Split (1)

train · ~7.99M rows (showing the first 1.01M)

text stringlengths 316 100k
Critics for The New York Times recently checked back on long-running Broadway shows to see how they were holding up. On ArtsBeat, we asked readers for their memories of the shows. These are excerpts from their responses. Economics 101 My eighth-grade daughter became obsessed with “Wicked” after seeing [a number] performed on TV at the beginning of Macy’s Thanksgiving parade in 2003. She insisted that we see it on Broadway while Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel were in the cast. I pointed out to her that we’d have to travel from Boston to New York to see the play, and that that wasn’t cheap. She looked me in the eye and asked me how much I’d spent on Red Sox tickets for her two brothers over the years. A few weeks later, we took the train to New York for a Sunday matinee. JONATHAN Massachusetts Many-Layered Show Thanks to CareTix from Broadway Cares, I had house seats for “The Book of Mormon.” (You pay twice the face value of the ticket, but the money goes to a good cause, not a scalper.) Aside from being one of the most consistently funny shows I have ever seen, I realized there were many sly references to classic Broadway shows: “The King and I,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” “The Sound of Music.” So while everyone was laughing, I realized that I was hearing something more, like a high-pitched whistle that only dogs can hear. That Matt [Stone] and Trey [Parker] were working on so many levels just blew me away. JLASF San Francisco Wanting to Be Pippin “Pippin” was my first Broadway musical. My mother fell a little in love with Ben Vereen in the famous TV commercial and insisted we see it. I think I wasn’t quite ready to accept the ending. Teenagers are Pippin and don’t want to settle for the “ordinary” life in the suburbs, though that is what most of my cohort got. At age 59, I have an amused resignation. A. C. W.
You may remember Gorillaz first for their look—specifically the fact that they were cartoons, four strangely rendered misfits frowning in baggy clothes while riding in a camouflage jeep. Or, if you heard them only through radio, the name might first recall their peculiar sound, touching on rap, dub, indie rock and electronica that way tourists pose for pictures at America’s Four Corners, one limb in each state. Still, I will always remember the group for what they were to me in 2001: the most controversial band in my fifth grade class. Pop music had been moving quickly in those years. The record industry was reaching an all-time high, pushed upward by the standardization of the compact disc and the disposable income produced by the bubble economy. A year earlier, ‘NSYNC’s No Strings Attached had sold 2.4 million copies in its first week. Among the boys I knew, the boy band’s only threat came from usurpers like Eminem and Kid Rock, TRL stars who performed rebellion exactly the way elementary school students imagine it—mostly by saying the F-word. I will forever cherish the memory of the afternoon I spent with my old friend Gary, tallying every swear in Kid’s Devil Without a Cause and arguing over whether “ass” should be included in our count. I lost this argument. But with Gorillaz, a much more complicated argument began to unfold. They were, as I recall, the first band I was ever made fun of for liking. My friends were already fluent in the language pop-entertainment spectacle—its fakeness, its inhumanity, its cartoonishness. At the time, this seemed normal. Gorillaz, however, made it seem less so, turning that artificiality in on itself, making it so obvious that it was no longer possible to ignore. Just as Napster, also working behind an odd cartoon avatar, used files from CDs to undermine the record industry from within, so Gorillaz presented a new challenge for young music fans who didn’t know much else. Thus began some of my first arguments about the nature of pop: “Who makes the songs?” None of us knew Blur, or Damon Albarn, Gorillaz’s IRL string-puller, and thus we had no idea. Being in fifth grade meant that we couldn’t rule out the possibility that the cartoons were somehow making the music themselves. “What if you went to their concert and a bunch of cartoons came out onstage?” I specifically remember Gary asking that one, and I specifically remember being completely stumped. “How can you like a band that’s just cartoons?” Another tough one. For now, let’s table it. How can you like a band that’s just cartoons? Popular music has always been good at producing inversions. What had been fresh quickly becomes trite. Sounds that had grown stale return cooler, more exciting than ever. Audiences push for new songs, but the songs also remake their audiences. Sometimes you realize that the most subversive thing is the one right in front of you. Other times, years later, you realize that the cartoon band that blew your mind when you were a kid is really part of a tradition that begins with chipmunks singing Christmas carols. In 1958, the producer Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., stage name David Seville, recorded “Witch Doctor,” a straight-forward rock song about woman who wouldn’t return the singer’s affection. In the verse, the witch doctor of the title reveals a magic spell that will make the woman fall in love with the singer; the chorus is the spell, pitched up in a style we’ve come to associate with singing chipmunks and Kanye West beats from the early 2000s. The single stayed at Number One for three weeks, and on Halloween of the same year, Seville recorded a holiday-themed follow-up, “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late).” This time, he turned the squeaky voices into individual characters, rodents named Simon, Alvin and Theodore, and included their images on the sleeve of the 45. So were born Alvin and the Chipmunks. They are, of course, still with us, as is the combination of love and hate that greeted their reception. “The Chipmunk Song” won three Grammys and returned Seville to the top of the Hot 100. Yet when it faced American Bandstand‘s “Rate-A-Record” jury, it received the lowest score possible. The golden age of the cartoon band began about a decade later, its biggest hits faced with the same combination of success and disgust. But pop doesn’t tally the No votes, only the Yesses, and in 1969, year of Abbey Road and “Everyday People,” the Archies’ “Sugar, Sugar” was the top song in both the U.S. and U.K. Written by 16-year-old Andy Kim and Brill Building mainstay Jeff Barry, the song was originally sent to live-action TV band the Monkees. They passed, and so it went to an animated TV band: the Archies, a group composed of the kids from the Archie comics. They didn’t really exist, but over the next few years the Archies stood as one of the most imitated bands in pop. Suddenly, kids around the country learned that their favorite Saturday morning cartoon characters secretly doubled as skilled musicians, and a handful of shows attempted pop crossover. Bob Stanley, in his book Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!: The Story of Pop Music from Bill Haley to Beyoncé, provides the following list of Archies-style spin-offs: the Groovie Goolies, the Hardy Boys, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids, the Banana Splits (“actually live action with actors in animal costumes and dubbed speaking voices”), the Cattanooga Cats, the Chan Clan, the Neptunes and Josie and and the Pussycats, who were originally published in a series under Archie Comics. The Groovie Goolies had tunes. Even the Harlem Globetrotters got in on the action, supplementing their own cartoon series with a cartoon album—an album based on and illustrated with their cartoon personas rather than their real-life ones. In a song that remains relevant, a Jackson 5 rip-off penned by Neil Sedaka, they brag about using their hoop skills to jump over border walls as they try to bed women from around the world. The Jackson Five, incidentally, were themselves recast as cartoon band for their TV series The Jackson 5ive. The Osmond Brothers, the Partridge Family and the Brady Bunch also underwent the transition to cartoon band as well. The Sugar Bears, meanwhile, became the first cartoon band based on characters originally created to advertised breakfast cereal. (Their LP is said to be a cult classic.) Best song by a cartoon meant to sell cereal. In the anthology Bubblegum Music is the Truth, the television writer Mark Evanier explains why his industry found these crossovers so useful. “Because of the way the cartoons were sold to the advertisers, frequently sold before the show even was finished, there became a very strong interest in programming cartoon shows that existed in other media…. There was a dislike of shows that were ‘only’ shows.” Record companies found these acts similarly advantageous. “One of the things that made the Archies the envy of a lot of other people in the music business was that the Archies were anonymous, the Archies were owned. The Archies couldn’t hold out for more money.” So the fantasy worlds grew. Records, once intended to preserve the sound of real life musicians, were now leading kids into fictions that pushed them to the side. The trend seemed to represent every excess of the top-down culture industry: fake artists playing anodyne songs, pushed onto kids. For those concerned with rock’s place in the counterculture, groups like the Archies presented an enigma. “There’s something inherently even violent about [rock and roll], it’s wild and raw and all this,” the critic Lester Bangs told interviewer Sue Matthews, asked about whether rock could be inherently subversive. “On the other hand, the fact is that ‘Sugar Sugar’ is great rock and roll, and there’s nothing rebellious about that at all. I mean, that’s right from the belly and heart of capitalism.” Bangs names a tension that has helped drive pop music ever since. Subcultural arbiters have often tried to enforce purity, insisting that it can only be one or the other, raw violence or sugar sugar, but it’s striking how many artists have allowed these two extremes to sit side-by-side, unresolved, just as Bangs did. After the Archies, it took Bob Marley and the Wailers less than a year to record their own reggae cover of “Sugar, Sugar.” Years later, even more unexpectedly, the Marley embellished the hook to “Buffalo Soldier,” a song about the so-called Negro Calvary regiments that fought with the United States Army in the American Indian Wars, with some La-La-Las that immediately recall the theme song for the Banana Splits. Thus bands like the Archies made an unexpectedly profoundly impact on pop music. But what of the Archies—the cartoons—themselves? For most of the last 50 years, the concept of the cartoon band has been in disrepute, rarely revived even as golden age groups like Josie and the Pussycats became the source material for live-action remakes. (As if to prove the earlier point, Josie and the Pussycats were themselves recast as punks.) Jem, a creation of Hasbro and Marvel, remade the cartoon band for the mid-‘80s; this time, the specter of punk manifested itself in Jem’s rivals, the Misfits. A Canadian group called Prozzäk, the name inspired by the antidepressant, found some success in the late ‘90s. Yet the cartoon band didn’t return to the fore of popular music, its forum the fifth grade lunch table, until Gorillaz released “Clint Eastwood” in the spring of 2001. Still, the return was an ironic one. For animated bands like the Archies, animation tended to simplify the presentation of the music. This was music without musicians, and thus music that was unburdened by authorship in the traditional sense. “Sugar, Sugar,” though technically the product of a TV show, seems to float in its own realm, with no connection to personal expression of a particular singer. As a medium for the music, the Archies left as few marks as possible. Gorillaz went in the other direction, using animation not to free their songs but to complicate them further. The cartoons set up a game, and it’s never been clear how seriously the game is being played. It’s hard to tell just how much distance the irony is creating, in part because both the distance and the irony are both always changing. This was true all the way back to “Clint Eastwood,” a tune that expresses neither the joy of the pop song nor the anguish of the power ballad. More prozak than even Prozzäk, it’s hard to say the song expresses much at all. The character 2D, voiced here by Damon Albarn, drifts down a paranoid trip-hop beat; his best remembered line—”I ain’t happy, I’m feeling glad”—describes a spiritless sort of SSRI normal, an artificial tranquil after pop’s bubble burst. Albarn first dreamed up Gorillaz in the mid-‘90s, when he was roommates with the illustrator Jamie Hewlett, creator of the comic Tank Girl. The friends envisioned their project as a boy band parody. This frequently came up in Gorillaz’s early interviews, but, in another meta trick, Albarn had the characters themselves object to his idea. “Because we’re cartoon characters, I’m sure we’ll come up against some prejudice,” the fictional bassist Murdoc “told” Spin, who in turn described him as the “Lou Pearlman-like mastermind” behind the group. “Don’t compare us to boy bands,” he continued. “We ain’t no ‘N Sync.” Gorillaz parodied the excess of the star system, the current state of pop. This is another thing that makes Gorillaz unique: The old cartoon bands knew their place, and they certainly didn’t contradict human interlocutors. They were, for the most part, confined to records, television and perhaps comics or advertising, maybe lunch boxes too. Gorillaz, on the other hand, give the impression that they’ll continue to exist—work, hang out, spray paint—even after the magazine is closed and the videotape ejected. Thus they seem to live not in the mediums but in them, almost as if they were a product of media circulation itself. Which is maybe just to say that they were the first animated band to take full advantage of the internet and explore its possibilities. In the only 2000s, the music press was particularly enamored with this aspect of the band, frequently stressing the interactive capability of gorillaz.com. The site’s format recalled that of the web comic Homestar Runner; fans could explore Gorillaz’s cartoon studio or log on to Gorillaz’s cartoon computers, where they could read fictional intraband emails. Sample email: “2d, you are gay! MuRdoc.” More importantly, the Gorillaz website gave fans to the tools to remix the group’s songs. Here the idea of the animated band pivots. At the end of the ‘60s, these groups exemplified the corporate control of popular culture. But in encouraging their audience to participate in music making, Gorillaz created the possibility of an anti-corporate animated band. This move places the concept of the animated band at the cutting edge of remix culture and the opening of a new creative economy diffused through the internet. Gorillaz parodied the excess of the star system, the current state of pop. In doing so they showed where the cartoon band was heading next. I attended my first animated concert in May of 2016. A cartoon did, in fact, walk out onstage, though I guess technically she was a hologram, and you could see a few virtuoso live musicians shadowed in the background. The artist—here the term bears even less weight than it did for Gorillaz—was Hatsune Miku, a holographic teenager who can be programmed using “vocaloid” computer software. In the words of her developer, the Japanese audio firm Crypton Future Media, Miku is a “beloved collaboratively constructed cyber celebrity with a growing user community across the world.” Her name translates to “first sound of the future.” This future began in 2007, when the product was introduced in Japan. Other vocaloid programs had beat Miku to the market, but Miku was the first to add a visual element, a character to be the face of the music. Originally, the character was assigned a backstory not too far from the post-apocalyptic vision of Gorillaz and Demon Days. Miku, in this version, was doubly artificial: an android who learns how to sing in a near-future in which all previous songs had been lost.
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia’s parliament could pass measures on Monday paving the way for a 33 percent rise in the country’s fuel prices to reduce a government subsidy bill that has cast a shadow over Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. A petrol station attendant fills fuel into her customer's car at a petrol station in Jakarta April 30, 2013. REUTERS/Supri If passed, the measures could also restore some confidence in the struggling rupiah after the central bank scrambled last week to prop up the currency as it was caught in an emerging market selloff. Jakarta shares and the rupiah were steady in early trading. Raising fuel prices has been seen as a key test of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s commitment to economic reform in the final 1-1/2 years of his term as prospects for continued rapid economic growth have started to soften. Student and labor union groups have promised to protest across the country against the proposed increase. But by early morning, and after torrential rain, there was little sign of protesters gathering outside parliament. About 20,000 security officials had been placed on alert in case of mass protests, media reports quoted police officials as saying. Protests have marked previous attempts to raise fuel prices. Maintaining the subsidy has undermined the government’s reputation in financial markets for fiscal discipline and also contributed to a deepening current account deficit. Still the rate rises, and a fuel price increase, would on the other hand raise the cost of living for Indonesians, a sensitive issue ahead of presidential and general elections next year. On Saturday, about 70 percent of members of the parliamentary budget committee backed 2013 budget revisions. If these are passed by a full session of parliament on Monday, they will pave the way for the fuel price rise. The measures include some 9 trillion rupiah ($910 million) in compensation for the poor to protect them from the initial impact of a planned average fuel price increase of 33 percent. Yudhoyono has insisted parliament make that money available before he cuts fuel subsidies, which last year cost the former OPEC member some $20 billion. The finance ministry has said the price rises could save the state about $4 billion if they are implemented this month. “I believe the fuel price increase will be next week,” the Kompas daily website quoted National Planning Minister Armida Alisjahbana as saying on Saturday. Rumors late last week that Jakarta was about to raise fuel prices helped lift the rupiah off its lowest level against the dollar in almost four years as the currency came under fire from investors cutting their emerging market exposure over uncertainty in the future of U.S. monetary policy. The pressure on the rupiah and concerns of the inflationary impact of costlier fuel, prompted surprise increases in two of the central bank’s key interest rates last week. The finance ministry has warned that growing demand for subsidized fuel, unless prices rise, could exceed 3 percent of GDP. The initial budget had put the deficit at just 1.6 percent. Pointing to concerns over stalling reform momentum, ratings agency Standard & Poor’s early last month downgraded its outlook for Indonesia’s sovereign credit to stable from positive. The move was especially galling for the Indonesian government because at the same time S&P upgraded its rating for the neighboring Philippines. While Indonesia’s technocrats have been shouting for fuel prices to rise, the issue has become largely hostage to politics ahead of next year’s elections. Of the three parties to oppose the measure in Saturday’s budget committee meeting, one was ruling coalition member PKS, the country’s biggest Muslim party. Analysts say the PKS is hoping to use the issue to divert attention from allegations that senior party members were involved in a beef import scam and sexual impropriety, charges which threaten to wreck its election hopes next year. ($1=9,882 rupiah)
EMAIL THIS PAGE TO A FRIEND (Submitted by a reader) I have kidded for decades about the fact that in my ministerial years I have met at least 23 of the Two Witnesses. One felt he was both of them, thus the odd number. I remember going with a minister to a home in Idaho once where the woman heard the voice of God often in her head. She had a young baby so the minister asked me to tend to the baby while he talked to her about her visions and voices. The baby had not had a diaper change in a pretty long time, so I took care of that in the kitchen while the minister tried to help her. Seems she was killing chickens on the farm and trying to resurrect them…without much luck. We never made any connection to the danger and I doubt either of us understood the symptoms of schizophrenia, but I do now. After that, I returned to Ambassador for my last year and was reading the LA Times in the lounge before breakfast. My eye fell on a small article about a woman in a small town in Idaho who was found sitting in her car on a Mountain top waiting for Jesus to return. I knew the name. They found the baby dead on the farm. Or should I say, still dead. From the Bible we find a man once laid on his right side for 390 straight days and then flipped over for another 40 because the voice in his head told him to. He built little models of Jerusalem in the sand and laid siege to a stone with a pot (Ez. 4). He even cooked his food with human waste (Ez. 4:9) and dug a hole in his own home and squeezed himself through it with his possessions on his back (Ez. 12). His name was Ezekiel. Maybe he was traumatized by the captivity or the destruction of the symbol of all that was holy and stable to him, the temple. He died forever ago and lots of the stuff he said was going to happen never really did far as we can tell. I hear a lot of minister types quoting him 2500 years later as if you can read the newspaper and immediately see what Ezekiel was talking about. I guess if they lay siege to a rock, lay on their sides for a year or more and give up charcoal for human waste at cookouts, …well…ewwww. Time to find another church. I know most will say that God told him to do these things….but think about what you are saying. Would you say that about Andrea Yates who God told to drown her kids or Mijailo Mijailovic who killed the Swedish Foreign Minister, Anna Lindh, saying when asked who told him to do it, "I think it was Jesus. That he has chosen me”? An Old Testament character, Moses, went up into the mountains a few times because the voice in his head that no one else could hear, called him up for a meeting. He said it was God, but when he came back down the mountain carrying , what he said were the rules from the voice in his head, he ordered the murder of 3000 more pretty nice people, men women and children for not patiently waiting for him. And these people had already had a pretty tough time getting out of Egypt doing what the voice in this guys head told him to do. He had friends killing friends and families. Bummer… that was a heck of a lot of drama and walking for nothing. From what I understand, hardly anyone who fled Dodge City, Egypt believing the voices in this man’s head ever made it to the Promise Land. I’m not sure the story really happened, which would be a relief. I just can’t imagine this as a good way to begin their understanding of “Thou Shalt Not Kill.” This same fellow, was pretty sure that the voice spoke to him from bushes in the desert too. Not a good sign in the world of mental health types . Yet again, an Old Testament figure called Abraham, decides to take his only son, up the mountain and kill him as a sacrifice. Perhaps a weird way to say thanks for the son that he could never have before. But I’d think that was going a bit too far. Reminds me of cutting off the nose to spite the face. Anyway, the voice in his head said to and then decided it was only kidding. The child, who probably refused ever again to go on any “just a campout” with dad , was replaced by an animal conveniently stuck in a nearby bush. What’s the chance of that! I can’t imagine Isaac every quite trusted ol’ dad again. There was a guy who married a prostitute because the voice told him to. We had to drop the standard laws of marriage for this one, but its ok if you are doing it for God. Man was his wife mad about that! The guy even began to think he was a reincarnated form of the guy before him who talked to the bush. Tons of people obeyed this guy for a time, but usually not for very long. Hosea I think. The more I think about it, the more I have to admit that voices in the heads of people I never met, and no one at that time could hear themselves, have played a really big role in who gets the final say in religion. What if…Nah. Paul in the New Testament fell off a donkey when he heard a voice in his head about giving Jesus a hard time in his old job. He even saw a flash of light in his head, brighter than the sun and it was already noon when this happened! That’s pretty darn bright! When people in the Bible light up, it’s ALWAYS brighter than the sun. You’d think more people would notice. The others either heard the voice but did not see the light, or saw the light but not the voice, stood up, or all fell down depending on the story your read in the Bible. The voice in Paul’s head told him it was time to change jobs and he’d get his vision back from a guy in town if he did what he was told. Today we might say he had all the symptoms of a sunstroke or maybe even temporal lobe epilepsy where voices and flashes are pretty darn common along with an intense sense of morality that others must get in tune with. Paul went on to write most of the New Testament and continue to tell people nothing about any real Jesus he had ever met. No stories, no miracles, no teachings, nothing about the 12 guys Jesus had to follow him, and I would expect to have passed the teachings on to others. Maybe even write something about Jesus, after all there were 12 of them! But alas, they didn’t much and we have no clue what happened to that bunch. It’s all hearsay. Some say that they were merely a symbol of the twelve signs of the zodiac surrounding the central sun/son, and not real people, but let’s not go there. Paul spoke volumes about the one who spoke to him in his head and he saw often in visions. When he gave the instructions for eating the body and blood of Jesus, he said very plainly Jesus himself told him about the details of that. Paul never met the real Jesus so I’m pretty sure he meant in vision. When he said, “have I not seen the Lord?” he didn’t mean in person. He meant in his visions. He even took a trip to the third heaven, but said the stuff he saw was too much to share at this time…Hey! At any rate, Paul ends up in Rome for some unnamed offense and disappears. Sometimes I think his death or execution must have been an embarrassment to the church as the last we hear of him, he is under house arrest having a pretty good time. I’m sure they knew how it ended for the guy and why, but it might have annoyed the early Christians to know the truth of it all, so they left it out. I even heard or read in the book of Mark that Jesus mom and brothers came down to Jerusalem to get him because THEY thought he was “mad.” I don’t think they thought he was angry, but rather a bit daft. Jesus kind of blew them off in a way that would have got me slapped by my dad for being so rude to mom. It was like he didn’t know them. Mary had evidently completely forgotten about his wonderful birth story and all those great things she kept and pondered in her heart. Besides he had to do what the voice in his head said. Later, other guys who wrote about Jesus dropped this hot little tale and told a really cute story about how Jesus came to be. God himself had visited her, well no, I guess the Holy Spirit did. You know the third thing in the Trinity and she was pregnant by no less than the Deity. She burst into song about this in Luke and seemed to know that Jesus was literally “fully God and fully man”, whatever that means. I can understand one thing being fully something, but not two things being fully the same thing but different and coequal but not. Oh never mind. Church talk. I guess it’s one of those mysteries we hear about when one story leads to the next and we tie ourselves in a knot, wrapped in a enigma, coated with cheese. Matthew tells a great story of Jesus birth, different from Luke’s, but at least they cleaned up that embarrassing tale about Jesus being hauled away by his family for being nuts. Mark must have been mistaken according to Matthew and Luke, but Mark was the embarrassing story and came before the cute story, I suspect it had a ring of truth to it, at least as Mary saw it. Sometimes I wonder if Jesus was so anxiety ridden not to know who his real father was that he took mom literal when she got tired of him asking and said “God is your father.” Who knows? I always found it interesting that the poor kid in the New Testament who threw himself in both the fire and water often, or maybe just fell in them when this hit him, cried out, foamed at the mouth and then recovered pretty quickly when the demon was put out, had all the symptoms of infantile epilepsy. Every one! Some say his cursing trees for having no fruit at a time of year when there is not supposed to be fruit, or attacking the legitimate money changers in the temple who really were simply changing pagan money into temple scrip for the purchase of sacrifices, were not good signs of quality mental health. That last act probably got him killed by the Romans, though somehow it ended up being the Jews fault. I guess it was easier and a bit wiser to blame the Jews who could not hurt you, rather than the Romans who could kill you. At any rate, this temper thing is not a good sign of good mental health. As long as we are on the topic... I always found it interesting that the poor kid in the New Testament who threw himself in both the fire and water often, or maybe just fell in them when this hit him, cried out, foamed at the mouth and then recovered pretty quickly when the demon was put out, had all the symptoms of infantile epilepsy. Every one! I wonder how people back then would treat a kid with epilepsy! It runs its course in about 30 minutes so it would sure appear that the old demon was banished. I also wondered as a kid, what a kid would have to do to get a real demon lurking in his body. Must have been some weak minded kid to let that happen. I remember as a kid hoping no demon would jump on me. I’d vote infantile epilepsy and not blame the folks of 2000 years ago for not knowing the symptoms or how it manifested. Anyway, the demon was put out, but we don’t know if it ever came back. Jesus had a hard time doing this stuff in his hometown because a prophet has no honor in his own town or with his own family. Well duh! They know you pretty darn well and got so concerned they came down to retrieve you for your own good, if you believe Mark. Of course he blamed the weak faith of the group, but maybe that’s because they all know you so well and aren’t easily convinced. I mean, if Jesus was God, really, really, really GOD, would the force be thwarted just because the neighbors who knew you as a kid had a hard time accepting that? I think not! Since when does being God in the flesh depend on the acceptance of the people who know you best? I once read a story about Jesus where, as a child he kills another playmate for some offense towards him. Gosh, I hope that didn’t really happen but I can see why it never made the cut. I guess Jesus could have heard about Moses knocking off the Egyptian for picking on a buddy and God said it was ok to express your anger that way if you need to. Jesus also got rid of a whole legion of demons in a man that lived in a cemetery, naked and was really an angry guy that was so strong he broke the chains they tried to bind him in. I guess that was sorta the lithium of the times…chains. Anyway, aside from this man having every symptom of schizophrenia, all the demons got thrown into a herd of pigs and they ran down into the sea from a town no where near the sea and drown. Kind of a marathon run and by the time they got there, they’d be skinny and pooped out pigs. But this is another story. Boy, I bet that made the farmer mad at Jesus! Of course, this would not be a Jewish farmer so it’s ok. In the OT, if you found some animal that was defective, you couldn’t eat it yourself, but you could sell it to the pagans, so hey, not your problemo. Anyway….I guess we could really wonder about the book of Revelation... Whoa…that is some good drugs! Whoever wrote that was one angry human being… Death, destruction, fire, plagues, trombones, vials and all sorts of stuff pour out on everyone! This Jesus is not such a nice guy. Sometimes I get to thinking the one in the Gospels can’t possibly be the same one as the guy in Revelation, but that’s what they say. The one in Revelation seems like an end stage schizophrenic gone amuck. I’m not sure I could be comfy in heaven or the kingdom with one who could be so freaking mean to everyone except those special ones. I always felt a few seminars or maybe a refresher type program would send a kinder gentler message, instead of all the butt kicking, death and destruction. Maybe a nice lunch between encouraging sessions and a Luau in the evening where we could all marvel at actually meeting the real God and Jesus. And hey…if the presenter is really God or Jesus come down…I mean really really…I’d listen and be good. But alas, this Jesus in Revelation is a case…maybe literally. It’s just one big vision in someone’s head hearing voices again that others can’t hear and seeing things others don’t see. Makes me nervous. And people today base their entire life perspective on a vindictive vision expressed almost as a “oh yeah, well this is what you get for not believing me.” Nuther symptom. Vengeance. Someone once asked what’s the difference between a Bible Prophet or Christian fundamentalist and a paranoid schizophrenic? Well, one hears voices in their head, has a heightened moral code, is judgmental yet can be very deceptive and manipulative, has delusions of being on a mission from God, sees things that no one else present sees, hears things that one else hears, sees lights in his head, is the center of the universe and has special knowledge that must be kept secret until the right time an then can only be understood as explained by the one. The other, of course, is a paranoid schizophrenic. I had a close friend in high school who in college came down with the classic symptoms of schizophrenia. Very intelligent but all of a sudden was overcome with the chemistry of schizophrenia that comes mostly between 18 and 35. He simply could not function in this world. His perceptions and his reality were far different than even he could understand. He died in his chair, alone in a dingy apartment last year. I wish I had gone to see him. Nice kid. What if most, some or even ONE of the characters of religion, are humans who suffered from certifiable mental illnesses? What if some get followings because they are so darn fascinating and in combo with reading the Bible can seem so right? Perhaps we are dealing with traumatized human beings and their coping mechanisms. Schizophrenic and paraphrenic personalities can be brilliant yet fragile. A narcissist can rise to amazing heights of success and productivity. They can have “beautiful minds” and be very very ill. They make great dictators and Televangelists. We know more now than we did 3000 years ago. And yet when it comes to the Bible and those who declare themselves the special men of God, we go as blind as Paul claimed to go on the road to Damascus. (Even though Paul himself never says this was the mechanism of his conversion. Perhaps even worse, like Jeremiah and Jesus, he was called before birth in the womb as he notes in Galatians.) Pretty darn special! And yet we can allow that kind of perspective to be religious when today, we would get very uncomfortable with a real person saying that about themselves. What seems ok as long as it is in the distant past becomes freaky if in the present. Many who turned away from Paul or an Ezekiel may have had that gut level discomfort. I doubt anyone today would feel a religious zealot who cooked dinner with his own dung would be anything but twelve short of a dozen. Why is this an issue? Because a minister, maybe sincere, and maybe simply mentally unstable or delusional can hide in the ministry much better than he can hide at IBM. A minister that is prolific, charismatic while also dictatorial and delusional looks spiritual and obedient. The quirkiness is mistaken for spirituality and obedience to God. They have the ability to be deceivingly compassionate one minute and intensely angry at anything and everyone the next. They don’t like to be contradicted, corrected nor have their mental processes questioned. They NEVER take personality tests! How is it that normal human beings, who have accurate perceptions about the mental instability of some at work, then lose that instinct at church? The quirkiness at work becomes the spiritually desirable trait in church! Go figure! When Alexander Haig declared himself in charge of the government after the Reagan shooting, he was torn to shreds for his misstep and is still trying to explain it. But when a pastor type declares himself a “Watcher” or an “Apostle” or a Prophet or incredibly more special than the average human, it gets swallowed hook, line and sinker? What if the behaviors recorded thousands of years ago that has been the basis for so much religious zealotry is simply better understood in the context of mental illness? We always say if it walks like a duck, looks like a duck and swims like a duck, there is a good chance we may be dealing with a duck. When it comes to religion however we change our perceptions. If it walks like a narcissist, if it talks like a Para or schizophrenic and if it has all the symptoms of temporal lobe epilepsy, it must be a man of God! What if some of the many heroes of faith, even some of the biggies, were simply mentally ill as we understand it today? Wow…what a thought! Makes you think doesn’t it?
More than 100 Harvard undergraduates are under investigation for allegedly plagiarizing on a certain class’ final take-home exam last spring. The class? Government 1310: “Introduction to Congress.”The Harvard Crimson, a student newspaper, reported Thursday that nearly half of the 279 students who took the course, taught by professor Matthew Platt, are now under scrutiny from Harvard College’s disciplinary board. Dean of Undergraduate Education Jay Harris called the the alleged cheating incident “unprecedented in anyone’s living memory.” According to the Crimson, Platt noticed similarities in “10 to 20” exams back in May, and brought them to the attention of the school’s Administrative Board. The Board then reviewed each final exam submitted in the course, and concluded that 125 were suspicious. “These allegations, if proven, represent totally unacceptable behavior that betrays the trust upon which intellectual inquiry at Harvard depends,” Harvard President Drew Faust said in a statement obtained by the Associated Press. Read the whole story here.
ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay — His speeches can blend biblical fury with apocalyptic doom. Pope Francis does not just criticize the excesses of global capitalism. He compares them to the “dung of the devil.” He does not simply argue that systemic “greed for money” is a bad thing. He calls it a “subtle dictatorship” that “condemns and enslaves men and women.” Having returned to his native Latin America, Francis has renewed his left-leaning critiques on the inequalities of capitalism, describing it as an underlying cause of global injustice, and a prime cause of climate change. Francis escalated that line last week when he made a historic apology for the crimes of the Roman Catholic Church during the period of Spanish colonialism — even as he called for a global movement against a “new colonialism” rooted in an inequitable economic order. The Argentine pope seemed to be asking for a social revolution. “This is not theology as usual; this is him shouting from the mountaintop,” said Stephen F. Schneck, the director of the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic studies at Catholic University of America in Washington. The last pope who so boldly placed himself at the center of the global moment was John Paul II, who during the 1980s pushed the church to confront what many saw as the challenge of that era, communism. John Paul II’s anti-Communist messaging dovetailed with the agenda of political conservatives eager for a tougher line against the Soviets and, in turn, aligned part of the church hierarchy with the political right.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A rogue ex-police officer testifying against drug squad colleagues in a federal corruption trial in Philadelphia admits he committed “thousands” of crimes during his career. Former city officer Jeffrey Walker says his squad routinely lied in court after planting drugs in suspects’ cars or stealing their bundles of cash. Walker acknowledged Wednesday that his lies led to any number of unjust convictions. He says he didn’t consider the victims “human” because they were drug dealers. At least 160 convictions have been overturned and scores of civil-rights lawsuits filed since Walker’s 2013 plea. He says his undercover unit targeted white, college-type dealers because they were easily intimidated. The 46-year-old Walker is trying to avoid a life sentence with his testimony against six former colleagues. Defense lawyers call him a lying outcast. Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A Lawrence, Massachusetts, police officer was arrested late Thursday night for attempting to use his position as a member of law enforcement to extort cocaine from a drug dealer. John Desantis Jr., 44, of Methuen, was charged in a complaint with unlawfully obtaining property by extortion by threatened force and fear. He is being detained pending a detention hearing on May 31. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Desantis had been purchasing small amounts of cocaine once or twice a week for 10 to 12 months from the drug dealer without identifying himself as a police officer. Then on May 16, during a drug transaction at his home, he displayed his gun and badge, seized the cocaine and threatened to arrest the drug dealer if he didn't continue supplying him with drugs. Desantis allegedly texted the drug dealer, saying "you will not be arrested at all if you do as I tell you to." Lawrence Police Chief James Fitzpatrick said his department became aware of the allegations several days ago and assisted the FBI in its investigation. An internal investigation into the allegations has also been opened. Desantis has worked for the Lawrence Police Department since 1999, but has been out on leave since February of 2015 due to a non-work-related illness, police said. The department's application to involuntary retire him has been pending with the retirement board since February, Fitzpatrick said. "We are glad that federal law enforcement was able to apprehend this individual," Lawrence Mayor Daniel Rivera said in a statement. "While we hope that Mr. Desantis gets the help he needs, his arrest contniues to increase the credibility and professionalism of the Lawrence Police Department." He said he hopes that the actions of this one officer will not "overshadow the stellar things that our police department does as a whole."
Get the biggest Everton FC stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email Ronald Koeman is well aware of Everton’s storied history - but he now might be wondering if it will have to repeat itself. It was three-and-a-half years ago, right at the end of David Moyes’ reign, when the Blues manager urged Kevin Mirallas to toughen up. Perhaps Koeman may have to send that same message to Gerard Deulofeu. Moyes asked Mirallas to show greater resolve after becoming concerned that he wasn’t capable of coping with the attention a fleet-footed, speedy and talented forward gets in the Premier League. The Belgium, Moyes said, was often signalling to the bench that he needed to come off in games because of “niggles”. Deulofeu’s problem, however, is that isn’t giving Koeman enough reason to keep him on. The burning issue for the 22-year-old, like Mirallas, is about how he copes with the rigours of the top flight but, in the Catalan’s case, it’s specifically to do with his willingness to put his foot in. The key to Deulofeu being a success at Everton under Koeman is in his head. The talented winger has the ability, few would argue otherwise, to be a threat to any Premier League defence, he’s shown plenty of times. But as Koeman has shone the spotlight on Everton’s deficiencies since his arrival, he has shown everybody that wingers need to offer much more. Deulofeu was publicly criticised by his manager earlier in the season for not running hard enough but now Koeman must surely be telling him he needs to tackle harder as well. We’ve all seen it. The infuriating, pull-your-hair-out moment when Deulofeu pulls out of a 50-50. It drives you mad. It sent Koeman apoplectic during the Blues’ pre-season game with Manchester United. At Man City, Deulofeu was slipping back into old habits. During the first-half, he lacked the conviction in the tackle that could so easily have turned a number of 50-50 situations into Everton getting in behind City and hitting them on the counter-attack. He wouldn’t necessarily have won them all, he may not have won any. But what Evertonians and Koeman want to see is that he is willing to put his body on the line, in places where he may get hurt, in the hope that he may come out of a challenge with the ball. Frustratingly, he showed that desire at Sunderland in September. After winning a challenge on the edge of Everton’s area he launched a counter-attack that eventually led to Romelu Lukaku’s first goal. The way Deulofeu speaks these days, with real maturity, is impressive. The Catalan Kid is growing up, for sure, and the way he was keen to divert his pre-game interview last week, about Barcelona and Pep Guardiola, back onto Everton and his hopes and aspirations here, was testament to that. He was saying all the right things. Now he needs to do all the right things. And that means allying his wonderful, match-winning ability with the ball, with a steely edge. Like Mirallas was told. it may be time for Deulofeu to toughen up.
