the conference is spreading over there). Alternatively, the rooms at Paris are quite nice, it gets you some distance from the crowds, but is still just across the street. (Though if you’ve never been to Vegas before, note that “across the street” is still likely a 15-20 minute walk from your room to the conference floor.)
I’ve had numerous debates with others about whether or not to stay at the conference hotel. (Caesar’s for DEF CON, Mandalay Bay for Black Hat, or Tuscany for BSidesLV.) I maintain that I like to be able to just drop off stuff I don’t want to carry around, take a short break at times, etc. Others feel that getting more distance between themselves and the conferences is superior. At the end of the day, it comes down to personal preference (and potentially cost, depending on the hotels you’re comparing). I put a full comparison list in my 2016 summer camp guide.
Airfare is already going up as well. Whether or not it will keep going up is a mystery (I don’t think anyone really understands airfare pricing, even the airlines) but it’s probably worth booking now. One of the nice things about Las Vegas is the number of direct flights to get there.
I like to arrive the afternoon before the first thing I’m attending, and depart the morning after the last. While that does add to the hotel stay and the amount of time I’m spending in Las Vegas, arriving the afternoon before allows me to get settled in and be ready to go in the morning, and staying until the morning after ensures I don’t have to leave early for my flight. Additionally, I’ve found it’s a great chance to have a post-con dinner or drinks with new connections (or ones I don’t get to see often enough).
What to Do
The most ubiquituous piece of advice you’ll find about attending DEF CON is to be an active participant and not just sit there and hope to have things happen by osmosis. You absolutely can go and just sit in the talks and listen. I did mostly that at my first DEF CON, and it was good – but it wasn’t great. Participating makes it great.
So what do I mean by participating? It can come in many forms:
Go to villages and try hands on activities (soldering, lockpicking, etc.)
Meet people and find out what they’re working on
Find a group to try one of the contests (Scavenger Hunt, Badge Challenge, etc.)
At DEF CON, in addition to the talks, you have a large number of other activities, so nobody can say there’s nothing they want to do. In fact, I never manage to get to all the things I wanted to.
Many Villages Packet Hacking Lockpicking Tamper Evident Crypto and Privacy Wireless IoT Car Hacking Election Hacking More every year (and some I’m sure I’ve forgotten)
Vendors willing to take your money
Contests Scavenger Hunt Capture the Packet Badge Challenge Beverage Cooling Contraption Hack Fortress
Side Events DEF CON Shoot Toxic BBQ Drinking (who knew?) Networking Parties (Official & Unofficial)
I put a big emphasis on the hands on activities. I have seen people demo new tools (DEF CON demo labs), taught kids how to hack (R00tz Asylum), first learned to pick locks (Lockpicking Village), learned about network forensics (Capture the Packet), seen people hack cars (Car Hacking Village) and hacked on IoT devices and voting machines (IoT and Election Hacking villages). I meet up with people I only see once a year and share what we’re both working on, meet friends of friends, and so much more. Every year I spend every waking moment doing stuff and still wish I’d had more time at the end.
I should mention that both DEF CON and BSidesLV have talks that are not recorded: at DEF CON, these are “SkyTalks” and BSidesLV calls them “Underground.” If you see something on the schedule in those areas that interests you, you should go, as it’s likely your only chance to see the relevant talk. Don’t try to record with your phone either: I’ve seen people ejected and phones confiscated for this behavior. These talks are off the record for a reason.
What not to do!
Look, it’s pretty simple: don’t be a dumbass. Please don’t ruin things for others. (It sometimes amazes me DEF CON doesn’t get banned from hotels, but I guess for enough money, the hotels will tolerate quite a bit.) Examples of things you should not do:
Get alcohol poisioning and spend your con in the hospital.
Do grossly illegal things (Vegas has cameras, or so I hear)
Brag about hacks that were a crime (true or not) unless you want to chat with the feds.
Harass or assault anyone.
Also, please try not to argue with the DEF CON Goons or the BSidesLV Staff. Most of the time, you’ll look stupid, and they usually have a good reason for what they’re asking you to do. (Crowd control, fire code, etc.)
Ask the Panel: What’s your favorite thing about Hacker Summer Camp?
What’s your favorite thing about Hacker Summer Camp? What can you not miss or just must do?
Matir: The IoT village is one of my favorite places to hang out and meet people with similar interests. I’m also on staff for the Pros vs Joes CTF at BSides Las Vegas, so you’ll find me there during BSidesLV. I’ll also always make the Dual Core performance at DEF CON, and sometimes some of int0x80’s side performances at other events. (I don’t deny it, I’m a bit of a fanboy.)
fadec0d3: Don’t miss the workshops & villages.
itsc0rg1: Conversations / Contests.
dissect0r: I try to swing past every hacker village at least once, but usually several times. Sometimes there are unique and interesting things going on or fun people participating in the village when you least expect it. And I always bring a lot of cash for the vendor area — every year there seems to be a handful of devices that everyone wants, and sometimes stock clears out fast! I always throw down a lot of money on hardware and new gadgets or tools.
Anonymous: My favorite part is learning new things. I try to challenge myself as much as possible to learn something new every year, whether it’s soldering (DEF CON XX), a new attack technique, or starting a new programming language. In many cases it’s not something I use again, but I can at least say I’ve tried it. I absolutely can’t miss the Dual Core performance.
illusorycake: I get really inspired seeing what the community is up to. I’m not at a place in my career yet where I can contribute much, as I’m still learning a lot, but seeing what other folks are working on and the passion that people have for this stuff is fuel to the fire of my own passion for it. As for a thing I must do, definitely spending a bit of time outside of the conference to enjoy some of the Vegas sunshine.
What to Bring
What you should or should not bring with you is also a surprisingly divisive topic. I’ll begin by admitting that I’m a bit of a pack rat and tend to bring everything I could possibly want to have with me. (Ok, maybe not quite that bad, but I still tend to bring far more than necessary.) Others prefer a much more minimalist approach. Both probably work out well for different individuals. (Or maybe I’m quite unreasonable about what I bring.)
If you want to participate in some of the hands-on activities, you may either want or need to bring more specialized equipment. For example, if you want to do hardware hacking, it might be easier to bring your own soldering iron than to try to get into the Hardware Hacking Village when you want. Perhaps you’ll bring your own lockpicks for the Lockpicking Village. (The lockpicks in the village tend to be cheap picks that end up being badly abused during the con, so this can be great if you care about working with better tools.)
Electronics
The DEF CON network is often described as “the most dangerous network in the world”. While I think this overstates the risks (by quite a bit, actually), it makes sense to take precautions and to consider the network a hostile network. (Though you really should think of any network you don’t control as a hostile network.)
Some will suggest that you leave all your electronics at home (or at least in your room) and spend your time doing things that require your in-person presence (meeting people, hands-on activities, etc.). This is not a bad idea, but I think almost everyone will end up carrying at least a cell phone with them, even if only to stay in touch with friends.
When it comes to laptops, there are two questions to be answered: will you bring one with you at all, and if so, will you carry it with you daily?
I think most will end up bringing a laptop. Some might feel comfortable bringing their everyday laptop, and I’ve done that before (after swapping out the SSD for one with an alternate image to protect my data, just in case). This year, however, I’ll be carrying a Chromebook – the Asus C302CA with Crouton installed. If all you need is internet access, a Chromebook offers the highest level of security while on a hostile network. Placing it in developer mode does reduce the security guarantees somewhat, but also allows you to run Crouton, which gives a more or less fully functional Debian Linux chroot. You can also run Debian derivatives like Kali, which is what I do, since I will use the device for CTFs and contests.
If you’re not going to participate in a contest or activity that requires the use of a laptop, I encourage you to leave it in your hotel room safe. (Yes, I acknowledge that carrying it with you is a better mitigation against evil maid attacks, but if you’re that paranoid, you’re probably already aware of that.) There’s no sense in carrying extra weight and hopefully you’ll be spending your time doing interactive things instead of staring at a laptop screen.
Once you’ve decided what you’ll bring, you should take some reasonable steps to secure your electronics.
On all devices, you should setup a VPN service (either commercial or your own) and use it at all times. I’ve used Private Internet Access when travelling, but there are a number of providers with good reputations out there. I even use it over the cellular network because of the rumors of Stingrays and Rogue Cell Towers. (Yes, if the operator of those devices has an 0-day for your baseband, you’re still screwed.) You should also ensure that all devices are using a password for login and lock after going to screensaver/sleep mode.
If you connect to the conference WiFi, connect to the “secure” DEF CON network that uses 802.1x authentication. If you’ve setup the proper certificate, this should make it very difficult for someone to create a rogue AP. This network also does not allow client-to-client traffic, so should be reasonably secure against too much malicious activity. You’ll still want to use the VPN though.
For cell phones, use a phone with the latest Android or iOS build, or bring a burner phone (i.e., one with no data that you care about). Make sure it’s fully patched before you leave home, and don’t accept updates that may appear while at con. Enable device encryption and at least a strong PIN (if not password) to unlock the screen. It is exceedingly unlikely that someone will waste an iOS or Android 0-day to pop random phones while at the conference.
For laptops, the advice is similar. You should be fully patched and enable full-disk encryption. Turn on a software firewall, dropping all incoming connections. Set a BIOS/UEFI administrator password. When it’s not in your posession, at least put it in your room safe. (This is more about theft than about hacking, but it’s a good idea either way.)
Electronic Device Checklist
Backup all your data
Try not to carry very sensitive data
Fully patch your OS and applications (esp. browsers)
Use Full-Disk Encryption
Enable your firewall
Use a VPN
Don’t accept updates over hostile networks
Don’t click past SSL warnings
Consider a separate hard drive or separate device
If you leave it unattended, leave it with a trustworthy friend or in your hotel room safe.
Turn off interfaces you’re not using (WiFi, Bluetooth, etc.)
Cash
While Black Hat is probably not a problem with only a credit card, DEF CON is certainly a predominantly cash economy. DEF CON badge purchase is cash only, no preregistration, the official DEF CON SWAG area is cash only, and all of the bars at the events are cash only. Most of the vendors will deal mostly in cash (some exclusively) and, of course, Las Vegas as a city still sees a ton of cash flowing through. (Please remember to tip!)
Put simply, you’ll want to bring cash with you. At an absolute minimum, DEF CON badges are $280 this year. Things can quickly add up though if you get swag, buy gadgets, drink a lot, etc. Obviously, it’s better to bring too much cash than too little, as using the ATMs on the casino floor will, at a minimum, carry a hefty fee. At worst, the ATM may be compromised or have a skimmer on it. (Again, this may be a case where DEF CON’s bark is worst than its bite, but it’s still a good idea to be safe.)
Remember that Las Vegas is basically a giant service industry, and the service industry workers expect tips. Anyone who comes into contact with your luggage, delivers something for you, brings you something, etc., is probably expecting a tip. Vegas.com offers a detailed guide.
Food and Drink
You’ll want to eat and drink. Drinking alcohol is optional, but pretty common as well. There’s a wide range of strategies on how to do this depending upon your budget and personal tastes/desires. Attendees on a tight budget can bring a lot with them (energy bars, etc.) or get food at a local grocery store, but Vegas is also home to a number of high quality restaurants, including some that are a great value.
For quick/cheap eats, there’s a number of options:
Close by, both Caesars and Bally’s have food courts with a variety of typical food court fare. Shake Shack down the strip at New York New York is very popular. Fremont Street, just a little off the strip, has a number of good budget-friendly options.
Las Vegas buffets can be a good value, but they are often not cheap – you can get a lot for your money, but it’s still quite a bit more than the cheaper venues. On the other hand, buffets can be good for a group because of the sheer variety of food available. The buffet at Caesar’s (Bacchanal) is very good, but also fairly expensive – around $50/person for dinner!
At the upper end, Vegas is home to a number of Michelin Star and celebrity chef restaurants. You can find something to suit any taste. I once had a coworker suggest a restaurant to me with a several-hundred dollar tasting menu. (I’m sure it’s great, but I doubt I have the palette to appreciate it.)
While convenient, I’d skip the food lines setup in a number of the rooms at DEF CON and Black Hat. These provide low-quality food at very high prices. (Think vastly overpriced sandwiches and hot dogs.)
Regardless of how you choose to eat, you must stay hydrated. Las Vegas is both hot and dry, which makes for quick dehydration. Even being inside you may find yourself less hydrated than usual due to the dry air. Bottled water can be expensive, especially if you buy it from the hotel, so many choose to either have some delivered or refill a Camelbak or Sigg-style water bottle. You can also get bottled water at the drugstores and convenience stores on the strip for much less than the hotel will charge you.
I’ve let myself get dehydrated a few times during Hacker Summer Camp, and it really ruins things. Even once you start drinking properly, it will be a day or two before you start feeling right again. In a 4 day event, that’s a long time to feel like crap. For the shorter cons, that’s the entire con!
Speaking of drinking: a lot of drinking goes on at DEF CON, BSidesLV, and the associated parties. I’ve found a good way to help avoid a hangover is one drink (cup/glass/bottle) of water to each alcoholic drink I go through. I’m not sure if it slows my intake of alcohol or just keeps me more hydrated to avoid the hangover, but it does work.
If you’re drinking on a budget, try to get yourself invited to sponsored parties/events with open bars. I’ve also heard some people carry flasks, but I don’t know how well that works out. The bars setup within the con space are going to serve mainstream drinks for hotel prices (think $6 for Bud Light and $8 for house/well liquor). If you’re at BSidesLV or want to travel over to Tuscany, Pub 365 has a great selection (365 beers!) and is pretty reasonably priced, with many craft beers for $5-6 each. The food at Pub 365 is solid as well.
My personal favorite food and drink venues in Vegas:
Pub 365 at Tuscany for the Craft Beer selection, solid food, and decent atmosphere. Busy during BSidesLV, quiet the rest of the week.
Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill at Caesar’s Palace has good service and excellent food. A little overpriced to go with the celebrity name, but not over the top.
The Buffet at Wynn for a buffet and a break from the conference hotels. On the expensive end for buffets, but the food is absolutely top notch and the pastries in the dessert section are the best.
Shake Shack is one of my wife’s favorites, and she introduced me to it last year. Solid burger, great shakes, and quick to boot. The burger here was better than Gordon Ramsay Burger at Planet Hollywood.
Carnegie Deli at the Mirage has solid deli-style food. The sandwiches are expensive for a sandwich, but big enough to split or to have for two meals. Seriously. (Even for a big guy like me!)
Other Supplies
Clothing should be pretty obvious, and you can count on August in Las Vegas being hot. Depending on which events you are attending, the social conventions of dress code may vary somewhat. For example, at both BSidesLV and DEF CON, the “norm” is a t-shirt and shorts or jeans. Black Hat will be a mix of t-shirts and polos with jeans or khakis. (And yes, some button-down shirts and suits too.) Of the three, Black Hat probably has the most information communicated by what someone is wearing. You can usually spot upper management, middle management, and engineers on sight.
If you’re planning to go to parties held at any of the Vegas clubs, you’ll probably need to plan for their dress codes. Most of the clubs will enforce their code after a certain time, and at a minimum men will want nice jeans (not torn/ripped and no shorts) and a collared shirt. I won’t begin to pretend to know enough about women’s fashion to say anything there, but just understand the clubs will be enforcing dress codes in the evenings.
On the other end of the spectrum, there are also pool parties at BSidesLV and Queercon. If you want to attend these, you should probably bring a swimsuit. Or, you know, shorts you don’t mind getting wet.
You should also bring some aspirin or ibuprofen (“Advil” or “Motrin”), I don’t suggest paracetamol (“Tylenol”) because you’ll probably be drinking a bit, and your liver won’t like the combination. (Note: I’m not a doctor and this isn’t medical advice, but you should probably keep that in mind.)
As to everyday carry, we’ve already covered the cell phone everyone will be carrying, and the water bottle everyone should be carrying. I also suggest carrying a backup USB battery (even a small one) for your phone, your cash, and hotel keycard. Some also like notebooks or other ways to take notes during talks or when meeting people.
Note that, according to the every-other-year electronic badge philosophy announced by Dark Tangent, DEF CON 26 should have an electronic badge. So if you’re into badge hacking, you might want to bring the appropriate tools. At a minimum, I’d suggest some sort of universal interface like a Bus Pirate, an FT232H breakout board, or the FTDI FT232H cable. The FTDI cable probably has the best form factor to bring with you to the con. If you’re not familiar with these tools, my IoT Hacker’s Toolkit talk from BSidesSF has more details.
Ask the Panel: What do you carry with you at the cons?
Matir: Entirely too much. I carry a cell phone, my Skeletool, cash, an Anker Powercore battery, hotel room key, a small Moleskine notebook, business cards, and a steel-barreled pen. I carry it all in a Timbuk2 backpack specifically chosen to not be too big – it forces me to make decisions about what I carry, and prevents me from just taking everything with me. This year I’ll be adding an aluminum water bottle to stay hydrated and a cooling towel to help stay cool in the Las Vegas sun. I bring enough cash for the whole week so I don’t have to deal with ATM fees or the risk of skimmers. (Las Vegas is popular for ATM skimmers, this isn’t something unique to Hacker Summer Camp.)
illusorycake: A laptop with my favorite Linux distro on it, water(s), relevant power cords, a notebook or two, a few pens, chapstick, ibuprofen, cash, ID, and all the swag I can find and fit in whatever bag I have with me. If you’re looking for a new t-shirt wardrobe, you can easily obtain it at Hacker Summer Camp. One addition I’ll be making to my bag this year is a portable soldering iron so I can solder in a peaceful place and at my own pace.
fadec0d3: Bring a (lightweight) burner laptop you’re comfortable with using.
itsC0rg1: Deodorant, a water bottle and protein bars.
dissect0r: Backpack with the necessities (laptop, chargers, lock picks, etc.), extra cash, snacks, hydration.
Anonymous: A backpack of some sort. (I’m not picky which one.) A portable computer I can wipe. (Specifically a Lenovo 11e with an upgraded SSD running Kali Linux.) A small soldering kit. A kit of electronics tools. My con phone (not so much a burner as simply a phone, like the aforementioned laptop, that I can easily wipe once home). In the hotel room, I might also have things like more electronics parts, etc. mainly in anticipation of a contest or badge that I can play around with.
Packing Checklist
This is just to get you started, and you’ll need much more, but hopefully it has some good reminders.
Clothes for hot Vegas days.
Clothes for parties in semi-hot Vegas nights.
Secured Cell Phone
(Optional, but common) Secured Laptop
Notebook/Pen
Business/Personal Cards (I have cards I give to people I meet in contexts not related to my employer.)
Cash for DEF CON Ticket, Drinks, Tips, Gaming, etc.
Deodorant
(Optional, but common) Tools for Hacking
RFID blocking sleeves
First Timers
If this happens to be your first Hacker Summer Camp, it’s pretty easy to be overwhelmed by it all. Actually, even if it’s not your first time, it’s pretty easy to be overwhelmed by it all.
If you haven’t seen it before, you might want to check out the DEF CON Documentary produced by Jason Scott (@textfiles). While it’s a very small slice of DEF CON, it’s still well produced and a very interesting watch.
