Split (1)

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

text stringlengths 316 100k
What happens when someone challenges the largest coffee corporation in the world and the capitalist ideals it represents? I recently learned the answer to that question when I walked into a Starbucks and started loudly screaming the word “capitalism” right into the barista’s face over and over again until she was forced to call the police. The experience opened my eyes to some shocking realities about our society. Advertisement The truth was harsher and more unpleasant than I ever could have expected. “Please stop, sir,” the barista said after I had been yelling “capitalism” for more than eight minutes straight. “You’re frightening everybody.” In my mind I thought, “Good. They should be frightened. Frightened about the cold, hard truths I’m revealing about their most fundamental beliefs,” but out loud I simply kept screaming “capitalism” even louder than before and I also knocked over a big stack of paper cups. This experience also taught me that when the human cogs that make up the capitalist machine are confronted with a man brave enough to scream “capitalism” over and over again pausing only to breathe every few minutes, they will eventually call the police. Rather than engage in the dialogue I was creating, the barista chose to call 911 and involve the local authorities. Yet even as the police were dragging me out of the Starbucks, I continued to scream “capitalism” again and again, as loudly as I could. Advertisement The final thing I learned is that when capitalists ban you for life from one specific Starbucks location, you are also banned from all the other Starbucks in the world. The capitalist shills behind this massive corporation may believe they have silenced my voice, but it is my hope that others will take up my cause in my absence. If you want to make a change to the world around you, march into the first Starbucks you find, and begin to scream “capitalism” over and over again. The time for action is now.
Maz’s castle isn’t the only place you can find some galactic treasures — San Diego Comic-Con 2016 will be full of ’em! Check out StarWars.com’s guide to SDCC Star Wars exclusives below, including action figures, posters, and much more. NIXON Chewbacca Sentry Leather LTD Nixon’s Chewbacca watch ($300, limited to 300) features bandolier rivet strap details, a bowcaster and blast fire seconds hand, a laser etched “Let The Wookiee Win” casebook, and a custom LTD box with authentic “Chewbacca Roar” sound. STANCE Star Wars Socks Stance presents 8 special Star Wars socks (limited edition of 100 pairs, $20 each pair) featuring characters from across the original trilogy! LOUNGEFLY Loungefly’s handsome Rey backpack (limited to 200, $65) features a Rey-on-speeder design and comes with a collector’s pin and eye goggles. 3D INNOVATIONS Star Wars Double Packs 3D Innovation’s Double Packs (numbered and limited to 300 per design) feature full-color duo stickers. HALLMARK Star Wars Hallmark Keepsakes and Itty Bittys Hallmark’s Beginnings: Boba Fett Keepsake ornament two-pack is inspired by the work of concept designer Ralph McQuarrie. One ornament details Boba Fett’s helmet as originally sketched, while the other depicts an all-white full-costume concept. Princess Leia and Jabba the Hutt (Return of the Jedi) come in an exclusive itty bittys plush two-pack. Look for give-away buttons featuring this year’s Star Wars Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments; a different button will be available each day, and limited to 1,000 each. A limited itty bittys Captain Phasma button give-away will be at Nerd HQ only on Friday (Star Wars Day). COMIC IMAGES Star Wars Super Deformed Plush Comic Images will premiere 12″ super-deformed plushies ($20 each). Receive one free plush (quantities limited to 100) of Rey, Finn, and one other character with the purchase of ABC-3PO at the publishing booth in the Star Wars pavilion. HASBRO Star Wars: The Black Series 6-Inch Obi-Wan Kenobi Pack Recreate the noble journey of the great Jedi Master with the highly collectible Black Series Obi-Wan Kenobi Pack ($44.99). Featuring authentic, movie-accurate detail, this elite 6-inch scale Obi-Wan Kenobi figure comes equipped with Jedi robe, 2 lightsabers, an electronic light-up table, and Princess Leia hologram delivering a vital message. Includes 1 figure with multiple points of articulation and 5 accessories. Following the convention, a limited number will be available on HasbroToyShop.com. MATTEL Hot Wheels Star Wars Carships Trench Run Hot Wheels reimagines the famous finale of Star Wars: A New Hope as a thrilling car race by transforming starfighters into slick, speedy “Carships.” Cased in gorgeous packaging, this premium set ($50) features a light-and-sound show that includes sound effects and firing LED laser cannons; the vehicles feature full die-cast bodies, chassis, and Real Riders wheels. JAKKS PACIFIC Star Wars: The Force Awakens Premium Edition Vac-Metal C-3PO and Captain Phasma 18-Inch Big Figs Action Figures Jakks introduces two new additions to the Big Fig 20″ collection: Premium Edition C-3PO and Captain Phasma from Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($59.99 each) and available exclusively at SDCC! FUNKO Star Wars Pop! Funko presents two new exclusive Pop! vinyl figures: Han Solo with Chewie bowcaster (shared with GameStop) and BB-8 with thumbs up (shared with Hot Topic)! (Also, look for Pop! Indiana Jones with idol!) TOPPS Star Wars Trading Card Posters Topps will feature 5 exclusive 8.5 x 11″ posters (1,000 available of each design), created in the style of its various trading card series. SPHERO BB-8 Poster Sphero is giving away a commemorative BB-8 poster featuring their app droid at an iconic San Diego location. Free with e-mail signup! SIDESHOW R2-D2 Unpainted Prototype Based on the R2-D2 Deluxe Sixth Scale Figure, everyone’s favorite astromech has been re-imagined as an unpainted prototype droid with a distinctive monochromatic silver finish. Equipped with hinged panels and articulated light-up dome, this unique limited edition exclusive will be an excellent addition to any Star Wars collection. GENTLE GIANT Captain Phasma and Chewbacca McQuarrie Concept Mini Busts Gentle Giant’s Captain Phasma and Chewbacca McQuarrie Concept Mini Busts ($120 each) are digitally sculpted and cast in the highest quality polystone; each mini bust is hand-painted and comes hand-numbered with matching certificate of authenticity. Farm Boy Luke 1:4 Jumbo Figure Return of the Jedi Packaging Farmboy Luke (Yellow) Return of the Jedi Jumbo Figure and Farmboy Luke (Brown) Return of the Jedi Jumbo Figure ($80 each) are digitally scanned from the original 1983 action figures and enlarged to 1:6 scale, and packaged with era-accurate backer cards. Limited to 250 pieces. BANDAI Meisho Movie Realization Teppou Ashigaru Sandtrooper Special Version The artillery packed Teppo Ashigaru Sandtrooper ($90) is back with a new, and highly exclusive black pauldron design! The right pauldron (shoulder armor) is charcoal black and indicates that this feudal Sandtrooper of the Galactic Republic (or in this case perhaps a Galactic Han) is of enlisted status. The Sandtrooper Special Version comes with two gun powder type rifles and a Japanese katana sword ready for battle. The special backpack is designed with meticulous detail and finished with a rusty look. The set includes interchangeable hands (x6), blaster rifles (small and large), Japanese katana set, backpack, and interchangeable white pauldron. BEAST KINGDOM Egg Attack Star Wars Figures Beast Kingdom is set to offer 3 exclusive Egg Attack figures: a chrome electroplated Stormtrooper ($100), a gold electroplated Sandtrooper ($100), and an electroplated Captain Phasma ($85). Each figure is 6″ tall, includes 24-30 points of articulation, and multiple accessories. THINK GEEK Star Wars Plush and More Think Geek’s plush exclusives include a set of 4 bounty hunters ($30), Han Solo in carbonite ($12), Slave I with Han in carbonite ($12), and a Rey with Speeder pin (FREE with a $60 purchase). Also look for a set of 8 propaganda postcards, free BB-8 pin with $90 purchase, 24×36″ Rey poster, and an 18×24″ “Incident on Ord Mantell” poster. SANTA CRUZ Star Wars Skateboards Santa Cruz is bringing 5 exclusive skateboards ($100 each) to SDCC and giving away free posters (while supplies last). PLASTICOLOR Star Wars Car Decal Plasticolor will offer a “First Order Warriors” car decal, featuring the troopers from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. StarWars.com. All Star Wars, all the time.
A St. John's woman is singing the praises of a taxi driver who came to her aid when she arrived, injured and alone, at Halifax Stanfield International Airport. A Good Samaritan comes to aid of injured woman. 8:56 Nicole Slade was headed to Halifax for work meetings on the slushy, rainy night of Nov. 16, when she slipped and fell on her arm just inside the doors of the St. John's International Airport. There's a time to be a taxi driver, yet there's a time to be a human being, also. - Ed Benoit "I tried to catch myself — I figure I probably should have let myself fall," Slade told The St. John's Morning Show. "But en route to Halifax I quickly realized I may have hurt myself more than I thought." By the time she touched down in Nova Scotia, Slade was in shooting pain from wrist to shoulder and she didn't know what to do. That's when she met the cab driver she now calls "my hero." Ed Benoit arrives Taxi driver Ed Benoit picked up Slade's fare — and quickly picked up on her pain. "As soon as I pulled away from the curb, she actually went 'Oh!' and I said, 'What's wrong with you?'" said Benoit. "That's when I said, 'I think you should go to the emergency.'" Nicole Slade was in pain by the time she hailed Benoit's cab at the airport in Halifax, after falling on her arm before her flight from St. John's. But Slade downplayed her injury during the ride to her hotel. "I'm not a good traveller, so I was nervous and I didn't want to say anything," said Slade, who eventually told Benoit about her pre-flight fall. Outside the hotel, Benoit succeeded in convincing Slade she needed urgent medical attention and took her to the hospital. But he didn't just drop her off at its doors. "He came in with me, he walked me through the process, where I was gonna go. He was carrying my purse and my jacket the whole time," said Slade. Money isn't everything Benoit kept Slade company as the two worked their way through the system and waited for X-rays. "He was with me the whole time, so the doctors and nurses were speaking to us both and they would look at Ed, and Ed would say, 'No, I'm just her driver,' and they would kinda chuckle a little bit," said Slade. He walked me through the process, where I was gonna go. He was carrying my purse and my jacket the whole time. - Nicole Slade "He was wonderful. And I kept thanking him, I couldn't thank him enough, and he just said, 'The next time you do something nice for someone else, just think of me.'" Benoit said it never occurred to him he was missing out on cab fares as he sat with Slade at the hospital. "I had a great night. I didn't lose nothing. I had a great evening, and I was no longer worried about her. Because if she never went to the hospital she would be bothering me," said Benoit. "I did two more calls [after], I made lots of money." Slade had fractured part of her elbow and after being released, Benoit drove her back to her hotel before continuing on his way. "There's a time to be a taxi driver yet there's a time to be a human being, also. It's as simple as that," said Benoit.
The night before Thanksgiving is known as one of the heaviest drinking nights in America. Almost no one works Thanksgiving, people are often home with friends and family they don’t often see, and no one wants to stay in or entertain the night before the biggest entertaining day of the year. It makes sense the night is colloquially known as “Blackout Wednesday.” But you may find yourself going out in a city you haven’t lived in since you were underage. So what’s the most efficient drink to purchase in your home state on Blackout Wednesday? Using the Washington Post’s Christopher Ingraham’s excellent but Virginia-specific analysis of comparative alcohol prices, Slate endeavored to answer this question and entered a morass of state liquor regulations, underpinned by a confusing and nonsensical system of excise taxes. So we headed down to the bar, did some math, and tried to figure it all out anyway. Once you’ve watched, compare your own state’s excise taxes with these handy maps from the Tax Foundation. State excise taxes for beer: State excise taxes for wine: State excise taxes for spirits:
EDITORIALS BY ART CULLEN We cannot let 2017 pass without mentioning the end of a political era in Iowa: The Branstad Era. Gov. Terry Branstad abdicated Terrace Hill to become United States Ambassador to China. He set the record in two separate tenures (before Vilsack and after Culver) for length of service by any governor in American history, at 22 years (16 in the first iteration and six in the reiteration). During that period, you could not discuss Iowa politics without considering Terry Branstad — even during his hiatus when he was president of the osteopathic school, Des Moines University. He wrested complete control of government from the Democrats in his second tour and helped usher in Donald Trump as President. It was a truly remarkable run. Think of all the judges he appointed to the district court bench over the years, mostly excellent ones. Think how he reshaped the Supreme Court into a more political body that votes along party lines — Branstad’s party line. He crippled the public employee unions. He put the state universities at the heel of business — agribusiness, mainly. He defended the agrichemical complex from all assault and helped make ethanol the fuel of Iowa politics. Branstad steered the state through the Farm Crisis of the 1980s with a mantra of jobs, any jobs, no matter the pay or the cost. He watched as the state’s manufacturing wage dropped in half and its industries dropped south of the border. He cut every tax he could get his hands on. He put state and local government budgets in strait jackets. And he was everywhere all the time, urging the state trooper to step on it so he could get to that next chicken dinner in Kingsley where he would talk about the weather. He vanquished all comers. What did he accomplish? Not much over all those years, actually. He would beg to differ. He survived. He dominated the Iowa Republican Party. He was at once pragmatic and ideological. He held government at bay. Viewed from his Winnebago County farm, that was what he was sent to Des Moines to do: to get government off our backs. While he attempted to rein it in, he used the reins to direct government to help his friends in agribusiness who actually run this state. For example, there is no confined animal feeding coordinator with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources anymore. Budget cuts did him in. Oh well. If you don’t have hogs you don’t have much in Iowa, the Branstad thinking always went, and the DNR just gets in the way of hogs. Or, if you complain about the foul water you are told that you are waging war on rural Iowa. It worked wonderfully for him, and he was being honest when he told you that. Terry Branstad was honest. At least, he was with us. We knew him from his days as a state legislator from Lake Mills. He was a Reagan Revolutionary. He put his considerable determination into the mission of shrinking Iowa government. He did it. There are fewer state troopers, fewer rural teachers, and shrinking appropriations to higher education. Fewer farmers, too. And weaker rural main streets. We asked for it, and we got it. He did not mislead us in that regard. It is our hope that Branstad will play it the same way in China. His basic honesty and real decency might keep us from ending the world as we know it. His absence from Iowa will change politics in ways that can’t be predicted. We will see what Gov. Kim Reynolds learned from one step behind him, smiling and silent, these last six years. We have a feeling he is a hard act for any Republican to follow. He is the biggest player in Iowa statehouse politics since Harold Hughes. Terry Branstad changed Iowa — in our view to have made it a lesser state. That is no small feat. Keeping our seats Our friend Laura Belin at the Iowa political website Bleeding Heartland reports that the Tall Corn State should not lose one of its four congressional districts in the 2020 census. Minnesota and Wisconsin might, she reports after analyzing Census and federal election data. Iowa already has among the biggest congressional districts at about 790,000 population each. Buena Vista County is in the 39-county Fourth District, of course represented by Republican Steve King, who assumed office after Iowa lost a congressional seat — the Sixth. Belin notes that Iowa hasn’t gone more than 20 years without losing a district. Iowa has grown just enough, thanks mainly to its larger cities, to maintain our four seats by the next Census, probably. Leading legislators say they are committed to maintaining the nonpartisan legislative redistricting that is the antithesis of gerrymandering. Gov. Kim Reynolds did not respond to Belin’s request for comment. If Iowa goes the way of Texas in drawing districts, we might as well move to Galveston.
Aka the travelling cheesecake! A delightfully creamy White Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake topped with a Raspberry Eton Mess and Whipped Cream! This Eton Mess Cheesecake recipe is perfect for a summer garden party! 😋 I’m quite renowned in my family for making superb cheesecakes. However, with great power comes great responsibility! I’m no longer allowed to turn up to a family do without one, otherwise I’m sent packing. The last time I went to visit was no exception, due to prior arrangements we were making a flying visit for my uncles (rainy) garden party. Despite him living billions of miles away, deep in the valleys of Wales, I was still expected to turn up with one. I decided to make this mouth-watering Eton Mess Cheesecake (two puds in one, I’m so very sneaky!!) As we were only stopping for one night, I had to make it the evening before we embarked on our journey to Carmarthen, to ensure it was set in time. Due to some miracle, it made it there in one piece and was still edible. It was even branded as, “the best cheesecake” a self-confessed cheesecake connoisseur had ever tried. Another one of my uncles friends, an over the top French man, said and I quote, “Ooh la la, I never want this moment to end.. There should be a museum built for it”. Yes he really said “Ooh la la”. If you go to bed at night, often dreaming of smooth chocolate cheesecakes with a hint of raspberry and gooey, creamy meringues then this simple cheesecake recipe is perfect for you and the guests you’re trying to impress. I don’t advise you to inflict this sort of stress on yourself but if you are planning on taking your Eton Mess Cheesecake on a three hour journey you will need an 8 inch loose bottom tin, one plastic cake box, a large freezer bag and a shed load of frozen ice packs. Oh and.. a thick coat, woolly hat and a scarf because you will also need the air-con on freezing. Ingredients For base: 200g of digestive biscuits 90g unsalted butter, melted For filling: 300g white chocolate, melted 300ml double cream, chilled 400g soft/cream cheese 50g icing sugar 1tsp vanilla extract 1/2 punnet of raspberries For decoration: 300ml double cream, chilled 1tbs of caster sugar 1/2 punnet of raspberries Raspberry coulis 55g of caster sugar 55g of icing sugar 2 egg whites Step 1: Bash biscuits into a fine crumb with the end of a rolling-pin, then mix in the melted butter. Pour into a lined tin and press the mixture down with the back of a soup spoon. Place in the fridge to chill whilst you make the mix 😋 Step 2: Melt the white chocolate gently over a double boiler. Once melted remove from the heat and set a side to cool down. Step 3: Using an electric whisk, whip the chilled double cream in a large mixing bowl, until it forms soft peaks. In the same bowl fold in the icing sugar. Step 4: Drain away any excess water from the cream cheese. Then add the cream cheese and vanilla extract to the sweet whipped cream and mix together. Step 5: Finally add the chilled melted chocolate and raspberries to the creamy cheese mix and stir together quickly. Step 6: Remove the biscuit base from the fridge and pour in the fruity chocolate cheesecake mix. Set the cheesecake in the fridge for four hours or over night! Step 7: Now it’s time to make the meringues! Pre-heat your oven to 100C for a fan oven or, 110C for a conventional over or, 1/4 for a gas oven. Separate the eggs whites from the yolk and discard the yolk (or cook them for your dog). Place the egg whites in a mixing bowl (not plastic). Using an electric whisk beat the eggs on a medium speed, until they are white and fluffy and form stiff peaks when the whisk is lifted. Step 8: Turn the speed up on you your electric whisk and start to add the caster sugar, a dessertspoonful at a time. Leave a 3-4 second gap between each spoonful. When the mix is ready it should look thick and glossy. Step 9: Sift a third of the icing sugar over the mixture, then gently fold it in with a spatula. Continue adding the sifted icing sugar a third at a time and fold into the mixture. Step 10: Scoop heaped dessertspoons of the mix and make rough rounds on a lined baking tray. Bake for 1 1/2 – 1 3/4 hours in a fan oven, 1 1/4 hours in a conventional or gas oven. Once the time is up turn the oven off and leave the meringues in to cool with the oven. Step 11: Once the cheesecake has set and the meringues have cooled it is time to decorate. In a large mixing bowl pour in the chilled double cream and tablespoon of caster sugar. Using an electric whisk, whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks. Use half of the whipped cream to pipe around the edge of the top of the cheesecake. Next add the raspberries (leave a few to decorate the top), and broken up meringue (again leave one to crush and decorate the top with) to the rest of the whipped cream, mix all together. Place the Eton Mess in the middle of the cheesecake, top with more meringue, raspberries and a drizzle of raspberry coulis. I hope you enjoy this deliciously impressive Eton Mess Cheesecake. Enjoy 😘 B x Keep up to date by following me on: Twitter \| Instagram \| Pinterest Advertisements
Spread the love Mesa, AZ — Danielle Jacobs, 24, brought tears to the internet’s eyes last year after she posted a video of what she felt like with Asperger’s syndrome. In the video, Jacobs recorded herself during one of her ‘meltdowns,’ which showed her trying to punch herself, but being comforted by her Rottweiler instead. “This is what having Asperger’s like,” she wrote with the video. “When I have a meltdown, I often have self-injurious behavior and I often self-harm,” she said in an interview with the Huffington Post last year. This open conversation about her Asperger’s syndrome seemed to have been therapeutic for Jacobs. However, Thursday morning things would take a turn for the worse. According to Mesa police, they received a call about a suicidal woman around 11 a.m. on Thursday. When officers responded to Jacobs’ apartment, they say she stated that she had a knife and was going to hurt herself. At this time, police claim, Jacobs moved toward them with a knife, causing them to fear for their lives and they both fired their duty weapons. Apparently, simply backing up was not an option. “She had one knife that we know of, she had something else we’re not sure what it was, the officers said it was dark inside the room,” Flores said. “When she made contact with them, she approached them with the knife, extended it out, and they felt threatened.” After they shot Jacobs, and ambulance was called, and she was transported to a hospital where doctors tried to close her wounds. Unfortunately, they were unsuccessful and later in the evening, her family received word that she did not make it. Speaking with the NY Daily News, her mother, Stacia, said that this was completely unexpected and she was shocked. “I talked to her last night and the night before and she seemed fine. “Before the police arrived she wasn’t posing a threat to the community at all. And the police came into her own place. “They shot and killed a 24-year-old autistic, mentally ill individual whom they had been familiar with and were aware of her special needs.” According to AZ Family, Mesa police said they plan to hold a news conference at 1:30 p.m. Friday to discuss “new, developing information” in the shooting and things the Mesa police force is doing “to assist in dealing with and interacting with those with mental illness,” according to Mesa police spokesman Esteban Flores. According to Flores, no officers were hurt, the incident is under investigation, and the officers involved were not wearing body cameras. As the Free Thought Project has pointed out in the past, the overwhelming majority of time spent by police during training is devoted to shooting their weapons. Very little time is set aside for training in de-escalation tactics, and most departments receive zero training in dealing with the mentally ill. In fact, a study by the Virginia-based Treatment Advocacy Center, an organization dedicated to eliminating the barriers faced by those with severe mental illnesses, released a jaw-dropping report titled, Overlooked in the Undercounted: The Role of Mental Illness in Fatal Law Enforcement Encounters. In the report, researchers discovered that people with an untreated mental illness are 16 times more likely to be killed during an interaction with police than anyone else. According to the study, by all accounts – official and unofficial – a minimum of 1 in 4 fatal police encounters ends the life of an individual with severe mental illness. Update: After this story broke, it was brought to our attention that Danielle Jacobs was transgender. Danielle identified as a man named Kayden Clark. We apologize for being unaware of this. Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world. Follow @MattAgorist
'The thing is, I know there’s a lot of frustration with this president,' Broun said. Broun is asked who'll 'shoot Obama' Though he didn’t condemn it at the time, Rep. Paul Broun on Friday denounced a constituent’s question about shooting President Barack Obama as “abhorrent,” saying the remark “stunned” him to the point that he decided “not to dignify it with a response.” An elderly man at a Tuesday night meeting asked the Republican from Georgia, “Who is going to shoot Obama?” Story Continued Below “The thing is, I know there’s a lot of frustration with this president,” Broun responded, according to the Athens Banner-Herald. “We’re going to have an election next year. Hopefully, we’ll elect somebody that’s going to be a conservative, limited-government president … who will sign a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare.” But as the story of the question spread online, Broun issued a stronger statement Friday, condemning the “abhorrent question.” He said, “I was stunned by the question and chose not to dignify it with a response; therefore, at that moment, I moved on to the next person with a question. He added, “After the event, my office took action with the appropriate authorities. I deeply regret that this incident happened at all. Furthermore, I condemn all statements — made in sincerity, or jest — that threaten or suggest the use of violence against the president of the United States or any other public official. Such rhetoric cannot and will not be tolerated.” Earlier, Broun’s press secretary, Jessica Morris, confirmed to the Banner-Herald that the question was asked. “Obviously, the question was inappropriate, so Congressman Broun moved on,” she said. Last month, Broun live-tweeted Obama’s State of the Union address and drew criticism for one in particular. “Mr. President, you don’t believe in the Constitution,” he wrote. “You believe in socialism.” On the day after the speech, Broun told CBS News, “I stick by that tweet.” “Everything he does is bigger government, more central control from Washington, D.C. That’s not what our Founding Fathers envisioned the government to be,” he said. “Mr. Obama believes in a big central government, where the federal government controls everything in our lives. That’s socialism. And so I stick by that tweet.”
SEOUL — The latest addition of old hits returning to South Korean theaters is “Léon: The Professional,” which made Natalie Portman a household name here (and everywhere else). The 1994 assassin film will reopen on the big screen after 18 years in the form of a high-definition (HD) remastering director’s cut on April 11. Earlier this year, local cinephiles were excited to see the reopening of the 1999 Japanese romance “Love Letter” by Shunji Iwai and the 2006 German drama “The Lives of Others.” — Another big box office news concerns “Jiseul,” the Sundance-winning historical drama that surprised the industry by garnering 10,000 admissions earlier this month. As of Wednesday the number reached 40,000 (the 10,000 viewer-mark is equivalent to about 1 billion or so for mainstream fare). Director O Muel should thank actors Yu Ji-tae (best known for “Oldboy”) and Kang Su-yeon, who voluntarily acted as promoters for his film. — More camaraderie was seen in the local industry, as filmmakers united to launch the Directors Guild of Korea. Lee Jun-ik, known for box office hits such as “King and the Clown,” will be its head while the 300 odd members include veterans like Chung Ji-young, established auteurs such as Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho, as well as emerging talent including Park Jeom-beom (“Journals of Musan”). The guild aims to establish standardized working conditions as the local cinema industry, as dynamic as it is, also notoriously lacks many solid frameworks. The inauguration ceremony will be held April 1 at Daehan Cinema, Seoul. — The Seoul LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) Film Festival has announced its opening dates for its 13th edition. The annual event for queer movies will be held from June 6 to 16 at Seoul Art Cinema and Indiespace, downtown Seoul. This year’s theme is “Resistance,” which organizers say is a natural part of the minority group, but the festival will highlight lighter aspects of the sentiment. More details of the program have yet to be announced.
Would-be immigrants arrive on a boat in the port of Italy’s southern island of Lampedusa Mauro Seminara/AFP/Getty Images Europe’s borderless travel zone is under renewed strain after Italy handed temporary visas to thousands of African immigrants along with €500 to enable them to travel to neighbouring countries. The German authorities are struggling to cope with the influx of homeless Africans who show no sign of leaving after their three-month visa expires despite being offered free travel back to Italy. About 300 new arrivals have taken up residence in a park in the northern city of Hamburg while hundreds more are seeking shelter across the southern state of Bavaria thanks to the right to travel freely within the 26-nation Schengen zone on the Continent. The German Interior Ministry believes that 5,700 homeless Africans have been given tourist visas by the authorities in Italy in…
Narcissistic males do not make good romantic partners. Narcissistic males lack commitment, engage in manipulative game-playing and are unfaithful. Despite this, they are still desired by females. Females value different traits in short-term and long-term partners. Previous mate sampling experience is also important to facilitate mate assessment. This study aimed to determine whether amongst young adult heterosexual females; their mate sampling experience and desire for marriage influenced their attraction to narcissistic personality traits in a potential mate. British females aged 18–28 provided information on past mating experience, future desire for marriage and rated their agreement with 20 statements relating to the extent that they found narcissistic personality traits attractive in a potential mate. Females with greater mating experience and those desiring marriage were more attracted to the narcissistic male personality. The narcissistic personality, whilst having many negative qualities, possesses qualities associated with status and resource provision. These traits are desirable in short and long-term mating contexts. Despite future long-term mating desires which are unlikely to be achieved with a narcissistic male and possession of substantial mate sampling experience, females view the narcissistic male as a suitable partner: a testament to the success of the narcissistic personality in facilitating short-term mating.
The Dallas Cowboys won't rock the boat after their bye. NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Wednesday Dak Prescott will start Week 8 versus the Philadelphia Eagles, per a source informed of the situation. Dak Prescott told NFL Network's Jane Slater on Wednesday he hasn't been informed that he will start against the Eagles but said he'd be excited to get another start. The news doesn't come as a surprise to anyone who watched Prescott through six weeks. Rapoport noted that Tony Romo might not be physically ready to play versus the Cleveland Browns in Week 9. The Cowboys will be prudent with their 36-year-old quarterback coming off a back injury. Coach Jason Garrett told reporters Wednesday Romo hasn't been cleared for practice, but is throwing more and working on enhancing his core strength. Health is a convenient excuse for Dallas to keep Romo on the sideline. Even if he were healthy, the Cowboys shouldn't bench Prescott at this point. The offense is rolling behind a punishing offensive line, Ezekiel Elliott and the sublime play of Prescott. The rookie quarterback frequently throws darts under pressure, displays heady decision making and elusiveness without the tendency to flee the pocket too early. The stats speak for themselves. Prescott broke Tom Brady's record (162) for most pass attempts without an interception to begin a career, which ended at 176 against Green Bay on Sunday. He earned a passer rating over 100.0 in five of six starts. Prescott has completed 68.7 percent of his passes, second-highest among quarterbacks that started every game this season (Matthew Stafford). His 8.2 yard per attempt average is the fifth highest in NFL. The 7-to-1 TD-to-INT ratio speaks for itself -- only Brian Hoyer has thrown more passes with fewer picks. The Cowboys might have had a mutiny on their hands if they benched Dak. That won't happen after the bye week.
This essay was first published in The Friends Quarterly, Issue Two, 2014. Introduction For early Friends, the symbol of the cross represented the transformative power of God which, through an inward and spiritual process of crucifixion and resurrection, could put to death the evil and darkness in each human heart and give birth to a new life in harmony with God, with other human beings and with the rest of creation. This essay will examine this vision, and consider its relevance for today, identifying the relevant biblical references that reflect this understanding of the cross, giving an indication of how early Friends engaged with Scripture. For the contemporary relevance of this vision, the work of Margery Abbott offers an example of a modern Liberal Friend making sense of her own experiences in relation to the cross. Two late-twentieth century theologians, John Howard Yoder and Walter Wink, emphasise the importance of the cross in overcoming and defeating the powers of darkness and evil in the world today. The new covenant Why did early Friends see the cross as primarily an inward and spiritual experience? A key aspect of early Quakerism was the belief that the coming of Christ had brought a new covenant (a new relationship between God and humanity) in which the immediate presence of Christ in Spirit had replaced the outwardly mediated ways in which God related to humanity in the old covenant. In the old covenant, God’s presence was to be found in a temple made of stone (the temple in Jerusalem) and access to God was mediated through a human priesthood (the Aaronic priesthood). The people of God were led by human leaders (e.g. Moses) and God’s law was written on tablets of stone (the Ten Commandments). ). Christ now writes the law on people’s hearts (Jeremiah 31:33). He is now the eternal high priest and leader of his people, giving permanent and immediate access to God at all times and in all places (Hebrews 8:1). So, in all of these ways, the new covenant was understood as inward and spiritual, replacing an old covenant that was outward and physical. Christ had returned in spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-21) and was now fulfilling all the ways in which humanity had related to God in the old covenant. The power of Christ to transform people through the inward cross was a crucial dimension of this new covenant understanding. In the new covenant, Christ fulfils all these outward and mediated forms inwardly and spiritually. Christ now dwells within a temple of living stones (1 Peter 2:5Christ now writes the law on people’s hearts (Jeremiah 31:33). He is now the eternal high priest and leader of his people, giving permanent and immediate access to God at all times and in all places (Hebrews 8:1). So, in all of these ways, the new covenant was understood as inward and spiritual, replacing an old covenant that was outward and physical. Christ had returned in spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-21) and was now fulfilling all the ways in which humanity had related to God in the old covenant. The power of Christ to transform people through the inward cross was a crucial dimension of this new covenant understanding. The early Quaker understanding of the cross Maybe the best way to set out the early Quaker understanding of the cross is to let the words of early Friends speak for themselves. the cross of Christ is a figurative speech borrowed from the outward tree, or wooden cross, on which Christ submitted to the will of God, suffering death at the hands of evil men so that the cross mystical is that divine grace and power which crosseth the carnal wills of men and so may be justly termed the instrument of man’s wholly dying to the world and being made comfortable to the will of God But I observed a dullness and drowsy heaviness upon people, which I wondered at… I saw death was to pass over this sleepy, heavy state, and I told people they must come to witness death to that sleepy, heavy nature, and a cross to it in the power of God, that their minds and hearts might be on things above for the cross is to the carnal, wild, heady, brutish nature in you, which lies above the seed of God in you, and oppresseth the pure. Now giving this up to be crucified makes way for that which is pure to arise and guide your minds up to God, there to wait for power and strength against whatever the light of God makes manifest to be evil, and so to cast it off, and so you shall see where your strength lies and who it is in you that works the will and the deed, and then you shall be brought into a possession of what you have but had a profession, and find the power of what you had but in words, which is hid from all professions in the world and is revealed no other way but by the pure light of God dwelling in you, and you in it. For now you know the power of God, which is the cross of Christ, and are come to it, which crucifies you from the state that Adam and Eve were in in the Fall, and so from the world; by which power of God you come to see the state of Adam and Eve were in before they fell… Yea I say and to a state higher, the seed, Christ the second Adam, by whom all things were made… and the way is Christ the light, the life, the truth and the saviour, the redeemer, the sanctifier, the justifier; and so in his power and light and life who is the way of God, conversion, regeneration and translation are known, from death to life, darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God again The cross of Christ is dying to the world and becoming partakers of the resurrection that is in Christ Jesus, unto the newness of life. This produces new creatures with a new will, the will of God, and new affections set on things above. A Discovery of the First Wisdom from Beneath and the Second Wisdom from Above written in 1655, h The second man is humble and lowly, meek and full of love to all, honors all men according to God, without respect of persons, would have all to come to life, stands in the wisdom of God which is pure and peaceable, is willing to be a fool to the world and serpent's wisdom, content to suffer wrongs, buffetings, persecutions, slanders, reviling, mocking, without seeking revenge, but bears all the venom the serpent can cast upon him with patience and thereby overcomes him and bruises his head, and is made perfect through suffering, and counts it joy, and rejoices in the cross and loss of all things that are visible, but looks at that which is eternal, for he knows that he cannot have both; for to be a friend to the world is the enemy of God The biblical basis of this understanding Although early Friends gave primacy to direct revelation by Christ’s living Spirit, this was always intimately connected to their reading of scripture. Early Friends had a rich and complex relationship with the biblical narrative. Direct revelation guided their biblical interpretation and the Bible was a secondary authority by which the validity of these revelations might be tested. When engaging with early Quaker writings, it soon becomes clear that, in describing and making sense of their spiritual experiences, Friends more often than not turned to the Pauline epistles. Early Friends strongly identified with the apostle Paul as the founder of charismatic churches led by the Spirit of Christ in which all believers (including women) had the right to pray and prophesy as the Spirit prompted them. When it came to their participatory understanding of the cross, it was to Paul that early Friends turned again and again. In terms of an understanding of the cross is the power of God, the key passage is from the first letter to the Corinthians: For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us, who are being saved, it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18, NRSV) Paul makes clear that, if your understanding is limited to the fallen ways of this world, then the idea of the cross appears to be entirely foolish. We know that the Jewish people expected a Messiah who would physically conquer Israel’s enemies and become king of the world. From this perspective, the idea that God would deal with evil through the shameful public execution of the Messiah seemed completely outrageous. However, when understood as an inward and spiritual experience, the cross can be seen as God’s victory over evil, the power of God to transformed the creation and bring it to new life. As we see in the letter to the Galatians, the new life was lived in the spiritual empowerment of the living Christ: And it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me, and the life I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20, NRSV) Paul’s experience of meeting Christ on the road to Damascus completely changed his identity and what be believed to be true, leading him to fundamentally reinterpret the basis of his faith. He went back to the Hebrew Scriptures to try and make sense of what had happened to him. As a result, he came to a completely new understanding of God’s purposes. What mattered to Paul was that his old self had been crucified in order that he could come to a new life in which Christ lived in him. This had great resonance for early Friends who felt that they too had been through a similar experience. We see this again in a further passage from Galatians: May I never boast of anything except the cross of our lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. For neither circumcision, nor uncircumcision is anything, but a new creation is everything (Galatians 6:14-15, NRVS) Obviously, the reference to circumcision and uncircumcision is linked to Paul’s rejection of the idea that converts needed to be circumcised and to adopt the Jewish Law. He made clear that the outward forms of the old covenant no longer had power compared to the cross of Christ. This makes the link with the Quaker understanding of the new covenant. The physical signs of being part of the old covenant are no longer important. Christ is present in spirit and has the power to bring a new creation, working within people to crucify their old selves and give birth to a new life. This point is reinforced in our final Pauline passage from the letter to the Romans: Do you not know that all of us who have been baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death. Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death. So, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we, too, may walk in the newness of life (Romans 6:3-4, NRSV) Since the inward cross involves the experience of being born again, this leads us to another passage that was crucial to early Friends, this time from John’s Gospel in which Jesus talks about the necessity of being born again in the Spirit: Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and spirit; what is born of flesh is flesh, and what is born of spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I tell you that you must be born from above (John, 3:5-7, NRSV) This reflects the early Quaker belief that people are first born physically, but then have the opportunity to be born again spiritually, an understanding that can also be seen in the first letter of Peter: You have been born anew, not of perishable, but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God (1 Peter 1:23, NRSV) This is a proclamation that people can experience spiritual transformation in this life, and do not have to wait until the afterlife. What early Friends seemed to be saying was that, since Christ had returned in Spirit he would return in fullness when his Spirit dwelt in the hearts of all his people. This propelled them into a vigorous and far-reaching preaching campaign during a very short period in the mid-1650s. They had an urgent need to ensure that the good news was heard; the kingdom of heaven was coming; it was coming here and now; and what mattered was that Christ dwelt within people’s hearts and led their lives. This would bring the kingdom of heaven on earth. A modern liberal Quaker understanding – Margery Abbott In her recent book To Be Broken and Tender: a Quaker theology for today, American Liberal Friend Margery Abbott adopts the long-standing Quaker practice of presenting theology as spiritual autobiography. She writes about her life and her experiences, and interprets them in terms of the Christian language and concepts that early Friends used. Unlike early Friends, however, she is much more tentative about her claims to spiritual transformation. This does not mean that she dispenses with the idea that individual and collective transformation is an essential aspect of the Quaker way. Abbott argues that, to ‘stand in the cross’ is to move beyond our own limited perspective. We are all born into a particular time and a particular place; we are limited by this culturally and politically. We are shaped by a dominant culture. So, to experience the cross as the power of God is to move beyond those limitations and to see things from the divine perspective. So here we have a modern Liberal Quaker stating that although human understanding is limited, this is not the end of the story, since we have access to the divine perspective through the workings of the Holy Spirit. This may only come in fleeting glimpses even if we aspire to being in a perpetual state of intimacy with the divine. The reality is that, although we are often distracted, the divine perspective is always available to us. And so, Abbott writes: Taking up the cross is a state of being which means we are attentive to something more than our own needs, our own desires, our own logic, the demands of those around us. This inner awareness, this search for cosmic signposts (mostly tiny arrows marked in the dirt on some inner path) which is so crucial to Friends’ spirituality, is the first action in taking up the cross. The second action is to follow that small arrow in the dirt even when it seems to lead to the cliff’s edge or into the heart of the blackberry bush (for this is) to follow the signposts which lead us closer to union with the Eternal Presence. This divine perspective is so much broader and more all-encompassing than our limited human perspective and this can have a genuinely transformative impact on our lives, if we are open to it and if we accept the leadings of the spirit: Taking up the cross is to break patterns. These patterns may be those which affect nations, and raise up successive autocratic governments. These patterns may be cycles of revenge for harm done. Or the patterns may involve the inertia of laziness when we are aware that the homeless shelter needs help, or self-indulgence when we buy a fancy dinner, bypassing the call to give to the food bank. These small acts of resistance may not have any broader implications, or they may signify our participation in a greater evil. Although in one sense Abbott’s vision is far less exultant than that of early Friends’, it remains extremely challenging. This becomes clear when we begin to scrutinise our own lives and ask difficult questions. What are our gods or idols? Where do we place our attention? How easy is it for us to ignore the promptings of the Spirit, especially when it is calling us to do something that causes inconvenience and reveals just how implicated we are in systems of evil on a day-to-day basis? This leads Abbott to emphasise the value of careful spiritual discernment. The acceptance of the inward crucifixion may well lead to real suffering. This is a binding together of spiritual experience and public action. The inward crucifixion may be an inward spiritual experience, but that doesn’t necessarily save us from what Jesus experienced, because when we are transformed and guided by the spirit, we may be led to what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called ‘costly grace’. This could be uncomfortable; it could be embarrassing; it could be physically dangerous; and ultimately it could lead to the loss of our lives. This is why careful discernment is required: Distinguishing the “right cross” asks us to be aware of what is driving us and to be conscious of the consequences of the actions… Escaping danger is rarely fleeing the cross. Yet there are times when it is right to bear painful witness. Abbott cautions against taking a cavalier attitude towards suffering; the spirit will rarely lead us to do something that is physically dangerous and it will never lead us to do something that we do not have the power or resources to accomplish. That said, we need to accept that there are times when it is right to bear painful witness. This presents us with the temptation to ‘flee the cross’. Am I prepared to put my life on the line? Am I even prepared to be mildly inconvenienced by what the spirit leads me to do? Abbott knows this temptation very well but she also knows the strength that can come from resisting it and doing the right thing: I resist some of what the Truth asks of me and at times want to ‘flee the cross’ All too often my head doesn’t want to do what I hear the still small voice pushing me to do… When I respond to the sense of divine love flowing into me and through the world, I find myself stepping into a place of certainty and clarity where I know I move with a tenderness that is more than human. Abbott recognises that it is not by her own power, but rather by divine power working through her, that difficult and costly witness becomes possible. This requires a practice of surrender and deep spiritual listening. Abbott’s book is called To Be Broken and Tender and these are important images within Quaker spirituality. How do we become broken open so that the spirit can pour in? How do we become tender (sensitive) to the leadings of the spirit? From the perspective of early Friends, the inward experience of the cross is the fruit of a disciplined spiritual practice that makes us broken and tender. The cross and dying to the powers – John Howard Yoder and Walter Wink It is clear from the writings of Margery Abbott that the early Quaker understanding of the cross, although it may need to be reinterpreted in contemporary terms, continues to have relevance in contemporary Quaker faith and Quaker practice. This is also the case in relation to the significant challenges we face in the modern world. By drawing on the work of contemporary theologians John Howard Yoder and Walter Wink, it is possible to demonstrate the continuing significance of the cross in revealing the power of evil in the world, understanding how it operates and envisaging a way to overcoming it. Liberal Quakerism has tended to downplay the existence of evil and focus instead on the goodness in human nature. However, looking at the world today, there is plenty of evidence of darkness and evil, if we define this as the causes of conflict, suffering and destruction within the creation. It is really not that hard to find. There are many factors that literally make life ‘hell on earth’ for so many people and other living creatures. The list might include war, torture, poverty, hunger, hatred, injustice, animal cruelty and environmental destruction. Although the sources of these evils are to be found in the human heart, they become solidified in dominant power structures and ideologies that transcend the limits of the individual. These ideologies and structures might include nationalism, militarism, racism, patriarchy, colonialism, capitalist consumerism, homophobia and anthropocentrism. Walter Wink has argued that institutions and social structures have both a visible physical aspect and an invisible spiritual dimension; an outer physical manifestation such as buildings, people, equipment and an inner spirituality such as corporate culture. When the ideologies of darkness, such as those listed above, come to shape the spiritual dimension of social structures and institutions, a ‘Domination System’ is created. Wink suggests that this is an appropriate way to understand the biblical vision of the ‘demonic’ from a contemporary perspective. Both Yoder and Wink argue that since humans need structures and institutions to give order to social life, the powers were originally a divine gift. However, they have turned away from their divinely ordained purpose. Although they were created as servants, the rebellious powers have become masters, claiming for themselves a god-like status. Jesus’ death reveals how God deals with evil and overcomes the rebellious powers. Jesus was willing to suffer defeat for the sake of obedience and in his resurrection and exaltation, the cross became a victory rather than a defeat. For Wink, the powers are not defeated by attack, but by dying to their control. The goal is to liberate ourselves from the influence of these powers and, by so doing, to offer redemption to them and to the world. When enough people withdraw their support and their consent, the powers inevitably fall or fall into line. Therefore, the task of redemption is to heal and subordinate rebellious power systems and institutions and return them to their original and rightful place in the service of God, humanity and the rest of creation. This means that there is a need to change the inner spiritual aspect of power structures and institutions, as well as their outer physical form. This can only proceed from the kind of spiritual transformation we see in the inward cross. Yoder calls Jesus’ approach to the powers ‘revolutionary subordination’. This is how people can accept their subordination to the powers whilst at the same time retaining their moral independence and judgment, enabling them to adopt a practice of engagement and resistance. Subordination does not necessarily entail obedience because it may well involve conscientiously refusing to do what governments, institutions and ideologies demand along with a willingness to accept the consequences. When a society is controlled by a destructive ideology, sometimes the only recourse is to say ‘no’ in the name of a higher authority. So, taking into account the insights of Abbott, Yoder and Wink, let us return to the early Quaker understanding of the cross. Does this vision now make more sense to our modern minds? The faith and practice of Friends has always been rooted in expectant waiting on a Spirit that has the power to teach and transform us. As individuals and as a community, Friends wait quietly for the inward cross and in this transformative experience, the Spirit “shows us our darkness and leads us to new life” (Advices & Queries no.1). Because the Spirit has been poured out on all flesh, this experience is open to all people in all times and places, regardless of gender, race, nationality or religion. The kingdom of heaven becomes a reality on earth as people die to the domination that darkness and evil has over them. When the seeds of greed, hatred, cruelty, violence and destruction are rooted out of the human heart, the institutions and ideologies that sustain this darkness and evil begin to lose their power and the wholeness, well-being and justice of God’s shalom can take their place. However, we would do well to recognise that while the world remains under the spell of the ideologies and institutions of darkness, the way of God’s shalom can be an extremely costly one. For, when we become morally independent of the powers Wilcox, C. (1995) Theology and Women’s Ministry in Seventeenth Century English Quakerism (Edwin Mellen Press Press) p.35-41 Nickalls, J Ed. (1997) The Journal of George Fox (Philadelphia Yearly Meeting) p.33 Nayler, J. and Kuenning, L. (2003) The Works of James Nayler, volume 1 (Quaker Heritage Press) p.43-44 Abbott, M. (2010) To Be Broken and Tender: a Quaker theology for today (Western Friend) pp.67-101 See Wink, W. (2000) The Powers That Be: Theology for the New Millennium ( Bantam Doubleday Dell), Yoder, J. H. (1994) The Politics of Jesus: Vicit Agnus Noster (William B Eerdmans) and Yoder, J. H. (1971) The Original Revolution: Essays on Christian Pacifism (Herald Press). In his bookWilliam Penn explains the difference between the outward physical cross of the old covenant and the inward spiritual cross of the new covenant:The cross represents the power of God to lift people out of their deluded and spiritually dead state in the first birth and bring them to a new life in which they have a fresh way of seeing reality and a new way of relating to things. Fox here uses the cross as a metaphor for God’s power, through the Spirit of Christ, to deal decisively with this spiritually dead state:Although humans find themselves alienated from God in darkness, the cross is the power of God working within to enable them to overcome this darkness and be raised into the light. In the new birth people are in right relationship with God, with each other and with the rest of creation. As a result, what people previously merely professed (i.e. that Christ is their Lord and saviour) they now genuinely possess as a living spiritual power within them. A faith based only on ‘profession’ lacks power but a life characterised by ‘possession’ is a life transformed by an indwelling spiritual power. We see this reflected in the following passages from the writings of James Nayler, George Fox and William Penn:Although in the new covenant the cross begins as an inward experience, this did not mean that the physical cross had no meaning for early Friends. They understood that the transformative experience of the inward cross would inevitably lead to an outward cross, as it had for Jesus. Early Friends fully expected to face suffering and persecution at the hands of a world that had not yet undergone rebirth and was therefore still subject to the forces of evil. Suffering would play a key role in the destruction of evil and the redemption of creation. A theology of suffering is particularly evident in the writings of James Nayler. In his tracte made a clear link between spiritual transformation (the second birth) and the outward cross (persecution and suffering):
In an unforeseen convergence, nearly a dozen institutions of limited football renown are trying to force their way into the cutthroat, unrestrained arena dominated by college football monoliths like Alabama, Notre Dame and Oregon — universities that will be on display as the sport’s most prestigious bowl games are held over the next eight days. As many as 15 other institutions across the country are publicly or privately discussing such a move. Big-time college football programs may have been linked recently to scandals involving illicit payments to players (Ohio State), academic improprieties (North Carolina) and child sexual abuse (Penn State), but that has not slowed a rush to join the fraternity. The institutions chasing a new football status do so with baby steps and varied circumstances, but the common journey has a visionary end — some would call it illusionary — and it is a wonderland of television riches, national exposure and ecstatic alumni donating money by the bushel. “The reality is that football schools who move up a division almost always lose even more money,” said Daniel Fulks, an accounting professor at Transylvania University who has spent the last 15 years as a research consultant for the N.C.A.A. “There’s not much defense of the economics in the short term or the long term. There are arguments for countervailing, intangible benefits — more national exposure, more admission applications, better quality students and increased alumni donations. “That has definitely happened in some places, but it’s not a proven outcome. Some studies say it does work that way, some studies say it does not. There’s the risk.” As the president of Tulane, Scott Cowen might seem one of the winners in the pursuit of big-time football status. Cowen’s institution was recently invited to join the Big East, one of the six elite college conferences that divide up the most lucrative postseason game revenues. But Cowen cautioned those universities eager to join the chase for the brass ring of college athletics. “What any school moving up in football should ask itself is this: what are the real costs of the benefits?” Cowen said. “You will get more visibility and exposure, and at first, that seems like a very good investment. The problem is that once you wade in for keeps at the F.B.S. level, you face facility improvements, escalating coaching salaries, added staff and more athletic scholarships. “The cost curve is extremely steep, and unless you’re in a power conference, the revenue is flat.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story This year, Texas State and Texas-San Antonio (as a transitional member) joined UMass as first-timers in the top tier of college football. Georgia State and the University of South Alabama will make the move next year. Old Dominion, which reinstated football in 2009, and North Carolina-Charlotte, which will play its first football game next year, will be full-time F.B.S. members in 2015. Liberty, Appalachian State and Georgia Southern would like to make the move and are awaiting an invitation from a F.B.S. conference, which is required to join the top tier. But such invitations are not hard to come by in a climate in which conferences restructure almost weekly. Other universities that have discussed taking a leap of faith upward include, among others, James Madison, Delaware, Northern Iowa, Cal-Poly, Villanova, Jacksonville State, Northern Arizona and Sam Houston State. There are already about 125 F.B.S.-level football teams. Making the Move The motivations for the institutions making the step up are as diverse as their locales. Adding a football team, or moving up a notch in competition, is a far different undertaking in Texas than it is in Massachusetts. When Lynn Hickey, the director of athletics at Texas-San Antonio, was asked why her institution started playing football last year and will fully jump to the F.B.S. level next year, she said: “We are in one of the largest cities in the nation, we had an empty dome across town and we’re in a state where football is king. But in Texas, you have to play football at the highest level.” The empty dome was the Alamodome, and Texas-San Antonio, led by the former Miami coach Larry Coker, is averaging nearly 30,000 fans at its home games. “Our corporate sponsorship revenue has quadrupled,” said Hickey, who added that donations have increased similarly. Like all institutions moving up, Texas-San Antonio has spent millions on football; so far, the team supports itself. Photo Texas is not the only football hotbed. When officials at Old Dominion began discussing the possibility of its move to F.B.S. a few years ago, they received about $3 million in pledged donations in two weeks. Old Dominion has 14,500 season-ticket holders and a waiting list of 4,500. It is considering a stadium expansion. Adding football was more than a financial decision, said Wood Selig, the Old Dominion athletic director. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “One major reason was to assist in the effort to become more than a commuter school,” Selig said. “It fits with the strategic plan to groom a residential campus.” It is also a matter of market branding. Fourteen Virginia colleges and universities compete in Division I, but only two — the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech — play F.B.S. football. “To be put on the same plane as Virginia and Virginia Tech is a distinguishing point in our state,” Selig said. “That is how football is the driving force in college athletics today.” Selig said the university was also aware that the N.C.A.A. previously had a moratorium on institutions moving up a class in football and that the N.C.A.A. could restore it at any time. “We did not want to be caught on the outside looking in,” Selig said. “That gave us a sense of urgency.” At North Carolina-Charlotte, Judy Rose, the athletic director, did not wait, either. She recalled when U.N.C.-Charlotte might have been able to join the Big East in 2005 but was spurned because it did not play football. The university studied the leap to F.B.S. for years but agreed to make the transition even though it meant a $45 million expenditure for a new arena and football stadium. A large urban research institution, U.N.C.-Charlotte is also trying to shake its one-time commuter university reputation. It hopes the new football team can have a pivotal cultural impact. “Maybe our students will stay on campus on weekends instead of going somewhere else to watch college football,” she said. 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. Asked if she was worried about big-time football corrupting the priorities of the athletic department or if there was concern that U.N.C.-Charlotte was aligning itself with an ultracompetitive group where rule breaking is hardly uncommon, Rose said: “You do have to pay more attention to football because of the numbers involved in terms of players, coaches and finances. But I’m not worried about getting in bed with any of those folks. I don’t see any of them dropping football. It can be bad, and we’ve all seen what can happen. But when it’s good, it’s really good.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Not Everyone’s a Fan At UMass, which was a national champion at the Football Championship Subdivision level (formerly Division I-AA), there is more discernible disquiet about the move up in class. For starters, many students were disappointed that the home games this fall were being contested almost 100 miles from the campus in west-central Massachusetts. “You hear people complaining that they miss the games on campus,” said Brian Morancy, a senior from Braintree, Mass. “They have buses to the games, but not many people are going to give up the whole day to ride the bus.” The crowds at UMass on-campus home games in recent years had averaged about 14,000. Some UMass students, despite all the banners and bulletin board publicity, were unaware the football team was playing at a higher level or spending more. But others were a little miffed. “I wasn’t crazy with the amount of money they were already spending on football,” said Glenn Larose, a junior engineering major from Chicopee, Mass. “I’m sure the upgrade is meant to get us more publicity, but my tuition goes up 7 percent and at the same time, we’re adding more football players attending for free.” There was enough unease among the UMass faculty that the faculty senate created a 18-member ad hoc committee charged with overseeing the move to F.B.S. football. On Dec. 11, the committee delivered an interim report that maintained that UMass was now spending $8.2 million on football annually, including debt payments on a $34.5 million facility improvement. That total, the report said, is significantly higher than anticipated and more than twice what UMass spent on football before the F.B.S. transition. The report led to a spirited debate at a faculty senate meeting, where some faculty called for UMass to go back to F.C.S. football or dissolve the program entirely in light of recent studies linking football players and brain trauma. “We need to realize now that the move to F.B.S. football was a mistake, and we need to stop throwing good money after bad,” said Max Page, an architecture professor and a chairman of the faculty senate ad hoc committee. “There is now a large group of people on campus who think we shouldn’t go any further and further down the rabbit hole.” Photo At the meeting, Audrey Alstadt, a history professor, noted that the graduate school history program could not be expanded because there was not enough money for a $20,000 teaching assistant’s salary. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “But there are millions for football?” she said. Kumble R. Subbaswamy, in his first year as the chancellor at UMass, inherited the F.B.S. decision. He supports it as a reasonable, calculated risk. “If managed properly, we will come out better for it,” Subbaswamy said in an interview before the football season ended. “There are risks to academic investments, too. When we build a new research center, it is with the hope of attracting more research grants. So that is a risk. “It’s important to keep in mind that the total athletic budget is 4 percent of our expenditures.” Subbaswamy also did not rule out the possibility that UMass would reverse course and retreat from the F.B.S. level. “It’s a very easy matter to one day say we won’t do it anymore,” he said. Struggles Ahead It is, however, exceedingly rare for institutions to make that choice. Multiple institutions have dropped football, but in modern times, almost all have been F.C.S.-level teams. The UMass athletic director, John McCutcheon, stressed patience. “It’s going to take four or five years to see a change for us,” McCutcheon said. “But a football team with a national profile can have transforming effects on a university. I have witnessed that.” McCutcheon was an administrator at Boston College from 1980 to 1992, a stay that included the almost magically successful football seasons led by quarterback Doug Flutie. Soon after Flutie graduated, Boston College had an institutionwide revitalization that has come to be known as the Flutie Effect — something cited by many universities when justifying a leap into the world of big-time athletics. Geography could also be influencing UMass’s decision-making in another way. Its nearest comparable athletic rival, the University of Connecticut, moved up to big-time football 10 years ago and has been largely successful by most measures. In 2009, UConn won in a stunning upset at Notre Dame. After the 2010 season, it played in the Fiesta Bowl. Advertisement Continue reading the main story But chasing prosperous examples likes Boston College and UConn has been a dicey path for other big-time football dreamers. For UMass, and certain other institutions, a more germane comparison might be found in western New York, at the University at Buffalo. Buffalo moved up to what was then Division I-A in 1999 and immediately struggled, which is customary. But 13 years later, Buffalo still has had only one winning season, and that was four years ago. In the last 10 seasons, Buffalo has compiled a 33-87 record; in five seasons, it has won two games at most. Charlie Donnor, the associate director of athletic development at Buffalo, said the benefit of the football program could not be measured solely in wins and losses. “The purpose of F.B.S. football is to brand the university — it gives us exposure in places we could never go before,” said Donnor, who added that Buffalo, part of the State University of New York system, had had an increase in out-of-state students attending since 1999. “It has had positive impact even if the road to consistent winning is a long one,” Donnor said. “And I know our alumni want us competing at the highest possible level.” John Lombardi is a past chancellor at UMass and was also the president at Florida and Louisiana State, two F.B.S. football powers. In Lombardi’s view, the recent rush of lesser football programs toward college football’s holy grail is more of an indication that F.C.S. football, the old Division I-AA, does not work. “Everyone in I-AA loses money and doesn’t get much for it,” Lombardi said. “But even a crummy team in I-A football has higher visibility than a great team in I-AA. So while there are more costs to move up, the universities think that maybe they’ll at least get something for it. “Of course, it’s an illusion that you can make money moving up. What they’re really trying to do is align themselves with the better-known institutions.” But Lombardi sees a brewing quandary. “The number of F.B.S.-level football teams is already too large to be sustainable,” he said. “And the teams at the top are a very strong, organized group. As more schools join at the bottom, it’s going to force the N.C.A.A. to restructure. They’ll have to start putting F.B.S. teams into categories. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “So there will be a second tier again, and that’s certainly not what a lot of these people joining now had in mind. What happens then?”