Suicide legislation by country Suicide and assisted suicide illegal Suicide legal, assisted suicide illegal Suicide and assisted suicide legal Suicide legal, assisted suicide legality varies by administrative division Suicide is a crime in some parts of the world.[1] However, while suicide has been decriminalized in the western countries, the act is still stigmatized and discouraged. In other contexts, suicide could be utilized as an extreme expression of liberty, as is exemplified by its usage as an expression of devout dissent towards perceived tyranny or injustice which occurred occasionally in cultures like ancient Rome or medieval Japan. While a person who has died by suicide is beyond the reach of the law, there can still be legal consequences in the cases of treatment of the corpse or the fate of the person's property or family members. The associated matters of assisting a suicide and attempting suicide have also been dealt with by the laws of some jurisdictions. Some countries criminalise suicide attempts. Historically, laws against suicide and mercy killing have developed from religious doctrine, for example, the claim that only God has the right to determine when a person will die. History [ edit ] In ancient Athens, a person who had died by suicide (without the approval of the state) was denied the honours of a normal burial. The person would be buried alone, on the outskirts of the city, without a headstone or marker.[2] A criminal ordinance issued by Louis XIV in 1670 was far more severe in its punishment: the dead person's body was drawn through the streets, face down, and then hung or thrown on a garbage heap. Additionally, all of the person's property was confiscated.[3] The 'Burial of Suicide Act' of 1823 abolished the legal requirement in England of burying suicides at crossroads.[4][5] Even in modern times, legal penalties for the act of suicide have not been uncommon. By 1879, English law had begun to distinguish between suicide and homicide, though suicide still resulted in forfeiture of estate. Also, the deceased were permitted daylight burial in 1882.[citation needed] Assisted suicide [ edit ] In many jurisdictions it is a crime to assist others, directly or indirectly, in taking their own lives. In some jurisdictions, it is also illegal to encourage them to do so. Sometimes an exception applies for physician assisted suicide (PAS), under strict conditions. Laws in individual jurisdictions (table) [ edit ] Africa [ edit ] Country/region De jure Penalty Notes Suicide Assisted suicide Euthanasia Algeria Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Angola Legal Illegal Illegal Article 141. (Instigation or help to murder) Whoever instigates another person to commit suicide and this is consummated or actually tried shall be punished with imprisonment penalty up to 3 years. Whoever, in the same circumstances, is limited to provide assistance to the person who decided to commit suicide shall be punished with imprisonment up to 2 years or a fine of up to 240 days. [6] Botswana Legal Illegal Illegal Article 207. Suicide pacts (1) It shall be manslaughter, and shall not be murder, for a person acting in pursuance of a suicide pact between him and another to kill the other or be a party to the other killing himself or being killed by a third person. (2) Where it is shown that a person charged with the murder of another killed the other or was a party to his killing himself or being killed, it shall be for the defence to prove that the person charged was acting in pursuance of a suicide pact between him and the other. (3) For the purposes of this section, "suicide pact" means a common agreement between two or more persons having for its object the death of all of them, whether or not each is to take his own life, but nothing done by a person who enters into a suicide pact shall be treated as done by him in pursuance of the pact unless it is done while he has the settled intention of dying in pursuance of the pact. Article 222. Aiding suicide Any person who (a) procures another to kill himself; (b) counsels another to kill himself and thereby induces him to do so; or (c) aids another in killing himself, is guilty of an offence and is liable to imprisonment for life. [7] Burundi Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Cameroon Legal Illegal Illegal Article 275. Murder Whoever causes another's death shall be punished with imprisonment for life. [8] Cape Verde Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Central African Republic Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Comoros Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Egypt Legal Illegal Illegal Article 47. The felonies whereof the attempt is liableto punishment and also the penalty for that attempt shall be legally defined. [9][10] Equatorial Guinea Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Eritrea Legal Illegal Illegal Art. 280. -Assisting Suicide. (1) A person who, for any selfish or base motive, intentionally helps, advises or incites another person to commit suicide, is, where the suicide is attempted, guilty of assisting suicide, a Class 9 serious offence, punishable with a definite term of imprisonment of not less than 1 year and not more than 3 years. (2) Where death results from a person‟s actions under sub-Article (1), or knew that the person who attempted to commit suicide is partially or completely irresponsible, sick or a minor person, is guilty of assisting suicide, a Class 8 serious offence, punishable with a definite term of imprisonment of not less than 3 years and not more than 5 years. [11] Ethiopia Legal Illegal Illegal Art. 542. - Instigating or Aiding another to commit Suicide. (1) Whoever instigates another to commit suicide, or aids him to do so, is punishable with simple imprisonment where the suicide is attempted, and with rigorous imprisonment not exceeding five years where it is consummated. (2) Where the person who has been instigated or aided to commit suicide had not attained the age of majority, or had no capacity because of mental illness or senility, the punishment to be imposed upon the instigator or assistant shall be rigorous imprisonment not exceeding five years, where the suicide is attempted, and rigorous imprisonment not exceeding ten years, where it is consummated. Gabon Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Gambia Illegal Illegal Illegal Unknown [12] Ghana Illegal Illegal Illegal Section 57—Abetment of Suicide. Attempted Suicide. (1) Whoever abets the commission of suicide by any person shall whether or not the suicide be actually committed, be guilty of first degree felony. (2) Whoever attempts to commit suicide shall be guilty of a misdemeanour. [13] Guinea-Bissau Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Kenya Illegal Illegal Illegal 209. Suicide pacts (1) It shall be manslaughter, and shall not be murder, for a person acting in pursuance of a suicide pact between him and another to kill the other or be a party to the other killing himself or being killed by a third person. (2) Where it is shown that a person charged with the murder of another killed the other or was a party to his killing himself or being killed, it shall be for the defence to prove that the person charged was acting in pursuance of a suicide pact between him and the other. (3) For the purposes of this section, “suicide pact” means a common agreement between two or more persons having for its object the death of all of them, whether or not each is to take his own life, but nothing done by a person who enters into a suicide pact shall be treated as done by him in pursuance of the pact unless it is done while he has the settled intention of dying in pursuance of the pact. 225. Aiding suicide Any person who— (a) procures another to kill himself; or (b) counsels another to kill himself and thereby induces him to do so; or (c) aids another in killing himself, is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for life. 226. Attempting suicide Any person who attempts to kill them self is guilty of a misdemeanour. Lesotho Legal Illegal Illegal 37. Counseling and assisting suicide Subject to any written law, a person who - (a)counsels another to kill himself or herself and thereby causes that person to take or attempt to take his or her own life; or (b)assists another in the taking of his or her own life, commits an offence. Libya Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Malawi Illegal Illegal Illegal 228. Aiding suicide Any person who— (a) procures another to kill himself; or (b) counsels another to kill himself and thereby induces him to do so; or (c) aids another in killing himself, is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for life. 229. Attempting suicide Any person who attempts to kill himself shall be guilty of a misdemeanour. Mauritius Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Morocco Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Mozambique Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Myanmar Illegal Illegal Illegal 309. Attempting suicide Whoever attempts to commit suicide, and does any act towards the commission of such offence, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both. Namibia Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Niger Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Nigeria Illegal Illegal Illegal Unknown Republic of the Congo Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Rwanda Legal Illegal Illegal 147. Suicide Suicide shall not be punishable. However, any person who: induces another person to commit suicide; helps other person to commit suicide; provokes another person to commit suicide by inflicting persecution on him/her; shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of two (2) years to five (5) years. Senegal Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Seychelles Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Somalia Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown South Africa Legal Illegal Illegal Art. 525.-Instigating or Aiding another to commit Suicide. (1) Whosoever, for any selfish or any base motive, instigates another to commit suicide, or aids and abets him to do so, is punishable with simple imprisonment of where the suicide is attempted bot not consumated, and with simple imprisonment from one to five years where it is accomplished. (2) Where the person who has committed suicide is partially or completely irresponsible, or had not attained the age of 18 years, the punishment is rigorous imprisonment not exceeding ten years. [14] South Sudan Illegal Illegal Illegal Article 213. Abetment of Suicide. Subject to the provisions of section 214 of this Act, whoever abets any person to commit suicide, commits the offence of abetment of suicide, and upon conviction, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years or with a fine or with both. Article 214. Abetment of Suicide by an Child or an Insane Person. Whoever, abets any person under eighteen years of age, any insane person, delirious person, an idiot or any person in a state of intoxication, to commit suicide, commits an offence, and upon conviction, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for life or with a fine or with both. Article 215. Attempt to Commit Suicide. Whoever, attempts to or engages in any act towards committing suicide, commits an offence, and upon conviction, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year orwith a fine or with both. [15] Sudan Illegal Illegal Illegal Article 213. Abetment of suicide. Subject to the provisions of section 214 of this Act, whoever abets any person to commit suicide, commits the offence of abetment of suicide, and upon conviction, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years or with a fine or with both. Article 215. Attempt to Commit Suicide. SWhoever, attempts to or engages in any act towards committing suicide, commits an offence, and upon conviction, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or with a fine or with both. Swaziland Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Tanzania Illegal Illegal Illegal Article 216. Aiding suicide Any person who— (1) procures another to kill himself; or (2) counsels another to kill himself and thereby induces him to do so; or (3) aids another in killing himself, is guilty of a felony, and is liable to imprisonment for life. Article 217. Attempting suicide. Any person who attempts to kill himself is guilty a misdemeanour. [16] Togo Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Tunisia Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Uganda Illegal Illegal Illegal Article 195. Suicide pacts. It shall be manslaughter and shall not be murder for a person acting in pursuance of a suicide pact between him or her and another to kill the other or be a party to the other killing himself or herself or being killed by a third person. Article 209. Aiding suicide. Any person who— procures another to kill himself or herself; counsels another to kill himself or herself and thereby induces him or her to do so; or (c) aids another in killing himself or herself, commits a felony and is liable to imprisonment for life. Article 210. Attempting suicide. Any person who attempts to kill himself or herself commits a misdemeanour. [17] Western Sahara Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Zambia Legal Illegal Illegal Article 200. Murder Any person who of malice aforethought causes the death of another person by an unlawful act or omission is guilty of murder. [18] Zimbabwe Legal Illegal Illegal Article 50. Inciting or assisting suicide Any person who incites, induces, aids, counsels, procures or provides the means for the suicide or attempted suicide of another person, knowing that the other person intends to commit suicide or realising that there is a real risk or possibility that the other person may commit suicide, shall be guilty of inciting or assisting suicide and liable to a fine up to or exceeding level fourteen, or imprisonment for life or any shorter period, or both such fine and such imprisonment. [19] Americas [ edit ] Asia [ edit ] Country/region De jure Penalty Notes Suicide Assisted suicide Euthanasia Afghanistan Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Bangladesh Illegal Illegal Illegal Article 305. Abetment of suicide of child or insane person If any person under eighteen years of age, any insane person, any delirious person, any idiot, or any person in a state of intoxication commits suicide, whoever abets the commission of such suicide shall be punished with death or 110[ imprisonment] for life, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years, and shall also be liable to fine. Article 306. Abetment of suicide If any person commits suicide, whoever abets the commission of such suicide, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine. Article 309. Attempt to commit suicide Whoever attempts to commit suicide and does any act towards the commission of such offence, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both. [33] Bhutan Legal Illegal Illegal Article 150. Complicity in suicide A defendant shall be guilty of the offence of complicity in suicide, if the defendant aids, abets, counsels or procures the suicide of another person. Article 151. Grading of complicity in suicide The offence of complicity in suicide shall be a misdemeanour. [34] Brunei Illegal Illegal Illegal Article 305. Abetment of suicide of child or insane person If any person under 18 years of age, any insane person, any delirious person, any idiot, or any person in a state of intoxication commits suicide, whoever abets the commission of such suicide shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life. Article 306. Abetment of suicide If any person commits suicide, whoever abets the commission of such suicide shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to fine. Article 309. Attempt to commit suicide Whoever attempts to commit suicide and does any act towards the commission of such offence, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both. [35] Cambodia Legal Illegal Illegal Unknown [36] China Legal Illegal Illegal Suicide in China Hong Kong Legal Illegal Illegal CAP 212 OFFENCES AGAINST THE PERSON ORDINANCE Section 33A Suicide to cease to be a crime The rule of law whereby it is a crime for a person to commit suicide is hereby abrogated.(Added 71 of 1967 s. 2)[cf. 1961 c. 60 s. 1 U.K.] [37][38] India Legal Illegal Passive euthanasia legal ARTICLE 305. ABETMENT OF SUICIDE OF CHILD OR INSANE PERSON. If any person under eighteen years of age, any insane person, any delirious person, any idiot, or any person in a state of intoxication, commits suicide, whoever abets the commission of such suicide, shall be punished with death or 104[imprisonment for life], or imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years, and shall also be liable to fine. ARTICLE 309 . ATTEMPTING TO COMMIT SUICIDE. Whoever attempts to commit suicide and does any act towards the commission of such offence, shall he punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year [or with fine, or with both]. Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 (Decriminalisation of Suicide) 115. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 309 of the Indian Penal Code, any person who attempts to commit suicide shall be presumed, unless proved otherwise, to have severe stress and shall not be tried and punished under the said Code. (2) The appropriate Government shall have a duty to provide care, treatment and rehabilitation to a person, having severe stress and who attempted to commit suicide, to reduce the risk of recurrence of attempt to commit suicide. See also: Euthanasia in India [39][40][41] Indonesia Legal Illegal Illegal Article 345. Causing a Suicide to be Committed Any person whowith deliberate intent instigates another to commit suicide, aids him thereby or provides him with the means thereto, shall, if the suicide ensues, be punished by a maximum imprisonment of four years. [42] Iran Legal Illegal Illegal See reference [43] Iraq Legal Illegal Illegal Article 408. Any person who incites a person to commit suicide or assists him in any way to do so is punishable by a term of imprisonment not exceeding 7 years if that person commits suicide on the basis of such incitement or assistance. The penalty will be detention if the person does not commit suicide but attempts to do so. If the suicide is under 18 years of age or is suffering from a state of diminished reason or will, it is considered an aggravating circumstance. The offender is, according to the circumstances, punishable by the penalty for murder or attempted murder if the suicide is suffering from loss of reason or will. There is no penalty for an attempted suicide. Israel Legal Illegal Illegal Article 302. Inducing or abetting suicide If a person causes a person to kill himself by inducement or advice or if he assists a person in killing himself, then he is liable to twenty years imprisonment. [44] Japan Legal Illegal Illegal Article 202. (Inducing or Aiding Suicide; Homicide with Consent) See also: Suicide in Japan A person who induces or aids another to commit suicide, or kills another at the other's request or with other's consent, shall be punished by imprisonment with or without work for not less than 6 months but not more than 7 years. [45] Jordan Illegal Illegal Illegal Article (339) a. Whoever incites a person to commit suicide or assists him/her in any of the ways stipulated in article (80), he/she shall be punished by temporary detention. b. If the person does not commit suicide but attempts to do so, then the penalty shall be imprisonment from three months to two years and up to three years if it results in a permanent disability or harm. [46] Kazakhstan Legal Illegal Illegal Article 102. Driving Someone to Suicide 1. Driving a person to suicide or to make a suicide attempt by way of threatening, cruel treatment or systematic humiliation of the human dignity of a victim, shall be punished by restriction of freedom for a period up to three years, or by deprivation of freedom for the same period. 2. The same act, committed against a person who was in complete material or other dependence upon the guilty person, -shall be punished by restriction of freedom for a period up to five years or deprivation of freedom for the same period. Article 96. A Murder 1. A murder, that is, the illegal deliberate causation of the death of another person, shall be punished by deprivation of freedom for a period from six to fifteen years. [47] Kuwait Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Kyrgyzstan Legal Illegal Illegal Article 102. Reducing to Suicide (1) Reducing a person to suicide or attempted suicide by threats, abuse or systematic humiliation -shall be sentenced by 2 to 5 years of imprisonment. (2) The same act towards a person materially or in other way dependent on the offender, -shall be sentenced by 3 to 7 years of imprisonment. Article 103. Compassing to Suicide Compassing to suicide, i.e. raising another person’s determination to commit suicide by persuasion, deception or in any other way, that lead to such person’s suicide or attempted suicide, -shall be sentenced by up to 5 years of imprisonment. [48] Lebanon Illegal Illegal Illegal Penalty for an attempted suicide: 3 months up to 5 years imprisonment. [49] Macau Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Malaysia Illegal Illegal Illegal Sec. 305 Abetment of suicide of child or insane person If any person under eighteen years of age, any insane person, any delirious person, any idiot, or any person in a state of intoxication, commits suicide, whoever abets the commission of such suicide shall be punished with death or imprisonment for a term which may extend to twenty years, and shall also be liable to fine. Sec. 306 Abetment of suicide If any person commits suicide, whoever abets the commission of such suicide shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine. Sec. 309. Attempt to commit suicide Whoever attempts to commit suicide, and does any act towards the commission of such offence, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine or with both. [50] Maldives Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Mongolia Legal Illegal Illegal Article 95. Bringing to suicide 95.1. Bringing to suicide of the victim who is in a material dependence, subordination or another inferiority to the culprit through brutal treatment or systematic humiliation of his/her honor and dignity shall be punishable by imprisonment for a period of 2 to 5 years. [51] Nepal Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown North Korea Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Oman Illegal Illegal Illegal Unknown Pakistan Illegal Illegal Illegal Sec. 325. Attempt to commit suicide: Whoever attempts to commit suicide and does any act towards the commission of such offence, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both. [52] Palestine Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Philippines Legal Illegal Illegal Art. 253. Giving assistance to suicide. Any person who shall assist another to commit suicide shall suffer the penalty of prision mayor; if such person leads his assistance to another to the extent of doing the killing himself, he shall suffer the penalty of reclusion temporal. However, if the suicide is not consummated, the penalty of arresto mayor in its medium and maximum periods, shall be imposed. [53] Qatar Legal Illegal Illegal Article (305) Anyone who incites or helps a person anyhow to commit suicide, if suicide is committed accordingly, is convicted to no more than seven years in prison. If the victim is under sixteen or unwilled, the culprit is convicted to no more than ten years in prison. If the victim has no choice or is unaware, this is considered a premeditated murder and the culprit is convicted to no more than seven years in prison if the victim’s parents forgive or accept the wergild. [54] Saudi Arabia Illegal Illegal Illegal Unknown Singapore Legal Illegal Illegal Article 305. Abetment of suicide of child or insane person If any person under 18 years of age, any insane person, any delirious person, any idiot, or any person in a state of intoxication, commits suicide, whoever abets the commission of such suicide shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years, and shall also be liable to fine. Article 306. Abetment of suicide If any person commits suicide, whoever abets the commission of such suicide shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to fine. Suicide discriminalised On 11 February 2019, the Singapore government announced the decriminalisation of suicide. [55] South Korea Legal Illegal Illegal Article 252 (Murder upon Request or with Consent) CRIMINAL ACT 53 (1) A person who kills another upon ones request or with ones consent shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than ten years. [56] Sri Lanka Legal Illegal Illegal 299. Abetment of suicide If any person commits suicide, whoever abets the commission of such suicide shall be punished with death. [57] Syria Illegal Illegal Illegal Unknown Taiwan Legal Illegal Illegal Unknown [58] Tajikistan Legal Illegal Illegal Article 109. Driving to Suicide (1) Driving an individual to suicide or attempt upon suicide by threat, cruel treatment, or systematic degrading the dignity of a victim is punishable by imprisonment for a period of 3 to 5 years. (2) The same actions committed in regard to a person, who was in financial or other dependence of the guilty person, or committed in regard to a minor is punishable by imprisonment for a period of 5 to 8 years. [59] Thailand Legal Illegal Illegal Section 292 Whoever, practicing the cruelty or employing the similar factor on the person to have depended on him for subsistence or any other activities so as to that person shall commit the suicide, if suicide to have occurred or to have been attempted, shall be imprisoned not out seven years and fined not out of fourteen thousand Baht. Section 293 Whoever aids or instigates a child not over sixteen years of age, or a person who is unable to understand the nature and importance of his act or who is unable to control his act, to commit suicide, shall, if suicide has occurred or has been attempted, be punished with imprisonment not exceeding five years or fined not exceeding ten thousand Baht, or both. [60] Turkmenistan Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown United Arab Emirates Illegal Illegal Illegal Unknown [61] Uzbekistan Legal Illegal Illegal Article 103. Bringing to Suicide Bringing to suicide or attempt thereat by cruel treatment or persistent degrading of honor and dignity of a person, who was not in financial or other dependence on a guilty person shall be punished with correctional labor up to three years or imprisonment up to five years. The same acts committed in respect of a person, who was in financial or other dependence on a guilty person shall be punished with correctional labor up to three years or imprisonment up to five years. [62] Vietnam Legal Illegal Illegal Article 100. Forced suicide 1. Any person who cruelly treats, constantly intimidates, illtreats or humiliates a person dependent on him/her, inducing the latter to commit suicide, shall be sentenced to between two and seven years of imprisonment. 2. Any person who commits the crime of compelling more than one person to commit suicide shall be sentenced to between five and twelve years of imprisonment. Article 101. Inciting or assisting other persons to commit suicide 1. Any person who incites another person to commit suicide or assists another person to commit suicide shall be sentenced to imprisonment for between six months and three years. 2. Any person who commits the crime of assisting or inciting more than one person to commit suicide shall be sentenced to between two and seven years of imprisonment. [63] Yemen Illegal Illegal Illegal Unknown Europe [ edit ] Country/region De jure Penalty Notes Suicide Assisted suicide Euthanasia Albania Legal Illegal Illegal Article 99 Causing suicide Causing suicide or a suicide attempt by a person because of the systematic maltreatment or other systematic misbehaviors which seriously affect the dignity [of the person], committed by another person under whose material dependence or any other dependence the former person is subject, is punishable by a fine or up to five years of imprisonment. [64] Armenia Legal Illegal Illegal Article 110. Causing somebody to commit suicide. 1. Causing somebody to commit suicide or make an attempt at a suicide by indirect willfulness or by negligence, by means of threat, cruel treatment or regular humiliation of one’s dignity, is punished with imprisonment for the term of up to 3 years. 2. The same act committed in relation to a person in financial or other dependence of the perpetrator, is punished with imprisonment for the term of up to 5 years. Article 111. Abetment of suicide. Abetment of suicide, creation of determination in the person to commit suicide by means of instructions, deception, etc., if the person committed suicide or made a suicide attempt, is punished with imprisonment for the term of up to 3 years. [65] Austria Legal Illegal Illegal Killing a person on request by such person, or aiding or helping another person to commit suicide is punished with imprisonment of 6 months up to 5 years. [66] Azerbaijan Legal Illegal Illegal Article 125. Bringing to suicide Bringing a person, who is taking place in material, service or other dependence from guilty, to suicide or to attempt at suicide by threats, cruel treatment or regular humiliation of his dignity – shall be punished by restriction of freedom for the term up to three years or imprisonment for the term from three up to seven years. [67] Belarus Legal Illegal Illegal Article 105. Bringing to Suicide Bringing to suicide or to an attempted suicide through brutal treatment of the sufferer or systematic humiliation of his personal dignity - shall be punishable with the deprivation of freedom for a term of up to three years. The same action committed in relation to a person who has been materially or otherwise dependent on the culprit - shall be punishable with the deprivation of freedom for a term of up to five years. [68] Belgium Legal Legal Legal Legal since 2002 Bosnia and Herzegovina Legal Illegal Illegal Unknown Bulgaria Legal Illegal Illegal Art. 127. (1) Who, in any way whatsoever, helps or prevails upon a suicide and suicide or attempted suicide takes place, shall be punished by imprisonment of up to three years. (2) For the same crime regarding a minor person or a person of whom the culprit is aware that he is in no position to guide his ac ts or he does not understand the quality or the importance of the act the punishment shall be imprisonment of three to ten years. (3) Who, by a cruel treatment or systematic humiliation of the dignity of a person in material or other dependence on him leads him to a suicide or suicide attempt, having expected it, shall be punished by imprisonment of two to eight years. (4) If the act under the preceding para is committed by negligence the punishment shall be imprisonment of up to three years. [69] Croatia Legal Illegal Illegal Article 96 Participating in Suicide (1) Whoever induces or assists another in committing suicide which is accomplished or attempted shall be punished by imprisonment for six months to five years. (2) Whoever induces or assists a juvenile person in committing suicide, or induces or assists in committing suicide a person whose capability of understanding his own acts and of controlling his own will is significantly diminished, and the suicide is accomplished or attempted shall be punished by imprisonment for one to eight years. (3) Whoever induces or assists a child in committing suicide or whoever induces or assists a person who is not capable of understanding the significance of his act, or could not control his own will so that the suicide is attempted or accomplished, shall be punished pursuant to Article 90 of this Code. (4) Whoever treats a person who is in a state of subordination or dependence in a cruel or inhuman way and thereby negligently causes the suicide of that person shall be punished by imprisonment for three months to three years. [70] Cyprus Illegal Illegal Illegal 214. Attempt to murder. Any person who - (a) attempts unlawfully to cause the death of another; or (b) with intent unlawfully to cause the death of another does any act, or omits to do any act which it is his duty to do, such act or omission being of such a nature as to be likely to endanger human life, is guilty of a felony, and is liable to imprisonment for life. 288. Abetting suicide. Any person who-- (a) procures another to kill himself; or (b) counsels another to kill himself and thereby induces him to do so; or (c) aids another in killing himself, is guilty of a felony, and is liable to imprisonment for life. 219. Attempting suicide. Any person who attempts to kill himself is guilty of a misdemeanour. [71] Czech Republic Legal Illegal Illegal Section 144 Accessory to Suicide (1) Whoever encourages another person to commit suicide or assists another person in committing suicide, shall be sentenced, if at least an attempted suicide occurred, to imprisonment for up to three years. (2) An offender shall be sentenced of imprisonment for two to eight years, if he/she commits the act referred to in Subsection (1) on a child or a pregnant woman. (3) An offender shall be sentenced of imprisonment for five to twelve years, if he/she commits the act referred to in Subsection (1) on a child under fifteen years of age or on a person suffering from a mental disorder. [72] Denmark Legal Illegal Illegal § 240 Any person who assists another person in committing suicide shall be liable to a fine or to imprisonment for any term not exceeding three years. [73] Estonia Legal Illegal Illegal [74] Finland Legal Illegal Illegal Unknown France Legal Illegal Illegal Unknown Georgia Illegal Illegal Illegal A suicide attempt is punished by a fine of 500 Lari.[75][76][77] Article 115 - Incitement to suicide Incitement to suicide or attempted suicide accompanied with intimidation or cruel treatment of the victim or by degrading of the victim's honour or dignity, – shall be punished by restriction of liberty for up to three years or by imprisonment for a term of two to four years. [78] Germany Legal Legal, with some exemptions Illegal [79] Gibraltar Legal Illegal Illegal 158. Suicide pacts. (1) A person who, in pursuance of a suicide pact between him and another person– (a) kills that person; or (b) is party to the killing of that person by a third person, commits the offence of manslaughter and not murder. (2) If it is shown that a person charged with the murder of another killed the other or was a party to his being killed, it is for the defence to prove that the person charged was acting in pursuance of a suicide pact between him and the other. (3) For the purposes of this section, “suicide pact” means a common agreement between two or more persons having for its object the death of all of them, whether or not each is to take his own life, but nothing done by a person who enters into a suicide pact is to be treated as done by him in pursuance of the pact unless it is done while he has the settled intention of dying in pursuance of the pact. 159. Complicity in suicide. (1) A person (‘D’) commits an offence if– (a) D does an act capable of encouraging or assisting the suicide or attempted suicide of another person; and (b) D’s act was intended to encourage or assist suicide or an attempt at suicide. (2) The person referred to in subsection (1)(a) need not be a specific person (or class of persons) known to, or identified by, D. (3) D may commit an offence under this section whether or not a suicide, or an attempt at suicide, occurs. (4) A person who commits an offence under this section is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for 14 years. (5) If on the trial of an indictment for murder or manslaughter of a person it is proved that the deceased person committed suicide, and the defendant committed an offence under subsection (1) in relation to that suicide, the jury may find the defendant guilty of the offence under subsection (1). (6) If D arranges for a person (‘D2’) to do an act that is capable of encouraging or assisting the suicide or attempted suicide of another person and D2 does that act, D is to be treated for the purposes of this Part as having done it. (7) If the facts are such that an act is not capable of encouraging or assisting suicide or attempted suicide, for the purposes of this section it is to be treated as so capable if the act would have been so capable had the facts been as D believed them to be at the time of the act; or had subsequent events happened in the manner D believed they would happen, or both. (8) A reference in this section to a person doing an act that is capable of encouraging the suicide or attempted suicide of another person includes a reference to his doing so by threatening another person or otherwise putting pressure on another person to commit or attempt suicide. (9) A reference in this section to an act includes a reference to a course of conduct, and a reference to doing an act is to be read accordingly. (10) No prosecution for an offence against this section may be commenced except by, or with the consent of, the Attorney General. [80] Greece Legal Illegal Illegal Unknown Hungary Legal Illegal Illegal Section 162 (1) Any person who persuades another to commit suicide, or provides aid for suicide is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment between one to five years, if the suicide is attempted or committed. (2) Any person over the age of eighteen years who persuades another person under the age of eighteen years to commit suicide, or provides aid for committing suicide is punishable by imprisonment between two to eight years, if the suicide is attempted orcommitted. [81] Iceland Legal Illegal Illegal Art. 214 In case a person be conducive to another person’;;s committing suicide he/she shall be subject to [imprisonment for up to 1 year] 1) or fines. In case this be done for a selfish purpose the penalty shall be imprisonment for up to 3 years. [82] Ireland Legal Illegal Illegal Unknown Italy Legal Illegal Illegal Unknown Kosovo Legal Illegal Illegal Article 183 Inciting suicide and assisting in suicide 1.Whoever incites or assists another person to commit suicide, and the suicide is committed, shall be punished by imprisonment of one (1) to five (5) years. 2. Whoever commits the offense provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article against a minor or a person whose capability to understand the gravity of his or her act or whose ability to control his or her behavior was substantially diminished, shall be punished by imprisonment of one (1) to ten (10) years. 3. Whoever commits the offense provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article against a person under the age of fourteen (14) years or against a person who was incapable of understanding the gravity of his or her act or controlling his or her behavior shall be punished in accordance with Article 178 of this Code. 4. Whoever treats another person in a subordinate position in a cruel or inhumane way and thereby causes such person to commit suicide shall be punished by imprisonment of six (6) months to five (5) years. For the purpose of this paragraph “person in a subordinate position” means a person who is under the supervision, rank, control or custody of the person who acted in a cruel or inhumane way. 5. If, as a result of an offense provided for in paragraphs 1 to 4 of this Article, suicide has only been attempted, the punishment may be reduced. [83] Latvia Legal Illegal Illegal Section 124. Causing a Suicide to be Committed (1) For a person who commits causing a person to commit suicide or attempt suicide by cruel treatment of the victim or systematic demeaning of his or her personal dignity, if such person has not been in financial or other dependence upon the offender, the applicable sentence is deprivation of liberty for a term not exceeding three years. (2) For a person who commits the same acts with regard to a person who has been in financial or other dependence upon the offender, the applicable sentence is deprivation of liberty for a term not exceeding five years. [84] Liechtenstein Legal Illegal Illegal Killing somebody on request, or aiding somebody to commit suicide is punished with imprisonment from six months up to five years. Lithuania Legal Illegal Illegal Unknown Luxembourg Legal Legal Legal Malta Legal Illegal Illegal 213. Whosoever shall prevail on any person to commit suicide or shall give him any assistance, shall, if the suicide takes place, be liable, on conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve years. [85] Moldova Legal Illegal Illegal Unknown Montenegro Legal Illegal Illegal Article 149 Incitement to suicide and aid in the commission of suicide (1) Anyone who incites other person to suicide or aid him in committing suicide, and should suicide be committed or attempted, shall be sentenced to one to eight years of imprisonment. (2) Anyone who aids other person in committing suicide subject to conditions referred to in Article 147 of the present Code, and should suicide be committed or attempted, shall be sentenced to three months to five years of imprisonment. (3) Anyone who commits the act referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article against a juvenile or a person in the state of substantialy diminished mental capacity, shall be sentenced to two to ten years of imprisonment. (4) Should the act referred to in Paragraph 1 of this Article be committed against a child or a mentally incapable person, the perpetrator shall be sentenced in line with provisions of Article 144 of the present Code. (5) Anyone who treats with cruelty or brutality other person subordinate or dependant on him, and should the person in question due to such treatment, commit or attempt suicide that can be attributed to the offender’s negligence, shall be sentenced to six months to five years of impris [86] Netherlands Legal Legal medical assisted suicide Legal [87] North Macedonia Legal Illegal Illegal Article 128 Instigation to suicide and helping in suicide (1) A person who instigates another to suicide or helps him in committing suicide, and this was committed, shall be punished with imprisonment of three months to three years. (2) If the crime from item 1 is committed against a juvenile who reached the age of fourteen or against a person who is in a state of decreased mental competence, the offender shall be punished with imprisonment of one to ten years. (3) If the crime from item 1 is committed against a juvenile who has not reached the age of fourteen years yet, or against a mentally incompetent person, the offender shall be punished according to article 123. (4) A person behaving cruelly or inhumanely towards another who has a subordinate or dependent relationship to him, and if this person commits suicide because of this relationship, which could be attributed to negligence by the offender, shall be punished with imprisonment of six months to five years. (5) If because of the crimes from items 1 to 4 the suicide was only attempted, the court may punish the offender more leniently. [88] Norway Legal Illegal Illegal Unknown Poland Legal Illegal Illegal Articles 150. and 151. Art. 150. § 1. Whoever kills a human on his own request and driven by compassion towards him, shall be subject to the penalty of imprisonment for a term of between 3 months and 5 years. § 2. In special cases the court may imopse an extraordinary mitigation of punishment or even forego the punishment. Art. 151. Whoever by encouraging or help drives a human to a suicide, shall be subject to the penalty of imprisonment for a term of between 3 months and 5 years. [89] Portugal Legal Illegal Illegal Unknown Romania Legal Illegal Illegal Article 191. Determining or facilitating suicide (1). An act of determining or facilitating the suicide of an individual, if the suicide has taken place, shall be punishable by no less than 3 and no more than 7 years of imprisonment. (2).When the act specified by par. (1) was committed against a juvenile between 13 and 18 years of age or against a person having a reduced competence, the penalty shall be no less than 5 and no more than 10 years of imprisonment. (3). Determining or facilitating the suicide of a underage person who did not reach the age of 13 or of a person who was unable to realize the consequences of their actions or inactions or to control them, if suicide has taken place, shall be punishable by no less than 10 and no more than 20 years of imprisonment and a ban on the exercise of certain rights. (4). If actions of determining or facilitating suicide set under par. (1) - (3) were followed by a suicide attempt, the special limits of the penalty shall be reduced down to half. [90] Russia Legal Illegal Illegal Article 110. Incitement to Suicide Incitement of a person to commit or attempt to commit suicide by means of threats, cruel treatment of a person, or systematic denigration of the human dignity of the victim - Shall be punishable by restraint of liberty for a term of up to three years or by deprivation of liberty for a term of up to five years. [91] Serbia Legal Illegal Illegal Article 119 Incitement to Suicide and Aiding in Suicide (1) Whoever incites another to suicide or aids in committing suicide and this is committed or attempted, shall be punished with imprisonment of from six months to five years. (2) Whoever assists another in committing suicide under provisions of Article 117 hereof, and this is committed or attempted, shall be punished with imprisonment from three months to three years. (3) Whoever commits the act specified in paragraph 1 of this Article against a juvenile or person in a state of substantially diminished mental capacity, shall be punished with imprisonment from two to ten years. (4) If the act specified in paragraph 1 of this Article is committed against a child or mentally incompetent person, the offender shall be punished in accordance with Article 114 hereof. (5) Whoever cruelly or inhumanely treats another who is in a position of subordination or dependency and due to such treatment the person commits or attempts suicide that may be attributed to negligence of the perpetrator, shall be punished with imprisonment from six months to five years. [92] Slovakia Legal Illegal Illegal Section 154 Participating in a Suicide (1) Any person who incites another person to committing suicide, or helps him to commit suicide, shall, if at least a suicide attempt takes place, be liable to a term of imprisonment of between six months and three years. (2) The offender shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of three to eightyears if he commits the offence referred to in paragpraph 1 a) acting in a more serious manner, b) against a protected person, or c) by reason of specific motivation. [93] Slovenia Legal Illegal Illegal Article 120 Solicitation to and Assistance in Suicide (1) Whoever intentionally solicits another person to kill himself or assists him in doing so, resulting in that person indeed committing suicide, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not less than six months and not more than five years. (2) Whoever commits the offence under the preceding paragraph against a minor above fourteen years of age or against a person whose ability to understand the meaning of his act or to control his conduct was substantially diminished shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not less than one and not more than ten years. (3) In the event of the offence under paragraph 1 of the this Article being committed against a minor under fourteen years of age or against a person who was not capable of understanding the meaning of his act or of controlling his conduct shall be punished according to the prescription for murder. (4) Whoever treats his subordinate or a person depending on him in a cruel or inhumane manner, resulting in this person's suicide, shall be sent enced to imprisonment for not less than six months and not more than five years. (5) Whoever, under particularly mitigating circumstances, assists another person to commit suicide, and if that person indeed commits suicide, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than three years. (6) If, relating to a criminal offence under the above paragraphs, the suicide has only been attempted, the Court may reduce the punishment of the perpetrator. [94] Spain Legal Illegal Illegal Article 143 1. Whoever induces another to suicide shall be punished with a sentence of imprisonment from four to eight years. 2. A sentence of imprisonment of two to five years shall be imposed on whoever co-operates in the necessary acts for a person to commit suicide. 3. Punishment shall involve a sentence of imprisonment from six to ten years if such co-operation were to reach the point of death ensuing. 4. Whoever causes or actively co-operates in the necessary, direct acts causing the death of another, at the specific, serious, unequivocal request of that person, in the event of the victim suffering a serious disease that would unavoidably lead to death, or that causes permanent suffering that is hard to bear, shall be punished with a punishment lower by one or two degrees to those described in Sections 2 and 3 of this Article. [95] Sweden Legal Legal Illegal Penal Code, Chapter 3 § 1 Murder A person who takes the life of another shall be sentenced for murder to imprisonment for a fixed period of at least ten and at most eighten years, or, if there are aggravating circumstances, for life. [ citation needed ] Switzerland Legal Legal medical assisted suicide Illegal Unknown [96] Turkey Legal Illegal Illegal ARTICLE 84 Suicide (1) Any person who solicits, encourages a person to commit suicide, or supports the decision of a person for suicide or helps the suicide action in any manner whatsoever, is punished with imprisonment from two years to five years. (2) In case of commission of suicide, the person who is involved in such act is sentenced to imprisonment from four years to ten years. (3) Any person who openly encourages others to commit suicide is punished with imprisonment from three years to eight years. (5) Persons who encourage others, lack of ability to understand the meaning and consequences of the executed act, to commit suicide, or force a person to commit suicide under threat, are convicted of felonious homicide. [97] Ukraine Legal Illegal Illegal Unknown United Kingdom Legal Illegal Passive euthanasia legal Criminal liability for complicity in another’s suicide. [F1(1) A person (“D”) commits an offence if— (a) D does an act capable of encouraging or assisting the suicide or attempted suicide of another person, and (b) D's act was intended to encourage or assist suicide or an attempt at suicide. (1A) The person referred to in subsection (1)(a) need not be a specific person (or class of persons) known to, or identified by, D. (1B) D may commit an offence under this section whether or not a suicide, or an attempt at suicide, occurs. (1C) An offence under this section is triable on indictment and a person convicted of such an offence is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years.] (2) If on the trial of an indictment for murder or manslaughter [F2of a person it is proved that the deceased person committed suicide, and the accused committed an offence under subsection (1) in relation to that suicide, the jury may find the accused guilty of the offence under subsection (1). ] (3) The enactments mentioned in the first column of the First Schedule to this Act shall have effect subject to the amendments provided for in the second column (which preserve in relation to offences under this section the previous operation of those enactments in relation to murder or manslaughter). (4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F3no proceedings shall be instituted for an offence under this section except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions. [98][99] Oceania [ edit ] Country/region De jure Penalty Notes Suicide Assisted suicide Euthanasia American Samoa Legal Illegal Illegal 46.3506 Promoting suicide. (a) A person is guilty of promoting suicide when he intentionally causes or aids another person to attempt suicide, or when he intentionally aids another person to commit suicide. (b) Promoting suicide is a class D felony. [100] Australia Legal Legal in the state of Victoria (takes effect mid-2019) Illegal Fiji Legal Illegal Illegal 199.- (1) Any person who of malice aforethought causes the death of another person by an unlawful act or omission is guilty of murder: Provided that it shall be manslaughter, and shall not be murder, for a person acting in pursuance of a suicide pact between him and another to kill the other. (2) Where it is shown that a person charged with the murder of another killed the other, it shall be for the defence to prove that the person charged was acting in pursuance of a suicide pact between him and the other. (3) For the purposes of this section "suicide pact" means a common agreement between two or more persons having for its object the death of all of them, whether or not each is to take his own life, but nothing done by a person who enters into a suicide pact shall be treated as done by him in pursuance of the pact unless it is done while he has the settled intention of dying in pursuance of the pact. [101] Guam Legal Illegal Illegal Unknown New Zealand Legal Illegal Illegal Unknown Northern Mariana Islands Legal Illegal Illegal Unknown Palau Legal Illegal Illegal Unknown Papua New Guinea Illegal Illegal Illegal 310. AIDING SUICIDE. A person who– (a) procures another to kill himself; or (b) counsels another to kill himself and so induces him to do so; or (c) aids another in killing himself, is guilty of a crime. Penalty: Subject to Section 19, imprisonment for life. 311. ATTEMPTING TO COMMIT SUICIDE. A person who attempts to kill himself is guilty of a misdemeanour. Penalty: Imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year. [102] Samoa Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Solomon Islands Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Tokelau Unknown Unknown Unknown 9. Counselling Suicide Any person who counsels or procures a person to commit suicide, or aids or abets a person in the commission of suicide commits an offence. (Penalty "not exceeding more than $150 fine or 3 months imprisonment") [103] Tonga Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Vanuatu Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Laws in individual jurisdictions [ edit ] Australia [ edit ] In the Australian state of Victoria, while suicide itself is no longer a crime, a survivor of a suicide pact can be charged with manslaughter. Also, it is a crime to counsel, incite, or aid and abet another in attempting to suicide, and the law explicitly allows any person to use "such force as may reasonably be necessary" to prevent another from dying by suicide. In November 2017 the state of Victoria passed the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act, making it legal for a doctor to assist a terminally ill patient with less than six months to live to end their own life. The law comes into effect mid-2019.[104] Legislation decriminalizing suicide in Australian States and Territories [ edit ] Jurisdiction Legislation Australian Capital Territory Crimes Act 1900 (ACT) s 16 New South Wales Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) s 31A Northern Territory Criminal Code (NT) s 186 (repealed) Queensland Criminal Code 1899 (Qld) s 312 (repealed by Criminal Law Amendment Act (1979) s 4) South Australia Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1932 (SA) s 13A Tasmania Criminal Code 1924 (Tas) s 163 Victoria Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) s 6A Western Australia Criminal Code 1899 (WA) s 289 (repealed by Criminal Code Amendment Act 1972 s 10) Canada [ edit ] The common law crimes of attempting suicide and of assisting suicide were codified in Canada when Parliament enacted the Criminal Code in 1892.[105] Eighty years later, in 1972, Parliament repealed the offence of attempting suicide from the Criminal Code based on the argument that a legal deterrent was unnecessary.[106] The prohibition on assisting suicide remained, as s 241 of the Criminal Code: Counselling or aiding suicide 241. Every one who (a) counsels a person to [die by] suicide, or (b) aids or abets a person to [die by] suicide, whether suicide ensues or not, is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years.[107] However, the law against assisted suicide, including physician-assisted suicide, was the subject of much debate including two reports of the Law Reform Commission of Canada in 1982 and 1983, though these did not support changing the law.[108] In 1993, the offence of assisted suicide survived a constitutional challenge in the Supreme Court of Canada, in the case of Rodriguez v. British Columbia (Attorney General). The plaintiff, Sue Rodriguez, had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in early 1991. She wished to be able to die by suicide at a time of her own choosing, but would require assistance to do so, because her physical condition prevented her from doing so without assistance. By a 5-4 majority, the Court held that the prohibition on assisted suicide did not infringe s 7 of the Canadian Charter of RIghts and Freedoms, which provides constitutional protection for liberty and security of the person. The majority held that while the law did affect those rights, it did so in a manner consistent with the principles of fundamental justice. The majority also held that the prohibition on assisted suicide did not infringe the Charter's prohibition against cruel and unusual treatment or punishment. Assuming the prohibition did discriminate on basis of disability, the majority held that the infringement was a justifiable restriction.[109][110][111] In 1995 the Senate issued a report on assisted suicide entitled Of Life and Death.[110] In 2011 the Royal Society of Canada published its report on end-of-life decision-making.[112] In the report it recommended that the Criminal Code be modified so as to permit assistance in dying under some circumstances.[113] In 2012 a Select Committee on Dying with Dignity of the Quebec National Assembly produced a report recommending amendments to legislation to recognize medical aid in dying as being an appropriate component of end-of-life care.[114] That report resulted in An Act respecting end-of-life care, which is set to come into force on December 10, 2015.[113][114][115] On June 15, 2012, in Carter v Canada (AG), the British Columbia Supreme Court ruled that the criminal offence prohibiting physician assistance of suicide was unconstitutional on the grounds that denying people access to assisted suicide in hard cases was contrary to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantee of equality under Section 15.[106][116] This decision was subsequently overturned by the majority of the British Columbia Court of Appeal (2:1) on the basis that the issue had already been decided by the Supreme Court of Canada in the Rodriguez case, invoking stare decisis. A landmark Supreme Court of Canada decision on February 6, 2015[117] overturned the 1993 Rodriguez decision that had ruled against this method of dying. The unanimous decision in the further appeal of Carter v Canada (AG), stated that a total prohibition of physician-assisted death is unconstitutional.[118] The court’s ruling limits exculpation of physicians engaging physician-assisted death to hard cases of “a competent adult person who clearly consents to the termination of life and has a grievous and irremediable medical condition, including an illness, disease or disability, that causes enduring suffering that is intolerable to the individual in the circumstances of his or her condition.” The ruling was suspended for 12 months to allow the Canadian parliament to draft a new, constitutional law to replace the existing one.[119] Specifically the Supreme Court held that the current legislation was overbroad in that it prohibits "physician‑assisted death for a competent adult person who (1) clearly consents to the termination of life and (2) has a grievous and irremediable medical condition (including an illness, disease or disability) that causes enduring suffering that is intolerable to the individual in the circumstances of his or her condition." The court decision includes a requirement that there must be stringent limits that are “scrupulously monitored.” This will require the death certificate to be completed by an independent medical examiner, not the treating physician, to ensure the accuracy of reporting the cause of death.[120] The newly (November 2015) elected federal government subsequently requested a six-month extension for implementation; the arguments for this request were scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court in January 2016.[121] The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) reported that not all doctors would be willing to help a patient die. The belief in late 2015 was that no physician would be forced to do so. The CMA was already offering educational sessions to members as to the process that would be used after the legislation had been implemented.[121] India [ edit ] The Indian penal code 309 deals with punishment for attempted suicide. The Mental Health Care Act 2017 greatly limits the scope for the code to be implemented.[122] The bill states, “Any person who attempts to [die by] suicide shall be presumed, unless proved otherwise, to have severe stress and shall not be tried and punished under the said Code”.[123] State governments are required to provide adequate care and rehabilitation for such individuals as to prevent a recurrence of an attempt to suicide. Iran [ edit ] The act of suicide has not been criminalized in the penal law of the Islamic Republic of Iran.[124] However, no one is allowed to ask another to kill him/her.[124] In addition, threatening to kill oneself is not an offense by the law, however if this act of threatening is done by a prisoner in a prison, then that would be considered as violation of the prisons' regulations and the offender may be punished according to penal law.[124] According to the Act. 836 of the civil law of the Islamic Republic of Iran if a suicidal person prepares for suicide and writes a testament, if he/she dies, then by law the will is considered void and if he/she doesn't die, then the will is officially accepted and can be carried out.[125] According to the theory of "borrowed crime", because suicide itself is not a crime in penal law, thus any type of assisting in an individual's suicide is not considered a crime and the assistant is not punished.[126] Assisting in suicide is considered a crime only when it becomes the "cause" of the suicidal person's death; for example when someone takes advantage of someone else's unawareness or simplicity and convince him/her to kill him/herself. In such cases assisting in suicide is treated as murder and the offender is punished accordingly.[124][126] In addition, assisting in suicide is considered a crime under section 2 of the Act. 15 of the cyber crimes law of the Islamic Republic of Iran which was legislated on June 15, 2009. According to the mentioned act, any type of encouragement, stimulation, invitation, simplification of access to lethal substances and/or methods and teaching of suicide with the help of computer or any other media network is considered assisting in suicide and thus, is punished by imprisonment from 91 days up to 1 year or fines from 5 to 20 million Iranian Rials or both.[124] Ireland [ edit ] Attempted suicide is not a criminal offence in Ireland and, under Irish law, self-harm is not generally seen as a form of attempted suicide. It was decriminalised in 1993.[127] Assisted suicide and euthanasia are illegal. This is currently being challenged at the High Court, as of December 2012. As of 2014 assisted suicide remains illegal in Ireland. Malaysia [ edit ] Under section 309 of the Penal Code of Malaysia, whoever attempts to die by suicide, and does any act towards the commission of such offence, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine or with both.[128] Netherlands [ edit ] In the Netherlands, being present and giving moral support during someone's suicide is not a crime; neither is supplying general information on suicide techniques. However, it is a crime to participate in the preparation for or execution of a suicide, including supplying lethal means or instruction in their use. (Physician-assisted suicide may be an exception. See Euthanasia in the Netherlands.) New Zealand [ edit ] As with many other western societies, New Zealand currently has no laws against suicide in itself, as a personal and unassisted act. However, as with comparable societies, there are still legislative sanctions against 'assisting or abetting' the suicides of others, under Section 179 of the Crimes Act 1961. (For further details, see Euthanasia in New Zealand.) Norway [ edit ] Suicide or attempted suicide is not illegal in Norway. However, complicity is.[129] Romania [ edit ] Suicide itself is not illegal in Romania, however encouraging or facilitating the suicide of another person is a criminal offense and is punishable by up to 7, 10 or 20 years in prison, depending on circumstances.[130] Russian Federation [ edit ] In Russia, a person whose mental disorder “poses a direct (imminent?) danger to themselves”[verification needed] can be put into a psychiatric hospital. Inciting someone to suicide by threats, cruel treatment, or systematic humiliation is punishable by up to 5 years in prison. (Article 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) Federal law of Russian Federation no. 139-FZ of 2012-07-28 prescribes censorship of information about methods of suicide on the Internet. According to a website created by the Pirate Party of Russia, some pages with suicide jokes have been blacklisted, which may have led to blocking of an IP address of Wikia.[131][132] See also: Dumb Ways to Die#Censorship in Russia. Singapore [ edit ] In Singapore, a person who attempts to die by suicide can be imprisoned for up to one year.[133] However, this law is rarely enforced. South Africa [ edit ] South African courts, including the Appellate Division, have ruled that suicide and attempted suicide are not crimes under the Roman-Dutch law, or that if they ever were crimes, they have been abrogated by disuse. Attempted suicide was from 1886 to 1968 a crime in the Transkei under the Transkeian Territories Penal Code.[134] United Kingdom [ edit ] England and Wales [ edit ] Laws against suicide (and attempted suicide) prevailed in English common law until 1961. English law perceived suicide as an immoral, criminal offence against God and also against the Crown.[135] It first became illegal in the 13th century. Until 1822, in fact, the possessions of somebody who died by suicide could even be forfeited to the Crown.[136] Suicide ceased to be a criminal offence with the passing of the Suicide Act 1961; the same Act made it an offence to assist in a suicide. With respect to civil law the simple act of suicide is lawful but the consequences of dying by suicide might turn an individual event into an unlawful act, as in the case of Reeves v Commissioners of Police of the Metropolis [2000] 1 AC 360,[137] where a man in police custody hanged himself and was held equally liable with the police (a cell door defect enabled the hanging) for the loss suffered by his widow; the practical effect was to reduce the police damages liability by 50%. In 2009, the House of Lords ruled that the law concerning the treatment of people who accompanied those who died by assisted suicide was unclear, following Debbie Purdy's case that this lack of clarity was a breach of her human rights. (In her case, as a sufferer from multiple sclerosis, she wanted to know whether her husband would be prosecuted for accompanying her abroad where she may eventually wish to die by assisted suicide, if her illness progressed.) Scotland [ edit ] Suicide directly involving only the deceased person is not by itself a criminal offence under Scots Law and has not been in recent history. However, attempting suicide might be a Breach of the peace if it is not done as a private act; this is routinely reported in the case of persons threatening suicide in areas frequented by the public. The Suicide Act 1961 applies only to England and Wales but under Scots Law a person who assists a suicide might be charged with murder, culpable homicide, or no offence depending upon the facts of each case. Despite not being a criminal offence, consequential liability upon the person attempting suicide (or if successful, his/her estate) might arise under civil law where e.g. it parallels the civil liabilities recognised in the (English Law) Reeves case mentioned above. United States [ edit ] Historically, various states listed the act of suicide as a felony, but these policies were sparsely enforced. In the late 1960s, eighteen U.S. states had no laws against suicide.[138] By the late 1980s, thirty of the fifty states had no laws against suicide or suicide attempts but every state had laws declaring it to be a felony to aid, advise or encourage another person to die by suicide.[139] By the early 1990s only two states still listed suicide as a crime, and these have since removed that classification.[citation needed] In some U.S. states, suicide is still considered an unwritten "common law crime," as stated in Blackstone's Commentaries. (So held the Virginia Supreme Court in 1992. Wackwitz v. Roy, 418 S.E.2d 861 (Va. 1992)). As a common law crime, suicide can bar recovery for the late suicidal person's family in a lawsuit unless the suicidal person can be proven to have been "of unsound mind." That is, the suicide must be proven to have been an involuntary act of the victim in order for the family to be awarded monetary damages by the court. This can occur when the family of the deceased sues the caregiver (perhaps a jail or hospital) for negligence in failing to provide appropriate care.[140] Some American legal scholars look at the issue as one of personal liberty. According to Nadine Strossen, former President of the ACLU, "The idea of government making determinations about how you end your life, forcing you...could be considered cruel and unusual punishment in certain circumstances, and Justice Stevens in a very interesting opinion in a right-to-die [case] raised the analogy."[141] Physician-assisted suicide is legal in some states.[142] For the terminally ill, it is legal in the state of Oregon under the Oregon Death with Dignity Act. In Washington state, it became legal in 2009, when a law modeled after the Oregon act, the Washington Death with Dignity Act was passed. A patient must be diagnosed as having less than six months to live, be of sound mind, make a request orally and in writing, have it approved by two different doctors, then wait 15 days and make the request again. A doctor may prescribe a lethal dose of a medication but may not administer it.[143] In California, medical facilities are empowered or required to commit anyone whom they believe to be suicidal for evaluation and treatment.[144] In Maryland, it is an open question as to whether suicide is illegal. In 2018, a Maryland man was convicted of attempted suicide.[145][146][147][148] See also [ edit ]
Mercury, the only metal element that is liquid at standard room temperature, is notoriously hard to handle — in more ways than one. Until 2003, automakers used highly toxic mercury in switches that controlled trunk and under-hood lights, as well as antilock brake systems. Since then, carmakers have switched to benign alternatives, but an estimated 38 million mercury switches still remain in cars. As long as the switches remain in place, they’re unlikely to present a health danger, but when cars are crushed at the end of their life, the mercury in the switches can be released. The Environmental Protection Agency says, “Mercury exposure at high levels can harm the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs and immune system of people of all ages.” The auto industry created the nonprofit End of Life Solutions Corporation (E.L.V.S., popularly known as “Elvis”). Recycling the mercury in switches is a major element in the organization’s portfolio. In February, the nonprofit announced it had recycled its two-millionth mercury switch. Unfortunately, according to Mary J. Bills, executive director of the organization, General Motors stopped paying into the corporation on July 1. A $44,000 bill for July, August and September accrued, she said. According to the Mercury Policy Project, G.M. produced more than half the mercury switches still found in cars. Eight states have laws mandating that automakers pay bounties on collected mercury switches (four have state-funded programs). But the new G.M. said that it was not a member of the corporation and that such liabilities were left with the entity handling the company’s bankrupt assets, the Motors Liquidation Corporation. Ms. Bills said in a September letter that it would have to “regretfully” stop recycling G.M. switches after Dec. 31. A vigorous letter-writing campaign from state agencies and other parties followed in August and September. Several weeks ago, Ms. Bills said, G.M. clarified its position. “They said, yes, they will participate and bring their account up to date through Motors Liquidation,” Ms. Bills said in an interview. “I expect they will do that, and hopefully we won’t go through this again. But the 10,000-pound gorilla in the room is what happens when Motors Liquidation, having finished its work, no longer exists?” In September, Ms. Bills told a Michigan public radio audience, “Chrysler also went through bankruptcy. Yet they remain a fully participating partner in the program. They didn’t walk away from their environmental liabilities.” G.M. referred inquiries on the switches to Motors Liquidation. A spokesman for Motors Liquidation did not respond to e-mail inquiries. Michael Bender, director of the activist group Mercury Policy Project, agreed with Ms. Bills that G.M.’s intentions needed to be clarified. In an interview, he said, “What’s still not known is what happens when Motors Liquidation liquidates or vaporizes. If they’re not going to be around, we don’t know who is going to pick up the tab.” Jeff Gearhart, research director at Michigan’s Ecology Center, pointed out that a lack of funding was also an issue for the incentives that were, until recently, paid to dismantlers to make sure they pulled mercury switches out of cars. “Incentives were eliminated in August,” he said in an e-mail message. “Getting G.M. back on board gives us one leg, but we need to work on getting the other legs in place. Right now, switch recovery is only around 25 percent.” G.M. has other environmental liabilities besides mercury, including the contaminated Buick City plant in Flint, Mich., and a toxic sludge site along the St. Lawrence River in New York. According to MSN Money, the “environmental cleanup alone of G.M.’s toxic sites will cost about $530 million.”
US military generates largest amount of garbage yet: 2.6 tons, a 11% increase and 1.8 times that generated by Okinawans March 16, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo In fiscal 2015, 26,332 tons of ordinary waste was generated on U.S. bases in Okinawa, a 11.4% increase year on year. This was the first time that the amount of generated garbage exceeded 26,000 tons since fiscal 2010, and the largest amount of garbage generated in the past five years. Because the U.S. military does not publicly announce the amount of garbage it generates per fiscal year, the Okinawa prefectural government arrived at the above figure through interviews with representatives at waste management facilities and the like. Of ordinary waste generated by the U.S. military in fiscal 2015, 6,500 tons (24.7%) was recycled, and 19,832 tons was disposed of by incineration or in a landfill. Because the U.S. military stopped publicly announcing the number of military personnel, contractors and dependents after June 2011, the amount of waste generated per capita is unclear. In 2011, the total number of U.S. military personnel, contractors and dependents was 47,300. The numbers have likely changed over the years, making a direct comparison difficult, but if daily per capita waste generated in fiscal 2015 were calculated on the basis of the 2011 figure, it would come to 1,525 grams, which is 1.8 times the daily waste generated per capita by Okinawans in fiscal 2014 (844 grams). In Okinawa, different cities, towns and villages each have their own stipulated method for separating garbage, but as a result of the exclusive jurisdiction set forth in Article 3 of the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement, Japanese laws and regulations do not apply on U.S. bases in Japan. The U.S. Department of Defense has an environmental management program in place at all overseas U.S. bases that requires consideration be paid to the environment, but numerical trends show that the program is not having an effect. A representative of a waste disposal facility in Okinawa that takes in U.S. military garbage said that the facility is contractually prohibited from publicizing any details, but admitted that “waste from the bases is hardly separated at all, and we separate it at the facility.” An official from the prefectural government’s Department of Environmental Affairs said that waste disposal sites in Okinawa are at full capacity and stated, “We will continue calling for the U.S. government to establish waste incineration facilities or the like under its own responsibility.” (English translation by T&CT and Sandi Aritza) Go to Japanese Previous Article:Next Article:
Even as the rest of the television business was showing signs of strain, with younger users cutting the cable cord or even avoiding cable altogether, sports seemed like a bastion of safety for media companies—the one reliable thing for which users would always be willing to pay. But cracks are starting to appear in the foundation of that assumption. Some of the biggest cracks so far have shown up at ESPN, the multi-billion dollar broadcasting behemoth controlling access to a huge swath of programming from almost every major sports franchise from the National Football League to Major League Baseball. Shares of Disney (DIS), the media conglomerate that owns ESPN, have been under pressure for much of the past year—primarily because of concerns about the sports network. As growing numbers of TV watchers either cut the cord entirely or opt for what cable providers like to call “skinny bundles,” ESPN’s iron grip on viewers and subscribers is being questioned in a way it never has in the past. That’s a big deal for Disney shareholders as the sports network makes up a huge proportion of the Mouse House’s profits. ESPN president John Skipper maintains that cord-cutting isn’t as big a deal as some industry critics make it out to be, insisting the network is having some success retaining subscribers by being part of skinny bundles, such as Dish Network’s SlingTV package. ESPN has also hinted that it might decide to go over-the-top with its own streaming service at some point. Sign up for Data Sheet, Fortune‘s technology newsletter. Despite this bravado, however, the fact remains that ESPN has lost about seven million subscribers since 2013. Yet at the same time, ESPN has spent billions of dollars locking up the rights to various major sporting events. Other cracks in the foundation of the sports programming kingdom are showing up on a local level, evident in negotiations between individual channels and cable providers like Comcast. As the Wall Street Journal notes in a recent piece, New York Yankees games have been blacked out on Comcast since November because of an ongoing battle over licensing fees between the cable company and the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network (YES), a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox and the entity distributing Yankees game broadcasts. In addition to the fight between Comcast and YES over what the sports channel wants to charge for carriage on Comcast, there are other regional fights going on involving pay TV providers, such as Direct TV and SportsNet LA, the network that broadcasts Los Angeles Dodgers games. Time Warner Cable, which distributes SportsNet LA, recently agreed to cut its fees by 30%. The problem for both ESPN and smaller players like YES is that they have spent heavily over the past few years to lock up the rights to sports programming because doing so used to be a license to print money. But as cord-cutting has eaten into the traditional grip that sports had on the TV business, the assumptions behind those valuations are coming into question. “I believe that finally sports TV is in crisis mode,” Jimmy Schaeffler, head of media and telecom consultancy Carmel Group, told the Journal. Microsoft really wants to help Yahoo get sold. Watch: As the Journal story points out, YES signed a deal with the Yankees to lock up TV rights for 30 years at a cost of about $1.5 billion. Last year, 21st Century Fox increased its ownership of the network from 49% to 80% in a deal that valued the network at almost $4 billion. That may have looked like a great bargain at the time, but it’s not clear that YES or any of its sports programming brethren are worth as much as they appeared to be. The great unbundling of traditional broadcast television has implications for all kinds of content, including TV shows and movies. But nothing else has had quite the same hold on consumers as sports programming, and the unwinding of that massive, decades-long value chain is going to cause a lot more pain before it is finished.
Yesterday, I spent the day flying from Maine to Florida with my family. We have a 28 month old and a 14 month old. As any parent who has flown with toddlers will tell you, you pull out all of the tricks to entertain your children on the days you fly. In our case that included as much iPad use as they wanted. There was plenty of Clifford watching. There was also a lot of time looking at animal pictures and videos on the Kids US Atlas and Kids World Atlas apps. Kids US Atlas and Kids World Atlas are iPad apps that feature interactive maps. It is a freemium app which means part of it is free and part of it requires an in-app purchase. I used just the free parts with my kids. The free parts of Kids US Atlas and Kids World Atlas have an interactive map that features animals. Kids tap on the animals to see pictures and videos of the animals. The Kids US Atlas app features 25 animals and the Kids World Atlas app features 40 animals. Mpow Headphones The picture at the top of this post is one that I shared on my personal Facebook page and on Instagram last night. A bunch of people wanted to know where we got the headphones that our kids were wearing. We got them on Amazon, of course! The headphones are Mpow Kids Headphones. They come in a two-pack which is perfect for those who have two young kids. But the best part is that you can plug one pair into the other so that both kids can watch and hear the same iPad or phone. The Mpow Kids Headphones are currently available from Amazon for $25.99 and are Prime eligible. And if you’re thinking about getting a new iPad, Amazon still has current generation iPads on sale for $249!
CSEC and Saanich PD notified about the unauthorized flyers posted in Cornett Content Warning: Anti-Semitism, Racism UVic’s student body and administration responded in kind when photos of racist posters, found in the Cornett Building, circulated online. The posters were initially discovered the night of Oct. 18 and feature racist rhetoric, explicit anti-semitic symbols, and links to various alt-right websites. They became a talking point across campus, however, after a photo of the poster was shared by a Facebook group named “Anti-Racist Action UVic” on Nov. 1. From there, the photo was posted on a number of UVic-student-run Facebook pages and viewed hundreds of times. Responding to questions from the Martlet back in October, Paul Marck, a spokesperson for the university, said CSEC had been notified of the posters and were investigating the issue. “We’re disappointed that people would post offensive material like this,” said Cassbreea Dewis, the acting director of UVic’s Equity and Human Rights office, in a statement. Dewis urged students with concerns about the posters to contact EQHR. Tyson Strandlund, a graduate student at UVic and administrator of the Anti-Racist Action UVic Facebook page, said he wasn’t surprised to see posters like this at UVic given that the university has dealt with issues of racism before. “However, to see the anti-Semitic elements in this blatantly white supremacist piece of propaganda is deeply troubling,” Strandlund said over Facebook. In an email statement, B’nai Brith Canada — the Canadian chapter of an international Jewish services organization — condemned the posters. “This brazen outburst of far-right antisemitism at a Canadian university is a serious concern,” said Michael Mostyn, Chief Executive Officer of B’nai Brith Canada, in the statement. “It is imperative that university officials do whatever they can to identify and discipline the culprits.” Students online expressed a similar and widespread disdain for the poster. “UVic is a diverse campus, [and] Canada is known for its diversity,” commented Rehatbir Singh Dhingra. “There’s no place for this bullshit.” April Hautomala, another commenter on Facebook, agreed. “Seems like this is just another ploy by the alt right to silence already marginalized people,” Hautomala wrote. Though Marck couldn’t comment on whether Cornett is under video surveillance, citing security concerns, he did say CSEC were committed to using every resource available. “I would imagine they’re going to use every avenue they can,” Marck said, “in terms of investigating this to see if they can determine who came into the building and when [the posters were] posted.” This is a breaking news story and will be updated with more information as it becomes available.