3-2-1 Rule
If you attend the DEF CON 101 session, you’ll hear about the 3-2-1 rule, but I think it’s so important, that it bears repeating here. At an absolute minimum, you should get 3 hours of sleep, 2 meals, and 1 shower each day. This rule is both for your own safety and the comfort of others. (I wonder if they should add a “4” for “4 liters of water”.)
On behalf of fellow attendees, the shower is the most important part of that rule. Because of the heat and the walking, I will tend to end up taking 2 showers every day: one in the morning to wake me up, and one just before dinner, because I don’t want to smell at dinner. One of my friends said she was going to bring travel sized deodorants for other attendees, and she wasn’t kidding. Please don’t be that person. (In case you’re unaware, “body sprays” like Axe are not a deodorant. Then you just smell like sweat and cheap body spray.)
Manage Your Energy
I’ve definitely mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. Even if you’re only going to a single con of the week, it’s a long event with long days, and it’s in a hot climate. If you try to do everything, you’ll just end up feeling like crap or burning yourself out. Manage your energy as you go, and if you need to take a break, take it! I know FOMO (fear of missing out) is a thing, but if you burn yourself out too far, you’ll miss out on a lot more than a short break.
Taking a break also doesn’t mean you have to completely stop doing anything con related. There are some ways to recover your energy while still having a good time and doing things:
Grab a (new) friend and head to one of the quieter bars for a drink and to catch up.
If you’re staying onsite or at one of the other Caesar’s properties with the talks on TV, head to your room and watch a talk.
If you know someone from one of the groups that has a suite, head up there to hang out. They tend to be a lot quieter and more chill than the con floor.
If you or someone you know has brought electronic gear with them, find a quiet place to work on the electronic badge (or #badgelife).
You should also be prepared to walk a lot. I know, a lot of us hackers are far more used to sitting in front of the comforting glow of a few LCDs, but even within the hotels, you’ll be walking a lot between areas. So wear comfortable shoes and be ready for the hot Vegas sun to make you sweat, a lot.
Plan Ahead
You should do some amount of planning ahead for con. I failed miserably at this my first time, and it could have been so much better if I hadn’t.
I’m not saying you should make a minute-by-minute (or even hour-by-hour) plan. But you should have an idea of what’s available to do, what your top goals are, and what is located where.
For example, you might want to take a look at the Caesar’s property map and the conference area floor plans to get an idea of what is where and where you might be going. You can look at last year’s DEF CON Program to get an idea of how the layout might look, but DEF CON tends to reimagine how the space gets used year to year based on the evolution of the conference and the lessons learned from the previous year, so don’t count on it being the same.
Likewise, as the event and talk schedules get released, you might want to look at them and start making a list of things you “must do”. (Again, recall that talks will be placed online, so unless you feel like it’s particularly timely for you, I suggest focusing on the things you can only do “in person”.) This can be very useful for your evening plans such as parties and musical performances. You can follow @defconparties on Twitter for all the Hacker Summer Camp party information. (Don’t let the name confuse you, they cover all the parties of the week.)
Physical Safety
Keep on eye on what’s on around you. I personally find the cons to be far more safe than Vegas streets, but that’s not to say there isn’t someone who wants to take advantage of you at the cons either. Just like you should in any busy public place or major city:
Keep your wallet in a front pocket
Don’t make your electronics easy to grab
Don’t leave your valuables unattended even for a brief minute (better to lose your seat than to lose your electronics)
If somebody on the street gets into your personal space, odds are they’re up to something.
Ask the Panel: What’s one thing you wish you knew before your first DEF CON?
Matir: I should have been ready to do more than just go to talks and parties. Being ready for competitions, being ready to be more social, having a better plan. If you don’t know all the things that are going on, it’s so easy to become frozen and overwhelmed by it all.
illusorycake: I wish I had known the scope of DEF CON. There are lots of different things going on: talks, villages, smaller conferences/events that overlap DEF CON, etc. It can be overwhelming to even simply just know what is available for you to do. I recommend talking to folks who have been before and asking them questions about anything that’s confusing once you have a schedule/agenda in front of you to reference.
fadec0d3: Don’t worry about missing lectures, they’re recorded.
itsC0rg1: Taking breaks is important, crowds are a bit overwhelming.
dissect0r: I tell newcomers not to be too rigid about their scheduling expectations, don’t expect to make it to every exciting talk you want to see. Sometimes the lines are staggering, and standing room only is not always a fun way learn new things. I expect to catch some of those epic talks later online or from the recordings. Be flexible, don’t be afraid to break from your expected schedule to grab a drink with some new friends, and definitely bring some extra cash to blow on vendor wares!
Anonymous: That not sleeping is ok but you still need to sleep.
Bonus Panel Question: What’s your best Hacker Summer Camp memory?
Matir: Dual Core performing at The Summit (an EFF fundraiser party) at DEF CON 20. It was an incredible show, and I really got into it, plus the party had great people and great drinks. There are so many runners up: hanging out with one of my best friends until early in the morning, a 2nd place finish in Capture the Packet, and getting a bright red mohawk for mohawkcon.
illusorycake: Pros vs Joes at BSides Las Vegas. If you’re looking for a practical experience of what it’s like to be a security engineer, this is the CTF for you.
fadec0d3: Accidentally overloading the electronic badge which broadcast to the radio, and ripping apart someone’s phone in the name of science to pick up IR visually for the electronic badge challenge.
itsC0rg1: A Goon handing me a bunch of free stickers when I was nearly collapsed from exhaustion.
dissect0r: There are a bunch, I don’t want to limit myself to just one. Some of my fondest memories are: meeting heroes in the security space — this brings a sense of realism to meet some of these people you admire online. Catching up with good friends that you don’t see near often enough. And learning new tricks and hacks that you didn’t know before.
Anonymous: Hanging out late at night working on some random contest. DEF CON can be such a nice blend of social and hacking, which is something we don’t always get to do if we don’t have access to a hackerspace and spend most of our time at home working on things. I’ve hatched so many plans and schemes and learned so much just sitting in the con area chatting late at night.
Summary
I hope this has been at least a little bit useful to you, or at least a good reminder of good times at Hacker Summer Camp. Feel free to share or hit me up on Twitter if you have ideas or suggestions for things I should have covered. This is the 3rd year in a row I’ve written such a guide, and you can find my 2017 guide here, and my 2016 guide in two parts here and here.
I suggest also checking out the Defcon for N00bs guide for other advice and another take on preparing for con.
Finally, a big thanks to illusorycake, fadec0d3, itsC0rg1, dissect0r, and Anonymous for contributing their thoughts. You all are great friends and hackers. I owe each of you a drink (or several) at Hacker Summer Camp this year.
FAQ
Are you paranoid?
Yes, I’m a professional paranoid. Everyone in this industry is, if they’ve been around long enough. In particular, I’m paid to simulate attackers, so I see everything as an opportunity to hack.
Will I get hacked at the cons?
Probably not, if you prepare well and aren’t stupid about it. But if you use open wifi with no protection, well, you’ll probably find out just how trivial such attacks are.
Should I go to talks?
Some people have interpreted my view on talks as “don’t go to talks, they’re a waste of time”, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. I think the talks are great, but unless it’s a talk that won’t be recorded, or is particularly relevant to you, I generally choose to do something requiring my physical presence at that time instead of sitting in a room listening to the talk. (And spending time lining up before the talk to even get into the room.)
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Canonical has announced that the next version of Apache Cordova, 3.3, will support Ubuntu.
Cordova is a mobile development framework that lets developers use web technologies – like HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript – to deliver mobile apps to multiple platforms, be it iOS, Android, Windows Phone, or – now – Ubuntu Touch.
If the name “Cordova” doesn’t ring a bell, you may be familiar with a distribution (and the original progenitor) of Cordova – Adobe’s PhoneGap. And for those of you concerned with Adobe’s name attached to the framework, Cordova itself is a top-level project at the Apache Software Foundation.
“Canonical opens the doors to over 400,000 web developers…”
Support for Ubuntu Touch will make the fairly low barrier to entry – thanks to QML and existing HTML5 support in the Ubuntu SDK – even lower by bringing Cordova/PhoneGap tools into the fold and, thus, the 400,000 developers already familiar with them.
The Ubuntu SDK already supports a number of Cordova APIs for access to hardware and various system components, but app development itself has been limited to Ubuntu’s own tools. Ubuntu Touch support in the Cordova framework will mean developers who are building cross-platform Cordova/PhoneGap apps outside Ubuntu – possibly using services like Adobe’s PhoneGap Build in the future as well – could bring their apps to the platform without having to switch build tools, IDEs, or even operating systems.
Having a raft of familiar APIs and tooling is even more important for mobile OS newcomers, like Ubuntu Touch, that can’t afford to start from square one when mature mobile platforms and ecosystems are plentiful and far less of a gamble. But Cordova support and yesterday’s news of a hardware partner are good signs that Ubuntu is ready to duke it out come 2014.
Learn More About Apache Cordova
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Reading this on mobile? Click here to view
Roger Allam
1. Learn your lines so well that you never have to worry about them.
2. Keep a notebook about the play, the character, the period, your moves. It'll help you remember what you have done so far – especially if you're having to rehearse in your spare time rather than all day, every day.
3. Never go dead for a second on stage. Even if you are doing nothing, do it actively. Listen.
4. If something goes wrong – say someone drops something – don't ignore it. Try to deal with it in character.
5. Warm up your voice and body. Get used to the size of the auditorium; if you don't know it already, go to the worst seats in the house and have conversations with people on the stage so you get to know what kind of energy is needed to be heard.
6. Be ambitious. The great actor, director and playwright Ann Jellicoe commissioned writers like Howard Barker and David Edgar, and put on magnificent, large-scale plays in Dorset that involved the whole community.
7. On the other hand, probably avoid Aeschylus's Oresteia or anything by the German dramatist Heinrich von Kleist.
8. Try not to worry about embarrassing yourself. That's a lifetime's task.
9. The Victorian actor Henry Irving said: "Speak clearly and be human" – but if you listen to his recordings, the boundaries of that are pretty vast. James Cagney said: "Never relax, and mean what you say." I think that's pretty good.
10. You are released from the miserable aspects of having to earn your living in this marvellous business called show, so have fun: be as serious as you like, but enjoy yourself.
Roger Allam has worked with the RSC, the National, Shakespeare's Globe and in the West End. TV and film includes The Thick of It, Tamara Drewe and Parade's End.
I wish I followed these rules all the time when I act. The truth is, you really learn these things by doing it: "acting" means putting it all into action.
1. Trust your playwright. If he or she is a great one, most of the work will have been done for you.
2. Read the play at least three times out loud before standing it on its feet. A lot of the blocking (the positioning of the actors on stage) will come out of understanding what your characters want, and from whom.
3. Listen to the person who's talking – unless your character isn't listening to them.
4. Don't be afraid to make an eejit of yourself.
5. Change the look in the other person's eye.
6. If it's in verse, paraphrase it first.
7. Keep it simple.
8. Remember that most characters use words to affect, connect with or change the other person.
9. As [the actor] Ralph Richardson said, before you leave the dressing room, look in the mirror and ask yourself: "Is it human?"
10. It's only a play!
Niamh Cusack has worked at the RSC, the National and the Old Vic. TV and film include Heartbeat and Hereafter.
1. Find the right level for the group. Being underambitious (thinking you can't tackle big plays) or overambitious (thinking you can tackle King Lear on your first time out) is a recipe for disaster.
2. Choose a play you feel confident you understand: liking a play isn't the same as understanding it.
3. Cast to the performers' strengths. I've seen amateur directors pander to the ego of the cast member with the strongest personality. Bottom the Weaver in A Midsummer Night's Dream is Shakespeare's warning from history: he says he can play lions and lovers and everything in between, but he can't.
4. Sit around a table and read the play for much longer than you want to. It might seem boring, but it saves loads of time later: you'll find that rehearsals fly along because everybody understands what they're doing.
5. Leave more time for technical rehearsals than you think you need. You'll be amazed at how much you still have to do once you get into the theatre: working out the distances between everything on stage, what the lights are like, where your props are.
6. Try to perform your play for more than five nights. Amateur groups often do a few scattered rehearsals across a few months, and then perform it once or twice. But if you perform it more often, you'll see acting more as a job than as a one-off, razzle-dazzle thing.
Paterson Joseph has worked extensively with the National and the RSC. He also stars as Alan Johnson in Peep Show.
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I don't see any difference between amateurs and professionals – so I would give my tips, such as they are, to anybody. The aim of any actor is the same: to tell the truth in such a way that people will be entertained, uplifted and surprised.
1. Listen before anything else.
2. Read the text over and over again, and make sure you know the lines.
3. Go and see other performances, and be critical about them: work out whether you'd have smiled in that place, or turned your head at that moment.
4. Never show off. You can sometimes come to a particular point in a show and think, "I'm really good in this bit." Never, ever think that.
5. Never read reviews. I haven't read mine since I was in rep.
6. Never know more than your character knows. I'm not talking about research; I mean that when you are performing, you must stay inside the truth of your character. Don't signpost to an audience what they should be thinking.
7. The most important thing is to breathe. If you stop breathing properly, you get a sore throat. And if you stop breathing, you die.
Miriam Margolyes has worked at the RSC and in the West End; she has been touring her one-woman show about Charles Dickens and his female characters since 1989. Films include The Age of Innocence and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
1. Read as many plays as possible, especially by classical writers such as Ibsen, Chekhov and Shakespeare.
2. Watch performances on YouTube. There are so many amazing theatrical snippets on there now. It's just as useful to watch bad performances as it is to watch good ones. You need to be able to differentiate.
3. Go to the theatre as often as you can.
4. Turn up on time. If you're going to commit to something, you should see it through with good grace.
5. Don't be a twat. There's always one: make sure it's not you.
6. Always have a huge supply of cakes and sweets – both for your sugar levels and to butter everyone else up.
7. People-watch: it's the best way to develop a character. When you're walking down the street, or sitting on a bus, in a cafe or doctor's surgery – don't close yourself off.
8. If you're cast as a historical character, think of a modern-day equivalent. In rehearsals for Ibsen's An Enemy of the People, for instance, I encouraged an actor playing the mayor to channel Boris Johnson.
Julie Graham has appeared in Doc Martin, Bonekickers, Survivors, At Home With the Braithwaites and The Sarah Jane Adventures.
• Nation's Best Am Dram continues on Sky Arts 1 on 5 December at 9pm.
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Sanjay Nirupam said, “It’s a democracy and the PM isn’t God in a democracy, people speak of him while maintaining decorum.” Sanjay Nirupam said, “It’s a democracy and the PM isn’t God in a democracy, people speak of him while maintaining decorum.”
Defending his “unpadh-gawaar” (illiterate) remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam has said that the words he used are not undignified. “It’s a democracy and the PM isn’t God in a democracy, people speak of him while maintaining a decorum. The words I used aren’t undignified,” ANI quoted Nirupam as saying.
The Congress leader Wednesday said, “Jo bachhe school, college mein padh rahe hain woh Modi jaise unpadh-gawaar ke baare mein jaan kar unko kya milne wala hai? Yeh bahut sharmnaak baat hai ki aaj tak humare desh ke nagrik aur bacchhon ko pata hi nahi hai ki PM ki degree kitni hai. (What will the children studying in schools, colleges gain by learning about an illiterate like Modi? It is a shameful thing that the country’s citizens and children still do not know how many degrees the PM has).”
Raising questions on PM Modi’s educational qualification yet again, Nirupam wondered whether the Delhi University was under pressure to not release the PM’s degree. “If children ask about educational qualification of the PM, what will you tell them? People don’t know his qualification. What are the forces which pressurise Delhi University not to release his degree, even when it’s claimed he studied there?” he said.
Nirupam’s controversial remark against PM Modi has come in response to the screening of ‘Chalo jeete hain’, a short film inspired by Modi’s life, in Mumbai schools.
In 2016, after the demonetisation, Nirupam had blamed PM Modi for the deaths of over 70 persons allegedly linked to demonetisation, saying the Prime Minister “should be booked for murder”. “One and only person is responsible for all these deaths — Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I demand he should be held responsible and booked under Section 302 (of IPC) for murder,” he had said.
It wasn’t the first time a Congress leader’s remarks against PM Modi had sparked a controversy. Ahead of last year’s Gujarat Assembly elections, senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar had called Modi a ‘neech kisam ka aadmi’. The remark eventually led to his suspension from the party.
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Hey everyone! It has been a while since I put something out, but I thought that as it’s almost time for 2015, I should dish out my awards for 2014! Thank you for all the great responses to the 2013 awards, hopefully you’ll enjoy this year’s selection too! So, without further ado, here are this year’s winners…
***Disclaimer: music is subjective, these are just my opinions. When looking at who I’ve given the awards to, please remember that success in the music industry is hard to define as it comes in lots of different shapes and sizes e.g. going from unknown to 10,000 fans, or becoming a regular on UKF etc.***
Let’s kick things off with the more serious awards:
Best Producer- Haywyre. Now, I was tempted to give this to Koven, but I felt that Haywyre’s contribution to 2014 needed to be recognised. He has really delivered, and I’m sure anyone who has heard the Two Fold EP or seen his cover of Smooth Criminal will agree. Not only has he proven he can produce to the highest quality expected, but he has shown his talent across the electronic spectrum with tracks like ‘Everchanging’ and ‘The Schism’. I can’t wait to see what he does in 2015!
Best Track- Koven – Final Call. There were a lot of worthy contenders for this, and it seemed like I’d have to give this to ZHU for his track Faded, however I know that I’d personally rather see this track receive some more recognition instead. It really is something special and it certainly delivers something that not a lot of songs can- major goosebumps.
Best Newcomer- Rootkit. Whilst he may not strictly be a “newcomer”, it feels like he is, seeing as he has come out of nowhere to “RKO” the music scene by delivering quality track after quality track this year. Showing his versatility with hits like ‘Too Late’ and ‘Real Love’, Rootkit certainly deserves recognition for an outstanding year of releases.
Best EP/LP- This was a tough call for sure, but Culprate’s ‘Deliverance’ is truly a masterpiece and deserves the recognition. It would be remiss of me not to also acknowledge some of the other amazing contributions we’ve had this year such as: Porter Robinson – Worlds (obviously), Moody Good – Moody Good, Eptic – The End, Koven – Hereinafter Pt I & II, Knife Party – Abandon Ship (and fuck everyone who hated on it because it seemed like the cool thing to do), Dillon Francis – Money Sucks: Friends Rule, Haywyre – Two Fold Pt. 1 and of course, Skrillex – Recess. (Yes there are others I could mention but I want to keep this relatively short and sweet!)
Worst Track- Tiga – Bugatti. I mean, are you kidding me? If you take off your hipster beanie for 2 minutes and actually listen to the song… there is simply nothing positive to say about this track. The fact it got the mainstream exposure it did is, in my opinion, damaging to the electronic music community- it’s like sending Justin Bieber to an interplanetary conference to represent humanity.
Best Remix- ZHU – Faded (ODESZA Remix). Another very tough call, but this track made such a huge impression on me the first time I heard it, and still sounds amazing even after listening to it countless times. This track shone brightest out of the horde of Faded Remixes and rightly so.
