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After a rocky season due to injuries, Edmonton Oilers prospect Ziyat Paigin decided to move overseas to sign a professional tryout (PTO) with the Bakersfield Condors. In this translated interview, originally appearing on the popular Russian website Sport-Express, Paigin talked about his American Hockey League debut, the reasons of his move overseas and his plans for the future.
* You can enjoy the original Russian interview by Alexei Shevchenko here *
Alexei Shevchenko: How did you like your debut?
Ziyat Paigin: Everything was simply great. We played at the big Austin arena, there is basketball here tomorrow, and then we’ll play again against San Antonio. I am very happy. There were 8,000 spectators on the stands.
The Condors have signed 2015 @EdmontonOilers draft pick Ziyat Paigin to an ATO. He’ll wear number 26. #Condorstown #GetIN pic.twitter.com/9JKrcWaQ1p — Bakersfield Condors (@Condors) April 5, 2017
AS: That’s more than what you had in the VHL.
ZP: It’s even more than in [the KHL] with Ak Bars [Kazan]. I couldn’t even imagine that so many people would attend an AHL game.
AS: In your first game you had a penalty and were minus-1.
ZP: It was hard at the start, I can’t deny that. Small ice. I understood right away that you simply cannot get your head down. But I got into the game quite fast. About my penalty, yes, I still pushed my opponent into the boards. The goal was a strange one, but since I was on the ice, then I was to blame.
AS: Are you familiar with any of the players in your team.
ZP: Not really. But the guys are positive with me, they help me a lot. I know some English, but I can’t say that I can freely talk. I understand something, but not everything. I’m gonna stay here in America once the season ends so that I can pick up the language and understand how things work here.
AS: What are your plans?
ZP: I’m planning to spend here the next couple of years. I need to do a step forward in my development, and I need to step up on a new level.
http://gty.im/465883360
AS: In Edmonton, it can be said that it’d be harder for forwards, than for defensemen.
ZP: I studied the team’s roster, watched their games, and I think that I have a chance to play in the NHL. But it’s up to me. AHL coaches are very helpful, but no one else is going to make things easier for me.
AS: In the AHL stats don’t track ice time. Do you know how much you played?
ZP: A lot more than what I recently played in Kazan.
AS: That’s funny.
ZP: We started playing with six defensemen, then to five, and then another player was injured, so we finished the game playing in two defensive pairs. I didn’t play with the man advantage, but I played a couple of shifts of penalty killing. I think I played pretty much as I was playing with Bars in the VHL.
Tonight’s @3WayChevyCad LINEUP with the pro debut of Ryan Mantha & the #Condorstown debut of Ziyat Paigin. #GetIN pic.twitter.com/88ZaX0DG7B — Bakersfield Condors (@Condors) April 7, 2017
AS: You were assigned down to the VHL after an injury.
ZP: And what that injury was? If you remember, I was hit by a puck in the unprotected part of my knee. The ligaments were not torn but were damaged. I couldn’t bend my leg for a week, but after a month I was fully healed and could start playing again. I didn’t have any problem.
AS: But you didn’t play in the KHL.
ZP: The coach didn’t feel like I was ready. I discussed it with [Ak Bars Kazan’s head coach] Zinetula Khaidarovich [Bilyaletdinov] about this, and I was told to work and get in better shape. I nodded and promised to work and train. I did everything I was asked to, but I didn’t play in the playoffs.
AS: During Friday’s press conference, your coach said that you weren’t in good shape.
ZP: So, that’s what they think.
AS: And you didn’t want to sign a new contract.
ZP: Now I’m gonna tell you what happened. At the start of the season, I was offered a new contract. But I was completely disappointed with the proposed conditions. For example, to me, three years was a lot of time. I asked for some reconsiderations, but we didn’t talk about it anymore.
AS: So you didn’t sign a new contract, and you were excluded from the team.
ZP: Well, that’s your conclusion.
AS: You somehow tried to persuade Ak Bars to let you stay in Sochi, where you were playing great. You had a lot of ice time, power play time, and points.
ZP: You remember correctly, but players of my age have no choice. I get told go to Sochi, and I go. I get told to get back to Kazan, and I get back. You’re not going to get asked about your wishes at this age.
AS: It’s sad.
ZP: I could say how much I wanted that I was happy in this or that team, but I had a contract.
AS: It’s surprising that Russia from one hand is trying to get back as many players as possible but from the other hand kind of pushes young players overseas.
ZP: I think that other young players can get to conclusions from my experience and autonomously decide for themselves.
AS: Are you ready to long bus trips?
ZP: (Laughs). I played a long time for Bars in the VHL and it was the same. Therefore I think it won’t be a problem for me. I am not paying attention to such details, I have a goal and I’ll do what it takes to fulfill it. After a short holiday, I’ll start to workout, I’ll attend the rookie camp, and in general, I’ll be working a lot. This year will “eat” one season from the rookie contract, so I’ll have another two. It makes no sense to view things in such a long term.
AS: Where did you set down in Bakersfield?
ZP: I’m yet to see the city. I went right away to Austin, where the team was going to play. |
Run Simulator
New for 2016: The simulator is no longer coded in Flash, so will work on your mobile device. Results can now split Maine & Nebraska. Finally, you can choose to populate the map randomly or more East-to-West, based on actual poll closing times.
The probabilities are calculated and updated based on recent polling. Where polling is outdated or unavailable, we look back to 2012 actual and/or consider pundit projections. Those probabilities reflect the frequency of victory in a state. For example, if Clinton has an 80% chance of winning Minnesota, she will, in the long run, win 80% of the simulations conducted. Some uncontested states (e.g., Wyoming) will always yield the same result.
The simulator is not a predictor of the election. It provides a range of electoral outcomes that are plausible if the state polls are accurate and if each state were a fully independent event. While each state is, in theory, a separate election, the reality is that there are usually correlations. As a result, this model underplays the likelihood of toss-up states breaking heavily for one candidate or the other. |
The ‘high-press’ has become one of the most regularly discussed trends in football. Popularised by Guardiola’s Barcelona, and Klopp’s Dortmund, it is now a common sight to see a pundit compliment ‘good pressing’, or a fan urge his team to press higher.
As with many tactics however, there are different variations of the high press, and the blanket term can sometimes hide the true style of a team, as is the case with two of the post prominent Premier League pressers, Liverpool and Tottenham. Whilst both sides are often compared due to their pressing game, the objective and execution can be very different.
Klopp’s heavy-metal football involves his side energetically closing down the opposition, in a very structured way. Liverpool aim to win possession high up the pitch, and go straight into attack, capitalising as the opposition transitions into defence. The central-midfielders in a 4-3-3 join the attack to make a 5 man press, hurrying the opposition into blind alleys where they can win the ball quickly, and launch an attack. For Liverpool, the press is used to create chances, but is not always a viable option. In 2014/15, Klopp’s Dortmund struggled as teams allowed Dortmund to keep possession and sat deep, taking away their chance to attack during transition, and Liverpool have already struggled this season against Burnley, who used the same method.
Whilst Spurs also press in a very structured method, this is used more often to gain control than create immediate openings. Spurs pressure the opposition into clearing their lines, playing balls with a low chance of retaining possession, in order to re-gain the ball. Spurs then create a slower, more carefully planned attack, compared to Liverpool. In doing this, they can gain control of the game, with the opposition unable to push up the pitch. Spurs can then hit the opposition with constant waves of attack. This can create a similar problem to the one faced by Liverpool however- in pinning the opposition back, Spurs create a deep-block which they can sometimes struggle to break down, which may have contributed to them drawing 13 league games last year.
The way the sides line-up is custom built for their style. Liverpool have a midfield of fast, agile players with the stamina to perform lung-bursting distances at high speeds. They have more defensively focused full-backs than Tottenham, and a mobile holding-midfielder in Henderson, to sweep up in case their 5 man press is beaten. Having just 1 midfielder to sweep leaves Liverpool vulnerable if their press is overcome, reflecting the frantic nature of their side, and their scorelines under Klopp.
Tottenham meanwhile, have a team of monsters. Of the side that excelled in 2015/16, only Eriksen didn’t have an exceptional combination of speed, strength or stamina, and the summer signings of Janssen, Wanyama and Sissoko only enhance this profile. This allows Spurs to win long clearances made by the opposition, and quite literally muscle opposing teams out of possession. As the front 4 in a 4-2-3-1 press, Dembele and Dier sit in behind to sweep anything that comes through- providing a more solid base than Liverpools 1-man pivot. This in turn allows the full-backs, Rose and Walker, to advance and offer attacking width.
There is no ‘better’ method of pressing- Liverpool have been scoring goals for fun, whilst Pochettino has managed to do the impossible, and create a solid Spurs defence. Both sides have been successful in their variations of the press, and are examples of the recent influx of world-class managers into the country bringing a more varied and interesting league tactically. Their 0-0 draw at Anfield last season was one of the most fascinating tactical battles of the year, and if both sides continue to progress in their systems, could challenge for a place near the top of the most competitive Premier League table ever. |
Petition Sent to Israeli Supreme Court About Circumcision
Over 35,000 Support Mother Who Resists Court Order to Circumcise Son.
ISRAEL: Jewish Mom Makes Case for Intactivism.
(BOSTON) - The Jewish Circumcision Resource Center, representing Jews around the world who question circumcision and choose not to circumcise their sons, submitted a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court. It supports a mother who wants to forgo circumcision and has over 35,000 signatures.
The Israeli mother was ordered by a rabbinical court in November to circumcise her son. She resisted the order and appealed the case to the Israeli Supreme Court, a civil court. The hearing is scheduled for Feb. 25. The matter is part of an ongoing divorce case. In Israel, religious courts have authority over various family matters like marriage, divorce, and child welfare. Circumcision is viewed as a requirement among religious Jews. Israel has struggled for generations to reconcile its religious and secular traditions.
The woman has said that she does not wish to harm her son. Circumcision has been shown to result in physical, sexual, and psychological harm. Ronald Goldman, Ph.D., JCRC Executive Director, stated, "We do not think any parent should be compelled to circumcise a son, and we are pleased about the wide global support for this petition."
As the caretaker and mother, she wants to avoid circumcision like thousands of other Israeli parents. No civil law requires circumcision in Israel. When parents disagree, as in this instance, the default position is to let the child decide about circumcision when he is older.
ABOUT JCRC
One purpose of the Jewish Circumcision Resource Center is to make known to the Jewish community that there is a growing number of Jews who either have not circumcised their son or would choose not to circumcise a future son. To support and expand the American and international circumcision debate, it is also important to inform the general public, media sources, and professionals of the existence of Jews who do not circumcise.
Another purpose is to gather and disseminate information about the experiences of those who choose not to circumcise and add to the growing understanding and acceptance of alternatives to circumcision in the Jewish community. The Jewish Circumcision Resource Center is a section of the Circumcision Resource Center, a non-profit educational organization.
_________________________________________ |
Rock Band To Let You Play The Super Bowl Half Time Show
by David 'Hades' Becker [ Friday, 5th of February 2010 - 03:41 PM ]
Any Who, the fine minds over at Harmonix have gotten a hold of what The Who are going to be performing during the Half Time show. What they have done from there is set up a track to be downloaded for the normal cost of $2 or the equivalent on each system. After that, like every other DLC, you will be able to play the mash-up of songs that you would have just seen no more than a few hours earlier. Effectively letting you drunkenly stumble through your own rendition of the half time show. Wardrobe malfunctions most likely included by the point of inebriation most will be at.
Not to bad. Well unless you are a PS3 owner of the game. Then you have to wait until the following Thursday, were you should be completely sober enough by then. Sober enough to relive the Super Bowl Half Time show by getting drunk to get back in the spirit of things. Such a great ploy.
Hopefully this works out well for Harmonix and the Rock Band franchise. If it does, I can see things like this happening again for other shows as well. Not sure what shows those would be, but you get my drift. |
From: An Anonymous Wire Viewer [Email him]
Another notable thing about David Simon, one that reminds us that far from being a free market or competition of talent and drive, even the heights of our pop culture are very tightly controlled propaganda, staffed by "sound" men who will not even think wrongly, is his attitude towards surveillance.
As a Leftist you might expect Simon to be reflexively against Big Brother. Reviewing his editorials and his deliberately ambiguous depiction of surveillance in The Wire shows him cheerleading the police state as clearly as he can without losing his audience. (The reason it’s called that is because of wiretapping and secret recording.)
One early scene has the "creator commentary" on the DVD set to the effect that he wanted to show there was a loss of privacy but also show that natural bureaucratic inefficiency (the visual: a sleepy black security guard) meant this was nothing to fear.
Another thing about Simon is his desire for a Noble Thug, represented by Wire characters Stringer Bell or Omar. It is like he is whimpering, "if only rape-using neighborhood-terrorizing drug dealers could quote David Ricardo and John Kenneth Galbraith," the way Bell does. |
Chris sez, "We are funding in post-production on I's, a film about the singularity through Kickstarter. The trailer is still a bit rough and is oriented toward mainstream audiences, but as an article on SingularityHub explains, we really are trying to take a thoughtful view of the subject. I have been tracking the singularity for a long time and very much wanted to make a film that fairly explores a singularity event that involves more than just brain uploading."
The film opens on a time in our near future when the first artificial intelligence wakes up. The story takes place over the last five days of our civilization as we know it, leading up to the Singularity - an utterly unknowable future in which there may be no place for us at all. We follow bike messenger Mason Turk as he faces the few final days of humanity's journey, and his choice between finding solace in the present or racing to reforge the only connection that has ever truly mattered to him.
The film moves from the urban streets of San Francisco through suburbia all the way to a pastoral community farm - and then pulls us back to the heart of the city. Along the way, it explores what it means when humans - the toolmakers - have invented our greatest tool: the device that can out-invent us.
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The world of the film is similar to our present day, but our mobile phones have morphed into an interface known as the Third Eye, worn by everyone but the poorest among us. The Third Eye provides instant connection to the internet and each other - but it also alienates us, cocooning us in individual bubbles of reality. And while many of us remain wrapped up and unaware, the artificial intelligence carefully lays the groundwork for its successor to take over. |
Wrapping up a history of birtherism, Dave Weigel writes at Slate: “The next era of Obama conspiracies starts with the president in a much more exposed position. Now, conspiracy theorists know that all kinds of people will listen to them if they toss an idea out there–even if the idea is proved to be baseless.” So what’s the new angle? Why, that Obama, a professor of consitutional law at Columbia and the editor of the Harvard Law Review, is dumb!
At the Daily Beast, Michelle Goldberg lays bare the lunacy of the new accusations, including ghostwritten memoirs and scary Muslims. Leading the charge is, of course, Donald Trump:
Now Donald Trump has opened up a new line of attack on President Obama, accusing him of being a “terrible student” who shouldn’t have gotten into Columbia University or Harvard Law School. “How does a bad student go to Columbia and then to Harvard?” he asked the Associated Press. “I’m thinking about it, I’m certainly looking into it. Let him show his records.” He continued darkly, “There are a lot of questions that are unanswered about our president.”
Pat Buchanan, seeing a chance to be on TV, gets into it with Hardball’s Chris Matthews:
“What I want to know is why you don’t want to see the test scores?” Buchanan shot back. “Why don’t you want to see any of these things? You’re supposed to be a journalist! The people’s right to know!” “What am i supposed to become a master of his paperwork?” Matthews said. He told Buchanan that his arguments were one of the reasons that black Americans were often driven “crazy” by political discourse. Obama, he pointed out, had, by all accounts, had a stellar academic career, “and you still don’t buy it. You don’t buy him.” He noted that “I got my job here without ever showing any paperwork from school.
Here’s Mother Jones’ Suzy Khimm, interviewing self-proclaimed “birther king” Andy Martin. Martin’s officially satisfied by the birth certificate, almost:
Martin, however, says that the birth certificate doesn’t put to rest other questions about Obama’s past and rise to power. Echoing Donald Trump’s recent demands to see Obama’s college grades, Martin said he wants to see the “admission files and the transcripts” of Obama’s college years. “The pressure for his college records is going to become relentless,” he vows. Martin says that he also has questions about Khalid Abdullah Tariq al-Mansour, whom fringe activists claim is a black Muslim nationalist who paid for Obama’s law degree.
And here’s pundit Mickey Kaus writing at conservative politics-gossip rag the Daily Caller, asking why Obama seems so bad at politics:
The answer is distressingly obvious: Obama’s the biggest affirmative action baby in history. When other pols are trying, failing, learning, while climbing up the middle rungs of the ladder, he got a pass.
Some are saying that Obama’s the product of affirmative action–but affirmative action, in its actual exercised form, only gets you through the door. As Melissa Harris-Perry has said, the only people who should be ashamed of affirmative action are the racist societies who need it to be just, and Obama’s brilliance at Harvard and beyond shows that it works as advertised. Others are saying that all of his success is due to the pulled strings of a shadowy cabal seeking to put a black Democrat in power, to, uh, deport record numbers of people and wage three wars. You know, liberal stuff.
The arguments don’t make sense on their own, because they’re really just empty shells designed to convey a different idea entirely. As always, anyone calling Obama an academic fraud, a foreigner, or a Muslim is likely using that term because the n-word is off the list. |
New Mexico women's soccer defender Elizabeth Lambert has been suspended indefinitely after engaging in rough play -- including hauling an opposing player to the ground by her pony tail -- in the Lobos' 1-0 loss to BYU in the Mountain West Conference semifinals.
Lambert is prohibited from taking part in practices, games and conditioning, coach Kit Vela announced Friday.
"Liz is a quality student-athlete, but in this instance her actions clearly crossed the line of fair play and good sportsmanship," Vela said.
Video footage of the game shows Lambert, a junior, committing a series of excessively rough plays, including kicking, tackles, a forearm shiver to the back -- in response to an elbow to the ribs -- and yanking BYU forward Kassidy Shumway to the ground by her hair.
Lambert was assessed a yellow card during the 76th minute, apparently for tripping.
On Friday, Lambert apologized for her actions, saying she was "deeply and wholeheartedly regretful."
"I let my emotions get the best of me in a heated situation. I take full responsibility for my actions and accept any punishment felt necessary," Lambert said. "This is in no way indicative of my character or the soccer player that I am. I am sorry to my coaches and teammates for any and all damages I have brought upon them.
"I am especially sorry to BYU and the BYU women's soccer players that were personally affected by my actions. I have the utmost respect for the BYU women's soccer program and its players."
The Mountain West said it endorsed New Mexico's discipline of Lambert, saying her actions violated the conference's sportsmanship policy. The conference said it would continue an internal review of "the overall dynamic involved in the match" and said it would not comment further.
"Liz's conduct on the field against BYU was completely inappropriate," said Paul Krebs, New Mexico's vice president for athletics. "There is no way to defend her actions."
BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe, in a news release, said Krebs had contacted him after the incident.
"It's an unfortunate incident that occurred in the game Thursday afternoon," Holmoe said. "The University of New Mexico and the Mountain West Conference have reviewed the situation and have acted appropriately ... I am pleased with his immediate response to the matter."
New Mexico (13-5-3) was the No. 4 seed in the tournament. Top-seeded BYU (17-2-2), ranked No. 17 in the NCSAA/adidas College Soccer Women's Top 25, advanced to the tournament final against San Diego State with the win.
The Cougars scored the game's lone goal on a Carlee Payne header off a direct kick in the 31st minute. |
Chinese Exchanges Seek Second Chance in Japan and Other More Crypto-Friendly Countries
Following the crackdown by the Chinese government last month, bitcoin exchanges in China are looking to continue their businesses in cryptocurrency-friendly countries. Nineteen chinese companies are reportedly applying for a license to operate in Japan, while others are considering Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea.
Also read: Japan’s GMO Plans to Sell 7nm Bitcoin Mining Boards Using Token Sale
Chinese Exchanges Migrating Abroad
Chinese exchanges are reportedly seeking to migrate their operations to other Asian countries that are more cryptocurrency-friendly, following China’s clampdown on crypto trading and initial coin offerings (ICOs). According to Bloomberg:
They’re applying for licenses in Japan — solo or via partners — setting up over-the-counter shops in Hong Kong, or laying the groundwork to operate from Singapore and South Korea.
Hong Kong-based Lennix Lai, the financial market director for Okex exchange, believes that there is enough demand. He said, “as formerly one of the biggest operators in China, we think we have a good chance of competing globally.”
Licenses and Partners in Japan
Japan legalized bitcoin as a method of payment in April. As a consequence of this legalization, cryptocurrency exchanges are required to register with the country’s Financial Services Agency (FSA). The agency granted licenses to eleven bitcoin exchanges in Japan for the first time last month. Out of the Chinese exchange seeking to operate in Japan, Bloomberg noted:
There’re at least 19 companies applying for a Japanese license.
While some Chinese exchanges are applying for a Japanese license, others are looking for local partners. For example, the Hong Kong-based exchange, Binance, is looking for local partners and also considering acquiring an operational exchange, CEO Zhao Changpeng revealed. Beijing-based exchange Bixin has also expressed interest, the news outlet detailed.
Mike Kayamori is Head of Quoine, the Singapore-based exchange with a strong presence in Japan. He commented, “we’re talking to almost all of those guys. They’re all desperate now.” He expects to sign a deal with a Chinese partner by the end of this year, the publication noted, and quoted him saying:
There’s a lot of Chinese retail people reaching out to us, but we can’t handle it. So if a Chinese partner can handle all of those and they connect to us, that will be much easier.
Early this month, ECNC reported that one of Japan’s largest bitcoin exchanges, Coincheck, had received many requests from Chinese companies to list tokens on its exchange following China’s ICO crackdown.
“We are receiving hundreds of requests from Chinese startups and startups around the world asking us to list their tokens, after the Chinese government banned ICOs,” Kagayaki Kawabata, International Business Developer at Coincheck told Global Times. While he said Coincheck is careful about listing ICO tokens, he noted that “if Chinese tokens can meet the criteria that exchanges will set, Japan will be a great place to list tokens.”
Other Friendly Shores
Japan is not the only contender for Chinese exchanges to flee to. Some Chinese investors have “resorted to peer-to-peer trading over messaging apps like Telegram since the clampdown: basically Chinese investors can still buy from individuals who’ve access to overseas markets,” Bloomberg described.
To capture this market, bitcoin exchange Okex is setting up its own over-the-counter trading platform in Hong Kong, which Lai expects to attract customers primarily from China, Russia and the U.K. “They’re now trying to recruit people to act as third-party market makers, who’ll chaperone deals, make money off a spread and then split the revenue with Okex,” the publication detailed.
Additionally, some Chinese exchanges are turning to Singapore as a backup option. Recently, news.Bitcoin.com reported on the managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Ravi Menon, saying the central bank has no plans to regulate cryptocurrencies. The country is working on formalizing the payment services regulation which will affect some activities relating to digital currencies.
What do you think of Chinese exchanges migrating to other Asian countries? Let us know in the comments section below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock, MAS, Japan’s FSA, and Pixabay.
Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section. |
Any hopes that Iraq’s politicians might quickly forge an agreement and pull the country out of crisis were dashed Tuesday when Sunni Muslim and Kurdish lawmakers walked out of the country’s newly elected parliament and the Iraqi Kurds’ leader said he plans to hold a vote on independence, opening the door to a breakup of Iraq.
The referendum announcement by Massoud Barzani, president of the semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan, represents a snub to the Obama administration, which has been urging the Kurds not to seek independence.
Last week, Secretary of State John Kerry on a visit to Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, urged Kurdish leaders to throw in their lot with Baghdad and proactively assist Iraq’s Shia-dominated central government to combat a jihadist-led Sunni insurgency sweeping across northern and western Iraq.
With the Kurds now seizing the moment to break free and U.S. efforts to persuade Iraq’s beleaguered prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, to form a unity government failing, the Obama administration’s policy of encouraging political reconciliation in Iraq appears to have hit a dead end.
U.S. officials had hoped that the first session of Iraq’s new parliament would see the Iran-backed al-Maliki bow to pressure from Western and Arab governments and start the process of forming a more inclusive government and name a successor. But after behind-the-scenes squabbling and less than an hour of debate, nearly a hundred lawmakers failed to return after a break, forcing a weeklong recess because of a lack of quorum.
Sunni and Kurdish politicians accused al-Maliki of not being serious about forming a more inclusive government and complained of the failure of the Shia majority to name a prime minister to replace al-Maliki. “If there is a new policy with a new prime minister, we will deal with them positively, otherwise the country will go from bad to worse,” warned Osama al-Nujaifi, a Sunni politician.
Shia politicians blamed the Sunnis and Kurds for the impasse, accusing the Kurds of betrayal for taking down Iraqi flags in Kurdistan. One Shia politician, Kadhim al-Sayadi, warned the Kurds during the ill-tempered debate, “The day will come when we will crush your heads.”
Later, announcing a Kurdish independence vote during an interview with the BBC, Barzani said a referendum would only confirm what is clear already—namely that Iraq has been “effectively partitioned now” following the territorial gains by the self-declared Islamic State (IS), formerly known as ISIS, the al Qaeda offshoot which has proclaimed an Islamic caliphate in Iraq and Syria.
He added: “Are we supposed to stay in this tragic situation the country’s living? It’s not me who will decide on independence. It’s the people. We’ll hold a referendum and it’s a matter of months.”
The Kurdish leader’s remarks drew a sharp denunciation from the central government in Baghdad, which dubbed the planned referendum unlawful. But with Iraq’s security forces in disarray and unable to roll back the Sunni insurgency, there is little Baghdad can do to stop the Kurds from breaking away, unless it receives grater military assistance from Iran.
U.S. officials fear Kurdish secession will trigger wider sectarian fighting and fan the flames of regional conflict. “Iraqi unity is important not just for the country itself—a breakup will see Iraq’s neighbors competing for influence and spark even more conflict,” a senior U.S. national security official told The Daily Beast.
In the past 24 hours Obama administration officials, who knew a referendum announcement was coming, have been lobbying Israel and Turkey to back off from embracing Kurdish statehood, say Turkish officials, who asked not to be named for this article.
During the weekend a defiant Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he welcomed the emergence of an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq; and top Turkish officials said Kurdish independence was a “foregone conclusion,” arguing no one had the right to tell the Kurds they should forgo statehood. Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan have enjoyed warming ties in recent years to the consternation of Iran.
But immediately following Barzani’s comments, Israeli officials played down Netanyahu’s enthusiasm over the prospect of Kurdish statehood. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the Israeli government was not lobbying for the Kurds and wouldn’t help them achieve independence, although he added that Israel saw Iraqi Kurdish independence as a fait accompli.
And Turkish officials also walked back their earlier comments, saying they were opposed to Kurdish statehood and favored a unity government in Baghdad to counter the threat of the Sunni insurgency.
But it isn’t clear that Washington can rely on either the Turkish or Israeli governments to rebuff the Kurds. Officials from both countries argue that events are fast overtaking the Obama administration.
No formal response was immediately forthcoming from Tehran to Barzani’s announcement but last week the Iranian government warned the Kurds it would not tolerate the establishment of an independent Kurdish state. Iran has deployed possibly hundreds of Revolutionary Guardsmen to help Iraqi security forces combat Sunni militants.
In recent days, officials in Tehran have become more vociferous in their complaints about the Kurds focusing on defending their own territory and not assisting Iraqi security forces in trying to stem the advance of Sunni militants, who have seized a large swath of northern and western Iraq, including the country’s second-largest city, Mosul.
As if to stress the point, the Iranian army shelled for three days Kurdish villages along the border after clashes with Iranian Kurdish separatists. More than 10 million Kurds live in Iran and Tehran fears Iraqi Kurdish statehood will encourage unrest among their own Kurds.
If Iraq’s 6 million Kurds do break away, a flashpoint for conflict with Baghdad and Shia Muslims is likely to come over the future of the disputed oil-rich territory of Kirkuk, which the Kurds see as their historic capital. With the collapse of the Iraqi army in the face of the Sunni insurgency, Kurdish Peshmerga forces now control Kirkuk and they vow they will maintain their hold there until the people of Kirkuk also have the opportunity to vote on whether to join Kurdistan. |
Mine Safety and Health Administration Announces Annual Winter Alert Campaign
ARLINGTON, VA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) today announced its annual Winter Alert campaign, reminding miners and mine operators of the increased hazards that colder weather creates at both surface and underground coal mines.
The Winter Alert campaign, which runs each year through March, emphasizes increased vigilance and adherence to safety principles during the winter months, when cold temperatures increase hazards for miners. Throughout the Winter Alert campaign, MSHA personnel regularly visit mines around the country to heighten awareness of the changing conditions that occur during winter months, and will distribute materials that focus on best practices for safely performing miners’ jobs.
“The cold winter months bring an increased risk of underground coal mine explosions, as well as an increase in hazards associated with ice and snow that collect at surface facilities and preparation plants,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health David Zatezalo. “During the Winter Alert campaign, MSHA personnel will work to ensure miners and mine operators have information to maintain safe and healthful working conditions.”
When the barometric pressure drops during colder weather, methane can migrate more easily into the mine atmosphere, increasing the risk of an explosion. Dry winter air also results in drier conditions underground, allowing coal dust to become suspended in the mine atmosphere, increasing the danger of an explosion.
Examinations are the first line of defense underground and should include the following:
Check for methane.
Know the mine’s ventilation plan and maintain ventilation controls.
Continually apply rock dust to prevent the propagation of an explosion.
At surface operations and preparation plants, hazards such as limited visibility, slippery walkways, and freezing and thawing highwalls may lead to accidents. |
A new bill introduced in California on Monday would ban the use of electronic cigarettes in public places and also tighten up restrictions on selling e-cigs to minors.
Electronic cigarettes are gaining in popularity but the health risks associated with them have yet to be determined. It sounds like a perfect time for the state to step in and start crushing some freedoms.
"Whether you get people hooked on e-cigarettes or regular cigarettes, it’s nicotine addiction and it kills," nanny-stater Democratic state Senator Mark Leno, who introduced the bill, said in a telephone interview. "We're going to see hundreds of thousands of family members and friends die from e-cigarette use just like we did from traditional tobacco use."
The bill is looking to regulate e-cigs and add them to the list of tobacco products controlled by the state. This would include banning the use of e-cigs in public places the way cigarettes and other tobacco products are.
The bill was criticized by the American Vaping Association, which said it punished people who are trying to quit smoking cigarettes.
"California smokers deserve truthful information about smoke-free alternatives, not hype and conjecture designed to scare them away from attempting to quit with these innovative technology products," Gregory Conley, president of the American Vaping Association, said in a press release.
On the other side of things, nanny-stater Leno's bill is backed "by the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association, said the vapor released by the e-cigarettes contains carcinogens, and the nicotine in them is addictive." |
SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A 10-month undercover operation in which officers purchased stolen cars, drugs and weapons at various locations in San Diego County resulted in the indictments of 42 people, authorities announced Thursday.
"Operation Kwik Boost" was launched in January in an effort to draw out and identify criminals who were dealing locally in stolen vehicles, authorities said.
The undercover operation was conducted by the Regional Auto Theft Team, or RATT, in cooperation with the La Mesa Police Department, the California Highway Patrol, San Diego County Sheriff's Department and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
"Through a collaborative effort to include city, county, state and federal resources, the law enforcement community has made a significant impact in reducing auto theft throughout San Diego County," said RATT Commander Don Goodbrand.
The defendants face charges including auto theft, identity theft, illegal weapons possession and illegal drug possession and sales.
"San Diego County ranks fifteenth in the nation for auto theft, a huge improvement from 2007 when we were third nationwide," said District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis. "Since RATT has been attacking this problem, auto theft is now down about 75 percent to about 10,000 a year."
Chief Deputy District Attorney Summer Stephan said the defendants were stealing cars and selling them to a storefront in Lemon Grove, where they were to be broken up and sold for parts.
Stephan said the thieves were in reality selling the stolen vehicles to undercover officers, who would eventually return them to their owners.
A tip that auto theft was increasing in East County sparked the undercover operation, authorities said.
Many of the 117 people who had their cars stolen were ordinary citizens with one vehicle and some couldn't even afford liability insurance on their cars, Stephan said. The stolen cars were collectively valued at $1.3 million.
Fifty-one firearms, 5 1/2 pounds of methamphetamine, three kilograms of cocaine and 15 pounds of marijuana also were seized.
Of the 32 individuals in police custody, many were arrested Wednesday during an early-morning sweep and are scheduled to be arraigned Friday, authorities said. Ten suspects remain outstanding.
Anyone with information is asked to call RATT (Regional Auto Theft Team) at (888) 835-5728.
DDA: 42 people indicted, 32 are in custody. Anyone with info asked to call RATT (Regional Auto Theft Team) at 888-835-5728 pic.twitter.com/JDvJ1ea5P9 — Brandon Lewis (@BrandonCBS8) December 1, 2016 |
Two brave male volunteers were left screaming in agony after ‘experiencing’ child birth while attached to a labour pains simulator.
Walking confidently into the hospital, one of the men announces to the camera: ‘According to women child birth is the worst kind of pain there is?
‘But did you know according to men, women exaggerate everything?’ he adds.
Agony: Two men take on the labour pain simulator (Picture: YouTube)
The confident duo’s words came back to haunt them later on in the day after being zapped with electrodes that replicated the contractions women experience during child birth.
As their amused wives watched on, the pair were left grimacing as the intensity of the fake labour pains slowly increased.
Covering their faces with pillows, the two men were filmed kicking their legs in agony and letting out wailing screams.
The volunteers were left screaming in agony (Picture: YouTube)
‘That was not good,’ said one at the end of the ordeal.
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‘Mum if anything that I just experienced is anywhere close to what I did to you all those years ago, I’m sorry, you’re like a superhero.’
The wives thoroughly enjoyed watching their men in pain (Picture: YouTube)
The clip has already racked up over 25,000 hits on YouTube.
Two Dutch men took part in a similar stunt a couple of months ago. |
Purslane is commonly known as Pigweed, Verdolaga, Pusley, or Little Hogweed and is a very delicious edible weed that is probably growing in your yard right now.
Purslane grows everywhere. Purslane likes heat and usually grows best during July and August and can be eaten raw in salads, sauted with onions and garlic, or blanched and served with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.
Purslane contains high amounts of mega-3 fatty acid generally found in vegetables, as well as small amounts of EPA and DHA, omega-3 fatty acids more commonly found in fish. This essential fatty acid plays a key role in maintaining heart health. Purslane is also high in vitamins A, C and E, which are known for their antioxidant powers. This edible weed also contains two Beta Pigments, beta-cyanins and beta-xanthins, which act as antioxidants.
Vitamins and minerals: Purslane is low in calories and fat, but this weed does contain high amounts of dietary minerals such as iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium and manganese.
Substitute Purslane for other leafy green vegetables in your cooking or use it to garnish sandwiches, add it to soups and stews, and incorporate it into your salads. If you’re pregnant, avoid purslane as it can make the uterine muscles contract. Purslane has a slightly pepper flavor and can be tart at times.
How do you identify purslane?
Purslane grows out from one main taproot, sprawling out in all directions. The stem ranges from green to pink to red, and sometimes can be brown in color. The stem can be quite thick- as wide as a finger towards the middle of the rosette, and tapers down to a thin stem at the outside. There often are thinner stems branching off of each larger stem. Along the stems at regular intervals are thick, fleshy, rounded teardrop shaped leaves. The top of the leaves are a shiny, dark green, while the underside is a more matted light grey green color. Purslane has small yellow flowers that only open up in the morning.
There is a plant that looks similar to Purslane that is poisonous. The poisonous plant is known as Spurge. The stems of Spurge are much thinner than Purslane stems, and spurge leaves are thin, unlike purslane’s thick, succulent leaves.
Spurge is poisonous, and you don’t want to be eating it, but fortunately it’s easy to tell Spurge from Purslane. When you break the stem of a Spurge plant a white, milky sap will leak out of it. When you break the stem of a Purslane plant you do not get this milky substance.
The following picture is of a Spurge Plant.
ALWAYS MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE IDENTIFIED ANY PLANT AS SAFE TO EAT BEFORE EATING IT!
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CORVALLIS -- There is no need for a video review. The better team won.
Even if Oregon State let a 17-point fourth-quarter lead slip away Saturday at Reser Stadium, the Beavers redeemed themselves in overtime to win 47-44.
And, honestly, winning the way they did -- holding Cal to a field goal on the first overtime possession, then salting away the victory when Darell Garretson corralled an errant snap and ran 16 yards for the winning touchdown -- was more impressive than a blowout.
OSU took Cal's fourth-quarter haymaker and, instead of buckling, found a way to win.
"I looked at them going into overtime," OSU coach Gary Andersen said, 'and I said, 'If you don't like this than you're crazy.' This is college football and, yeah, we gave up a lead. But you have to keep on battling and fighting. That's life."
For most of the game, the Beavers tackled better, blocked better and passed better. They were better prepared, better coached and more focused.
If you were waiting for a sign Andersen is on the right track, he served it up for 34,066 fans and a Pac-12 Networks television audience.
In the process, he won his first-ever Pac-12 game as a head coach and ended a streak of futility against FBS opponents that stretched back to September 2015.
He did something else, too.
Andersen put the Civil War back in play.
If the Beavers show the effort, passion and poise the displayed while dispatching Cal, they have a real chance to win when Oregon comes to Reser Stadium on Nov. 26.
Don't forget, a short-handed OSU team gave the then nationally-ranked Ducks all they could handle last year at Autzen.
Oregon escaped with a 52-42 victory and a sigh of relief.
The Oregon team that Washington bludgeoned 70-21 on Saturday looks like a defensive sieve. The Ducks have lost four consecutive games, are playing with a true freshman quarterback and no apparent purpose or confidence.
The Beavers can counter with 234-pound running back Ryan Nall. Nall runs with bruising power between the tackles and breakaway speed in the open field.
Nall carried 14 times for a staggering 221 yards against the Golden Bears. Those are Reggie Bush numbers.
Nall looks like the worst kind of mismatch for an Oregon defense the Huskies worked over for 682 yards. In back-to-back Pac-12 losses to Washington State and Washington, there hasn't seemed to be an attempted tackle the Ducks couldn't miss.
At OSU, the Beavers hung 474 rushing yards on Cal, breaking a school record for Pac-12 games from Jerry Pettibone's wishbone days.
Well, true, Cal's defense also is, to put it gently, a work in progress.
The Bears limped into Corvallis giving up an average of 481.8 yards per game. The entire college football world knew Cal's defense was vulnerable.
But the Beavers also shot down Cal's supposedly potent Bear Raid offense.
Cal quarterback Davis Webb was the national leader in passing yards. Receiver Chad Hansen was second in receiving yards.
So much for statistics. Oregon State played a coverage-first defense, and it worked.
Webb was 23 for 44 for an anemic 113 yards. Hansen didn't catch a meaningful pass.
Cal's offense was a non-factor for three quarters. The Bears' first-half touchdown came on a freak play when Garretson's pass caromed off receiver Jordan Villamin to linebacker Raymond Davison, who returned it 39 yards for a score.