Wilder reacts to former players signing NFL contracts Copyright by WAVY - All rights reserved Video NORFOLK (WAVY) - Bobby Wilder strongly believed Zach Pascal, one of the most prolific receivers in Old Dominion's eight-year history, would hear his named called in last weekend's NFL Draft, and in so doing, become the first Monarch ever to be drafted. The draft came and went, and still, ODU's young program is still waiting for that first ever draft pick. Still, three former Monarchs, Pascal, Rashaad Coward and Anthony Wilson, all found NFL homes as undrafted free-agents. Pascal, who grew up eight miles from FedEx Field, signed with his hometown Washington Redskins. Coward, an imposing defensive lineman, signed with the Chicago Bears and linebacker Anthony Wilson with the San Francisco 49ers. Wilder said he stayed in close contact with all three players through the draft, and was reminded of another former player with draft potential. "It reminded me of the same situations we went through with Taylor Heinicke, where he wasn't drafted but we had a pretty good option for him," said Wilder. Heinicke, the all-time leading passer in ODU history, was picked up by the Minnesota Vikings in 2015 and remains on the Vikings' roster to this day. "We knew the Vikings were interested (in Heinicke). Same thing with Zach and Rashaad. "There were specific teams that were very interested , and for Zach to end up with the Redskins, we all felt like that was a good situation. And then for Rashaad to end up with the Bears, same thing." Pascal finds himself with a golden opportunity. DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon, two of the Redskins' top receiving targets from last season, opted to leave Washington once their contracts expired. Wilder is hoping another one of his former players picks up an offer soon. T.J. Ricks is the rags-to-riches linebacker out of Kecoughtan High School who began his career as a walk-on and ended it as the Defensive MVP of the Bahamas Bowl. Ricks hasn't been signed yet.
Ready to fight back? Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. Fight Back! Sign up for Take Action Now and we’ll send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and we’ll send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Travel With The Nation Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Sign up for our Wine Club today. Did you know you can support The Nation by drinking wine? We know now that President Obama wasn’t exactly right when he said that when Obamacare debuts, “If you like your insurance plan you will keep it. No one will be able to take that away from you.” This month many Americans began getting letters from their insurer informing them that plans were being cancelled because they do not meet the minimum coverage standards mandated by the Affordable Care Act. Naturally, these letters shocked many of their recipients, and drew accusations of deception from the right. Ad Policy A more important question than whether Obama lied is what will really happen to the people getting the letters. Many are worried that they’ll now be forced to pay more for coverage they don’t need. There are three things to unpack here: how many people will lose their current policies, how much they’ll pay for their new plans and whether they need insurance that meets the new minimum requirements at all. The first question is the simplest to answer. It turns out that only 3 percent of the population may pay higher premiums for new insurance policies. That’s according to numbers that Jonathan Gruber, an economist at MIT who helped to design Romneycare and Obamacare, broke down for Ryan Lizza yesterday. Source: Justin Wolfers Here’s how the math works: the “winners” are the 14 percent of people who are currently uninsured and should gain coverage because of the healthcare law. (This figure depends in part on how many states expand Medicaid, and leaves out the 11 million undocumented immigrants excluded from the ACA’s provisions.) For another 80 percent of Americans, who have insurance through their employer or through Medicaid, Medicare or the VA, little will change. That leaves those who purchase their own insurance on the private market, about 6 percent of the population. Gruber estimates that half of those people will be able to purchase new plans so similar to their current policies that the change will amount to “relabeling,” effectively. We end up with 3 percent compelled to buy significantly different coverage. At this point it’s impossible to say exactly how many will pay higher premiums for those new plans or how significant their rate hikes will be. Many of the people receiving cancellation letters likely chose inexpensive insurance because of financial constraints, and so may be eligible for subsidies. Still, there will undoubtedly be people who will pay more, and many of them will be mad about it—like David Frum, who says that he will fork over an extra $200 a month for a worse policy, because of the way the law pools risk. “Presumably somewhere there is a DC resident who smokes or who has some pre-existing condition who will receive a corresponding $200 a month windfall,” Frum wrote earlier this week. That’s how the law works. The outrage over cancelled policies is, at heart, an old song rejecting the suggestion of collective responsibility. Someone receiving a cancellation letter and then facing higher premiums will undoubtedly be unpleasantly surprised, but the fact that 3 percent of Americans may pay more than they do now—so that another 14 percent can be insured—shouldn’t be news to anyone who’s followed healthcare reform. It may not be fair, but neither is charging women higher premiums or locking sick people out of the insurance marketplace. “The ACA was ingeniously designed to deliver benefits to Democratic constituencies and impose costs on Republican ones,” Frum complains. Never mind that red states stand to benefit most from Obamacare, and that there’s no polling I’ve ever seen correlating pre-existing conditions and liberalism. Of course, a better way to ensure that all constituencies receive the same benefits would be a single-payer system. I can’t evaluate Frum’s charge that his new plan will be worse than his old one, but that’s unlikely to be the case for most people receiving cancellation letters. As Jonathan Chait notes, it’s patronizing to tell people they are only happy with their cheap plans because they don’t know better, but it’s also true. “Even highly educated consumers within this market were frequently snookered by insurance plans that turned out to leave them exposed to surprise costs,” Chait writes. In 2009, 78 percent of Americans who filed for bankruptcy because of medical problems had insurance at the onset of their illness. Those higher rates don’t only guarantee a minimum range of essential health benefits, limited co-pays and the elimination of lifetime caps. They’re also an assurance that later on, should someone like Frum fall ill, he can still get coverage. That’s what the latest outrage about Obamacare victims misses: the losers and winners aren’t fixed. Zoë Carpenter on the damaging effects of some states’ refusal to expand Medicaid.
It seems almost too good to be true, but the System Shock series is apparently getting another installment. Last night, a teaser page showed up in the Twitter feed of OtherSide Entertainment, a small studio led by Paul Neurath — co-founder of System Shock creator Looking Glass Studios. The page linked to a countdown clock that's currently got five days left, but another page seemingly reveals the surprise. The name's all we know for now, but that's still a huge deal for the game's fans. System Shock and its sequel System Shock 2 were hugely influential, particularly because System Shock 2 was the blueprint for the more widely known game BioShock. As with a lot of old games, the rights spent many years in limbo; it was impossible to even buy them, let alone develop a sequel. Last month, though, a company called Night Dive Studios announced that it had acquired the rights. It's currently planning a full remake of the original System Shock, but it also mentioned plans to continue the series — plans that, if this announcement pans out, will be realized by OtherSide. OtherSide, founded just a year ago, is "focused on rebooting classic game franchises." It's currently developing Underworld Ascendant, the crowdfunded follow-up to Looking Glass classic Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss. It's extremely likely that System Shock 3 will also appear on Kickstarter, a platform that's hosted reboots and spiritual sequels to everything from Shadowrun to Banjo-Kazooie. The possibility of a new System Shock game raises all kinds of questions. Will Terri Brosius, voice of megalomaniac AI and central antagonist SHODAN, return to the series? Will the creators stick with the shooting-heavy action of System Shock or add the role-playing game elements that defined its sequel? Will it directly follow the strangely abrupt final twist of System Shock 2? We can't answer any of those, but by the end of this week, we'll hopefully at least have a stronger grasp of OtherSide's development plans.
The situation at Fox News surrounding allegations of harassment have dominated media coverage, but media ignores that there are 175 lawsuits still pending against CNN. In December of 2016, CNN and other Time Warner Cable entities were hit with a lawsuit in a Georgia federal court. The lawsuits against CNN are much broader than the one against Fox News because it has been growing dramatically since its inception six months ago. To date, the number of cases alleging racial discrimination has climbed to 175 from current and former employees. Frail elderly woman body-slammed and thrown into pool with dog for asking partiers to turn down music New York Post added details to the looming lawsuit: The lawsuit against CNN, meanwhile, claims the company’s Atlanta headquarters is rife with racism. Minority employees had to endure bigoted remarks such as “It’s hard to manage black people” and “Who would be worth more: black slaves from times past, or new slaves?,” according to a complaint by former workers Celeslie Henley and Ernest Colbert Jr. filed in Atlanta federal court. Colbert Jr. also claims he was paid thousands less than white colleagues as a manager at the affiliated Turner Broadcasting System. The Hollywood Reporter: Unlike the lawsuit against Fox News, the one against CNN and sister companies is much broader, claiming among other things that African-Americans receive lower performance ratings in evaluations, that there are dramatic differences in pay between similarly situated employees of different races and that the promotion of African-American employees is blocked by a “glass ceiling.” The complaint cites hiring and advancement statistics while alleging that African-American employees have endured slurs from superiors, including “It’s hard to manage black people” and “Who would be worth more: black slaves from times past, or new slaves?” According to a plaintiffs’ motion to amend that was filed March 23, “Since the filing of this action, counsels for the plaintiffs have been contacted by more than 175 people, both former and current employees of the Defendant, requesting to be members of the putative class action, all having similar complaints of intentional racial discrimination, discrimination impact and discriminatory practices employed by the Defendants.” Mainstream media outlets are not covering the lawsuits at CNN with the same attention and fortitude as they are with Fox News. Italian TV reporter assaulted while covering arrival of refugees Joseph Curl at the Daily Wire asked the million dollar question: why have big names at Fox News like Bill O’Reilly and co-president Bill Shine been forced to resign but no one at CNN has been removed amid 175 allegations of racial discrimination?
Recently I posted how to run the Ubiquiti UniFi Controller in the cloud using services like Linode, Vultr, or DigitalOcean. However, a few people has asked if I could post instructions on how to run the UniFi controller in Docker, similar how I have CrashPlan running in Docker. For the steps below I’ll be using my Synology DS1815+ NAS which is compatible to run Docker. If you’re unsure if your model support docker or not you can check here. How to install Ubiquiti UniFi Controller in Docker on Synology NAS I’ll assume your Synology NAS does support Docker and you’ve already installed the Synology Docker app on your Synology NAS. SSH into your Synology NAS using PuTTy or other terminal of your choice, login using your account with admin access. First lets create a new folder called “unifi” located in “docker“, this will be used to store all our UniFi Controller configs, so when we upgrade the Docker container our configs remain in place. (Replace volume1 with your desired volume) mkdir /volume1/docker/unifi Now lets pull, or download, the UniFi Controller Docker container from the Docker Hub by typing the following command: sudo docker pull jacobalberty/unifi:latest Next lets run the new UniFi Controller container by typing the following, again replacing ‘volume1‘ with the volume you create the unifi folder on. sudo docker run -d --init --restart=unless-stopped --name=unifi-controller --net=host --volume=/volume1/docker/unifi:/var/lib/unifi -p 8080:8080/tcp -p 8081:8081/tcp -p 8443:8443/tcp -p 8843:8843/tcp -p 8880:8880/tcp -p 8883:8883/tcp -p 3478:3478/udp jacobalberty/unifi:latest Now finally, open a web browser and go to: https://<SYNOLOGY_IP>:8443 Configuring Ubiquiti UniFi Controller in Docker Now we’ll just need to finish the UniFi controller setup by following the wizard once you’ve loaded https://<SYNOLOGY_IP>:8443 in your browser from the above steps. First, set your country and timezone then click Next. The UniFi controller will automatically find any access points on the same network, select the access point you’d like to configure for the Docker UniFi controller to manage and click Next. Enter the SSID you’d like your wireless network to be named and a password then click Next. Optionally, you can also configure a guest wireless as well by checking the “Enable Guest Access”. Now set the login user and password. This will be used to access the Docker UniFi Controller management page. Then press Next. Finally, review that the SSID and User names both look correct then press Finish. Once the wizard has completed your Ubiquiti access point will be adopted, configured and ready to connect to from any of your wireless devices. It is a good idea to log into the UniFi Controller management page (https://<SYNOLOGY_IP>:8443) and check the firmware status of the access point. As shown below the access point is still functioning but also showing us that a upgrade for the access point is available. Simply click on the “Upgrade” link and the UniFi controller will automatically upgrade it within just a few minutes. The benefits of running the Ubiquiti UniFi controller in Docker on the Synology NAS is that it’s free (if you already own the Synology NAS) and super simple to setup. Depending on your Synology specs, such as a Synology DS1815+, you could easily manage several access points and sites using the docker UniFi controller and upgrading to 16GB RAM will certainly help with resources. I still prefer hosting my UniFi Controller in the cloud using Linode, Vultr, or DigitalOcean if only for the fact my UniFi controller isn’t tied to my home/business network. Which means I’ll get email notifications if an access point goes offline. An important function for me as I manage several access points for other places and people. Otherwise, if you are looking for a great solution for your home or business then the UniFi Controller in Docker is perfect fit!
Image caption Egypt has been wracked by political tension for months A court in Egypt has suspended the parliamentary elections which had been scheduled to begin next month. The Cairo Administrative Court said the electoral law promulgated by President Mohammed Morsi needed to be reviewed by the Supreme Constitutional Court. Mr Morsi said he respected the ruling and that an appeal was unlikely. He had announced last month that the elections for the People's Assembly would take place in four stages over two months, starting on 22 April. The main opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front (NSF), subsequently said it would boycott the polls because the electoral law favoured the president's Islamist allies - a claim the president denied. The NSF also expressed concern that the elections would be neither free nor fair. They were called by the president only weeks after more than 70 people were killed in clashes between security forces and opposition supporters at protests held across the country to mark the second anniversary of the revolution which removed Hosni Mubarak. On Wednesday, the security chief in Port Said was dismissed following renewed clashes between demonstrators and police. The coastal city has seen repeated outbreaks of violence since January, when death sentences were handed down to 39 people arrested after a riot at its football stadium last year which left more than 70 people dead. 'Respect for constitution' The administrative court said it had ordered the elections to be suspended because the Islamist-dominated upper house of parliament, the Shura Council, had not returned the electoral law to the Supreme Constitutional Court for final review after amending it in February. The mess continues courtesy of epic failure of governance Mohamed ElBaradei, National Salvation Front Instead, the court said, the Shura Council had sent the law to Mr Morsi for ratification. Mr Morsi's legal adviser initially said the presidency would appeal, but it later issued a statement saying it respected the court's decision. "The Presidency respects Administrative Court ruling to suspend Lower House Elections & refer Elections Law back to the Constitutional Court," it wrote on Twitter in English. Another tweet said: "The Presidency reaffirms its respect for the Constitution, Rule of Law and Separation of Powers." Mr Morsi's opponents said the ruling was further proof that the president and his Muslim Brotherhood were mismanaging the country and seeking a monopoly on power. "The mess continues courtesy of epic failure of governance,'' NSF leader Mohamed ElBaradei wrote on Twitter in English. "Ignorance and manipulation of the essence of the state of law are the characteristics of a fascistic state. The president continues to speak about legitimacy," he added in Arabic. The elections have been called because Egyptians voted in December in favour of a controversial new constitution, which requires that the process begins within two months. The last polls saw the Muslim Brotherhood's political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), win 43% of the seats in the People's Assembly and 59% of the seats in the Shura Council.
Some might remember a time not too long ago when a young Wale with freshly locked hair kicked in the door rhyming about his love for Nike boots, his city and his love for "Seinfeld." Record scratch Yes, Seinfeld. For a "show about nothing," the classic NBC comedy spawned two mixtapes from Wale and could possibly be the basis for an entire album... or more. On "RapFix Live" this week, D.C.'s own shared that he's been on the phone with Jerry Seinfeld and the two have plenty of material on wax. "I told you I could drop two albums this year," he told host Sway Calloway. "I talked to Jerry." The first album, of course, is The Gifted, Wale's second album as a member of Rick Ross-led Maybach Music Group. But Wale, who once said that he has seen every "Seinfeld" episode 30 times, remains deeply inspired by the "genius" work of the comedy legend. "Comedy's art, man. The ability to make somebody feel something: that's art," Wale said. "However you look at it, whether you're an author, a painter, a singer, a rapper, a spoken-word artist — art. So I see the art in the show. I see the art in the dialogue in the show, how you can conceptualize some of the conversations that they have on that show. It's a lot of genius that goes into that, and I appreciate it." In 2008, Wale dropped The Mixtape About Nothing, which featured clips of dialogue from "Seinfeld" and samples of Jerry's monologues. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, known as "Elaine," even made an appearance on the mixtape. Wale kept the theme going on 2010's More About Nothing mixtape, released after his 2011 debut album Attention Deficit." Wale says The Gifted LP is "what the people need." However, what took Wale from being a casual fan to an official collaborator was actually a little help from the woman of the house, Seinfeld's wife, Jessica. "He said his wife is a big fan," Wale said. "If the queen's happy, the man's happy, and the man's happy, the land's happy, so I'll take it like that." Fans will take it like that, too, because the buzz for this project has been building for months, with Seinfeld himself backing the project. An interview with the comedian shows that A: At 58, Seinfeld is game for anything, and B: Art is a most transcendent cultural connector. Jerry talked about being approached long ago to work with hip-hop mogul Diddy. Though it never came to pass, Jerry eloquently summarized the potential of a comedy-hip-hop crossover: "Cause hip hop's words, right? I do words. Why don't you take my words and do something with it? I don't know how to do it, but I thought, 'Just take the words.' " Looks like Wale, Jerry and all their "words" might release something soon. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below if you're checking for a Seinfeld-Wale collaboration.
“This cold snap is lasting longer than normal,” said Rick Davis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tampa, Fla., where the temperature can fall below freezing several times a year but will usually rebound by the next day. “We’ve had it the last three or four days, and it will last for the better part of the week and this coming weekend, so we’re going to have a solid 7- to 10-day stretch of lower-than-normal temperatures.” Mr. Davis said the conditions were particularly problematic for farmers, especially in central and southern Florida, where January is the middle of the growing season for strawberries and citrus fruit. Photo Gov. Charlie Crist signed an executive order giving state agencies the authority to provide growers help. Farmers are so worried about the effects of a prolonged freeze that Charles H. Bronson, Florida’s agricultural commissioner, asked Mr. Crist on Tuesday to lift a weight limit on trucks that haul produce. “That way farmers can load up the crops they’re already harvested and get them out of harm’s way,” said Terence McElroy, press secretary for the State Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. “This thing isn’t over yet, and we don’t know where we’ll be at the end of it.” Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content , updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. Mr. McElroy said agriculture, the state’s second-biggest industry after tourism, had an economic impact in excess of $100 billion a year. Andrew Meadows, director of communications for Florida Citrus Mutual, a growers’ association, said crop damage occurred when the temperature stayed at 28 degrees or lower for at least four hours. Readings as low as 27 have been seen the last few nights, Mr. Meadows said, but generally just before daybreak and for only an hour or so before the rising sun heated things up again. There were no reports of damage so far, he said. But a forecast of a more lingering frost on Tuesday night prompted farmers in many parts of Florida to take precautions to protect their crops, he said. One favored method is to activate microsprinklers when the temperature is below freezing to make ice that protects a fruit-bearing plant or tree from the frigid air. “If you were paying attention in your high school physics class, you may know that the formation of ice creates heat,” he said, referring to an effect that scientists call the heat of fusion. “That will protect the tree or that portion of the tree — the bottom and the trunk — from freezing.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Meadows said there were some freezing spells last winter that caused damage in some pockets of Florida, but nothing like the big freeze of 1989, when frigid temperatures for several days caused huge crop losses throughout the state. Many growers moved their operations farther south after that winter.
I have obsessively followed politics, especially presidential races, for decades. I watched the Challenger shuttle explode in 1986 while sitting in my kindergarten class. We were watching because the Challenger carried Christa McAuliffe, a woman set to be the first teacher in space. I remember the nuns, who were our teachers, weeping openly as president Ronald Reagan said these brave astronauts slipped "the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God." I admit I cried when Reagan left the White House in 1988 because I knew he wouldn't be the president anymore. Apparently, I didn't really understand how the presidency works. I grew up without a father, so perhaps that explains my attachment the affable old fella. I also realized at that time that if we were going to constantly recast the role of president, I wanted to be in on the audition. My obsession became my vocation when the (now-defunct) 20dc hired me as a full-time political reporter in 2008. Until then, politics had been something like a sport, where I could pick a team and cheer (or jeer) with everyone else. As a reporter, I had to check the facts and also check my own biases to ensure that my reporting and analyses treated politicians fairly. Yet, there's always a moment where these controversial national figures become avuncular goofballs I just can't help but like. Usually, brief humanizing moments, like Bill Clinton playing the saxophone on "The Arsenio Hall Show" or George W. Bush chest-bumping West Point graduates in 2007, persuaded me. When Hillary Clinton announced her presidential run in April 2015, I realized I couldn't think of any similar humanizing moments about her. I didn't like her — and I didn't know why.
Eric Branch is reporting that the San Francisco 49ers are expected to open the 2014 season on the road, and then host Sunday Night Football at Levi's Stadium in Week 2. The day after the Super Bowl, I wrote an article about why the 49ers would not open the season at Seattle on Thursday Night Football. Shockingly enough, I might have been wrong! The 49ers local media were given a tour of the stadium, and it sounds like they had a chance to learn a variety of little details. According to the Chronicle article, even though the stadium is expected to be completed by late July, "the decision to delay its regular-season unveiling was made as part of its original construction schedule." I suppose it's better to play it safe than sorry given the timeline. As Branch points out, the 49ers are logical candidates to open the season at Seattle. It would certainly be a blowout affair (in excitement, not in score, well, unless it's the 49ers blowing out the Seahawks!), but I guess I just figured why would the NFL use a great matchup on a game that is going to get great ratings anyway. But, if you're the NFL, you could set some serious cable records with a 49ers-Seahawks opener. The NFL likes to prove it's the biggest and the best, and they LOVE flaunting their crazy TV ratings. So, I suppose that makes a lot more sense. With the schedule announcement coming in April, that means five months of all sorts of Sherman-Crabtree promotion! Branch also pointed out that the 49ers will likely play their preseason home games in Week 2 and 3. The San Jose Earthquakes will host the Seattle Sounders on August 2. A Week 2 preseason opener would give the 49ers some time to clean up the field after the soccer contest.
Sheryl Ubelacker, The Canadian Press TORONTO -- Canada's largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital has added a unique service for its aboriginal clients -- a sweat lodge to help promote spiritual, physical and emotional healing. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto unveiled the sweat lodge on a tucked-away section of its sprawling campus, fulfilling a goal set years ago to augment its services for indigenous clients by adding the ceremonial structure. "Having the sweat lodge on-site at CAMH is going to allow us to offer indigenous healing ceremonies as part of the treatment plans," Renee Linklater, director of aboriginal engagement and outreach, said in an interview prior to Thursday's official opening. "This is going to be really important in our efforts to address what is appropriate aboriginal client care." The round sweat lodge -- 1.5 metres high and four metres in diameter -- is constructed from 35 maple and poplar sapling poles, gathered from the Six Nations of the Grand River community. Heavy tarp overlays the frame, with an opening facing a fire pit, where stones for the purification ceremony are heated. Inside, a second pit has been dug to receive those stones, which will be washed with traditional medicines and the "sacred water" that will turn into a cleansing steam. Participants sit encircling the pit inside the lodge and engage in prayer, songs and other rituals of healing with the help of a ceremonial "conductor." The process lasts about two hours. Diane Longboat, an elder with CAMH's aboriginal services, said clients with mental health and/or addiction issues go through a number of individual healing ceremonies before being considered ready for the rituals of the sweat lodge. Taking part in the cleansing ceremony is meant to cast out negative thoughts and feelings, and to help heal "the wounds in their lives," said Longboat, a Mohawk from the Six Nations of the Grand River territory in southwestern Ontario. The stones are called "grandmothers and grandfathers," terms reflective of aboriginal Canadians' great reverence for their ancestors. "When sacred water is placed on them and steam occurs, that's a release of the spirit inside those rocks we call the eggs of Mother Earth," explained Longboat. "Not only is it a physical detoxification of your body, but it's an emotional shift within you. "It is sometimes a miraculous adventure when you go in because there are profound and everlasting healings that occur inside the sweat lodge. And people will look back on life and say: 'This was a spiritual milestone for me. It was an emotional, mental and physical milestone."' Ed Bennett, an Inuk born in Happy Valley, N.L., who ended up homeless in Toronto, was a client at CAMH about five years ago and was enrolled in its 21-day in-house program to deal with psychological issues and substance abuse. The program helped Bennett learn to express suppressed feelings, to deal with family-related trauma and to accept his identity as a "two-spirit man and a gay man." He was able to take part in sweat lodge ceremonies through the Native Men's Residence, a shelter program in Toronto. "It allows me to cleanse myself, especially of those negative thoughts that keep coming back to me from time to time," said the 56-year-old. "So the sweat lodge ceremony allows me to release those. "I'm really looking forward to my first sweat lodge ceremony at CAMH and to continue to use this important ceremony in my healing journey." Linklater, an Anishinaabe from Rainy River First Nations in northwestern Ontario, said she believes Canadian society has become much more aware of the historical scars borne by First Nations, Metis and Inuit as a result of colonization, forced relocations of entire communities, the impact of residential schools and the mass apprehensions of aboriginal children in what's known as the '60s Scoop. "We know that this trauma does not resolve on its own, but rather intensifies and then becomes extended to the children and grandchildren," she said. "And that's why we feel that it's really important that health services understand the impacts of multi-generational trauma and begin to offer services that are actually relevant and appropriate." While the sweat lodge will initially be made available only to aboriginal clients, said Linklater, "we are certainly looking forward to a time when clients from other cultures can participate in our traditional healing processes."
We are proud to announce that all VST plugins developed by Mastrcode Music are now available for direct free download from Bedroom Producers Blog, with kind permission of the developer. Mastrcode Music’s official website has been offline for quite some time now, so we are providing a free download mirror for their fantastic freeware instruments and effects. The developer currently has five different VST plugins in their portfolio, aimed at trance music production and electronic music production in general. For the latest news and updates from the developer, visit Mastrcode Music on Facebook. For more freeware plugins, take a look at our main VST plugins directory. We are also mirroring free plugins by Sleepy-Time DSP and Mokafix Audio. Please feel free to leave a comment below if there’s any other developer that you’d like to see featured on BPB. Scroll down to the downloads section to download the complete Mastrcode Music plugins collection. T-Force Alpha Plus (ranked #12 in our top freeware plugins of 2013 list) combines subtractive and FM synthesis in a neat multi-panel user interface that is surprisingly easy to operate. The synth is capable of generating a wide palette of EDM style patches and sequences with its versatile modulation options, a powerful FX section, side-chain compression emulation (an extremely easy way to achieve pumping bass sounds) and a built-in 32-step trance gate. Building sounds from scratch is loads of fun in T-Force Alpha Plus, however the plugin also comes with a hefty amount of factory presets for those of us who prefer the plug and play approach to music making. The only two significant drawbacks of T-Force Alpha Plus are the facts that it’s available for 32-bit Windows only (same goes for all of the other Mastrcode Music plugins) and also a bit CPU hungry. T-Force Alpha TS is an older and less feature-packed version of the T-Force Alpha Plus synthesizer featured above. Our suggestion is to go for T-Force Alpha Plus instead, however if you’ve used T-Force Alpha TS in an old project and need a way to download the plugin again, this is your free ticket. T-Force Alpha TS shares a lot of features with its younger and more powerful brother, however it lacks FM synthesis, side-chain compression emulation, advanced modulation features, as well as the great looking user interface of the T-Force Alpha Plus. It’s still a very powerful instrument on its own though and it’s not completely unlikely that some users might actually prefer this older and simplified version of Mastrcode Music’s flagship virtual instrument. T-Force Trance Gate takes the built-in sequencer module from T-Force Alpha Plus and turns it into a powerful standalone VST plugin which can be paired up with any virtual instrument or other sound source to create classic trance gate style sequences. The plugin supports velocity and panning control for each step, a multi-mode filter and a set of sequencer controlled ADSR envelopes for volume and filter modulation. T-Force Trance Gate also includes a handy FX section with reverb and delay effects, tempo sync and full automation support. By the way, if trance gates are your thing, you should definitely check out the recently released A1TriggerGate plugin by A1AUDIO. It is completely free to download and use, as well as fully cross-platform compatible. DB-Force The Amen is a unique beat slicer instrument which was designed specifically for mangling the legendary “Amen Break” drum loop. The plugin comes with a pre-loaded Amen Break drum loop and it is not possible to load external loops. This is somewhat of a bummer really, since DB-Force The Amen is a very capable loop slicer with tons of built-in processing tools. On the other hand, even though the plugin is limited to the Amen Break loop, it is possible to get loads of different drum sounds out of it. DB-Force The Amen comes with a global volume envelope, separate volume and filter envelopes for each slice, a multi-mode filter, an FX section, a built-in preset manager and a set of MIDI performance controls. T-Force Phaser is a simple phaser effect with up to 16 phase cancellation stages. It works great in tandem with other Mastrcode Music plugins, as well as any 3rd party virtual instrument. Supports BPM sync, MIDI learn and automation. Video Demo Check out the T-Force Alpha Plus demo video (by HTMEM): Download Mastrcode Music VST Plugins (19.4 MB download size, ZIP archive, contains 5 virtual instruments and effects in 32-bit VST plugin format for Windows, made with SynthEdit)
It’s been extremely common for news accounts to portray Donald Trump’s candidacy as a “working-class” rebellion against Republican elites. There are elements of truth in this perspective: Republican voters, especially Trump supporters, are unhappy about the direction of the economy. Trump voters have lower incomes than supporters of John Kasich or Marco Rubio. And things have gone so badly for the Republican “establishment” that the party may be facing an existential crisis. But the definition of “working class” and similar terms is fuzzy, and narratives like these risk obscuring an important and perhaps counterintuitive fact about Trump’s voters: As compared with most Americans, Trump’s voters are better off. The median household income of a Trump voter so far in the primaries is about $72,000, based on estimates derived from exit polls and Census Bureau data. That’s lower than the $91,000 median for Kasich voters. But it’s well above the national median household income of about $56,000. It’s also higher than the median income for Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders supporters, which is around $61,000 for both. These figures, as I mentioned, are derived from exit polls, which so far have been conducted in 23 primary states. The exit polls have asked voters to describe their 2015 family income by using one of five broad categories, ranging from “under $30,000” to “$200,000 or more.” It’s fairly straightforward to interpolate a median income for voters of each candidate from this data; for instance, we can infer that the median Clinton voter in Wisconsin made about $63,000. You can find my estimates for each candidate in each state in the following table, along with each state’s overall household median income in 2015. MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME STATE STATEWIDE* CLINTON SANDERS CRUZ KASICH TRUMP Maryland $79k $92k $77k $92k $119k $95k New Hampshire 76 84 69 77 99 78 Connecticut 73 102 75 101 119 99 Virginia 69 83 71 79 114 82 Massachusetts 65 87 68 84 107 93 Vermont 63 80 61 62 85 70 Wisconsin 60 63 63 80 76 69 Missouri 59 58 53 64 80 62 Illinois 57 61 66 74 99 79 Pennsylvania 57 59 57 64 83 71 New York 56 64 65 56 83 85 Texas 56 63 62 82 98 78 Michigan 54 56 51 62 75 61 Georgia 51 59 55 88 89 70 Ohio 51 59 62 62 92 64 Oklahoma 49 57 54 71 102 69 Florida 48 51 50 64 87 70 North Carolina 48 59 56 74 92 62 Arkansas 47 47 49 67 67 63 South Carolina 47 39 47 64 108 72 Tennessee 45 61 52 73 82 64 Alabama 44 44 53 63 75 58 Mississippi 37 38 39 64 97 62 All states** 56 61 61 73 91 72 Trump voters, like others in the GOP, have relatively high incomes * The state median includes all households, not just those that voted in the primaries. ** The aggregate estimate is weighted based on the number of votes a candidate received in each state. Source: Edison Research Exit Polls, Census bureau Trump voters’ median income exceeded the overall statewide median in all 23 states, sometimes narrowly (as in New Hampshire or Missouri) but sometimes substantially. In Florida, for instance, the median household income for Trump voters was about $70,000, compared with $48,000 for the state as a whole. The differences are usually larger in states with substantial non-white populations, as black and Hispanic voters are overwhelmingly Democratic and tend to have lower incomes. In South Carolina, for example, the median Trump supporter had a household income of $72,000, while the median for Clinton supporters was $39,000. Ted Cruz voters have a similar median income to Trump supporters — about $73,000. Kasich’s supporters have a very high median income, $91,000, and it has exceeded $100,000 in several states. Rubio’s voters, not displayed in the table above, followed a similar pattern to Kasich voters, with a median income of $88,000. Many of the differences reflect that Republican voters are wealthier overall than Democratic ones, and also that wealthier Americans are more likely to turn out to vote, especially in the primaries. However, while Republican turnout has considerably increased overall from four years ago, there’s no sign of a particularly heavy turnout among “working-class” or lower-income Republicans. On average in states where exit polls were conducted both this year and in the Republican campaign four years ago, 29 percent of GOP voters have had household incomes below $50,000 this year, compared with 31 percent in 2012. STATE 2012 2016 Alabama 37% 41% Florida 34 33 Georgia 24 26 Illinois 28 23 Maryland 19 19 Massachusetts 24 20 Michigan 35 37 Mississippi 36 37 New Hampshire 26 27 Ohio 32 30 Oklahoma 41 30 South Carolina 36 27 Tennessee 35 33 Vermont 37 30 Virginia 25 19 Wisconsin 32 28 Average 31 29 Share of Republican electorate with household income below $50,000 Source: EDISON RESEARCH EXIT POLLS The median income for Clinton and Sanders voters — $61,000 for each candidate — is generally much closer to the overall median income in each state. But even Democratic turnout tends to skew slightly toward a wealthier electorate, somewhat validating Sanders’s claim that “poor people don’t vote.” I estimate that 27 percent of American households had incomes under $30,000 last year. By comparison, 20 percent of Clinton voters did, as did 18 percent of Sanders supporters. (Those figures imply Clinton might have a bigger edge on Sanders if more poor people voted, although it would depend on whether they were black, white or Hispanic.) Both Democratic candidates do better than the Republicans in this category, however. Only 12 percent of Trump voters have incomes below $30,000; when you also consider that Clinton has more votes than Trump overall, that means about twice as many low-income voters have cast a ballot for Clinton than for Trump so far this year. SHARE OF VOTERS HOUSEHOLD INCOME SHARE OF ALL U.S. H’HOLDS CLINTON SANDERS CRUZ KASICH TRUMP <$30,000 27% 20% 18% 11% 9% 12% $30,000-$49,999 18 21 23 17 14 20 $50,000-$99,999 29 30 34 41 31 34 $100,000-$199,999 20 22 21 25 32 25 ≥$200,000 6 7 5 6 14 9 Low-income voters are underrepresented, especially in the GOP Source: EDISON RESEARCH EXIT POLLS Class in America is a complicated concept, and it may be that Trump supporters see themselves as having been left behind in other respects. Since almost all of Trump’s voters so far in the primaries have been non-Hispanic whites, we can ask whether they make lower incomes than other white Americans, for instance. The answer is “no.” The median household income for non-Hispanic whites is about $62,000, still a fair bit lower than the $72,000 median for Trump voters. Likewise, although about 44 percent of Trump supporters have college degrees, according to exit polls — lower than the 50 percent for Cruz supporters or 64 percent for Kasich supporters — that’s still higher than the 33 percent of non-Hispanic white adults, or the 29 percent of American adults overall, who have at least a bachelor’s degree. This is not to say that Trump voters are happy about the condition of the economy. Substantial majorities of Republicans in every state so far have said they’re “very worried” about the condition of the U.S. economy, according to exit polls, and these voters have been more likely to vote for Trump. But that anxiety doesn’t necessarily reflect their personal economic circumstances, which for many Trump voters, at least in a relative sense, are reasonably good. Check out our live coverage of the Indiana primary elections.
Teens, Social Media, and Privacy Teens share a wide range of information about themselves on social media sites; indeed the sites themselves are designed to encourage the sharing of information and the expansion of networks. However, few teens embrace a fully public approach to social media. Instead, they take an array of steps to restrict and prune their profiles, and their patterns of reputation management on social media vary greatly according to their gender and network size. These are among the key findings from a new report based on a survey of 802 teens that examines teens’ privacy management on social media sites: Teens are sharing more information about themselves on social media sites than they did in the past. For the five different types of personal information that we measured in both 2006 and 2012, each is significantly more likely to be shared by teen social media users in our most recent survey. Teen Twitter use has grown significantly: 24% of online teens use Twitter, up from 16% in 2011. The typical (median) teen Facebook user has 300 friends, while the typical teen Twitter user has 79 followers. Focus group discussions with teens show that they have waning enthusiasm for Facebook, disliking the increasing adult presence, people sharing excessively, and stressful “drama,” but they keep using it because participation is an important part of overall teenage socializing. 60% of teen Facebook users keep their profiles private, and most report high levels of confidence in their ability to manage their settings. Teens take other steps to shape their reputation, manage their networks, and mask information they don’t want others to know; 74% of teen social media users have deleted people from their network or friends list. Teen social media users do not express a high level of concern about third-party access to their data; just 9% say they are “very” concerned. On Facebook, increasing network size goes hand in hand with network variety, information sharing, and personal information management. In broad measures of online experience, teens are considerably more likely to report positive experiences than negative ones. For instance, 52% of online teens say they have had an experience online that made them feel good about themselves. Teens are sharing more information about themselves on social media sites than they did in the past. Teens are increasingly sharing personal information on social media sites, a trend that is likely driven by the evolution of the platforms teens use as well as changing norms around sharing. A typical teen’s MySpace profile from 2006 was quite different in form and function from the 2006 version of Facebook as well as the Facebook profiles that have become a hallmark of teenage life today. For the five different types of personal information that we measured in both 2006 and 2012, each is significantly more likely to be shared by teen social media users on the profile they use most often. 91% post a photo of themselves , up from 79% in 2006. , up from 79% in 2006. 71% post their school name , up from 49%. , up from 49%. 71% post the city or town where they live , up from 61%. , up from 61%. 53% post their email address , up from 29%. , up from 29%. 20% post their cell phone number, up from 2%. In addition to the trend questions, we also asked five new questions about the profile teens use most often and found that among teen social media users: 92% post their real name to the profile they use most often. to the profile they use most often. 84% post their interests , such as movies, music, or books they like. , such as movies, music, or books they like. 82% post their birth date . . 62% post their relationship status . . 24% post videos of themselves. Older teens are more likely than younger teens to share certain types of information, but boys and girls tend to post the same kind of content. Generally speaking, older teen social media users (ages 14-17), are more likely to share certain types of information on the profile they use most often when compared with younger teens (ages 12-13). Older teens who are social media users more frequently share: Photos of themselves on their profile (94% older teens vs. 82% of younger teens) Their school name (76% vs. 56%) Their relationship status (66% vs. 50%) Their cell phone number (23% vs. 11%) While boys and girls generally share personal information on social media profiles at the same rates, cell phone numbers are a key exception. Boys are significantly more likely to share their numbers than girls (26% vs. 14%). This is a difference that is driven by older boys. Various differences between white and African-American social media-using teens are also significant, with the most notable being the lower likelihood that African-American teens will disclose their real names on a social media profile (95% of white social media-using teens do this vs. 77% of African-American teens). 16% of teen social media users have set up their profile to automatically include their location in posts. Beyond basic profile information, some teens choose to enable the automatic inclusion of location information when they post. Some 16% of teen social media users said they set up their profile or account so that it automatically includes their location in posts. Boys and girls and teens of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds are equally likely to say that they have set up their profile to include their location when they post. Focus group data suggests that many teens find sharing their location unnecessary and unsafe, while others appreciate the opportunity to signal their location to friends and parents. Teen Twitter use has grown significantly: 24% of online teens use Twitter, up from 16% in 2011. Twitter draws a far smaller crowd than Facebook for teens, but its use is rising. One in four online teens uses Twitter in some way. While overall use of social networking sites among teens has hovered around 80%, Twitter grew in popularity; 24% of online teens use Twitter, up from 16% in 2011 and 8% the first time we asked this question in late 2009. African-American teens are substantially more likely to report using Twitter when compared with white youth. Continuing a pattern established early in the life of Twitter, African-American teens who are internet users are more likely to use the site when compared with their white counterparts. Two in five (39%) African-American teens use Twitter, while 23% of white teens use the service. Public accounts are the norm for teen Twitter users. While those with Facebook profiles most often choose private settings, Twitter users, by contrast, are much more likely to have a public account. 64% of teens with Twitter accounts say that their tweets are public, while 24% say their tweets are private. 12% of teens with Twitter accounts say that they “don’t know” if their tweets are public or private. While boys and girls are equally likely to say their accounts are public, boys are significantly more likely than girls to say that they don’t know (21% of boys who have Twitter accounts report this, compared with 5% of girls). The typical (median) teen Facebook user has 300 friends, while the typical teen Twitter user has 79 followers. Overall, teens have far fewer followers on Twitter when compared with Facebook friends; the typical (median) teen Facebook user has 300 friends, while the typical (median) teen Twitter user has 79 followers. Girls and older teens tend to have substantially larger Facebook friend networks compared with boys and younger teens. Teens’ Facebook friendship networks largely mirror their offline networks. Seven in ten say they are friends with their parents on Facebook. Teens, like other Facebook users, have different kinds of people in their online social networks. And how teens construct that network has implications for who can see the material they share in those digital social spaces: 98% of Facebook-using teens are friends with people they know from school. 91% of teen Facebook users are friends with members of their extended family. 89% are connected to friends who do not attend the same school. 76% are Facebook friends with brothers and sisters. 70% are Facebook friends with their parents. 33% are Facebook friends with other people they have not met in person. 30% have teachers or coaches as friends in their network. 30% have celebrities, musicians or athletes in their network. Older teens tend to be Facebook friends with a larger variety of people, while younger teens are less likely to friend certain groups, including those they have never met in person. Older teens are more likely than younger ones to have created broader friend networks on Facebook. Older teens (14-17) who use Facebook are more likely than younger teens (12-13) to be connected with: Friends who go to different schools (92% vs. 82%) People they have never met in person, not including celebrities (36% vs. 25%) Teachers or coaches (34% vs. 19%) Girls are also more likely than boys (37% vs. 23%) to be Facebook friends with coaches or teachers, the only category of Facebook friends where boys and girls differ. African-American youth are nearly twice as likely as whites to be Facebook friends with celebrities, athletes, or musicians (48% vs. 25%). Focus group discussions with teens show that they have waning enthusiasm for Facebook. In focus groups, many teens expressed waning enthusiasm for Facebook. They dislike the increasing number of adults on the site, get annoyed when their Facebook friends share inane details, and are drained by the “drama” that they described as happening frequently on the site. The stress of needing to manage their reputation on Facebook also contributes to the lack of enthusiasm. Nevertheless, the site is still where a large amount of socializing takes place, and teens feel they need to stay on Facebook in order to not miss out. Users of sites other than Facebook express greater enthusiasm for their choice. Those teens who used sites like Twitter and Instagram reported feeling like they could better express themselves on these platforms, where they felt freed from the social expectations and constraints of Facebook. Some teens may migrate their activity and attention to other sites to escape the drama and pressures they find on Facebook, although most still remain active on Facebook as well. 60% of teen Facebook users keep their profiles private, and most report high levels of confidence in their ability to manage their settings. Teens have a variety of ways to make available or limit access to their personal information on social media sites. Privacy settings are one of many tools in a teen’s personal data management arsenal. Among teen Facebook users, most choose private settings that allow only approved friends to view the content that they post. Most keep their Facebook profile private. Girls are more likely than boys to restrict access to their profiles. Some 60% of teens ages 12-17 who use Facebook say they have their profile set to private, so that only their friends can see it. Another 25% have a partially private profile, set so that friends of their friends can see what they post. And 14% of teens say that their profile is completely public. Girls who use Facebook are substantially more likely than boys to have a private (friends only) profile (70% vs. 50%). By contrast, boys are more likely than girls to have a fully public profile that everyone can see (20% vs. 8%). Most teens express a high level of confidence in managing their Facebook privacy settings. More than half (56%) of teen Facebook users say it’s “not difficult at all” to manage the privacy controls on their Facebook profile, while one in three (33%) say it’s “not too difficult.” Just 8% of teen Facebook users say that managing their privacy controls is “somewhat difficult,” while less than 1% describe the process as “very difficult.” Teens’ feelings of efficacy increase with age: 41% of Facebook users ages 12-13 say it is “not difficult at all” to manage their privacy controls, compared with 61% of users ages 14-17. Boys and girls report similar levels of confidence in managing the privacy controls on their Facebook profile. For most teen Facebook users, all friends and parents see the same information and updates on their profile. Beyond general privacy settings, teen Facebook users have the option to place further limits on who can see the information and updates they post. However, few choose to customize in that way: Among teens who have a Facebook account, only 18% say that they limit what certain friends can see on their profile. The vast majority (81%) say that all of their friends see the same thing on their profile. This approach also extends to parents; only 5% of teen Facebook users say they limit what their parents can see. Teens take other steps to shape their reputation, manage their networks, and mask information they don’t want others to know; 74% of teen social media users have deleted people from their network or friends list. Teens are cognizant of their online reputations, and take steps to curate the content and appearance of their social media presence. For many teens who were interviewed in focus groups for this report, Facebook was seen as an extension of offline interactions and the social negotiation and maneuvering inherent to teenage life. “Likes” specifically seem to be a strong proxy for social status, such that teen Facebook users will manipulate their profile and timeline content in order to garner the maximum number of “likes,” and remove photos with too few “likes.” Pruning and revising profile content is an important part of teens’ online identity management. Teen management of their profiles can take a variety of forms – we asked teen social media users about five specific activities that relate to the content they post and found that: 59% have deleted or edited something that they posted in the past. 53% have deleted comments from others on their profile or account. 45% have removed their name from photos that have been tagged to identify them. 31% have deleted or deactivated an entire profile or account. 19% have posted updates, comments, photos, or videos that they later regretted sharing. 74% of teen social media users have deleted people from their network or friends’ list; 58% have blocked people on social media sites. Given the size and composition of teens’ networks, friend curation is also an integral part of privacy and reputation management for social media-using teens. The practice of friending, unfriending, and blocking serve as privacy management techniques for controlling who sees what and when. Among teen social media users: Girls are more likely than boys to delete friends from their network (82% vs. 66%) and block people (67% vs. 48%). Unfriending and blocking are equally common among teens of all ages and across all socioeconomic groups. 58% of teen social media users say they share inside jokes or cloak their messages in some way. As a way of creating a different sort of privacy, many teen social media users will obscure some of their updates and posts, sharing inside jokes and other coded messages that only certain friends will understand: 58% of teen social media users say they share inside jokes or cloak their messages in some way. Older teens are considerably more likely than younger teens to say that they share inside jokes and coded messages that only some of their friends understand (62% vs. 46%). 26% say that they post false information like a fake name, age, or location to help protect their privacy. One in four (26%) teen social media users say that they post fake information like a fake name, age or location to help protect their privacy. African-American teens who use social media are more likely than white teens to say that they post fake information to their profiles (39% vs. 21%). Teen social media users do not express a high level of concern about third-party access to their data; just 9% say they are “very” concerned. Overall, 40% of teen social media users say they are “very” or “somewhat” concerned that some of the information they share on social networking sites might be accessed by third parties like advertisers or businesses without their knowledge. However, few report a high level of concern; 31% say that they are “somewhat” concerned, while just 9% say that they are “very” concerned. Another 60% in total report that they are “not too” concerned (38%) or “not at all” concerned (22%). Younger teen social media users (12-13) are considerably more likely than older teens (14-17) to say that they are “very concerned” about third party access to the information they share (17% vs. 6%). Insights from our focus groups suggest that some teens may not have a good sense of whether the information they share on a social media site is being used by third parties. When asked whether they thought Facebook gives anyone else access to the information they share, one middle schooler wrote: “Anyone who isn’t friends with me cannot see anything about my profile except my name and gender. I don’t believe that [Facebook] would do anything with my info.” Other high schoolers shared similar sentiments, believing that Facebook would not or should not share their information. Parents, by contrast, express high levels of concern about how much information advertisers can learn about their children’s behavior online. Parents of the surveyed teens were asked a related question: “How concerned are you about how much information advertisers can learn about your child’s online behavior?” A full 81% of parents report being “very” or “somewhat” concerned, with 46% reporting they are “very concerned.” Just 19% report that they are not too concerned or not at all concerned about how much advertisers could learn about their child’s online activities. Teens who are concerned about third party access to their personal information are also more likely to engage in online reputation management. Teens who are somewhat or very concerned that some of the information they share on social network sites might be accessed by third parties like advertisers or businesses without their knowledge more frequently delete comments, untag themselves from photos or content, and deactivate or delete their entire account. Among teen social media users, those who are “very” or “somewhat” concerned about third party access are more likely than less concerned teens to: Delete comments that others have made on their profile (61% vs. 49%). Untag themselves in photos (52% vs. 41%). Delete or deactivate their profile or account (38% vs. 25%). Post updates, comments, photos or videos that they later regret (26% vs. 14%). On Facebook, increasing network size goes hand in hand with network variety, information sharing, and personal information management. Teens with larger Facebook networks are more frequent users of social networking sites and tend to have a greater variety of people in their friend networks. They also share a wider range of information on their profile when compared with those who have a smaller number of friends on the site. Yet even as they share more information with a wider range of people, they are also more actively engaged in maintaining their online profile or persona. Teens with large Facebook friend networks are more frequent social media users and participate on a wider diversity of platforms in addition to Facebook. Teens with larger Facebook networks are fervent social media users who exhibit a greater tendency to “diversify” their platform portfolio: 65% of teens with more than 600 friends on Facebook say that they visit social networking sites several times a day, compared with 27% of teens with 150 or fewer Facebook friends. Teens with more than 600 Facebook friends are more than three times as likely to also have a Twitter account when compared with those who have 150 or fewer Facebook friends (46% vs. 13%). They are six times as likely to use Instagram (12% vs. 2%). Teens with larger Facebook networks tend to have more variety within those networks. Almost all Facebook users (regardless of network size) are friends with their schoolmates and extended family members. However, other types of people begin to appear as the size of teens’ Facebook networks expand: Teen Facebook users with more than 600 friends in their network are much more likely than those with smaller networks to be Facebook friends with peers who don’t attend their own school, with people they have never met in person (not including celebrities and other “public figures”), as well as with teachers or coaches. On the other hand, teens with the largest friend networks are actually less likely to be friends with their parents on Facebook when compared with those with the smallest networks (79% vs. 60%). Teens with large networks share a wider range of content, but are also more active in profile pruning and reputation management activities. Teens with the largest networks (more than 600 friends) are more likely to include a photo of themselves, their school name, their relationship status, and their cell phone number on their profile when compared with teens who have a relatively small number of friends in their network (under 150 friends). However, teens with large friend networks are also more active reputation managers on social media. Teens with larger friend networks are more likely than those with smaller networks to block other users, to delete people from their friend network entirely, to untag photos of themselves, or to delete comments others have made on their profile. They are also substantially more likely to automatically include their location in updates and share inside jokes or coded messages with others. In broad measures of online experience, teens are considerably more likely to report positive experiences than negative ones. In the current survey, we wanted to understand the broader context of teens’ online lives beyond Facebook and Twitter. A majority of teens report positive experiences online, such as making friends and feeling closer to another person, but some do encounter unwanted content and contact from others. 52% of online teens say they have had an experience online that made them feel good about themselves. Among teen social media users, 57% said they had an experience online that made them feel good, compared with 30% of teen internet users who do not use social media. One in three online teens (33%) say they have had an experience online that made them feel closer to another person. Looking at teen social media users, 37% report having an experience somewhere online that made them feel closer to another person, compared with just 16% of online teens who do not use social media. One in six online teens say they have been contacted online by someone they did not know in a way that made them feel scared or uncomfortable. Unwanted contact from strangers is relatively uncommon, but 17% of online teens report some kind of contact that made them feel scared or uncomfortable. Online girls are more than twice as likely as boys to report contact from someone they did not know that made them feel scared or uncomfortable (24% vs. 10%). Few internet-using teens have posted something online that caused problems for them or a family member, or got them in trouble at school. A small percentage of teens have engaged in online activities that had negative repercussions for them or their family; 4% of online teens say they have shared sensitive information online that later caused a problem for themselves or other members of their family. Another 4% have posted information online that got them in trouble at school. More than half of internet-using teens have decided not to post content online over reputation concerns. More than half of online teens (57%) say they have decided not to post something online because they were concerned it would reflect badly on them in the future. Teen social media users are more likely than other online teens who do not use social media to say they have refrained from sharing content due to reputation concerns (61% vs. 39%). Large numbers of youth have lied about their age in order to gain access to websites and online accounts. In 2011, we reported that close to half of online teens (44%) admitted to lying about their age at one time or another so they could access a website or sign up for an online account. In the latest survey, 39% of online teens admitted to falsifying their age in order gain access to a website or account, a finding that is not significantly different from the previous survey. Close to one in three online teens say they have received online advertising that was clearly inappropriate for their age. Exposure to inappropriate advertising online is one of the many risks that parents, youth advocates, and policy makers are concerned about. Yet, little has been known until now about how often teens encounter online ads that they feel are intended for more (or less) mature audiences. In the latest survey, 30% of online teens say they have received online advertising that is “clearly inappropriate” for their age. About the survey and focus groups These findings are based on a nationally representative phone survey run by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project of 802 parents and their 802 teens ages 12-17. It was conducted between July 26 and September 30, 2012. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish and on landline and cell phones. The margin of error for the full sample is ± 4.5 percentage points. This report marries that data with insights and quotes from in-person focus groups conducted by the Youth and Media team at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University beginning in February 2013. The focus groups focused on privacy and digital media, with special emphasis on social media sites. The team conducted 24 focus group interviews with 156 students across the greater Boston area, Los Angeles (California), Santa Barbara (California), and Greensboro (North Carolina). Each focus group lasted 90 minutes, including a 15-minute questionnaire completed prior to starting the interview, consisting of 20 multiple-choice questions and 1 open-ended response. Although the research sample was not designed to constitute representative cross-sections of particular population(s), the sample includes participants from diverse ethnic, racial, and economic backgrounds. Participants ranged in age from 11 to 19. The mean age of participants is 14.5. In addition, two online focus groups of teenagers ages 12-17 were conducted by the Pew Internet Project from June 20-27, 2012 to help inform the survey design. The first focus group was with 11 middle schoolers ages 12-14, and the second group was with nine high schoolers ages 14-17. Each group was mixed gender, with some racial, socio-economic, and regional diversity. The groups were conducted as an asynchronous threaded discussion over three days using an online platform and the participants were asked to log in twice per day. Throughout this report, this focus group material is highlighted in several ways. Pew’s online focus group quotes are interspersed with relevant statistics from the survey in order to illustrate findings that were echoed in the focus groups or to provide additional context to the data. In addition, at several points, there are extensive excerpts boxed off as standalone text boxes that elaborate on a number of important themes that emerged from the in-person focus groups conducted by the Berkman Center.