Best Label- Inspected/OWSLA. I genuinely couldn’t decide between these 2. Inspected has released quality track after quality track in 2014 (particular shoutout to their Movember release: ‘Mosaic’), however OWSLA have been responsible for releasing some of the best tracks of 2014. Therefore they earned the right to share the honours here. Honourable mention to Monstercat for really stepping up the releases this year too.
Best DJ- Porter Robinson. He performed his heart out on his Worlds tour and I’m sure anyone who attended his shows will agree that he earned this.
Worst BJ- Paris Hilton. Typo deliberate.
Best YouTube Promo Channel- MrSuicideSheep. He has had a very strong 2014 and has often gone slightly out of his comfort zone to deliver top quality tracks that you wouldn’t usually expect to hear on there such as Zeds Dead – Collapse. That, combined with the fact he seems to have taken on-board my criticism from a previous post makes him a winner in 2014.
Best Vocalist- Mammals. They absolutely slayed me with their performance on LVTHER’s track ‘One Look’ and have a truly unique sound that is a breath of fresh air on the “EDM” world. Honourable mention to Danyka Nadeau who has also had a killer 2014.
Best Blog- Whichever one managed to post about Deadmau5 the least.
Most Underrated Track- Apashe – No Twerk Ft. Panther x Odalisk. This track is absolute FIRE, yet it largely went unnoticed on release. Some viral videos have since helped raise its popularity, however I still feel this absolute monster of a track passed a lot of people by. Go listen now if you haven’t yet!
Most Underrated Artist- DISKORD. These guys have released a string of MAD tracks in 2014 and I definitely expected them to get more of a following as a result. Tracks like ‘Go Hard’ and ‘Freak’ prove they are capable of delivering blistering tracks and I expect them to continue doing so next year.
Smashed It 2014 Award- Mefjus. He has raised both the bar and eyebrows alike by releasing consistently ridiculous tracks. If there’s one man I want to see live as soon as possible, it’s Mefjus.
Most Likely To Smash 2015- Aiden Jude.
… Just kidding, but seriously, did he die? I haven’t seen any attention-seeking blogs mention him at all lately. Back to the awards though, the Most Likely To Smash 2015 Award ACTUALLY goes to….. Tchami. Those of you with your “ear on the pulse” will have heard his ‘Take U There’ remix that he released recently and you will know what a monster this guy is. It caps off a year in which he has been truly dominant- from destroying festival stages to co-producing and co-writing one of the biggest tracks of the year- ‘Turn Down For What’. This guy is destined to do big things in 2015.
And now for some more dubious honours…
Most Likely To Not Make It To The End of Year Awards 2015- Anyone who uploads a video of an early WIP of their track and tags everyone on their friends list in it. STAHP.
Sexiest Male- Direct. He has defended his title for another year with those tantalising curly locks of hair that whisper sweet nothings to me.
Sexiest Female- Danyka Nadeau. I would let her husband the shit out of me.
Best Hair- Andy C. He must be hiding something under that cap. I’m pretty sure it’s his majestic hair.
Culture Code Consistency Award For Releasing Songs That All Sound The Same- I guess this has to go to Kygo, although to be fair, he has released some great tracks in my opinion.
The “Jared Has AIDS” Award For Impressive Weight Loss- Sadhu. Well done mate.
The Most Social Media Rants Award (Sponsored by Deadmau5)- Clark Robinson (Twine). For someone who has had such a successful year, you sure have found a lot to complain about along the way. Sending tampons for 2015 brah. Yes, it’s hypocritical of me to award this, but fuck it- I’ve actually barely posted all year! Honourable mention to Curtis “Angriest Man In The World” Dashper.
Best troll- The guy who dressed up as Steve Aoki for Stereosonic Festival and convinced people he was Aoki, despite not actually looking anything like Steve Aoki.
The “Making Professor Quirrell Faint In The Hogwarts Great Hall Since Before You Were Born” Award For Lifetime Achievement in Trolling- Wunderground. There have been some exceptionally hilarious satirical articles from Wunderground this year and they thoroughly deserve this award.
The “These Are Not The Droids You’re Looking For Award” For Shamelessly Using Bots Without Realising How Obvious It Is To Everyone Else- Sergal Soundwaves (for “botting” in the best EDM label poll on EDM Sauce- don’t get me started on that poll though…)
The “Sheer Brilliance & Unique Production” Award- all the sheeproducers who made “This Much Power”/Terror Squad rip-offs this year.
The “Wait, They Make Music?!” Award- Stanton Warriors, whose Facebook page would have you believe they are in fact a meme agency.
Most Baguettes Consumed/Abused- Jack Haigh.
Most Homoerotic Band Name- Jack Ü
The Derek Zoolander Award For Kids Who Can’t Read Good- Anyone who has ever said ‘EDM Music’.
The “Electronic Drama Machine” Award For, well it’s pretty self-explanatory- Krewella (and can everyone please chill the fuck out about this and just leave them to sort it out now please?)
The “Treat Them Mean Keep Them Keen” Award For Releasing Virtually Nothing All Year- Tristam & Nero. Granted, ‘Satisfy’ was an absolute BANGER, and ‘My Friend’ is awesome, but I definitely wanted to hear more from these 2 this year.
That concludes the awards for 2014. Congratulations to everyone who won an award! If you want to have your say on who should have won, let me know in the comments or on my page.
I hope you’ve all bought a greenhouse ready for the inevitable “Tropical House” takeover in 2015. Seriously though, I can’t wait to hear what 2015 brings, and big thanks to all the artists who made 2014 another landmark year for electronic music.
Stay awesome.
The Phantom
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Cloud computing is known for high-availability and low latency, so cloud computing providers are made available solution for mission-critical applications which is not possible to handle all thing from one data-center to all over world that's why cloud computing providers set up the
in different regions, and datacenter is the setup of computing machines and networking. More than one datacenter equipped with independent power, cooling, and networking, which is called the Availability Zone.
Availability Zones are the combination of the data-center where data -centers are equipped with independent power, cooling, and networking, which protects your applications from datacenter failure.
Why needed Availability Zones in Microsoft Azure.
1- If you select any region to set up your environment to ensure resiliency, Azure provides three separates zones in all enables regions.
2- The physical separation of Availability Zones within a region protects applications and data from datacenter failure.
3- Zone-redundant services replicate your applications and data across Availability Zones to protect from single-points-of-failure.
4- With Availability Zones, Azure offers industry best 99.99% VM uptime SLA.
An Availability Zone in an Azure region is a combination of a fault domain and an update domain. For example, if you create three or more VMs across three zones in an Azure region, your VMs are effectively distributed across three fault domains and three update domains. The Azure platform recognizes this distribution across update domains to make sure that VMs in different zones are not updated at the same time.
Regions that support Availability Zones
1. Central US
2. East US 2 (Preview)
3. France Central
4. North Europe
5. Southeast Asia
6. West Europe
7. West US 2
Services that support Availability Zones
The Azure services that support Availability Zones are:
1. Linux Virtual Machines
2. Windows Virtual Machines
3. Virtual Machine Scale Sets
4. Managed Disks
5. Load Balancer
6. Public IP address
7. Zone-redundant storage
8. SQL Database
9. Event Hubs
10. Service Bus
11. VPN Gateway
12. ExpressRoute
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Sanders Jett-Folk | United States
Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld has faced intense heat from members of the Libertarian Party since he ran alongside former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson on the 2016 Libertarian Presidential ticket. However, as we enter the 2020 primary season, it is fully clear Weld is the best choice for the Presidency. He is the liberty-minded man that seeks to dethrone President Trump for the Republican nomination.
Governor Bill Weld: A Proven Record of Liberty
Weld is a highly educated man with a history in law and politics, having received his law degree from Harvard University. He served as both the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts and the United States Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division under President Ronald Reagan.
Bill Weld was a champion for liberty during his two-term tenure as Governor of Massachusetts. His care for personal freedom earned the Republican two terms in the heavily blue state.
Under Weld’s first term in office, unemployment fell by over 3%. He continuously cut wasteful spending within the state and privatized many unnecessary organizations. The Cato Institute awarded him high grades year after year due to his smart fiscal policies. Moreover, he cut taxes 15 times in the state during his tenure and never raised them.
National Policies
While Governor Bill Weld may no longer be a Libertarian on paper, he is, without question, a libertarian in principle.
During the 2016 election, Weld consistently stated his desire to cut the funding of every federal agency by 20%. He also voiced support for lowering taxes to fit the lesser funding needs. Furthermore, he supports the right of states and local governments to regulate educational standards. Bill Weld would seek to end the federal government’s one-size-fits-all education approach.
He also acknowledges the existence of man-made climate change. But to fix the problem, he has stated we should “Promote competition” and “Incentivize innovation” rather than regulate carbon emissions and other harmful chemicals.
Weld has continuously spoken in support of free trade and stood against harmful tariffs. He has spoken out against regime change efforts that the United States has led over the years. He has additionally noted that handling what occurs in other countries is not in the interest of our citizens.
Personal Freedoms
Weld believes the government should have no place policing how peaceful Americans live their lives. In 1992, he stated that he wants “the government out of your pocketbook and your bedroom”. He extends this idea to issues such as LGBT marriage and abortion. In 2016, he affirmed that abortion is a “fundamental constitutional right of the individual.”
The former governor angered many Libertarians when they discovered that he supported a gun control bill as governor. The bill would have raised the gun buying age to 21, among other restrictions. However, in 2016, Weld made public that his stance had changed, affirming that he was a lifelong hunter who supported the Second Amendment in its entirety. He stated: “Restricting gun rights doesn’t make us safer, and threatens our constitutional freedoms”.
There is no candidate that will fight harder for the personal freedoms of Americans than Governor Bill Weld. The Democrats will likely choose a progressive who touts higher taxes and gun control. The current options within the Libertarian Party are anarchists and idealists with no realistic policy ideas. Bill Weld, on the other hand, is a breath of fresh air, a candidate who will truly put Americans first.
71 Republic is the Third Voice in media. We pride ourselves on distinctively independent journalism and editorials. Every dollar you give helps us grow our mission of providing reliable coverage. Please consider donating to our Patreon.
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Bar Raid At Alamo Leather Contest
Edit by Vonn Tramel 3:48pm 2/7/16: Dave Rhodes and I have spoken with Event Producer Steven Parker, who informed me that "TABC told me during their "raid" that we (the event) did nothing wrong and they were going after the bar."
/end edit Original Post:
Attendees of The 2016 Alamo Leather Contest will certainly never forget!
Late Saturday evening, at approximately 1030, just a few minutes prior to the announcement of The Alamo Leather Contest’s Winners bar staff swept through the Mad Marlin’s basement and parking lot. They were instructing customers in the basement to finish their drinks and instructed to dump their drinks if they were in the parking lot. Soon thereafter contest producers abruptly announced Mr. Alamo Leather 2016 Shawn Fox and Alamo Bootblack 2016 Sugar Bear.
At this time the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and San Antonio Police Department proceeded to raid the north side establishment. It was announced at the beginning of the raid that persons with faces not matching their photo ID could be ticketed and or arrested. Members of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and the event’s emcee bolted from the establishment.
The neighborhood watering hole has been described by Website My San Antonio as a fun, unpretentious addition to the neighborhood who is valiantly trying to set itself apart. According to International Ms Olympus Leather 2016 boo, “that describes the bar, its owner and management to the Tee”. She went on describing the bar as completely accepting of all folks just wanting people to have a good time. “The bartenders were asked to dress in fetish wear and seemed to have fun with the evening. During an auction for Project H.O.T. An HIV outreach program, the bars owners announced that they would match each bid.
We do not yet know if, any arrests were made or if this raid was related to an incident in December during which a young man and a young woman were shot after an incident occurred in the parking lot at the bar. We have reached out to both the bar and San Antonio information officers, but do not have any more information at this time.
______
Update can be found here
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If you own one of Apple’s Retina MacBook Pros (from 2012–2015, which is the model before the newest, Touch Bar-equipped iteration), then you know that they’re not exactly meant to be taken apart once you’ve bought one. Most parts are attached directly to the logic board, and the battery is particularly hostile to user replacement. The entire unit is physically glued in place with some industrial adhesive.
Still, the good folks over at iFixit believe that everyone should be able to repair, replace, and upgrade the gadgets that they own, and they’ve spent some serious time and effort coming up with a way to allow Retina MacBook Pro users to replace their batteries, allowing them to dramatically extend the usable lifespan of their laptops.
The end result is the company’s new Battery Replacement Kits for 2012–2015 Retina MacBook Pros, which cost between $89.95 to $109.95, depending on your particular model. The kit comes with all the parts and instructions you’ll need to resurrect your aging MacBook Pro.
The catch is that the process of actually replacing the battery isn’t exactly what you’d call simple. The location of the battery makes heating up the glue to weaken it unfeasible. (Remember: fire + batteries = bad.) So iFixit had to take a slightly more ridiculous-looking approach: it developed a chemical solvent that can dissolve Apple’s adhesive so you can remove the old battery successfully. It’s an impressive workaround. As iFixit notes, even Apple doesn’t remove the entire battery for in-house repairs, instead the company just replaces the whole piece of the case that the battery is attached to.
Even with the kit and iFixit’s detailed instructions, battery replacement isn’t for the faint of heart. But if your MacBook Pro’s battery has been giving you issues and you don’t mind the extra effort, then grab your screwdriver, plastic pry bar, and your trusty syringe and get to work.
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Tuatha Traits
Though the tuatha bloodlines are varied, they are all linked by their fey blood. Your tuatha character has several traits in common with all other tuatha.
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.
Age. Tuatha mature at the same rate as humans and reach maturity in their late teens. However, they can live much longer than humans do, up to 250 years.
Alignment. The tuatha prefer to live by their own rules, and as such are often chaotic. Their temperaments can vary wildly, just like the heroes and villains of a storybook. There are just as many good tuatha as there are evil.
Size. Tuatha stand at about the same height as humans, ranging from 5 to 6 feet tall. Your size is Medium.
Darkvision. Due to your fey blood, you can easily see in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Shapechanger's Physique. You are proficient in your choice of the Acrobatics skill or the Athletics skill.
Beast Shape. You can use your action to magically transform into a Tiny beast of Challenge Rating 0 that does not have a flying or swimming speed. You can remain in this form indefinitely, and can revert to your normal form as a bonus action, and automatically revert to your natural form when you are rendered unconscious. While you are transformed in this way, your game statistics are replaced by the statistics of your chosen form, but you retain your current and maximum hit points, as well as your alignment, personality, and Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores. You also retain each of your skill and saving throw proficiencies, unless the form you assume already has proficiency in that skill or saving throw.
You can’t cast spells, and your ability to speak or take any action that requires hands is limited to those actions your chosen form may take. You retain the benefit of any features from your class, race or other source and can use them if your current form is physically capable of doing so. When you transform, you choose whether your equipment and anything you are carrying falls to the ground or merges into your new form. Any equipment that merges into your new form has no effect until you leave that form.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Sylvan.
Subrace. Though the tuatha are borne from ancient lineage, over the ages three bloodlines have emerged: selkies, swanmays, and the storied. Choose one of these subraces.
Selkie
As a selkie, you live equally between the land and sea. Tougher than most tuatha, you can transform into aquatic creatures. Selkies are sometime sought after by sailors and fisherman, as they are seen as good luck. As such, many selkies search out remote islands and beaches to make their home in peace. However, some adventurous selkies travel the roads and the tides of the world to experience all its wonders.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2.
Natural Swimmer. You can hold your breath for a number of minutes equal to your Constitution score. Additionally, you have advantage on Athletics checks made to swim.
Seal Skin. Whenever you finish a long rest, you gain temporary hit points equal to your level.
Beasts Beneath the Waves. When you use your Beast Shape feature to transform into a beast, you can assume the form of a Tiny beast with a swim speed, or the form of a seal.
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Maybe she was jealous of all the attention being focused on Michelle Wolf, so another comedian, Kathy Griffin, picked the White House Correspondents Dinner to corner Trump's Deputy Press Secretary and launch into a foul-mouthed diatribe against him and the president.
Then, on a daytime TV show promoting her new stand up comedy tour, Griffin uttered so many expletives that they had to cut her mic — which is pretty incredible considering she was on The View...
Remember when Griffin "apologized" for that "beheaded Trump" picture? She says now she takes that back.
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Rule Change Could Give Restaurants More Control Over Workers' Tips
Enlarge this image toggle caption Francis Dean/Corbis via Getty Images Francis Dean/Corbis via Getty Images
Americans are big tippers.
Every year, we leave more than $30 billion in tips, mostly in restaurants but also casinos, nail salons and other service businesses.
Traditionally, the owners of those businesses have not had much control over how tips are distributed. But a proposed rule from the Trump administration could change that.
"This rule has really been pushed by the restaurant industry," said Heidi Shierholz, chief economist for the Labor Department during the Obama administration. "They really want to get control of tips. They've finally found an administration that will do it for them."
Restaurant owners are promoting the rule change as a way to address long-standing inequities in pay between servers and kitchen staff.
"Cooks historically and even today have always received the short end of the stick in terms of the tip world," said Kurt Huffman, who runs more than two dozen restaurants in Portland, Ore.
Kitchen workers in his restaurants earn starting wages of about $13.50 an hour. With tips, servers can earn two or three times as much.
Huffman tries to compensate by encouraging servers to share a portion of their tips with cooks and dishwashers.
"We've tried to be very, very careful in just communicating the fact to our servers and our bartenders that our kitchen is a critical part of our business," Huffman said. "It is, in fact, the motor that runs the business."
He said most servers are happy to comply.
"You don't want to be known as the guy or the girl who stiffs the kitchen," he said. "The cooks are going to find out and that's just bad news for you and your table. So there's a certain common sense to it."
But under current federal rules, any such tip sharing with kitchen staff must be voluntary, unlike tip pools with busboys and hostesses, which employers are allowed to mandate. As a result, the shared tips add only a few dollars to kitchen workers' pay, and Huffman often struggles to find qualified cooks and dishwashers.
If the proposed Labor Department rule goes through, restaurant owners would have more control over tips and could redirect more money to kitchen workers.
"I think all of us see this as a way to reallocate the tips a little bit more fairly," Huffman said. "And it's nice from an ownership perspective to feel like finally we have an opportunity to truly decide where these tips go."
But critics warn the proposed rule would give restaurant owners too much leeway.
"As long as employers pay their workers the full minimum wage, they then take full control over the tips above that, and can do whatever they want to with them, including simply pocket them," says Shierholz, who's now with the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank.
"The issue that I have with tip pooling is not that I'm sharing the tips," says former waitress Misty Cumbie. "It's that the owner would have control over the tips."
"I think in general people assume that the money that they're leaving is for the server or the person behind the counter," Cumbie says. "And definitely not for the owner."
Cumbie, who has worked as both a waitress and in the kitchen, agrees that cooks and dishwashers deserve higher pay. But she says that money shouldn't come from the pockets of servers.
Cumbie sued a former employer who insisted servers share the bulk of their tips with kitchen staff. The federal court initially ruled against her, finding that employers may take control of tips so long as servers are paid the minimum wage. The Obama administration then issued a rule making it clear that tips belong to the worker who receives them, whether that worker is paid minimum wage or not.