OSU led 17-10 at halftime and 41-24 on Artavis Pierce's two-yard run with 10:35 left in the fourth quarter.
With the Beavers taking away Webb and the Cal passing game, the Bears popped some big runs in the fourth quarter to get back into it.
But overtime belonged to OSU.
Garretson rallied his teammates, then went out and made the game-winning play.
OSU's quarterback played with poise and guts, moving the Beavers with both his arm and his legs.
The Beavers stayed on the field for a long time afterward, celebrating first with a rollicking student section that came early and stayed to the end.
Then they crossed the field to the west grandstand. The fans there didn't want to leave either.
This win has been a long time coming.
"We have to understand that is what you're supposed to do, win football games," Andersen said. "These kids have been through a lot. They've battled and fought and stayed every day. There is no give-up in them."
Which could make that date with Ducks in November very interesting.
Oregon has ruled the in-state rivalry since 2008, beating OSU eight consecutive times.
Sometimes the games were close. Often the Ducks won with a breezy contempt.
But the Beavers delivered a message at Reser while the Ducks were crumbling at Autzen.
It's beginning to look like the Civil War is back in play.
-- Ken Goe
503-221-8040 | @KenGoe |
Seven months after making its first captive flight attached to its mother ship White Knight Two, Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo (aka VSS Enterprise) completed its first solo glide flight today touching down on runway 30 at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. The early morning flight took place after several months of simulated practice flights in the mother ship, also known as Eve, which has an identical cockpit as the space craft.
The glide flight is a critical first step for the team at Scaled Composites which is building the space ship for Virgin Galactic. Though there has been no word from the company, it is expected the flight test development of the VSS Enterprise will be similar to that of SpaceShipOne.
Back in 2003, SpaceShipOne performed seven solo glide flights before the first powered flight on 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers first flight.
Virgin Galactic boss Sir Richard Branson recently announced he expects the first passenger flights to suborbital space in SpaceShipTwo to happen within the next 18 months. Less than a year after the first glide flight of SpaceShipOne, the Scaled Composite team had flown to space three times, capturing the X Prize.
Passengers aboard the Virgin Galactic flights will be rocketed to more than 100km (62 miles) above the earth. The astronauts aboard the SpaceShipTwo flights will experience weightlessness as they float around the cabin for a few minutes and will be able to see the darkness of space and the curvature of the earth below. Several hundred tickets have already been sold for $200,000 each.
Update: In a release from Virgin Galactic, the company said today's first glide flight of SpaceShipTwo lasted 11 minutes after the space craft was released from its mother ship Eve at 45,000 feet. Scaled Composites test pilot and director of flight operations Pete Siebold was at the controls, with Mike Alsbury as co-pilot.
After a clean release, Siebold completed initial flight handling and stall characteristic evaluation of SpaceShipTwo. After completing a practice approach and landing at altitude, Siebold made the descent to the Mojave Air and Space Port and made a smooth landing.
“The VSS Enterprise was a real joy to fly, especially when one considers the fact that the vehicle has been designed not only to be a Mach 3.5 spaceship capable of going into space but also one of the worlds highest altitude gliders" Siebold said after the flight.
More photos (including the moment of the release) and a video previewing National Geographic's upcoming Virgin Galactic documentary after the jump.
Virgin Galactic's VSS Enterprise/SpaceShipTwo on maiden glide flight Copyright:2009Mark Greenberg
Photos: Virgin Galactic, Video: National Geographic/Virgin Galactic |
After dismantling the Portland Trail Blazers in 5 games in the first round of the 2015 NBA playoffs, the Memphis Grizzlies are tied 1-1 with NBA’s best team in the Western Conference Semifinals. Here’s why Memphis will pull the upset.
Style Of Play
The Grizzlies are a rugged team that can slow the pace of the game and frustrate a high scoring Warriors team that relies heavily on perimeter shooting. The Grizzlies were second in the NBA this year in team defense, allowing only 94.3 pts per game to opposing offenses.
Experience
The Grizzlies core of Mike Conley Jr., Tony Allen, Zach Randolph, and Marc Gasol have been together since 2010 and have consistently made noise in the playoffs in a tough Western Conference, reaching the conference finals in 2013. The Warriors may have won 67 games this season but this specific group is not nearly as battle tested in the playoffs as the Grizzlies.
Their Big Men
The Warriors simply have no answer for Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol in this series. The Grizzlies have trouble scoring at times but Z-Bo and Gasol will cause havoc on the glass and give the Grizz extra possessions on offense to go along with their ability to pass out of the low post.
Efficiency Of Mike Conley Jr.
Steph Curry may be the MVP but Mike Conley Jr., is the catalyst for this Memphis Grizzlies team. After missing game one Conley Jr returned in epic fashion scoring 9 points in the first 7 minutes of the game. Conley Jr. finished with 22 points on 8-12 shooting in only 27 minutes. Look for Conley Jr. to continue this type of efficiency and make Curry work on both ends of the court as the series shifts to Memphis.
“First Team All Defense!”
Tony Allen is arguably the best overall defensive player in the NBA and has been for most of his career. Allen was tenacious in a spectacular game 2 defensive performance, barking “First team all defense” at the Warriors while shutting down Klay Thompson and helping the Grizz hand the Warriors only their third loss at home all season.
The Grizzlies match up great with the Warriors. Charles Barkley has long been an advocate of jump shooting teams not being able to win a championship. I can’t say I disagree with Chuck on this one. Grizzlies in 6.
GRIZZLIES WIN SERIES +400
Chuck Green |
An Ebola patient was left in an open area of a Dallas emergency room for hours, and the nurses treating him worked for days without proper protective gear and faced constantly changing protocols, according to a statement released late Tuesday by National Nurses United (NNU), the largest U.S. nurses’ union.
Nurses were forced to use medical tape to secure openings in their flimsy garments, worried that their necks and heads were exposed as they cared for a patient with diarrhea and projectile vomiting, said Deborah Burger of the NNU.
“There was no advance preparedness on what to do with the patient. There was no protocol. There was no system,” she said.
Even today, Burger said, some staffers at the Dallas hospital do not have proper equipment to handle patients with the disease.
“Hospital managers have assured nurses that proper equipment has been ordered, but it has not arrived yet,” she said.
Burger convened a conference call with reporters to relay what she said were concerns of nurses at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, where Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S., died last week.
He died Oct. 8, and the hospital said Sunday that one of his nurses has tested positive for Ebola. She is hospitalized and was listed Tuesday in good condition. On Wednesday, Texas health officials announced that a preliminary test indicated a second, unidentified health care worker at the hospital had also been infected.
Dr. Daniel Varga, chief clinical officer of Texas Health Resources, which owns the hospital, denied the nurses’ allegations on Wednesday and said that the hospital’s quick isolation of the second health care worker proved its response to the disease is working.
“A lot is being said about what may or may not have happened to expose our colleagues to this disease,” but there is no “systemic” problem that led to the workers’ infections, Varga said.
“No one wants to get this right more than our hospital,” he added, saying that he would not comment on the allegations the union made but that health care workers do have access to proper protective gear. |
[Note: for recent ZetaTalk on the 7 of 10 scenarios, Dark Twin and Venus looming, Wobble progress and related subjects check the Q&A chats .]
The Zetas talk about cataclysmic changes described in a Zeta Vision given to Nancy; that a Sudden Impact is predictable but there is Millennium Denial in spite of Millennium Fever that the government will not Sound the Alarm; that the Earth stands witness to Past Cataclysms and Wandering Poles; how the Prior Shift during the Jewish Exodus and Passover relate; how flash froze Mastodons and Asteroid Traffic are proof. Why books by authors Velikovsky and Sitchin and many Prophets and Differing Prophecies and Future Maps seem to contradict; how there were Lost Records and Calendars and Clocks adjusted. The Zetas state that Emotional Adjustments to the news inevitably occur; that Resistance exists so that a Subtle Message is often best; that there will be Crop Failure for years going into the shift with Crop Adjustments and Diet Adjustments; that Threats of War and a Financial Freeze is possible, and a Market Crash will occur with a varied Crash Impact likely. The Zetas explain why the Mayan Calendar or a planetary alignment on May 5, 2000 are not clues, and why Precision is difficult in determining the Pole Shift Timeline; how New Orleans, a Preview and Disaster Movies portent. The Zetas say that in spite of Manifest Clues there will be diversionary False Alarms; and hiding the truth behind Cataclysm Masks even though Proof Existed many years before with Heralding of an approach with harbingers such as Green Meteors, Space Trash, a New Moon, Permafrost Quakes, Moon Halos, Black Water, a Lowered Jet Stream, and signs such as Deformed Frogs and Big Birds and increasing incidence of Deep Quakes. The Zetas talk about whether Atlantis and the Land of Mu exist; whether The Flood occurred and why Noah anticipated this; how Moses was guided; whether Tales such as the Red Sea Parting and Jonah and the whale describe Pole Shifts; why there are Submerged Roads near Bermuda; what Ancient Maps reveal; and what the Loch Ness Monster and the Yeti and Brainerd Lake have to do with Pole Shifts.
The Zetas talk about how the Comet's Tail first sweeps the Earth with Red Dust and Tail Debris, Warning the shift is near; then the approaching comet causes the Earth to Stop Rotation for a few days due a Magnetic Grip, causing a Long Day/Night, while Groaning in protest; then gigantic Lightning Bolts occur in the upper atmosphere, Violent Winds occur, and petrochemicals formed in the skies rain down in Firestorms; then, as the core of the Earth attempts to align magnetically with the giant comet, there is a Pole Shift with Continental Rip, Mountain Building in certain Mountain Ranges, and Sinking and Rising land; how Pre-Existing plate alignment dictates a Scripted Drama; how gigantic Tidal Waves and Climbing Water assault the coasts in a Flood Tide, though Water Movement began when rotation stopped, and an Ocean Vortex can form; how plate shifts can result in a Sinking Atlantic floor, affecting the surrounding shorelines, and New Land near Antartica; but how the Other Planets will be little affected. The Zetas talk about how Rotation Returns within a day after the shift; how the Pole Shift will result in new poles and a new equator, a New Geography; how the Earth will undergo Climate Changes; how there will be a New Climate and fewer Deserts but the Prevailing Winds will re-establish themselves; how later there will be inundations from the oceans due to Melting Ice Caps with Rising Seas; how the Earth will experience a Rebirth as it has in the past; that the Seed of Rebirth are in the wilderness we are maintaining as refuges today though some species may become Endangered Species; that life will be on the rebound with oxygen from the Ocean Life and Inland Lakes will often prosper, and though a Nuclear Winter will not occur, but a Return to Normalcy may take several decades.
The Zetas talk about How to Prepare, what First Steps to take, what What Mindset to have for that Most Terrible Day and the Last Weeks Countdown and How to Identify the hour of the shift; what general Safety Measures can be taken but why the people of India should Prepare for Death; the severity of the Earthquakes and Volcanoes such as Yellowstone that will occur and how to Survive the Quakes and Rapid Shift and Rampaging Water and why a Shallow Trench works best; how long the Gloom and rise in Sea Level and Atmosphere Loss will last; how the Seasons Shift and when to Restart Gardens; what are Safe Places and Safe Structures; what dry lake beds like the Salt Flats offer; that not all water will be Safe Water; that where there is local danger from Nuclear Stockpiles that Pollutants will have dissipated; that we should prepare ahead of time to avoid a Last Minute Panic but the Level of Preparation and when to include Friends and Family will vary; that Countdown Signs will announce that the Hour of the Shift is at hand, and Certainty can be determined. The Zetas talk about what life on Earth will be like in the Aftertime; What will Survive and how the Pole Shift is a Great Equalizer; how Manna from Heaven may be found in some locales; that there will be Government Collapse, but that there will be Survivors including responsible folks who will act as a Mainstay for Others; that worldwide there will be Devastated Cities with even the Machine Age halted, but New Energy sources will be on the upswing and even the Internet will be functional; but that stocks and paper money will be Worthless Money.
The Zetas talk about whether it is myth or truth that the Pole Shift is caused by a planetary Vortex; whether the Earth will experience a Polar Heatwave or Shift Meltdown; whether intervention is possible or are the Cataclysms Inevitable and Wishful Thinking fruitless; if the Rebel Planet has always approached From Orion; if there are 12th Planet Moons; whether earthquakes and volcanic activity are caused by Electro-Magnetic Pulse, and whether an Asteroid Impact could account for the geological evidence. The Zetas explain how comet NEAT V1 and a 2MASS Denial and asteroid 1997 XF11 and 2002-NT7 were covert warnings, and Comet Lee a concession; how movies such as The Core are a message, and there may be a New Game Plan afoot.
Note: Where Planet X came into the inner solar system in early 2003, it has not yet passed, though has gone through gyrations while passing the Sun's S Pole and adjusting to the Sun's magnetic field. Some ZetaTalk is best understood in the context of the date written. These topics, below, are organized by date written and should be read in order for a historical perspective. The increase in Earth changes and electromagnetic interference and evidence of Planet X in the inner solar system is palpable. For the very latest ZetaTalk, however, jump to the bottom for news about the current year!
In 2002 this was a Comet Visible, especially by Fall 2002 in Amateur Scopes via Zeta Coordinates for early Sighting Success; that Visibility Factors applied and it was Not a Star and gave off Red Light which varied by viewing Latitude. The Zetas talk about how early Slowing Rotation was reflected in Trend Data but Not Obvious; how Countdown Minutes and Time Differences can create Slowing Confusion, but important Slowing Determination is still a simply process. In 2003 a Fire Dragon presenting Two Personas was seen from afar and by April 2003 with the Unaided Eye and had many Planet X Personas and a Second Sun when close; how there is a Periodic Passage or approach whose Time Frame is predictable; Why May 15 was chosen for the deliberate White Lie, asserting 2003 or a purported Late 2003 date and Straight Talk to confuse the Establishment; though Earth Changes are still the best guide for a Decision Time to avoid Travel Blocks; that despite Power Outages and Whomping Sounds the establishment is Suppressing the Word using Solar Flares as a Solar Opportunists behind a Solar Cover, though an Odd Atmosphere developed.
In 2004 the Winter Solstice showed slow progress, and a Long Wait made for a Long Year for many; how the Monster Cometh and the Dance Began but there will be No Surprise when the time arrives; how man will be warned by a Sunrise West and 3 Days of Darkness after Twirling into Darkness on a Potter's Wheel before the shift; how a Drunken Lurch and Earth Wobble with Weather Wobbles began, the Earth in an Unshakable Grip with plate Lockdown; how a Torque Effect and Magma Slam will resulted in Snap Crackle and Pop in Sumatra; why there were increased Small Plane Crashes and quakes in the Stretch Zone and confusion about the Solar Minimum. In 2005 Signs of Change were evident despite Where is Planet X questions; but the Threshold Crossed and the Trend Lines and Weather Extremes and Jet Stream Tornadoes and a Moon Dance were obvious; the Tail Returns and Earth on the Rack and Sun Scald and an eventual Lean to the Left are results while a Folding Pacific and Stretch Stench and Hell Unleashed due to the wobble; how much Proof Exists and where confusion about the Sequence of Events exists, there will be a Clear Message on the time frame. The Zetas talk about whether Hale-Bopp was the millennium comet or the Shramek Object real and Psi-Tech Pathogens false alarms.
In 2006 a Siberian Freeze and Tail Wafting occurred, the Dragon's Claw on the Earth becoming Exponential with Quickening Quakes and a pending N American Rip, while Planet X was Dead on and Deadly causing a Water Tree. In 2007 and Earth Farts and Minneapolis Bridge showed the stress, as did a Christmas Hammer with Planet X Right while the Horizon Project and Peru Meteor Sickness emerged. In 2008 Blackberry Outages and Reno Swarms occurred and Alexandria Cables and Dubai Cables ripped while Mercury's Shroud emerged. In 2009 Air France 447 occurred and the Second Sun Returns combined with a Severe Wobble and Magnetic Twist and a Brazil Blackout and Neon Swirls, while SOHO Says So. In 2010 Radar Circles and a NASA Cover-up and Moons Astray have NASA frantic, but NASA's Movies continue; High Drama promised with Blue Clues and the 7 of 10 Sequence pending. In 2011 Pisgah Panic and Trumpets and Howls showed plate movement stress, Wobble Sloshing during the Last Weeks detailed, as predicted Venus and Dark Twin Looming.
All rights reserved: ZetaTalk@ZetaTalk.com |
It hasn't been a great day for Uber's PR team. Late last night, an Uber VP reportedly said that the company was considering spending $1 million to investigate journalists and dig up dirt on their personal lives, a comment that put CEO Travis Kalanick into damage control mode for most of the day. But a secondary controversy arose from this first PR mistake — Ellen Cushing, a journalist at San Francisco magazine said that Uber employees warned her that company executives were possibly looking at her rider logs to see which employees she was speaking to as part of her reporting for a story on Kalanick. While Cushing wasn't able to verify that claim, she did say it felt likely to her based on the recently-revealed statements about investigating journalists.
Now, Uber is doing its best to put out that new fire and reassure riders that their personal data is safe. In a statement, Uber said that it "has a strict policy prohibiting all employees at every level from accessing a rider or driver's data. The only exception to this policy is for a limited set of legitimate business purposes." It went on to note some examples of those legitimate business purposes, including "supporting riders and drivers in order to solve problems brought to their attention by the Uber community," "facilitating payment transactions for drivers," and "reviewing specific rider or driver accounts in order to troubleshoot bugs."
Of course, that "legitimate business purposes" exception is a pretty big one, giving the company leeway to look into user data as long as it can find some business justification. Between the Uber CEO's swift refutal of the claims it wants to dig up dirt on journalists and this public privacy statement, it's clear that the company is trying to assure riders their privacy isn't at risk — but regardless, it may take the company some time to shake off this latest bit of bad press. |
Car of the day – Tuned Toyota Cresta X80 RWD 4-door sedan 1920×1080 HD
The Toyota Cresta X80 is a 4-door sedan with a rear-wheel-drive system. The X80 was produced between 1988 and 1992.
This particular X80 model is available with 8 different engines. Starting from a 1.8-liter engine and finishing with a 3.0-liter engine.
All engine specifications:
1.8-liter (1838 cc) 105 hp (77 kW) and 110 lbs-ft (149 Nm) of torque. Productions between 1988-1990.
1.8-liter (1838 cc) 115 hp (84 kW) and 116 lbs-ft (157 Nm) of torque. Productions between 1990-1992.
2.0-liter (1988 cc) 135 hp (99 kW) and 130 lbs-ft (177 Nm) of torque. Productions between 1988-1992.
2.0-liter (1988 cc) 150 hp (110 kW) and 134 lbs-ft (182 Nm) of torque. Productions between 1988-1992.
2.0-liter (1988 cc) 210 hp (154 kW) and 203 lbs-ft (275 Nm) of torque. Productions between 1988-1990.
2.4-liter (2446 cc) 94 hp (69 kW) and 148 lbs-ft (201 Nm) of torque. Productions between 1988-1992.
2.5-liter (2491 cc) 280 hp (205 kW) and 268 lbs-ft (363 Nm) of torque. Productions between 1990-1992.
3.0-liter (2954 cc) 200 hp (147 kW) and 195 lbs-ft (265 Nm) of torque. Productions between 1989-1992.
The Toyota Cresta X80 has a wheelbase of 107 inches (2730 mm). Its length is 185 inches (4690 mm), width is 66.7 inches (1695 mm), and height is 54.1 inches (1375 mm). Its curb weight is 3260 lbs (1480 kg).
The car in the picture above looks quite decent if you compare a base model and this one. It was tuned really nicely. Those wheels fits the car very good. Actually, those wheels probably is the best part of the whole tune, because those wheels definitely adds a lot of good looks for the car.
In 2013, a used base (in an average condition) Toyota Cresta X80 model’s price starts at around 1,000 USD ($) or less.
Car of The Day |
Clinton and Trump. | AP Photo/Kathy Willens, Julie Jacobson Florida poll: Clinton, Trump in a virtual tie
A new poll shows Florida’s presidential vote might resemble that of so many of its nail-biting predecessors.
Hillary Clinton is essentially tied with Donald Trump, 43 percent to 42 percent, according to Quinnipiac University’s latest survey of Florida voters. Quinnipiac found the exact same result in its swing-state poll of Pennsylvania and found Trump marginally ahead of Clinton in Ohio, where he leads 43 percent to 39 percent.
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Owing to its size and growing Hispanic population, Florida could be the most challenging state for Trump, but Quinnipiac’s survey indicates Clinton has her own problems with white, male voters.
“Republicans’ weakness among minority voters is well known. But the reason this race is so close overall is Clinton’s historic weakness among white men. In Florida, she is getting just 25 percent from white men,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac Poll.
Quinnipiac focuses on the three swing states because, since 1960, no presidential candidate has won the White House without carrying two of the three. Florida, with 29 Electoral College votes, is the biggest prize, followed by Pennsylvania (20) and Ohio (18).
Even though Clinton looks well on her way to securing her party’s nomination, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders isn’t giving up and his supporters are likely to be encouraged by the poll results that show him doing slightly better than Clinton, edging Trump 44 percent to 42 percent in Florida, 43 percent to 41 percent in Ohio and 47 percent to 41 percent in Pennsylvania.
Most political insiders in Florida are so certain she’ll be the nominee that they’re not polling Sanders in hypothetical matchups against Trump.
A poll last week from Republican-leaning Associated Industries of Florida showed Clinton walloping Trump 49 percent to 36 percent in the state. That poll used a different polling technique and sampled 604 likely voters. Quinnipiac sampled 1,051 respondents. The Florida’s poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Two months ago, an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll by Marist had Clinton leading Trump by 8 points in Florida, but a poll taken just days earlier by SurveyUSA showed Trump ahead by 1 point. More recently, a poll of Democratic-leaning Miami-Dade, the most populous county in the state, showed Clinton leading Trump by 27 points, thanks to strong Democratic and minority support.
While the polls vary greatly (Quinnipiac’s last survey in September showed Clinton leading Trump by 5 percentage points), pollsters agree the general election is just gearing up and that the leading candidates’ fates largely rest on what type of electorate appears in November.
If Clinton can get President Obama’s coalition of minorities and young people to show in Florida, she’ll likely win. If the presidential electorate resembles the whiter and older turnout of the midterm elections in Florida, when Republicans dominate, Trump is poised to be the first GOP presidential candidate to win the state since 2004. Whether it’s a governor’s race or a presidential contest, Florida elections have a history of being close. The past four statewide top-of-the-ticket elections were decided by 2.8 percentage points or fewer. And in 2000, George W. Bush claimed a win with just 537 votes.
One of Trump’s signature issues in the GOP primary, a hard line on immigration, has less salience in the Florida poll of the general election, when more minorities will have the opportunity to vote for or against him. The survey showed 57 percent of Florida respondents believed illegal immigrants currently in the United States should be able to have a pathway to citizenship, while 11 percent said they should be allowed to stay but not become citizens. Only 25 percent of the general-election sample said the undocumented immigrants should be required to leave the United States.
Voters were evenly split on the idea of building a border wall with Mexico, with 48 percent in favor and 48 percent against.
The Quinnipiac survey shows support for Trump and Clinton fracture along clear fault lines of gender, race and age in Florida.
Florida women prefer Clinton, 48 percent to 35 percent while men favor Trump, 49 percent to 36 percent. White voters back the Republican, 52 percent to 33 percent while non-white voters side with the Democrat, 63 percent to 20 percent. The youngest voters, those 18 to 34, favor Clinton 49 percent to 27 percent; voters older than 65 want Trump 50 percent to 37 percent.
Independents are evenly split between the two candidates, with each receiving 39 percent.
Here’s what the two candidates have in common in the Florida poll: Neither is well-liked. They have the same favorability ratings, with 37 percent viewing each favorably and 57 percent viewing each negatively.
When it comes to handling the economy, voters in the poll favor Trump over Clinton 54 percen tot 40 percent, and when it comes to dealing with terrorism, he comes out on top, 49 percen to 43 percent. Trump is also perceived as more honest and trustworthy than Clinton, although neither is really trusted. Twenty-nine percent say she’s trustworthy while 38 percent say he is; 66 percent don’t trust her while 57 percent don’t trust him.
Trump is perceived as more of a leader than Clinton; 53 percent say she has strong leadership qualities while 60 percent say that of him. And 41 percent say she cares about people like them; 41 percent say that of Trump.
Clinton beats Trump regarding voters’ perception of their temperament. Asked if Trump has the right temperament and personality to handle an international crisis as president, 34 percent said yes and 62 percent said no. But Clinton was viewed as having the right temperament by 54 percent while 44 said no. By 46 percent to 41 percent, Florida voters also believed Clinton had higher moral standards than Trump.
And by 52 percent to 38 percent, Clinton was perceived as more intelligent than her Republican rival. |
The chief executives of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment and the Toronto Argonauts say the CFL team might still move to BMO Field, though an early financial hurdle has not yet been overcome. In a Tuesday interview, MLSE CEO Tim Leiweke rejected a newspaper report that said the company has “cancelled” its plan to renovate the soccer stadium and allow the football club to play there after its Rogers Centre lease expires in 2017.
An architect's rendering of proposed renovation and expansion plans for BMO Field, home of Toronto FC. ( Supplied photo )
Leiweke said the relocation plan is not dead — just “on hold”as MLSE attempts to secure $10 million from the provincial government, which is in the middle of an election campaign, and $10 million from the federal government. Because the money has not arrived, MLSE is now asking city council to endorse a change to the renovation agreement that was approved by council only last month on the condition of an Argos move. The agreement was for a $120-million project to be paid for by MLSE ($90 million), the city ($10 million, to be repaid by MLSE with interest), the federal government ($10 million) and the provincial government ($10 million).
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Leiweke said MLSE still faces pressure to add about 8,000 permanent seats to the city-owned stadium in time for the Pan Am Games next summer. So the company wants council to quickly sign off on a scaled-back renovation which would add those seats and build a roof. The new plan would require the $90 million in MLSE money and $10 million from the city. “If and when” the additional $20 million arrives, Leiweke said, MLSE would then do the work to accommodate the Argos and 10,000 extra temporary seats for major events such as the NHL Winter Classic. “There is a path,” Leiweke said. “It may be a year later than initially expected.” He added: “There is no stress or tension here, nor is there any disagreement between us and the governments.” “We still believe that the project will eventually move forward as it was always anticipated,” said Argos CEO Chris Rudge. Ottawa says it will not provide funding for sports stadiums. Leiweke countered that he is asking instead for a $10 million contribution to the “big events” the expanded stadium could host, tourist draws such as the Winter Classic, Grey Cup and MLS All-Star Game.
“Our government has been clear that it would not fund professional sport infrastructure,” said Vincent Rabault, press secretary for federal infrastructure minister Denis Lebel. “This decision is being implemented uniformly across the country. That being said, amateur sport infrastructure is now eligible for funding under the Gas Tax Fund.”
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With files from Rick Westhead
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Criminal proceedings are open against former FIFA official Sepp Blatter. Sepp Blatter ban presser 20151221
The Swiss attorney general's office has said it is leading 25 separate investigations into suspected corruption linked to FIFA and World Cup bidding.
Michael Lauber's office confirmed the scale of "football-related cases" after securing a first conviction since its FIFA investigations began in 2014.
Cases were not specified, but criminal proceedings are open against former FIFA officials Sepp Blatter and Jerome Valcke, and some 2006 World Cup organisers, including Franz Beckenbauer.
Swiss and U.S. prosecutors worked together this week on a guilty plea from Jorge Arzuaga, a former employee of Swiss private banks from Argentina.
Arzuaga admitted conspiring with former FIFA finance chairman Julio Grondona and others in a money-laundering conspiracy linked to bribes.
Lauber's office said Arzuaga forfeited $650,000 (£508,886) in "unlawfully obtained" bonuses to the Swiss treasury. |
President Barack Obama appears to have learned something compared to candidate Obama: protectionism isn’t to America’s advantage. Unfortunately, it is not clear that Congress has learned the same lesson. Three free trade agreements negotiated by the Bush administration remain in limbo, while no one is pushing to reinstate the president’s so-called fast track negotiating authority.
And past protectionist actions are now bearing ill fruit. The “stimulus” bill required that construction money be spent in the U.S. Although the provision was amended in response to foreign criticism, some Canadian firms have been adversely affected. So Canadian cities have begun boycotting American products.
Reports Reuters:
Canadian municipal leaders threatened to retaliate against the “Buy America” movement in the United States on Saturday, warning trade restrictions will hurt both countries’ economies. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities endorsed a controversial proposal to support communities that refuse to buy products from countries that put trade restrictions on products and services from Canada. The measure is a response to a provision in the U.S. economic stimulus package passed by Congress in February that says public works projects should use iron, steel and other goods made in the United States. The United States is Canada’s largest trading partner, and Canadians have complained the restrictions will bar their companies from billions of dollars in business that they have previously had access to. “This U.S. protectionist policy is hurting Canadian firms, costing Canadian jobs and damaging Canadian efforts to grow our economy in the midst of a worldwide recession,” said Sherbrooke, Quebec, Mayor Jean Perrault, also president of the federation that represents cities and towns across Canada. The municipal officials meeting at the federation’s convention in Whistler, British Columbia, endorsed the measure despite complaints by Canadian trade officials. Trade Minister Stockwell Day told the group on Friday that Ottawa was actively negotiating with Washington to get the “Buy American” restrictions removed.
Thankfully, this bilateral spat isn’t likely to spark another Great Depression. However, it illustrates how protectionism is self-defeating. Other countries will not stand by silently as American legislators attempt to bar their products from the American market. And U.S. workers will be the ultimate victims as the cycle of retaliation spreads. |
The worst for last?
No journalism is easy, but news writing might be the hardest. Even an hour-long video has only a fraction of the words and sources in a solid news story.
So for Kunkel Award’s fifth and final category, our three judges harshly assessed even the best of the 116 entries.
No one was spared – from Breitbart’s Exposed: The Secret Mailing List of the Gaming Journalism Elite (“I have no idea what got exposed or why it matters, because no one’s telling me how or why”) to Kotaku’s How Binding of Isaac Fans Ended Up Digging Holes in Santa Ana, California (“A fun blow-by-blow of a sort of digital scavenger hunt, but Christ, I hate the top of almost every one of these Kotaku stories. Get. To. The. Point.”)
Below are the eight finalists for Excellence in News Reporting, in no particular order and with comments from two judges per finalist. All three judges will review any comments below, elsewhere online, and submitted here. Then it’s time to pick the winners and see what happens.
(By the way, “lede” is journo-jargon for the first sentence or two of a story, and “graf” is short for paragraph. Don’t even get me started on the double entendre of other terminology.)
“Heavy on sourcing, which is good, but light on bringing it together and telling me why all this matters. Specifically, the tweet in the lede isn’t explained for graf after graf. Tell me why I should care or I won’t.”
“Interesting analysis. I love the sourcing. The headline is terribly broad, though, and it sometimes veers into editorializing. I’m not sure this category was the best fit.”
“Clear. Timely. Well-sourced. Kinda boring beginning and a very dry thesis, but it’s an important story. That said, it’s a product announcement. Award worthy?”
“The premise of this article, ‘microgames,’ is probably the stupidest thing I’ve read in this category. But the writing itself is solid, the quotes are mostly helpful and relevant, and the sourcing is good.”
“Finally! News happens, reporter jumps into the mud and reports how deep it is. Detail, pizzazz, interest, and of course journalism.”
“A bit squishy, but news you can use with a step-by-step. I like that.”
“This isn’t news. It’s a feature. And it’s got all kinds of stuff that make me want to read it: original sourcing, interesting and untapped info, a good lede.”
“I really love this story, the details and interviews are amazing, and this is so much more important (and carries so much more human interest) than the slew of GamerGate submissions. I think it would have done far better in the feature category, or an explanatory category if we had one. But I’m willing to consider it as ‘in-depth news’ because it’s definitely not opinion and the reporting is there.”
“I’m pretty sure this is an important story, but why did the writer take so long to tell me so? Such a long-winded intro about nothing that matters as much as what comes at its end. Pair with all anonymous sources and I’m disappointed by the time I’m supposed to be engaged. Still, I guess a 13-month investigation is worth something.”
“Badly needs better editing. This should’ve been so much cooler than it turned out – and it’s kind of a theme with Kotaku submissions. Instead of balancing the juicy stuff with the backstory, we have to wade through all the backstory before getting to all the hard investigative work. Frustrating.”
“Interesting. Good lede, good background. But where’s a human source? Something other than information. I mean, we’re talking about porn. Porn’s about people, but this story apparently isn’t. Still interesting, though.”
“Interested, but can’t find the news and don’t understand why the people teased in the headline aren’t interviewed. First quote is hundreds of words – and six videos/pictures – deep. So it reads more like, ‘Hey guys, check out this kinky shit’ until pretty far into the story. Great for horny teenagers, not great for anyone looking for some kind of psychology or big picture.”
“Whoa. Heavy stuff. I’d be into this kind of journalism on the regular.”
“My biggest issue is how dense this is. I want more section breaks and maybe some internal summary. The ones it has now do that, fortunately – but it’s still a slog.”
“Powerful stuff, but man, does it take its time getting to the point. Sourcing the news channel so heavily is a sure way to bore me. I don’t want to read through all that. Just tell me what happened and link me to it so I can read deeper if I want to.”
“Good reporting. Love the outreach to the station, the anonymous source, and the attempt to thoroughly document how the original story unfolded. It does get bogged down, a little repetitive, and focuses on some irrelevant details, but all that’s forgivable for the shoe leather here.”
Coming soon: The winners of the 2015 Kunkel Awards.
Defending the First Amendment and promoting open government are more crucial now than ever. Join SPJ's fight for the publics right to know either as an SPJ Supporter or a professional, student or retired journalist. |
SEOUL/BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korean television Sunday showed power-behind-the-throne Jang Song-thaek in the uniform of a general in a sign of his growing sway after the death of Kim Jong-il, and Japan’s prime minister said the region faced a new phase with Kim’s demise.
Footage that North Korean television said was shot on Saturday showed Jang on the frontrow of top military officers who accompanied Kim Jong-un, the youngest son of Kim Jong-il and his anointed successor, paying their respects before Kim’s body.
The choreography around Kim’s death is one of the secretive North’s few, opaque clues to the emerging configuration of power in this poor and isolated state that has rattled neighbors with nuclear tests and military brinkmanship.
A Seoul official familiar with North Korea affairs said it was the first time Jang has been shown on state television in a military uniform. His appearance suggested that Jang has secured a key role in the North’s powerful military, which has pledged its allegiance to Kim Jong-un.
North Korea announced Monday Kim Jong-il had died of a heart attack on December 17. His body is lying in state in a mausoleum in Pyongyang. He was believed to be 69.
Kim Jong-un was hailed by state media Saturday as “supreme commander” of the North’s 1.1 million-strong armed forces, the title held by his father.
Related Coverage Japan PM tells China's Wen both want stable Korean peninsula
A senior source told Reuters this week Pyongyang will shift from a strongman dictatorship to a coterie of rulers including the military and Jang, Kim Jong-un’s uncle.
Jang married the daughter of the country’s revolutionary founder, Kim Il-sung, in 1972, joining the ruling family that has forged its own form of dynastic rule.
“AN NEW PHASE”
In Beijing, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda told Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao that their two countries shared a stake in preserving stability in North Korea in a “new phase.”
“The death of Secretary-General Kim Jong-il has brought East Asia to a new phase,” Noda told Wen at the start of bilateral talks in China’s capital.
Noda is the first regional leader to visit Beijing since Kim Jong-il’s death was announced Monday, leaving his young son Kim Jong-un as leader of North Korea, which has rattled the region with nuclear tests and military confrontation.
New North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (front) walks with a row of top military officers, including Jang Song-thaek (L), as they pay their respects to former leader Kim Jong-il lying in state at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang, in this picture released by KCNA December 26, 2011. The picture shows Jang Song-thaek, who is Kim Jong-un's uncle and the power behind the communist state's throne, wearing a military uniform with the insignia of a general, another sign of his rising influence after the death of Kim Jong-il. REUTERS/KCNA
But Beijing is acutely sensitive about upsetting North Korea, especially during the current delicate transition, and Wen and Noda kept their public remarks free of controversy.
“Both sides agreed that preserving the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula serves the interests of all sides,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in its account of their talks, according to the ministry website (www.mfa.gov.cn).
Wen and Noda also agreed on seeking an early restart of the six-party nuclear disarmament talks that North Korea abandoned.
China is North Korea’s sole major economic and diplomatic partner, and the United States and its regional allies have long pressed Beijing to use its influence to rein in Pyongyang.
China has sought to defuse confrontation by hosting six-party nuclear disarmament talks since August 2003. The now-stalled negotiations bring together North and South Korea, China, the United States, Japan and Russia.
In April 2009, North Korea said it was quitting the talks and reversing nuclear “disablement” steps, unhappy with implementation of an initial disarmament deal.
Constraining North Korea is especially important for Japan, which is well within range of the North’s long-range missiles and wants Pyongyang to resolve the emotive issue of the fate of Japanese citizens kidnapped to help train spies decades ago.
New North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) stands among a row of top military officers, including Jang Song-thaek (2nd L), as they pay their respects to former leader Kim Jong-il lying in state at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang in this still picture taken obtained from video footage aired by KRT (Korean Central TV of the North), December 25, 2011.
“It is very significant that we affirmed close communication with China, the chair country of the six-party talks,” Noda told reporters after his meeting with Wen.
“We agreed that we need to address the (North Korean) issue calmly and properly and to keep close contact with each other.” |
Imagine making your commute home, bracing yourself for the human tsunami that is sure to greet you when cutting through a busy train station. Only this time, instead of the din of a bustling crowd, you’re met by an angelic chorus.
Fellow travelers silently wave you over to an open, domed hall, where the angels stand, singing in a semicircle. One is drinking a beer. Another is barefoot.
Okay, they’re not actually angels. They’re the Icelandic folk group Árstíðir. On this particular night, they had just finished a concert in Wuppertal, Germany, and were making their way back to their lodgings when they were struck by the station’s perfect acoustics. Its arched, stone ceiling created a cathedral-like environment.
Boosted by the success of the evening, the six men broke into song. A hush immediately fell over passersby, some of whom almost certainly missed their trains to stay and listen to the beautiful harmonies.
Despite the fact that this song, “Heyr himna smiður,” dates to around 1208 and the Wuppertal Hauptbahnhof station was built in the mid-19th century, the sound and the space seem perfectly suited to one another. At one point a public announcement is piped over an intercom. Instead of ruining the music it magically weaves a new voice into the harmonic tapestry.
Update (10/5): This article identifies the train station as the Hauptbahnhof station. It is actually the Wuppertal-Vohwinkel station. |
Before the terrorist attacks in Benghazi, "the State Department not only failed to honor repeated requests for additional security, but instead actually reduced security in Libya."
With the launch of a new Benghazi investigation, Republicans will once again scrutinize the actions of Hillary Rodham Clinton's State Department in the months leading up to the deadly terrorist attacks in that Libyan port city.