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The new FlyAway bus service to LAX, formerly touted by Mayor Eric Garcetti as reliable, is under fire from customers who say they were stranded or late for their flights. Customers say they arrive at the FlyAway designated stops, according to the scheduled stops, but end up waiting for long periods for the buses to show up. The service launched in September 2014 appeared to be at least 45 minutes late in picking up customers at these stop points in Hollywood when CBS2 investigated. Nearly an hour after the scheduled arrive time, customers ended up either calling friends or splitting Uber rides. “I don’t have much choice; I need to get to the airport,” one customer said. “I have to catch my flight.” In fact, the Internet is filled with reports of the buses arriving extremely late or not arriving at all. On Yelp, the service has a score of 1.5 stars, and customer reviews can be read referring to the service as “WORST experience ever,” “absolutely horrible” and stories of customers barely catching their flights. LAX chimed in on the matter as well, with spokeswoman Mary Grady stating: “We know people are unhappy. We’re unhappy. We’re doing everything we can to fix it.” The airport has received 75 complaints about the Hollywood FlyAway service and in December demanded that its contractor, Corinthian Transportation, provide more reliable service. However, even though LAX rejected the contractor’s proposed plan of action Tuesday, it is giving the service a few more weeks to improve. “I think it would probably be worse if you suspended service,” Grady said. Corinthian Transportation, meanwhile, released a statement in response, reading: “Although the Hollywood FlyAway has proved to be challenging from a scheduling standpoint during commuter hours, we have continued to make adjustments to the routes and bus schedules to ensure we are providing the public with a safe and reliable service.” While two more buses have reportedly been added to the schedule, CBS2 cameras continued to catch buses arriving more than an hour late, with one bus scheduled for 3:15 p.m. arriving at 4:30 p.m. Additionally, customers complain that prepaid tickets are nonrefundable, whether the bus shows up or not.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) are teaming up to push a new bill that would allow states to opt out of receiving refugees. Cruz is introducing the bill after Abbott’s much-publicized efforts to block Syrian refugees from coming to Texas mostly failed. During a press conference with Abbott on Capitol Hill Tuesday, Cruz announced legislation that would allow governors to opt out of the federal refugee resettlement program if the they believe the federal government is not up to the task of vetting refugees. “ISIS’s capabilities have eluded even the president of the United States. That is why Texas and other states are doing even more to make sure we safeguard the security of the citizens of our states,” Abbott said. So far more than 30 governors have announced they will block refugees from coming to the states, but under the current Refugee Act of 1980, the federal government has full jurisdiction over where refugees are settled as long as they regularly communicate with states. Back in Texas, Abbott has been tangled up in a lawsuit against the federal government in an attempt to keep Syrians from being settled in Texas. The state’s Health and Human Services department filed a lawsuit against the federal government and the International Rescue Committee last week charging the feds and resettling committee did not meet their obligation to communicate fully with the state. The state’s case has been weak, however, allowing Syrian refugees to be sent to Texas in the interim. “America is a charitable nation, but we cannot allow charity for some to compromise the safety for all,” Abbot said. This is the latest bill Cruz has introduced to make it harder for Syrians to come to the U.S. Cruz also introduced legislation imposing a three-year moratorium on refugees coming from countries where ISIS or al-Qaeda control territory, including Syria and Iraq.
OAKLAND -- San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, who has earned a reputation for having an acute awareness of the world beyond basketball, conceded Sunday that the current state of American affairs is unnerving to say the least. Asked 90 minutes before tipoff of Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Warriors if there are times when he finds himself distracted by the political climate in recent months, Popovich conceded he did. That was only the beginning. “Usually, things happen in the world and you go to work and you’ve got your family and you’ve got your friends and you do what you do,” he said. “But to this day, I feel like there’s a cloud, a pall, over the whole country in a paranoid, surreal sort of way. It’s got nothing to do with the Democrats losing the election. It’s got to do with the way one individual conducts himself.” Though he never mentioned Donald Trump by name, it was brazenly clear Popovich was referring to the tone set by and behavior of a president who, among other things, has devalued truth, mocked the disabled, inflamed ethnic tensions and governed largely by impulse. “It’s embarrassing,” Popovich said. “It’s dangerous to our institutions and what we all stand for and what we expect the country to be. But for this individual, he’s in a game show. And everything that happens begins and ends with him, not our people or our country. Every time he talks about those things, that’s just a ruse. That’s just disingenuous, cynical and . . . fake.” And with that, Popovich concluded his pregame news conference.
Unidentified flying objects are the mystery of the sky. It is still a mystery if they exist or not. There are many reports on strange objects by competent observers which cannot be identified by the witness and remain unidentified after an investigation by competent investigators. These appearances and the flight behavior indicate that they were manufactured somewhere other than the Earth. Multiple witnesses confirmed many of these reports and corroborated by trace evidence such as photographs, radar, video and landing marks. After claiming to have spotted a strange humanoid creature, Indian villagers were left stumped and feared. It was the agricultural workers in Kanagal village around 2 pm who saw the unknown figure. According to them, there was a red extraterrestrial craft that emerged from the clouds and came towards them. After landing, it allegedly took off in just one minute. During the occurrence, there were sparks and flashes around. According to Nigel Watson, the prominent UFO investigator, seeing a person flying in the sky was not a rare sighting as it occurred long before flying aliens and saucers. It is an expected fact that what these people saw is hard to imagine, but it made an impact on their existence. Indeed, it is something strange and usual. Since the sighting, people who are very much interested in aliens were among a trip to Kanagal to speak with these women, who happen to be a witness to said incident. They said the object came towards them from a red spacecraft that emerged from the clouds. T A Manjunatha said that the women are claiming to have seen the spacecraft descended to 500 feet from them that they could spot humanoid creatures. When speaking about aliens, they did not hear about those things. This is why experts were assuming that these women were not lying. The alien enthusiast has the plan to bring the matter to the government for attention. While they seem to be under intelligent control, their source is a question of speculation. This indicates that there may be a technology involved that can manipulate time as we know it.
Oh, no! A new report claims that intimate private photos of Emma Watson have been leaked online by hackers. Is another celeb ‘fappening’ upon us? Has Emma Watson, 26, fallen victim to hackers? The stunning Beauty and the Beast star was allegedly hacked, allowing private and potentially nude photos of her to be leaked online, claims the Daily Mail. The report claims that these so-called racy photos of Emma were posted on message board site 4Chan as well as the “dark” web. However, Emma’s rep was quick to shoot these reports down. “Photos from a clothes fitting Emma had with a stylist a couple of years ago have been stolen,” reads a statement from her rep. Emma’s team remains adamant that Emma is not “nude” in any of the photos, adding: “They are not nude photographs. Lawyers have been instructed and we are not commenting further.” Unfortunately, Emma is not the only name rumored to have her private pictures leaked onto the internet. Amanda Seyfried, 31, is also being named by multiple reports, though nothing has been confirmed. Amanda is currently pregnant with her first child, expected with her fiance, Thomas Sadoski, 40. Hopefully she’s as lucky as Emma and this is just a hoax. For now, Emma is ignoring reports and hackers alike as she continues to promote her new movie, Beauty and the Beast, which, as HollywoodLife.com claimed in it’s review, is sure to be a massive hit. The actress has been busy updating The Press Tour Instagram account as she travels the world promoting the Disney movie, and we are endlessly obsessed with all of her looks. Seriously, how does this amazing young woman continue to have so many incredible fashion moments? Swoon! Tell us, HollywoodLifers — What do YOU think about the reports that Emma was hacked and intimate photos of her were leaked online? Comment below!
WASHINGTON -- The head of the U.S. Pacific Command urged senators to ratify a major sea treaty Thursday, in light of recent moves by China and Russia toward greater control of the seas, including actions off Alaska's coast. But Sen. Dan Sullivan questioned whether the military and the White House are being forceful enough with China in an exchange with Navy Admiral Harry Harris Jr., head of the Pacific Command, and Ambassador David Shear, assistant secretary of the Department of Defense, at an Armed Services hearing Thursday. The long-festering issue of Chinese efforts drew new attention when five Chinese naval vessels were spotted off the coast of Alaska at the tail end of President Barack Obama's visit earlier this month. The vessels passed within 12 nautical miles of the Aleutian Islands -- within a zone otherwise considered off-limits. But military officials said the move was allowed as it was considered "innocent passage" under international law. Sullivan said he felt otherwise -- that the U.S. reaction "was muted; it was almost apologetic, relative to the way the Chinese respond when we come within 12 miles of one of their islands." "I thought it was more of a provocation, and a demonstration of their interest in the Arctic. I'm not sure that this White House would recognize a provocation if it was slapped in the face, and we need to be aware of that," Sullivan said. Harris said, however, that the Chinese were conducting a long-planned exercise with the Russians in the Northern Pacific. "My opinion is that they went into the Bering Sea to demonstrate their capability to operate that far north, and then they decided to go home," Harris said. "I think it was coincidental" that Obama was in Alaska at the time, "but I don't know that for a fact. And their transit south was an expeditious trip," Harris said. That is "their right to do under international law, as is our right to do in international law, wherever we operate." The line of 12 nautical miles is a significant one, senators argued, given recent moves by China to reclaim and militarize "islands" in the South China Sea. Harris argued during the hearing that given the ongoing push by China and Russia to expand their territory, the U.S. would be on better ground if it signed the United Nations Law of the Sea Treaty. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was first established in 1982, laying out rights and responsibilities for nations with regard to the use of oceans. The European Union and 166 countries have signed it, but not the United States. Last month, Russia laid claim to nearly half a million square miles of Arctic territory, arguing that under the treaty, the sea bed is part of a natural extension of its land. And in recent weeks, a Russian intelligence vessel sailed near one of Royal Dutch Shell's rigs in the Chukchi Sea. The Senate is generally reluctant to sign off on treaties, and some argue that doing so could encroach on the United States' sovereignty. "The lack of signing the treaty doesn't affect our ability to be the strongest nation on the earth. But the lack of signing that treaty puts us at a disadvantage in discussions with … the other countries in the world that have signed the treaty," Harris said. "So we lose nothing by signing off on the treaty, but we lose a lot by not signing it." The treaty was the basis of Russia's recent claim to large swaths of the Arctic Ocean. "And when we criticize them for those claims, they say that we have no standing to do so," Harris said. Harris argued that the loss from not signing the treaty is economic, rather than military. He said there are U.S. companies that will not "explore in that region beyond the 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zone - because they're not sure whether any competing claim will have an affect on them, or whether they will lose in this international tribunal or other places." China's moves to militarize nearly 3,000 acres of recently claimed areas offshore are significant, Harris said. He pointed to construction of deepwater port facilities and three 10,000-foot runways -- "only 1,000 feet shorter than would be required to land a space shuttle." "So that gives me great concern militarily," Harris said. Sullivan argued that the military's hesitance to move within 12 miles of those constructed islands portrays weakness on the part of the U.S. DOD's Shear refused to say whether there are plans to do so and would only concede that the option is on the table. "We continue to operate freely in the South China Sea," he said. Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., scoffed at that, saying it is "a pretty low bar" for success. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter has previously said that China's ocean claims -- including area already claimed by South Korea and Japan -- are dubious. If "we don't follow up on it, it undermines our credibility," Sullivan said. "And that's something we can't afford anymore. Our credibility is undermined everywhere in the world," he said. With China's massive growth comes "the potential for dangerous miscalculations or conflict," only exacerbated by the ongoing territorial disputes, Shear said in his testimony. The South China Sea is of key concern for commerce, including $1.2 trillion in shipborne trade bound for the United States that passes through there each year. "Peacetime freedom of navigation is under pressure. If not handled properly, territorial and maritime disputes in the East and South China Seas could disrupt stability throughout the region," Harris said.
Noah Spence ran the 40-yard dash again on Friday at Eastern Kentucky's pro day and the stakes were high for the talented edge rusher, who clocked a disappointing 4.80 at the NFL Scouting Combine last week in Indianapolis. He improved his time, but indications are the day wasn't a game-changer. Spence recorded times of 4.75 and 4.79 seconds in the 40 on Friday, according to NFL Media senior analyst Gil Brandt, who spoke with a source who witnessed the workout. He also participated in position drills outdoors in cold conditions (39 degrees), but he stood on his numbers in the vertical (35 inches) and broad jump (10-1). "It's not a killer. It's not a crushing time, but you'd hope for it to be just a little bit faster," said NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah of Spence's 40 time on NFL Network's Path to the Draft. "... I'd like to see somebody at that size run in the 4.6s, (the) high 4.6s. Maybe in the very, very low 4.7s. I think 4.68 sounds about right for what you'd want to see." The most telling aspect of the workout might have been who wasn't in attendance. Representatives from 28 NFL teams were on hand for the event, but there were no head coaches or general managers in attendance. Tampa Bay defensive line coach Jay Hayes was the only position coach present. Redskins director of college scouting Scott Campbell and Jets senior director of college scouting Rex Hogan were the only front-office executives who attended. Typically, teams will send at least one high-ranking member of the front office as part of a large contingent of reps to see top-level players they have high interest in drafting. Spence is rated the No. 30 prospect in the draft by Jeremiah. He's a highly regarded talent, but his well-documented history of drug use is a red flag that threatens to lead to a draft-day slide. The former Ohio State player who was permanently banned from the Big Ten for two failed drug test might not have done himself any favors in meetings with NFL teams at the combine, as NFL Media's Kimberly Jones reported his interviews were "very shaky." The pro day was a chance for NFL decision makers to speak directly to Spence without the time limits attached to the combine interviews (15 minutes) and members of the EKU coaching staff, which would be viewed as a valuable opportunity for any clubs thinking seriously about drafting him. There was plenty on the line for Spence, who no doubt wanted to make a good impression on Friday, but he had to be disappointed with his audience. Follow College Football 24/7 on Twitter @NFL_CFB.
As if this day in Washington could get much weirder (bars are opening early so you can get your buzz on while watching James Comey testify), it seems President Trump may live-tweet the Senate intelligence committee’s hearing if he feels the need to respond. Which means that, even as we watch Comey on TV, we could also be reading more half-literate outbursts from the Oval Office. Comey told me I was best prez since Hamilton! Now lies to special council. SAD! Trump’s already had himself quite a week online. Somehow, using only his thumbs, the president managed to enrage Britons by blaming the Muslim mayor of London for terrorism, severely damage his own Supreme Court case for a travel ban and plunge America into a confusing diplomatic crisis with a critical ally in the Persian Gulf. And that only got us to Tuesday. And now pressure is building, not least among his own aides, for Trump to get off social media. The consensus argument is that a president can’t just sit around venting impulsively, 140 characters at a time, without having his statements vetted by lawyers and policymakers, the way it’s always been. Fittingly, Trump rebuffed this argument in an angry tweet, directed at his favorite foil. “The FAKE MSM is working so hard trying to get me not to use social media,” he blurted this week. “They hate that I can get the honest and unfiltered message out.” I certainly get the fear about where Trump’s Twitter feed might ultimately lead. The world right now — and especially the Arab world — feels like a leaky gas furnace; one reckless static charge can send the whole thing into orbit. But I can’t help thinking that the president is actually right. If there’s one thing for which Trump deserves credit, it’s the way he’s thoroughly updated the office in the space of a few months, restoring its power to command the conversation in the age after broadcast. Twitter is exactly the right medium for the modern presidency. It’s just that Trump continues to prove himself the wrong man for the job. You may recall that after Barack Obama won the White House in 2008, there was all this talk of technological transformation. Obama was supposed to be the first 21st century president, personally connected to the voters. And yet Obama and his communications aides failed to adapt the presidency to the digital moment. Mostly they complained a lot about how fractured the news environment was, and how hard it was to break through the noise. They made Obama marginally more accessible by putting him on late night TV shows or in online comedy sketches, but not accessible in a way that spoke to the emerging demand for a more connected, less Olympian kind of leadership. In fairness to Obama, though, he arrived in office at a kind of in-between moment, before social media had reached its critical mass. When I first wrote about Twitter and its looming effect on politics, in this 2009 essay, only a handful of politicians and journalists regarded it as anything more than a distraction. “If Twitter doesn’t turn out to be just the latest political fad,” I wrote, “then it may just be the worst thing to happen to politics and its attending media since a couple of geniuses at CNN dreamed up ‘Crossfire’ back in the 1980s.” I was both right and wrong, I guess. Twitter did end up reinforcing some of the worst trends in American politics — self-selecting realities, destructive and hateful discourse, ever more brevity and trivia. But it also did something promising and long overdue: It opened a portal through which more adventurous leaders could speak directly and spontaneously to citizens. It shattered the hardened artifice of the television age, which had made politicians ever more remote, and voters ever more cynical.
CTVNews.ca Staff RCAF commander Michael Hood says the pilot died in the accident, which occurred during a routine training mission. Hood was appearing at a Senate committee when news of the crash broke. Cold Lake is the site of a major Canadian air force base on the border between Alberta and Saskatchewan. “Shortly after 11 a.m. Mountain Standard Time, a single-seat CF-188 Hornet from 4 Wing Cold Lake crashed inside the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range in Saskatchewan, not far from the Primrose Lake Evaluation Range,” the military said in a statement. Emergency services, including 417 Combat Support Squadron, were en route to secure the area of the crash. The pilot has not yet been identified, pending notification of kin. MPs discussed the crash solemnly during question period. Conservative defence critic James Bezan called the crash a "terrible, terrible accident.” The cause of the crash currently remains unknown, “It's too preliminary to make any type of judgement, any conclusion,” Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said. “The best thing we can do right now is to give the Air Force and the Canadian Armed Forces the space to do the work, and then we'll have more to say.” On Facebook, Conservative leader Rona Ambrose offered her condolences. “Any loss of life within Canada’s proud military is a tragic event, one that is deeply felt by the Forces community and the friends and loved ones of the deceased,” her statement read. “As we await more details from the Department of National Defence and Forces officials, our thoughts and prayers are with the pilot’s family and the Canadian Armed Forces members at CFB Cold Lake.” According to The Canadian Press, at least 10 pilots have died in crashes involving Canada’s fleet of CF-18s since they were purchased in 1980. The Liberal government is currently looking at ways to replace and prolong the life of the aging aircraft. With files from the Canadian Press
A SHOCKED father has told of how he discovered a packet of drugs inside some swimming shorts he bought from a discount retailer in Portsmouth. Adam Travers and his girlfriend Hannah Youell found nine white pills in an envelope in the back pocket of the Chinese-made clothes after buying them from Primark in the Cascades Centre. The drugs were with a piece of paper covered in Chinese writing. Adam, 33, said it was lucky Hannah, 29, spotted the pills because their five-month-old son Oscar might have got hold of them. “I was really shocked. If the baby had got them that could have been disastrous,” he told The Sun newspaper. “It was also lucky we found them before going on holiday as it could have caused problems at the airport.” Adam alerted police whose tests revealed the pills were a prescription anti-depressant. Primark said an investigation had shown the pills were put in the shorts at the time of manufacture after being sent to an unapproved sub-contractor in China and that since the incident it had cut ties with the supplier.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The family of a South Euclid cyclist injured in a hit-and-run during the VeloSano Bike to Cure charity event issued a statement Sunday. Braden Tucker, 26, is listed in critical condition at MetroHealth Medical Center. He was struck about 9:30 a.m. Saturday in Chagrin Falls. "We'd like to thank the VeloSano volunteers at Aid Station 3 for their help during and after the accident, the MetroHealth staff for their care and the community for their support," the statement reads. "We appreciate your prayers as Braden continues to recover and encourage anyone who knows information about the accident to contact police." The Chardon post of the State Highway Patrol is investigating the hit-and-run. Troopers do not have a vehicle description and are seeking witnesses. Anyone with information is asked to call troopers at 440-285-9436.
Art history forgot a lot of great female artists. Those, who have been neglected and marginalised for years or even centuries are lately regaining their place on museum walls. There is still a lot to be done in this matter–and maybe today it’s a good time to put few of those great artists in the spotlight. 1. Caterina van Hemessen Caterina van Hemessen (1528–1587) was a Flemish Renaissance painter and is most known for having been the first painter to create a self-portrait depicting an artist at their easel. The body of her work is small, but Caterina is also known for a series of small scale female portraits completed between the late 1540s and early 1550s and a few religious compositions. Caterina was lucky because she had a relative who trained her for a painter – in her case it was her father. Generally it was difficult to female become a painter. Studying the nude male form was a problem. The system of apprenticeship meant that the aspiring artist would need to live with an older artist for 4–5 years, often beginning from the age of 9-15 was also a problem. Her work stops in 1554, around the time she got married. Fede Galizia (c. 1574– c.1630) was an Italian Renaissance painter, a pioneer of the still life genre. One of her signed still lifes made in 1602 is said to be the first dated still life by an Italian artist. Fede was trained by her father from early age and when she was twelve, she was sufficiently accomplished as an artist to be mentioned by Gian Paolo Lomazzo, a painter and art theorist who wrote: “This girl dedicates herself to imitate the most extraordinary of our art.” The style of her portraits derived from the naturalistic traditions of the Renaissance in Italy with a sharply realistic approach. She received several public commissions for altarpieces in Milanese churches;. When not painting portraits, Galizia was primarily interested in painting still lifes, a genre in which she was a pioneer and for which she is best remembered. Sixty-three works have been catalogued as hers, of which 44 are still lifes. 3. Clara Peeters Clara Peeters (1607–1621) was a still-life painter who was one of the great painters of Dutch Golden Age. Many aspects of her life and work remain very unclear, especially outside the period 1607 to 1621 from which period dated paintings are known. Most female Dutch painters also specialized in still lifes, which did not require knowledge of anatomy, among other advantages for women. Peeters painted mostly subjects including food, and shaped the traditions of the Dutch “breakfast pieces” with plain food and simple vessels, and “banquet pieces” with expensive cups and vessels in precious metals. She loved to paint different types of cheese. 4. Marie-Gabrielle Capet Marie-Gabrielle Capet (1761–1818) was a French Neoclassical painter. She came from a modest background and her previous background and artistic training is unknown, but in 1781 she became the pupil of the French painter Adelaide Labille-Guiard in Paris, one of the very few who had been accepted to the Royal Academy of Art . Marie-Gabrielle was mainly a portrait painter and she user oil paints and pastels. She counted among other customers several members of the royal family, and other members of Paris society. Marianne North (1830–1890) was a biologist and botanical artist who painted during the Victorian era. She was trained as a vocalist, but her voice failed, and she then devoted herself to painting flowers. She travelled with her father a lot. He was a member of parliament and after he died she decided to continue traveling the world alone. Marianne traveled the world – she visited every continent, except Antarctica. Without the ease of photography, her work served, and still serves, as an important resource for studying the natural world. Various plants have been named in her honor, including an entire genus of plants named Northia. 6. Harriet Powers Harriet Powers (1837–1910) was an African-American freed slave and a folk artist who created quilt in rural Georgia. She used traditional appliqué techniques to record local legends, Bible stories, and astronomical events. Only two of her quilts are known to have survived: Bible Quilt and Pictorial Quilt. Thanks to the letter discovered in 2009 we know she was a literate woman who transformed well-known stories she read herself into pictorial masterpieces. Jennie Smith, who had purchased the first quilt Powers made – Pictorial Quilt arranged for it to be exhibited at the Cotton States Exposition in Atlanta in 1895. The Bible Quilt is thought to have been commissioned by a group of “faculty ladies” at Atlanta University, and given (together with Powers’s descriptions) as a gift to a retiring trustee. 7. Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh (1864–1933) was a Scottish artist whose design work became one of the defining features of the “Glasgow Style” during the 1890s. Margaret with her sister, Frances were students at the Glasgow School of Art studying courses in design. She worked in a variety of media, including metalwork, embroidery, and textiles and later collaborated with her husband, the architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh. She was inspired by Celtic imagery, poems by Morris and Rossetti, literature, symbolism, and folklore. Her husband once wrote: “Margaret has genius, I have only talent.” 8. Hilma af Klint Hilma af Klint (1862 – 1944) was a Swedish artist and mystic whose paintings were amongst the first abstract art. Her abstract works the first purely abstract compositions by Kandinsky, so she should be called a pioneer of abstract art. She belonged to a group called “The Five”, a circle of women who shared her belief in the importance of trying to make contact with the so-called ‘high masters’ – often by way of séances. “The Five” also created experimental automatic drawing as early as 1896. Her paintings were a visual representation of complex spiritual ideas. 9. Lyubov Popova Lyubov Popova (1889–1924) was one of the most talented, prolific, and influential women artists of the Russian avant-garde. She tried herself as Cubist, Suprematist and Constructivist. In 1915 she developed her own variant of non-objective art based on a combination of principles of icon painting (flatness, linearity) and avant-garde ideas. Her fascination with construction allowed her to join other constructivists in absolute rejection of easel painting. In 1921 she turned entirely to industrial design. She excelled in industrial design of clothing and fabrics and produced posters, book designs, ceramics, and photomontages. She died of scarlet fever in 1924 in Moscow. 10. Hannah Höch Hannah Höch (1889 – 1978) was a German Dada artist. She was one of the originators of photomontage–a type of collage in which the pasted items are actual photographs, or photographic reproductions pulled from the press and other widely produced media.Höch’s works circled around the concept of the “New Woman”: an energetic, professional and androgynous woman, who is ready to take their place as man’s equal. She was also interested in social roles and who is organizing them. The influence of this early work and training can be seen in her later work involving references to dress patterns and textiles. Find out more:
In an unprecedented encounter, the first for any pope or world leader, Pope Francis I on May 18 will meet with Huntington’s disease sufferers at the Vatican, bringing new attention to this affliction. The key papal guests will hail from Latin America, the pope’s home region, the area with the world’s most Catholics, and a key locus of the quest for the HD gene from the 1970s to the 1990s. Several HD-affected HD individuals (with both juvenile and adult onset), three at-risk relatives, and other relatives and caregivers – a total of 16 people – will travel to Rome from Colombia, Venezuela, and Argentina, the pope’s birthplace. The news was announced today via e-mail by an international coalition of patient advocates and organizations: "save the date for the largest global gathering of the Huntington's disease community!" The coalition includes Elena Cattaneo, Ph.D. , a prominent HD scientist and senator-for-life in Italy; Factor-H, a humanitarian project founded by HD researchers Claudia Perandones, M.D., Ph.D., and Ignacio Muñoz-Sanjuan, Ph.D.; global HD advocate Charles Sabine; and the Huntington’s Disease Society of America (HDSA). Many physicians in Latin America laid the groundwork for the event through their long-term dedication to local HD communities and assistance in selecting the families. The announcement comes, coincidentally, on the fourth anniversary of Francis’s election as the first pope from the Americas. “What I want him to say, in some way, is that the disease should not be hidden anymore,” Sabine, an HD gene carrier, told me. “That’s the theme of the event: that people should not feel any shame or stigma about the disease.” “This is a dream which has come true,” Dr. Perandones affirmed in a written response to questions about the event. “After working for nearly 20 years in Latin America in order to try to improve the quality of life of patients, and feeling so alone in this endeavor so many times, it seems unbelievable that the pope will receive us.” Pope Francis I (above, photo by Argentine Presidency/Wikimedia) and the Soto family of Barranquitas, Venezuela, after receiving the invitation to the papal audience in Rome (below, photo courtesy of Dr. Ernesto Solis) Putting HD on the global stage The South American HD families will be joined by three dozen advocates and HD family members from other countries, including HDSA CEO Louise Vetter and leading American HD advocate Katie Moser , the 2010 HDSA Person of the Year. Latin American Catholic leaders will also take part. “As a global leader, Pope Francis has the power to elevate the conversation about HD to an international stage with a call for compassion – and action,” Vetter said. I was also invited to meet with the pope, because of my interlocking connections with the Catholic Church , Latin America, and HD advocacy . My mother died of HD, and I carry the genetic defect. I am thrilled! I consider it a privilege and a responsibility to attend, and expect to bring my wife Regina and teenage daughter Bianca. We will represent the HD community in both the U.S. and Brazil, Regina’s homeland. At least three HD-affected individuals will attend from Brazil, according to advocates there. (Portuguese speakers can watch my report in that language in the video at the end of this article.) (Portuguese speakers can watch my report in that language in the video at the end of this article.) Help desperately needed Scientists and advocates began discussing an appeal for the Church to help – and then a papal audience – in 2015. Dr. Perandones, a clinical geneticist with the National Administration of Laboratories and Institutes of Health in Argentina, and Dr. Muñoz-Sanjuan, of Spain, a vice president at CHDI Foundation, Inc. , the nonprofit virtual biotech dedicated solely to the development of HD treatments, first raised the idea of seeking Church support for Venezuela’s isolated HD people during a February 2015 CHDI conference. Talking with Sabine and Senator Cattaneo, Drs. Perandones and Muñoz-Sanjuan said that those families desperately needed help. With aiding those people in mind, Sabine, a native of England, and Senator Cattaneo came up with idea for a papal audience in fall 2015 after Sabine saw a man with Parkinson’s disease have his picture taken with Francis and also learned the poignant story of an HD-affected teen from Buenos Aires. Sabine and the senator found no “reference anywhere by any pope to Huntington’s disease,” he explained. Thanks to Cattaneo’s connections and the Vatican’s receptivity, they were able to schedule the papal audience. Now, Sabine says of the upcoming meeting, “It is perhaps one of the most historic moments in the history of the HD community.” According to Sabine, it will mark the first time that any world leader, including a U.S. president, will meet with HD families. Charles Sabine (above, photo by Gene Veritas, aka Kenneth P. Serbin) and Senator Elena Cattaneo (below, photo from Cattaneo Lab) A major opportunity to overcome shame, stigma Sabine, a former foreign correspondent for NBC News, has pursued activism since the mid-1990s, without being yet symptomatic. His father died of HD, and an older brother has the disease. “I had spent a lot of time working for NBC at the Vatican,” he said. “I know that the pope is the hardest person on the planet to get to – much harder than the American president.” By blessing and speaking to HD-afflicted families publicly, Francis can make a “profound difference” in combatting the shame and stigma surrounding HD, Sabine added. “We want as much press on this as possible,” he continued. “We want to engage as many people as possible around the world, not just Catholics, to make this into a larger sum than the parts.” “Furthermore, we hope this will lead to action, both by the Catholic Church, with its strong presence in Latin America, as well as from local and national institutions,” Dr. Muñoz-Sanjuan wrote in an e-mail. The public event will take place in a 7,000-seat auditorium, where attendees can observe the pope’s interaction with the South American families and HD advocates. Event organizers want as many representatives as possible from the HD community to attend. “Anyone can go,” Sabine emphasized. “They don’t even need to be HD-affected. They might just care about HD." The announcement made today by the international HD coalition; click on image to view larger (photo courtesy of HDSA). A humanitarian endeavor The organizers also hope the meeting galvanizes the HD community worldwide. Members of groups such as the global Huntington’s Disease Youth Organization could meet beforehand and go to the event together, Sabine suggested. Other events in Rome will celebrate the unity of the HD movement and solidarity with the plight of Latin American HD communities. All attendees are required to register on the event’s official website, HDdennomore.com , by May 5. The URL means “HD Hidden No More,” a theme of the papal event linked to Sabine’s previous awareness campaign in the UK Parliament The site will provide information on hotels, accommodations for special needs of the affected, and more. Noting the “immense pressure” on Francis I from ultra-conservative Catholics because of his purported liberal stance, Sabine said that Senator Cattaneo and her staff have stressed the non-political nature of the HD event. “It’s a humanitarian one,” he said. “It’s a pastoral event. This is about regarding people with compassion and humanity. This pope has shown humanitarian credentials unlike any other.” South America’s HD-affected: deep struggles The papal event builds on work by Factor-H, a small nonprofit organization, to improve the living conditions in the Lake Maracaibo region of Venezuela, and other sites where poor HD families cluster. Many HD families in the region live in dire conditions. In some clusters, many generations of intermarriage mean many families have passed on the genetic disease. Maracaibo has played a key role in HD science. Columbia University scientist Nancy Wexler, Ph.D., started the search for the HD gene among Maracaibo HD families in the 1970s. In 1993, the HD gene was discovered. It was one of the first disease genes to be identified. This research helped stimulate the Human Genome Project of the 1990s. Dr. Wexler also was invited to meet the pope, Sabine said. “Poverty and disease are a terrible combination,” wrote Dr. Muñoz-Sanjuan, who has taken aid to Maracaibo and other communities . “Not everyone in Latin America with HD is poor. However, the main clusters in Venezuela and Colombia are very poor, and neglected. That’s why we are focusing on these clusters.” “These are people living maybe in families of 16 in a space the size of an American garage on stilts on a lake,” Sabine observed. “No electricity. No running water. Nothing. It was so clear that there were so many people like the people at Lake Maracaibo who are affected by the disease and who have never had any kind of recognition from their respective governments or churches.” Sabine said he hoped the Vatican event will empower Catholic HD families everywhere to seek assistance from their local clergy in raising awareness about HD and alleviating the social burden of the disease. Dr. Ignacio Muñoz-Sanjuan (seated) with Colombian children at risk for HD (personal photo) Preparing the logistics Every HD family knows the extremely difficult challenge of travel for affected individuals, whose symptoms include constant involuntary movements, loss of balance, and cognitive decline. Many require wheelchairs. To underwrite the cost of the enormously complex task of transporting the HD families to Rome, Sabine raised $100,000 from Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and $50,000 from the U.S.-based, HD-related Griffin Foundation. Almost all of the South American travelers must get their first-ever passports, and in some cases even birth certificates. The Vatican is helping to speed the acquisition of travel documents and to prepare special accommodations for the families, including lodging at a monastery near the Vatican instead of a hotel. “We felt they would be more comfortable staying all together in a quiet and peaceful place,” Dr. Muñoz-Sanjuan noted. “We assumed that they will experience some culture shock and wanted for them to be at ease during their stay and make the experience more personable.” Physicians will accompany the families. A lonely HD teen in Buenos Aires On January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany on the Catholic calendar (the day the Christ child was visited by three kings, according to the Bible), each of the South Americans received a red envelope from the Vatican with the invitation to meet with Francis. (Video recordings of these moments will become available at HDdennomore.com .) One was 15-year-old Brenda, who lives in the greater Buenos Aires area, where Francis served as archbishop. She has juvenile HD, which has severely hampered her ability to speak and learn. She communicates mainly by texting on her cell phone. “The children don’t play with her, so she’s very lonely,” Sabine said. “She has no friends, because they’re afraid of catching HD. The local school wouldn’t give her access to a laptop, because they said there’s not much point, because she doesn’t have long to live.” “Brenda is my patient and I have a great affection to her,” Dr. Perandones wrote. “She is very clever and sensitive. We have a great connection.” According to Dr. Perandones, Brenda and her father - from whom she inherited HD - lived with his sister, Brenda’s aunt, whom she calls “mom.” “A major concern for the aunt at the time was the fact that Brenda and her father shared the bedroom, and his movements during the night scared Brenda a lot,” Dr. Perandones recalled in an e-mail to supporters about Brenda’s reaction to the papal invitation. To lift the family’s spirits and improve their living situation, Drs. Perandones and Muñoz-Sanjuan raised funds to make a heartfelt “Christmas for Brenda.” That resulted in the remodeling of the aunt’s home, including a new room for Brenda, a full bathroom, and a recreational area. quinceañera is typically a joyous passage to womanhood.) “Regrettably, Brenda’s father’s health gradually deteriorated and last year, on the day Brenda turned 15, he passed away,” Dr. Perandones wrote. (For girls turning 15 in Latin America, theis typically a joyous passage to womanhood.) Brenda and her aunt (personal photo) A turning point for HD community Sabine said “Brenda’s Christmas” helped inspire the idea of a papal audience. Dr. Perandones, who describes herself as “totally Catholic,” met Francis (then Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio) before his papal election through her support of a group advocating for victims of human trafficking in Argentina. He “always supported” this effort, she recalled in her written response to my questions. “Many indigent individuals living in the streets of Buenos Aires have neurological and mental health conditions, including Huntington’s disease,” she added. “Bergoglio was interested in this issue and gave his support to start a Homeless Rescue Program." Dr. Perandones hopes the meeting will make HD move visible and attune others to HD families’ regular difficulties and challenges. “I think that the meeting with the pope will be a turning point for the HD community globally and particularly in Latin America,” she stated. In addition to Brenda and her aunt, the papal invitees include HD families from the towns of San Luís and Barranquitas in Venezuela’s Maracaibo region and from the city of Medellín and the small town of El Difícil in Colombia. Brenda flanked by Dr. Claudia Perandones and Academy Award winner Eugenio Zanetti, a supporter of the HD cause, after Brenda received news of the papal invitation (personal photo). A testament to the world Rooted in Christian love and compassion, Pope Francis’s meeting with the HD-affected of South America should reflect the Church’s historic mission of aiding the sick and defenseless. With 1.27 billion Catholics and hundreds of thousands of priests, nuns, and other personnel, the Church runs an enormous, vital network of charitable and social-service entities that could have a significant impact on HD. With the biomedical revolution, the Church has sought to both apply and adapt its 2,000-year-old moral and theological tradition to today’s bioethical challenges. The Huntington’s disease community stands on the bioethical frontier. HD families contribute to advances in neurological and rare-disease research, and they have pioneered ways of dealing with the impact of disease such as discrimination, disability, decisions about genetic testing, family unity, caregiving, suicide, and end-of-life care. The May 18 meeting with Pope Francis will allow the HD community to provide a testament to the world of human perseverance and solidarity and, ultimately, the need to alleviate and cure devastating diseases. “Those suffering with HD and living in extreme poverty need urgent help to lead a life of dignity and hope,” Dr. Ignacio Muñoz-Sanjuan asserted. I hope that Francis’s Pope’s humanitarian gesture serves as a message to the church and to world opinion leaders to address the critical need of ameliorating Huntington’s disease.
Boochani, an Iranian Kurd who fled his country after he faced arrest and imprisonment for his writing, is detained by Australia in Papua New Guinea Over Manus Island, a black kite flies. A few youths, still with energy to bear the difficulties of this prison camp, made it. The black kite flies, a messenger of freedom for us, the forgotten prisoners. It circles higher and higher above the camp, above the beautiful coconuts. Our eyes follow its flight, it seems to want to tear its rope. It breaks free, dances towards the ocean, flies far and again farther until no one can see it. The youths stare into the empty sky after their impossible dream. Day of the Imprisoned Writer: Mahvash Sabet Read more In detention Behrouz Boochani writes. Behind the high steel fences of the Manus Island detention centre, his health is often poor, his moods swing dramatically, from a wild, garrulous mania to black and shiftless depression. He says he can sense when his mental state is slipping from his control, but feels powerless. But Boochani recognises he is best when he works, when he is busy, when he has a purpose, a task to fill the limitless hours of his ongoing incarceration. So he writes. He writes poetry and prose, he writes news reports and short stories. He conducts interviews with fellow detainees. He pens open letters to the Australian people, missives to prime ministers and presidents. Sometimes, rarely, he gets a reply. “I am a journalist,” he tells the Guardian. “I am still a journalist in this place. This is my work, my duty.” Boochani is an Iranian Kurd who fled his country after he faced arrest and imprisonment for his writing. Since coming to Australia more than two years ago, he has been incarcerated anyway, first on Christmas Island and then on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea. But detention has not slowed Boochani’s work. He is almost defiantly busy, working “16 hours some days”. He is a regular correspondent with journalists in Australia, and collaborates with human rights agencies and advocates, providing information on conditions in the camp and the health of his fellow detainees. He files stories still for Kurdish publications at home in Iran, detailing his experiences. He writes on. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Asylum seekers housed in Delta compound look on from behind a fence as a court appointed party inspects the Manus Island detention centre in Papua New Guinea. Photograph: Eoin Blackwell/AAP Boochani is 32, an ethnic Kurd from Ilam city in the west of Iran, bordering Iraq. He was a freelance journalist in his homeland, and began his career writing for the student newspaper at Tarbiat Modares University in Tehran where he studied geopolitics. He wrote for several newspapers in Iran, including Kasbokar Weekly, Qhanoon, Etemad and the Iranian Sports Agency. But it was his work as an editor of Werya (also spelled Varia), a Kurdish political and social magazine, that attracted the attention of authorities. “Werya is so, so important,” Boochani says in a series of interviews from detention. “We started the Werya newspaper because Ilam city is a different city in Kurdistan. It has its own dialect and culture. [But] our people are losing their identity. The new generation are talking with their children in Farsi language and the Kurdish language and culture will be destroyed in the near future.” Boochani spent several years under surveillance because of Werya’s promotion of Kurdish language, culture and politics. His membership of the Kurdish Democratic party, outlawed in Iran, and the National Union of Kurdish Students brought him even closer attention. In 2011, Boochani was arrested and interrogated by Iran’s Sepah, known formally as the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution, the 125,000-strong paramilitary intelligence agency founded after the 1979 revolution. It is responsible for protecting the country’s Islamic system and quelling the uprisings of “deviant movements”. “They threatened me if I continued my activities, I would be sentenced to long-term detention. My activities were entirely in relation to Kurdish language and culture,” he says. Sepah’s officers told him he must quit writing and cease his promotion of Kurdish autonomy or it would be years before he knew freedom again. Behrouz Boochani Under duress Boochani signed a statement promising he would stop. But Werya continued and Boochani’s work with it. “I was in Tehran but I published Werya in Kurdish language in Ilam with my friends. We were working to publish our ideas about Kurdish history and culture and political space. I was working with Werya by email. My friends sent me their articles and I would edit them and send them back. I also wrote articles and made interviews with Kurdish elites in Tehran and sent them.” On 17 February 2013, Sepah raided the Ilam offices of Werya and arrested 11 of his colleagues. Boochani was in Tehran the day of the raids and so escaped arrest. But he published news of his colleagues’ detention on a website called Iranian Reporters. The news spread globally and Boochani, fearing he would be targeted next, went into hiding. “After I published that news I did not go to work again. I went to a friend’s house in the south of Tehran. At that time it was Nowrouz. I went to [the province of] Ilam, [to] my mother’s house but I was scared all the time. I knew they were going to arrest me.” Over weeks and months his colleagues were released from detention. A friend brought two of them to see him. Transfield given $1.5bn over three years to manage Nauru and Manus centres Read more “They were excited and scared. They said ‘Behrouz, if you did not publish that news they would have killed us’. They said ‘Thank you’. They said ‘Please take care. They will arrest you. They asked us many questions about your ideas.’ I didn’t want them to arrest me.” Boochani chose to flee. He chose Australia. “I did not sleep for two months, but then I left Iran. It was so dangerous for me. I thought if I can publish my ideas in a free country then I can help my people. I thought that Australia was free. I thought that in Australia I could write freely.” On 23 May 2013, Boochani left Iran, travelling through south-east Asia and then by boat to Christmas Island arriving in July. He was transferred to Manus on 27 August 2013. Twenty-seven months on, he remains in the Regional Processing Centre on Los Negros Island in Manus province with no prospect of release except for the looming threat of deportation. Boochani has refused to present his asylum claim to Papua New Guinean authorities: “I did not come to this country. I was brought here against my will. I do not accept that.” He says he fears being released into Papua New Guinean society after the violence of his time in detention, particularly the riots of 2014 in which fellow Iranian Reza Barati was murdered. He has asked repeatedly to be handed over to the United Nations. The threat of deportation is real, Boochani says. Iran refuses to accept forcible deportations but at least two Iranian men have been flown back to Tehran, apparently after a last-minute acquiescence or a deal between the two countries. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Supplied image obtained Friday 16 January 2015 of asylum seekers during a hunger strike at the Manus Island detention centre. Photograph: Refugee Action Coalition/AAP Boochani does not know what has happened to them. “But I know what would happen to me, without any doubt, my life would be in grave danger if I am returned to Iran. If I did not leave Iran I would have definitely been arrested and been tortured. That is what would happen if they sent me back.” Sunday 15 November 2015 is the international day of the imprisoned writer. Boochani’s case has attracted support from Reporters without Borders and Pen International. Reporters without Borders wrote to the department of immigration warning dissent was not tolerated by Iran’s theocratic regime. Journalists who refuse to conform to the state’s editorial policies are charged with “activities against state security” and are arrested and detained arbitrarily. Torture and mistreatment are common. “We are convinced that Mr Boochani’s freedom would be in great danger if he were forced to return to Iran,” Reporters without Borders’ Martial Tourneur wrote. “We therefore support his request for protection and hope that you will quickly approve his request and allow him to reside safely in Australia.” Pen International has campaigned for the freedom of writers since 1921, including prominently on behalf of Salman Rushdie, whose novel The Satanic Verses inspired a fatwa from Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini that he be executed. Two writers previously held in Australian immigration detention, Iranian Ardeshir Gholipour and Ivorian Cheikh Kone, have since been released and are now Australian citizens. Writer and past-President of Pen International’s Melbourne centre, Arnold Zable argues Australia holds responsibility for the fate and freedom of Boochani. “Instead of being imprisoned and harassed, he should be welcomed for his courageous stand for democracy and human rights. He should be granted asylum in Australia. It is a profound irony that he is now experiencing levels of surveillance and harassment that have some parallels with his treatment by Iranian authorities.” Witness in Reza Barati murder trial says he is dogged by death threats Read more Zable praised Boochani for his courage to keep writing, describing his reportage as a “Kafka-esque account” of life in detention, the physical brutality and the emotional toll of months of incarceration. “Behrouz is bearing witness for all the men in that detention centre. It’s incredibly important, the work that he does. He is a passionate man, and deeply affected when he sees the human rights abuses taking place around him. He feels the need to record what’s happening.” Pen International Melbourne has made Boochani an honorary member of the organisation, an honour, Boochani says, feels like a gift “a kind of feeling which a child feels when he gets his birthday present”. When he feels well enough, Boochani says he fills his days with work, drafting open letters for asylum seekers and refugees to sign, interviewing fellow asylum seekers and assisting with translating the multitudes of correspondence each receives. He has written to prime ministers and presidents, the Australian people and to each of the three immigration ministers who have held the post during his detention. His English has a florid, almost lyrical, style. He wrote this week about the deaths of Reza Barati and Fazel Chegeni, both of whom died while in Australian detention. The dead men were from neighbouring cities in Kurdish western Iran, their homes separated by a tall mountain. “Fazel and Reza were brave sons,” Boochani wrote. “They fought for their lives with the Australian government and the dark ocean. “When I was in Kurdistan, many times I climbed up that highest mountain. There are the oldest oak trees there. I hear the oak trees are crying too.” Boochani has become an unofficial leader for the men in his compound, Foxtrot, meeting with PNG immigration officials and representatives from International Health and Medical Services, the International Organisation of Migration, Transfield (now known as Broadspectrum), Amnesty and the UNHCR. But that has brought attention too. Boochani has twice been moved to Chauka – the notorious solitary confinement block at Manus constructed of shipping containers and distant from the main detention centre – each time for three days. He was also jailed during the hunger strike earlier in the year that was put down by force when PNG police rushed the intransigent compounds. “I took many pictures and film and wrote stories … on the hunger strike. In Foxtrot we have the strongest protest because we were very united, determined and peaceful. The immigration were watching me so close because I was very active.” He was held for eight days inside Lorengau prison before being released without charge. “The only crime I committed in their view was reporting. This was the only reason I was given for my imprisonment when I came out of the prison. I was asked to stop my activities.” Back in detention his physical health has worsened and his mental health is inconsistent. He has lost 10kg since he arrived on Manus and he sleeps poorly, troubled by a toothache and infection. But he recognises he is best when he works. So he passes the long hours of his limitless detention writing. He is working on a book. Day of the Imprisoned Writer: Dieudonné Enoh Meyomesse Read more The manuscript begins in detention: It was a high cage with metallic bars and electronic doors. All around, cameras stared at us. • David Malouf, author of Ransom, The Great World, and Remembering Babylon, is giving a lecture to mark the 34th Day of the Imprisoned Writer at the Cell Block Theatre, National Art School, Forbes Street, Sydney at 3pm, Sunday 15 November • Melbourne University’s Refugee Studies Program is hosting a public forum, The Pacific Solution: What can we learn from the case of Behrouz Boochani? at the Basement Theatre, Melbourne School of Design, Masson Road at 6.30pm, Wednesday 18 November
September 6, 2013 at 3:59 PM The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Washington State Department of Ecology will conduct separate reviews of proposals to expand state coal exports — not the joint reviews that had been planned, both agencies announced Friday. The decision to separate the reviews is in some ways not surprising, since the agencies have staked out different criteria in determining whether to approve a proposed export terminal at Cherry Point, near Bellingham: The feds say they will only consider the impacts on the area immediately surrounding the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal, while the state says it will factor in everything from how more trains would affect cities on the rail route to how burning coal in Asia affects the environment. The Cherry Point plan, which would export up to 48 million tons of coal a year to Asia, is one of two proposals in Washington working through a long approval process. The other is proposed for Longview. Still, the decision marks a reversal and highlights the gulf between the two reviews. “Based on the difference of that review scope, it made sense to separate it out into two documents,” said Patricia Graesser, a spokeswoman in the Corps’ Seattle office, although she added that the two reviews will be conducted collaboratively. Supporters of the proposals praised the separation of reviews, framing it as an indication of the inappropriateness of the state’s broad review, which is unprecedented in scope. “What more evidence do we need that Ecology was way out on a limb with its interpretation of environmental policies?” said Herb Krohn, Washington state legislative director for the United Transportation Union. “The Corps doesn’t want to be attached to that, to no one’s surprise. We have only been asking for a fair review, a fair time frame, and a fair sense of urgency so we can create these jobs and help our economy. We applaud the Corps’ decision.” Opponents, on the other hand, said it is in the state’s interest to conduct as broad a review as possible. “It only makes sense to conduct a comprehensive review that includes impacts on our health and climate change,” said Brendon Cechovic, executive director of Washington Conservative Voters. “There is a reason why the coal companies don’t want us to study these things.”