The Trump administration is now preparing to reverse that with its own rule.
The Labor Department has already received thousands of comments on the proposal. Its final decision may determine who keeps the money you leave as a tip.
NPR RAD researcher Jane Gilvin contributed to this story.
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The reason I'm squinting so much is because my face is fighting the rest of my body
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Elmo’s In The Clear: Court of Appeals Dismisses Three Sex Abuse Lawsuits Against Former Sesame Street Voice Actor Kevin Clash
Elmo’s In The Clear: Court of Appeals Dismisses Three Sex Abuse Lawsuits Against Former Sesame Street Voice Actor Kevin Clash
Elmo’s In The Clear: Court of Appeals Dismisses Three Sex Abuse Lawsuits Against Former Sesame Street Voice Actor Kevin Clash
For former longtime Elmo voice actor and puppeteer Kevin Clash, it’s truly a sunny day.
This month, the United States Court of Appeals dismissed the cases of three alleged victims—Cecil Singleton, Kevin Kiadii and a man identified only by initials “S.M.”—who all claim they were sexually abused by Clash, 53, more than ten years ago as minor teenagers.
A New York judge previously threw out the lawsuits in July 2013, claiming they were filed after the six-year statute of limitation had expired. But the three men brought their cases to the Court of Appeals, alleging they didn’t fully realize the psychological effects of the abuse until 2012.
For a second time, the cases were dismissed, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The Court of Appeals argued the alleged victims “failed to provide any reason why [they] were unable to discover their injuries prior to 2012,” court documents state.
The Court of Appeals found the arguments to be “without merit,” affirming the New York judge’s previous decision to dismiss all three suits.
The actor still faces other legal woes: Pennsylvania man Sheldon Stephens sued Clash in March 2013, claiming the star smoked crystal meth as he sexually abused him at age 16. The state has a more lenient policy toward statute of limitations.
Another unnamed accuser recanted his sex abuse allegations in 2012, a lawyer stating his client and Clash shared an “adult consensual relationship”.
Clash resigned from his 28-year run as loveable monster Elmo as sex abuse allegations surfaced in November 2012.
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TV Review: 'Game of Thrones' Returns With Its Ambitious Glory Intact
Proving again that a genre series can be as serious and challenging as traditional dramas, "Game of Thrones" kicks off what should be its most ambitious season -- which is really saying something for this dense, layered epic. TWITTER
Season 3 promises to be filled with even more characters and locations as the epic fantasy series proves it's one of television's finest dramas.
Much of the chatter that drives HBO’s addictive and outstanding drama series Game of Thrones tends to come from people who have read the books by George R.R. Martin, even though relatively speaking they are a minority. But they know a lot. They are very devoted and insider-y and can recall characters that barely have graced the screen -- and even then are covered in dirt and hardly recognizable. These book-first, awesome-television-series second types are way, way ahead of everyone else.
PHOTOS: 'Game of Thrones' Season 3 Preview: 23 New Photos
They have conversations amongst themselves about what’s being left out from the books and how effectively the massive tomes are being divided into a TV series. And much of their driving internal force comes from wondering what David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the series creators, writers and show runners will do with the characters and events these fans already know the fates of; they can’t be satiated.
For the rest of us, well, Game of Thrones is first and foremost one of the most ambitious and creatively challenging (and rewarding) series on television. Secondly, it’s mighty dense. If you lack sufficient bandwidth in your memory or you haven’t “marathoned” the previous season right before staring the next one, break out the Advil.
That said, having watched the first four episodes of Season 3, there are barely a handful of series that generate this kind of fervent appreciation for the skills at hand. It’s like being in some epic tale that never ceases to be engrossing and creates a kind of demanding, spoiled attitude that culminates in this despondent and annoyed declaration: “Why do they only make 10 episodes a season!?”
PHOTOS: 'Game of Thrones' Season 3 Premiere: Westeros Meets Hollywood
And yes, after the first two 10-episode seasons on HBO, it’s clear that no other genre series has managed the leap to greatness quite as quickly as Game of Thrones. The series took fantasy, a la The Lord of the Rings, and made it as intellectually significant as the deep existential musings of Mad Men and as rigorously fast-paced and addictive as Breaking Bad by creating worlds and rules and legends that have no bearing on “the real world” but echo its deepest mysteries, worries, complications and mundane daily realities. In that sense, it takes what outsiders might consider “some sci-fi show” and turns it on its head, revealing that great art can come from any genre provided (in the television landscape) if the writing, acting and ambition are there.
Season 3, starting at 9 p.m. Sunday, can be comfortably described as insanely ambitious. In a series that already has so many characters and interwoven storylines, viewers get two fascinating new characters in Mance Rayder (Ciaran Hinds), the King-Beyond-the-Wall and Olenna Redwyne (Diana Rigg), a new location in Astapor, bands of warriors forgotten since Season 1 and enough fallout and intrigue from Season 2 to last a whole lot longer than 10 episodes (the third book in Martin’s series will be split into this season and the next because it was so massive).
PHOTOS: 'Game of Thrones' Season 3 Character Posters
Benioff and Weiss have said that Season 3 will, in fact, be the most packed of all because it builds so many stories (and necessitates new arrivals) but that moving forward there will the typical Game of Thrones winnowing out, which usually means some popular character you think will live forever ends up with his or her head on a spike.
(In this area, so much praise must be given to the readers of Martin’s books because they haven’t spoiled anything for the rest of us -- though, given the influence of social media, they quite easily could if they wanted. It’s that devotion to quality television and not wanting to ruin it for anybody that makes shows like this so special.)
And in keeping with the no-spoiler rule, all that really needs to be said about Season 3 is that the first four hours are immensely enjoyable and leave you, at the end of each, pleading like a junkie for the next six. This, of course, is the curse of Thrones' finest achievement, and it does have one unfortunate side effect for the individual episodes: This sprawling story being told in only 10 episode doles out in an hour only precious morsels of plot from a variety of characters and clans, then abruptly switches to the next character or clan and so on. The end result is, despite the brilliant quality, a bubbling frustration for more, more, more.
But if that’s the main drawback of your series -- that viewers are so enraptured that they get frustrated in their desire for additional scenes, episodes or seasons -- then you’re doing something truly right. Here’s to a dense, layered, enterprising and fascinating journey through Season 3, and as many more seasons as need be to complete this incomparable fantasy.
Email: Tim.Goodman@THR.com
Twitter: @BastardMachine
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I was struck by a recent study showing that people might be more likely to cheat on a partner in the year before a milestone birthday. This suggests that if you’re in a committed relationship, you’re at roughly a 10-year cycle for heightened risk of infidelity.
Researchers said they worked with Ashley Madison, a dating website for people seeking extramarital affairs, to analyze data on more than 8 million men who had registered with the site. The study was one of six published together in the journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences” in 2014 that examined when people make big life changes. It found 950,000 men were ages 29, 39, 49 or 59, or “9-enders,” and their numbers on the dating site were 18% higher than what would be expected by chance, according to the researchers from New York University’s Stern School of Business and the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles. The study also looked at data for women and found a similar, though less pronounced, pattern.
Infidelity is one of the most complex, least clear-cut areas of relationship research. Most people don’t want to admit they have been unfaithful.
Everyone, even the experts, has a different definition of “infidelity.” Some define it narrowly as sexual intercourse with someone who isn’t your spouse or committed partner. Others define it more broadly to encompass a range of sexual activities, or even emotional infidelity such as flirting or sharing secrets.
To be clear: If you break the rules of sexual or emotional commitment in your relationship, whatever they may be, it is infidelity. Different relationships have different rules. You know when you’ve breached them.
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A prominent Australian psychologist has warned Australia is currently raising a generation of spoilt brats, because their parents are "crap" and "never say no".
Dr Michael Carr-Gregg believes today's parents have a lot to answer for, and there may be serious long-term consequences for Australia.
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Listen Duration: 3 minutes 15 seconds 3 m 15 s Listen to Sarah Sedghi's report Download 6 MB
Dr Carr-Gregg attributes the rise of poorly-behaved children to five major parenting problems.
"The first [problem] is that there are too many parents being doormats for their kids. They have got what I call a vitamin N deficiency, which is a failure to say no.
"It's incredibly important that parents set limits and boundaries and I don't know that that's happening at the moment."
Dr Carr-Gregg identified the "helicopter parent" as another "model of crap parenting" he was targeting in his work.
"The high-strung, control-freak parents that want to smother their kids with so much love and attention and monitoring and supervision that they never, ever develop any self-reliance and can't solve their own problems later on."
Evidence of bad parenting 'in schools around Australia'
The Australian psychologist said he has seen ample evidence of the consequences to these types of parenting, not just in his own clinic but in schools around Australia.
"For the last 15 years I have been on the speakers' circuit in schools around Australia, and it's the teachers in early learning centres, the primary schools, the secondary schools that regale me with stories."
An evolution in parenting styles over the last 20 years is to blame for the influx of bad parenting, Dr Carr-Gregg said.
"We've had people moving to these artificial villages called cities, primarily to get jobs and in doing so, a lot of the kinship networks have been destroyed.
"A lot of the wisdom around parenting, which was derived from grandparents, for example, has no longer been so readily available."
The consequences of bad parenting has both short- and long-term effects, warned Dr Carr-Gregg.
"The short-term consequences you can see in restaurants and in waiting rooms and in airports throughout Australia, where you have these kids who are just completely feral, running out of control.
"Parents don't do anything about it because they're frightened of being seen as bad parents or frightened to say no."
Dr Carr-Gregg said this style of parenting has major effects on the mental health of children and adolescents as they grow up.
"Long-term, I think what we're doing is infantilising a lot of children into incompetence."
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He entered the race in June, three months before the Republican primary, appearing so stiff at an introductory news conference that a reporter had to instruct him on how to proceed. “That’s not going to stop, no matter what I do?” Mr. Bloomberg asked anxiously as cameras clicked.
He never much improved as a candidate. By January, he was mayor anyway.
Nearly two decades later, as Mr. Bloomberg plots an unconventional path to the Democratic presidential nomination, allies see his first mayoral run as proof of concept. It was the race that demonstrated, both to Mr. Bloomberg and to those who might doubt him, that an inelegant campaigner with bottomless resources, party agnosticism and a heap of political baggage could prevail.
Then as now, he was prepared to spend whatever it took — some $70 million in 2001, a figure he is expected to greatly surpass in 2020 — to boost his name and bury his opponents. Then as now, those urging him to reconsider were brushed aside, overruled by a man at once fanatical about data-driven decision-making and secure in the knowledge that statistical unlikelihood had never stopped him before.
Yet a review of the 2001 race, drawn from dozens of interviews with aides, advisers and adversaries, makes plain that Mr. Bloomberg’s political origin story owes to almost supernaturally improbable conditions — a blend of searing tragedy, canny check-writing and a string of flukes so politically fortuitous that his Democratic rival began wondering if the New York Yankees were conspiring against him. (The team’s World Series appearance that fall, stretching a full seven games and extending into November for the first time in history, allowed Mr. Bloomberg’s final advertising blitz to air before an outsize local audience just before Election Day.)
By far most significant, the shock of the Sept. 11 attacks conferred instant resonance upon Mr. Bloomberg’s message of steady-handed management, which had stirred limited enthusiasm initially. “On September 10th, 2001, the city was doing well. There was no compelling need for an outsider,” said Edward Skyler, a campaign aide in 2001 who became one of Mr. Bloomberg’s deputy mayors. “A career politician would do fine on September 10th.”
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French students are calling on their country's education minister to cancel a tricky question in their final year English exam.
The question that appears to have stumped students used a passage from novelist Ian McEwan's book 'Atonement'.
It asked students to list three of the central character's concerns and asked how he was "coping with the situation".
The word "coping" appears to have been the crux of the problem.
Following the exam students took to Twitter to voice their frustration using the hashtag #BacAnglais.
Twitter user @Zahnerosky wrote (in French) that "today I passed my test of written English incomprehension", while @Tota_lement was even more emphatic, tweeting: "WHAT WAS THIS QUESTION M IN THE BAC D’ANGLAIS SERIOUSLY"
By Monday an online petition calling on Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, the education minister, to 'Cancel Question M', started by one baffled baccalaureate student, had gathered more than 10,000 signatures.
But not everyone has been as sympathetic to the students' difficulties.
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London, Feb 15 : Scientists at the University of Cambridge have created a new way of using the genetic code, allowing proteins to be made with properties that have never been seen in the natural world.
According to Jason Chin and his colleagues from the university, the breakthrough could eventually lead to the creation of new or ''improved'' life forms incorporating these new materials into their tissue.
In all existing life forms, the four ''letters'' of the genetic code, called nucleotides, are read in triplets, so that every three nucleotides encode a single amino acid.
Chin and colleagues have now redesigned the cell''s machinery so that it reads the genetic code in quadruplets.
In the genetic code that life has used up to now, there are 64 possible triplet combinations of the four-nucleotide letters; these genetic "words" are called codons.
Each codon either codes for an amino acid or tells the cell to stop making a protein chain.
Now Chin''s team has created 256 blank four-letter codons that can be assigned to amino acids that don''t even exist yet.
To achieve this, the team had to redesign three pieces of the cellular machinery that make proteins.
The researchers went on to prove their new genetic code works by assigning two "unnatural" amino acids to their quadruplet codons, and incorporated them into a protein chain.
"It''s the beginning of a parallel genetic code," New Scientist quoted Chin as saying.
They''ve also shown that these amino acids can react with each other to form a different kind of chemical bond to those, which usually hold proteins together in their three-dimensional shape.
The normal kind of bonds - disulphide bonds - can be broken by changes in heat and acidity, causing proteins to lose their 3D structure.
However, the bonds created between Chin''s new amino acids are stronger - and so could allow proteins to work in a much wider range of environments.
For instance, this could help make drugs that can be taken orally without being destroyed by the acids in the digestive tract.
The study appears in the Journal Nature. (ANI)
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In May, the Evergreen Cooperatives , a network of worker-owned businesses in Cleveland, took over operations of a laundry facility owned by the Cleveland Clinic. On the surface, it was a straightforward business transaction. The Evergreen Cooperatives launched in 2009 with Evergreen Cooperative Laundry , a small business owned and operated by just a handful of workers. Today, the whole network comprises the laundry, as well as a cooperative green energy business and an urban farm, and employs more than 220 people. After nearly a decade of steady growth, the Evergreen Cooperatives wanted to expand, and taking over operations of the Cleveland Clinic laundry facility was an opportunity to do so.
That was where business-as-usual ended. Generally, when management of a workplace changes, employees continue to do what they did before, just under new leadership. But when Evergreen Cooperative Laundry took over the contract at the Cleveland Clinic laundry facility, its 100 employees got a new title: worker-owners. To make the transition successful, the Evergreen Cooperatives network held training and informational sessions with the new members, educating them on profit sharing and collective governance.
A worker cooperative is a business model designed to prioritize the people that keep the business running: the employees themselves. You might visualize a traditional business as a triangle, with the owner and CEO at the top, senior management beneath them, and the bulk of workers clustered in the broad portion at the bottom. Money flows from top to bottom, and by the time it gets to the workers, it can be stretched fairly thin. Worker cooperatives flatten this structure. Each employee of a worker co-op is also a partial owner. Member-owners collectively vote on decisions like salaries, schedules, and profit sharing. Because the employees are the ones making decisions that affect their own lives and well-being, they’re also more likely to stay at the business. In economically disadvantaged neighborhoods, like where the Evergreen Cooperatives operate, they help keep wealth in communities, rather than flowing outward to wealthy owners and managers who don’t live where the business is located.
After monitoring the success of the Evergreen Cooperatives in Cleveland’s poorer communities, the network now wants more businesses to get on board with it. The takeover of the Cleveland Clinic laundry facility was a pilot for a larger program, the Fund for Employee Ownership, that the Evergreen Cooperatives and the Democracy Collaborative, a nonprofit focused on building community wealth, just launched to expand opportunities for co-op conversions. Initial funding of $5 million from a foundation (which is remaining anonymous) will allow the partners to replicate the model they tested with the Cleveland Clinic laundry facility: acquiring small local businesses looking for new ownership, then, once that transaction is completed, working with the employees to transition the business to a worker-owned cooperative. Over the next several years, they hope to use the initial funding to convert around seven businesses, and aim to eventually reach $30 million in funding.
Jessica Rose, Democracy Collaborative’s director of employee ownership programs, says that the Fund for Employee Ownership is intended to help the worker cooperative model compete with more common forms of business transition–like damaging buyouts by private equity firms, which tend to result in job losses and little economic gains for employees. Rose and Brett Jones, executive vice president of the Evergeen Cooperatives, have long been of the opinion that “what we need to do is leverage mission-driven capital that can offer business owners an experience that’s as frictionless as any other exit option they have available to them,” Rose says. “We can say to them: We can come in and acquire your company, and we can make an offer at fair-market value. The difference is that after, we manage and support the transition to a worker-owned cooperative with our own resources.”
Evergeen and Democracy Collaborative are calling this the acquire-convert-support strategy. With the launch of the Fund for Employee Ownership, they’ll start identifying small businesses looking to sell, which they can acquire and bring under the growing Evergreen Cooperative umbrella. “They’ll benefit from our existing network, strong professional management, and shared back-office resources like HR and accounting,” Rose says.
For the time being, the partnership will remain focused on expanding worker-owned cooperatives in Cleveland and northeast Ohio. The Evergreen Cooperatives already have a track record of success in the city. Founded in 2009 with capital from major local institutions like the Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve, and the Cleveland Foundation, Evergreen has been able provide livable wage jobs (around $11 per hour, increasing over time) to over 200 people from neighborhoods where unemployment rates hover around 25%, and median annual income is $18,500. Worker-owned cooperatives are an effective method of stabilizing local economies, and expanding their presence in Cleveland through this fund, Jones says, will raise awareness of their success. “Starting local will make sure that we can really feel out the mechanics of our fund, and see its impact, before stretching too far,” Jones adds.
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När tonåringar väljer tjänst för strömning av filmer och tv-serier är utbudet och kvalitén mer avgörande än tjänstens laglighet. Det visar en ny undersökning av ungas medievanor och attityd till upphovsrätten. Patent- och registreringsverket (PRV) som genomfört studien tillsammans med Medierådet har ett uppdrag från regeringen att höja kunskapen inom upphovsrätt i digitala miljöer. Respekten för upphovsrättsskyddat material måste stärkas genom mer information i skolor och samhället i stort, anser PRV.
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As music journalists, curators, bloggers, whatever you want to call us, a lot of our time is taken up by emails and press releases and New Music Friday. Years ago, it used to be that bloggers were gatekeepers and curators of good music, and a lot of that has been lost these days. But sometimes, you need to follow your instincts and go down a rabbit hole and discover something new.
Credit to Marcus from EDM Sauce for following his, because it led him to this incredible cover of “Wake Me Up” by Avicii that will have you in your feels this Friday.