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson signaled as much on May 6, 2014, two days before the GOP-led House of Representatives voted to open what by some counts is the eighth Benghazi investigation.
In an opinion article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Johnson alleged that a "dereliction of duty" by Clinton contributed to the deaths of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans.
It wasn’t the first time the Wisconsin Republican took on the Democrats’ front-runner for president in 2016. One of Johnson's high-profile moments in the Senate occurred during a testy exchange with Clinton, then the secretary of state, at a 2013 hearing on Benghazi that led to Clinton’s oft-quoted "What difference does it make " comment.
In his opinion piece, Johnson singled out the State Department leadership in Washington in saying that "the greatest outrages occurred before the attack."
"The State Department not only failed to honor repeated requests for additional security, but instead actually reduced security in Libya. Although no one can say with certainty, I firmly believe a relatively small contingent of armed military guards would have prevented the attack, and those four lives would not have been lost."
Is Johnson right -- that before the attacks, the State Department "failed to honor repeated requests for additional security" and "actually reduced security in Libya"?
Benghazi background
A May 2014 Associated Press news article sets the scene prior to the attacks, which resulted in the first murder of a U.S. ambassador since 1988.
Benghazi is where Moammar Gadhafi in 1969 launched a revolution that put him in control of the North African nation. It is also the birthplace of a 2011 revolt that, with the help of NATO warships and planes, deposed and killed the Libyan dictator.
A year later, Benghazi remained chaotic, in the grip of heavily armed militias and Islamist militants, some with links to al-Qaida.
A temporary U.S. mission in Benghazi had been created in 2011 in hopes of encouraging stability and democracy. It was struck by homemade bombs twice in the spring of 2012 -- two of some 20 security incidents involving the facility, British diplomats, the Red Cross or other Westerners in the months before the deadly assaults.
Ambassador Chris Stevens was based at the U.S. embassy in Tripoli, 400 miles west of Benghazi. He decided to visit the Benghazi mission on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, when U.S. embassies around the world were on alert for terrorism.
There were seven Americans at the Benghazi mission in the hours leading up to the attacks: Stevens, a communications officer and five security agents -- two of whom had accompanied Stevens and three based at Benghazi.
About 9:40 p.m. on Sept. 11, 2012, dozens of armed attackers entered the U.S. compound and set the main building on fire. Stevens and the communications specialist died of smoke inhalation. Early the next morning and about a mile away, mortar fire killed two CIA security contractors at a CIA annex, where Stevens’ body had been taken.
First part of Johnson claim
The first part of Johnson’s claim is that the State Department "failed to honor repeated requests for additional security."
His reference is to requests made by Stevens and other U.S. officials in Libya to the State Department leadership in Washington.
"There are disagreements about whether State acted reasonably, but that it didn't honor requests for additional security is established fact," said Georgetown University adjunct assistant professor Daveed Gartenstein-Ross , who is also a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, which focuses on foreign policy and national security.
The State Department has acknowledged it rejected requests to provide more security personnel in Libya. It also acknowledged rejecting a request to erect guard towers at the Benghazi mission, but notes that a number of physical security upgrades, such as the installation of concrete barriers to block unused gates, were made during 2012.
The State Department’s own Accountability Review Board concluded that the number of diplomatic security staff in Benghazi in the months leading up to the attacks was inadequate "despite repeated requests" from the Benghazi mission and the embassy in Tripoli for additional staffing.
The Benghazi facility had been projected to have five security agents and there had been multiple requests that five be placed there. But in the nine months before the attacks, the facility had a full complement of five agents on only 23 days.
After the State Department's security staff in Washington rejected the repeated requests, the post became resigned to not having the full complement of five agents and stopped making the requests, the review board found.
A bipartisan report by the Senate Intelligence Committee also found that the State Department headquarters did not grant Stevens' requests for more security personnel.
Second part of Johnson claim
The second part of Johnson’s claim is that before the attacks, the State Department "actually reduced security in Libya."
The bipartisan Senate committee found that despite the deteriorating conditions around Benghazi, State Department headquarters decided not to request an extension of service by the Defense Department's Site Security Team, which was scheduled to be redeployed in August 2012, about one month before the attacks.
The 16-member team was based in Tripoli, but spent some time in Benghazi and had provided security resources that the State Department could utilize. The State Department opted not to request an extension of the team, the Senate committee found, because it believed that many of the duties could be provided by State Department security staff and local Libyan security personnel.
The Senate committee also pointed out that less than a month before the attacks, Stevens "declined two specific offers" from the general heading Defense Department operations in Africa to extend the stay of the Site Security Team.
But according to Stevens’ top assistant, Gregory Hicks, that was a few weeks after the State Department had already decided not to request the team’s deployment to be extended.
Because Washington "had refused to extend the special forces security mission, State Department protocol required" Stevens to decline the two offers, Hicks wrote in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal.
Our rating
Johnson said that before the terrorist attacks in Benghazi, "the State Department not only failed to honor repeated requests for additional security, but instead actually reduced security in Libya."
State Department headquarters in Washington did refuse repeated requests from its ambassador in Libya for more security personnel. And it decided not to accept an offer from the Defense Department to extend the stay of one of its security units in Libya, reducing the level of security that was available.
We rate Johnson’s statement True.
To comment on this item, go to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s web page. |
Poor Garry McCarthy.
He’s nicknamed “Streetlight Assassin” by some of us for his inglorious reputation as the guy who shot out street lights in Jersey outside a neighborhood bar with his State Cop brother while drunk one evening many years ago (while shouting racial epithets at nearby neighbors coming out of their homes to see what was going on).
That was before he was arrested trying to throw his weight around after his daughter called him because she didn’t want to take a citation like a good girl, but instead played the “do you know who I am?” card rather poorly.
She does make a cute model though (see photo).
Anyway, the gun must have made him shoot out those street lights that one night, just like it was the fault of the gun allegedly used by gang members to shoot up that public park last week, wounding about a dozen people including critically wounding a three-year-old.
“A military-grade weapon on the streets of Chicago is simply unacceptable,” the hard-drinking, skirt-chasing Police Chief said at a presser Friday, before cracking open his first cold one of the evening. “This kind of shocks the consciousness just like the other high-profile incidents that happen across this country.”
Hey, jackwagon: What shocks the consciousness is the insane levels of violence in your fair city, sir. It’s not the gun… military-grade or not. It’s the lack of effective guns – military or otherwise – in the hands of good, law-abiding residents. Guns in the hands of good people are the only thing that stops evil people intent on hurting innocents.
And there were almost two dozen people shot (and three killed) Wednesday evening/Thursday, less than 24 hours after Chicago being named the nation’s new murder capital in 2012. |
Glasgow Warriors have signed Australian-born winger Ratu Tagive on a one-year deal.
Ratu has arrived from Sydney where he has been playing in the Shute Shield club rugby competition for Eastern Suburbs.
The winger had previously spent time with the ACT Brumbies and gained invaluable experience as part of their Super Rugby squad. The 23-year old’s roots are in Rugby League having spent time at NRL teams the Bulldogs and West Tigers.
He then moved to Canberra to study a bachelor of psychology with a major in nutrition at the University of Canberra where he took up 15-a-side rugby and quickly got recognised by local clubs and then the Brumbies. He then went on to train with the Australia sevens squad.
Standing at 6ft 3in and weighing in at over 100kg, Ratu used his size and pace to score seven tries in ten appearances for Eastern Suburbs last season.
Speaking exclusively to glasgowwarriors.org, Ratu spoke of his excitement of coming to Scotstoun. He said: “There is so much to be excited about, especially seeing how well the team has started the season.
“My roots are in Rugby League but I’ve spent a year at the Brumbies learning how to play Union, surrounded by Wallabies and fantastic players and I’m really grateful to everyone there for everything they’ve done for me.
“Taqele Naiyaravoro is a really good mate of mine, we were together at the West Tigers. He was nice enough to give me a call last week and give me a bit of advice on what to expect.
“He only had good things to say about his experience at Glasgow and that was really reassuring.
“One thing I’ve noticed about watching Glasgow Warriors is their play is a lot more expansive than I anticipated, so it’s really exciting and I can’t wait to get started.”
Glasgow Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend said: “Ratu is quick and powerful and arrives at a good time with Leonardo (Sarto) out for a few months through injury.
“He has played at a good level in Australia and has shown that he has the ability to score tries and will help provide competition for places on the wing.
“I’m sure that he will develop within our environment and it won’t take him long to look to get to grips with the style of rugby we play.” |
Translation of Korean TV Program – Young-Don Lee Producer’s Food X-File :
Scene of meat dog auction trade secretly taking place in the wood! -Channel A 8/4/2013
Scene of meat dog auction trade secretly taking place in the wood!
Truth and exposé about Food – “Pet dog soup (Boshintang)”
Dog meat soup (Boshintang) is a representative of summer health food as well as a center of never ending controversy about it being ‘disgusting food’! One day, we received a preposterous tip about dog meat. A person reported that a metal pin was found in the dog meat he purchased to make soup. After an investigation we found that it was metal plate with screws for medical treatment and the dog was likely a former pet…. Based on our investigation, dogs presume to be former pets were in cages at the auction market that trades ‘meat dogs’ and they were being sold to slaughterhouses. We also captured the scene of dogs from animal shelters being sold to the meat dog farms. Expert’s opinion is that pet dogs are exposed to variety of antibiotics and when they are distributed to meat market, it’s harmful to the people who eat them. Are pet dogs really being sold as dog meat soup?
Click for caption!
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Source: RollingNews.ie
FIANNA FÁIL LEADER Michéal Martin made a Freudian slip yesterday when he told the media that his party was not in opposition.
“We are not in opposition, sorry, we are not in government. We wanted to be in government but we didn’t get the numbers.”
Smiling, Martin was quick to correct himself. But was this a slip of the tongue?
The truth is, Fine Gael need them and Fianna Fáil know this.
After being decimated in the 2011 vote, it had the best election result of any party this year.
It more than doubled its number of TDs, with 44 elected. Last weekend, the latest poll said Fianna Fáil is the most popular in the country – with 28% support.
Martin’s party is on a bit of a high
Riding this wave, Martin said yesterday that he would one day like to be Taoiseach – but was quick to point out that this is ultimately up to the Irish people.
A statement like this might not have been made so easily back in 2011, but now it seems to be a lot more palatable.
With thoughts of being Taoiseach being floated, it raises the question as to when the people will be back at the ballot boxes.
It all depends on how this government beds in, how members of the Independent Alliance and Fine Gael get on in Cabinet but also how long Fianna Fáil plays ball.
For now, Fianna Fáil has been but that could all change.
Source: Eamonn Farrell
Waiting in the long grass?
Housing Minister Simon Coveney recently told TheJournal.ie that he thinks Fianna Fáil is biding its time, waiting in the long grass for the perfect opportunity to pull the whole show down.
[After the Budget] it is really about delivery and how Fianna Fáil behave in opposition and do they strategically want to pull the government down, which I think at some point they may want to do. But they might find it difficult to do it unless they have a very good reason.
Source: Eamonn Farrell
When asked by TheJournal.ie if this is the case, Martin told reporters yesterday:
They need to cop on and stop talking in that vein. No government can operate on a proper basis if they just keep looking over their shoulders like that. They need to lead from the front.
Martin said the party “will look at issues on their merit”.
We will do the right thing by the country in terms of working with all of the parties, including the government, to get the best outcome for Ireland in what will be a difficult scenario in the next two years.
Budget day
The first hurdle for this government is the Budget, taking place on 11 October.
Martin said it is not a case of Fianna Fáil vetoing parts of the Budget, but a matter of compromise.
If you make a commitment in terms of the formation of a government – you honour it, you don’t try and bring down a government in the first six months.
Due to the new Oireachtas Committee on Budgetary Oversight, Martin said Budget details will be a lot more “transparent” this year.
Under the confidence and supply agreement between the two parties, it’s understood that there are to be no surprises in the Budget.
There’s no doubt about it, it definitely irritates Fine Gael that the government has to run the Budget past its long-time party rivals.
“I think it irks Fine Gael, I think that would be a fair assessment. We would much rather do it without having to talk to Fianna Fáil but we live in a democracy… we have a deal with them… but make no mistake, this will be a Fine Gael and independent-led budget. We are in government, it is our job to make decisions,” Coveney said recently.
With just over three weeks until Budget day, only time will tell just how robust the negotiations will get.
With independents and Fianna Fáil in the mix, Fine Gael will have its work cut out keeping everyone happy. |
After weeks of saying that no decisions about Greece's future would be made until after the release of the next troika report, German Chancellor Wolfgang Schäuble broke his silence on Sunday and said that Athens would remain a member of the euro zone.
Answering a question about Greece during a speech in Singapore, Schäuble said, "I think there will be no government bankruptcy in Greece." He added that Athens could remain part of the common currency if it continued to fulfil the conditions set by its public creditors and monitored by the troika, which is comprised of the European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The statement comes in the middle of an apparent split within the troika over the contents of its upcoming report. Originally, the international creditors had reached an agreement with Athens that the country must reduce its deficit to 120 percent of gross domestic product by 2020. Adherence to this agreement had been a precondition for the disbursement of the next 31.5 billion ($40.83 billion) tranche of credit to Athens. Given the current negative economic developments in the country, the troika has concluded in its internal calculations that Greece can no longer meet that target.
But there is disagreement over how far off Greece will be, according to a report in this week's issue of SPIEGEL. The IMF is predicting debt of 140 percent of GDP in 2020 and the ECB's calculations are similar. The European Commission appears to be alone in its more optimistic report of 128 percent by 2020. In order to create additional wiggle room within the report, experts at the troika have in recent weeks been requesting that euro-zone finance ministers give Greece an additional two years to meet its goal.
30 Billion in Additional Costs
According to the current forecasts, that would lead to around 30 billion in additional financing -- a sum that could only be financed in one of two ways -- either through a debt haircut on the part of its government creditors or through a third bailout package. So far, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's government has refused either option out of concern there won't be support for it within her governing coalition.
"I don't think there is a majority for a third Greek package," said Rainer Brüderle, floor leader for the Free Democrats, Merkel's junior coalition partner. Michael Grosse Brömer, a senior conservative in parliament, said: "First we're working on getting the second package done. A third package for Greece isn't up for discussion right now." Resistance to further Greek aid is particularly strong with general elections approaching next autumn.
This weekend in Singapore, however, the focus of Schäuble's trip was primarily to promote the sale of government bonds -- namely those of Southern European countries. Schäuble is in southeast Asia for two days to try to generate interest among government and institutional investors for the bonds, which governments have had a tough time floating on the markets at affordable interest rates in recent months.
Can Southeast Asia Help Save the Euro Zone?
Singapore is not only home to the world's highest concentration of millionaires -- it also has cash to spend. The economy is growing at a breathtaking pace and Singapore's own finance minister is regularly reporting budget surpluses. In addition, the country has two sovereign wealth funds that have a combined investment capacity of $300 billion. Schäuble would like to see Singapore start investing in bonds in the euro zone again.
The finance minister's hope is that if he can get other countries to invest in bonds from crisis-plagued countries like Spain, Italy and Portugal, then the problems those countries are having refinancing themselves can be diminished to the point that neither the permanent euro bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism, nor the ECB would have to engage in any mass bond-buying programs. If Schäuble could help make these Southern European bonds attractive again, long-term relief for the euro zone might finally become a realistic scenario.
Schäuble did not receive any concrete pledges on bond purchases while in Singapore. Concerns over the architecture of the euro zone, in which 17 members of the common currency are largely autonomous when it comes to economic and fiscal policy, remain significant. Nevertheless, Schäuble still sought to send out the message that much has been done to shore up the euro and that the common currency is on the path to good health again.
It's a message he also planned to convey at the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit of finance ministers from both continents in Bangkok on Monday before returning to Berlin. With the current talk of new aid potentially being required for Athens, Schäuble will have plenty of persuading to do back at home in Germany as well. |
Steven Cherry: Hi, this is Steven Cherry for IEEE Spectrum’s “Techwise Conversations.”
One day, about 25 years ago, an engineer at Intel was trying to install a multimedia card into his computer and came up with the idea for a universal port for peripherals. The engineer was Ajay Bhatt, and the port became USB.
Today, there are by one count 6 billion USB devices in the world, and not just printers and keyboards and mice. There’s a USB butt cooler for your chair, USB heated gloves for your hands, and a USB disco ball for your inner John Travolta. Ajay Bhatt wasn’t kidding when he envisioned a universal serial bus port.
Ajay Bhatt hasn’t stood still, and neither has USB. There’s a USB 2.0 and 3.0, and Bhatt has worked on the Accelerated Graphics Port and PCI Express. He’s worked on Intel’s desktop power-management architecture and is now helping to develop a computer that will work all day. He’s my guest today.
Ajay, welcome to the podcast.
Ajay Bhatt: It’s nice to be with you, Steven.
Steven Cherry: You ended up with collaborators from six other companies: Compaq, DEC, IBM, Microsoft, NEC, and Nortel. How did you end up with so many cats to herd?
Ajay Bhatt: Well, the thing is, even though we started with, you know, sort of a silicon company, we started with a certain view of the computer. We wanted to be inclusive. We wanted to make this port universal. We wanted to comprehend requirements from system vendors and peripheral vendors and software developers. So by gathering a group of diverse folks, it made USB even more successful, because we got, you know, input that we wouldn’t have from Intel’s side.
Steven Cherry: It really is universal, and I was sort of joking about the butt warmer, although it does exist. But there’s different pin settings for different applications—printers, smart cards, audio/video. There’s one for health care. Does that get used?
Ajay Bhatt: Yes. Actually, there are some companies that make glucometers, and there’s some equipment where USB is used, particularly to upload and download information. Just the way you upload and download information from a smartphone, for example.
Steven Cherry: I love the convenience of USB, but I have to say it drives me crazy that it has an up and a down. You’d think that I’d get it right at least half of the time, but I don’t think I do.
Ajay Bhatt: That’s an interesting point. If I were to do this all over again, that’s one thing I would fix. When we started, though, I’d like to remind you that some of the ports were such that the degree of freedom was about 360 degrees, and blind mating a cable to a port was very difficult. So when we started, by taking the connector we had, we made a big jump, an advancement. However, the limitations we had were with respect to the cost. So we found the cheapest connector that we could afford at that point, and that’s what we’ve ended up living with. But as we go forward, I think we may get an opportunity to fix that problem as well, at some point in the future.
Steven Cherry: I’m glad you mentioned cost, because I wanted to ask you: FireWire, IEEE 1394, already existed in 1995, and it was much faster. Did USB win entirely on price, or were there other things as well?
Ajay Bhatt: Well, a few other things as well, but when we started, we reached out to everybody in the computer industry with the view that we had. We even made an attempt at approaching people to revise their specs to meet our requirements. So there was a real effort made in earnest to sort of bring people together. But one of the big things that we also focused on, besides cost, was an architecture that was open, that was widely available to developers, royalty-free, and at no cost. So we developed this technology and made it available.
Now, such terms were not available for all the other interfaces that were out there. They had a different business model. Our view was to really promote an open standard that would enable new users of the computers, and attract new users, because computers would become much easier to use.
Steven Cherry: Apple turned out to be the leading user of FireWire, and it seems like they keep doing this again and again. I’m wondering what you think of their Lightning, which I guess is similar to USB 2.0, with some proprietary extensions.
Ajay Bhatt: I haven’t looked at Lightning in much more detail, but I think the problem that they’re trying to solve for all Apple ecosystems is to make—I guess one of the most advanced features of that connector is that it’s flippable, right? So the problem that you were talking about with USB, which only goes one way, they’ve sort of solved the problem. I think the other problem that they’ve fixed is the size. The connector that they’ve chosen for Lightning is a very, very small size. And when you have very portable devices, size does matter.
Steven Cherry: What about Thunderbolt, which I guess is also sort of an Apple port technology—and I guess it’s also a superset of one of yours, that is to say, PCI Express.
Ajay Bhatt: Yeah, so I’m on one of the—two of the primary patents on Thunderbolt. I actually was the original guy who worked on Thunderbolt for a while before I moved over to a different job assignment at Intel. But Thunderbolt basically is addressing a need of supporting two protocols: display port or very high-resolution displays. And PCI Express, in certain of these cases, you want to desegregate IO and take it outside the box. And those are the two needs that Thunderbolt meets. So it is targeted toward a specific segment of the market, and I think a specific set of applications.
Steven Cherry: Is it the next big thing, or will there be a USB 4.0?
Ajay Bhatt: Well, I think both these, Thunderbolt and USB, will keep evolving. I know USB IF, or Implementers Forum, has announced their intentions for extensions, so I expect USB to be extended. And so will Thunderbolt be extended as well.
Steven Cherry: And the main point of extending USB would be the large devices? Especially being able to charge them, right? Like monitors?
Ajay Bhatt: Well, a couple things: One is, there’s a recent extension to USB—it’s called USB Power Delivery, or USB PD. And USB PD is an extension that allows a power source and a computing device to negotiate power delivery mechanisms, or the voltages and the current. So that’s the spec that enhances the way we charge devices, or the devices give charge to external peripherals.
So USB PD is one of the extensions. The other things that are happening are related to the data rate. As you can see, as we go to devices that store more and more data—for example, I have SLR camera. When I shoot RAW, each picture is about 25 to 30 megabytes. Now, to transfer those pictures from the camera to the computer takes a long time using USB 2.0. Using computer extensions, we would have the speed in a few seconds, rather than a few minutes.
Steven Cherry: Maybe you could just tell us about the all-day computer: Why has Intel put its best engineer on the case there?
Ajay Bhatt: Well, one of the major pain points that we all have using portable computing, and for me it is tablets and laptops, is the power efficiency. You know, even though in the past people have claimed that it has six-hour battery life, in normal use you’re lucky if you get half that, right? So that was clearly the pain point for people: They want to use the computer all day long; they are sort of tethered; they have to bring the power brick with them. And I delivered the advances made in silicon technology, as well as the design techniques involved in architecture, so that we can actually fix this problem.
So in the last four years or so, I’ve spent a lot of time looking at all aspects of PC architecture and sort of audited each part of the architecture and systematically gone in and tried to fix the issues in the system that would result in draining the power unnecessarily. So we’ve really done a big overhaul in PC architecture to enable PCs to now run all day on a single battery.
Steven Cherry: In some ways it’s really just a weight problem, right, not a power problem? I mean, if we were just willing to carry computers, you know, that were state-of-the-art 10 years ago, we would have all-day computers, wouldn’t we?
Ajay Bhatt: Well, that’s not the right way of solving the problem. You know, we didn’t want computers to be luggable. We still want computers to be very sleek, lightweight, attractive, yet have a good dynamic range when it comes to performance. So adjust the power consumption of the computer based on the tasks that you’re doing. Of course there are certain tasks that are very, very demanding, and we want to provide that level of processing power to support the most demanding application. At the same time, when you’re doing some simple browsing or word-processing kind of tasks, then we want it to be much more power efficient. So we want to provide power efficiency while maintaining reasonable size and weight and temperature of the device.
Steven Cherry: Up to now, producing light, sleek, attractive computers was a sort of a differentiator for a manufacturer, and I find it interesting that Intel is now trying to solve this problem for the industry as a whole. And you’ve said that the point of USB is that the companies should not be competing at the level of infrastructure. But I guess I’m wondering, how do you know what’s infrastructure and what should be a manufacturer’s value-added?
Ajay Bhatt: That’s a very good question. Usually when the buses interconnect, where two sides of the interconnect are used by two or more parties, that becomes an infrastructure issue, right? Because when you want to communicate with other devices, you’d better agree with the rest of the engineering community on the specs. But then once you define the rules of communication, how efficiently you communicate, or if you can create a much more efficient implementation or architecture, then that becomes the differentiation.
It’s very similar to building a highway by agreeing on the size and the lane width and what have you, but then building a car or set of cars that run on that highway is akin to building a differentiated computer device, right? So may that be a wireless or wired connection, there’s certain aspects of architecture where you need to be open with respect to architecture and specification, such that anybody can build interoperable devices, because ultimately these devices will be used by users, and you don’t want them to be frustrated. Because if each company does proprietary design, then these devices don’t interoperate. So for the sake of interoperability, you must invest in common infrastructure.
Steven Cherry: So what’s the interoperability issue when it comes to the all-day computer?
Ajay Bhatt: Well, all-day computers are, remember, in the computer we have components from a variety of vendors, right? So if we all agree to a common set of power privileges in this case, then we know when the devices need to wake up and when they go to sleep, otherwise a misbehaved device could actually keep the rest of the computer on and drain the battery. So even when it comes to all-day computing, each devices, along with the software, have to be able to communicate with each other with messages that communicate the state of the machine with various substations.
I think that’s where some of the work we’re doing is invaluable, because you have to agree to entering and exiting certain power states at the right time without actually being visible to the end user. So if the end user clicks on some application, appropriate behavior should be demonstrated. However, underneath, the subsystems that are not being used have to be powered down for however long they’re not needed. And then they should wake up transparently to the user, so there’s a tremendous amount of work that needs to be done inside the computer to make it much more efficient.
Steven Cherry: I wanted to ask you a question about Intel in general, and I thought I’d compare it to some other organizations. Bell Labs used to be a place where people could do university-style research without having to teach, and today Microsoft Research is like that. But it seems like a lot less makes its way out of the lab and into products—the Kinect, maybe, being the notable recent exception—than does at Intel. Does Intel have some secret sauce when it comes to generating immediately usable R&D?
Ajay Bhatt: Well, so, we have a rather large investment in Intel Labs. Now, Intel Labs does various things. One, we have close relationships with academia. So we have Intel Science and Technology Centers at universities around the world, including various cities in the U.S. So Intel researchers, along with university researchers, collaborate on certain things.
We also, at Intel, have researchers who focus on fundamental research, may that be in process technologies, architectures, or design technologies. And they take a long-term view of technologies that will be needed in the future. And then we also have a view where we bring together people from different disciplines to come together and develop something called Rapid Prototypes. And these prototypes, or these technologies, are based on fundamental research that we may have done, and then based on that, we create new technologies that can be deployed in our future products. So we work with universities, do fundamental research as well as applied research, I would say, and a lot of these ideas make it into the product.
Steven Cherry: Well, Ajay, Intel did a somewhat silly TV commercial that featured you as a technology rock star, and Conan O’Brien did a version of that that managed to be even sillier, although it was hilarious. And you were in it, and it seemed like you really enjoyed it. I wonder, though, if you find it more humbling than anything else to know that you’ve improved the computing efficiency of basically half the planet every day.
Ajay Bhatt: Well, you know, I feel extremely privileged to get this opportunity to leave my fingerprints on the computing industry, right? Clearly the vision that we had was, you know, we were at the right place at the right time, and we were able to assemble the right group of people to make USB happen.
And with respect to Intel’s commercial, well they were looking to highlight thousands of engineers that we have, and they just chose me as an example because people could relate to USB, and hence they asked that my name be included in that commercial. And that’s how I ended up on Conan, and clearly Conan really—it was sort of out of my comfort zone to be on Conan. But I went along with it, and it was a lot of fun.
Steven Cherry: Yeah, it does look like a lot of fun, but there’s nothing silly, to be sure, about the achievement of USB, and PCI Express, so thanks for those things, and thank you for joining us today.
Ajay Bhatt: Thank you so much for having me.
Steven Cherry: We’ve been speaking with Intel’s Ajay Bhatt about the past, present, and future of USB.
For IEEE Spectrum’s “Techwise Conversations,” I’m Steven Cherry.
Photo: European Inventor Award
This interview was recorded Tuesday, 25 June 2013.
Segment producer: Barbara Finkelstein; audio engineer: Francesco Ferorelli
Read more “Techwise Conversations,” find us in iTunes, or follow us on Twitter.
NOTE: Transcripts are created for the convenience of our readers and listeners and may not perfectly match their associated interviews and narratives. The authoritative record of IEEE Spectrum’s audio programming is the audio version. |
ASL Interpreters and your deaf buddies
Hi.
It’s me, the deaf person you just met. We’re out, right now, at a deaf social event. You’re an aspiring interpreter, dreaming about the day you feel confident enough to go out there and interpret for a living. You’ve got passion, fire in your belly, a yearning desire to be in a field where you know without a doubt that you’re needed. You’ve got to meet me, see if we have enough in common to be friends, because when the time comes, I am the one you you would fight for. You probably won’t interpret for me, directly, because we’re going to be friends and that can be, well, complicated.
It’s another me, sitting here at another social. You’ve just come up, now feeling more confident in your skills, because you just finished your interpreter preparation program. You’re nervous still, waiting for the upcoming test that you’re going to have to take before you can be certified. You’re still coming to these socials, still meeting every version of me, the deaf person, the one that you think of when you’re out there in the trenches. We laugh, you and I, having fantastic conversations. We get to know each other, and our friendship deepens. It is me you think of when you remember why you really do this.
It’s me again. We’ve been friends for so long, we start to forget how long it has been and it amazes us. Were we ever so young? You’re a professional interpreter now, certified and oh, so qualified. You’ve been building your experience. You’ve been out there everyday, working more hours than you sometimes want to work. You’re tired because you took that late-night assignment that turned into an all-night assignment. You can’t tell me about it, really, because you protect the confidentiality of your clients. But that’s okay, because that’s not why we’re here, in this place, enjoying our coffees. We talk of old times and new times, of things that interest us, politics and TV shows, and our friendships deepen. It is me that you’re reminded of when you see a door shut, metaphorically speaking, in a deaf person’s face. It is me you think of when you see parents not being able to communicate with their own deaf child.
In these moments, you are reminded of why you choose this profession where you are essentially a bridge of communication, between the deaf and the hearing. You make a living, hopefully, as you deserve to, but that is not why you continue to do it. Perhaps it once was, when you first started out, but then you met me, your deaf friend.
There are so many of us, who share your interests, who would have a conversation about the more meaningful things in life, or who would be happy to sit back and relax on the couch binge-watching the latest TV show. We would chat, then, not before or after an assignment in which I am the client and you are the interpreter, but as peers. It doesn’t matter that in these times, really, that you hear and I do not.
And the truth is, you are richer for this friendship. It’s not that I’m any better or worse of a friend than any that you already have. I may lift you up at times, or I could be just as much of a thoughtless friend who forgot your last birthday, but our friendship is deeper than that. We go back, you and I, and I am the one who you will fight for when you’re out there, seeing other deaf individuals being discriminated against. I am the one that challenges you to always grow as an interpreter.
I am the one who keeps you connected in this community, so that the job is not a job, but a passion.
And if you’ve found that you’ve forgotten me, that a distance has been created between us as it sometimes does between interpreters and the deaf community, it’s not too late. You are always welcome back. The connection may have been severed, but we will repair it, you and I.
Note from the author: In case it’s not obvious, I don’t actually mean that I, J. Parrish Lewis, have to be that friend. Of course, I love making new friends, but so do countless deaf people worldwide. Reach out to them. Not as an interpreter to a deaf client, but as a person to a person, and you might see these rich friendships develop. I wish you success.
Oh, and yes, if you actually do meet me, let’s chat. I’m sure we have much to talk about. |
About This Course
This panel discussion will feature three higher education/student affairs experts as they discuss key issues in how student affairs practitioners construct, create, and manage technology-related projects, strategic communications, and digital initiatives.
This panel discussion features three higher education/student affairs experts and will cover key issues in how student affairs practitioners construct, create, and manage technology-related projects, strategic communications, and digital initiatives.
Technology and social media are essential components for today’s student affairs practitioner. However, fear of technology and/or a lack of competency can lead to issues with efficiency, communications, action, success, and organizational development.
This panel will make you think about the future of student affairs and engage your critical thinking skills via intellectual prognostication of the following topics:
The future of student affairs and how technology impacts our work
Organizational culture and how we deal with change
Intentional alignment and resource allocation with new technology competency specifications
What you look for in a new hire...what’s essential for SA pros in 2015 and beyond?
How we combat skepticism when it comes to technology/social media?
What innovation in student affairs looks like and how we make it happen?
Overcoming "fear of technology" and learning to "trust our people."
Panelists: |
China should retaliate for Japan PM shrine visit: local media
Updated
China must take "excessive" counter-measures after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's controversial war shrine visit, state-run media urged, reflecting the existing resentment among both sides.
China expressed strong opposition and summoned Tokyo's ambassador on Thursday to deliver a "strong reprimand" after Mr Abe paid respects at the Yasukuni shrine.
The site honours several high-level officials executed for war crimes after World War II, a reminder of Japan's 20th century aggression and a source of bitterness for China and other Asian countries.
"People are getting tired of such futile 'strong condemnations'," said an editorial in the newspaper Global Times. The paper is close to the ruling Communist Party and often strikes a nationalist tone. "China needs to take appropriate, even slightly excessive countermeasures" or else "be seen as a 'paper tiger'", it warned.
It suggested barring high-profile Japanese politicians and other officials who went to the shrine from visiting China for five years.
Mr Abe's visit was the first by an incumbent Japanese prime minister to the inflammatory site since 2006 and came as tensions between the two Asian powers have escalated since 2012 over an island dispute.
State-run media also excoriated Mr Abe, who has sought to shore up Japan's military.
"In the eyes of China, Abe, behaving like a political villain, is much like the terrorists and fascists on the commonly seen blacklists," the Global Times said.
The China Daily called the visit "an intolerable insult" that had "slammed the door to dialogue shut", adding that "Abe knew it would be an insult. But he does not care".
It criticised the leader's "sheer hypocrisy" and "nasty track record", including "his denial of the aggressive nature of Japanese intrusions during WWII, his lack of remorse for Japan's historical sins".
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called Mr Abe's visit "a flagrant provocation against international justice and treads arbitrarily on humanity's conscience", a ministry statement said on Thursday.
China and Japan, the world's second- and third-largest economies, have important trading ties but conflict over East China Sea islands, known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan, have soured diplomatic relations since last year.
AFP
Topics: government-and-politics, china, japan, asia
First posted |
This tutorial is proudly made possible by our generous sponsor, Squarespace, the fast and easy way to create a professional website.
Video
1. Quickly Remove Blemishes
We will begin by opening our image in Photoshop. The better quality image, the better final result you will have. Also bear in mind that every image is different, so consider the technique and why I do what I do here and apply the concepts to your image for the best results.
2. Blemishes
After ensuring you have a nice image out of camera, I like to create a new layer and name it “Blemishes”. I correct any major blemishes (and some small ones too) with the subject’s skin on this layer using the Healing Brush. Simply Alt/Opt + Click to choose an area to sample from and paint over the blemishes. This tool primarily copies texture and blends with the existing color, choose similar skin textures as you are healing the skin. TIP: In order to do the healing on a separate layer check out the control bar at the top of the window and set “Sample:” to “Current & Below”.
3. Eye Upper Catchlights
Create a new layer and name it “Uppers”. This layer will be to add or enhance the top catch light in the eye. Grab a hard-edged brush and paint two large, white circles where the catch lights are/should be. I had reduced my brush tool to about 40% opacity to add these dots of white. Set this layer to the blend mode “Soft Light”. Add a layer mask and paint away the parts of the catch lights that should not be there. I also reduced the layer opacity to about 60%.
4. Light in the Eyes
Go Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Curves to drop a Curves Adjustment Layer on top of the rest of you layers. Set this layer blend mode to “Color Dodge”. Click on the layer mask provided and hit Cmd/Ctrl + I to flip the white mask to a black mask (hence hiding all that crazy color action!) Grab your Brush Tool and set the Brush Tool to an opacity of 10% and slowly paint light into the colored portion of the eyes.
5. Dodge and Burn Layers
Create another new Curves Adjustment Layer and set the blend mode to Multiply. Fill that mask with black. Create yet another Curves Adjustment Layer, but set this one a blend mode of Screen. Again, fill the mask with black. We now have a Screen layer which will brighten parts and the Multiply layer which will darken parts. We need to use our Brush Tool and begin painting…
6. Actually Dodge and Burn
Change foreground color to white and set your Brush Tool to the opacity of 10% and grab a very large, soft-edged brush and gently paint over darker areas of your image that you want to darken (on the Multiply layer mask). Do the same for the Screen layer, just this time paint over areas that you want to make brighter. Dodging and burning is a labor of love, you just have to paint a little bit at a time until it looks right to you and you love it!
7. Smooth Dodging and Burning
Select both the dodge and burn layers and duplicate them by using the hotkey Cmd/Ctrl + J. We have now doubled our effect to something far too strong. All we want to do here is blur our mask quite a bit (this will smooth and spread all the dodged/burned edges) and reduce the layer opacity a bit. You can blur a mask by clicking on the mask in the Layers panel and go Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur.
8. Toning
Getting the tones in your image just right can be hit or miss, but following some simple ideas, you can often get much better results until you train your eye enough to get hits every. single. time. I typically look to reduce contrast overall and then selectively add contrast and depth to the image where I want. Here I’ve added a Levels Adjustment Layer and shifted the handles. See the screenshot to get an idea.
9. Toning Continued
Reducing contrast continues with a few more Adjustment Layers. I went with Curves, Curves, Vibrance, Gradient Map (blend mode of Soft Light!), and Brightness & Contrast. Refer to my screenshots for the settings (or check out the video above.)
10. Merge and Multiply
Use the hidden hotkey trick Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + Alt/Opt + E to merge all visible layers to a new layer. Set this new layer to the blend mode of Multiply.
11. Lift Shadows
This newly minted Multiply layer darkens the image and makes our shadows just a little bit too heavy. Create a new Levels Adjustment Layer and then hold down your Alt/Opt button and hover your cursor between both layers until you see the clipping mask icon appear. Click that to clip the Levels to the Multiply layer below. Use the sliders as I have to boost the black point in the layer. Refer to the screenshot for exactly what I settled with.
12. Relighting
Using two more Levels Adjustment Layers and very soft brushes to mask these layers, I have brightened the top part of the frame and darkened the bottom part of the frame. See my screenshot to see the masks attached to the Levels layers. Use your discretion when deciding how much brightening or darkening should happen.
13.Color Adjustments
Next up we’ll add a Selective Color Adjustment Layer. I have adjusted the “Whites” and “Blacks” in this adjustment to boost the blacks a bit and add some color and punch to whites. See the screenshot for the settings.
14. Pump Contrast
Add a Curves Adjustment Layer and add a very slight “S” curve to pump some contrast back into the image. Fill the Mask with black and paint with white wherever you want the contrast.
15. Double High Pass Global Sharpening
We want to do that whole “Merge all visible layers to a new layer hotkey again”. Desaturate your new layer by hitting Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + U. Go Filter>Other>High Pass and set a number that allows you to start seeing some details in the skin and hair. Depending on how tack sharp your lens is and how well the camera focused on the subject, you’ll have to either enter a smaller or larger number. A sharper image to begin with will need a much lower number. Set this layer to the blend mode of Soft Light. Duplicate the layer by hitting Cmd/Ctrl + J -Reduce opacity a little of the sharpening is overpowering. You can also mask one or both of these layers to more selectively sharpen the image.