The AROCKET Discussion List Since early in 1996, the aRocket e-mail list has been active, providing a forum for discussion for all sorts of experimental rocketry topics worldwide. There are almost 400 people using this free service. To subscribe to aRocket go to the subscription page which gives some information about the list. These are the official policies of the aRocket forum. There are a number of goals this list exists to achieve: 1: Creation of ultra low cost space access technology. 2: Development of a more unified and open amateur rocketry community. 3: Promote a safety-first attitude amongst rocketry experimenters. 4: Demonstrate and promote the peaceful uses of rocketry. 5: Assist in the resolution of conflict between regulation and civil rocketry. In support of these goals, the following policies have been created: 1: Communication on the list should support such goals, such as amended by the forum body (especially discouraged are disparaging remarks likely to induce disparaging replies, i.e.: flaming). 2: First infraction results in a response dependent on the level of violation. Possible responses range from a verbal warning from the list owner to unsubscription from the list, blocking from the list, to request that the offender's ISP account be revoked. All previous occurrences have resulted in the offender posting a public apology to the list, this is the recommended behavior. 3: Second infraction results in removal from the forum. This material is too important to take trivially. These draconian measures might seem extreme to some. Please accept my apologies. 4: References to additional sources highly recommended. 5: Relevant advertisements are allowed, but it is HIGHLY recommended that they be relevant to the list objectives and that the subject header include as it's first characters: [AD] Recommendations from a satisfied customer are always appreciated. 6: Latest revision of policy will be posted on the aRocket web site and major revisions will be posted to the list. 7: Requests to the list owners or to the arocket list to be removed from the list require a minimum of 48 hours to process. We occasionally do take a few days off from this unpaid job, sometimes we are offline to actually do rocket work. Proper requests to the automated list management software are nearly instantaneous, although the internet may take a few days to deliver messages sent prior to your request. 8: The submission of a virus, trojan-horse, or similar code onto the list will result in immediate removal. Contacting the list owner after disinfecting your system will allow you to be added back to the discussion. For this reason, the inclusion of attachments or e-mail in HTML format is highly discouraged. If you need to post a picture, software or similar for list distribution, contact the list owner for assistance. 9: Discussions of weapons or weapon delivery systems are not allowed. Likewise, discussions not related to amateur rocketry are off-topic.
That referendum will be won or lost in swing districts—and they are much harder to find than they used to be. The Cook Political Report found that the number of swing seats—where neither party runs more than 5 points better than it does nationally—has dropped by more than half over the last 20 years, from 164 to 72. The most vulnerable seats in the current House majority belong to 23 Republican incumbents in districts Hillary Clinton carried, largely clustered in the suburbs of major metropolitan areas like Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Washington. These districts tend to be mainstream in tone and interest. That’s a tough place to win the hand Trump has dealt Republicans of cutting student aid, denying climate change, and eliminating protections for pre-existing conditions. But Democrats don’t just need to choose the right battles, they also need to choose credible candidates who can win them. Candidate quality may not make the difference in a place like Montana’s at-large district, where Greg Gianforte won handily just hours after assaulting a reporter. Winning hotly contested swing seats, however, requires candidates who closely match their districts—even if they don’t perfectly align with the national party’s activist base. In 2006, the Democratic base was energized and angry, but then as now, capturing a majority required winning some tough races in red and purple states across the heartland. As leaders in that 2006 effort, we recruited a football player in North Carolina, a businessman in Florida, an Iraq veteran in Pennsylvania, and a sheriff in Indiana. The Democratic Party won twice as many seats as it needed to gain control. There’s a long-term payoff for a party that gets this right. Good candidates not only help build a wave, they help sustain it. Wave elections offer the chance to establish new beachheads in hostile territory, but it takes gifted leaders to survive when the pendulum swings back. In the 1980 Reagan landslide, Republicans gained 34 House seats—only to lose 26 seats two years later—and 12 Senate seats, only to lose 8 senators and Senate control when those seats came open six years later. With the right candidates, the impact of a wave can be felt for decades. Half a dozen “Watergate babies” elected to the House in 1974 went on to serve in the Senate. So have three Democrats who joined the House in the 2006 wave. Even with the right candidates in the right districts, a wave won’t get far without a credible plan to address the country’s problems, not simply run attack ads against the parade of horribles from the other side. In 2006, we published a book called The Plan, which offered detailed proposals on college, retirement, health care, and the economy. One reason today’s congressional Republicans are struggling to enact an agenda is that unlike the Contract-with-America Republicans of 1994, the GOP waves of 2010 and 2014 were built only on saying no to Obama. Donald Trump may hand Democrats the election next year, but Democrats should strive to earn the people’s trust on their own merits anyway. These are serious times for a country at the mercy of an unserious president. The damage may take years to repair, and voters deserve to know what Democrats are going to do about it. We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com. Bruce Reed is the former chief of staff to Vice President Joe Biden, and the former CEO of the Democratic Leadership Council.
On April 20, 2012, deputies from the Johnson County, Kansas, sheriff's department stormed the home of Robert and Adlynn Harte, apparently expecting to uncover a marijuana grow operation. It was, after all, 4/20. What they found instead was an indoor garden in the basement, a project the Hartes had started with their two young children to grow tomato, squash and melon plants. The legal battle touched off by the dangerous mistake ended last week in a ruling that exposes just how weak the standard of "probable cause" can be. At first, the Hartes, both former CIA employees, couldn't understand what had led police to believe they were involved in the drug trade. They spent $25,000 in a quest to access the probable-cause affidavits used to obtain the search warrants for their home. Kansas didn't release those documents to the public until the law was changed last year, with lobbying help from the Hartes. When they read the flimsy evidence that had prompted the botched raid, the Hartes were outraged. The initial tipoff to police had come in 2011, when a Missouri state trooper witnessed Robert Harte exiting a gardening store with a bag of supplies. Many such businesses in Kansas and Missouri were staked out over 2011 and 2012 as part of a controversial anti-drug effort called "Operation Constant Gardener." Police then worked to gather more evidence against the Hartes, and months after the initial tip, they believed they'd found it hiding at the bottom of the family's trash. Officers dug up a wet, leafy green material from two separate garbage bags that the family had left out on the curb. One deputy would state that based on his experience, it looked as though the substance had been processed through the "extraction of ... THC," according to a civil rights complaint filed by the Hartes in 2013. Police conducted a field test on the material, and shortly after it tested positive for marijuana, the raid was green-lighted. But field testing for drugs is notoriously unreliable. Orlin Wagner/Associated Press Robert Harte stands next to his now-shutdown garden in the basement of his home in Leawood, Kansas, in 2013. In their lawsuit, the Hartes argued that using dubious drug tests to build upon a single additional piece of dubious evidence -- a trip to a garden store, no less -- shouldn't be enough to launch a police raid. But a federal judge ruled last Friday that no constitutional violations had occurred and the officers had sufficient probable cause for the search. The judge was apparently not moved by the Hartes' argument that field drug tests are notoriously unreliable and that field testing the substance found in their trash -- tea leaves, according to the Hartes -- would have been even less likely to produce accurate results. "The deputy did not acknowledge in the affidavit that the field tests are not to be used with saturated or liquid samples and that the 'false positive' rate of the test used is 70 percent," the Hartes' complaint read. "Many common botanical substances from the kitchen or yard also test positive [for the presence of marijuana], including vanilla, anise, peppermint, ginseng, eucalyptus, cinnamon, basil, lemon grass, lavender, cloves, cypress, ginger, oregano -- and tea." Lab tests conducted after the raid concluded that the material in the Hartes' trash was indeed not marijuana, nor did it "look anything" like the plant. The Johnson County sheriff's office now requires lab confirmation of suspected drug material, so perhaps there's one small victory to come out of the Hartes' misfortune. The Hartes also argued that police displayed "excessive" force during the raid, opting to use a "heavily armed SWAT-type team" and even accusing their son, then 13, of having a "drug problem." But the judge found that the officers had conducted themselves in a lawful and reasonable manner. The Hartes were seeking $5 million in compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages for violations of their Fourth and 14th Amendment rights. The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution states that search warrants may be issued only "upon probable cause." Over at Reason, Jacob Sullum neatly sums up why probable cause often rests on improbable evidence: [T]he Supreme Court has said it need amount to no more than a "substantial chance" or a "fair probability" that evidence of a crime will be discovered. It's clear that a probability substantially lower than 50 percent will do, which is why courts continue to treat highly unreliable indicators such as drug field tests and dog alerts as sufficient to justify a search. The Hartes' case also offers another sad commentary on the ineffectiveness of the drug war. If we're going to pay police to enforce draconian marijuana laws at all, we should at least hire officers who can tell the difference between marijuana and wet tea leaves -- or okra, tomatoes, elderberries, hibiscus and ragweed, all plants that police have managed to mistake for marijuana. Also on HuffPost:
Danielle Ryan is an Irish freelance writer based in Dublin. Her work has appeared in Salon, The Nation, Rethinking Russia, teleSUR, RBTH, The Calvert Journal and others. Follow her on Twitter @DanielleRyanJ For months, American politicians and pundits have been busily debating whether or not Russia hacked (or somehow influenced) last year’s presidential election in an effort to support Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton. The pressing issue for many has been how the US should respond to this (unproven) meddling by a foreign power. It’s a real tough one, but luckily, long-time Clinton family adviser Paul Begala has an idea — and it’s so obvious that it’s hard to believe no one thought of it before. Trump should just bomb Russia. Begala made the casual suggestion during an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, declaring the US was “under attack by a hostile foreign power” and Trump should be “retaliating massively” to any interference in the country’s political system. Instead of just debating more sanctions on Russia, there should also be a debate about “whether we should blow up the KGB, GSU, or GRU [Russia’s foreign military intelligence agency].” Read more There’s a lot to unpack here, but a few things jump out: 1. The KGB hadn't existed since 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed. 2. If bombing a country was an acceptable response to alleged election meddling, the US would already have been reduced to dust by now. 3. Trump bombing Russia could spark World War 3 — over unproven claims Russia somehow cost Clinton the presidency. I just don’t think that decades from now, future generations would see Justice For Hillary as good enough reason to have incinerated the planet with nuclear weapons, but who knows, maybe I’m wrong. This Begala is obviously not the sharpest tool in the shed. Nonetheless, there he is being given a platform on CNN to advocate for an action that could easily escalate to nuclear war — just because people on the opposite side of the political spectrum aren’t as angry about something as he is. Imploring Trump to more drastic action against Russia, Begala even tries to play to the president’s noted ego, tempting him to get back at Russia for “tainting his victory.” This unhinged rhetoric coming largely from Democrats is dangerous, particularly in a climate that has Trump eager to prove that he did not collude with Moscow to achieve victory. What’s interesting is that while Begala clearly feels that bombing Russian intelligence agencies is a reasonable thing to do, he probably wouldn’t endorse the bombing of the FBI or CIA — despite the fact that, by his logic, it would be a perfectly legitimate response, given the US’s interference in a whole host of foreign elections. Even more interesting than that, though, is how Begala seems to have changed his tune about Russia now that a Republican is in the White House. During the 2012 election, when President Barack Obama called out opponent Mitt Romney for describing Russia the US’s number one geostrategic threat, Begala agreed, even tweeting that Obama had nailed Romney and quoting from the exchange: "The 1980's called. They want their foreign policy back." Fast-forward, a few years and Begala, wants to bomb “the KGB.” Hey, Begala, the 1980s are calling again. It’s true, American politics has never been short on fear-mongering about Russia, but it has been elevated to a whole new level, thanks in large part to Clinton, who believed that talking ad nauseum about Russia during the presidential campaign would ensure her victory — and when it didn’t, decided that even more talking about Russia would be the remedy. Now we’re stuck on the Russia loop for God knows how long — and still there has been no indisputable evidence proving that Trump colluded with the Kremlin, or that the Kremlin did in fact even meddle in the election. The hysteria, promoted heavily by Clinton, has led us to a place where it’s normal to suggest on live television that the United States bombing Russia is a good, reasonable and justifiable idea. It was the kind of comment that should have seen Begala either laughed out of the CNN studio or seriously called out on air for utter lunacy — but of course, nothing of the sort happened. Someone else who should have been called out last week for similar absurdity is Democratic Congressman Mike Quigley. Quigley, also on CNN, suggested that all Russians should be regarded with suspicion. In fact, all Russians, he implied, are inherently linked to Vladimir Putin by virtue of their nationality: “When you meet with any Russians, you’re meeting with Russian intelligence and therefore President Putin.” That’s right. All Russians are spies for Putin and Americans can’t talk to or meet with any of them because if they do, they have obviously betrayed their nation. Quigley might want to get in touch with some members of his own party since they too have met with Russians on occasion. Read more Given the opportunity, one would hope that Quigley might roll back his statement and apologize for implying that meeting with any Russian person is equivalent to meeting with Putin. But it would have been great if he had been more careful in the first place, before contributing to the Russophobic mania which has taken over American political discourse and turned people’s brains to mush. Then again, we can hardly expect journalists to take issue with bland commentary like that, given that no one batted an eyelid when former FBI director James Clapper said Russian people were “genetically driven” to be untrustworthy. This kind of commentary — which would be almost career ending if uttered about any other ethnicity, race or religion — is just par for the course when talking about Russia and Russians. Regardless of whether or not Trump or his people colluded with Russian officials, or whether or not the Kremlin actively meddled in the US election, there is simply no way to deny that McCarthyism is back. For many Democrats, meeting with Russians is now forbidden — and bombing Russia is an option seriously worthy of consideration. That’s a pretty sad state of affairs.
"If that Apple SSL thing happened to Microsoft, literal s*** would be pouring down on Redmond right now. Pouring," tweeted @explanoit on Monday. And, as Kyle Maxwell added soon after, "Gates would be holding public executions in the courtyard". Both of these people show signs of knowing a bit about security. Both are, at least metaphorically speaking, 100 percent correct. Thousands of words have already been written about Apple's little coding oopsie, so I'll just summarise things before moving on to my key point: Apple seems to have a serious cultural problem. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) authentication wasn't working in either iOS or OS X. A vast amount of software running on iDevices and Macs believed that their encrypted connections were connecting to the right place, and were being given the visible padlock of security, when they may not have been. Key SSL tests simply weren't being done. Apps could well have been connecting somewhere else — including to an impostor executing a "man in the middle attack", decrypting and monitoring users' data before re-encrypting it and passing it on to the correct destination. It is of course hilarious that the actual error consisted of the repeated words "goto fail;". The legendary computing scientist Edsger Dijkstra wrote about the risks of the goto statement in programming languages way back in 1968, in his famous letter Go To Statement Considered Harmful — the text of which is available online, both in the original 1960s-style formatting (PDF) and more modern typography. "The go to statement as it stands is just too primitive, it is too much an invitation to make a mess of one's program," he wrote. Dijkstra instead promoted the discipline of structured programming. Even though I was indoctrinated in structured programming, I don't think the goto is the real problem here. Anyone can screw up code with an ill-judged copy-paste or a slip of the mouse. We've all been there, right? Pointy-haired managers, think "reply all". But Apple needs to answer some serious questions. Why wasn't this broken code spotted by some sort of review process before it ended up in a software build? After all, this sort of mistake can even be picked up by various automated code analysis tools, let alone by human reviewers. Why wasn't the failure picked up in the testing phase, before the software was published? After all, testing that each step in a security authentication process still works is kind of important. Why was a patch for iOS released, thereby revealing the existence of the problem and giving security researchers good and evil the opportunity to reverse engineer it and see whether the problem also existed in OS X — which it did — before that operating system was also patched? After all, both operating systems are produced by the same company. Don't these people talk to each other? I think we have some cultural problems here, folks. The apparent lack of communication between the iOS and OS X teams is bad enough. But what's far more worrying is how such a serious error could have escaped detection — let's skip the more tinfoil-oriented explanation that it was a deliberate "mistake" to help the NSA, and a programming error gives Apple plausible deniability — and how the impact of the error is magnified by Apple's complete lack of transparency when it comes to security issues. "For the protection of our customers, Apple does not disclose, discuss, or confirm security issues until a full investigation has occurred and any necessary patches or releases are available," says Apple. Which means it may know full well about unpatched vulnerabilities, but even if they're being actively exploited, you won't know about them. Nothing must tarnish the image of Apple's pretty, pretty garden, even if beneath the surface it's rotten. Or poisoned. That's why I agree with Eugene Kaspersky, head of Kaspersky Lab, who nearly two years ago wrote that when it comes to security, Apple is 10 years behind Microsoft. At the time, I called him a "glorious global megatroll" for that suggestion, but also wrote that Apple's supposed invulnerability is a myth based on ancient history. Back when Windows was vulnerable to myriad viruses and worms, Bill Gates issued his Trustworth Computing memo and Microsoft completely re-engineered the way it made software. The Security Development Lifecycle (SDL) methodology was the result. Windows was dramatically improved — well, at least from a security standpoint — so much so that the attackers moved up the stack and tore Adobe's products a new one. Apple's goto fail is a clear sign that the magic garden needs weeding — or even a good dose of Agent Orange, rather than endless Kool-Aid. But the first step in fixing a problem is admitting that it exists, and Apple has yet to do that. It seems that when it comes to security, Apple still couldn't find its butt with both hands. Perhaps it should be using Apple Maps to help. No, wait. Disclosure: Stilgherrian has travelled to US security events twice as Microsoft's guest, including a briefing on SDL. He uses a MacBook Pro, having been primarily a Mac user since 1985, and an Android phone.
1966 photo of the crew and personnel of Project Stormfury Project Stormfury was an attempt to weaken tropical cyclones by flying aircraft into them and seeding with silver iodide. The project was run by the United States Government from 1962 to 1983. The hypothesis was that the silver iodide would cause supercooled water in the storm to freeze, disrupting the inner structure of the hurricane. This led to the seeding of several Atlantic hurricanes. However, it was later shown that this hypothesis was incorrect. It was determined that most hurricanes do not contain enough supercooled water for cloud seeding to be effective. Additionally, researchers found that unseeded hurricanes often undergo the same structural changes that were expected from seeded hurricanes. This finding called Stormfury's successes into question, as the changes reported now had a natural explanation. The last experimental flight was flown in 1971, due to a lack of candidate storms and a changeover in NOAA's fleet. More than a decade after the last modification experiment, Project Stormfury was officially canceled. Although a failure in its goal of reducing the destructiveness of hurricanes, Project Stormfury was not without merit. The observational data and storm lifecycle research generated by Stormfury helped improve meteorologists' ability to forecast the movement and intensity of future hurricanes. Hypothesis [ edit ] The working hypothesis of Project Stormfury Cloud seeding was first attempted by Vincent Schaefer and Irving Langmuir. After witnessing the artificial creation of ice crystals, Langmuir became an enthusiastic proponent of weather modification.[1] Schaefer found that when he dumped crushed dry ice into a cloud, precipitation in the form of snow resulted.[2] With regard to hurricanes, it was hypothesized that by seeding the area around the eyewall with silver iodide, latent heat would be released. This would promote the formation of a new eyewall. As this new eyewall was larger than the old eyewall, the winds of the tropical cyclone would be weaker due to a reduced pressure gradient.[3] Even a small reduction in the speed of a hurricane's winds would be beneficial: since the damage potential of a hurricane increased as the square of the wind speed,[4] a slight lowering of wind speed would have a large reduction in destructiveness.[4] Due to Langmuir's efforts, and the research of Schaefer at General Electric, the concept of using cloud seeding to weaken hurricanes gathered momentum. Indeed, Schaefer had caused a major snowstorm on December 20, 1946 by seeding a cloud.[2] This caused GE to drop out for legal reasons. Schaefer and Langmuir assisted the U.S. military as advisors for Project Cirrus, the first large study of cloud physics and weather modification. Its most important goal was to try to weaken hurricanes.[5] Project Cirrus [ edit ] Project Cirrus was the first attempt to modify a hurricane. It was a collaboration of the General Electric Corporation, the US Army Signal Corps, the Office of Naval Research, and the US Air Force.[1] After several preparations, and initial skepticism by government scientists,[6] the first attempt to modify a hurricane began on October 13, 1947 on a hurricane that was heading west to east and out to sea.[5] An airplane flew along the rainbands of the hurricane, and dropped nearly 180 pounds (82 kilograms) of crushed dry ice into the clouds.[1] The crew reported "Pronounced modification of the cloud deck seeded".[5] It is not known if that was due to the seeding. Next, the hurricane changed direction and made landfall near Savannah, Georgia. The public blamed the seeding, and Irving Langmuir claimed that the reversal had been caused by human intervention.[6] Cirrus was canceled,[5] and lawsuits were threatened. Only the fact that a system in 1906 had taken a similar path, as well as evidence showing that the storm had already begun to turn when seeding began, ended the litigation.[5] This disaster set back the cause of seeding hurricanes for eleven years. At first the seeding was officially denied and it took years before the government admitted it. According to the Sept. 12, 1965 edition of the Fort Lauderdale News and Sun-Sentinel, in 1947 a hurricane "went whacky" and "Twelve years later it was admitted the storm had in fact been seeded."[7] Between the projects [ edit ] The United States Weather Bureau's National Hurricane Research Project, founded in 1955, had as one of its objectives to investigate the scientific validity of hurricane modification methods. To this end, silver iodide dispensers were tested in Hurricane Daisy in August 1958. The flares were deployed outside of the hurricane eyewall, so this was an equipment test rather than a modification experiment. The equipment malfunctioned in all but one of the flights, and no conclusive data was acquired.[5] The first seeding experiment since the Cirrus disaster was attempted on September 16, 1961, into Hurricane Esther by NHRP and the United States Navy aircraft. Eight cylinders of silver iodide were dropped into Esther's eyewall, and winds were recorded as weakening by 10 percent.[8] The next day, more seeding flights were made. This time, the silver iodide did not fall into the eyewall, and no reduction in windspeed was observed. These two results were interpreted as making the experiment a "success".[9] The seedings into Hurricane Esther led to the establishment of Project Stormfury in 1962. Project Stormfury was a joint venture of the United States Department of Commerce and the United States Navy.[9] Project BATON [ edit ] The objective of Project BATON was the analysis of the life history of thunderstorms. A Department of Defense research activity supported by the Advanced Research Project Agency, Project BATON sought to expand understanding of storm physics as an aid to weather forecasting, fire prevention, and, possibly, for artificially controlling the weather. Dr. Helmut Weickmann, as an employee of the U.S, Army Signal Research and Development Laboratory, and Dr. Paul MacCready of Meteorology Research, Inc., were joint leaders of the Project BATON team.[10] During the 1962 July–August storm season in Flagstaff, Arizona, the scientists, selected "guinea pig" storms, and seeded them with chemicals. Effects were thoroughly analyzed from the ground and from the air with time-lapse motion picture cameras, stereo still cameras, storm radar, lightning detectors, and airborne heat sensors. Among the agents inserted in selected clouds were "condensation nuclei" which temporarily increased the number of water droplets in the cloud, and pulverized dry ice, which turns a portion of the cloud to fine snow crystals that remain aloft. The utilization of these agents facilitated study of a storm's characteristics.[10] Project STORMFURY begins [ edit ] Robert Simpson became its first director, serving in this capacity until 1965.[11] There were several guidelines used in selecting which storms to seed. The hurricane had to have a less than 10 percent chance of approaching inhabited land within a day;[12] it had to be within range of the seeding aircraft; and it had to be a fairly intense storm with a well-formed eye.[8] The primary effect of these criteria was to make possible seeding targets extremely rare.[13] No suitable storms formed in the 1962 season. Next year, Stormfury began by conducting experiments on cumulus clouds. From August 17 to 20 of that year, experiments were conducted in 11 clouds, of which six were seeded and five were controls. In five of the six seeded clouds, changes consistent with the working hypothesis were observed.[14] On August 23, 1963, Hurricane Beulah was the site of the next seeding attempt. It had an indistinct eyewall. In addition, mistakes were made, as the seedings of silver iodide were dropped in the wrong places. As a consequence, nothing happened.[9] The next day, another attempt was made, and the seeders hit their targets. The eyewall was observed to fall apart and be replaced by another eyewall with a larger radius.[14] The sustained winds also fell by twenty percent.[14] All in all, the results of the experiments on Beulah were "encouraging but inconclusive."[15] In the six years after Beulah, no seedings were conducted for several different reasons. In 1964, measurement and observation equipment was not ready to be used.[14] The year after that, all flights were used for additional experimentation in non-hurricane clouds.[14] Joanne Simpson became its director beginning in 1965.[11][16] While out to sea in August of the 1965 Atlantic hurricane season, Stormfury meteorologists decided that Hurricane Betsy was a good candidate for seeding.[12] However, the storm immediately swung towards land, and on September 1, the planned flights were canceled. For some reason, the press was not notified that there were no seedings, and several newspapers reported that it had begun.[12] As Betsy passed close to the Bahamas and smashed into southern Florida, the public and Congress thought that seeding was underway and blamed Stormfury.[12] It took two months for Stormfury officials to convince Congress that Betsy was not seeded, and the project was allowed to continue.[12] A second candidate, Hurricane Elena, stayed too far out to sea.[14] After Betsy, two other hurricanes came close to being seeded. Hurricane Faith was considered a likely candidate, but it stayed out of range of the seeding planes.[14] That same year, recon flights were conducted into Hurricane Inez, but there were no seedings.[14] Both the 1967 and 1968 seasons were inactive. Because of that, there were no suitable seeding targets in either of those two seasons.[14] Dr. R. Cecil Gentry became the director of Stormfury in 1968.[17] There were no more near-seedings until 1969. In the interim, equipment was improved. What once was the primitive method of hand-dumping dry ice was replaced with rocket canisters loaded with silver iodide, and then gun-like devices mounted on the wings of the airplanes that fired silver iodide into the clouds. Observation equipment was improved.[12] Additional reconnaissance data was utilized to modify the working hypothesis. The new theory took cumulus towers outside the eyewall into account. According to the revised theory, by seeding the towers, latent heat would be released. This would trigger the start of new convection, which would then cause a new eyewall. Since the new eyewall was outside the original one, the first eyewall would be choked of energy and fall apart. In addition, since the new eyewall was broader than the old one, the winds would be lower due to a less sharp pressure difference.[12] Hurricane Debbie in 1969 provided the best opportunity to test the underpinnings of Project Stormfury. In many ways it was the perfect storm for seeding: it did not threaten any land; it passed within range of seeding aircraft; and was intense with a distinct eye.[18] On August 18 and again on August 20, thirteen planes flew out to the storm to monitor and seed it. On the first day, windspeeds fell by 31%.[14] On the second day, windspeeds fell by 18%.[14] Both changes were consistent with Stormfury's working hypothesis. Indeed, the results were so encouraging that "a greatly expanded research program was planned."[19] Among other conclusions was the need for frequent seeding at close to hourly intervals.[20] The 1970 and 1971 seasons provided no suitable seeding candidates.[14] Despite this, flights were conducted into Hurricane Ginger. Ginger was not a suitable storm for seeding, due to its diffuse, indistinct nature. The seeding had no effect. Ginger was the last seeding done by Project Stormfury.[14] After the seedings [ edit ] Atlantic hurricanes meeting all of the criteria were extremely rare, which made duplication of the "success" reached with Hurricane Debbie extremely difficult. Meanwhile, developments outside of meteorology hindered the cause of hurricane modification. In the early 1970s, the Navy withdrew from the project.[21] Stormfury began to refocus its efforts on understanding, rather than modifying, tropical cyclones.[22] At the same time, the Project's aircraft were nearing the end of their operational lifetimes. At the cost of $30 million (year unknown)[21] two Lockheed P-3's were acquired. Due to the rarity of Atlantic hurricanes meeting the safety requirements, plans were made to move Stormfury to the Pacific and experiment on the large number of typhoons there.[13] This action required many of the same safety requirements as in the Atlantic, but had the advantage of a much higher number of potential subjects.[21] The plan was to begin again in 1976, and seed typhoons by flying out of Guam. However, political issues blocked the plan. The People's Republic of China announced that it would not be happy if a seeded typhoon changed course and made landfall on its shores,[13] while Japan declared itself willing to put up with difficulties caused by typhoons because that country got more than half of its rainfall from tropical cyclones.[13] Similar plans to operate Stormfury in the eastern north Pacific or in the Australian region also collapsed.[23] Failure of the working hypothesis [ edit ] Multiple eyewalls had been detected in very strong hurricanes before, including Typhoon Sarah[24] and Hurricane Donna,[25] although the double eyes were usually seen in very intense systems. Double eyewalls were also seen post-seeding in some of the seeded storms. At the time however, the only known times that rapid changes in eyewall diameter, other than during presumably successful seedings, was during rapid changes in intensity.[26] It remained controversial whether the seedings caused the secondary eyewalls or whether it was just a natural cycle[27] (as without further information, correlation does not imply causation). Basically, if eyewall changes similar to those observed in seeded hurricanes were rare in unseeded tropical cyclones, it would provide powerful evidence that Project Stormfury was successful. Conversely, if such changes were common in unseeded systems, it would throw doubt on the very hypothesis and assumptions driving Project Stormfury.[28] Data and observations began to accumulate that debunked Stormfury's working hypothesis. Beginning with Hurricanes Anita and David, flights by Hurricane Hunter aircraft encountered events similar to what happened in "successfully" seeded storms.[28] Anita itself had a weak example of a concentric eyewall cycle, and David a more dramatic one.[27] In August 1980, Hurricane Allen passed through the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico. It also underwent changes in the diameter of its eye and developed multiple eyewalls. All this was consistent with the behavior that would have been expected of Allen had it been seeded. Thus, what Stormfury thought to have accomplished by seeding was also happening on its own.[29] Other observations in Hurricanes Anita, David, Frederic, and Allen[30] also discovered that tropical cyclones have very little supercooled water and a great deal of ice crystals.[31] The reason that tropical cyclones have little supercooled water is that the updrafts within such a system are too weak to prevent water from either falling as rain or freezing.[32] As cloud seeding needed supercooled water to function, the lack of supercooled water meant that seeding would have no effect. Those observations called the basis for Project Stormfury into question. In the middle of 1983, Stormfury was finally canceled after the hypothesis guiding its efforts was invalidated.[33] Legacy [ edit ] In the sense of weakening hurricanes to reduce their destructiveness, Project Stormfury was a complete failure because it did not distinguish between natural phenomena in tropical cyclones and the impact of human intervention.[31] Millions of dollars had been spent trying to do the impossible. In the end, "[Project] STORMFURY had two fatal flaws: it was neither microphysically nor statistically feasible."[33] In addition, Stormfury had been a primary generator of funding for the Hurricane Research Division. While the project was operational, the HRD's budget had been around $4 million (1975 USD; $16 million 2008 USD), with a staff of approximately 100 people.[34] Today, the HRD employs 30 people and has a budget of roughly $2.6 million each year.[35] However, Project Stormfury had positive results as well. Knowledge gained during flights proved invaluable in debunking its hypotheses.[35] Other science resulted in a greater understanding of tropical cyclones. In addition, the Lockheed P-3's were perfectly suitable for gathering data on tropical cyclones, allowing improved forecasting of these monstrous storms.[35] Those planes are still used by the NOAA today.[36] Former Cuban president Fidel Castro alleged that Project Stormfury was an attempt to weaponize hurricanes.[37] See also [ edit ] Notes [ edit ]
With VPN apps, users in China were able to circumvent the state censorship and trigger foreign sites like Facebook. Now the applications have disappeared from Apple’s App Store – apparently at the urging of the government. According to allegations to Apple, Tim Cook has now responded. Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed in a statement substantial pressure from the Chinese government on Apple. His group was forced to implement a tightening of the laws for VPN apps from the year 2015. “We were prompted by the Chinese government to remove some of these applications that do not comply with the new regulations from the App Store,” Tim Cook said on Tuesday in an interview with analysts at the launch of Apple’s quarterly figures. Apple is not alone, but other VPN vendors are concerned, so Cook continues. “We would have preferred not to remove the apps, but as in any other country we do business, we follow the laws,” said the Apple CEO, Tim Cook. China is an important market for Apple and brought the company in the last quarter about 18 percent of its total revenues. The Group, therefore, does not want to take the risk of being banished from the country due to regulatory violations. Tim Cook says he is confident that the restrictions will be relaxed over time. Experts see behind the VPN ban the attempt by the Chinese government, on the one hand, to strengthen the local competition to Apple and on the other hand to be able to act better against civil rights activists, said Tim Cook. They use the VPN client to circumvent government measures. Critics accused Apple of creating a dangerous precedent by kinking. Background Apps like ExpressVPN, VyprVPN, Torguard, AirVPN and IP Vanish are no longer accessible via the Chinese iOS Store. Apple has issued a statement against the New York Times. “We have been prompted to remove VPN apps in China that do not comply with the new regulations. […] These apps remain available in all other markets, ” said Tim Cook. The VPN applications “tunnel” a connection between two points. For example, you can establish a connection to a foreign server and only go to the Internet there – so the state censorship in China could be effectively circumcised. Apple had already several times at the urging of the Chinese government apps removed; The current case, however, shows once again how important the Chinese market is for the tech group and how great is the influence of the government, said Tim Cook. On the topic of VPN, there is also news from Russia: The government under Putin has now passed a law prohibiting VPNs in Russia from November 1, 2017. As TechCrunch reports, the new law also prohibits other technologies that allow users to access web sites anonymously. Another blow to the open Internet.
For all of the love of freedom and fear of oppressive government, America demands unequivocal compliance over honesty and courage when it comes to our irrepressible national security state. Certain Democrats and neoconservative Republicans share an almost visceral hatred of whistleblowers while giving deference to incompetents and war criminals like David Petraeus and Henry Kissinger. And as we learned this past week, due to a cowardly decision by Harvard to rescind a fellowship given to Chelsea Manning in the face of pressure from current and former heads of the Central Intelligence Agency, it appears that there is no whistleblower they hate more than Manning. Manning, whose 35-year prison sentence was commuted by former President Barack Obama earlier this year, revealed the absurdity and depravity of the War on Terror in the hundreds of thousands of documents she leaked to Wikileaks in 2010. One was a video, which Reuters had unsuccessfully tried to access through the Freedom of Information Act for nearly three years, of a 2007 airstrike in Baghdad that killed at least a dozen people, including two of their photographers. Another leak revealed that the United States had knowingly imprisoned more than 150 innocent people in Guantanamo Bay. Despite later allegations that her actions put American soldiers and assets in harm’s way, the chief investigator for the Pentagon in the Manning case admitted at her sentencing hearing in 2013 that the agency found that there was no evidence of anyone having ever been killed as a result of being named in the documents that she leaked. And a classified 2011 report obtained by BuzzFeed in June through a FOIA request said “with high confidence” that Manning’s leak would have “no direct personal impact on current and former U.S. leadership in Iraq.” Obama was blasted for his decision to commute Manning’s sentence, not only by the usual gang of apoplectic Republicans but by finger-wagging centrist Democrats as well. “I have serious concerns about equivocating sentences when national security is at stake,” said New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat who is currently in the middle of a federal corruption trial, while his Virginia colleague Mark Warner (another Democrat) said it sent the “wrong signal.” There is no whistleblower more hated than Manning. In spite of this, Manning has been a forceful voice for civil liberties and transparency since her release. And her Harvard appointment, which was also bestowed upon former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and recently departed White House press secretary Sean Spicer, was notable in that she was a departure from the litany of powerful stooges who have historically populated the halls of Harvard, such as triple-degree holder Henry Kissinger, who some historians say is responsible for three to four million deaths worldwide, former President George W. Bush, who is chiefly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands in Iraq and thousands of American soldiers, and Larry Summers, the former Harvard president who played an instrumental role in dismantling financial regulations (paving the way for the financial collapse of 2007-2008) and who championed the pillaging of Russia by private interests following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Despite boasting a Murderers’ Row of, well, murderers, Manning isn’t the only person who Harvard has recently deemed unworthy to walk its halls. Michelle Jones, a woman who became an accomplished historian while serving over twenty years in prison for the death of her four-year old son, was recommended for acceptance to Harvard’s history department as a Ph.D student. Although the university’s leadership usually “rubber stamps” these decisions, they overturned the history department’s recommendation and rejected Jones. (John Stauffer, a white professor of African-American studies who “flagged” Jones’s file for the dean of admission, implied in an interview with the Marshall Project that he was motivated by a fear of Fox News to stop Jones’s admission.) Jones served two decades for her crime and is a model of rehabilitation. But it seems that crimes such as Kissinger’s — which he will never, ever face time in prison for — can be forgiven or even applauded if they are committed in the name of America, while Jones can never be fully rehabilitated and Manning can never recover from the greatest sin: going against the interests of the state. Indeed, Manning was charged under the same law — the Espionage Act — as Robert Hanssen and Aldrich Ames, both of whom sold secrets to the Soviet Union and Russia. But if what Manning did was so “treasonous,” Kissinger and his ilk ought to be on the hook for much worse. As Slate’s Ben Mathis-Lilley noted, Kissinger “leaked nonpublic information about President Lyndon Johnson's 1968 Vietnam peace talks” to Richard Nixon while he was serving as a mediator for the Johnson administration in the peace talks. Nixon subsequently sabotaged peace talks to help his election chances; U.S. forces wouldn’t officially withdraw until after his resignation six years later, during which time more than 21,000 soldiers died. A more contemporary hero of the security state, former Obama CIA director David Petraeus — a retired four-star general whose name was floated by op-ed columnists all over as a potential presidential candidate last year — gave classified information in the form of “eight personal notebooks” to biographer and mistress Paula Broadwell. “The Justice Department said the information, if disclosed, could have caused ‘exceptionally grave damage,’” Adam Goldman reported for the Washington Post in 2014. “Officials said the notebooks contained code words for secret intelligence programs, the identities of covert officers, and information about war strategy and deliberative discussions with the National Security Council.” Although, as Goldman noted, the Justice Department considered bringing Petraeus and Broadwell up on charges of violating the Espionage Act — as they did to Manning — they decided against it, and Petraeus took a plea on a misdemeanor charge of “mishandling” classified information and never served a day in prison; he wasn’t even demoted by the Pentagon for his leak. Broadwell was never charged. That Manning is a proud trans woman can’t be ignored, either. Some conservatives are giddy to hold her up as proof that trans soldiers aren’t fit to carry out the mission of American imperialism; former acting director of the C.I.A. Michael Morell, who resigned his post at the Kennedy school upon Manning’s appointment, was quick to point out that he respected her identity while damning her actions. “It is important to note that I fully respect Ms. Manning’s rights as a transgender American, including the right to serve our country in the U.S. military,” Morrell stressed in his letter. “But it is my right, indeed my duty… to make the fundamental point that leaking classified information is disgraceful and damaging to our nation.” That Manning is a proud trans woman can’t be ignored, either. Manning did what she did not because she lusted for political power like Kissinger, nor because she was having an affair with her biographer, like Petraeus. She did what she did at great personal risk because the guilt of being a cog in an immoral and unrelenting machine was simply too much to bear anymore. This kind of selflessness confounds those in power, regardless of whether they’re registered as Democrats or Republicans. More, it frightens them; the more Mannings there are to expose the sheer absurdity of our security culture and the military industrial complex, the more public attention is drawn to it, and the less room that the intelligence apparatus has to operate outside of the American public’s peripheral vision. And so for an unrepentant whistleblowing trans woman to march into the halls of Harvard, arguably the institution of choice for American power and one that has never shied away from its embrace of war criminals, is simply unacceptable. Manning’s biggest crime was not leaking classified information, but that she dared to tell America a fundamental truth about itself and to expose the willingness of its leaders to lie to them. If there’s any justice in the world, her monumental sacrifice will be remembered, and decades from now she’ll be considered a hero by the broader American public in a way similar to how civil libertarians on the left see her today. Get The Outline in your inbox Subscribe TTYS.
It started in April with a rash of deals between Argentina and Russia during President Cristina Kirchner’s visit to Moscow This article originally appeared at RT And it continues with a $53 billion investment bang as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visits Brazil during the first stop of yet another South American commercial offensive – complete with a sweet metaphor: Li riding on a made in China subway train that will ply a new metro line in Rio de Janeiro ahead of the 2016 Olympics. Where is the US in all this? Nowhere; little by little, yet inexorably, BRICS members China – and in a smaller measure, Russia - have been no less than restructuring commerce and infrastructure all across Latin America. Countless Chinese commercial missions have been plying these shores non-stop, much as the US did between World War I and II. In a key meeting in January with Latin American business leaders, President Xi Jinping promised to channel $250 billion for infrastructure projects in the next 10 years. Top infrastructure projects in Latin America are all being financed by Chinese capital – except the Mariel port in Cuba, whose financing comes from Brazil’s BNDES and whose operation will be managed by Singaporean port operator PSA International Pte Ltd. Construction of the Nicaragua canal – bigger, wider and deeper than Panama’s - started last year by a Hong Kong firm, to be finished by 2019. Argentina, for its part, clinched a $4.7 billion Chinese deal for the construction of two hydroelectric dams in Patagonia. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (L) and Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff look on before a meeting at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, May 19, 2015 \| Photo: Ueslei Marcelino, Reuters Among the 35 deals clinched during Li’s visit to Brazil, there was financing worth $7 billion for Brazil's oil giant Petrobras; 22 Brazilian Embraer commercial jets to be sold to Tianjin Airlines for $1.3 billion; and a raft of agreements involving top iron ore producer Vale. Chinese investment might go some way into overhauling Brazil’s appalling network of roads, railways and ports; airports are in slightly better condition due to upgrades prior to the World Cup last year. The star of the whole show is undoubtedly the proposed $30 billion, 3,500 kilometer-long, Atlantic-Pacific mega-railway, that is slated to run from the Brazilian port of Santos to the Peruvian Pacific port of Ilo via Amazonia. Logistically, this is a must for Brazil, offering it a Pacific gateway. Winners will inevitably be commodity producers – from iron ore to soya beans - exporting to Asia, mostly China. The Atlantic-Pacific railway may be an extremely complex project – involving everything from environmental and land rights issues to, crucially, the preference for Chinese firms every time Chinese banks deliberate on extending lines of credit. But this time, it’s a go. The usual suspects are - what else - worried. Watch the geopolitics Official Brazilian policy, since the Lula years, has been to attract top Chinese investment. China is Brazil's top trading partner since 2009; it used to be the US. The trend started with food production, now it moves to investment in ports and railways, and the next stage will be technology transfer. The BRICS New Development Bank and the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), of which Brazil is a key founding member, will definitely be part of the picture. The problem is this massive trade/commerce BRICS interplay is intersecting with a quite convoluted political process. The top three South American powers - Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela, which also happen to be Mercosur members – have been facing repeated “destabilization” attempts by the usual suspects, who routinely denounce the foreign policy of Presidents Dilma Rousseff, Cristina Kirchner and Nicolas Maduro and yearn for the good ol’ days of a dependent relationship with Washington. With different degrees of complexity – and internal strife - Brasilia, Buenos Aires and Caracas are all simultaneously facing plots against their institutional order. The usual suspects don’t even try to dissimulate their near total diplomatic distance from the South American Top Three. Venezuela, under US sanctions, is considered a threat to US national security – something that does not even qualify as a bad joke. Kirchner has been under relentless diplomatic assault – not to mention US vulture funds targeting Argentina. And with Brasilia, relations are practically frozen since September 2013, when Rousseff suspended a visit to Washington in response to the NSA spying on Petrobras, and herself personally. And that leads us to a crucial geostrategic issue – so far unresolved. NSA spying may have leaked sensitive information on purpose to destabilize the Brazilian development agenda – which includes, in the case of Petrobras, the exploration of the largest oil deposits (the pre-salt) found so far in the young 21st century. The Petrobras headquarters in Rio de Janeiro \| Photo: Sergio Moraes, Reuters What is unraveling is so crucial because Brazil is the second-biggest economy in the Americas (after the US); it is the biggest Latin American commercial and financial power; it hosts the former second-biggest development bank in the world, BNDES, now overtaken by the BRICS bank; and it also hosts the biggest corporation in Latin America, Petrobras, also one of the world’s top energy giants. The hardcore pressure against Petrobras comes essentially from US shareholders – who act like the proverbial vultures, bent on bleeding the company and profit from it, allied with lobbyists who abhor Petrobras’s status as the priority explorer of the pre-salt deposits. In a nutshell, Brazil is the last great sovereign frontier against unbounded hegemonic domination in the Americas. The Empire of Chaos had to be annoyed. Ride the continental wave The constantly evolving strategic partnership of the BRICS nations has been met by Washington circles not only with incredulity but fear. It’s virtually impossible for Washington to do real damage to China – but much “easier”, comparatively, in the case of Brazil or Russia. Even though Washington’s wrath targets essentially China – which has dared to do deal after deal in the former “America’s backyard”. Once again, the Chinese strategy – as much as the Russian – is to keep calm and carry a “win-win” profile. Xi Jinping met with Maduro in January to do – what else – deals. He met with Cristina Kirchner in February to do the same – just as speculators were about to unleash another attack against the Argentine peso. Now there’s Li’s visit to South America. Needless to say, trade between South America and China continues to boom. Argentina exports food and soya beans; Brazil the same, plus oil, minerals and timber; Colombia sells oil and minerals; Peru and Chile, copper, and iron; Venezuela sells oil; Bolivia, minerals. China exports mostly high-value-added manufactured products. A key development to watch in the immediate future is the Transul project, which was first proposed at a BRICS conference last year in Rio. It boils down to a Brazil-China strategic alliance linking Brazilian industrial development to partial outsourcing of metals to China; as the Chinese increase their demand - they are building no less than 30 megalopolises up to 2030 – that will be met by Brazilian or Sino-Brazilian companies. Beijing has finally given its seal of approval. So the long-term Big Picture remains inexorable; BRICS and South American nations – which converge in the Unasur (The Union of South American Nations) – are betting on a multipolar world order, and a continental process of independence. It’s easy to see how that is oceans away from a Monroe doctrine.