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----Hash: SHA1Release 1.3.0sha256:b604a2c6299b0b11aa7697f39f7a56e207cbe02defb83c45c9d2e1b99e4c9920 nxt-client-1.3.0.zipChange log:This is the first release which stores all derived objects in the database,instead of keeping all of them in memory only.Derived objects are those that are constructed based on the information alreadyavailable in the blockchain blocks and transactions - i.e, Accounts, Aliases,Assets, Goods, Purchases, Orders, Trades. Storing them in the database instead ofin memory means the Asset Exchange and the Digital Goods Store can scale to muchhigher number of assets, orders, and goods, without requiring an ever growingamount of memory for each node.Using a standard SQL database tables to store those records also allows formuch more sophisticated queries, and allows third parties to write and executecustom queries against those tables directly, without being dependent on the NRShttp API only.By storing the state of all derived objects as of the current height, plus theirstate at previous heights up to 1440 blocks back, it is possible to completelyeliminate the need for blockchain rescans on startup, and on fork resolution.On upgrade from 1.2.8 and older releases, this version will perform an initialbuild of the derived objects tables, which on a fast machine takes about 4 min,but may take longer depending on your hardware. The database size will again growduring this rescan, but after shutdown should shrink back to around 550 MB.There will be no rescans on subsequent restarts, and the startup time is nowreduced to a few seconds only. There will also be no rescans at runtime on blockpop offs.Derived object tables are kept small by trimming them, only records needed toallow rollback of up to 1440 blocks back are kept. If you need to preserve andquery historical information going back all the way to height 0, this trimmingcan be disabled by setting nxt.trimDerivedTables=false (default is true) innxt.properties. After changing this property, a rebuild of the derived tablescan be triggered using the new scan API request, see below.The default number of rollback records kept can be increased while still keepingtrimming enabled, by setting nxt.maxRollback to a higher value (default andlowest possible is 1440). This should provide a compromise for those who want tokeep history of more than the default 1440 blocks, yet want to avoid theperformance penalty of never trimming the derived objects tables.To allow for the increased use of database, default max number of databaseconnection has been increased to nxt.maxDbConnections=30, and lock timeoutincreased to nxt.dbDefaultLockTimeout=60 in nxt-default.properties.Slower machines and high traffic public nodes may experience database locktimeouts with the default settings. To prevent those, MVCC mode can be enabledby appending MVCC=TRUE to the jdbc url in nxt.properties. MVCC is not enabledby default however, because while providing for higher concurrency undermultiple simultaneous connections, and thus avoiding timeouts, it is also sloweroverall and less well tested.To help with debugging potential bugs, default logging level has been set tonxt.level=FINE in logging-default.properties for this release, which will causemore output than usual in the log.API changes:The following existing APIs now allow optional pagination using firstIndex,lastIndex parameters:getAccountBlockIds, getAccountCurrentAskOrderIds, getAccountCurrentBidOrderIds,getAliases, getAllAssets, getAllTrades, getAskOrderIds, getBidOrderIds,getAskOrders, getBidOrders, getAssetIds, getAssetsByIssuer.The limit parameter is no longer accepted by the getAskOrderIds, getBidOrderIds,getAskOrders and getBidOrders APIs, as firstIndex/lastIndex parameters are nowused instead for pagination.getAccountBlockIds in addition to allowing pagination now returns the blocksin descending order, as this is more useful when showing the newest blockson top in the client.getTrades now accepts an optional account parameter, in addition to asset, toallow retrieving trade history for a specific account, for either all assets ora specific asset only.getUnconfirmedTransactions and getUnconfirmedTransactionIds now also acceptthe RS account number format.The Trade JSON now includes buyer and seller account ids, the height at whichthe trade occurred, the asset name, and the heights at which the ask and bidorders were accepted in the blockchain.The Asset JSON now includes total number of transfers, and number of accountsholding the asset.parseTransaction does not just return an error when trying to parse an invalidtransaction bytes or JSON, but adds a validate=false field, plus the actual errormessage, in addition to the parsed transaction JSON.getState no longer includes total effective balance.New API requests:getAccountBlocks - like getAccountBlockIds, but returning full block JSON.If includeTransactions parameter is true, also includes the transaction JSON.getAccountCurrentAskOrders and getAccountCurrentBidOrders -like getAccountCurrentAskOrderIds and getAccountCurrentBidOrderIds, but returningfull order JSON.getAllOpenAskOrders and getAllOpenBidOrders now replace getAllOpenOrders, butonly returning ask or bid orders respectively, and allow firstIndex/lastIndexpagination.getAssetTransfers - retrieves the asset transfers for an asset, account, or both,sorted by height descending.getAssetAccounts - accepts an asset parameter and returns all accounts holdingthis asset as of the current height, and the asset quantity each one owns, sortedby asset quantity descending.Takes an optional height parameter to allow retrieving asset holders as of aprevious blockchain height.getAccountLessors - retrieves the accounts that have leased their balance to thespecified account, takes an optional height parameter to allow querying previousblockchain heights.The historical height query feature in getAssetAccounts and getAccountLessorsdepends on the specified height records still being available, i.e. either tabletrimming disabled, or maxRollback set high enough to cover that height.longConvert - an utility API to convert between signed long ids as used in thedatabase and unsigned long ids represented as strings. Accepts an id in eitherform and returns both the signed and unsigned versions.getECBlock - returns the ecBlockId and ecBlockHeight given an optional timestamp,current time if not supplied.New debug API requests:The following requests are used for debugging purposes only and should notnormally be needed. They are disabled by default, set nxt.enableDebugAPI=true inthe properties to enable them. Do not enable on a public node where the API isaccessible to anyone.fullReset - delete and redownload the whole blockchain.popOff - accepts a numBlocks or height parameters, and pops off that many blocksor back to that height. If table trimming is enabled (default), at most 1440blocks can be popped off. Derived object tables are rolled back to the specifiedheight and blocks and transactions after that height are deleted.scan - accepts a numBlocks or height parameters, rolls back the derived objecttables to that height and rebuilds them by rescanning the existing blockchainfrom that height up again. Does not delete blocks or transactions from theblockchain, unlike the popOff request. A request to rescan more than 1440 blockswhen table trimming is enabled will do a full rescan starting from height 0.Setting validate parameter to true will also re-verify signatures and re-valudateblocks and transactions during the rescan.DbShellServlet:A command line access to the H2 database at runtime is now possible at:This page uses the H2 shell tool to allow querying the database at runtime,directly from the browser, without having to enable auto server mode in the jdbcurl. This servlet is only enabled if nxt.enableDebugAPI=true, and is very unwiseto enable on a publicly accessible node as it allows full read and write accessto the database.The usability of the http://localhost:7876/test API access page has been furtherimproved.Packaging changes:To prevent intentional misunderstanding of why jar files hashes are neverreproducible, the class files are now left unpacked in a classes subdirectoryafter compilation, instead of being packaged in a nxt.jar file. The run.sh andrun.bat scripts have been modified to include this directory on the classpathinstead of the nxt.jar file. Those who still prefer to build a nxt.jar file, caneasily do that with the included jar.sh script, and modify the classpath to useit. A pre-built nxt.jar file will still be included for a few releases, as itis expected by the restart code when upgrading from an older version, but is nototherwise used.Other internal changes:Everywhere, object ids that used to be Longs are now primitive longs, as theiruse as HashMap keys is no longer needed.Preserve and re-process unconfirmed transactions after fork resolution pop-off.Improved propagation of unconfirmed transactions.Multiple minor improvements and optimizations based on profiling results.Merged in code to enable future variable fees based on transaction type andtransaction size.Updated Jetty to version 9.2.3.Added an option to disable transaction re-broadcasting by setting the propertynxt.enableTransactionRebroadcasting to false (default is enabled).Testnet:This release will reset the testnet blockchain back to height 77431. Testnetnodes staying with 1.2.8 are already on a different fork.There is no urgency to upgrade on main net, both 1.2.8 and 1.3.0 versions cancoexist on the network and there is no hard fork involved. The local databasechanges however are not reversible, if you upgrade to 1.3.0 and decide to goback to 1.2.8, you will need to delete the nxt_db folder and re-download theblockchain.-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----Version: GnuPG v1.4.12 (GNU/Linux)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2HLS-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
With WWE adding Saturday Night’s Main Event to its Network archives this week, fans of that age are no doubt thrilled. I speak for myself as well when I think of the joys as a kid of staying up late on the weekends to catch headline wrestlers in marquee matches on free television. Sure, Monday Night Raw’s diluted the allure of that by running through matches with name wrestlers week after week until there’s nothing special about anyone, but things were different in 1980s. The weekends were filled with jobber matches, while the top guys were held apart from each other. Pay-per-view encounters were one thing, but the five or six times you got Saturday Night’s Main Event, you were provided with 90 minutes of must-see television, with Vince McMahon’s carnie drawl, Jesse Ventura’s cartoonish gravitas, Mean Gene’s hype-filled inquisitions, and the best of the 1980s WWE roster playing it all out. Paring down a list to just 25 awesome moments excises much of the good-natured, smile-lame bits, like the 1985 Halloween party, 1990’s Oktoberfest episode, and McMahon and Ventura riding horseback. It also excluded my favorite bit of silliness that was Mr. Fuji singing a country song to prove that he was more of a redneck than Dick Slater. Really, you have to see it. Listed below are 25 of the moments that made the show the spectacle that is still fondly remembered today, and provides a bit of an itinerary for the younger fans to see what’s worth scoping out from the bountiful archive. NOTE 1: This list does not include anything from The Main Event, the five Friday night specials that aired between 1988 and 1991. Otherwise, “twin referees” and Savage walloping Hogan would clog the top of the list (in a good way). This is all Saturday, all the time. NOTE 2: By ‘classic years’, that means only the SNMEs from 1985-92. Nothing from the forgettable 2006-08 run makes it – not that anything outside of Mickie “Single White Female” James betraying Trish Stratus merits consideration. NOTE 3: I’ve chosen to list the airdates of each show, rather than the day they were taped. Since there’s OCD-historian types out there reading this (my favorite demographic), and those folks may ask why I chose airdates, it’s strictly for the magic of the Saturday connotation. For the rest of you with little time to worry about this sort of silly thing, please disregard. 25. DEATH OF THE SUPER NINJA (November 26, 1988) Rip Oliver looked like your typical 1980s territory heel: bleach-blonde hair, non-ironic beard, and sleepy eyes that complimented a slop-eating grin. In many ways, Oliver looked like fellow Portland fixture Matt Borne, and appearance wasn’t all they had in common. Turns out, both men’s most famous runs in WWE came as mysteriously cloaked villains. While Borne gained notoriety as the heinous Doink the Clown, Oliver’s stake was a one-night run as The Super Ninja, a masked fiend imported by Mr Fuji to try and thwart The Ultimate Warrior, and win the Intercontinental Championship. Like most generic masked baddies of the time, Ninja was dispatched in about two minutes, quick work for a rampaging Warrior. 24. THE MOVIE COMES TO LIFE (July 29, 1989) In the Oscar-winning masterpiece that is No Holds Barred, Hulk Hogan (er, “Rip”) finally fights the menacing Zeus after “The Human Wrecking Machine” nearly kills Hogan’s brother, played by Jacob from LOST. Sadly, Jacob wasn’t imported into the WWE-world storyline along with Zeus, but another actor of similar renown would fill his shoes: Brutus Beefcake. During a forgotten classic of a match between “The Barber” and Randy Savage, Sensational Sherri fetched Zeus on The Macho Man’s behalf, and Zeus helped Savage beat down Beefcake. Naturally, Hogan made the save, most notably whacking Zeus with a chair, only for the eventual Dark Knight actor to no-sell it. Hogan selling bug-eyed fear is always a hoot. 23. SNAKE HANDLED (May 2, 1987) WrestleMania III remains memorable, largely for four reasons: Hogan vs. Andre, Savage vs. Steamboat, the crowd, and Piper’s farewell before leaving for Hollywood. The Honky Tonk Man and Jake Roberts had a decent match a ways down the card, which was amazing, given that it had to follow the Savage-Steamboat all-timer. Honky won, but the feud didn’t end there. Roberts was squaring off with Kamala, who had Mr. Fuji and the masked Kim Chee (Kamala’s “handler”) in his corner. Late in the abbreviated bout, Kim Chee struck “The Snake” behind the referee’s back, and enabled Kamala to win with his patented splash. Kim Chee revealed himself to be Honky in disguise right after, but the feud fizzled, due to a Roberts injury. 22. SID WALKS OUT (February 8, 1992) WWE’s sound-doctoring of 1992 Royal Rumble footage has always been laughable, even when I was 8 years old. The crowd clearly cheered when Sid Justice dumped an unsuspecting Hulk Hogan, although WWE added heat-machine effects (and re-did Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan’s commentary to call Sid a cheater, for some reason) to repaint history. Hogan and Justice were slated to face The Undertaker and new champion Ric Flair on the first FOX edition of SNME, and it resulted in a decent formula match, with Hogan being imperiled instead of his partner. There’d be no heroic comeback, as Justice walked out on an ailing Hogan, and threatened to strike an injured Brutus Beefcake, which Heenan delighted in. 21. ANDRE’S LAST GOOD MATCH (November 25, 1989) Through rose-colored lens, the Hulk-Andre WrestleMania III epic comes closer and closer to a five star rating with each passing year. His matches since don’t get the same consideration, as an aging, creaking Andre the Giant was sad to watch, with all due respect. It’s rare to find a truly enjoyable match in his WWE homestretch, with this bout as the rare exception. Andre clashed with Heenan Family nemesis Ultimate Warrior for the Intercontinental gold, and what ensued was a shockingly quick-paced eight minute match, ending with a DQ win for the Warrior. Warrior’s 2014 DVD collection includes this match, and hindsight has been much kinder to not just Warrior’s workrate in general, but especially this gem among the dust. 20. FIRST STRIKE (March 14, 1987) The road to WrestleMania III was paved by the lure of Hulk/Andre, and this Saturday edition was recorded from Detroit five weeks before the PPV (airing just two weeks before the big money showdown). To sweeten the pot, Hogan and Andre were entered in a 20 man battle royal, all but guaranteeing that the icons would lock horns before the championship bout. Earlier in the battle, Andre bloodied “Leaping” Lanny Poffo to the point where the eventual Genius was gurney’d out of ringside. After Hogan eliminated turncoat Paul Orndorff, Andre landed his mammoth headbutt on the champion, and astonished fearful children nationwide by easily dumping their hero over the top rope. A simple twist to fuel the big match. 19. MACHO MAN AND THE HITMAN GUT IT OUT (November 28, 1987) Bret Hart was merely a tag team wrestler, and Honky Tonk Man-flunkie, when “The Hitman” was programmed against the penthouse-level Macho Man Randy Savage. The two were given an impressive duration of time for 1987 (12 minutes) to work a story centered on Hart attacking Macho’s leg. This would be Hart’s biggest litmus test in WWE to that point. The match was tremendously executed, but with a caveat: both men were injured during the bout. Hart cracked his heel on a bump to the outside, and in return (though obviously not intentionally), Hart slammed Savage’s bare foot/ankle into the ringpost as the story called for, and badly hurt Savage as well. Both consummate pros carried on to a great showing. 18. HARDCORE HARLEY (March 12, 1988) Perhaps it’s a bit inappropriate to list an eventual career-ending injury among great moments, but the spectacle deserves mention. Harley Race’s status of one of the toughest individuals in wrestling history often goes unquestioned, and is playfully referenced, often to Chuck Norris and Bill Brasky levels. Race proved said toughness against Hulk Hogan. The story was that Hogan was beyond irate after the screwjob that cost him the WWE Title, and engaged in a frenzied brawl with Race. As the battle wore on, Hogan lay prone on a table, and Race leapt at him, but the Hulkster moved, and “The King” took the bump with his abdomen, sustaining a severe hernia. Still, Race finished the match, with none the wiser. 17. HOBBLED HOT ROD (October 4, 1986) By 1986, Rowdy Roddy Piper had shed his image as the most reviled bad guy of WWE’s mainstream rise, and was now a revered icon, about on the level of old rival Hogan. Even with the change of alignment, it was still a weird image to see Piper make the save for Hogan, when The Hulkster was being assaulted by Paul Orndorff and “Adorable” Adrian Adonis. Adonis was Piper’s new target, following an assault by Adonis, Cowboy Bob Orton, and Don Muraco on the set of Adonis’ “Flower Shop” talk segment, and Piper sustained a leg injury. Despite being hobbled with the injury, a now-galvanized Piper was made to not only save Hogan, but also defeat Iron Sheik in under a minute the same night, all on just one good leg. 16. NINE WILD MINUTES (March 11, 1989) Talk about a match made in heaven. Take The Rockers, wrestling’s most spectacular aerial combo of the day, and pit them with Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard, the epitome of brawn, science, and ring psychology in one nifty package. Tell them to pack their best material in about nine minutes of time, and watch as they blow everyone away. It’s possibly the greatest match from a star-rating standpoint in the show’s history, with false-finishes, relentless action, and the expected creativity (a pinfall reversal sequence that would become standard in eras future). The bout ended with a double count-out, and the feud wouldn’t be blown off until November when the Busters left, but this was its pinnacle. 15. MURDEROUS ANDRE (January 2, 1988) When booking someone to be a giant, it’s imperative to make him look as infallible as possible. Building to the Hogan-Andre rematch on The Main Event, Andre stood ringside for fellow Bobby Heenan-heavy King Kong Bundy in a match with the champ. Hogan won with the ‘Atomic Leg’ after sustaining two Avalanches, a mere prelude to the real fun. With “Real American” blaring, Andre stormed the ring and began assaulting Hogan, applying his vicious chokehold. The British Bulldogs, Strike Force, Jake Roberts, and Junkyard Dog attempted to rescue Hogan, all unable to free Hulk. Jim Duggan struck Andre with a 2X4, allowing the faces to pull Hogan to safety, but it made Andre look like a true killer. 14. THE DRAGON LIVES (January 3, 1987) The fuse of the Randy Savage-Ricky Steamboat Intercontinental Title feud was lit when Savage wounded Steamboat’s larynx, via usage of the metal guardrail, as well as the ring bell. Steamboat was put out of commission, and the caustic Savage whooped it up that he’d apparently ended the career of the biggest threat to his title. Or so he thought! During a title defense against George “The Animal” Steele, Savage was as astonished as anyone when Steamboat made an unannounced appearance, making clear his intent to exact revenge. Steamboat also prevented Savage from injuring Steele with the bell, and the confrontation set the stage for WWE’s match of the decade at WrestleMania III. 13. BEGINNING OF A SHORT-LIVED FRIENDSHIP (May 11, 1985) And you thought Kane and The Undertaker had a complex relationship. Take away the ghoulish and macabre elements of their on-again/off-again bond, and it’s fairly similar to Hulk Hogan’s connection to “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff in the 1980s. After Orndorff was blamed for losing the WrestleMania main event, Hogan reached out sympathetically. On SNME’s maiden episode, Hogan retained the WWE Championship by DQ over Bob Orton when Roddy Piper interfered. Mr. T tried for the save, but the heels beat him down as well. That left Orndorff to hit the ring, clearing it of his former friends. The sight of “Mr. Wonderful” posing with Hogan and Mr. T remains an unusual image thirty years later. 12. ACCIDENTAL CLOTHESLINE (January 27, 1990) Days after Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior, the company’s singles champions, had a time-stopping confrontation in the Royal Rumble match, the two were teamed against Mr. Perfect and The Genius. Hogan scored the pin on Genius, and that seemed to be that, but the post-match activity would set the stage for what was termed “The Ultimate Challenge”. While the good guys celebrated before their fans, Perfect and Genius attacked them. Hogan went down, but Warrior went on a rampage, clotheslining everyone in sight, including Hogan by accident as Hulk stood back up. The miscue led to a confrontation between heroes 1A and 1B, with WrestleMania VI in Toronto tabbed as the site of their winner-take-all match. 11. REIGN-BUSTERS (July 29, 1989) On the NBC version of the show, spanning 34 episodes, this was the only title change. Demolition had reigned as World Tag Team Champions for nearly 16 months, a record that remains unsurpassed. Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard, the Brain Busters, were granted a shot in a two-out-of-three falls match, after a DQ win on the May 27 edition of the show. The Demos won the first fall after Ax pinned Anderson, but they were then disqualified in the second fall for excessive double teaming (the DQ ruling didn’t nullify the title change). With fellow Heenan Family charge Andre the Giant now looming at ringside, the Busters took the third fall after Blanchard struck Smash with a chair thrown in by the Giant. 10. SAVAGE LETS HOGAN TWIST (January 7, 1989) As the Hogan/Savage “WrestleMania Rewind” episode on WWE Network demonstrates, Savage’s subtle facial tics and manic gestures on the road to turning on Hogan were a thing of beauty. All of the hints of paranoid reaction were there, and a viewer could sense that the WWE Champion didn’t really like Hogan, or his proximity to the lovely Miss Elizabeth. Hogan was wrestling Akeem with Elizabeth ringside, when Big Bossman intervened after a ref bump, and the Twin Towers pummeled Hulk. Mean Gene Okerlund implored Savage to save his friend, but an oddly-calm Savage insisted Hulk would be alright. When Bossman grabbed Liz, only then did Savage spring into action, saving her, and not so much The Hulkster. 9. WHO HIT FIRST? (January 3, 1987) Hulk Hogan and Paul Orndorff finally settled their acrimony inside the Blue Bar Cage, with the WWE Championship contested. Standard for WWE fare, the winner would be the one who escaped the structure, as opposed to pinfall or submission. While the NWA-nostalgiaphiles would call this the sissy way of winning, here it produced a pretty creative moment. Hogan began an ascent early in the match, but a refreshed Orndorff took to climbing the other side of the cage. It turned into a foot-race, with both men jumping off the cage wall simultaneously. One official declared Hogan the winner, while the other claimed Orndorff was the new champion. The match restarted and, yeah, Hogan ended up retaining. 8. THE ULTIMATE DUO (November 2, 1985) One month earlier, Andre the Giant teamed with the incomprehensibly-fascinating Tony Atlas in a DQ victory over King Kong Bundy and Big John Studd. The massive duo double-teamed Andre after the bell, prompting Hulk Hogan to make the save. Teddy Long wasn’t there to institute a tag team match, but the dots connected themselves, and a match was made. Hogan and Andre are arguably (nearly inarguably) the most imposing tag team in wrestling history, and it was a treat to see two stars of their magnitude take on Bundy and Studd in a Halloween-themed edition of SNME. The match ended in another disqualification via double-teaming, but Hogan and Andre would clear the ring in standard babyface fashion. 7. THE HARDCORE TITLE IS BORN (November 25, 1989) Hulk Hogan was in the midst of an oddly-entertaining title defense against perma-midcarder The Genius. The bout consisted of Hogan mock-prancing around the ring in a manner that would draw angry diatribes from those clean-conscience souls at Gawker today. While it seemed that another Hogan victory was in order, a swerve finish came to pass. Mr. Perfect struck Hogan with the championship belt outside the ring, and the Genius would win via countout. Perfect then absconded with the title and was filmed destroying the center plate with a hammer, his message to Hogan to give him a shot, or else. That fractured strap would be taped together, and fashioned as the Hardcore Championship in 1998. 6. HBK GETS THE GOLD (November 14, 1992) SNME only ran on the FOX Network twice, but it featured one very significant title change. Mirroring the push of Bret Hart as a tag wrestler-turned-singles stud, Shawn Michaels took to his preening pretty boy role with ease, fusing much of heel-Ric Flair into his own unmatched athletic style. It was Michaels’ destiny to be pushed up the card, and it wouldn’t take long. Already slated to wrestle Hart for the WWE Title at Survivor Series, Michaels was booked against soon-to-be-axed Intercontinental Champion Davey Boy Smith. The angle was that Michaels spent the match working on the British Bulldog’s back, and got him to strike an exposed turnbuckle. Michaels countered a superplex into a crossbody to get the title. 5. DRAGON FEELS THE BITE (May 3, 1986) The injury angle that Ricky Steamboat worked with Randy Savage wasn’t even the most devastating-looking incident involving “The Dragon” in 1986. Jake “The Snake” Roberts jumped Steamboat before their scheduled bout on the show’s near-anniversary edition, and doled out one of the more devastating blows yet seen on WWE television. Roberts jumped Steamboat at ringside, and proceeded to plant him with a DDT onto the bare concrete floor, which purportedly cracked the skull of the Dragon legitimately. Either way, Steamboat was definitely dead weight when Roberts threw his limp carcass into the ring, and allowed a freed Damian to writhe all over him, while Bonnie Steamboat watched in horror. 4. BUNDY MAKES HIS MARK (March 1, 1986) King Kong Bundy dispatched of lower-level opponent Steve Gatorwolf (nice name, though) in under one minute, and then declared that he wanted Hogan’s championship. Immediately after the squash, Hogan defended the title against Don Muraco, managed by Bobby Heenan instead of a purportedly-ill Mr. Fuji. Heenan, of course, was primarily Bundy’s manager. Heenan caused the disqualification, and then Bundy ran in, unleashing an assault on Hogan that consisted of three Avalanches, and two splashes on the prone champion. To build the lure of WrestleMania II, Hogan sold injured ribs as a result of the incident, and for the first time in his two-plus year World Title reign, it seemed as though Hulk was vulnerable. 3. HEEL VS. HEEL (November 29, 1986) Macho Man Randy Savage was the company’s most interesting villain, and his Intercontinental Title reign reflected his higher card status. Jake “The Snake” Roberts just concluded a violent feud with Ricky Steamboat, and established himself among a swelling WWE pack. The two were pitted against each other for the title, with a surprising result. Vince McMahon declared that fans would probably cheer the flamboyant Savage over the icy Roberts, but he and Jesse Ventura expressed surprise as the Los Angeles crowd cheered loudly for Jake. The two worked to out-heel and out-cheat one another before this slice of something different ended in a double-DQ, and a face turn for Roberts was drawing close. 2. HULKA-PLEX (May 27, 1989) And they say Hogan didn’t bump. While your favorite springboardin’, rope-clearing daredevils put it all on the line with without any regard, there’s Hogan mechanically running through his safe moveset, while making the big bucks. Not such a bad thing, is it? In fact, when Hogan did take a risk, I’d argue it meant that much more. Like this particular cage match stunt. Hogan was defending his regained WWE Championship against the Big Bossman within that Blue Bar Cage, and it seemed the hefty prison guard was safely on his way to escaping. Hulk climbed the cage, dragged Bossman to the apex and then (off the top rope, not the cage itself) superplexed Bossman back into the ring in a visual that’s still impressive today. 1. THE MANIA MEETS THE MADNESS (October 3, 1987) Macho Man Randy Savage was centimeters away from regaining his Intercontinental Title from the Honky Tonk Man when the Hart Foundaton broke up the pin for the DQ. Afterward, the trio engaged a beatdown of Savage, but Miss Elizabeth intervened as Honky went for a crowning guitar shot. Honky then threw her down, drawing shocked gasps from everyone. Elizabeth fled to the back as Honky landed the six-stringed smash, but wrestling’s first lady returned with a somewhat perplexed Hulk Hogan. Hogan saw the three-on-one, and then hit the ring, helping clear Jimmy Hart’s clients from the fray. Savage was reluctant to express gratitude, but finally did to Hulk, kicking off the Mega Powers with the famous handshake. Justin Henry has been an occasional contributor to Camel Clutch Blog since 2009. His other work can be found at WrestleCrap.com and ColdHardFootballFacts.com. He can be found on Twitter, so give him a follow. [amazon_link id=”B00JHH1YAW” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]WWE The Paul Heyman Story[/amazon_link] WWE: The Greatest Wrestling Stars of the ’80s Grab discounted WWE DVDs, merchandise, t -shirts, figures, and more from the WWE Shop on Amazon.com (Visited 493 times, 1 visits today) Justin Henry Justin Henry has been an occasional contributor to Camel Clutch Blog since 2009. His other work can be found at WrestleCrap.com and ColdHardFootballFacts.com. He can be found on Twitter, so give him a follow. More Posts Follow Me:
Dave Smith/Tech Insider NEW YORK (Reuters) - The US banking industry is about to launch its answer to the popular mobile payments app Venmo, in what is likely to be the biggest change in years in how individuals exchange funds digitally. Over the next week, five of the largest US banks will light up their segments of a new payments network called Zelle, executives said in interviews. They plan to announce details of the launch on Monday, and expect another two dozen banks and credit unions to join over the next year. The long-awaited network will allow tens of millions of bank customers to send money to each other instantly - known as person-to-person payments - with a few taps on their smartphones. That is an improvement over Venmo, which immediately alerts users that a money transfer is in progress, but takes time to shift funds between bank accounts. Customers who use existing bank payment apps may not notice much of a change beyond marketing. Transfers will simply happen faster because the banks are finally linking to each other, executives said. "By coming together to offer Zelle, we are providing a large majority of Americans with a safe, fast and easy way to move money," said Bill Wallace, head of digital at JPMorgan Chase & Co, the biggest US bank by assets. JPMorgan, Bank of America Corp, Wells Fargo & Co, US Bancorp and Capital One Financial Corp will be the first to plug into Zelle. The network is the product of an industry consortium called Early Warning Services LLC, whose seven owners have more than 86 million US mobile banking customers. Zelle took years to establish because fierce rivals had to come together to make it work. In the interim, Silicon Valley has made inroads into digital payments, particularly with the young customers coveted by banks. PayPal In addition to Venmo, which is owned by PayPal Holdings Inc, Facebook Inc, Alphabet Inc's Google and Apple Inc all offer payment platforms that allow individuals to send money to each other. The banks want to leap over those sleek but scattered offerings by connecting their critical mass of account holders through a single network. "Fragmentation has been frustrating for consumers," said Paul Finch, chief executive of Early Warning. "Inconsistent experiences have made it difficult to send and receive money between banks." Despite losing some ground to technology companies, banks still have a big advantage: No matter what network is used to transfer money, banks hold the vast majority of funds. And despite the popularity of apps like Venmo, they transfer far less money than banks. The value of digital payments processed through non-financial firms was one-fifth of what banks and credit unions processed last year, research firm Aite Group estimates. "We are excited to bring the service to everybody and anybody, regardless of which brand of phone you have in your hand or which generation you belong to," said Gareth Gaston, head of omnichannel banking at US Bank. Along with building customer loyalty, banks hope that Zelle will reduce their costs from handling checks and cash. Eventually, they would like to sell access to businesses that want to eliminate their own paper-related costs. As more banks connect and more customers use the service, sending cash to another individual will simply involve knowing the person's mobile phone number or email address. Later this year, individuals with accounts at banks not connected with Zelle will be able to use its real-time features by downloading an app and pairing it with a Visa Inc or Mastercard Inc debit account. In launching Zelle, banks are being careful not to confuse customers by offering yet another payments app. For instance, Chase will initially twin the brand with the QuickPay app its customers already use by showing "QuickPay with Zelle" on its mobile app and website. Eventually, the QuickPay name could fade away. (Reporting by David Henry and Anna Irrera in New York; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Leslie Adler)
A Brisbane mother has created a custom-made breastfeeding Barbie doll aimed at normalising an often-stigmatised part of life. Mother-of-two Betty Strachan created her custom “Mamas Worldwide Barbie” doll in order to “reflect motherhood in all its glory”, The Huffington Post reports. Her first prototype featured a hand-painted face and a baby doll accessory, and was so warmly received by her mother’s group that Ms Strachan decided to produce more and sell them online. “I realised that it was really something that should be available, because – like most things that society deems unacceptable – educating children is the way to erase the stigma behind it,” she said. Ms Strachan’s first batch of dolls have since sold out. She said most of her customers have been mothers with young children, and that she has received a number of photos of the families enjoying their new toys. Have a good news story you’d like to share? We’d like to hear from you. You can reach us at contact@9news.com.au. © Nine Digital Pty Ltd 2019
In this week’s bitcoin review, we take a look at a new research report that analyzes bitcoin’s market drivers. Data mining shows bitcoin’s market movers Advertisement One advantage of bitcoin’s public ledger is that the data — number of transactions, amount, bitcoin supply — is all there and available to the public. Ladislav Kristoufek at the Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, decided to take advantage of the data to try to investigate some of the most widely held ideas regarding what moves bitcoin’s price up and down. In his research, Kristoufek was able to identify a few things that appear to drive the bitcoin price market, but also discard some other theories. First, Kristoufek eliminated two popular theories: that it’s an investment vehicle and we should blame China. Kristoufek found that bitcoin doesn’t seem to be a safe haven investment like gold nor does the Chinese market influence the USD one. While a lot of the extreme drops and increases coincide with the Chinese regulation or dramatic events within China, Kristoufek found no relation between the Chinese market volume and the USD price although they do move together. However, while bitcoin is a speculative market, it does react to traditional market measures like usage in trade, money supply and price level in the long term. Bitcoin is also technologically driven by the mining community, although Kristoufek found that the mining community’s effect on the price is playing less and less of a role as it became harder to mine bitcoin. The price also reacts to investment interest — something we may be seeing happen right now. CoinDesk reported today that VC investment is already up 30 percent from last year’s total investment. The report from CoinDesk statistics said $113.2 million has already been invested this year with some high profile closing rounds, like BitPay’s $30 million, drawing interest (and maybe driving prices) of the cryptocurrency. The market this week It’s been another good week for bitcoin. There were a couple dips, but overall the price climbed to $656.06 at closing on Thursday, $40 above last week’s closing price. It remained steady around $654.12 as of 10:15am PDT. For background on why we’re using Coindesk’s Bitcoin Price Index, see the note at the bottom of the post. In other news we covered this week: The Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) charged Erik Voorhees for selling unregistered securities as operator of the bitcoin betting site SatoshiDice and a marketing site FeedZeBirds. Looks like Apple is ready to play nice with virtual currencies, for now. An update to its terms of service looks like it may be willing to accept virtual currency applications in its App Store and some apps, like CoinJar, have already reappeared. Here are some of the best reads from around the web this week: Bitcoin in 2014 Bitcoin price is about $100 short of where it started the year. The history of bitcoin’s price A note on our data: We use CoinDesk’s Bitcoin Price Index to obtain both a historical and current reflection of the Bitcoin market. The BPI is an average of the three Bitcoin exchanges which meet their criteria: Bitstamp, BTC-e and Bitfinex. To see the criteria for inclusion or for price updates by the minute, visit CoinDesk. Since the market never closes, the “closing price” as noted in the graphics is based on end of day Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or British Summer Time (BST). Photo from Lam Yik Fei/Getty Images
In 1968, during the third season of Batman, the Caped Crusader faced off against Shame, a colorful cowboy villain abetted by his fiancée, Calamity Jan. The gunslingers scheme to rob an opera and a train. Dressed in a white-fringed Western shirt with red bows in her hair, Dina Merrill made for one memorable Bat-villain. However, in real life, Merrill was far more of a Bruce Wayne. She was one of the richest actresses in the world, with an approximated net worth of $5.1 billion. Of course, this monetary worth was not accumulated from guest appearances on TV shows like Batman, Bonanza and The Love Boat. Born Nedenia Marjorie Hutton, Merrill was the daughter of Wall Street titan E.F. Hutton and Marjorie Merriweather Post, heiress to the Post Cereals fortune. Merrill's grandfather was Post Cereals founder C. W. Post. After attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Nedenia Hutton chose her stage name as a nod to Charles E. Merrill, the co-founder of Merrill Lynch. Merrill landed film roles in hits like Operation Petticoat (1959) and BUtterfield 8 (1960). She kept returning to the theater throughout her career, as well, in productions both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. On Monday, May 22, Merrill died at the age of 93, after battling Lewy body dementia. A socialite of the highest order, Merrill shocked the New York press at the time with her decision to become an actress. Her mother owned what was once the world's largest yacht, and she built the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Merrill spent her youth vacationing at Mar-a-Lago. In 1985, Merrill, who inherited the 118-room estate, sold the property to Donald Trump.
I am pleased to announce that this cycle’s Ubuntu Open Week will be held the week after Ubuntu 9.04’s release, from 27 April to 1 May on #ubuntu-classroom on Freenode. The sessions take place from 1500UTC to 2100UTC (With a special session on Monday night after-hours) Ubuntu Open Week is a week full of IRC tutorial sessions on a range of subjects, designed to help people get involved in the Ubuntu community. It is given by many of the brightest, most capable members of the Ubuntu community, and covers a range of subjects including packaging, bug triage, translations, accessibility, automated testing, loco teams, mentoring, Launchpad, desktop team, training team and much more. There will also be the always popular “sabdfl Q+A” session (Thu 30 Apr @ 15.00UTC) in which you have two hours to ask Mark Shuttleworth, the founder of Ubuntu, your burning questions. Jono and I will also be providing an Introduction and Community Q+A session (Mon 27 Apr @ 15.00UTC) in which you can ask your questions about the community, Ubuntu, Canonical and anything else. New to this Open Week is nearly an entire day of Documentation team sessions, so now is the time to get involved. The schedule is up, so let’s get started! (A few slots left open, if you want them, holler at me) Advertisements
Follow-up! See the follow-up post 👻The Case of the Spooky Certificate👻 for what happens during a renewal! For one of my largest customers, a burning question has been keeping us all awake at night: Where does the soul go when an SSL Certificate expires? Er, I may be getting too caught up in this ghost hunting theme (I blame the Halloween decorations which have been appearing in stores since the second week of July! Spooky!). Let me try again. If we enable WinRM with HTTPS, what happens when the certificate expires? Common knowledge states that WinRM will stop working when a certificate dies, but I wanted to prove beyond all doubt, so I decided to conduct a little experiment. What’s a WinRM listener? Before you can run commands on remote systems, including anything like PSexec and especially remote PowerShell sessions, you have to run the following command. WinRM quickconfig (-transport:https) This command starts the WinRM Service, sets it to autostart, creates a listener to accept requests on any IP address, and enables firewall exceptions for all of the common remote managment ports and protocols WinRM, WMI RPC, etc. For more info… The last bit of that command, transport:https determines whether to allow traffic over regular WinRM ports, or to require SSL for extra security. By default, in a domain we have at a minimum Kerberos encryption for remoting–while non-domain computers will use ‘Negotiate’ level of security–but sometimes we need to ensure a minimum level of tried and true encryption, which https and ssl provides. How WinRM uses certificates For a complete guide to deploying certificates needed for WinRM Remoting with SSL, stop reading and immediately proceed to Carlos’ excellent guide on his blog, Dark Operator. In our usage case, security requires we use HTTPs for WinRM Communications, so we were pretty curious to see what WinRM does to implement certs. When you run winrm quickconfig -trasnport:https , your PC checks to see that you’ve got a valid cert, which issued by a source your computer trusts, which references the common name of your computer and is valid for Server Authentication. Should all of these be true, a new listener will be created, which references in hard-code the thumbprint of the cert used. When a new session connects, the listener looks at the thumbprint and pulls the cert related from the cert store and uses this to authenticate the connection. This will work fine and dandy..but when a certificate expires…is WinRM smart enough to realized this and update the configuration of the listener? Testing it out: making a four-hour cert To put this to the test, we needed to take a PC from no WinRM HTTPS listener, give it a valid cert, and then watch and see what happens when it expires. I already had valid PKI in my test environment, thanks to Carlos’ excellent guide I referenced earlier. All I needed to do was take my current cert template, duplicate it, and set the expiry period down to a small enough duration. First, I connected to my CA, opened up Certification Authority and choose to Manage my Certificates. Next, I right-clicked my previous WinRMHttps template and duplicated it. I gave it a new name and brought the validity period down to 4 hours, with renewal open at 3 hours. Satisfied with my changed, I then exited Cert Management, and back in Certification Authority, I chose ‘New Template to Issue‘ I browsed through the list of valid cert templates and found the one I needed, and Next-Next-Finished my way through the wizard. Finally,I took a look at my candidate machine (named SCOM.FoxDeploy.com), and ran GPUpdate until the new cert appeared. World’s shortest WinRM Listener I took a quick peek to see if there was a Listener already created for HTTPs, and there wasn’t. So I ran winrm quickconfig -transport:https and then checked again. To validate which certificate is being used, you can compare the output of dir wsman:\localhost\Services' to what you see under MMC->Certificates->Local Computer->Personal , as seen below. And for the magic, if both computers trust the same CA, all you have to do is run the following to have a fully encrypted SSL tunnel between the two PCs. Enter-PSSession -ComputerName RemotePC.FQDN.COM -UseSSL Now, I had merely to play the waiting game…only three hours to go! The Waiting Game Sucks I walked away from the PC at this point and came back after dinner, diapers and begging my children to sleep. I left the PSSesson open, and was surprised to see the following message appear when I tried to run a command Here’s the full text of that error message. Starting a command on the remote server failed with the following error message: The Server Certificate on the destination computer has the following errors: The SSL Certificate is expired. Once the cert expires, you can’t run ANY commands on the remote computer, until you reconnect without SSL. Interestingly, you can’t even run Exit-Psession to return to your PC if this happens. I had to kill PowerShell.exe and relaunch it to continue. All attempts at future reconnections also fail with the same error. In short summary: When the cert expires, WinRM doesn’t realize it and keeps presenting the old cert. In other words :yo winRm gone be broke But what about auto renewal? One question that came up over and over is whether auto renewal would step around this problem. It won’t. It SHOULDN’T When a new cert is requested, you’ll always end up with a new cert, with new validity periods and other data will change as well. All of this means there will be a different hash, and thus a different thumbprint. This means that the previous listener, which to our understanding is never updated should not continue to function. However, some people have reported that it does, and thus I’m digging in even deeper with a more advanced test. Our take-aways Today, WinRM’s implementation of SSL presents problems, and in some way is incomplete. Microsoft is aware of the issue, and it is being tracked publicly both in GitHub and UserVoice. Show your support if you’re affected by this issue by voting for the topics: UserVoice GitHub We’re working on a scripted method to repair and replace bad certificates, which is mostly complete and available here. GitHub – Certificate Management.ps1. When this problem is resolved, I will update this post. Edit: I’m performing additional research around cert autorenewal and will update you all with my findings! Advertisements
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- John Calipari appears to have a new obsession related to his No. 1 Kentucky basketball team: Recreating Alabama's dominant football victory over LSU at the BCS Championship Game. Speaking Monday at The Birmingham Tip-Off Club via video conference, Calipari said he mentions Alabama's performance in timeouts to his team. He also called Nick Saban the day after the Crimson Tide won the national title. "I was blown away by their flawless play -- blown away," Calipari said. "And I said to him, 'You may be the best at what we do in any sport. In that environment, all the talking, all the jabbering, all the tickets, all that's going on, you got your team to focus like that and play flawless. And then with two minutes to go there's a penalty and you throw off your headgear!'" Calipari said he told Saban the best part was how Alabama handled its first loss to LSU. "I said, 'Coach, you know you didn't lose to LSU. Your kicker missed some kicks, but you didn't lose the game,'" Calipari said. "'And instead of attacking the kickers, who you were going to need, you went and said, you know what guys, we're going to have another opportunity, let's be ready.'" Calipari, who is searching for his first national title, has referenced Alabama in the Kentucky media since the BCS Championship Game. His players hear it, too. "I'll bring up Alabama in a timeout: 'Are we playing like Alabama?'" Calipari said. "I was so inspired to watch that game. I was like, wow." Samford Athletics Director Martin Newton, who used to be Kentucky's director of basketball operations, conducted the interview by Skype with Calipari. Newton didn't miss an opportunity to prod Calipari about bringing Kentucky to the Pete Hanna Center on Samford's campus in 2013. Samford and Kentucky have a three-year contract that will bring the Wildcats to Birmingham in 2013. It hasn't been decided yet whether the game will be at Samford or the BJCC Arena, which has a much larger capacity. "It's nice for you to mention that, but we're going to play in that big building downtown," Calipari said. Newton said he is "persistent" and will continue to try to bring the marquee game to Samford. E-mail: jsolomon@bhamnews.com Twitter: twitter.com/jonsol
Internet browser compatibility! When I started this blog, I was naive. I thought I knew. I believed in technology. I thought the way I saw my blog was how everyone saw it.A bit like when I was a kid. Then I thought when I would keep my hands over my eyes, nobody else in the world could see, because I could not see.Same with my blog. I thought what I published, all of you would see the posts I would see it.Now I know better. Now I know one thing: "I know nothing". And maybe that I will never know. And the fact that for the user, IT technology sucks.What am I talking about?Two years ago, I only used Internet Explorer. Until a friend told me that some of my posts looked weird on his computer. Text formatting around pictures was screwed up. Some widgets did not show correctly. Some stuff clearly ran outside of the main column. He showed it to me and "Yak!", he was not kidding.He used Firefox. I had never heard of Firefox before (I told you I knew nothing!). I looked at my web statistics and found out quite a lot of visitors used Firefox. So a lot of people saw my blog differently than how I saw it.So I downloaded Firefox, and from then on, I checked my blog both on Firefox and Internet Explorer.Until another friend told me some of the stuff on my blog looked weird. I checked, and it did look weird. He used Safari on a Mac. I downloaded Safari.Just in the last couple of months, I changed the layout of this blog significantly. Added drop-down menus, collapse/expand features, changed fonts, colours, template layouts,... And I tell you, it would take me typically a couple of hours to make the change, but two days to ensure it looks right on different browsers.I can now understand the agony professional web developers have to go through during the final browser-compatibility testing. At work, we are developing a big portal website. And the developers are running past their delivery deadline. Why? Browser compatibility problems. Drives them nuts. And me too.So nowadays, I check everything I publish on my blog in Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer 8, Firefox Opera and Safari . Why? Because The Road's web statistics from the past few months show me this is what you use:The worst is Internet Explorer. The worst of worst is Internet Explorer 6. I don't even check it anymore. It is hopeless. The only hope I have is that my visitors as sensible enough to either upgrade to Explorer 7, or to use a decent browser.Besides formatting problems, Internet Explorer is slow (as I showed in the past ) and often seems to get stuck while waiting for a page to load. Bleh!So my tip for the serious blogger: Download the most popular browsers and test your site. The more features you add, and the more advanced those features are, the more thorough you have to test in different browsers.Oh, and tip of the week: Try BrowserShots , a website that generates a screenshots of how your site looks like on dozens of different browsers, and on the different operating platforms (Windows, Linus, Mac).Have fun, and I hope you don't get too many nasty surprises.PS: If any of you experience problems viewing The Road, just comment on any post! As I said: "I know nothing!", so comments more than welcome! You can also help me with feedback on two different collapse/expand features , see also this post on The Road's discussion forum More blogging tips and tricks on The Road.
The success of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s bid in Bihar to wean Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)] away from the grand alliance depends on Nitish Kumar’s ability to keep his flock of party MLAs together. This is not an easy task, since quite a few JD(U) MLAs may find the prospects of their re-election bleak in case their party goes to polls for the next Assembly polls in alliance with or under any arrangement that can be seen as friendly to the BJP by the electorate. Many of the JD(U) MLAs had won the polls because Muslims and Yadavs had voted for them overwhelmingly and these sections may well turn out to be averse to the legislators’ re-election in case JD(U) changes track midway through its current term in the Vidhan Sabha and adds to already intense polarisation of political forces. This is the main reason behind the divided view in JD(U) vis-à-vis accepting BJP’s open offer of support and severing ties with Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD in the wake of his son and Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav coming under the scanner for alleged corruption. Pointing this out, those familiar with Bihar politics argue that the choice before Nitish is far from being an easy one. And thus, Nitish’s staunch supporters in the party like KC Tyagi have appealed not only to allies like RJD and Congress but also to former JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav to rally behind the Chief Minister in case the crisis dogging the state comes to a tether. Tyagi’s plea for keeping Nitish’s clean image unscathed without actually mentioning the tar of corruption hurled at Lalu’s children is countered by a section of the party leaders by questioning the support offered by Nitish to BJP presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind, who had openly backed former BJP president Bangaru Laxman in the wake of Tehelka’s expose in March 2001 of him receiving cash on camera. Though two wrongs don’t make a right, the fact is that Kovind has been a seasoned lawyer and public figure who opted for lending his support to Bangaru Laxman when the former BJP chief found himself in the dock and Tejashwi is still a rookie despite his high position in Bihar politics. Yet, he is being dragged into a muddle that as per his claims dates back to a time when he was a minor and yet to learn the ropes of the tricky business called politics. Caught up amid such dilemmas, the JD(U) higher ups are busy trying to find a way out of the Bihar crisis and thinking of ways to save the Mahagathbandhan, or the grand alliance, from the BJP’s onslaught. Amid pulls and pressures faced by them, a section of party leaders points to a statement issued by it last month. This questions Nitish Kumar’s high moral ground despite the fact that they had pointed out what they call “irregularities” in Nitish’s election as JD(U) president in April last year and its endorsement in October 2016 at the party’s National council meeting held at Rajgir in Bihar in October 2016. These leaders are JD(U) state presidents of Madhya Pradesh, Govind Yadav, and his West Bengal, Delhi and Uttarakhand counterparts, Amitabh Datt, Thakur Balbir Singh and Pramod Sharma. All these leaders had approached the Election Commission questioning the way Nitish became JD(U) president violating the provisions of the party’s constitution, particularly those related to election in all the state units of the party before electing president for its central unit and appointment of an electoral officer for this. And the Election Commission had ordered in May this year asking JD(U) to sort out issues involved in the election of its party president. Govind Yadav and his cohorts had held a press conference in Delhi besides moving the Election Commission. Today, these leaders remind of the inadequacies of the high standards that Tyagi and Nitsh are trying to appeal to, amid pressure coming from outside the ranks of the party.
About 3D Printing the Future - The Exhibition will take visitors on an in-depth look at how the process of 3D printing actually works, how it is used and how it affects our daily lives. From fashion to décor, entertainment to toys, medical devices to possible human organs, 3D Printing the Future - The Exhibition illustrates 3D printing's boundless and mind-blowing potential to re-shape how we live, work and play. 3D Printing the Future will offer an inspiring glimpse of the future through 3D-printed objects, live demonstrations, and hands-on 3D printing, along with the amazing possibilities for the future. Visitors will watch 3D printers in action as they take an immersive journey through all applications of 3D printing, including: 3D Medicine Guests will learn how 3D printing is revolutionizing the world of modern medicine and be able to view a variety of 3D-printed medical objects, including prosthetics and a knee, provided by the Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS) at USF. 3D Science & Technology Visitors can explore how 3D printing is helping scientists and researchers working in some of the most remote places on Earth. Guests will also learn how 3D printing is being used to help solve crimes, build cars and houses, along with sending replacement tools to astronauts in space. 3D Archaeology The exhibition's guest curator, AIST will act as primary content provider for this section where guests can see how this futuristic technology is being used to preserve our past. AIST will illustrate how ancient sites and artifacts are brought to life in surprising detail and show how scientists are using 3D printing and scanning to advance our understanding of ancient people, places and animals. 3D Fun In 3D Fun, visitors will discover everything from 3D-printed musical instruments and toys to 3D-printed fashion and jewelry. This section will illustrate the modern conveniences that 3D printing can provide in the future, like printing a replacement part for a dishwasher or an extra place setting at the dining table for unexpected company. Additionally, this section shows how the fashion industry has embraced 3D printing as a tool to create beautifully innovative and customized items including clothing, jewelry and accessories that are perfectly tailored. 3D Workshop Because 3D printing is a hands-on world, visitors will have the opportunity to play with 3D printing concepts in this hands-on workshop. Guests will be able to draw with the world’s first 3D printing pen, and families can even take part in an interactive story featuring 3D-printed models. This fun, imaginative story time will offer a glimpse of new ways to tap into the imagination of children through tangible story-themed play that they can design and print out. 3D Live Showcase This live stage show will feature a variety of fun and fascinating demonstrations, including interactive scanning, and step-by-step walk-throughs of the 3D printing process. This show celebrates the fruits of creativity and the “maker movement” using 3D printing.
With the release of Justice League only 2 years away, it’s a bit surprising that more concrete information hasn’t been announced. With the claims that the director short-list was very short, I assumed that some announcement regarding that was going to happen in late 2012, but we still haven’t heard anything on that front. Casting rumours have mostly focused on Batman, but I was also hoping to know at least one of the actors who would be donning a cape for the film by now. While we don’t have any of that information for you just yet, we do have the news of which of the Justice League characters have been chosen out of the extensive list of members to be the focus of the film. Those five characters are Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Green Lantern, and the Flash. No big surprise there, if the film is going to go with only 5 characters as the focus, it was pretty safe to assume those would be the 5. It is a bit surprising for me that Aquaman isn’t part of the main group as my thought was they would focus on 6 or 7 and Aquaman would be one of them. Aquaman and Martian Manhunter are being called the B-lineup, and while neither of them will be in the core group for the film, it’s likely that one or both will make an appearance. It’s probably safe to say that if only one shows up, it’ll be Manhunter, due to the threat being cosmic. Then again, maybe Flash will fall into the ocean and need saving or something. The C-lineup consists of Hawkman, meaning he has almost no chance of showing up in the film. Hawkman is the only character mentioned who wasn’t part of the original team, and while he could certainly add something to the film, if the film is going to involve later recruits, I’d much rather see Nightwing. If Nightwing was added, it would definitely allow for a good subplot involving the dynamic between him and Batman, plus Nightwing is just an all-around cooler hero. The other character I’d choose before Hawkman is Cyborg, considering he’s part of the New 52’s original line-up. That being said, since Hawkman isn’t likely to appear, the fact he’s even being mentioned doesn’t really matter. The problem with Warner’s method as opposed to Marvel’s is introducing all the characters for the first time in the group movie means that each one needs a bit of back-story instead of diving right into the plot. Even those who are extremely well versed in DC lore will still need to be brought up to date on just which incarnation of each character is being used. That’s going to take up a good bit of time. Then there’s getting into the actual plot, which involves detailing Darkseid’s evil plan, having time for that plan to matter, and then the league foiling him at the last minute. We’re looking at a 3 hour movie right there, and it already feels rushed. Some would argue that since Batman and the Green Lantern already had films, the back-story for them won’t need to be as extensive, but considering it’s more than likely that new actors will be taking on those roles, I doubt Warner will try to pick up right where those films left off. Christian Bale has already said he isn’t interested in playing the Caped Crusader under any director but Nolan, so it looks like he’s for sure out. While most talk also includes a new Green Lantern, I wouldn’t be opposed to Ryan Reynolds reprising his role. While the movie may not have been the quality film that the character deserves, I don’t think the blame should fall on Reynolds. He was just unable to overcome the horrible writing. What do you think of this focus on the core 5 members of the Justice League? Are you upset that Aquaman is being left out? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Canada should take care of its own problems before allowing more refugees into the country, say people who are opposed to the government’s refugee plan, according to an exclusive poll conducted for CityNews by Forum Research. On Wednesday, it was revealed that Canadians are split on their support of the government’s plan to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees, with 48 per cent supporting the plan and 44 per cent opposing it. And of those opposing the plan, the majority say it’s because there are already enough problems in Canada. Of those who oppose the refugee plan, what are the reasons? GRAPHIC: FORUM According to a 2014 study, over 235,000 Canadians experience homelessness in a year, and over 35,000 are homeless on any given night. “Look after Canadians, homeless, elderly people, take care of our own before we start helping everyone else,” said one CityNews viewer. “I sympathise (sic) with the Syrians but we don’t have the room to take in all these immigrants.” Thirty-nine per cent of respondents say they don’t support the refugee plan because refugees are a terrorism threat, and 35 per cent say the cost of the program is too high. Regional responses to what circumstances would change respondents’ minds about the refugee plan. GRAPHIC: FORUM And according to those who opposed the plan, the colour or religion of the refugees would not change their opinions. Only 13 per cent said they would consider backing the plan if the refugees were not Muslim, and 10 per cent said they would change their minds if the refugees were Christian. A full 55 per cent said nothing would change their minds on the program. “It does not appear overt racism is behind the reluctance some feel about welcoming the Syrian refugees to Canada, but, for a minority, it appears fear and bigotry are acceptable reasons to object to this plan,” said Forum Research President, Dr. Lorne Bozinoff. Fifty per cent of Albertans opposed to the plan said they feared the immigrants represented a terrorism threat, and 33 per cent of Quebecers said refugees represent a threat to their culture. Results are based on the total sample of 1,369 and are considered accurate plus-or-minus three per cent, 19 times out of 20. The first mass arrival of 150 Syrian refugees will arrive at Pearson airport on Thursday. They will be arriving in a Royal Canadian Air Force jet, on a flight out of an airfield in Jordan.
Some trails now open, and plans for a winter carnival are in the works Snowshoeing enthusiasts, from left, Carol, Joanne and Sue, were at Kivi Park on Thursday morning for some exercise. Photo by Arron Pickard 1 / 1 Snowshoeing enthusiasts, from left, Carol, Joanne and Sue, were at Kivi Park on Thursday morning for some exercise. Photo by Arron Pickard With a small army of volunteers behind it, plans for Kivi Park are progressing well, said the park's developer. Melissa Sheridan, president of CRCS Recreation, which developed the DJ Hancock Memorial Park, said a three-kilometre trail is now open for people who want to go snowshoeing, hiking, walking, fatbiking and dog walking. “The machines pulled out just before Christmas, so we opened the trails,” Sheridan said. “Some are starting to be groomed, and with the snow expected just after New Years, we are going to be grooming the cross-country ski trails.” Kivi Park is being developed on land where Long Lake Public School once stood. Sudburian Lily Fielding donated land to the city this past summer. At 300 acres, Kivi Park is the city's largest park — 23 times larger than Bell Park. The park provides public access to Crown land leading to three lakes – Crowley Lake, Linton Lake and Camp Lake – and provides a city connection to Killarney Provincial Park. The park is named in memory of Fielding’s parents, and in honour of the Finnish immigrants who settled the Long Lake area of Greater Sudbury decades ago. “Since Christmas Eve, even with the freezing rain, there is always vehicles there,” Sheridan said. “It's really great to see. And as more trails open, and more activities are offered, it's only going to get busier.” The group is pushing to have a seven-kilometre trail open very soon, she said. Different trails have different degrees of difficulty, but all trails are clearly marked. The skating rink is also open to the public, and renovations are being done to the rink shack to put in a canteen. For snowmobilers, Sheridan said the trail that ran through the park has been relocated to the front of the property, running adjacent to Long Lake Road – there are no motorized vehicles allowed on the trails in Kivi Park Volunteers are also busy planning the park's first winter carnival, which will have sleigh rides, a bon fire, pony rides, face painting and more. “Years ago, there was the Long Lake Carnival, and it was a big event, and many residents loved it,” Sheridan said. One of the requests when signing up volunteers for Kivi Park was to look at bringing back a winter carnival, she said. It will be held March 4. “With the amazing trails we have in the back, there is plenty of room for a carnival. We had a summer party there, so I think it's only logical we have a winter party, too.” The next day, on March 5, the Northern Cancer Foundation will host a fundraising showshoeing event at the park. Then, starting in February, the park's fundraising committee will be hosting Parents Nights Out, where parents can drop off their children from 6-8:30 p.m. for skating, movies and popcorn and crafts, and parents can go do whatever they need to do for that two and a half hours, Sheridan said. All the money generated from these fundraising events will go toward building the Lily Fielding Pavilion in the park. It will be a gathering place with flower beds and beautiful scenery located near the soccer field. “It will be a great area for people to sit and watch a soccer game or to have a picnic or to just sit and enjoy what's going on,” Sheridan said. “The pavilion is a way for residents to thank Mrs. Fielding for everything she has given to the park.” In the spring, the front 12 acres of the park will undergo a massive upgrade with renovations being done to the soccer field and the redevelopment of the baseball diamond. A mini ice pad was recently put in on the grounds, but it will be extended and a basketball court put in, so there will be skating in the winter and basketball in the summer, she said. There will be volleyball courts, tennis courts and a state-of-the-art playground put in. There will be slack lines, fitness equipment, picnic areas and much more, and that only Phase 1 of the transformation of Kivi Park, Sheridan said. “The park will always be growing, and becoming bigger and better,” she said. “The whole idea is to create a family atmosphere to bring people back to the park.” Kivi Park will also be looking at developing a summer sports program that will teach children the basics of sports, Sheridan said. It won't be overly competitive, but it will give them a feel for the sport in which they choose to participate. There will be a lot more foliage added to the park over the next year, as well. “We had to clear a lot of trees to make the trails, but this past fall, we had a transport load of trees come in, and we planted those back in the park,” Sheridan said. “Over 2017, there will be thousands more planted in the park. We want to keep it that natural setting.”
BMW consumers will now have a bike to go along with their new M5 car. After introducing its new flagship coupe at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show, BMW decides to experiment with the two-wheel market. Matching the M5 in color and style, the new M Bike Limited Carbon Edition comes in Marina Bay Blue and is outfitted with a “hydro-formed aluminum frame and carbon fork, seat posts and spacers.” Limited to only 500 models, the M Bike boasts 28-inch Continental Cruise Contact tires and hydraulic Shimano discs for braking. Those who purchase their own bike will also receive a special certificate to commemorate their buy. You can take a look at BMW’s new Marina Bay Blue M Bike Limited Carbon Edition above, while the product itself will retail for $1,665 USD. Along with bikes, BMW is also continuing its electric operations.
It’s been a good few vape-mail days for me. You know that feeling, when you know a big shipment is soon arriving? My postage tracking site is on constant refresh, even if I’m still at the office. Needless to say – a few new builds have come my way, including a Fogger v4 and some batteries that should allow for sub-ohm builds. Get excited, people. Lunar Dust is a bakery-inspired creation from Canadian vendor SZ Vapor. Not only does this vape promise a mildly sweet vanilla sugar cookie with light mashed banana and a sprinkle of coconut – it also promises an all day vape contender. Of course, dear readers, that remains to be seen. Will this juice shoot us to the moon? Or is it doomed, much like current funding for NASA missions? The answers lie within. The Details: PG:VG Ratio: 30% PG / 70% VG 30% PG / 70% VG Nicotine: 6mg 6mg Tank Cracker: No No Origin: Canada Canada Price: $5.99 CAD / 10ml $5.99 CAD / 10ml Website: http://www.szvapor.com/ The Goods: But first, a disclaimer. Rob at SZ Vapor was kind enough to provide this juice as a review sample for me to try. Of course, like all of my reviews, the opinions before you are mine and mine alone. Lunar Dust has lived primarily in the two drippers that I own: an old trusty Igo-W (that is starting to bug me with its small airholes) as well as a Trident clone. Most interestingly, I have been experimenting with various coils, in particular much lower resistance (~0.7) dual coil builds thanks to some new batteries I’ve purchased. Remember that, we’ll circle back. Nosed from the bottle, the dark brown juice that is Lunar Dust presents itself with a sweet bakery smell that quickly transitions into warm coconut notes. Try as I might, I couldn’t place any banana, which may have folded itself into the overall vanilla tones. It’s a pleasant foreshadowing for the vape experience waiting. Blasted from a dripper, Lunar Dust starts with a full-on wave of vanilla cookie. It’s a very powerful, heady flavour accompanied by a hint of sweetness – as promised. Almost too powerful; at lower wattages, even around 12W, vanilla is all I could detect. Like drowning in vanilla cookie dough. I was about to write Lunar Dust off as a one-note juice and move on to the next flavour. Thankfully, I like to live a while with juice that I review. At higher wattages – around 20W for me – and wide-open airholes, the coconut separates and becomes most apparent in the last lingering breathes of vapour. I must state right now, for the record, that I am a big fan of coconut. And this flavour is a subtle coconut that adds both tropical zest and body to Lunar Dust. Still, not a single shred of banana to be found despite my best attempts. Perhaps chalk it up to the age of my particular sample – around a month or two; good news for any banana-averse vapers amongst my readership. Mouth exhales are the best at highlighting the primary flavours of this juice, but samplers would be remiss if they were to overlook the nose exhale. It is then that the buttery tones of the sugar cookie are most present. This can also be accomplished through a mouth exhale with tongue against to the top of the palate. The room note is very sweet, with strong and lingering vanilla notes. Mostly pleasant, but borderline cloying. I am on the fence on this one. Lunar Dust would be best paired with a tall, cold glass of milk – no surprises there. What this juice does not pair well with, though, is most drinking sessions. The sourness of several lagers is enough to make this juice far too rich. I shudder to think of the effect that red wine binges would have. Stay sober with this one, friends. The Verdict? Those addicted to the taste of vanilla and coconut will find a solid vape in Lunar Dust. Banana addicts and avid beer drinkers must look elsewhere. Rating: 3.5/5. While a good vape, a little too strongly flavoured to be vaped all day, especially into Thursday night drinks. Advertisements
Severe latero-directional oscillations during a high-speed dive caused the fatal crash of a Leonardo AW609 during flight-testing in 2015, Italian investigators have found. Advertisement The aircraft’s excessive yaw angle forced its proprotors to hit its wings multiple times, damaging the hydraulic and fuel lines, and causing an in-flight breakup and fire. The resulting crash fatally injured test pilots Herb Moran and Pietro Venanzi. The findings are detailed in the final report on the accident from Italy’s national agency for flight safety (Agenzia Nazionale per la Sicurezza del Volo, or ANSV), in which it also points to two other causes: the AW609’s flight control system (FCS) controls laws, and a project simulator (SIMRX) that “did not foresee the event in any way.” The ANSV also noted that the accident flight was the first in which such speeds had been reached in the new configuration of a streamlined fuselage in the tail and a reduced tail fin surface. The aircraft’s wreckage was found in three main parts near the city of Tronzano Vercellese in Italy. The ANSV said the distribution of the debris was coherent with a structural breakup in flight, which then caused an explosion and ballistic trajectory towards the point of impact on the ground. The accident took place as the aircraft was performing the third high-speed dive of a test flight on Oct. 30, 2015. The pilots commenced the dive with a left 180-degree turn, targeting 293 knots for the maneuver (though the aircraft reached a maximum airspeed of 306 knots as the crew attempted to resolve the ensuing controllability issues). According to the report, the oscillation started on the roll axis following the exit from the turn, about four seconds into the maneuver. Another oscillation, this time in yaw, was added to the initial slight oscillation in roll shortly afterwards. “The crew did not initially react using inputs to counteract them,” the ANSV states, noting that the oscillating phenomenon had been noticed in previous test flights, but it was considered to be slight and not dangerous, and was believed to be self-damping. As the crew felt the oscillations increase in magnitude, about 23 seconds into the maneuver, Moran tried to counter them with by “roll tracking” — maneuvering the aircraft on the roll axis — the standard pilot procedure for this type of condition. Noticing a pronounced yaw condition, he then attempted to counter this using his rudder pedals. Around this time, an amber “QBALTH” message appeared on the EPDU, indicating a problem with the torque balancing ratio. The ANSV explained that the aircraft’s control laws worked against Moran’s countering maneuvers. “A roll command [in the AW609] is transferred by the control laws into different commands that are sent to the control surfaces that act on the roll (for example: flaperons) and to the differential collective pitch control, that, in this aircraft, regulates yaw,” the ANSV stated in the report. This coupling is to compensate for the expected aerodynamic effect of flaperon control surface motion. So, despite Moran performing the standard compensating procedure, it served to increase the oscillations. A few seconds later, the first proprotor came into contact with the leading edge of the right wing “and the aircraft started to become irredeemably uncontrollable.” The ANSV said the excessive flapping of the proprotors was caused primarily by the sideslip angle reached by the aircraft, that exceeded, by nearly two and a half times, the maximum flight envelope value at the speed of 293 knots (10.5 degrees as opposed to the four degrees maximum allowed). Advertisement A similar phenomenon had been found during a flight test on July 17, 2014, when angle of attack, angle of bank, mach number, rate of decent and number of “g” caused an accelerated stall of the aircraft right wing, and a significant sideslip developed due to lateral acceleration. The situation caused excessive flapping on the right proprotor to the extent that it made light contact with the leading edge of the right wing, but in that instance, the crew was able to maintain control of the aircraft and perform an emergency landing. Following the 2014 incident, Leonardo established new procedures and limitations in the flight envelope. A new parameter (QBALTH) was added to be continuously monitored; between 0.7 and 1, an amber message appeared on the EPDU, with no crew action required. Above 1, and the message appeared in red, and the test would have to be interrupted and the aircraft smoothly leveled. During its investigation, the ANSV said that it visited AgustaWestland Philadelphia Corporation to use the aircraft’s flight simulator, but noted that it was “not possible” to reproduce the conditions that occurred during the accident. “As evidenced by the tests carried out by the ANSV, the simulator demonstrated not being able to faithfully reproduce the dynamics occurred during test flight T664 [the accident flight], reasonably due to the non-representativeness of the aerodynamic set, for the unique and extreme conditions encountered, obtainable in the wind tunnel for the new updated configuration including the tapered rear fuselage and the modified tail fin,” the report states. “Therefore, the [simulator] was not really able to properly carry out the role of test bench for the control laws and risk reduction.” In its safety recommendations, the ANSV said the AW609’s control laws should be reviewed in the management of the extreme flight conditions in which the aircraft could possibly fly. “That verification should be addressed to ensure the effectiveness of the flight controls inputs given by the pilot avoiding the possibility of unexpected and un-commanded coupling effects.” It also called for the mandatory requirement of flight data recorders in experimental aircraft — those on the AW609 were in place solely because Leonardo had chosen to do so, but were central to providing the information the agency needed to piece together the accident. When reached for comment, Leonardo said it would issue a statement “following complete analysis and review of the report.”