16. Film Grain
Learn how I create much more realistic grain by checking this out in the video recording. For now I’ll show you the first step to getting some generic grain though. Create a new layer and go Edit>Fill and fill this layer with 50% Gray. Go Filter>Noise>Add Noise and add about 15% noise (this will all depend on the resolution of your image.) Set this layer to the blend mode Soft Light. Boom! Grain!
17. Conclusion
That’s it! Starting by removing blemishes, then working with the light in the photograph, then working on the tones, and finally adding sharpness and grain you can effectively polish or make any photo grittier and add a cinematic element to a well shot photograph. This is only the beginning though! Explore the options, push the boundaries and have fun with these Adjustment Layers! |
Frank Malina: Texas Rocket Grandmaster
It’s wonderful to have my friend Al Jackson back at the top of the site with a look at the career and times of JPL’s Frank Malina. Al’s service in the Apollo program came as astronaut trainer on the Lunar Module Simulator; he then spent 40 more years at Johnson Space Center, mostly for Lockheed working the Shuttle and ISS programs. His doctorate was in 1975 from the University of Texas at Austin. The author of numerous scientific papers on interstellar concepts, Al is a fixture at deep space conferences and a continuing source of inspiration on matters scientific as well as science fictional. Today Al gives us an overview of a man who played a key role in the sounding rocket era following World War II, as the infant Jet Propulsion Laboratory began its rich history of exploration and technical development.
by Al Jackson
I travel from Houston to Austin by Highway 290 fairly often, and sometimes I stop at Brenham, Texas for lunch. I skip the fast food joints on 290 and go downtown. It is a beautiful small town with a charming old downtown (founded in 1844). Only recently have I become aware that a native Texan from Brenham fulfilled a dream started by Robert Goddard, in fact doing in 10 months what Goddard had for twenty years tried to accomplish. Even more than that, he was co-founder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, JPL, and co-founder of Aerojet General. By 1945 he had eclipsed Goddard as the most important American rocket scientist. He was a consummate researcher in the theoretical engineering of rocketry and a master manager of several rocket and rocket vehicle projects for the U.S. Army. So who was the Texas pioneer ‘Wernher von Braun’? Dr. Frank J Malina from Brenham, Texas.
Malina was the originator and leader of a project whose anniversary is today, June 12. It is the 70th anniversary of the last launch of a Wac-Corporal sounding rocket at White Sands. We tend to forget that Robert Goddard had a solid scientific use for his development of rockets — to explore the Earth’s upper atmosphere. We all love Goddard for his inventiveness in rocket hardware and his stubborn individualism, and given time he may have realized his sounding rocket dream. However, while he struggled in the New Mexico desert in 1936, Frank Malina, still a graduate student at Caltech, had put on the wall of his office a chart of how a successful sounding rocket project might be accomplished. Unlike Goddard, he recognized the need for a team and a choice of team captains.
Malina’s dream was interrupted by World War II. Along with his mentor Theodore von Kármán (the great 20th century aerodynamicist), he directed the development of the Jet Assisted Take Off (JATO) rockets for use by the Army Air Force. This work for the U.S. Army led to the formation of JPL, and Malina became its first director. There is a straight line heritage from the solid rocket JATO motors to the intercontinental missiles in the American defense arsenal and even up to the Space Shuttle booster motors. His involvement in this project alone is enough to have made him a famous rocketeer.
Image: Dr. Theodore von Kármán (black coat) sketches out a plan on the wing of an airplane as his JATO engineering team looks on. From left to right: Dr. Clark B. Millikan, Dr. Martin Summerfield, Dr. Theodore von Kármán, Dr. Frank J. Malina and pilot, Capt. Homer Boushey. Captain Boushey would become the first American to pilot an airplane that used JATO (Jet Assisted Take-Off) solid propellant rockets. Credit: NASA/JPL.
In 1944 Dr. Malina was sent to England and France to inspect salvaged V2s and V1 launch sites. Returning by plane over the Atlantic, he decided to ask the Army ordnance department to fund his cherished goal of building and launching a vehicle to sound the upper atmosphere in regions that could not be reached by balloons. This was December of 1944. From designs by H.S. Tsien and Malina, he and Homer Stewart submitted and got approval on a proposal to launch a sounding rocket with a 25 lb payload to 100,000 ft.
There had already been a program started at the newly founded JPL to build military rockets. Malina organized a team to use components developed from this program. It is amazing that the von Kármán-Malina program at JPL during WWII accomplished, on a smaller scale, almost the same technical objectives as von Braun’s huge V2 project. A viable liquid rocket motor using nitric acid and aniline with 1500 lbs of thrust was developed, as was the Private-series of missiles. The main difference being the V2’s much larger rocket motor and especially the guidance system, which was still being researched at JPL by the end of the war.
Once the project was approved, Malina and his JPL crew turned over several ideas for the sounding rocket. It turned out that the solid rocket motors would be too heavy for the flight. They needed a long burn light weight rocket. So a liquid motor powered vehicle boosted quickly to a high speed was designed. They needed the initial boost in order to gain a sufficient amount of stability from the vehicle fins since they had yet to developed an active onboard guidance system. The booster system used some of the solid rocket technology in the JATO units that JPL had already fashioned. The booster and 2nd stage liquid rocket were to be launched using a 60 ft tower.
In July of 1945 the flight characteristics of the booster were tested with a 1/5 scale model at Goldstone Lake, California. The tests showed the viability of the solid booster system and a three fin stabilization system rather than four fins favored by ordnance experts. One wonders: Did any copies of this ‘baby Wac Corporal’ survive to the present?
Nine months after Malina had proposed it the vehicles were taken to the new facility at White Sands Proving Grounds, New Mexico.
Four rounds of the booster called Tiny Tim were launched off the tower. Two dummy rounds of the WAC were boosted and then two with only partially filled fuel tanks were flown to get experience with the radar tracking.
These must have been counted as rounds 1 through 4 because on October 11, 1945 a fully loaded round 5 was made ready. The 16 foot long 1 foot in diameter rocket stood flight ready. It weighed 665 lbs and would be boosted by 50,000 lbs of thrust before the 1500 lb thrust liquid motor took over. In Malina’s words the flight went like this:
“11 October 1945 became our great day for the first flight of the WAC (round 5) fully charged with propellant. It was a clear day. We craned our necks to watch the WAC’s smoke trail until the engine stopped at around 80,000 ft. On the basis of radar tracking data for the 6th round of the WAC, it was estimated that the maximum altitude reached was between 230,000 and 240,000 ft. The total time of flight was about 450 sec. or 7.5 min. the velocity of the WAC at the end of the burning was about 3,100 ft per sec. The impact point of the first round was around 3,500 ft. from the launcher, which meant that the WAC had maintained a very satisfactory vertical path. Success!”
Image: Project director Frank J. Malina (a former JPL Director) poses with the fifth WAC Corporal at the White Sands Missile Range. The solid-propellant booster is not shown. Credit: NASA/JPL.
That 43 mile flight was a world record, for even the more advanced V2 had not been launched to such an altitude yet. It was an amazing achievement. In 10 months, Malina and his crew had designed and built the sounding rocket Goddard had dreamed of and made such a contribution to. Soon there followed the captured V2 flights from New Mexico and other sounding rocket programs.
Malina headed a large team of people working together just as von Braun had run a much larger team in Germany (Malina and von Braun were almost the same age). Malina remarked:
“The large number of people involved in this (WAC Corporal) program indicates why the dreams of individuals and small groups of rocket enthusiasts in the 1920’s and 1930’s to design, construct and test a high altitude sounding rocket had little chance of success. Fortunately, most pioneers do not foresee all of the practical implications of their dreams. No doubt if they were able to do so, few new wild ideas will ever be tried.”
It is good to remember a fellow Texan, Dr. Frank Malina, a man not as well-known as Dr. Goddard, or Dr. von Braun, but a rocketeer who had profound and lasting impact on the American development of rocket vehicles, astronautics and spaceflight. |
People’s eyes tend to glaze over when you mention public service commissioning. It’s hardly the most sexy subject to write about. But it matters. It matters, for a start, because it’s a huge industry. A study by Oxford Economics estimates that it employs 1.2 million people, and creates or supports a further 2.3 million jobs. According to the research, the current outsourced market for public services has an annual turnover of £82bn, representing around 24 per cent spend on public services in the UK.
And it matters because outsourced public services have an impact on the entire economy, in terms of wage levels, benefit demands and spending power. It matters because these services are vital to our social fabric and have knock-on effects – effects that can help or hinder not only the people they serve, but their friends and relatives. What happens to a child in a children’s home or a prisoner in jail affects all of us.
And a report released today by Social Enterprise UK, the national membership body for social enterprise, has produced some stark conclusions about how the face of our public services has changed.
1. Rise of the giants
Here’s a list of things that one company, Serco, operates: prisons and young offenders institutions. The National Nuclear Laboratory. Transport services like the Docklands Light Railway and Barclays Cycle Hire. Security services for the National Borders Agency, and maintenance services for missile defence systems. Air traffic control services. Leisure services. Management for hospitals and pathology services. Waste collection for local authorities. Education services for local authorities. Government websites.
If the company were to go under, it would cause severe disruption to public services. The growth of such contractors that are “too big to fail” began under New Labour and has continued apace. Why did it happen? In the report, Matthew Taylor, former director of policy for the Labour Party, provides a clue: “One of the funny stories I heard about this is that the government wanted to move into agile commissioning. And immediately, all the large providers employed a Head of Agile. Of course, smaller providers can’t afford a Head of Agile.” The biggest companies are best placed to meet Government guidelines.
In the early years of outsourcing under New Labour, the commissioners at local and national level lacked experience and confidence, so they went with the biggest firms, whom they felt they could trust. Rather than tear up these contracts, in recent years they simply expanded them with “bolt-ons”, in many cases due to fear of litigation. It’s an understandable fear – the larger the corporation, the more litigious it’s likely to be, and the West Coast Mainline debacle shows how costly and politically hazardous it is to be embroiled in such a case.
This is the situation today: in March this year, the UK Border Agency issued contracts worth £1.7bn for asylum seeker services (including accommodation). All eight contracts went to three companies: G4S, Serco and Clearel. Nearly a quarter of the £3.3bn contracts for the Work Programme went to one company (Ingeus). And cuts within the public sector have reduced the volume and skill of commissioners, meaning that they will choose to “buy safe” more often than not. This lack of genuine competition, as we’ll see, removes the main incentive to provide quality of service.
2. Goliath is killing David
It’s also forcing smaller charities and social enterprises out of the market. Many are making redundancies and turning away from public service markets in order to survive, just when they are needed most. They cite procurement policy as one of the biggest barriers to their sustainability.
I’ve already written, at length, about one enterprise which went bust as a result of signing up to the Government’s Work Programme. It wasn’t the only one - earlier this year Groundwork South West also went into administration. The deals favour the prime contractors: by June 2012, 96 charity providers had dropped out, 27 unable to make it work.
“There’s an ebbing away of confidence,” Peter Holbrook, CEO of Social Enterprise UK, tells me. “We’ve seen companies go to the wall, or being sidelined, and of course it makes you nervous. These days you increasingly have to work with a private contractor. It means small charities are getting crumbs from the table” This is the problem with the payment-by-results (PBR) system. Payments for these hard-to-reach jobless cases may be some time coming, if they come at all. Not-for-profit organisations, having failed by definition to build in a layer of profit to their business model, don’t have the capital reserves to wait for results. Essentially, they find themselves out-manoeuvred by the bigger companies that sub-contract to them. And this matters because...
3. Profit and public service don’t always mix
I’ve previously written on this with regard to one company the public does know about due to the Olympic fiasco: G4S. But the report has a lengthy section about a sector of the industry which hasn’t received quite so much coverage: children’s services. It’s an area that was highlighted by the recent Rochdale scandal, but this element of the story was somewhat buried by the other details.
It used to be the case that charities would bid for council contracts to care for vulnerable children, and would cross-subsidise themselves from fundraising and other means to do so. It was never going to last: private equity firms gradually took over. The report says: “Sovereign and 3i are the big contenders, but it is hard to pinpoint which firm owns what; their waters seem to be in perpetual motion, as they buy one another and take one another over, and offload assets.”
These companies operate by buying up cheap housing stock around the country, to which vulnerable children can be shunted. Two London boroughs now have no children’s homes at all. There are 101 homes in Lancashire alone, even though Lancashire has a population of less than 1.5 million. London has 130 homes, for a population of 7.8 million.
Ann Coffey MP is quoted: “They may take a child into care for the first time, after a final event has happened. So a child may have gone one more time, missing from home, and he or she is removed. The authority then thinks, ‘Where the hell have we got a place?’ Not ‘What does this child need?’ It’s the most terrible market failure.”
And the report cites a horrific statistic, one that shows Rochdale, much as we’d like it to be, was unlikely to be an isolated case. Ofsted figures published in May 2012 revealed that children’s homes in England— caring for 4,840 children, including 1,800 girls — had reported 631 suspected cases of young residents being sold for sex in the past five years. These are just the reported cases: it’s likely to be far higher.
It’s not hard to see how the practice of moving children around can exacerbate the problem. Once a child is removed from its own local authority, it loses contact with its team of social workers, its grandparents, neighbours and others who might be able to spot the signs of abuse. One girl at the centre of the Rochdale case was moved from Essex and placed in a one-to-one home, where she was the only resident. She never woke up with the same staff member in the home who had been there when she went to sleep.
The sector has responded to these criticisms, claiming “the simple connection of cheapness isn't accurate” with regard to the shifting of children. But it’s still hard to disagree with Coffey’s conclusion that the sector is “murky to say the least.” As Holbrook says: “There’s no problem with upscaling if you’re doing something like buying paperclips. But most public services rely on human relationships, so upscaling leads to a huge degradation in the quality of service.” And what about the staff in those homes?
4. Robbing Peter to pay Paul
Almost all the jobs being advertised by private care firms are at the UK minimum wage. This isn’t a living wage, as we all know. The staff are paid by the minute and aren’t paid travelling time. A care worker for a private company is interviewed. She was paid 14 pence per minute, and travelled from appointment to appointment on buses in Islington: “An average day that I was doing at the time, and this wasn’t very long because I couldn’t afford to keep it going, I’d start at 9, do 45 minutes with one person, another 45 minutes at 10, a half hour at 12, a break, a quarter hour at 4, another 15 minutes at 4.30, a half hour at 5 and another hour from 8 til 9. So that’s a 12-hour day for 4 hours’ money.”
Companies are making offers to contractors that aren’t mathematically possible if they’re providing jobs with a minimum wage, national insurance contributions, a pension scheme and training. Savings in one area invariably mean higher costs elsewhere: “No local authority should make that deal: even just on the pragmatic basis that it will be their own residents who are on the receiving end of that low wage, their own housing benefit department making up the carer’s rent shortfall, their own health and children’s services that come under strain when poverty is rife.” We’re seeing a degradation of service for short term profit gains.
As the anonymous care worker describes: “The public face of the company is all very welcoming. They’re always very hazy around money. It’s all, ‘Don’t you worry, there’ll be lots and lots of work for you’. We were all on zero-hours contracts, so basically they weren’t obliged to give us any work. There are hundreds of people out there working like this, I’d meet people all the time, for jobs that required two carers, and I never met anybody who was being paid any differently. I know the hours for tax credits have changed now, but most people were on housing benefit.”
This also means there’s a large section of the workforce that isn’t preparing for old age and retirement: a problem that will also have to be dealt with further down the line. It’s no surprise staff turnover is high, and this feeds into the quality of care.
5. We reward failure. All the time.
Again, I could cite the catalogue of failures I wrote about prior to the G4S debacle. Or the £529,770 that was lost from staff fraud or abuse from the Flexible New Deal 2010-11. Or the chaos that followed the privatisation of our court translation services. Or A4E’s company director payments, which saw the-then CEO Emma Harrison pay herself £8.6m, in a year when fewer than 4 in every 100 unemployed people seen by the firm managed to secure jobs for longer than 13 weeks. Or the nine prisons put out to tender in November in 2011 in spite of high-profile failings in the private sector (as the report says, in the very same bidding round the Wolds was returned to the public sector following the expiration of G4S’s contract, having seen poor inmate behaviour and high levels of drug abuse). Or the closure of Southern Cross as a result of complex financial deals designed to maximise financial gain, which left taxpayers picking up the pieces. Or...
There’s nothing inherently wrong with a market. But cases like these show that we’re getting all the downsides of privatisation – the stripping away of money through profits, above all – and none of the upsides, because there isn’t genuine competition. This is market failure, pure and simple.
6. The profits don’t even stay in the UK, let alone improve services
Social enterprises reinvest the money they make in service improvements. Private companies don’t: for every level of sub-contracting, profits are taken out in the form of shareholder dividends. The total amount of money being taken out of the social economy as a result is hard to quantify.
But one thing’s clear: money which has been allocated by Government to communities and issues that need it is being stripped away. Here’s one example: “Private equity companies work to extract as much financial value as they can from the companies they take over, in a relatively short timeframe. One of the ways they do this is through sale-and-leaseback deals on residential care homes for children and adults. This leads to extreme volatility in a market where stability is a fundamental requirement.”
But perhaps the most galling thing is that nearly half the money raised by this practice doesn’t even stay in the UK. A 2010 report by the Office for National Statistics showed that more than 40 per cent of shares in UK companies are held by overseas investors: this had increased by almost 25 per cent in just two years.
7. We can’t hold these companies to account
There have been moves towards openness - through the FOI Act and the publication of every contract worth over £100,000. But this legislation has been trumped by commercial confidentiality laws. You can find out how much a company has bid for a contract, but not how much lower it was than that of the next lowest bidder, so the number has no context.
As the report says, in business, there are mechanisms for accountability. A company’s CEO is answerable to non-executive directors, who can ask questions on behalf of shareholders. MPs don’t have the same power. And as Holbrook tells me: “I was involved in a Dispatches programme on Virgin’s move into health care, and an ex-employee emailed me to say she’d wanted to speak out but couldn’t due to a confidentiality agreement. There’s far less opportunity for whistle blowing within large providers.” On top of this, the service giants regularly make use of Britain’s defamation laws - which like the bidding process, favour those with the most money behind them - whether confronted by traditional media or online scrutiny.
Equally murky is the “revolving doors” culture – both revolving in, with corporate staff appointed to government posts, and revolving out, with public servants taking on high-ranking private sector jobs once they leave office. Alan Cave, a central architect of the Work Programme as a civil servant, left to join Serco, one of its main beneficiaries, this year, while Phil Wheatley, former head of the National Offender Management Service, is now a G4S adviser.
8. This is the Shadow State
Only one in five people polled by Social Enterprise UK knew that the majority of children’s homes are now owned by private companies. The majority of people polled for the report had never heard of Atos or Serco, yet these firms and others like them, are receiving and are responsible for many billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money.
This is an argument that can and should be depoliticised. There’s nothing left wing in saying a local community should benefit from a local contract. And there’s nothing in traditional conservative thought to encourage private companies, say, buying up assets, loading them with debt, and passing that debt back to the service users. Yet it’s quietly, inexorably, grown over the last few decades. Tomorrow, I’ll describe what can be done to fight it.
The second part of Alan White’s work on the shadow state will be published on his blog tomorrow.
UPDATE 3 January 2013 13:45 This article originally stated that clinical failures had lead to London hospitals being forced to lend money to Serco. This was incorrect and has been removed. |
From sustainable agriculture and water resource management to solar photovoltaics, Israeli companies have been at the forefront of developing new means of forging sustainable societies amid harsh and changing conditions. A strong, homegrown clean tech venture capital community is helping innovative young Israeli clean-tech companies make their mark locally and in markets around the world.
A drive on the part of solar PV industry participants to reduce balance-of-system (BoS) and “soft” costs is underway as governments in key markets such as the European Union and U.S. cut back or eliminate renewable energy R&D funding, tariffs and other incentives.
Operations and maintenance (O&M) makes up a significant portion of running solar PV power generation assets. According to a study conducted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), fixed O&M costs for solar PV systems ranging from 1 to 10 megawatts averaged $20 +/- $10 per kilowatt-hour of energy in 2013.
Aiming to boost efficiency as well as drive those costs down significantly, Israeli clean tech startup Ecoppia has developed a high-tech means of cleaning and maintaining solar PV panels on a utility scale. Ecoppia's solution comes in the form of a cloud-based solar robotics platform that's not only highly efficient and effective, but also energy-independent and water-free. That's an important attribute not only in arid and desert regions, but also anywhere in the world where pressures on water resources threaten or may threaten water supplies.
Fully automated, self-sustaining and water-free solar panel cleaning
Accumulating on solar PV panels, dust, grit, snow and other unwanted material can degrade the performance of solar PV systems significantly. Empirical studies indicate that keeping solar panels free of dust, dirt, grit, snow and other obscuring materials can boost PV systems performance anywhere from 3 to 40 percent, Ecoppia CEO Erran Meller said in a 3p interview.
By and large, solar PV systems owners and operators continue to clean solar panels the old-fashioned way: employing large maintenance teams to douse them with soapy water, rinse them, then use squeegees to wipe away what remains. Harnessing the power of cloud computing, real-time wireless telecommunications and the latest in dry, fully-automated and chemical-free cleaning technology, Ecoppia's solar robotics solution seems space-age by comparison.
Ecoppia's fully automated E4 solar panel-cleaning platform has been proven in the field to remove 99 percent of the dust and other obscuring materials accumulated on solar panels each day. That translates into big, year-round gains and the ability to optimize electricity output, Meller told 3p.
Solar robotics, the cloud and microfiber fabric
Ecoppia's self-sustaining E4 solar robotics platform is equipped with its own solar PV panels, making it energy-independent. Rather than relying on water, the system relies on three key elements to clean solar panels much more efficiently and effectively than conventional means: gravity (PV panels' angle of inclination), air flow and a microfiber fabric that has been proven to remove particles down to mere microns in size.
Being cloud-based, the Ecoppia E4 collects, analyzes and acts on a variety of data. Its system controller pulls in data from sources including the Weather Channel “to identify optimal operating conditions and deploy robotic cleaning hardware as needed,” Meller explained.
To date, Ecoppia's solar robotics platform has been used to clean nearly 4 million solar panels, including those at Israel's first commercial solar energy project, the Ketura Sun solar PV field. Owned and operated by Arava Power, the 4.95 MW installation is located on Kibbutz Ketura in southern Israel's Arava Valley.
Working with Siemens – then a part owner of Arava Power – Ecoppia pilot-tested its cloud-based solar robotics cleaning platform over a three-year period. Siemens was relying on large maintenance teams and copious amounts of distilled water to clean solar panels about 10 times a year. “They were looking worldwide for a more efficient, cost-effective solution,” Meller recounted.
Water-free and energy-independent, Ecoppia's E4 solar robotics system cleans the PV panels at Arava Power's solar park on a nightly basis. Radio-frequency communications are used to gather data that's run through E4's predictive analytics software, Meller explained.
Unprecedented PV data-gathering, communications and analytics
These data-gathering, processing and communications capabilities drive a continuous process of PV maintenance system assessment and scheduling that entails 30-minute checks on the robotics system's batteries. Over time, the platform's on-site master control unit essentially learns how to optimize maintenance and overall system performance, Meller said.
As far as Ecoppia is aware, its E4 solar robotics cleaning system is the only one to have been approved by PI Berlin and banks. “PI simulated 15,000 cleaning cycles on each and every panel from nine manufacturers – that's the equivalent of 20 years of nightly cleaning,” Meller elaborated.
Resulting instructions are relayed as needed from the system's control unit to client robots that do the cleaning. All the data is sent via GSM for storage in the cloud. That enables it to be accessed and acted on via the Ecoppia E4 platform's front-end software on laptops, tablets or smartphones either on-site or from remote locations.Banks and investors require rigorous independent testing and evaluation of the technology and systems used to operate and maintain solar PV generation assets in order to finance projects, Meller pointed out. “Banks may grant as much as 80 percent collateral on loans to developers. They're very risk-averse; their only collateral are the PV panels and systems. There's lots of due diligence involved.”Those simulations involved assessing the prospective effects of 900 dust storms, about 45 per year. At the end of the day, PI Berlin found zero in the way of energy conversion efficiency losses and no micro-cracks over the 20-year period.
Looking ahead, Ecoppia anticipates completing installations of its self-sustaining, water-free platform at five recently-signed Middle East project sites in the first quarter of 2015. By then the Israeli clean-tech startup expects to be cleaning 5 million PV panels a month. “I'd guess that even the largest manual solar panel cleaning company in the world isn't cleaning 10 percent of that number,” Meller stated.
*Images credit: Eccopia, Arava Power |
Gov. Christie joined a chorus of angry Republican and Democratic lawmakers in a press conference Wednesday afternoon attacking Speaker John Boehner's decision to delay a vote on a Hurricane Sandy aid relief package.
The Republican N.J. governor aimed his criticism directly at Boehner, echoing comments made Wednesday morning by Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer.
"There is only one group to blame," said Christie. "The House majority and their Speaker, John Boehner."
Christie revealed that he learned the bill would be delayed late Tuesday night at 11:20 p.m., in a call not from Boehner, but House Leader Eric Cantor.
"I was given no explanation," said Christie, adding that he made a total of four calls to Boehner Tuesday night, none of which were returned. "All I can tell you was this was the Speaker's decision — his alone."
Christie said he spoke with Boehner Wednesday morning, but refused to discuss specifics of the conversation.
In one of his most impassioned moments at the press conference, Christie issued a sharp attack on Congress.
"Shame on you, shame on Congress," he said, adding later that lawmakers in D.C. are "so consumed with their own internal politics, that they forgot that they have a job to do."
"This is not a Republican or Democratic issue," he said. "We respond to innocent victims of natural disasters not as Republicans or Democrats, but as Americans — or at least we did until last night."
Citing the aid response time following other natural disasters — 31 days for victims of Hurricane Andrew, and 10 days for Hurricane Katrina — the governor said the 66 days Sandy victims have waited are unacceptable.
"We've been left waiting for help six times longer than the victims of Katrina with no end in sight," he said, hammering leaders in Washington for placing "one-upmanship ahead of the lives of these citizens."
Christie aligned himself with his Democratic counterpart in New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo. "Governor Cuomo and I are not wallflowers. We are not shrinking violets," said Christie, promising to fight until the bill is passed.
Asked at the press conference whether Boehner had lost credibility with the governor, Christie said that "no one is beyond redemption."
Update: In a joint statement released Wednesday afternoon, Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor promised to make the Sandy relief bill the "first priority" of the next Congress.
Getting critical aid to the victims of Hurricane Sandy should be the first priority in the new Congress, and that was reaffirmed today with members of the New York and New Jersey delegations. The House will vote Friday to direct needed resources to the National Flood Insurance Program. And on January 15th, the first full legislative day of the 113th Congress, the House will consider the remaining supplemental request for the victims of Hurricane Sandy. |
MAY 6 MARKET PLUNGE MAY 6 MARKET PLUNGE Major exchanges on Monday agreed with regulators to bolster their circuit breakers, in an effort to prevent the kind of mayhem that gripped financial markets last week. Changes to circuit breakers, or temporary pauses in trading to allow buyers and sellers to collect themselves in fast-moving markets, are expected following the Securities and Exchange Commission's meeting with the leaders of the six main exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, BATS, Direct Edge, International Securities Exchange and Chicago Board Options Exchange. EFFECT: Fear rises while Dow's 1,000-point drop remains a mystery Details of the proposed curbs were not provided. However, the SEC said in its statement that the parties agreed on a "structural framework" for "strengthening" circuit breakers and handling incorrect trades. Details are to be hashed out today, the SEC said. The NYSE declined to comment. The Nasdaq, in an e-mail, said it had a productive meeting with the SEC. Having the exchanges agree upon and use the same standards of when to slow down trading could help prevent the market turbulence that caused stocks to go into an unusual free fall last Thursday, market observers say. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 999 points in 30 minutes only to largely bounce back. The fact the NYSE was slowing down trades in some stocks, while other all-electronic exchanges were still conducting high-speed computerized trades in those same stocks, caused some orders to be routed to exchanges with fewer orders. That resulted in erratic prices. "There has to be harmony between exchanges," says Edward Wedbush, CEO of investment firm Wedbush Securities. While exchanges have gone electronic, which allows for rapid trading, rules to hold markets in sync haven't kept up, Wedbush says. Circuit breakers can be helpful in allowing investors to gather breaking news so they can make informed decisions, says Michelle Clayman of New Amsterdam Partners. "Circuit breakers do seem to work," she says. Meanwhile, investors are still somewhat in the dark about exactly what happened. Some details are expected today, though, as Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., is scheduled to hold a hearing on the matter. "We still don't know" what happened, says Michael Farr of Farr Miller & Washington. "But what we have learned is that our system is vulnerable." Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more |
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Former Democratic congressman Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania launched a new attack on Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan on MSNBC Tuesday morning, claiming "Paul Ryan also believes we should ban all birth control as well. He voted for that."
In response to Murphy’s smear, the Weekly Standard’s John McCormack wrote:
Murphy's claim is false and bizarre: Ryan does not favor banning contraception, nor has he ever voted to ban contraception. In the modern era, there hasn't been any legislation offered by anyone in Congress to ban birth control. In fact, Ryan, like other conservative Republicans in the House, has voted for hundreds of millions of dollars in contraceptive funding for low-income women through the program Title X. Ryan has voted for the Pence amendment to keep Title X funds from going to the largest abortion provider in America, but the Pence amendment did not decrease Title X funding by one dime.
McCormack likens Murphy’s false attack to BuzzFeed’s false reporting this weekend. BuzzFeed said that Ryan supported the Sanctity of Life Act, a bill that "seeks to ban all abortions, including in instances of rape and incest."
National Review’s Ramesh Ponnuru dashed BuzzFeed’s claim, noting that the bill "doesn’t ban anything: It merely affirms that legislatures have the authority to protect unborn life." |
It's the holiday season, and the American Psychological Association tells me that I, as a woman, am more likely than my husband to be stressed about buying holiday gifts for our three kids. According to their survey released this week, about 46 percent of women are worried about having enough money to buy gifts compared with 35 percent of men. That goes along with the fact that women are more stressed than men over the economy in general, as I previously blogged about.
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Another new finding suggests that I, as a woman, am more prone to heart disease if I'm raising kids or caring for an elderly parent who lives in my home. The study, published today in the journal Heart, was pretty shocking: Married women ages 40 to 59 who lived with children had twice the risk of developing heart disease as single women or those living only with their spouses. Adding an elderly parent to the mix tripled a woman's heart attack risk. Men, on the other hand, had no such increase in heart disease risk if they lived with kids, parents, or, heck, even their in-laws. (Caveat: The folks in the study were Japanese, and it's possible that American men are more stressed than their Japanese counterparts over family responsibilities.)
The culprit? The researchers speculate that the stress of filling multiple roles as wife, mother, and caregiver boosts stress hormones. That, in turn, could increase women's blood pressure and make their bodies generate inflammatory chemicals that lead to other heart disease risk factors like diabetes and clogged arteries.
So I'm guessing that the additive effect of economic woes, multiple role demands, and worry over too much to do in the countdown to Christmas, Kwanzaa, or Chanukah may have many of us on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
What to do? Psychologist Lynn Bufka, assistant executive director of the American Psychological Association, recommends these three tips.
1. Think memory instead of money: If coveted holiday gifts are out of your budget, think about creating a family memory instead of giving an expensive present. Kids usually value the time you spend with them—whether it's baking cookies, throwing snowballs, or driving around to see holiday lights—far more than the gift that loses its luster soon after the wrapping is torn away.
2. Reset your expectations: Maybe you can't create the same holiday your mom had. "You may be at home far less than your mother was," says Bufka. And that means less time to string up lights or wrap all the presents with perfect bows. "You may need to reinvent those time-consuming traditions," she adds. Or maybe create some new ones of your own.
3. Get your loved ones to cut you some slack: That's probably one of the hardest things to do, especially when you're getting pressured from, say, children who expect the kinds of presents that their friends get or a spouse whose mom set the bar high for holiday festivities. "Talk to them about what's realistically possible," says Bufka. And help them understand what's actually required to fulfill their expectations. Your kids want that $200 Wii? Have them shovel the neighbors' driveways to see how much money they earn in a few hours. Husband wants the five-course dinner with all the trimmings? Give him a supermarket shopping list and a few dishes to make on his own.
If you're finding it hard to overcome the pressure you put on yourself, here's how to overcome perfectionist tendencies. |
Kitty here! Umm, I know this is a bit unorthodox, but… Y’all Tumblr bebes are super sweet about this sort of thing, so I’m posting something here and here only.
I just got a cat.
When New Cat is named and fully acclimated, she will def join the dogs, guinea pigs, and chickens as a Tumblr/Instagram regular.
But I have…mixed feelings.
My last cat died six months ago. We didn’t get another cat to replace her–c'est impossible, she was irreplaceable. Rather, we did it because we know two things:
1. A house that’s had a cat in it will always feel empty without a cat in it.
2. We have money and space and time and patience and love, and shelters are full of cats who don’t got none of those things.
Still, I’ve been thinking about my last cat Clementine a lot. And I think it would be healing to me to share a few photos of her.
This was Clementine. We adopted her when she was 14 years old. That’s old. If she were human, she would’ve been in her early seventies. Her previous owner had moved into a nursing home. She was lucky to land in one of the few no-kill shelters with enough resources to accept a cat of her age. Many don’t.
Clementine was terribly stressed out being in the shelter after so many years in one person’s home. Her fur started to fall out, and she refused to eat. She hid all the time and hissed if approached. No one applied for her.
We saw a lot of great cats at the shelter. For some reason, she was the one my partner and I both couldn’t stop thinking about. We talked about it, and decided we had the patience, emotional maturity, and financial stability needed to address the realities of adopting a shy geriatric cat. So we took her home, and released her under the bed.
“We might never see this cat,” I told my partner. “We might just know she’s here by periodic dips in the level of the food bowl.”
“I’d be okay with that,” he said.
“I would too.”
We didn’t see her for 36 hours.
Then, I heard a little sound while I was sitting in bed–not a meow, but a chirp. I looked down, and she sitting there, looking up at me. She chirped again. I patted the blanket. She sprang up beside me and started purring. Surprised, I took this blurry, crappy photo.
Within a week, she was climbing into our laps and kneading us with rapturous abandon. Sometimes she would start to drool out of pure joy.
Now, one complication was our dog. Clementine had never met a dog before, and I’d intended to introduce them very slowly and carefully. When she caught her first glimpse of our dog Brother, I was focused wholly on him, making sure he didn’t lunge or startle her. She darted past me, and ran to rub her face against him.
She was sleeping on top him by the end of the week.
To our complete surprise, Clementine was not scared of dogs.
Clementine loved dogs.
All dogs. Any dogs.
We foster dogs, and every new one that came home got the same treatment. She ran to them like an old lover, chirping her barely-audible chirps, paws warming up to give them a deep tissue massage the moment they sat down.
She put in an application to adopt Sunny, a red heeler mix who was our our 13th or 14th foster. We accepted her application and made him our second dog.
In the course of her four-year career, she cat-trained over a dozen dogs, making each of them infinitely more adoptable. Many went on to permanent homes with cats.
I was always hovering around her and the dogs, incredibly nervous that one might injure her. She’d been declawed by her first owner; she was defenseless.
But she knew exactly how to handle each one. She sat calmly and accepted sloppy licks from overly-affectionate dogs. She hid from excitable, high-energy dogs until after their playtime. We had one that was so afraid of cats that she was borderline aggressive towards them, but Clementine was absolutely determined. That dog was sleeping peacefully next to her after a month of relentless displays of patient friendliness.
Clem was the Nurse Joy of the house. She always knew if someone was hurting, emotionally or physically.
In this photo, our older dog Brother was suddenly deathly sick. Underneath the blanket he’s swaddled in more blankets and many layers of towels, because he was uncontrollably oozing blood. When we brought him home from the emergency vet, Clementine immediately crouched on top of his head, purring and kneading so intensely that it felt like she was in some kind of trance. He recovered fully.
When a (human) friend of ours was recovering from a horrible trauma, Clementine parked herself on her chest and refused to budge.
“But… But… I don’t like cats…” our friend said, a last feeble protest before submitting to Clementine’s healing ministrations.
We had four glorious years with Clementine. She made it to 18–a great age for a cat. She died peacefully, without pain, and is buried on our property, underneath a her favorite catnip plant.
I don’t know what her life was like before we met, but I know she was happy in those four years. She showed it to us every single day.
I’m so glad we took a chance on a shy senior. There were a lot of risks and a lot of unknowns. We were so focused on accepting those that we weren’t prepared for what we got: the best outcome of all possible outcomes.
That’s all I wanted to say, really! Thanks for letting me get this off my chest.
New Cat is 14, the same age Clementine was when we adopted her. She’s in the early stages of renal disease, but we’re hoping she has a few good years left. I’m excited to get to know New Cat. I’m looking forward to posting pictures of her as she finds her place in our house.
I wrote an article soon after she died about why I think senior pets are totally worth it. You can read it here:
http://www.bitchesgetriches.com/twelve-reasons-senior-pets-are-an-awesome-investment/ |
Launching Civilization: Beyond Earth Lying on its side, it's longer than three 18-wheelers and as tall as a three-story house. It's broken into sections: the F1 rocket engines, the first stage, the second stage, the third stage and then the command module and escape tower — the parts people recognize. The Apollo parts. The parts that took men to the moon. Eleven-year-old Will Miller stands next to the bell of the F1, the broad business end of the rocket engine. The part that breathes fire. He looks up at the engine bell, then at the relatively tiny command module. He thinks about how much power it takes to send such a small object into space, and how, back here on the ground, there are people who made that powerful rocket, that tiny command module, using parts and tools and their hands. He wonders if he might some day go into space. Miller is like a lot of kids who dream of becoming astronauts, of soaring into outer space. But unlike most kids, he is going to grow up to make his dreams come true — in a way. Over a decade after seeing that rocket, Miller and longtime friend Dave McDonough are launching their own space mission. They're the co-lead designers behind Civilization: Beyond Earth, the game that will once again carry Sid Meier's epic creation out of the solar system. This is their story.