Photo: Paul Rudderow Philadelphia Union is effectively a small market team. Accept it. Get used to it. That may be hard to accept for some, particularly during a summer transfer window that opens today and may drive this notion home by producing no big name signings for the Union. Philadelphians don’t view their city or region as small, probably because neither is. Philadelphia is the nation’s sixth largest metropolitan area and fourth biggest media market. It is home to teams in the other four major professional team sports and firmly ensconced within the American psyche as one of the nation’s most important historic cities. None of that matters much in Major League Soccer. In MLS, nearly every club is functionally a small market club. Each team has a base $2.95 million salary budget, a figure typically exceeded by a single player’s salary on top European clubs. While MLS offers various means of finding additional funds for salaries, such as allocation money and the designated player rule, it doesn’t change the fact that MLS clubs operate on tight budgets. The most successfully managed clubs (Salt Lake, Kansas City) play Moneyball, and they do it well. Any question of that should be put to rest by looking at MLS team payrolls (see below for chart) and how these franchises actually operate. There are several clear tiers into which you can group the clubs, and once you do, it becomes very clear just what level of club the Union really are. The big market teams: Los Angeles and New York In MLS, only the Los Angeles Galaxy and New York Red Bulls function as large market teams. They’re the only two MLS clubs to approach the $10 million payroll figure and attract megastars like David Beckham and Thierry Henry to play for them. Their major cities are worldwide glamor cities, which helps draw prime talent. Major corporations bankroll them, and they have two of the best soccer stadiums in North America. New York City FC will likely join them as big market clubs upon entering the league, but until 2015, it’s just these two. Second tier: Seattle, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver Four clubs have team payrolls between $4.5 million and $6 million: Toronto, Seattle, Montreal and Vancouver. Accordingly, they comprise the second tier, both in terms of financial capability and ambition. The three Canadian clubs are uniquely situated as international cities, less tied to the other big traditional American sports than U.S. markets are. Only Toronto has clubs in the NBA or Major League Baseball, leaving the winter/spring sport of professional hockey as the only true competitor in the major league marketplace. (Canadian football has its fans, but not on a level proportionate to American football.) It puts the MLS clubs more front and center. Their ownership teams raise the clubs’ profile, with Toronto owned by the same company that owns the NHL’s Maple Leafs and NBA’s Raptors and Vancouver’s ownership group including basketball superstar Steve Nash. All three cities also have unique characteristics that bolster their teams’ standing in the community. Toronto has an extraordinarily diverse population and is the nation’s biggest city, so there are more soccer fans there. Montreal’s French tilt helps predispose it more toward soccer. The Cascadia rivalry makes the Pacific Northwest a hotbed for professional soccer. Seattle is its own animal. Seattle’s liberal nature, the ill-fated but timely departure of the NBA’s Supersonics, the history of pro soccer in the region, a good ownership group, a good product on the field, and obviously the fans themselves have combined to make the place Soccer City, USA. The Sounders have punched so far above their weight that it has changed the face of American soccer. They didn’t start with the same kind of deep corporate pockets that Los Angeles and New York have, but the Obafemi Martins signing shows they’ve advanced a great deal. Tier 3: The small market clubs Then there’s just about everybody else. Philadelphia, Dallas, Colorado, Salt Lake, Kansas City, Chicago, Houston, Columbus and Portland all operate in this space, with San Jose to join them after their stadium opens next season. They are functionally small market teams even if their metropolitan markets are not actually small. These clubs are defined first by their control of a soccer-specific stadium. This enables them to control revenues and operations for all games and find alternate revenue streams through other events at their stadiums, such as concerts and college sporting events. Basically, it puts them in better financial position to increase marketing to raise the team’s profile and attract more advertising revenue and fans to games. Within this tier, there is a wide disparity in how effectively teams operate. The best small market clubs: Salt Lake and Kansas City Salt Lake and Kansas City are the gold standard, although it remains to be seen whether Salt Lake will operate as well in the long term now that long-time owner Dave Checketts has divested himself of his controlling stake in the club. Kansas City’s ownership group has made the team extraordinarily fan-friendly with clever marketing and development of perhaps the best soccer stadium in North America. Each club has employed excellent player personnel management to get the most out of their salary budget, largely without the need for designated players (though Kansas City has dipped into that well occasionally). The next small market clubs: Houston and Portland Houston and Portland are a small step behind these clubs. AEG’s ownership of both Houston and Los Angeles has probably limited the Dynamo’s ambition, but the team’s new stadium can change that and lift the club to a new level. While they have struggled with injuries this season, Houston has been as talented and well-managed as any team in the league for years and could rise to a second or first tier club in terms of clout, ambition and financial capability if a good and more independent ownership team takes control. A sale of the team would likely include an excellent stadium in one of the nation’s largest cities and the bonus of a big, soccer-friendly Latino demographic. As for Portland, they’re a popular, new club that hadn’t tasted success until this season, but now a winning product will likely further ingrain the team into the city’s consciousness. With a devoted fan base, the Cascadia rivalry, and little competition from other major league sports – only the NBA’s Trail Blazers – the Timbers are positioned for sustainability. Small market, stadium problem: Columbus Columbus had the first soccer-specific stadium in MLS, and it shows. Crew Stadium is bare bones. The Hunt family owns the Crew and probably doesn’t devote enough attention to the club, one of just four in MLS belonging to owners running more than one team. The market is one of the smaller ones in MLS, but the team has shown an ability to foster homegrown talent and could function well for a long time if the stadium and ownership situations can improve. Small market suburban clubs in crowded pro sports marketplaces: Dallas, Colorado, Chicago Chicago, Dallas and Colorado all have stadiums outside the major cities in their crowded professional sports markets. These teams fight for fan attention with local pro baseball, football, basketball and hockey teams. Dallas plays in Frisco, a city the size of Allentown located about 30 miles north of Dallas. By most accounts, the distance has hurt the club’s visibility, but they haven’t exactly helped themselves with poor marketing, distracted ownership (the Hunts also own Columbus and the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs), and scheduling of daytime games during the sweltering summer heat when they could opt for more night games. Chicago plays in Bridgeview, a downtrodden suburb bordering Chicago’s south side. There’s not much around Toyota Park that you’d want to check out, and there’s no easy subway or train access. Ownership hasn’t punched its weight either, but the team seems on the rise now that hometown guy Mike Magee has seemingly transformed the club overnight. Then there’s Colorado, whose stadium sits amid a massive youth soccer complex but whose billionaire owner, Stan Kroenke, has shown that his ambition on the field only goes as far as the profits off the field. (He and his family also own Arsenal, the St. Louis Rams, the Denver Nuggets and the Colorado Avalanche in other leagues.) Tier 4: Teams without stadiums New England and D.C. United comprise their own tier, anachronisms of MLS v. 1.0 that still play in American football stadiums ill-suited to soccer. They were giants of the early MLS years, but the times have left both behind. RFK Stadium is one of the worst places to watch an MLS game. That not only hurts D.C. United’s attendance, but it hits the bottom line due to the team’s inability to better control its revenues. If United can ever get a soccer-specific stadium built near public transit, they can be one of the biggest clubs in MLS. Washington is an international city, and organized soccer is hugely popular in suburban Virginia and Maryland. New England will never amount to much as long as the Kraft family views the team as just a way to fill Foxborough Stadium during the New England Patriots’ off-season. Like United, they spent the last several years failing to modernize after early success on the field made them complacent off the field. Their lip service about finding a stadium in Boston doesn’t inspire confidence that it will happen anytime soon. The worst: Chivas USA Chivas USA doesn’t have their own stadium. Ownership barely markets the club and views it largely as a means to help Mexican sister club Chivas del Guadalajara. It has been completely mismanaged, and its exclusionary practices offend many Americans. This team needs to be moved to Orlando next year and rebranded under new ownership. So where does Philadelphia fit? The Union fit in pretty neatly with Chicago, Colorado and Dallas, save for the caveat that Philadelphia is a newer team and therefore has less historical context. Like these other clubs, the Union play in one of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas, competing for fans’ attention with franchises in all four other major team sports. They get short shrift in local media coverage due to local newspapers’ cutbacks and tilts toward the other sports, which slows popularity growth. And they play outside the city limits of the metropolitan center, which limits public transit access to games and likely cuts attendance as a result. Similarly, team ownership has appeared as invisible as in Dallas and Colorado and shown few signs that it will put in the level of financial investment demonstrated by ambitious clubs such as Kansas City, Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles and New York. Yes, PPL Park is a great stadium, but it was paid for largely with public funding. The location of a team in the Philadelphia market was never driven by a singularly ambitious ownership group (or, more accurately, investment group, since MLS owns all the clubs and team “owners” are investors in the larger corporation of MLS). Rather, it was more a matter of MLS recognizing that it needed a club in the nation’s fourth largest media market and the Sons of Ben’s unprecedented fan drive to create the team. The Union’s major investors didn’t come looking for MLS. MLS went looking for them. The Union’s investment group consists primarily of real estate magnate Jay Sugarman of iStar and three principals of the Buccini/Pollin Group, a local firm that made its name said the market downturn didn’t hurt the Union’s finances. It’s up to you whether you believe him. The bottom line is that it’s difficult to measure exactly what the Union have spent because the information is not public. You can measure the team’s payroll, but you can’t as easily measure the money put into youth development without access to the team’s books. YSC has joined the club’s investment team, which likely creates some economies of scale that will bolster the foundational approach of establishing youth development as the franchise’s future. In and of itself, it’s a very good way to build a business: Slow, gradual, continuous growth with an eye toward long-term sustainability. However, the club has shown in other ways that it lacks the liquidity and ambition to compete in the marketplace the same way that clubs like Seattle and Los Angeles do. Philadelphia has only acquired one designated player by choice (Freddy Adu). The team’s current DP, Kleberson, arrived primarily as a way to get rid of Adu and is likely to depart the club once his loan expires at season’s end. Team management has made clear they are unlikely to invest heavily in designated players. Considering how clearly the presence of just one DP limited the Union’s options on player personnel – they could acquire neither a true left back nor a veteran goalkeeper during the off-season partially because of Adu’s salary – it’s hard to argue with the realities of the situation. Other evidence bolsters the perception that the Union lack financial flexibility. The Union paid money owed to the city of Chester well after it was due. Despite early stated plans to build a training facility, the Union have made no apparent, tangible progress on this, though the availability of the YSC complex makes that a less pressing need. An expansion to PPL Park remains on the table, but it is not imminent. And the Union’s decision to turn goalkeepers coach Rob Vartughian into a part-time technical director instead of hiring a full-time general manager like RSL’s Garth Lagerway looks like the hallmark of a team that can’t afford another executive and opted instead to expand an employee’s responsibilities on an existing contract. As for Sakiewicz, it remains unclear exactly what his role is with the club. In general, it’s clear he is the team’s face man at the top when it comes to business relationships. Whatever his critics may say, he clearly cares about the team. The question those critics have, however, is whether he’s effective and whether his presence handicaps or improves the club on the field. It was Sakiewicz’s decision and mistake to give Peter Nowak total control of the Union, but it is to a degree an understandable mistake considering Nowak’s prior accomplishments managing D.C. United and the U.S. Olympic team. Few could have anticipated Nowak’s unprecedented demolition of the Union roster or understood the potentially questionable business relationships he might have off the field. The installation of John Hackworth as permanent manager may have been financially expedient, but it was also merited by Hackworth’s performance. Regardless, what you have in the end is a club whose fans’ ambitions outpace the team’s financial realities. Philadelphia has long been a place where fans can be overly critical of their clubs, and that tendency has been exacerbated by Nowak’s destructive impact and the Union’s decision to limit spending on designated players. The Union’s on-field progress in the last year is impressive. But when you’ve had your hopes for your teams crushed as badly and often as Philadelphia fans have over the last 35 years and then you add in the Nowak effect, many fans may tend toward the hypercritical as they expect the worst once again. It’s just a matter of maintaining perspective. Ups and downs are inevitable with a young, promising and improving club that doesn’t have the money to get really good really fast. MLS Team Salaries
My, what a difference a year can make. Just 12 months ago, pundits were rushing to declare the PC’s death, and wielding word shovels to bury Computex—the premier PC industry trade show—alongside it. There was valid reason for concern! PC sales haven’t exactly been exploding recently. Big-name PC vendors like Acer and Asus spent almost more time showing off smartwatches and smart home gear than actual computers at Computex 2015. Intel and Microsoft’s CEOs didn’t even bother showing up. But rumors of the PC’s demise were greatly exaggerated. Computex 2016 was overflowing with all sorts of wild and powerful PC gear, as the industry pushed out next-generation hardware and form factors the likes of which haven’t been seen in years. The PC is back, baby. I’m not dead! The PC’s resurgence can be chalked up to a few major reasons. Let’s get the boring one out of the way first. Over the past 12 months, it’s increasingly become obvious that we’re indeed living in a PC-plus era, rather than the post-PC world that so many pundits were keen to push. Sure, PC sales still aren’t growing, while the duration that people hold onto their existing PCs keeps getting longer. But that makes sense: Between Moore’s Law’s decline, the reality of our new multi-device existence, and the high price of PCs, computers have essentially become appliances for most people now. Here’s the thing, though: Tablet sales are dropping too. So is smartphone growth, especially in first-world countries where market saturation and the death of subsidized plans are beginning to set in. The world’s settling into a new technological equilibrium. The one bright spot in all this industry doom and gloom? High-end PC hardware, where enthusiasts are still spending cash hand over fist. While the overall computer industry is in decline, gaming PC shipments keep growing at a healthy 26 percent clip, and for a damned good reason. My god, it’s full of stars After years of incremental upgrades, all sorts of PC hardware are suddenly pushing towards the future, all at once. The long-awaited birth of consumer virtual reality sparked a lot of the excitement. The industry’s still grappling with what’s possible with VR, and basically throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks. But beyond the sheer novelty of exploring virtual worlds, the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift demand a hell of a lot of computing power. You can’t even start to consider building a VR-ready rig unless you’re willing to spend at least $350 on a graphics card, and $1,000 or more on your entire system build, not even counting the cost of the headset itself. Or at least that used to be the case. Brad Chacos Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1070 outpunches the Titan X for $380. The graphics card industry pulled itself into the future as well. After being stuck iterating on 28nm processor technology for four long, grueling years, both AMD and Nvidia leaped forward two full technological generations with new cards revealed around Computex. Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1080 is the most powerful GPU ever created, while the GTX 1070 delivers Titan X-level power for a price 60 percent less than the former flagship's. AMD’s Radeon RX 480, meanwhile, promises to deliver VR-ready performance on par with today’s $500 cards for just $200. And get this: All these new behemoths crush frame rates while consuming far less power than today’s graphics cards. The Radeon Nano’s funky mini-ITX form factor might just be a hint of what we’ll see when this new generation gets its sea legs (and the second generation of high-bandwidth memory). Gordon Mah Ung Intel’s Core i7-6950X, the first 10-core enthusiast processor. Meanwhile, Intel pushed processors to (pricey) new heights with its 10-core Broadwell-E Enthusiast Edition chip, and AMD’s Zen processor threatens to battle Chipzilla at the high-end again. Connection interfaces are finally becoming fast enough to perform thrilling new tasks, too. Even more awesome: System builders are innovating on the underlying innovations. Martyn Williams Yep, that’s a GTX 980-powered gaming PC that you wear on your back. At Computex 2016, we witnessed all sorts of exhilarating PC form factors that turn existing paradigms on their heads, from VR-ready PCs you wear on your back to all-in-ones stuffed with Intel and Nvidia’s beefiest components to Asus’ wild reimagining of what DIY PCs can be. Even traditional computer designs are getting makeovers, as evidenced by mag-lev case fans and this Asus laptop with two graphics cards, two power supplies, and a friggin’ water-cooling dock. The Asus Avalon concept PC tightly integrates motherboard and case design to revamp PC capabilities and almost eradicate internal cabling. The wild motherboard (with plug-and-play daughter cards) that enable the Avalon’s design. Heck, Corsair’s army of awe-inspiring PC builds even included a computer that looks like Katy Perry’s infamous Left Shark. James Niccolai So no, the PC isn’t dead. Nor is Computex. For the first time in a long time, the PC industry is putting the technological pedal to the metal and becoming flat-out exciting again.
A new book, These are the Voyages TOS Season Two, written by Marc Cushman with Susan Osborn, has just been released. This is the second book of three in a series. These are the Voyages TOS Season Two provides details regarding the creation of Star Trek‘s second season, with plot details, anecdotes from the actors and those involved with each episode, and fan reaction to the episodes. THE FORMAT: These are the Voyages TOS Season Two follows a similar format to the first book. The book opens with acknowledgments, a foreword by Walter Koenig, and a preface. The episodes follow this, and are typically in the fashion listed below. episode name and number writers/directors episode description sound bites (notable lines from the episode) assessment of the episode story behind the story pre-production production diary post-production release/reactions to the episode ratings for the episode memories of the episode from the mailbag – fan response to the episode aftermath Other chapters included in the book include: A Second Season; Casting Off, Season Two; Enter John Meredyth Lucas, Enter Jerome Bixby, Enter David Gerrold; Labor Day Break, 1967; A Tale of Two Genes/Roddenberry Versus Coon; Mid Season, 1967, From the Outside…Looking In, The Voyagers That Never Were, For The Record, Stand and Be Counted: The Save Star Trek Campaign, and Appendix/Season Two Quick Reference. These Are The Voyages TOS Season Two concludes with a Bibliography, Quote Index, and a Memo/Letters Index. These Are The Voyages TOS Season Two is six-hundred-and-eighty-eight pages in length. THE CONTENT: The second book in the These Are The Voyages series is a long book, almost seven hundred pages in length, and is chock-full of fascinating information about the second season, which is often thought to be the original series’ best season. These Are The Voyages TOS Season Two pulls together many sources and interviews to give fans a picture of what it was like during production of each episode. The evolution of the stories is interesting – often the finished project is quite different than what the original draft presented. Sometimes, this was something that angered the original author of a story and it was an occasional cause of friction between the writers and Gene Roddenberry. For example, in Amok Time, young crewmember Maggie was supposed to be smitten with Spock. But D.C. Fontana suggested that Christine Chapel be used instead of Maggie, as Christine was, “a mature woman we have met before and know” and not “some drippy-eyed kid we don’t care about.” It’s tidbits like this that make for fascinating reading. Although this reviewer read many of the “how to” books back in the day, I had never come across some of the stories. And having them all together in one volume is rather convenient. In this second volume, guest stars shared their experiences when it came to working with the Star Trek cast, with most of them having positive experiences. When it came to William Shatner, some loved him, but others found him to be less likeable. Those not fond of him weren’t alone; some of his fellow castmates were angry at Shatner and his habit of getting more lines in an episode at the expense of some of their own lines. Stuntmen who worked on the series had tales of their days on the show too. One stuntman, Jay Jones, who portrayed Mallory in The Apple, was seriously injured during a mistimed explosion. One of the fun reads from the book comes from the production diary segment of each episode. In this segment, the author gives a glimpse of what life was like in the US at the time of production – what current events were taking place, which songs and movies were number one at the time of filming, and even how much groceries and merchandise cost at the time. It’s an interesting glimpse into the not-so-long-ago past. Under the release/reactions section of each chapter, the Nielson ratings for that episode are given, and readers can see how the episode stacked up against the competition the night it aired. More often than not, Star Trek came in second of three places. Sometimes the lack of ratings was due to a lack of promotion; often a show that got some extra coverage in that week’s TV Guide drew the higher ratings instead of Star Trek. These are the Voyages TOS Season Two also includes information on merchandise associated with Star Trek. The fan mail for the show is also discussed, including the campaign to save Star Trek from cancellation after the second season. Star Trek was suffering from low ratings after having been moved to a bad time slot for its target audience, which were teens and young adults. The appendix is a quick reference to the second season, with name and number of the episode, along with the writer of the episode. There is also a list of the episodes by production number. This list includes name of director, and how many days it took to film the episode. The third list is a list of the airdates (including repeats and preemptions) of the second season of Star Trek. The book concludes with a bibliography, quote index, and memos/letters index. VERDICT: These are the Voyages TOS Season Two is a must-have for the original series fan. It’s chock-full of all sorts of interesting stories, including some that aren’t as well-known to fans. There is something for everyone – evolution of the stories, conflicts and human drama, anecdotes, technical details, pictures, and statistics. I have to admit, I really liked this book and even though it is a long book, I had trouble putting it down because it’s just so interesting! It was like stepping through the Guardian of Forever and going back in time, seeing what the world was like in 1967-1968 and how television was created back then. These are the Voyages TOS Season Two can be purchased here. The cost for this second volume is $29.95.
Longtime Iowa political staffer Troy Price was elected by the party’s state central committee this morning in Des Moines to take the reigns of the Iowa Democratic Party through the 2018 election. He will fill out the remaining term of Derek Eadon, who resigned the post in June for health reasons. Price won out over Julie Stauch and Bob Krause. Andrea Phillips, who will now go back to being the party’s 1st Vice Chair, had been filling in as the acting chair for the past four weeks. Price has a long resume in Iowa politics. He was the executive director of the party in the 2014 cycle, ran One Iowa, worked on Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns and worked in the Vilsack and Culver administrations. “Our party is ready to get to work,” Price told the crowd of 50-some SCC members in the room and on a conference call. “We’re only going to be able to get to work if our party is working well. Unfortunately, it’s hard to say that’s been the case over the last couple cycles. We’ve lost the trust of the people who we’re trying to help … Let’s face it: the coordinated campaign hasn’t been working for a couple cycles, so let’s fix it … I’m running for chair because I’m tired of seeing the party languish and I want to get this party going, and get it going right away.” Price will serve as a full-time chair with a salary. When Eadon’s unexpected departure was announced, many within the party worried that it would set off yet another divisive, intra-party fight that could distract from the Fairfield special election and messaging against Kim Reynolds. But that never materialized, and the sort of raucous public debates and intense, behind-the-scenes maneuverings didn’t play out in the same way they did during the last IDP chair race, when seven candidates competed. No one from the Bernie Sanders crowd ended up getting in the race, despite some early talk about Northern Iowa activist Laura Hubka considering it. So the two serious contenders were Price and Stauch, both with deep ties to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign (Stauch was in Clinton’s announcement video and Price was her political director for the Iowa Caucus). Rather than the race focusing on divisions from the 2016 primary, it mostly revolved around the two candidates’ experience and vision for the party going forward. Thanks to his past roles in working with key activists, allied groups and party leaders, there’s optimism that Price will be able to quickly get disparate factions and allies working together. The 2018 elections are seen as a do-or-die moment for the Democratic Party in Iowa, considering the complete Republican takeover in the last election. Defeating Reynolds for the governor’s office is the top priority, and will need a unified, competent and functioning state party to pull off. The chair position for Iowa Democrats has been a volatile one in past years, almost taking on a “Defense Against The Dark Arts professor” reputation of late. Tyler Olson was chosen in 2013, only to leave after half a year for a gubernatorial run that was soon abandoned. Andy McGuire eked out a close win over Kurt Meyer in 2015, but Iowa Caucus controversies during her time only seemed to undermine her current gubernatorial run, rather than providing a boost. Eadon was only in the role for about five months before new health issues complicated his ability to continue on. Perhaps Price’s chairmanship will be less eventful. by Pat Rynard Posted 7/22/17
Chester Bennington's net worth is estimated to be around $30 million. Bennington was an American singer, musician, actor, and songwriter, who was best known as the songwriter and lead vocalist of the famous rock-band Linkin Park. It was Hybrid Theory, the debut album of Linkin Park which was released in 2000, that brought Chester Bennington to the limelight. This album was later certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005, and the massive acceptance by its fans made it the best-selling debut album of that decade. In addition to Linkin Park, Chester Bennington had been a part of many other creative projects. He formed his own band called Dead by Sunrise in 2005 as a side project. Four years later this band came with their debut album on October 13, 2009. It was called Out of Ashes. Chester Bennington was well-known as a fan of Phoenix Suns. He was also a tattoo enthusiast. At age 41, Bennington was found dead in his home in Los Angeles county.
Jenner came to international attention when, while identifying as a man, she won the gold medal in the decathlon at the 1976 Summer Olympics held in Montreal As terrifying as The Party was, Winston Smith at least got paid to do this kind of thing. In The Spectator, Brendan O’Neill points out the Orwellian 2 + 2 = 5 aspect: The worship of Caitlyn, and the hectoring of anyone who refuses to scrape before her icon, has graphically exposed the intolerant edge to trans thinking. The insistence that we not only refer to Bruce/Caitlyn as ‘she’ but also project this backwards – recognising, in the words of the Guardian, that she has ‘always been a woman’ – is borderline Orwellian. It’s a rewriting of history, a memory-holing of old inconvenient facts. Strikingly, the Guardian writer says people like Bruce/Caitlyn have ‘always been women… even when they were “fathering” children’. Notice it’s the ‘fathering’ bit that is in scare quotes, suggesting it wasn’t real, while the description of Bruce as a woman is treated as an incontestable truth. War is peace, freedom is slavery, man is woman.
Time is nearly up for those web users devoted to Opera 12, Opera's last browser build to ship with Presto, as the Norwegian software firm will begin nudging users on to newer builds before mid-2014. Given Opera's announced switch from its own Presto layout engine and custom JavaScript engine to WebKit and Chromium in February (and its subsequent move to Google's Blink ), it's little surprise Opera that would at some stage drop support for its legacy browser. However, until now, the company hasn't answered the question on exactly when that would happen. Read this FastMail staff buy back company from Opera An Australian-based email provider that was purchased by Opera in 2010 has been bought by its staff. Read More In July, when Opera released its first Blink/Chromium-based stable build, Opera 15, a developer on Opera's desktop team said it would deliver security updates for Opera 12 "for some time", in particular because the newer browsers were shipping without features that users liked in the older version. That, and the radical overhaul of the UI, meant it wasn't possible to force upgrades through an automatic update. Opera confirmed version 12.15 for Linux, Mac and Windows would be updated to 12.16, but it wasn't clear whether it would be the next or last build — and it still hasn't been released. Five months on from shipping its first new-generation browser and with the stable build of Opera 18 for Windows and Mac out yesterday, Krystian Kolondra, Opera Software's senior vice-president for desktop products, thinks the browser is nearly good enough to begin persuading those lingering on its Presto browser onto newer versions. "We think we can offer people something to move to fully. In our builds that we have released so far, you can try experimental synchronisation, and already in the stable versions you can enable bookmarks, stars and things like that," Kolandra told ZDNet. "There are some things that we are still working on getting and polishing and making sure this is a rock solid browser for everyone. So once we have that, we can recommend it really to everyone. Even people that have old browsing habits, even they could really go ahead and switch." While die-hard fans of Opera 12 had hoped the company would support the browser for an extended time, Kolandra said it's probably going to pull the plug on the browser within the next six months. "As of today, we're supporting Presto — whenever there is a security issue — and we still have a user base there and as long as this is big enough, we want to make sure these users can use our product in a safe manner," he said. "But once we update everyone, of course we will be stopping. I can’t say whether it will be a one day and we stop immediately or we stop and wait some time for people to update. We will probably do the latter, but this moment will come eventually." When asked for a specific date for the final release, Kolondra said: "We don't have a date yet, but definitely shorter than next year. It's likely to happen in the next six months." At that point he said Opera would automatically upgrade Opera 12 users to a more recent version of its browser. But will Opera be able force the move without losing significant chunk of its user base? Kolondra thinks the numbers so far suggest they might stick around. "We're getting close to we will have 50 percent of people already on the new browser. We're really excited about that. Even without forcing uptake, we see uptake is quite encouraging." Over the past year, Opera's desktop users have fallen from 55 million to 51 million, meaning it still has around 25 million users that it risks losing if they don't like the change. But perhaps more importantly for the company, the value of those users in revenue terms has fallen even faster. Opera's desktop revenues in the third quarter of this year, driven by search dollars from Google under a two-year search deal set to expire in August 2014 , were just $13.8m. That was down 25 percent on the $18m in desktop revenues it earned a year ago — when it was Opera's largest source of income. Now desktop is a distant third to mobile advertising and carrier dollars, which brought in $30m and $17m respectively that quarter. Further reading
Designer Jae Rhim Lee is concerned about the carcinogenic affects of the funerary preservative formaldehyde. That's why she's invented the Infinity Burial Suit — a.k.a. the Mushroom Death Suit — a postmortem garment designed to consume the wearer's corpse. In an interview with New Scientist the artist described how she's training the mushrooms to process her body. Advertisement The US government recently upgraded formaldehyde from a probable carcinogen to a known carcinogen, so by trying to preserve the body we poison the living [...] I thought I could train a toxin-cleaning edible mushroom to eat my body. These mushrooms, which usually grow on wood and decaying material in the forest, can be trained to grow on pretty much any organic material and break it down. So I started collecting my hair, nails and skin so I could pick the best mushrooms to become Infinity Mushrooms, to recognise and eat my body after I die. She has yet to test the suit and thinks it could use such sartorial touches as gelatin to promote fungus growth. Frankly, I think this could make for a fantastic business casual garment. Screw a power tie, imagine those schmucks' faces when you roll into next week's board meeting sporting this season's Mycological Corpse Pajamas. Advertisement [Infinity Burial Project via BLDGBLOG]
Motorists are about to get drafted into California’s war on climate change. Starting Jan. 1, gas and diesel fuel will be subject to California’s cap-and-trade market, a 2-year-old regulatory mechanism that puts a price on carbon spewed into the atmosphere. The result will be higher gasoline and diesel prices, and probably more controversy for a state program that’s already been attacked in the courts by the business community. With fuel the cheapest it’s been in years, state officials say the price increase won’t clobber consumers. The increase is likely to be less than 10 cents a gallon, said Mary Nichols, chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board, which runs the carbon program. Given the typical volatility of gas prices, Nichols said most consumers will probably barely notice the difference. Sign Up and Save Get six months of free digital access to The Sacramento Bee “The amount is small,” she said. “It does get hidden in the noise, in the other changes that are constantly taking place in the pricing of gasoline.” Some academic experts have echoed Nichols’ projections. But oil-industry advocates, who have been campaigning for months against the move, say the effect could be more significant. The Western States Petroleum Association, or WSPA, the leading industry trade group in California, has posted on its website a prediction that prices could rise 16 to 76 cents a gallon. The WSPA prediction is based in part on a 4-year-old analysis of carbon prices by the Air Resources Board. WSPA spokesman Tupper Hull acknowledged in an interview that the petroleum group’s prices estimate might be high, saying “I don’t dispute” predictions of more modest increases. Regardless of the magnitude of the increase, WSPA is actively fighting a regulation that it says will harm consumers. A group organized by WSPA, the California Drivers Alliance, delivered petitions with 115,000 signatures to an Air Resources Board meeting in Southern California last month. The petitions demanded a halt to “the hidden gas tax,” as critics have labeled it. Motorists “are going to participate in California’s grand experiment in controlling climate change,” Hull said. “We believe it’s important for consumers to be aware and to understand.” Until now, the responsibility for fighting global warming in California has fallen on several hundred cement manufacturers, food processors and other large industrial firms. Under the program, which is the centerpiece of the state’s landmark 2006 climate change law, the big companies essentially have to pay for the right to emit greenhouse gases. They must purchase carbon allowances, either at quarterly state-run auctions or on the open market. It’s designed as a market-based approach that gives companies flexibility for complying with the regulation. Most of the emissions allowances are given out for free, and if their emissions exceed the cap, companies can buy more credits or find ways to reduce their carbon footprint. The total amount of carbon that can be emitted in the state – the “cap” – declines slightly each year. Oil refiners are already covered by the cap, but only for the greenhouse gases emitted from their smokestacks. The impact on fuel prices has been modest, maybe a penny a gallon, said UC Berkeley energy economist Severin Borenstein. The change that’s coming Jan. 1 will broaden the oil industry’s participation. For the first time, the carbon coming out of car and truck tailpipes will be covered. Motorists won’t be responsible for buying carbon-emissions credits. Instead, fuel wholesalers will have to purchase the credits in an amount based on the volume of fuel they deliver to service stations. The Air Resources Board will make more carbon credits available at its auctions to accommodate the increased demand. The expectation is that the cost of carbon will be passed along to drivers. The impact on pump prices will be a function of the carbon content in a gallon of fuel, and the market price of emissions credits – currently a little more than $12 a ton. Based on that, Borenstein said, fuel prices could increase 9 to 10 cents a gallon on New Year’s Day or within a few days after. His estimate is in line with Nichols’ projections at the Air Resources Board. The oil industry and some business groups pushed for legislation this year that would have canceled or postponed the inclusion of gas and diesel in the carbon program. Despite support from some Democratic lawmakers, the legislation failed in the face of opposition from the Air Resources Board and Gov. Jerry Brown. David Clegern, an Air Resources Board spokesman, said California’s climate change initiative has to include tailpipe emissions. They account for nearly 40 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions, he said. “The cost of the carbon allowance has to get passed through. That’s the whole point. The consumer feels the impact,” said Jon Costantino, a senior adviser on carbon markets at the Manatt law firm in Sacramento and a former staffer at the Air Resources Board, where he managed climate change planning. Supporters of the state’s plan say the burden on motorists won’t be excessive. At an extra dime a gallon, the average family will pay an additional $12 a month for fuel, Borenstein said. Put another way, a 10-cent increase would be just a fraction of the 33-cent drop in average pump prices in California over the past month. But critics say any price increase will be felt, especially among moderate- to low-income Californians. “Everybody who buys gasoline is going to be taxed for the cap-and-trade tax,” said Lee Jamieson of Jaco Oil Co., a Bakersfield wholesaler that has been purchasing carbon credits in advance of Jan. 1. Jamieson, whose company also operates a Central Valley convenience store chain called Fastrip, isn’t happy about the regulation. He said motorists are quick to point fingers at the industry when gas prices go up. “Don’t blame us; we didn’t do it,” he said. “The Legislature did it.” Cap and trade is already a sore point with many in the business community. Since the state-run carbon auctions began in late 2012, companies have spent $2.27 billion on emissions allowances. The California Chamber of Commerce has called the expense a drag on the economy. The chamber and the conservative Pacific Legal Foundation have sued to block the auctions, arguing they amount to an unconstitutional tax, but so far have had no success. Oil groups say bringing motor fuels into the equation will bring even more harm to the economy. The industry-supported California Drivers Alliance released a study in September saying an increase in fuel prices of 10 to 12 cents a gallon would cost the state’s economy $2.94 billion and eliminate 18,000 jobs “as households across the state cut back their spending to afford higher priced gas.” The economic pain would grow if price hikes at the pump are higher, according to the study, produced by Davis consulting firm Encina Advisors LLC. WSPA says that’s a distinct possibility. If the price of carbon shoots up to $75 a ton, the price of gasoline could jump as high as 76 cents, according to the oil producers’ association. That prediction is based in part on a 2010 analysis by the Air Resources Board. The Air Resources Board, however, said fears of a massive price increase are overblown and typical of how the petroleum industry reacts to new regulations. “When we took the lead out of gasoline, when we took the sulfur out of diesel … there were always, I will call them, either predictions or threats by the oil companies that the price at the pump would go up and people would be hurt,” Nichols said. “Gasoline is cheap relative to other things you can buy and relative to overall inflation in the economy.”
Dorm room is a space that reflects ‘you’ in a lot many ways. It’s a place where you introspect, connect with yourself, brainstorm and ideate. You party here, invite friends over for a cuppa hot coffee or study sessions. For all times you need a space that has a sense of individualism infused into its every nook and corner. And PB Teen makes the process a lot more easier. For a very own personal space, the company has come up with impressive dorm room ideas. As you browse you’ll notice a few common features in all the dorm designs. The walls are painted in vibrant colors, rooms have space enough to accomodate all a student needs and white is the underlying theme for most of the dorm designs. Check out the duvet and the funky bunker beds. They look darn inviting!
The remarks about Mr. Biden reflected the complicated relationship between Mr. Mubarak’s government and the Obama administration, which had urged swift steps toward a political transition, then endorsed Mr. Mubarak’s remaining until the end of his term later this year. Since then, Mr. Biden has suggested that the United States still expects some immediate changes to be made. Photo On Wednesday, the White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs , responded to the Egyptian government’s claims that such changes were premature, saying, “What you see happening on the streets of Cairo is not all that surprising when you see the lack of steps that their government has taken to meet their concerns.” That attempt to put some distance between the United States and Mr. Mubarak, though, was unlikely to impress the protesters, who say that the Obama administration, by continuing to back the president, also ignores their concerns. By nightfall on Wednesday, more than 1,000 protesters prepared to sleep outside the Parliament building for a second night, a symbolic move that showed the opposition’s growing confidence as the protesters expanded the scope of their activism beyond Tahrir Square. Reports from around the country of vigorous and sometimes violent protests also suggested a movement regaining steam. Security officials said that 5 people died and more than 100 were injured during protests on Tuesday in El Kharga, 375 miles south of Cairo. Protesters responded Wednesday by burning police stations and other government buildings. In Asyut, protesters blocked a railway line. Television images showed crowds gathering again in Alexandria, Egypt’s second-largest city. Even protests that were not directly against Mr. Mubarak centered on the types of government neglect that have driven the call for him to leave power. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Protesters in Port Said, a city of 600,000 at the mouth of the Suez Canal, set fire to a government building, saying local officials had ignored their requests for better housing. And in one of the most potentially significant labor actions, thousands of workers for the Suez Canal Authority continued a sit-in on Wednesday, though there were no immediate suggestions of disruptions of shipping in the canal, a vital international waterway. Photo The deaths of protesters in El Kharga were a reminder of Egypt’s unsettled security picture. On Wednesday, Human Rights Watch reported that since Jan. 28, when troops took up positions in Egyptian cities, army officers and the military police had arbitrarily detained at least 119 people. In at least five cases, the group said, detainees said they had been tortured. There were signs that the police, under the jurisdiction of the hated Ministry of Interior, were trying to remake their image. The authorities have announced in recent days that prosecutors are weighing charges against Habib el-Adly, recently removed as interior minister. The charges, including murder, are related to the killing of protesters by security officers during the unrest. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content , updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. On Wednesday, some cellphone customers in Egypt received the equivalent of marketing messages from the new minister, Mahmoud Wagdy. One read, “From the Ministry of Interior: The police will do nothing but serve and protect the people.” Another said, “Starting today, we will only deal through truthfulness, honesty and rule of law.” As Mr. Mubarak held on to power, influential groups and people seemed determined to distance themselves from his government’s legacy. Members of a prominent journalists’ association moved toward a no-confidence vote against their leader, Makram Mohamed Ahmed, a former Mubarak speechwriter, the daily Al Masry Al Youm reported on its English-language Web site. And the recently appointed culture minister, Gaber Asfour, a literary critic, resigned Wednesday after pressure from his colleagues, according to Al Ahram. Outside groups, meanwhile, continued to try to take advantage of the Egyptian uprising. In an online forum, a group in Iraq affiliated with Al Qaeda called on Egyptians to “wage violent jihad to topple the regime in Egypt," according to Khaled Hamza, the editor of the Web site of the Muslim Brotherhood , Egypt’s largest opposition movement. He bristled at the comments, saying the revolt in Egypt was nonviolent and included “all sects, trends and religions.” Photo “Egyptians are capable of solving their problem without intrusion, meddling and prying from foreign groups such as Al Qaeda and similar groups advocating the use of violence,” he said. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Increasingly, the political clamor for Mr. Mubarak’s ouster seemed to be complemented by strikes nationwide. While many strikes seemed to focus on specific grievances related to working conditions, labor leaders suggested they were energized by protests against Mr. Mubarak. Rahma Refaat, a lawyer at the Center for Trade Union and Worker Services, said, “Most of those on strike say that we have discovered that the resources of our country have been stolen by the regime.” The protest against the Suez Canal Authority began Tuesday night and was staged by about 6,000 workers. In Helwan, 6,000 workers at the Misr Helwan Spinning and Weaving Company went on strike, Ms. Refaat said. More than 2,000 workers from the Sigma pharmaceutical company in Quesna began a strike while about 5,000 unemployed youths stormed a government building in Aswan, demanding the dismissal of the governor. Postal workers protested in shifts, Ms. Refaat said. In Cairo, sanitation workers demonstrated outside their headquarters. In Al Ahram’s lobby, journalists called their protest a microcosm of the Egyptian uprising, with young journalists leading demands for better working conditions and less biased coverage. “Egypt before the 25th is different from Egypt after the 25th,” said Essam Saad, who does work for the newspaper, referring to Jan. 25, the first day of antigovernment protests. “What is happening now is going to clean up Al Ahram. This newspaper is supposed to be the newspaper of the people, not the newspaper of the regime and the government.”
In September of this year I had a living estate sale. Basically, I went around my house and sold off everything I didn’t need or use on a regular basis. Why did I do this? Over a year ago my friend Vivian and I started a campaign to recreate a guaranteed income experiment, called Mincome, that happened in the 1970’s in Dauphin, Manitoba. Mincome was a pilot project that gave 1/3 of the population of Dauphin enough funds to live above the poverty line for three years. At the end of the program, all of the data collected during the project was boxed up and put away into archives and ended up sitting there untouched for over 30 years. It wasn’t until recently that Evelyn Forget, a professor from Manitoba, was able to access the information and share with Canada (and the world) the positive and almost unbelievable outcomes this experiment had in just three short years. Two winters ago I read an article a colleague wrote, entitled “the town without poverty.” This story, written by Vivian Belik, had the most views of any article in this site's history. It was then that Vivian realized that this was a story people cared about. After reading it, I felt the same. I had worked in the film industry for over a decade, heavily in documentary, but had made a vow to never step back into that genre. However, this story and the research that came out of Mincome, made me feel something I hadn’t in a long time. I wanted to help tell this story. I wanted to make this film and to share it with as many people that would listen. Photo by Flickr User woody1778a I had worked in the film industry for over a decade, heavily in documentary, but had made a vow to never step back into that genre. It has been almost two years that we've been working on this project, trying to push the concept to broadcast. We've made many trips to Dauphin, where the Mincome experiment took place, to meet the people that received guaranteed income and to see what the town without poverty looked like now. If you rewind back 40 years, Dauphin was a different place. It was just starting the pilot project; within three short years the city transformed itself. Domestic assault and petty crime dropped and high school graduation skyrocketed. However, the most notable change was seen in healthcare. By the third year, the hospital had almost 10% less visits than previous years. People in Dauphin were healthier and happier, and the city saw a hopeful future. Fast-forward to today and Dauphin has slipped back into the poverty-stricken town it once was. Domestic assault and petty crime dropped and high school graduation skyrocketed...By the third year, the hospital had almost 10% less visits than previous years. This past year Vivian and I, under the name Flat Tire Films, have partnered with Buffalo Gal Pictures, a production company from Manitoba who believe in the project as much as we do. But soon after, we were all struggling with how to best tell this story. Dauphin is an amazing part of Canadian history, but we lacked content, stock footage and media to really tell this story properly. We went back to the drawing board and started sharing the idea with colleagues to better portray this story. Very quickly, we understood that we needed our audience to connect with our characters, which is hard to do with a program that is 40 years old. We realized that we that had to re-create the experiment today, to find families and people who are struggling to survive under the poverty line right now and give them enough funds to be out of poverty for an entire year. These are people who are working and who are really trying, but still can’t break out of poverty. This is no small feat as we need to find the funds ourselves. Non-profits like United Way and others can’t just give people cash. If we wanted to do this, we would have to do it on our own. These are people who are working and who are really trying, but still can’t break out of poverty. We figured out that we would need to raise $40,000 - $50,000 to make this experiment work. This is when I came up with the idea to do the living estate sale. What it really came down to was that I whole-heartedly wanted to sell off everything I had that I didn’t need or use anymore. The best part of this is that I get to put those funds into something that I believe in, something that truly has worth. We had the sale - and the response we had was amazing. I sold a truck, skidoo, canoe, computers, mountain bike and a whole bunch of other stuff. People from Whitehorse, the community where I live, came out in force to donate items for us to sell for the project. Friends brought enough coffee, cookies and brownies to feed everyone who came out to the sale. It was an amazing moment for me, one that I will never forget; I haven’t felt that good about something in a very long time. It was an amazing moment for me, one that I will never forget As of right now we are just about half way to funding the experiment, and we are currently working on a crowd-funding site and website for the project. Once we finalize our development financing, we will be heading out to communities and cities to find families and participants for the film and online presence. I would like to thank Upstream for their support of this project, we truly appreciate the help and advice. I would also like to thank Vivian for her hard work on this project and keeping me true to the cause. And lastly, I want to thank Debbie Oliver for being my inspiration and the compass that helped me find a way to make a difference. A note from Upstream: We are so excited to come alongside Jayden and Vivian, and the others already involved in this project that truly employs upstream thinking. We will be sharing more stories from both Jayden and Vivian through the final funding stages, their search for participants and during the year project is running. We also look forward to sharing a different perspective - from the families and individuals who will be participating in this new Mincome project. If you'd like to support this project, you can get in touch with Jayden at townwithoutpoverty@gmail.com
The Miami-Dade County state attorney's office is continuing "an active criminal" investigation of President Donald Trump's chief strategist and former Breitbart chief Stephen Bannon for voter registration fraud. News of the investigation comes by way of the Washington Post — which reported Bannon's decision to register as a voter in Florida while he simultaneously owned a house in Southern California and regularly stayed in New York and Washington, D.C. — and continues to interest local authorities. Bannon apparently registered to vote in Florida at a now-vacant house his accountants paid $5,500 monthly for his third ex-wife, Diane Clohesy, to occupy, at the same time he told the landlord of that property he was living there but traveling. Neighbors said they never saw Bannon at the property. However, the Post report is full of bizarre, horror movie-esque details about incidents at the house under Clohesy's residency. Said stories included odd visitors and loud noise at all hours of the night, police reports of ex-boyfriends stalking her there, and property damage worth tens of thousands, like removed or padlocked doors and a bathtub the landlord said looked like had been damaged by "acid." Yes, acid. That time Steve Bannon's landlord emailed him to ask why his Jacuzzi bathtub was covered in acid https://t.co/bXpV2sAPhz Willfully submitting false information while registering to vote in Florida is a third-degree felony which could come with up to five years in prison, the Guardian reported. As the Miami Herald noted, while the "active criminal" phrasing suggests investigators are taking the voter registration fraud claim seriously, "local prosecutors are notoriously slow in closing out investigations that lead nowhere. And, six months later, it appears that little has come from the Bannon case." Bannon never actually voted in Florida, likely lowering the odds of the case coming to prosecution.
As the nation mourns after the mass shooting in Orlando on Sunday, touching stories of humanity continue to poke through the sadness, offering inspiration and comfort. That’s exactly what happened on a JetBlue flight – carrying the grandmother of one of the victims – headed to the central Florida city on Tuesday. The story went viral when Kelly Davis Karas, a flight attendant on board, shared a post on Facebook revealing the touching compassion of passengers after they learned the older woman had lost her grandson, 20-year-old Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, in the attack. “Today my dear friend Melinda and I had the sad privilege of attending to his grandmother on our flight as she made her journey to Orlando to join her family during this unspeakable time,” Karas wrote. “Knowing she was making this hard journey alone, JetBlue employees made sure to be at her side every step of the way.” In an effort to make sure the woman was comfortable, the flight attendants offered her pillows, blankets and tissues for the duration of the flight. But the crew didn’t stop there. Karas and the other attendant Melinda took it a step further, passing around pieces of paper to everyone on board so that they could sign their names as a kind gesture. “When we gathered them together to present them to her, we didn’t have just a sheet of paper covered in names, which is what I had envisioned,” she added. “Instead, we had page after page after page after page of long messages offering condolences, peace, love and support. There were even a couple of cash donations, and more than a few tears.” Luis Omar Ocasio Capo Source: Facebook As the flight landed, Karas ended with a recently approved message from the airline: “JetBlue stands with Orlando,” before witnessing the compassion continue as passengers prepared to deplane. Describing a moment that moved her to tears, Karas wrote that she watched as every person made an effort to say something to the grandmother before exiting the aircraft. “EVERY SINGLE PERSON STOPPED TO OFFER HER THEIR CONDOLENCES. Some just said they were sorry, some touched her hand, some hugged her, some cried with her,” Karas wrote. “But every single person stopped to speak to her, and not a single person was impatient at the slower deplaning process.” Sunday’s shooting in Orlando claimed 49 lives and injured 53 others after a gunman opened fire inside of Pulse nightclub. RELATED VIDEO: Wounded Survivors of Orlando Nightclub Shooting Speak Out Get push notifications with news, features and more. The shooter was killed at the scene. Luis, who went by “Omar,” was a dancer and one of the youngest victims. He graduated from La Vergne High School in Tennessee last year. “He was such a caring, loving person. If you ever needed advice, he was that person,” Daniel Suarez-Ortiz, who attended high school with Omar told PEOPLE. “He was just that person to go to for anything.”
As parents proudly watch their offspring collect their college diplomas this month, consider this: More than half of baby boomers say they have allowed their adult children to move back home, rent free. That was among the findings in a survey commissioned by Ameriprise Financial. The research company GfK conducted the survey by landline and cellphone in December of 1,006 baby boomers — those born from 1946 to 1964 — with $100,000 or more in investable assets. The firm also polled 300 parents of boomers and 300 adult children of boomers. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points for the boomers, and six percentage points for the parents and children. The vast majority of boomers (93 percent) say they have provided some kind of support to their adult children, like helping them pay for college tuition or loans (71 percent) or a car (53 percent). Many are also helping their children pay for car and health insurance, not to mention covering basic expenses like rent and utilities. Yet just a quarter of boomers say they are putting away money for the future. Even as they offer support, nearly half of boomers (47 percent) worry that their children don’t understand what it takes financially to prepare for retirement, and 35 percent said they worried that their children haven’t learned to manage money responsibly. But more than half the children say that their parents rarely or never talked to them about how they budget the family’s money, or the importance of saving for retirement. Have you helped your adult child with expenses? Is it hurting your ability to save for retirement?
submitted by gnix, Computer Technician in Chicago Editor’s Note: Really cool carry here, I like how your rotation of watches and knives are different from their counterparts and complement each other well depending on what type of watch or knife you need. Your keychain has plenty of utility in itself with the Fenix flashlight and Leatherman Style attached, and is also free of unnecessary clutter. While it looks slim on its own to pocket carry, you can mitigate and uncomfortable pocket bulge and facilitate retrieval by throwing a suspension clip on the split ring. Also, I wanted to highlight your EDC knife in the Spyderco Chicago — which is perfect considering your location! It looks like a great little knife that I would want in my collection, unfortunately they seem to have been discontinued. Anyway, really neat setup, thanks for sharing.
The chairman of the Waikato District Health Board, Bob Simcock, has resigned, effective immediately. Health Minister David Clark said Mr Simcock had resigned as chair and as a district health board member. Photo: Waikato DHB He said he had accepted the resignation, which came this afternoon, and said it was the right decision under the circumstances. It follows growing pressure on the DHB over the expenses of former chief executive Nigel Murray, and came 24 hours after he received the final report from the Office of the Auditor-General on Dr Murray's spending. Dr Murray is being investigated by the State Services Commission over $218,000 spent on travel and expenses during his three years there. The Serious Fraud Office also confirmed today it had a preliminary inquiry under way. Dr Murray had been on a salary of $560,000 before his resignation early last month. Mr Simcock faced criticism over his hiring of Dr Murray, with senior doctors and a former MP saying they had warned him against it. Mr Simcock was also responsible for signing off all expenditure. Mr Simcock previously maintained he was not to blame for over-spending by Mr Murray, and said he would not resign. DHB deputy chair Sally Webb has accepted the role as acting chair and said many would be sad to see Mr Simcock go. "I'm sure that that decision actually will be quite a shock for a lot of people in the organisation because Bob has been a well-respected chair," she said. "However, he's made his decision and I respect that." In a statement, Mr Simcock said it was a very hard decision but he was satisfied both he and the board had "acted responsibly and without reproach at every stage". "We followed agreed DHB guidelines and processes throughout to ensure good governance and that the best interests of Waikato DHB were upheld without question." he said. "Nonetheless, despite our best intentions and actions, a lot of the hard work and goodwill achieved by the team at Waikato DHB was undone by the unfortunate and unauthorised actions of the former chief executive. The priority for the DHB now was to get back to business as usual and for the board to support its interim chief executive "without any further distractions being played out publicly", Mr Simcock said. Waikato District Health board member Dave McPherson said he felt the board only hired Dr Murray because there was no one else suitable at the time. "I wasn't on the board at that time so I didn't hear the conversation. "But it was clearly a decision that wasn't correct - and not just in hindsight - I think they had the reason to know it wasn't correct at the time," he said. "I don't believe that all the warnings given to the chair at the time were then passed on to the then-board members." Health Minister David Clark said it was still important to fully review the findings of the State Services Commission investigation into allegations of wrongful expenditure of public money by Dr Murray. He said he believed an interim report on it would be provided early next year.
[If you like this post you might like how we approach digital and experiential marketing. Check out our services and about us page!] In October 2007, I wrote about “Facebook Demographics Direct From Their System” that gave an account of Facebook’s demographic composition using a few statistics that might be interesting to marketers. Ten months later, we followed up with “Facebook Demographics 2008 Update – It’s Getting Older In There” which showed that the fastest growing group, the 35-54 year old segment, grew at a rate of 172.9% in that period. Below is our third granular examination of Facebook’s demographics and statistics directly from their Social Ads platform. The biggest surprise (perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising) was that Facebook’s 35-54 year old demographic segment not only continued to grow the fastest, but it accelerated to a 276.4% growth rate over the past 6 months. That demo is DOUBLING roughly every two months. Here’s the full breakdown: Download 2009 Facebook Demographics and Statistics as an Excel spreadsheet Top Insights: 1) The 35-54 year old demo is growing fastest, with a 276.4% growth rate in over the approximate 6 months since we last produced this report 2) The 55+ demo is not far behind with a 194.3% growth rate 3) The 25-34 year population on Facebook is doubling every 6 months 4) For those interested in advertising alcohol on Facebook, there are 27,912,480 users 21+, representing 66.3% of all users 5) Miami is the fastest growing metropolitan area (88.5%) and Atlanta (6.4%) is the slowest 6) There are more females (55.7%) than males (42.2%) on Facebook – 2.2% are of unknown gender. 7) The largest demographic concentration remains the college crowd of 18-24 year olds (40.8%) which is down from (53.8%) six months ago. Take away? Parents and professionals are rapidly adopting Facebook. Should a marketer be concerned about this shift if they’re focused on youth marketing? No. Facebook’s ad targeting enables zero waste from an age targeting perspective. Additionally, Facebook Pages now have an age restriction feature. What I think we’ll see in 2009 is a flurry of alcohol marketing as Facebook approaches a critical 70% concentration of legal drinking aged users. The 21+ demo should reach that 70% mark at the end of Q1. The alcohol category does pretty well in recessionary times after all!