“The other night I was hanging on the couch with “America’s Got Talent” on. A guy came on stage named Chris Kläfford. […] I got online and started doing some research about this guy and he actually won a season of Sweden’s version of American Idol. Went down a bit of a worm hold (sic) and came across one of the most amazing acoustic covers of ‘Wake Me Up’ by Avicii that I have ever heard. He sang it on a Swedish news network the day after Avicii’s passing.”
Kläfford’s voice is powerful and wrought with emotion, especially considering the context of his performance. If you’re not crying after this, I don’t know what to tell you. Watch below.
via EDM Sauce | Photo via Sean Eriksson
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In the coming days, millions of Floridians will return home to rebuild in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. Also now tasked with rebuilding are Florida’s major utilities — companies like NextEra Energy, Inc., Duke Energy and Emera Inc.
These companies face a choice: To double down on a utility model that’s vulnerable to storms and fueling more brutal ones, or start transitioning to a grid better equipped to handle hurricanes — and help keep them from getting worse. The question is whether they can be trusted to choose well.
As of Friday, roughly 3.8 million Florida residents were without power. The state’s utilities will have to restore electricity to their customers while reconstructing vast swaths of the state’s transmission lines and generating capacity. Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) — a NextEra subsidiary and the nation’s third-largest power provider—warns that it could take weeks before all of its customers are able to turn their lights back on. FPL president and CEO Eric Silagy called the scale of the outages “unprecedented,” and one communications representative from the same utility said that what lies ahead “is going to be a very, very lengthy restoration, arguable the longest and most complex in U.S. history.”
There’s an opportunity post-Irma to revolutionize Florida’s power supply, but not one that companies like FPL are likely to take advantage of. As a recent report from InsideClimate News found, FPL started sponsoring research into climate change in the early 1970s before eventually getting involved in efforts to suppress evidence of rising temperatures. The Southern Company, which owns Panhandle electricity provider Gulf Power, for decades contributed to public relations campaigns casting doubt on the existence of climate change, and funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars into bogus climate skeptic research.
Like their counterparts in other states, Florida utilities have gone to war with clean energy, too. Last year, they poured a collective $21 million ($8 million from FPL alone) into an unsuccessful ballot measure aimed at stunting various kinds of third-party financing for solar power. Beyond that effort, investor-owned utilities are a force to reckon with in Florida politics; the sector employs one lobbyist for every two state legislators — the most of any industry. This spring, FPL was found to have written whole sections of anti-solar legislation sponsored by state representative Ray Rodriguez, who had previously accepted $15,000 from the utility.
With major utilities aligned in opposition, the road to renewables’ proliferation in Florida may not be an easy one. John Farrell, director of the Energy Democracy Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, says that policies to transition Florida’s electricity over to renewables could go a long way toward being able to get lights back on more quickly after major storms.
In an ideal rebuilding process, Farrell told In These Times, “What we would see is, from a policy standpoint, that [utilities] would be more supportive of ways customers could build their own power generation. In a system like we have today, if one power line is knocked out, it can affect tens of thousands of people … If we have lots of different pockets of generation, we can figure out ways to fill in the gaps.”
The system Farrell describe is what’s known as a microgrid. The basic idea behind a microgrid is to have a bounded geographic area reliant on the same set of power sources that can be operated independently of a larger electric grid, or “islanded,” in energy-wonk parlance. This allows homes and businesses to share power, meaning if power gets shut off during a storm, entities that get their power from the microgrid can keep their lights on.
Under Florida law and that of several other states, such a practice is illegal, as it would mean undercutting utilities’ legally protected monopoly. The vast majority of solar arrays are currently tied to the electric grid by law, meaning they shut down when the power goes off.
Unsurprisingly, FPL lobbyists have fought to keep this statute on the books. If utilities allowed microgrids — whether servicing large institutions or small commercial and residential areas — they could help maintain power in a deluge. Instead, according to FPL policy, even ratepayers with solar panels, who could feasibly keep their lights on during an outage, are forbidden from doing so. “Renewable generator systems connected to the grid without batteries are not a standby power source during an FPL outage,” the utility’s handbook states.
The problem, Farrell notes, is rooted in FPL and other private electricity providers’ business model. “This is true of investor-owned utilities in all states like Florida, where there are monopolies: Their money for the shareholders comes from getting a rate of return from capital they spend, and building something like a power plant,” he told me. “The utility can build a microgrid and make money from it, but that would mean doing something different.”
Being able to keep power on in the way that microgrids allow for could prove especially useful for places like hospitals and other institutions that provide essential and energy-dependent services. It may have even saved lives this past week. Thirty-six hospitals in Florida closed as a result of Irma, and eight people were found dead in a sweltering Hollywood, Fl. nursing home where a power outage left more than 100 residents without air conditioning. (Exact causes of death are still being investigated.)
It’s not as if there aren’t examples of what a more innovative recovery could look like. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, storm-impacted states extended financing to towns that wanted to develop microgrids. As a result, Connecticut became the first state to roll out a statewide microgrid program for businesses and public services to maintain power during outages, and cities such as Hoboken, N.J. and Fairfield, Conn. each accepted their states’ offers.
New York launched a $40 million competition called New York Prize, aimed at making power systems more resilient, with a focus on microgrid technology. Sandy was a launch pad for New York’s “Reforming the Energy Vision,” a 2013 plan to drastically alter the state’s energy regulation landscape. Even New York City’s biggest and hardly progressive utility providers — PSEG and ConEd — launched new grid management programs in the months after the storm.
Like PSEG and ConEd in New York, there are plenty of players jumping on the microgrid bandwagon for purely pragmatic reasons. Former FERC chair John Wellinghoff sung their praises, citing the threats to cybersecurity posed by a highly centralized grid. The Department of Defense recognizes microgrids as a key way to protect electricity against terrorism and cyberattacks. Following a directive in 2011’s National Defense Authorization Act, the military is currently deploying them in its operations around the world. Rick Perry’s Department of Energy recently announced that it would devote $50 million to research into microgrids.
Microgrids are even making some headway in Florida. Duke Energy — another major electricity provider there — had shown interest in microgrids even before Irma. The utility is part of a $32 million push from the Department of Energy into Resilient Distribution Systems. The initiative is one part of a $50 million funding round that includes $20 million for a series of cybersecurity projects.
Distributed energy is also trendy in Silicon Valley, as well as often-overlapping green tech circles. In the Bay Area, Tesla and the city of San Francisco are each working to get microgrids online in the event of a major earthquake. One green tech summit in Oakland last year, VERGE16, powered itself entirely off of a microgrid.
The tech sector’s excitement makes sense. To major — and especially monopoly — utilities, microgrids are an inherently disruptive technology, and replicate some of the libertarian-tinged sharing economy ethos that animates everything from Uber to Airbnb.
Also like those services, what’s being traded isn’t the goodwill of strangers, but real money. In that context, the scalar concerns that come with microgrids’ promise seem almost self-evident: If utilities allow them and there’s a local appetite for it, communities that can afford to create a microgrid will. For others, the financial barriers to such a drastic transition may well prove too high, especially in more rural areas with already aged infrastructure. That’s where utilities can come in.
“Maybe they use their staff to help construct the project…maybe they help finance the system, or build the circuitry,” Farrell says. “There are a lot of ways that utilities could provide their expertise that are different rom simply being the sole provider of electricity.” Critically, big utilities could help level the playing field to help more communities access clean, reliable and storm-resilient power.
When it comes to investor-owned utilities, the issue isn’t whether the technology for such transformations is available, but whether there are profits to be made. For poor neighborhoods, that may not always be the case. This means that even an earnest embrace of renewables and more distributed forms of energy generation could splinter unevenly — leaving more well-off ratepayers with state-of-the-art, clean-running power that can operate during a storm — and everyone else reliant on outmoded fuel and infrastructure.
The dilemmas facing microgrids are those facing renewables more generally. While the recent growth of microgrids has been exciting, a massive investment in both research and development — and actual construction — is needed to bring such systems to scale. There’s also no federal plan for what the transition away from fossil fuels could look like. The federal government and several state governments — Florida’s included — seem committed to making sure that transition never happens. And even if there is political will to get off of fossil fuels, how that transition is carried out could make the difference between a climate-changed future — rife with inequalities — and one that preserves every other form of inequality that’s baked into our current economy, only with more solar panels and wind turbines. Whether companies are interested in developing microgrids is a different question from whether they’ll help ensure everyone can access them.
As Hurricane Katrina showed, corporations and corporate-friendly governments are more than willing to swoop in after a major disaster to pull public goods into the private sector. In Texas, Houston has already appointed a former Shell CEO to head its post-Harvey recovery operation.
The question Irma poses is whether the opposite can happen. If utilities like FPL aren’t willing to make the kinds of investments needed to save lives when the worst happens, what alternatives can take their place? And what does the fight look like to beat them politically? As the climate crisis accelerates, Americans will face a fight over their power in more ways than one — especially just after a disaster strikes.
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You’re coughing, you’re congested, and your head hurts. You’re achy and feverish, and your throat is killing you. A quick Google search reveals that you probably have the flu. What’s your next move? You could call in sick and quarantine yourself at home while you nurse your symptoms with cough drops, an over-the-counter remedy, chicken soup and a Netflix binge. Or you could go to your doctor and get a prescription for an antiviral influenza drug, something like Tamiflu.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the latter approach.
The CDC released figures Thursday showing that this season’s influenza vaccine is only about 23 percent effective, and the federal agency recently sent a letter to doctors, urging them to write more prescriptions for influenza drugs.
“Antiviral flu medicines are underutilized. If you get them early, they could keep you out of the hospital and might even save your life,” CDC Director Tom Frieden told reporters Jan. 9. Flu season lasts, on average, about 13 weeks. We’re about midway through a particularly bad one.
According to Frieden, three flu medications (Tamiflu, Relenza and Rapivab) can prevent “serious complications” and help people avoid hospitalization. But the Food and Drug Administration explicitly prohibits drug companies from making the claims that he and the CDC are making. Two different agencies, two different recommendations.
https://fivethirtyeight.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/150129-jody-christie-flu-interview.mp3
FDA spokeswoman Stephanie Yao told FiveThirtyEight in a statement: “Please note that neither product” — Rapivab nor Tamiflu — “is allowed to claim that they reduce complications or mortality due to flu. The data we’ve reviewed do not support this claim.” What the drugs have demonstrated, she said, is, “an ability to reduce the severity or duration of flu symptoms.”
The discrepancy between the CDC’s assertion that the flu drugs can prevent complications, hospitalizations and perhaps deaths, and the FDA’s insistence that the drugs have only been shown to cut the amount of time that symptoms persist comes down to how they weigh the evidence. The FDA requires randomized clinical trials, the gold standard of evidence in medicine, while the CDC also relies on non-randomized reports. “Observational studies from many countries have consistently found that early oseltamivir [Tamiflu] treatment of influenza patients reduces the duration of hospitalization and risk of severe outcomes such as intensive care unit admission or death,” CDC spokeswoman H. Amy Rowland told FiveThirtyEight in a statement.
But physician Tom Jefferson of the Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that assesses medical evidence, calls the studies that the CDC is using to tout the drugs poorly designed and unreliable, pointing out that they’re funded by the drugs’ maker and led by researchers tied to the manufacturers. More rigorously designed trials do not back them up. For example, a study published last month that randomly assigned 400 hospitalized patients to receive either the newly approved peramivir (Rapivab) or a placebo was halted early for “futility” when it became clear that patients receiving the drug weren’t benefitting.
All three antiviral medications are designed to inhibit neuraminidase, an enzyme that influenza viruses need to release viral particles from infected cells. If the drugs can prevent the replication of these viruses, that’s a big deal, because they could stem the spread of the flu, making them vital tools for controlling epidemics. (This is why the U.S. has reportedly spent about $1.5 billion stockpiling Tamiflu.)
But Jefferson said clinical trials hint that the drugs may not work as advertised. In studies where people with influenza-like illnesses were assigned to either a neuraminidase inhibitor or a placebo, the drugs worked for people with influenza and for those who tested negative for the flu. (Because it takes a few days for test results and the drugs work best when given soon, patients were started on the drugs before the results were in.) Although other viruses can cause flulike symptoms, neurominadase isn’t found in other respiratory viruses, Jefferson said. So, he said, if the drug works for both groups of patients, it must be acting via a different mechanism.
And if the drugs are simply reducing fevers and making people feel better via some other mechanism, then it’s possible they’re nothing more than expensive alternatives to acetaminophen and ibuprofen, which alleviate aches and reduce fevers. (Tamiflu retails for about $130, Relenza goes for about $67, and Rapivab costs about $1,000.) Right now, there’s not enough evidence to draw firm conclusions on the drug’s actual mechanism of action, and Jefferson, his colleagues at Cochrane and editors at the British medical journal BMJ are embroiled in a years-long effort to obtain complete clinical trials data from the maker of Tamiflu.
Last April, Jefferson’s group published its latest meta-analysis of all the evidence it could get on Tamiflu, including thousands of pages of regulatory documents describing the various clinical trials. The researchers concluded that the drug can reduce the duration of flu symptoms by a little less than a day in adults. (The results are similar for the other antiviral drugs.) A typical case of influenza lasts about one to two weeks, and when you’re in the throes of it, something that can make your misery vanish a day sooner might seem very appealing.
Here’s the rub: For the drugs to work, you need to take them in the first 48 hours from the onset of symptoms. Think back to the last time you were sick — how long did you feel cruddy before you sought a doctor’s help? It’s this lag between the first sniffle and the pursuit of medicine that the CDC hopes to bridge with its public messaging push so that more people get to the doctor in time for the medications to help.
But whether they’re worth the hassle for otherwise healthy people remains a personal choice, said Brian Alper, a physician and founder of DynaMed, a company that monitors and assesses the latest medical evidence to inform doctors. The organization has analyzed the evidence on these drugs, reaching conclusions similar to the Cochrane review. To decide whether the drugs are right for you means taking into account the hassle of landing an appointment, going to the pharmacy, potential side effects (such as vomiting, dizziness and delirium), and, of course, paying for these things. If your doctor’s office has no wait, and you’re insured with a plan that covers most of the cost, seeking the drugs might be an easy choice, Alper said. But if you can’t get seen right away, the doctor’s office is far, or you’re likely to be stuck with some of the bill, you may end up spending a day of hassle and expense (while you’re feeling lousy) to save yourself a day of symptoms.
Of course, much of the concern over influenza isn’t centered on otherwise healthy individuals, but on people with underlying health problems. And the CDC contends that the flu drugs do more than just reduce the duration of symptoms — they could mean the difference between life and death. Whether that’s true matters, because sending sick, contagious people out to the doctor and pharmacy could further spread an influenza outbreak. People with underlying health problems, such as severe asthma or immune deficiencies, should certainly seek a medical care at the first sign of flu symptoms. But if you’re generally healthy, it may be that the best thing you can do for yourself, and your community, is stay home and practice some self-care.