You fire arrows because you hurt. So many have fired at you. But you don't even realise the ones in your back are your own This was actually inspired by some nasty anonymous comments I received online While I have never sent messages like that, I can understand it; As well, personally, while dealing with crippling self-doubt and insecurities, it can make you feel like you want to put other people down, send out arrows of hate, because you feel so low yourself. Like somehow if you are nasty or dismissive of others success it rises you up and takes them down. I've certainly felt like firing some of those arrows, so I can see why someone might. So when I was reading the nasty comments, I realised, I didn't feel upset for me, but for them. This person is probably suffering themselves, and feels bad enough to want to take someone else down. But really, when you do that, you are just taking yourself down. The world seems full of arrows when you send out arrows. The world seems full of love when you send out love. Peace, love and Fletchings, Blue x
"This is what you get when you mess with us." [UPDATE!] Now that the Mumbad cycle is complete and several key cards are legal, it is time to revisit my absurd quest to build an (almost) all operations deck. There have been several changes since the previous version, most notably, a faction switch to Weyland Consortium: Building a Better World as the ID, which gives us access to Government Takeover for even less agenda density, as well as giving us a slew of new useful operations (while still letting us Alliance in Jeeves). Edited and updated explanations and story below: "For Immediate Release, Arena Productions, A Weyland Company® [WLND] is pleased to announce its recent acquisition of a controlling stake in Rhapsody Entertainment, the production company founded by Net sensation Miranda Rhapsody. "This lateral acquisition has the potential to leverage our core competencies in behavioral and motivational programming in a trans-sector synergistic re-scoping of Arena's political and informational messaging arms" says Konstanina Singh, VP of Strategic Media Integration for Arena. "The Rhapsody brand, specifically Ms. Rhapsody's upcoming blockbuster 'Oz: The Rejourneying', along with our assumption of Rhapsody Productions' joint venture with Haas Bioroid's [HABD] Cybernetics Division, will create virtuous fractal growth vectors in our agricultural distribution initiatives as well as our privatized government offerings for debtor nations." Civilian tours of the sensie-roid production facilities have been discontinued until further notice. Weyland. Building a Better World." Do you like instant gratification? Do you find it hard doing things like "installing ice" and "defending servers?" Is what you want out of Netrunner to feel like you're playing a degenerate game of Legacy Magic: The Gathering? Look no further! This deck takes all that messy defense out of the game and let's you focus on what is best in life. To wit, killing the runner out of nowhere after playing 12 cards cards in 1 turn. This is the THIRD major draft of my second attempt at a Cybernetics Division deck. Turns out I upgraded it so much I ended up in a different faction! The idea here is simple. Play a million operations to draw cards and quickly create a pile of money (none of which you are likely to spend rezzing ice) and then double Punitive Counterstrike them off the face of the earth. But how does this insane machine work? Let's take a tour... ID: [UPDATE]:Used to be Cybernetics Division: Humanity Upgraded for small deck size and to start them at effectively -1 HP. However, there are a number of spicy Weyland operations from the second half of the Mumbad cycle, and the good HB operations are low inf enough to allow us to come out ahead on inf by swapping. Plus, BABW really helps us get ahead in the money game given the number of transactions we have. Deck Size: [UPDATE] I used to run this at the CD 40 card minimum, but have since realized that controlling WHEN they hit that 1 agenda you want them to steal is important. And for that, we want low density, hence we take the standard 49 card size. Agendas: Since the kill shot is Punitive Counterstrike, we want high value agendas. Government Takeover is hilarious and getting 6 damage per counterstrike is great. It also lets us run a grand total of 5 agendas in our 49. 3 Vanity Project are the next fattest agendas open to us and a single Global Food Initiative rounds out the set. The GFI used to be a The Cleaners, but having GFI means there are SOME situations in which you get a second bite at the apple if you don' kill them on their first steal. Giant pile of Operations: [UPDATE] This is the core of the deck. Basically all you'll be doing every game is playing operations. The deck is 65.3% operations, which comes in handy with our first, and possibly best one... Accelerated Diagnostics: This thing is an absolute BEAST. When your deck is 60% operations, you almost always hit at least one, and usually 2, sometimes 3. The Corp's big problem is lack of clicks, especially when our game plan involves killing the runner on a a very specific turn (the one after she steals an agenda) and this allows for big click compression, letting us dig through tons of cards and make tons of money (needed for our kill trace) in a single turn. Uses include: Subliminal Messaging (free click and credit), all the econ and card draw cards (burst money and more fuel after the diagnostics resolves, Consulting (without the extra click!) for Punative or whatever you need), enabling the "plan B" Jackson Shutdown combo, and of course, glory dig for the winning Punitive Counterstrike. Hedge Fund, Beanstalk Royalties, Restructure, Green Level Clearance, Blue Level Clearance: These are the core of the economic burst economy. The Clearances also have the advantage of drawing us more cards (and Blue Level Clearance cost no clicks instead of two when you play it off Accelerated Diagnostics!). They are all transactions, which really adds up, and helps with hitting breakpoints (Hedge Fund turn 1 gets you to Restructure immediately, eg.). Subliminal Messaging: Oh man, this little guy is so much better than he seems. In the opening hand it basically means you start the game with 6 credits, which is small, but nice. Any other time, its free credit bump, and when you hit one off of Accelerated Diagnostics, it has the effect of basically making the whole Diagnotics click-free! And then there's the random upside of getting it back if the runner is wise enough to be wary of whatever nonsense you appear to be doing. Punitive Counterstrike: Since when does Scorched Earth cost only 2 influence? This is the primary win condition of the deck. Two in a turn will usually kill and a single one will sometimes get it done if they've gone down in cards. This is also the primary reason we have all our agenda points condensed into 3, 4 and 9 pointers. Finally, it should be noted that since it is a trace, you need an economic lead on the Runner. Usually this shouldn't be a problem, since they will theoretically have installed some things and you will be doing nothing but drawing cards and making money in the first turn or two. Election Day: Drawing 5 for 0 credits in-faction is definitely something this deck is interested in doing. And since we are just looking for a specific set of cards, we often don't mind ditching other things in our hand. It is not 100% efficient, since sometimes you have 1 Punitive Counterstrike in your hand and don't want to discard it just to search for more toys. But it certainly helps in a lot of situations, and can even drop agendas into archives if you have Jackson out (or if you only have 1 in hand and want to strategically place it in archives because you are ready for the Counterstrike). Consulting Visit: Honestly, this is why I switched to Weyland. Since our deck is basically entirely operations, this pulls double duty. First, it is Punitive Counterstrike 4-6, which is huge for consistency. Second, it can fetch anything ELSE we need if we're good on counterstrike. For example, it enables the singleton Snatch and Grab to be something we can consistently find if we need to. Finally, the double cost is defrayed a little by our reliance on Accelerated Diagnostics, which let's us play it for no clicks if we hit it. Power Shutdown: Since we are already in Weyland, we can toss in Shutdown to enable the old janky Jackson Shutdown combo. To be clear, this is here as a Plan B to the main goal of getting the Punitive Counterstrikes the old fashioned way. But having this as another avenue increases the consistency, plus has incidental value if they are running with only a few things in play and you can manipulate the math to snipe their film critic. As a brief refresher, the combo works like this: With a Jackson Howard in play, you start your turn with Power Shutdown for your entire deck size. You then jackson back Accelerated Diagnostics and 2 Punitive Counterstrike. Click 2, draw the Diagnostics. Click 3, play Accelerated Diagnostics and double Punitive. ICE [UPDATE] Wait, what does ICE do again? This is more for show than anything. While the deck really just wants to play solitaire as quickly as possible and then bait the Runner into stealing a fatal Vanity Project, there ARE some very nasty things that can happen early when you have zero ice. I'm looking at YOU Account Syphon and Medium. Not so much because it keeps us poor (we can recover), but because it makes the Runner rich enough to fight our Punitive trace. The Crisium Grids are a nod to stopping run events (and just seem better than any other actual ice we could use in that spot, though this is subject to revision). The Checkpoints basically serves two purposes: First, just the presence of unrezzed ice can direct the runner to the unprotected servers (since our whole goal is to manipulate them into stealing an agenda at the right time). Second, it deters nasty HQ events, as noted. Finally, to the extent that the Runner is willing to face-check it, having them take 3 meat damage is delightful, especially if they happened to steal an agenda on the run. Snatch and Grab: This is our out to Film Critic, which basically shuts us down. Being able to Consult for this (bonus points if you remember that this is the same terminology used in Necropotence MTG decks from the '90s using Demonic Consultation - same tutoring function too!) is great. Either you kill it, or they take the tag and you pay to kill it. Same for Guru Davinder (also a connection). Assets: [UPDATE] Jackson Howard: He's almost always good, but is especially important here as a way to let us manipulate when and which agenda the runner scores. We don't want them stealing until we are ready to kill them. And he helps us speed draw to find our pieces. Also protects us against really bad luck when we draw 2 of our ridiculously small number of agendas. Nothing new here. Jeeves Model Bioroids: Oh man. Just. So. Good. First off, they don't cost any influence since we are so heavy into HB. But the primary thing here is that an extra click is absurdly useful for a deck that just wants to get as much done in 1 turn in order to put a combo together. And usually, we're just playing 3 operations in a row, making it really easy to trigger. The high trash cost means that the runner may not always be able to immediately just trash them. We don't NEED Jeeves, but he's all upside for us. General Strategy [salutes]: Make a bunch of money. Draw a bunch of cards (to find Punitive(s)). Then they either hit an agenda in HQ or R&D, or your play and advance one to tempt them. If they are coy about it, then hell, just score the sucker. The main challenge is manipulating the timing of when they hit the agenda, since the super condensed point values mean you don't get a second shot once they steal the first one. If they hit one before you have exactly what you need, you can always try the "glory turn" and try to ride the Accelerated Diagnostics train all the way to combo town (it's an express stop). There are two main scenarios for flatlining: 1) the runner foolishly ended an agenda-stealing turn with 3 or fewer cards in their hand; 2) they are wise to your shenanigans and stay at 4 until they steal the agenda. In the case of 1), you only need to land a single Punitive (unless they've got a plascrete). In the case of 2), you need to have 2 Punitive OR a Punitive and a Consulting Visit. Or you can just fire Punitive #1 and then Yell "YOLO!" ironically while trying to chain Accelerated Diagnostics. On second thought, never yell "YOLO!" Not even ironically. So there you have it. Just to be clear, this probably isn't the most consistent deck in the world and it is definitely still a crazy work in progress. So if you're looking for the deck that "totally won firsteenth million'th place at every tournament evarrr", then you may be disappointed. It is, however, hilarious to play, which is my primary goal. I would also LOVE any feedback, suggestions etc on how to hone this madness even further. So yeah, please let me know what you think of the update. And if you have a chance to give it a try (games are pretty short, I promise :) ) then let me know how it works out.
Cost of Attendance Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) Program Estimated cost of attendance for 2018-2019 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Tuition $94,419 $94,419 $94,419 $62,946 Health Center Fees $946 $946 $946 $698 Mandatory Health Insurance $2,041 $2,041 $2,041 $2,041 Programming Fees $80 $80 $80 $80 Norman Topping Student Aid Fee $16 $16 $16 $16 Orientation Fee $55 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 ADA/ASDA/ADHA Membership $88 $88 $88 $88 CDA Membership $5 $5 $5 $5 Dental Disability Insurance $55 $55 $55 $55 Instrument Mgt System (IMS) $4,524 $4,524 $4,524 $3,016 Equipment/Textbooks $9,595 $2,918 $0.00 $0.00 Scrub Fee $420 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 Clinic Jacket $165 $165 $165 $110 TOTAL $112,409 $105,257 $102,239 $69,055 Indirect Expenses Room and Board $23,739 Personal/Miscellaneous $2,979 Transportation $3,264 Optional Expenses Parking Fees (per trimester) $72-$500 Student Activity Book $200 Dental Hygiene Gen Ed Coursework University Tuition Rate (per unit) $1,863 Tuition and Fees Tuition and mandatory fees are payable the first week of each trimester (September, January, May) and is the same for resident and non-resident students. A large percentage of USC dental students receive financial assistance. Students may apply for a variety of financial aid based on need and ability. Financial need is usually met through a combination of State and Federal loans, private loans, personal resources, and family support. The preceding budget represents estimates of expenses which will be used as a guide in evaluating a student’s financial need and also in the distribution of financial aid. Dental, extra medical costs, car payments, debts, charge accounts, spouse’s education and child care cost are not figured into these budgets. Estimated standard budgets are based on a single person, living off-campus (Not living on campus or in University owned housing.) Amounts will vary depending on individual lifestyles.
PHUKET: An Australian man who passed out drunk during his flight to Phuket was carried off the plane still unconscious and rushed to hospital, according to a local news report. Police said Christopher Lazarus Boubis, 39, later regained consciousness in the emergency ward at Thalang Hospital, but immediately went on a rampage through the facility, the Phuket Gazette reported. "He was shouting and verbally abusing staff, scaring them, before he collapsed again unconscious in an emergency treatment room," a nurse told the Gazette. As the Australian awoke, she said, he seemed dazed and confused. "He even groped one of the female staff." Officers from the Thalang police station arrived soon after to take Mr Boubis into custody. He was later released and escorted by police to his hotel in Patong. "No charges were brought against him as no complaints were filed against him and there was no damage to any property," said Lt Chatree Chuwichian. However, Lt Chatree urged tourists to be more responsible while on holiday. "We understand people come here to have a good time, but please be careful about how much alcohol you drink. If you get too drunk, you could easily harm yourself or others," he said.
Bernie Sanders addresses his supporters during a rally at Hunter's Point Park on April 18, 2016 in Queens, NY. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post) One should be under no illusions that the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal sincerely thinks that Bernie Sanders could or should be the rightful nominee of the Democratic Party. It's argument to that effect, published Thursday, is a bit of trolling so thorough that one suspects they could barely contain their giggles as they typed it up. This is how it starts. I had to step away from my computer for a bit after reading it, because I slapped myself in the forehead so hard that I detached both retinas. If you think the 2016 presidential campaign is already wild, imagine where we’d be without Democratic superdelegates. Bernie Sanders might be the next President. Those sentences are wrong. 0-for-2. But we'll get to that. The 74-year-old socialist won West Virginia’s primary on Tuesday, his 19th victory and second in a row. He still trails Hillary Clinton 1,719 to 1,425 in bound delegates, by CNN’s count, but he’s won a majority of the delegates since March 1. If he sweeps the final 10 primaries and caucuses, he might take the lead among bound delegates heading into the Democratic convention in July. 1. It wasn't really his second in a row, since Hillary Clinton won the Guam caucus over the weekend. That didn't do much to help her delegate totals, but then again Sanders's West Virginia win didn't do much to help his, either. In Guam, she netted one delegate. In West Virginia, he netted seven. In his best state, Washington, he netted 47. In hers, Texas, she netted 72. 2. He does still trail Clinton in pledged delegates by a wide margin -- but he has not won a majority of the delegates since March 1. I rely on Daniel Nichanian's delegate tallies because the Ph.D. student tracks the numbers obsessively. And from March 2 on, Clinton has earned 1,112 delegates to Sanders's 1,021. He has won the most since March 15, the day that Clinton won Florida and Ohio by wide margins and essentially locked up the nomination -- but just 29 more delegates, to be precise. 3. The only way that he can take the lead among pledged delegates by July is if he has huge wins in California (where Clinton has a decent lead) and New Jersey (where Clinton holds a giant lead). Those two states provide two-thirds of the delegates that are left. We looked at this on Wednesday: Even an apocalyptic final few contests for Clinton still has her in the lead in pledged delegates. Notice the assumptions that go into these projections! Notice that the Journal doesn't bother explaining the scale of that "sweep." Winning a state narrowly does him no good. So: 1 for 6. But then there are the superdelegates, the Democratic officeholders who can vote their preference and who overwhelmingly favor Mrs. Clinton. Of the 712 superdelegates, CNN counts 516 for the former first lady and 41 for the forlorn Senator from Vermont. This means she needs only 148 more delegates to clinch a majority for the nomination. As the primary season ends, Democratic voters are exhibiting a profound case of buyer’s remorse about Mrs. Clinton as their nominee, but she’s being rescued by the establishment. The numbers on the superdelegates are generally right: Clinton has a massive lead among superdelegates. She does only need 148 more superdelegates to clinch -- but she'll get those 148 delegates in California and New Jersey, easily. (The two states offer 601 delegates total, so even if Clinton only wins 33 percent of the total, she'll get more than 148.) As we've noted, though, allocating those superdelegates proportionally still has Hillary Clinton clinching on June 7. By the time the race is over, Clinton won't need a majority of superdelegates to be the winner, because she'll still have a big majority of pledged delegates. Nor is it the case that Democrats broadly are having "buyer's remorse," suggesting that voters in early states regret backing Clinton. Some probably do, sure. But Clinton's been at or around 50 percent support consistently since Feb. 1. Undecided voters moved to Sanders, but there's little sign that Clinton's support has collapsed. In recent weeks, her lead over Sanders has increased. 2 for 8. Here’s another irony: The superdelegates favor Mrs. Clinton in large part because they think she’d be the stronger candidate against Donald Trump, but Mr. Sanders does far better in head-to-head polls against the Republican. A Dartmouth College poll has Mrs. Clinton leading Mr. Trump by five points in New Hampshire, but Mr. Sanders leads by 21. This week’s Quinnipiac poll has the Burlington bank basher doing better than Mrs. Clinton in Ohio and Pennsylvania. This is all true! Nice work, Journal. Granted, there are likely reasons that Sanders outperforms Clinton nationally and in those swing states -- and there's a clear reason that Sanders is doing better in New Hampshire. But we'll give them this one. 4 for 10. What the Journal is arguing, though, is that superdelegates should be tempted to ignore months of voting from actual Democrats and give a lopsided majority of their votes to Bernie Sanders on the off-chance that polls conducted six months before the election pitting an unpopular Republican nominee against a largely untested and seldom-attacked Democrat turn out to reflect the actual state of play in November. And that they ignore that Clinton beats Trump, too, but by less. Anyway. We come to the last graph, and the Journal gives away the ballgame. Mrs. Clinton has proven to be a lousy candidate, unappealing even to millions of Democrats. Mr. Trump is probably the weakest candidate Republicans could nominate, yet could Mrs. Clinton be the one Democrat who could lose to Mr. Trump? Maybe Democrats should consider a contested convention. For what it's worth, a minority of Democrats have opposed Clinton. A majority of Republicans have opposed Trump. (More Republicans have voted against Trump, in fact, then Democrats have voted for Clinton.) But it's that last line -- "Maybe Democrats should consider a contested convention" -- that is the point of the piece. The editorial board knows that it's just waving its hands and pulling rabbits from hats. Its goal is not to present a logical, rigorous case for why Sanders should be the nominee; its goal is to foment dissension and disruption within the party that it hopes loses in November. The weirdest assumption it makes, though, is that Democratic superdelegates, largely elected officials and party leaders, would ever care one tiny iota what the conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board thought about anything.
Designing gadgets with desktop 3D printers is nothing new. But until now, no one has ever used an at-home thermoplastic machine to help build a pistol. For one of the nation’s gun lobbies, it's about time. The firearm in question is a .22-caliber rifle developed by Wisconsin engineer and amateur gunsmith Michael Guslick. Using his Stratasys 3D printing machine and blueprints downloaded from the internet, Guslick successfully printed the lower receiver — or frame — of an AR-15 rifle and turned it into a gun. He also shared the results on his blog. "People have been making firearms at home since before America was a country," Dudley Brown, executive vice president of the National Association for Gun Rights, tells Danger Room. "And not only does it not make it dangerous, it makes America safer. It’s where most of the innovation came from. John Moses Browning built guns out of his basement. We’re still using them." Neither Brown nor the NAGR condone building firearms illegally. But at-home plastic gun manufacturing raises some thorny legal and regulatory questions, and has some worried it could undermine attempts to keep America's guns under control. Managing the flow of solid weapons is one thing. How do you control a digital pattern that people can use to print guns in their living rooms? Note that Guslick didn’t manufacture the entire weapon using the printer. The rest of the rifle is assembled from commercial off-the-shelf parts. Guslick provided a photo of an earlier pistol model — seen above — to Danger Room, which shows a printed thermoplastic lower receiver, and a commercially bought metal upper receiver, barrel, grip and magazine. And of course, Guslick didn’t manufacture the ammo either. But as metal and ceramic materials become available for low-end printers, it could become possible to one day print an entire gun. Legally, however, Guslick did print a firearm. Well, maybe. Under the Gun Control Act of 1968, the receiver is what determines whether or not a gun is a gun. No receiver, no gun. For the nation’s gun lobbies — pro- and anti-gun — that may present a problem. Michael Guslick's printed AR-15 rifle: Photo courtesy of Michael Guslick "The laws were written assuming people could make their own guns … the law still does regulate and restrict that," Daniel Vice, senior attorney at the Washington-based Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, tells Danger Room. Guslick likely didn’t violate any laws surrounding the manufacturing of the gun without a license, as it’s only for personal use. If he attempted to sell the pistol, or opened up a factory producing the weapons, he’d need authorization from the government. But Vice said the weapon could possibly be illegal under the Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988, which bans the possession and manufacturing of firearms that can pass undetected through airport security. But U.S. law is unclear whether this would apply to a gun with metal parts. The Glock pistol, for example, uses plastic parts. The National Rifle Association did not comment by press time. A representative from the Second Amendment Foundation would not speak on the record, either. There are also questions about the weapons' practicality, at least for now. Given another decade or two, they could become easier to build. One current problem is that an upper receiver — where the gun’s chamber is located — made of thermoplastics could melt when experiencing the heat given off by a gas-powered rifle. Building a plastic weapon at home also isn't like pressing a button, and requires a bit of technical know-how. Brown also doesn't think criminals would bother trying to make them. "Some [firearms] are legal to make and some aren't, and it doesn't change America," Brown says. "[Aurora shooting suspect James] Holmes legally bought his AR-15. So it's not like crooks are worried about getting a hold of firearms." But beyond that, there’s nothing technically stopping anyone from making one, or at least the receiver. One hobbyist built an AR-15 magazine. "On a technical level, this is absolutely boring, this is old news," Guslick says, surprised by the media attention he’s received. But, he says, "On a legal level, this is kind of a curiosity." He added that he’s not worried about whether his gun breaks the law. "I don’t think it does, legally. There are commercially manufactured lowers which are pure polymer, no metal at all. So if it was an issue we would have heard about it on a commercial basis long ago."
knows much about the massacre at Draper’s Meadow. No witness ever penned an account, and most—if not all—renderings of the events can be traced to a couple of reports written by descendants of the victims. We don’t know the exact location of the massacre, though it’s safe to say that it occurred on land that is now a part of the campus of Virginia Tech, most likely in the vicinity of the Duck Pond, a place Blacksburg residents visit to seek solace: to fish for mud bass, to feed mallards and Muscovy and Canadian geese, to stroll paths creased with frost heaves, to stare at rippling water. Nor do we know what motivated the band of Shawnee Indians to attack this place, once home to a group of enterprising trans-Alleghany pioneers. The explanation given by John Ingles, a descendant of one of the survivors, who claimed that the Shawnee were simply quenching “their heathen thirst for bloodshed and plunder,” smacks of the prevailing attitudes that justified the denigration—and thus persecution—of an entire country’s worth of indigenous people. And while the Shawnee might have had any number of reasons for attacking this particular settlement—after all, the whites here had begun farming land that, by some accounts, had once been sacred hunting grounds—it’s also possible that the Indians had targeted Draper’s Meadow because the French, as part of their new alliance against the British at the outset of the French and Indian Wars, had promised compensation for the scalps of Englishmen. This premise is especially alluring when one considers that the victims of the attack included Colonel James Patton, a formidable—if somewhat arrogant and opportunistic—Irish sea captain and frontiersman, who, in his dealings with Indians and whites alike, had made a good many enemies, and who, it is presumed, had broken away from a supply train to pause at Draper’s Meadow, possibly for recuperative purposes. We don’t know which settler spotted the Indians first. We’re told that Bettie Draper, who sounded the initial alarm, ran into her cabin to retrieve her baby, only to be shot in the arm as she fled. She subsequently dropped her infant child, whom the Shawnee scooped up and whose head they dashed against the ends of cabin logs. Should we believe that Colonel Patton, described by others as “robust” and “Herculean,” was sitting at a writing desk in one of the primitive dwellings when he heard Mrs. Draper’s warning cry? That he grabbed his broadsword and strode out the cabin’s front door, where, before being shot dead, he struck down two of his attackers? We don’t know how the Indians slew their remaining victims, or whether they scalped them. We know only that some died, while others—perhaps those who appeared to be in better shape, and could therefore help replenish the recently diminished Shawnee population—were taken captive, one of whom was Bettie Draper’s sister-in-law, Mary Draper Ingles, whose story of escaping the tribe once they reached Ohio and returning to Virginia on foot, alongside an old Dutch woman who may or may not have tried to eat her, twice, is a tale one can hear in these mountains. We know the Indians set fire to the buildings, but we’re unclear about how they did so, whether they arrived bearing torches or used fireplace logs already burning. We’re told that the Indians’ last act, subsequent to setting the settlement ablaze, was to decapitate a man named Philip Barger, and to deliver a sack containing his head to Mrs. Philip Lybrook, who lived in a cabin with her husband at the mouth of Sinking Creek. Did the Shawnee speak English, and did they, as legend has it, instruct Mrs. Lybrook to look inside the bag, in order to “find someone she knew”? How much time passed before William Ingles and John Draper—husbands of Mary and Bettie, respectively—looked up from their work in the nearby wheat fields, work that had saved them from capture or death, and saw smoke rising above the trees? No one can say. We don’t know if any of the victims were still alive once these men reached the settlement—if these farmers braved flumes of heat to drag their friends and loved ones away from the fire, or if instead they had to wait until the bodies were long dead and aswarm with green iridescent flies before they could retrieve them. One of the few things we do know for sure is that no trace of these settlers’ cabins remains. When I say “we,” it’s not even clear what I mean. The massacre, which I’ve rarely, if ever, heard anyone talk about, has been largely forgotten. The majority of Blacksburg’s current residents seem unaware of the event. It’s true that a number of historical markers commemorate it but these markers are hard to find. There’s a tarnished metal plate, upon which has been engraved a dedication to those who lost their lives on that day, bolted to a rock embedded in the ground on a hillock not far from the university’s President’s House. A stone ledge, buried in the earth on the northeast side of the Duck Pond, bears the following words: DRAPER'S MEADOW MASSACRE, JULY 8, 1755. It’s easy to imagine visitors reading this inscription and having no idea what to make of it, of bypassing the phrase Draper’s Meadow and the date, and zeroing in on the word Massacre, and that particular series of letters delivering them to an altogether different time and place. On the morning of April 16, 2007, more than a quarter of a millennium later, the weather is lousy. I am out in it: jogging through a blizzard of stinging flakes to a bus stop, on my way to the Virginia Tech campus, where I teach creative writing and composition. The snow churns in gusts, seems never to land, fails to accumulate. Once aboard the bus, I hook my arm around a silver post, and we lurch forward, a packed crew of mostly sleepy undergraduates, whose shampoo and cologne smell perfumes the air. A sullen, chubby girl eats Cheerios from a plastic bag. Another, slowly chewing gum, types on her phone with her thumbs. I stare at the patchy beard of a droopy-lidded guy who suddenly yawns so intensely it appears he might be in danger of dislocating his jaw. What I don’t know, what nobody else on this bus knows: two people have been shot in a dormitory on the west side of campus. These people are now dying; perhaps they are already dead. Had someone announced this news to the bus, riders would’ve surely murmured or winced or lifted their eyebrows. Some would’ve cursed, drawn the words out in slow exhalations, holy this or holy that, flipped open a phone to check the news. But the bus would’ve kept going. It wouldn’t have turned around. Nobody would’ve gotten off at the next stop, because nobody ever gets off at the next stop—somebody always gets on. Those students who were headed to the building where, in less than half an hour, hundreds of bullets will be fired into the bodies of forty-seven people, would not have recharted their courses. They would have continued onward. Even had they known, they would have hoped that the people who’d been shot were okay and that the police would apprehend the shooter. They would have remembered the schizophrenic homeless man from the beginning of the year, the one who’d shot an officer on the Huckleberry Trail, the ribbon of asphalt leading from downtown Blacksburg to the New River Valley Mall, in Christiansburg. They would have assumed—as I surely would have—that by the time we reached campus, someone, somewhere, would have things under control. The bus stops at McBryde Hall, one building from Norris, the site where Sueng-Hui Cho will fire 170 rounds into the bodies of forty-seven students and faculty. I walk a hundred yards east, enter Shanks Hall, and climb four flights of stairs to my office, where I pour coffee from a thermos into a thermos cap and check my e-mail and then work on a story I’ve been writing about a dentist whose wife dies on his honeymoon, following an allergic reaction to a manta ray sting. I break from the story and I'm listening to a band called Deerhunter on the computer as I read the last chapters of American Pastoral, a novel by Phillip Roth that concerns a guy named Swede, a former high school basketball star who takes over his father's glove factory and marries Miss New Jersey and produces a daughter who later becomes a domestic terrorist. Wife who dies. Hunter. Domestic terrorist. I fail to note the thematic connection between these words, and thus the synchronicity fails to make itself known. A beep sounds; I click a postage stamp on my screen. The e-mail, from University Relations, explains that a “shooting incident” has occurred and that everyone at Tech should contact the VT police if they spot anything “suspicious.” Word in the building is that it’s a drug deal gone bad, and that the shooter’s been identified as a student from nearby Radford University. Whatever, I think, and return—relatively unconcerned—to my reading. The book’s amazing; I’m completely absorbed. Twenty-five minutes later, another e-mail: “A gunman is loose on campus. Stay in buildings until further notice.” Whoa, I think. Crazy. I shut my book, close my office door, call my wife, Kelly, who tells me to be careful. I check the Roanoke Times Web site and CNN and Washington Post. Nothing. A megaphone system announces, “This is an emergency. Seek shelter immediately. Stay away from windows.” I immediately disobey this command, wheeling my chair to my window, which looks out onto a dormitory and a slice of Turner Street, and the Burger King on the other side. A couple of ambulances speed past. I am not alarmed. I don’t think, Those are for the dead and dying. Three girls, wearing coats and pajama bottoms, emerge from the dorm next door. They light cigarettes. They yell something incomprehensible and defiant. They laugh. They don’t yet know. Neither do I. The first number I hear is one. Then three. Then twenty. Twenty students. Killed. Professors, grad students, and stunned undergraduates who obeyed the commands of the public-address system begin to emerge from offices, whispering huskily. Should we stay? Is it over? Finally somebody says, “I don’t know about y’all but I’m getting the hell outta here.” I follow a professor—a tall, thin man with hunched shoulders and horn-rimmed glasses who has agreed to give me a ride home. Nobody told us we were free to leave, nobody knows if we need permission, nobody knows if it—whatever “it” is—is over. On the way to the parking lot, I feel exposed, permeable. I brace myself for the sting of a sniper’s bullet, the pop of gunfire. I eye every stranger we pass, and every distant figure, with suspicion. I tell myself to act normal—whatever that means. It’s like one of those dreams I have where I find myself in a public place without clothes, or I’ve forgotten to wear pants, but I’ve convinced myself that I can survive the situation by acting like nothing is wrong. By the time we reach the parking lot, my pulse has quickened. Inside the professor’s car, I have to fight the urge to slump to the floor, or at least below the window. I glance into the rearview mirror, where the professor’s eyes are wide, bulging as he slides his key into the ignition. His face is pale and expressionless. He says, “This is huge. This is big-time. Everybody’s going to know somebody.” In my head I fill in the words he omitted: who has died. At home, Kelly and I lock our doors and windows. We still don’t know whether what’s happened is over, and as absurd as it would seem for the shooter to end up inside our house, we aren’t taking any chances. The problem is, our family’s incomplete: Elijah, our three-year-old son, is still in preschool. We debate whether we should walk past the cul-de-sac at the end of the street and then through a stand of pine trees and then across another street to the Church of the Brethren, and retrieve him. We’ve heard that all schools in the county are on lockdown. We also know that, during the day, the doors of the church remain unlocked, and that—under normal circumstances—anybody can stroll right in. We tell ourselves that Elijah will be safe there, in rooms stacked to the ceiling with board games and Tupperware containers of toys, a place where the white-bearded Mr. Bungard and the white-haired Ms. Noni, with their extraordinary powers of persuasion, are able to convince a dozen three-year-olds to quietly eat their snacks, while sitting upon a single blanket, all facing the same direction. We assume our fear is unwarranted, but still, we would like to bring him home, to lock and dead-bolt the doors and hold him, to know for sure that he’s safe—despite the fact that he is not the kind of child who really wants to be held, mainly because he refuses to sit still. In the end, we defer to the judgment of Ms. Noni, who tells us over the phone that there’s no reason to interrupt him, that he’s playing happily with his friends. We postpone our retrieval and pray we’re doing the right thing. We watch TV with our laptops open, refreshing CNN and Fox and the New York Times. Our inboxes have been flooded with e-mail. We field calls, try to return messages, but it’s difficult; we keep losing signals. The wind’s insane—too strong, we learn, for helicopters to airlift wounded. Lights blink. Clocks flash wrong times. The TV goes black, then bursts suddenly to life. Each time, the clamor startles us. We flip channels, seeking eyewitness accounts. We want a justification, however absurd. We want to know how and why this happened, and who was responsible. But we also want names. We need to know if anyone we know was among those who were injured or slain. I picture the faces of my students, and am overcome by an unexpected and desperate fondness for each one, regardless of how much grief they’ve given me: Jessica, the blond Republican who campaigned the previous semester for a state senator; John, the meek speed-metal guitarist; Matt, the droopy-lidded stoner; Brendan, a kid who unironically loves Carnival Cruises; the girl with the last name Butt; the guy with the last name Christ. Some respond to my e-mails. Most say they’re okay; others aren’t sure. Some know people who were shot, others are waiting to hear back. All are shocked and horrified, but thankful someone’s asked how they are. I imagine entering the classroom, but can’t get past that. I can’t imagine asking them to narrow research questions, choose a genre, construct a thesis statement. The final count is thirty-two—thirty-three, if you’re feeling generous enough to count the shooter. Many aren’t. And don’t. The victims include: a former coffeehouse singer, a master’s student researching the sustainability of water quantity during drought, a triple major who played the baritone in the band, an effervescent French teacher, a skilled horsewoman, an accomplished swimmer, a triathlete who also happened to be a top researcher in biomechanics, a master’s student researching storm-water management, a residence-hall adviser who cared for her residents as if she were their mother, a teaching assistant who’d been credited for discovering the first West Nile virus–infected mosquito in Centre County, an accomplished classical pianist with dreams of studying nanotechnology, an award-winning engineering student, a member of the cadet jazz band, a PhD student in civil engineering, a world-renowned hydrologist, and a holocaust survivor. The accompanying photos showcase the obliviousness of innocence. Studying them, reading the biographies, I can’t help but wonder if Norris Hall was an arbitrary choice on the part of the shooter, or if he’d done his research and targeted the building that held the highest percentage of the university’s overachievers and said to himself, Yes, this will be my final destination. At the entrances to our buildings, signs appear—not paper signs but plastic ones, maroon letters that read: MEDIA PLEASE RESPECT OUR MOURNING. This is, for the media, an impossible request to honor. Mourning is a main staple of the media’s diet, and therefore what it continuously hunts. The media, when it asks how we’re doing, hopes our answer is: “Not well.” The media snakes its tentacles into the cracks of a tragedy, feeling, probing, asking: What can I find? Is it sharp enough? Dangerous enough? Sad enough? If the answer is yes, then it slaps on its suckers, shows it to anyone who will watch, moves to the next thing. Let me be clear: I’m one of those watchers. In fact, I seem to be defined at this moment only by my insatiable need to consume news coverage. For hours I flip between channels, worried that I’m on the wrong one, that the one I’m not watching is the one broadcasting the information I need. I learn that Professor Libriscu barricaded the door with his body so students could line up at the windows and leap out; that Kevin Granata tried to tackle the gunman; that a girl who’d been shot twice in the head had survived by playing dead, hiding her phone in her hair as she whispered to 911 dispatch; that the cell phones of dead students were ringing inside body bags as responders lugged them from the building. I am absorbing more information than I know what to do with. My head feels like it’s housing a snowstorm of static. My eyes burn. I flit between channels and browser windows. I don’t know what I’m looking for. It’s too early to accept the truth: that no amount of information will explain what has happened. Meanwhile, the campus has become a prop, a setting, a backdrop for a particular kind of event: the media-glutted aftermath. “Here we are at Virginia Tech,” the reporters say, “the scene of the largest mass murder in American history.” The largest. The worst. The deadliest. The tragedy is, they insist, something that can—and must—be measured. They might as well be saying: Here we are at the worst thing of all time. The V and T accompanying the headlines begin to look foreboding—like the blunt ends of instruments that might be used to bludgeon someone. Cable-news stations have created special logos for this story. The Virginia Tech in Virginia Tech Massacre appears to be the logo of a corporate sponsor, as though the massacre was an event subsidized by the school. A reporter tells a student—one who appears on several different channels in the same gray Virginia Tech sweatshirt, a kid who helped engineer the barricading of a door the shooter blasted two holes through and tried but failed to enter—that some are calling him a hero. What does the student think of that? The student tries to speak, but can’t. His face contracts; he’s trying to stop himself from crying. He quenches a couple of sobs, squeaks out: “I’m just glad to be here.” He’s happy to still be alive. It’s the only thing he knows for sure. The anchorman of Headline News says, “Mm.” He jerks once in his chair, the way a dead body might were it to receive a sudden surge of electricity. “Raw emotion,” he says, as if naming something foreign, a phenomenon he’s read about, and can therefore only imagine. The day after the shootings, Kelly and I attend a convocation, which is held in Cassel Coliseum, the university’s basketball arena. By the time we arrive, the coliseum’s full. Along with the rest of the overflow crowd, we’re directed to neighboring Lane Stadium, where we sit under a blazing sun, a sky now blue. Every fall, fans congregate here to eat monolithic turkey legs and cheer the Hokie defense as it incapacitates opponents. Now the face of the president of the United States appears on the screen of the Jumbotron. It is the head of a man who, four years earlier, supported the preemptive invasion of a country that posed a theoretical threat to our national security. Depending on which statistical records you believe, this invasion may have killed and wounded well over a hundred thousand innocent people. The head, which attempts to look serious, says that it is filled with sorrow, and that someday, whether we can picture it now or not, things will return to normal. Members of the Virginia Tech administration take turns saying things they think we want to hear, or perhaps things they want to hear themselves say. A poet, our most famous, stands to speak. She wears a black suit, a white shirt, a loose black tie. She begins with an assessment—“We are sad today”—and ends with a prophecy: “We will prevail.” Wait, I think. Why are we already thinking about prevailing? Didn’t the shootings happen only yesterday? Weren’t they still happening, in some sense? Weren’t we reliving them in our waking and sleeping dreams? The Jumbotron is malfunctioning, its words now indecipherable. Everything sounds like it’s underwater, like it’s been reverbed and delayed. The sun—a brutal light—bears down on us. We exit the stadium thirsty and sunburnt. On the way out, I pick up a Collegiate Times newspaper. On the back page, Lockheed Martin—the largest manufacturer of weaponry in the world, and a company who has offered significant philanthropic support to Virginia Tech’s engineering program—has printed its condolences. In other news, auditions for Girls Gone Wild have been canceled. At our departmental meeting, the room is packed: TAs, professors, faculty I’ve never seen before. I wonder who had the shooter in class, who knew him, who feels responsible. I wonder who refuses to feel responsible, since what could he or she have really done when faced with a person who’d nurtured such monstrous desires? Refreshments—seven-layer dip, Fritos, pound cake—have been arranged on a folding table. Representatives from Human Resources take turns at a podium: a tall guy with a radio voice, a man who looks like he could play a doctor on TV, a woman who apologizes for being soft-spoken. We collect handouts that include the phrase grief management. A woman said to be an authority in these matters informs us that we should engage in something creative. We might find it comforting, she says, to do something with our hands. We might find solace in gardening. I clench my jaw and shake my head, not at the idea of finding solace, but at the idea that the institution would presume to tell us where it might be found. After the meeting, Kelly and I decide to take a walk through campus. We exit Shanks—the building that houses our department—and for the first time the building’s name on the signage outside suggests to me homemade weaponry. I do not mention this to Kelly. I don’t say anything and neither does she. We pass Norris, the building where the shootings took place. Police tape thrashes in the wind outside. What does it look like in there? Are there people scrubbing bloodstains? Reporters wander the Drillfield, interviewing students, who themselves are wandering. Classes have been canceled. The building: it was full of classrooms where students doodled and snoozed, jotted notes or drew graffiti. The question was now: when people have been shot and killed there—people you knew, or knew of, or didn’t know—where should you go? Everywhere seems like the wrong place to be. The students flock to Kentucky Fried Chicken. They nap on the floor of the local Blockbuster. They place stuffed animals wearing little T-shirts with VT logos upon makeshift shrines. They stand blinking and cold before great waxen candle blobs that rarely flicker with light because the wind keeps blowing them out. They hold signs that say FREE HUGS AND HERSHEY KISSES. They enter great blue-and-white striped tents tethered to the Drillfield to view dozens of long white wooden boards bearing thousands of messages: NeVer ForgeT. I never knew any of you. I will miss you all. There are 32 angels in heaven today explaining what a HOKIE is. 32 gone. Because 1 was lost. Dear Cho, Sleep in peace and let the all the things that hurt you a lot go. I’m sorry I couldn’t do more. I too feel compelled to write something, to put my name upon one of these gigantic sympathy cards that will later be archived in the university library’s Special Collections. The problem is that I have no idea what to write. I’m crippled by self-consciousness and the knowledge that anything I could possibly write would be laughably inadequate. It is futile to address the dead. Brash to make pronouncements. Presumptuous to make public my own private and conflicted sentiments. And why, of all things, would my sentiments matter? All that matters is that the sons and daughters of mothers and fathers, those who were once the age of my own son, are now gone forever. No amount of never forgetting will bring them back. Our wandering brings us to the Inn at Virginia Tech, where skirted banquet tables offer faux-silver platters of granola bars and snack cakes, bowls of apples and oranges and bananas—nourishment for the grieving, for those who are investigating the source of the grief, and for those reporting it. A wall-sized screen in a conference room plays news footage, which, when we pass it, features a still photo of the shooter. His head, which fills the screen, is at least a half a story tall. It has spoken more since it perished than it did during the past twenty-two years. There are no answers to our questions—only facts. The shooter wrote stories and plays and poems about sexual abuse and violence. He had an imaginary girlfriend named “Jelly.” He refused to speak. He said that he didn’t have a choice: he had to kill. He said someone could’ve stopped him. He wanted to be referred to as a question mark. In another conference room, two hundred people are being debriefed. Earlier, a psychologist explained how to stop yourself from crying during television interviews: move your fingers and toes. This physical activity, she said, would trick your brain, and stop your tears. Now, someone’s reading names from the list of the injured, none of which I recognize. Are the people in this room family members of the victims? If so, I feel bad that we’ve intruded. And yet I don’t know what else to do. I feel terrible if I take my mind off the shooter and victims. I feel terrible if I keep my mind on the shooter and the victims. Feeling terrible, it seems, is my new vocation, one that—despite how easy it seems—I feel like I’m failing. I feel disconnected and empty and ashamed for wanting to feel something other than what I do, part of which is: I could’ve been there. If I’d been there, if I’d borne witness, I’d have earned the right to wonder why I’d survived, why I—and not others—had been spared. Not to be dead and yet not to be a survivor, either—and not to know personally anyone who died—was not to know one’s place in the tragedy. You were there but you weren’t. You’d forever be associated with a disaster you hadn’t experienced, a storm whose epicenter remained hidden. You’d feel sad but not sad enough. You’d want to grieve but not be able to—and it’d feel false if you did. On our way back from the inn, we’re stopped by an adolescent girl with dark curly hair. She introduces herself and her brother, a younger redhead with freckles, and asks if we know that God loves us, asks if we know that if we died today, we would go to heaven. It doesn’t take long for me to realize what’s happened: our campus has been identified as a place touched by evil and in need of comfort. It has become a setting where opportunistic young evangelists can come to save souls. I received an e-mail from a relative the day before, telling me how proud he was of his church’s response to the tragedy, which occasioned an e-mail of my own, to my unsuspecting mother, in which I typed the following rant: What kind of world is he living in where he feels the need to express “pride” for booklets presented as self-help devices but which are actually doctrine delivery devices? . . . People are grieving here. Truly grieving. If he thinks this is a chance to indoctrinate people, he is truly out of touch with reality. A hundred yards farther on from the curly-haired girl, we’re interrupted by another woman. She’s wearing a brown velour tracksuit. She has bleached blonde hair. Pink lips. Tan skin. Diamond necklace. She also wants to know whether we know that if we died today we would go to heaven. What we tell her: “No thanks.” Some students claim that they tried to befriend Cho. To greet him. To include him. Maybe they did. Maybe they didn’t. Maybe they’re saying this in order to evade responsibility, to make themselves feel better. Hey, they think, I tried saying hi to him, I tried talking to him and he wouldn’t talk, he wouldn’t speak. I wonder, though, if anyone called him out. Where were the young evangelists when Cho needed a friend? Where was someone to say, “Hey, Cho, you know what, this act you’re putting on—this farcical, existential, I’m-tormented-and-won’t-speak act—is total bullshit.” What if someone had dedicated time to being Cho’s friend? You know that guy who never speaks? I’m pouring all my energy into him, I’m going to make him better, and I’m going to say to him, You aren’t unlovable, people don’t hate you, they just maybe think you don’t speak English, or that you’re shy, or that you’re psycho. Are you psycho? Because it’s okay to be psycho, as long as you don’t hurt anybody or yourself. I’m going to love you if it kills me. At noon the next day, hundreds of students and faculty—all wearing orange and maroon—stream into the Drillfield for a memorial service. A makeshift memorial in front of Burrus Hall features thirty-two limestone slabs, each one piled with flowers and stuffed animals and candles and laminated photos: faces of the slain. Balloons bearing the school colors are released; they fly away until they are tiny dots in the sky, until my brain is tricking me into thinking I still see them when I can no longer be sure. A chaplain reads the full name of each victim, after which a bell is rung. This happens thirty-two times. I lose count, think it’s never going to end. How long will the dead be remembered? Will people memorialize this tragedy 250 years from now? For weeks, our school exists at the epicenter of a place in history, a supercharged moment in an absurd world, a world whose semi trucks are delivering shipments of teddy bears, handmade quilts, framed photographs, memorial ribbons, memory books, paper chains and handwritten letters. Inside the Squires Student Center, the walls have been draped with plastic banners bearing the logos of other universities. They’re like giant flexible cards markered with the names of well-wishers and people who are keeping Hokies in their thoughts and prayers. I pause to read some, wondering, “Do they mean me? Am I a Hokie?” Everybody from everywhere seems to be repeating the same chants: “We are keeping you in our thoughts and prayers” and “We are all Hokies today.” I wonder who made these banners, what kind of person organizes or even knows to organize something like this, and why a banner, and who has the energy and the unself-consciousness and generosity to do such a thing, to write, We Will Prevail, and then sign one’s name. I go for a run. At the halfway mark I trip on a frost heave in the asphalt, fall, scrape the palms of my hands. The endorphins, the pain, the sight of blood—and the phrase blood on my hands actually appears in my mind. I’m afraid to wipe the blood on my sleeves, as I’m wearing my new Hokies shirt. I don’t know what else to do but brush myself off and keep running. But when I try to move, I can’t. I’m hyperventilating. I’m crying. It feels good. I’m sad when it passes. I would like to cry more, but whatever grief I feel is buried in a well that’s too deep to tap. Undergraduates gather in Shanks for treats: a plate of ham, finger sandwiches, Cokes, brownies. But nobody eats. A tall, angular professor hoists a tray and totes it around the room, accepting refusals of food with a gracious nod. Our famous poet sits at a table, signing copies of the poem she read at the convocation, copies of which the department is distributing to English majors. The line to get the poem signed leads out the door and down the hall. I ask Hannah, a former student, how she’s doing. She rolls her eyes. “This sucks,” she says. I ask if she’s going to get her poem signed. “Yeah,” she says, “I’m gonna be like, Will you sign my depressing keepsake?” I laugh, but instantly catch myself. I still don’t know what to do with the phrase We will prevail—three words that have already been transformed into signage, emblazoned upon the back windows of Blazers and Explorers and Range Rovers like so many talismans. I worry about the “we.” I worry it’s not true. Will we all prevail? Maybe not. Certainly most will. Most need to know that someone they love and trust believes they have the power to move on. Most need to know this won’t happen again, that our school is still safe and fun and awesome, that it can’t be changed, that the phrase Virginia Tech won’t be resurrected only with the word massacre. But what about the rest? What about the some? Some lost their one and onlys, their favorites. Some lost the loves of their lives, their fathers and mothers and brothers and sisters. Some will toil in darkness—for years—and never recover. Some can’t, and won’t, be inspired. The eyes of some won’t get watery when ESPN plays lonely trumpet music over a montage of VT photos before sporting events, because they’re not watching sporting events, especially not those that take place at Virginia Tech. Some see NeVer ForgeT bumper stickers and avert their eyes, because “never forget”—for some—sounds like a curse. My son—three years old—is asleep. My son, I’d like to report, has a cherubic face. Then again, most children do, especially when sleeping. Years earlier, the parents of the slain gazed upon their own sleeping toddlers and presumed those faces to be cherubic. These parents reflected already on the passage of time, acknowledged that their children would not always look like they looked now, secretly wished they wouldn’t grow up, that they would always remain small enough to be held. They did not worry that these children would bleed to death on the floors of university classrooms. They did not imagine that their dying children would pretend to be dead in the hopes that they might stay alive. Someday my son will ask about the shootings. Someday he will enter Virginia and Tech into a search engine, and it will automatically add Massacre. He will read the dates, do the math, realize he was alive and kicking not two miles away. He will have no memory of any of it, will not remember the time when his parents were glued to the television for hours on end, will have forgotten that his father became impatient when he clambered over him, how his father, when the shooter appeared on TV with his guns pointed at the audience, shielded his son’s eyes. Two years after the shootings, a Chinese student will remove a knife from a backpack and decapitate another Chinese student, a woman, in a place called the Graduate Life Center. He will walk around Au Bon Pain holding up her head. Later that same year, two students—a young man and a young woman—will be shot fatally at Caldwell Fields, a meadow skirted by a creek about twelve miles from campus. There will be no witnesses. There will be no suspects. The murderer will not be apprehended. Four and a half years later, I will receive an e-mail from VT Alerts that says “Gun shots reported—Coliseum Parking lot. Stay inside. Secure doors. Emergency personnel responding. Call 911 for help.” Despite the tone of the message—and despite the fact that I was on campus during the shootings on April 16, 2007—I shrug it off. Six months earlier, students at a Virginia Tech summer camp claimed they saw a man carrying a gun across campus. Nothing came of it. Furthermore, I am now accustomed to receiving e-mails from VT Alerts on a regular basis; they inform me of robberies and assaults—however few—that occur on Virginia Tech’s campus. So untroubled am I by reports of gunshots that I plan to go about my day, which involves driving to campus to meet a student in my office. But as I begin walking toward Shanks, having parked my car, I realize that nobody’s out, anywhere. I slide out my phone and read an e-mail from VT Alerts informing me: “A police officer has been shot. A potential second victim is reported at the Cage lot. Stay indoors. Secure in place.” I reach my building. It’s locked. I take out my keys, open the door, but can’t get the key back out. I twist and turn and tug. I panic a little. It’s exactly like the movies when the main character is trying to get the car key into the ignition but can’t, and there’s no explanation for why this one simple thing that should work, doesn’t. After maybe thirty seconds, I retrieve the keys, ascend the stairs to my floor. All doors closed. I feel safer in my office, where I load Twitter and CNN. Déjà vu, I think. I can’t believe this is happening. Again. It’s two hours before my department chair knocks on my door, tells me it’s safe to leave. A day will pass before we learn that the assailant was a Radford University student, and that he’d shot the policeman and, minutes later, himself. I tell myself I remain untroubled. I do not seek counseling. I am not plagued by fear or nightmares. But I often imagine dying. I ride my bike on the Huckleberry Trail, see guys dressed vaguely like thugs or gangbangers, imagine them unzipping hoodies to reveal bandoliers, cocking their Glocks and blasting holes through my torso. I pass people on campus who look weird or unkempt or simply just mean, and I imagine them sliding firearms from their waistbands, spraying my brains against Hokie stone. For me, violence is a sick reconstructed fantasy that I replay over and over, if only to prepare myself for the moment when it happens for real, and I can say, with some detachment, This is exactly how I imagined it. There’s a computer in the corner of the second floor of Virginia Tech’s Newman library reserved especially for those who wish to read official documents pertaining to the events of April 16, 2007. I’ve considered visiting the terminal on a number of occasions, but the sign above the monitor, which announces that the computer is to be used only for accessing the special database, has acted as much as a deterrent as advertisement, and for years, I’ve been too sheepish to visit. I can’t explain why, really, except maybe to say I had no “good” reason to do so, and worried that anyone who saw me sitting there—in front of a screen that faces a corner, so as to guarantee privacy for its user—would attribute my browsing to some kind of morbid curiosity. Perhaps this designation has prevented others from visiting as well; I’ve never seen anyone else accessing the database—that is, until today, when I decide to visit the library with the sole intent of accessing it myself. But the person—a bearded man with glasses—who’s parked himself before the monitor is not performing research; he’s an employee updating security software. When I return later to find the station vacant, I’m unable to access the database, in part because it requires a log in I don’t have. I visit the information desk, summon a librarian. He leads me back to the terminal, rifles through a few handouts in a plastic holder, fails to find the instructions. I mention that I’ve never seen a soul using the computer. He’s not surprised. He hasn’t been asked by anybody for the login in two years. Five years have passed since the shootings and I still think about them almost every time I visit campus. This commemoration isn’t willful; it’s automatic. The green expanse of the Drillfield; the Burruss tower; the statues above War Memorial Chapel; the wooden doors of Norris Hall, which once fluttered with police tape; the sight of a bus pulling up to a stop and opening its doors: any and all of these everyday images have the power, at any time, to transport me to the events of April 16. That’s why the phrase Never Forget—a phrase one still finds on T-shirts and magnets and bumper stickers—strikes me as absurd. I couldn’t forget if I wanted to. Eventually, though, people will forget. Or, to put it more accurately, they will fail to remember. Future students and visitors to the university—those who were shielded from the news footage, those who were too young to process it, and those who were born after the events of April 16—will stand before the memorial stones on the Drillfield and read the names of the victims and recall nothing in particular. However horrifying, however inconceivable, the memories of this violence will dissolve with the bodies that carry them. For now, though, those who hear about the infrequent bursts of violence on campus remember the day they heard about the thirty-three who died, and feel compelled to offer us their condolences, express their disbelief. Some of them ask point blank if we’re cursed. We, of all people, don’t know. It’s difficult to persuade others we aren’t. We don’t feel like we are. We live in a kind of paradise. In some ways, it is not so different from the world the Ingleses and other English settlers inhabited in the mid-eighteenth century, when they lived in Draper’s Meadow. We have blue mountains and green hills. We see foxes under our overpasses; deer graze upon our lawns. The world’s second-oldest river flows through our county. We know our neighbors and have genuine affection for them. We often leave our doors unlocked. Our children run through their yards, unsupervised, unimpeded, wild. We stand outside at night, under the stars, and despite all that has happened, and because it is something we are committed to feeling, we tell ourselves that we are safe, and that now the worst of it must be over.
Oligarch Valley BARSTOW, CA — I was in the middle of the Mojave Desert on my way home to Venice Beach after finishing NSFWCORP's grueling 24-hour radio show, when I remembered something I've been meaning to check out in this neck of the desert: a massive new shit-processing facility near Hinkley, a poor town about 40 miles west of Victorville. If the name "Hinkley" sounds familiar, that's because it probably is. The town was immortalized in Steven Soderbergh's 2000 Oscar-winning docudrama "Erin Brockovich," in which Julia Roberts played a sassy LA lawyer/legal clerk who successfully sued California utility giant PG&E for poisoning the locals' underground drinking water. Turned out that for years a local PG&E pumping substation had been dumping a highly carcinogenic anti-rust agent called Chromium-6, which had then seeped underground and mixed with the town's water supply. Scores of people wasted away from cancer and other mysterious maladies as a result, while PG&E attempted to buy off the locals and suppress information about this from leaking out. The real-life Erin Brockovich forced PG&E to pay out $333 million, the largest direct-action lawsuit settlement at the time. Meanwhile Julia Roberts snagged an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as Brockovich, allowing her to up her next film fee to $25 million. As for Hinkley, most of the people involved in the PG&E lawsuit have died or taken the money and gotten the hell out. But the town's troubles were far from over. When I moved to Victorville in 2009, Hinkley's remaining residents were fighting another looming toxic threat. A shady company called Nursery Products was set on turning 160-acres of dry desert on the edge of town into a massive open-air shit-processing facility designed to handle 400,000 tons of concentrated human feces every year, the output of roughly 1.5 million human digestive tracts Sludge is a thick, black-brown pudding-like substance that's left over after raw sewage waste is filtered at a wastewater-treatment plant. And no matter what the sludge boosters say, it is Grade-A toxic stuff. Sludge — or "biosolids," as the sludge industry likes to call it — is more than just human shit; it includes all sorts of stuff that gets flushed down the toilet. Analyze it and you'll discover a diverse world of bacteria, viruses, parasites, worms, killer fungi, antibiotics, prescription drugs, heavy metals, PCBs (that's the plastic chemical that causes flipper babies), petroleum products and just about every type of industrial solvent known to man. Hell, some sludge even tests positive for radioactive waste. At the Nursery Product facility, all of that would be festering—or "composting"—right out in the open, a fetid, stinking mass laid out in rows 20 feet high, baking in the desert heat, periodically turned over with tractors. Naturally, anyone living within a 30-mile radius of the proposed Nursery Products shit dump objected to the plan. The area is prone to high winds and powerful flash floods, which all but guarantees that its toxic, bacteria-infested sludge particles would be scattered by wind and water for miles around. Not only were opponents worried that the stuff would engulf Hinkley, with its 2,000 people, school, alfalfa fields and dairy farms, but that toxic sludge particles would surf the powerful desert wind all the way to Barstow, a city of 22,000 and a major thoroughfare for traffic moving between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. These concerns weren't theoretical. Nursery Products used to run a similar — but much smaller — sludge composting plant in a nearby desert town of Adelanto (the "parent trigger" school privatization city) in the mid-2000s, which it was forced to shut down after locals started getting horribly sick. Yep, not long after Nursery Products came to Adelanto in 2002, parts of the city became engulfed by clouds of noxious odors and its residents assaulted by massive swarms of roving flies. People came down with ear, nose and throat infections. Children attending an elementary school near the sludge-composting facility started vomiting, suffered from dizzy spells and nausea, and developed nose bleeds and recurring headaches. Even workers from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, which has power lines running through the area, started coming down with bizarre symptoms. Here's a downright scary letter that a local sent David L. Lewis, director of the National Whistleblower Center, in 2004 describing his experience with Nursery Products: Dear Dr. Lewis, I have read a lot about you and a lot about sewage sludge only after the fact that a co-composting plant moved in about 1 mile south of where I lived. Adelanto, Ca 92301. The owner said he is a Green Waste Facility and it is called Nursery Products. How misleading. The facility started Aug, 2002. For the past year I had been having dizzy spells, problems breathing and bleeding sores on my arms and some on my face. I had been to my doctors several times and to the E.R. They never could find anything wrong, they would say it's probably stress go home and relax. I also ended up with a severe sinus infection that wouldn't go away with antibiotics and flushing my nose with sterile saline I was scheduled for sinus surgery (which I never had done) and then they thought it could be anxiety with my breathing problems they recommended some medication for that. I never got it. They did give me meclazine for my dizziness. I never put all my symptoms together with the strong fertilizer/ammonia smell I was smelling usually at night, until an article in the newspaper and a council meeting on Nov 5, 03. Then things got worse and the smell got stronger and on Nov 23, 03 I was pumping gas at our local circle K, the smell was so strong it made you gag by the time I got home my face felt like it was on fire (like a severe sun burn). I went to urgent rare the next day, the Doctor told me to get out of Adelanto for a few weeks until my symptoms cleared up. I wish I had listened. Things got even worse on Jan 16, 04 my blood work came back with slightly high liver enzymes which is consistent with Toxins in your body (I don't drink or smoke) Then on Jan 20, 04 I had a chest x-ray done it showed a black spot on my lungs. The doctor sent it out to a specialist to read it and I still don't know what it is. … On Jan 30, 04 I ended up at urgent care because I was wheezing so bad and could barely breath. They gave me a breathing treatment and strong antibiotic and entex. They said I had pneumonia/bronchitis. I found out that this is what most of the people are diagnosed with. There were over 200 people at the council meeting on Nov 5, 04. Even young kids spoke to the council telling them they are so sick they can't go to school. So this is when I started doing my research and calling and e-mailing every elected official I could find, they all told me it's not their problem it is a city problem. I can't believe the mentality of these people when you talk to them, they are all in Denial or getting paid big bucks. Nursery Products' Adelanto facility was such a huge clusterfuck that even the LA Times wrote about it in 2006: Nursery Products has been run out of town before because of health concerns. …The California Department of Health Services investigated the complaints in Adelanto. Although there wasn't enough data to determine if residents' health problems were caused by composting, the report concluded that some of the symptoms were "consistent with biosolid-related exposures documented in the scientific literature." Schoolchildren at Bradach Elementary School, two miles from the Adelanto facility, suffered vomiting and increases in bloody noses and respiratory infections, school officials said. A "black mass of thousands of flies" covered the school's outer doors and windows, according to then-principal Melva Davis. "On some days, the stench was so foul that students playing outside complained of stomachaches and headaches, and experienced vomiting," Davis said in a 2005 court declaration. Employees at a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power switching station 200 yards from the composting facility also complained of health problems, and Los Angeles eventually filed suit. DWP workers' eyes itched and their noses ran on account of the dust and odors, and employees had to wear beekeeping headgear to keep flies away from their mouths, eyes and ears while they worked on high-voltage equipment, said DWP attorney S. David Hotchkiss. By the time I came out to Victorville in 2009, the anti-sludge resistance, which included people from the nearby town of Barstow and a suburban fake-lake enclave called Newberry Springs, had been fighting Nursery Products for about three years. The effort was being led by Norman Diaz, whose ancestors got a small chunk of desert farmland in Hinkley via the Homesteading Act. Diaz worked as a professional location scout in Los Angeles, but moved back out to the family plot and its decrepit frontier farmhouse with his wife so they could raise his kids out in a freer and healthier rural setting. And then Nursery Products showed up with plans to put a massive shit dump next door… "This project would be illegal if done where the sludge was produced," he said. "We should not have any potential for the health, safety and long term happiness of our community. They will say it is only one third of the Inland Empire Sludge. I say that is the waste of 2 million people being carelessly dumped on a community of 30,000." Norman was very good at organizing the resistance. Locals lobbied San Bernardino County pols, retained pro-bono representation from Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment, took Nursery Products to court, generated local grassroots support and were fairly successful in attracting media attention. But no matter how much the law was on their side or how technically right they were, they could not stop the Nursery Products facility from moving forward. By the time I left, towards the end in 2010, it was becoming clear that Hinkley was waging a losing battle. Although no one had any hard evidence, locals were sure that Nursery Products was part of some kind of bigger cabal, backed by powerful business and political interests. The fix was in: Hinkley had been chosen as the spot where coastal cities would dump its shit and that was it. There was nothing they could do about it. Their conspiracy theories were not so far-fetched… In other words: Things didn't smell right, and it wasn't just the sewage. Nursery Products appeared to be little more than a shell company that existed primarily on paper. It owned a plot of land, was financed with a federal small-business-association loan and four shadowy investors, and had a single owner, one named Jeff Meberg, who registered the company as an LLC at his home address. Nursery Products was barely a real company and there was no guarantee that it would survive its various legal challenges, yet it had already lined up multi-year contracts with a bunch of different cities and municipalities worth millions a year. The company had limited cash, but enjoyed a seemingly endless legal lifeline and boundless goodwill from the local San Bernardino County pols. I remember trying to help Norman Diaz track down the shadowy interests backing Nursery Products, but the chase led down a bunch of rabbit holes and dead ends. It was as if Nursery Products was purposefully structured to obfuscate and hide ownership. At one point we traced it to a bigger national sludge/waste management parent company. But those links were inconclusive. Nursery Products was clearly connected to the local Republican political machine. One of its guardian angels was a hyper-evangelical San Bernardino County Supervisor by the name of Bill Postmus, who spiraled out of control in a peculiarly evangelical closet-case kind of way: being arrested for possession of meth while under investigation for all sorts of corrupt dealings and kickbacks. Postmus eventually pleaded guilty to fourteen felonies, including bribery, conspiracy, extortion and the misappropriation of public funds. So…we never got very far in our quest to track down the man behind Nursery Products, but delving into the bowels of the sludge-disposal industry turned me on to the existence of a much bigger political struggle that went beyond Nursery Products and involved the biggest and most populated municipalities in Southern California. Put simply: coastal cities were running out of places to dump their elitist shit on the cheap. The roots of this "problem" go back the 1970s, when stricter wastewater-dumping regulations were passed, forcing coastal municipalities to treat and filter their sewage before dumping it into the ocean. One thing that cities quickly realized was that getting rid of the filtered sewage sludge — the concentrated fecal putty that's left over after the treatment process — wasn't going to be cheap. Dumping the stuff in landfills or using it to generate methane gas were probably the two best methods, but these were also the most expensive options. The cheapest: to dump the sludge in the open air — either spreading it directly on fields as "fertilizer" or processing it in specialized outdoor "composting" facilities like the one Nursery Products was proposing. Such facilities were supposed to air ripen the sludge, turning it into a "safe" commercial fertilizer that can be spread on crops and sold to unsuspecting consumers at Home Depot. Naturally, the sludge-processing industry gravitated to isolated, low-income regions where people were too poor, too tired and too powerless to do anything about the shit getting dumped on their doorstep. In other words: the economics of sludge processing followed the basic freemarket principle outlined in a memo by Larry Summers in the 1991, when he served as the Chief Economist of the World Bank: “I think the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest wage country is impeccable and we should face up to that.” With time, regulations tightened on outdoor sludge-processing facilities, making it harder and harder for coastal elites to dump their shit on the cheap. Today there are only a half-dozen facilities where Southern California municipalities can send their sewage sludge, and half of those facilities are in a different state. A colorful map produced by Orange County's Sanitation District illustrates the situation very well. The agency, which is "responsible for safely collecting, treating and disposing the wastewater generated by 2.5 million people," trucks 33 percent of its sewage sludge to a facility in Kern County about a 150 miles away and 60 percent to two facilities on the Arizona border, around 200 miles away. Yep, you read that right: Republican Orange County dumps more than half of its Red State shit on two Red State counties in Arizona — something like 450 tons of shit daily! The scarcity of sewage dumps is so acute that Los Angeles had to resort to buying its own shit farm out in the Central Valley just so it could have a secure place to dump its feces. But even that plan is now under threat, as locals are trying to make it illegal for LA to dump its out-of-county shit on them. I wrote about some of this at length in my Oligarch Valley epic. With this kind of scarce-resource shit economics, it's no wonder that Nursery Products had sailed through all its legal challenges so effortlessly. Every major municipality from Santa Barbara to San Diego saw it as their savior…their dark prince riding a shit-colored stallion. * When I heard a while back that Nursery Products had finally opened up for business, I decided to check out this savior of the sludge industry… It wasn't easy finding the place. I couldn't find any signs, and the landscape outside of Hinkley was an endless, flat wilderness of rocks, desert scrub and a periodic Joshua tree. All I knew was that it was just off highway 58, a few miles west of Hinkley. So I crept down the road, scanning the barren desert landscape for signs of movement. I finally spotted something out on the horizon about eight miles out of town: a cloud of thick, brown dust and several plumes of black exhaust, as if from tractors or some other kind of heavy machinery. And sure enough, I hit the spot. Driving down the dirt road towards the dust and smoke, I passed two big rigs that had just dumped their load and were leaving the facility. As I got closer, I could smell the foul stench of rotting shit. Even though I was downwind, aggressive flies were on the scene in two seconds. A few of them got inside my car and took to dive-bombing my nose and eye… I drove up the main gate and looked around. The shit-processing facility appeared to be in full swing. There were a couple of cars parked out front and two big tractors working the field out beyond. One of them pushed the black sewage sludge into rows and mounds, while the second the tractor dragged some kind of huge black cylinder to fluff and flatten them or something. There was also a water tank, a trailer/office and some of other kind of heavy farm-type equipment, but not much else. When I attended a county hearing on the Nursery Products facility back in 2009, a company rep talked about all the modern safety features that would be built into the site. But all I saw was a massive chunk of desert that had been leveled and graded and filled with glistening black sludge piled up in rows. I was surprised by the simplicity of the operation. This is what it takes to dispose of the concentrated human and chemical waste produced by two million people? Just dump it in a clearing and bake it dry in the sun? Not a bad gig when you consider that a recent contract to dispose of the shit of 65,000 residents of San Clemente — the Orange County beachfront city where President Nixon had his "Western White House" vacation residence — brings in a cool $1 million a year. Nursery Products doesn't seem to be operating at anywhere near its full capacity, but with these kinds of numbers it could expect to make somewhere around $30 million a year if ever does. Turning shit into gold—and all you need is a huge plot of land. That's American entrepreneurship for ya!