On the surface, the eurozone crisis appears to be all about the fallout between national governments. It is creditor v debtor, north v south. At the last EU summit, the standoff between Germany and Spain seemed to epitomise that divide. But there is another, under-reported story here. It's less about nation states than about regions within European countries being pulled apart through internal north-south conflicts. In Italy, prime minister Mario Monti has talked up his "grave concerns" about the default of Sicily, which the Fitch ratings agency believes is not "imminent". Monti's statement is part of an internal political attack on regional spending and the size of the government payroll in the mezzogiorno, the Italian south. There are already growing regional wealth disparities within all the high-income countries of Europe. Now they are being driven apart further by the new problem of declining ex-industrial regions, such as the West Midlands in the UK or Walloon Belgium. Some countries are still struggling with the old problem of their laggard agricultural regions, such as Puglia or indeed Sicily in Italy. Research shows that, on some measures, the internal inequalities are greater in northern countries such as the UK than in southern countries such as Italy. If one looks at GDP per head for the most affluent region with more than 10% of the population (London, including outer London, in the UK, and Lombardia, including Milan, in Italy), the top to bottom inequality is worse in the UK. In Italy the poorest regions, such as Calabria and Campania, have half the income of top regions, while UK regions such as Merseyside or south Yorkshire, do relatively worse. And 63% of the Italian population attain the mean national GDP or better, compared with 32% in the UK. These inequalities are growing, despite substantial internal transfers, and are driving the rise of a new regional nationalism all over Europe. Countries in Europe have always been unhappy in their own way. What's new is that it is no longer the poorer regions who ask for more, but the richer regions who demand to pay less. This "can pay, but won't pay" politics was invented in two wealthy regions, Padania in northern Italy, and Flanders in Belgium. Insurgent populist parties Lega Nord in Italy and Vlaams Belang in Belgium mix regional identity politics with electoral opportunism. But their economic agenda is consistently against metropolitan political elites, and against redistributive tax policies. As austerity bites, internal distributive conflicts are now spilling over into mainstream politics, especially in federal countries such as Spain, where 17 regional governments manage schools and hospitals and account for more than half of public expenditure. In January this year the centre-right Spanish government made an €8bn advance so that the regional governments could carry on paying their bills; by April, prime minister Mariano Rajoy was threatening to seize budgetary control of recalcitrant regions that were now being told to halve their deficits. There are echoes of this tension even in Germany, where the regionally based centre-right Christian Social Union party (CSU) in affluent Bavaria is learning the new rhetoric. German politics is about coalitions and consensus, which has encouraged external scapegoating of the Greeks. That same tendency has, in the past, discouraged any questioning of internal distribution to the formerly communist east: an issue that is now being raised noisily by the leader of the CSU, who challenges the legality of internal "solidarity transfers" that supposedly cost Bavaria €7bn a year. Britain looks out of step with the trend towards regional nationalism. But that may only be because our own populist right (UKIP and the Tory back benches) is fixated on repatriating powers from Brussels, while coalition expenditure cuts are already stripping out public employment and welfare benefits and thereby undermining New Labour's de facto regional policy. But if the Treasury presses for another £10bn in welfare cuts, how long will it be before an ambitious Tory populist, maybe someone like Boris Johnson, starts to make speeches about feckless Geordies? The emerging pattern of the new regional nationalism is profoundly depressing if we set it in a broad historical perspective. Right across western Europe, one postwar legacy of the economically catastrophic 1930s was a reinvention of the nation through social settlements, underpinned by new policies of economic management, regional aid and social welfare (which in the UK meant Keynes plus Barlow plus Beveridge). Now what remains of those settlements is being attacked by a new regional nationalism of the privileged, often in alliance with the central state. We must begin to understand that governments are not just sites where regional problems are solved, but also where they can be created or aggravated from the centre. This then sets the nationalism of peripheral regions in a new context where again the UK has been slow to catch up with emerging realities. The old framing of the issue is about whether any peripheral region has the cultural identity and economic strength to benefit by cutting loose; and in the UK that makes regional government and devolution mainly a Scottish issue, divisively tied to the electoral fortunes of a nationalist party. But the aggressive final dismantling of the postwar settlement in the UK (and elsewhere) reframes the issue. It should put regional nationalism on to a new agenda about defensive options for all centre-left parties in the economically weaker regions. The Scots will rehearse old arguments in their upcoming referendum, but it is time for a new argument from Wales, Northern Ireland and English regions such as the north-east and the West Midlands.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Carolina Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman still hasn't gone back and watched a replay of the 24-10 loss to Denver in Super Bowl 50. He plans to. He just doesn't know when. Gettleman's focus is on preparing the roster for the 2016 season through free agency and the draft. You shouldn't be surprised. You also shouldn't be surprised that Gettleman isn't in a panic because right tackle Mike Remmers allowed three sacks in the title game. He's quick to remind the Panthers have won 22 of 25 games since Remmers became the starter. He's also quick to remind he's not a "knee-jerk guy," which means he's not in the market for somebody to replace Remmers. That doesn't mean Remmers will be the starting right tackle when the 2016 opens. Former Oklahoma tackle Daryl Williams, a fourth-round pick in 2015, could push for that job. The Panthers also could sign a free-agent tackle -- although likely not a big name at a big price based on Gettleman's history -- that could surprise. Or the draft might uncover somebody that could replace Remmers. Gettleman is all about creating competition. He's just not about making snap decisions, reminding it takes three full seasons to evaluate players in today's NFL. "I don't care what position it is, you're going to look to get better," Gettleman said on Thursday at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. "[Remmers is] young in his career, now. ... Don't take a one snapshot, quick and decide that, you know, that we need a right tackle."
Valentina Shevchenko (14-3 MMA) is one of the toughest and most talented fighters in the UFC. “The Bullet” proved her grit last month when she challenged “The Lioness” Amanda Nunes for the UFC women’s bantamweight championship at UFC 215 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Although Shevchenko suffered a controversial split-decision loss to Amanda Nunes at the September 9 event, her stock did nothing but rise in defeat. The 29-year-old product of Tiger Muay Thai recently sat down with BJPENN.com’s Chris Taylor and discussed the first-round injury she suffered in her UFC 215 championship fight with Nunes. Shevchenko badly dislocated one of her fingers midway through the fights opening round and opted to hide the injury in fear that the referee may stop the contest. “Yes I dislocated my finger in the middle of the first round,” Shevchenko told Taylor. “It was the finger on my left hand. It happened after some strikes. I noticed it right away. I was looking at my finger and the joint it was like pointing outside from the glove and I thought to myself ‘Oh my god’. I could not make a fist, I could not grapple, I really couldn’t do nothing with that arm. But my thought at that moment was like if I ask the referee to fix it, maybe he will stop the fight. So I was like no way. No way am I going to allow this fight to end like this. So I just waited for the round to end so I could then ask my corner to fix it. I used my range and kept distance in order to hide from everyone that I had this problem. I knew that if people saw it (the injury), the fight may have been stopped.” When Shevchenko returned to her corner after the horn sounded to end round one, she immediately showed her coach who promptly snapped the finger back into place. “When the round ended, I came back to my coach and I showed him the finger and he fixed it. I couldn’t believe it. I was able to make a fist again and I thought to myself ‘Ok, now it is time to fight’. So by the second-round I was able to fight like normal again.” Taylor asked Valentina if it hurt when her coach snapped her finger back into place. “At that moment, no. I was more concerned about if I could make a fist. So when I realized that I could it was a great moment for me. I knew I could fight. But, immediately after the fight when I came back to the training room and the adrenaline went down I could feel it. My finger and have of my fist got really swollen and started changing colors. It eventually turned black in color. But it didn’t matter because it was already after the fight.” Taylor asked Valentina how her finger was doing now, weeks removed from the title fight. “Now it is much better. I put on a lot of creams and took some anti inflammatory medication. I still cannot make a fist, but I am just letting it heal. I think in one or two weeks it will be fine.” Valentina Shevchenko went on to tell Taylor that she expects her next fight to take place in early 2018 in the UFC’s new women’s flyweight division. Who do you want to see “The Bullet” fight in her next octagon appearance? Sound off PENN Nation!
House GOP leaders are betting that President Barack Obama’s economy — as well as Obamacare — will drag Democrats down in November, and Gallup is providing new evidence to bolster their strategy. “More Americans, 42%, say they are financially worse off now than they were a year ago, reversing the lower levels found over the past two years,” Gallup announced Wednesday. “Just more than a third of Americans [35 percent] say their financial situation has improved from a year ago,” Gallup reported. The percentage of Americans who think 2014 will be a good year for their finances has dropped from 66 percent in late 2013 to 55 percent in early January, Gallup said. The Gallup report helps explain the recent sharp drop in Obama’s polls, and adds to other evidence suggesting that public is shrugging off Obama’s persistent claims that President George W. Bush’s policies are still dominating the economy. “It’s been more than five years since a devastating recession cost this country millions of jobs, and it hurt North Carolina pretty tough,” Obama said during a Thursday speech in North Carolina. “I say this can be a breakthrough year for America [and] the pieces are all there to start bringing back more of the jobs that we’ve lost over the past decade,” he insisted. On Jan. 13, GOP House Speaker John Boehner cited a November survey showing that a near-majority of Americans blame the bad economy on Obama’s policies, instead of President George W. Bush’s policies. Forty-nine percent of respondents blamed Obama, while 41 percent blamed Bush, according to a November survey by the Winston Group. In November 2012, only 41 percent of people blamed “the economic policies of the present,” while 53 percent blamed “the politics of the past,” the group said. “For the first time, a majority of Americans now say they believe the troubles in our economy are more the result of the policies of the present than the policies of the past,” Boehner said Jan 13, according to The Hill newspaper. “Since he can’t blame George W. Bush anymore, the president has chosen to talk about rising income inequality, unemployment, and the need to extend emergency unemployment benefits,” Boehner said. “After five years in office, Barack Obama still doesn’t have an answer to the question: Where are the jobs?” he declared. Democrats are hoping the economy improves, and are also boosting issues — such as a raise in the minimum wage — in the hope that the public blames the GOP for the failure of Obama’s economic policies and his Obamacare takeover. Follow Neil on Twitter
Popular Constructed Decks of the Week, Amazon Coin Promotion is Back, Love is in the Air Balance Patch This Week, Dustin Tweets Round-Up, Rotation for Feb. 9, 2016, Weekly Sales Legion - Resto Druid Artifact Intro, Achievement Search, Tweets, Setup of the Month Keywarden Quick Reference SparxxUI has posted an updated version of his Keywarden Quick Reference visual guide, allowing you to quickly check which monster/boss drops which material, where and how often! Very handy for those farming materials for Hellfire Amulets. Fast Gem Leveling Guide Are you using the Caldesann's Despair recipe to augment your items? If yes, then you might wonder what is the optimal way of upgrading those Gems. Philosophios latest video shares a handy method and quite a few interesting tips for this end-game activity, provided you have the gear to clear the higher GR levels. Check it out! Overwatch Beta Returns Today! After being down for almost two months, the Overwatch Beta is returning! Our friends at OverPwn have compiled a rundown of all the awesome stuff you'll want to know for when the beta returns later today. Check it out here or click on the banner below to head on over to OverPwn.
Admissions and financial aid experts have been increasingly worried in recent years that horror stories about debt could discourage low-income students from applying to college at all. And many of those horror stories suggest that one needs to borrow in the six figures to afford college. There was a New York Times series in 2012, for example, that led with a woman who borrowed $120,000 to earn a bachelor's degree. Today the average student loan debt to earn a four-year degree is about $28,000 -- not insignificant by any means, but not close to six figures. And that's why many student aid experts were stunned Wednesday to read how Martin O'Malley, the former Maryland governor who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, explained his commitment to creating a debt-free college option for students and families. In an interview with The Washington Post, O'Malley said that he and his wife had taken out nine loans, with a total value of $339,200, to pay tuition for their two daughters to each earn an undergraduate degree, the oldest from Georgetown University (a private institution) and her younger sister from the College of Charleston, a public institution in South Carolina. Grace O'Malley, the Georgetown grad, sent out an email as part of the campaign in which she described how, at 18, she faced a difficult choice: "Do I go to the college we can afford or do I take out loans to go to the college of my dreams? At the age of 18, I made the decision to follow my dreams. My family and I now face years of debt -- and we know we're not the only ones." To experts on financial aid, the O'Malleys' personal financing plan made little sense -- and some questioned using an outlier example to draw attention to the very real issues of student debt. Many others on social media and elsewhere said that the O'Malley example pointed to the dangers of politicians trying to use their personal situations to illustrate issues on which they are in fact far more fortunate than most. Maryland pays its governor $150,000, and O'Malley's wife has earned similar salaries as a state judge. In other words, many said, they are not who the college debt problem is primarily about. "It's always a concern that a single individual with an abnormally high level of debt is used to generalize about participation in higher education," said Terry W. Hartle, senior vice president for government and public affairs of the American Council on Education. He did a back-of-the-envelope estimate that without any financial aid or residency change, the Georgetown degree might have cost $240,000 and the Charleston one $120,000 -- covering everything. "It appears that the O'Malley family elected to borrow enough money to finance the total cost of the education of their children," Hartle said, and that's unusual. "Most upper-income families save before their kids go." "He borrowed an exceptionally large amount of money," Hartle said, when there were many options -- saving, going to less expensive colleges and so forth. "They made a choice to pursue a very high-priced education," Hartle said. "That's one of the glories of American higher education -- you can make those choices." Just how atypical was the O'Malley borrowing? Mark Kantrowitz, senior vice president and publisher at Edvisors and a leading number cruncher on student aid and loans, ran the numbers: "Nine federal parent PLUS loans totaling $339,200 works out to be $37,689 per loan. That is greater than the federal parent PLUS loan amount borrowed by 99.9 percent of parents." (While O'Malley campaign staffers declined to say how the governor borrowed so much, it is assumed it had to be through PLUS loans.) ‎Justin Draeger, president of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, said via email: "There are two big issues I’ve seen when people try to develop public policy from the extremes: first, we end up with great talking points and political rhetoric, but without any viable, realistic plan to get to the end goal, or (2) we end up creating programs that focus on the wrong demographic. Maybe what we should take from Governor O’Malley’s experience is asking whether there should be better safeguards in place to prevent parents from going $335,000 in debt!" The O'Malley plan itself would take five years to carry out, but immediately he would create new loan refinancing options and limit monthly repayments based on income. Longer term, he would reduce the need for borrowing by calling on states to freeze public tuition rates, while creating new state-federal spending programs to add funds to public college budgets. O'Malley's plan calls for bringing four-year public tuition levels down to 10 percent of median income in a state (5 percent for community colleges). He says that the tuition rates are more than 20 percent of median income in 10 states. Other parts of the plan would increase the value of Pell Grants and support efforts to speed up time to completion. While some provisions (such as loan refinancing) would help students with debt from public or private colleges, the plan contains no provisions that would change the costs of attending Grace O'Malley's "dream" college or her sister's out-of-state institution. Sandy Baum, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute and an expert on college costs, said that one of the issues raised by the O'Malley plan was that while his example was based on a daughter wanting to go to Georgetown, "there's nothing there for those who want to go to Georgetown." Baum said that from any financial perspective, the O'Malley borrowing "makes no sense. It just means they are very poor financial planners." And she said that with good advice, "no one should borrow money that way." "There are such big problems in student debt," she said, but a couple with six-figure incomes borrowing in excess of $300,000 "isn't one of them." Baum has had several discussions with the Hillary Clinton campaign (which is expected this month to release a plan dealing with paying for college), but she said she was not formally advising the campaign. The O'Malley campaign did not respond to detailed questions about why the O'Malleys borrowed so much, except to release a statement from the candidate: “My wife and I took out big loans to support our daughters. For us, this is what the American Dream is all about -- working hard and making sacrifices so our kids can pursue bigger opportunities and do better than we did." As to whether his borrowing reflects the debt problems facing many American families, a spokesperson said via email: "He can relate to what so [many] families are going through because of [his] own experience taking out loans for his daughters."
An informal term for the transfer of electronic information by physically moving media. Memory cards are a popular physical medium for transferring files and have become smaller in size as technology has advanced Sneakernet is an informal term for the transfer of electronic information by physically moving media such as magnetic tape, floppy disks, compact discs, USB flash drives or external hard drives from one computer to another; rather than transmitting the information over a computer network. The term, a tongue-in-cheek play on net(work) as in Internet or Ethernet, refers to walking in sneakers as the transport mechanism for the data.[1] Summary and background [ edit ] Sneakernets, also known as trainnets or pigeonets, are in use throughout the computer world. Sneakernet may be used when computer networks are prohibitively expensive for the owner to maintain, in high-security environments where manual inspection (for re-classification of information) is necessary, where information needs to be shared between networks with different levels of security clearance, when data transfer is impractical due to bandwidth limitations, when a particular system is simply incompatible with the local network, unable to be connected, or when two systems are not on the same network at the same time. Because Sneakernets take advantage of physical media, security measures used for the transfer of sensitive information are respectively physical. This form of data transfer is also used for peer-to-peer (or friend-to-friend) file sharing and has grown in popularity in metropolitan areas and college communities. The ease of this system has been facilitated by the availability of USB external hard drives, USB flash drives and portable music players.[2] The United States Postal Service offers a Media Mail service for compact discs, among other items. This provides a viable mode of transport for long distance Sneakernet use. In fact, when mailing media with sufficiently high data density such as high capacity hard drives, the throughput (data transferred per unit of time) as well as the cost per unit of data transferred may compete favorably with networked methods of data transfer. [3] Theory [ edit ] From an information theory standpoint, sneakernets can achieve tremendous throughput, but they suffer from high latency (see Network performance). The throughput of the network is directly proportional to the size of the transmitted file(s). Latency is based on the amount of time it takes to fully process the request for information. Latency would include the time it takes to write the storage media and the time to travel from point A to point B. For example: Alice requests Bob to send her a DVD (4.7 GB) worth of information. Over the Internet, the latency for the file request may be milliseconds—Alice starts receiving the information nearly immediately—but at a modest broadband download speed of 50 kB/s it may take up to a day to complete the transfer. On the other hand, Bob could burn a DVD and deliver it to Alice in an hour. The latency was an hour, but the throughput of the transfer is roughly equal to a transfer rate of 1305 kB/s. If an Airbus A380 were filled with microSD cards each holding 512 gigabytes of storage capacity, the theoretical total storage space onboard would be approximately 91 exabytes. A 4h47m flight from New York to Los Angeles would work out to a data transport rate of well over 5 petabytes per second, although this does not account for the time required to write to and read from the cards, which would almost certainly be much longer than the duration of the flight. Similarly, as of 2016 the highest capacity backup tape format available is LTO-7, with a capacity of 6 TB. If a tape of this capacity were sent by overnight mail and were to arrive around 20 hours after it was sent, the effective data rate would be 664 Mbit/s. With networking technology, this magnitude of speed over this distance would be very difficult to attain without a costly dedicated connection as one would likely need to use several hops and have a connection that is not oversubscribed. Sneakernets may also be used in tandem with computer network data transfer to increase data security. For example, a file or collection of files may be encrypted and sent over the Internet while the encryption key is printed and hand delivered or mailed. This method greatly reduces the possibility of an individual intercepting both the key and encrypted data. Another way sneakernets are used together with network transfers is to provide an initial full backup as a base for incremental backups. In the case of a large (several terabyte) dataset that grows by just a few megabytes a day, the initial seeding of the data to be backed up would require an excessively long time upload over a network. One solution is to make a local copy of the data which is then physically relocated to the remote location and topped up with daily incremental backups over a network. Usage examples [ edit ] When Australia joined Usenet in 1983, it received articles via tapes sent from the United States to the University of Sydney, which disseminated data to dozens of other computers on the country's Unix network.[4] The May 2011 raid of Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan revealed that he used a series of USB thumb drives to store his email drafts. A courier of his would then take the saved emails to a nearby Internet cafe and send them out to the desired recipients.[5][6] In September 2009, Durban company Unlimited IT reportedly pitted a messenger pigeon against South African ISP Telkom to transfer 4 GB of data 60 miles (97 km) from Howick to Durban. The pigeon, carrying the data on a memory stick, arrived in one hour eight minutes, with the data taking another hour to read from the memory stick. During the same two-hour period, only about 4.2% of the data had been transferred over the ADSL link.[7] A similar experiment was conducted in England in September 2010; the "pigeonnet" also proved superior.[8][9] In November 2009 the Australian comedy/current-affairs television program Hungry Beast repeated this experiment. The experiment had the team transfer a 700 MB file via three delivery methods to determine which was the fastest; A carrier pigeon with a microSD card, a car carrying a USB Stick, or a Telstra ADSL line. The data was to be transferred a distance of 132 km by road. The pigeon won the race with a time of approximately 1 hour 5 minutes, the car came in second at 2 hours 10 minutes, while the internet transfer did not finish, having dropped out a second time and not coming back.[10] Google has used a sneakernet to transport large datasets, such as the 120 TB of data from the Hubble Space Telescope.[11][12] Users of Google Cloud can import their data into Google Cloud Storage through sneakernet.[13] The SETI@home project uses a sneakernet to overcome bandwidth limitations: data recorded by the radio telescope in Arecibo, Puerto Rico is stored on magnetic tapes which are then shipped to Berkeley, California for processing. In 2005, Jim Gray reported sending hard drives and even "metal boxes with processors" to transport large amounts of data by postal mail.[14] Wizzy Digital Courier provided Internet access to schools in South Africa with poor or no network connectivity by implementing UUCP on USB memory sticks. This allowed offline cached email transport and scoops of web pages to back-fill a web cache.[15] Data analytics teams in the financial services sector often use sneakernets to transfer sensitive corporate information and information obtained from data mining, such as ledger entries, customer data and financial statistics. There are several reasons for this: firstly, sneakernets can generally provide very high security (and possibly more importantly, they are perceived to be secure) due to the impossibility of a Man-in-the-middle attack or packet sniffing; secondly, the volumes of data concerned are often extremely high; and thirdly, setting up secure network links between the client business and the analytics team's facilities is often either impossible or an extremely convoluted process. Very Long Baseline Interferometry performed using the Very Long Baseline Array ships hard drives to a data reduction site in Socorro, New Mexico. They refer to their data transfer mechanism as "HDOA" (Hard Drives On Airplane). The Rigsum Sherig Collection project[16] uses a sneakernet to distribute offline educational resources, including Kiwix and Khan Academy on a Stick,[17] to hundreds of schools and other educational institutional in the Kingdom of Bhutan. Many of the schools in Bhutan have computers or IT labs, but no Internet connection (or a very slow one).[18] The sneakernet, facilitated by teachers, distributes about 25 GB of free, open-source educational software to the schools, often using external hard disks. North Korean dissidents have been known to smuggle flash drives filled with western movies and television shows, largely in an effort to inspire a cultural revolution.[19][20][21][22][23] El Paquete Semanal is a roughly 1TB compilation of media, distributed weekly throughout Cuba via portable hard drives and USB memory sticks.[24] In 2015 Amazon Web Services launched AWS Snowball, a 50 lb (23 kg), 50 TB device for transporting data to the AWS cloud;[25] and in 2016 AWS Snowmobile, a truck to transport up to 100 PB of data in one load.[26] For similar reasons, there is also a Google Transfer Appliance and an IBM Cloud Mass Data Migration device.[27] In media [ edit ] Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes hurtling down the highway. — Tanenbaum, Andrew S. (1989). Computer Networks. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. p. 57. ISBN 0-13-166836-6. The original version of this quotation came much earlier; the very first problem in Tanenbaum's 1981 textbook Computer Networks asks the student to calculate the throughput of a St. Bernard carrying floppy disks. The first USENET citation is July 16, 1985 and it was widely considered an old joke already. There's a lot of band-width in a station wagon. - Gruenberger, Fred (1971). Computing: A Second Course. San Francisco: Canfield Press. p. 138. ISBN 978-0063834057 . Other alleged speakers included Tom Reidel, Warren Jackson, or Bob Sutterfield. The station wagon transporting magnetic tapes is the canonical version,[citation needed] but variants using trucks or Boeing 747s or C-5s and later storage technologies such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, Blu-Rays, or SD Cards have frequently appeared. Fiction [ edit ] The Terry Pratchett novel Going Postal (2004) includes a contest between a horse-drawn mail coach and the "Grand Trunk Clacks" (a semaphore line) to see which is faster to transmit the contents of a book to a remote destination. (2004) includes a contest between a horse-drawn mail coach and the "Grand Trunk Clacks" (a semaphore line) to see which is faster to transmit the contents of a book to a remote destination. William Gibson's novel Spook Country (2007) also features sneakernets, with iPods being the storage device used to clandestinely move information.[28] The "valuable data file" has become a common MacGuffin in action films and television programs and indeed the motif of the "valuable letter or documents" (pre-electronic information storage technology) dates back hundreds of years. Similar concepts [ edit ] See also [ edit ]
After a month-long battle over whether cheerleaders at Kountze High School in Texas could hold up run-through banners with Bible verses at football games, a battle in which the state’s Attorney General got involved, a judge has finally — and unfortunately — ruled in their favor… at least for now: District Judge Steve Thomas granted an injunction requested by the Kountze High School cheerleaders allowing them to continue displaying such banners pending the outcome of a lawsuit set to go to trial next June 24, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said. Thomas previously granted a temporary restraining order allowing the practice to continue. So the case hasn’t technically been decided yet, but the cheerleaders will get to use Bible verses on their banners for the remainder of the football season. What a boneheaded move by the judge to allow this to continue. But the lawsuit has yet to give us a more permanent resolution.
Evidence indicates that school-based mental health services are urgently needed to protect against suicidal thoughts among transgender students. Nearly 35% of transgender youth in California reported suicidal thoughts in the past year, almost double that of non-transgender youth, reports a study published in the September 2017 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP). Transgender youth and adults have received unprecedented public attention regarding their lives and well-being in the last year. In the context of public debates about bathrooms, armed services, and other legal protections, there has been growing concern about discrimination and mental health for transgender youth in the US. Yet there has been little high-quality, population-based research on transgender youth, which is necessary to accurately document the health and well-being of this population. This study is the first to use statewide representative data from the US to document significantly higher risk of suicidal thoughts among transgender students in California. Data came from over 910,000 high school students that participated in the 2013-2015 California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS), and a weighted subsample of nearly 36,000 youth representative of the Californian student population. The CHKS is administered biennially by WestEd with support from the California Department of Education. Nearly 35% of transgender youth in California reported suicidal thoughts in the past year, compared to 19% among non-transgender youth. "It is crucial that studies of adolescent health include measures of gender identity alongside sexual orientation to better understand and create programs to address the needs of these youth across the United States," said Amaya Perez-Brumer, MSc, lead author of the study. The study also reports that higher rates of depression and victimization among transgender youth compared to non-transgender youth partly explain higher risk of suicidal thoughts among transgender students. According to Stephen Russell, PhD, another study author: "Like all students, transgender youth deserve to be safe and supported at school. These results show that reducing depression and victimization for transgender students should significantly reduce their suicide-related risk." The authors underscore that the results of the study should be understood as a first step in detailing the complexity of suicidal thoughts among transgender youth. While findings support the need for school-based interventions that address depression and victimization, more research is also needed to understand the relationship between co-occurring psychosocial risk factors (e.g., anxiety, substance abuse) and suicidal thoughts. The authors also caution that these results may represent an underestimate of the gender identity-related disparity in suicidal thoughts given that the sample was limited to youth who were currently attending school in California; youth who have been expelled or dropped out of school may be a more vulnerable population at risk of suicidality. Notably, while transgender-specific mental health services are scarce and often inaccessible for adults, this barrier is often magnified among youth. This study highlights the urgent need to develop and implement school-based interventions that address victimization, train faculty and staff on the needs of transgender youth, and provide access to gender-affirming healthcare and mental health services.
Now that you’ve decided (or at least have some ideas about) the genre, complexity, role and medium of your RPG (after reading part 1) You’re ready to start working on your Character Sheets. Here are some basic ideas to consider while you’re working: Creativity: Remember: Your RPG’s character sheets are the means through which the players interact with the game you have created. They’re the controllers, the interfaces, the in-game menus, and the most-used props which allow your players to immerse themselves into a world wholly different from their own. The best character sheets are those that present character information and statistics in a format which is attractive, unique, and relevant to the game. Think about it: If you’re playing a Battlestar Galactica game, you want an in-game menu (or character sheet) that looks futuristic, has clipped corners, and probably features (at least) the BSG logo. A basic typewriter sheet or a high-fantasy, flowing script and scrollwork sheet are probably going to give the players mixed signals that are likely to knock them out of the suspension of disbelief so vital to playing any game. Another example: If you’re playing a game like DAGON, a sheet like the one to the right is going to go a long way with your players, even if only because of how darn cool it looks while still being relevant to a Lovecraftian setting.
"The past is history." So proclaims Lendl Simmons' status on WhatsApp. It is the mantra of a man who wants to look forward in life, not moan. Yet Simmons cannot help but feel aggrieved. He, like Chris Gayle, Darren Sammy, Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell, was not considered eligible for selection in West Indies' ongoing ODI tri-series against Australia and South Africa. All those players did not play in this year's West Indies domestic 50-over tournament, instead playing in the Big Bash. "It's just foolish," Simmons says. "We are available to play but we are not being picked. It's just a stupid rule that they have. Unless that rule changes, no one will play for the West Indies, because I don't think anyone is going to give up franchise cricket to play regional cricket when the fees are not suitable enough. A lot of other teams' players don't play in their domestic [competitions] but still play for their country. This is not the same for us, but such is life." While wishing West Indies well, Simmons warns that "we could embarrass ourselves because Australia and South Africa are not coming here with their A teams. They are coming here with their full teams." Simmons was gripped by anger two months ago as well. When he came out to bat in the semi-final of the World T20, with West Indies 19 for 2 after three overs, in pursuit of 193, Simmons was riled by Virat Kohli. Matches played since the 2012 World T20 Player T20s* ODIs T20Is Lendl Simmons 92 28 23 Chris Gayle 119 35 20 Darren Sammy 110 44 30 Andre Russell 130 24 30 Dwayne Bravo 138 35 29 * Do not include T20Is for West Indies or representative teams like West Indies A or West Indies XI "When he fielded, he said something to me, and I said to myself, 'I'm going to show you you're not the only good batsman,'" Simmons says. He also reckons Kohli kept throwing the ball to his end to try and get under his skin. "That's the way he is. He's very arrogant, he's very aggressive when he fields, and when he bats as well. He's just a very aggressive person. "Those things motivate our players and it certainly motivated me. That really urged me to bat the way I did - to show him that he's not the only one who can do it. That played a big role." So too did simple fortune. Simmons was twice caught off a no-ball, and reprieved a third time when a catch off a legitimate delivery was overturned when Ravindra Jadeja was shown to be touching the boundary rope when he took it. "Every cricketer has his day and you just need to cash in when it is your day," Simmons says. "I took full opportunity of that to bat until the end. It was mind-blowing doing that with all those people supporting India and being very loud. It was the highlight of my career." Kohli might have reflected on the impact of his words as Simmons thumped five sixes into the Wankhede, en route to a 51-ball 82 not out. "When India chase, one of their top batsmen bats deep - that was my role, batting in the middle overs, especially because I play spin well. I know they didn't have any good death bowlers, so with Russell, Bravo and Sammy to come once we passed the middle overs, those guys could always come out and finish." It was left to Russell to score the winning runs, dispatching a full toss - from Kohli, of all people - into the Mumbai night sky. And when Carlos Braithwaite's four towering sixes clinched the final, Simmons had gone from watching the World T20 at home, having originally not been selected because he was not fully fit, to being a world champion in the space of a week. "Franchise cricket is the avenue for players to earn a living. Not everyone gets retained for the West Indies, and anyway our retainer is not sufficient to say you can live off this for three to four years" It proved an expensive triumph. Simmons played at "85%" in the World T20, aggravating the problems with his lower back that had originally led him to miss the tournament. His back ultimately forced him to fly home after one IPL game. "But I think it was worth it - putting the West Indies back on the map by winning the World Cup again. It was a big achievement for the Caribbean. It meant a whole lot. We knew that everyone in the Caribbean was watching the final. We desperately needed that, because we know there's a lot of politics in cricket right now - a lot going against the players right now." Simmons suggests that his uncle**, West Indies' coach Phil, shares his frustration, "but there's not much he can do". Having won two of the last three World T20 crowns - Simmons was not selected in 2012 - West Indies are shaping up as international cricket's first dominant T20 side. Bravo has even suggested they could be as successful in the format as the Test side was in the 1980s. "It's calypso cricket," Simmons says of the West Indies' success. "It's because of the way we play our cricket - we are aggressive, very sprightly, and that's how we are. We're not good at Test cricket right now, but T20 is right up our alley." Even a golden duck in the final could not dilute the memory of his innings, a distillation of the T20 qualities that have earned him attention from franchises the world over. "We are aggressive, very sprightly. We're not good at Test cricket right now, but T20 is right up our alley" Getty Images India has seen the best of him: Simmons has 1038 runs at 47.18 for Mumbai Indians. But he is also enthused about the Caribbean Premier League. It "pays well" and, for the first time ever, means leading players from foreign shores play domestic cricket in the West Indies, testing and improving Caribbean players without deals in other T20 leagues. Simmons is unashamed about the path he has chosen. Injuries have rendered him unable to play Tests - he never even scored a half-century during an eight-match career that ended five years ago - and he has not played an ODI, or even a List A match, since the World Cup. That will not change until either he or the West Indies Cricket Board change their minds about playing in the Nagico Super50. Neither seems likely. "Yes, I enjoy playing for Trinidad and I want to play for the West Indies, but people also have families that they need to feed and a life that they need to build," Simmons says. He will continue to be a flag bearer for the age of the itinerant T20 player - a sign of the things and, he reckons, a shape of the future of West Indies' best players too. "Franchise cricket is a very good thing. People can travel around the world and play cricket. You get paid well for your services, and people want our services," he says. "Franchise cricket is the avenue for players to earn a living. Not everyone gets retained for the West Indies, and anyway our retainer is not sufficient to say you can live off this for three to four years." It was ever thus. West Indies have always relied on foreign leagues - traditionally county and club cricket in England - to fund their players. Garry Sobers once almost missed an international to play an English club match, because it was more lucrative. The T20 globetrotting of Simmons and Co is new. But it is also entirely in keeping with West Indies' past.
OAKLAND, Calif. — Anti-Wall Street demonstrators in Oakland broke into a city plaza on Wednesday that police had evicted them from a day earlier, but the mood remained largely calm. The "Occupy Oakland" movement is one of the latest in a string of protests that have sprung up in cities worldwide. Protesters say they are angered by “corporate greed” and rampant unemployment, among other societal issues. That message hits home in Oakland, a city plagued by poverty and a soaring murder rate. The East Bay city had the third-highest crime rate in the nation in 2010, according to CQ Press, which compiles yearly crime ratings based on FBI data. But as movements gather steam across the nation, and in other countries, one of the key questions is how protesters will harness the populist anger they've stirred up as the Occupy movement continues. Related: Occupy Oakland, police tear gas protesters (PHOTOS, VIDEO) On Wednesday, the crowd of several thousand spent the better part of the evening holding a “general assembly” to discuss the movement’s next steps. The verdict: a citywide strike next week. It would be one of the first efforts to move the Occupy movement beyond encampments in city spaces. Police had fired tear gas and bean bags to disperse crowds on Tuesday evening, leaving one Marine veteran, Scott Olsen, in critical condition. In one of the tensest moments on Wednesday, a small group of agitated protesters seemed to play tug-of-war with the chain-link fence surrounding the trampled grass, as a larger group tried to keep the fence in place. The barrier was erected after the pre-dawn raid Tuesday on a protest encampment that had settled in about two weeks prior. Ultimately, the persistent minority managed to bring down the fence, although it appeared few were interested in actually reoccupying that area. Minutes after the fence came down, sections of chain-link were stacked in neat piles. A young girl bounced up and down on one like a trampoline. Later, some protesters scuffled with transit police as they closed a subway entrance near the downtown plaza shortly after 10 p.m. Protesters were streaming into the underground station to travel across the bay to a similar protest in San Francisco. As the crowd flooded in, following several young men wheeling a sound system blaring Rihanna songs, police lowered the metal gate at the subway entrance, witnesses said. Some protesters were left inside and others shut out. Davi Barker, 30 and Faeza Moghul, 30, who were both inside the station at the time, said protesters angrily began calling transit police “pigs.” As the group retreated back up the stairs, Barker and Moghul said, police detained two men who had been trying to force the metal gates open. “We were all leaving,” Moghul said. “As soon as we turned around (to go), they grabbed them.” Related: Protester crackdowns are spreading BART police on the scene would not comment on whether any arrests were made. The protesters marched, seemingly aimlessly, through the streets after being locked out of the subway stations. At one point, they paused outside the local jail to chant "Free them all!" — a reference to the roughly 100 arrested during Tuesday's raid. Protesters frequently called on each other to remain peaceful and tried to discourage a raucous minority from antagonizing police. When a small group peeled off from the main march to approach several layers of riot police, others yelled at them to rejoin the group. “Don’t do anything!” called out Cynthia Johnson, a 66-year-old woman in a pink knit hat and bright blue jacket. “It isn’t in the spirit of the 99.9 percent,” she explained. Earlier in the evening, another tense moment occurred when Dan Siegel, a legal adviser to Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, was greeted by an angry crowd demanding an explanation for the level of force exercised by police on Tuesday. Oakland Police acknowledged firing tear gas canisters and beanbag rounds to disperse the crowd, but have denied reports they used flash grenades or rubber bullets. One man lifted his shirt to reveal a grapefruit-sized bruise he said he received as he helped carry wounded Marine veteran Scott Olsen to safety during Tuesday’s clashes. A hospital spokesman confirmed Wednesday that Olsen had been admitted and was in critical condition. Siegal said that he sympathized with the protesters and had advised the mayor not to authorize a raid on the camp. "Sometimes she listens to me, sometimes she doesn't," he said, adding that he had been tear-gassed himself as he joined protesters Tuesday night. Across the bay, large crowds at Occupy San Francisco prepared for a police raid after midnight by trading tear-gas tips and lining up into rows. In a somewhat surreal scene, local politicians in business suits mingled with 20-something men with bandanas covering their faces. Police have warned the San Francisco occupiers, who have constructed a makeshift tent city in a major city plaza, to leave the site. But as of 2 a.m. Thursday, the camp was still going strong, with few police in sight. Oakland protesters say they will reconvene Thursday at 6 p.m.
4K Shares The relationship between sprinting and a rock-solid physique is why strength coach Erick Minor put together the program in this article. He thinks it’s such a damn shame that so few bodybuilders actually sprint anymore. It’s one of the few fat burning activities that can actually build muscle tissue instead of catabolizing it, and it’s easy to do; just find a track and run! Well, and maybe read this first… Look around a track and field event sometime and you’ll notice the relationship between sprinters and bodybuilders actually goes both ways, meaning a lot of full-time sprinters also have damn impressive bodies! Not surprisingly, their training off the track is remarkably similar to that of a hard-lifting bodybuilder. Okay, quiz time…. What’s the most foolproof way to increase an athlete’s performance? “Increase his VO2 max?” Nope. “Uh, improve one-arm Kettlebell snatch on a Bosu ball performance?” Hell no. Well… The most reliable way to increase any athlete’s performance is to improve his or her strength-to-weight ratio, which is a fancy way of saying minimizing the amount of bodyfat the athlete carries while maintaining or adding lean body mass. Typically, any athlete with a favorable muscle to fat ratio is likely to have higher relative strength. High levels of relative strength are necessary in many sports for world-class success. The same rules apply for recreational athletes or guys who just want to look good naked. With the exception of a handful of pure strength sports, a leaner body will perform better and faster, not to mention look better when the clothes come off. So when an athlete or weekend warrior rolls into my facility, how do I go about improving anaerobic performance, maintaining and/or increasing maximal strength, and reducing body fat? Well, the first thing you have to understand is what I don’t do. Some of you may know that I don’t recommend steady-state “aerobic” exercise for the conditioning of any athlete. Let me be blunt here: The only athletes that should perform low intensity cardio such as jogging are distance runners, tri-athletes, or someone needing to lose muscle tissue. Yes, you read right, unless your goal is to have LESS lean muscle mass, the hamster wheel approach to energy system work is not for you. For maximum body composition and anaerobic performance improvements, the modality of choice is sprinting. A well-designed sprint program will create significant losses of body fat and at the same time increase your anaerobic work capacity and posterior chain development. So less fat, better lungs, and a dead-sexy butt that will make the nymphets and cougars come crawling. What more could you ask for? The Sprinter’s Body – Nature vs. Nurture Pound for pound, sprinters are some of the leanest and strongest athletes on the planet. They possess the perfect storm of fast-twitch dominance, exceptional reaction time, great work capacity, and a favorable endocrine profile. Physically, they look pretty damn good too. Now you may suspect that a sprinter’s physical characteristics are all a product of awesome genetics, but that’s only one aspect of the resultant physical outcome. Yes, a certain body type is preferential for success in sprinting, but training, lifestyle, and diet all have a big impact on the expression of physical qualities. To understand my point, just attend a collegiate level track meet and you’ll note that certain track events develop specific physical characteristics in their participants. For example, even the guy or girl who places dead last in the 200 or 400m sprint will still typically have well developed glutes, hamstrings, and fairly low body fat levels. Even though they may not have what it takes to win even a Junior College track meet, their body resembles that of a world-class athlete. I attribute this to the training. I Wanna Look Like That! As a strength coach of some world-class sprinters, I’m often asked if their training regimens would only be of benefit to full time athletes or if the average Joe might reap similar rewards as well. That’s a good question, as it also plays into the Nature vs. Nurture genetics debate mentioned earlier. So for those who think it’s all genetics and that pro sprinters were born to look and perform the way that they do, check out this training program for one of the top sprinters I train: The Sprinter’s Body The following program outlines the typical pre-season training schedule of Darvis “Doc” Patton, #5 ranked 100-meter sprinter of 2009. (Track workout designed by Monte Stratton, coach of multiple Olympic sprinters.) Monday (10am): Track work: speed-endurance (300m, 200m, 100m) Monday (2pm): Upper body strength training Tuesday (10am): Track work: block starts (2 x 10m, 2 x 20m, 2 x 30m, 1 x 50m) or speed work Tuesday (2pm): Lower body quad dominant strength training (squats, knee flexors, hip flexors) Wednesday: Soft Tissue therapy/ Massage Thursday (10am): Track work: speed day (5 x 60m) or (4 x 90m) or (3 x 120m) w/ 10 minute rest interval Thursday (2pm): Upper body strength training Friday (10am): Track work: speed endurance (3 x 150m) or (4 x 120m) or (180m, 150m, 120m) Friday (2pm): Lower body hip dominant strength training (deadlifts, split squats, hip flexors) Twice a day workouts, off day restorative sessions, and nary a moment wasted on those minor irritants in life like a JOB? Almost makes you want to be a pro athlete, doesn’t it? (Maybe keep this schedule in mind the next time your know-it-all buddy looks at a chiseled Olympian and snorts, “Genetics” between his endless sets of seated 12 ounce Heineken curls.) But you’ll be pleased to know that while Olympic hopefuls require a life devoted to training, time-challenged regular folks can experience very significant results with a much more modest training schedule. …. And the Joes Now that you’ve seen a glimpse of how a world-class sprinter trains, here’s an abbreviated version that will work for the typical Joe with normal work and family commitments. It may not have you nipping at Doc Patton’s heels in six weeks, but you should expect serious reductions in body fat, increased anaerobic performance, and the beginning development of a smooth gluteal fold that even your long-suffering wife won’t resist slapping. Training Schedule: You’ll sprint twice a week, and weight-train three days a week. You’ll perform a heavy maintenance session for legs once per week for the six-week cycle. Monday: Upper body: Horizontal push/pull Tuesday: Sprints Wednesday: Rest Thursday: Legs (alternate quad and ham dominant days) Friday: Upper Body: Vertical push/pull Saturday: Sprints Sunday: Rest Warm-Up and Stretch Descriptions High Knee March Move briskly for about 20 steps, lifting the knees as high as you can with each step. Pump your arms. Stay on your toes throughout. Butt Kicks Kick your heels up to touch your bum. Stay on your toes and pump your arms. Works the hamstrings and stretches the quads. Lateral Shuffle Squat down until your thighs are approximately parallel to the floor. Keep the chest up. While maintaining this position, quickly shuffle sideway for about 10 steps and immediately return with the same amount of steps. Cariocas Move briskly sideways, crossing the trailing leg in front. Uncross the legs and move the trailing leg behind. Increase the speed as you get the hang of the footwork. A-Skips Similar to a High Knee March but performed explosively (like a skipping motion with an explosive element). Raise kness and pump arms, and dorsiflex foot (lift toe). Drive ball of landing foot into the ground. Active-Assisted Hamstring Stretch Lie supine (on your back) with a small rolled-up towel under your low back. Actively initiate hip flexion; once you reach the limit of your active range of motion use a strap to deepen the stretch by pulling the leg a few inches farther. Hold for 2 seconds; repeat until 6 reps are complete. You will feel mild pain in the hamstring on each rep. Your non-working leg should be in contact with the floor and completely straight with toe pointing towards ceiling. Sets: 3/leg Reps: 6 reps (Photos at right) Notes on sprinting workouts You may notice I don’t recommend any distance over 200 meters. This is because I want you to focus on working within the short term and intermediate energy system (anaerobic alactic and anaerobic lactic system). All sprints should take less than 30 seconds to complete. If you have less than 10% body fat and can’t run 200 meters in less than 30 seconds, you’re in sorry shape, my friend. Intensity definitions When running at 80% you should not feel strained. Running at 90% intensity is running at full speed under control. You’re running as fast as you can while maintaining good body position (no arm flailing, neck and face are relaxed). Running at 100% requires you to focus on applying as much force to the ground as possible. Arm position: arms at 90 degrees, and your hands should pass your pants pockets during each stride. Frequently Asked Questions Why should I follow a sprint-based training program? Here are just a few reasons: Increased work capacity Increased hamstring and glute development Increased maximal strength on all lower body exercises Loss of body fat Many life & death situations that you might one day find yourself in will require you to sprint. God forbid, if your toddler suddenly starts pedaling his tricycle towards a busy intersection, you won’t be wishing you spent more time on a recumbent bike. Where I live it’s winter eight months out of the year. Can I replicate this program on my treadmill? Doubtful. Most treadmills, even the higher end commercial ones found at your neighborhood big box fitness center, won’t cut it — unless you’re dreadfully out of shape. One notable exception would be high-speed Woodway treadmills. But if your facility doesn’t have these, you need access to an indoor facility with a track- or move! Q: I haven’t sprinted since back when I played high school football. So what do I do? Just, uh, run? Perfecting sprint form sprinting is much more in depth than many would think and requires years of practice and precise coaching. While most of this is irrelevant to the average guy just trying to sprint his way back into shape, here are a few key points to focus on when sprinting: Keep shoulders down and relaxed, with eyes down the track and chin slightly tucked in. Keep your torso erect; don’t lean forward like you’re trying to break Usain Bolt’s record. Keep hands relaxed and open, like holding an egg. Arms should not cross in front of body; arm motion should be front to back, front to back with hands passing pants pockets on each stride. Q: The last time I tried sprinting without stretching first I pulled a hamstring. Why do you only have hamstring stretches after the sprint sessions? Passive stretching doesn’t prevent hamstring pulls. Increasing active range-of-motion and increasing eccentric hamstring strength prevents hamstring pulls. Q: Should I focus on running faster each workout? Do I try to beat my best time or best distance? Neither. You will get faster just because you haven’t sprinted in the past. Trainees sprinting for cosmetic purposes (fat loss, glute hamstring hypertrophy) should focus on effort more so than time. A program designed to improve sprint time/performance would be significantly different, including longer rest intervals and start work. Off to the Track Getting off the stationary bike and onto the track may seem a little scary to some bodybuilders. Don’t be afraid. Some of the finest built bodies of yesterday and today consider sprinting to be an essential part of their training toolbox. Remember, you have only stubborn body fat to lose and rock-hard quads, hamstrings, and glutes to gain. Author: Erick Minor Website: www.erickminor.com Erick Minor is a freelance writer and the owner of Strength Studio a sports performance and personal training studio located in Fort Worth, Texas.
Shortly after being announced as the first president of the East End Army, we chatted up Mark Cole about his position, some general thoughts on the club, the town of Bethlehem - and of course his predictions for this year. Brotherly Game: You have to be really excited to have a club this close to home. Mark Cole: I'm stoked. I've been wondering if this would ever happen, seeing as the Phillies and Flyers have both placed their minor league teams in the Lehigh Valley. tBG: Can you please clarify the names, as I've seen a few ideas thrown around. I understand the section you'll be sitting in is called The Forge? MC: The supporter's group name is the East End Army. The section we will be sitting in is The Forge. tBG: And will you be running closely alongside the Sons of Ben or will you be completely your own entity? MC: As for the Sons of Ben, we are our own entity, but I'd love for us to link up for charity events and such. We hope to have our own events and plan to support their efforts to make Chester a better place, while we do the same here in Bethlehem. We will likely have people who are members of both groups, so it will be nice to work together. I also asked Mark what he thought heading into the season and what he wanted out of the club. He brought up some interesting ideas related to the Steel possibly getting Leo Fernandes instead of the New York Cosmos, and also discussed the possibility of bringing in Brian Sylvestre from the Carolina Railhawks. He wants the Steel to develop players which would hopefully include some of the Union draft picks this year. For more information, go give their Facebook group a look and follow them on twitter for news updates and the like.
What he missed — the only thing, really — were the soldiers: Dodd, Vance, Pinchock, Craighead and all the others, the men he fought for and fought with. Eighty or so men in total. That was his war. The incentives and consequences; the love and loss. They were all of it, right there. Now one was looking for work in Wisconsin, one had killed himself, and several had returned to Afghanistan to get back into the fight. Most of them wanted to be back there, in their own ways. Like so many vets, they missed the camaraderie. And as with so many vets, their lives at home were defined less by togetherness than by isolation, which took on many forms. Dodd was in Kansas City making aerospace bolts and smoking weed on his breaks to stave off the stress of “dumb-ass civilian questions.” Simpson was working the phones at a call center for the Department of Veterans Affairs, talking to vets who wanted counseling or benefits or sometimes nothing at all, other than to talk with another combat veteran. And Winters was living with a new wife in a new town, Rock Springs, population 23,000 strangers, only because a relative had offered a good deal on a used trailer and there was no place better to go. He had grown up on the other side of the state. His nearest friend lived two counties east; his closest fellow soldier was 300 miles away in Denver. Only a few relatives had visited their trailer and only then on Thanksgiving. It was at the edge of a small trailer park in the desolate expanse of southwestern Wyoming, where the wind whipped down from the mountains, carried over the high desert, and invaded the trailer despite the towels they stuffed under the doors. People had always come to Rock Springs to start over and to search for something: gold, coal, oil or natural gas. It was a boom-and-bust town, a place of reinvention, and now Winters had come searching, too. Maybe he would find it at an oil rig, where he signed up for a three-week hitch hoping for camaraderie, a shared purpose and some practical jokes. But this time, the joke turned out to be his PTSD, and co-workers banged pipes at night to startle him. Maybe at the community college, where he enrolled and then dropped out a few weeks later, after a professor who had never cleaned blood off a Humvee interrupted him during a discussion about war to correct his grammar. Maybe at a motorcycle memorial club, where the membership code promised “honor, brotherhood and tributes to fallen riders” but where membership itself consisted of $1,000 bar tabs with people who had done nothing much worth honoring. So instead, Winters spent most of his time inside the trailer, either with his wife or alone, lifeless in front of the television. Cartoons before work. Hunting shows in the afternoon. Network comedy in the evening. And then back online at night, when he could log onto Facebook and connect again with the men from his platoon. Even though he hadn’t seen any of them for two years, their presence on his computer screen offered the closest thing he had to a community.