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news, latest-news
It's after 1pm when I pull up outside the house on Chinchilla Wondai Road in Kingaroy, inland from Queensland's Sunshine Coast. The lantana is in bloom, its purple flowers a welcome luxuriance after the blanched paddocks and dusty roads along the four-hour drive inland from Brisbane. The house is a restored Queens-lander and, even from beneath its stilts, I hear the clamour of excited voices and shuffling footsteps. I feel anxious, though. I had intended to be here earlier and, despite my profuse apologies, I get the sense that my tardiness isn't appreciated. Kingaroy is home to former computer systems engineer and property developer Alan John "A. J." Miller and a group of about 100 people, including my hosts today, who believe him to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. Miller and his partner, Mary Luck - a former humanitarian aid worker whom he claims is his lover across time and space, Mary Magdalene - are the leaders of a New Age sect called God's Way of Love. They believe, among other things, that the planet will soon undergo a series of cataclysmic events, called Earth Changes, in which billions of people will die. The events, as Miller has described them, would not be unlike those depicted in the apocalyptic Hollywood thriller 2012, starring John Cusack. In fact, Miller has used it as a prop in his online seminars about "the end times". In order to gain access, I've had to agree to being filmed at all times by two of his followers, a husband-and-wife duo from Ukraine and Russia - footage that Miller said would serve as an unedited and unbiased account of our encounters. When I asked him to reconsider the terms, his emailed reply ran to more than a thousand words: "We have a responsibility to act in a manner that is loving and truthful at all times, and to encourage the same behaviour in others. This is the reason we created the requirements in the Participant Release Form," he wrote. "I am sorry if I somehow indicated that our requirements were negotiable in any way, since they are not." And so, upon introducing myself to the group of men and women congregating around the front door of the house today - all followers of Miller's - I have not one, but two video cameras thrust in my face. "I'm Joy," says a friendly-looking older woman as she holds the door open. "Come inside. We've been waiting for you." Joy Harris, a 68-year-old grandmother from the Gold Coast, moved here to be close to Miller, a decision that caused some consternation among her adult children. "The first year was, like, 'Shock, horror, Mum has joined a cult,' " she tells me, an anecdote the group has clearly heard before and finds amusing. Harris seems to have a thing for charismatic leaders. She spent 18 years following American self-help guru Tony Robbins and about $100,000 on his programs, a decision she regrets. Doesn't her past experience at least raise the possibility in her mind that A. J. is not Jesus, I ask. Her answer is as cryptic as it is brief. "It's possible," she says with a beaming smile, "but it's not likely." Louise "Luli" Faber, a 39-year-old former neuroscientist from the UK, is the owner of this house. She first heard about Miller in 2010, when she was working at the Queensland Brain Institute at the University of Queensland. Leading me into the kitchen, she invites me to help myself from the dishes of vegetarian food the group has prepared for my visit. Miller is a vegetarian and, as a result, his followers are now, too. The house, which is well lit and airy, has a welcoming air. The living room's centrepiece is a massive flat-screen TV which appears to be flanked by more copies of Battlestar Galactica than the educational DVDs Miller distributes free of charge (there are, allegedly, 100,000 copies in circulation). Several people have told me they first came to Miller's teachings through the DVDs. Miller's philosophy is not unlike a fractal: the more closely one inspects it, the more complex and esoteric it becomes. He believes that by examining trauma, both in this life and in lives that have been lived previously, one can move up a spiritual ladder, each rung taking you closer to a perfect relationship with God. All of the things that could impede a follower progressing up the ladder - addiction, failed relationships, even cancer and childhood illness, Miller tells me - are brought about by malign spirits who cause us to act in "unloving" ways, ways that displease God and distance us from His love. Miller claims that he has returned to shepherd his flock along a path that will lead them back to God through the performing of good deeds and spiritual exercises. Miller also teaches that each of us comprises one half of a whole spirit, and that only by finding our other half, which he calls a soul mate, can we ever truly feel whole. The promise of a personal relationship with God; the possibility that our misfortunes are not of our own making and can be corrected with support from Jesus Himself; the potential to find a real and true soul mate together with a strong group code based around proto-Christian ideas of kindness and charity ... put them all together and it becomes possible to see how Miller is capable of attracting a significant following. We assemble in the living room, nine of Miller's followers sitting on a pair of sofas opposite each other and me on a bar stool at the edge of the room. Cutlery scrapes on plates in the uncomfortable quiet before anyone speaks. Slowly, a conversation starts up about how each of them has arrived here, what they've left behind and their reasons for believing Miller is the Messiah. Faber tells me she was in her 20s when she first started to feel disillusioned with the course of her research and changed her focus to studying the workings of religiosity on the brain, a decision her colleagues mocked. "I guess I was in my mid-20s when I started seeing the shortfalls of medicine and science when it came to explaining things," she says. "I just needed more answers." She first came across Miller's teachings in 2010 when a friend gave her one of his free DVDs to watch. She says it opened up a new world to her. How do her parents feel about her decision to abandon a promising career in academia to follow Miller? "They respect the decision I've made," she replies. "They don't necessarily agree with it or believe that A. J. is Jesus, but they respect that this is what I want to do with my life." Does she believe A. J. is Jesus, I ask? "That varies," she answers, laughing. "At the moment, probably not. Not in my heart. Intellectually, it seems like a very likely thing, but I don't know it." The others nod in agreement and laugh nervously. Later, as I leave for my hotel, the camera-woman, Lena Shakhanov, asks me whether I'm excited to be meeting Jesus in the morning. "It's going to be amazing, you'll see," she says with a broad smile. Miller is doing the ironing when I arrive at his house early the next morning. He and Mary Luck occupy a small ranch-style home off a dirt road on a property that sprawls out into the bush. They sleep, however, in a raised tent - complete with large bed, swish bathroom and a claw-foot porcelain bathtub - set up in the bush about 100 metres or so from the home, supposedly because this is more in keeping with a philosophy of simplicity and favouring spiritual over material wealth. His landholding is surrounded by dozens of properties purchased by his followers, although towering gum trees and scrub screen it from full view. There are about 100 followers living on the properties around Miller, who also claims to have several thousand followers around the world, mainly in the US and UK. Miller, who's nearing 50, has shoulder-length hair and a muscular build. Today, he's wearing a wrinkled Billabong jumper and appears not to have shaved in several days. He flashes a megawatt smile, though and, for a moment, it's possible to see why followers such as Shakhanov describe him and his influence in such breathless terms. Luck, who is 10 years his junior and a striking beauty despite the dark circles under her eyes, is wearing a cardigan and tugs gently at the ends of its sleeves as Miller talks. Conversation turns immediately to the question in which I'm most interested: whether or not Miller can understand why people may not believe that he is Jesus. He understands perfectly, he says, again flashing that high-beam smile. "When I claim I'm Jesus, most people automatically assume that means I'm claiming a lot of things," he says. "They assume it means I'm claiming I'm God, and I'm not. They assume it means that I'm claiming that everyone should listen to me, and I'm not. In fact, I tell people they need to always analyse things through their own experience." Luck has said in recordings of their seminars that when Miller revealed to her that she was Mary Magdalene reincarnated, it was one of the worst experiences of her life. She felt angry and confused by the disclosure. But something has clearly changed over time and now Luck sits at Miller's side, staring at him with a disconcerting degree of intensity. The way the Bible is recorded is flawed, continues Miller, and thus the way in which modern Christians practise their religion is also flawed. God's Way of Love offers an alternative model. God, he says reasonably, wants people to be happy. "This concept that God is vengeful, a God who punishes the wicked, that's not my experience of Him and it wasn't my experience of Him in the 1st century," says Miller. Of course. We must remember that Miller believes he is the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. He claims he has been born twice - most recently on March 10, 1963, in Loxton, South Australia, amid a close-knit farming community on the banks of the Murray River some 246 kilometres east of Adelaide - and previously, more than 2000 years ago, in a manger in Bethlehem, 10 kilometres south of Jerusalem. His parents in this life are Maxine and Alan Miller, both members of the Jehovah's Witnesses church. And in the 1st century his parents were the peasant, Mary of Nazareth, and Yahweh, the God of the Jews. In the 1970s, Miller's family moved from Loxton to the Adelaide Hills. Alan was a shy, deeply spiritual teenager who came out of his shell only when discussing Jehovah's Witness theology, according to a former close friend who speaks to me on condition of anonymity. Miller followed the Jehovah's Witness tradition of spending his holidays preaching door-to-door with his sister, Jenni, rather than pursuing the activities that many other handsome young men his age were exploring. He was considered to be one of the best-looking boys in town, the former friend adds. Miller left high school in 1979, at the age of 16, to complete a course in computers at Adelaide's Regency Park Community College, eventually opening what he describes as a successful business called Expert Computer Solutions offering IT advice to mid-tier companies and government departments. He married his first wife, 19-year-old Sheree Newman, whom he'd met as a teenager through the church, before his 21st birthday. Miller was an exemplary member of the close-knit Jehovah's Witness church and rose through its ranks to become first a "pioneer" (the term for a full-time proselytiser) and then a church elder in Port Lincoln, a sleepy coastal town with a population of fewer than 15,000 people. By this time he was in his early 30s, with two young sons and a beautiful wife, and Miller should have felt on top of the world; instead, he was struggling. He says that, for as long as he can remember, he has lived with harrowing memories of his life as the historical Jesus and its culmination in the crucifixion. These memories - of the nails tearing through the flesh of his hands and feet as he was nailed to the cross, the lancing of his side - he found so distressing that he never spoke of them to anyone. Yet they wouldn't be suppressed. He suffered from panic and anxiety attacks. "I felt I was going crazy," he says. "I felt it couldn't be possible. I sought professional help, but didn't find it very effective." And then, at 40, he had what he calls an epiphany. Truths, he says, were revealed to him by God, and as he began the process of writing them down and formulating them, he sold his businesses and some properties he owned and began a process of spiritual examination. He told his mother and his sons for the first time that he believed he was Jesus. They understood, he says, and graciously accepted his "coming out". He began to devote himself to a way of life that would become known as God's Way of Love. His marriage to Sheree did not survive this epiphany, however. She now lives in Adelaide where she has remarried and works as a housekeeper. She has declined requests for comment, telling me she doesn't want to jeopardise her relationship with the two grown sons she shares with Miller. Dean Alan Sims is a round-faced Texan who met Miller during a visit to Dallas in 2008 and was immediately taken with the charismatic Australian who claimed to be Jesus. Sims was, and still is, a devotee of a body of esoteric writings known as the Padgett Messages. James Padgett was a 62-year-old American lawyer who, in 1914, claimed to be receiving messages from his recently deceased wife, which he was able to record using a technique called automatic writing. He would enter a trance and simply write down the messages that were being communicated to him without conscious awareness. The Padgett Messages, which are enjoying something of an internet-fuelled renaissance, are significant for having introduced several spiritual ideologies that outlived Padgett - namely, a belief in the existence of soul mates, in the possibility of life after death and the hope of achieving immortality, and in the idea of Divine Love. Miller has co-opted, almost verbatim, nearly all of these ideas into God's Way of Love. It was into a New Age community in Dallas that Miller and Natalie Lewis - a British woman serving as his helper in the crucial years following his coming out as Jesus - arrived in 2008. (Lewis, who now advertises her services as a psychic and clairvoyant on Psychicstuff.co.uk, also declines to comment, fearing Miller might retaliate "on the astral plane" if she angers him.) "Early on, he seemed very kosher," Sims tells me from his home in Texas. "I was willing to suspend any disbelief and try it." Over time, their relationship became close. Miller wanted to spread his message but, to do so, he needed recording equipment to make videos of his sermons, and recording equipment costs money. Sims, who says that Miller's spiritual presence held an almost magnetic grip on him, was only too happy to help. "You don't have to give him money but if you want access, the quickest way to get his attention is to give him a donation," says Sims. "I used to send him money monthly. I bought the recording equipment he uses." Sims estimates that he gave Miller just under $4000 during that first year. Several of Miller's followers in Kingaroy tell me they frequently make small donations, either in person or through his website. The donations seem to explain a great deal about how Miller and Luck are able to maintain a comfortable lifestyle despite not working. It also goes a long way to explaining how they afford the plane fares and hotels on their frequent proselytising trips overseas, most often to the US, the UK and the Caribbean. Over time, as more and more followers flocked to Miller and as his tone grew ever more imperious, Sims says he began to have doubts. He had particular difficulty accepting a practice that Miller continues to this day - informing some couples, even married couples, that they are not yoked to their soul mates and they'll never achieve happiness while they remain in their current relationship. (Former followers tell me Miller uses this technique to control the group, splitting up those who fall out of favour and shunning the offending partner, who then either distances himself or herself from whatever behaviour has offended Miller or leaves the group.) Reluctantly, Sims decided to cut off contact with Miller in 2009. "I wish I was wrong and A. J. was right," he says. "I'd much rather have that be the case." It's impossible to know just how much money Miller has accepted from his followers because the organisation doesn't release financial reports. Miller claims he doesn't demand that his followers give him money, but some of them, like Sims, maintain that making a contribution is the most effective way to gain access to him. Strangely, given that he maintains a website and conducts seminars on God's Way of Love around the world, Miller insists that, to him, it is immaterial whether or not anyone follows his philosophy. He also professes not to care what happens to the hundred or so people now living around him. "The only person I'm responsible for is myself and whether people make the choice to listen to what I say and attempt to practise it ... I don't feel that I have any responsibility unless I've said something inaccurate or incorrect," he says. Miller has already incorrectly predicted the date of what he calls "Earth Changes" - a series of global cataclysms - at least three times. On each occasion he pushes the date back further and on each occasion his followers accept that communicating with spirits is not an exact science. In May 2011, for example, he claimed on Twitter that "a big awakening" was coming in 2012, while in September 2011 he warned of "100-foot tidal waves" turning Kingaroy into beachfront property. He then claimed last September that the "Earth Changes" would be coming in early 2013. Nowhere is this blind faith more obvious than on a 242-hectare property on the other side of Chinchilla Wondai Road. Angela Griffiths and her partner Robert, both acolytes of Miller, look after the property - bought by a group of Miller's followers, allegedly on his orders - and are building a learning centre for God's Way of Love that at present is little more than foundations and a wooden skeleton. They live in a tin shed on the property with their three children, who are aged 16, 14 and 11. Miller and Luck directed them to "restore Eden", Angela tells me with a faraway look in her eyes as we walk through a field of tall grass. "When we're in a more loving condition and don't need laws or rules, there could be a hundred families living here," she says in a monotone. Although Miller insists he has no direct involvement with the property, Sims says he remembers things more like Angela. "I was still on the reservation when the property purchase was initiated," he tells me, meaning that he was still a believer. "He wanted them to purchase that. There was another, more desirable, property, but it wasn't right next to where he lives." In the end, I'm not able to ask Miller about Sims's concerns, or why people seem afraid to talk to me about him. When I leave Kingaroy, it is all smiles and handshakes. Seven hours later, though, as I land in Sydney and turn on my mobile, I find a 1554-word email from him telling me I've caused deep offence to the group and I'm to have no further contact with him or his followers until I've learnt some respect. Over the next few weeks, I receive almost 20,000 words in hostile emails from more than half a dozen of Miller's followers. Perhaps Miller didn't like being challenged. Perhaps it had to do with my scepticism regarding his Earth Changes. Ultimately, the experience has left me with a sense of foreboding. I feel concerned for Miller's followers. "When you keep making these predictions about Earth Changes and nothing happens, you're painting yourself into a corner," Sims tells me. "And, frankly, that scares me." This article originally appeared in Good Weekend. Like Good Weekend on Facebook to get regular updates on upcoming stories and events – www.facebook.com/GoodWeekendMagazine smh.com.au
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Photo by Philipp Kammere
I still remember my first solo travel like it was yesterday. I was so scared, nervous and thinking that I am completely insane and I am going to die! I had this idea to travel alone for a longtime before actually doing it. I was waiting for the right moment, maybe because of the reasons I just told you – I thought it was crazy, it was dangerous and my parents would lose theirs minds and not be able to sleep until I come back. Well, it was almost like that (it was not so dangerous as I thought it was going to be)... and it was the best experience ever. I will never forget it and most of all, I will never forget how I felt during my trip and how I felt when I came back.
Before starting with the things that I learned from solo traveling, I would like to share a few words about the story behind this first solo trip.
As I told you, I was thinking of doing it for a longtime but I didn't really have the guts to do it. I was too scared and insecure. Plus, my geographical orientation was very bad (I was always capable to lose my way and to go in a completely wrong direction). So for a longtime I thought that it was not for me. I had traveled only with other people until that moment and I was always relying on them to find the right way, to catch the right train or bus, to not get lost in the metro.
Well, as I love challenges, I decided to do everything that I couldn't do or I was bad at. This decision was actually an emergency decision. When I say “an emergency decision”, I mean that I was in a very bad place in my life at that moment – I was living in a new town where I couldn't find new friends, I was having very frequent arguments with my co-workers, I was not feeling happy about my job... I was really not feeling good about my life in general. Actually, I was very depressed. Pretty sad!
At the final stage of this horrible depression which lasted for a couple of months, I said to myself that I really have to do something which will make me feel alive again. Something new, something that I wanted to do by myself, so I could feel again my own inner strength. During this moment of sadness and depression, I had also traveled with friends of mine, which was really fun, but it was not enough. I was still feeling blue and wanted to do something empowering, to go out of my comfort zone and see a new side of myself that I still didn't know.
Solo travel was the best choice! I had been thinking about it for a longtime, always finding excuses for not doing it. Also, I was having this dream of traveling the world and again, always finding excuses for not doing it ( like a lack of money ( see my blog post ), of time or of people to join me). Well, as I was depressed, I decided that I didn't have anything to lose and that “Screw it! I am gonna be a bad-ass!”.
I am pretty sure that I am not going to surprise you by telling you that this is an adventure that completely changed my life, my perception of traveling, my visions about the world and made me learn how a solo trip could be the ultimate path to self-discovery. It is a life-changing experience! Here I come with 10 reasons why everybody should try solo traveling at least once in their life and what I personally learned from this experience. I am pretty sure that I could find even more reasons to do it, but let's start with these ones.
1. Do not wait for other people to do what you want to do. Just do it!
As I already said, I was delaying my solo travel for a longtime, maybe at least 2 years. I was always finding some new excuses. The real reason for not doing it early in my life, was that I was super scared to go somewhere new all by myself, knowing that I would not have anyone to rely on and that I would have to deal alone with my own shit. That was freaking me out! Literally!
So, before my solo trip, I was still trying to avoid the unavoidable and decided to ask some of my closest friends if they wanted to do it with me (which would have not been a solo travel anymore!). They all were either busy or had already planned theirs holidays. So that was it! This was the moment! I couldn't run away from it anymore! I had to do it! I had told everybody I knew that I was going on a solo travel, so I really really had to do it! And I did it! I packed my backpack, opened the front door, closed it and came back two weeks later feeling like a new born.
So, if you really want to do something, anything, in your life, do not wait for other people to do it with you. Just do it. Many of my friends and family didn't believe me that I was going to go on this trip alone, but I did and I was proud of myself. I didn't want to waste my time anymore and not travel, even though it was one of my dreams, only because no one was available. Do your stuff and if someone wants to join you – fine, if not – still do it, it is going to be even better. (I am not going to talk about this right now, but there are many very selfish reasons why solo traveling is better than traveling with other people). Life is short, so do not be scared to do the things you really want to do! Go for it! It is going to change your life!
2. You will learn how to take care of yourself.
Yes. Do not forget that you are going to be all by yourself, so you will have to think a little bit more than you maybe think when you are with other folks. Try to not get drunk and put yourself in dangerous situations like interacting with “suspicious” people or going to the house of someone you just met at a bar. Know, that you are alone. If you don't take care of yourself, nobody will. Your friends and family are far away from you. They could not help you. Maybe you are in a country you don't speak the language. Do not be naïve and think twice before making a decision. It is way better that some people think that you are boring or weird instead of getting completely wasted and not knowing what you do, where you go and with whom. I don't say that you don't have to trust people, but listen to your gut and pay attention to the small details (how people talk to you, if they look at you in the eyes, if they try to touch in an inappropriate way...).
One of my rules when I travel alone, is to always stay sober (I can have a drink or two, but not more). I want to know that I am completely present in every moment and I know what is happening. This is how I make sure to not put myself in bad situations it could be difficult to go out of.
3. You are going to meet new people and even make friends.
While I suggest that you really try to be careful about the people you meet during your solo trip, you are definitely going to meet many and with some of them you will feel a real connection and many good souvenirs will last.
When I first solo traveled, I was so surprised by the number of people I met during my trip. I was meeting new people all the time, every day. Most of them trough Couchsurfing (my hosts, theirs flatmates, theirs friends or people on CS who just wanted to hang out with foreigners), some were friends of friends and others, people that I just met at a bar or at a coffee shop and felt comfortable to continue the conversation. If you stay at a hostel, you are definitely going to meet many travelers there as well. They are always up to hang out and explore the city you are visiting.
I am still in touch with many of the people I met through my travels. Some of them I already met again after my trips, and others I am going to meet in the future. You can make real friends on the road. Isn't it amazing? For me, the beauty of it is that it is very natural and spontaneous – real people looking for a real connection . Maybe you are going to spend only 2 hours together, but you will remember it for a long time. Other great thing is that a big part of the people who travel the world are very open minded and always willing to learn new things about your culture and are curious about life .
4. If you are an introvert, you are going to open up to other people.
If you are a shy person and don't feel comfortable talking to strangers or making friends in a foreign country, I still think that at some moment of your trip, you are going to be pushed out of your comfort zone and you will have to talk to someone you don't know. And this could be a great exercise to open up a little bit and to make starting conversations and having small talks with strangers easier for you. You are in a new country or town where you don't know anyone, what a better opportunity to learn how to become more extrovert and overcome your shyness? It is certain that you will need to ask someone for the right direction or to translate something for you, if you don't speak the language... you can not hide from it! But it is for your good and you know it, even if it could be scary. Me personality, I hate asking people on the street for anything, but I had to do it many times and in general, people are always kind and willing to help. So don't be scared and don't forget to smile!
5. You will have time for yourself.
On my first solo travel I really wanted to do it because I needed to stay alone. I wanted to be away from everything that could make me sad (people, my job, the new town I was living in... everything). It is true that I met many people during my travel, but I also had the time to stay alone and be by myself. And this time was really healing for me. I was feeling so calm and happy. I was reading my book at parks, on benches by a river not thinking about anything. Just being alone with myself. Even if you are in a very good place in your life, in our society nowadays, we have a very busy lifestyle and taking a time-out could be an amazing idea.
If you need time for yourself, solo travel is a great choice. You do what you want to do and you don't have to think about anyone else. You wake up when you want, you visit the sights you want to see, you spend the amount of money you want to spend on activities, food, museums etc. You are completely free to do what you want or don't want to do and nobody can stop you. It is completely up to you. Enjoy it!
6. Feeling lonely is fine.
Yes, you will have a lot of freedom and yes, you are also going to meet new people and yes, you will have time for yourself. And yes, you are maybe going to feel lonely at some point of your journey. And it is totally fine! In fact, you are actually going to learn how to deal with loneliness and maybe even to start appreciating more every person you have in your life.