WASHINGTON Banks need to revamp their customer service operations to encourage irate consumers to complain to them instead of turning to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where a complaint could spark added regulatory scrutiny. In multiple speeches and public pronouncements, CFPB officials have aggressively urged consumers to file a complaint on the agency's public database, which has swelled to more than 200,000 complaints since going live in March. The agency uses that data to determine where it will focus its attention next, including both what regulations it writes and enforcement actions it takes against individual institutions. As a result, some observers said banks need to realize that the best way to avoid the added attention or an enforcement action derived from complaints is by making it easier for customers to resolve the issue with the institution first. That includes improving the visibility of their complaint-taking systems and attempting to address problems quickly before a customer seeks out regulators for help. "All of the [banking] agencies are looking at complaints much more intensely," said Ed Kramer, executive vice president of regulatory affairs at Wolters Kluwer Financial Services. Complaint handling "ties into your overall risk management program and that affects your Camels rating. And what you think of as an operational issue becomes a compliance issue, which then becomes a safety and soundness issue." The CFPB's consumer complaint database has been controversial since it was first announced, with bankers arguing it's unfair to make unsubstantiated allegations against institutions public. But CFPB officials clearly see it as a critical tool to both encourage better customer responsiveness at institutions as well as guide policymaking. Yet bankers have been slow to fully grasp to its importance, observers said. In interviews with bankers, regulators and industry representatives, several said institutions need to step up their customer service operations to comply with CFPB expectations. They recommended, for example, that banks jettison automated systems that require consumers to spend a half hour pressing buttons on a phone, or making several clicks online, in order to file a complaint. They also said lenders need to become more efficient and respond faster to complaints they receive compared to the CFPB's 15-day window. "You want to reduce the number of complaints to the CFPB and a way you can do that is to cut them off at the pass," said Alan Kaplinsky, who heads the consumer financial services group at Ballard Spahr. Banks should "have a very good system in place from the get go to resolve a complaint quickly." Banks must collect, monitor and gauge every complaint in their entire operation, looking for what regulators might view as a potential violation to consumer protection and marketing laws, experts said. The complaint portal "really has been a key way that the CFPB has tried to be consistent with its mantra of protecting consumers and looking for consumer risk anywhere it can find it," said Robert Bostrom, a shareholder at Greenberg Traurig and former Freddie Mac general counsel. The CFPB expects that lenders' "complaint resolution process was recorded, documents were verified and what remedial action was taken. They also want to know was it consumer specific or systemic in the bank." The CFPB has already taken enforcement actions based on consumer complaints, including a recent action against U.S. Bancorp (USB) and its vendor in June for allegedly improperly marketing and collecting fees from service members in an auto loan program. CFPB officials said their investigation was triggered by customer complaints. "We have made it very clear that there are parts of the bureau such as supervision, enforcement and fair lending who pay very, very close attention to the complaints we receive," said Scott Pluta, the assistant director for the CFPB's office of consumer response, in an interview with American Banker. "So the advice I have seen out in the market is that if you want to stay ahead of and be compliant with what the bureau is doing, you really need to pay attention to the complaints because we're paying attention to them." Some larger banks like TD Bank (TD) in Cherry Hill, N.J. are already putting that into practice by encouraging consumer feedback through multiple channels and having all complaints fed to a so-called "chairman's service center" to be monitored for trends and resolutions. The bank is also running product materials and written communication through consumer-friendly testing in addition to making sure it's compliant with laws. "We've gone through every letter that leaves this place to make sure it's clear and we're putting that in plain language so the customer understands," said Linda Verba, executive vice president and head of service strategy at TD Bank. "Are the rules and regulations a little tighter than people would like? Yeah. Is it because some people got out control when the rest of us didn't? Yeah But I firmly believe if you learn the rules of the game, you can play to win. And you can't change the rules but you can win." But winning is going to be a costly endeavor. Banks can no longer place an entry-level team of customer service representatives into one department and trust that customers' concerns will be resolved no matter how technical the issue is, consultants said. They recommended that complaints be integrated, monitored and handled by every department. "It is something that will reach the highest level of management and it has to be totally incorporated into the compliance management systems in all the institutions," said Gil Rudolph, co-chair of the financial institutions practice at Greenberg Traurig. Some bankers argue this includes creating a team devoted to monitoring what the public says about lenders on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. "We track and trend those responses so our social media group has become more and more active," Verba said. "When we see or hear something, we will reach out to the customer and say we want to know more." For example, Verba said if someone Tweeted about waiting too long at a drive-through teller window, she could quickly video conference in management at that branch and gauge the length of time cars are sitting at the window. "It really does allow us to deal with things in real-time," she said. TD Bank has also implemented a policy to address social media comments within four hours and any other form of complaints typically within 24 hours. That was partly because the bank wanted to let customers know they could respond faster than the CFPB, Verba said. Social media has played a big role in ramping up the bank's response time, regardless of whether the complaint is true. Some customers, too, are getting smart to the situation, with anecdotal reports of a few threatening to escalate an issue on Twitter or Facebook in order to win concessions from a bank. "That part, on some days, can become a bit frustrating," Verba said. "I'm working with a customer now who is as close to extortion as you can get At the end of day, if he decides to do whatever damn thing he wants, there's nothing I can do about it. But I firmly believe we've got to listen to our customers and be more responsive." Kaplinsky said social media outlets have raised significant challenges for banks and though such comments are often times unfounded, the CFPB still takes it seriously. "A lot of times the complaints are baseless but companies have to bend over backwards to try to treat the consumer well," he said. "We've told clients that even if the consumer is wrong, it's not worth fighting him or her because if you fight it, you spend more time trying to deal with it once a regulatory agency gets involved."
MP3 Audio [86 MB] MPEG-4 AAC Audio [57 MB] Download Show URL Da sind wir wieder und wir kratzen wieder haarscharf an der 90-Minuten-Grenze, verpassen sie aber ganz knapp, weil Christoph nicht dabei war um uns einzubremsen. Es gaben sich also die Ehre: Justus (Fanladen) Wolf (Blindenfußball) Sebastian (Technik) Wilko (Übersteiger) Robin Himmelmann (Tor) Maik (Übersteiger-Blog) Wir sprachen über die Blindenfußball-EM, die jüngst zuende gegangene Deutsche Meisterschaft im Blindenfußball und das bevorstehende Masters in Hamburg. Außerdem über die 0:1-Niederlage beim FSV Frankfurt, den Wechsel von Marcel Halstenberg, den Sieg gegen den MSV Duisburg und natürlich: Über und mit Robin Himmelmann! (Klickt da gerne auf “Gefällt mir”, sobald er Schnecke überholt hat muss der nämlich wieder zu uns kommen.) Wir sprachen mit Robin über Sportliches, #RefugeesWelcome und die vielen, vielen Hörerfragen, vielen Dank dafür! Gute drei Stunden Spaß auf die Ohren, sicher ideal für die Auswärtsfahrt nach Braunschweig. – Übersicht MillernTon-Folgen – AFM-Radio Portal (inkl. VdS/NdS) Feed-Links zum Abonnieren: MP3: http://blog.uebersteiger.de/feed/mp3/ MP4: http://blog.uebersteiger.de/feed/mp4/ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/de/podcast/millernton/id676972164 (Bei iTunes freuen wir uns auch sehr über Eure Bewertung.) MillernTon auf Twitter MillernTon auf Facebook On Air: Maik (Frodo) Sebastian (Curi0us) Wilko (Zwille) Wolf (AFM-Radio) Justus (Fanladen) Robin Himmelmann Keine Episode mehr verpassen!
Kotaku, everyone’s favourite social justice-oriented video games blog, is upset about spoilers. The outlet, part of the Gawker network, recently tweeted a angry, righteous condemnation of Star Wars spoilers from their official Facebook page. The post was signed “Stephen,” suggesting it was written by Stephen Totilo, the editor-in-chief. That’s the same editor-in-chief who approved Kotaku headlines like “The Joker Dies In The First Act Of Arkham City,” “Leaked Documents Reveal That Fallout 4 Is Real, Set In Boston” and (we’re not making this up) “Spoiler Alert, People Like Spoilers.” That's rich coming from a site that cried because they got blacklisted for basically spoiling games.#gamergate pic.twitter.com/oqCGb592tI — Raida (@Doomskander) December 18, 2015 https://twitter.com/ToppeHatte/status/678021337072410624 Kotaku was even blacklisted by several games publishers over its compulsive spoiling of upcoming games. At the time, Kotaku defended their track record, arguing that leaking information was necessary to keep readers informed. Others disagreed. One GameZone bluntly told Kotaku “There’s nothing “journalistic” about leaking documents fed to you. It serves the public no purpose other than ruining the surprise of a yet-to-be-announced game.” But there’s another, more mind-boggling aspect to this story. What if I told you that Gawker Media, the people who pay Stephen Totilo, tried to buy a leaked copy of the script of the new Star Wars movie? No doubt you’d shake your head in disbelief. Surely even Gawker wouldn’t engage in such blatant double standards? Silly question. The article doesn’t explicitly promise to leak the script once obtained, but this is Gawker we’re talking about. They out successful gay CFOs if they think it’ll get them clicks. What do you think they would do with a Star Wars script? If the Empire’s shopping around for space station parts, it’s safe to assume they’re building a Death Star. If Gawker’s shopping around for a leaked script, it’s safe to assume they’re building a Spoiler Superweapon. Presumably, Stephen Totilo must now send a “very special fuck you” to his bosses at Gawker. Personally, I won’t be holding my breath. Follow Allum Bokhari @LibertarianBlue on Twitter, and download Milo Alert! for Android to be kept up to date on his latest articles.
0 NORTH HOLLYWOOD, California – Kurt Sutter, creator of the hit FX drama Sons of Anarchy, has announced plans to turn the popular television series into a major motion picture. Sutter, who was also a writer, producer, and director on the series, said in an interview with Hollywood Today magazine that he has long contemplated taking S.O.A. to the big screen following its run on television. “People absolutely loved the show, as did I, and I have put a lot of thought into the matter, and we are going forward with turning it into a feature film” Sutter said. Sons of Anarchy ran for seven seasons on FX, from 2008-2014, and in the process built a huge following. Sutter said the film will star Charlie Hunnam, who played the lead character Jax Teller, as well as Ryan Hurst who played Opie Winston, and Katey Sagal as Gemma Teller. The film, which is a prequel to the storyline of Sons will also introduce fans to Jax’s father, John, who will be played by Brad Pitt. “I am most excited about bringing Brad (Pitt) on as John Teller, he is absolutely perfect for the role. The movie will take place from the day Jax was born, and leads up to the era just before Sons Of Anarchy began as a series.” Sutter also said that he is really happy to bring Ryan Hurst back as Opie Winston, and hopes fans will forgive him for killing Opie off. “Man I tell ya, when we killed Opie off, it was like the thing turned real. I’ve never gone public with this, but I’ve had people get really crazy when they see me in public,” said Sutter. “They shout at me, and they get angry – ‘You shouldn’t have killed Ope! I hope you rot in Hell!,’ that sort of thing. I had people try to run me off the road when they recognized me, although that just might be because I’m kind of a dangerous driver. Anyway, my hope is that this film will help them cope.” Sutter says pre-production on film will begin in the middle of 2015, and will begin shooting sometime in the fall. “For a movie of this scope, with this much storyline attached, you should expect to see the film by the end of 2016,” said Sutter. “In the mean time, buy all the official Sons of Anarchy merchandise you can. Every dollar goes to helping get this movie completed. Brad Pitt isn’t cheap, you know.” 0 Comments comments
Silicon Valley superstar Marc Benioff recently stopped in Boston and pushed the idea of the social enterprise. The Salesforce CEO delivered a memorable keynote address at his 2011 Cloudforce event to drive home the message that businesses are increasingly becoming social. Marketing used to be a one-way street. Companies would push their advertising message to the masses and hope it stuck. Very recently social networking websites have opened the door for consumers to respond to the marketing messages with their own voice.Twitter is one of the channels where consumers have become particularly vocal about their loved (or hated) brands and businesses. Many old school marketers and companies think it's a cool medium but will have no effect on their bottom line. Wrong. The research shows that social media channels like Twitter can have a heavy impact on a business' performance. We've established that your customers are on Twitter and what they say will affect your business; so how does a company get started on Twitter?Step 1: Listen to Existing Conversation I recently listened to Laura "@Pistachio" Fitton at a social media conference and she stressed the first thing you can do is listen. Make your way to the Twitter Search Engine and see who's talking about your business. Is the conversation positive? Is there an opportunity to engage your customers? I would hope the answer is yes. The old marketing aphorism rears its head: "fish where the fish are." As a business, reaching your customers is priority number one. Millions of consumers are now on the micro-blogging platform Twitter; there is every reason to believe your customers are on the network. If you run a search and nobody is talking about your business or brand, not to worry. That probably just means they are waiting for you arrive. You can start by surveying how your competition is using Twitter to work with their customers.Step 2: Engage Your Customer Base Here's the fun part. You've taken the plunge and made an account for your business on Twitter. It's time to engage your customers. Let's examine case studies from successful brands to illustrate how Twitter is being used as an effective tool. Customer Service: @GoDaddy is a great example of how a company helps customers on Twitter. By 2012, people won't even want to call your help desk anymore; they will much rather get on their smartphone and send you a Tweet. Times are changing. Being a Resource: @WholeFoods has a great social media strategy. The supermarket brand is often Tweeting recipes from their blog. Of course, the products mentioned are usually purchased at Whole Foods so they are helping themselves make money. General Conversation: @JetBlue loves talking to their customers just like a friend would. You'll notice there timeline is full of conversation with regular users and the occasional customer service. An example of a solid relationship building strategy. Contests and Engagement: @DIRECTV asks questions and gives away prizes to their followers. They are another example of a company that has mastered engagement on Twitter.Step 3: Monetize your Followers I mentioned in the beginning of the article social media will have an effect on your bottom line. Everything mentioned in the "Step 2" section will indirectly result in more revenue for a company. Customer service and engagement keeps a positive image in the mind of the consumer which ripples outward to their peers. The brand automatically grows. Aside from the regular engagement, how can a business directly reap revenue from Twitter?@DellOutlet is the original master of making money on Twitter when in 2009 it was reported they banked $3,000,000 from Twitter related sales. By offering exclusive discounts through the micro-blogging tool, Dell became one of the first stand out success stories. As you would imagine, posting deals and discounts is the easiest way to monetize your fan base. One of the biggest obstacles is building your original set of followers. Nobody pays attention when you have a few followers and everybody pays attention when you have a big following. There are 2 ways to building your account: the most obvious is the organic growth that takes tons of hard work. Alternative, many respectable companies and individuals give themselves a jump start and simply buy Twitter followers. After 3 years spent in the social media marketing industry I know buying followers is a legitimate method of giving a boost. However you choose to build your initial following the important takeaway is that Twitter can have an effect on your revenue. Use it as a tool to your advantage. Twitter has been used to lead entire revolutions in the Middle East - why wouldn't it be a potent tool to grow your business?
A culture of verbal prohibition is taking over society, led by an army of self-appointed militants who see themselves as the guardians of correct thinking Though it was meant as a joke, it turned out to be a deadly serious affair. When Professor Tim Hunt, the Nobel Prize-winning biochemist, recently addressed a major conference in Seoul about women in science, he said he had three problems with 'girls in laboratories', namely that: 'You fall in love with them, they fall in love with you, and when you criticise them, they cry.' As a media storm erupted, Hunt insisted that his remarks were made in 'a totally jocular, ironic way'. But none of that matters to today's self-righteous crusaders against offensive opinions, for whom language is never a laughing matter. Professor Hunt was immediately surrounded online by an outraged Twitter mob demanding his head on a pike. These boycott-and-ban zealots are not content with exercising their right to criticise somebody who makes an offensive joke. Quivering with self-righteous indignation, they want to silence those who fail to conform to their group-think. In this case, their bullying worked. The scientific authorities immediately caved in. Not only was Hunt forced to resign from his post at University College London, but he was also dismissed from the science committee of the European Research Council. So biochemistry loses a brilliant pioneer, while we lose more ground to the forces of oppressive censorship. For the saga of Tim Hunt's downfall is just the latest example of how a culture of verbal prohibition is taking over society, led by an army of self-appointed militants who see themselves as the guardians of correct thinking. Desperate to find offence at every turn, eager to suppress any utterance that deviates from their conformist views, these are the warriors of the 'You Can't Say That' brigade. The great 19th-century liberal philosopher John Stuart Mill warned against 'the tyranny of prevailing opinion', but that is exactly what we are now sliding towards in early 21st-century Britain. Professor Hunt was immediately surrounded online by an outraged Twitter mob demanding his head on a pike As a media storm erupted, Hunt insisted that his remarks were made in 'a totally jocular, ironic way' The intimidators are all around us, endlessly peddling their permanent outrage and demands for punishment. Only last week, a petition was launched on Twitter calling for TV presenter Kay Burley to be sacked from Sky News, on the grounds that she had interviewed a company executive too robustly. Absurdly, the petition quickly gathered more than 55,000 supporters. Only a couple of months earlier, Elton John called for a boycott of the fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana because the two Italian designers criticised gay parenthood and the use of fertility treatment. This relentless indignation over language is causing profound damage, not just to individuals, but also to the very concept of free speech, which is one of the pillars of our civilisation. The essence of humanity is to think freely and rationally, to challenge conventional wisdom and to encourage new ideas. As George Orwell put it: 'If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they don't want to hear.' Over centuries, freedom of speech has been the single most important factor in driving scientific progress and the advance of democracy. That is precisely why powerful vested interests, such as despotic regimes and wealthy elites, have always fought so hard to restrict it. They have known that the surest way of maintaining their authority is to close down debate and prevent free expression. That is why the 18th-century Parliament, dominated by the aristocracy, was so ferociously opposed to the publication of any reports about its proceedings, and why the Churches used to be so determined to root out heretics who dared to challenge their doctrines. But the heresy-seekers and witch-finders of today's Britain are very different from the ultra-conservative rulers and religious bigots of the past. Only last week, a petition was launched on Twitter calling for TV presenter Kay Burley to be sacked from Sky News, on the grounds that she had interviewed a company executive too robustly The 'You Can't Say That' merchants — who count disproportionate numbers of academics, intellectuals, writers and artists among their number — like to see themselves as liberal-minded and progressive. In a bitter irony, they claim it is their supposed compassionate liberalism that drives their enthusiasm for the repression of free speech. Their 'intolerance of intolerance', to use one of their paradoxical mantras, makes them want to banish offensive language and protect the vulnerable from dangerous opinions. They never openly admit that they favour censorship, yet their eagerness to use the 'but' word gives them away. So you constantly hear them proclaim their belief in free expression, only to heavily qualify that support. A classic example was the statement from Mary-Kay Wilmers, the editor of the London Review of Books, after the Islamist massacre of cartoonists at the offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in January. 'I believe in the right not to be killed for something I say, but I don't believe that I have the right to insult whomever I please.' Those weasel words amount to a surrender to the enemies of liberty. As Baruch Spinoza, the great Dutch philosopher and pioneer of the enlightenment, put it 350 years ago when challenging religious dogma: 'In a free state, every man may think what he likes and say what he thinks.' Elton John called for a boycott of the fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana because the two Italian designers criticised gay parenthood and the use of fertility treatment But that is certainly not the way the 'You Can't Say That' lobby see it. Freedom of speech used to be regarded by progressives as a weapon of change and a means to give a voice to minorities such as gays and black people. Today, the very opposite is true. The same freedom is now viewed as something threatening. Like the kings and cardinals of the past, the modern guardians of morality believe that language must be controlled in order to prevent the spread of heresy, dissent, anarchy and conflict. Such a restrictive approach reflects a deeply patronising view of the public, portraying us as so gullible that we can easily be inflamed by a few unsuitable words. The saga of Tim Hunt's downfall is just the latest example of how a culture of verbal prohibition is taking over society, led by an army of self-appointed militants who see themselves as the guardians of correct thinking It is as if the crusaders for repression think that beneath the surface of society there lurks a cauldron of bubbling hatred, which can only be held in check by rigorously enforced speech codes. That is the thinking that led to the Leveson inquiry, and the demands to shackle the Press through a State-backed regulator, something that has not existed in Britain since 1695. In the febrile atmosphere created around the phone-hacking scandal by pressure groups such as Hacked Off, there was a mood that the rambunctious tabloids had to be sanitised. This sustained attack on the Press gave rise to some surreal moments, like the sight of former Monty Python stars — once renowned for their irreverent willingness to poke fun at the Establishment — solemnly lining up to demand State-backed control of the Press. John Cleese even compared journalists to 'murderers' at one Hacked Off rally, claiming that, like the Press, 'they would make a very good case' for self-regulation. Attacks on the Press are not the only weapon in the arsenal of the State. In recent years, the Government has acquired a host of new powers to crack down on free speech, including the 2003 Communications Act, and the 2006 Racial and Religious Hatred Act, which makes it an offence to use 'threatening words or behaviour' to stir up hatred. It is estimated that more people are now jailed or arrested in Britain for what they think, believe or say than at any time since the 18th century. Under the 1986 Public Order Act, there are 25,000 criminal proceedings on average each year for speech offences, half of which result in convictions. The entire civic atmosphere is one of institutionalised vigilance against any language deemed to be offensive. In January, in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo killings, world leaders gathered in Paris to proclaim their determination to defend free speech. But they never meant it Leading black American lawyer David Baugh defended a racist Ku Klux Klan leader in 1999 who had been charged with burning crosses to intimidate black people at a rally in Virginia. Assuring the jury that he was aware of the Klan's visceral hostility to black people such as him, Baugh said: 'In America, we have the right to hate. And we have the right to discuss it.' Such a statement would be unthinkable in our society today, where so-called hate speech has been made a serious crime. But offensive language is not merely deemed to be hateful, it is also held to be psychotic, as if the speaker is suffering from a kind of mental illness, hence the use of terms like homophobic and Islamophobic. It is estimated that more people are now jailed or arrested in Britain for what they think, believe or say than at any time since the 18th century One of the more fashionable labels is now 'transphobia', which is used to close down any debate about issues raised by gender identity changes. Transgender activists have even succeeded in getting some feminists, such as the lesbian and gay rights campaigner Julie Bindel, banned from speaking at events because of their alleged 'transphobic' attitudes. Closely related to this nonsense is the accusation of being a 'denier'. It is a charge used to show that the speaker's opinions are so outlandish and offensive that they must be sidelined or suppressed. The term originated with the drive to prevent Right-wing extremists from denying the existence of the Holocaust against the Jews, but is now used indiscriminately to hound those with controversial opinions. In 2014, a group of UK-based environmental campaigners argued that 'climate change deniers' are 'responsible for crimes against humanity' and should face 'Nuremberg-style trials' for 'actively spreading doubt' about the orthodoxy on global warming. Perhaps the most famous words on free speech were ascribed to the 18th-century French writer Voltaire, who, according to his biographer, said: 'I disapprove of what you say, but I will fight to the death for your right to say it.' Yet we now live in an age of what I call 'Reverse Voltaires', whose attitude is: 'I know I will detest what you say, and I will defend to the end of free speech my right to stop you saying it.' These people make their influence felt right across our society, from science labs to football stadiums, from the Twittersphere to comedy clubs. Propped up by State intervention and the worsening climate of self-censorship which is a result of so much bullying, they are waging a war on free speech — in the name of protecting us from alleged off ensiveness. This is at its worst in our universities, which should be bastions of freedom but instead are being turned into dreary citadels of conformity. In the Seventies, the National Union of Students campaigned to ban extremism from campuses with the cry of 'no platform for racists and fascists'. Today that idea has been transmuted into a ban on almost anything controversial, on the grounds that students are too delicate to face anything uncomfortable. These boycott-and-ban zealots are not content with exercising their right to criticise somebody who makes an offensive joke. Quivering with self-righteous indignation, they want to silence those who fail to conform to their group-thin It was in this spirit that last year the University of East Anglia politics society banned a visit by a UKIP local candidate. 'This is about ensuring that UEA students are on a campus where they feel safe, secure and respected,' said a representative of the society, defending the rejection of someone whose party has just polled nearly four million votes in the General Election. It is the same mentality that has led to the growing fashion for university students to demand that course material deploys so-called 'Trigger Warnings'. These are labels at the front of a book or film that warn that the work may involve offensive words or images. Fear of anything that strays from what is perceived to be acceptable is partly driven by modern identity politics, which promotes competitive victimhood by giving status and influence to those who can assert their experience of oppression. The suffocating blanket of caution and censorship is not just weakening the robustness of the public. It is also destroying the robustness of debate and free expression, on which democratic society depends. In January, in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo killings, world leaders gathered in Paris to proclaim their determination to defend free speech. But they never meant it. Worse, their governments were cracking down on offensive speech in practice while apparently defending freedom in principle. If they really wanted free speech to flourish, they would stop the 'You Can't Say That' brigade. You can't just defend the parts of free speech that meet your own standards and prejudices — otherwise it becomes a privilege rather than a right, and you might as well not have free speech at all. And that, as history has taught us, sounds the death knell for a free and democratic society. Trigger Warning: Is The Fear Of Being Offensive Killing Free Speech? by Mick Hume is published by HarperCollins at £12.99.
Our classic boucle knit jumper made from a 60% wool mix, perfect for layering in the chillier months. Feautres a flecked detail to the knit, an unbalanced hemline, dropped shoulder sleeves and a small Olive tab stitched to one side of the seam. The boucle is boxy in cut and is made for a relaxed and slouchy fit. A S/M will fit a UK size 6 loosely and slightly oversized whilst a UK size 10 still boxy in fit but a little more fitted. A M/L would be better preferred on a UK size 12 - 16. United Kingdom: Delivery is free to UK addresses for orders of £95 or more. Orders below £95 are shipped by Royal Mail for £2.95 (3 working days), or by DPD Carbon Neutral Express Courier for £5.50 (Next working day for mainland orders placed by 4pm). Returns are free of charge, and eligible if dispatched within 14 days of receipt. See our returns page for further details. International: We offer free worldwide shipping for certain basket totals. See our Delivery page for further details. You can return to us for a full refund if you dispatch your unsuitable item to us within 14 days of receiving your delivery. Transit time does not affect eligibility: unused items will be eligible for a full refund if the dispatch date is within 14 days of receipt. See our Returns page for further details.
Share: ISLAMABAD - The Senate was told on Friday that the media cell at the Prime Minister’s House was bugging official meetings held there. Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani rejected the government’s reply that Dawn leak issue was between the two parties and now stood settled. The remarks of the chairman came after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sheikh Aftab Ahmed said that the matter was now settled between the two parties — the government and the army. “You are not clear on this and tell what do you mean by the word “the two parties,” the chairman asked the minister, adding that this meant the government was not recognising Article 243(1). Under the constitution, the federal government had control over all the state institutions, he said. The minister answered that two parties meant that two institutions — the army and the government – and the issue was settled now. “I am not satisfied with the reply of government and I will consult with the Leader of the House, the Leader of the Opposition and the leaders of the parliamentary parties as to what Senate should do on it,” the chair remarked on the second day of the specially requisitioned session on the request of position. Who are the two parties, this should be clarified, he said. Earlier, Leader of the Opposition Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, while taking part in the debate, came down hard on government regarding Dawn leak issue and bugging of official meetings at the Prime Minister’s Office by its media cell. He alleged that Prime Minister Office’s media cell headed by PM’s daughter Maryum Nawaz was bugging important meetings being held there. Giving two examples, he said, the exact comments of the leadership during an All Parties Conference (APC) held at the PM House were leaked to the media by this media cell after bugging. “We all were sitting in the closed-door APC and some TV channels were running tickers about the exact statements of leaders of Jamaat-i-Islami and JUI-F,” he added. Secondly, he said, Sindh Governor Muhammad Zubair had also admitted in a TV show that they had been hearing all the proceedings of the meetings while sitting in media cell. Aitzaz Ahsan again reiterated his statement that DG ISI was the relative of Maryam Nawaz Sharif. “I stand by my statement that ISI chief was the relative of Maryam Nawaz,” he said, adding a rebuttal should be issued if it was wrong instead of making a hue and cry by ISPR. He also said that the statement of Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan was wrong that Justice (Retd) Amir Raza Khan had said that he would sign the findings of the inquiry report on Dawn Leaks till a consensus was developed between all members of the committee. “I cannot believe this statement as this means that Justice (Retd) Khan had a veto power,” he said. And this was also apparent from the statement of interior minister and the Tweet of ISPR that there were differences between the members of the committee. He said that the story about the high-level security committee embarrassed the military leadership that was fighting war against terrorism. All three persons were made scapegoats in the case, he said and demanded the report should be presented on the floor of the house. He demanded that the parliament should be informed what was settled on the Dawn Leaks report, what was settled between the Prime Minister and the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) on the issue and what were the contents of para 18 of the report. “PM and COAS both are answerable before the parliament,” he said adding that how both could settle the issue alone. The Leader of the Opposition also pointed out that the interior minister should have been in the house to answer the queries of opposition instead of parliamentary affairs minister to wind up the debate. Later, the entire opposition walked out from the house over the absence of interior minister. The interior minister later came in the house after Sheikh Aftab wound up the debate and left without uttering a single word. PTI Senator Noman Wazir Khattak demanded resignation of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) over the way the Dawn leak issue was settled. Separately, taking part in the discussion on Panama Leaks and corruption, Senator Farhatullah Babar said the matter of institutional corruption should be done away with. He said that if the Parliament passed a law allowing extraordinary perks and privileges to its members such as free of cost plots and land it would be a case of institutional corruption. He also opposed the grant of development funds to members of Parliament. The chair remarked that the house had understood what Baber wanted to say — a reference to the plots and lands allotted to army officers. Aitzaz Ahsan taking part in the debate on Panama leaks showed his fear that Joint Investigation Team (JIT) formed by the Supreme Court to probe off-shore wealth of Sharif family could do nothing as it was working under the authority of same executive. Panama case is being wrongly connected with the CPEC, he said. He said that all five judges of the Supreme Court had said that the “narrative of Nawaz Sharif presented before the court was unauthentic.” The difference of the judges was whether PM could be disqualified under 148 (3) or not. Sharif family could not present a single document before the court contrary to their claims that they would hold themselves accountable up to their three generations. He demanded that all records of the properties and the taxes paid by the Sharif family should be presented on the floor of the house. When the house met after the break, the lawmakers taking part in the debate condemned the terrorist attack on Deputy Chairman Senate Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri in Mastung. The chair informed the house that director staff to the deputy chairman Iftikhar Mughal, a senior officer of Senate Secretariat, was also among the martyrs as a result of the attack.
This past weekend saw two undefeated teams competing at their sports’ highest level battle in its ultimate event. Yet this hotly contested championship match was as invisible to most of us as, say, Diagon Alley is to Muggles — because the sport in question is Quidditch, the game from J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" series. And despite the fact that Major League Quidditch is a professional operation with 16 teams in North America, it remains a bit of a shock to learn that MLQ exists IRL. And yet there they were, the Austin Outlaws and the Boston Night Riders vying for the championship title in League City, Texas, amid the trappings of pro sports, no less. An apparel sponsor! A broom sponsor?! The Night Riders, whose squad draws heavily from Boston area college teams, eventually prevailed — as they did during last year’s inaugural MLQ championship. The Quidditch Post's report on this past weekend's title match read as if J.K. Rowling had been ghostwriting for ESPN. The pitched competition was as follows: “Back and forth, the beater play went on, the game rarely, if ever, out of snitch range. Ultimately, in two games that proved equal on quaffle points, it was Harry Greenhouse and Jayke Archibald, with help from Boston’s superb beater play, who decided the two contests and kept the championship with the Night Riders.” Advertisement: The championship match was attended by almost 400 fans. “It’s very, very intense, and people take it very seriously,” Tyler Trudeau, the Boston Night Riders’ 22-year-old keeper told the Boston Globe. He graduated in May from Emerson College, where he had been introduced to real-life Quidditch as a freshman. As professional sports leagues go, MLQ is progressive — in the spirit of the "Harry Potter" books: It is co-ed — or “gender integrated.” (Hermione’s fight for equality was not for nothing. The league's website describes it as a “full-contact sport, particularly popular on college campuses around the world.” Indeed, real-life Quidditch, which combines elements of basketball, rugby and dodgeball, got its start about 1o years ago in pickup games played by undergrads. MLQ is for serious competitive athletes; the sport declared itself “major” only last year. Hopefuls from across the country can attend tryouts in April and May to join established major league teams including the Cleveland Riff, Austin Outlaws, Los Angeles Guardians and the San Francisco Argonauts. The game involves six players on a side (teams have rosters of 21), all whom must play with broomsticks (sans the head — no bristles at this level of competition) between their legs. Their objective: to get the quaffle (here, a deflated volleyball) — into one of three hoops at either end of the field — and snitch, beat and hit their way to a high score. "Harry Potter" sticklers will be pleased to know that this is not a casual game. The official rule book is 206 pages long. Passionate about the sport but not so handy with a broomstick? Fear not: There are less competitive teams organized by US Quidditch. Or just join a fantasy Quidditch league.
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits–Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Peter discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand - with the galaxy’s fate in the balance. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is presented by Marvel Studios and stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket, Vin Diesel as the voice of Groot, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gilian, Djimon Hounsou with John C. Reilly, Glenn Close as Commander Rael and Benicio del Toro as The Collector. Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, the film opens August 1, 2014.
D.C. police Detective James Trainum leans over a rusty guardrail and stares into a den of weeds, trees and brush that snarls an embankment of Interstate 295 in Southeast Washington. As cars flash past, Trainum mulls over question after question. Why did the killer toss his first two victims down this hill? Was he pressed for time? Did this spot, across from Bolling Air Force Base and near St. Elizabeths Hospital, mean something to him? For two years, Trainum has sifted through old police and FBI reports, read faded newspaper clippings, hovered over embankments and interviewed victims' relatives. He is trying to do what has eluded three generations of investigators: crack the most notorious unsolved serial killing cases in District history. During a 16-month period that began in spring 1971, the Freeway Phantom, as he came to be known, killed six females, ages 10 to 18, three with the middle name Denise. At least three were raped, and every one of them was strangled. Their bodies were found on or near busy roads or highways in the District or Maryland. A cold case detective who is a fan of intellectual challenges, Trainum has a job made more complicated because most of the police files are incomplete and all of the physical evidence has been lost or destroyed, ruling out today's sophisticated forensic tools. "I know this is a long shot," Trainum says. "But we live for long shots." Thirty-five years ago, the Freeway Phantom slayings triggered one of the largest investigations the region has seen. Two dozen detectives were assigned to the hunt initially, and the FBI was called in -- until Watergate diverted the agency's manpower. The failure to solve the homicides continues to haunt families of the victims. And current and former investigators find they can't dislodge the Phantom from their minds. In reexamining the slayings, The Washington Post reviewed thousands of FBI files and police reports and interviewed dozens of former and current detectives, witnesses and victims' family members. A note recently obtained by The Post and never before published shows how bold and taunting the killer became after abducting his fifth victim. The note, tightly guarded by investigators for many years, was found in the dead teenager's coat pocket. "This is tantamount to my insensititivity [sic] to people especially women," reads the note, which police determined was dictated by the Phantom and written by his victim. "I will admit the others when you catch me if you can! Free-way Phantom." The slayings of the victims -- all black and seemingly chosen at random -- came during a time of political and racial tumult in the city. Washington did not yet have home rule. And it was still reeling from the 1968 riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. More than 70 percent of the District's 757,000 residents were black, and there was widespread distrust of the police department, which was more than 60 percent white. Although the racial makeup of the police department has changed -- now, the chief and many top commanders are black -- anger lingers among the victims' relatives. "You better bet that if these had been white girls, the police would have solved the cases," says Evander Spinks, a sister of the Phantom's first victim. "They didn't care about us. All the cases involving white girls still get publicity. But ours have been forgotten."
Billionaire businessman Mark Cuban outlined his interview strategy for Donald Trump Friday. During an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," the owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and star of ABC's "Shark Tank" said the problem the press faces with Trump is a combination of frustration and time-constraint. He explained how he'd combat it. "'You don't understand the question do you?'" Cuban said as if he were conducting an interview with the Republican nominee. "I know you guys have tried to reassert him back to the topic often, but I would get to the heart of the matter. 'Do you understand this question? And then I would ask a follow up question: 'Do you know where Aleppo is? Do you know what the issues are? Do you know what's the history of this city and the conflict?'" "If you stay with it, he will crumble," he continued. "But the problem is, everybody gets to the point where you get frustrated. You have a script or a schedule to follow. And that makes it difficult for you to just keep banging on him. But that is what it's going to take." He added that Trump's strategy of creating "headline porn" helps him to avoid discussing the "real issues" in depth. "So we've got a situation where we have got a presidential candidate that really has presidential Tourrettes," he said. "And I say that with all respect to people who have this disorder because it's a serious disorder." Tourrettes syndrome is a neurological disorder characterized by involuntary tics and vocalizations. Often, it involves the compulsive utterance of obscenities. "Morning Joe" contributor Mike Barnicle later asked Cuban if he could moderate one of the debates because he was "absolutely right." "I wish I could," Cuban said. "I would crush him." Cuban endorsed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton at a rally in Pittsburgh, his hometown, in July. The billionaire has ripped Trump repeatedly on social media in recent months. Watch Cuban's "Morning Joe" interview below: NOW WATCH: Why you won't find a garbage can near the 9/11 memorial More From Business Insider
Massa blamed traffic, mistakes and rear-tyre wear for his failure to nail a quick laptime, while Bottas sailed through Q2 and was quickest non-Mercedes in Q3. "It was not just a mistake, it was a problem in traffic,” claimed Massa. “I had two laps stuck in traffic, so I lost time, then I had a mistake [on his third lap] and then on my last lap the rear tyres were gone and I couldn't get the laptime. A really frustrating qualifying. “We had everything to start at the front, and it's a shame it happens like that. We have a good car. Hope with the strategy we can try something different and it can work." “Huge disappointment” Williams Head of Vehicle Performance Rob Smedley, a longtime ally of Massa’s, voiced his dismay with the Brazilian's result. “Huge disappointment really, the car was really good around here,” said Smedley. “We got it hooked up in qualifying trim. "The car’s a little bit quicker than the Ferraris, certainly quicker than the Red Bull around here, so it’s great to have third, but it should have been third and fourth or fifth, not third and 15th. "We got a bit out of sync. He was doing four laps: the first lap was warming the tyres, second he made a bit of a mistake, the third he got traffic, and the fourth – the lap he had to do it on – he went wide at Turn 8 because the tyres were pretty much done."
A leftwing, independent candidate has narrowly prevented Austria from becoming the first EU country to elect a far-right head of state after a knife-edge contest ended with his opponent conceding defeat. Alexander Van der Bellen, a retired economics professor backed by the Green party, defeated Norbert Hofer, of the anti-immigrant, Eurosceptic Freedom party, a day after polling closed and only when more than 700,000 postal ballots – about 10% of available votes – were taken into account. Austria presidential election: how did you vote? Read more The Austrian presidency is a largely ceremonial role but the outcome became hugely symbolic. Mirroring the rise of populist parties across Europe, the Freedom party exploited anti-EU and anti-immigrant sentiment in the wake of the continent’s refugee crisis and, despite Hofer’s narrow defeat, the election has left a deep split over the direction Austria should now take. The Austrian interior ministry confirmed that Hofer’s final score was 49.7%, against 50.3% for Van der Bellen, the son of two refugees, after postal votes were counted. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Norbert Hofer after Sunday’s election but before the full result was in. Photograph: Herbert Pfarrhofer/AFP/Getty Images In a post on Facebook, Hofer wrote: “Dear friends, I thank you for your fantastic support. Of course today I am sad. I would have liked to have watched out for you as president of our wonderful country.” Van der Bellen, a former leader of the Green party who announced after the result that he would put his party membership on hold during his presidency, is the EU’s second head of state with a Green party background after Latvia last year elected Green politician Raimonds Vējonis as president. In a speech in the gardens of Vienna’s Palais Schönburg, Van der Bellen said the tight result put “even greater responsibility on me, but also on Mr Hofer”. The outcome showed the country was made up of two halves that were equally important. He added: “Together we make up this beautiful Austria.” Austrian election result Austrian election result While the elections had revealed a great rift running through Austrian society, the 72-year-old said: “This rift has existed for some time, though perhaps we didn’t look at it that closely in the past.” The fact that people had debated the presidency so intensely was a positive sign that “people are not left cold by politics – they want to actively shape it”. Hofer and Van der Bellen were separated by just 31,000 votes out of more than 4.6m ballots cast. Before postal votes were counted, they were neck and neck, with Van der Bellen on 48.1% of direct votes and Hofer on 51.9%. Many Austrian websites were down under the weight of traffic as the country waited with bated breath for news of the final result. Hofer urged his supporters not to be discouraged but to see the campaign as “an investment in the future”. Heinz-Christian Strache, leader of the Freedom party, wrote on his Facebook page: “This is just the beginning. The start of a new era in our democracy, towards more direct democracy and binding referenda.” The chancellor, Christian Kern, a Social Democrat who endorsed Van der Bellen, said the challenge for the new president was to ensure that no voter was left feeling like they had ended up on the losing side. “We have understood the protest and will orient our political course accordingly,” said Kern, whose own SPÖ suffered dismal losses in the election’s first round. Moshe Kantor, president of the European Jewish Congress, said: “While we are certainly satisfied with the result, there is little room to celebrate the high level of support for someone with such extremist views.” Facebook Twitter Pinterest Van der Bellen supporters hug after news of his win emerges. Photograph: Christian Bruna/EPA In a reflection of voters’ dissatisfaction with mainstream politics, the candidates of both the centre-left Social Democrats and conservative People’s party, which have dominated Austria’s politics since the second world war, were eliminated in the first round of voting in late April. Werner Faymann, the social democratic chancellor, then resigned earlier this month. After coming second in the first round, Van der Bellen managed to hold on to his voters and also mobilised non-voters and gained the support of those who had previously backed the candidates of the centre-left SPÖ and centre-right ÖVP. For the election, Viennese coffee houses reportedly set aside separate areas for supporters of the rival candidates over fears of clashes. Van der Bellen’s father was born in Russia to a family descended from Dutch immigrants and his mother was born in Estonia, from where the family fled when the former Soviet Union invaded in 1940. They eventually settled in Austria. A Vienna city councillor since leaving parliament in 2012, the staunchly pro-European Van der Bellen led the Austrian Greens from 1997 to 2008. In contrast, Hofer, whose cultivated, smooth-talking image has led to him being hailed “the friendly face” of the Freedom party, has said “Islam has no place in Austria” and warned during his campaign that he would not hesitate to dissolve the government if it did not act against immigration. Florian Klenk, a leading Austrian commentator and editor of the weekly magazine Falter, said he could understand why the international media in particular had focused on Hofer’s stellar rise on an anti-immigrant ticket. “He has a sect-like following and a way of communicating that is quite disturbing. Then there’s his desire to win back South Tyrol, his Islamophobia,” he said. “But I’m interested to know, will there be as much focus and astonishment now that Van der Bellen, a candidate who is in favour of keeping Austria’s borders open, has won? I think probably not.”
Toronto FC might be a few wins away from history, but coach Greg Vanney cautions his team can't get ahead of itself. Toronto's quest for the best record in Major League Soccer history remains firmly intact after a 3-0 victory over the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday. Toronto, which began the night four points ahead of New York City FC, improved to 15-3-8 and 10-0-3 at home. But in the moments after the thrilling win, Vanney and his Reds spoke about the importance of the process. "I want them to embrace [the goal] one game at a time," Vanney said. "They're very much aware of the possibilities, but it's a mature group and they're very much aware that you only get to actually see those things if you can make one play at a time, play one game at a time. "We all know what's out there, we don't really talk about it too much as a group." TFC beats Philadelphia 3-0, remained undefeated this season at BMO Field. 1:22 Sebastian Giovinco, newcomer Nicolas Hasler, and Jozy Altidore scored as league-leading Toronto stretched its unbeaten run to eight games, and remained undefeated this season at BMO Field. Quite a roll With eight games to go in the regular season, the Reds, who haven't lost since a 3-1 setback in Dallas on July 1, remain on pace for the finest record in MLS history. The 1998 L.A. Galaxy boast the best record in history — 68 points. Toronto currently has 53 points, already tying their regular-season best. Coming off a sizzling 3-1 road win over Eastern Conference rival Chicago last weekend, Vanney's message to his Reds was clear: do not let a letdown against the struggling Union get in the way of their chase for the team's first-ever Supporters' Shield, which is presented to the MLS squad with the best regular-season record. Team captain Michael Bradley echoed Vanney's message, saying every game from here on in is "the biggest game of the season." "You get to this time of the year and it's what it's all about," Bradley said. "Every weekend is a final. Every team is playing for something, whether it's Supporters' Shield, or positioning, or to get into the playoffs, the weather starts to cool down, the games start to pick up in tempo and intensity. Toronto FC forward Jozy Altidore celebrates his goal that put Toronto up 3-0. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press) "We feel really good about everything that's gone into this season. . . but we understand that we have not done anything yet. The biggest games are still to come. The trophies haven't been passed out yet. And as long as that's the case we're going to keep going and going." Giovinco recorded goal No. 13 of the season on a free kick from just outside the 18-yard box in the 10th minute, curling a beautiful ball over the defensive wall and into the top right corner that Union 'keeper Andre Blake had almost no hope of stopping. Hasler doubled Toronto's lead in the 30th minute off a corner kick from Victor Vasquez. The 26-year-old from Liechtenstein, who now has two goals in four appearances since signing with TFC last month, sprinted into the box unchallenged, heading the ball past Blake. Hasler, whose pair of goals for Toronto mark the first two he's ever scored on headers, called the team's historic chase "Just perfect. I heard the coach speaking about this, that we can do the best results ever in MLS. . . If we keep going like this, I think we can reach it." Altidore, who'd had a goal waved off as offside earlier in the night, made good in the 57th minute. Fighting off a pair of Union defenders, Altidore passed to Vasquez, then scored on the give-and-go, chipping a left-footed shot past Blake from inside the six-yard box.