First stage The game would be made in much the same way as the rocket. It started with a strong foundation — the engine driving Civilization V and its two expansions, Gods & Kings and Brave New World. "People were ready for Civ to grow up and move into the modern age," says Miller. "When we approached 'Civ in space,' a sci-fi Civ, I think, in my mind, it started from, 'Where is Civ today?'" Today, Civ is in its fifth iteration, not counting the various expansions. It's evolved in countless ways since the first installment launched in 1991. And it's as successful as it ever was. Civilization V has sold over 5 million copies since it was released in 2010. Yet for some, one of the greatest Civs ever made was not a Civ at all, but Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri — the Civ II-based "Civ in space," that took players beyond Earth for the very first time. "People were ready for Civ to grow up and move into the modern age." Civilization is a game about building a great nation that will thrive through war and prosperity and evolve to eventually become the greatest civilization in the world. One of the ways to win, traditionally, has been to build a starship and launch your civilization into space ... the end. Alpha Centauri was a game built to answer the question: Then what? It was like Civ, in that it involved building a civilization, discovering resources and negotiating with competing civs. And it was developed by Meier and Brian Reynolds, the lead designer of Civ II. Alpha Centauri was also an exercise for the developers in navigating business practicalities. Meier, Reynolds and Jeff Briggs founded Firaxis in 1996 after leaving developer MicroProse, but MicroProse retained the rights to the Civilization games. Meier and Reynolds had to make something different, but they wanted to preserve the strengths and successes of their popular Civ-style games. The result: Alpha Centauri. Although a similar 4X strategy game to Civ, Alpha Centauri was new and different in a number of ways. The units, technologies and civilizations themselves were not based on historical models. It was sci-fi. It was fiction. And although it was praised by critics at the time it was released in 1999, it is widely considered the least commercially successful of Meier’s Civ-type games. Fast forward to 2014. Firaxis has gained the rights to many of Sid Meier's previous titles, including Civ, but not including Alpha Centauri. EA still owns that IP. But sci-fi games are big business. Firaxis’ XCOM: Enemy Unknown and Enemy Within (based on licenses gained from the now defunct MicroProse), have become worldwide best-sellers. And the Civ team, lead by designer Ed Beach, has beaten all of the historical variety it possibly can into the Civ V engine. It's ready for a new challenge. Anton Strenger was lead systems designer for the Civ V expansions. When Beach moved on to a new project at Firaxis (something the company won't talk about, but that is still in its early stages), he offered Strenger a spot on his team. But Strenger had heard whispers of a sci-fi Civ, a project being led by a young duo of designers fresh off of Firaxis' mobile game Haunted Hollow. He split off from his longtime collaborator and reached for space.
Jam "I was wrapping up Brave New World last spring," says Strenger. "I heard an inkling about ... this opportunity. I thought it'd be fun to give it a try." Strenger had first worked with Beyond Earth co-designers McDonough and Miller at an internal Firaxis game jam. The company frequently hosts such jams, closed to the public, just to see what its people can do. It's not a competition, although there are prizes. Everybody wins one. "They found a category for each one of the games that people made [at the jam]," says Firaxis Marketing Manager Pete Murray. "'Best use of Mongolian music, traditional Mongolian throat singing,' I think was one of the awards handed out. But it was just, people want to try out ideas. Sometimes those germs of an idea turn into finished games." One example of the types of prototypes that turn into big ideas at Firaxis is Sid Meier's Ace Patrol. Meier, who keeps a large office at Firaxis, semiseparate from the company's design teams, often spends his days tooling on game prototypes. One of those prototypes became Ace Patrol. Will Miller (left) and Dave McDonough (right) "It's about having fun. It's about making the game, finding the joy in that and then sharing it with other people." "One day Sid said, 'I've got this prototype on the network — pull it down and try it,'" Murray says. "It was Ace Patrol, about 90 percent of what ended up shipping. Graphically it wasn't there. It had a lot of programmer art. But most of the main ideas were there. "That's another example of how he leads and the weight of what he does counting so much for people. It's about having fun. It's about making the game, finding the joy in that and then sharing it with other people. It's tremendously inspiring to be around." At the game jam where Strenger, Miller and McDonough first collaborated, they and artist Jack Cook spent 48 hours working together on a prototype. When the jam started, they barely knew each other. When it ended, they'd become a team. "We really bonded," says Strenger. "At the end we were all hugging, like, 'Yeah, we did it!' That sort of stuff. We had this mutual feeling of, 'Wow, we really like working together.'" Meanwhile, McDonough and Miller had been tooling on their own project. They'd been given the blessing to try their hand at creating what would be the next Civ game, and they'd turned to outer space for inspiration, bashing sci-fi concepts and new gameplay mechanics into the venerable Civ V engine. After months under wraps, the project was ready to move into production as Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth, and Miller and McDonough tapped Strenger to be lead systems designer. "I was a huge Alpha Centauri fan," Strenger says. "The idea of doing something in that tradition was exciting to me."
Second stage Firaxis is a company made up of dozens of industry veterans, many tracing their careers back to the "early days" with Sid Meier at MicroProse and beyond. The Civ team contains many of those veterans, including some who were among the first dozen people hired at Firaxis in 1996. And then there's Miller and McDonough. The two designers attended college together in Georgia, at Savannah College of Art and Design. McDonough was a graduate student at SCAD. Miller was an undergrad. They’ve been at Firaxis for just a few years. Dave McDonough "We both learned to make games organically [at SCAD], in a department that was figuring itself out," McDonough says. "Sort of a golden age, when it was very experimental and fun and we could just do stuff. We learned to make games side by side." Then they both ended up at Firaxis. After graduation, Miller took a job at Firaxis as a gameplay engineer on XCOM: Enemy Unknown. McDonough, just passing through to visit his friend, got offered a job as an associate producer. "I said, 'David, we have this spot open, you should write a resume and come in!'" Miller recalls. "He came in, just on a whim, did the interview, and not only did they hire [him], but they waited for [him] to graduate, which was really unusual. They held the spot for him." The two young developers worked for two years at Firaxis, but rarely on the same game. Then they got offers from former Firaxis founder Brian Reynolds' Big Huge Games, which had become a part of the ill-fated 38 Studios. They took the offers, leaving Firaxis behind for the chance to do a game project together. "We worked on Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning," says Miller, "the game that shipped." It was the first time the two worked directly together in the same office. The experience was everything they'd hoped: organic, productive and, most of all, fun. "Then, fortuitously, right before the studio collapsed," says Miller, "everything was going great, [and] Firaxis came to us and asked us to come back." McDonough and Miller were invited to lunch with Sid Meier and Firaxis Director of Gameplay Development Barry Caudill. Miller remembers the meeting vividly, as much for the setting as for any other reason. Will Miller "Sid loves California Pizza Kitchen," Miller says. "He goes to CPK ... for lunch all the time, like 3:00 in the afternoon. He keeps very strange lunch hours." The pitch: return to Firaxis as lead designers, but not on separate teams — on the same team, as equals. It was exactly what the two young designers were looking for. It was an unusual pitch, and not just for Firaxis — which has traditionally developed games helmed by one designer at a time — but for the game industry in general. Design duos aren't unheard of, but they are very, very uncommon. Inviting these two still relatively inexperienced developers back to Firaxis to head up a game project was not just an expression of faith in their talent, but an experiment in their unique way of operating together. "Firaxis was saying, 'I think for too long our designs have been very narrow at Firaxis. There's been very few lead designers, not a broad team,'" says McDonough. "They said this in the context of: 'We're dreaming big at Firaxis. We want to do big things.' "XCOM was about to come out. Jake [Solomon] was in the process of making himself an international celebrity. They said, 'We want more of that.' ... It was a bench-deepening sort of move on their part and a career opportunity for us. So it was mutually beneficial, of course." McDonough and Miller took the offer and returned to Firaxis, together, to work as lead designers on what would become the mobile game Haunted Hollow. "We had this funny idea for a haunted house combat game that we thought we could make quickly and cheaply," McDonough says, "which we did. ... Based on a good showing there, I think, good behavior, they said, why don't you take the Civ team out for a spin and see what you can do with them?"
Civilization: Beyond Earth concept art
The Bynars Talk at Firaxis eventually turned to Civ in space. Different people have different recollections of when the idea came about, or by whom. But everyone agrees it was a catalyzing idea, one that sparked interest and excitement from nearly everyone on the team. "The Civ team gets the opportunity to shake off the dust after many years of making historic games," says McDonough. "Everyone just came alive with the idea of getting to try that. And so that was a huge tailwind for us, to come in and say, 'You want to make sci-fi Civ? Here's all our cool weird ideas. How do you see this? You the artist, you the engineer, how do you imagine this?"
Civilization: Beyond Earth For most members of the Civ team, making historical strategy games has been their focus for decades. No matter how much they may enjoy the process, the opportunity to step outside of history and create concepts from scratch proved intoxicating. Senior Artist Mike Bazzell took his enthusiasm a bit farther than most. As soon as he learned a sci-fi Civ was even possible, he set to work with modeling clay and a camera and created a concept animation for what would become one of Beyond Earth's signature enemies: the Siege Worm. In a large, central space at Firaxis, a whole wall has been covered with sketches and concept animations of the various leaders and enemies in Beyond Earth. And there, in a prominent place of pride, is Bazzell's Siege Worm. Not only did the creation inspire much of the rest of the team, once it was in the game it became one of the largest single units ever put into a Civ game, second only to the aquatic enemy: the Kraken. This high level of enthusiasm, as energizing as it was, also came with a price. Although the Civ team may have been anxious to spend some time away from historical Civ, the fact that it had been living in that world, and with each other's production styles, for so long meant that adapting to a new way of doing things might produce some challenges. To face these challenges, Firaxis turned to another relative newcomer, Producer Lena Brenk. "I came here for Civ, basically," says Brenk. Originally from Germany, Brenk worked for three years as a QA lead at 2K's UK office. She moved to the United States to work at Firaxis, first on the Civ V expansions, then as a lead producer on Ace Patrol. But for her, it was really all about Civ. "I moved to the states for Civ. When [the Beyond Earth] project started, I got very excited about that, when I heard there would be an opportunity to work on that as a producer. That's not something a sane person should decline. It's Civ. It's sci-fi. It's awesome." Brenk's first challenge: bending the organic, two-heads design style of McDonough and Miller to fit with the more regimented, traditional style of the veteran Civ team. "Half of the team is used to certain processes," says Brenk. "The other team is very used to and very efficient at another process. They've worked that way for a long time. Finding that happy balance and what works best for everybody — everybody learning some new things — I think we found a good place." The job of merging the different production styles of the two halves of the Beyond Earth team would get its most rigorous test when it came to art production. Miller and McDonough have art degrees, and tend to get hands on with that aspect of production, more so than some of the other aspects of creating the game. This can often lead to brilliant convergences in design and art. It can also lead to confusion. "Some members of the Haunted Hollow team used to call [McDonough and Miller] the Bynars, because they'd talk gibberish to each other and then turn and give the answer." "Will and David have ... ideas and visions already in their heads," Brenk says. She had to find a way to allow the two to have critical input early, and then get them out of the artists' way. "There's an art director for a reason," she says, with a smile. "We found a good point where they would go through the concepts just with the art director, just between the two of them and Mike Bates, our art director. They would go through, discuss the concepts and their thoughts. To the artists, it was one voice ... that took some time, to get that loop right." Strenger helped in that effort. Steeped in Civ, and familiar with the Civ team’s ways of doing things, but young and nimble enough to quickly embrace Miller and McDonough's quirks, Strenger quickly became the bridge between the two worlds. He and the two SCAD graduates now share an office, and have spent the past several months sharing equally in the responsibilities of developing the core concepts and systems for Civilization: Beyond Earth. Slowly, over many weeks, each of the three has settled into areas of speciality, but as far as the overall game is concerned, they are almost sharing a mind. Murray recalls approaching the team with a question about one of the game's concepts. "I came in with a question at one point because I was writing something for the Civlopedia," Murray says. "I asked a question, and the three of them looked at each other and immediately had a conversation 'up here,'" he indicates a place somewhere above his head, "and then came back and gave me the answer I was looking for. It was really odd. ... All three of them spun around in their chairs and looked at each other, and then just — it's a neat process to watch." Strenger credits the effect to McDonough and Miller's longstanding partnership, comparing them to an alien race from Star Trek: The Next Generation, who spoke to each other in a form of rapid-fire binary code no one else could understand. "Some members of the Haunted Hollow team used to call [McDonough and Miller] the Bynars," Strenger says, "because they'd talk gibberish to each other and then turn and give the answer." Orbit "We're only the most visible part of a very well-oiled machine," Miller says. "This game was a tough one to make, because it's a lot different from core Civ. But we did so with confidence, because we had this awesome team working beside us to realize it. ... To be given this opportunity, I think, was not such a risk, because Firaxis has been making these games for a long time. We were very fortunate to be given a shot and to get to work with these guys that do this job so well." Miller says the enormity of what he and McDonough had achieved finally hit him during a voice recording session. "We had this situation set up where [the actor] was being recorded in South Africa ... [and] a director who could speak many languages — Somali among others … was talking to us over Skype across the world," Miller says. "And we were trying to get a performance out of this actor. I remember sitting there in Dennis [Shirk, the production director]'s office ... listening to all this happen and it's just, 'Oh my God, I can't believe it's a guy in South Africa recording this voice because we're making the game, because we're making our game.' I guess for me, that's when it really dawned on me that this was a totally different league."
Civilization: Beyond Earth For McDonough that realization came when he heard that Firaxis was talking with PC Gamer about putting Beyond Earth on the cover of the magazine. "I was like, you just blink at that," McDonough says. "When I was a kid I bought PC Gamer off the corner store shelf. It had all my favorite games on the cover. It was like, 'Wow, our game is going to be on the cover of PC Gamer?' If we were in PC Gamer at all, that would have been astonishing. ... This is a major league diamond. We're at field level, surrounded by the stands. They're empty right now, but you can appreciate how loud it's going to be in just a minute." Apart from simply having been granted the keys to one of the most beloved game franchises, McDonough and Miller are also aware of the unique place in time they currently occupy, as part of a growing movement of humanity's interest toward space. And not just fictional space. Last year daredevil Felix Baumgartner made history by leaping out of a space capsule from high in the Earth's orbit, in part just to see if he could. He not only logged the highest balloon flight on record, but also the highest survived parachute jump by a human. But Baumgartner's accomplishment was just one of the most visible in a swelling wave of commercially-driven space projects. The Xprize Foundation awarded $10 million to inventor Burt Rutan in 2004 for his successful flight of a reusable space vehicle, SpaceShipOne. That contest led to a rise in investment geared toward getting people into space without needing the government's money (or bureaucracy). Many of the fruits of those investments, like Rutan and Paul Allen's Scaled Composites and billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, are now coming to fruition. "We're not scientists. We'll never ride a rocket. But ... this is our little contribution, as game designers, to what we hope is a movement." A new generation of government-funded space efforts is starting to catch fire as well. In December 2014, NASA will conduct the first launch test of its new Orion spacecraft, designed to carry American astronauts (eventually) to Mars. And other projects aimed a little closer to home are being developed, some with an eye toward returning to the moon, but this time for good. Miller and McDonough believe this is all part of a younger generation gearing up for space, one that grew up after the Apollo moon landings, watching as the space shuttles reached for the stars — and as some came crashing back to Earth. "When we were kids, probably, I feel like the heyday of the shuttle era, people still felt pretty awesome about space," McDonough says. "We were making stuff like the Hubble Space Telescope. I remember when that came online and we started to see deep field photographs and stuff. And then they mothballed it. "It started to feel like everything falls apart. There's no point anymore. Why bother? ... Little kids are hopefully going to be able to grow up with something new to be excited about, like the shuttle for us and the moon landing for others. Something to point to and say, 'That is the coolest thing. I want to do that. I want to ride that or build one of those.'" "So we're not scientists," says Miller. "We'll never ride a rocket. But ... this is our little contribution, as game designers, to what we hope is a movement." Of course, even if Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth doesn't spark a swell of enthusiasm for going back to space, it will still be an achievement for the entire team to have created a new chapter in the Civ universe. |
UPDATE 12/1/2014: The offer that this deal was based on has expired earlier than advertised. The advertised offer said that code RR57 was good until December 31, but it turns out that the code actually expired 11/30/2014. I will report back once a new, working code is found.
Southwest Airlines has, in my opinion, the single best deal in the travel industry: earn 110,000 points in one calendar year and they’ll give you a Companion Pass good for the rest of that year and all of the next year.
One way to earn Southwest points quickly is through 1-800-Flowers. 1-800-Flowers is currently offering a promotion in which they’ll award 1500 Southwest Rapid Rewards points for each purchase of $29.99 or more in which the code RR57 is applied.
In addition to flowers, 1-800-Flowers offers various types of gift baskets. Some baskets contain food, such as fruits and nuts. It so happens that these are exactly the types of foods that are in high demand by charitable organizations that feed the hungry. Towards this end, I’ve been working with a great local charity: Food Gatherers. Together, we’ve selected baskets that are a good fit for feeding the hungry, and have developed a process that can be used to donate food.
In this post, I’ll show how you can use the 1-800-Flowers deal to earn 110,000 points and a Companion Pass and help feed the hungry through Food Gatherers. Of course, you can donate to any cause you’d like, but the instructions below are specific to Food Gatherers.
Background details
1-800-Flowers is running a promotion in which they are offering 1500 Southwest Rapid Rewards points for each purchase of $29.99 or more. You must use code RR57 at checkout to qualify .
for each purchase of $29.99 or more. . If you plan to earn miles by shopping at 1-800-Flowers I highly recommend signing up for their Passport program (found here). For $29.99, you’ll get free shipping for a year. You can stack deals by going through a portal to purchase this, and you can pay for Passport with a gift card.
signing up for their Passport program (found here). For $29.99, you’ll get free shipping for a year. You can stack deals by going through a portal to purchase this, and you can pay for Passport with a gift card. With free shipping (thanks to Passport) and a $30 1-800-Flowers order, using code RR57, you will earn 50 points per dollar (1500 points / $30).
(1500 points / $30). The Southwest Companion Pass requires earning 110,000 points within one calendar year. Once achieved, the companion pass is good for unlimited flights booked with points or cash for the rest of that calendar year and all of the following year. Purchase one ticket with cash or points and add a companion for free.
requires earning 110,000 points within one calendar year. Once achieved, the companion pass is good for unlimited flights booked with points or cash for the rest of that calendar year and all of the following year. Purchase one ticket with cash or points and add a companion for free. The best timing for earning the Companion Pass is to earn the 110,000 points as early as possible within a calendar year in order to use the pass for almost two full years.
for earning the Companion Pass is to earn the 110,000 points as early as possible within a calendar year in order to use the pass for almost two full years. The easiest way to earn the Companion Pass is to sign up for two 50K Southwest Airlines credit card offers (found here, when available). That will give you nearly all of the required points once you meet the minimum spend requirements for those cards. Currently, each offer requires $2,000 spend. If you signup now and complete all $4K spend after your December statement closes (or in early January), then you’ll get 104K Southwest points in January, so you’ll only need 6,000 more points to get the Companion Pass.
to earn the Companion Pass is to sign up for two 50K Southwest Airlines credit card offers (found here, when available). That will give you nearly all of the required points once you meet the minimum spend requirements for those cards. Currently, each offer requires $2,000 spend. If you signup now and complete all $4K spend after your December statement closes (or in early January), then you’ll get 104K Southwest points in January, so you’ll only need 6,000 more points to get the Companion Pass. This 1-800-Flowers offer can be used either to get the Companion Pass from scratch with 74 separate orders, or better yet, can be used to get the additional points you need if you have another way to earn points (such as the credit card offers mentioned above). If you go the credit card route and need 6,000 additional points, you would only have to place four 1-800-Flowers orders to get 6,000 points.
Caution: your miles may vary
As I reported at length in a previous post (Gifting your way to a Southwest companion pass. Experiments in progress), I think I know how this 1-800-Flowers promotion will work, but my tests to-date have yet to fully confirm my assumptions. The advice in this post assumes that my understanding of the promotion is correct. There is always a chance that some details are incorrect so there is some risk of not receiving all of the points expected or, more likely, not receiving them when expected.
Sign up for Passport and Fresh Rewards
Before placing orders at 1-800-Flowers, make sure to sign up for their Passport program which costs $29.99 for a year of free shipping. You can go through a cash back portal to 1-800-Flowers to buy this and get up to 20% cash back (find current portal offers here). Also, make sure to sign up for their Fresh Rewards program which will give you credit towards free future purchases.
When to order, and when to deliver
When you use a promo code such as RR57, 1-800-Flowers awards points based on the date of delivery, not the date of purchase. So, if your goal is to earn the Southwest Companion Pass this year, you should place your orders right away for delivery as soon as possible. If your goal is to earn the Southwest Companion Pass early next year (which I highly recommend), then you can place your order any time this year for delivery in January.
If you plan to ship the baskets to Food Gatherers, please follow these suggestions:
Schedule packages to arrive Monday through Thursday. Avoid holidays, including the day before a holiday.
If you plan to donate before Christmas, please schedule the package to be delivered no later than Monday, December 22.
For a 2015 delivery, I’d recommend scheduling deliveries for January 5th or later.
What to order
To get the most bang for your buck (AKA points per dollar), each order should be as close as possible to $29.99, but not less. And, Food Gatherers has requested that we send fruit and nuts, but not candy or cookies. Towards that end, we’ve identified two perfect candidates:
Product Code:93055. Deluxe size. $29.99.
Product Code:93597. $29.99.
How many orders?
The number of orders you place depends upon your goals. If you want to donate enough to get a Companion Pass in one fell swoop, then you’ll need to place 74 separate orders.
You can calculate the number of orders you need to place by taking the number of points you need and dividing by 1500. For example, if you need 6000 points, you can calculate the number of orders as follows:
6000 points required / 1500 points per order = 4 orders
If the calculated number is not a whole number, round up to the next nearest whole number.
Taxes
According to my accountant, donations to Food Gatherers as described here are tax deductible at the price paid. The fact that the donor will receive miles for the purchase, in his opinion, is not relevant. Critically, the points would come from 1-800-Flowers, not from Food Gatherers. That is, Food Gatherers would be able to honestly report that they did not give the donor anything of value in exchange for the gift. Of course, you should check with your own tax advisor for your situation. Keep in mind that tax deductions are different from tax credits. Unlike a tax credit, if you spend $30 on an order it will not reduce your tax burden by $30. The exact amount that it helps reduce your tax burden depends upon many factors that are unique to your tax situation.
Costs and benefits
Let’s assume you take the extreme approach and place 74 orders for delivery in early January. And, arbitrarily, let’s assume that you’ll save 25% of the cost of each order from your future taxes.
Here are your expected costs:
Purchase Passport plan for free shipping: $29.99 – 20% portal rebate = $23.99
Place 74 orders at $29.99 each: $2,219.26
Deduct $2,219.26 in donations from taxes. At 25% tax savings: –$554.82
Total cost: $1688.43
In addition to helping to feed the hungry, you will get:
111,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards points worth approximately $1698 in airfare. This is based on my estimated Southwest point valuation of 1.53 cents per point (found here).
This is based on my estimated Southwest point valuation of 1.53 cents per point (found here). The Companion Pass can effectively double the redemption value of the points earned since each flight you take using points can include a free companion. Of course, you might not use all of your points under these ideal conditions. For example, sometimes you might fly alone or with more than two people. Or, you might not use all of your points while the Companion Pass is still active. So, let’s assume that the Companion Pass is worth half of the value of the points: $849 .
. Total estimated benefit: $2547
As you can see, without accounting for the value of your time, the total estimated benefit outweighs the costs even before considering the amount of good done by feeding the hungry! In fact, this is true even if you do not take a tax deduction!
Ordering and donation instructions
Here’s how to order fruit or nuts and donate to Food Gatherers:
1. Browse to 1-800-Flowers and find the appropriate food items, or click through from here to: Arbor Harvest Fruit Collection or Vintage Pressed Glass Jar with Jumbo Cashews.
2. Log into your 1-800-Flowers account.
3. Order a single $29.99 item and ship it to:
Katie Bye
Food Gatherers
1 Carrot Way
Ann Arbor, MI 48105 Phone: 734-761-2796
4. Under location type, select “Business”.
5. Schedule delivery based on when you want the points applied to your account. Please see the section above titled “When to order, and when to deliver.”
6. Save the address to your 1-800-Flowers address book to expedite your repeat orders.
7. Enter your name in the Card Message box. For example, if your name is Jane Doe, you could enter: “Donation to Food Gatherers from Jane Doe”.
8. DON”T FORGET to enter the promo code! On the final check-out screen, make sure to enter the RR57 promo code and your Southwest Rapid Rewards number. If you don’t already have a Southwest loyalty program number, you’ll have to signup for one first.
9. Verify that the promo code was accepted. You should see text saying something like “Promotion code RR57 ( SOUTHWEST AIRLINES ) has been applied to your order.”
10. Repeat all of the above for each order you want to place.
11. Send gift message to Food Gatherers once packages have been delivered (if you want a gift receipt). I’d recommend setting up a calendar alert to remind you to do this. Once the deliveries have been made, send an email to Food Gatherers (info@foodgatherers.org), with details of your donation and your name and address. This way, they can send you a donation receipt for tax purposes. Here’s an example:
Please accept my donation of 74 boxes of fruit sent separately via 1-800-Flowers, and delivered on January 6th 2015. Sincerely Jane Doe, 123 Cashew Way, Somewhere City, CA 12345.
Note: I realize that the above steps can be overwhelming, especially if you intend to place 74 orders! Please consider this carefully before deciding to go for it!
What can go wrong
This is far from a risk-free deal. Here are some things that I can think of that could go wrong:
1-800-Flowers might stop selling fruit and nuts at the $30 price point. They might run out of stock or decide to raise prices, or whatever. The worst case would be if this happens half way through placing your orders.
1-800-Flowers might stop allowing promo codes with the fruit and nut orders.
1-800 Flowers might not award points for deliveries in 2015. The current promotion ends on December 31st 2014. Despite the fact that at least four different 1-800-Flowers employees told me that we would definitely earn points if we make the purchase in 2014 for delivery in 2015, they could be wrong. You could eliminate that risk by having the food delivered this year, but then you wouldn’t be able to maximize the Companion Pass benefit. If you earn the Companion Pass in late 2014, it would be usable for only one year rather than two.
1-800-Flowers could mess up and fail to award points. Several readers have said that with past promotions they had to call to get their points awarded. I can just imagine the phone call now… “Hi, I placed 74 separate orders using a promo code, but haven’t yet received the points…”
This might prove to be more work than expected. Not only will it be a lot of work to place 74 orders, but things can go wrong at any point after that as well. Keeping track of the orders and handling problems, could become a big job.
My Approach
I’ve thought about doing this myself, but realized that I don’t fly Southwest often enough to make it worthwhile. Instead, I plan to run a contest to find someone who could really use those 110,000 points and a Companion Pass (details to be published in a future post). Once I pick someone, I’ll order 74 boxes of fruit and/or nuts and schedule delivery to Food Gatherers for early January. I’ll use the contest winner’s Southwest Rapid Rewards number when I checkout. In this way, if all goes well, the contest winner should get 111,000 points and a Companion Pass! |
TACOMA, Wash. — One night, when her face turned puffy and painful from what she thought was a sinus infection, Jessica DeVisser briefly considered going to an urgent care clinic, but then decided to try something “kind of sci-fi.”
She sat with her laptop on her living room couch, went online and requested a virtual consultation. She typed in her symptoms and credit card number, and within half an hour, a doctor appeared on her screen via Skype. He looked her over, asked some questions and agreed she had sinusitis. In minutes, Ms. DeVisser, a stay-at-home mother, had an antibiotics prescription called in to her pharmacy.
The same forces that have made instant messaging and video calls part of daily life for many Americans are now shaking up basic medical care. Health systems and insurers are rushing to offer video consultations for routine ailments, convinced they will save money and relieve pressure on overextended primary care systems in cities and rural areas alike. And more people like Ms. DeVisser, fluent in Skype and FaceTime and eager for cheaper, more convenient medical care, are trying them out.
“I’m terrible about going to the doctor, just because of the time it takes,” Ms. DeVisser, 35, said. “This feels empowering: You just click a button and the doctor comes to you.” |
Do these mysterious stones mark the site of the Garden of Eden?
For the old Kurdish shepherd, it was just another burning hot day in the rolling plains of eastern Turkey. Following his flock over the arid hillsides, he passed the single mulberry tree, which the locals regarded as 'sacred'. The bells on his sheep tinkled in the stillness. Then he spotted something. Crouching down, he brushed away the dust, and exposed a strange, large, oblong stone.
The man looked left and right: there were similar stone rectangles, peeping from the sands. Calling his dog to heel, the shepherd resolved to inform someone of his finds when he got back to the village. Maybe the stones were important.
They certainly were important. The solitary Kurdish man, on that summer's day in 1994, had made the greatest archaeological discovery in 50 years. Others would say he'd made the greatest archaeological discovery ever: a site that has revolutionised the way we look at human history, the origin of religion - and perhaps even the truth behind the Garden of Eden.
The site has been described as 'extraordinary' and 'the most important' site in the world
A few weeks after his discovery, news of the shepherd's find reached museum curators in the ancient city of Sanliurfa, ten miles south-west of the stones.
They got in touch with the German Archaeological Institute in Istanbul. And so, in late 1994, archaeologist Klaus Schmidt came to the site of Gobekli Tepe (pronounced Go-beckly Tepp-ay) to begin his excavations.
As he puts it: 'As soon as I got there and saw the stones, I knew that if I didn't walk away immediately I would be here for the rest of my life.'
Remarkable: The intricate carvings were done by humans who had not mastered language or other basic skills
Schmidt stayed. And what he has uncovered is astonishing. Archaeologists worldwide are in rare agreement on the site's importance. 'Gobekli Tepe changes everything,' says Ian Hodder, at Stanford University.
David Lewis-Williams, professor of archaeology at Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg, says: 'Gobekli Tepe is the most important archaeological site in the world.'
Some go even further and say the site and its implications are incredible. As Reading University professor Steve Mithen says: 'Gobekli Tepe is too extraordinary for my mind to understand.'
So what is it that has energised and astounded the sober world of academia?
The site of Gobekli Tepe is simple enough to describe. The oblong stones, unearthed by the shepherd, turned out to be the flat tops of awesome, T-shaped megaliths. Imagine carved and slender versions of the stones of Avebury or Stonehenge.
Most of these standing stones are inscribed with bizarre and delicate images - mainly of boars and ducks, of hunting and game. Sinuous serpents are another common motif. Some of the megaliths show crayfish or lions.
The stones seem to represent human forms - some have stylised 'arms', which angle down the sides. Functionally, the site appears to be a temple, or ritual site, like the stone circles of Western Europe.
To date, 45 of these stones have been dug out - they are arranged in circles from five to ten yards across - but there are indications that much more is to come. Geomagnetic surveys imply that there are hundreds more standing stones, just waiting to be excavated.
So far, so remarkable. If Gobekli Tepe was simply this, it would already be a dazzling site - a Turkish Stonehenge. But several unique factors lift Gobekli Tepe into the archaeological stratosphere - and the realms of the fantastical.
The Garden of Eden come to life: Is Gobekli Tepe where the story began?
The first is its staggering age. Carbon-dating shows that the complex is at least 12,000 years old, maybe even 13,000 years old.
That means it was built around 10,000BC. By comparison, Stonehenge was built in 3,000 BC and the pyramids of Giza in 2,500 BC.
Gobekli is thus the oldest such site in the world, by a mind-numbing margin. It is so old that it predates settled human life. It is pre-pottery, pre-writing, pre-everything. Gobekli hails from a part of human history that is unimaginably distant, right back in our hunter-gatherer past.
How did cavemen build something so ambitious? Schmidt speculates that bands of hunters would have gathered sporadically at the site, through the decades of construction, living in animal-skin tents, slaughtering local game for food.
The many flint arrowheads found around Gobekli support this thesis; they also support the dating of the site.
This revelation, that Stone Age hunter-gatherers could have built something like Gobekli, is worldchanging, for it shows that the old hunter-gatherer life, in this region of Turkey, was far more advanced than we ever conceived - almost unbelievably sophisticated.
The shepherd who discovered Gobekli Tepe has 'changed everything', said one academic
It's as if the gods came down from heaven and built Gobekli for themselves.
This is where we come to the biblical connection, and my own involvement in the Gobekli Tepe story.
About three years ago, intrigued by the first scant details of the site, I flew out to Gobekli. It was a long, wearying journey, but more than worth it, not least as it would later provide the backdrop for a new novel I have written.
Back then, on the day I arrived at the dig, the archaeologists were unearthing mind-blowing artworks. As these sculptures were revealed, I realised that I was among the first people to see them since the end of the Ice Age.
And that's when a tantalising possibility arose. Over glasses of black tea, served in tents right next to the megaliths, Klaus Schmidt told me that, as he put it: 'Gobekli Tepe is not the Garden of Eden: it is a temple in Eden.'
To understand how a respected academic like Schmidt can make such a dizzying claim, you need to know that many scholars view the Eden story as folk-memory, or allegory.
Seen in this way, the Eden story, in Genesis, tells us of humanity's innocent and leisured hunter-gatherer past, when we could pluck fruit from the trees, scoop fish from the rivers and spend the rest of our days in pleasure.
But then we 'fell' into the harsher life of farming, with its ceaseless toil and daily grind. And we know primitive farming was harsh, compared to the relative indolence of hunting, because of the archaeological evidence.
To date, archaeologists have dug 45 stones out of the ruins at Gobekli
When people make the transition from hunter-gathering to settled agriculture, their skeletons change - they temporarily grow smaller and less healthy as the human body adapts to a diet poorer in protein and a more wearisome lifestyle. Likewise, newly domesticated animals get scrawnier.
This begs the question, why adopt farming at all? Many theories have been suggested - from tribal competition, to population pressures, to the extinction of wild animal species. But Schmidt believes that the temple of Gobekli reveals another possible cause.
'To build such a place as this, the hunters must have joined together in numbers. After they finished building, they probably congregated for worship. But then they found that they couldn't feed so many people with regular hunting and gathering.
'So I think they began cultivating the wild grasses on the hills. Religion motivated people to take up farming.'
The reason such theories have special weight is that the move to farming first happened in this same region. These rolling Anatolian plains were the cradle of agriculture.
The world's first farmyard pigs were domesticated at Cayonu, just 60 miles away. Sheep, cattle and goats were also first domesticated in eastern Turkey. Worldwide wheat species descend from einkorn wheat - first cultivated on the hills near Gobekli. Other domestic cereals - such as rye and oats - also started here.
The stones unearthed by the shepherd turned out to be the flat tops of T-shaped megaliths
But there was a problem for these early farmers, and it wasn't just that they had adopted a tougher, if ultimately more productive, lifestyle. They also experienced an ecological crisis. These days the landscape surrounding the eerie stones of Gobekli is arid and barren, but it was not always thus. As the carvings on the stones show - and as archaeological remains reveal - this was once a richly pastoral region.
There were herds of game, rivers of fish, and flocks of wildfowl; lush green meadows were ringed by woods and wild orchards. About 10,000 years ago, the Kurdish desert was a 'paradisiacal place', as Schmidt puts it. So what destroyed the environment? The answer is Man.
As we began farming, we changed the landscape and the climate. When the trees were chopped down, the soil leached away; all that ploughing and reaping left the land eroded and bare. What was once an agreeable oasis became a land of stress, toil and diminishing returns.
And so, paradise was lost. Adam the hunter was forced out of his glorious Eden, 'to till the earth from whence he was taken' - as the Bible puts it.
Of course, these theories might be dismissed as speculations. Yet there is plenty of historical evidence to show that the writers of the Bible, when talking of Eden, were, indeed, describing this corner of Kurdish Turkey.
Archaeologist Klaus Schmidt poses next to some of the carvings at Gebekli
In the Book of Genesis, it is indicated that Eden is west of Assyria. Sure enough, this is where Gobekli is sited.
Likewise, biblical Eden is by four rivers, including the Tigris and Euphrates. And Gobekli lies between both of these.
In ancient Assyrian texts, there is mention of a 'Beth Eden' - a house of Eden. This minor kingdom was 50 miles from Gobekli Tepe.
Another book in the Old Testament talks of 'the children of Eden which were in Thelasar', a town in northern Syria, near Gobekli.
The very word 'Eden' comes from the Sumerian for 'plain'; Gobekli lies on the plains of Harran.
Thus, when you put it all together, the evidence is persuasive. Gobekli Tepe is, indeed, a 'temple in Eden', built by our leisured and fortunate ancestors - people who had time to cultivate art, architecture and complex ritual, before the traumas of agriculture ruined their lifestyle, and devastated their paradise.
It's a stunning and seductive idea. Yet it has a sinister epilogue. Because the loss of paradise seems to have had a strange and darkening effect on the human mind.
Many of Gobekli's standing stones are inscribed with 'bizarre and delicate' images, like this reptile
A few years ago, archaeologists at nearby Cayonu unearthed a hoard of human skulls. They were found under an altar-like slab, stained with human blood.
No one is sure, but this may be the earliest evidence for human sacrifice: one of the most inexplicable of human behaviours and one that could have evolved only in the face of terrible societal stress.
Experts may argue over the evidence at Cayonu. But what no one denies is that human sacrifice took place in this region, spreading to Palestine, Canaan and Israel.
Archaeological evidence suggests that victims were killed in huge death pits, children were buried alive in jars, others roasted in vast bronze bowls.
These are almost incomprehensible acts, unless you understand that the people had learned to fear their gods, having been cast out of paradise. So they sought to propitiate the angry heavens.
This savagery may, indeed, hold the key to one final, bewildering mystery. The astonishing stones and friezes of Gobekli Tepe are preserved intact for a bizarre reason.
Long ago, the site was deliberately and systematically buried in a feat of labour every bit as remarkable as the stone carvings.
Giant: The stones of Gobekli Tepe are huge and are generally thought to form part of the world's oldest religious site
Around 8,000 BC, the creators of Gobekli turned on their achievement and entombed their glorious temple under thousands of tons of earth, creating the artificial hills on which that Kurdish shepherd walked in 1994.
No one knows why Gobekli was buried. Maybe it was interred as a kind of penance: a sacrifice to the angry gods, who had cast the hunters out of paradise. Perhaps it was for shame at the violence and bloodshed that the stone-worship had helped provoke.
Whatever the answer, the parallels with our own era are stark. As we contemplate a new age of ecological turbulence, maybe the silent, sombre, 12,000-year-old stones of Gobekli Tepe are trying to speak to us, to warn us, as they stare across the first Eden we destroyed. |
South Africa pulling out of the International Criminal Court? Reactions and implications
Daniel Finnan By Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Podcast
South Africa’s ruling African National Congress party has raised questions about the country’s membership of the International Criminal Court, saying that the war crimes court had lost direction and no longer fulfilled its mandate. The comments are part of increasing criticism about the ICC’s focus on African cases. South Africa’s relationship with the court also soured after a spat over the arrest of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. What does this mean for international justice? Is the rest of Africa likely to follow South Africa’s lead?
Reaction
Sonia Robla, chief of public information and outreach, International Criminal Court
“Withdrawing from it is a voluntary and sovereign decision of a country. Actually it is something that is already in the Rome Statute. There is an article, which is article 127, which says that if a country decides to withdraw from the statute, this action would only enter into force one year after the state has deposited its withdrawal notification with the UN Secretary General. In principle, a withdrawal does not affect in any way the obligations arising from the Rome Statute while the state party was a party to the court. Nevertheless, general support for the ICC is necessary in Africa and outside for the International Criminal Court to fulfil its mandate.”