In moments of loneliness, we start thinking of the people who are in our life and they are not with us right now. We think of all the stupid arguments, all the calls that we didn't make, all the “thank you” and “sorry” that we didn't say and we should have. It is a time of resolutions. You start understanding what is really important in your life and what is not. Who are the people you want to be by your side and who are those you don't want to keep close to you? Who are those who have good impact on you life and who are those who have bad influence on you? Are you happy in your life, with your job? What could you do to start talking again with your best friend / partner / parents? Where is your fault? Where is their fault?
You will have the time to find answers to all these existential for you questions. You are going to realize that in some of the cases, it is you who screwed up and in others, you screwed up a little less. ;) Feeling lonely can be a very powerful time, it could be very enlightening for you. If you feel lonely, do not get depressed! This is the worst mistake one could do on a solo travel. Use this alone time and turn it into a big powerful light showing you the right way, the answers you were looking for but you were too scared to find. After this moment of loneliness and enlightenment, you will feel better than ever. Stronger and light, in peace with yourself.
7. You are going to come back feeling stronger and very proud of yourself.
I remember when I came back from my first solo trip (and I was still alive!), I was feeling so empowered, so strong in my core, so proud of myself because I did it. Leaving my home, I was freaking out thinking that I am going to die in a foreign country alone, but obviously, I did not. I was so happy! I can not even explain it. I was happy and proud because I did something I wanted to do for such a longtime. I did it alone which was super scary. I pushed myself to go out of my own limits and it was freaking awesome! I was feeling like Super Woman and Wonder Woman at the same time. I was feeling like I could conquer the world, like I could do anything.
Remember that anything is possible. We just have to make the move and grab what we want from this life. My depression was gone. I was in peace with myself, ready to go back to the normal life with new energy and motivation. The problems were still there, they were not gone, but my perception of them was different. I was feeling strong enough to face them and to figure out a way to overcome the obstacles.
If you want to feel this inner power that everybody has but sometimes we forget about it, traveling alone is one of the actions you can take for that.
8. Everything is going to be fine.
As I already said many times, when I was leaving for my travel, I was very scared. I had all these horrible scenarios in my head – I was dieing, I was being raped, I was completely lost in a country where I don't speak the language and I can't find my way to the hostel, I was getting robbed and finding myself alone without any money or a passport and couldn't come back home... If though all of these scenarios are possible to happen (I won't say that it is crazy to think that a young girl can get raped in a foreign country because it is not), don't forget that they could happen in your country and in your town as well. Unfortunately, many people die every day because of such horrible things. It is not because you are in a country you don't know and you are alone, that it is definitely going to happen. It can happen everywhere!
My advice is open your eyes, be careful, don't get wasted with people that you just met, ask for help if needed, have always your passport and your wallet with you, stay away from people who make you feel uncomfortable. This is also advice that I would give you for your every-day-life. So relax, try to enjoy your trip and your time for yourself and everything is going to be fine. This is going to be an empowering experience.
9. People come and go, but you stay.
During my trips I met many people. With some of them, I am still in touch – we text, we even see each other when we can, and with others, we don't and this is normal. You don't have to feel the pressure of staying in touch with every single person you meet during your travel. With some people it happens that you feel this special connection and with others you feel it less, or not at all. But one thing that I learned from these travels, is that people in your life will come and go. With some people you will have a great relationship, they could become your friends or even partners, with other people you are only going to spend 10 incredible minutes, 1 day, a couple of days, months or years. But all these people will go at some point from your life. The only person who is going to stay with you until the end is YOU.
The only person that you have in your life forever is yourself. The only person you can always rely on, is yourself. The only person you have to trust a 100% is yourself. The only person you have to fully love, respect and take care of is yourself. If you don't, nobody will. This is why I love solo travels so much. Because they make you realize that you really have to love yourself more and think about your physical and mental health. It is your responsibility. It is your responsibility to take care of yourself and to get your shit together. You are a grown-up, learn how to be independent! Learn to make conscious choices and decisions and do not blame the others for your mistakes. Your happiness is your responsibility. Learn how to love yourself because you are stuck with this person for the rest of your life!
10. Solo travel = self discovery.
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Would you mind adding a note to the description to remind people that this is not a safe binding method, and should be used only in case of emergency, for no longer than an hour, and not to do it too tight? This will bruise you up.
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Hello and welcome to my Lightning Strike Raider build.
It’s a build that spawned from the idea of using Hyaon’s Fury for…something. Anything. Which quickly turned into a simple build with a regular weapon, as Hyaon’s Fury is actually complete shit and is outclassed by any 10c rapier with proper stats.
That’s where my idea of using Raider also comes from (for a ridiculous amount of frenzy charges which would synergize even better with Hyaon’s), and I decided to stick with it even with another sword as I like having a lot of frenzy charges.
In any case, I wanted to make a build with a niche skill (and lightning strike is pretty niche, as far as i can tell), and this is what I came up with. It doesn’t shine by its boss-killing capabilities, but it’s a nice little build using a fun niche skill that can perfectly clear most content, and so is good as a league starter option.
If I missed anything, my formatting isn't right, or anything else, do tell me. This is my first guide (as you can probably tell), so I'm prone to making mistakes.
Enjoy the read !
Pros & Cons
+ High AoE damage
+ Good on a budget, can be pushed further with some investment
+ Good league-starter, the only item you really need is Lycosidae
+ High movement speed thanks to Leap Slam and 8+ frenzy charges
+ Combines dodge, evasion and block for damage mitigation
+ Very high lightning penetration (94% !)
+ Can run phys reflect, curse immune maps easily
+ Can run maps up to T15 without any issues
+ Not the best at uber lab (izaro hits hard) but you can run it with relative ease
+ Excels in open layouts
- Squishy by nature as a Ranger
- Can’t run ele reflect
- Can run no leech maps but it requires some care
- T16 and Shaper might prove difficult, this is not a bosskiller build.
- Can sometimes be difficult to use in tight layouts or in the presence of obstacles
- Probably not HC viable
Gear
My Gear and Gear Breakdown
My Gear (3.3 ISC)
Helmet
Any rare helmet will do. The best enchantment you can get is "Lightning Strike Pierces 3 Additional Targets", saving you a few points on your skill tree to spend elsewhere, as Pierce is essential and will drastically improve your AoE capabilities. I did not find a good enough helmet with that enchantment, sadly. But it's definitely the best one available. 40% Lightning Strike damage is not too shabby, but it's definitely not as good as the pierce enchantment.
Alternatives : Starkonja. If you can manage the resists on a build that already has a fair share of uniques, go for it. Any rare helmet will do. The best enchantment you can get is "Lightning Strike Pierces 3 Additional Targets", saving you a few points on your skill tree to spend elsewhere, as Pierce is essential and will drastically improve your AoE capabilities. I did not find a good enough helmet with that enchantment, sadly. But it's definitely the best one available. 40% Lightning Strike damage is not too shabby, but it's definitely not as good as the pierce enchantment.Alternatives : Starkonja. If you can manage the resists on a build that already has a fair share of uniques, go for it.
Body Armour
We have several options here. I use Shroud of the Lightless for an easy 6-link (Elemental Penetration allows me to remove Lightning Penetration) and a pretty good HP bonus since this build uses a lot of abyss jewels. The spell Shade Form is also nice, making you immune to physical damage and giving you phasing for a few seconds, but as it has an internal cooldown of 45 seconds, don't count on it too much.
However, there are a few alternatives, such as a simple Belly of the Beast, Queen of the Forest (if you really want to go fast), or a rare Zodiac Leather.
We have several options here. I use Shroud of the Lightless for an easy 6-link (Elemental Penetration allows me to remove Lightning Penetration) and a pretty good HP bonus since this build uses a lot of abyss jewels. The spell Shade Form is also nice, making you immune to physical damage and giving you phasing for a few seconds, but as it has an internal cooldown of 45 seconds, don't count on it too much.However, there are a few alternatives, such as a simple Belly of the Beast, Queen of the Forest (if you really want to go fast), or a rare Zodiac Leather.
Amulet
Any rare amulet will do.
Important stats are :
Best : HP, Lightning Damage, Added Lightning Damage to Attacks
Good : Critical Strike Multiplier, Elemental Damage with Attack Skills
Decent : Critical Strike Chance Any rare amulet will do.Important stats are :Best : HP, Lightning Damage, Added Lightning Damage to AttacksGood : Critical Strike Multiplier, Elemental Damage with Attack SkillsDecent : Critical Strike Chance
Weapon
Any rare foil with +25% Global Critical Damage Multiplier (most foils apply).
Jewelled Foil is the best base, but a few others are decent too. Try to aim for Jewelled foil, dragonbone rapier or spiraled foil.
Important stats are :
Best : Attack Speed (aim for 1.80+ attack speed), Added Lightning Damage, Global Critical Strike Multiplier
Good : Elemental Damage with Attack Skills, Critical Strike Chance
Decent : Physical damage (this will raise the price higher without giving us a lot of benefits, but it's nice to have), elemental (fire/cold) damage (doesn't increase damage by a lot either, as we focus on lightning damage, but it's nice to have too, just don't focus on it)
Normally, foils with such stats are relatively cheap. My current foil (linked here) cost me 30c, and it's a very good one for our purposes. Any rare foil with +25% Global Critical Damage Multiplier (most foils apply).Jewelled Foil is the best base, but a few others are decent too. Try to aim for Jewelled foil, dragonbone rapier or spiraled foil.Important stats are :Best : Attack Speed (aim for 1.80+ attack speed), Added Lightning Damage, Global Critical Strike MultiplierGood : Elemental Damage with Attack Skills, Critical Strike ChanceDecent : Physical damage (this will raise the price higher without giving us a lot of benefits, but it's nice to have), elemental (fire/cold) damage (doesn't increase damage by a lot either, as we focus on lightning damage, but it's nice to have too, just don't focus on it)Normally, foils with such stats are relatively cheap. My current foil (linked here) cost me 30c, and it's a very good one for our purposes.
Shield
Lycosidae. As a crit build, this is simply the best shield we can get. It has a low amount of life (up to 50), but the "hits can't be evaded" mod is highly invaluable and saves us from investing any resources into accuracy.
It being a rather expensive shield at the moment, as a league starter alternative you can get Lioneye's Remorse which will bulk you up a bit with its big amount of HP. You might need to find accuracy somewhere else, though, either in your tree (we have access to a bunch of accuracy nodes) or on your jewelry. Lycosidae. As a crit build, this is simply the best shield we can get. It has a low amount of life (up to 50), but the "hits can't be evaded" mod is highly invaluable and saves us from investing any resources into accuracy.It being a rather expensive shield at the moment, as a league starter alternative you can get Lioneye's Remorse which will bulk you up a bit with its big amount of HP. You might need to find accuracy somewhere else, though, either in your tree (we have access to a bunch of accuracy nodes) or on your jewelry.
Gloves
Tombfist is the end-game gloves you are looking for. The wet dream of this build is a 2-socket Tombfist with a +1 to maximum frenzy charges corruption. However, that would be a very expensive item (at the time of writing this, it's 7.5 ex to get such an item).
In the meantime, rare gloves will do (or a 1-socket tombfist too, a frenzy charges corruption is icing on the cake).
Gripped gloves are nice, but a frenzy charges corruption is better. I haven't found any lab enchant to be particularly useful, and the frenzy charges corruption gives us the most dps anyway.
Important stats pn a rare are :
Best : HP, Attack Speed
Good : Resistances
Decent : Added Lightning Damage to Attacks (low rolls on gloves, nice to have but kind of mediocre anyway) Tombfist is the end-game gloves you are looking for. The wet dream of this build is a 2-socket Tombfist with a +1 to maximum frenzy charges corruption. However, that would be a very expensive item (at the time of writing this, it's 7.5 ex to get such an item).In the meantime, rare gloves will do (or a 1-socket tombfist too, a frenzy charges corruption is icing on the cake).Gripped gloves are nice, but a frenzy charges corruption is better. I haven't found any lab enchant to be particularly useful, and the frenzy charges corruption gives us the most dps anyway.Important stats pn a rare are :Best : HP, Attack SpeedGood : ResistancesDecent : Added Lightning Damage to Attacks (low rolls on gloves, nice to have but kind of mediocre anyway)
Boots
Darkray Vectors are the obvious choice for a build oriented towards Frenzy Charges. It gives you increased movement speed per frenzy charge (going up to 45% at 9 charges), and 2% chance to dodge attacks per frenzy charge. All in all, an excellent and cheap pair of boots for us.
If you're playing in Standard, the best item is Darkray Vectors with a +1 Frenzy Charges corrupted implicit. Since 3.3, that corruption has been moved to Gloves, so you cannot get it in Incursion.
If you do not like Darkray Vectors (shame on you), you can use Atziri's Step for more dodge, or regular Rare boots.
Important stats on a rare are :
Best : HP, resistances
Good : Movement speed Darkray Vectors are the obvious choice for a build oriented towards Frenzy Charges. It gives you increased movement speed per frenzy charge (going up to 45% at 9 charges), and 2% chance to dodge attacks per frenzy charge. All in all, an excellent and cheap pair of boots for us.If you're playing in Standard, the best item is Darkray Vectors with a +1 Frenzy Charges corrupted implicit. Since 3.3, that corruption has been moved to Gloves, so you cannot get it in Incursion.If you do not like Darkray Vectors (shame on you), you can use Atziri's Step for more dodge, or regular Rare boots.Important stats on a rare are :Best : HP, resistancesGood : Movement speed
Belt
Here is where it gets interesting.
Normally, the best base is a rare Stygian Vise with good rolls, or, if you can't afford that, a Leather Belt with good rolls.
However, since I switched to Shroud of the Lightless, I decided to use Darkness Enthroned to use 2 abyss jewels, which are boosted by 50% by the belt. With good jewels, I can get a very good amount of HP and damage.
Be aware though, you need good jewels to use Darkness Enthroned, and I don't think it's that worth it if you do not use Shroud of the Lightless, unless you have absolutely godtier jewels (aka, a lot better than mine)
Stats to look out for on a rare are :
Best : HP, resistances, Elemental Damage with Attack Skills
Good : Flask duration, flask charges gained, strength (high rolls, 40+ can be interesting for the hp bonus and less constraints for gems)
Decent : HP gained from life flasks, -% flask charges used Here is where it gets interesting.Normally, the best base is a rare Stygian Vise with good rolls, or, if you can't afford that, a Leather Belt with good rolls.However, since I switched to Shroud of the Lightless, I decided to use Darkness Enthroned to use 2 abyss jewels, which are boosted by 50% by the belt. With good jewels, I can get a very good amount of HP and damage.Be aware though, you need good jewels to use Darkness Enthroned, and I don't think it's that worth it if you do not use Shroud of the Lightless, unless you have absolutely godtier jewels (aka, a lot better than mine)Stats to look out for on a rare are :Best : HP, resistances, Elemental Damage with Attack SkillsGood : Flask duration, flask charges gained, strength (high rolls, 40+ can be interesting for the hp bonus and less constraints for gems)Decent : HP gained from life flasks, -% flask charges used
Rings
Any rare rings will do.
I believe that The Taming can work well with this build, but I haven't tested it.
The best base for your rings is Opal Ring, obviously, but these can get prohibitively expensive.
I like to use a ring solely focused on defense (to cap my resistances) and another one more focused on damage. This tends to get less expensive, as rings that are both good in offense and defense are going to be extremely expensive.
Stats to look out for (defensive) :
Best : HP, resists (120+ total)
Good : Accuracy (if you are not using Lycosidae, if you are, ignore accuracy completely)
Decent : Attributes (as always, str gives us 1 hp per 2 str, int means fulfilling gem requirements, dex gives us evasion only, not very interesting)
Stats to look out for (offensive) :
Best : HP, Elemental Damage with Attack Skills, Added Lightning Damage to Attacks
Good : Lightning Damage
Decent : Attack Speed (minimal gain, don't make this a priority) Any rare rings will do.I believe that The Taming can work well with this build, but I haven't tested it.The best base for your rings is Opal Ring, obviously, but these can get prohibitively expensive.I like to use a ring solely focused on defense (to cap my resistances) and another one more focused on damage. This tends to get less expensive, as rings that are both good in offense and defense are going to be extremely expensive.Stats to look out for (defensive) :Best : HP, resists (120+ total)Good : Accuracy (if you are not using Lycosidae, if you are, ignore accuracy completely)Decent : Attributes (as always, str gives us 1 hp per 2 str, int means fulfilling gem requirements, dex gives us evasion only, not very interesting)Stats to look out for (offensive) :Best : HP, Elemental Damage with Attack Skills, Added Lightning Damage to AttacksGood : Lightning DamageDecent : Attack Speed (minimal gain, don't make this a priority)
Flasks
HP flask : Try to get a Divine flask, as they give the most total health. "Seething" making the recovery instant but 66% lower, you want the flask that gives you more hp over time rather than the one giving you less hp faster (eternal). As a suffix, aim for Staunching or Heat to remove bleed or freeze (I prefer staunching).
Diamond Flask for more crit. Best mods are Experimenter's (more duration) and Heat/Staunching (whatever you don't have on your hp flask)
Sulphur flask for more damage. Best mods are Experimenter's (more duration) and Warding (curses are annoying). You can replace this with a Jade Flask or a Basalt Flask for more damage mitigation.
The Wise Oak is very important. Try to get a flask with max rolls, as this will improve your dps quite a bit. You also require your uncapped lightning resistance to be the highest for it to be useful. Balanced resistances are the best for defensive purposes, but for offensive purposes all you need is for your lightning resistance to be the highest.
Atziri's Promise. An amazing DPS flask. Try to get the highest roll on the elemental to chaos conversion, as it's much more important than the physical one. You can mostly ignore the physical conversion, as you barely deal any physical damage to begin with.
I think Vessel of Vinktar could be used, but honestly, that flask is shitty. I don't want to add Shock to my weaknesses on an already kinda squishy build. Screw that. If you like to suffer, feel free to replace Sulphur flask with it. But I'm warning you, you're going to take a lot of damage.
HP flask : Try to get a Divine flask, as they give the most total health. "Seething" making the recovery instant but 66% lower, you want the flask that gives you more hp over time rather than the one giving you less hp faster (eternal). As a suffix, aim for Staunching or Heat to remove bleed or freeze (I prefer staunching).Diamond Flask for more crit. Best mods are Experimenter's (more duration) and Heat/Staunching (whatever you don't have on your hp flask)Sulphur flask for more damage. Best mods are Experimenter's (more duration) and Warding (curses are annoying). You can replace this with a Jade Flask or a Basalt Flask for more damage mitigation.The Wise Oak is very important. Try to get a flask with max rolls, as this will improve your dps quite a bit. You also require your uncapped lightning resistance to be the highest for it to be useful. Balanced resistances are the best for defensive purposes, but for offensive purposes all you need is for your lightning resistance to be the highest.Atziri's Promise. An amazing DPS flask. Try to get the highest roll on the elemental to chaos conversion, as it's much more important than the physical one. You can mostly ignore the physical conversion, as you barely deal any physical damage to begin with.I think Vessel of Vinktar could be used, but honestly, that flask is shitty. I don't want to add Shock to my weaknesses on an already kinda squishy build. Screw that. If you like to suffer, feel free to replace Sulphur flask with it. But I'm warning you, you're going to take a lot of damage.
Jewels and Abyss Jewels
No jewels in particular in mind. Regular jewels are interesting enough, but Abyss Jewels are the crème de la crème.