Arrests as Occupy Auckland camps shut down MICHAEL FOX Karl Drury Three Occupy protesters were arrested in Aotea Square this morning. Three Occupy protesters were arrested in Aotea Square this morning as Auckland Council shut down camps across the city. Police, security guards and council staff forcibly removed tents and equipment, and protesters retaliated by occupying the security guards' vans. Police arrested two protesters in Aotea Square, a man and a woman, and charged them with breaching the peace. The pair were being held in a police van, which was being guarded by 15 officers. They could be heard loudly banging the inside of the van. A third protester has also been arrested and charged with breaching the peace, but it is unclear where the arrest took place. There were nasty scenes as security guards attempted to use knives to cut down one of the Occupy structures. Protesters rushed the guards, who retreated and regrouped with police. One protester handcuffed himself to the structure, a pergola covered in tarpaulins. Police say they found methamphetamine and a pipe in one of the tents. More than 30 police officers were on the scene. Flustered protester Merlin Blackmore said the situation developed "rapidly" at Aotea Square. "Police are physically removing a protester from a van who is protecting his gear... they are physically grabbing him right now, they are being quite vigorous." He then shouted at officers in the background. "What is with this assault? Protect and serve the people. You're a disgrace, you're a slave. You're a f------ disgrace. "They're assaulting people." An Auckland Council spokesman said the council had issued warrants under a new bylaw preventing overnight camping and protesters' gear was being removed from sites including Aotea Square, Albert Park and Victoria Park. "We're removing their gear... we're not removing them," a council spokesman said. A council officer has served the dozen protesters at Aotea Square with an order to vacate the square within 24 hours, but the protesters say they will stay. Other Occupy supporters have turned up at the site, including the Unite union and veteran activist John Minto. Auckland Council had successfully sought a court order to evict the occupants before Christmas although some remained. The council had planned to go back to court today to obtain the powers to remove those who remained. However, the spokesman said today they had now decided not to pursue that, saying "this is a separate action this morning." One of the driving issues was the upcoming Lantern Festival at Albert Park, beginning on February 3, which would be attended by 250,000 people. "We've had the problem in Aotea Square as well where community groups have booked the square, or booked the public parks for popular events, the planning for those events has been affected by these campers." The protesters would have got in the way, he said. "It would've been pretty hard to get around them, put it that way." The spokesman said the campsite at Albert Park was also on an archaeological site, where old army barracks had been located, and they had received complaints about that. Police would only intervene or make arrests if protesters breached the peace, he said. Around 60 protesters from the anti-capitalist movement marched down Queen St yesterday to mark the 99th day of the protest. The protesters began their Aotea Square occupation in mid-October, joining an international movement against corporate greed. Occupy Wall St began the global protest in New York last September. After the December court ruling, the Auckland protesters spread to other parts of the city, including Victoria Park, and had signalled their intention to expand to Albert Park, the North Shore and Te Atatu. Other tents had appeared in Aotea Square over the holiday period, breaching the court order issued just before Christmas prohibiting camping there. Before Christmas, the council went back to court to have the remaining occupants arrested, however the court rejected that. Judge Philippa Cunningham said it would be difficult to determine who was residing at the camp and who was just visiting. She was also concerned those arrested would not be able to get a bail hearing until January 4 due to the timing of the holidays. Earlier this month, a lawyer acting on behalf of the council contacted Occupy protesters about their expansion plans. In an email, Ross Burns told the group protest action in other council-administered areas would be in breach of bylaws prohibiting camping in public spaces. He said breaching this bylaw could result in a fine of up to $20,000. Burns said the protesters could also be charged with wilful damage if their camping resulted in damage to grassed areas and other public property. Protesters have been criticised for damaging grass, native trees and potentially puncturing the waterproof membrane above the underground car park at Aotea Square. Auckland Council estimates repair costs to that area already total more than $65,000. But occupiers insist grass is growing back and many say the estimated repair costs are absurd. - Auckland Now
. While I ponder whether or not to jot down some stray thoughts regarding “left antisemitism,” a contentious and theoretically overwrought subject, I figured I’d finally get around to publishing a revised translation of a text posted by the Italian editorial collective Il Lato Cattivo back in July 2014. At the time, the Israeli military was conducting airstrikes on Gaza, on which it would eventually launch a ground invasion. Several months later, the excellent journal Endnotes featured an article by the group on “the Kurdish question” rendered into English by fellow travelers. “Il lato cattivo” is of course taken from Karl Marx’s famous polemic against Proudhon in The Poverty of Philosophy, in which he maintains that “history advances by the bad side [of the dialectic].” Generally, I feel this text raises legitimate points against the facile Manichaean narrative on the left which holds Zionism to be the latest embodiment of pure Evil in the world, while all who oppose it valiantly serve the cause of the Good. Moreover, though I am rigorously pessimistic when it comes to the possibility of revolutionary politics in the present, I do not share Il Lato Cattivo’s conviction that programmatic proletarian approach is historically obsolete moving forward, thanks to the post-1968 restructuration of capital. This thesis, which is chiefly inspired by the analysis of Théorie Communiste, seems to me to proceed from a false premise. Here is not the place to hash this out further. Suffice it to say, for now, that on the subject of anti-Zionism, Il Lato Cattivo more or less agrees with authors in the left communist tradition who do still uphold the proletariat as the identical subject-object of revolution. Consider how nicely it squares with some occasional ponderings by the Duponts, chief representatives of nihilistic communism (nihilcomm) in our time. For example, take their quaintly-titled “Knockabout begun in earnest atop Leigh Tor (site reference SX77SW 2; 2.2km NNE of Holne) some time towards the later afternoon on August 6th 2014, and before evening’s rain had closed in,” which appears on their Insipidities blog: Why is it, of all the states in the world, that the actions of Israel have such exceptional power to enrage distant populations? Nobody, outside of Ukraine and Russia, is particularly concerned about Russian expansionism, and there is little comment on, let alone condemnation of, for example, atrocities committed in South Sudan. In general, faraway wars invite only the uncomprehending sentiment of, a pox on both houses. Why is it then that the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is so immediately comprehensible? Why does political imagination so imbue Israel with the capacity for autonomous agency? Individuals of the left claim they are directing their hostility towards the policies of Israel and not against Israel’s existence and/or that of the Jews. They argue that they make a political distinction between Jews and Israel. Perhaps that is so but this begs two questions: a. by what process does this act of making a distinction emerge? b. why are the military actions of Israel so significant to the left? For the sake of brevity, it is to be taken here as a given that the answer to both of these can only be grasped in terms of there being at work in leftist discourse an irrational but historically structured anti-Semitism that is of the same type as what I described as the “meant metaphor” of nationalism. There is within the arrangement of leftist awareness, a preconscious responsiveness to the subjective agency of Jews which is correlative with the tendency to anthropomorphize institutional power as the outcome of the conspiracy of the powerful. That is to say, even though individuals of the left are personally opposed to anti-Semitism, the inherited arrangement of their argumentation, the procedures, the propositions, the inferences, the deductions, is structured to find archetypical moral personifications at the heart of what it opposes, and one of these figures, perhaps the most discernible and significant, is the Jew. Or their more substantive “Islands in a Sea of Land”: Proletarian internationalism (no war but class war) discloses the rallying cry for a “Free Palestine” as a retreat from the possibility of human community. Leftist support for reactionary nationalism on the grounds of siding with the underdog is both preposterous and repugnant. It is a wanton irrationality. Whomsoever brandishes the Palestinian flag sustains the general category of nationhood. And yet this left sentimentalism is also intelligible. Of greater interest than ostensible popular frontist rationalizations around my enemy’s enemy, is the how of leftism’s pro-nationalism. It appears in protest form against the historical process of demolition and bulldozing of that which has been defeated. The Left perpetually seeks another means for returning to the historically obsolete modes of religion, nation-state, and sentimentalized cultural particularity. Indeed, this seeking out of ways back, is the Left’s political function. Historically, it has been the task of communists to simply refute this backward drifting of the Left, hitherto understood as mere opportunism or blatant racketeering. The refutation has always taken the same form: there can be no dialogue (and still less common cause) with the nation, with religion, with class. In their approach to leftism, it has been conventional for communists to fall into line with the progressive historical lockout of obsolete forms in the name of proliferating past potentialities. Evidently, this policy is inadequate and implicitly assumes the absolute unworthiness of all of that which is no longer supported by the present productive apparatus. While it is true that all past social forms institutionalized themselves as a specific mode of inhuman violence, repression, and denial, they also recorded something of an eternally renewed “passion and will” for the human community. The Left has imperfectly sought out connection to that which is good but buried in the past. This is not to suggest that a “return” to that which is otherwise lost forever is a plausible or even desirable option. National liberation is untenable and in all cases incompatible with human community. The no state, no religion, and no class demands, which communism makes upon society, remain invariant. There can not be and must never be a “free Palestine.” Jacob Blumenfeld’s “Negation of the Diaspora,” from which the cover image above is taken, is also worth reading. Blumenfeld is a contributor to the Communists in Situ project in Germany, influenced by the anti-national Marxism that cropped up in that country following reunification in 1991. Pay no attention to the idiotic spectacle going on in Britain right now. Enjoy the translated Il Lato Cattivo text below. R.F. (pseudonym) Il Lato Cattivo July 19, 2014 . . Dear comrades, Let me give you my opinion about what happened around the Israel-Palestinian conflict, and forgive me if I am forced to dwell on this question. So-called anti-Zionism — with the alibi of staying in the concrete — changes more and more the present events into a metaphysical question. On the one hand, this is normal: it is characteristic of the “anti” to have an absolute enemy, compared to which the other enemies become relative enemies. At the moment it is Israel’s turn to be the target, and in my opinion it is necessary to distinguish oneself from that. It’s not the assault on the synagogues during the demonstrations of Saturday July 19th in Paris that ought determine this necessity, even if it makes it stronger in some measure. It is not necessary to exaggerate the importance of the uncontrolled behaviors that occurred; it is certain however that they are symptomatic of something — of a drift — whose possibility is consubstantial to anti-Zionism. The confusion between Jews, Zionism and Israel, the fluidity with which these different terms become interchangeable, if they do not appear in the public speeches and in the programmatic slogans, can nevertheless be noticed in the informal conversations that can be heard here and there in the demonstrations, and are on the other hand obvious enough. It is absolutely not the point to operate the slightest defense of the state of Israel — which would be merely absurd — but merely to replace the Israeli-Palestinian question in history, as the transformation of the enemy into absolute enemy sustains itself on myth and reproduces it. Similarly, the point is to escape from two equally unsustainable positions for a communist: on one side, the “solidarity with Palestinian resistance,” on the other side the proletarian internationalism as abstract principle. On this last point, I first want to say that what the ant-Zionists misunderstand is that — if some margins of pressure on the Israeli government exist — they lie on the side of those who live in Israel. The demonstrations that occurred in Israel against the slaughter in Gaza are encouraging, and forcefully more significant than those which occurred elsewhere; but they are in any case only few things, especially if we think that they rather spring from an impulse of moral indignation or from the affirmation of principles than from anything else, as it generally happens for the present pacifist movements; they are the most fertile field for the petty bourgeoisie with leftist sympathies and a cultural level, with all their generous feelings (some can remember the great demonstrations in Italy against war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the flags for peace hanged from the windows… and how it all ended). Concretely, a general strike striking the Israeli economy would be necessary (or at least the menace of this) to provisionally make Israeli government draw back. On the other hand, it is not surprising that this does not happen. It’s useless to launch general appeals to class struggle and solidarity among exploited peoples. The Israeli working class and the Palestinian working class can with difficulty unite in any common struggle, simply because they do not live in the same conditions. It is not a question of “class consciousness,” rather an objective situation: we can be the best comrades in the world, but this changes nothing if your situation is objectively in your advantage. I quote a passage from the book by Théorie Communiste on Middle East that seems to me particularly appropriate to this subject: It is an illusion to hope within a predictable future in any junction between the struggles of Israeli proletariat and the struggles of the Palestinian proletariat. The major changes of Israeli capital have aggravated the situation of Israeli proletariat and this worsening is deeply linked to the transformations of the management of the territories and to the use of the Palestinian workforce. The disappearance of historical Zionism in those transformations is equivalent to the weakening of all the enterprises of the public sector and of the sector in the hand of the Histadrut [General Organization of Workers in the Land of Israel, Israel’s organization of trade unions]. Above all, the use of Palestinian workforce exposes the Israeli working class to the competition of the low wages of this workforce and of the still lower ones practiced beyond the frontier in the surrounding Arab countries. A great deal of Jewish workers of the public sector today are employed under a fixed-term contract, mostly the young people, the women and the new immigrants. The rallying of precarious workers or the new “radical” little unions that appeared during strikes, like the ones in the railway (2000) have the greatest difficulties to get recognized by the Histadrut (Aufheben, “Behind the Twenty-First Century Intifada” No. 10, 2002). The worsening of the situation of the Israeli proletariat and the reduction of the Palestinian proletariat to a “fourth-world” condition belong in fact to the same mutations of Israeli capitalism, but this nevertheless does not provide in any way the conditions of the slightest “solidarity” between both proletariats, quite the reverse. For the Israeli proletarian, the Palestinian with low wage is a social danger, and more and more a physical one, for the Palestinian proletarian the advantages the Israeli can retain rest on his own exploitation, his increased relegation and the seize of the territories. (Théo Cosme, Le Moyen-Orient, 1945-2002, Senonevero, Marseille 2002, p. 259) Thus, if we look closely, the way the thing are is that the movement against war that was the basis of the demonstrations in Israel has been in any case the most dignified thing, as far as it has been something in the frame of the present hodgepodge. Vice versa the anti-Zionists — if it were not for the troubles they to generate — seem almost tender for their blessed ignorance of the things of this world. Particularly the “anticapitalists” ones: moreover their problem — as collectors of anti-isms — is that having an absolute enemy means forcefully that one can have only one at a time …. and have to choose between capitalism and Israel, they usually choose Israel. They usually do so also for convenience, as it is easier to be simply against individuals than against the social relation that determines their social function and position. I said before that we must in any case replace the Israeli-Palestinian question in history. Then let us start from a banal fact. Let us consider the geographic map of the area and the different evolutions of the territories from the end of the Second World War until today: starting from a few settlements — mainly situated on the coast and in the north — out of which was constituted its proto-state in 1946, Israel has appropriated in 60 years almost the totality of historical Palestine. To the Palestinians, very few is left from what Gaza and the West Bank still represented in 1967 (these frontiers are claimed today by the Hamas). In this sense, the problem of determining the frontiers that would delimit a “legitimate” Israeli state is irrelevant, so trivially impossible it is to solve: the logic of the seizing of the territories has revealed itself inseparable from its existence as national state. From this undeniable fact, the anti-Zionists deduce the illegitimate character of Israeli state, defined by them as “Zionist” — as if this adjective already said everything per se. This implicitly means that some states have a right to exist, and other not. But to ask the question of the legitimacy of Israeli state compared to other states simply means to ignore how the nation-states constitute themselves as homogeneous areas. It would be enough to look at the history of the Italian state: internal colonization promoted by the previous reign of Savoy, persecution of the “brigandage” in the South, Italianization of Trentino-South Tyrol and Istria under fascism, centrifugal surges and “national liberation” movements in Sicily and Sardinia, etc.. What is then a legitimate state? And what is an illegitimate state? We will say the same about the so-called “right to the land.” Who has a “right” to the land? According to what may one argue that a given geographic area “belongs” to a given population? According to passed history? And first, who had settled there, who was living there? It is the accomplished fact that establishes the “right,” and that’s all… at least in the world as it exists today. It is absolutely vain to participate (or sustain) the controversy over “who came first.” In facts, any reasoning over this point must resort to juridical formalism. In the fact that somebody may drive me out of my home, the real problem lies in the fundamental question, in the fact that there is something mine and something not mine…. And in the fact that what is mine may arouse the lust of somebody else, insofar as to be ready to resort to the abuse of his power to seize it. With some luck and adequate economic and military means, I will perhaps to seize back my home. If I am less lucky, I will not succeed to do that. In any case, the essential of the whole thing is that it doesn’t contain a dynamic that would go beyond itself — beyond the resentments and reciprocal accusations of suffered wrongs. The “reason” may be on my side or not, it is a conflict of typically military nature: action calls for reaction, and thus until the weakest is worn out . To come back to it and try to find in it something more, it is necessary that the concerned usurper represents the interests of the absolute enemy (the USA, pressure groups, or “Jewish finance”: we’ll come back to that). What’s more, it is simply stupid to contest — as the ridiculous [Roger] Garaudy does, following the ultra-orthodox Jews, in The Founding Myths of Modern Israel — the character of nation of Judaism, arguing that it is merely a religion: this only consists in opposing the idea to history, or to get lost in useless investigations that look back into the past since the dawn of time in order to affirm the authenticity, true or presumed, of one or other nationality. Similarly, to reproach to Israel — as, conversely, the Marxish professor Bertell Ollman does in his Letter of Resignation from the Jewish People — to have betrayed the universalist tradition of the Judaism of the diaspora, leads to make of this Judaism an essence which would be at safe from historical becoming. It is enough for us to know that everybody lives and relives his own past according to his own present. The experience of the present continuously selects and reworks the existing historical material. No national identity is produced ex nihilo; but the internal coherence and the times of incubation required are less important than one may think. As far as a given “feeling of national belonging” — for reasons we could consider as more or less good — appears in history and succeeds in consolidating itself, it becomes effective in reality. No nation is “legitimate” in itself, its legitimacy simply depends on its ability to unite, maintain and transform itself in history without disappearing. Exactly the way it happens for certain social movements that always have minority origins and a completely unpredictable future trajectory. The PKK — official embodiment of the Kurdish nationalist movement, previously “Stalinist” and today advocating a “democratic confederalism” — was constituted at the moment of its creation in the beginning of the seventies by a handful of students living in Ankara. To insist on the exceptional character of the denominational nature of the Israeli state, then, it is merely taking at face value what the Likud likes to tell about Israel. To really be able to bring that question into focus, it is necessary first to leave a static vision of history, in which everyone always remains who and where he is. Man, at least in the origins, is a nomad, and the most banal demonstration of that he has spread throughout the whole earth, from Siberia to Easter Island; he was able to live and settle everywhere, as well in the Arctic (Inuit) as in the desert (Tuareg). The capitalist mode of production has integrated and reproduced in its specific way this propensity to displacement, mitigated by the different (but essentially agrarian) modes of production that succeeded to the “Neolithic revolution”: If we ideally take as starting point the 1848 revolutions, one estimates that the hundred years that followed have seen the unwilling displacement of 30 millions of people throughout all Europe. Just some examples: one million Greeks of Anatolia returned to Greece to escape the Turkish power in 1919-1923; exchange of Turkish-Bulgarian (1913) and Greek-Bulgarian populations (1919); one million people in flight from Russia after the 1917 revolution; decree for the expulsion of the German people of the Sudetes (three million refugees) and of the Hungarian national in Czechoslovakia in 1945. The national state revealed itself as the most adequate administrative entity for the production and circulation of commodities. The most developed capitalist areas have imposed the state form to those, less developed, that almost or completely ignored it. If the frontiers of the present capitalist superpowers (the USA and Europe) can be considered as stable and definitive, it is impossible to say the same for the rest of the world, and the superpowers themselves may however sometimes provide some exceptions. Maybe the creation of new frontiers, of new nationalities, or the displacement / resettlement of entire populations are a new thing in history or belong to an henceforth bygone period? In that case, we should probably conclude that the breakup of Yugoslavia or the separation of Slovakia and the Czech Republic — just to speak of recent enough examples — never occurred. Let us think to the recent events in Ukraine as well. As long as capital exists, the dynamic of the accumulation will keep on fragmenting some areas in order to unify others. What one agrees to call “national questions” does not belong to a particular historical phase of the capitalist mode of production: the capitalist mode of production changed just the appreciation that we can give on it. As regards the “dominated nations,” in the 20s, the third international advocated the subordination of the communists to the bourgeois national organizations. The idea was that in these areas — given the weakness of the capitalist development, the proletariat was too weak, and one had first of all to guarantee the national frame allowing his development, in quantitative terms also; the tendency of Gorter vigorously criticized this subordination, that already had led to disastrous results in Turkey (1919-1921: elimination of the communists by the Kemalists), as happened later in China (1925-1927: slaughter of the communists by the Kuomintang). Generally even in other places the results were in any case not very different from those in the case of Turkey and China. But more fundamentally, we must ask if the controversy between “Leninist alliance” and “autonomous action by the proletariat” is still relevant. In the context of the capitalist mode of production, a situation pure enough to exclude a priori that certain national or semi-national questions remain “unsolved” will never be reached (it is today the case for the Kanaks in New Caledonia, for the Indians in Mexico, etc.…); very simply, either communist revolution will answer the question on its own bases, unifying mankind, destroying states and frontiers, eliminating every territorial segregation, or else the counter-revolution will do it in its own way, succeeding to satisfy the national claims, or organizing the violent dislocation or extermination of the concerned population. There is no particular theory of revolution any more, no stages to get across, no specific contradictions, no national conditions of the revolution. This absolutely does not mean uniformity, but all the differentiations are no more posited in a diachronic way, rather have become synchronic elements of a global system of the class struggle. The problem does not exist in terms of chronology any more. One must put an end to any exotic understanding of the class struggles in the “peripheries.” Exoticism, Samir Amin, autarky, Guevara and the focos preparing “state capitalism,” Lenin and the development of capital under proletarian direction, Vera Zasulich and the communal jump over the horrors of capitalism: all that is over. (Théo Cosme, De la politique en Iran, Senonevero, Marseille 2010, p. 119). But Israel, one will say, has nothing to do with all that, because it is the result of a colonization. This is not entirely correct. Israel is the product of a national liberation movement, that contained, because of the impossibility of establishing itself in its own geographic area — the historical Pale of Settlement — an element of ambiguity, and this element has finally prevailed: The national content of emancipation was an outcome both of the nature of the tsarist state — a multinational, authoritarian, and anti-Semitic empire — and of the Jewish communities: a pariah condition characterized by segregation, discrimination, persecutions, and pogroms; territorial concentration in ghettos and in the shtetl; cultural and linguistic unity (Yiddish). Of course, many Marxist Jewish intellectuals (unlike the Bund and socialist Zionists) rejected any and all national or Jewish cultural references. One need only recall Trotsky’s famous response to questioning by the Bundist Medem at the 1903 Congress of the Russian Social-Democratic Labor Party: “I assume that you consider yourself either a Russian or a Jew?” “No,” replied Trotsky, “you are wrong. I am nothing but a Social Democrat.” In any event, whether Jewish identity was accepted or rejected, it was — at least after the terrible pogroms of 1881 — a national/cultural and not merely a religious identity. Unlike in Germany, there were very few Jews in the tsarist empire who thought of themselves merely as “Russian citizens of Jewish denomination.” (Michael Löwy, Redemption and Utopia). Maybe is it the first and only example of a movement inspired by a perspective of “emancipation” that gave rise to a system of oppression and exploitation? If it is that which scandalizes, looking at the outcome of the revolutions of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, then it would be better to satisfy with the existing order, like Bernard-Henri Lévy and other supporters of the anti-totalitarian ideology. Could it have been different? The question in itself is pointless, but the answer would probably be negative. The Second World War left us with a legacy that is difficult to reimagine. The settlement of the Jews in Palestine, already under way but of limited range before 1939-1945, experienced an incredible impulse after the war, and out of this process Israel was born. Why did they not instead scatter throughout the world? First for the same reason for which at all levels — from jail to city — still today, individuals gather in national or linguistic communities. The counter-revolution in Russia, after the revolution of 1917, had left unsolved the Yiddish national question (see, among others, the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact and the partitioning of Poland), and the Nazi persecution activated it de facto for the integrated Jews of Central Europe. Considering the range of possibilities offered then to the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe, it is obvious that there was not much choice as regards their destination: for the displaced people of Jewish origin, Palestine was — if not the only possible destination — by far the most secure. Did they have the “right” to settle there? No more no less than any “migrant” of nowadays (to whom the slogan: “Master in one’s own country!” is opposed). If ones wants to wonder about the reason why this massive settlement took the characters of exclusion and land seizing, the answer will be only tautological: as far as the settlement accelerated the development of the specifically capitalist social relations in the concerned area, precisely these social relations have shaped the relations between the two populations. The Palestinians have not been the only ones to suffer the consequences: the normal stratification of the classes of a capitalist state took form by the integration of the non-European Jews who gradually benefited from the Law of Return [Israeli legislation, enacted 5 July 1950, that gives the right to live in Israel and to gain citizenship to Jews, and since 1970 to non-Jews with a Jewish grandparent, and their spouses]: the Jews from North Africa and Middle East; the Teimanim from Yemen or Oman; the 90,000 Beta Israel or Falasha from Ethiopia who came to Israel between 1984 and 1991, etc.…, with the relative racist tensions one can imagine, after all not different — in their nature — from those that struck the terroni of Italy in the sixties or the migrant workers in China nowadays. What would have been the fate of the Palestinian population without the Jewish settlement? Perhaps a less terrible future than the one it is subjected to in the present, but certainly not a happy one: a development of the “underdevelopment,” probably through to the extractive industry, as it was the case in the period of the “Trente glorieuses” (1945-1975) [post-World War II economic expansion, also known as the postwar economic boom, the long boom, or the Golden Age of Capitalism, translator’s note], for this part of the third world able to provide raw materials at low prices to the West; or else the national Pan-Arab way to socialism of Nasser & co., with the approval of USSR. But the capitalist mode of production is a totality, a system of communicating vessels: good fortune for one is misfortune for the other, the plethora of capital means misery for the proletariat, and each “inclusion” produces new “exclusions.” This is the very reason for the possibility of reformism in a national framework, and its impossibility at a global scale; this is the basis of a revolutionary position that would not be of purely moral nature. This does not amount to a kind of indifferentism towards the most extreme horrors of capitalism (war, ethnic cleansing, etc.…), but it allows to acquire the capacity to grasp their connections with the less violent aspects (selling and buying of the workforce, the commodity-form of the product), living behind the vision of the “good guys” against the “bad guys.” The population of the Pale of Settlement was estimated to eleven million people before the Nazi persecutions. Beyond the number of deportees and the dead, one has to represent himself the proportions of the phenomenon. It is a verified historical fact that at the end of the Second World War the refugees from Western Europe were generally repatriated at the end of 1945, for those from Eastern Europe this was much more intricate or in fact not realized. This contributed to increase the appeal towards the settlement in Palestine. The displacement of this mass of people, in any case, whatever was their destination, took place in a world already “globalized” and strongly structured. It is well known that the Nazis (with the approval of Hitler in 1938) had considered the idea of transferring the European Jews to Madagascar, and that the Zionist movement had long debated over the English project of creation of a “Jewish national home” in Uganda. But whatever destination was aimed, Palestine, Madagascar or Uganda, the consequences would obviously not have been painless, as none of these three areas was a “land without people.” Thus, like — on a much reduced scale — the displacement of the people of the South Tyrol to Franche-Comté in eastern France, only considered but never realized, it would not have occurred without tensions. Like it or not, the famous “Jewish question” is in a very ordinary way another episode of the “national questions,” although in Western Europe the assimilation was undoubtedly more widespread. The fact that the state of Israel was created in historical Palestine and not in the Pale of Settlement, will have depended on the existing conditions at the end of the Second World War. This war crowned, with a terrorism still more atrocious than the one during the First World War, the triumphant counterrevolution, making more impossible than ever to give to the Yiddish national question the solution of simple cultural and/or administrative autonomy, as it had been conceived for instance by the Bund (General Union of the Yiddish workers of Lithuania, Poland and Russia). In the general climate of Union Sacrée [the “sacred union” of France and Britain, 1914-1918] dominated by the national fronts. it is absurd to expect from the “Israelis” a behavior different from the one which was prevailing at the time. Only in Italy, from 1943 on, was there a burst of class struggle, quickly dissolved in the resistance patriotic front and in the normalization before Marshall Plan. Without this exodus of people on the breadline (and without the structure of the kibbutz that allowed to take them massively in) the construction of Israeli state would have been impossible. It is not difficult to understand that the working class, apart from revolutionary periods, is a class not less conservative as the others. The proletariat cannot exist in the limbo, cannot entrench themselves behind a cordon sanitaire: when counterrevolution prevails, the proletarian take part to it. The Israeli proletarian are not and could not be an exception. Is that a good reason for setting aside the analysis in terms of class or for “repudiating” these proletarians? In what can we have faith then? In “people of good will”? In “free individuality”? Best of luck, then, for the future! But then — here we are coming to the most painful point — why do some people expect from them, only from them, something different? If today a state was created for the Romanis in Transnistria or elsewhere, even to the detriment of the local population, who would dare to say that the Romanis (and afterwards their children, and their children’s children…) settled there are all assholes? The example could seem unlikely, but it cannot be excluded from the field of the possibilities because, as we already have seen — the displacement of entire populations towards territories that were foreign to them as regards culture and tradition is not a new fact in history: this is a reason why traditions and cultures are relentlessly done and undone. Moreover the present condition of the Romanis who most recently immigrated into Western Europe may to some extent give an idea of the miserable condition of the Yiddish proletariat in Eastern Europe between the two world wars: the condition of the lowest of the low. In a letter to Ehrenfreund [March 21, 1890], Engels wrote: Additionally, the antisemite presents the facts in an entirely false light. He doesn’t even know the Jews he decries, otherwise he would be aware that, thanks to antisemitism in eastern Europe, and to the Spanish Inquisition in Turkey, there are here in England and in America thousands upon thousands of Jewish proletarians; and it is precisely these Jewish workers who are the worst exploited and the most poverty-stricken. In England during the past twelve months we have had three strikes by Jewish workers. Are we then expected to engage in anti-Semitism in our struggle against capital? If this is really about “the lowest of the low,” with what courage can one moralize about the behavior of these people? Why does one expect from the Jewish survivors of the extermination to behave differently from the thousands of unfortunate English, Irish, or Dutch reduced to famine who emigrated to the USA and that contributed, actively or passively, in the expulsion of the American natives, forcing them to live in increasingly reduced strips of land, right to the famous “Indian reservation”? (We cannot escape here the analogy with Palestine). Why is something different expected from a population reduced to the extreme of persecution, from the ghetto to the extermination (and we must not forget the deeds of the Warsaw insurrection1)? Maybe because they are Jews. Let us then call things by their name: anti-Judaism. Some people justify Hamas, putting forward the destitution and despair of the Palestinians, but don’t grant the same “extenuating circumstances” to the Jews settled in Palestine after 1945. As regards the national question, the discourse is the same: Palestinian question YES, Yiddish question NO. It is a logic of double standards, opposed to one another in a mirror-like way, the dominant position considering that a Jewish dead has more value than a Palestinian dead. As for us, we recognize as such “the lowest in the low” of yesterday and those of today as well. We won’t moralize either about the rocket attacks, the kidnappings or the killing of colonists, neither about the suicide attacks by Al Quds and other similar groups. But we cannot forget that all these things exist; and that a rebalancing in the number of the dead — as the buffoon [Gianni] Vattimo2 claims — is unlikely to change the lot of the Palestinians, and in fact mainly aims at obtaining the creation of a Palestinian mini-state. The nature of this kind of counter-violence consists in articulating the continuous interchange of clashes, truces, and negotiations, at times prevented and at times allowed by this counter-violence: its only possible result concerns its effective aim: the creation of a Palestinian state. This remote eventuality will at best preserve human lives, no more no less. But if the question is to save lives, what is the difference with Darfur, South-Sudan, Rwanda, and other “humanitarian emergencies”? The world is a big place. Everywhere, each day, people live, people die in a more or less atrocious way. At all times — and with different modalities depending on the historical mode of production: raid, war of conquest, colonialism, imperialism — human groups have confronted and killed each other for reasons that are in general linked, directly or indirectly, to appropriation or control of the goods and resources. The question is not to “turn this fact into a commonplace,” but to avoid making absolute (placing it outside history) our horror in front of this reality, that — like any other moral fact — is an historical product and on the other hand is inseparable from the global expansion of the capitalist mode of production. The fact to take into account as something concerning us the lot of those who live thousands of kilometers from us (with the simple material possibility to be informed upon it) is due to that expansion. For the hunter-gatherer of the Paleolithic era, the notion of “mankind” only referred to the members of his group, and the homicide was the leading cause of death. The Bedouins of the Arabian peninsula and the Guayaki tribes of South America did not know the state but their whole existence was oriented to making war (see Pierre Clastres, Archeology of Violence, 1977). As for the hegemony of Hamas and jihadism in general, we know all too well how religion can be the “sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions” (Karl Marx, A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right: Introduction). This general affirmation however is valid in Palestine or in Italy, as anywhere else. In Near and Middle East, like in most Arab countries of the Mediterranean area, Islamism is not an ideology fallen from the sky to pervert the poor proletariat as “noble savage”; in all its variants and shades, this ideology is today the political expression — not definitive but nevertheless dominant — of the class struggle in this area, as soon as it goes beyond mere economic demands. If this appears as a “justification,” then the same is true for any attempt to make reality intelligible. But the problems faced by anti-Zionists are different. They know it is difficult to promote “solidarity with Palestinian resistance,” at least in Western countries, if “Palestinian resistance” concretely means Hamas and others similar organizations. So they are forced to continually brandish the memory of the previous political formation — namely, Arab nationalism. They mythicize it, and search for its residues, in order to make the present one (which is in fact the only one that really counts) more “presentable.” Yet one need only see the meager result of 4.2% for the PFLP [Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine] at the 2006 legislative elections to realize how hopeless this is. This is a problem for politicians; and let us even say that moreover we do not have to be much nostalgic about it. In class struggle, exoticisms never produced anything good: for Andreas Baader for instance, the contradiction in the “imperialist metropole” was under the barrel of his gun. So the Turkish worker who got fleeced at Volkswagen but did not rebel “enough” was an “objective ally of imperialism,” whereas the doctor and great landowner (and leader of the PFLP as well) George Habash represented the vanguard of world revolution. Certainly they can bring up the famous “power relationship,” the violence of the repression, but this way they forbid themselves to get any social understanding of the past defeats. If defeat is imputed to military, technical, economic or communication superiority of the enemy, there can be no end to it, and identify the core of the problem with this superiority can only lead to militarism or to give up. Moreover one needs to dissipate this idyllic conception of class struggle which presupposes that there is only one front line: the global decomposition of the whole social capital into a multiplicity of particular capitals and of the proletariat into its fractions, means that the front lines are unlimited, that there is class struggle inside class struggle, and that the conflict inside proletariat are really something else than an occasional aberration. Under the spur of the general restructuring of class relations from the seventies onwards, during the last forty years, capital development has made a clean sweep, and little or nothing was left from that story. After Second World War, the movement of support for the Third World was legitimated, among others, by the function of supplier of cheap raw materials of this part of the world; but through the two “oil crises” in 1973-1974 and 1978-1980, the restructuration completely destabilized the previous situation: the price of crude increased in an unprecedented manner, and in Europe one began to speak of nuclear power stations. Therefore, more fundamentally, came successively the intoxication by oil rent in Middle East (that improved Hamas’ cash flow through intervention of Saudi Arabia), the end of Arab nationalism and the rise of Islamism. At the same time, even the economical and social structure of Israeli state completely changed. “Zionism,” strictly speaking, was the protection and safeguarding of “Jewish labor,” either for Israeli capital, against international competition, or for the working class against the Palestinian proletarians: it was in short a special case of the post-1945 “Fordist compromise,” of rooting in a given national state of a fraction of capital. Zionism implied that a “left-wing” character be given to state and civil society. This is what Likud gradually liquidated, and the radical resizing of the role of the kibbutz demonstrates that. Conversely, out of a logical deduction, one understands that the slow erosion of the Palestinian area goes hand in hand with a major use of the Arab workforce. Yet the definition of Israel as “Zionist state” resists, and even in this semantic quid-pro-quo manifests itself the tragic nature of the present situation. To let out words like “Zionist” or “lobby,” etc., only serves — consciously or not — to surround the existence of Israel with a halo of intrigues, mystery, conspiracy, and exceptional character, of which it is not difficult to catch the subliminal message: Israelis, i.e. the Jews, are not like others. While the only secret in this whole story is the open secret of capital: competition, which opposes “those who are at the top” as well as “those who are at the bottom.” What difference between the terrorist actions of the future Mossad immediately after World War II (the bomb attack at the British embassy in Rome in 1946, and many others) and the action of Black September in Monaco (1972), the hijacking of the Achille Lauro (1985), the bloody attacks in the airports of Fiumicino and Vienna (1985)? States are often the most terrorist as they still are in the phase of establishing themselves as such. As for the blessed “solidarity with the Palestinian people” — what is this, concretely? Its supporters, in most cases, limit themselves to a conceited and inoperative verbalism, considering that almost all the historical “left-wing” financial supports of the “Palestinian resistance” ended in disaster, from the USSR (main financial backer of the PFLP) to Saddam Hussein. What remains nowadays is only the voluntary work inside Occupied Territories or at a distance from them; a voluntary work that is certainly worthy of being respected, but the historical perspective and the recognition of the real significance of the possible “solidarity” at present show the unbridgeable distance existing between the heyday of the Arab nationalism and the present situation. When “solidarity” amounts to a purely verbal activity, it is legitimate to wonder in what the fact to claim “solidarity” with the Palestinians changes reality. Solidarity has become a question of self-consciousness, a broad-minded attitude that entirely resolves itself to what the individual believes in his heart of hearts. We will at best have a few slogans in a demonstration, perhaps a leaflet, hurl two insults at a cop… and then everybody goes home. Splendors and miseries of militancy. In the meantime, however, war — conventional or asymmetrical — is waged with weapons, and the good question about them is: where do they come from? Who pays for them? At one time Katyusha rockets came with the “East wind.” Nowadays one must thank Syria and Iran for the Qassam. There was a time when one could believe Palestinian revolution would set on fire the Third World and, from there, the whole world. In fact, the lot of the Palestinians was decided somewhere else, and they served as cannon fodder within the framework of the balance of power of Cold War. Reality an myth of the “international solidarity.” With the end of the Eastern Bloc, revolution in Middle East came off stage, it is now out of question to make a revolution but, at best, to avoid a slaughter. The most extremist (and stupid) expect something from Iran, this questionable “bulwark of anti-imperialism” (!); that is a bit like hoping that “Baffone will come.”3 But we know that Baffone is dead without even packing his bags. It is difficult nowadays to imagine any real, long-lasting “peace” in historical Palestine. It could become reality one day, it will always be more difficult to imagine that it happens in the world of capital. Anti-Zionists may like it or not, this peace will result neither from any “anti-imperialist front” (with the support of Iran) nor from a sort of magical chemistry that Palestinians, in the extremes conditions they live, would be able to invent; and this peace will never exist without an active involvement on its side of an important part of Israeli population, and mainly of its working class. Easy to answer this is like expecting a miracle. But — as we have seen — history lasts a long time… and we can only appreciate the social consequences of the crisis (and its future aggravation) and its future effects on the Israeli economy in the interim. Miracle or no, to describe “the Israelis” as monsters, and hold all of them equally responsible for what happens in the Gaza Strip and Occupied Territories — from which point of view of a moral superiority is it possible? No one knows. Who knows how these lion-hearted people would behave if they were born in Israel! — Frankly, I do not see the utility of this, except to exacerbate, if that is still possible, the already merely national or ethnic character of the conflict. Too much racketeering had the possibility to flourish at the expense of the poor crucified Palestinians — even just to sell some more keffiyehs. What is to be done then? Throw out pompous calls to revolution, claim “socialism or barbarism,” or “only one solution, revolution”? The minimum, I don’t even dare say of solidarity, but of respect for the Palestinian proletarians, lowest of the low, requires us first to be lucid and disillusioned about the present situation, not to consider them neither as idiots that are done get fooled by the Hamas nor as saints entrusted with the proletarian Mandate of Heaven. We try to blow up, when the opportunity exists, through actions, speeches, writings, the anti-Zionist construction, the same way we try to blow up the anti-globalization movement (defense of national capital against globalized capital, or of productive capital against financial capital), pacifism (proclaiming capitalist peace against war), and all the views of an alternative management of capital. These views belong to the daily course of class struggle, and at the same time cannot in any case be simply put on the right track or radicalized (it would mean, in the present case, a “class-based” or “revolutionary” anti-Zionism, which is merely a contradiction in terms). Without falling back into the short-sighted illusion that one could put forward what in the jargon of the careerist politicians is called a credible alternative. Communism is not the product of a choice, it is an historical movement. It is with this approach that I have tried to face the question in these pages. Nevertheless henceforth — by dint of reasoning with bourgeois categories like “law,” “justice,” and “the people” — it is not only difficult to imagine a solution, but it has become almost impossible to talk sense on this subject. (As an appendix to these considerations, I add a short reflection by B.L., going back to the 2009 bombing. It is outdated, but valid nonetheless.) Silence on Gaza B.L. (pseudonym) October 1, 2009 . . We have spoken a lot about Obama’s election, we have spoken still more about the riots in Greece, but we don’t say a word about the war in Gaza. Why? Is it because it doesn’t concern us? Because it is not interesting at all “from the point of view of revolution”? This may be said but I think we really feel that it is not true, that the importance of this return of the war in Palestine bothers us, or perhaps worse causes us anxiety. This new war causes us anxiety because the proletarians of Gaza are slaughtered and have no possibility to escape from the trap in which they are caught. They can but “choose” to die under the Israeli bombs or through fighting on Hamas’ side. They even cannot abandon the battle, they are locked up in a firing range, they cannot revolt against their own side that keeps them as hostage. It is the absolute tragedy, there nothing to hope for. Obama lets Bush bear the responsibility of managing the problem. Only our national clown, Sarkozy, seizes the opportunity to make his ridiculous performance As for us, we are terrified by this horror because we see in it something that could spread throughout the world thanks to the catastrophic economic crisis (still to come), the different capitalist splinter groups, state-controlled or not, really could pounce upon each other without any communist outcome opening up. Pay attention, this is no analysis, all I think drives me to say that this catastrophe is impossible, that it negates the class contradiction, that Gaza is strictly not representative of the situation in the rest of the world; yet in its distinctiveness as a ghetto for supernumerary proletarians, Gaza is paradigmatic of the en abyme4 restructuring of capital as well, and this is the reason why, basically, we do not dare to think of it, we avert our eyes, because we would see in it an inconceivable future. . [Thanks to J. for the translation and his notes] . . Notes 1 Jewish ghetto insurrection of April-May 1943, not to be mistaken with the “Warsaw commune” of August-October 1944, after the ghettoized Jews had already been slaughtered or deported. 2 Italian philosopher and politician: on July 22, 2014, in response to the IDF military operation in Gaza against Hamas attacks on Israel, he said he would personally like to “shoot those bastard Zionists” and thinks Europeans should raise money “to buy Hamas some more rockets.” 3 Addivenni Baffone: the man with a mustache must come. Popular expression used Immediately after the Second World War in reference to Stalin and the possibility of the coming to power of communists in Italy. 4 On the notion of mise en abyme in capital restructuring, see Théorie Communiste, issue 22, p. 86. 32.0853 34.781768 With lightning telegrams: Facebook Twitter Tumblr More Reddit Pinterest
“I feel like every time you’re here, there’s some big piece of news that just happens day-of,” Seth Meyers told Sen. Bernie Sanders on the occasion of his fifth Late Night appearance. “We arrange it,” Sanders joked. But seconds later, he had turned deadly serious. “It’s a big deal, Seth,” Sanders said of the first indictments that were handed down as part of the Russia investigation on Monday. “Bob Mueller, who—let us remember, was appointed to be FBI director by George W. Bush, reappointed by Obama, a man who has a whole lot of bipartisan support across the political spectrum—he was given the assignment of determining whether or not the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians to undermine American democracy. And today is a major step forward with the indictment of [Paul] Manafort. And we’ll see how the process works out.” “But I worry very much about the attacks that we’re seeing every day in a variety of ways, not only from the Russians on American democracy,” Sanders continued. “We have a president who clearly does not understand the Constitution of the United States. A president who attacks the media every day and the media has a very important role to play in our democracy.” He also cited Citizens United and Republican governors “trying to suppress the vote” as major threats. “And I think of all of the enormous issues and problems facing this country, making sure we fight to protect and revitalize American democracy and take on all of those people who want to undermine what men and women fought and died to defend, that is our major task,” Sanders said. Meyers asked Sanders if he worries at all that stories like the Mueller indictments “can to the left provide an excitement of, ‘Oh, this is almost over,’ when in fact it will probably go on forever and they need to focus on the ballot box as opposed to Mueller.” “Yes. I mean, I think we’ve got to work in two ways,” Sanders answered. “No. 1, we have got to take on Trump’s attacks against the environment, against women, against Latinos and blacks and people in the gay community, we’ve got to fight back every day on those issues. But equally important, or more important: We have got to focus on bread-and-butter issues that mean so much to ordinary Americans.” Sanders said those “ordinary Americans” are “not staying up every day worrying about Russia’s interference in our election.” Instead, he said, “They’re wondering how they’re going to send their kids to college” or “how they’re going to be able to pay the rent” or “whether they can afford health care.” “We are the wealthiest country in the history of the world and our job is to create an economy that works for all of us, not just the 1 percent, and those are issues that absolutely we cannot afford to lose sight of,” Sanders added. In other words: Don’t get too excited about the indictments of a couple of ex-Trump campaign officials.
The military technology, it turned out, didn’t have much practical application. But a little Googling on the subject of beetles and acoustics led the two to David Dunn, an avant-garde composer and collector of animal sounds. Dunn had inserted microphones into the pinyon pines that surround his home in Santa Fe and recorded a CD of the noises they captured. Amid the gurgling of pine sap and slow flexing of the trees can be heard a stream of chirps: the calls of pinyon engraver beetles. The recording marked a turning point for Hofstetter. He and his colleagues had been so focused on finding a chemical deterrent that they hadn’t given much thought to exploiting the beetles’ acoustic abilities. Yet Dunn had captured what sounded like a complex communication system. Somewhere in that entomological language, Hofstetter realized, there might be signals that could be used to disrupt the beetles’ behavior. McGuire began his search for a sonic weapon by bombarding the bugs with Guns N’ Roses songs and Rush Limbaugh shows in his laboratory. He later got better results using the aggression calls made by the male insects (recorded with Dunn’s help) together with artificial squawks and bleeps of the same frequency. When I visited Hofstetter at NAU, the result was booming through speakers around his lab. The effect it has on the beetles is extraordinary. Hofstetter told me that he had witnessed a pair mate and then, after the sound was switched on, watched as the male ate the female. Nothing like it had been seen before. “People from all over the building were coming in to look,” he said. In one experiment, the team had placed a beetle on a thin slice of pine sandwiched between two clear panes of Plexiglas. Days before I arrived, the sound had prompted the distraught insect to try to escape by tunneling through the Plexiglas. I asked McGuire if he still had that experiment set up. He paused as he handed it over, looking down at the pane: “Wow. He got out.” In the middle of the Plexiglas was a tiny hole, and no sign of the beetle. McGuire grinned. “We drove him crazy.” The team plans to try out a version of this technology in the spring. Dunn showed me a car-stereo speaker he’s been testing, which can produce the high-frequency sounds that beetles hear. He described how he had screwed the speaker into a pinyon pine and listened as the output reverberated up and down the trunk. The team believes the device can be used to pump McGuire’s sonic deterrent into vulnerable trees. Fitting every tree in a forest with a speaker would of course be impossible. But if the sounds prove disturbing enough to drive beetles out of the trees, or to deter new arrivals from burrowing into the bark, a ribbon of trees equipped with these cheap devices could form a kind of acoustic firebreak. Enough, perhaps, to protect some of the many millions of acres of still-healthy forests from the advancing beetle armies.
Buy Photo Former Titans linebacker Tim Shaw is battling ALS. Tuesday July 14, 2015, in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo: George Walker IV / The Tennessean)Buy Photo Too busy to be afraid ALS is beginning to steal Tim Shaw's body, but there are still so many things to do In the weeks after going public with his diagnosis of ALS last August, former Titans linebacker Tim Shaw did what many have when faced with an incurable disease: He traveled to an exotic foreign country. Buy Photo Tim Shaw enjoys a round of golf at McCabe Golf Course with Kyle Mullicane on July 21. Shaw says his ALS now has him playing "old man golf, short and straight." (Photo: George Walker IV / The Tennessean) But Shaw's trip to Brazil was anything but a check mark off his bucket list. Instead, it was a planned journey of service to help an impoverished Amazon-jungle village dig a freshwater well. "Just seeing people who'd never had clean water in their lives — digging the well for them and seeing them get that clean water — was an amazing life-changing experience," Shaw said. Buy Photo Tim Shaw chats with his business partners on July 21. (Photo: George Walker IV / The Tennessean) His mission trip is an example of how Shaw has chosen to live his life despite the impact of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord, stealing a person's ability to speak, eat, move and breathe as it progresses. Shaw isn't consumed with fear of what lies ahead. He's too busy living — relying on his strong faith, his natural enthusiasm and his determined character to keep pushing him forward. Even as his speech has started to slur, his motor skills to slow and his strength to fade, Shaw is doing everything he can to lead a life similar to the one he had before the diagnosis. He still oversees two Nashville businesses, travels the world, raises money and awareness to fight ALS and — in his spare time — stubbornly takes to the golf course. "I might have moved up a couple of tee boxes and I don't hit the ball very far, but I can still swing the club and hit the ball," Shaw said with a smile. "And if the game is tied, you know what? I'm going to make a putt to beat you. "I am so grateful for that. That allows me to feel like I'm doing great, even though I might not be doing great like I used to be." CLOSE Former Titans linebacker Tim Shaw is facing life with ALS. George Walker IV / The Tennessean Something wrong The disease has progressed slowly, but simple tasks are now a challenge Buy Photo Tom Bender, a performance specialist, helps Tim Shaw with stretch therapy that helps his muscles stay limber. (Photo: George Walker IV / The Tennessean) The first symptoms — subtle declines in Shaw's coordination, speed and strength — began as far back as the end of the 2012 season, when he was still playing in his third year with the Titans and his sixth NFL season overall. It became clear something was wrong during the 2013 training camp, when Shaw was cut after noticeably falling behind his peers on the field. Still, despite extensive testing, Shaw wasn't diagnosed with ALS until April of 2014, and he didn't tell the public until a trip to Titans camp last August, when Shaw and some teammates performed the now-famous ice-bucket challenge. Since then, Shaw has physically slipped even further. He struggles with fine motor skills like writing, typing or buttoning a shirt, and, he says, it now takes about five minutes to put on a pair of socks. Balance issues require him to concentrate when he stands or so that he doesn't bump into doorways when walking into a room. He labors to brush his teeth. Shaw can't play the guitar that sits in his living room anymore nor can he sing the way he once did. Still, he knows the disease's progression has been slower for him, and that he is far more fortunate than many others. According to the ALS organization, the life expectancy of a person with ALS averages about two to five years from the time of diagnosis. But because the disease is variable, many people can live with ALS for five years and more. "I am so thankful for the tardiness of my progression and all the ability I still have left and the things I can do," Shaw said. "In the grand scheme of things, I am doing well. It's all a comparison game and I'm doing well compared to most people with ALS." No bucket list Instead of turning inward, Shaw is 'just living' and thriving on helping others In the past year, Shaw has made personal trips with family and friends, to places like Australia, Mexico and New Zealand — where he bungee-jumped off a bridge and swam with dolphins. He's also gone skydiving a couple of times, parachuting from 15,000 feet. Buy Photo Tim Shaw wears wristbands as reminders of his faith. (Photo: George Walker IV / The Tennessean) He's quick to point out that this is how he's always lived, that ALS hasn't turned his life into some type of cliché. "These are not, 'Hey, I'm dying, I need to do this before I die.' This is just me living. I would have done this one way or another. You know what? I actually don't have a bucket list. I just go. I just do. I live." Shaw seems just as excited to talk about the mission trips he's made, whether it was the well-digging expedition to Brazil or a later journey to Haiti, where he assisted orphanage workers. Why, Shaw is sometimes asked, doesn't he just concentrate all his remaining time on himself? Buy Photo Tim Shaw wears a T-shirt with his hashtag, #TShawStronG. (Photo: George Walker IV / The Tennessean) "I know myself from experience that when I do things selfishly, I don't feel nearly as good or nearly as fulfilled as doing things for others," Shaw said. "It's kind of a lesson I've learned throughout my life and a lesson I would love everyone to test. Go ahead and do something for someone and don't tell anyone about it. You'll have this overwhelmingly joyful and peaceful and fulfilling feeling." Shaw's desire to make others' lives better also has extended to those suffering from ALS. He's raised awareness by addressing Congress and through countless media interviews, and he's raised money by speaking at fundraisers in Nashville, St. Louis and other places. Shaw cherishes the relationships he makes with ALS patients along the way. "To actually sit face-to-face and hold someone's hand or just see them and relate to them, and know that they fully understand what I'm going through and that I, in return, fully understand what they're going through, that's been a special thing for me," Shaw said. Faith and football Religion and the lessons of his sport help Shaw combat sadness, anger and fear In addition to parents John and Sharon, who moved to his Nashville home last November, Shaw credits his religious faith and his football background for his emotional and mental strength. Buy Photo Tim Shaw at a glance (Photo: George Walker IV and Karen Kraft / The Tennessean) Shaw does wonder whether the violent, repetitive collisions in football might have a connection to ALS. At least two other former NFL players who endured plenty of hard hits playing special teams — O.J. Brigance and Steve Gleason — were diagnosed with ALS in the past decade. Buy Photo Titans linebacker Tim Shaw stops Saints running back Chris Ivory during a 2012 game in Nashville. (Photo: George Walker IV / The Tennessean) "I want studies to be done," Shaw said. "I want knowledge to be found that, 'This is the cause or not the cause.' Then let men make choices for themselves." Still, Shaw loves the game,and he puts on an annual summer football camp for kids. He believes the sport steeled his character, helping him to face significant life challenges. "I played football, a physical game, for almost 18 years of my life, and it formed me into this certain type of man that won't back down from anything, and who knows how to work through everything and put his heart into it," Shaw said. "I've been trained to be so mentally tough that it's going to take something unbelievable to knock my mental game." Shaw's deep religious beliefs were important to him even before his current health struggles, and his ALS diagnosis has not shaken them. He became more active at Cross Point Church in Nashville earlier this year, volunteering as a greeter to increase his involvement with the community. "I believe people are made for a purpose," Shaw said. "Sometimes specifically, God says, 'This is what I made you for.' In my situation, I believe He will make good out of every situation. He didn't have ALS planned for me. But He prepared for me for the tough time He knew I'd be going through. NEWSLETTERS Get the Sports newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Top and trending sports headlines you need to know for your busy day. Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-800-342-8237. Delivery: Daily Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for Sports Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters "It doesn't make things easier and it doesn't take (ALS) away. But it gives me peace. There's also sadness in there. There's fear. There's anger. But above all, there's peace." For more information on patient/family resources, how to help and more, visit the Tennessee Chapter of the ALS Association.
A new scientific study puts the final nail in the coffin of a long-standing theory to explain human’s remarkable cognitive abilities: that human evolution involved the selective expansion of the brain’s prefrontal cortex. It does so by determining that the prefrontal region of the brain which orchestrates abstract thinking, complex planning and decision making contains the same proportion of neurons and fills the same relative volume in non-human primates as it does in humans. “People need to drop the idea that the human brain is exceptional,” said Vanderbilt University neuroscientist Suzana Herculano-Houzel, who directed the study. “Our brain is basically a primate brain. Because it is the largest primate brain, it does have one distinctive feature: It has the highest number of cortical neurons of any primate. Humans have 16 billion compared with 9 billion in gorillas and orangutans and six-to-seven billion in chimpanzees. It is remarkable, but it is not exceptional.” In her popular science book The Human Advantage: A New Understanding of How Our Brain Became Remarkable (MIT Press: March 2016), Herculano-Houzel explains how human brains grew so large, even larger than the brains of gorillas and orangutans, whose bodies are larger than ours. Her answer is surprisingly simple. It is the invention of cooking. Cooking allowed early humans to overcome the energetic barrier that limits the size of the brains of other primates, she has determined. However, when the human brains grew larger they maintained the basic structure of the primate brain, including the size of the prefrontal cortex, her latest study has found. The comparison of the relative size of the prefrontal region in primate brains is described in a paper titled “No relative expansion of the number of prefrontal neurons in primate and human evolution” by Herculano-Houzel and postdoctoral fellow Mariana Gabi published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences early edition. The researchers compared the brains of seven non-human primates of varying sizes – pig-tailed and crab-eating macaques, baboon, marmoset, galago, owl monkey and capuchin – with the human brain. They found that both the human and non-human primates devote about 8 percent of their neurons to the prefrontal region of the cortex. In addition, they determined that volumes of human prefrontal gray and white matter match the expected volumes for the number of neurons and other cells in the white matter when compared to other primates. “Our big brains are very costly. They use 25 percent of all the energy the body needs each day,” Herculano-Houzel said. “Cooking allowed us to overcome an energetic barrier that restricts the size of the brains of other primates.” Take the case of the gorilla. It must spend at least eight hours per day foraging and eating to support its body and brain. The human brain is three times larger than that of the gorilla. If a gorilla had a brain the size of a human, it would have to spend an additional one and a half hours a day finding food. So there simply aren’t enough hours in the day for the gorilla to support a bigger brain. Likewise, if humans ate like any other primate, we would have to spend nine and a half hours per day eating – every single day. That’s where cooking comes in. “By cooking, I mean cutting, dicing, smashing–all types of food preparation,” Herculano-Houzel said. “Take a single carrot. If you eat it raw, it will take 10 to 15 minutes of vigorous chewing and your digestive system will only capture about one third of the calories. But, if you cut the carrot up and cook it for a few minutes, it takes only a few minutes to consume and your body gets 100 percent of the calories.” The origin of cooking, as Herculano-Houzel defines it, dates back about 2.5 million years ago with the development of the first stone tools. Among other things, these stone tools were man’s first food processors, allowing our ancestors to slice and dice and mash their food. Evidence for the controlled use of fire appears about 400,000 years ago. “Those early tool makers had brains about the same size as gorillas. But, beginning about 1.8 million years ago, the brains of our ancestors began growing steadily, tripling in size over the next 1.5 million years,” said Herculano-Houzel. “It’s amazing that something we now take for granted, cooking, was such a transformational technology which gave us the big brains that have made us the only species to study ourselves and to generate knowledge that transcends what was observed firsthand; to tamper with itself, fixing imperfections with the likes of glasses, implants and surgery and thus changing the odds of natural selection; and to modify its environment so extensively (for better and for worse), extending its habitat to improbable locations.” Jon Kaas, the Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Distinguished Professor of Psychology, and Kleber Neves, Carolinne Masseron, Pedro Ribeiro, Lissa Ventura-Antunes, Laila Torres and Bruno Mota from the Federal University of Rio De Janeiro were co-authors on the paper. The research was supported by grants from the James S. McDonnell Foundation and the Mathers Foundation.
Id like to point out something to younger generations.. the graphics in this game was ripped from a game back in 1995 called Tyrian 2000 ( https://www.gog.com/game/tyrian_2000 ) so yes they are done well.. just not by this game creator but by the original.. I believe you shouldn't take others work as your own without giving credit to the I noticed this because I used to play the hell out of the game back then. Rated 2.5: Graphics are stolen so rating lost 3.. game play was 2 and music 0.5 as Im not sure its even original possibly stolen also.. want a higher review Id suggest making your own stuff.. or at least giving credit to who your stealing from in the description. NOTE: Photoshopping artwork don't make it yours...
Supply lines to capital in peril as coastal cities fall amid US reports that regime has fired Scud missile near Brega Muammar Gaddafi's regime has shown fresh signs of buckling as rebels have come close to cutting off supply routes and the Libyan interior minister arrived in Egypt in what appeared to be the highest-ranking defection for many months. The Libyan leader broadcast a defiant appeal to his supporters to rid the country of "traitors", telling them: "The blood of martyrs is fuel for the battle." But the call was issued over a poor telephone line to state television, and most was inaudible – the result of what officials said was a technical breakdown. Gaddafi's rallying call came as rebel fighters moved into Zawiyah, 30 miles west of Tripoli, straddling a critical road supply route from the Tunisian border. Rebel forces claimed to have near total control of the town, but government troops still held its oil refinery, the regime's last homegrown supply of fuel. Reuters reported that pro-government snipers in Zawiyah were firing on any civilians who ventured out of doors. The anti-Gaddafi National Transitional Council (NTC) also claimed to have taken the city of Surman and said it was close to gaining control of Sabratha, along the same coastal road. A rebel spokesman said that talks were under way with government forces over their surrender. There were clashes near the Ras Ajdir border crossing with Tunisia, and opposition forces were reported to be pushing towards Tripoli from the south having taken the strategic crossroads of Garyan over the weekend. Control of Garyan, in the Nafusah highlands, cuts off Tripoli from the Gaddafi stronghold of Sabha in the south. The multi-pronged offensive was an attempt by rebel commanders to cut off Tripoli's supply lines and regain the initiative after the killing of their military leader, General Abdul Fattah Younes. With the pressure now on Gaddafi's forces, rebels in the formerly besieged stronghold of Misrata were able to relax for the first time in months. "We feel good, things are moving," said Mohammed Elfeturi, 35, of the Faisal (Sword) brigade, alternately sipping his first coffee of the day and puffing his first cigarette. "We paid for it in blood." Traffic was heavy on the intersection outside the makeshift coffee bar, no more than a small shop with some plastic tables and chairs arranged on the concrete outside. A few months ago, the area was a free-fire zone where rebels fought for their lives against government troops. Gaddafi's Grad rockets no longer fall on Misrata, and the talk everywhere is of impending victory as news comes of advances in the west at Zawiyah, and in the east at Brega. Rebels pushed east from Misrata at the weekend, meeting light resistance, and say all that holds them back is fear of being hit by mistake by Nato jets. AP reported that Gaddafi forces launched a Scud missile near Brega on Monday night, according to an unnamed US official, but that nobody was injured. Fighting continues on the other side of the pocket, where rebels say government units, said to be commanded by Gaddafi's son Khamis, hold the town of Zlitan on the highway to Tripoli. But the fighters say the fight has gone out of their adversary. "I think Nato did its job," said 20-year-old Farouk Mohammed, a veteran of five months' fighting. "They bombed his [Gaddafi's] weapons day after day." British defence officials have also claimed that four months of relentless air strikes had fatally damaged the ability Gaddafi's forces to mount operations. They indicated that the rebel seizure of Zawiyah signalled the beginning of the end in Libya. More than 7,000 Nato air strike sorties, some 700 of them British, had finally destroyed Libya's military machine, with Gaddafi's troops having to resort to pickup trucks, officials added. In another blow to the regime's morale, the interior minister and longstanding Gaddafi security aide, Nasser al-Mabrouk Abdullah, arrived in Cairo via Tunisia in a private plane with nine family members. The minister reportedly told officials he was on holiday, and the Egyptian government said the minister had entered on a tourist visa. According to the AP, there were no Libyan diplomats at the airport to greet Abdullah and the embassy in Cairo had not been informed of his visit. A Whitehall source said: "He has a reputation as a hardline Gaddafi loyalist with a long history in the security and intelligence agencies. If he is confirmed to have abandoned Gaddafi now, it is significant." The UN special envoy for Libya, Abdel-Elah al-Khatib, was in Tunis on Monday, where a Tunisian government spokesman said he would meet "all the Libyan parties". But both Tripoli and the rebel council denied reports that their delegations were talking to each other in the Tunisian coastal town of Djerba. "Why would we be talking to Gaddafi?" said Guma al-Gamaty, an NTC spokesman in London. "Right now, we have reached a tipping point, and he will probably fall in the next couple of weeks." He said NTC forces would be careful to minimise the impact of their near siege of Tripoli on the citizen population, but he added: "The people know that whatever suffering there is in the short term will be worth it if it squeezes Gaddafi out." A NTC statement issued on Monday called on people in Gaddafi-controlled area to organise themselves into "local committees to maintain security on the eve of the regime's downfall, and to raise awareness about the need for safeguarding public property, including universities, schools, hospitals, petrol stations, facilities and buildings, as they are the people's property, built with our own effort, sweat, money and sacrifice."
Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar argued in internal discussions within the Government that pay and pension details of individual office holders and top public servants should not be publicly revealed. Internal Government files show Mr Varadkar was concerned the Freedom of Information Act as currently operated “violates the privacy of individuals”. Mr Varadkar suggested pay and pension details for office holders and senior public-service staff were private matters and should only be made known on an anonymised basis. His comments were contained in official observations submitted to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform by the Department of Transport as part of its internal consultation process in the run-up to the publication of proposed reforms to the legislation last summer. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform said this weekend that the Freedom of Information Bill was currently awaiting report stage in the Dáil and would then need to progress through the Seanad before enactment. It said the Bill was expected to be enacted in the first half of the year. ‘Minister not satisfied’ The Bill has been described by Brendan Howlin as “ground-breaking legislation”. However files released by the department show there was intense lobbying behind the scenes from departments, agencies and even Ministers to have particular areas under their jurisdiction removed from the scope of the new legislation. The submission from the Department of Transport said: “The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport is not satisfied by the current operation of the Freedom of Information Act. It was conceived to give the public access to information held about them by public bodies and give greater access to Government files to the media and third parties in order to promote transparency and good governance. “While both of these aims have been achieved and the Minister supports its extension to currently exempt public bodies, he is concerned [the] Act as currently operating violates the privacy of individuals.” The Department of Transport said details of letters and representations made by the public to Ministers which were considered to be privileged if sent to the Oireachtas, should also be considered to be privileged if sent to departmental offices. “Similarly, the remuneration and pension details of individual office holders and other senior public employees are private and should not be disclosed. The information can be given in an anonymised format as is the case for other public employees. “The fees should reflect both actual cost in administration time and also the opportunity cost of work not done in the time taken up in replying to Freedom of Information requests.” A spokesman for the Minister said Mr Varadkar had “a long track record of transparency as an office holder. Since he was elected to the Dáil he has published his expenses online, and this has continued since he was appointed a Minister”. Requests “In terms of Freedom of Information, Minister Varadkar successfully brought Iarnród Éireann into the FoI process. “Responses to all Freedom of Information requests have been published on the department’s website since the general election.” The spokesman said this particular note “highlights how the pension details of politicians and individual office holders are currently treated differently to those of public servants, who do not disclose their individual salaries and pension entitlements in response to queries”.