Jacob Enoh Eben, spokesperson, African Union Commission chairperson Dlamini-Zuma
“Basically, the African Union is following the conversations that are ongoing in the ANC, which of course is a conversation which has happened within various members states. So, at this point in time it is very premature for the African Union to make any statement because these are sovereign decisions that go through their own internal processes. So the African Union would really not make any statement per se. But of course, related to the issue of Africa’s relations with the ICC, the African Union Commission chairperson has been very outspoken about the double standard nature of the relationship between the ICC and African leaders. So this is that which the African Union holds as a position, to say that African leaders whilst they are still sitting heads of state will not be tried by the ICC.”
Analysis
Magnus Killander, head of research, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
How much of this is about the visit by President Bashir - maybe a further justification that not arresting him was the right thing to do?
Well, it’s clearly a reaction to the whole Bashir debacle that’s ongoing since June when the South African authorities didn’t want to arrest Omar al-Bashir despite a request from the ICC. But obviously the history behind it goes further back. There’s been a movement within the African Union to not collaborate with the ICC, in particular in relation to the indictment of heads of state, so in the case of Bashir, but also in relation to the Kenyan president and vice president.
What processes do the ANC talk of when it says it ought to share reasons and motivations with the rest of the continent?
I assume, but this is very much an assumption that the reasoning behind the decision - and in the discussion documents it’s not very clear - it seems to be the decision-making by the ICC prosecutor and the perceived Africa bias in the selection of cases. But at the same time, while the ICC has focused a lot on Africa, a lot of those cases have been referred by the states themselves, acknowledging that they do not have capacity to deal with those particular cases. That’s been the case in Uganda, in the DRC, Central African Republic, Cote d’Ivoire and so forth.
The comments by the ANC point to powerful countries, maybe a veiled comment directed at the UN Security Council. But cases at the ICC aren’t always a result of UN Security Council referral are they?
I’m not sure that they are really, because obviously there’s a lot of opposition to the ICC within the Security Council powers. Neither Russia, nor China, nor the United States have ratified the ICC statute, but they have still referred cases. The cases that they have referred are in Africa, the Sudanese and Libya situation. From that perspective it might be in relation to the Security Council, but I also think it’s a lot of the European big powers, that might not be that big anymore, they’ve perceived to wield the financial muscle behind the ICC.
Does South Africa have a problem with current ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, a Gambian?
There was perhaps more controversy directed specifically at the prosecutor under the old prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo. I think the focus has shifted more towards the court itself than the prosecutor. But at the same time it is the prosecutor who initiates investigations and so forth. So I guess it’s not that open a criticism of the prosecutor as it used to be.
Africa has the largest regional representation as state parties to the Rome Statute, which established the ICC. Doesn’t it then entail that it holds the most sway?
Perhaps there is a point, if you look at, for example, staffing of the ICC, is that now corresponding to the fact that Africa has the biggest component of the state parties? Europe also has a big membership in the ICC and it’s lacking on many other continents.
What’s the alternative to the ICC for South Africa, for Africa?
The purported alternative, last year the African Union adopted a protocol to the protocol on the African Court of Justice and Human Rights, to give that court - which deals with human rights complaints, as it is currently constituted - jurisdiction over a number of international crimes, including crimes which would fall under the jurisdiction of the ICC. What they didn’t include, or what they explicitly excluded was jurisdiction over cases brought against senior state officials and/or heads of state and government, which is a clear rebuke to what they have signed up for under the ICC. But I guess there are many problems that one foresees before the entry into force of that protocol. For example financing, international criminal justice is something that is quite expensive. The Hissène Habré trial that’s underway in Senegal was delayed for many years because of financing not being available and that is a trial that is taking place under the auspices of the African Union. So, one would have to see what happens when eventually this protocol has been ratified by a sufficient numbers of states.
What would withdrawing mean constitutionally for South Africa?
The first issue is whether a state can withdraw from the ICC statute. I mean one could construct an argument to remove that type of protection would be a retrogressive measure that could be considered to be unconstitutional under South African law. There are court challenges already in relation to al-Bashir in South Africa, so one will just have to see what comes out of this. And of course, this is a decision by the ANC, while the ANC is the majority in parliament and forms the government - it is not the same as the government, so we would still have to wait for a formal decision from government.
Related |
PKNA - Paperinik New Adventures is a Disney comic, published in Italy from March 14, 1996 to December 20, 2000, about the new adventures of Paperinik, the superhero created in 1969 by Guido Martina, Elisa Penna and Giovan Battista Carpi, which served as Donald Duck's secret identity.
The first issue of the series was called Evroniani, and featured Paperinik's new alien enemies, the Evronians. Introduced in the same issue were Paperinik's two new allies, the A.I. Uno (One), who resides in the skyscraper Ducklair Tower, and Lyla Lay, a journalist and robot utilized by a time police organization based in the 23rd century.
The series was extremely well received at the beginning of its run, and saluted as an unexpectedly innovative project for Disney.
IDW Publishing localized the series, under the English title Duck Avenger, in August 2016. The comic was a bimonthly title, alternating with Walt Disney's Comics and Stories. However, it was cancelled after six issues.
Contents show]
Characters
Main article: List of PKNA characters
Themes
The PKNA writers developed more adult themes than the classical Disney stories published in the Italian magazine Topolino. Throughout the series' run, they used themes such as: the relationship between man and robot; the struggle between what is right and what is logical; the essence of true love; the difference between mankind and other alien races; the essence of being a superhero; the relationship between knowledge and power; the importance of History and past historical events.
Among the writers of the Pk Team, were many talented and generally young authors: Francesco Artibani, Davide Catenacci, Gianfranco Cordara, Bruno Enna, Tito Faraci, Augusto Macchetto, Alessandro Sisti, Simone Stenti, and Ezio Sisto. The PK project was seen as a testbed for a generation of new authors, who were given ample freedom to innovate, leaving behind many of the typical storytelling conventions of the company and creating a blend of the "classical" Disney comics and the American superhero comic books, which were a primary and acknowledged source of inspiration. Despite this, both the company and the public were deeply used to Disney characters being used for kid-friendly stories, so that a slow transition towards edgier storytelling and graphic depictions was required.
Especially in the first issues, there is a contrast between the harsh themes hinted at or explicitly introduced by the narrative and the depicted events. It is made clear since the beginning that the Evron empire has depopulated a number of worlds, killing or enslaving billions of intelligent aliens, and a main character clearly announces to have sworn to destroy the entire Evronian race in revenge: but the fights with the Evronians mostly feature the usual Disney slapstick violence, with no graphic depictions of any hero killing or realistically wounding an enemy (while entire starships could be destroyed in the background). Despite this, the Italian readers didn't decry the restraint but were content with scenes they deemed already audacious for a conservative comics company like Disney.
The character of Paperinik was firmly based in the established Topolino continuity as the superheroic secret identity that Donald Duck had already assumed long before the start of the series: but connections with the "classic" Paperinik stories was cut short since the first number, giving Donald completely new allies, weaponry and occupations. The appearances of the other Disney Club characters was reduced to a minimum, and many of them (like Gyro Gearloose and Huey, Dewey, and Louie) were written off the story even if they were featured prominently in the previous Paperinik adventures. This reinforced the notion that PK was meant to be a "real superhero", existing in its own world, related to but fundamentally different from the mostly parodic and humorous Paperinik.
Short stories
Main article: List of PKNA short stories
PKNA is also famous for its short side-stories that follow the main story in most issues. All of those short stories are more artistic than the regular main story.
Angus Tales
The first series of short 8-page stories are Angus Tales and the main character is Angus Fangus. This series consist of 7 stories. All of those stories where mostly colored with yellow, orange, brown, gray and black ink, giving it a little "vanishing" atmosphere. The plot of those stories is usually about how Angus gets into trouble (there is usually a gangster or more involved), and how he gets out of it. All of the stories is drawn by Silvia Ziche.
Arriva Trip (Trip incoming)
The second series of the short 8-page stories are about Trip, The Raider's son. This is the first of two series about Trip. The plot of this series is to introduce Trip.
Starring the great Burton La Valle
The third series is of 8-page short stories is "Starring the great Burton La Valle". Burton La Valle is an actor from the 23rd century, and those stories is about Burton and what he does at work. This series is also experimenting with different styles of art. This series is one of the more artistic/experimental of all the short story series.
Vedi alla voce Evron (See under Evron)
The fourth series is about Evronians, and it's named "Evron - Extracts from the infoguide". There is not really a story or plot in this series, but the series gives information about the Evronian empire in an illustrated way.
5Y
The fifth series of the 8 page stories is about the Class 5Y Droid; Lyla Lay. Some of the stories are about some of her minor problems, and the rest of them is about her normal life.
Io sono Xadhoom (I am Xadhoom)
The sixth series of short stories somewhat differ from the other series (except the third one) with the fact that there is no black outlines between different colored objects. Those short stories are about short happenings in Xadhoom's life.
Fuori... onda (Off... the air)
The seventh series of short stories is about "Behind the screens" at Chanel 00.
Trip's strip
The eighth series of short stories is the second series about Trip. This series is introduced by the short story of issue #34, what is a side story of the main story in I PKNA #34. In this series, Trip has to draw its own super-hero comic, and he ends up with a character named "Time-Boy". Time-Boy is Trips Alter-Ego.
Lo zen e la fisica dei quanti (Zen and quantum physics)
The ninth series is the last series of 8 page stories. This series is about Everett Ducklair's normal life at a monastery in Tibet.
The Art of PKNA
PKNA represented a change from the classic Disney comics style, such as Italian Topolino. The format of each PKNA issue was bigger and similar to that of American comics. The size and the order of the panels break the traditional six panels order, alternating splash pages, longer or flattered panels. Strong colorization, with monochromatic panel, is used to mark emotional moments or action. Inspiration also comes from Japanese manga and American comics, with the use of kinetic lines, eyes representation, and muscular characters drawn in an oblique way in the panels.
The comic was a showcase for the talent of so many young, at the time, comic artists: Graziano Barbaro, Alessandro Barbucci, Fabio Celoni, Andrea Ferraris, Andrea Freccero, Francesco Guerrini, Ettore Gula, Stefano Intini, Alberto Lavoradori, Corrado Mastantuono, Paolo Mottura, Lorenzo Pastrovicchio, Manuela Razzi, Claudio Sciarrone, Stefano Turconi, Silvia Ziche and many others. They were almost all scholars of the great Giovan Battista Carpi.
PKNA, with its revolutionary style, set the basis for other great Disney comics, such as MM Mickey Mouse Mystery Magazine, W.I.T.C.H., Monster Allergy and many others.
Fanbase: the Pkers
"Pker" is the name that identifies a fan of PKNA. The term originated in the mail corner of the series and became very popular among the readers. To become a real pker and be awarded with the Pkard , readers were called upon to answer some questions about characters in some of the issues.
, readers were called upon to answer some questions about characters in some of the issues. One of the best moments for readers is the mail corner. Each issues is full of messages, most of them dealing with jokes and silly questions about PKNA, among which: the errors in the series, the Pk Team members, the creators of PKNA. Pk Team always answers in the same funny and silly way, often making jokes on the names of the fans. Due to the silliness of many questions it was believed by many pkers that Pk Team invented most of the letters, but they were indeed all true. The one responsible for answering fan questions was Fausto Vitaliano.
Pkers were called to face four trials to gain the ultimate title of " Pk Action Hero ". Among the trials were: having a shower in a telephone cab; skiing on the beach, in winter dress; walking on water; taking a photo with their own twin; meeting an alien. Not all the results were approved.
". Among the trials were: having a shower in a telephone cab; skiing on the beach, in winter dress; walking on water; taking a photo with their own twin; meeting an alien. Not all the results were approved. Pkers of Sbonk Forum made a long term poll about the best issue of all the Pk series. The winner was PKNA #22 Frammenti d'Autunno (Autumn fragments). The second place was for PKNA #10 Trauma and the third for PKNA #20 Mekkano.
List of PKNA issues
Main article: List of PKNA issues
This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The article or pieces of the original article was at PKNA. The list of authors can be seen in the . As with Disney Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License. |
Recent revelations about government surveillance have once more brought two-decade old PGP software into the spotlight, as it remains a quite robust and secure mechanism for communications. However, progress in the computing industry requires using longer keys to keep attacks on key pairs less possible. Therefore, my objective is to provide you with the information necessary to create a new RSA key pair with a length of more than 4096 bits. The longer the lifetime of your data the longer your key should be. However, nothing is free, and each time you double your key length the decryption becomes 6 or 7 times slower. Therefore, we’ve chosen a key length of 8192 bits for this article.
Not many tools that are currently available support this key size by default, so in order to create our new key we are going to download and modify the latest GnuPG version (currently 1.4.15). We’ll use Ubuntu Linux for this example since nowadays it’s a pretty popular distribution and it will allow you to follow these steps in a simple and straightforward manner. As an alternative you could also use Cygwin, which is a good way to have a basic Linux-like environment in your Windows OS.
Once you have created your key with the following guide, you can use one of the many tools available for your chosen OS to manage it. For example in Mac OSX you have GPG Suite and in Windows you can download GP4Win, both allow key generation, key management and all the basic operations you will usually perform everyday with PGP.
On the one hand you have Gpg4win (GNU Privacy Guard for Windows), which is maintained by the developers of GnuPG and provides encryption and digital signing software for files and emails protecting your valuable information and communications. It’s free software and highly recommended for all Windows users.
On the other hand, if you have GPG Suite for Mac OSX, which integrates nicely with your OS, providing an open source plugin for Apple Mail and enabling you to encrypt and sign your messages easily. There is also an application to manage your keychain and a command line version of GPG to further explore all the alternatives this tool has to offer.
We’ll start by getting the GnuPG sources and decompressing them into a folder in our hard disk. It’s recommended first that we verify the SHA1 signature for this file to check that everything is correct and we’ve downloaded the verified version of the software. For that, we can use the already installed utility “sha1sum” and if the calculated hash matches the one available on the GnuPG website, we are good to go.
For this guide we are going to modify a couple source files, but I promise it’s not too complex and the rewards will be enough to justify this effort.
I’m going to download the gzip compressed GnuPG 1.4.15 source file and with the help of the “tar xvzf [filename]” command, I will obtain a decompressed folder with the original contents of the file. You have to replace the [filename] part of the command with the actual name of the downloaded archive. No square brackets are needed in the actual command.
Next, we need to browse the recently extracted directory by doing a “cd [gnupg-folder]”. There we will find the contents we need for building our GnuPG binary. The first step involves modifying the “keygen.c” file located in the “g10 directory”.
You can edit the “keygen.c” file using “gedit”, for example, and when shown the contents you can search for the string “4096”, which is the current maximum key size that GnuPG has set up by default. We’ll change that value to “8192” for our purposes in line 1572. Don’t forget to save your changes. Make sure you haven’t introduced any other changes!
After we have made this simple modification we are ready to compile our new version of GnuPG. For that the usual “./configure” and “make” commands should be enough. Moreover, if we want to replace the GPG version that Ubuntu ships with by default we’ll execute a “sudo make install.” For the moment we’ll use our newly created binary locally in order to set up our RSA 8192 bits key pair.
Before executing “gpg” we’ll modify the gpg.conf file located in your Home directory, in this case “/home/Giuliani/.gnupg/gpg.conf”. By default it won’t have any content but we’ll add our choice of preference for cipher, digest and compression algorithms and hashing mechanisms.
For this particular case I’m going to add at the end of the file the following contents (you can of course change this to your preferences/needs):
personal-cipher-preferences AES256 TWOFISH AES192 AES
personal-digest-preferences SHA512 SHA384 SHA256
personal-compress-preferences ZLIB ZIP
After all this hard work we are finally ready to create our key, we’ll execute the “./gpg –gen-key” command from the “g10” directory (where we previously modified the “keygen.c” file”) and will follow the instructions on the screen. The process is pretty simple, we choose the first option to create a key pair that will be used for signing and encrypting and we’ll select 8192 bits as the key size.
Just to add a little more realism to the example, I’m going to set the expiration date for this key too. We’ll use “5y” to tell “gpg” that this key will expire in 5 years.
Then we add the name, email address and comment (optional) for this identity. We can add more identities later so don’t worry if you have multiple email addresses you want to include in this key pair.
You will then be prompted to enter your password or passphrase (depending on your personal preferences you should choose one here). There are some good guidelines on choosing a good passphrase that will keep your key secure and also will simplify the task of remembering it. If you want more information you can review some FAQs available online.
Remember that if you want to change your password/passphrase later you can do so without the need to recreate your key or distribute the public one to your contacts again.
After all the information is entered the process of creating the key pair will begin, GPG will start collecting random bytes in order to improve the random number generation process. Keep using your PC until this process finishes (it can take a while depending on the computer you are using, in my I5 PC with 8 gigs of RAM it took about 15 minutes to complete).
Finally, the key creation process is finished. GPG will show the fingerprint for the key, expiration date and all the information you entered previously. Make sure everything is correct before distributing the public key to your contacts.
You can use the GPG “list” command (–list-keys) to check all the available keys in your system and export the ones you need. We are going to export the public key for our recently created identity “Joe Doe” the result will be the key file which you can later upload manually to one of the available PGP key servers or distribute it directly to your contacts. The easiest way to do this is by typing “gpg –export –a [username] > [public-key-filename]”.
If you want to upload your public key from the command line you can do so by using the “gpg –keyserver [serverurl] –send-keys [keyID]” command.
You can also import public keys using the “—recv-keys” switch instead. All within the comfort of your own command line interface.
Finally, we are going to create a backup of our private key. Be very careful with this and remember not to share this file with anyone. The process is very similar to what we have seen previously and we can back up our key using “gpg export-secret-key –a [username] > [private-key-filename]”
Now you have your brand new PGP key pair, which you can use to enjoy a whole new world of secure communications and data privacy. Welcome!
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu
Having taken our first step with PGP I hope that you will come back to check in on further updates about this topic. In the meantime, you can play around with one of the many GPG Cheat sheets available, which will enable you to adjust the encryption/decryption functionality, file and message signing and much more. |
November 12, 1989
O Muse! You Do Make Things Difficult!
By DIANE ACKERMAN
ame Edith Sitwell used to lie in an open coffin for a while before she began her day's writing. When I mentioned this macabre bit of gossip to a poet friend, he said acidly, ''If only someone had thought to shut it.'' Picture Dame Edith, rehearsing the posture of the grave as a prelude to the side shows on paper she liked to stage. The straight and narrow was never her style. Only her much-ridiculed nose was rigid, though she managed to keep it entertainingly out of joint for most of her life. What was it exactly about that dim, contained solitude that spurred her creativity? Was it the idea of the coffin or the feel, smell, foul air of it that made creativity possible?
Sitwell's coffin trick may sound like a prank, unless you look at how other writers have gone about courting their muses. What a strange lot writers are, we who live in mental barrios where any roustabout idea may turn to honest labor, if only it gets the right incentive - a bit of drink, a light flogging, a delicate seduction. Artists are notorious for stampeding their senses into duty, and they have sometimes used remarkable tricks.
For example, the poet Schiller used to keep rotten apples under the lid of his desk and inhale their pungent bouquet when he needed to find the right word. Then he would close the drawer, but the fragrance remained in his head. In 1985 researchers at Yale University found that the smell of spiced apple has a powerful elevating effect on people and can even stave off a panic attack. Schiller sensed this all along. Something in the sweet, rancid mustiness of those apples jolted his brain into activity.
Amy Lowell, like George Sand, liked to smoke cigars while writing, and went so far in 1915 as to buy 10,000 of her favorite Manila stogies to make sure she could keep her creative fires kindled. It was Lowell who said she used to ''drop'' ideas into her subconscious, ''much as one drops a letter into the mail-box. Six months later, the words of the poem began to come into my head. . . . The words seem to be pronounced in my head, but with nobody speaking them.'' Then they took shape in a cloud of smoke. Balzac drank more than 50 cups of coffee a day, and actually died from caffeine poisoning, although colossal amounts of caffeine don't seem to have bothered W. H. Auden or Dr. Johnson, who was reported to have drunk 25 cups of tea at one sitting. Victor Hugo, Benjamin Franklin and many others felt that they did their best work if they wrote while they were nude. D. H. Lawrence once even confessed that he liked to climb naked up mulberry trees, a fetish of long limbs and rough bark that stimulated his thoughts.
Colette used to begin her day's writing by first picking fleas from her cat, and it's not hard to imagine how the methodical stroking and probing into fur might have focused such a voluptuary's mind. After all, this was a woman who could never travel light, but insisted on taking a hamper of such essentials as chocolate, cheese, meats, flowers and a baguette whenever she made even brief sorties. Hart Crane craved boisterous parties, in the middle of which he would disappear, rush to a typewriter, put on a record of a Cuban rumba, then Ravel's ''Bolero,'' then a torch song, after which he would return, ''his face brick-red, his eyes burning, his already iron-gray hair straight up from his skull. He would be chewing a five-cent cigar which he had forgotten to light. In his hands would be two or three sheets of typewritten manuscript. . . . 'Read that,' he would say. 'Isn't that the grrreatest poem ever written!' '' This is Malcolm Lowry's account, and Lowry goes on to offer even more examples of how Crane reminded him of ''another friend, a famous killer of woodchucks,'' when the writer ''tried to charm his inspiration out of its hiding place by drinking and laughing and playing the phonograph.''
Stendhal read two or three pages of the French civil code every morning before working on ''The Charterhouse of Parma'' - ''in order,'' he said, ''to acquire the correct tone.'' Willa Cather read the Bible. Alexandre Dumas pere wrote his nonfiction on rose-colored paper, his fiction on blue and his poetry on yellow. He was nothing if not orderly, and to cure his insomnia and regularize his habits he went so far as to eat an apple at 7 each morning under the Arc de Triomphe. Kipling demanded the blackest ink he could find and fantasized about keeping ''an ink-boy to grind me Indian ink,'' as if the sheer weight of the blackness would make his words as indelible as his memories.
Alfred de Musset, George Sand's lover, confided that it piqued him when she went directly from lovemaking to her writing desk, as she often did. But surely that was not so direct as Voltaire's actually using his lover's naked back as a writing desk. Robert Louis Stevenson, Mark Twain and Truman Capote all used to lie down when they wrote, with Capote going so far as to declare himself ''a completely horizontal writer.'' Writing students often hear that Hemingway wrote standing up, but not that he obsessively sharpened pencils first, and, in any case, he wasn't standing up out of some sense of himself as the sentinel of tough, ramrod prose, but because he had hurt his back in a plane crash. Poe supposedly wrote with his Siamese cat sitting on his shoulder. Thomas Wolfe, Virginia Woolf and Lewis Carroll were all standers; and Robert Hendrickson reports in ''The Literary Life and Other Curiosities'' that Aldous Huxley ''often wrote with his nose.'' In ''The Art of Seeing,'' Huxley says that ''a little nose writing will result in a perceptible temporary improvement of defective vision.''
Many nonpedestrian writers have got their inspiration from walking. Especially poets - there's a sonneteer in our chests; we walk around to the beat of iambs. Wordsworth, of course, and John Clare, who used to go out looking for the horizon and one day in insanity thought he found it, and A. E. Housman, who, when asked to define poetry, had the good sense to say: ''I could no more define poetry than a terrier can a rat, but I thought we both recognized the object by the symptoms which it provokes in us. . . . If I were obliged . . . to name the class of things to which it belongs, I should call it a secretion.'' After drinking a pint of beer at lunch, he would go out for a two- or three-mile walk and then gently secrete.
I guess the goal of all these measures is concentration, that petrified mirage, and few people have written about it as eloquently as Stephen Spender did in his essay ''The Making of a Poem'': ''There is always a slight tendency of the body to sabotage the attention of the mind by providing some distraction. If this need for distraction can be directed into one channel - such as the odor of rotten apples or the taste of tobacco or tea - then the other distractions outside oneself are put out of the competition. Another possible explanation is that the concentrated effort of writing poetry is a spiritual activity which makes one completely forget, for the time being, that one has a body. It is a disturbance of the balance of the body and mind and for this reason one needs a kind of anchor of sensation with the physical world.''
This explains, in part, why Benjamin Franklin, Edmond Rostand and others wrote while soaking in a bathtub. In fact, Franklin brought the first bathtub to the United States in the 1780's, and he loved a good, long, thoughtful submersion. In water and ideas, I mean. Ancient Romans found it therapeutic to bathe in asses' milk or even in crushed strawberries. I have a pine plank that I lay across the sides of the tub so that I can stay in a bubble bath for hours and write. In the bath, water displaces much of your weight, and you feel light. When the water temperature and the body temperature converge, my mind lifts free and travels by itself. One summer, lolling in baths, I wrote an entire verse play, which mainly consisted of dramatic monologues spoken by the 17th-century Mexican poet Sor Juana de la Cruz; her lover, an Italian courtier; and various players in her tumultuous life. I wanted to slide off the centuries as if from a hill of shale. Baths were perfect.
The Romantics, of course, were fond of opium, and Coleridge freely admitted to indulging in two grains of it before working. The list of writers triggered to inspirational highs by alcohol would occupy a small, damp book. T. S. Eliot's tonic was viral - he preferred writing when he had a head cold. The rustling of his head, as if full of petticoats, shattered the usual logical links between things and allowed his mind to roam.
Many writers I know become fixated on a single piece of music when they are writing a book and listen to it perhaps a thousand times over the course of a year. While he was writing the novel ''The Place in Flowers Where Pollen Rests,'' Paul West listened nonstop to one especially melodic sonatina by Ferruccio Busoni. He had no idea why. John Ashbery first takes a walk, then brews himself a cup of French blend Indar tea, then listens to something post-Romantic (''The chamber music of Franz Schmidt has been beneficial,'' he told me). Some writers become obsessed with cheap and tawdry country-and-western songs, others with one special prelude or tone poem. I think the music they choose creates a mental frame around the essence of the book. Every time the music plays, it re-creates the emotional state the writer knows the book to live in. A scan of brain waves would probably show the fetishistic listener to be in the identical state of alert calm each time he hears the music.
When I asked a few friends about their writing habits, I thought for sure they'd make up something offbeat - standing in a ditch and whistling Blake's ''Jerusalem,'' for instance, or playing the call to colors at Santa Anita while stroking the freckled bell of a foxglove. But most swore they had none - no habits, no superstitions, no special routines. I telephoned William Gass and pressed him a little.
''You have no unusual work habits?'' I asked, in as level a tone as I could muster. We had been colleagues for three years at Washington University, and I knew his quiet professorial patina concealed a truly exotic mental grain.
''No, sorry to be so boring,'' he sighed. I could hear him settling comfortably on the steps in the pantry. And, as his mind is like an overflowing pantry, that seemed only right. ''How does your day begin?'' ''Oh, I go out and photograph for a couple of hours,'' he said. ''What do you photograph?'' ''The rusty, derelict, overlooked, downtrodden parts of the city. Filth and decay mainly,'' he said in a nothing-much-to-it tone of voice, as casually dismissive as the wave of a hand. ''You do this every day, photograph filth and decay?'' ''Most days.'' ''And then you write?'' ''Yes.'' ''And you don't think this is unusual?'' ''Not for me.''
A quiet, distinguished scientist, who has published two charming books of essays about the world and how it works, told me that his secret inspiration was ''violent sex.'' I didn't inquire further, but noted that he looked thin. The poets May Swenson and Howard Nemerov like to sit for a short spell each day and copy down whatever pours through their heads from ''the Great Dictator,'' as Mr. Nemerov labels it, then plough through to see what gems may lie hidden in the rock. Amy Clampitt, another poet, told me that she searches out a window to perch behind, whether it be in the city or on a train or by the seaside. Something about the petri dish effect of the glass clarifies her thoughts. The novelist Mary Lee Settle tumbles out of bed and heads straight for her typewriter, before the dream state disappears. Alphonso Lingis - whose unusual books ''Excesses'' and ''Libido'' consider the realms of human sensuality and kinkiness - travels the world sampling its exotic erotica. Often he primes the pump by writing letters to friends. I possess some extraordinary letters, half poetry, half anthropology, which he sent to me from a Thailand jail (where he took time out from removing vermin to write), a convent in Ecuador, Africa (where he was scuba diving along the coast) and Bali (where he was taking part in fertility rituals).
Such feats of self-rousing are hard to explain to one's parents, who would like to believe that their child does something reasonably normal and hangs out with reasonably normal folk, not people who sniff rotten apples and write in the nude. Best not to tell them how the painter J. M. W. Turner liked to be lashed to the mast of a ship and taken sailing during a real hell-for-leather toad-strangler of a storm so that he could be right in the middle of the tumult.
There are many roads to Rome, as the old maxim goes, and some of them are sinewy and full of fungus and rocks, while others are paved and dull. I think I'll tell my parents that I stare at bouquets of roses before I work. Or that I stare at them until butterflies appear. The truth is that, besides opening and closing mental drawers (which I actually picture in my mind), writing in the bath, beginning each summer day by choosing and arranging flowers for a Zenlike hour or so, listening obsessively to music (Alessandro Marcello's oboe concerto in D minor, its adagio, is what's nourishing my senses right now), I go speed walking for an hour every single day. Half of the oxygen in the state of New York has passed through my lungs at one time or another. I don't know whether this helps or not. My muse is male, has the radiant silvery complexion of the moon and never speaks to me directly. I suspect he's too busy catching his breath.
Adapted from ''A Natural History of the Senses,'' to be published by Random House next year. Diane Ackerman's most recent book is ''On Extended Wings,'' a memoir. |
A few notes from around the boxing world:
• Junior welterweight contender Amir Imam (18-0, 15, KOs) looms as the mandatory challenger for titlist Viktor Postol (28-0, 12 KOs), who claimed a vacant belt Oct.3 by knocking out Lucas Matthysse in the 10th round of an upset. However, the mandatory fight won’t happen right away. Postol was approved for an optional defense while Imam, 25, of Albany, New York, will stay busy on Nov. 28 in Quebec City, where he will face Chicago’s Adrian Granados (16-4-2, 11 KOs), 26, of Chicago, in a 10-rounder on the undercard of super middleweight titlist James DeGale’s defense against Lucian Bute. Imam knocked out Fernando Angulo in the fourth round on July 18 in the eliminator to become the mandatory challenger. Imam-Granados will air on Showtime Extreme’s coverage of the card’s preliminary bout beginning at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The Showtime Extreme portion of the card will also include a 10-round heavyweight fight between 28-year-old Colombia-born, Montreal-based Oscar Rivas (17-0, 12 KOs) and Curtis Harper (12-4, 8 KOs), 27, of Jacksonville, Florida.
• Flyweight titlist Amnat Ruenreong (16-0, 5 KOs), 35, of Thailand, will make his fifth defense when squares off with Myung Ho Lee (19-4-1, 6 KOs), 32, of Japan, on Dec. 7 in Hua Hin, Thailand, promoter Jimmy Chaichotchuang announced. The fight is being put on in honor of the king of Thailand’s birthday (Dec.5), a popular time frame for a title fight every year in Thailand. Ruenreong owns wins against quality opponents Rocky Fuentes, Kazuto Ioka, McWilliams Arroyo, Zou Shiming and Johnriel Casimero. Lee has won three fights in a row but lost both times he faced a legitimate opponent, decisions to former junior flyweight titlist Edgar Sosa and Fuentes, both in 2012.
• Mexican junior featherweight prospect Diego De La Hoya (12-0, 8 KOs), first cousin of Oscar De La Hoya, his promoter, will take on countryman Giovanni Delgado (15-3, 9 KOs) in an eight-round bout that will headline Golden Boy’s card at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Nov. 20 (Estrella TV), the night before the big Miguel Cotto-Canelo Alvarez HBO PPV card that Golden Boy is co-promoting at Mandalay Bay. In the co-feature, Puerto Rico’s John Karl Sosa (13-0, 6 KOs) faces Mexico’s Alan Sanchez (16-3-1, 8 KOs) in an eight round welterweight fight. |
Those who lament the timely closure of Pattern Recognition in Physics should lament no more: while the sun orbits the barycentre, papers that argue that this affects solar variability will get published. As evidence for this conjecture, I offer you McCracken et al (2014) and its precursor Abreu et al (2012).
Both papers discuss spectral peaks in a 9400-year record of solar activity reconstructed from the cosmogenic isotopes 14C and 10Be, from tree rings and ice cores respectively (high concentrations of the cosmogenic isotopes indicates a high flux of cosmic radiation and an inactive sun), and relate these spectral peaks to the influence of planets on the sun. Rather than invoking the “vanishingly small” planet-induced tides on the sun, both papers invoke the torque that the planets’ gravity imposes on the solar tachocline, the non-spherical layer that separates the inner and outer parts of the sun. The mechanism by which the very small torque forcing could be amplified into the reconstructed solar variability is left unspecified.
Figure 5 of Abreu et al shows the spectra of solar activity and their calculations of torque over the Holocene. Five of the peaks in the two spectra coincide. It’s looking promising. Nature certainly thought so.
Alas, there is problem. As Poluianov & Usoskin (2014) demonstrate, the data processing of Abreu et al will cause spurious spectral peaks in their torque spectrum. Abreu et al calculate the torque on a daily basis, but perform the spectral analysis on annually averaged data. This will cause aliasing of the sub-annual torque frequencies of Mercury and Venus, making them appear as low frequency spectral peaks. Poluianov & Usoskin (2014) repeat the analyses of Abreu et al, but using daily rather than annually averaged torque.
None of the spectral peaks found by Abreu et al remain – they are all aliasing artefact. The correct peaks don’t align with the peaks in the solar variability record. The aliasing problem should have demolished Abreu et al (Poluianov & Usoskin also argue the test for coherence between the torque and the solar record is too liberal), but in their response, Abreu et al (2014) basically declare that “tis but a scratch”. They admit that they have an aliasing problem, get confused about the effect of a constant term in their equation for calculating torque, and other things. Some how, the frequencies they originally found are still present, but as minor spectral peaks. It would be most curious for the sun to ignore major peaks in torque but respond to minor peaks.
Abreu et al maintain that using a Monte Carlo procedure, the odds of having the five peaks coincide is “is lower than 10−4“. They estimate this by counting the number of time the five spectral peaks are found in white or red noise processes, and from these calculate the probability of the five spectral peaks co-occurring. There are at least two problems with this, firstly the torque spectrum does not resemble red or white noise and second there are not just five spectral peaks in the solar reconstruction – there are at least eight. The relevant test is not finding the five peaks selected by Abreu et al in random data, but in finding any five out of eight peaks. There are 56 ways to do this – Abreu et al’s estimate of the odds is at least 56 times too low.
McCracken et al (2014) is a review of the evidence for planetary influences on solar activity. The three authors, who were all part of the Abreu et al team, declare
Despite our initial view that we would be able to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that no such correlation exists, it became clear that the contrary is true.
Six lines of evidence persuaded McCracken et al.
1) Four of the most prominent spectral peaks in the solar activity record approximate integer multiples of half the Neptune-Uranus synodic period of 171.42.
This looks like numerology to me.
It stretches credibility to believe that any physical mechanism links the Neptune-Uranus synodic period to one frequency in solar activity let alone four, especially given that Neptune and Uranus are much smaller and more distant than Jupiter. Yet McCracken et al write
The probability of these correlations occurring by chance is shown to be <10−4
This is, at the very least, a sloppy way to express the results of their Monte Carlo procedure, and is an example of the Texan sharpshooter fallacy. Given the eight planets, the number of orbital times and synodic periods is large, so it is really not that surprising that the solar spectral peaks are an integer multiple of one of these multiplied by a arbitrary fraction.
2) The frequencies in the solar proxy record match those in the torque applied by the planets to the solar tachocline, citing Abreu et al. These peaks in the torque spectrum are the ones that Poluianov & Usoskin demonstrated were spurious, arising from inappropriate data processing. McCracken et al neglect to cite Poluianov & Usoskin. They cannot claim not to have been aware of the work as together with Abreu they submitted their reply to Poluianov & Usoskin’s comment before McCracken et al was accepted. This does not look good.
Because torque diminishes with the cube of distance this second argument of McCracken et al contradicts the first as Neptune and Uranus are so remote from the Sun they apply very little torque compared with Jupiter and Venus.
3) The ~2300-year Hallstatt cycle in the solar activity data proxy approximates the half the period between the syzygy (alignment) of the four gas giants at 5272 BP and at 644 BP. Not the strongest of arguments: one peak of unknown statistical significance in the solar activity spectrum can be related to a transient planetary alignment of with no obvious mechanism for affecting the sun.
4) There is no new evidence at number 4. The argument is simply to state that if you multiple the miscalculated probability of argument 1 by that of argument 3 you get a very small and irrelevant number. That’s not quite how McCracken et al phrase it.
5) The barycentre, the centre of mass of the solar system about which the sun orbits, sometimes in a ordered pattern, sometimes in a disordered pattern depending on the alignment of the gas giants. These different modes of free fall, which comprise the Jose cycle, are compared with the solar activity spectrum to find patterns. Mechanisms are not so obvious.
Over the last thousand years, four of the seven periods with disordered phases of falling coincide with minima in solar activity. Not impressive evidence.
Sunspot cycle 20 is smaller than most others and coincides with a small rather than a large wobble of the sun about the barycentre. A single data point. Not impressive evidence.
During the Dalton minimum in solar activity some unusual sunspot cycles matched some small wobbles around the barycentre.
The figure in McCracken et al isn’t very good so I’ve plotted the sunspot data from WDC-SILSO and the sun-barycentre distance from the Horizon ephemerides. I cannot see any strong relationships here.
More interesting is the claim that the 20 Grand Minima in the Holocene (including the Maunder Minimum) all occurred during disordered phases of the Sun’s motions. Although this “close association” in figure 7 is not so obvious in the figure 8. McCracken et al rate the probability of the association occurring by chance if the wobble had no effect as 0.01. This is the only evidence I’ve found interesting, but it is hardly conclusive evidence.
So out of the six lines of evidence in McCracken, only one is in the least interesting, meriting some further investigation. The other five lines are very dubious.
Finding patterns of planetary dynamics that correlate with solar activity is easy. There are a multitude of patterns, some are bound to correlate (occasionally, at least if you squint). Testing if these patterns are real is complicated by the lack of a suitable test case – using the same data for exploratory analysis and confirmatory analysis is an easy way to get Type 1 errors, results that appear to be statistically significant but are no more than by chance. Fitting models with half the data and testing the fit for the other half would be a good strategy (but no peeping allowed).
One of two things is required to make planetary-solar interactions convincing 1) good predictions of the next few sunspot cycles, 2) a physical model of solar activity that can only match observed record of solar activity when planetary alignment is considered. The first will take decades to be realised, so might the second.
Abreu J.A., Albert C., Beer J., Ferriz-Mas A., McCracken, K.G. & Steinhilber, F. 2012. Is there a planetary influence on solar activity? Astronomy and Astrophysics 548, A88.