You are going to want, most of all, Murderous Eye Jewels, as they can roll high damage for sword attacks. Searching Eye Jewels are also ok, but can't roll sword attack mods.
Stats to look out for :
Best : HP, Added Lightning Damage to Attacks, Added Lightning Damage to Sword Attacks
Good : Global Critical Strike Multiplier
Decent : Attack Speed, Critical Strike Chance, Added Elemental (Non-Lightning) Damage
You also need one (should be enough) jewel with the mod "Chance to blind enemies on hit with attacks". 3% should be enough, and it will reduce your chances to get hit by quite a lot.
Skill gems
My Skill Gems and Links
Main Skill Lightning Strike (20/20) – Elemental Damage with Attacks (20/20) – Added Lightning Damage (20/20) – Multistrike (20/0) – Lightning Penetration (20/20) (5L) – Increased Critical Strikes (20/20) (6L)
Other Possibilities : Swap out Increased Critical Strikes for Ancestral Call
As I use shroud of the lightless, I drop Lightning Penetration from my 6L setup, as Elemental Penetration from the armor has the same value has Lightning Penetration, but for all elements.
Why do I not 20% multistrike ? It only increases melee physical damage, which only affects the melee portion of Lightning Strike. The projectiles do not scale from melee physical damage but rather from your weapon’s damage, the tooltip is a bit confusing in that regard. All in all, a 20% multistrike doesn’t hurt us, but it’s rather unnecessary and an extremely minor (barely 1k dps gain for me) improvement.
If you have a 20/20 Vaal Lightning Strike, you can put that in your 6L setup instead of a regular 20/20 Lightning Strike.
If you don’t have a 20/20 Vaal Lightning Strike, here’s the setup for VLS :
Vaal Lightning Strike (20/20) – Added Lightning Damage (20/20) – Elemental Damage with Attacks (20/20) – Elemental Focus (20/20)
VLS is useful to give us a little dps boost. It comes up very often as it costs only 20 souls. It’s also nice to drop it down somewhere while we go kill stuff in another room (for example, if you have a breach expanding in two different corridors, drop VLS in one and go hit stuff in the other, works wonders).
A single-target alternative that I have not tested is Blade Flurry, replacing Multistrike with Concentrated Effect. It's possibly better for bosses, but once again, I did not test it. It's good for Atziri, though, since LS has so much AoE you will most of the time end up hitting the mirror clone during the splitting phase, and kill yourself very quickly.
CWDT Setup
CWDT (lvl 1) – Conductivity (lvl 5) – Summon Ice Golem (lvl 3) – Immortal Call (lvl 3)
Conductivity gives us a good damage boost as it reduces enemy resistances by an additional -29%. If you feel like you need more survivability instead, you can use Enfeeble in its place.
Ice Golem and Immortal Call are self-explanatory. I prefer to keep CWDT to a low level so conductivity procs as often as possible, but you can try to bump it a couple levels more if you want. However, I did not test that.
Movement Skill
Movement skill : Leap Slam – Faster Attacks – Fortify
The classic.
No Specific Links
Wrath (20/0) (More damage)
Herald of Thunder (20/20) (More damage)
Blood Rage (20/20) (More damage, also frenzy charge generator until you have enough points in Raider)
Ancestral Protector ( ?/0)
Level Ancestral Protector as high as your strength will allow. Since I already have too high STR requirements for my tastes, I kept it at level 12, which I find a reasonable amount.
Bandits
Bandits
Kill all. If you are having mana issues, you can help Alira, but you’ll want to switch to +2 passive points eventually once you have mana leech.
Ascendancy
Ascendancy
https://i.imgur.com/cOY7acW.png
Levelling and Passive Trees
Levelling Trees and Final Tree
29 points https://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/3.3.0/AAAABAIBAABeBiAGogguF9wZjiP2MHxNknSgePl9dX7dfyuNfY25m42jirvjxKLTftRS7YPuDu96_W7-ug==
I didn’t have anything in particular in mind while levelling, just taking some hp nodes and damage nodes here and there. You can take a mana leech node here if you want, next to Essence Sap, and skip the one I take later near Spirit Void. They are exactly the same, but you access the Essence Sap one earlier.
59 points https://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/3.3.0/AAAABAIBAABeBS0FtQYgBqIILg2NF9wZjiP2KlswfEMxQzZHfkp9TP9Nkk4qUUdS7FuvZU1noHSgdO11y3j5efZ67311ft1_K4d2jX2Nfo25jb-YI5uNo4q3trvjvTa-p8LsxKLTftRS1ljaweOf6mLtg-4O73r8xf1u_ro=
We take the Pierce nodes for increased AoE and we head towards duelist to grab some more HP nodes as well as one mana leech node for sustain.
91 points https://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/3.3.0/AAAABAIBAABeBS0FtQYgBqIHHgguDPINjQ5IEZYWvxfcGY4byCP2JP0mlSoLKlswfDY9Ps9DMUM2R35JUUp9TP9Nkk4qUUdS7FVLWhpbr13yYeJirGVNZ6BsjHBSdKB07XXLePl59nrvfXV-3X8rh3aJ04w2jX2Nfo25jb-VLpgjm42dqqOKpcu0xbe2u-O9Nr3mvqfC7MMzxKLTftRS1ljaweOE45_nVOpi7YPuDu968NX8xf1u_rr_3g
At this point we most likely have cleared Normal Lab and Cruel Lab later on, so we start taking Frenzy Charge nodes. Also heading towards the shadow tree for, once again, some more HP, and damage nodes.
Final Tree - 114 points https://www.pathofexile.com/passive-skill-tree/3.3.0/AAAABAIBAABeBS0FtQYgBqIHHgguDPINjQ5ID8QRlha_F9wZjhnXGo0byB2DI_Yk_SaVKgsqOCpbLlMwWzB8Nj031Dt8Ps9DMUM2R35JUUp9TP9Nkk4qUUdS7FVLWhpbJluvXfJh4mKsZU1noGyMcFJ0oHTtdct4-Xn2eu99dX7dfyt_xn_7h3aJ04w2jX2Nfo25jb-TJ5UumCObjZ2qoS-io6OKpcusl60ztMW3trjKu-O9Nr3mvoq-p8LswzPEos_d02_TftQj1FLWWNrB44Tjn-dU6mLtP-2D7g7vevDV8Yr8xf1u_rr_3g==
We finish by taking a couple more damage nodes, the jewel nodes, Acrobatics (I feel like it’s not really needed before maps, but you can take it earlier if you wish), and Vaal Pact (for more leech). This is just a level 91 tree, so if you level further, you can grab some more nodes like Forces of Nature or Revenge of the Hunted for more damage and hp, respectively. There's also a few duellist starting nodes that gives you a bit of HP, if you want.
Playstyle
Nothing much really ! Just hit the ground with your sword like Thor (if Thor had a gender reassignment surgery and started to really be into nature and fencing), and watch the lightning fly ! Considering Lightning Strike fires ground projectiles, some obstacles might make it difficult to hit certain targets. This is why we have Leap Slam and Frenzy charges, to be able to reposition very quickly to hit hard to reach targets.
Do know that Lightning Strike has two components, the melee attack and the projectiles. The melee attack does a lot more damage than the projectiles (around 50-60% more if my math is right) but it also puts you more at risk since you are still kind of squishy. Adjust your position accordingly during boss fights, to keep a good balance between dps and survival.
Be wary of Blood Rage once you take Vaal Pact, as it will drain your hp at a fast pace (especially if your map has Vulnerability curse) and, during periods without fighting, can actually kill you or leave you vulnerable for the next fight. If you want to deactivate it during downtime periods, simply remove the gem from your gear and put it back in again.
PoB Link
Spoiler https://pastebin.com/kSVeNhpv
FAQ
If any questions show up repeatedly, I will include them in this section.
Outro
Well, there we are. Thanks for reading, I hope you’ve enjoyed my guide, I also hope you've been able to withstand my inexperienced ass and my shitty photoshop skills, and I wish you a happy mapping experience !
If you have any questions, do ask ! I’ll be checking this thread regularly. Hello and welcome to my Lightning Strike Raider build.It’s a build that spawned from the idea of using Hyaon’s Fury for…something. Anything. Which quickly turned into a simple build with a regular weapon, as Hyaon’s Fury is actually complete shit and is outclassed by any 10c rapier with proper stats.That’s where my idea of using Raider also comes from (for a ridiculous amount of frenzy charges which would synergize even better with Hyaon’s), and I decided to stick with it even with another sword as I like having a lot of frenzy charges.In any case, I wanted to make a build with a niche skill (and lightning strike is pretty niche, as far as i can tell), and this is what I came up with. It doesn’t shine by its boss-killing capabilities, but it’s a nice little build using a fun niche skill that can perfectly clear most content, and so is good as a league starter option.If I missed anything, my formatting isn't right, or anything else, do tell me. This is my first guide (as you can probably tell), so I'm prone to making mistakes.Enjoy the read !High AoE damageGood on a budget, can be pushed further with some investmentGood league-starter, the only item you really need is LycosidaeHigh movement speed thanks to Leap Slam and 8+ frenzy chargesCombines dodge, evasion and block for damage mitigationVery high lightning penetration (94% !)Can run phys reflect, curse immune maps easilyCan run maps up to T15 without any issuesNot the best at uber lab (izaro hits hard) but you can run it with relative easeExcels in open layoutsSquishy by nature as a RangerCan’t run ele reflectCan run no leech maps but it requires some careT16 and Shaper might prove difficult, this is not a bosskiller build.Can sometimes be difficult to use in tight layouts or in the presence of obstaclesProbably not HC viableNothing much really ! Just hit the ground with your sword like Thor (if Thor had a gender reassignment surgery and started to really be into nature and fencing), and watch the lightning fly ! Considering Lightning Strike fires ground projectiles, some obstacles might make it difficult to hit certain targets. This is why we have Leap Slam and Frenzy charges, to be able to reposition very quickly to hit hard to reach targets.Do know that Lightning Strike has two components, the melee attack and the projectiles. The melee attack does a lot more damage than the projectiles (around 50-60% more if my math is right) but it also puts you more at risk since you are still kind of squishy. Adjust your position accordingly during boss fights, to keep a good balance between dps and survival.Be wary of Blood Rage once you take Vaal Pact, as it will drain your hp at a fast pace (especially if your map has Vulnerability curse) and, during periods without fighting, can actually kill you or leave you vulnerable for the next fight. If you want to deactivate it during downtime periods, simply remove the gem from your gear and put it back in again.If any questions show up repeatedly, I will include them in this section.Well, there we are. Thanks for reading, I hope you’ve enjoyed my guide, I also hope you've been able to withstand my inexperienced ass and my shitty photoshop skills, and I wish you a happy mapping experience !If you have any questions, do ask ! I’ll be checking this thread regularly. Last edited by Chnams on Jun 21, 2018, 3:13:57 PM Last bumped on Jun 21, 2018, 3:11:29 PM
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A newlywed couple from Winnipeg was among a crowd of thousands in Turkey over the weekend who were targeted with tear gas at a gay pride parade on Sunday. Istanbul riot police fired rubber bullets and water cannons into the crowd.
Sam and Robyn Hagenlocher headed to Istanbul's central square to take part in the LGBT event Sunday afternoon.
The pair met up with a new friend at a nearby cafe and were talking about the recent U.S. Supreme court decision to legalize same-sex marriage.
Sam (left) and Robin (right) Hagenlocher pose in Istanbul moments before riot police fired rubber bullets and water cannons on people celebrating in a local gay pride rally. Sam said the riot police had been lined up along the streets hours before the parade was set to begin. But then things took a turn and Hagenlocher said they noticed police move in on the crowd.
Sam recorded police hosing people down and throwing tear gas into the streets with his camera.
"At that point it still wasn't completely real yet," he said. "You're still sort of seeing it as a tourist, you're like, 'What the hell is going on?' You can't believe what you're seeing and then the tanks turned around on us and then it became real."
The 29-year-old Winnipeg man said it was around that time when the tanks shooting water took aim in the direction of where he, his wife and their new friend were standing.
"These big tanks had water cannons on them so they were watering the crowd while they were also throwing tear gas and firing rubber bullets," he said.
'What tear gas tastes like'
Sam and Robyn Hagenlocher were at a cafe in downtown Istanbul on vacation when they witnessed police hose down and fire rubber bullets at people celebrating in the local Pride Parade. (Sam Hagenlocher) Hagenlocher said the group managed to get out of the area unharmed.
"We dropped our phones and just ran and were just terrified and being chased by police, and learning for the first time what tear gas tastes like and feels like was frightening," he said.
He added he doesn't know why the authorities turned on the peaceful crowd.
"It was completely peaceful, there was nothing to instigate this kind of action."
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The Jerusalem Post reports: Four attorneys filed a class action suit against Airbnb in Jerusalem District Court on Thursday to protest the US-based company’s decision to drop listings in West Bank settlements from its vacation rental website that hosts ads from 191 countries.
“The law in Israel forbids discrimination based on the place where you live, and what Airbnb has done is by all means discrimination based on the place where you live,” said attorney Aviel Flint, a partner in the law firm Yossi Levy & Co.
This is a case of Israeli law and not antisemitism or politics, Flint told The Jerusalem Post. The case is based on a 2000 law against discrimination in products and services, which was amended in 2017 to include place of residence.
Read more here.
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"Non ti muovere, altrimenti prendiamo la mazza". "Ti picchio, ti spacco le gambe se non la smetti". Insultate, minacciate, percosse "fino a provocare perdita di sangue", dicono gli inquirenti. Era un inferno l'esistenza delle anziane di "Villa Franca" a Rimini, gestita dalla cooperativa "La bella vita". Un inferno fatto di violenze fisiche e psicologiche quotidiane che i carabinieri di Rimini, coordinati dal pm Davide Ercolani, hanno provato con oltre 100 audio-video registrati dalle telecamere nascoste piazzate nella struttura tra la primavera e l'estate scorsa.Stamattina tutto questo è finito all'alba. I militari hanno infatti bussato alla porta del responsabile della struttura e delle operatrici per notificare loro un ordine di arresto. Cinque le misure cautelari eseguite su disposizione del Gip Benedetta Vitolo, di cui quatto arresti domiciliari e un divieto di avvicinamento alla struttura. Per tutti l'accusa è di continui maltrattamenti nei confronti di ultraottantenni, ricoverate presso una casa di cura riminese.
Rimini, anziani picchiati e umiliati in casa di cura: quattro arresti in riproduzione....
A finire nei guai sono Benito Rosa, gestore della coop, Jessenia Lisset Quipe Soto, Maia Kaviashvili, Maria Carlotta Re e Carmen Bordea, operatrici della casa di riposo. Contro di loro accuse che la Procura ritiene "ampiamente provate". Un'indagine lampo, se si pensa che gli approfondimenti sono durati una manciata di mesi. Secondo le indagini, partite dalla denuncia di un'ex dipendente, gli ospiti venivano sistematicamente sottoposti ad ogni tipo di angheria. Picchiati con ciabatte, presi a schiaffi, trascinati per i capelli. Minacciati e insultati: "Cretina, ti metto sotto l'acqua ghiacciata", urla una delle operatrici ignara di essere registrata dalle microspie.Nelle carte dell'indagine si racconta come tutto avvenisse alla presenza di altre operatrici e dei responsabili della struttura che "non intervenivano mai per fermare le violenze" e che anzi "incitavano i collaboratori". Per loro quelle vecchiette erano solo un affare. Nessuna attenzione nei loro confronti, mai una parola di conforto. I commenti registrati nelle intercettazioni dopo il decesso di un'anziana sono agghiaccianti: "Poveri, peccato sia morta. Una retta in meno... hhahha", e giù a ridere in spregio ad ogni forma di compassione.Scrive la giudice nelle motivazioni della misura cautelare: "Si tratta di numerosi atti di crudeltà e di disprezzo posti in essere, con cadenza pressoché quotidiana, nei confronti di anziani soli e indifesi, proprio da coloro che dovevano prendersi cura di loro, e per questo ancora più riprovevoli". Violenza gratuita, tanto da rilevare: "Non risulta che i fatti-reato siano stati compiuti in presenza di una causa". Solo per fare un esempio la giudice Vitolo evidenzia: "E' estremamente avvilente constatare che una donna anziana, in condizione fisico - psichiche precarie, venga svegliata a suon di schiaffi e di insulti".
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Check out our new site Makeup Addiction
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Obama: Congress must meet fiscal cliff deadline
USATODAY
President Obama used his Saturday radio address to echo his demand that Congress act before the nation falls off a "fiscal cliff" that includes automatic tax hikes and budget cuts.
"You meet your deadlines and your responsibilities every day," Obama told his radio audience. "The folks you sent here to serve should do the same. We cannot let Washington politics get in the way of America's progress."
Obama spoke as Senate Democratic and Republican leaders work this weekend on a package that could be voted on as early as Monday. Any plan must also approved by the Republican-run House.
Tuesday, New Year's Day, marks the start of the fiscal cliff, a series of automatic tax increases and program cuts -- including defense -- that gradually take effect if the parties are unable to reach a new debt reduction agreement. The federal debt now exceeds $16 trillion.
If the Senate cannot strike a deal this weekend, Obama said in his radio speech he will ask the Senate to vote on a "basic package." That plan would maintain unemployment benefits and extend the George W. Bush-era tax cuts for all Americans except those who make more than $250,000 a year.
"I believe such a proposal could pass both houses with bipartisan majorities -- as long as these leaders allow it to come to a vote," Obama said. "If they still want to vote no, and let this tax hike hit the middle class, that's their prerogative. But they should let everyone vote."
In the Republican radio address, Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said the GOP wants to make sure that a debt reduction doesn't include tax increases that could hurt the economy.
"We still can avoid going over the fiscal cliff if the President and the Democrat-controlled Senate step forward this week and work with Republicans to solve this problem and solve it now," Blunt said.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and GOP counterpart Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said they hope to have a plan ready when the Senate and House reconvene Sunday -- two days before New Year's Day and the fiscal cliff deadline. Reid hopes to have a vote on Monday.
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Wednesday, May 13, 2015
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS—Genetic testing of a 40,000-year-old mandible with modern human and Neanderthal traits has revealed that the Oase man’s genome was between five and 11 percent Neanderthal, including large chunks of several chromosomes. Palaeogenomicist Qiaomei Fu of Harvard Medical School and her colleagues analyzed how lengths of DNA inherited from an ancestor shorten with each generation. They estimate that this individual’s Neanderthal ancestor was introduced in the previous four to six generations. The jawbone and one other human bone were discovered among bear remains in a Romanian cave called Peştera cu Oase. Erik Trinkaus of Washington University in St. Louis has argued that these bones point to inbreeding between humans and Neanderthals. “I guess it’s reassuring at some level that there’s correspondence between what the anatomy is telling us and what the genes are telling us,” he commented in Nature News. And radiocarbon dates suggest that modern humans and Neanderthals may have been in Europe together for up to 5,000 years in some areas. Fu presented her team’s work at the recent Biology of Genomes meeting. To read more about our extinct cousins, see "Should We Clone Neanderthals?"
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