.../2013/1284/04.htm similar Brilliant red shelves of Pycnoporus sanguineus mushroom emerging from dead limb of a downed oak on Post Oak Trail in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, October 2, 2013 .../2009/798/05.htm similar Orange jelly fungus (Dacryopinax spathularia mushrooms) on a log on a dam on Chinquapin Trail in Huntsville State Park. Texas, October 10, 2009 .../2009/798/06.htm similar Dacryopinax spathularia mushrooms (jelly fungus) fruiting through cracks in the wood on Chinquapin Trail in Huntsville State Park. Texas, October 10, 2009 .../2009/794/24.htm similar Some orange cap mushroom in Little Lake Creek Loop Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. Richards, Texas, September 26, 2009 .../2013/1296/03.htm similar Vermilion waxcap mushrooms (Hygrocybe miniata, Hygrophorus minuatus) on Kirby Trail in Big Thicket National Preserve. Warren, Texas, November 10, 2013 .../2007/606/02.htm similar Golden trumpet mushrooms (Xeromphalina campanella or X. enigmatica) on Lone Star Hiking Trail south from Stubblefield Campground in Sam Houston National Forest. Huntsville, Texas, December 9, 2007 .../2008/657/07.htm similar Pleated inkcap mushrooms (Parasola plicatilis, Coprinus plicatilis) on Loop Trail in Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site. Washington, Texas, July 12, 2008 .../2013/1295/20.htm similar Coral mushrooms Ramaria formosa(?) on Pitcher Plant Trail in Big Thicket National Preserve. Warren, Texas, November 10, 2013 .../2009/793/04.htm similar Red boletus mushroom on Deer Run Trail in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, September 16, 2009 .../2013/1297/05.htm similar Tuff puffball mushroom (Scleroderma texense) on roadside in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, November 12, 2013 .../2009/794/02.htm similar Amanita flavorubens mushroom on Iron Bridge Trail in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, September 23, 2009 .../2010/867/14.htm similar Translucent cap of Pleated inkcap mushroom (Parasola plicatilis, Coprinus plicatilis, Little Japanese Umbrella) on Iron Bridge in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, June 8, 2010 .../2009/737/19.htm similar Scarlet Waxy Cap Mushroom (Hygrophorus coccineus) in Big Thicket park, on Pitcher Plant Trail. Texas, April 25, 2009 .../2009/798/08.htm similar Jelly fungus (Tremella fuciformis) mushrooms on a log on Chinquapin Trail near a dam in Huntsville State Park. Texas, October 10, 2009 .../2013/1296/06.htm similar Milkcap mushrooms Lactarius paradoxus on Kirby Trail in Big Thicket National Preserve. Warren, Texas, November 10, 2013 .../2007/602/09.htm similar Mushroom rocks (differential weathering of shaded sides of rocks) in Enchanted Rock State Natural Area. Fredericksburg, Texas, October 27, 2007 .../2008/642/07.htm similar False coral mushrooms (Tremellodendron schweinitzii) on Four Notch Loop Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. Huntsville, Texas, May 11, 2008 .../2008/663/13.htm similar Arc of a fairy ring of toadstool mushrooms on a lawn near Bizzell Drive on campus of Texas A and M University. College Station, Texas, August 8, 2008 .../2008/680/05.htm similar Puffball mushroom in dew in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, October 19, 2008 .../2013/1291/05.htm similar Reddish latticed head with dark olive-green spore mass (gleba) of stalked lattice stinkhorn mushroom (Lysurus periphtagmoides) emerging from egg, taken from Washington-on-the-Brazos historic site. College Station, Texas, October 25, 2013 .../2008/663/14.htm similar Umbrella-like caps of Lepiota mushrooms (false parasol, Chlorophyllum molybdites) on a lawn at sunrise near Bizzell Drive on campus of Texas A and M University. College Station, Texas, August 8, 2008 .../2013/1319/19.htm similar Cooked slices of Hericium erinaceus (Lion s Mane Mushroom, Bearded Tooth Mushroom) taken from a tree in Huntsville Park. Texas, December 28, 2013 .../2013/1291/20.htm similar Large cluster of ringless honey mushrooms (Armillaria tabescens) growing from a tree base on Caney Creek section of Lone Star Hiking Trail in Sam Houston National Forest near Huntsville, Texas, October 26, 2013 .../2013/1294/26.htm similar Hebeloma mushrooms on Sundew Trail in Big Thicket park. Warren, Texas, November 9, 2013 .../2013/1296/07.htm similar Close up of milkcap mushrooms Lactarius paradoxus on Kirby Trail in Big Thicket National Preserve. Warren, Texas, November 10, 2013 .../2013/1317/31.htm similar Columned Stinkhorn mushrooms (Linderia columnata, Clathrus columnatus) on Park Hudson Trail. Bryan, Texas, December 23, 2013 .../2008/642/11.htm similar Red mushrooms on Four Notch Loop Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. Huntsville, Texas, May 11, 2008 .../2010/862/21.htm similar Translucent pleated inkcap mushrooms (Parasola plicatilis, Coprinus plicatilis) in Lake Bryan Park. Bryan, Texas, May 21, 2010 .../2009/793/05.htm similar Shaggy parasol (Lepiota) umbrella-like mushroom in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, September 16, 2009 .../2010/867/13.htm similar Small pleated inkcap mushrooms (Parasola plicatilis, Coprinus plicatilis) on Iron Bridge in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, June 8, 2010 .../2011/906/01.htm similar Laughing gym (spectacular rustgill, Gymnopilus spectabilis, Gymnopilus junonius)(?) mushrooms damaged by frost at a tree base near Racoon Run Trail in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, January 4, 2011 .../2012/1045/03.htm similar Crust like caps of postfire root rot (pine-fire cushion) ascomycete mushrooms Rhizina undulata on burned ground in Bastrop State Park. Bastrop, Texas, April 21, 2012 .../2013/1291/07.htm similar Ringless honey mushrooms (Armillaria tabescens) on Caney Creek section of Lone Star Hiking Trail in Sam Houston National Forest near Huntsville, Texas, October 26, 2013 .../2013/1296/23.htm similar Pear-shaped stump puffball mushrooms (Lycoperdon pyriforme) on frying pan collected from a tree log on Kirby Trail in Big Thicket National Preserve. College Station, Texas, November 10, 2013 .../2013/1297/08.htm similar Ringless honey mushrooms (Armillaria tabescens) in Bee Creek Park. College Station, Texas, November 14, 2013 .../2013/1319/15.htm similar Golden trumpet mushrooms (Xeromphalina campanella X. enigmatica) in Huntsville Park. Texas, December 28, 2013 .../2007/602/22.htm similar Mushroom on Lost Pines Trail in Bastrop State Park. Bastrop, Texas, November 4, 2007 .../2009/793/17.htm similar Leucocoprinus cepistipes (cepaestipes) mushrooms in TAMU Holistic Garden in Texas A and M University. College Station, Texas, September 20, 2009 .../2009/794/22.htm similar Cauliflower mushroom (Sparassis spathulata) in Little Lake Creek Loop Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. Richards, Texas, September 26, 2009 .../2013/1287/02.htm similar Thiers lepidella (Amanita thiersii) mushroom on a field near Loop Trail in Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site. Washington, Texas, October 6, 2013 .../2013/1287/08.htm similar Orange-staining puffball mushroom (Calvatia rubroflava) in bushes in Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site. Washington, Texas, October 6, 2013 .../2013/1289/23.htm similar Velvet-top fungus (Phaeolus schweinitzii mushrooms) on Little Lake Creek Loop Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. Richards, Texas, October 19, 2013 .../2008/677/18.htm similar Tough puffball mushrooms with blackish interior (earthballs, Scleroderma texense) on Iron Bridge Trail in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, October 8, 2008 .../2012/1057/25.htm similar Ringless honey mushrooms (Armillaria tabescens) in Mercer Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. Humble (Houston area), Texas, May 17, 2012 .../2012/1126/14.htm similar Coral tooth mushroom (comb tooth, Hericium coralloides) growing on dead tree on Raccoon Run Trail in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, December 14, 2012 .../2013/1292/22.htm similar Glowing cap of Jack-o-lantern (Omphalotus olearius) mushrooms taken from Lemontree Park. College Station, Texas, November 2, 2013 .../2008/676/16.htm similar Yellow fly agaric mushroom (Amanita muscaria) in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, October 3, 2008 .../2009/795/07.htm similar Amanita flavorubens mushrooms in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, September 30, 2009 .../2013/1287/04.htm similar Amanita rhopalopus(?) mushrooms near Loop Trail in Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site. Washington, Texas, October 6, 2013 .../2013/1296/02.htm similar Honey mushrooms (Armillaria) on Kirby Trail in Big Thicket National Preserve. Warren, Texas, November 10, 2013 .../2013/1316/20.htm similar Egg of Columned Stinkhorn mushroom (Linderia columnata, Clathrus columnatus) taken from Park Hudson Trail South. Bryan, Texas, December 20, 2013 .../2008/670/18.htm similar Veiled stinkhorn mushroom (Dictyophora duplicata, Phallus duplicatus) on Little Lake Creek Loop Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. Huntsville, Texas, September 14, 2008 .../2009/803/18.htm similar Ringless honey mushrooms (Armillaria tabescens) on Racoon Run Trail in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, November 4, 2009 .../2011/909/01.htm similar Columned Stinkhorn mushroom (Linderia columnata, Clathrus columnatus) among dead leaves in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, January 27, 2011 .../2013/1284/13.htm similar Pleated inkcap mushroom (Parasola plicatilis, Coprinus plicatilis, Little Japanese Umbrella) on a lawn on Wolf Pen Creek Trail. College Station, Texas, October 3, 2013 .../2009/744/21.htm similar Cap of pleated inkcap mushroom (Parasola plicatilis, Coprinus plicatilis) on Iron Bridge Trail in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, May 7, 2009 .../2009/744/22.htm similar Small pleated inkcap mushroom (Parasola plicatilis, Coprinus plicatilis) on Iron Bridge Trail in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, May 7, 2009 .../2009/790/17.htm similar Small pleated inkcap mushroom (Parasola plicatilis, Coprinus plicatilis) on Loop Trail in Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site. Washington, Texas, September 6, 2009 .../2013/1286/05.htm similar Yellow parasol mushrooms (Leucocoprinus birnbaumii, Lepiota lutea) in Bastrop State Park. Bastrop, Texas, October 5, 2013 .../2013/1291/22.htm similar Ringless honey mushrooms (Armillaria tabescens) cut from a tree base on Caney Creek section of Lone Star Hiking Trail in Sam Houston National Forest near Huntsville, Texas, October 26, 2013 .../2013/1296/04.htm similar Bright red bodies of Vermilion waxcap mushrooms (Hygrocybe miniata, Hygrophorus minuatus) on Kirby Trail in Big Thicket National Preserve. Warren, Texas, November 10, 2013 .../2014/1473/08.htm similar Earth star mushroom (Geastrum saccatum) on Kirby Trail in Big Thicket National Preserve. Kountze, Texas, August 2, 2014 .../2014/1474/18.htm similar Close up of small pleated inkcap mushroom (Parasola plicatilis, Coprinus plicatilis) in Central Park. College Station, Texas, August 4, 2014 .../2013/1131/02.htm similar Deer mushrooms (Pluteus cervinus) growing on mulched trees under power lines in Lake Bryan Park. Bryan, Texas, January 10, 2013 .../2013/1229/25.htm similar Pleated inkcap mushroom (Parasola plicatilis, Coprinus plicatilis) on a lawn in Central Park. College Station, Texas, July 19, 2013 .../2013/1291/26.htm similar Tiny ruby bolete mushrooms (Boletus rubellus) on Caney Creek section of Lone Star Hiking Trail in Sam Houston National Forest near Huntsville, Texas, October 26, 2013 .../2013/1319/05.htm similar Mature pear-shaped puffball mushrooms (Lycoperdon pyriforme) in Huntsville Park. Texas, December 28, 2013 .../2009/794/16.htm similar Texture of Old Man of the Woods (Strobilomyces floccopus) mushroom cap in Little Lake Creek Loop Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. Richards, Texas, September 26, 2009 .../2009/802/09.htm similar Fly agaric mushroom (Amanita muscaria) in Huntsville State Park on Chinquapin Trail. Texas, October 31, 2009 .../2013/1130/10.htm similar Cluster of light brown brittlestem mushrooms Psathyrella pennata in Bastrop State Park. Bastrop, Texas, January 5, 2013 .../2013/1292/21.htm similar Luminescent gills underneath a cap of Jack-o-lantern (Omphalotus olearius) mushrooms taken from Lemontree Park. College Station, Texas, November 1, 2013 .../2013/1319/01.htm similar Mock oyster or orange oyster mushrooms (Phyllotopsis nidulans) in Huntsville Park. Texas, December 28, 2013 .../2013/1284/02.htm similar Small puffball mushroom Lycoperdon curtisii (Vascellum curtisii) or pulcherrimum(?) on Post Oak Trail in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, October 2, 2013 .../2013/1291/24.htm similar Yellow species of ringless honey mushrooms (Armillaria tabescens) on Caney Creek section of Lone Star Hiking Trail in Sam Houston National Forest near Huntsville, Texas, October 26, 2013 .../2013/1292/13.htm similar Dead Man s Fingers (Xylaria polymorpha) mushrooms growing near a tree stump on university golf course near Texas Avenue. College Station, Texas, October 30, 2013 .../2013/1319/10.htm similar Brick cap (Hypholoma) mushrooms on a base of a tree in Huntsville Park. Texas, December 28, 2013 .../2007/601/17.htm similar Boletus mushroom on Four Notch Main Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. Huntsville, Texas, October 7, 2007 .../2009/801/19.htm similar Ringless honey mushrooms (Armillaria tabescens) on Racoon Run Trail in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, October 25, 2009 .../2010/901/18.htm similar Emerging Laughing gym mushrooms (spectacular rustgill, Gymnopilus spectabilis, Gymnopilus junonius) at the base of a rotten tree near Racoon Run Trail in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, December 24, 2010 .../2012/1111/04.htm similar Orange cap of a mushroom on Little Lake Creek Loop Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. Richards, Texas, October 13, 2012 .../2013/1291/12.htm similar Bunch of ringless honey mushrooms (Armillaria tabescens) on Caney Creek section of Lone Star Hiking Trail in Sam Houston National Forest near Huntsville, Texas, October 26, 2013 .../2013/1292/23.htm similar Green and orange luminescence of caps of Jack-o-lantern (Omphalotus olearius) mushrooms taken from Lemontree Park. College Station, Texas, November 2, 2013 .../2013/1293/02.htm similar Lingzhi or reishi mushrooms (Ganoderma lucidum) on Chinquapin Trail in Huntsville State Park. Texas, November 3, 2013 .../2013/1289/16.htm similar Old man of the woods mushroom (Strobilomyces confusus) on Little Lake Creek Loop Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. Richards, Texas, October 19, 2013 .../2013/1289/18.htm similar Funnel cap mushroom (Clitocybe gibba) on Little Lake Creek Loop Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. Richards, Texas, October 19, 2013 .../2013/1294/04.htm similar Bracket, or shelf fungus (Polypore mushrooms) on a tree in Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site. Washington, Texas, November 8, 2013 .../2013/1297/17.htm similar Bracket, or shelf fungus (Polypore mushroom Ganoderma) on a base of a tree in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, November 16, 2013 .../2013/1316/22.htm similar Crushed egg of Columned Stinkhorn mushroom (Linderia columnata, Clathrus columnatus) taken from Park Hudson Trail South. Bryan, Texas, December 20, 2013 .../2009/798/01.htm similar Earthstar mushroom (Geastrum saccatum) on Chinquapin Trail in Huntsville State Park. Texas, October 10, 2009 .../2013/1130/09.htm similar Slimy reddish brown caps of charcoal scale-head pyrophilous mushrooms (Pholiota castanea) in Bastrop State Park. Bastrop, Texas, January 5, 2013 .../2013/1131/04.htm similar Elegant stinkhorn mushrooms (Mutinus elegans) growing on mulched trees under power lines in Lake Bryan Park. Bryan, Texas, January 10, 2013 .../2013/1282/03.htm similar Puffball mushroom Lycoperdon curtisii (Vascellum curtisii) in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, September 27, 2013 .../2013/1284/16.htm similar Leucocoprinus cepistipes(?) mushrooms on a tree stump on Bee Creek Trail. College Station, Texas, October 4, 2013 .../2013/1289/22.htm similar Mature puffball mushroom on Little Lake Creek Loop Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. Richards, Texas, October 19, 2013 .../2013/1291/21.htm similar Ringless honey mushrooms (Armillaria tabescens) near a tree base on Caney Creek section of Lone Star Hiking Trail in Sam Houston National Forest near Huntsville, Texas, October 26, 2013 .../2013/1295/21.htm similar Close up of Many Warts mushroom (Amanita polypyramis) on Pitcher Plant Trail in Big Thicket National Preserve. Warren, Texas, November 10, 2013 .../2013/1316/11.htm similar Violet blewit mushrooms on Iron Bridge Trail in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, December 19, 2013 .../2013/1316/13.htm similar Old mushroom caps mushroom near Raccoon Run Trail in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, December 19, 2013 .../2013/1318/19.htm similar Dune stinkhorn mushrooms (Phallus hadriani) on Robinson Ferry Road in Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site. Washington, Texas, December 27, 2013 .../2014/1474/19.htm similar Cap of small pleated inkcap mushroom (Parasola plicatilis, Coprinus plicatilis) in Central Park. College Station, Texas, August 4, 2014 .../2008/663/15.htm similar Green-gilled Lepiota (false parasol, Chlorophyllum molybdites) mushrooms on a lawn near Bizzell Drive on campus of Texas A and M University. College Station, Texas, August 8, 2008 .../2009/795/18.htm similar Puffball mushrooms Lycoperdon curtisii (Vascellum curtisii) or pulcherrimum(?) on a sandy trail on an island in Lake Bryan Park. Bryan, Texas, October 2, 2009 .../2009/797/13.htm similar Maggots (insect larvae) on a cap of a boletus mushroom in Old Baylor Park. Independence, Texas, October 4, 2009 .../2013/1282/09.htm similar Golden Bolete mushroom (Buchwaldoboletus hemichrysus) in Little Lake Creek Loop Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. Richards, Texas, September 28, 2013 .../2013/1282/16.htm similar Yellow pot-plant mushrooms (Leucocoprinus birnbaumii) on Forest Service Road 203 in Sam Houston National Forest. Richards, Texas, September 28, 2013 .../2013/1292/18.htm similar Parasol-like caps of mushrooms Chlorophyllum molybdites in dew on a lawn near Lemontree Park. College Station, Texas, November 1, 2013 .../2014/1321/15.htm similar Turkey Tail mushrooms in Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site. Washington, Texas, January 11, 2014 .../2014/1411/04.htm similar Spiny puffball mushrooms (Lycoperdon) in Sam Houston National Forest, on Little Lake Creek Loop Trail. Richards, Texas, May 18, 2014 .../2009/793/06.htm similar Umbrella-like cap with scales of parasol mushroom (Lepiota) in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, September 16, 2009 .../2013/1287/06.htm similar Orange-staining puffball (Calvatia rubroflava) mushrooms in Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site. Washington, Texas, October 6, 2013 .../2013/1293/20.htm similar Spatula-shaped fruit bodies of orange jelly fungus (Dacryopinax spathularia) mushrooms on mulch under power lines in Lake Bryan Park. Bryan, Texas, November 7, 2013 .../2013/1294/01.htm similar Mature puffball mushroom (Calvatia) in Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site. Washington, Texas, November 8, 2013 .../2013/1295/05.htm similar Many Warts mushroom (Amanita polypyramis) among pine needles on Sundew Trail in Big Thicket park. Warren, Texas, November 9, 2013 .../2013/1296/12.htm similar False Turkey Tail mushrooms (Stereum ostrea) on Kirby Trail in Big Thicket National Preserve. Warren, Texas, November 10, 2013 .../2013/1297/15.htm similar Mature tuff puffball mushroom (Scleroderma texense) on roadside in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, November 16, 2013 .../2013/1316/12.htm similar Violet lepista mushroom on Iron Bridge Trail in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, December 19, 2013 .../2013/1282/18.htm similar Emerging velvet-top fungus (Phaeolus schweinitzii mushroom) Forest Service Road 203 in Sam Houston National Forest. Richards, Texas, September 28, 2013 .../2013/1284/12.htm similar Pleated inkcap mushroom (Parasola plicatilis, Coprinus plicatilis, Little Japanese Umbrella) on Wolf Pen Creek Trail. College Station, Texas, October 3, 2013 .../2013/1284/18.htm similar Amanita like mushroom on a lawn on Bee Creek Trail. College Station, Texas, October 4, 2013 .../2013/1289/20.htm similar Death cap like Amanita mushrooms on Little Lake Creek Loop Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. Richards, Texas, October 19, 2013 .../2013/1294/24.htm similar Fly agaric mushroom (Amanita persicina, Amanita muscaria var. persicina) on Sundew Trail in Big Thicket park. Warren, Texas, November 9, 2013 .../2013/1294/25.htm similar Slippery jack mushroom (Suillus) on Sundew Trail in Big Thicket park. Warren, Texas, November 9, 2013 .../2013/1297/09.htm similar Jack-o-lantern mushrooms (Omphalotus olearius) in Bee Creek Park. College Station, Texas, November 14, 2013 .../2013/1318/21.htm similar Close up of a cap of dune stinkhorn mushroom (Phallus hadriani) on Robinson Ferry Road in Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site. Washington, Texas, December 27, 2013 .../2013/1319/07.htm similar Small orange mushrooms in Huntsville Park. Texas, December 28, 2013 .../2009/794/23.htm similar Rim of an orange cap mushroom in Little Lake Creek Loop Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. Richards, Texas, September 26, 2009 .../2009/806/19.htm similar Jack-o-lantern (Omphalotus olearius(?)) mushrooms on Lost Pines Trail in Lost Pines State Park. Bastrop, Texas, November 14, 2009 .../2010/868/20.htm similar Brown cap boletus mushrooms in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, June 14, 2010 .../2013/1130/07.htm similar Brittlestem mushrooms Psathyrella pennata carpeting ground in Bastrop State Park. Bastrop, Texas, January 5, 2013 .../2013/1130/11.htm similar Orange-brown slimy caps of charcoal scale-head mushrooms (Pholiota castanea) in Bastrop State Park. Bastrop, Texas, January 5, 2013 .../2013/1287/12.htm similar Brain puffball mushroom (Calvatia craniiformis) in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, October 7, 2013 .../2013/1288/22.htm similar Saprophyte mushrooms taken from Bee Creek Trail. College Station, Texas, October 16, 2013 .../2013/1292/03.htm similar Cluster of wet ringless honey mushrooms (Armillaria tabescens) on a tree base in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, October 27, 2013 .../2013/1292/20.htm similar Luminescent gills of Jack-o-lantern (Omphalotus olearius) mushrooms taken from Lemontree Park. College Station, Texas, November 1, 2013 .../2013/1293/21.htm similar Spatula-shaped orange jelly fungus (Dacryopinax spathularia) mushrooms on mulch under power lines in Lake Bryan Park. Bryan, Texas, November 7, 2013 .../2013/1294/02.htm similar Jack-o-lantern mushrooms (Omphalotus olearius) in Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site. Washington, Texas, November 8, 2013 .../2013/1294/12.htm similar Fly agaric mushroom (Amanita persicina, Amanita muscaria var. persicina) in Watson Rare Native Plant Preserve. Warren, Texas, November 9, 2013 .../2013/1294/17.htm similar Webcap mushrooms (Cortinarius) among pine needles in Watson Rare Native Plant Preserve. Warren, Texas, November 9, 2013 .../2013/1295/01.htm similar Nestcap mock oyster or orange oyster mushrooms (Phyllotopsis nidulans) on Sundew Trail in Big Thicket park. Warren, Texas, November 9, 2013 .../2013/1297/11.htm similar Deceiver mushrooms (Laccaria laccata) under oaks in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, November 16, 2013 .../2013/1316/19.htm similar Lingzhi or reishi mushrooms (Ganoderma lucidum) on Park Hudson Trail South. Bryan, Texas, December 20, 2013 .../2013/1131/03.htm similar Headless stinkhorn mushroom (Mutinus elegans) growing on mulched trees under power lines in Lake Bryan Park. Bryan, Texas, January 10, 2013 .../2013/1287/07.htm similar Old orange-staining puffball mushroom (Calvatia rubroflava) in Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site. Washington, Texas, October 6, 2013 .../2013/1289/09.htm similar Small carrot-footed Lepidella mushroom (Amanita daucipes) on Little Lake Creek Loop Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. Richards, Texas, October 19, 2013 .../2013/1291/06.htm similar Many Warts mushroom (Amanita polypyramis) on Caney Creek section of Lone Star Hiking Trail in Sam Houston National Forest near Huntsville, Texas, October 26, 2013 .../2013/1292/04.htm similar Large mushrooms of Macrocybe titans on extension of Racoon Run Trail in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, October 27, 2013 .../2013/1293/08.htm similar Yellow pore surface bruising bluish and brownish of pale bolete mushrooms (Boletus pallidus, edible) on Chinquapin Trail in Huntsville State Park. Texas, November 3, 2013 .../2013/1294/10.htm similar Brown web cap mushrooms near entrance of Watson Rare Native Plant Preserve. Warren, Texas, November 9, 2013 .../2013/1296/19.htm similar Normal and malformed fruiting bodies of aborted entoloma mushrooms (Entoloma abortivum, Clitopilus abortivus) on Kirby Trail in Big Thicket National Preserve. Warren, Texas, November 10, 2013 .../2013/1297/03.htm similar Wood blewit (blue stalk mushroom, Clitocybe nuda or Lepista nuda) under oaks in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, November 12, 2013 .../2013/1297/12.htm similar Spiny branches of Coral fungus (Hericium coralloides mushroom) growing from a rotten log in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, November 16, 2013 .../2013/1297/13.htm similar Coral fungus (Hericium coralloides mushroom) growing from a rotten log in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, November 16, 2013 .../2013/1297/14.htm similar Texture of tuff puffball mushroom (Scleroderma texense) on roadside in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, November 16, 2013 .../2013/1319/08.htm similar Brick cap (Hypholoma) mushrooms in Huntsville Park. Texas, December 28, 2013 .../2013/1319/12.htm similar Polypore mushrooms growing on a tree in Huntsville Park. Texas, December 28, 2013 .../2007/601/19.htm similar Snowy inkcap mushrooms (Coprinopsis nivea) growing on horse dung on Deer Run Trail in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, October 17, 2007 .../2010/867/12.htm similar Pleated inkcap mushrooms (Parasola plicatilis, Coprinus plicatilis) on Iron Bridge in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, June 8, 2010 .../2010/901/19.htm similar Cluster of young Laughing gym mushrooms (spectacular rustgill, Gymnopilus spectabilis, Gymnopilus junonius) at the base of a rotten tree near Racoon Run Trail in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, December 24, 2010 .../2013/1282/17.htm similar Amanita mushrooms on roadside of Forest Service Road 203 in Sam Houston National Forest. Richards, Texas, September 28, 2013 .../2013/1284/07.htm similar Mushrooms Chlorophyllum hortense on a lawn on Wolf Pen Creek Trail. College Station, Texas, October 3, 2013 .../2013/1284/11.htm similar Small inkcap (Coprinus) mushrooms on Wolf Pen Creek Trail. College Station, Texas, October 3, 2013 .../2013/1287/05.htm similar Thiers lepidella (Amanita thiersii) mushroom covered by volval remnants near Loop Trail in Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site. Washington, Texas, October 6, 2013 .../2013/1293/01.htm similar Yellowdrop milkcap (Lactarius chrysorrheus(?)) mushrooms on Chinquapin Trail in Huntsville State Park. Texas, November 3, 2013 .../2013/1293/24.htm similar Spatula-shaped fruit bodies of orange jelly fungus (Dacryopinax spathularia) mushrooms growing on rotting wood under power lines in Lake Bryan Park. Bryan, Texas, November 7, 2013 .../2013/1294/03.htm similar Mycena vulgaris(?) mushrooms in grass in Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site. Washington, Texas, November 8, 2013 .../2013/1296/18.htm similar Close up of pear-shaped stump puffball mushrooms (Lycoperdon pyriforme) on a tree log on Kirby Trail in Big Thicket National Preserve. Warren, Texas, November 10, 2013 .../2013/1297/04.htm similar Witch s hat mushroom (conic waxycap, Hygrocybe conica, Hygrophorus conicus) in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, November 12, 2013 .../2013/1319/16.htm similar Small orange caps of golden trumpet mushrooms (Xeromphalina campanella or X. enigmatica) in Huntsville Park. Texas, December 28, 2013 .../2013/1319/17.htm similar Small orange golden trumpet mushrooms (Xeromphalina campanella or X. enigmatica) on rotten log in Huntsville Park. Texas, December 28, 2013 .../2009/794/13.htm similar Old Man of the Woods (Strobilomyces floccopus) mushroom cap in Little Lake Creek Loop Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. Richards, Texas, September 26, 2009 .../2013/1284/05.htm similar Pleated inkcap mushroom (Parasola plicatilis, Coprinus plicatilis, Little Japanese Umbrella) on Iron Bridge Trail in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, October 2, 2013 .../2013/1289/08.htm similar Brown Amanita mushroom on Little Lake Creek Loop Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. Richards, Texas, October 19, 2013 .../2013/1291/08.htm similar Rooted agaric mushrooms (Hymenopellis radicata, Xerula furfuracea, Oudemansiella radicata) on decaying wood on Caney Creek section of Lone Star Hiking Trail in Sam Houston National Forest near Huntsville, Texas, October 26, 2013 .../2013/1292/01.htm similar Wet ringless honey mushrooms (Armillaria tabescens) on a tree base near Racoon Run Trail in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, October 27, 2013 .../2013/1297/06.htm similar Texture of tuff puffball mushroom (Scleroderma texense) on roadside in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, November 12, 2013 .../2013/1297/07.htm similar Tuff puffball mushrooms (dirty tennis ball fungi, Scleroderma texense) on roadside in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, November 12, 2013 .../2013/1319/04.htm similar Dry pear-shaped puffball mushrooms (Lycoperdon pyriforme) in Huntsville Park. Texas, December 28, 2013 .../2009/799/25.htm similar Young amanita mushroom in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, October 15, 2009 .../2010/867/16.htm similar Small pleated inkcap mushrooms (Parasola plicatilis, Coprinus) on Iron Bridge in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, June 8, 2010 .../2013/1292/19.htm similar Jack-o-lantern (Omphalotus olearius) mushrooms in Lemontree Park. College Station, Texas, November 1, 2013 .../2013/1297/02.htm similar Milkcap mushrooms (Lactarius proximellus) under oaks in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, November 12, 2013 .../2010/901/17.htm similar Laughing gym mushrooms (spectacular rustgill, Gymnopilus spectabilis, Gymnopilus junonius) at the base of a rotten tree near Racoon Run Trail in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, December 24, 2010 .../2011/997/04.htm similar Bearded Tooth Mushroom (Hericium erinaceus) growing on a tree in Oakwood Cemetery. Huntsville, Texas, December 29, 2011 .../2012/1070/05.htm similar Yellow parasol mushroom (Leucocoprinus birnbaumii, Lepiota lutea) at Lost Pines Trail in Bastrop State Park. Bastrop, Texas, June 16, 2012 .../2012/1108/22.htm similar Spiny puffball mushroom (Lycoperdon echinatum) in Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site. Washington, Texas, October 6, 2012 .../2012/1123/22.htm similar Elegant stinkhorn mushrooms (Mutinus elegans, Phallaceae) growing on mulched trees on utility cutting in Lake Bryan Park. Bryan, Texas, December 4, 2012 .../2013/1282/01.htm similar Amanita mushroom in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, September 27, 2013 .../2013/1282/02.htm similar Mature puffball mushroom Lycoperdon curtisii (Vascellum curtisii) in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, September 27, 2013 .../2013/1282/04.htm similar Lepiota(?) mushroom in Lick Creek Park. College Station, Texas, September 27, 2013 .../2013/1282/05.htm similar Amanita mushrooms in Little Lake Creek Loop Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. Richards, Texas, September 28, 2013 .../2013/1282/06.htm similar White Amanita mushrooms in Little Lake Creek Loop Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. Richards, Texas, September 28, 2013 .../2013/1282/07.htm similar Young velvet-top fungus (Phaeolus schweinitzii mushroom) in Little Lake Creek Loop Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. Richards, Texas, September 28, 2013 .../2013/1282/08.htm similar Puffball mushroom Lycoperdon curtisii (Vascellum curtisii) pulcherrimum(?) in Little Lake Creek Loop Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. Richards, Texas, September 28, 2013 .../2013/1282/10.htm similar Upturned Golden Bolete mushroom (Buchwaldoboletus hemichrysus) in Little Lake Creek Loop Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. Richards, Texas, September 28, 2013 .../2013/1282/11.htm similar Grey Amanita mushrooms in Little Lake Creek Loop Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. Richards, Texas, September 28, 2013 .../2013/1282/12.htm similar Some Boletus mushrooms in Little Lake Creek Loop Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. Richards, Texas, September 28, 2013 .../2013/1282/13.htm similar Lactarius mushroom in Little Lake Creek Loop Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. Richards, Texas, September 28, 2013 .../2013/1282/14.htm similar Polypore mushrooms Gloeophyllum striatum on a rotten log in Little Lake Creek Loop Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. Richards, Texas, September 28, 2013 .../2013/1282/15.htm similar Austroboletus subflavidus mushroom on Forest Service Road 203 in Sam Houston National Forest. Richards, Texas, September 28, 2013 .../2013/1282/22.htm similar Pair of white Amanita mushrooms on Lone Star Hiking Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. Richards, Texas, September 28, 2013
Your browser does not support HTML5 video tag.Click here to view original GIF McLaren showed off a slide bearing 6:33 to "inspire" potential McLaren P1 buyers. Ron Dennis claimed the P1 would go sub 7 minutes and "break all the records." Now months of testing have gone by with no official announcement and every indication that McLaren got beat at the Nürburgring. Here are all the rumors, bits of evidence, and explanations why it doesn't (and really does) matter. Let me break everything down from the beginning. It was at this March's Geneva Motor Show when McLaren head honcho and spiritual leader Ron Dennis walked on stage to present the production version of the P1 for the first time (you can watch the whole presentation right here.) He came out to talk numbers, because the numbers were enough to grab headlines. I mean, the car makes 903 horsepower, which is fairly bonkers. What caught many people's ears was that Dennis said to his co-presenter. ...going back to the Nordschleife, it's going to be sub-7 minutes so its going to break all the records. Advertisement Well, that's very clear. At the time the only cars to have broken seven minutes on the 'Ring were Radicals, which are street-legal production cars in only the most liberal sense. They're just racecars with number plates. A few months after Ron Dennis' announcement, Chinese news site Autohome leaked a slide from a McLaren presentation to foreign press. Advertisement As you can see, it's pretty obvious that the slide is meant to imply that the P1 can do a 6:33.26 lap of the Nordschleife. Given the car's huge power, massive grip, and advanced aerodynamics, this was shocking but believable. McLaren denied the P1 ever ran that time. The image in question was included on a slide which was part of a mood board to inspire the design team for the McLaren P1™, and not the engineers, who are working to a target time of ‘merely’ sub-7 minutes. Advertisement Well then. McLaren was later unofficially timed at 7:04 on the 'Ring, but surely they could do better. And at least running below seven minutes was still a record, right? Not for long. A few months after that Porsche announced very officially that their hybrid hypercar broke seven minutes with a 6:57 lap. They ran the whole media circus. Announcements touting the car's 887 horsepower, its excellent factory driver Marc Lieb, and the awesome video of the run itself. It was a big PR gain for the Porsche 918, a car that had been having a rough time in the media as it's heavier and less powerful than its Ferrari and McLaren competitors. Advertisement So that meant that going sub seven minutes wasn't a record anymore. No problem, surely the McLaren P1 would be faster than the 918. The P1 is lighter and has more power than the Porsche. Videos came out late in October of the McLaren P1 testing at the 'Ring without camouflage, begging for photographers to take 'spy' pictures. The rumors immediately swarmed out that the car had done a 6:47. McLaren gave no comment. McLaren fans waited for a statement the day after the videos came out; McLaren traditionally gives press announcements on Tuesdays and the vids showed up online on a Monday. That Tuesday the 22nd passed. No comment. Then Tuesday the 29th passed. No comment. Advertisement Rumors continue that McLaren will make its announcement today, November 5th at the Dubai Motor Show, but that doesn't match up with two statements made by McLaren to EVO magazine and Jalopnik. You see, McLaren helped feed this drama themselves by facilitating a story in the upcoming issue of EVO magazine out online only to subscribers. McLaren invited EVO along to their Nürburgring 'testing' laps, but they did not give a final lap time. Editor Nick Trott gave this long explanation, released by the unofficial McLaren authority Peloton25. Nick’s patience for the Nordschleife lap time war is running out When we began negotiations with McLaren about joining the P1 test team at the Ring, it was expected that the ultimate lap time would be achieved and revealed in time for this issue. At the last minute, I got a text from McLaren that read: ‘I have a conclusion on the Ring question. And not sure if you’re going to like it.’ A few minutes later, I was on the phone to Woking. During the conversation that followed, it was explained that (spoiler alert!) the P1’s lap time would never be revealed and that the official line was that McLaren ‘had achieved its objective of a sub-seven minute lap of the Nordschleife’. Advertisement Trott then rationalizes McLaren's decision to keep the exact time a secret. I couldn’t give a monkey’s about the cult of the Nordschleife lap time. Never have. The chase for a notable lap time has become a form of motorsport in itself, but a motorsport without a governing body, without appropriate safety measures, without independent adjudicators, and a motorsport that is governed by the ‘competitors’ themselves. The result is a pissing contest, a trivialising of the Ring’s history and a chase for lap times that puts lives at risk. Trott continues to defend McLaren's decision for secrecy, something even McLaren don't do. McLaren may be pilloried for not announcing a lap time and you may think that it has dodged the bullet because it couldn’t beat Porsche. Either way, I’m glad we can put this to bed: had McLaren announced a quicker time there’s no doubt that everyone and his brother would attempt to beat it. But how many of those would exercise the same duty of care as McLaren or Porsche? After Sean Edwards’ death, and evo columnist Dario Franchitti’s terrifying accident last month, the world of performance motoring – and the Nordschleife – does not need any more tragedy or any more controversy. Advertisement Jalopnik reached out to McLaren and they gave us the same kind of clarification they gave to EVO: McLaren is not releasing a 'Ring time, 'Ring times are pointless, and 'Ring times encourage dangerous behavior. But first McLaren claimed that no one need worry about a lack of speed. We reckon the Green Hell is one of the most challenging tests in the world of the all-round performance of any supercar. So one of the P1’s engineering targets was to reach a sub-seven time during testing. As you’ll have read, we have achieved that target. Comfortably. But we have no plans to give a time. We didn’t for 12C. We don’t intend to for P1 either. Then McLaren gave their reasoning for keeping any lap times secret. Why? Well, Nick puts it pretty succinctly.. But you and I know that any time we release would be compared and comparisons are meaningless in the ungoverned and variable conditions of the Nordschleife. And given the risks involved, it’s not a competition we want to encourage either. A position that our customers support. Advertisement This would be a very sensible opinion, were it not given just as people start to wonder if McLaren screwed up on the 'Ring. MclarenLife poster Walt of Destiny summed this skepticism up perfectly. I fully understand Mclaren's decision that to take part in this ever increasing arms race of ring times is dangerous and unproductive. What I don't understand is the timing of that epiphany. Is KERS The Cause? So rumors of failure are in full swing. My personal favorite is that McLaren's hybrid system isn't capable of providing power through the whole 12.9-mile circuit. This post on the the seriously devoted McLarenLife forum explains that the Porshe 918 may have more battery capacity than the P1. Beyond that, the 918 may be better at recharging its battery than the P1. The 918 can recharge its batteries with its brakes, whereas the P1 can only recharge with engine braking, as this other McLarenLife post points out. Advertisement I've heard personally that the P1 might require two recharges for it to deliver full electric power over a single lap of the 'Ring. Many on McLarenLife presume the car is running hot laps sector-by-sector rather than attempting full laps. I'd be surprised to hear that McLaren is having technical trouble with any aspect of the car, given their engineering prowess, but even Ferrari may also be struggling with the LaFerrari to turn their F1-related hybrid tech into something that works in a road car. Advertisement Is LaFerrari Development Lagging Behind Schedule? After it stunned the world with its debut at the Geneva Motor in March, we haven't heard a lot … Read more Read So What Does It All Mean? The perspective in the EVO story is right. Nürburgring laps have been played out since back in 2008, when everyone got tired of Nissan claiming they'd beaten Porsche with the GT-R and both sides going back and forth again and again. Chris Harris actually had a great story on the fatigue over the 'Ring those five years ago and the message is just as true today — there are too many variables that change a 'Ring lap. The track is so big that the weather on the close side of the track can be different from the weather on the far side. Every driver is different. Track temperature can be significant. A single 'Ring lap just isn't decisive. Advertisement Beyond that, a lap of the Nürburgring isn't all that important anyway. Just because a car handles well on a closed racetrack doesn't mean it will be nice on your favorite cracked country road, let alone on the way to the supermarket. So yes, Nürburgring laps are pointless. But there's a reason why everyone is latching onto this drama, and it's all McLaren's fault. You see supercars shouldn't be about big numbers. They should about drama and purpose and absurdity. Nobody cared that the Countach wasn't as fast as Lamborghini claimed because it looked like a spaceship. Nobody cared when Koenigsegg and Bugatti broke the old McLaren F1's top speed record because the F1 was still more lightweight and pure and gorgeous than either of those pretenders. Advertisement But McLaren made the P1 all about technology and numbers, measuring its maximum cornering g-forces and measuring its top speed in all-electric mode and broadcasting its downforce figures like they were something holy. Horacio Pagani, who arguably builds the most 'super' supercars in the business these days, was right when he said that the P1 is missing the emotion you expect from it. Its carbon tub is too similar to the one in the 12c. Its engine is too similar, too. It's not as pretty as the old F1. Advertisement So now you can see the corner that McLaren backed themselves into with their predictions and hints and technical obsession. Without the sheer force of numbers on its side, what does the P1 have? Top Photo Credit: NRCars
0 Report: Up to half a million people eligible for medical marijuana in Florida A Senate panel Tuesday began exploring issues surrounding medical marijuana as lawmakers prepare to carry out a constitutional amendment overwhelmingly approved by voters in November. The Senate Health Policy Committee heard from a cannabis vendor, patient advocates, doctors and opponents of Amendment 2, which legalized medical marijuana for a broad swath of patients and set Florida in position to become one of the largest pot markets in the nation."The voters have spoken. It is our duty as their elected representatives to implement this amendment appropriately," committee Chairwoman Dana Young, R-Tampa, said at the onset of the two-hour meeting.One of the biggest issues facing the Legislature is whether to expand the number of businesses authorized by the state to grow, process and distribute marijuana to an estimated 500,000 patients who would be eligible for the treatment when the amendment goes into effect in January.Florida lawmakers first approved non-euphoric medical marijuana for a limited number of patients in 2014 and expanded the law to include full-strength pot for terminally ill patients early this year.The Florida Department of Health has issued licenses to six "dispensing organizations" and could issue three more, once the number of patients in a statewide registry reaches 250,000. The Legislature added the provision for the additional licenses during the spring session in anticipation that the constitutional amendment would pass.But Ben Pollara, campaign manager for the "United for Care" political committee that backed the initiative, told the Senate panel on Tuesday that the current number of licenses would not meet the expectations of voters or the language of the amendment, which requires health officials to issue "reasonable" regulations regarding medical marijuana.Since the initiative received more than 70 percent approval in November, "it is more than a fair assessment to say that a vote for Amendment 2 was a vote to expand the market here," Pollara said.The six dispensing organizations now authorized to sell medical marijuana were supposed to provide products to an estimated 100,000 patients, Pollara said.To expect those businesses to serve a consumer base five times greater than anticipated "simply doesn't make sense," he added.But Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers, the head of the first company to start distributing medical marijuana in Florida, told the committee that her organization now has the capacity to serve 72,000 patients and would soon be able to provide products to 650,000 patients.About 1,300 patients eligible for medical marijuana under the laws passed in 2014 and early this year are registered in a statewide database, and 240 doctors have received the training required to order the treatment, state Office of Compassionate Use Director Christian Bax said Tuesday.Those numbers are expected to escalate after the amendment goes into effect next month, Bax predicted."As a state, we will be watched to ensure we have a robust regulatory system," he said.Law enforcement officials and opponents of the amendment asked lawmakers to consider imposing restrictions on the kinds of products that can be sold, including candy, and want local governments to have the discretion to regulate issues such as zoning and signage."We are not here to be obstructionists. We are here to be honest brokers in dealing with this matter, trying to provide a law enforcement perspective that is a value add to this. The people have spoken. It is clear," Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson, Jr., said.Others urged lawmakers to tread carefully with what some opponents deem a "gateway" to more hardcore drugs."If we don't aggressively seek to limit the use and sale of marijuana, our country and state as we know it will never be the same. Florida will be trading our beautiful white, sandy beaches filled with vacationing families for a hazy, skunk-smelling coastline laden with unemployable, unmotivated homeless people," said Teresa Miller, a drug prevention activist and founder of the "no2pot.org" website.As the committee mulls imposing restrictions, some people in the pot business are asking legislators to loosen provisions in the current laws they contend are a barrier to treatment.Rivers and Mark Hashim, a pain management physician, asked the Legislature to consider doing away with the requirement that doctor treats patient for at least three months before being able to order medical marijuana for them.Hashim said he recently encountered a terminally ill patient who likely had less than two months to live, but he could not assist her because he had not treated her for 90 days. The patient was unable to access the marijuana treatment because her other doctors were not authorized to order it, Hashim said."I have to look her in the face and say, I have something that might help you but I can't give it to you," he said. © 2019 Cox Media Group.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has suddenly found himself in the middle of Washington's biggest political firestorm, and there are growing signs that he may not be able to avoid being consumed by it. Rosenstein is the man responsible for overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. That’s because Attorney General Jeff Sessions — Rosenstein’s boss — recused himself from the probe after it became clear he’d provided false and misleading testimony to Congress about his own contacts with Russia. That leaves Rosenstein walking a tightrope. On one hand, he seems committed to protecting the investigation from conservatives inside and outside Congress who believe it’s biased against the president and have been urging Trump to fire the special counsel. But at the same time, Rosenstein can’t go so far in defending the probe that President Trump — who has called the investigation a “witch hunt” — fires him, as that would pave the way for Trump to potentially replace him with someone more willing to fire Mueller or otherwise thwart the investigation. This is important, because Mueller has to run major investigative decisions past the deputy attorney general. A Rosenstein replacement could simply refuse to approve any of Mueller’s requests, effectively slowing the whole investigation to a crawl, or even fire Mueller outright if he felt there was a reason to do so. Rosenstein, however, has made it clear that at this point, he sees no reason to fire Mueller. This seems to have irked Trump. He recently told some of his advisers that he thinks Rosenstein is “a Democrat” (even though he is actually a lifelong Republican) — possibly suggesting that he is thinking about firing the deputy attorney general. All of which leads to one startling conclusion about Rosenstein: The future of the Mueller probe — and possibly even Trump’s presidency — is intricately linked with how well the nation’s second-highest law enforcement official performs this delicate balancing act. Rosenstein has to keep Trump and the Justice Department happy. It’s not easy. Rosenstein’s performance during a congressional hearing last week revealed how he’s trying to navigate this tricky situation. Here’s what happened: On the night of December 12 — mere hours before Rosenstein would testify at a House Judiciary Committee hearing — the Justice Department showed reporters some anti-Trump texts. The messages were from two FBI officials, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, who had corresponded throughout the 2016 presidential election. Strzok — a former top FBI counterintelligence official who was on Mueller’s investigative team — texted Page that Trump was an “idiot.” He also wanted Clinton to defeat Trump in the election — in another message, he wrote: "God Hillary should win 100,000,000 — 0.” There was also a text that seemingly implied Strzok and Page were working on an “insurance policy” in case Trump won the election. But the Wall Street Journal reported on December 18 that Strzok’s text was really about the need to investigate possible Trump-Russia ties. Mueller removed Strzok from his staff in July, and the Strzok-Page exchanges are subject to an internal investigation by the Justice Department. Still, some conservatives in and out of government think these texts show that the Mueller probe is biased against the president. It’s unclear if Rosenstein authorized the release of the texts, but some legal analysts thought the DOJ made the messages public the night before Rosenstein’s big hearing to curry favor with the anti-Mueller crowd on the House Judiciary Committee. "It's appalling behavior by the department," Matthew Miller, a former spokesperson for the Justice Department in the Obama administration, told Business Insider about the release of the texts. "This is an ongoing investigation in which these employees have due-process rights, and the political leadership at DOJ has thrown them to the wolves so Rosenstein can get credit from House Republicans at his hearing." Rosenstein defended the release of the texts during the hearing, saying: "We consulted with the inspector general to determine that he had no objection to releasing the material,” in response to a question about the texts by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD). “If he had, we would not have released it,” Rosenstein said. But he also defended Mueller in that same session. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), the committee’s ranking member, asked Rosenstein the most highly anticipated question of the session: “If you were ordered today to fire Mr. Mueller, what would you do?” “If there were good cause, I would act. If there were no good cause, I would not,” Rosenstein replied. He then went on to defend Mueller personally, saying, “It would've been difficult to find anyone more qualified for this job.” These exchanges show that Rosenstein was trying to stand up for the probe, while still appeasing Trump and his allies. Benjamin Wittes, an expert on national security law at the Brookings Institution, wrote on the Lawfare blog that Rosenstein may pay a price for doing both. “Rosenstein here has, at a minimum, contributed to [the political] circus — at the expense of his own employees,” he wrote after the hearing. “The DOJ and FBI workforces will not forget that. Nor should they.” Those 24 hours last week encapsulated Rosenstein’s political two-step. One minute he’s defending the release of texts that serve as ammunition for Mueller critics and Trump allies to lambast the investigation; the next, he’s defending Mueller from criticism by those same anti-Mueller conservatives and Trump allies — and putting his own job at risk. Keeping both sides happy, however, allows Rosenstein to say he’s supporting his staff while also backing Trump. The deputy attorney general is playing a deft game, and those who have worked with him before are confident that he can pull it off. “What you have in Rod is somebody that is battle-tested,” Julie Myers Wood, a prosecutor and former colleague of Rosenstein’s, told me in an interview. “I can’t think of anyone that is more prepared to handle this situation than him.” Rosenstein is an apolitical man caught in a very political moment Despite these recent controversies, Rosenstein has long been considered an apolitical straight shooter by those who’ve worked with him. “He has a directness about him — there’s no bullshit,” Philip Heymann, Rosenstein’s former professor at Harvard Law School and later his colleague, told me. “He says what he thinks, but he’s always fair.” President George W. Bush appointed Rosenstein as the US attorney for Maryland in 2005. President Barack Obama later kept him on, making Rosenstein only one of three US attorneys — out of a total of 93 — retained by the new administration. Rosenstein officially joined the Trump administration in April as deputy attorney general after receiving broad bipartisan support in his confirmation vote. But Rosenstein found himself in the middle of a major political controversy just two weeks into his new job. On May 9, he co-authored a letter with Sessions making the case that Trump should fire then-FBI Director James Comey because of how he had handled the results of the agency’s Clinton investigation. “Over the past year,” Rosenstein wrote, “the FBI’s reputation and credibility have suffered substantial damage, and it has affected the entire Department of Justice.” He added: “I cannot defend the director’s handling of the conclusion of the investigation of Secretary Clinton’s emails, and I do not understand his refusal to accept the nearly universal judgment that he was mistaken.” Trump fired Comey later that day, citing the Sessions-Rosenstein letter as his reason. Pro-Trump Republicans and conservative media applauded the decision to remove Comey, but Democrats were furious. And some of that fury extended to Rosenstein himself. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) told NPR shortly after the Comey firing that he had “lost any confidence I might have had” in Rosenstein, whose “first official action was putting his name on that letter, basically making what appeared to be bogus reasons [for] firing the FBI director.” Those who know Rosenstein say he recommended firing Comey not because he wanted to please Trump, but rather because he believed Comey hurt the FBI’s reputation. “He’s guided by justice, not by politics,” Steve Levin, a former colleague of Rosenstein’s in Maryland, told me in an interview. A week later, Rosenstein named Mueller as the special counsel, authorizing him to look into possible Trump-Russia ties as well as “any matters that arose or may arise from the investigation.” It now seemed that Rosenstein wasn’t in Trump’s pocket. Trump himself was confused where Rosenstein’s true loyalties lay, tweeting on June 16, “I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt.” Firing Rosenstein could hamstring the Trump-Russia probe Rosenstein somehow managed to navigate the Comey firing drama deftly, pleasing Trump just enough to keep his job without abandoning his principles. Whether he’ll be able to do that again this time around remains to be seen. And a lot more is riding on his ability to pull it off this time. That’s because Rosenstein is now Mueller’s boss. He can approve or deny Mueller’s requests to investigate or indict someone. So far, it doesn’t appear that Rosenstein has stopped Mueller from pursuing the investigation the way he sees fit, and he’s made every indication that he intends to continue to let Muller proceed with his investigation. Trump could change all of that if he decided to put pressure on Rosenstein to fire Mueller. Rosenstein could carry out Trump’s request, but those who know him believe he wouldn’t. “I have no doubt that if the president ordered Rod to fire Mueller, absent good cause, Rod would refuse that order,” Levin told me. But if Rosenstein did fire Mueller, the investigation might not be completely undermined, as charges against four Trump associates have already been filed and prosecutors are likely to continue to follow leads from the beginning of the investigation in June 2016. Trump, however, has another option: He could instead fire Rosenstein and replace him with someone friendlier to the Trump administration and more willing to constrain Mueller. That could be even more detrimental to the Mueller probe. Asha Rangappa, a legal expert at Yale's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, wrote in a post for the Just Security blog that a new deputy attorney general could effectively cripple the Mueller investigation by rejecting Mueller’s requests to investigate more people, obtain new evidence, or pursue charges against additional people, for instance. Trump has recently signaled his growing distrust of Rosenstein, reportedly telling his advisers that Rosenstein is “a Democrat” and a threat to his presidency. This has led to growing speculation that he may be considering dismissing Rosenstein after all. But Rosenstein’s defenders think he’s still playing the game correctly so far. “The fact that both sides are criticizing him,” Wood told me, “probably shows that he’s doing something right.”
Cat owners will recognise the purr of pleasure from their pets when they are tickled behind the ears, but a new analysis comparing the domestic cat’s genome with that of its wild relatives suggests this may also have been key to taming the animals in the first place. The analysis has identified some of the crucial changes in feline DNA that have occurred as the animals were domesticated over the past 9,000 years. Among the main differences are changes in genes associated with the growth of brain cells involved in feelings of reward and pleasure. This suggests that humans first began domesticating these notoriously solitary creatures by appealing to their desire for treats and stroking. Those that responded were then more likely to be bred, leading to increasingly docile animals as time went on. “You can imagine wild cats picking up scraps of food from near to human settlements initially and gradually becoming more accustomed to human presence,” said Dr Bronwen Aken, one of those involved in the research at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge. “They would have moved in closer to the point where they were being fed. The food would probably have been the primary reward and petting would have come later.” Cats are thought to have been first domesticated around 10,000 years ago from the Near Eastern wildcat, which can still be found roaming the Middle East. Archaeological evidence for domesticated cats has been found in Cyprus dating back 9,000 years, while Chinese farmers are known to have been living with domestic cats 5,000 years ago. Domesticating wild cats would not have been an easy process, however. The Near Eastern wildcat, from which almost every breed of household cat alive today is thought to originate, is notoriously shy and spends most of its life as a solitary animal. But the new research provides some hints about how our human ancestors may have done this. By comparing the genomes of 22 domestic cats from around the world with those of European wildcats and Near Eastern wildcats, researchers identified 13 key genes that differed, including genes involved in the reward centres of the brain and the development of neurons that are key to producing dopamine – the so-called pleasure hormone. This suggests that the first wild cats to be bred for domestication were those that had responded to offers of rewards such as food and stroking. The research, which is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also shows that domestic cats have genetic differences in areas related to fear conditioning and memory. The scientists believe changes in memory were another response to being fed and rewarded by humans. “When compared to wild cats many of the differences in domestic animals appear to be in genes that result in behavioural changes,” said Dr Aken, who now works at the European Bioinformatics Institute. “But when you look at cheetahs and lions in Africa, you can still see a lot of similarlities in their body language like the way they flick their tails when annoyed. Dr John Bradshaw, an expert on domestic cats from the the University of Bristol who helped conduct the research, said: “Many of the domestication genes seem to impact development of the nervous system. “There is an idea, known as the neural crest hypothesis, that the way the nervous systems of domestic animals is laid down is different from wild animals, bringing things like a lack of fear, and this is the first genetic evidence that this might be happening.” The new study shows, however, that domestication did not eliminate the predatory nature of wild cats and helps to explain why as pets they still kill birds and rodents despite having an abundance of food. By comparing wild cat genomes with those of domesticated cats, dogs, cows and humans, the researchers found that all cats share six genes that appear to give them hearing over a far wider range of frequencies than other species. They also found mutations in genes associated with vision that the researchers believe give the animals better eyesight in low light conditions. These characteristics were probably desirable as domestic cats were used to help control rodent populations on farms and around homes. However, cats have far fewer genes associated with smell – around 700 – when compared with dogs, which have more than 800.
Calm. Congratulations, you’re relatively unemotional! While very nice for you, your emotions say literally nothing about the validity of your argument. Similarly, emotional outbursts do not invalidate arguments. Maybe your argument is just so infuriatingly wrong that your opponent can’t keep their emotions in check. Sources. You have sources? Neat! But not all sources are good, and they can be easily misinterpreted and misapplied. A consistent theoretical framework. What if your theoretical framework, you know, sucks? Or doesn’t work in this context? There are just so many ways for you to be wrong. Logical consistency. This is remedial logic and shouldn’t need to be said, but whatever: An argument is only valid if the premises are true and the reasoning is sound. “All unicorns are communists, you are a unicorn, therefore you are a communist” is invalid because unicorns are obviously anarchists. Jargon. Wow, you know words. Congratulations. A poor argument from your opponent(s). Okay, so maybe they tried to argue that misandry don’t real because their spellcheck doesn’t recognize it as a word. That’s a bad argument, but it doesn’t make “misandry is real because child support!” any better. You both suck. Getting the last word. So what if your opponent chooses to disengage? There are any number of reasons for that—maybe they realized they were never going to get anywhere, maybe they got tired, maybe they fell asleep or died mid-sentence.
REUTERS A man tries to cross a road flooded by Typhoon Koppu Typhoon Koppu's torrential rain and strong winds caused landslides, floods, power outages and damage to roads and bridges in the Northern Philippines over the weekend. Officials fear the death toll may rise after the typhoon ripped across the main island of Luzon on Sunday leaving several remote towns and villages isolated due to flash floods and toppled trees and boulders blocking roads. The storm, downgraded to a category one typhoon from category four, was moving slowly north on Monday and was forecast to weaken to a tropical storm within hours. There are about 20,000 residents in isolated areas that need food and water. Henry Velarde Henry Velarde, vice mayor of Jaen town in Nueva Ecija province, north of Manila, said: "We haven't reached many areas. About 60 to 70 per cent of our town is flooded, some as deep as 10 feet. "There are about 20,000 residents in isolated areas that need food and water." The national disaster agency said two people died from falling trees and a toppled concrete wall. The coast guard said seven people died at sea. AFP•GETTY IMAGES This farmer rides his water buffalo in an attempt to reach higher ground Villages far from rivers in Nueva Ecija were flooded as water from the mountains came rushing down plains and valleys. Reynato Simbulan, a village councillor from Nueva Ecija admitted people were not expecting Koppu's effects. He said: "We're seven kilometres away from the river but we were still inundated." REUTERS 65,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in the wake of Typhoon Koppu Nearly 183,000 people felt the impact of the typhoon, of whom more than 65,000 had been evacuated from low-lying and landslide-prone areas, the disaster agency said. About 6,000 people were stranded in various ports across the main Luzon island. REUTERS This sea wall was broken by Typhoon Koppu
JUNE 5, 5:45pm: The Twins remain in the mix for Dyson, tweets Wolfson. Daniels indicated that four or five teams have made serious offers to acquire the reliever, per Shan Shariff of 105.3 The Fan (on Twitter). 4:37pm: Daniels told the Ben & Skin show on 105.3 The Fan on Monday that he’s weighing two to three offers for Dyson. The GM added that he hopes to trade Dyson in the next day or two (Twitter link via Jamey Newberg). JUNE 2: The Rangers anticipate being able to find a trade partner for just-designated reliever Sam Dyson, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes. The alternative, of course, would be to place Dyson on waivers and wait to see if he clears. There are at least two teams said to be looking into the possibility of adding Dyson. That’s the case for the Rays, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, though it’s not yet clear just how serious the interest is. And the Twins, too, are at least considering the possibility of bringing Dyson into their struggling pen, per Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (via Twitter). GM Jon Daniels suggested that Texas believes it will work out some kind of swap, given the interest shown already by rival organizations. He also made clear that Dyson does not have any health problems. Rather, per Daniels, the struggling reliever “just hasn’t been able to get back to what we know he’s capable of.” With the Rangers still trying to hang in the postseason picture, it seems the club simply couldn’t afford to let him work things out at the major league level. Through 16 2/3 innings on the year, Dyson carries a 10.80 ERA. Even more shockingly, he has managed just 3.8 K/9 to go with 6.5 BB/9. While he’s still pumping mid-nineties sinkers with the grounders (61.4%) to match, something is clearly amiss. Indeed, Dyson’s swinging-strike rate has plummeted to 5.8% after topping out at 12.4% in 2015. There are some hurdles to a deal, beyond Dyson’s on-field problems. He’s only a Super Two player, increasing the upside for teams considering a move, but he’s already earning $3.52MM this year due to his saves tallies in prior campaigns. Plus, Dyson can’t be optioned — the same reason that Texas was forced to send him into DFA limbo in the first place. Still, it’s possible to imagine any number of teams having interest in Dyson; after all, he carried a 2.45 ERA through 187 2/3 innings over the prior three seasons. Rebuilding teams could take a chance; clubs that have fallen back a bit could hope to strike gold; and certain contenders might even consider the idea of easing Dyson back in with low-leverage work. Scouting assessments will likely drive the decisionmaking process, but it will be interesting to see what kind of return the Rangers can manage to find in this situation.
Image copyright Tubman Thomas Image caption The crash happened at a car auction site at the airport A pilot may have been suffering from "mental overload" when he crash-landed, killing three members of Osama Bin Laden's family, an inquiry has found. The jet overshot the runway at Blackbushe Airport in July 2015 and crashed into a car auction site. The Air Accidents Investigations Branch (AAIB) said emergency warnings prior to landing may have "saturated the pilot's mental capacity". The pilot and three passengers survived the crash but died in a severe fire. Bin Laden's half-sister, Sana Mohammed Bin Laden, her mother, Raja Bashir Hashim, and his brother-in-law, Zuhair Hashim, were killed, along with pilot Mazen Al-Aqeel Da'jah Salem. Image copyright Geoff Pierce Image caption Aviation enthusiast Geoff Pierce took this photograph of the aircraft moments before it crashed The AAIB report said the private Saudi-registered Phenom 300 jet, travelling from Milan, Italy, landed at high speed and touched down on 31 July 2015 with only 438m (1,437 ft) of runway remaining. It collided with an earth bank before crashing into a British Car Auctions site, losing one of its wings and bursting into flames among parked cars. Airport firefighters, who arrived on the scene within five minutes, were unable to control an "intense" blaze involving leaking fuel. Eyewitnesses at the scene said there had been a "ball of flames" and "several explosions". The AAIB said the three passengers appeared to have made an unsuccessful attempt to open the cabin door. Image copyright AP Image caption The Bin Laden family severed ties with Osama before disowning him after the 11 September attacks The report said the 57-year-old Jordanian pilot may have become "fixated on landing" because of "a very high workload situation" in the final minutes of the flight. He made an emergency climb to avoid colliding with a microlight, and then came close to a second light aircraft. The jet then began "a very high-speed descent", dropping at up to 3,000ft per minute. The pilot ignored six "pull up" warnings from the aircraft's Terrain Avoidance and Warning System (TAWS), touching down at a speed of about 135 knots (155mph). The AAIB said the 66 messages and alarms in the final three-and-a-half minutes of the flight may have created "audio overload" and "mental stressors". "It is possible that in these circumstances the pilot... fixated on his initial strategy (landing) and lacked the mental capacity to recognise that the approach had become unstable," the report said. Following the crash, the jet's operators have installed co-pilots on all Phenom 300 flights.
Macy's downtown Brooklyn store is shrinking—and getting an upgrade in the process. The department-store chain plans to retain four of the nine floors of its Fulton Street site. The remaining five will be sold to real estate developer Tishman Speyer for $170 million in cash. Macy's will receive $100 million from Tishman over the next three years for renovations. "In recent years, it has become clear that our Fulton Street store requires major improvements in order to serve the Brooklyn of today," said Chief Executive Terry Lundgren in a statement. "We invested the time and resources necessary to fully study and understand the opportunity for making a major positive impact on Brooklyn." Mr. Lundgren has been talking about renovating the store, first opened in 1865 as Abraham and Straus, for years. The project is a first in Brooklyn for Tishman, which plans to develop its portion of the property into 10 floors of office space. It will also buy Macy's parking facility on Hoyt Street. Macy's, which employs 490 staffers at the store, all of whom are expected to remain, plans to convert its 378,000 square feet of shopping space on nine floors to 310,000 square feet on five floors, including the basement. It will refurbish the interior to allow for more merchandise, uncover windows to add more light, upgrade the restrooms and install new elevators and escalators. The company's photo studio, which had been located at the building, is moving to a new 150,000-square-foot facility in Long Island City. In recent months, Macy's has been under pressure by investors to sell off some of its valuable real estate assets in order to gain revenue. On Wednesday, Macy's reported lower-than-expected sales for its second quarter, blaming a stronger dollar on lower sales in the U.S. from overseas tourists. For the quarter, net income fell to $217 million, a 26% drop from the year-earlier period; net sales were down nearly 3%, to $6.1 billion. The company's stock fell more than 5%, to $63.87, by mid-afternoon Wednesday.
Ex-FBI Director James Comey probably could have picked a better way to get his mind off his recent firing by President Trump. Comey and his wife, Patrice, took in a Saturday matinee performance of “Fun Home” — which tells the story of a “uniquely dysfunctional family” headed by “a volatile, brilliant, enigmatic father,” according to its Web site. Afterward, the couple met the cast of the Tony Award-winning musical and posed for a backstage photo in Washington, D.C., where “both said they were really emotionally affected by the show,” star Kate Shindle said. “It’s awfully moving, but I would imagine doubly so at the end of a week like this,” Shindle, a former Miss America, told the New York Times. “Fun Home” is based on a graphic novel by artist Alison Bechdel, and in 2015 got three stars from The Post during its Broadway run. Comey was unexpectedly canned on Tuesday amid the FBI’s probe into suspected Russian ties to Trump’s presidential campaign. The White House initially said Comey was fired over his handling of rival Hillary Clinton’s email scandal, but Trump on Thursday told NBC News: “In fact, when I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said, ‘You know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story, it’s an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should have won.'” US Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Saturday interviewed eight potential Comey replacements, including New York Court of Appeals Judge Michael Garcia, the former Manhattan US attorney whose investigation of a call-girl ring led to the 2008 resignation of then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer.
President Donald Trump’s supporters continue to back him because they felt so besieged by the political landscape and life in general that it’s literally killing them, a GOP strategist said on ABC’s This Week. Alex Castellanos, who has worked as a consultant for George W. Bush and Mitt Romney, said during an Aug. 20, 2017, discussion on the show that Trump’s backers have stuck with him through controversies because they didn’t see an alternative option. Democrats attacking Trump’s response to violence in Charlottesville, Va., just fed into growing bitterness among his base over their dire socioeconomic situation, he said. "What I think a lot of Trump supporters heard this week was, the Democrats are just painting us, Trump supporters, with a Nazi brush. We're all white supremacists. That's their excuse for why they lost the election," Castellanos said. "No. White working-class America, death rates among white men are up 20 percent. They're unemployed. Gwen Ifill said, ‘no wonder they're resentful.’" We wondered about his statistic that working-class white men are dying at a higher rate than before. It turns out that researchers have identified increasing mortality among the white working class, but it’s not as high for men as the 20 percent number Castellanos cited. Increased mortality rates In response to our questions, Castellanos sent us two articles from the New York Times and the Guardian about a 2015 paper by husband-and-wife Princeton economists Angus Deaton and Anne Case. Their research showed that death rates for middle-aged, white Americans had been going up, while they had been going down for every other age, race and ethnic group. Those rates also had been falling in other countries. This was a reversal of a years-long trend in which mortality rates had been steadily decreasing, meaning that Americans across many groups were living longer. From 1978 to 1998, white Americans were seeing mortality rates fall about 2 percent each year. So the fact that Case and Deaton found an increase was considered significant. But Deaton told us the 20 percent number Castellanos cited for men was too high. (That’s a number the Guardian reported, but it cites the increase as being for "the death rate for white Americans aged 45 to 54.") "In our 2015 PNAS paper, we say that for all white non-Hispanics (men and women together), mortality rates for those aged 45 to 54 rose at half of one percent per year, which from 1998 to 2013 is 7.8 percent, not 20 percent, and certainly not 20 percent for men only," Deaton wrote via email. Case added that that was for all levels of education, not just people who didn’t have a college degree. Deaton and Case’s study showed that mortality rates were climbing for white, non-Hispanic Americans aged 45 to 54 with a high school education or less. The research further showed that deaths were up from drug and alcohol poisonings, suicides, chronic liver diseases and cirrhosis. Mortality rates rose for all education groups, but "those with less education saw the most marked increases," the paper read. It’s important to note that overall mortality rates for African-Americans were still higher than whites. But African-Americans still recorded an overall drop in the same time period, not an increase. Researchers were surprised by the Case and Deaton study in 2015. Dartmouth economists Ellen Meara and Jonathan Skinner said in an analysis that while most Americans’ life expectancies had gone up in the face of the Great Recession and rising income inequality, the study’s findings "dashed even this cautiously optimistic view of the past several decades." "These trends are indeed concentrated among the least educated Americans who never attended college," Meara told PolitiFact. "Of note, the trends do not apply to current retirees, nor youth, both groups that have experienced mortality improvements in recent decades." Others questioned the paper’s results. Columbia University statistics professor Andrew Gelman argued that the situation wasn’t as dire as it first appeared. He said that some statistical adjustments showed that middle-aged white women largely made up the difference in mortality rates, and the figures evened out when you combined men and women. Deaton and Case addressed some of these doubts in a 2017 follow-up to their paper. While the 2015 data didn’t focus on differences between men and women, their latest work did, along with adjusting their age groups. "For non-Hispanic white men aged 30 to 59 without a four-year college degree, age-adjusted all-cause mortality rose by 7 percent from 1998 to 2015," Deaton said of the latest data. Again they found that a lack of education was a major factor for increasing mortality rates, among other issues. (Gelman and Jonathan Auerbach, a Columbia doctoral student, again disputed their findings.) "We propose a preliminary but plausible story in which cumulative disadvantage from one birth cohort to the next, in the labor market, in marriage and child outcomes, and in health, is triggered by progressively worsening labor market opportunities at the time of entry for whites with low levels of education," the 2017 paper read. There’s evidence that whites with less education on the lower end of the income spectrum didn’t make up the bulk of Trump’s voters. The Washington Post reported that his base is largely affluent Republicans, whether they have a college education or not. Deaton said Castellanos was speaking too broadly, and the spirit of his comment misses what the research really says. "To be fair, that mortality rates are going up at all is a big deal, and is a measure of the fact that bad things are happening to these people," he said. Our ruling Castellanos said that for the white working class, "death rates among white men are up 20 percent." Research has shown that death rates are up for white men, which is a cause for concern because death rates have historically declined. But that research is not without controversy. Also, the researchers who documented the increase in death rates say it’s not as alarmingly high as 20 percent just for white men. A more accurate estimate would be around 7 percent. Castellanos has a point about increased death rates among whites, but he incorrectly cited figures from the study. We rate his statement Mostly False.