Abreu J.A., Albert C., Beer J., Ferriz-Mas A., McCracken, K.G. & Steinhilber, F. 2014. Response to: “Critical Analysis of a Hypothesis of the Planetary Tidal Influence on Solar Activity” by S. Poluianov and I. Usoskin Solar Physics 289, 2343–2344.
McCracken, K.G., Beer J. & Steinhilber, F. 2014. Evidence for Planetary Forcing of the Cosmic Ray Intensity and Solar Activity Throughout the Past 9400 Years. Solar Physics 289, 3207-3229.
Poluianov S. & Usoskin, I. 2014. Critical Analysis of a Hypothesis of the Planetary Tidal Influence on Solar Activity Solar Physics (2014) 289, 2333–2342.
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An oversight body within the U.S. Treasury Department believes the use of decentralized ledgers to store information “may raise challenges” for regulators, according to a new report.
The U.S. Treasury’s Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) released its annual report on the state of financial markets and the nation’s economy on Dec. 13. The FSOC was created in 2010 after the passage of the Dodd-Frank financial regulation law and is designed to monitor and report on perceived risks to markets in the U.S.
The report details that cryptocurrencies “represent a different approach to payment,” noting that, while only a small percentage of the population is currently using them, “banks and other existing financial service providers have also entered the market.”
Echoing other parts of the U.S. regulatory ecosystem, the FSOC notes in the report that the tech’s use could lead to issues for regulators, particularly in regards to information that is stored across a distributed network rather than one, centralized place.
The report’s authors write:
“As with any new development, virtual currencies and distributed ledger technologies can create risks and vulnerabilities that call for continued regulatory monitoring and coordination. In particular, decentralization of data storage from [the] use of distributed ledgers may raise challenges for supervision and regulation, as current regulatory practices were designed for more centralized systems.
Those potential issues aside, the FSOC report posits that, currently, the use of cryptocurrencies and blockchain more generally is “small but growing.” And while deeming that the impact of these technologies on the broader financial system is “likely limited” at this time, the interest in its applicability to both payments and financial infrastructure warrants additional scrutiny.
“However, in light of the growing number of market participants and financial institutions investing in these areas, it is desirable for financial regulators to monitor and analyze their effects on financial stability,” the report states.
The full FSOC report can be found below:
Federal Register 121517 by CoinDesk on Scribd
Treasury Department image via Shutterstock |
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Is getting your panels inspected worth the expense? In the end, it comes down to how safe you really consider your rooftop solar to be.
How Safe is Rooftop Solar?
If you ever drive or ride in a car of your own free will, then it probably makes sense for you to consider rooftop solar safe.
Each year, the average Australian has about a 1 in 20,000 chance of dying in a car accident. But as far as I am aware, no one in Australia has ever died from a faulty solar system. Oh, sure, some installers may have fallen off roofs and some do-it-yourselfers may have managed to electrofry themselves, but I don’t believe anyone has ever died as the result of a fault in an installed system.
This is a pretty impressive result given the number of shonky installers Australia used to have (and, unfortunately, in some areas, still has).
At the start of this year around 17.2% of Australian households had rooftop solar1. This made for a grand total of over 1.6 million systems. On average, each home has had solar for 4.8 years, which comes to a total of over 7.7 million years without a fatality and that’s not bad.
Safety Issues To Consider
Unfortunately, rooftop solar is not perfectly safe. Anything with live current running through it can be dangerous if damaged or defective and solar systems are no exception. Fires have resulted from faults and, while most have been small, some have resulted in whole buildings being burned to bits.
While solar systems have no moving parts to wear out, problems that can potentially occur include:
Deterioration of cable insulation over time.
Failure of defective components.
Components filling with water.
Corrosion.
Animals chewing on cables.
Damage from natural disasters such as earthquakes, bush fires, and storms.
Damage from home renovations.
Incompetent installation.
DC isolator fires.
Having a professional inspect a system can result in problems being identified and rectified before they become a danger.
DC Solar Is Extremely Safe But AC Solar Is Safer
Most rooftop solar systems have a string inverter. This is basically a box that hangs on a wall and is connected to rooftop solar panels by one or more cables called strings. These cables send DC power from the panels to the inverter which changes it into the AC power homes use.
The drawback of string inverters is DC power isn’t as safe as AC power.
While any kind of electrical cabling can be dangerous if it becomes damaged, a DC cable is much more likely to arc than an AC cable. And I’m not talking about the good sort of ark that kills Nazis at the end of an Indiana Jones movie. I’m talking about the sort that can potentially burn your house down and which looks like this:
The danger of a DC arc occurring in a system that has a string inverter is the main safety reason why I would recommend ever having an inspection.
Rooftop DC Isolator Fires
Rooftop DC isolators are switches Australian Standards require to aid our brave fire fighters in their struggle against fire. Unfortunately, these fire-fighting devices have the rather horrible habit of starting fires themselves. Roofs are pretty harsh environments and if isolator switches aren’t built tough enough, they start to deteriorate from exposure to the elements until they become flaming dangerous.
While many of these fires have been confined to just the isolator or the area immediately around it, there have been some that have branched out to burn down entire houses. Isolator fires are particularly dangerous if the wind blows leaves and twigs from nearby trees onto the roof and they collect under the solar system and provide some convenient tinder to set the roof ablaze.
There have been both mandatory and voluntary recalls of DC isolators. Most were recalled before 2015, so if your system is reasonably new, the isolators are likely to be reliable, although it’s probably still not a good idea to trust them. Not all of the ones that are known to have problems have been replaced and this is something an installer can check when they inspect your system.
Microinverters Have A Safety Advantage
Microinverters are little inverters that are either built into solar panels or installed underneath them. Because they directly change the DC power produced by panels into the AC power homes use, there are no cables carrying DC power about the place and so far less a chance of the arc-angel of death popping round for a visit. There is also no need for rooftop DC isolator switches, with their nasty habit of immolating themselves.
While damaged AC cables are definitely still dangerous, they are much less dangerous than damaged DC cables. A solar system that uses microinverters is really no more deadly than any other electrical item in your home. And possibly less so, because there are no moving parts. They also have the advantage that they can usually be easily monitored online and if they fail, normally only the output of one panel will be lost.
Inspections: How Much And How Often?
The going rate for an inspection by an accredited solar installer is typically $200 to $300. For that money, they will check the connections, cables, panels, rooftop mounting, DC isolator switches, and inverter. Some offer to do extra tests for extra money as part of a premium service, but as far as safety is concerned, I don’t think the extra expense is worth the benefit.
I have been told by an installer the Clean Energy Council recommends an inspection every five years. However, an advertisement for rooftop solar inspections told me the Clean Energy Council recommends annual inspections.
Who to believe?
What the Clean Energy Council actually thinks, I don’t know. If they had a strong opinion, you would think they would have put it on their site somewhere, but I can’t see it.
What do I think? Well, if you’re going to get it done, I would suggest getting an inspection every five years.
So Do You Gamble And Forgo An Inspection Or Not?
Three particular circumstances in which I would recommend an inspection are:
When you’re moving into a new home that has a “mysterious” solar system.
When you suspect your system was installed by shonks.
When you live in an area where you’re required to have an anti-islanding test.
New Home Has Solar? Consider An Inspection.
When you move into a new home that has a solar system installed, the former owners might leave you a wealth of information about it or they may be able to tell you nothing. Some people don’t even know they have solar. If you end up the owner of a string inverter system that is full of mystery and potentially full of faults, then it could be a good idea to have it inspected because you can’t be certain what condition it is in or whether or not it was installed by shonks.
Think Your Installion Was Shonky? Consider An Inspection.
The best way to ensure your installers aren’t shonky is to use reliable installers in the first place.
But mistakes are made, snaky salespeople can be persuasive, and people fall for deals that seem too good to be true and which turn out to be exactly that. If you suspect shonks have done a shoddy job of installing your system, it may pay to have it inspected.
Anti-islanding Test Required? Ask About An Inspection
In Canberra and Victoria, solar households can be required by their network operator to have an anti-islanding test done every five years. This is designed to keep the grid and anyone who might be working on it during a blackout safe. But since you will have to pay for an accredited installer to come out anyway, you may as well see if you can have your solar system inspected at the same time.
[Update 22 February: As Steven Zilm has pointed out in the comments, according to SA Power Networks Small Embedded Generation Technical Guidelines 2013, rooftop solar systems have to be inspected and maintained at least every 5 years. The exact wording is from section 4.6 is:
“ensure that the small-embedded generating unit is inspected and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. If there are no applicable manufacturer’s instructions within at least 5 years after the date of installation and within 5 years after each previous inspection;”
And it goes on to say:
“ensure that the customer’s employees, servants or agents who carry out any electrical maintenance function on the small-embedded generation installation or any other part of the customer’s electrical equipment are appropriately qualified and licensed to perform such work.”
This means SA Power Networks could disconnect you from the grid if your rooftop system hasn’t been maintained within the past 5 years. Other network operators could have similar provisions hidden away in their technical guidelines.]
If You Want The Satisfaction…
If you are so inclined, and you have two or three hundred dollars to spare, you can afford to have your rooftop solar system serviced. When I say serviced, I’m not talking about a cursory check by someone so unskilled they’re unaware installing solar panels upside down is a bad idea. I am talking about a good service performed by a professional who will check out your system in detail to make sure everything is working properly, and above all, safely.
If, on the other hand, you don’t have the dollars to spare, take the main safety factor into account – inverters.
Microinverters have a safety advantage over string inverters. If you have a solar system that uses microinverters, doing without rooftop solar inspections is really no more dangerous than doing without inspections for other electrical devices in your home.
If, however, like the majority of solar households, you have a string inverter, then, regardless of how tightfisted you are, it is probably a good idea to have your system inspected about every five years.
Now it is quite possible someone reading this article will say,
“Hey, Ronald! You said no one in Australia has ever been killed by a faulty solar system, but you still recommend inspections every five years anyway. That makes no sense! Looking at the figures you gave, at a rough guess, paying for an inspection may only have around a one in two million chance of saving a life. This means if an inspection costs $250 then the cost of saving one life would be around $500 million. If I can instead save a life for around $4,400 by fighting malaria, it would be over 110,000 times more cost effective.”
Well, in response to that, I would say, “You’re right.”
Also, I would ask, “Are we related?” because you’re thinking like me and that’s always disturbing.
The fact is, when I came up with my recommendation to have solar systems inspected every five years, I was trying to think like a normal person. It wasn’t easy, but I persevered. Normal people seem to enjoy doing things that keep their families safe even when the cost/benefit ratio is ridiculously poor. They get a sense of satisfaction from it.
In truth, I don’t get that sense of satisfaction. And I’d say that’s probably the number one reason why I keep getting divorced. I’m fairly sure it’s not my smell.
Paying for rooftop solar inspections will help protect your property against fire, so it does have other advantages, but it’s not very cost effective and, unless you have a reason to suspect your solar system has a problem, you are not putting your family at any significant risk if you don’t have them done.
When it comes to saving human lives, you are probably better off paying to distribute mosquito nets, trading in your car for one with a higher safety rating, joining a gym, or paying someone to remove the crocodile from your living room.
But the final choice is down to you. If you want the sense of satisfaction that comes from knowing you’ve done something to keep your family safe, even if it is only a very small thing, then ensure your solar system is in good working order – have your system inspected.
Footnotes Around 17.2% of Australian had rooftop PV at the start of 2017. The percentage with solar PV or solar hot water is considerably higher, but I don’t have enough information at the moment to work out an exact figure. ↩ |
President-elect Donald Trump Donald John TrumpREAD: Cohen testimony alleges Trump knew Stone talked with WikiLeaks about DNC emails Trump urges North Korea to denuclearize ahead of summit Venezuela's Maduro says he fears 'bad' people around Trump MORE’s incoming chief of staff Reince Priebus and Vice President-elect Mike Pence Michael (Mike) Richard PenceVenezuela's Maduro says he fears 'bad' people around Trump 'And the award for best political commentary by an Oscar nominee goes to...' UN nuclear watchdog: Iran maintains compliance with 2015 pact MORE will hit the Sunday show circuit this weekend as the new administration prepares to take the reins Jan. 20.
Priebus is set to appear on both ABC’s “This Week” and NBC’s “Meet the Press,” while Pence will be on CBS’s “Face the Nation” and “Fox News Sunday."
Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) is slated to appear on NBC’s “Meet the Press” in a pre-taped interview, a portion of which was released Friday, dominating headlines heading into the weekend.
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Lewis said he would join Democrats skipping the inauguration and stated during the interview that he does not view Trump as a “legitimate president." Trump fired back on Saturday, ripping the civil rights icon as "all talk, talk, talk - no action or results."
Trump's top allies are also appearing on the Sunday shows after Trump's first press conference in six months, where he engaged in a heated exchanged with a CNN reporter, declaring the network "fake news."
The combative moment put a renewed focus on Trump's relationship with the press as he takes office.
Here is the full Sunday show lineup:
ABC’s “This Week”: Reince Priebus, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for chief of staff, will be on the show. Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernard (Bernie) SandersSenate Dems seek to turn tables on GOP in climate change fight Bernie Sanders Town Hall finishes third in cable news race, draws 1.4 million viewers Woman to undecided Biden: 'Just say yes' to 2020 bid MORE (I-Vt.) and Rep. Jason Chaffetz Jason ChaffetzTop Utah paper knocks Chaffetz as he mulls run for governor: ‘His political career should be over’ Boehner working on memoir: report Former GOP lawmaker on death of 7-year-old migrant girl: Message should be ‘don't make this journey, it will kill you' MORE (R-Utah) will also appear.
CBS’s “Face the Nation”: Vice President-elect Mike Pence will appear on the show ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration. Sen. Joe Manchin Joseph (Joe) ManchinThe Hill's Morning Report - Dems appear to have votes to counter Trump on emergency Border rebuke looms for Trump Trump claims Democrats ‘don’t mind executing babies after birth’ after blocked abortion bill MORE (D-W.Va.) and former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) are also set to appear.
CNN’s “State of the Union”: Denis McDonough Denis Richard McDonoughSenate Intel leaders ask judge not to jail former aide amid leak investigation Live coverage: Justice IG testifies before House on report criticizing FBI Ex-Obama chief of staff: Obama's Russia response was 'watered down' MORE, current chief of staff to President Obama, will be on the show as the current administration prepares for its final week in office. Sen. Rand Paul Randal (Rand) Howard PaulWhite House pleads with Senate GOP on emergency declaration The Hill's Morning Report — Emergency declaration to test GOP loyalty to Trump The Hill's 12:30 Report: Trump escalates fight with NY Times MORE (R-Ky.), who has been a vocal critic of his fellow Republicans for not proposing an alternative to ObamaCare, will also be on the show.
“Fox News Sunday”: Pence will also appear on the network, as will CIA Director John Brennan.
NBC’s “Meet the Press”: Priebus will also make an appearance on “Meet the Press.” Sen. Dianne Feinstein Dianne Emiel FeinsteinSenate confirms Trump court pick despite missing two 'blue slips' Hillicon Valley: Senators urge Trump to bar Huawei products from electric grid | Ex-security officials condemn Trump emergency declaration | New malicious cyber tool found | Facebook faces questions on treatment of moderators Ocasio-Cortez adviser says Sunrise confrontation with 'old-timer' Feinstein 'sad' MORE (D-Calif.) and Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) will be on the show. |
Bisexuals You Need to Come Out to Your Friends and Spouses—Now
I'm not bi-phobic—in fact, I love bisexual people so much, I wish there were more of them.
I do find some bisexuals scary, particularly the ones who are always accusing me of being bi-phobic. But I find some gay people scary too, and no one has ever accused me of being homophobic. (Well, no one recently.)
But let's unpack—for Pride Week!—why I'm constantly being accused of bi-phobia, particularly by bisexual men. And it's basically this: I'm unwilling to pretend that what is, isn't.
Here's one thing that is: Many adult gays and lesbians identified as bi for a few shining moments during our adolescences and coming-out processes. (We wanted to let our friends down easy; we didn't want our families to think we'd gone over the dark side entirely.) This can lead adult gays and lesbians—myself included—to doubt the professed sexual identities of bisexual teenagers.
When I meet a bisexual teenage boy, for instance, I sometimes think to myself, "Yeah, I was too at your age." That doesn't mean the kid standing in front of me couldn't possibly be bisexual (I wasn't, he might be!), or that I don't believe bisexuality exists (bisexuals exist, and most of them seem to have my e-mail address), only that my life experience makes it difficult for me to accept a bisexual teenage boy's professed sexual identity at face value. (And to those who insist that my inability to accept someone's professed sexual identity without question makes me a bigot: Ted Haggard, George Rekers, and Larry Craig all identify as straight. You believe them? Or are you a bigot?)
I don't berate bi-identified teenage boys, I don't tell them they're not really bi, and I don't cruise around bi neighborhoods looking for young bi guys to beat up. But I do know that a bi-identified 36-year-old is likelier to be bisexual than a bi-identified 16-year-old, and I resent being asked to pretend not to know it.
And here's another thing that is: Most adult bisexuals, for whatever reason, wind up in opposite-sex relationships. And most comfortably disappear into presumed heterosexuality (including all three of my biggest bisexual antagonists—what are the odds?!).
Now I don't think it's necessarily misleading or deceitful for a bisexual guy in a long-term opposite-sex relationship to round himself down to straight, if that's what he wants to do, so long as he's out to his partner. But judging from the e-mails I get from bisexual men at Savage Love (from the ones after my advice, not my hide), and all the men-seeking-men ads on Craigslist posted by men who are married to women (we used to call those guys "married men"—ah, progress!), there are a lot of bisexuals out there who aren't out to their partners. An excerpt from a sadly typical bi Savage Love letter:
I am a 30-year-old bi male recently engaged to a wonderful woman. I have never told my fiancée about my bi past, and didn't think it was a big deal because I am more attracted to women, and was only in one male/male relationship... but now that we're engaged, I am feeling guilty for keeping this quiet. Is it too late? Should I stay quiet?? I don't want to lose her.
I hope that bi guy has the decency to come out to his fiancée before the wedding, because she deserves better. And so does he. The closet is awful and I wouldn't wish its miseries on anyone. Hiding the truth about your sexuality from someone you love is painful and exhausting... which is why I stopped doing it myself when I was a teenager.
Not only would it be great if more bisexuals were out to their partners, it would be great if more bisexuals in opposite-sex relationships were out to their friends, families, and coworkers. More out bisexuals would mean less of that bisexual invisibility that bisexuals are always complaining about. If more bisexuals were out, more straight people would know they actually know and love sexual minorities, which would lead to less anti-LGBT bigotry generally, which would be better for everyone.
But people get to make their own choices, and lots of bisexuals choose not to be out. While I'm willing to recognize that the reluctance of many bisexuals to be out may be a reaction to the hostility they face from non-bisexuals, gay and straight, bisexuals need to recognize that their being closeted is a huge contributing factor to the hostility they face.
Bisexual activists like to complain that they're the most oppressed because (1) it's a contest, and (2) it's a good excuse. If they can argue—and unfortunately, they can—that lots of gay people are mean to them (some gay people don't want to date them, some gay people doubt they exist) and straight people are mean to them (some straight people don't want to date them, some straight people doubt they exist), then bisexual people aren't to blame for the bisexual closet. Everyone else is.
And they have a point—but it's a self-serving, self-defeating point. Yes, lots of people judge and condemn and fear bisexuals. If those were good reasons to stay closeted, no gay or lesbian person would ever come out. And if bisexuals did come out in greater numbers, they could rule... well, not the world, but they could rule the parallel LGBT universe.
Earlier this year, a researcher at the Williams Institute at the University of California released the results of a study that attempted to estimate the LGBT population of the United States. Some of the numbers that "Gary J. Gates, Williams Distinguished Scholar" came up with were disputed—just 3.5 percent of the population is LGBT? There are only nine million LGBT people in the United States total?—but the most interesting finding was that there are more bisexual adults (1.8 percent of the population) than gay and lesbian adults combined (1.7 percent of the population).
I'm sorry, bisexual activists, but you're doing it all wrong. Instead of berating me for my alleged bi-phobia—and if I'm the enemy, you're in real trouble—berate your closeted compatriots. If they all came out tomorrow, you could put an end to bi-phobia, take over the LGBT movement, and kick my ass out of it. |
Alex Ferguson is crossing his fingers Manchester United's powderkeg Premier League encounter with Liverpool on Sunday passes off without incident.
It will be the first time United, who are being heavily linked with Crystal Palace youngster Wilfried Zaha, will have met their north-west rivals at Old Trafford since Luis Suarez refused to shake Patrice Evra's hand in last season's corresponding fixture.
However, the pair did make their peace at Anfield in September, which Ferguson is hopeful will be a sign of things to come.
"There will always be a certain build-up to a Manchester United-Liverpool game, simply because of the history between the two clubs, the two most successful in the country," Ferguson told Inside United.
"It brings its own agenda in terms of profile and pre-match discussion.
"Last year it was unfortunate with the Suarez behaviour.
"I think hopefully it is behind both clubs now and we can just look forward to the game."
Behind the scenes, it seems efforts to land Zaha are intensifying, with both Arsenal and Tottenham now said to be distancing themselves from the teenager, who is one of English football's hottest properties.
In addition to an apparent desire from Zaha to join the Old Trafford outfit, there is also the potential for him remaining with Palace on loan for the remainder of the season, as was the case when Sir Alex Ferguson signed Chris Smalling from Fulham in 2010.
If Zaha achieved anything like the success Cristiano Ronaldo enjoyed with United, he will have a significant career.
And, as he prepares to face the former Red Devil when his side take on Real Madrid in the Champions League next month, Ferguson confirmed his belief that Ronaldo has improved since his exit for Spain in 2009.
"Maturity brings many things," said Ferguson.
"When I went to see them play against (Manchester) City, some of his decision making in terms of passing was brilliant. One-touch passing, good crosses.
"In the six years we had him, you just saw his game grow all the time, and he was a fantastic player.
"Now you see the complete player.
"His decision-making, his maturity, his experience, plus all the great skills he has got, they all make him the complete player." |
Image copyright AFP Image caption Mikheil Saakashvili has formed his political party in Ukraine
Mikheil Saakashvili, the former Georgian president, has been stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship, Ukraine's migration service has said.
It said a decree was issued by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, without stating the reason.
Mr Saakashvili, a former ally of Mr Poroshenko, is currently abroad. He vowed to fight for his rights.
He was made a Ukrainian citizen in 2015 and appointed governor of the southern Odessa region. He quit last year.
In a statement (in Ukrainian) on Wednesday evening, Ukraine's migration service said that "according to the Constitution of Ukraine, the president takes decisions on who is stripped of Ukrainian citizenship based on the conclusions of the citizenship commission".
It did not provide the exact reason, but stated that this could be done if a Ukrainian national acquired citizenship of another country or submitted false documents.
President Poroshenko has so far made no public comments on the issue.
Meanwhile, Mr Saakashvili posted a video on his Facebook page, saying that he was "being subjected to the same approaches that are used by Ukraine's prosecutors or bureaucrats against regular Ukrainians, whose rights are spat upon"
"I have only one citizenship, that of Ukraine, and I will not be deprived of it! Now there is an attempt under way to force me to become a refugee. This will not happen!
"I will fight for my legal right to return to Ukraine!"
Mr Saakashvili automatically lost his Georgian citizenship when he was given the Ukrainian one.
In his video message, he also suggested that President Poroshenko had made a deal with the authorities in Tbilisi during his visit to the country several days ago.
Mr Saakashvili, who led Georgia from 2004 to 2013, is accused by the Georgian authorities of abuse of power - charges that he describes as politically motivated.
Last year, he resigned as the Odessa governor, expressing fury at rampant corruption in Ukraine.
He has since formed his Movement of New Forces political party, which urged its supporters to hold a protest rally in Kiev on Thursday.
More than 100 people later gathered on Independence Maidan - the square in the heart of the capital, Ukrainska Pravda website reports. |
Electric vehicles, EVs, were invented nearly two centuries ago. Hungarian priest and engineer Ányos Jedlik, created the electric motor in 1828.
You’d think then that these cleaner and more energy efficient vehicles would have already taken the world by storm. Indeed, in some places they have. Norway, for example, peaked with over half of new cars sold being EV or hybrids in early 2017.
But in many other parts of the world, EV market share is still patchy at best. So, what’s the deal with Finland? As recently as this decade, one Finnish University of Applied Science, Metropolia has done well in electric car racing. And surely, one of the world greenest countries according to the Environmental Performance Index would be on the fast track to an electric car future, right?
Wrong. Finland’s lagging far behind. Here’s why.
1. There’s a perception problem
For a start, there’s a flawed perception problem. At the moment, electric cars cost more than internal combustion engine (ICE) cars. Add a more limited range, and there’s a belief, enthusiastically promoted by Finland’s bio-fuel lobby, that electric cars aren’t as good value for money.
However, total cost of ownership for electric vehicles is closing in on oil burning cars thanks to cheaper energy and motors with far fewer moving parts. What’s more, this trend is set to continue.
By 2025, it’s expected that the cost of electric vehicles will match that of combustion engine vehicles. It’s probably for this reason that Volvo recently announced they’re going all in on electric cars by 2019, for new models. Mass adoption is only a matter of time.
2. A real lack of subsidies. An imaginary lack of charging stations
Many governments offer subsidies for people buying electric cars. Not in Finland. Thankfully, next year, it looks like Finland might finally join this trend. But you can’t drive a car on tax breaks alone.
You also need places to charge your vehicles. Happily, tax incentives for charging stations are already in place, and thanks to charging companies such as Virta, businesses are investing, even in remote areas like eastern Finland.
A better charging network is a big deal. In Finland, even though the average daily drive is just 10km, the fear of not having enough power to reach your summer cottage is real. The more stations, the merrier everyone is.
3. The current Finnish government has bought into bio-fuels
The current Finnish government has made a number of decisions concerning biofuels, which can charitably be described as bizarre.
At worst, these subsidies, falling under a program intended to boost the “bio-economy”, are a handout to the Center Party’s agrarian base. Unsurprisingly, this program faces staunch opposition from experts and researchers in all the relevant fields.
The Center Party aren’t alone in flying the bio-fuel flag. Oil industry business people such as billionaire ST1 owner Mika Anttonen, who’s heavily invested in biofuels, regularly belittle electric vehicles in the press (1,2,3,4,5,6,7).
While the oil lobby is unlikely to change its tune anytime soon you wouldn’t bet on Prime Minster Sipilä winning a second term. If he were to lose the 2019 parliamentary election, the likelihood is harmful handouts to produce biofuels will end too.
4. The oil industry has fueled suspicion
There’s a number of common misconceptions and downright myths surrounding electric vehicles. Once you dig deeper you often find they’re fueled by dubious studies, regularly sponsored by the oil industry.
This is nothing new. Ever since GM conspired to destroy electric trams after WWII, the oil industry has used its wealth and power to thwart alternative energy. It’s this century-long deception that’s now causing us all to suffer from rampant climate change.
Of course, it’s true that the long-term environmental benefits of electric cars depend on skipping hybrids, climate-friendly ways to power the electric grid and improvements in or replacement of lithium-ion battery technology.
However, claims such as a notorious rumor that the net energy consumption of EVs exceed that of traditional cars, when lithium ion battery consumption is taken into account, simply don’t add up over extended use.
Additionally, EVs produce no local emissions – those small exhaust particles that kill far too many humans every year.
This hasn’t stopped one Finnish oil company from producing a flashy site where claims are made of electric car emissions exceeding those of bio-diesel powered one. In the comparison, the EV’s co2 emissions are based on net fuel production and usage, but bio-fuels only on production, not consumption.
The reason cited is dubious in the extreme. It’s unnecessary to take usage emissions into account because bio-fuels are a type of waste disposal. This disregard for obvious co2 emissions makes no sense whatsoever, but is typical of the oil industry strategy of playing fast and loose with the facts.
Despite all these obstacles, it looks inevitable that the future for cars in Finland is electric. And while Finland’s currently lagging behind its Nordic neighbors, we’re hopeful that’s set to change sooner rather than later. That’s something we, and the planet, can all be thankful about. |
George W. Bush said: “Helping Iraqis achieve a united, stable and free country will require our sustained commitment.” | AP Photo Bush announces launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom, March 19, 2003
On this day in 2003, President George W. Bush announced the launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The U.S.-led invasion was, according to Bush, aimed at ridding Iraq of its dictator, Saddam Hussein, and eliminating its ability to store, develop and deploy its stockpile of weapons of mass destruction.
In a nationwide televised address, Bush said: “Helping Iraqis achieve a united, stable and free country will require our sustained commitment.” He acknowledged the substantial domestic opposition to the war and said that he had only “reluctantly” authorized the invasion. At the same time, the president noted his administration’s refusal to “live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder.”
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Within six weeks, the pre-emptive strike morphed into an occupation. Saddam's eventual capture by U.S. troops led to his trial in an Iraqi court, which sentenced him to death by hanging.
A post-invasion investigation by the Iraq Survey Group concluded that Iraq had ended its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs in 1991 but that it intended to resume production if sanctions were lifted. Some investigators concluded Saddam, when it came to the offending weapons, was engaged in a big bluff.
Although Bush announced on May 1, 2003, that the U.S. mission had been “accomplished,” violence against coalition forces and among sectarian groups soon escalated into a full-fledged insurgency. Strife between Sunni and Shiite Iraqis continued, and the violent group Al Qaeda in Iraq, which used suicide bombers, emerged.
During the war’s most intense phase, which lasted more than four years, U.S. casualties climbed to more than 3,000, with more than 23,000 wounded. Iraqi civilian fatalities were estimated at more than 50,000.
In February 2009, President Barack Obama announced an 18-month withdrawal window for combat forces, with some 50,000 troops remaining “to advise and train Iraqi security forces and to provide intelligence.”
After the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq by December 2011, a violent insurgency of mainly Sunni Islamic Islamist fighters targeting the Iraqi government gained force. By June 2014, Sunni Islamic, jihadist and ISIS militants, already having achieved territorial successes in the Syrian civil war, had conquered the Iraqi cities of Samarra, Mosul and Tikrit, and threatened the Mosul Dam and Kirkuk, where Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga troops took control from the Iraqi government in Baghdad.
An Iraqi counterinsurgency effort, supported by U.S. airstrikes and an ever-increasing number of combat advisers, remains underway. President Donald Trump has pledged that ISIS will be eradicated under his watch.
SOURCE: “FIASCO: THE AMERICAN MILITARY ADVENTURE IN IRAQ,” BY THOMAS E. RICKS (2006) |
Ramping up the pressure over the Volkswagen diesel scandal, California regulators Tuesday rejected the automaker’s proposal for recalling thousands of cars rigged to circumvent state and federal air-pollution standards.
The California Air Resources Board, without going into details, said Volkswagen’s recall plan was too vague and slow. Among other things, the agency said Volkswagen hasn’t explained exactly how the proposed repairs would reduce emissions and what impact the fixes would have on fuel economy and vehicle performance. The agency said Volkswagen also didn’t provide “a sufficient method” for obtaining vehicle owners’ names and addresses; the plan also fails to fix the cars “in an expeditious manner,” it said.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency seconded the decision, announcing in a terse statement that it agrees with the California air board that the plan doesn’t work. The announcement came one day before the top executives of Volkswagen and the EPA are set to meet to discuss the recall.
Besides rejecting the recall plan, the California agency slapped Volkswagen with an official “notice of violation.” That could enable regulators to pressure the German automaker into taking steps beyond repairing vehicles, including repurchasing cars from their owners, said agency spokesman David Clegern.
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“It moves us out of an administrative mode to an enforcement mode,” Clegern said. “It gives us more options. We could discuss buybacks with them.”
Another possibility is having Volkswagen move more quickly to develop electric cars or take other steps to reduce air pollution, as a way of compensating the state for the excessive emissions caused by the diesel cars, he said.
Automotive analyst Karl Brauer of Kelley Blue Book said he thinks Volkswagen would have to offer attractive buyback terms, as well as “a good deal” on a replacement, to get owners to unload their cars.
Based on feedback from Volkswagen owners, Brauer said most “aren’t interested in bailing on Volkswagen” despite their anger. He added that he thinks Volkswagen, the EPA and the California air board could be closer to agreement on a recall plan than the latest rhetoric suggests.
Volkswagen handed federal and state officials a plan in mid-December for recalling 480,000 diesel cars sold in the United States since 2009, including more than 75,000 sold in California. The plan hasn’t been disclosed to the public, but the EPA hinted a week ago that the plan wasn’t adequate when it filed a lawsuit against Volkswagen demanding billions of dollars in damages.
In a letter to Volkswagen Group of America Inc. executives in Michigan and Virginia, the California board said the carmaker’s proposals “are incomplete, substantially deficient, and fall far short of meeting the legal requirements to return these vehicles to the claimed certified configuration.” The agency added that Volkswagen in December asked for “substantial additional time to submit complete recall plans.” Such a request “is not acceptable,” said the agency’s letter.
The air resources board also sent Volkswagen a confidential letter outlining in greater detail the alleged shortcomings of the company’s recall proposal.
The carmaker has already admitted that it implanted the cars with “defeat device” software that activated the emissions-control systems only when the cars were undergoing emissions testing. The software shut off the controls when the cars were driven on the road. Automotive experts say the pollution controls can hurt fuel mileage and overall vehicle performance, such as handling.
“Volkswagen made a decision to cheat on emissions tests and then tried to cover it up,” said Mary Nichols, chair of the California board, in a prepared statement announcing the rejection of the recall plan. “They continued and compounded the lie, and when they were caught they tried to deny it. The result is thousands of tons of nitrogen oxide that have harmed the health of Californians. They need to make it right. Today’s action is a step in the direction of assuring that will happen.”
In a separate statement, the EPA said it “agrees with CARB that Volkswagen has not submitted an approvable recall plan to bring the vehicles into compliance and reduce pollution. EPA has conveyed this to the company previously.”
Volkswagen said it continues to work with the federal and state regulators to find a workable plan. The carmaker said it met just last week with California officials on “a framework to remediate the ... emissions issue” and will proceed with a previously scheduled meeting Wednesday with the EPA.
Speaking at an event prior to the Detroit auto show, Volkswagen Chief Executive Matthias Müller told The Wall Street Journal on Monday that he plans to present EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy a “package solution” for fixing the defective cars.
“We are hoping for a good result from the meeting,” he said. |
Image copyright Reuters Image caption FCC chairman Tom Wheeler denies the body is doing a U-turn
The US government may be about to propose new rules which would allow net providers to charge more for some services to be carried on its networks.
According to US reports, the Federal Communications Commission will allow a fast lane for data-heavy services when new rules are published in May.
If true it would undermine the net neutrality principle that all internet traffic should be treated equally.
The Federal Communications Commission said the reports were "flat out wrong".
Both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal quoted unnamed sources saying that the FCC is planning to allow internet service providers (ISPs) to offer a fast lane into people's homes for content providers willing to pay for it.
It would mean that ISPs such as Comcast and Verizon would be able to charge companies such as Netflix, Amazon, Disney or Google different amounts for priority services.
The reports claim that although ISPs would be prohibited from blocking or discriminating against online content, they would be able to strike special deals as long as they acted in a commercially reasonable manner.
Increasingly the biggest US ISPs are keen to charge for data-hungry services such as Netflix, and ISP Verizon recently won a court case in which it successfully challenged the FCC's right to stop it.
The case forced the FCC to rethink its rules but chairman Tom Wheeler was quick to deny the reports that it was about to do a major U-turn.
He said: "There are reports that the FCC is gutting the Open Internet rule. They are flat out wrong.
"Tomorrow we will circulate to the Commission a new Open Internet proposal that will restore the concepts of net neutrality consistent with the court's ruling in January.
"There is no 'turnaround in policy'. The same rules will apply to all internet content. As with the original Open Internet rules, and consistent with the court's decision, behaviour that harms consumers or competition will not be permitted."
Unnecessary tolls
Image copyright Thinkstock Image caption The debate centres around whether ISPs should be able to charge to upgrade some services
Free Press, a group which advocates an internet where all traffic is treated equally, is convinced that the FCC is on the verge of a U-turn and warned that would be a disaster for consumers.
"Giving ISPs the green light to implement pay-for-priority schemes will be a disaster for start-ups, non-profits and everyday internet users who cannot afford these unnecessary tolls," said chief executive Craig Aaron.
Most experts predict that if content providers are forced to pay extra fees to get their services on the network, those costs will be passed on to consumers.
The story behind the need for new rules is complex and ISPs are already starting to charge some data-hungry services extra.
In February Netflix agreed to pay a new fee to ISP Comcast in order to end a slowdown that subscribers were experiencing on its online video site.
At the time Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings was outraged by the fee and published a blog post arguing for much stronger net neutrality rules.
"If this kind of leverage is effective against Netflix, which is pretty large, imagine the plight of smaller services today and in the future," he said.
"Without strong net neutrality, big ISPs can demand potentially escalating fees for the interconnection required to deliver high quality service."
While the concept of an open and equal internet is likely to elicit near-universal support from citizens, regulators and others, what it means in practice is more complicated, said Analysys Mason analyst Nico Flores.
"The internet might evolve to a model similar to pay TV, in which carriage negotiations lead to confidential commercial agreements between the parties, occasional 'blackouts' and a different set of content offerings available through each operator," he said.
Switch provider
For their part ISPs argue that Netflix members account for about 30% of peak net traffic and say it is perfectly fair to ask it and similar data-hungry services to help pay for delivering this to consumers.
The debate takes on greater resonance in the US because many net users have little choice about which operator they can use and, because services are bundled, it is often difficult to switch providers.
Europe is currently fighting its own battle to enshrine the principles of net neutrality in law.
At the beginning of the month the European Parliament voted to restrict ISPs from charging services for faster network access. It has some more legislative hurdles to cross yet but could become law by the end of the year. |
Russia’s Sputnik and various pro-Kremlin media in Poland are working hard to spread fear of Ukrainian immigration to Poland. Their goal: to divide and turn public opinion in both countries.
Since the tourist visa waiver program took effect 10 June 2017 between the European Union and Ukraine, nearly 365,000 Ukrainians have crossed into the EU, according to the State Border Service of Ukraine (DGPSU). Some 74,000 people used new biometric passports to cross the border visa-free, of which 12,875 intentionally took advantage of the new law; 5,210 came to Poland. In fact, 2016 was a record year; 123,000 foreigners—83 percent of them Ukrainian citizens—got jobs in Poland. Yet pro-Kremlin propaganda outlets are using the jump in Ukrainian immigration to Poland to spoil relations between Warsaw and Kyiv.
The Polish-language version of Sputnik writes that restrictions on Ukrainian workers could spark criticism against Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, so the “success” announced by Kyiv is overrated. Sputnik quotes relatively unknown Ukrainian political scientist Alexander Jakubin, who says the visa waiver program is a dead end for Ukraine, and that it will not compensate for the heavy costs of European integration borne by Ukraine. This is an obvious attempt to denigrate Ukraine’s relations with the EU among Ukrainian public opinion.