(CNN) -- The mayors of New York and Atlanta, Georgia, suffered stinging criticism for their handling of recent winter storms, but in the near future, technology could clear city streets of ice and snow -- by simply melting it away. America's harsh winters cost the nation's economy billions of dollars each year in snow removal equipment, weather damage to streets and vehicles, extra days of school and revenue lost to closed businesses. Scott Brusaw, a 53-year-old electrical engineer in tiny Sagle, Idaho, thinks he has a solution. So far, he's generated interest from the federal government and General Electric in his idea for a solar-powered roadway made from super-strong glass, instead of conventional asphalt or concrete. "I'm looking out the window now at about a foot of snow, so if we can make it work here, we can make it work anywhere in the country," Brusaw said. "I'm hoping this spring we'll start laying the foundation for it right outside our building here." Solar cells inside its glass surface would allow the roadway to act as a giant solar power generator, fueling embedded heating elements and making plows and other snow removal equipment unnecessary. Are you snowed in? Share your stories, photos and videos The heating elements would work "like in the rear window of your car," said the inventor, who intends to experiment with temperature settings during the next stages of the development process. Electricity generated by the highway could be used to recharge electric vehicles and to power lights and LED warning signs along the road itself. In fact, Brusaw believes that solar roadways -- if widely accepted -- could eventually generate clean electricity around the world, eliminating the need for fossil fuels and saving the planet from global climate change. Marrying pavements with buildings Brusaw is not alone in his quest to build a smarter road surface. On the other side of the country, at Massachusetts' Worcester Polytechnic Institute, civil engineer Rajib Mallick has a vision of his own. With help from a grant from the National Science Foundation and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, he and a group of colleagues are working to develop stronger, heat-absorbing pavements. One idea is to embed the pavement with half-inch pipes filled with a fluid that resists freezing. In warmer weather, sun-heated fluid is stored in an insulated chamber, where it stays hot. Then, in cold weather when it's needed, that hot fluid is sent through the pipes to melt ice and snow. "Think about it, we have more than 3 million miles of highways exposed to sunlight, so if we can harness this energy, it's free, and you don't need photovoltaic solar cells," said Mallick. In the summer, the system could link parking lots to adjacent buildings, Mallick said, transferring heat from the asphalt to water tanks in adjacent buildings, which would save electricity. "We have to stop thinking of pavements as separate from buildings," he said. "They can depend on each other as parts of a efficient system to cut energy use and costs and move toward construction of environmentally sustainable buildings and pavement." Even a warm weather city like Miami, Florida, could benefit from temperature-regulated pavements. The Worcester project estimates that every 50 meters of pipe embedded in Miami pavement would cost $12,500 to construct, $1,000 a year to maintain and would yield enough annual energy from its heat to power 55 homes for a month. In six years, the smart pavement would pay for itself in energy production and savings, according to research by Mallick and his colleagues. Smart pavements offer potentially impressive savings in other ways. Alaska spends an estimated $1,600 per mile on annual repairs to ruts in roadways. Controlling the pavement temperature can prevent much of this rutting damage, Mallick said. Three FAQs that Brusaw gets For Brusaw, the biggest opposition so far can be summed up in a word: "Change," he said. "It scares people, I think." -- How can glass provide enough traction while supporting the weight, wear and tear of a conventional concrete or asphalt highway? Glass, especially when fused together in layers, is stronger than most people think, said Brusaw. He said he's joined forces with top glass researchers at University of Dayton and Penn State who can develop super-strong glass that would offer vehicles the traction they need. -- How much would the solar highway cost? Brusaw calculates an estimated cost -- in great detail -- on his website. Short answer: each mile would cost $4.4 million. Payoff? A cleaner, self-sustaining highway that would eventually pay for itself in energy production and in other ways, he said. -- Can the solar highway's surface collect enough sunlight when it's filled with bumper-to-bumper traffic? Yes, he says. Even when roadways are filled with bumper-to-bumper traffic, solar collection would be at 50 percent, he estimates. Federal, state support Building and maintaining "better, faster and smarter" roads to improve safety, increase taxpayer value and to remain competitive in the global economy are some of the reasons behind the Federal Highway Administration's commitment to innovation, said agency Administrator Victor Mendez. The FHWA gave Brusaw a $100,000 contract and the agency is supporting other smart road research across the nation. Virginia Tech is looking at using machines called piezoelectric generators to convert the weight of truck traffic on pavements into energy that powers nearby lighting signals. Another FHWA program at the University of Nebraska Lincoln will research how hybrid solar- and wind-based generators positioned along roadsides can power highway infrastructure -- and even send extra electricity to nearby communities. However -- after ideas like these are perfected in laboratories -- the financial and political pathway to the real world will be tricky when state and federal budgets are severely limited, said Robert E. Lang, director of University of Nevada Las Vegas' Brookings Mountain West think tank. "There aren't a lot of revenue sources to pay for this," said Lang. Justifying the cost of installing anti-snow smart roads would be easiest in areas of high population density, Lang said, where vehicles could be charged fees for the right to use them. As for Brusaw, he hopes to win more private and federal support by demonstrating a new prototype smart-road parking lot to be finished in the spring. His goal would be to partner with a high-profile national chain like McDonald's or Walmart to turn their conventional parking lots into solar-powered, interactive, temperature-controlled spaces where electric-vehicle owners can recharge their cars while they shop or drive across the country. "The Federal Highway Administration told us they're not going to let us go out on the highway to start this," said Brusaw. "They told us to go into the parking lot first, prove your technology, perfect it and learn your lessons there -- which makes sense."
Click the chart for more world market data NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Investors were rattled Friday as worries the Greek government may default on its debts resurfaced. Stocks markets in Europe and the United States plunged. The euro sank 1.6% versus the dollar. Yields on U.S. Treasuries and German bonds fell to record-lows as investors took shelter in safe-haven assets. The market turmoil was driven by fears that Athens may not get its next installment of bailout money from the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank. Concerns about Greece had eased somewhat after the EU agreed in July to provide a second bailout for the debt-stricken nation. But the 109 billion euro package, which must be approved by the individual governments of all 17 nations that use the euro, has been called into question over the last few weeks. The sell-off on Friday "is a continuation of an ongoing process of decay," said Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics. Last week, IMF and EU officials unexpectedly left Athens during a review of the government's progress on its debt reduction program. That gave rise to speculation that Greece may not be able to hit certain fiscal targets that are a condition for its bailout loans from the so-called troika. Greece received the final installment of its first bailout in July. The $17 billion it received was expected to keep the nation afloat for three months. "The concern now," said Weinberg, "is that having been declared unfit in previous reviews, Greece might not get the money it needs this time, and that would put them into a default situation." In addition, investors are worried that Greece may not go through with a proposed bond swap with private sector investors if the participation rate falls short of expectations. "There is still uncertainty over whether sufficient private sector investors have been incentivised to participate in the debt swap arrangements involving Greek debt," economists at Nomura Securities wrote in a research report. Meanwhile, investors have lost confidence in the ability of European Union political leaders to come up with a lasting solution to the debt problems in Greece. The big fear is that the debt crisis will spread to other vulnerable nations, such as Italy and Spain, and eventually force one or more EU nations to abandon the euro. Those fears were exacerbated Friday by a report that officials in Germany are working on a contingency plan to protect the nation's banks if Greece were to default. Banks in Europe hold billions of euros of government bonds and investors are unsure what those assets will be worth in the future. French banks appear to be the most exposed, but analysts say German banks are not immune to losses on sovereign debt. Adding to the uncertain outlook, Jürgen Stark, a member of the ECB's executive board, announced plans Friday to step down before the end of his term in 2014. The abrupt departure raised concerns about divisions within the ECB over a controversial bond buying program the bank reactivated earlier this year.
Top 7 Things to Do in Kyiv The capital of Ukraine Kyiv – is a very beautiful city. It is visited by many guests from all over the world. Even now, in these difficult times for Ukraine, tourists continue to come to admire the beauty of the city and feel the Ukrainian authentic flavor. Kyiv is an unexpected and very diverse city. One thing is clear – this is a city with a soul. No matter how many times you’ve visited it, there always are dozens of surprises for you. I decided to help you and compiled a list of seven interesting things, which must be done in Kyiv. Admire the marvelous St.Andrew’s Church. Have a walk along the Andrew’s decent and admire St.Andrew’s Church – a pearl of Ukrainian baroque of the 18th century. St. Andrew’s Church was built on the order of the Russian Empress Elizabeth as part of the royal residence of the Tsar palace. The construction of Andrew’s Church is included by the world community in the catalog “1000 miracles of the world. And also “Masterpieces of Humanity of the Five Continents “, issued in Germany in 2002. Get on top of the Great Lavra Bell Tower. Visit Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Caves and Monastery complex. That will be absolutely new experience in your life. Walk through the dark, narrow caves, see numerous glass cases with the relics of the monks and saints who dedicated their lives to this monastery. You will see the orthodox pilgrims who pray and kiss the glass displays before moving on to the next chamber. But after seeing the caves go and get on top of the Great Lavra Bell Tower. It is the highest among all the bell towers in Kyiv – 100 meters high. The view of the city which will open to you from the top of it will blow your mind away. Grab a coffee from the red tram in Taras Shevchenko Park. Experience a wonderful atmosphere in a beautifully maintained Taras Shevchenko Park right in the middle of the city. Opposite the park is all red Kyiv Shevchenko University with its impressive architecture. Relax on one of the many unusual benches or lounge chairs at the fountain. Dive into the Kyiv city life. But first, grab the tastiest coffee from the red tram. Have any of your favorite – caffe latte, cappuccino, latte macchiato – and enjoy the people strolling in the park. The bravest are welcome to climb up the Statue of Motherland. The famous must-see landmark – Statue of Motherland (“Rodina Mat”) will impress you on multiple levels. The most noticeable part of the Kyiv World War II Museum is visible far from a distance. When you get closer to it, it will appear even more impressive. But nothing can beat the view from the shield of the statue (92m height). It is worthwhile to get here for adrenaline and beautiful pictures. Experience a majestic aura of one thousand years long in St.Sophia Cathedral. It’s a shame if you were in Kyiv and didn’t visit the St.Sophia Cathedral. Not only because it is included in the Unesco World Heritage list. The major asset of this site resides in the enclosed in its majestic aura time interval more than a thousand years long. The cathedral survived several epochs. The gorgeous ornamentation: original mosaics and frescos since 11th century will take you back in time. I strongly recommend getting inside this marvelous landmark. Have a ride in the deepest metro station in the world – “Arsenalna”. After you’ve seen Kyiv from 100 meters height of the Statue of Motherland, it’s time to have a never-ending deep escalator ride to the underground of Kyiv. The Arsenalna Metro Station was constructed 105,5 meters well beneath the Dnipro river, making it the deepest station in the world. One more ride – by the Kyiv funicular – a shorter one but fun, should be on every tourist’s list of fascinating things to explore. It connects the historic upper town to the lower Podil area through the steep hill and gives you the opportunity to explore the breathtaking scenery of Kyiv and also view the Dnipro River. Taste and smell Kyiv in the oldest covered Bessarabka market. Go to the covered Bessarabka market right at the end of Khreschatyk Street. You will taste, drink, and smell the city. Not only it is the perfect place to stock up on fresh foods for your hotel or apartment, but the atmosphere of this famous market is something to experience. The pretty Ukrainian saleswomen heartily give you samples of their products. You walked around the whole market? You do not need your lunch for today! A good idea will be to read Ukraine travel guide book – “Insane Ukraine” before your trip to Ukraine to get exclusive local insights and tips. Do not hesitate! Come and discover amazing Kyiv! In case you decide to book any of my Kiev tours, I would be glad to include the sites on the tour route. BEST KIEV GUIDE
This June marks the 30th anniversary of Labyrinth, Jim Henson’s fantasy film featuring young Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) pursuing her stolen infant brother into the magical realm of Jareth the Goblin King (David Bowie). Although a critical and commercial disappointment at the time of release, Labyrinth has accumulated a significant cult following in the years since. So to commemorate the anniversary, BOOM! Studios’ Archaia imprint, in collaboration with The Jim Henson Company, is releasing three comic book tributes this year: Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: 30th Anniversary Special in August, Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: Tales in September, and Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: Artist Tribute in November. The Henson Company will also be celebrating the anniversary with a limited run theatrical re-release in September, followed by a souped-up Blu-Ray. EW spoke with BOOM! editor Sierra Hahn about organizing the project and reflecting on Labyrinth‘s legacy. Check that out below, along with pages from the 30th Anniversary Special by Cory Godbey and an exclusive promotional image from illustrator Steve Morris above. ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Can you run through the differences between these three Labyrinth comic specials? SIERRA HAHN: In August we’ll be releasing the Labyrinth 30th Anniversary Special, which will be 48-page comic book comprised of some short stories based on some of the ancillary characters of the world: Sir Didymus, Ludo, Ambrosius, Hoggle, some of the iconic figures that Sarah came across in her journey through the labyrinth. Sarah and Jareth are not part of those stories. Those were done by a mix of artists who had done them for Free Comic Book Day issues we’ve been publishing for the past several years. We had wanted to take those issues, put them under one cover, and allow fans who maybe hadn’t gotten them before, who had missed out on the opportunity during Free Comic Book Day, to have one definitive collection of that material. Most of it is previously published, and then we’ll have two brand new short stories: one by Jonathan Case and one by Gustavo Duarte, who’s done silent cartoons and comics previously. He’s a big fan of the Henson world and I’m hoping he’ll do a really cool silent comic for us. Those are gonna be packaged in more of a deluxe comic book format — heavy card stock paper, some spot gloss, and foil — to dress them up and make them a very special, collectible item for comic readers. The one that will come out next is called Labyrinth: Tales. It’s sort of a children’s book format, square-bound picture book style featuring short stories by fantasy and children’s book illustrator Cory Godbey. Some of those stories are also featured in the 30th Anniversary Special, and some of it’s just different material, reformatted. We wanted to created something that was a little more kid-friendly, that had placement out in the book market so you could find at Barnes & Noble and things like that, whereas the other one will only be at comic book stores. The artist tribute will come out in November, and that’s gonna be an oversized art book. So, it will have single gallery images from different artists in the industry paying homage to the film that inspired their work. That’s gonna be a big book for us, and will have artwork from comic book luminaries like Mike Allred, Dave McKean, Eric Powell, Jill Thompson, David Mack, Faith Erin Hicks. It’ll be a really good mix of different styles and approaches to the world, from cartoony to more painterly fine art, which will be really fun. We felt really cool too because Henson allowed us to reach out to people who created fan art based off the Labyrinth world. I kind of got to play around online, finding some of my favorite pieces that people have done and tracking down those artists who had just created pinups or posters because they’re fans of the material. We’ve given them a new opportunity to showcase their work and fandom as well. Cory Godbey What was your role in overseeing this project? I’ve always been a fan of Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal, so it was a huge honor and very exciting to dabble in this world a little bit and work with the Jim Henson Company on some stuff. We realized, my assistant editor and I, that the 30th anniversary was this year. We were like what do we have, what can we do to celebrate that and create meaningful content for that fanbase and that audience? As a fan myself, I wanted to generate material that I knew that I would want. That’s where the Artist Tribute came from. I wanted to see my favorite artists, not telling new stories but seeing the world through their eyes in a lovely coffee table-style book. And then looking at what we had published previously, I felt like as a fan I had never had access to all these short stories they had done for Free Comic Book Day, and I felt that was a shame. If that stuff hadn’t reached me, and I worked in the comic book industry, think of all the other people who haven’t had a chance to experience it. So we just thought about new ways we could repackage it in a new way and get it out there. Any particular reason you focus on the ancillary characters? We hope in the future to do stories featuring the two main characters, Jareth and Sarah, but right now we focused on the ancillary characters because we didn’t want to mess too much with the continuity that’s been established in the film. We’re always looking for new ways to play in the world that doesn’t mess with the continuity, and until we figure out what that story is, that doesn’t change things or reinvent things for fans, we’re not gonna go there yet. Thirty years later, what sticks about Labyrinth? I think it’s the ideas of growing up, struggling with who you are and family dynamics. Sarah is someone who feels neglected by her parents. She’s lost her mom, we don’t know how or where, and now she has this new step-mom and baby brother to contend with, and the only thing that helps her get through feeling abandoned and maybe unloved is this fantasy world she can escape into. That’s something that continues to resonate thematically. You have this huge lush world. No one had ever really made a film like this. Whether it was successful at the time or not, it was unlike anything else you were gonna see in theaters, and then you put someone like David Bowie in there singing those songs and wearing those amazing costumes, it was such an iconic visual that just will never go away I think. Cory Godbey What’s the fun part of illustrating these Henson puppets? I think the fun is getting to work in Jim Henson’s world and play with those characters in a meaningful way. We have an incredible partnership with them, and are able to talk with them everyday about ‘can we do this’ and ‘what do we do with this?’ They throw ideas out too. It feels very collaborative and honest. We really want to pay respect to the Henson legacy and the legacy of these characters and what the fans have bought into emotionally for all these years. The advantage is getting to delve into the Henson world firsthand and have access to things that not everybody else gets to see on a daily basis. What was your favorite thing you saw over the course of this? There’s still a lot more to delve into. I’m very excited about new programming we’ll be launching in the next couple years. But right now, having any involvement with Labyrinth has been really special. Being able to go to artist colleagues of mine and say “I know you’re a big fan of Labyrinth, do you want to draw Jareth and Sarah at the masquerade ball?” And have those artists squeal with delight and do some of their best work because they have so much care and respect for that world, that’s been tremendous fun to share that level of enthusiasm, and not be alone in it behind my desk every day. In a macabre coincidence, this year is not only the 30th anniversary of Labyrinth but also the year of star& David Bowie’s death. Did that add a special resonance to this project for you? Absolutely. Some days, as someone who’s a fan of David Bowie’s work, let alone this film, I’m looking at pieces of art with his face on it everyday and studying him. I think it makes us want to take extra care and be really thoughtful about how we present the material, and pay respect to the legacies of all these brilliant artists, be it Jim Henson, be it David Bowie, be it what this film was to that entire crew that Brain Froud and Jim Henson put together. So yeah, it’s been emotional. It’s been hard. It’s something you wish he could’ve participated in and have a voice in. It’s heartbreaking that he can’t, but I think we’re creating something that fans of his on either side of his art will appreciate.
As always, our Saudia Airline flight from Riyadh to Medina started with prayer. “Ladies and gentlemen,” the flight attendant said over the intercom. “The text that you are about to hear is a supplication that the prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him, used to pray before travelling.” The rest was in Arabic. I listened to the record voice, low and ponderous, as I looked out the small window at the unending desert below. I was travelling with friends to Saudi Arabia’s hidden desert city of Madain Saleh. While many people have heard of Nabatean capital Petra in Jordan, Madain Saleh, the Nabateans’ second-largest city and a Unesco World Heritage Site, remains relatively unknown. Once a thriving city along the ancient spice route, it played a crucial role in building a trade empire. But today its monumental stone-hewn tombs are some of the last, and best preserved, remains of a lost kingdom. Its monumental stone-hewn tombs are some of the last, and best preserved, remains of a lost kingdom. From Medina, we drove four hours to the oasis town of Al Ula, and then continued a little ways further to our hotel in Saudi Arabia’s Hejaz province, 1,043km northwest of Riyadh. Our guide Ahmed met us next morning after breakfast. He was tall, lightly bearded and wore a traditional Arabic thobe (robe) and red ghutra (head scarf). Smiling, he told us that he learned his English in New Zealand. As we drove roughly 40km north of the hotel towards Madain Saleh, Ahmed told us about the Nabateans, whose wealth and prosperity came from their ability to source and store water in harsh desert environments. They also held a monopoly on desert trade routes as far southwest as Madain Saleh and north to the Mediterranean port of Gaza. They extracted taxes from camel caravans – laden with frankincense, myrrh and spices – that stopped at their garrisoned outposts for water and rest. However, in 106 AD, the Nabatean Empire was annexed by the Romans, and Red Sea routes overtook land trading routes. Nabatean cities were no longer centres of trade, and so began their decline and ultimate abandonment. Tucked away in the desert, today Madain Saleh is deserted, silent and stunningly well-preserved. Much of the city still lies under layers of sand. What has been uncovered is a vast necropolis of more than 131 immense tombs. At first, their sheer scale and number was overwhelming. But as we looked closer, the Nabateans' artistry was revealed through carvings of soaring eagles, imposing sphinxes and feathered griffins, not to mention intricate inscriptions. We stopped in front of one tomb, whose inscription translated as being for ‘Hany son of Tansy… and descendants’, and ended with a date and name: ‘April 31AD… carved by Hoor… the sculptor’. Tomb inscriptions provided insight into the names, relationships, occupations, laws and gods of the people who lived here. The Nabateans left no extensive written history, so these texts, unique to Madain Saleh, are extraordinarily valuable. Ahmed explained that the inscriptions were written in Aramaic, an ancient Semitic language and the lingua franca of the Middle East at that time. Aramaic would have been essential knowledge for business and commerce communication, although the Nabateans also used an early form of Arabic – traces of which Ahmed pointed out in the inscriptions. The silence was overwhelming. Of all the tombs, Qasr al Farid was particularly impressive – principally for its size because the façade was relatively simple. A central door with a decorated pediment was the entry to the interior, where bodies would have been laid in recessed shelves along the walls. From Qasr al Farid, the views of the rock-hewn desert presented their own extraordinary drama. Golden sandstone outcrops rose from a flat sandy floor, sculpted into crooked spires and conical structures by centuries of wind and rain. And the silence was overwhelming. Looking out from a tomb interior, it was only our footprints and van tyre marks that disturbed the stillness. Unlike Petra with its tourists, souvenir sellers and donkey rides, there were no other people here. Muslims will not come here because they believe the site was cursed when the Nabatean’s refused to renounce their gods in favour of Islam, and tourist visas for non-Muslims to enter Saudi Arabia are notoriously difficult to obtain. It’s the very absence of foot traffic, as well as Saudi Arabia’s dry desert climate, that’s has kept Madain Saleh so intact. While Petra’s facades are slowly disintegrating, these tombs are stunningly well preserved. We wandered the necropolis at will, peering in and out of tombs, touching the cold, age-old stone and losing sense of time. A few hours later we climbed back into our van and headed northeast to Jabal Ithlib, a monumental rocky outcrop believed to have been a religious sanctuary for the worship of the Nabatean god Dushara, Lord of the Mountains. The jagged cliff walls of the siq, a narrow, 40m-long natural passageway that led to Jabal Ithlib, had decorated votive niches to Nabatean gods carved into the rock and petroglyphs of camels and traders. Ahmed pointed to a series of canals that once channelled water into cisterns – examples of the Nabatean ability to manipulate rain run-off and underground aquifers. We set out along Jebel Ithlib’s southeastern slope, climbing Mount Ethleb. Dressed as I was in the mandatory head-to-toe black abaya (cloak) this was something of a challenge. My undignified scramble to the summit was well worth it, however. We faced west across a vast plain, and I imagined traders and camels approaching Madain Saleh, their panniers full of frankincense. These resinous nuggets, extracted from the Boswellia sacra tree, are as valuable as they are rare. They would have been destined for the wealthiest Romans, Greeks, Egyptians and Israelites. As the sun dipped below the horizon, we drove back towards the outskirts of the ancient city, stopping by a cluster of tombs. We spread brightly patterned carpets on the sand, drank Arabic coffee and passed around traditional date-filled mammoul biscuits. In front of us, Madain Saleh’s sandstone tombs glowed gold with the last remnants of sun. The silence hung around us like a thick blanket as we watched the desert colours slowly fade into darkness. Join over three million BBC Travel fans by liking us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter and Instagram. If you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter called "If You Only Read 6 Things This Week". A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Earth, Culture, Capital and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday.
MONTREAL – Quebec women who want government-financed in vitro fertilization will have to sign a statement saying they have been sexually active for a long period. Health Minister Gaetan Barrette says his proposed legislation would oblige women to make the declaration in a doctor’s office, although it would not have the force of law. READ MORE: Quebec to impose patient quotas, cut fertility treatment program The objective is to allow nature to take its course and to ensure that the complex and costly medical procedure is not used unnecessarily. WATCH: In vitro changes in Quebec Quebec in vitro fertilization controversy 01:51 Quebec in vitro fertilization controversy 02:06 In vitro changes in Quebec 02:04 Quebec to make cuts to IVF program 01:42 New in vitro fertilization technology increases the likelihood of pregnancy and decreases the risk of miscarriages. Barrette says it’s been shown that 95 per cent of couples considered infertile have a child within three years if they keep trying to conceive. READ MORE: Bill 20 committee told patient quotas not the solution The health minister has proposed guidelines based on various age categories. Women aged 18 to 30 would have to have had frequent sexual relations during two to three years in order to be eligible for in vitro. READ MORE: 1 in 7 couples in Canada seek help to conceive, mostly when woman older: report The period for those between 31 and 35 would be two years, while it would be between one year and 18 months for those aged 36 to 40.
Optimizing C and C++ Code Embedded software often runs on processors with limited computation power, thus optimizing the code becomes a necessity. In this article we will explore the following optimization techniques for C and C++ code developed for Real-time and Embedded Systems. Many techniques discussed here have roots in the material we covered in the articles dealing with C to Assembly translation. A good understanding of the following articles will help: Premature optimization is the root of all evil Donald Knuth wrote, "Programmers waste enormous amounts of time thinking about, or worrying about, the speed of noncritical parts of their programs, and these attempts at efficiency actually have a strong negative impact when debugging and maintenance are considered. We should forget about small efficiencies, say about 97% of the time: premature optimization is the root of all evil. Yet we should not pass up our opportunities in that critical 3%." In general, correctness and readability considerations trump code performance issues for most of your code. For a small fraction of your code, you may have to sacrifice readability to improve performance. Such optimizations should be carried out when the project is nearing completion. You have a better idea of the performance critical code when you have a working system. That said, it is important to recognize that many optimization techniques are just sound programming practices as they improve performance as well as code readability. Such techniques should be applied right from the project start. Adjust structure sizes to power of two When arrays of structures are involved, the compiler performs a multiply by the structure size to perform the array indexing. If the structure size is a power of 2, an expensive multiply operation will be replaced by an inexpensive shift operation. Thus keeping structure sizes aligned to a power of 2 will improve performance in array indexing. Place case labels in narrow range If the case labels are in a narrow range, the compiler does not generate an if-else-if cascade for the switch statement. Instead, it generates a jump table of case labels along with manipulating the value of the switch to index the table. This code generated is faster than if-else-if cascade code that is generated in cases where the case labels are far apart. Also, performance of a jump table based switch statement is independent of the number of case entries in switch statement. Place frequent case labels first If the case labels are placed far apart, the compiler will generate if-else-if cascaded code with comparing for each case label and jumping to the action for leg on hitting a label match. By placing the frequent case labels first, you can reduce the number of comparisons that will be performed for frequently occurring scenarios. Typically this means that cases corresponding to the success of an operation should be placed before cases of failure handling. Break big switch statements into nested switches The previous technique does not work for some compilers as they do not generate the cascade of if-else-if in the order specified in the switch statement. In such cases nested switch statements can be used to get the same effect. To reduce the number of comparisons being performed, judiciously break big switch statements into nested switches. Put frequently occurring case labels into one switch and keep the rest of case labels into another switch which is the default leg of the first switch. Splitting a switch statement Minimize local variables If the number of local variables in a function is less, the compiler will be able to fit them into registers. Hence, it will be avoiding frame pointer operations on local variables that are kept on stack. This can result in considerable improvement due to two reasons: All local variables are in registers so this improves performance over accessing them from memory. If no local variables need to be saved on the stack, the compiler will not incur the overhead of setting up and restoring the frame pointer. Declare local variables in the inner most scope Do not declare all the local variables in the outermost function scope. You will get better performance if local variables are declared in the inner most scope. Consider the example below; here object "a" is needed only in the error case, so it should be invoked only inside the error check. If this parameter was declared in the outermost scope, all function calls would have incurred the overhead of object a's creation (i.e. invoking the default constructor for "a"). Local variable scope Reduce the number of parameters Function calls with large number of parameters may be expensive due to large number of parameter pushes on stack on each call. For the same reason, avoid passing complete structures as parameters. Use pointers and references in such cases. Use references for parameter passing and return value for types bigger than 4 bytes When parameters are passed by value, the complete parameter memory is copied on the stack. This is fine for regular types like integer, pointer etc. These types are generally restricted to four bytes. When passing bigger types, the cost of copying the object on the stack can be prohibitive. In case of classes there will be an additional overhead of invoking the constructor for the temporary copy that is created on the stack. When the function exits the destructor will also be invoked. Thus it is efficient to pass references as parameters. This way you save on the overhead of a temporary object creation, copying and destruction. This optimization can be performed easily without a major impact to the code by replacing pass by value parameters by const references. (It is important to pass const references so that a bug in the called function does not change the actual value of the parameter. Passing bigger objects as return values also has the same performance issues. A temporary return object is created in this case too. Don't define a return value if not used The called function does not "know" if the return value is being used. So, it will always pass the return value. This return value passing may be avoided by not defining a return value which is not being used. Consider locality of reference for code and data The processor keeps data or code that is referenced in cache so that on its next reference if gets it from cache. These cache references are faster. Hence it is recommended that code and data that are being used together should actually be placed together physically. This is actually enforced into the language in C++. In C++, object's data is stored in contigueous memory, thus improving locality of reference for data. This also applies to code, as most methods that deal with the object will be stored in contiguous memory. Locality of reference can be improved for C code as well. The declaration order of related code and functions can be arranged so that closely coupled code and data are declared together. Locality of reference in multi-dimensional arrays When working with two dimensional arrays, organize the algorithm so that your inner most loop iterates over the second index. If you have accessed a[x][y] , accessing a[x][y+1] will be faster than accessing a[x+1][y] . The entry a[x][y+1] will probably be read from the processor cache. a[x+1][y] would most likely need to fetched from the external memory. Keep in mind that sequential reading of memory is always faster than random access. Prefer int over char and short With C and C++ prefer use of int over char and short. The main reason behind this is that C and C++ perform arithmetic operations and parameter passing at integer level. If you have a value that can fit in a byte, you should still consider using an int to hold the number. If you use a char, the compiler will first convert the values into integer, perform the operations and then convert back the result to char. Lets consider the following code which presents two functions that perform the same operation with char and int. Comparing char and int operations A call to sum_char involves the following operations: Convert the second parameter into an int by sign extension (C and C++ push parameters in reverse) Push the sign extended parameter on the stack as b. Convert the first parameter into an int by sign extension. Push the sign extended parameter on to the stack as a. The called function adds a and b The result is cast to a char. The result is stored in char c. c is again sign extended Sign extended c is copied into the return value register and function returns to caller. The caller now converts again from int to char. The result is stored. A call to sum_int involves the following operations: Push int b on stack Push int a on stack Called function adds a and b Result is stored in int c c is copied into the return value register and function returns to caller. The called function stores the returned value. Thus we can conclude that int should be used for all integer variables unless storage requirements force us to use a char or short. When char and short have to be used, consider the impact of byte alignment and ordering to see if you would really save space. (Many processors align structure elements at 16 byte boundaries) Define lightweight constructors Keep the constructor light weight. The constructor will be invoked for every object creation. Keep in mind that many times the compiler might be creating temporary object over and above the explicit object creations in your program. Thus optimizing the constructor might give you a big boost in performance. If you have an array of objects, the default constructor for the object should be optimized first as the constructor gets invoked for every object in the array. Prefer initialization over assignment Consider the following example of a complex number:: Initialization and assignment In the function foo, the complex number c is being initialized first by the instantiation and then by the assignment. In foo_optimized, c is being initialized directly to the final value, thus saving a call to the default constructor of Complex. Use constructor initialization lists Use constructor initialization lists to initialize the embedded variables to the final initialization values. Assignments within the constructor body will result in lower performance as the default constructor for the embedded objects would have been invoked anyway. Using constructor initialization lists will directly result in invoking the right constructor, thus saving the overhead of default constructor invocation. In the example given below, the optimized version of the Employee constructor saves the default constructor calls for m_name and m_designation strings. Constructor initialization lists Do not declare "just in case" virtual functions Virtual function calls are more expensive than regular function calls so do not make functions virtual "just in case" somebody needs to override the default behavior. If the need arises, the developer can just as well edit the additional base class header file to change the declaration to virtual. In-line 1 to 3 line functions Converting small functions (1 to 3 lines) into in-line will give you big improvements in throughput. In-lining will remove the overhead of a function call and associated parameter passing. But using this technique for bigger functions can have negative impact on performance due to the associated code bloat. Also keep in mind that making a method inline should not increase the dependencies by requiring a explicit header file inclusion when you could have managed by just using a forward reference in the non-inline version. (See the article on header file include patterns for more details). Avoid cascaded function calls A disturbingly common practice in coding is to cascade function calls that return pointers or references. Refer to the following code: Cascaded function calls The code above has poor readability and the compiler cannot optimize the common sub-expression as the compiler cannot assume that GetX() , GetY() and GetZ() functions will return the same reference every time. The following code optimizes the code by storing the reference to Z and using it within the loop. Optimized by storing the cascade in a variable Prefer preincrement over postincrement For classes that overload the pre-increment and postincrement operators, using the pre-increment operators is more efficient. An overloaded post-increment operator's code would be: Create a copy of the object, increment the variable and Return the variable created in step 1. A preincrement operator avoids creating a temporary. An operator's code would be: Increment the variable Return the variable Define move constructors in C++11 A C++ 03 compiler always calls the copy constructor when it needs to make a copy of an object. This can be wasteful in scenarios where the object being copied is a temporary. Consider the case of a remote_integer class that stores a reference to an object saved on the heap (refer to the following code block). One of the constructors of this class takes an integer and allocates memory to store this integer. Now consider what happens when function foo() returns remote_integer to bar() ; the compiler creates a temporary copy of foo_ri by calling the copy constructor. This temporary object gets copied once more in the bar function when bar_ri stores the return value. A function returning remote_integer The redundant copies happen because the compiler has no way of telling the user that a copy is being made from a temporary object that does not need to be preserved. A copy constructor C++ 11 adds the concept of a move constructor. The compiler will call a move constructor (if one is defined) when it is copying from a temporary object. This gives the user an option to forgo the copying and literally highjack the contents of the temporary object. A move constructor is shown below. Note the absence of a const and a double ampersand in the constructor signature. In our example, the move constructor for the remote_integer does not allocate any new memory; it just copies the pointer from the passed remote_integer special reference (called Rvalue reference). A move constructor Revisit the foo() and bar example. In a function return, the compiler will call the move constructor when returning a temporary in foo() and saving the return value in bar . Since the move constructor was used, the memory allocated in the remote_integer foo_ri=5; line of foo() would be still in use. Thus we saved two memory allocations in just returning a value. The benefits of this will accrue in passing parameters and internal STL copies. C++ 11 implementation of the standard library has been optimized to take full advantage of move constructors. Implementing move constructors in classes that are used in STL containers will improve performance. For details refer to the video on Rvalue references. Use hardware accelerators and SIMD hardware Perform some spring cleaning on your compiler options. Check if new hardware and performance and parallelization options are enabled. For example, Intel processors support AVX, 256-bit SIMD unit. Intel/AMD processors also support SSE 4.2. If your platform is equipped with a GPU, performance of algorithms that blend themselves to parallelization can be improved with CUDA (NVIDIA) or C++ AMP (Microsoft). C++ AMP can also be used to improve performance when no GPU is available. Use profile guided optimization Compilers from Microsoft and Intel support profile guided optimization (POGO). With POGO, compilers use the information from actual program execution to find the areas that need to be optimized for speed. The compiler can also use the loop execution and branching history from previous runs to generate the optimal code for loops and branching. Related Links
Thanks mainly to Orca, Linux accessibility has always centered on GNOME. During the fourth release series, KDE has started to close the gap, but its efforts have gone largely unnoticed, perhaps because its accessibility tools are scattered across the desktop, and remain works in progress rather than a mature general solution. KDE’s most obvious accessibility tools are in the top level menus of System Settings. Workspace Appearance and Behavior > Accessibility contains mostly standard features for desktop environments, such as slow key and bounce key settings to adjust keyboard responsiveness. In addition, Common Appearance and Behavior > Shortcuts and Gestures sets keyboard shortcuts and mouse gestures, which replace keyboard actions with small movements of the mouse. If you are unfamiliar with these features, help is available from the KDE KnowledgeBase. For several releases, KDE also included a virtual keyboard, available as an optional widget from the desktop toolkit or from the menu. However, this keyboard works only with a mouse, and appears to have been dropped in recent versions of the Plasma desktop, perhaps because of the transition to Plasma 5. More useful tools are found — in all places — in System Settings > Workspace > Desktop Behavior > Desktop Effects. There, among the eye candy and preferences, is an Accessibiity category with half a dozen settings. The settings include Track Mouse, which leaves a trail to help locating the mouse and Snap Helper, which helps to locate the center of the screen when moving windows. Rounding off the Accessibility effects are a magnifier, which increases the size of the area around the mouse cursor, and Zoom, which magnifies the entire desktop. The largest gap in KDE accessibility is speech synthesis. Any number of projects have tried to tackle free-licensed speech synthesis both inside and outside of KDE including KMouth, Festival, Jovie, Simon, and Sphinx, but efforts are diffused and each is in different stages of completion, and the languages supported by each project differs. The Open Speech Synthesis project was founded to help coordinate efforts and share resources, as well as the KDE Accessibility Project, but little has been heard of either recently, and one or both may be inactive. The complexities of creating and maintaining resources, to say nothing of coordinating the projects, seem to guarantee that progress will be slow. In the last five years, KDE has made some marked improvements in accessibility compared to what was available in the third release series. However, much remains to do. Nothing in KDE, for example, is even remotely comparable to Orca’s ability to store custom settings for individual users. In addition, so far as I can tell, not every KDE app is compatible with existing accessibility tools. Those with restricted hand and wrist coordination or limited vision might find enough tools to survive in KDE, but, for the time being, accessibility in free software is going to continue to be centered on GNOME technologies. Cover Image: Cliff Hanger by Rudy and Peter Skitterians for Pixabay.com.
Yesterday, the Southern Poverty Law Center posted an article on the “anti-woman” section of their website targeting, of all people, Johnathan Taylor from A Voice for Male Students. In it, writer Arthur Goldwag states: “The alleged spread of this anti-male “rape culture” on college campuses is getting new attention from the political right. The most dramatic example of that may be the website A Voice for Male Students, founded by “men’s rights activist” (MRA) Jonathan Taylor. To Taylor, American colleges are key battlegrounds in the all-out war that feminism has allegedly been waging against boys and men since the mid-1970s — a war that Taylor says they appear to be winning.” Taylor, who has never identified himself as amember the “political right” or any other political affiliation, has established himself as the Men’s Human Rights Movement’s go-to guy for discrimination against males in education. Having made excellent videos for years concerning the matter, he established his website last year as a warehouse of information concerning misandry and discrimination against men and boys in all levels of education. He is regarded by many as being unmatched in expertise in this area and is also regarded as being the most eloquent advocate for male students everywhere. “A Voice for Male Students’ Taylor doesn’t do his cause any favors with his strident, relentlessly accusatory rhetoric,” says Goldwag. “His over-reliance on cherry-picked anecdotes and out-of-context quotations, or his monomania about hegemonic feminism.” Taylor’s “anecdotes” are hardly “cherry picked,” as Goldwag contends. His assertion that male students are in the minority and are quickly becoming a rarity in higher education is well documented not just by Taylor, but also by the National Center for Education Statistics. Source: A Voice for Male Students from the National Center for Education Statistics In the spring of 2012, the SPLC published in its Intelligence Report a list of several “anti-women” websites. Included were A Voice for Men, SAVE Services, Men’s Rights Reddit and the False Rape Society. The SPLC has since backpedaled from calling out these organizations as all-out “hate sites.” In a subsequent article dated May 2012, Goldwag stated: “It should be mentioned that the SPLC did not label MRAs as members of a hate movement; nor did our article claim that the grievances they air on their websites – false rape accusations, ruinous divorce settlements and the like – are all without merit.” Yet in his latest article Goldwag re-characterizes these same websites in derogatory terms when he asserts: “A Voice for Male Students, which appears to take its name from the much more virulent MRA site known as A Voice for Men, does not qualify as a so-called ‘hate site.'” “It’s not like Goldwag was talking about AVFMS on a blog called ‘Generally Good-Faith Groups Advocating Social Justice.’ He included it in a blog called “Hatewatch” and categorized the article discussing my website under the blog section “Anti-Woman,” said Taylor in an email response to AVFM News. “He also misrepresents AVFMS as being dramatically far-right (AVFMS has always been non-partisan) and accuses it of over-reliance on misquotations, statements for which he provides no evidence.” “If organizations like the SPLC were committed to monitoring all types of institutionalized hatred regardless of which sex it is directed at, websites like A Voice for Male Students would not need to exist. But currently we have a pervasive problem regarding anti-male bias in academia that has remained unaddressed from a pro-equality, pro-human rights perspective for too long. AVFMS exists to help fill that void,” he added. A Voice for Male Students and AVFM are currently partners with the National Coalition of Men in starting men’s issues groups across the U.S modeled on the Canadian Association for Equality’s similar groups in Canada.
Turtle Beach’s Hypersound Glass speakers use a sheet of transparent glass to drive sound in a highly focused beam directly in front of them while being inaudible outside the beam’s range. Welcome to never knowing why you’re hearing ads all the time—our Blade Runner hell future has arrived. The exact means the Glass uses to generate a tight beam of sound isn’t specifically disclosed, but according to the company, the glass is layered with transparent films. Like other highly directional speakers, what’s being generated isn’t audible sound waves but rather ultrasonic waves. Based on other products of this nature, it’s safe to guess that as those ultrasound waves pass through the glass/film sandwich they’re modulated in such a way that they become audible again while traveling in a straight line, though the details on specific improvements will likely remain trade secrets. Acoustics is, to put it mildly, a bizarre science. Advertisement While these see-through speakers probably won’t replace more traditional options for the home market, there are some interesting applications for the technology. According to a press release, Turtle Beach may try to integrate the technology into things we already make out of glass, like computer monitors and car windshields—things that are already easy to break and expensive to fix. But heck, being able to crank a laptop to full volume without bothering the person sitting next to you would be worth it. Similar to other Hypersound products, the Glass might also be useful for people with hearing loss. Because the sound that directional speakers produce is so focused it’s more like wearing headphones than what you would think of as “speaker sound.” For that same reason, Hypersound Glass might find its way into things like ATM screens, where privacy is key. Highly directional sound isn’t a particularly new concept—with early entrants in the market like Holosonic producing commercial models since 2000—it just never quite caught on at a consumer level. Glass also isn’t a novel material for driving sound: We’ve seen plenty of glass speakers in the past. But the two existing technologies have never been combined successfully before. Turtle Beach is mainly known for its gaming-focused products, but the company appears to be putting serious resources behind these laser-like speakers. Advertisement We’ll know more about the Hypersound Glass when a prototype model debuts at E3 this year.
CLOSE Westchester County had the highest property taxes in the nation, a report said. Upstate had the highest taxes compared to home values. Joseph Spector, Albany Bureau Buy Photo Rochester skyline (Photo: CARLOS ORTIZ/Staff file photo 2012)Buy Photo ALBANY — The Rochester area last year ranked second in the nation in the amount of property taxes that homeowners pay compared to property values, a report Thursday found. The average property taxes were $4,525 in the area. The average home value was $151,191. That put the region's effective tax rate near the top of the nation's largest metropolitan areas. Binghamton was first, and Syracuse was fifth, the report from ATTOM Data Solutions, the parent company for RealtyTrac, said. High property taxes put upstate at a competitive disadvantage, business and government leaders said. "Unfortunately these high tax rates inhibit potential new residents from moving into the region, or new home buyers from purchasing their first new home," said Jennifer Conway, president of the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce. Cuomo links local aid to consolidation plan Five issues at stake in NY budget talks Deals near on SUNY tuition, rich tax, shared services Top of the heap The issue of the amount of taxes paid compared to home value is a significant problem in upstate New York, where values are relatively low and taxes are high. So the report found that of the 217 regions in the nation with a population exceeding 200,000, the Binghamton and Rochester areas ranked first and second in property taxes compared to the value of houses, called the effective tax rate. Buffalo was 18th and Albany was 20th. There has been some improvement: New York ranked seventh in the highest effective tax rate, which is the property tax as a percentage of home value. In the group's report in 2014, New York ranked first. Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo said unfunded mandates continue to impact property taxes. "In a county where job-killing state and federal mandates account for 85 percent of our budget, I fight everyday so taxpayers and residents in this community can have a strong economy with good-paying jobs," she said in a statement. "Here in Monroe County, we have been doing our part to hold strong against property tax increases for years and will continue that record going forward." Fighting property taxes NEWSLETTERS Get the ROC60 newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Rochester in 60 seconds: Get all the news you need to know in less than a minute. Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-800-790-9565. Delivery: Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for ROC60 Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters Part of the problem is a declining upstate population: With fewer residents, more of the tax burden falls on those remaining, Conway said. "The high tax rate will continue to grow until we start to turn the tide on population decline in the region," she continued. "In order to grow the economy and bring residents back to Broome County, we need property tax relief for all." Downstate, there's a different problem: Westchester County ranked first in the nation last year in total property taxes paid, the ATTOM report said. Residents in Westchester, one of the nation's most affluent counties, paid on average $16,500 a year in property taxes, the report said. "Property taxes are a major cost of home ownership and factor into a buyer’s decision to buy or not buy," said Daren Blomquist, a company spokesman. "They also impact a borrower’s debt-to-income ratio, which can impact a lender’s decision to lend or not lend." New York's ranking The figures are not surprising. State and federal reports over the last decade or more have shown that the lower Hudson Valley is tops in the nation in property taxes because of the high cost of its homes and money spent on its schools, which typically make up about two-thirds of a homeowner's bill. State and local officials have tried to combat the issue, which critics say has aided the state's declining population. The state Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who lives in New Castle in Westchester, implemented a property-tax cap in 2011. It limits the growth in property taxes to less than two percent a year. Cuomo has railed against local governments for not doing more to share services and cut taxes. He is pushing a plan that would force them to do more to cut expenses. "I have no problem looking at any town supervisor, any mayor, and saying, 'You owe the taxpayers this obligation, that you do everything you can to cooperate and find efficiencies before you ask them for more money to raise their property taxes,'" Cuomo said during a speech Jan. 23 in Plattsburgh. Overall, New York ranked second in the nation in average property taxes at about $7,000. That was behind New Jersey at about $8,470 and slightly ahead of Connecticut at $6,960, according to ATTOM's report. Nine counties had average property taxes of more than $10,000 a year: Westchester, Rockland and Nassau counties in New York; four counties in New Jersey; Fairfield County in Connecticut; and Marin County, California. The report analyzed property tax data collected from county tax assessor offices nationwide. The lowest property taxes were in the South, which does not rely heavily on property taxes to pay for programs and schools. The average property taxes in Alabama were the lowest: $776. Read or Share this story: http://on.rocne.ws/2oDTKD2
Abstract The carat is the unit of weight for diamonds and other gemstones. It corresponds to the average weight of the seeds of a leguminous tree. What kind of tree is this? We have studied the samples from Ethiopia. Egypt, Cyprus and the United States. The tree is neither “Kuara” nor “Locust” (Robina pseudoacacia Linn.), but rather Carob (Ceratonia Siliqua). In Ethiopia, as called by local inhabitants, “Kuara” is a species of Erythrina—E. brucei rather thanE. abyssinica. As might be expected, using the seeds as a means of weighing an extremely valuable commodity is not very scientific. Before 1907, at various times and in various countries, there were at least twenty-three standards for the carat ranging from 187.00 mg to 215.990 mg. The metric carat equal to 200 mg was proposed in Paris in 1907. It was adopted in the United States on July 1, 1913 and now is the world-accepted standard. But in reality, the standard of the carat is still confused with respect to its usage throughout the world. This is why the author reiterates that the standard of the carat should be integrated with the metric system.
Mr. Gawne is the author of many books about World War II. His latest is: Finding Your Father's War: A Practical Guide to Researching and Understanding Service in the World War II U.S. Army (Casemate). Every June the press carries stories about the invasion of Normandy in 1944. One of the most common questions raised is “what does the term D-Day mean and where does it come from?” The answer to what it means is readily known. They are used for the day and hour on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. However, the question of where the U.S. Army got the term has remained a mystery. The First World War saw the start of massive operations involving the coordination of hundreds of thousands of troops, enormous logistics operations, and week long artillery barrages. The need for staffs to begin planning the details of an attack weeks and months before, led to a simple notation for the planned date and hour of the attack: D-day and H-Hour. Once the plans were distributed, all the commander had to do was announce the correct date and hour, and everyone would begin working in synch. It also helped keep the secrecy of an attack by not having the exact dates and times written on every set of orders. An artillery barrage set to be fired at H-Hour minus one (H-1) would be understood to begin one hour before the official start of the attack. A brigade could be told their objective was to reach hill X by H-Hour plus three (H+3). If the attack was delayed, or moved up the brigade would still know that they had 3 hours after the start of the attack to take that hill. By not using exact dates and times these carefully planned attacks had flexibility. The first use of the term “D-Day, H-Hour” by U.S. forces appears to be around 7 September 1918 when the term was used in the First Army Field Order Number 9 regarding the battle of St. Mihiel. However, working further backwards in A.E.F. records to the Battle of Cantigny, the First Division Field Order Number 18 from 22 May 1918 uses the term “D-Day, J-Jour.” The American staffs had clearly been using the French terminology in their planning. Soon afterwards these terms change to “D-Day” and “J-Day” in American orders. One might hypothesize that random letters were being chosen to indicate the time of operation, but this was simply a case of a translator not understanding that the correct English translation of “J-Jour” would actually be “D-Day.” But could the French have borrowed the term from the British? In WW1 the British Army used the designation of “Z-Day” and “Zero Hour” for the time of attack. The days leading up to an attack were called X-Day and Y-Day. Artillery Instruction Number 267 issued by the Australian Corps on 23 September 1918 to the US 27th and 30th Divisions, who were serving with the British forces, use the terms Z-Day and Zero Hour. Orders issued internally by the two American divisions for the same attack change these references from Z-Day to D-Day. So it appears that the term “D-Day,” which has become synonymous with the invasion and liberation of France, originated with the French themselves.
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis, laying out his hopes Wednesday for the just-begun year, urged people to work for a world where everyone accepts each other’s differences and where enemies recognize that they are brothers. “We are all children of one heavenly father, we belong to the same human family and we share a common destiny,” Francis said, speaking from his studio window overlooking St. Peter’s Square, jammed with tens of thousands of faithful, tourists and Romans. “This brings a responsibility for each to work so that the world becomes a community of brothers who respect each other, accept each other in one’s diversity, and takes care of one another,” the pope said. Setting aside his prepared text for a moment, he expressed impatience with violence in the world. “What is happening in the heart of man? What is happening in the heart of humanity?” Francis asked. “It’s time to stop.” He told the crowd this reflection was inspired by letter he received from a man — “maybe one of you” — who lamented that there are `’so many tragedies and wars in the world.” “I, too, believe that it will be good for us to stop ourselves in this path of violence and search for peace,” Francis said. In his remarks to the often-applauding crowd, he also expressed hope that “the gospel of brotherhood speak to every conscience and knock down the walls that impede enemies from recognizing that they are brothers.” The Catholic church dedicates Jan. 1 to the promotion of word peace. Earlier, during his homily at New Year’s Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, Francis spoke of humanity’s journey in the year unfolding and invoked what he said where `’words of blessing,” explaining that they are “strength, courage and hope.” “Not an illusory hope,” he added, “based on frail human promises, or a naive hope which presumes that the future will be better simply because it is the future.” In his first year as pope, Francis has charted a path for what he calls a “poor” church attentive to the needy. While offering new year’s wishes to the crowd in the square, Francis pressed his campaign on behalf of the downtrodden. “We are also called to see the violence and injustices present in so many parts of the world, and which cannot leave us indifferent and immobile,” Francis said. “There is the need for the commitment of all to build a society that is truly more just and united.” Hearing “the cry of peace from peoples who are oppressed by war and by violence,” Francis prayed that “the courage of dialogue and reconciliation prevail over the temptation for vendetta, arrogance, corruption.”

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.