Copyright by WAVY - All rights reserved Barrett Oakes Welch and Patrice Taylor Welch. Photo Courtesy: Dare County Sheriff's Office Copyright by WAVY - All rights reserved Barrett Oakes Welch and Patrice Taylor Welch. Photo Courtesy: Dare County Sheriff's Office NAGS HEAD, N.C. (WAVY) -- The owners of the Animal Hospital of Nags Head are facing charges of felony trafficking in opium or heroin. Barrett Oakes Welch, 64, and Patrice Taylor Welch, 54, turned themselves in to law enforcement officials on Feb. 8 after two search warrants were executed at the hospital and at their home in Colington, North Carolina. According to the Dare County Sheriff's Office, allegations of inappropriate prescribing, obtaining and misuse of prescription medications led to the search warrants, which were taken out for two places: The Animal Hospital of Nags Head and their home on 100 Sunrise Lane. Investigators say they took more than 200 pills into evidence from the Animal Hospital. They reportedly found another 100 pills in a cookie jar, baskets and a night stand at their home. Owners of Nags Head animal hospital charged with trafficking opium, heroin Gallery 1 Photo courtesy: WAVY/Andy Fox Photo courtesy: WAVY/Andy Fox Photo courtesy: WAVY/Andy Fox The Sheriff's Office says Patrice and Barrett were not at the hospital when officials searched the veterinary office. However, they say office staff cooperated in the investigation. At the center of the investigation against Dr. Barrett Welch and his wife Patrice, is Dr. Logan Botzman, whose name could be seen on the Animal Hospital sign. 10 On Your Side tried contacting Dr. Botzman, but he did not answer. Botzman will be the prosecutor's star witness. In the search warrant, Botzman tells the investigator, "Dr. Barrett Welch would take medication from inventory for personal use, and to cover up the shortage [he] would prescribe the medication to his personal pets and pets of family members." A former Animal Hospital employee, Dianna Dickenson said, "I was not surprised at all. I knew it was happening. I had investigators and members of the Vet Board ask me about it." To not raise any flags, Botzman said, "Dr. Welch would then go into the computer system and discount the medication to where a bill would never be created." Dickenson says when she did inventory there were major issues, "The drug count was off by a lot of drugs so I told the owner, Dr. Welch, I wasn't going to sign the drug log and that he basically needed to fix the drug count before we could finish the drug log." In the court paperwork, Botzman told the investigator, "In October of 2015 Dr. Welch admitted to him that he had taken Xanax for his own personal use." Dickenson says she also confronted Dr. Welch about the shortage of inventory, "He said he would take care of it, and that was the last I heard of it. Less than a week later I got suspended for that." The probable case for the search warrant also states, "Dr. Botzman stated that approximately two years ago DEA did a case on Dr. Welch where they found his prescription records were not done correctly and medication missing from the business. The DEA fined Dr. Welch over $20,000 in civil penalties." According to court paperwork, Botzman advised investigators Caroline Taylor, step-daughter of Dr. Barrett Welch and daughter of Patrice Welch, had access to controlled substances, and that she owned a dog that was prescribed a controlled substance. According to investigators, "Dr. Botzman advised that she [Caroline Taylor] owned a dog and that animal would be prescribed alprazolam or hydrocodone pills, but on 01/08/2016 the name of the dog's owner was switched to a man named Russell Taylor. This was told to Affiant by Dr. Botzman and done for the reason that she was on Federal Probation and did not want to be linked to the prescription medication fraud." Taylor is not charged in this case, but she has served time in a federal prison and is on federal probation for drug charges. This means she could be in violation of her parole. Capt. Kevin Duprey with the Dare County Sheriffs Office said, "If for some reason she is involved, and I am not saying she is, then we will look at filing charges." Both Barrett and Patrice Welch are facing felony charges of trafficking in opium or heroin. Barrett is also facing a felony obtaining a controlled substance by fraud or forgery charge. They were released on bond this week and will be back in court March 31. The Sheriff's Office says the investigation is ongoing and could lead to additional charges and arrests.
In Elie Wiesel’s Night, a supposed madman comes to a Jewish community and tells the people that the Nazis are systematically killing Jews. The people’s reaction? Denial. Disbelief. Utter disbelief. It is not until they arrive at Auschwitz that they understand that the “madman” spoke only truth. They hadn’t believed him because what was happening was incomprehensible. It’s hard for us to wrap our minds around what happened in the Holocaust. It’s also hard to wrap our minds around child sex abuse. Our natural tendency as human beings is to expect the best of each other. Our first reaction to any grief is denial. And grief is closely related to fear. Maybe it happened to you. Maybe it almost happened–which is still bad. For some, it did happen. We all know someone it did happen to–even if we don’t realize it. When I was young, my mother warned me to never get into a car with a stranger. But she didn’t know about the older boy who chased me, when I was about six or eight, across my front yard trying to touch me where he shouldn’t. Succeeding just enough to terrify me. Part of me still doesn’t understand why I didn’t tell her. I usually enjoyed telling on people. But I didn’t want to relive that moment when I ran across the yard to reach the safety behind our front door. I had no idea why anyone would want to touch anyone else that way. When my children were young, I gave them the same admonitions my mother had given me. My warnings were buttressed by school curriculum that warned young students of “stranger danger.” What we didn’t know–we mothers, fathers, and teachers–was that most child sex abuse doesn’t come from strangers. It doesn’t usually involve threats of violence. It involves people our mothers would trust. Another fact I didn’t know is that I wasn’t unusual in not wanting to tell. Those who suffer much more than my brief moment of fear tend not to tell. Only 38 percent ever do. They suffer from “incomprehension, , of retaliation, and the misperception that the child is to blame.” A friend of mine has professional experience dealing with child sex abuse cases. She told me of a victim who did tell his mother. But his mother did not believe him. To her, such abuse was incomprehensible. In the movie Spotlight, The Boston Globe uncovers a worldwide web of abuse that no one outside of it had imagined could be as vast as it was. In one scene, the Globe reporters discuss their regret that they hadn’t put the puzzle pieces of institutionalized abuse within the local Catholic Church together sooner. First there was one abuser, then three, then 13, then 70. The end result uncovered nearly 250. Looking at the puzzle one piece at a time meant it took 20 years and a harder look to see the whole picture. How could they have imagined? It was incomprehensible. Child sex abuse is not a Catholic problem. It is not a Penn State problem (See Jerry Sandusky.) It is not a Republican problem. (See Dennis Hastert.) Child sex abuse is a human problem. It is pervasive throughout society. It touches all kinds of churches. Boz Tchividjian is the grandson of Rev. Billy Graham, a former child sex abuse prosecutor, a law professor at Liberty University, and Executive Director of GRACE–Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment. He says evangelicals need to be careful not to point fingers at the Catholic Church and to embrace “the difficult and sobering task of self-examination.” “Some may be tempted to watch [Spotlight] with disgust for the Catholic Church and a sigh of relief for Protestant churches. Such relief would be unfounded and misplaced. A number of years ago, the three companies that insure most Protestant churches reported that receiving approximately 260 reports a year of minors being sexually abused by church leaders and members. This is compared to the approximately 228 “credible accusations” a year of child sexual abuse reported by the Catholic Church.” Almost inconceivably, there may be an upside to this discussion. It seems that the more public discussion of the issue of child sex abuse, the easier it is for victims to come forward. Mitch Garabedian, a lawyer representing victims in Boston and who was depicted in the Spotlight, says the film helped some of those formerly preyed upon come forward. The problem is wounding innumerable victims and giving all churches a black eye. But churches can take steps to help protect children who could become prey. Tchividjian says churches should provide personal safety classes for children, educate parents about abuse and the dangers children may face through use of the internet. We can train staff and members to listen to children who may disclose abuse in pieces. And we can condemn sexual abuse from the pulpit. Further, churches must not rely solely on background checks but should look more deeply into the past of every person applying for employment or volunteering. Most predators don’t have a criminal record. We can also educate ourselves about the behavior of sexual predators–how they target children who are often alone. The Church can be a safe place for anybody to disclose anything they need to disclose. Tchividjian: “My prayer is that one day churches will be the place offenders feel the least safe knowing that the church is vigilantly watching over its children and won’t hesitate to report suspected abuse to the God-ordained authorities. I think Jesus requires nothing less of us.” So let it be. Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way, do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, and you credit the author. Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the entities I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” Share this: WhatsApp Skype More Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pocket Reddit Pinterest Tumblr Telegram Print
Clockwise from top left: Eastern Screech Owl chicks; an American Wigeon; a Yellow-rumped Warbler; a mink; a Cedar Waxwing; and a red fox at LaBagh Woods View Full Caption Facebook/My Year Birding at LaBagh Woods FOREST GLEN — The list of wildlife at one Northwest Side forest preserve seems to rival that of an Amazon rainforest. Just this year alone, the Facebook group "My Year Birding at LaBagh Woods" has documented 157 bird species, 16 different mammals, two snake species, three turtle and frog species, more than 20 butterfly species and dozens of plants, including ones so rare that poachers likely would seek them. "Really what it says is how tenacious life is, despite all the obstacles we humans provide for this life's survival," said Jeff Skrentny, who started the group on Jan. 1. "This place holds a lot of urban life, a lot of it, and it needs to be treated as the special place it is." All photos courtesy of My Birding at LaBagh Woods Skrentny, an avid birder from Albany Park who also is a member of the Chicago Ornithological Society, created the group to record all of the bird species that can be found in the 160-acre LaBagh Woods, of which 80 acres are wooded or upland wet prairie. The north branch of the Chicago River also flows through LaBagh — a Forest Preserve District of Cook County facility between Bryn Mawr and Foster avenues — which at times leads to swamp- or marsh-like conditions. Skrentny's group, which has raised about $10,000 to reintroduce native plant species to LaBagh — and a fence to protect the plants from deer — started small but now has nearly 170 members. Justin Breen explains why the group started counting birds: An American Wigeon The group first began documenting only birds, including 16 seen for the first time this year. That includes birds like the Orchard Oriole, Bufflehead, American Wigeon, Eastern Screech Owl, Northern Pittail and Caspian Tern. Eventually, the members branched out to other wildlife. A highlight for Skrentny, who has been birding at LaBagh for 10 years, was witnessing a mink with three kits. A mink mother swims with her kits in the Chicago River at LaBagh Woods. Skrentny said it's amazing "discovering new life or breeding life at LaBagh, a place many probably write off as a trash piece of forest ... and showing others around the place and watching the wonder in their eyes when they see what an incredible forest this is, right in the city, so full of life." Skrentny said those looking to spot rare wildlife have the best shot early in the morning or at dusk. Visitors should be quiet and move slowly, and definitely don't bring a dog, which will scare wildlife away. Skrentny said he hopes Chicagoans appreciate what LaBagh Woods represent. "It might be a testament to the rich fabric of life that existed here in Chicago before European settlers arrived, much of which we ignored and destroyed, but which has a chance to continue surviving, maybe even thriving, if we take care and show respect for these wild places, work to be great stewards of them, and give wildlife a chance," he said. For more information on "My Year Birding at LaBagh Woods" group, which welcomes newcomers and meets at LaBagh occasionally, click here. To check out more photos from group members, click here. An Eastern Screech Owl Red fox Garter snake Black-crowned night heron Jeff Skrentny holds a Midland brown snake. For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
Anonymous asked: What did Itachi say in his graduation speech? I have no confidence in my English, but I believe it’s something like this. “Although the great war has ended, we can’t say that the world peace has been established; there are a lot of people living in suffer from sad accident two years ago. We have to overcome this situation. As a young shinobi generation, this is not somebody else’s problem. Today, we passed one step of becoming shinobi. Live as a shinobi in this chaotic world is definitely not a peaceful one. Even so, we vow. Shinobi is the one who will go through hardships. Shinobi is the one who endures. What we learn at academy will be our provisions, and as Konoha’s shinobi, we will carry out our ninja way.”
Jim Davis/Globe Staff/File Kevin Garnett did not speak with the media after the Celtics’ Game 7 loss to the Heat June 9 and has given no hint of his plans next season. MIAMI - Oklahoma City center Kendrick Perkins said he has talked with former Celtics teammate Kevin Garnett and believes the 17-year veteran wants to return to the NBA next season. Garnett did not speak with the media after the Celtics’ Game 7 loss to the Heat June 9 and has given no hint of his plans next season. He hugged Doc Rivers after exiting Game 7 and gave the coach a pat on the head, moving Rivers nearly to tears. Garnett is an unrestricted free agent and could re-sign with the Celtics or test the market and be courted by teams for the first time in his career. Garnett has never been an unrestricted free agent. Advertisement “I feel like if he does return to basketball, I think that that would be the team,’’ Perkins said of the Celtics. “I heard Kevin say a few times that he wouldn’t want to play for anybody but Doc, so it will be interesting to see. I still think he got a lot more years in him. He got a lot of love for the game and it would be hard to see Kevin walk away from the game right now.’’ Get Sports Headlines in your inbox: The most recent sports headlines delivered to your inbox every morning. Sign Up Thank you for signing up! Sign up for more newsletters here When asked if he sensed Garnett wanted to keep playing, Perkins said, “I do. I think he found some kind of new life, what do you call it? The fountain of youth, just how he’s been playing over these last couple of games in the playoffs and in the regular season, he’s almost a 20-10 guy. I hope he does come back. It’s good for the NBA. He’s still an icon in the league and you just like to see what he brings to the table.’’ Learning from bench It’s been more than two months since the Thunder’s Reggie Jackson logged a minute, April 13 when he played six minutes in a 115-89 victory over the Kings. Since then, Jackson has been mostly inactive and his rookie season has turned into more of a watch-and-learn experience. The acquisition of Derek Fisher cut into the minutes of the former Boston College standout, Oklahoma City’s first-round pick last June. When Eric Maynor tore his right anterior cruciate ligament two weeks into the regular season, Jackson’s role was expected to increase, and it did as he played double-digit minutes in 21 of the next 26 games. But when Fisher arrived, Jackson’s role shrunk, so much so that he’s spent the playoffs on the inactive list. “It’s just been very up and down and hectic,’’ he said. “But it’s been a great experience for me, fun.’’ Advertisement Jackson has struggled with his shot, shooting 32.1 percent, and 21 percent from the 3-point line. A shooting guard at BC, Jackson has been projected as a point guard in the NBA and the adjustment has been slow. “It was tough [at first] to see but I think everything happens for a reason,’’ he said. “I feel like this organization has a plan for me, so it’s easy to go ahead and go forward. I’ve been seeing myself improve. I have a lot more confidence in little things in my game and I feel like I can make a difference this summer and maybe next season.’’ Turning up the volume It should be a quite a contrast in crowds Sunday as the series shifts from raucous Chesapeake Energy Arena to laid-back AmericanAirlines Arena, a crowd that is traditionally tepid and late-arriving. The Heat players are banking on a difficult atmosphere for the Thunder for the next three games. “I think that’s been our focus, is to make sure this place in here is a place that we feel comfortable playing,’’ guard Dwyane Wade said. “It’s a place that it’s tough to play. Our fans have been great. A lot of stuff has been said about our fans, and it will always be said about our fans, but they’re our fans. We love them. We appreciate them. And Game 7 last time we played here [against the Celtics] was the loudest I’ve heard it here in a very, very long time. “We love our fans and I think they’re excited about this game [Sunday], and I think they’re going to be as loud as they can possibly be.’’
Another commission for of his spec evo critters. This is the wild type: This animal actually evolved from a relative of rodents, so any resemblance to Earth ungulates is due to convergent evolution. The basic type is used for riding, but this breed is the equivalent of a draft type horse, used for plowing, cart-pulling and other work requiring a muscular, placid animal. Similar types are also used a war mounts. This individual's gray coat is the result of a simple dominant allelle of "champagne dilution" gene in conjunction with a silvering gene that changes the black to gray and tan to a pale fawn, and lightens the skin to pink. The mane is typically trimmed short, to make grooming easier, but a plait is left at the withers, weighted with a brass hoop, which gives the handler a built in "rein" to grasp if the actual reins are dropped or break. Commission info:
This page may contain compensated links. For more information read our disclaimer. - 8 Significant Ways Yoga Changed my Life for the Better I’m just going to give a little shout out to Yoga here, since it’s given me so, very much. I used to be one of those people that wanted to be able to exercise, but just couldn’t push myself into actually doing it. I HATED physical exercise. My asthmatic lungs fought back every time I went for a run, my weak muscles screamed when I went to the gym, and my upbringing meant I had no special abilities in any kind of sport. I’d always resisted yoga, thinking that it wouldn’t actually DO anything. It looked too easy, and the fact that everybody was doing it made me even more turned-off. Then one day I just gave it a chance and I have never looked back. Here are a few areas where yoga changed my life: Mental Health I have suffered from depression and anxiety on and off for half my life and have been on a long road trying to find ways to deal with them that are right for me. I discovered both yoga and meditation at around the same time two years ago, so for me they go hand in hand. But I enjoy the yoga much more, and therefore do more of it. I’ve found my rhythm, I know how far to push my body, and now I find it has a calming effect on me. If something is stresses me out and I can’t concentrate, I go do yoga. If I have something important on that day, I do yoga before it. The change in my ability to deal with the stresses of everyday life has been huge and I’m so thankful to have finally found a natural way of dealing with it all. Posture For years I felt guilty about my bad posture and would always attempt to correct myself whenever I noticed myself sitting or standing badly (which admittedly wasn’t often). Yoga and meditation both focus heavily on posture and by doing a lot of them, you will find that you begin to naturally stay in good posture. If you have significantly bad posture you can even to yoga exercises targeting areas to be worked on. Breath I was a snotty, sniffily kid. And I was a snotty, sniffily teenager as well. There were jokes in my friends group at school about my inability to EVER breathe through my nose. My asthma was shocking. My sleeves forever covered in snail-trails. I’d been that way for so long I didn’t even really know what it was like to be able to smell! Now every time I do yoga, I take control of my breath, slowing it down, lowering my heart rate AND I clear up my nose. Sexiness I was going to say fitness but I felt like sexiness fit better with what I’m trying to say. I was never overweight so it’s not that I lost loads of weight doing yoga. But this is about how YOU FEEL. And since yoga helps keep me fit and healthy, in turn I feel a lot sexier. Sex Stamina? Improved. Breathing? Improved. Positions? Hell yeah! I’m not going to expand on this but when your partner can bend you and your legs around in any position they like, you’re both going to have a great time. Strength After about a year of practicing yoga I decided I needed to work on my weak little arms. I was having trouble with poses that involved arm strength and my inability was becoming annoying. I was slightly apprehensive as I found big arm muscles on women unattractive. But I incorporated extra arm strengthening exercises into my favourite routine. Now I have tiny but noticeable arm muscles and I feel great. I can do anything! Back Pain I work at my computer for around 10-12 hours per day. Before I started doing yoga that shit was getting to me physically. At 24 I started to see a chiropractor which concluded that my neck was all bent, and that’s why my lower and upper back were always hurting. I paid a lot of money trying to get realigned, but seeing a chiropractor isn’t sustainable. Daily yoga has helped me to ease my back pain and is WAYYYYY cheaper! Ability to Show-off Possibly the day I learned how to do a headstand was the day I began to brag about yoga. I worked so damn hard to perfect my headstand ability and now revel in the chance to show it off. I’m terribly proud of the fact that I can effortlessly do two different types of headstand and now look forward to learning the scorpion pose! I Now Have an Addiction Okay, addiction is a little bit of an over-statement. But it is literally the only physical exercise (other than walking) that I’m motivated to do on a daily basis. I actually like it. I’ve never been addicted to anything before… except for maybe cups of tea. I’ve joined the club, jumped on the bandwagon, become a lemur… and I couldn’t be happier. THANKS, YOGA and all my amazing yoga teachers! How has yoga changed YOUR life? Tell me in the comments below! If you like my stuff, please share it!
Halladay never even took organic chemistry. LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Just a day after announcing his retirement from baseball, former Philadelphia and Toronto right-hander Roy Halladay returned Tuesday with an even more startling confession — namely that, despite answering to the name “Doc” for almost the entirety of his 16-year career, that he isn’t a medical professional in any sense of those words, nor does he possess any formal training whatsoever in the health sciences. “No, of course not,” Halladay said when confronted on Tuesday by a member of our Investigative Reporting Investigation Team and asked if he’d ever attended medical school. “I assumed it was pretty obvious from how I was drafted out of high school. I didn’t even go to college.” Obvious? Perhaps. But not as obvious as the Baseball Reference page which clearly lists Doc as his title. And not as obvious as the literally tens of thousands of results returned by popular search engine Google for the term “doc halladay.” And not as obvious as the tracks of all the tears on all the faces of the all children who’re all disappointed now. It compels one to ask: if not for any sort of professional reasons, then why has Halladay so thoroughly embraced his familiar sobriquet? It certainly compelled this news organ to ask that. Halladay’s response: “I assume it has to do with the famous gambler and gunman of the American West, John Henry ‘Doc’ Holliday. Our surnames are similar. Plus, he lived in Colorado, I grew up in Colorado… It’s just a name, though.” Just a name, says Halladay. And what’s in a name, right? Lies, apparently. And perfidy, it would also appear.
Assassin’s Creed has burned us before. After releasing games which have been either technically wonky or just tedious to play, Ubisoft made the wise decision of taking Assassin’s Creed off the 2016 calendar, and instead refining the game to bring the series back revitalised, and after playing a little bit of Assassin’s Creed: Origins, they’ve definitely made some moves in the right direction, at least from what I’ve been able to tell from my EGX 2017 hands-on session. Riding a horse along the bank of the Nile is exactly the kind of experience I first played Assassin’s Creed for; it wasn’t just a stabby-explorey action game, but a gateway into a place and time far removed from my own. The harsh sun of North Africa refracted off the Nile, desert sands and worn buildings surround the area, and Egyptians work hard on the crops they’ve irrigated the Nile for. Related Trials Rising Review – A Familiar Thrill Ride Elsewhere, our new assassin is dealing with an irate priest who has decided to beat a slave boy for losing his gold statues – of course, being the fine soul we are, we hastily offer to retrieve them from the bottom of the river. We rush over to a nearby dock, jump on a canoe and start sailing into the center before diving down and rescuing one submerged statue. The other had been found by a nearby ship – using my eagle-partner I spy the ship, climb up the side and make off with it before anyone manages to spot me. Jumping back in my canoe, I sail back to save the boy, but not before witnessing a bull attempt to swim the length of the Nile. I’m honestly not sure that one was supposed to happen. I saved the slave boy from his mistake, though I didn’t rescue him from his fate. Such is life in ancient Egypt. Afterwards, I meet with an informant whom I partner with in order to rescue a man from a nearby building – this, of course, being the typical Assassin’s Creed fare, where I rush in with my swords swinging and everything resolves itself shortly after. Nothing I did in the Assassin’s Creed: Origins demo was particularly fresh for the series, honestly, but the environments were wonderful. Or, would’ve been wonderful. The fact is, my entire experience was plagued by a single, constant issue; low framerate. I actually tried the PC version under the impression I could witness up-to 60FPS, but instead I was plagued by what was below 30FPS, constantly. Constant stutter hampered my experience, ruining both gameplay and visual fidelity. The issue here, on the PC version, truly is on par with early Assassin’s Creed: Unity, a game infamous for poor performance on launch – though it should be said, gameplay I witnessed on the Xbox One X version of the game had no such issues from what I could see. Related Ubisoft Strong Amidst Industry Downturn – Q3 2018-19 Results Released Assassin’s Creed: Origins looks promising enough to get me back into the series, though Ubisoft would do well to avoid releasing a poor-performing product at launch on PC. We’ve already seen that happening with Assassin’s Creed Unity and it wasn’t a pleasant sight. The game is out on October 27th for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
This undated photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on April 2, 2016 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un inspecting the test of a new-type anti-air guided weapon system at an unknown location. (KCNA/AFP/Getty Images) TOKYO — North Korea is holding the first congress of its ruling Workers’ Party in 36 years next month, and all hands are on deck. Literally all hands. Kim Jong Un’s regime has mobilized people around the nation for a "70-day campaign" to prepare for the Communist shindig, at which the Great Successor is expected to announce major policy directives and personnel changes. The exact date of the congress has not yet been announced, but most analysts expect it to be in the first third of next month, perhaps May 7. That means North Korea, which kicked off the 70-day prep period in March, is now on the downward slide to this showcase event. [North Korea animated video shows devastating attack on Seoul] Recent visitors to North Korea say that the roads and fields are full of people working to make the impoverished country look as good as possible — a steep challenge given the state of the economy. Wooden distance markers along the roads have been painted a uniform blue and surrounded with circles of white stones. Signs have gone up around the place with slogans like: “Let us all become honorary victors in the '70-day campaign' of loyalty!" So what’s the big deal about this congress? Well, it’s Kim Jong Un’s chance to really put his stamp on the leadership. Although there are no signs that his grip on power is slipping, the 33-year-old is exceptionally young to lead a Confucian nation — which venerates age over youth — and did not have anywhere near the type of preparation that his father, Kim Jong Il, received from the first Kim to lead North Korea, their father/grandfather Kim Il Sung. [North Korea’s making a lot of threats these days. How worried should we be?] So Kim wants lots of fanfare surrounding this event. Mobilizing pretty much everyone in the country is one surefire way to make sure they’re aware this event is going on. How’s it being treated in the state media? Not surprisingly, the media is all for it, saying that the 70-day campaign “is a drive to devotedly defend the leadership authority” of the Workers’ Party and fend off the “heinous provocations” of the “U.S. imperialists.” “Very great are the victorious successes achieved during the 70-day campaign so far,” the Rodong Sinmun, the mouthpiece of the Workers’ Party, wrote in a commentary published this week. “The remaining days of the campaign are the vital period for all the service personnel and people to dash forward for the bigger victory and the greater surge with redoubled efforts.” North Korea's KCNA has a whole section dedicated to “News of 70-day Campaign.” What a list of headlines. pic.twitter.com/3BKZyUSSy2 — Anna Fifield (@annafifield) April 7, 2016 The official Korean Central News Agency now has a special section on its site dedicated to “News of 70-day Campaign.” Recent headlines include: “Party Organizations and Officials Called for Creating New Spirit of Era” and “Rodong Sinmun Calls upon Youth to Work Miracles in 70-Day Campaign.” There’s also a special report from the Pyongyang Potato Tissue Culture Factory. And what about the people? Another shocker. They’re all for it too (at least according to the state media. And who’s going to say anything else?) North Korean workers are revving up production ahead of a rare party congress in May when leader Kim Jong Un is expected to officially declares his signature ruling policy of nuclear prowess and economic development. (Reuters) "In the past, we used to finish the everyday schedule by starting work in the morning and going home in the evening,” Ro Yong Hui, a 42 year-old worker, said in a report broadcast by KCNA. “But now in the run-up to the 7th Workers’ Party of Korea congress, we don't leave the workplace [in order] to fulfill our work plan. Nobody forces us stay over here, but with the patriotic and loyal will, we eat and sleep here in order to work following the purpose and plan of our Marshal." Here’s Jin Song Ho, the 44-year-old manager of a shoemaking workshop: “Now we have turned into an all-out working status to accomplish the year's plan before the 7th Workers’ Party of Korea congress. With our pride to work at the factory, which our Marshal has visited three times, we will work very hard and exceed our daily targets at 200 percent." So what should we expect from this congress? Well the last one went on for four days in October 1980 at the February 8th House of Culture in Pyongyang. It's now called the April 25th House of Culture, named for a date honoring the military. It was attended by more than 3,000 Workers' Party members and it was a big deal. Kim Il Sung announced he wanted his son Kim Jong Il to succeed him and the party also cemented the whole philosophy of “juche” — usually translated as “self-reliance.” This is the idea that North Korea can exist as “one nation by itself” although in actual fact, it stays afloat only because of the support of outside patrons like the Soviet Union (then) and China (now.) The aim of this seventh congress is nothing less than "the solidarity of its regime,” Yang Moo-jin, professor at the University of North Korean Studies, told the NK News website. This footage shot by North Korean state media shows schools holding ceremonies to welcome new students at the start of the school year. North Korea is currently preparing for the first congress of its ruling Workers' Party in 36 years. (Reuters) Read more: Just about the only way to escape North Korea is if a relative has already escaped North Korea has new rocket system that could strike Seoul this year, South Korea warns North Korea claims it could wipe out Manhattan with a hydrogen bomb
The camp forced St Paul's to close for the first time since the Blitz and is costing local businesses thousands of pounds a day. But most of the protesters are heading home to sleep in their own beds at night. Infra red images taken by a police helicopter during the early hours show that only around 20 of the 200 tents on the encampment actually have people staying in them. The Daily Telegraph has shot its own video of the St Paul's camp using thermal imaging equipment which appears to confirm these claims. The protesters are aware of the vacancies and allocate empty tents to newcomers and anyone staying for the day. On Monday the revelation was described as a "charade" and pressure was growing on the church and other authorities to evict the camp. "It is like a phantom camp – a big charade," said Matthew Richardson, a Corporation of London councillor, who is calling for action to be taken. "It just shows that most of the people don't have the courage of their convictions and are here just to make trouble and leaving your tent here overnight is a good way to do that." Mr Richardson said it does not bear contemplating that services at St Paul's could be disrupted through Remembrance Sunday and all the way up to Christmas. "If you cannot commemorate the people who died for your right to protest then it is awful and having no services at Christmas would be even worse," he said. He said that the Corporation of London was ready to proceed but that St Paul's, which is losing £20,000-a-day, was holding up any action. "It is just a mess," he said. "My understanding is that the church are the ones that are holding up the process. It is frustrating but they are just muddling through the best they can. "The church has to make a decision and the sooner, the better." Mr Richardson said an emergency meeting of the corporation was being held on Thursday to deal with the occupation. A sign on one of the tents said: "All day, all week, we'll sleep on London's freezing streets. Solidarity." The City of London police said they were not prepared to release the pictures as they were one of a range of techniques used for intelligence purposes. "We are constantly assessing the situation and continue to provide low key policing that facilitates peaceful while minimising disruption to the local community," said a spokesman. Clarification: In common with other newspapers, this article says that police thermal imagery showed that only about 10 per cent of tents in the Occupy London camp were occupied at night. We wish to clarify that this information - backed up the next day by the Telegraph's own thermal imaging video - was based on comments from Councillor Matthew Richardson, which were confirmed by an informed police source.
What’s in a Continuation Many people have heard the word “continuation” because it has something to do with node’s callback hell. I don’t think most people understand what continuations really are, though. They aren’t just a callback function used by async functions. A continuation is a representation of the control flow of your program at any point in time, essentially the stack. In abstract terms, it represents "the rest of your program." In languages like Scheme that expose continuations as first-class values, you can capture the current continuation and invoke it later. When invoked, the current program state is replaced with the state at which the continuation was captured (i.e. the current stack is replaced with the stack from the continuation). Continuations allow you to literally "jump" to different places in your code. They are a low-level primitive that gives you control over execution flow, allowing you implement everything from resumable exceptions to coroutines. Understanding continuations was the best thing I did as a young programmer; it forces you to understand how control flow works. It would be neat to see something like continuations implemented in JavaScript engines because you can implement everything on top of them (note that I said something like, as continuations themselves are very hard to optimize). I'm a fan of low-level primitives for the same reasons as the Extensible Web Manifesto: let users evolve the language over time. I recently ended up implementing continuations in JavaScript. It wasn’t on purpose; I was originally pursuing a way to arbitrarily pause JavaScript in user-land so I could write tutorials and interactive editors. I realized that to arbitrarily pause JS, I would need all the machinery necessary for continuations. The ability to save a stack and resume it later. Eventually I discovered the paper "Exceptional Continuations in JavaScript" and was able to achieve my in-browser stepping debugger by implementing continuations. I wrote more about the backstory of my work at the end of this post. I did most of this work 2 years ago and I'm now polishing it up and publishing it. function foo(x) { console.log(x); if (x <= 0) { return x; } else { return x + foo(x - 1); } } function main() { console.log(foo(3)); } main(); A working stepping debugger! Click on any line to add a breakpoint. And just like that, I realized that I could expose continuations first-class to this special variant of JS, which is way more interesting than my stepping debugger. In this article, I will use my work to explain what continuations are and give you a chance to interact with them. I will explain how it is implemented in the next post. A short version: it transforms all code into a state machine and uses exceptions to save the state of all functions on the stack. This means that every function is transformed into a big switch statement with every expression as separate cases, giving us the ability to arbitrarily jump around. This transform is very similar to what regenerator does, which compiles JavaScript generators to ES5 code. In fact, that project is what motivated this work. Two years ago, I forked regenerator and implemented everything you see here. That means that it doesn't support a lot of recent ES6 features and it's missing a lot of bug fixes. Visit the Unwinder repo to see the code and try it yourself. Warning: this is very prototype quality and many things are ugly. There's a very good chance that you will hit bugs. However, with some polish work this has a chance to become a place where we can explore interesting patterns. A few other caveats: You cannot step through native frames, or use continuations when they are on the stack. If you use the native array forEach and capture the continuation in the callback, things will go badly. This requires all code to be compiled through this transformer if you want to use continuations (normal code can call out to native code just fine, however). This technique favors performance of code that does not use continuations. Capturing continuations is not very fast, but if you are implementing something like a debugger, that doesn't matter. However, if you are implementing advanced control flow operators, you will likely hit performance problems. This is a good place to experiment with them though. Introducing Continuations Let's revisit the definition of a continuation: wikipedia describes it as "an abstract representation of the control state of a computer program. A continuation reifies the program control state…" The key words are control state. This means that when a continuation is created, it contains all the necessary information to resume the program exactly at the point in time which is was created. This is how the stepping debugger works internally. The generated code looks for breakpoints, and when one is hit, it captures the current continuation and stops executing. Resuming is as simple as invoking the saved continuation. Let's have some real fun though and expose continuations as first-class values! In Scheme, you use call-with-current-continuation to capture the current continuation, or the shorthand call/cc . Any experienced Scheme coder is familiar with code like this: ( define (foo) (let ( [x (call/cc ( lambda (cont) (display "captured continuation" ) (cont 5 ) (display "continuation called" ) ) ) ] ) (display "returning x" ) x) ) (display (foo) ) I implemented a callCC function in my special JavaScript variant since it already has all the necessary machinery. Additionally, we can use the stepping debugger to study how continuations affect the control flow. function foo() { var x = callCC(function(cont) { console.log("captured continuation"); cont(5); console.log("continuation called"); }); console.log("returning x", x); return x; } console.log(foo()); A basic example of continuations. This is a very simple example of using a continuation. Click "Run & Ignore Breakpoints" to see what happens. We capture the continuation using callCC , which gives us the continuation as the function cont . We then log "captured continuation" and invoke cont . Note how "continuation called" is never logged. Why is that? Now go back and click "Run" to hit the breakpoint on line 13, and continually click "Step" to step through the program to see what happened. What happens when cont is invoked? It jumps back to line 3! The previous control flow is aborted and the stack when cont was captured is restored. Any arguments passed to continuations replace the call to callCC , as if callCC returned that value. The continuation represents a state of the program where the callCC function is waiting to return a value. Note: While the interface for calling a continuation looks like calling a function, it's quite different. The call to a continuation never returns. While this may be confusing, we will look into alternative continuation interfaces in future posts. Also, continuations are a low-level interface and rarely used directly. Continuations are like portals. If the image below represents your control flow, you can capture the current stack (the blue portal) and jump back to it at any time (the orange portals). The control flow of a program. Jumping through the orange portals will reset the stack to where the blue portal was created. However, just like in the game Portal, these portals do not traverse time. The only thing that a continuation saves is the stack, so any changes to variables will still be seen after jumping through a continuation. Look at what happens with a closure: function foo ( ) { var x = 5 ; var func = function ( ) { return x; }; x = 6 ; return func; } console .log(foo()()) This will print 6 because closures reference the same variable that is mutated later. With continuations, it's the same thing except stack frames are pointing to the variables. We will show examples of this later. Practical Uses Now that you understand the general idea, let's put continuations to good use. This certainly seems powerful, but you might have trouble thinking of problems this solves. In fact, you might be thinking that this would just make programs harder to follow. Abusing continuations definitely makes programs harder to follow. But there are constructs that continuations allow you to build that are generally helpful; break and continue might make your program a little harder to follow, but they solve real problems, just like other control flow operators. Additionally, in a future post we will talk about delimited continuations which force developers to use continuations in a clearer way. The first exercise is to implement the JavaScript some method, which checks if any element in an array passes a predicate check. Importantly, it is "short-circuiting," meaning it stops iterating after finding the first passing element because it doesn't need to check the rest. function some(predicate, arr) { var x = callCC(function(cont) { for (var idx = 0; idx < arr.length; idx++) { console.log('testing', arr[idx]); if(predicate(arr[idx])) { cont(true); } } return false; }); return x; } console.log(some(x => x >= 2, [1, 2, 3, 4])); An implementation of some using continuations. If you run this, you'll notice that it doesn't check 3 or 4 . It stops executing once 2 passes the predicate check. Step through the code and watch how it does that. Of course, we could use break to stop the while loop. But this is a trivial example; it's common to call out to other functions within the loop where you can't break . The native control operators are quite limiting. Continuations, however, allow you to travel across stack frames. For example, let's say you wanted to use forEach method instead of a for loop, because you already use that method everywhere else. Here is the example now: // Note: don't use native forEach so you can step // into this one function forEach(arr, func) { for (var i=0; i < arr.length; i++) { func(arr[i]); } } function some(predicate, arr) { var x = callCC(function(cont) { forEach(arr, function(val) { console.log('testing', val); if(predicate(val)) { cont(true); } }); return false; }); return x; } console.log(some(x => x === 2, [1, 2, 3, 4])); An implementation of some using continuations across stack frames. It works exactly the same way, even if we are calling the predicate within the function passed to forEach . It still short-circuits. Note how we didn't have to change anything about forEach ; we are able to reuse the same method that we already use everywhere else. This highlights a fundamental difference of continuations and anything currently in JavaScript: it suspends the entire stack. Generators suspend code as well, but their yield is shallow. It only suspends one frame, the generator itself. While that makes code clearer, it leads to a proliferation of special syntax across all code and forces a lot of work on the developer over the lifetime of a project. Converting a single sync function to async requires a massive refactoring, changing the interface of every thing that uses it. I recommend reading "What Color is Your Function?" for a great description of this problem. In the next post we will show how having a single function interface (no function* or async function ) and deep stack control greatly improves the reusability and readability of code. Exception Handling Let's get real. The above exercises are pretty stupid. You wouldn't actually use continuations like that; there are much better constructs for looping over values and short-circuiting. Those examples were simple on purpose for illustrative purposes. Now we will implement a new fundamental control construct: exceptions. This shows that continuations allow you implement things previously built-in to the language. Users should be able to throw exceptions and install handlers to catch them. Installed handlers are dynamically scoped for a given section of code: any exception that occurs within a given block of code, even if it comes from an external function, should be caught. Exception handlers must exist as a stack: you can install new handlers that override existing ones for a given period of time, but the previous ones are always restored once the newer ones are "popped" off the stack. So we must manage a stack. The stack is a list of continuations, because when a throw happens we need to be able to jump back to where the try was created. They means in try we need to capture the current continuation, push it on the stack, run the code, and dispatch exceptions. Here is the full implementation of try/catch: var tryStack = []; function Try ( body, handler ) { var ret = callCC( function ( cont ) { tryStack.push(cont); return body(); }); tryStack.pop(); if (ret.__exc) { return handler(ret.__exc); } return ret; } function Throw ( exc ) { if (tryStack.length > 0 ) { tryStack[tryStack.length - 1 ]({ __exc: exc }); } console .log( "unhandled exception" , exc); } The key here is that continuations can be resumed with values. The return body() line will return the final value of the code. At that point no continuation was invoked; it just passes that value through. But if Throw is invoked, it will call the captured continuation with an exception value, which gets assigned to ret , and we check for that type of value and call the handler. (We could do more sophisticated detection of exception types.) Note that we pop the current handler off the stack before calling it, meaning that any exceptions that occur within exception handlers will properly be passed up the handler stack. Here's what it looks like using Try / Catch : function bar ( x ) { if (x < 0 ) { Throw( new Error ( "error!" )); } return x * 2 ; } function foo ( x ) { return bar(x); } Try( function ( ) { console .log(foo( 1 )); console .log(foo( -1 )); }, function ( ex ) { console .log( "caught" , ex); } ); Unfortunately JavaScript does not allow us to extend syntax (although this can be solved with sweet.js macros, as we'll show in future posts). Instead of using blocks we must pass functions into Try . The output of this code would be 2 caught "error!" . The above implementation and example code are loaded into the editor below, with a breakpoint already set at the Try block. Hit "Run & Ignore Breakpoints" to verify the output, and "Run" to break and step through the code to see how it unfolds. var tryStack = []; function Try(body, handler) { var ret = callCC(function(cont) { tryStack.push(cont); return body(); }); console.log('ret is', JSON.stringify(ret)); tryStack.pop(); if(ret.__exc) { return handler(ret.__exc); } return ret; } function Throw(exc) { if(tryStack.length > 0) { tryStack[tryStack.length - 1]({ __exc: exc }); } console.log("unhandled exception", exc); } // Example code: function bar(x) { console.log('x is', x); if(x < 0) { Throw(new Error("error!")); } return x * 2; } function foo(x) { return bar(x); } Try( function() { console.log(foo(1)); console.log(foo(-1)); }, function(ex) { console.log("caught", ex); } ); When x is -1 in bar , it will throw an exception which will be handled by our handler. Step through the code to see. There are far more complicated control constructs that you can implement using continuations, and we will look into many future in a future post. Calling from the Outside So far we have always invoked a continuation inside the callCC call. That means we are always only jumping up the stack, meaning we're trying to jump back to a previous stack frame. There's a name for these kinds of continuations: escape continuations. These are a more limited continuation that can only be called within the dynamic extent of the function passed to callCC (in this case it would be callWithEscapeContinuation or callEC ). A lot of things like exceptions can be implemented only with escape continuations. The reason for the differentiation is performance. Escape continuations don't need to save the entire stack and they can assume that the stack frames at the point of the callEC call will always exist in memory whenever the continuation is invoked. However, my implementation of continuations is full continuations. This is where things really start getting mind-bending. In future posts, we will use this technique to implement features like coroutines. It's worth looking at a simple example for now. Within the callCC call, you can just return the continuation itself: var value = callCC(cont => cont); value will be the continuation, but we don't name it cont because it will be different values later in time when the continuation is invoked. value will be whatever value the continuation is invoked with. We can make this easily reusable by wrapping it into a function: function currentContinuation ( ) { return callCC(cont => cont); } Now we can do things like: function currentContinuation() { return callCC(cont => cont); } function foo() { var value = currentContinuation(); if(typeof value === "function") { console.log("got a continuation!"); // Do some stuff var x = 5; value(x * 2); } else { console.log("computation finished", value); } } foo(); We "fork" the control flow depending on if we got the continuation or a normal value. This is really powerful because it shows that we can invoke a continuation from any point in time, and it all works. The above example is trivial, so in the spirit of attempting to show more value, here is a more complex example. This implements a very basic form of a coroutine that can pause itself and resumed with a value. function currentContinuation ( ) { return callCC(cont => ({ __cont: cont })); } function pause ( ) { var value = currentContinuation(); if (value.__cont) { throw value; } else { return value; } } function run ( func ) { try { return func(); } catch (e) { if (!e.__cont) { throw e; } var exc = e; return { send: function ( value ) { exc.__cont(value); } }; } } When a coroutine calls pause , the continuation is thrown, the scheduler catches it, and returns an object that gives the caller the ability to resume it. A very simple program that uses this: function foo ( ) { var x = pause(); return x * 2 ; } var process = run(foo); if (process.send) { process.send( 10 ); } else { console .log(process); } The check for process.send is needed because our implementation is very naive. It saved the full continuation, which includes the top-level stack at the point when run is called. That means when the process is resumed, the top-level control is restored as well and we will see run return again. Challenge: implement a version where process.send returns the final value instead of forcing the user to handle the return from run multiple times. Here is the full program in an editor that lets you step through: function currentContinuation() { return callCC(cont => ({ __cont: cont })); } function pause() { var value = currentContinuation(); if(value.__cont) { throw value; } else { return value; } } function run(func) { try { return func(); } catch(e) { if(!e.__cont) { throw e; } var exc = e; return { send: function(value) { exc.__cont(value); } }; } } function foo() { var x = pause(); return x * 2; } var process = run(foo); if(process.send) { process.send(10); } else { console.log(process); } The full program with a breakpoint already. Click "run" to study it. In future posts, we will look at more robust techniques for implementing coroutines with continuations. Closing Over Data It's very important to understand that continuations only save the call stack, not any of the data that stack frames may reference. Restoring a continuation does not restore any of the variables that those stack frames use. In this way, think of each stack frame as a closure that simply references those variables, and any external changes will still be seen. This is confusing for beginners, but hopefully this is a simple illustration: function foo() { var x = 5; callCC(function(cont) { x = 6; cont(); }); console.log(x); } foo(); This will log 6 because the change to x is still seen after the continuation is restored. Capturing does not save the value of x . It doesn't matter when the continuation is invoked. If we saved the continuation for later, changed some local variables, and returned from the function, when the continuation is invoked it will still see all the local variable changes. A continuation closes over its data. Note: There may be bugs in my continuation implementation where this is not the case. In my implementation, I have to go out of my way to ensure that data is closed over instead of copied. If changes are need seen from continuations invoked later, that's a bug. The Backstory There's a long history here, but I'll keep it short: In 2011 I worked on an in-browser game editor and I wanted the ability to interactively debug code. Around this time I implemented my own Scheme-inspired language, Outlet, and tried to make it debuggable. I did it with a continuation-passing-style (CPS) transformation, effectively implementing continuations, but this forced me to re-implement stacks and scopes. It was very slow (can't compete with native JS stacks & scopes). I blogged the details here: Compiling to Javascript in CPS, Can We Optimize? The Quest for Javascript CPS: Part 2 In an attempt to use native JS function scoping, I thought about abusing generators to suspend functions. While I still needed to re-implement the stack, at least variables are native and the implementation is much simpler (generators were just landing in JS engines). I called it YPS and it works by yield ing every single expression and running in a special machine. It was horrendously slow. Later @amasad ended up doing exactly this and writing an awesome post about it. In response to my generator-based suspension idea, @msimoni pointed me to the paper "Exceptional Continuations in JavaScript". I realized that what I wanted required all the machinery of continuations, and that paper outlines a technique to implement them without much run-time performance cost. Although capturing continuations is slow, all other code has a minimal perf hit. That paper describes a really neat trick to implement continuations, which gives me the power to arbitrarily jump around code. Unfortunately it requires a sophisticated transformation, but right around this time regenerator came out which implemented a similar transformation! I forked regenerator, implemented continuations, got a stepping debugger working, and then realized that I could expose continuations first-class and be able to do all the things I'm about to show you. (That was around 2 years ago. This project sat on my computer for that time until I resurrected it a few weeks ago.) Next: The Implementation Details I was going to explore the implementation details in this post, but it's already so dense that I am pulling this out into a separate post. Check out the next post if you are interested in details! Explore! I think this is could be a fun playground for playing with various advanced control operators. I'm also pretty proud that I was able to get an in-browser stepping debugger working for interactive tutorials. I will go into more advanced usages of continuations, particularly delimited continuations, in future posts. If you are interested in this, check out unwinder!
Surfing will make its Olympics debut in 2020 and in a bid to be competitive China has sent a team to California to learn the sport (0:44) SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. -- The coach of China's national surfing team is standing on the sand at T Street Beach, watching as his surfers paddle out to the lineup alongside members of the 2017 national champion San Clemente High School surf team. He blows a horn to signify the start of a 30-minute heat and then sits on a towel next to the SCHS coach and begins scoring each ride. "You only need two scores," he reminds the remaining surfers, who will paddle out for the second session. "Take your time. Don't worry about scores. Learn from the other team." Those don't sound like typical coaching directives, but Peter "PT" Townend isn't a typical coach and his is no typical team. Townend grew up in Coolangatta on Australia's Gold Coast and in 1976 became the first pro surfing world champion. For the past 40 years, he's called Southern California home, serving as the associate publisher and advertising director of Surfing Magazine, marketing director for the surf brand Rusty, a TV analyst for surf contests and president of the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association. When his sport was added to the 2020 Olympics, Townend was tapped by the Chinese government to teach swimmers how to surf. Alex Qiu is only 14, but he's one of China's most experienced surfers. Robert Beck for ESPN "Having represented my own country with a bronze medal in the world games in 1972 in San Diego, coached the Americans in 1984 and coached four world champions, it matters to me how surfing enters the Olympics," Townend says. "I feel I owe it to the sport to make sure it's done right. My personal reputation is at stake." As Townend speaks, a set rolls in and surfers on both teams begin dropping into 3-foot waves. "White up!" Townend says, announcing that one of his athletes, who is wearing the white jersey, has caught the first wave. "White down," he says a few seconds later. After a few more attempts, one of the youngest members of the China team, Alex Qiu (pronounced Choo) drops in, pops up successfully, makes a bottom turn and then dives off his board into the surf. With his long hair, Hurley spring suit and Channel Islands surfboard, Qiu looks like any Southern California teenager out for a surf. But despite being only 14, he is one of the most experienced surfers in his country and represents the future of the sport in China. He's grown up watching the World Surf League contests on his phone and wants to eventually surf with the speed and style of his favorite WSL surfer, Kanoa Igarashi. "We're going to see big improvement in these kids quickly," says San Clemente High head coach John Dowell. "In just under 30 minutes, some of them are already figuring it out." Peter Townend, second from right, brought the Chinese surfing team to Southern California to get a taste of the sport's culture and to experience different kinds of waves. Robert Beck for ESPN This trip is the first of what Townend hopes will become an annual pilgrimage to Southern California to meet other surfers, pick up new boards, learn the culture and etiquette of the sport, experience different waves and gain contest experience by holding mock heats like the one with the San Clemente team. This year, seven members of China's national team -- four male and three female, ranging in age from 14 to 26 -- and a support staff traveled for a two-week camp taking place in Huntington Beach and San Clemente. The 30-minute session over, Townend blows the horn to announce the end of the guys' heat. The gals zip their wet suits, do a few last-minute stretches and then grab their boards, taking care to carry them the way they see the California kids carrying theirs. "They've never surfed in wet suits before this trip," Townend says. Townend began traveling to China in 2012 to judge the Silver Dragon Shootout, an independent surf contest held at a tidal bore in the Qiantang River in Hangzhou. "One of the TV channels did a story on me and my involvement in the contest, and in the piece they called me 'the Michael Jordan of surfing,'" he says. "That raised my profile in China." Last August, Townend was in Hangzhou producing the Shootout when the IOC announced surfing would be included in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. The next day, a government official arrived from Beijing to speak with him about the possibility of creating an Olympic surfing program in China, a country with virtually no history with the sport despite the fact that 500 million people live along its 9,000 miles of coastline. He asked Townend to submit his résumé if he was interested in the job. "The officials liked my so-called status of being the first world surfing champ," Townend, an Australian who lives in Southern California, says of being selected to coach the fledgling Chinese national team. Robert Beck for ESPN "There were several other equally qualified names in the hat," Townend says, "but the officials liked my so-called status of being the first world surfing champ." After being selected as coach of the program, Townend flew to China in March for the announcement of the team and then moved into a hotel on the north shore of Hainan, a tropical island at the southernmost tip of China that draws thousands of Chinese and Russian tourists to its beaches every year, to begin his first three-month stint with the team. "The water's like Hawaii where we surf in China," Townend says. "And the island looks like Bali. But these kids might train all day without seeing anyone except a couple fishermen." The first surfers invited into his program were what assistant coach and interpreter Pablo Huang calls "the first generation of Chinese surfers," a handful of 20-something men and women who learned to surf in the past decade from expats visiting Hainan. "I learned to surf on the 8th of October, 2008," Huang says. "I remember the day because that day changed my life." Since that day, and after graduating from the University of Hainan, Huang has continued to surf alongside tourists and a handful of young Chinese kids like Qiu, who grew up on Hainan. Qiu began surfing at age 4 and has since taken surf trips to Bali and Hawaii with his dad. Proficient surfers who speak English, Qiu and Huang were easy selections for the team. Huang, who is 29, acts as an interpreter during international trips as well as Townend's assistant coach. Chinese surfer Huang Yige shows off his ability with a nice little carve. Robert Beck for ESPN "I feel like I am living in a dream," Huang says. "When I started surfing, I just wanted to do radical maneuvers and look good, look cool. I feel like everything that is happening in China is historic and it's very special. I'm honored to be a part of it." What is happening is a gradual but growing understanding of the ocean, something Huang says many Chinese people fear because of a lack of water safety knowledge. "They don't understand the ocean, and girls don't want to get tan because they want to keep their white skin," Huang says. "But that is all recently changing because surfing has become a fashion sport in China. We have an Olympic program, and all the international media exposure highlights the lifestyle and brings a lot more people to the beach to enjoy the fun of surfing." To fill out the remainder of the program, Townend visited a government-run swimming academy -- the one that produced Olympic champion Sun Yang -- in hopes of finding athletes with an interest in learning to surf. "Some of the kids had never seen the ocean," Townend says. "I did some exercises, put them on a skateboard, had them jump to their feet on a surfboard, and whittled them down from 20 to six kids. Then they were told, 'You're not swimmers anymore. Now you're surfers.'" There's just one problem with that plan. Anyone who's stepped on a surfboard knows the process is a bit more complicated than that. Qiu takes a fall, illustrating what Townend says about learning to surf: "You have to go out and get smashed and bashed until you learn. There isn't an accelerated process to learning to catch a wave." Robert Beck for ESPN "The government administration is having a hard time understanding you can't teach the ocean," Townend says. "You have to go out and get smashed and bashed until you learn. There isn't an accelerated process to learning to catch a wave. They think they can apply the mentality of basketball or gymnastics to surfing. They think there is a pixie dust we can sprinkle to get there quicker." The Chinese snowboarding program, which began in 2005 and pulled athletes from martial arts and gymnastics, has yet to produce an Olympic medalist -- and those athletes do not have to learn how to catch the halfpipe. The seemingly impossible challenge is what Eric Crane, owner of Electric sunglasses, says drew him to sponsoring the Chinese team. "PT told me the story and immediately visions of the Jamaican bobsled team and the movie 'Eddie the Eagle' came into my head," Crane says. "If these guys can go from nothing to qualify to compete at the Olympic level, that's a story I want to help come to life. It could be so exciting if told well." For this Olympic cycle, however, it might be more of a fairy tale. Although the Olympic qualifying process is yet to be determined, only 20 men and 20 women will compete in Tokyo. That means two men and two women from each of the top 10 countries likely will qualify. "To be honest, the only way China will qualify [in 2020] is if we put together an international heritage program," Townend says of his directive from the Chinese government to find world-class surfers from around the world who can secure Chinese passports by December. But in the future, that all could change. In October, the program moves into a state-of-the-art high-performance surfing center that is being constructed on the north shore of Hainan, and that will allow the athletes to train when the ocean's flat. So in 2024 or 2028, Townend believes the first Chinese-born surfer could qualify for the Olympics. "I'm on the ground floor of developing a culture in a country," he says. "And I'm coaching one of the top three Olympic nations. It's a challenge, but it's a great challenge. I turn 65 next year. This is probably the last thing I'm really challenged to do."
A new zombie novel by a Harvard Medical School professor has struck a nerve with no less a cult figure than George A. Romero, director of “Night of the Living Dead.” He promises the book will leave readers “chuckling . . . and worrying.” In Dr. Steven C. Schlozman’s “The Zombie Autopsies: Secret Notebooks from the Apocalypse” (Grand Central), one-third of the world’s population has perished, and most of the rest are infected. Martial law has been imposed. Zombie movies, which bear an eerie similarity to media coverage of the plague, have been banned. The bulk of the novel is drawn from the handwritten notes of researcher Dr. Stanley Blum, with drawings (by the real-life Andrea Sparacio) of zombie brains and dissections. It will be a homecoming of sorts for Schlozman when he appears at 6 p.m. March 28 at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline. Two years ago he introduced “Night of the Living Dead” as part of the theater’s Science on the Screen series. That’s when he decided to write a zombie novel. Free tickets are available at Brookline Booksmith. PEN awards In “The Madonnas of Echo Park” (Free Press) by Brando Skyhorse, a cleaning woman, a bus driver, and other Mexican immigrants struggle to find a balance between the need to assimilate and the desire to cling to their homeland. As the undocumented day laborer Hector says on the first page, “[T]he more you lose, the more American you can become.” In(Free Press) by Brando Skyhorse, a cleaning woman, a bus driver, and other Mexican immigrants struggle to find a balance between the need to assimilate and the desire to cling to their homeland. As the undocumented day laborer Hector says on the first page, “[T]he more you lose, the more American you can become.” Skyhorse’s novel, set in the Los Angeles neighborhood where he grew up, is the winner of the 2011 Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award for a distinguished first book of fiction. Ernest Hemingway’s son Patrick will present the award during a ceremony at 3 p.m. Sunday at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Marilynne Robinson will be the keynote speaker. Also to be recognized are the fiction, poetry, and nonfiction winners of the 2011 L.L. Winship/PEN New England Award, given to New England authors or books with a New England setting. Like the title character of his coming-of-age novel “The Chester Chronicles” (Permanent), Cape Cod resident Kermit Moyer was an Army brat, the perennial new kid in town. Connecticut lawyer Charles Douthat’s “Blue for Oceans” (New Haven Review) is a volume of poems touching on the stages of life in an American family. Emerson College professor Jerald Walker charts his trajectory from the poor neighborhoods of Chicago to the halls of academia in the nonfiction winner, “Street Shadows: A Memoir of Race, Rebellion, and Redemption’’ (Bantam). Coming out ■ “Before We Went Wireless: David Edward Hughes FRS: His Life, Inventions and Discoveries (1829-1900) by Ivor Hughes and David Ellis Evans (Images From the Past) by Ivor Hughes and David Ellis Evans (Images From the Past) ■ “Unfamiliar Fishes” by Sarah Vowell (Riverhead) ■ “A Lesson in Secrets” by Jacqueline Winspear (Harper) Pick of the week Annie Philbrick of Bank Square Books in Mystic, Conn., recommends “The Other Life” by Ellen Meister (Putnam): “Quinn, whose artistic mother took her own life, has the ability to travel between two parallel worlds via hidden portals. One world is a safe, suburban existence with her husband and their young son on Long Island. The other is a dramatic life in New York City, a life in which her mother is still very much alive. The premise of these portals may seem strange, but Meister makes it work very well.’’ Annie Philbrick of Bank Square Books in Mystic, Conn., recommendsby Ellen Meister (Putnam): “Quinn, whose artistic mother took her own life, has the ability to travel between two parallel worlds via hidden portals. One world is a safe, suburban existence with her husband and their young son on Long Island. The other is a dramatic life in New York City, a life in which her mother is still very much alive. The premise of these portals may seem strange, but Meister makes it work very well.’’ Jan Gardner can be reached at JanLGardner@yahoo.com. Correction: Because of an editing error, an incorrect time was listed for an event this weekend. Marilynne Robinson will be joined by Joshua Ferris and Ha Jin on Saturday at 2 p.m. to talk about the experience of winning the Hemingway/PEN. To register, visit www.jfklibrary.org. © Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.
Discussions are currently being had on a majority of sports media in Baltimore regarding who is going to be in the Orioles’ starting rotation. One of those players being jockeyed back and forth is Miguel Gonzalez. As a player who was optioned last year, he appears to be a prime candidate for not making the rotation. However, some say Miguel Gonzalez is constantly being overlooked and undervalued as a player. Over 435 IP, Gonzalez has posted a 3.45 ERA. In his final 11 starts in 2014, he posted a 2.19 ERA. Why would a player that has performed that well be excluded from the rotation? With the advent of sabermetrics, there has become a dependency on the Fielding-Independent-Pitching metrics (FIP) as opposed to ERA to measure pitcher value. Analyzing his value with these metrics pens Miguel Gonzalez as a below average pitcher with a 4.59 FIP over his entire career. This discrepancy between ERA and FIP has led to countless articles and discussions (…including myself) on the topic. However, it is important to note that no other player in MLB history has this high of discrepancy with at least 400 IP. However, Miguel Gonzalez’s greatest strength may be his ability to strand runners. This statistic called LOB% measures the ability for a pitcher to strand runners over the course of the season. The league average for this stat is normally around 70-72%. Miguel Gonzalez posts an incredible 80.3 LOB% as a starter, which makes him the greatest starter in this stat in MLB history with a minimum of 400 IP. There are a few other notable pitchers from this time period including: The entire list of pitchers can be found on FanGraphs, but the interesting name that appeared to me was Jim Palmer at a 77.9%. Folks should know that I have a soft spot in my heart for Jim and I consider him to be one of the greatest pitchers of all time. However, his numbers have never been strikingly good for a Fielding-Independent-Pitcher as his K/9 rating sat a pedestrian level of 5.04. He also didn’t show a great deal of command allowing a 2.99 BB/9 which rates about average for a starting pitcher. In fact, he compares very similar to Miguel Gonzalez in terms of the LOB% and BABIP (Batting Average for Balls In Play). The largest discrepancy in performance is Palmer’s mastery in avoiding the longball (…especially grand slams): One of the obvious reasons to explain the LOB% is due to the defense for both Palmer and Gonzalez. With a combination of Brooks, Belanger, and Blair, Palmer obviously had a great defense behind him. However, he still exceeds any other Orioles pitcher during that time in terms of his performance. So we have to search for other possible reasons why Palmer was so much better and use it possibly as a basis to explain Miguel Gonzalez. One possibility might be weak contact that would allow for balls to be more easily played. Unfortunately, batted ball profiles do not exist for Palmer. However, Gonzalez does have this data and we have a subset of modern day pitchers that have a similar LOB%: The numbers for Gonzalez compared to those other pitchers standout specifically in regards to strikeouts and walk rates of the other pitchers being much better. In addition, the other pitchers are posting average to above average ground ball rates, which theoretically should lead to a lower BABIP and LOB%. However, the other statistic that is intriguing is IFFB%, which measures the percentage of infield flyballs (which are normally always outs). With the league average being 9.7%, three of these pitchers display a propensity to to accrue an above average weak flyball. For a long time, there has been assumption placed on groundballs being much better. However, recent work has to be changing that notion to a certain regard indicating that flyball pitchers can be effective. One of the most interesting quotes from this work was: “ALSO, HIGH-IFFB% PITCHERS TEND TO OUT-PERFORM THEIR FIP AND XFIP, WHILE THOSE WITH LOW IFFB% RATES TEND TO UNDERPERFORM.” If that’s the case, then perhaps Miguel Gonzalez being a flyball pitcher with a propensity to get IFFB% is an indication of the ability to get of weak pop-ups. Of course, this doesn’t always happen as he has been hit hard based on HR/FB (11.6%). Jim Palmer obviously did a good job at limiting the home run as well being a flyball pitcher so perhaps this indication of weak contact flyballs should be examined further as we watch the game. Miguel Gonzalez stands as an enigma to many prediction models that rely on fielding-independent-pitching. However, we may need to re-evaluate outliers like Miguel Gonzalez who have consistently outperformed key characteristics such as LOB% and BABIP like other pitcher currently and in the past.
Ever since Man first walked on the moon after that 'giant leap' in 1969, conspiracy theorists have sought to debunk what is one of humanity's greatest achievements. Now, one keen-eyed stargazer is convinced he has seen something strange in a photograph which suggests the sixth and final moon landing, at least, never happened - a figure on the lunar surface who is not wearing a spacesuit. A video uploaded to YouTube by a user named Streetcap1 focuses on an image which purports to show a 'stagehand' reflected in the visor of an astronaut after Apollo 17 landed on the moon in December 1972. On that mission, Eugene Cernan and Harrison 'Jack' Schmitt spent about 22 hours on the surface in the Taurus-Littrow valley, while colleague Ronald Evans orbited overhead. A video uploaded to YouTube by a user named Streetcap1 focuses on an image which purports to show a 'stagehand' reflected in the visor of an astronaut after Apollo 17 landed on the moon in December 1972 On that mission (pictured), Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt spent about 22 hours on the surface in the Taurus-Littrow valley, while colleague Ronald Evans orbited overhead The team carried out a series of experiments including seismic profiling, atmospheric composition analysis and lunar sampling. Or did they? The video clip - which has garnered more than 53,000 views - contains a commentary by Streetcap1, who says of the visor reflection: 'I thought it looked a bit strange, so I took a picture of it using my software. 'What we appear to have here is a figure of a human not wearing a spacesuit. There was some dispute back in 2009 of the legitimacy of these photos.' He describes the strange figure as having 'long hair' and 'wearing some sort of waistcoat'. And concludes: 'Did we make it to the moon? Where's this guy's spacesuit?' The team (above, Harrison 'Jack' Schmitt on the mission) carried out a series of experiments including seismic profiling, atmospheric composition analysis and lunar sampling The Apollo 17 crew returned with 110kg of rock and soil samples, more than was returned from any of the other lunar landing sites The three crewmen arrive aboard the prime recovery ship, U.S.S. Ticonderoga, to conclude the final lunar landing mission in the Apollo programme. Above, Cernan (waving), Schmitt (next to him) and Evans at the back Fact or faked? YouTubers react to the 'stagehand' moon photo LANDINGS FAKED... Leo Dei: I thought 'another astronaut' then checked the astronaut in the reflection has NO life support backpack, while the astronaut in the foreground HAS a life support backpack. Good catch, Streetcap1! You continue to impress. Adrian Lee: Someone definitely there. Looks like they're wearing high-top sneakers and a jacket with a hood. Mathias Weiss: First I thought this is a camera of some sort, because of the form of the casted shadow. But when I looked into it, the Apollo 17 mission took a camera with a small tripod with them, which is not comparable to this figure. LANDINGS REAL... Unum: Hey, geniuses - the guy in the reflection is the other astronaut taking the photo. Brian Chandler: It looks to be photoshopped. Notice the circular line around the person, whether adding or removing not my call to make, original negative needs to be analyzed! willows26: I vote astronaut... the shadow on the ground looks more like an astronaut in a bulky suit. I don't know why some people would much rather buy into the 'studio' conspiracy; Russia would have been all over this had there been an inkling of fraud at the time and I don't recall hearing a thing from them. Apollo mission conspiracy theories answered Why are no stars visible in the Apollo photos? The Apollo landings took place during lunar mornings so the stars were not bright enough to be captured on camera. Who filmed Neil Armstrong take the first steps? A video camera was fixed on an extending arm to swing out and capture the historic moment. Why did the heavy Landing Modules make no impression on the surface, while the astronauts' footprints did? The layer of lunar dust on the rocky moon is thin, so was blown away from the landing area by the descent engines. This dust resettled by the time the astronauts left the module. Why does the flag wave? It was rigged with a rod and wires so that it would look as if it was unfurled and blowing in Apollo photographs. Why didn't the Lunar module show a flame when it took off from the Moon? The fuel used does not produce a flame in a vacuum.
After Republican leaders in Congress failed to destroy the Affordable Care Act last month, President Trump tweeted that the law would “explode.” Now he seems determined to deliver on that prediction through presidential sabotage. Mr. Trump is threatening to kill a program in the A.C.A. that pays health insurers to offer plans with lower deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses to about seven million lower-income and middle-class people. The president thinks that this will get Democrats to negotiate changes to the 2010 health law. This is cruel and incredibly shortsighted. Without these subsidies, health care would be unaffordable for many Americans, including people who voted for Mr. Trump because they were frustrated by high medical costs. These subsidies lower the cost of medical care for people who earn between 100 percent and 250 percent of the federal poverty level. For a family of four, that income is $24,600 to $61,500 a year. For example, the deductible on qualifying Obamacare policies for families living at the poverty line in Charlotte, N.C., would be $1,000, compared with $10,000 for a standard policy, according to government data. In Philadelphia a similar family would have no deductible, compared with a $5,000 deductible for policies without subsidies. The government is expected to spend $7 billion on subsidies in 2017, and nearly 60 percent of the 12.2 million people who bought Obamacare policies for 2017 benefit from them. Conservatives have been trying for years to end these subsidies in an effort to destabilize the A.C.A. House Republicans filed a lawsuit in 2014 to prevent the Obama administration from making these payments to insurers without appropriations from Congress. A Federal District Court ruled in the Republicans’ favor, but President Barack Obama appealed the case and the payments have continued — so far, at least. Mr. Trump has to decide how to proceed.
In 2014 when Russia was hit by the oil price bust, western financial sanctions and some loss of trade with the west and Ukraine ruble naturally begun a dramatic decline against the US dollar. However, as soon as the decline commenced a slew of commentary actually welcomed it, proclaiming it would be a great thing for Russia's manufacturers, particularly exporters. In reality the idea that a weak currency is a good thing is an extremely dubious proposition. All that a weakening ruble means is that the purchasing power of ruble earners on the international market is declining. If ruble weakens against the dollar all this means is that Americans now have a stronger claim to goods and services in Russia and Russians have a weaker claim to goods and services in the US. How is that a good thing for anyone in Russia? The claim is that it at least benefits Russia's "exporters" -- manufacturers who earn (strengthening) dollars but tally their expenses in (weakening) rubles. However, this is rather dubious firstly because there are very few pure exporters. There are very few enterprises that don't need anything from abroad and fewer still which only service foreign markets. By and large Russia's exporters also make sales on the ruble-denominated market. Ruble weakness does nothing for them except create an impetus to orient more of their production for export -- however, if they are successful at that the real loser is the Russian buyer (whether another enterprise or the final consumer) that sees goods that would compete for his rubles instead flow elsewhere to compete for stronger dollars. The Russian buyer is also hurt in another way. Many Russian-made goods he normally buys involve inputs denominated in other currencies. This may be the cost of foreign-made components or materials, or else of foreign-built machines used in the production process. Thus a Russian airline may discover those sleek Sukhoi Superjets it was going to purchase are actually a fair bit more expensive now that its numerous foreign-made components cost twice as much as before and instead opt to rely on its ageing, and spare-parts-hungry, fleet of Boeings a bit longer. (And with fewer buyers in Russia to lead the way, who knows, perhaps also fewer foreign buyers opt for a manufacturer they do not yet know despite the lower, part ruble-based price.) Even in the case of pure exporters advantages are a lot more qualified and conditional than one may think. The standard argument is that a weak domestic currency means a lower production costs calculated in the foreign currency so that the manufacturer-exporter may now lower his selling price and capture more of the market. However, there is no guarantee that is going to work -- there may not be much additional market to capture even at a lower price, and who knows, what if expanding production to actually capture the market really first entails foreign currency expenses such as German or Japanese-built machine tools? In of itself a weak currency is a very mixed and uncertain blessing at best. In fact a depreciating currency is normally associated with a weak economy, not a strong one. It conjures up the image of Italy, Yugoslavia and Zimbabwe rather than of Germany, Netherlands and Japan. Assuming currency isn't declining due to money creation at home the only thing a currency that is falling on the foreign exchange means is that domestic thirst for foreign goods is growing faster than foreign thirst for one's domestic goods. Usually that occurs when a country is falling behind economically and has increasingly relatively less to offer to the outside than it can be offered by the outside. In Russia's case the decline is largely because its key export (oil) is a lot less lucrative than just two years ago. Foreigners can now get what they want from Russia (oil) for far fewer dollars than they could before, but Russians would ideally still import from foreigners as much as before. As a consequence there are fewer dollars chasing an undiminished number of rubles meaning dollar becomes more, and ruble less, expensive. Fortunately this doesn't have to be a permanent condition. For over two months now the ruble has been gaining steadily against the dollar (admittedly from record lows). The oil price rally which is the cause of the move is confusing at least one financial commentator. The well-informed Kenneth Rapoza over at Forbes is befuddled that the oil price is currently going up despite the failure of Doha conference to cap oil production, decreasing demand in China and growing supply by Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran. The oil rally then isn't a sign of oil strength but instead of dollar weakness. The US Federal Reserve begun scaling down its "QE3" money-printing operation in February 2014 and ended it in October 2014. Henceforth it signaled it would instead significantly raise interest rates which would put a further brake on dollar creation. Oil price begun its dramatic decline in mid-2014 and its hit record lows in early 2016 -- just after the Fed delivered the long-anticipated interest rate hike at the end of 2015. The oil price declined due to an end of super-inflationary policies of the US central bank and in anticipation of hard money policies that were being promised at the time. However, the Fed has been dragging its feet on actually delivering. It has only raised the rate once so far and by a miniscule 0.25%. It then promised four more rate hikes in 2016 but it's now the month of May and nothing has happened yet. By and large financial operators still believe the rate increases are coming, albeit at a later date than previously believed. This faith is slowly being shaken, however, and is bound to crumble completely eventually because significant USD rate hikes are in fact not coming. The Fed can not turn off the easy credit without plunging what it pretends is a healthy economy but is actually an inflated Frankenstein hooked to artificial stimulus into a corrective recession -- which is the last thing it wants in an election year. This doesn't solve the problem of oil oversupply but it will ease the pressure on the oil that comes due to anticipation of a hard dollar. This will allow currencies of oil exporters to recover, but only if they don't follow the US into the folly of inflation. Fortunately Putin has recently said he doesn't believe money printing can do anything for Russia's economy and the Central Bank rejected reports it is interested in a weak ruble. Hopefully that is true. A depreciating currency is a very dubious advantage at best, but inflationary policies are unequivocally bad and represent nothing more than a transfer of purchasing power from the poor to the politically connected (but that's a lesson for another time). But by sticking to its guns and continuing the relatively sound laissez-faire and hard money policies Russia stands to profit from the coming dollar weakness (whether it comes on the heels of easy money or a corrective recession). The main problem of Russian industries are not ruble-denominate labor costs. Russian workers always earned far less than workers in more successful industrial economies. The problem of its industries is that they're relatively outdated. And it so happens that the biggest obstacle to modernizing any industry is that this requires an enormous amount of expensive new or re-tooled capital goods. A weak ruble hampers their accumulation because it means Russians have to painstakingly labor to build more of these (and to learn how to build them) on their own, instead of being able to simply lay claim on more of the capital goods that already exists abroad and simply transfer them to Russia. Whatever Russia wants to build -- products that can compete on the foreign markets, or products to displace foreign-made goods on the Russian markets -- a solid purchasing power on the international market that allows it to quickly import a great deal of the machinery and expertise needed is an immense and invaluable boon. Russia can eventually modernize its industry on its own, with a weak ruble. But it can do so much quicker if the oil price and ruble's purchasing power pick up again.
U.S. President Donald Trump waves back to supporters from inside his vehicle as he departs Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., to return to Washington March 19, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque The day after the flaming out of U.S. President Donald Trump’s first major legislative initiative, his supporters across America were lashing out – at conservatives, at Democrats, at leaders of his Republican Party in Congress. Only Trump himself was spared their wrath. Many voters who elected him appeared largely willing to give him a pass on the collapse of his campaign promise to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system, stressing his short time in office. “Being a businessman, he’ll not take ‘no’ for an answer,” said Tony Nappi, a 71-year-old from Trinity, Florida, one of the many disappointed Republicans on his weekend softball team. “He’ll get the job done.” Support for Trump appeared unflagging, from the playing fields of a Republican stronghold in central Florida to the small town diners of North Carolina, the suburbs of Arkansas and the streets of working-class Staten Island in New York City. Rebellion among members of his own party sealed the failure of Trump’s effort to repeal and replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act – known as Obamacare – the signature domestic policy achievement of Democratic former President Barack Obama. Despite casting himself on the campaign trail as “the best dealmaker there is”, Trump could not save the healthcare bill yanked by Republican leaders in the House of Representatives on Friday in an embarrassing turn of events for them and Trump. Objections among Republican moderates and the party’s most conservative lawmakers left leaders short of the votes needed for passage, with Democrats unified in opposition. “He can’t wave a magic wand,” said Ramona Bourdo, 70, a retired nurse, eating breakfast at a McDonald’s in suburban Little Rock, Arkansas. “I’ve not lost confidence in him.” Still, the barista at the Grind Cafe in Morganton, North Carolina, who cannot afford his own insurance and remains on his parents’ plan, felt Trump shared responsibility in the debacle. “I think it’s partially his fault,” said Joel Martin, a 21-year-old Republican and Trump supporter. “I don’t think he has enough personal knowledge to do what he needs to do to get a healthcare bill through Congress.” His hometown, population 17,000, sits within the heavily rural congressional district of Representative Mark Meadows, a North Carolina Republican whose opposition as the head of the conservative House Freedom Caucus helped sink the bill. Sharing in the frustration of loyal Republicans was 82-year-old Jeanette Madison, a registered independent in the New York City borough of Staten Island, who voted for Trump. “I blame the Democrats and Republicans in Congress. They are a bunch of bastards. I’m just fed up,” she said, apologizing for colorful language as she walked her dog down a city street. LESSONS TO LEARN In Florida’s Pasco County, where Trump’s stronger-than-expected showing helped to seal his victory in the largest U.S. battleground state, some fans seized on the silver lining. Neighbors Patti Niehaus, a Democrat, and Margie Hahne, a Republican, agreed that Trump may have needed last week’s crash course in governing, having never before held elected office. “You can’t just go and tell people what to do like he’s used to doing,” said Hahne, 74. “Trump’s got to learn a lot.” Bridging Tampa’s booming suburbs and still rural parts of central Florida, Pasco County lies in a politically decisive swing region of the state along the Interstate 4 highway corridor linking Tampa and Orlando. Trump won 58.4 percent of the vote in the mostly white, working- and middle-class county, surpassing the past two Republican presidential candidates by tens of thousands of votes. His pledge to end Obamacare helped to sway Kelle DeGroat, a 37-year-old nurse, a Republican who is open to other parties. “I thought there was a good plan the way he talked,” said DeGroat, still confident in Trump’s ability to make reform happen. “I was shocked that it didn’t pass.” Other Republicans applauded their leaders for returning to the drawing board, with polls showing the derailed healthcare plan to be unpopular following predictions that it would jeopardize or increase the cost of insurance for millions. Lisa Collins, a 53-year-old teacher with two adult children benefiting from Obamacare, for the first time started calling the region’s elected representatives to voice her opposition. “This is a success that the party listened,” said Collins, a Republican who did not support Trump. “To me, that’s amazing. They represented the average normal guy, the small guy.” (Additional reporting by Greg Lacour in North Carolina, Steve Barnes in Arkansas and Chris Francescani in New York; Editing by Frank McGurty and Mary Milliken)
Two years ago, Republican leaders released a post-mortem analysis of the 2012 election in an effort to better understand how they lost the single woman’s vote by 36 percent. The 100-page report recommended that GOP lawmakers do a better job listening to female voters, remind them of the party’s “historical role in advancing the women’s rights movement,” and fight against the “so-called War on Women.” Look no further than recent GOP-led efforts to expand gun rights on college campuses under the guise of preventing campus sexual assault as evidence that conservative lawmakers have failed to take their own advice. Today, lawmakers in at least 14 states are pushing forward measures that would loosen gun regulations on college campuses. In the last few days a number of them have seized upon the growing public outcry over campus sexual assault to argue that carrying a gun would prevent women from being raped. (So far they’ve been silent on how we might prevent young men – who, of course, would also be allowed to carry a gun – from attempting to rape women in the first place.) Advertisement: Republican Assemblywoman Michele Fiore of Nevada recently told The New York Times: “If these young, hot little girls on campus have a firearm, I wonder how many men will want to assault them. The sexual assaults that are occurring would go down once these sexual predators get a bullet in their head.” (Really? Hot little girls?) And as the Times highlighted, Florida Representative Dennis Baxley jumped on the “stop campus rape” bandwagon recently when he successfully lobbied for a bill that would allow students to carry loaded, concealed weapons. “If you’ve got a person that’s raped because you wouldn’t let them carry a firearm to defend themselves, I think you’re responsible,” he said. Let’s be clear. People aren’t raped because they aren’t carrying firearms. They are raped because someone rapes them. What a sinister new twist on victim blaming. As if anything positive could come from adding loaded weapons to the already toxic mix of drugs, alcohol, masculine group think, and the rape culture endemic in college sports and Greek life on campuses around the country. These lawmakers have appropriated the battle cry of students who are demanding more accountability from academic institutions to prevent and respond to campus sexual assault. It’s a vain attempt to advance their own conservative agenda of liberalizing gun laws. This is an NRA agenda, not a women’s rights agenda. According to Everytown for Gun Safety, each of the lawmakers who have supported such legislation has received an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association (NRA). They have enjoyed endorsements from the NRA during election years and some – including Fiore and Baxley – received campaign contributions from the organization. These lawmakers are pointing to the demands of a handful of women who have survived sexual assault and are advocating for liberalized campus gun laws. The experiences of these students are real and deserve to be heard and considered as we debate how to make campuses safer. We must also recognize that these students are outliers. Surveys have shown that nearly 80 percent of college students say they would not feel safe if guns were allowed on campus, and according to the Times, 86 percent of women said they were opposed to having weapons on campus. And for good reason. Research shows that guns do not make women safer. In fact, just the opposite is true. Over the past 25 years, guns have accounted for more intimate partner homicides than all other weapons combined. In states that that require a background check for every handgun sale, 38 percent fewer women are shot to death by intimate partners. The presence of a gun in a domestic violence situation increases the risk of homicide for women by 500 percent. And women in the United States are 11 times more likely than women from other high-income countries to be murdered with a gun. Guns on college campuses would only make these statistics worse. If the GOP wants to show they care about women – or at the very least care about their votes – this is just one of the realities they need to acknowledge. And they need to listen to the experiences of all women who have experienced sexual assault – like those who have created the powerful Know Your IX campaign – not just those who will help advance their NRA-sponsored agenda.
Classical music is art music produced or rooted in the traditions of Western culture, including both liturgical (religious) and secular music. While a more precise term is also used to refer to the period from 1750 to 1820 (the Classical period), this article is about the broad span of time from before the 6th century AD to the present day, which includes the Classical period and various other periods.[1] The central norms of this tradition became codified between 1550 and 1900, which is known as the common-practice period. The major time divisions of Western art music are as follows: European art music is largely distinguished from many other non-European classical and some popular musical forms by its system of staff notation, in use since about the 11th century.[2][not in citation given] Catholic monks developed the first forms of modern European musical notation in order to standardize liturgy throughout the worldwide Church. Western staff notation is used by composers to indicate to the performer the pitches (which form the melodies, basslines and chords), tempo, metre and rhythms for a piece of music.[clarification needed] This can leave less room for practices such as improvisation and ad libitum ornamentation, which are frequently heard in non-European art music and in popular-music[3][clarification needed][4][not in citation given][5] styles such as jazz and blues. Another difference is that whereas most popular styles adopt the song (strophic) form or a derivation of this form, classical music has been noted for its development of highly sophisticated forms of instrumental music such as the symphony, concerto, fugue, sonata, and mixed vocal and instrumental styles such as opera, cantata, and mass.[6] The term "classical music" did not appear until the early 19th century, in an attempt to distinctly canonize the period from Johann Sebastian Bach to Ludwig van Beethoven as a golden age.[7] The earliest reference to "classical music" recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is from about 1829.[1][8] Characteristics [ edit ] Given the wide range of styles in European classical music, from Medieval plainchant sung by monks to Classical and Romantic symphonies for orchestra from the 1700s and 1800s to avant-garde atonal compositions for solo piano from the 1900s, it is difficult to list characteristics that can be attributed to all works of that type. However, there are characteristics that classical music contains that few or no other genres of music contain,[9] such as the use of music notation[clarification needed] and the performance of complex forms of solo instrumental works (e.g., the fugue). Furthermore, while the symphony did not exist prior to the late 18th century, the symphony ensemble—and the works written for it—have become a defining feature of classical music.[citation needed] Literature [ edit ] The key characteristic of European classical music that distinguishes it from popular music and folk music is that the repertoire tends to be written down in musical notation, creating a musical part or score. This score typically determines details of rhythm, pitch, and, where two or more musicians (whether singers or instrumentalists) are involved, how the various parts are coordinated. The written quality of the music has enabled a high level of complexity within them: fugues, for instance, achieve a remarkable marriage of boldly distinctive melodic lines weaving in counterpoint yet creating a coherent harmonic logic that would be difficult to achieve in the heat of live improvisation.[10][clarification needed] The use of written notation also preserves a record of the works and enables Classical musicians to perform music from many centuries ago. Musical notation enables 2000s-era performers to sing a choral work from the 1300s Renaissance era or a 1700s Baroque concerto with many of the features of the music (the melodies, lyrics, forms, and rhythms) being reproduced.[citation needed] That said, the score does allow the interpreter to make choices on how to perform a historical work.[citation needed] For example, if the tempo is written with an Italian instruction (e.g., Allegro), it is not known exactly how fast the piece should be played. As well, in the Baroque era, many works that were designed for basso continuo accompaniment do not specify which instruments should play the accompaniment or exactly how the chordal instrument (harpsichord, lute, etc.) should play the chords, which are not notated in the part[clarification needed] (only a figured bass symbol in the bass part is used to guide the chord-playing performer). The performer and the conductor have a range of options for musical expression and interpretation of a scored piece, including the phrasing of melodies, the time taken during fermatas (held notes) or pauses, and the use (or choice not to use) of effects such as vibrato or glissando (these effects are possible on various stringed, brass and woodwind instruments and with the human voice). Although Classical music in the 2000s has lost most of its tradition for musical improvisation, from the Baroque era to the Romantic era, there are examples of performers who could improvise in the style of their era. In the Baroque era, organ performers would improvise preludes, keyboard performers playing harpsichord would improvise chords from the figured bass symbols beneath the bass notes of the basso continuo part and both vocal and instrumental performers would improvise musical ornaments.[11] Johann Sebastian Bach was particularly noted for his complex improvisations.[12] During the Classical era, the composer-performer Mozart was noted for his ability to improvise melodies in different styles.[13] During the Classical era, some virtuoso soloists would improvise the cadenza sections of a concerto. During the Romantic era, Beethoven would improvise at the piano.[14] For more information, see Improvisation. Instrumentation and vocal practices [ edit ] The instruments currently used in most classical music were largely invented before the mid-19th century (often much earlier) and systematised in the 18th and 19th centuries. They consist of the instruments found in an orchestra or in a concert band, together with several other solo instruments (such as the piano, harpsichord, and organ). The symphony orchestra is the most widely known medium for classical music[15][not in citation given] and includes members of the string, woodwind, brass, and percussion families of instruments. The concert band consists of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion families. It generally has a larger variety and number of woodwind and brass instruments than the orchestra but does not have a string section. However, many concert bands use a double bass. The vocal practices changed over the classical period, from the single line monophonic Gregorian chant done by monks in the Medieval period to the complex, polyphonic choral works of the Renaissance and subsequent periods, which used multiple independent vocal melodies at the same time. Medieval music [ edit ] Many of the instruments used to perform medieval music still exist, but in different forms. Medieval instruments included the flute, the recorder and plucked string instruments like the lute. As well, early versions of the organ and fiddle (or vielle) existed. Medieval instruments in Europe had most commonly been used singly, often self accompanied with a drone note, or occasionally in parts. From at least as early as the 13th century through the 15th century there was a division of instruments into haut (loud, shrill, outdoor instruments) and bas (quieter, more intimate instruments). During the earlier medieval period, the vocal music from the liturgical genre, predominantly Gregorian chant, was monophonic, using a single, unaccompanied vocal melody line.[17] Polyphonic vocal genres, which used multiple independent vocal melodies, began to develop during the high medieval era, becoming prevalent by the later 13th and early 14th century. Renaissance music [ edit ] Many instruments originated during the Renaissance; others were variations of, or improvements upon, instruments that had existed previously. Some have survived to the present day; others have disappeared, only to be re-created in order to perform music on period instruments. As in the modern day, instruments may be classified as brass, strings, percussion, and woodwind. Brass instruments in the Renaissance were traditionally played by professionals who were members of Guilds and they included the slide trumpet, the wooden cornet, the valveless trumpet and the sackbut. Stringed instruments included the viol, the rebec, the harp-like lyre, the hurdy-gurdy, the lute, the guitar, the cittern, the bandora, and the orpharion. Keyboard instruments with strings included the harpsichord and the virginals.[clarification needed] Percussion instruments include the triangle, the Jew's harp, the tambourine, the bells, the rumble-pot, and various kinds of drums. Woodwind instruments included the double reed shawm, the reed pipe, the bagpipe, the transverse flute, the recorder, the dulcian, and the crumhorn. Vocal music in the Renaissance is noted for the flourishing of an increasingly elaborate polyphonic style. The principal liturgical forms which endured throughout the entire Renaissance period were masses and motets, with some other developments towards the end, especially as composers of sacred music began to adopt secular forms (such as the madrigal) for their own designs. Towards the end of the period, the early dramatic precursors of opera such as monody, the madrigal comedy, and the intermedio are seen. Around 1597, Italian composer Jacopo Peri wrote Dafne, the first work to be called an opera today. He also composed Euridice, the first opera to have survived to the present day. Baroque music [ edit ] Baroque instruments included some instruments from the earlier periods (e.g., the hurdy-gurdy and recorder) and a number of new instruments (e.g, the oboe, bassoon, cello, contrabass and fortepiano). Some instruments from previous eras fell into disuse, such as the shawm and the wooden cornet. The key Baroque instruments for strings included the violin, viol, viola, viola d'amore, cello, contrabass, lute, theorbo (which often played the basso continuo parts), mandolin, cittern, Baroque guitar, harp and hurdy-gurdy. Woodwinds included the Baroque flute, Baroque oboe, rackett, recorder and the bassoon. Brass instruments included the cornett, natural horn, Baroque trumpet, serpent and the trombone. Keyboard instruments included the clavichord, the harpsichord, the pipe organ, and, later in the period, the fortepiano (an early version of the piano). Percussion instruments included the timpani, snare drum, tambourine and the castanets. One major difference between Baroque music and the classical era that followed it is that the types of instruments used in Baroque ensembles were much less standardized. Whereas a classical era string quartet consists almost exclusively of two violins, a viola and a cello, a Baroque or Classical-era group accompanying a soloist or opera[non sequitur] could include one of several different types of keyboard instruments (e.g., pipe organ, harpsichord, or clavichord),[citation needed] additional stringed chordal instruments (e.g., a lute) and an unspecified number of bass instruments performing the basso continuo, including bowed strings, woodwinds and brass instruments (e.g., a cello, contrabass, viol, bassoon, serpent, etc.). Vocal developments in the Baroque era included the development of opera types such as opera seria and opéra comique, and related forms such as oratorios and cantatas.[18][19] Classical music [ edit ] The term "classical music" has two meanings: the broader meaning includes all Western art music from the Medieval era to the 2000s, and the specific meaning refers to the art music from the 1750s to the early 1820s—the period of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Joseph Haydn, and Ludwig van Beethoven. This section is about the more specific meaning. Classical era musicians continued to use many of instruments from the Baroque era, such as the cello, contrabass, recorder, trombone, timpani, fortepiano (the precursor to the modern piano) and organ. While some Baroque instruments fell into disuse (e.g., the theorbo and rackett), many Baroque instruments were changed into the versions that are still in use today, such as the Baroque violin (which became the violin), the Baroque oboe (which became the oboe) and the Baroque trumpet, which transitioned to the regular valved trumpet. During the Classical era, the stringed instruments used in orchestra and chamber music such as string quartets were standardized as the four instruments which form the string section of the orchestra: the violin, viola, cello and double bass. Baroque-era stringed instruments such as fretted, bowed viols were phased out. Woodwinds included the basset clarinet, basset horn, clarinette d'amour, the Classical clarinet, the chalumeau, the flute, oboe and bassoon. Keyboard instruments included the clavichord and the fortepiano. While the harpsichord was still used in basso continuo accompaniment in the 1750s and 1760s, it fell out of use in the end of the century. Brass instruments included the buccin, the ophicleide (a replacement for the bass serpent, which was the precursor of the tuba) and the natural horn. Romantic music [ edit ] In the Romantic era, the modern piano, with a more powerful, sustained tone and a wider range took over from the more delicate-sounding fortepiano. In the orchestra, the existing Classical instruments and sections were retained (string section, woodwinds, brass and percussion), but these sections were typically expanded to make a fuller, bigger sound. For example, while a Baroque orchestra may have had two double bass players, a Romantic orchestra could have as many as ten. "As music grew more expressive, the standard orchestral palette just wasn't rich enough for many Romantic composers." [20] New woodwind instruments were added, such as the contrabassoon, bass clarinet and piccolo and new percussion instruments were added, including xylophones, snare drums, celestas (a bell-like keyboard instrument), bells, and triangles,[20] large orchestral harps, and even wind machines for sound effects. Saxophones appear in some scores from the late 19th century onwards. While appearing only as featured solo instruments in some works, for example Maurice Ravel's orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition and Sergei Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances, the saxophone is included in other works, such as Ravel's Boléro, Sergei Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet Suites 1 and 2 and many other works as a member of the orchestral ensemble. The euphonium is featured in a few late Romantic and 20th-century works, usually playing parts marked "tenor tuba", including Gustav Holst's The Planets, and Richard Strauss's Ein Heldenleben. The Wagner tuba, a modified member of the horn family, appears in Richard Wagner's cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen and several other works by Strauss, Béla Bartók, and others; it has a prominent role in Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 7 in E Major.[21] Cornets appear in Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake, Claude Debussy's La mer, and several orchestral works by Hector Berlioz.[clarification needed] Unless these instruments are played by members doubling on another instrument (for example, a trombone player changing to euphonium for a certain passage), orchestras will use freelance musicians to augment their regular rosters.[citation needed] Modernist music [ edit ] Modernism in music is a philosophical and aesthetic stance underlying the period of change and development in musical language that occurred from 1890 to 1930, a period of diverse reactions in challenging and reinterpreting older categories of music, innovations that lead to new ways of organizing and approaching harmonic, melodic, sonic, and rhythmic aspects of music, and changes in aesthetic worldviews in close relation to the larger identifiable period of modernism in the arts of the time. The operative word most associated with it is "innovation". Its leading feature is a "linguistic plurality", which is to say that no single music genre ever assumed a dominant position. Contemporary classical music [ edit ] Contemporary classical music is the period that came into prominence in the mid-1970s. It includes different variations of modernist, postmodern, neoromantic, and pluralist music.[24] However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 musical forms.[25] Postmodern music [ edit ] Postmodern music is a period of music that began around 1930.[26][27] It shares characteristics with postmodernist art – that is, art that comes after and reacts against modernism. Post-postmodern instrumentation [ edit ] Many instruments that in the 2010s are associated with popular music filled important roles in early music, such as bagpipes, theorbos, vihuelas, hurdy-gurdies (hand-cranked string instruments), accordions, alphorns, hydraulises, calliopes, sistrums, and some woodwind instruments such as tin whistles, panpipes, shawms and crumhorns. On the other hand, instruments such as the acoustic guitar, once associated mainly with popular music, gained prominence in classical music in the 19th and 20th centuries in the form of the classical guitar and banjo. While equal temperament gradually became accepted as the dominant musical temperament during the 19th century, different historical temperaments are often used for music from earlier periods. For instance, music of the English Renaissance is often performed in meantone temperament. As well, while professional orchestras and pop bands all around the world have tuned to an A fixed at 440 Hz since the late 19th century, there was historically a great variety in the tuning pitch, as attested to in historical pipe organs that still exist.[28][unreliable source?] Performance [ edit ] Performers who have studied classical music extensively are said to be "classically trained". This training may come from private lessons from instrument or voice teachers or from completion of a formal program offered by a Conservatory, college or university, such as a Bachelor of Music or Master of Music degree (which includes individual lessons from professors). In classical music, "...extensive formal music education and training, often to postgraduate [Master's degree] level" is required.[29] Performance of classical music repertoire requires a proficiency in sight-reading and ensemble playing, harmonic principles, strong ear training (to correct and adjust pitches by ear), knowledge of performance practice (e.g., Baroque ornamentation), and a familiarity with the style/musical idiom expected for a given composer or musical work (e.g., a Brahms symphony or a Mozart concerto).[citation needed] Some "popular" genre musicians have had significant classical training, such as Billy Joel, Elton John, the Van Halen brothers, Randy Rhoads, Ritchie Blackmore, and Dream Theater members.[citation needed] Moreover, formal training is not unique to the classical genre. Many rock and pop musicians have completed degrees in commercial music programs such as those offered by the Berklee College of Music and many jazz musicians have completed degrees in music from universities with jazz programs, such as the Manhattan School of Music and McGill University.[citation needed] Gender of performers [ edit ] Historically, major professional orchestras have been mostly or entirely composed of musicians who are men. Some of the earliest cases of women being hired in professional orchestras was in the position of harpist. The Vienna Philharmonic, for example, did not accept women to permanent membership until 1997, far later than the other orchestras ranked among the world's top five by Gramophone in 2008.[30] The last major orchestra to appoint a woman to a permanent position was the Berlin Philharmonic.[31] As late as February 1996, the Vienna Philharmonic's principal flute, Dieter Flury, told Westdeutscher Rundfunk that accepting women would be "gambling with the emotional unity (emotionelle Geschlossenheit) that this organism currently has".[32] In April 1996, the orchestra's press secretary wrote that "compensating for the expected leaves of absence" of maternity leave would be a problem.[33] In 1997, the Vienna Philharmonic was "facing protests during a [US] tour" by the National Organization for Women and the International Alliance for Women in Music. Finally, "after being held up to increasing ridicule even in socially conservative Austria, members of the orchestra gathered [on 28 February 1997] in an extraordinary meeting on the eve of their departure and agreed to admit a woman, Anna Lelkes, as harpist."[34] As of 2013, the orchestra has six female members; one of them, violinist Albena Danailova became one of the orchestra's concertmasters in 2008, the first woman to hold that position.[35] In 2012, women still made up just 6% of the orchestra's membership. VPO president Clemens Hellsberg said the VPO now uses completely screened blind auditions.[36] In 2013, an article in Mother Jones stated that while "[m]any prestigious orchestras have significant female membership—women outnumber men in the New York Philharmonic's violin section—and several renowned ensembles, including the National Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony, and the Minnesota Symphony, are led by women violinists", the double bass, brass, and percussion sections of major orchestras "...are still predominantly male."[37] A 2014 BBC article stated that the "...introduction of 'blind' auditions, where a prospective instrumentalist performs behind a screen so that the judging panel can exercise no gender or racial prejudice, has seen the gender balance of traditionally male-dominated symphony orchestras gradually shift."[38] Complexity [ edit ] Works of classical repertoire often exhibit complexity in their use of orchestration, counterpoint, harmony, musical development, rhythm, phrasing, texture, and form. Whereas most popular styles are usually written in song form, classical music is noted for its development of highly sophisticated instrumental musical forms,[6] like the concerto, symphony and sonata. Classical music is also noted for its use of sophisticated vocal/instrumental forms, such as opera.[citation needed] In opera, vocal soloists and choirs perform staged dramatic works with an orchestra providing accompaniment. Longer instrumental works are often divided into self-contained pieces, called movements, often with contrasting characters or moods. For instance, symphonies written during the Classical period are usually divided into four movements: (1) an opening Allegro in sonata form, (2) a slow movement, (3) a minuet or scherzo (in a triple metre, such as 3/4), and (4) a final Allegro. These movements can then be further broken down into a hierarchy of smaller units: first sections, then periods, and finally phrases. History [ edit ] Music notation from an early 14th-century English Missal , featuring the head of Christ. Catholic monks developed the first forms of modern European musical notation in order to standardize liturgy throughout the worldwide Church. The major time divisions of classical music up to 1900 are the Early music period, which includes Medieval (500–1400) and Renaissance (1400–1600) eras, and the Common practice period, which includes the Baroque (1600–1750), Classical (1750–1820) and Romantic (1810–1910) eras.} The current period encompasses the 20th century (1901–2000) and includes most of the Early modern musical era (1890–1930), the entire High modern (mid 20th-century), and the first part of the Contemporary (1945 or 1975–current) or Postmodern musical era (1930–current). The 21st century has so far been a continuation of the same period and the same Contemporary/Postmodern musical era which both began mostly in the 20th-century. The dates are generalizations, since the periods and eras overlap and the categories are somewhat arbitrary, to the point that some authorities reverse terminologies and refer to a common practice "era" comprising baroque, classical, and romantic "periods".[40] For example, the use of counterpoint and fugue, which is considered characteristic of the Baroque era (or period), was continued by Haydn, who is classified as typical of the Classical era. Beethoven, who is often described as a founder of the Romantic era, and Brahms, who is classified as Romantic, also used counterpoint and fugue, but the romantic and sometimes yearning qualities of their music define their era. The prefix neo- is used to describe a 19th-, 20th-, or 21st-century composition written in the style of an earlier era, such as Classical or Romantic. Stravinsky's Pulcinella, for example, is a neoclassical composition because it is stylistically similar to works of the Baroque era.[clarification needed] Roots [ edit ] Burgh (2006), suggests that the roots of Western classical music ultimately lie in ancient Egyptian art music via cheironomy and the ancient Egyptian orchestra, which dates to 2695 BC.[41] The development of individual tones and scales was made by ancient Greeks such as Aristoxenus and Pythagoras.[42] Pythagoras created a tuning system and helped to codify musical notation. Ancient Greek instruments such as the aulos (a reed instrument) and the lyre (a stringed instrument similar to a small harp) eventually led to the modern-day instruments of a classical orchestra.[43] The antecedent to the early period was the era of ancient music before the fall of the Roman Empire (476 AD). Early period [ edit ] The Medieval period includes music from after the fall of Rome to about 1400. Monophonic chant, also called plainsong or Gregorian chant, was the dominant form until about 1100.[44] Catholic monks developed the first forms of modern European musical notation in order to standardize liturgy throughout the worldwide Church.[45][46] Polyphonic (multi-voiced) music developed from monophonic chant throughout the late Middle Ages and into the Renaissance, including the more complex voicings of motets. The Renaissance era was from 1400 to 1600. It was characterized by greater use of instrumentation, multiple interweaving melodic lines, and the use of the first bass instruments. Social dancing became more widespread, so musical forms appropriate to accompanying dance began to standardize. It is in this time that the notation of music on a staff and other elements of musical notation began to take shape.[47] This invention made possible the separation of the composition of a piece of music from its transmission; without written music, transmission was oral, and subject to change every time it was transmitted. With a musical score, a work of music could be performed without the composer's presence.[44] The invention of the movable-type printing press in the 15th century had far-reaching consequences on the preservation and transmission of music.[48] Typical stringed instruments of the early period include the harp, lute, vielle, and psaltery, while wind instruments included the flute family (including recorder), shawm (an early member of the oboe family), trumpet, and the bagpipes. Simple pipe organs existed, but were largely confined to churches, although there were portable varieties.[49] Later in the period, early versions of keyboard instruments like the clavichord and harpsichord began to appear. Stringed instruments such as the viol had emerged by the 16th century, as had a wider variety of brass and reed instruments. Printing enabled the standardization of descriptions and specifications of instruments, as well as instruction in their use.[50] Notable Medieval composers include Hildegard of Bingen, Guillaume de Machaut, Léonin, Pérotin, Philippe de Vitry, Francesco Landini, and Johannes Ciconia. Notable Renaissance composers include Josquin des Prez, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, John Dunstaple, Johannes Ockeghem, Orlande de Lassus, Guillaume Du Fay, Gilles Binchois, Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, Giovanni Gabrieli, Carlo Gesualdo, John Dowland, Jacob Obrecht, Adrian Willaert, Jacques Arcadelt, and Cipriano de Rore. Common-practice period [ edit ] The common practice period is usually defined as the era between the formation and the dissolution of the hegemony[citation needed] of common-practice tonality. The term usually spans roughly two-and-a-half centuries, encompassing the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods. Baroque music [ edit ] Baroque music is characterized by the use of complex tonal counterpoint and the use of a basso continuo, a continuous bass line. Music became more complex in comparison with the simple songs of all previous periods.[15] The beginnings of the sonata form took shape in the canzona, as did a more formalized notion of theme and variations. The tonalities of major and minor as means for managing dissonance and chromaticism in music took full shape.[51] During the Baroque era, keyboard music played on the harpsichord and pipe organ became increasingly popular, and the violin family of stringed instruments took the form generally seen today. Opera as a staged musical drama began to differentiate itself from earlier musical and dramatic forms, and vocal forms like the cantata and oratorio became more common.[52] Vocalists for the first time began adding extra notes to the music.[15] Instrumental ensembles began to distinguish and standardize by size[clarification needed], giving rise to the early orchestra for larger ensembles, with chamber music being written for smaller groups of instruments where parts are played by individual (instead of massed) instruments. The concerto as a vehicle for solo performance[clarification needed] accompanied by an orchestra became widespread. The theories surrounding equal temperament began to be put in wider practice, especially as it enabled a wider range of chromatic possibilities in hard-to-tune keyboard instruments. Although Bach did not use equal temperament, as a modern piano is generally tuned, changes in the temperaments from the meantone system, common at the time, to various temperaments that made modulation between all keys musically acceptable, made possible Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier.[53] Important composers of this era include Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, George Frideric Handel, Henry Purcell, Claudio Monteverdi, Domenico Scarlatti, Georg Philipp Telemann, Arcangelo Corelli, Alessandro Scarlatti, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Jean-Baptiste Lully, and Heinrich Schütz. Classical-era (or -period) music [ edit ] The Classical era, from about 1750 to 1820, established many of the norms of composition, presentation, and style, and was also when the piano became the predominant keyboard instrument. The basic forces required for an orchestra became somewhat standardized (although they would grow as the potential of a wider array of instruments was developed in the following centuries). Chamber music grew to include ensembles with as many as 8 to 10 performers for serenades. Opera continued to develop, with regional styles in Italy, France, and German-speaking lands. The opera buffa, a form of comic opera, rose in popularity. The symphony came into its own as a musical form, and the concerto was developed as a vehicle for displays of virtuoso playing skill. Orchestras no longer required a harpsichord (which had been part of the traditional continuo in the Baroque style), and were often led by the lead violinist (now called the concertmaster).[54] Wind instruments became more refined in the Classical era. While double-reed instruments like the oboe and bassoon became somewhat standardized in the Baroque, the clarinet family of single reeds was not widely used until Mozart expanded its role in orchestral, chamber, and concerto settings.[55] Major composers of this period include Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Joseph Haydn, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Johann Christian Bach, Luigi Boccherini, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Muzio Clementi, Antonio Salieri, and Johann Nepomuk Hummel. Romantic-era music [ edit ] The music of the Romantic era, from roughly the first decade of the 19th century to the early 20th century, was characterized by increased attention to an extended melodic line, as well as expressive and emotional elements, paralleling romanticism in other art forms. Musical forms began to break from the Classical era forms (even as those were being codified), with free-form pieces like nocturnes, fantasias, and preludes being written where accepted ideas about the exposition and development of themes were ignored or minimized.[56] The music became more chromatic, dissonant, and tonally colorful, with tensions (with respect to accepted norms of the older forms) about key signatures increasing.[57] The art song (or Lied) came to maturity in this era, as did the epic scales of grand opera, ultimately transcended by Richard Wagner's Ring cycle.[58] In the 19th century, musical institutions emerged from the control of wealthy patrons, as composers and musicians could construct lives independent of the nobility. Increasing interest in music by the growing middle classes throughout western Europe spurred the creation of organizations for the teaching, performance, and preservation of music. The piano, which achieved its modern construction in this era (in part due to industrial advances in metallurgy) became widely popular with the middle class, whose demands for the instrument spurred a large number of piano builders. Many symphony orchestras date their founding to this era.[57] Some musicians and composers were the stars of the day; some, like Franz Liszt and Niccolò Paganini, fulfilled both roles.[59] The family of instruments used, especially in orchestras, grew. A wider array of percussion instruments began to appear. Brass instruments took on larger roles, as the introduction of rotary valves made it possible for them to play a wider range of notes. The size of the orchestra (typically around 40 in the Classical era) grew to be over 100.[57] Gustav Mahler's 1906 Symphony No. 8, for example, has been performed with over 150 instrumentalists and choirs of over 400.[60] European cultural ideas and institutions began to follow colonial expansion into other parts of the world. There was also a rise, especially toward the end of the era, of nationalism in music (echoing, in some cases, political sentiments of the time), as composers such as Edvard Grieg, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Antonín Dvořák echoed traditional music of their homelands in their compositions.[61] Prominent composers of this era include Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Frédéric Chopin, Hector Berlioz, Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn, Franz Liszt, Giuseppe Verdi, Richard Wagner, Johannes Brahms, and Johann Strauss II. Prominent composers of the early 20th century include Igor Stravinsky, Claude Debussy, Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Prokofiev, Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern, Alban Berg, Aram Khachaturian, George Gershwin, Edvard Grieg, and Béla Bartók. Although composers of this time can be considered Romantic, usually their works are not in the style of the period.[clarification needed] 20th and 21st centuries [ edit ] Modern, high modern, post-modern, post-postmodern, or contemporary music [ edit ] Encompassing a wide variety of post-Romantic styles composed through the year 2000, 20th-century classical music includes late romantic, impressionist, neoclassical, neoromantic, neomedieval, and postmodern styles of composition. Modernism (1890–1930) marked an era when many composers rejected certain values of the common practice period, such as traditional tonality, melody, instrumentation, and structure. The high-modern era saw the emergence of neo-classical and serial music. A few authorities have claimed high-modernism as the beginning of postmodern music from about 1930.[26][not in citation given][27][not in citation given] Others have more or less equated postmodern music with the "contemporary music" composed from the late 20th century through to the early 21st century.[62][63] Women in classical music [ edit ] Almost all of the composers who are described in music textbooks on classical music and whose works are widely performed as part of the standard concert repertoire are male composers, even though there has been a large number of women composers throughout the classical music period. Musicologist Marcia Citron has asked "[w]hy is music composed by women so marginal to the standard 'classical' repertoire?"[64] Citron "examines the practices and attitudes that have led to the exclusion of women composers from the received 'canon' of performed musical works." She argues that in the 1800s, women composers typically wrote art songs for performance in small recitals rather than symphonies intended for performance with an orchestra in a large hall, with the latter works being seen as the most important genre for composers; since women composers did not write many symphonies, they were deemed to be not notable as composers.[64] In the "...Concise Oxford History of Music, Clara S[c]humann is one of the only [sic] female composers mentioned."[65] Abbey Philips states that "[d]uring the 20th century the women who were composing/playing gained far less attention than their male counterparts."[65] Timeline of composers [ edit ] Significance of written notation [ edit ] Literalist view of the significance of the score [ edit ] While there are differences between particular performances of a classical work, a piece of classical music is generally held to transcend any interpretation of it. The use of musical notation is an effective method for transmitting classical music, since the written music contains the technical instructions for performing the work.[citation needed] The written score, however, does not usually contain explicit instructions as to how to interpret the piece in terms of production or performance, apart from directions for dynamics, tempo and expression (to a certain extent). This is left to the discretion of the performers, who are guided by their personal experience and musical education, their knowledge of the work's idiom, their personal artistic tastes, and the accumulated body of historic performance practices.[citation needed] Criticism of the literalist view [ edit ] All critics express the opinion that it is only from the mid-19th century, and especially in the 20th century, that the score began to hold such a high significance.[citation needed] Previously, improvisation (in preludes, cadenzas and ornaments), rhythmic flexibility (e.g., tempo rubato), improvisatory deviation from the score and oral tradition of playing was integral to the style.[clarification needed] Classical musicians tend to use scores and the parts extracted from them to play music. Yet, even with notation providing the key elements of the music, there is considerable latitude in the performance of the works. Some of this latitude results from the inherent limitations of musical notation, though attempts to supplement traditional notation with signs and annotations indicating more subtle nuances tend to overwhelm and paralyse the performer. Some quotes that highlight a criticism of overvaluing of the score: "... one of the most stubborn modern misconceptions concerning baroque music is that a metronomic regularity was intended" (Baroque Interpretation in Grove 5th edition by Robert Donington) 5th edition by Robert Donington) "Too many teachers, conditioned to 20th century ideas, teach Bach and other Baroque music exactly the wrong way. This leads to what musicologist Sol Babitz calls 'sewing machine Bach'." [ clarification needed ] [66] "... tendency to look alike, sound alike and think alike. The conservatories are at fault and they have been at fault for many years now. Any sensitive musician going around the World has noted the same thing. The conservatories, from Moscow and Leningrad to Juilliard, Curtis and Indiana, are producing a standardized product. [...] clarity, undeviating rhythm, easy technique, 'musicianship'. I put the word musicianship in quotes, because as often as not, it is a false kind of musicianship—a musicianship that sees the tree and not the forest, that takes care of the detail but ignores the big picture; a musicianship that is tied to the printed note rather than to emotional meaning of a piece. The fact remains that there is a dreadful uniformity today and also an appalling lack of knowledge about the culture and performance traditions of the past." ("Music Schools Turning out Robots?"[66] by Harold C. Schonberg) Improvisation [ edit ] Improvisation once played an important role in classical music. A remnant of this improvisatory tradition in classical music can be heard in the cadenza, a passage found mostly in concertos and solo works, designed to allow skilled performers to exhibit their virtuoso skills on the instrument. Traditionally this was improvised by the performer; however, it is often written for (or occasionally by) the performer beforehand. Improvisation is also an important aspect in authentic performances of operas of Baroque era and of bel canto (especially operas of Vincenzo Bellini), and is best exemplified by the da capo aria, a form by which famous singers typically perform variations of the thematic matter of the aria in the recapitulation section ('B section' / the 'da capo' part). An example is Beverly Sills' complex, albeit pre-written, variation of "Da tempeste il legno infranto" from Händel's Giulio Cesare.[citation needed] Its[clarification needed] written transmission, along with the veneration bestowed on certain classical works, has led to the expectation that performers will play a work in a way that realizes in detail the original intentions of the composer. During the 19th century the details that composers put in their scores generally increased. Yet the opposite trend—admiration of performers for new "interpretations" of the composer's work—can be seen, and it is not unknown for a composer to praise a performer for achieving a better realization of the original intent than the composer was able to imagine. Thus, classical performers often achieve high reputations for their musicianship, even if they do not compose themselves. Generally however, it is the composers who are remembered more than the performers.[citation needed] The primacy of the composer's written score has also led, today, to a relatively minor role played by improvisation in classical music, in sharp contrast to the practice of musicians who lived during the medieval, renaissance, baroque and early romantic eras. Improvisation in classical music performance was common during both the Baroque and early romantic eras, yet lessened strongly during the second half of the 20th century. During the classical era, Mozart and Beethoven often improvised the cadenzas to their piano concertos (and thereby encouraged others to do so), but for violin concertos they provided written cadenzas for use by other soloists.[citation needed] In opera, the practice of singing strictly by the score, i.e. come scritto, was famously propagated by soprano Maria Callas, who called this practice 'straitjacketing' and implied that it allows the intention of the composer to be understood better, especially during studying the music for the first time.[67] Relationship to other music traditions [ edit ] Popular music [ edit ] Classical music has often incorporated elements or material from popular music of the composer's time. Examples include occasional music such as Brahms' use of student drinking songs in his Academic Festival Overture, genres exemplified by Kurt Weill's The Threepenny Opera, and the influence of jazz on early and mid-20th-century composers including Maurice Ravel, exemplified by the movement entitled "Blues" in his sonata for violin and piano.[68] Some postmodern, minimalist and postminimalist classical composers acknowledge a debt to popular music.[69][not in citation given] Numerous examples show influence in the opposite direction, including popular songs based on classical music, the use to which Pachelbel's Canon has been put since the 1970s, and the musical crossover phenomenon, where classical musicians have achieved success in the popular music arena.[70] In heavy metal, a number of lead guitarists (playing electric guitar), including Ritchie Blackmore and Randy Rhoads, modeled their playing styles on Baroque or Classical-era instrumental music.[citation needed] Folk music [ edit ] Composers of classical music have often made use of folk music (music created by musicians who are commonly not classically trained, often from a purely oral tradition). Some composers, like Dvořák and Smetana,[71] have used folk themes to impart a nationalist flavor to their work, while others like Bartók have used specific themes lifted whole from their folk-music origins.[72] Commercialization [ edit ] Certain staples of classical music are often used commercially (either in advertising or in movie soundtracks). In television commercials, several passages have become clichéd, particularly the opening of Richard Strauss' Also sprach Zarathustra (made famous in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey) and the opening section "O Fortuna" of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana; other examples include the "Dies irae" from the Verdi Requiem, Edvard Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King" from Peer Gynt, the opening bars of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" from Die Walküre, Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee", and excerpts of Aaron Copland's Rodeo.[citation needed] Several works from the Golden Age of Animation matched the action to classical music. Notable examples are Walt Disney's Fantasia, Tom and Jerry's Johann Mouse, and Warner Bros.' Rabbit of Seville and What's Opera, Doc? Similarly, movies and television often revert to standard, clichéd excerpts of classical music to convey refinement or opulence: some of the most-often heard pieces in this category include Bach´s Cello Suite No. 1, Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik, Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain (as orchestrated by Rimsky-Korsakov), and Rossini's "William Tell Overture". The same passages are often used by telephone call centres to induce a sense of calm in customers waiting in a queue.[citation needed] Shawn Vancour argues that the commercialization of classical music in the early 20th century may have harmed the music industry through inadequate representation.[73] Public domain [ edit ] Since the range of production of classical music is from the 14th century to 21st century, most of this music (14th to early 20th century) belongs to the public domain, mainly sheet music and tablatures. Some projects like Musopen and Open Goldberg Variations were created to produce musical audio files of high quality and release them into the public domain, most of them are available at the Internet Archive website. The Open Goldberg Variations project released a braille format into the public domain that can be used to produce paper or electronic scores, Braille e-books, for blind people.[74] Education [ edit ] During the 1990s, several research papers and popular books wrote on what came to be called the "Mozart effect": an observed temporary, small elevation of scores on certain tests as a result of listening to Mozart's works. The approach has been popularized in a book by Don Campbell, and is based on an experiment published in Nature suggesting that listening to Mozart temporarily boosted students' IQ by 8 to 9 points.[75] This popularized version of the theory was expressed succinctly by the New York Times music columnist Alex Ross: "researchers... have determined that listening to Mozart actually makes you smarter."[76] Promoters marketed CDs claimed to induce the effect. Florida passed a law requiring toddlers in state-run schools to listen to classical music every day, and in 1998 the governor of Georgia budgeted $105,000 per year to provide every child born in Georgia with a tape or CD of classical music. One of the co-authors of the original studies of the Mozart effect commented "I don't think it can hurt. I'm all for exposing children to wonderful cultural experiences. But I do think the money could be better spent on music education programs."[77] In 1996/97, a research study was conducted on a population of preschool through college students in the Cherry Creek School District in Denver, Colorado, US. The study showed that students who actively listen to classical music before studying had higher academic scores. The research further indicated that students who listened to the music prior to an examination also had positively elevated achievement scores. Students who listened to rock-and-roll or Country music had moderately lower scores. The study further indicated that students who used classical music during the course of study had a significant leap in their academic performance; whereas, those who listened to other types of music had significantly lowered academic scores. The research was conducted over several schools within the Cherry Creek School District and was conducted through the University of Colorado. This study is reflective of several recent studies (i.e. Mike Manthei and Steve N. Kelly of the University of Nebraska at Omaha; Donald A. Hodges and Debra S. O'Connell of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro; etc.) and others[full citation needed] who had significant results through the discourse of their work.[78] See also [ edit ] Nation-specific: References [ edit ] Sources [ edit ]
The April surge of MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) cases continued today with a report of 16 more in Saudi Arabia, while European health officials observed that the total for this month alone exceeds the total for the preceding 2 years since the disease emerged. Saudi Arabia described cases in seven cities around the country, with only three in Jeddah, which has been the major hot spot lately. None of the latest cases were fatal, but two previously reported patients have died, the government said. Meanwhile, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said its global count of MERS-CoV cases reported in April reached 217 yesterday, compared with 207 reported in all previous months since the disease surfaced in 2012. Latest cases widely scattered In a statement posted today, the Saudi Ministry of Health (MOH) said the 16 new cases include 7 in Riyadh, 2 in Tabuk, 1 in Mecca, 3 in Jeddah, 1 in Najran, 1 in Hafr Al-Batin, and 1 in Medina. Most of those cities have had other cases this month, but the one in Hafr Al-Batin is the first there since July 2013, according to a case list maintained by FluTrackers, an infectious disease message board. The MOH today continued its new practice of sharing much more information than it did before a new acting health minister, Adel Faqih, was appointed last week. Today's statement on the new cases included a map and graphs showing patients' age and gender distribution and previous health status. Ten of the 16 patients have preexisting health conditions, the MOH said. Three patients were described as asymptomatic, 6 are in stable condition, and 7 are being treated in intensive care units. The statement said 5 patents are in the age range of 25 to 44 years, 4 are between 45 and 64, and 7 are 65 or older. Nine patients had contact with other MERS case-patients, but none were reported to have had contact with animals. For the second day in a row, none of the new patients were described as healthcare workers (HCWs), which contrasts with the general pattern of the past few weeks. For example, among the 26 cases announced by the MOH on Apr 26 and 27, 9 were HCWs, and 4 of 14 reported on Apr 25 were in that category. On Apr 24, 5 of 12 newly reported cases involved HCWs. The two deaths in previously reported cases involved a 41-year-old man in Tabuk and an 88-year-old man in Riyadh. The latest cases raise Saudi Arabia's posted MERS count to 361 cases and 107 deaths. April case count dwarfs previous tallies In an epidemiologic update today, the ECDC said its tally of MERS cases has reached 424, including 217 in this month alone, with just 207 in the previous 2 years. The total does not include the 16 cases reported by Saudi Arabia today. The 217 cases reported this month include 179 in Saudi Arabia, 32 in the United Arab Emirates, 2 in Jordan, and 1 each in Egypt, Greece, Malaysia, and the Philippines, the agency said. The ECDC also reported that out of 95 HCWs infected with MERS-CoV in the past 2 years, 62 (65%) cases occurred this month, which amounts to about 29% of the 217 cases for the month. Of the 95 HCW cases, Saudi Arabia accounted for 70 (74%), the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for 23 (24%), and the Philippines and Jordan for 1 each, according to the report. The UAE had a recent cluster of cases among paramedics. Experts have been unable to explain the recent increase in cases. So far, genetic sequencing of recent MERS-CoV isolates has revealed no significant mutations. Some suspect a seasonal pattern to the disease, since this year's increase echoes the emergence of the disease in the spring of 2012 and a surge of cases in April and May of last year. The virus is fairly common in camels in the Middle East, and some experts suspect that the increase in human cases is related to an increase in the population of young camels, since camels give birth in the winter. Camels and MERS-CoV denialism In related news, the MERS risk has prompted the new Saudi health minister to warn people against direct contact with camels, but some Saudi Arabians who own and work with camels are reluctant to buy the notion that the animals have anything to do with the disease, according to media reports. Besides warning against direct contact with camels, the minister said people should be careful when handling raw camel meat and should boil camel milk before drinking it, the Saudi Gazette reported today. He spoke yesterday after a meeting of Western experts and WHO officials. Traders and workers in Riyadh's sprawling camel market said the government has given them no advice or warnings about MERS, and they expressed disbelief in any camel link to the disease, according to a Reuters story yesterday. "It's a lie," one trader said. "We live with camels, we drink their milk, we eat their meat. There’s no disease." Although the World Health Organization has been advising that people who have risk factors for severe MERS-CoV should consider avoiding camels, the topic has been mostly absent from the debate inside Saudi Arabia, the story said. It noted that camels are beloved in Saudi Arabia and closely bound to the country's cultural identity, providing a link to its nomadic tradition. See also: Apr 30 Saudi MOH statement on new cases Apr 30 ECDC report Apr 30 Saudi Gazette story Apr 29 Reuters story
Maggie Gyllenhaal is heading back to TV. The Honourable Woman star has joined David Simon’s 1970s-1980s porn drama, The Deuce. She joins James Franco as a producer and star in the long-in-the-works project, which is expected to begin filming in New York in October. Gyllenhaal will play Eileen Merrell — or "Candy" on the street — a Times Square hooker and veteran with an entrepreneurial bent who is drawn into the fledgling porn industry. The Deuce follows the story of the legalization and subsequent rise of the porn industry in New York starting in the early 1970s and continuing through the mid-1980s. The entry will explore the rough-and-tumble world that existed in midtown Manhattan until the rise of HIV, the violence of the cocaine epidemic and the renewed real estate market all ended the bawdy turbulence. Named for 42nd Street, The Deuce is inspired in part by the career of twin brothers who were players in the Times Square world and became fronts for mob control of the volatile and lucrative sex industry from its beginning. Read More: David Simon Reveals Plans for 1970s Times Square Porn Project at HBO "We’re interested in what it means when profit is the primary metric for what we call society. In that sense, this story is intended as neither prurient nor puritan. It’s about a product and those human beings who created, sold, profited from and suffered with that product," said Simon when the project first was ordered to pilot, with his longtime collaborator George Pelecanos adding: "Porn, prostitution, pimps, the mob, after-hours nightlife, institutional corruption and New York in its Wild West heyday ... it’s a world rich in character and a fascinating story we’re eager to tell." The drama is being written by Simon and Pelecanos, with Nina K. Noble and Richard Price involved as executive producers. Breaking Bad’s Michelle MacLaren is on board to direct the pilot. Read More: Taraji P. Henson, Viola Davis and Drama Actress A-List Tackle Race, Sexism, Aging in Hollywood Gyllenhaal is repped by WME and MGMT Entertainment.
Provided Maribel Trujillo-Diaz, an undocumented worker from Mexico, with her family. She was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The mother of four entered the U.S. illegally more than 15 years ago. She was seeking asylum from the Mexican drug cartel. Maribel Trujillo-Diaz, an undocumented worker from Mexico, was detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on April 5, 2016. The 41-year-old mother of four children, who entered the U.S. illegally more than 15 years ago, was seeking asylum from the Mexican drug cartel when was detained. The Archdiocese of Cincinnati calls her arrest "cruel and unacceptable." (Photo: Provided) WRITING LETTERS OR OP-EDS: Letters of up to 200 words may be submitted by filling out the form at static.cincinnati.com/letter/ or emailing letters@enquirer.com. Include name, address, community and daytime phone number. Op-eds are submitted the same way except they should be500-600 words and also include a one-sentence bio and headshot. I am writing to express my concern over the incredibly troubling situation with Immigration Customs Enforcement and the Trujillo family. Our neighbors deserve better than to live in fear of deportation. From all I've read, Maribel Trujillo is an asset to her community, she has a worker's permit and is in the process of getting asylum status. Regardless, she is a human, a woman, and a mother, and my heart breaks for her and her family. I could not fathom the pain of being torn from my children. As a teacher who works daily with children of immigrants, I've seen first hand the fear and anxiety that this administration and it's emboldening of ICE has wrought. Thank you for illuminating the community to this terrible situation. I hope others will join me in writing our representatives, and rallying on behalf of the Trujillo family and all immigrant families who may now feel unwelcome in this country. You are wanted. You are welcome. Our hearts and doors are open. Alison Rampa, Hamilton Ohio NEWSLETTERS Get the News Alerts newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Be the first to be informed of important news as it happens in Greater Cincinnati. Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-800-876-4500. Delivery: Varies Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for News Alerts Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters Deportation of Trujillo not a U.S. value I was extremely distressed to read about Maribel Trujillo. This is a woman who fled drug gangs in Mexico (the gangs which kidnapped her father and tried to recruit her children), who has never committed a crime, who is active in her parish church, and who is the sole breadwinner for her disabled husband and her children. She has been trying for years to legalize her status. How can any president or political party which claims to support family values be so cruel and callous as to separate her from her husband and children? Patricia Wittberg, East Price Hill Trump harms families, not deporting criminals What Immigration Customs Enforcement is doing to Maribel Trujillo and her family is disgraceful. As a Sister of Charity, I work closely with many local Latino immigrants like Maribel. They are hard-working people of faith and assets to our community. The Trump administration has assured us they are deporting criminals, but it is a lie. Maribel poses no threat to anyone; deporting her is a threat to the well-being of her four children. Where are our family values? Where is our respect for life? I urge ICE to make the morally right decision: Release Maribel and stop her deportation. Tracy Kemme, Price Hill Writer deflects from Russian election interference R.C. Push (“Unbiased media can hold politicians accountable” April 7) writes that news reporting is downright scary. Push is confusing media and reporting. Some media (Fox, Russian TV) masquerades as reporting. It is evident where Push goes for information in his next paragraph. Push asserts that “someone” has used government agencies to spy on U.S. citizens or political adversaries. This statement is untrue. This is an attempt at deflection from the Russian interference in our election of 2016. Some in the administration (and its backers) do not want this subject to be investigated. Why? Fake news was part of the Russian effort and it is part of the deflection to hide what happened. Randy Stebbins, Goshen Read or Share this story: http://cin.ci/2oRF6bt

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

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