Meanwhile, Dr. Cezary Mech—a recognized critic of Ukraine-EU cooperation—told Kresy.pl that Poland should work to bring the Polish minority in Ukraine back to Poland instead of helping Ukrainians enter the EU. He warns that Ukrainian immigrants will steal jobs from Poles. This contradicts Sputnik’s message, maybe because this Polish text is aimed at a Polish audience. In any event, the Ukraine-EU visa free regime is about tourism, not jobs. However, pro-Kremlin media uses fear to spread anger against Ukrainian immigrants in Poland.
Mech’s revelations were the focus of an interview with Andrzej Zapałowski in the Polish version of Sputnik. He uses the term “Ukrainization” of the job market. His idea is essentially the same: Poles would lose jobs if Ukrainian immigration rises. He also speculates about the intentional provocation of a wave of migration, noting that “...the same bunch that instigated African emigration is provoking job emigration from Ukraine.” Such irrational arguments feed another conspiracy theory about Jewish rule in Ukraine promoted by Nadiya Savchenko, a Ukrainian veteran and member of parliament, and also by Polish pro-Kremlin media such as Wolna Polska 24 |
Allwinner is showing off an early version of an upcoming single-board computer called the Nobel64 Board. It’s aimed at hardware and software developers, and it’ll be the first such board from the Chinese chip maker to feature a 64-bit processor.
The board has 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, and features Gigabit Ethernet, dual-band WiFi, HDMI output, Bluetooth 4.0, and 2 USB 2.0 ports.
It’s also powered by a previously unannounced Allwinner processor called the H64. That’s a 64-bit, quad-core processor based on ARM technology.
According to Allwinner, the Nobel64 Board can be used to help device makers design tablets, notebooks, set-top-boxes, digital signage systems, or other devices that use the upcoming H64 processor.
The company hasn’t yet announced a price or release date for either the chip or the developer board.
Update: Charbax from ARMDevices got a chance to check out the Nobel 64 board in person. It should be available in early 2015.
via CNX Software |
Staying at Savatthi. "Monks, there once was a time when the Dasarahas had a large drum called 'Summoner.' Whenever Summoner was split, the Dasarahas inserted another peg in it, until the time came when Summoner's original wooden body had disappeared and only a conglomeration of pegs remained. [1]
"In the same way, in the course of the future there will be monks who won't listen when discourses that are words of the Tathagata — deep, deep in their meaning, transcendent, connected with emptiness — are being recited. They won't lend ear, won't set their hearts on knowing them, won't regard these teachings as worth grasping or mastering. But they will listen when discourses that are literary works — the works of poets, elegant in sound, elegant in rhetoric, the work of outsiders, words of disciples — are recited. They will lend ear and set their hearts on knowing them. They will regard these teachings as worth grasping & mastering.
"In this way the disappearance of the discourses that are words of the Tathagata — deep, deep in their meaning, transcendent, connected with emptiness — will come about.
"Thus you should train yourselves: 'We will listen when discourses that are words of the Tathagata — deep, deep in their meaning, transcendent, connected with emptiness — are being recited. We will lend ear, will set our hearts on knowing them, will regard these teachings as worth grasping & mastering.' That's how you should train yourselves." |
To a certain kind of person, Conan O’Brien’s years of work as a late-night host, TV producer, and actor are all mere sideshows to the comedian’s true legacy: “Marge Vs. The Monorail,” which O’Brien wrote for The Simpsons more than 20 years ago, and which is often held up as the greatest episode of one of the greatest TV shows.
In an interview with Buzzfeed UK, O’Brien revealed that he’ll soon be revisiting the tale that put Brockway, Ogdenville, and North Haverbrook on the map. As part of the Hollywood Bowl’s celebration of The Simpsons’ 25th anniversary, O’Brien will take on the role of fast-talking, penknife-having con-man Lyle Lanley (originally portrayed to perfection by the late Phil Hartman) and perform “The Monorail Song” with the Gay Men’s Chorus Of Los Angeles. Normally we’d make another winking reference here to one of the episode’s thousand or so quotable lines, but you folks probably have that covered.
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The concert, hosted by Hank Azaria and featuring performances from most of the show’s cast, is set for early September. |
Just this once, OK? That sums up Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s terrified assent to China’s $15-billion CNOCC takeover of Calgary-based petroleum producer Nexen. From now on, he promises, he’ll only say yes under “exceptional” circumstances.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has agreed to the $15-billion takeover of Nexen by China's CNOOC. But he said from now on he will only say yes to state-owned takeovers under exceptional circumstances. ( Fred Chartrand / The Canadian Press )
Harper had offered himself up to NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair on a platter, and Mulcair set the platter on fire during question period. It was fun to watch but that’s little comfort. Nexen’s an awful deal for Canadians. But Harper couldn’t say no to China because he wants quick money for a tarsands industry that’s starting to look weak and because he’s an ideologue who thinks all business deals are good ones. Are the markets happy? Gosh, yes. Are Canadians of all political stripes pleased by increased foreign ownership of Alberta’s precious innards? Irrelevant. Harper’s a bully at home, a wimp overseas. He happily torments environmentalists, refugee claimants, women, unions, public servants, you know, the locals. He ignores Parliament or prorogues it, and treats the Investment Canada Act — which states that foreign investment must benefit Canada — as a joke.
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That’s his shtick and to be fair, it plays well, at least in the West. But when Harper the bully is faced with the biggest bully of them all, the power colossus that is China, he hands over our jewels, our natural resources. Here, have some bitumen, he tells China, and laughs weakly. The Harper government knows that approving the sale of Nexen — as well as the $6-billion sale of Progress Energy to Malaysian-owned Petronas — angers Canadians. Most of us could not map Malaysia’s industrial strategy nor indeed Malaysia. But we know China well because everything we own was made there and, frankly, it’s starting to grate. I don’t blame Harper for fearing Communist China’s wrath. It’s a monstrous place with a vast peasantry working for slave wages, a startling lack of interest in global warming, a North Korean level of tolerance for free speech and an admittedly brilliant use of debt used as a club against shrinking giants like the U.S. China is implacable and the tarsands are wobbly. As the journalist Andrew Nikiforuk wrote recently in thetyee.ca, China’s funding of unbridled bitumen extraction will make the building of pipelines like Northern Gateway and Keystone financially necessary and therefore almost inevitable. It will turn Canada into “a bitumen plantation economy of oil, for oil, and by oil.”
As the U.S. (unwisely, I say) fracks for huge reserves of shale gas and Chinese economic growth inevitably slows, Alberta’s expensively refined oil-out-of-tar will be unsaleable. So let’s haul it out now, let fancy foreigners — not us — refine it and sell it cheaply. That’s Harper’s plan. It’s a tragedy for Alberta and for Canada. Thanks to climate change, we have entered the most difficult and conflict-ridden century of human history. Fast cash from China won’t help. Chinese cash isn’t going into a sovereign fund, not even in Alberta. It will vanish.
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I hesitate to bring up human rights because I don’t believe the Conservative government has a genuine interest in backing them in Canada or overseas. But in 2006, Harper said this about relations with China: “I don’t think Canadians want us to sell out important Canadian values — our belief in democracy, freedom, human rights. They don’t want us to sell that out to the almighty dollar.” But this is what Harper just did. He may even believe that the Nexen deal will make China think of Canada as a friend at the table, which is absurd. Would China like water with its Nexen? Some spruce pine as a side dish? Sorry, Canada. China’s just not that into you. Economist Jim Stanford has pointed out that the sorrow of the Nexen and Petronas deals is that Canada didn’t even need foreign investment. It has enough capital of its own, as the Bank of Canada’s Mark Carney has said of $600 billion currently playing dead, to invest in its own interests. Why was Harper such a poor negotiator, such an international dolt? We need not have handed our birthright to a corrupt and unassailable foreign country. We are China’s trampoline. hmallick@thestar.ca
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A handout photo provided by the Chinese Navy shows Shang class fast attack nuclear submarine
China recognises India's special role in stabilising the strategic Indian Ocean region but the perception that it is India's "backyard" may result in clashes, Chinese military officials and experts have cautioned."The word backyard is not very appropriate to use for an open sea and international areas of sea," Senior Captain Zhao Yi, Associate Professor of the Institute of Strategy in China's National Defence University, said during a rare candid interaction with the resident Indian journalists in Beijing and a visiting Indian media delegation."I admit geographically speaking India has a special role to play in stabilising Indian Ocean and the South Asian region," he said while replying to a question on rising concerns in India over the Chinese navy's increasing forays into the Indian Ocean.If the India views the Indian Ocean as backyard then how the navies from United States, Russia and Australia have free navigation in the Indian Ocean, he asked.Citing the observations of a US researcher who predicted that Indian Ocean could be the focus of 21st century and as a result severe clashes could breakout, Capt Zhao said though he did not agree with American scholar such a possibility cannot be "eliminated" if the Indian Ocean is continued to be perceived as India's backyard.Chinese navy's increasing presence in the Indian Ocean comes in the background of the release of a White Paper published by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) recently, outlining a new military strategy enhancing its navy's duties for the first time to "open seas protection" far from its shores.Also the presence of Chinese submarines at Colombo port last year and most recently in Karachi sparked concerns in India.The interaction between the Indian media and a team of Chinese military experts headed by Spokesman of the Chinese Defence Ministry, Senior Colonel Yang Yujun, arranged by the All China Journalists Association was aimed at promoting better understanding between the two countries as they seek to forge closer political, military and trade ties.Elaborating on PLA Navy's activities in Indian Ocean, Zhang Wei, Researcher of the PLA Navy Academic Institute, said since 1985, Chinese navy ships visited lot of countries in the Indian Ocean region including India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan. More Chinese ships are crossing the Indian Ocean as it has become a major pipeline for trade for China, she said. |
Posted Thursday, October 30, 2014 4:14 am
Cedar Park Police have confirmed that a Cedar Park High School teacher and coach has been arrested on charges involving sexual contact with three former CPHS students.
Police took Timo Sheard, the boys cross country coach at Cedar Park High School, into custody on the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2014. Sheard was booked into the Williamson County Jail on three counts of Indecency with a Child by Sexual Contact. All three charges are 2nd degree felonies.
Police also confirmed that all three incidents uncovered during their investigation involve male students, with incidents dating back to 2003.
"All of the victims identified to date are former CPHS students," a release from the department stated.
A Leander ISD spokesperson confirmed that Sheard was placed on administrative leave on Sept. 25, and remains employed with the district at this time due to the nature of the ongoing investigation and the way teacher contracts are written in Texas.
More information will be available later today, and LISD will be issuing further statement today as well. |
For those of you who already know me, I’m profoundly deaf and wear a cochlear implant and a hearing aid. For those of you who don’t–now you know! Many don’t, particularly if I wear my hair down. I talk quite normally thanks to the cochlear implant, and I hear well enough to “pass” for hearing. However, I struggle in some situations, and people get frustrated and say, “Never mind, it wasn’t important,” or assume I’m stupid or rude.
Deafness is an invisible disability. It’s easy to remember to make sure that there are ramps and elevators for people using crutches or wheelchairs. It’s easy to be aware of the blind person navigating the library with a cane or a seeing eye dog. But it’s not so easy to be aware that someone is deaf unless they have short hair and colorful, clearly visible earmolds.
Fortunately, it is fairly easy to accommodate the needs of deaf and hard of hearing people, making them feel more welcome in the library. I can write at length on the subject, but for now, I’ll give you tips on two things: communication and accessibility of library programs and services.
Communication
First, you DON’T have to know sign language, either ASL or SEE, in order to communicate with the culturally Deaf people who communicate primarily through sign. Is it useful? Undoubtedly yes. But not every library branch has an employee that can sign. And unlike, say, finding Spanish speakers for predominately Hispanic neighborhoods, there are no “Deaf” neighborhoods to relocate these signing staff to. It probably wouldn’t be feasible to be sure to train at least one staff member at each library location to know ASL.
And besides, not every deaf person knows sign language. I didn’t learn it in any real, systematic way until I started college; my parents raised me as hearing. Many others are late-deafened (think about your grandparents) and still prefer to communicate aurally and verbally. And many others are only mildly to moderately deaf, and have had little difficulty with hearing.
So, how can you communicate with deaf people?
First, get their attention. Don’t flap around like a crazy person, or else we’ll ignore you out of embarrassment. But if you don’t have our attention, waving your hands is okay. Light touching on our arms are okay. Then start talking. Normally. Oh, please don’t try to move your lips in an exaggerated manner. It’s like trying to listen to someone who is talking while his mouth is full of marshmallows. Yelling doesn’t help either. It’s hard to understand overly loud speaking, the same way it’s hard to drink from a fountain if it’s shooting at your mouth like a fire hydrant geyser. Just talk normally. Easy, right?
Background noise freaking sucks. I’ve heard that hearing people can somehow “pick out sounds” and focus on it even if there is some background noise. It’s a mythical concept to me. So, if it gets temporarily loud in the library, pause during the loud noises, and repeat what you said as needed. Sometimes you might repeat things two or three times, so be patient. A trick some people use after the second repetition is to rephrase the sentence. Use synonyms. Reorder the sentence. “Are you looking for a specific breed?” can become, “What dog breed are you looking for?” and it can finally help make the sentence click in our minds.
If verbal communication is exceedingly difficult, or if you’re talking to a completely deaf person, use writing tools. The traditional means of communication can be a pencil and paper, though it can be annoying to both sides. Here’s another idea: Use Word on your computer. Turn the screen around so both of you can see it. Bring up Word or Google Docs in a separate window. Type what you need to say. We’ll tell you verbally in return. Or if they are completely deaf, let them use the keyboard to type what they need to say. Turning the screen around during reference and circulation transactions helps anyway.
Other communication tips
Hopefully your library has a TTY number and if you’re more forward-looking, chat assistance. Some deaf people use a relay service when calling, so be aware of that. Though, personally, relay SUCKS anytime there is a phone tree, so please have other contact options. Be sure to provide email addresses on your library websites for reference and circulation, or have an online contact form. Some deaf people do call. I do, with great reluctance. So please be patient and ready to repeat and rephrase things.
Library Programs/Services Accessibility
Now that we’ve covered the basics of communications, can you see where some of the problem areas might be for library programs and services? How you accommodate the deaf and hard of hearing can greatly depend on the library’s budget and grant income. Here are your options, from cheapest to more expensive:
Priority seating. Save some seats near the front where us deaf and HOH folks can read the speaker’s lips. Be sure to remind the speaker to always face the audience when talking, otherwise it doesn’t help at all. Make sure we know that those seats exist.
Printed transcript. If at all possible, procure and print some copies of the transcript, speakers’ notes, etc, and have them on hand for when people ask, so they can read and follow along during the program.
Captioning for online video/audio resources. It is possible to do this yourself thanks to YouTube. If you can’t afford the staff time, post the transcript. If you can afford the time, have someone upload the transcript to YouTube’s automatic caption-fier. Then go through and correct the text, since YouTube uses a combination of your transcript and it’s voice recognition to create the caption file, and voice recognition isn’t the best. Another option is to outsource the captioning to a company for video posted elsewhere that does not have caption service. There are many companies, big and small, but here’s a couple of examples to give you an idea: Vitac, AmeriCaption, CaptionMax.
CART captioning. Court reporters often make a little extra money using their equipment and skill to create real-time captioning. The downside to this is that, as far as I know, it serves only one or two deaf people at a time.
Sign language interpreter. In contrast to CART captioning, sign language interpreters can help a larger group of people. Although if you do have a large group of deaf people, getting an interpreter makes more sense than the other options.
There you go! I hope this helps make reaching out to deaf and hard of hearing people less daunting.
Holly Lipschultz is a graduate student in the San José State University School of Library and Information Science and works at the University of Chicago Library. She lives in Chicago, Illinois, with her husband and three cats. |
A slowdown in lending is sending warning signs about bank earnings as the biggest names in the business get set to reveal their quarterly profits and expectations for the future.
Though big-bank stocks have gained about 9 percent this year and served as leadership during the first-quarter market rally, they've trailed over the past month, with the KBW Bank Index losing nearly 3 percent.
A note out Tuesday from Goldman Sachs helps explain some of the group's problems and throws up a warning signal: Banks that gain more than 10 percent in the first quarter historically have given nearly all those profits back when future earnings estimates begin falling as well.
Goldman took down earnings forecasts for some of the industry's biggest players, cutting Morgan Stanley by 17 percent, Bank of America by 15 percent and dropping Citigroup, which it actually says it still likes, by 13 percent.
(Read More: Earnings Season Kicks Off, Slow Growth Expected)
"The past few years have shown that bank stocks gain over 10 percent in 1Q only to lose 9 percent in 2Q when out-year estimates start to decline," Goldman said. "With 1Q earnings likely to be weak, we see the risk that history repeats itself with the start of another negative (earnings) revision cycle."
There are three primary culprits for the bank slide: Loan growth contracting 2 percent for the quarter after growing 3 percent in the fourth quarter; slower activity in capital markets including a March dropoff in mergers and acquisitions as well as initial public offerings, and declining confidence in the economy. |
A dependent type is a type that has a dependency on a value. It essentially is way to encode values into the type, that is, every value has a unique type. Non-type template parameters in C++ allow this. Also, std::integral_constant is good example of dependent typing. Say we want to represent the value 3 we can write:
using three_t = std::integral_constant<int, 3>;
So if we want to pass 3 to another function we could just construct the type, like this:
std::vector<int> v(three_t()); // A vector of size three
Now there is a difference between dependent types and constexpr values, for example:
constexpr void check_positive(int n) { static_assert(n > 0, "Value isn't positive"); // Compile error }
This doesn’t work because int is not a dependent type even though it is used in constexpr . We could change it to be a template instead:
template<class N> constexpr void check_positive(N n) { static_assert(n > 0, "Value isn't positive"); }
So this works, if we pass in three_t to check_positive :
check_positive(three_t());
Operators
Now, std::integral_constant is somewhat awkward when you want to write math:
template<class T, class U> auto sum(T x, U y) { return std::integral_constant<int, T::value + U::value>(); }
Instead, lets use the tick::integral_constant class from Tick. This class extends std::integral_constant with all the non-mutable operators, so we could write the sum function like this:
template<class T, class U> auto sum(T x, U y) { return x + y; }
Which is the same as it would be for any generic sum functions. So we can call it like this:
template<int N> using int_ = tick::integral_constant<int, N>; auto three = sum(int_<1>(), int_<2>());
Or it could be written simply:
auto three = int_<1>() + int_<2>();
What is important is how we can write natural syntax to calculate values at compile-time(without using constexpr as well, which is not always guaranteed to be at compile-time).
Filtering tuples
Now, say we want to filter a tuple based on a predicate. For example, we may want to only print the values in a tuple that are numbers. We can do that currently using Boost.Fusion with filter_if like this:
template<class Tuple> void print_numbers(const Tuple& t) { for_each(filter_if<std::is_integral<_>>(t), [](auto x) { std::cout << x << std::endl; }); } print_numbers(std::make_tuple(1, 2, std::vector<int>()));
Now the std::is_integral<_> is a placeholder expression. Boost.Fusion uses Boost.MPL library to replace the _ with each type thats in the tuple, and then it evaluates the result. Now, this may not be the worse syntax, but it gets uglier when we want to do something more complicated. For example, we could check if the type is_integral or is_floating_point :
template<class Tuple> void print_numbers(const Tuple& t) { for_each(filter_if<or_<std::is_integral<_>, std::is_floating_point<_>>>(t), [](auto x) { std::cout << x << std::endl; }); } print_numbers(std::make_tuple(1, 2.5, std::vector<int>()));
Now, we can improve this a lot by using depedent typing. Let’s look how to implement an improved filter_if called simple_filter , that accepts a C++ function object or lambda for the predicate instead. To understand a little better how filter_if works, the functions takes either a placeholder expression or a metafunction class. So lets make a metafunction class that will return the result of the function F called with type T :
template<class F> struct predicate { template<class T> struct apply { using type = decltype(std::declval<F>()(std::declval<T>()); }; };
With this, we can write the simple_filter function:
template<class Tuple, class Predicate> auto simple_filter(Tuple&& t, Predicate) { return filter_if<predicate<Predicate>>(std::forward<Tuple>(t)); }
Next, lets wrap the traits so they use tick::integral_constant instead.
template<class T> using enhance = tick::integral_constant<typename T::value_type, T::value>; template<class T> using is_integral = enhance<std::is_integral<T>>; template<class T> using is_floating_point = enhance<std::is_floating_point<T>>;
And finally, we can now write print_numbers more naturally:
template<class Tuple> void print_numbers(const Tuple& t) { auto numbers = simple_filter(t, [](auto x) { return is_integral<decltype(x)>() or is_floating_point<decltype(x)>(); }); for_each(numbers, [](auto x) { std::cout << x << std::endl; }); } print_numbers(std::make_tuple(1, 2.5, std::vector<int>()));
Although using the placeholder expression is more compact, using a lambda for the predicate looks more “natural”. Finally, after writing simple_filter , we are able to filter tuples at compile time without needing to write constexpr nor use template meta-programming.
Of course, this idea is not entirely new. Zach Laine and Matt Calabrese explored similar ideas many years ago at BoostCon in their presentation Instatiations Must Go(slides here). Their original goal was to try to improve performance of metaprogramming by avoiding instantiating templates explicitly, however, in the process they discovered a way to write template metaprogramming using more natural C++ syntax. |
Malick.
After a handful of ethereal movies light on dialogue, Terrence Malick might be moving back toward shooting his films with regular scripts. In his late-career resurgence, the Song to Song director has become notorious for handing his actors a few script pages irregularly through production, and not worrying about continuity. “Because you’re always creating these moments in his films, you’re not just following a script and making what’s happening on the page,” Natalie Portman told Vulture, explaining the experience of working with him on Song to Song. (Portman’s co-star Michael Fassbender told Vulture something similar, too.) But now, Malick is returning to a style that might be a bit more script-focused. During a Q&A after a screening of Voyage of Time at Washington, D.C.’s Air and Space Museum in March, the director said his style presents a lot of problems during production and postproduction.
“Well, there was a script, which was the evolutionary history of the universe [audience laughs]. And lately – I keep insisting, only very lately – have I been working without a script, and I’ve lately repented the idea. The last picture we shot, and we’re now cutting, went back to a script that was very well ordered,” he said. “There’s a lot of strain when working without a script because you can lose track of where you are. It’s very hard to coordinate with others who are working on the film. Production designers and location managers arrive in the morning and don’t know what we’re going to shoot or where we’re going to shoot. The reason we did it was to try and get moments that are spontaneous and free. As a movie director, you always feel with a script that you’re trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. And with no script, there’s no round hole, there’s just air. But I’m backing away from that style now.”
Malick doesn’t name the movie directly, but he’s probably talking about Radegund, his World War II drama expected to be released later this year. |
Being an activist skeptic means being reminded, almost on a daily basis, that there is no idea so absurd that there will not be those who fervently believe it.
At the most recent meeting of the Indian Science Congress Association, Captain Anand J Bodas, apparently under the aegis of Mumbai University, gave a lecture in which he claimed that airplanes existed in India 7,000 years ago, that they were able to fly to different continents, and even to different planets.
These claims are obvious nonsense (although I will link to resources which painstakingly demonstrate this). What is more interesting is that such a talk was able to infiltrate what is apparently a science conference. This is a disturbing phenomenon, all too common, in which rank pseudoscience is able to work its way into the domain of respected science.
Universities, conferences, TED talks, journals, and scientific organizations have a responsibility, in my opinion, to maintain minimum standards for any material they present. Sometimes they try to evade responsibility by claiming that allowing the use of their venue or medium is not an endorsement, but that is patently not true. The public perceives it as such, the pseudoscientists exploit it as an endorsement, and therefore it is, de facto, an endorsement.
Given the proliferation of information (which is a good thing) it is all the more important for professional organizations and institutions to provide a guide to the public as to which sources are legitimate and reliable. The cranks want to blur the lines because they want the imprimatur of legitimacy.
There is another element here and that is cultural or nationalistic pride. This is also a common phenomenon – scientists engaging in pseudoscience in order to bolster the esteem of their culture, by claiming ancient origins, historical accomplishments, or the legitimacy of their cultural beliefs. Perhaps this motivation causes scientists to be more tolerant of dubious methods than they otherwise would be. Of course, the potential conflict of interest should motivate them to be more skeptical, not less.
Let’s get to the ancient Indian planes. Fortunately I don’t have to spend too much time debunking the specifics of this claim, because scholars have already done so, back in 1974 – over 40 years ago. As an aside, this is an excellent example of why scholars at times need to pay attention to pseudoscience and debunk it. Their work can then serve as a resource when the pseudoscience claims pop up again, as they always seem to do.
The source of this particular myth comes from two books published in the 1950s in which the authors interpret ancient writings at face value while at the same time imaginatively interpreting the text. Many cultures imagined building machines that would fly like birds. Just because someone wrote about it doesn’t mean such devices existed.
As you can see from the image above, the described machines could never have flown. They are fanciful and lack any knowledge of aerodynamics, or any plausible mechanism for lift, propulsion, or control. There is no description in the text of the underlying knowledge that would be necessary to design and build such machines. They simply describe machines that could not possibly fly, lacking in sufficient detail, and what details they do give are contradictory and nonsensical.
If you are interested in the gory details, then read the original report linked to above.
The story here is that a bit of obvious pseudoscience, debunked 40 years ago, worked its way into a prestigious science conference, over the objections of some members. It is reported that:
An online petition by a scientist at the NASA research centre had demanded that the scheduled lecture be cancelled as it mixes mythology with science.
The purpose of the organization is to promote science in India. Allowing such nonsense into their conference has diluted that mission, and distracted from the conference. |
Noam Chomsky: U.S. Politics Are Now 'Pure Savagery'
By Zach Carter and Ryan Grim
January 09, 2014 " Information Clearing House - " Huffington Post " - Author and activist Noam Chomsky said that the congressional controversy over extending unemployment benefits is evidence that American politics has descended into madness.
"The refusal to provide very minimal living standards to people who are caught in this monstrosity -- that's just pure savagery," Chomsky said during an interview with HuffPost Live. "There's no other word for it."
Chomsky is a leading American intellectual known at first for his academic work in the field of linguistics. He has since become an influential activist and progressive political thinker. HuffPost will be publishing excerpts from its interview with Chomsky over the next week.
Republicans pursued food-stamp cuts last year, and blocked a deal to extend unemployment benefits during budget negotiations in December. On Tuesday, a handful of Republicans joined Senate Democrats to advance a bill reinstating the benefits for three months, but the agreement faces an uphill battle in the GOP-controlled House. There are currently about three people seeking a job for every job opening in the United States.
Chomsky said that recent economic doldrums, however, are not isolated phenomena, but rather the product of decades of economic policies pursued by American elites. Some of the major changes included the signing of World Trade Organization treaties, the North American Free Trade Agreement and the deregulation of major industries, he said.
"The general and very severe problem of the economy that's staring us in the face … that has nothing to do with bad apples in Congress," Chomsky said. "These are deep structural problems having to do with, in effect, the neoliberal assault on the population, not just of the United States but of the world, that's taken place in the past generation. There are areas that have escaped, but it's pretty broad."
Chomsky told HuffPost that corporate interests dominate the policy agenda of the Democratic Party, and cited conservative scholar Norm Ornstein's observation that the Republican Party has "drifted off the spectrum" and no longer functions as a serious parliamentary entity.
"It used to be said years ago that the United States is a one-party state -- the business party -- with two factions, Democrats and Republicans," Chomsky said. "That's no longer true. It's still a one-party state -- the business party -- but now it has only one faction. And it's not Democrats, it's moderate Republicans. The so-called New Democrats, who are the dominant force in the Democratic Party, are pretty much what used to be moderate Republicans a couple of decades ago. And the rest of the Republican Party has just drifted off the spectrum."
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Remarks as prepared for delivery
Thank you, Bruce, for that kind introduction, and thank you for your more than 30 years of service to the Department of Justice.
Bruce, I also want to thank you for your willingness to share your own experience to raise awareness about the dangers of drugs. I can’t imagine how difficult that must be. From one parent to another—thank you for your leadership and courage discussing the dangers of illicit narcotics – and the impact it has had on your family.
On behalf of the President, I want to thank everyone here for the critical work you do to protect the American people from drugs and crime. We are in the midst of a daily opioid crisis and now a deadly epidemic. Make no mistake, however, combatting this poison is a top priority for President Trump and his administration, and you can be sure that we are taking action to address it.
In fact, President Trump recently declared this week both “Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Awareness Week” and “National Gang Violence Prevention Week,” in order to bring even greater attention and scrutiny to the devastating effects that drug abuse and gang violence have on Americans and their families.
The President’s first declaration makes clear to all those who are suffering addiction, seeking treatment, or who are in recovery: we stand with them, we are praying for them, and we are working every single day to help them. And the second puts all gang members and other organized thugs on notice: we are coming for you. We will find you, we will hunt you down, and we will bring you to justice.
Let’s be clear about what we are up against – we must face the stark reality.
Today, we are facing the deadliest drug crisis in American history. In 2015, more than 52,000 Americans lost their lives to drug overdoses. That’s more than the population of Harrisburg. For Americans under the age of 50, drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death.
And unfortunately, 2015 was not a blip. The numbers for 2016 look even worse. Based on preliminary data, approximately 64,000 Americans lost their lives to drug overdoses last year.
That would be the highest drug death toll and the fastest increase in that death toll in American history. And every day this crisis grows.
Sadly, Pennsylvania is not immune to this problem. In 2015, Pennsylvania was sixth in the nation in fatal overdoses and nearly 80 percent of Pennsylvania counties had fatal overdose rates above the national average. Last year, following a 37 percent increase, more than 4,000 Pennsylvanians lost their lives to drug overdoses—13 a day.
And, not surprisingly, we’ve seen a surge in opioid prescribing. This was one of the major reasons that this drug epidemic began in the first place. Consider this: in the 20 years from 1991 to 2011, opioid prescriptions nearly tripled in the United States. That is too high. We have got to reduce prescription in the United States.
In my home state of Alabama, we have had more painkiller prescriptions than Alabamians for over a decade. And for the last 5 years, we have had the highest per capita rate of prescriptions to people of any state in the country.
No doubt as a result, we have now seen one of the highest increases in overdose deaths in the country—a jump of more than 20 percent between 2013 and 2015.
These trends are shocking and the numbers tell us a lot– but they aren’t just numbers. They represent moms and dads, brothers and sisters, neighbors and friends.
They represent unique, irreplaceable people, and fellow Americans.
They represent the 26-year-old pregnant mother who overdosed in Charleston, accidentally killing both herself and her unborn child. They represent the couple who were found dead in their Kernville home a week after they had overdosed on heroin.
Their five-month-old daughter was found with them—dead from starvation and dehydration.
I recently had the opportunity to address the National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children, it was during this event that I was able to view this crisis through the eyes of a child—just imagine for a moment you are a helpless toddler who cries for their mother to wake up and she never does, or the poor infant that is wailing in the NIC-U due to opioid withdrawal—you just entered this world and are already suffering and for sins you did not commit.
We must make progress for those currently afflicted and for those who have yet to be caught in its grips.
Drug dealers across America are profiting off of this crisis. They are making the drugs stronger – and more deadly – by lacing heroin with fentanyl—a drug 30 to 50 times more powerful than heroin—and carfentanyl, a synthetic opioid 100 times more potent than that. As a result, drugs on the streets today are more powerful, more addictive, and more dangerous than ever.
They’re so powerful that they put your lives at risk too, because exposure to even trace amounts of fentanyl can be fatal.
A police officer in Eastern Ohio suffered an overdose after brushing what he thought was white powder from his uniform after a routine traffic stop. And another officer in New Jersey was rushed to the emergency room after a puff of fentanyl came up while removing the air from a plastic bag.
As a nation, we talk a lot about growing our economy and shrinking our government budgets. Drug abuse does the exact opposite: it shrinks our economy and it grows our government budgets.
It is estimated that prescription opioid addiction costs our economy some $78 billion a year and that illicit drugs cost us a total of about $193 billion a year.
Drug abuse reduces the productivity of our workers, eliminates many otherwise qualified individuals from our work force due to addiction and criminal records, and puts a strain on health care programs like Medicaid. It is filling up our emergency rooms, our foster homes, and our cemeteries.
The point is that our country is served by having more Americans healthy, drug free, and ready to work. Every addicted American reduces the productivity of America.
Despite the record death toll and the dangers on the streets, some in our culture and in government say that drug abuse is no big deal.
That is wrong.
To confront a crisis of this scale, we must have a comprehensive antidote to the problem.
I believe the solution today is still based on the three principles of prevention, enforcement, and treatment.
Treatment is important. In some cases, treatment can help break the cycle of addiction and crime and get people back on their feet.
But treatment cannot be our only policy. Treatment often comes too late. By the time many people receive treatment, they, their families, and communities have already suffered.
The struggle to overcome addiction can be a long process – and it can fail. Tragically, it often does fail.
The best long-term solution is prevention. The best action is not to start. Just say no.
And prevention is what we at the Department do every day—because law enforcement is prevention. Enforcing our laws helps keep drugs out of our country, drive up their price, and reduce their availability, purity, and addictiveness.
And in this effort, we’ve already had some successes—including in this office. In April, a man from New York was sentenced to 29 years in prison for distributing heroin that killed a 26-year old man in New York City. Prosecutors in this office worked the case with DEA, and police in York County. This is an outstanding example of law enforcement cooperation, and I commend you for that. There are a lot of other examples I could point to, as well.
The Department of Justice is proud of what you have accomplished. And we are taking new steps to support you in your work.
Two months ago, the Department announced the largest health care fraud takedown in American history. DOJ coordinated the efforts of more than 1,000 state and federal law enforcement agents to arrest more than 400 defendants.
More than 100 of these defendants have been charged with opioid-related crimes, including many doctors. This was also the largest opioid-related fraud takedown in American history.
Just a week later, we announced the seizure and take down of AlphaBay— the largest dark net marketplace takedown in history. This site hosted some 220,000 drug listings and was responsible for countless synthetic opioid overdoses, including the tragic death of a 13-year old in Utah.
And to help fight the overprescribing of opioid painkillers, I announced last month that we will allocate new resources to find and prosecute the fraudsters who help flood our streets with drugs.
The first new resource is a data analytics program at the Department called the Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit. This team will help us find the tell-tale signs of opioid-related health care fraud by identifying statistical outliers.
Fraudsters might lie, but the numbers don’t.
The second is that I’ve assigned 12 experienced prosecutors to focus solely on investigating and prosecuting opioid-related health care fraud cases in a dozen “hot-spot” locations around the country – places where they are especially needed. And one of those will be in Western Pennsylvania.
And, today, I am announcing that we will be awarding nearly $20 million in federal grants to help law enforcement and public health agencies address prescription drug and opioid abuse. This is an urgent problem and we are making it a top priority.
I believe that these new resources and new efforts will make a difference, bring more criminals to justice, and ultimately save lives.
And I’m convinced this is a winnable war.
But in order to end this crisis, we must work together. Eighty-five percent of all law enforcement officers serve at the state and local level, and your work is essential to our success. Strengthening partnerships between law enforcement officers at all levels is a central theme of my tenure at the DOJ, and I hope you will help me do that.
Each of you has a difficult job, but it is a job worth doing, and a job that your communities are depending upon. And you can know this: you have our thanks, and we have your back.
Thank you and God bless you. |
Damien Woody and Herm Edwards look for Kansas City to bounce back with a grind-it-out win against the Jets. (1:02)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Cornerback Darrelle Revis will play his first game for the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday against his longtime team, the New York Jets, at MetLife Stadium.
He said the opponent Sunday wouldn't be of much inspiration once the game begins.
"I don't think it's any extra motivation,'' said Revis, who signed with the Chiefs last week to continue his 10-year career. He spent eight seasons over two stints with the Jets, who released him after last season.
"For me throughout my career, it's always been about timing. I just felt where I was at in my training that I was fit and ready to come back and play football.''
The experience playing against the Jets won't be a new one for Revis. He played against the Jets three times during his two seasons away from New York. Two of those games were with the Patriots and one with the Buccaneers.
Darrelle Revis spent eight seasons over two stints with the Jets, who released him after last season. AP Photos/David Drapkin
"No,'' he said when asked whether he has anything to prove to the Jets.
"We have a long history ... I had an awesome time there. We had our runs, our AFC championships back to back that we missed out on. Great guys, great teammates that I've been around there. Most of my legacy was with the Jets, so I don't think it's anything (personal). I'm just on another team. This is my fourth ball club throughout my career, and now I'm focused on our team goals and what we're trying to do as a team and accomplish.
"For me personally, I don't think there's any ill will or anything to take a stab at or get back at the Jets for any reason.''
Jets fans might feel differently about seeing Revis in an opposing uniform again.
"We will see,'' Revis said when asked how he will be received by the fans on Sunday. "It's going to be exciting to see.'' |
In a post to their official blog on Friday 14th May 2010 , Google announced that they had been “mistakenly collecting samples of payload data from open (i.e. non-password-protected) WiFi networks.” (http://bit.ly/aOyj98)
Much of the reaction has been – “no big deal, they screwed up, but at least they owned up” etc. I may be overreacting but I think this is potentially huge.To collect SSID and MAC address data totalling 600GB is not a small collection. Originally, I suspect given that it was 3 years ago, and many people didn’t have wireless capability then, it didn’t amount to a huge data collection.
This maybe a cultural thing. Most of those reactions have been from an American based media, through shows, podcasts, articles that I read, watch or listen to.I have heard it said that Americans love big business and mistrust Government, and that Europeans mistrust big business and trust Government.
A friend of mine during a discussion asked the question “Why were they collecting it?” At the time I didn’t know the answer on researching this post, I found the original blog post from April 27 2010, which actually was responsible for this further revelation highlights their reasoning. (http://bit.ly/cFYF7b)
In last Friday’s blog post, Alan Eustace, Senior VP, Engineering & Research states: “In 2006 an engineer working on an experimental WiFi project wrote a piece of code that sampled all categories of publicly broadcast WiFi data.”
Google standards for employment are notoriously high, so I don’t believe this was as much a mistake as suggested. By writing the code, it’s in there for a reason. It was actually 12 months later when Google started to collect this data.
MAC address and SSID are tools by which your network can be identified and if people so wish can overtake your network – potentially irrespective of the encryption you place on said network. The information collected was from unsecured networks.
Did these people bring it on themselves given that they were operating in an insecure way? Did you deserve to be burgled because you left the door open? It’s not too dissimilar is it?
Now people may read about this issue and think, that’s ok I have secured my network, I don’t need to worry. Especially as this was around 3 years ago and they’ve stopped this scanning activity now. Google are also in the process of contacting Governments on how best to delete the data for the 30 countries affected.
In this case to some extent Google have been undone by being so much in the Public eye, and so mistrusted, particularly by Germans, which is where the Data Protection Query originated. Esteemed blogger Jeff Jarvis, author of What Would Google Do posted on his blog at buzzmachine.com about the relationship between Google and Germany. (http://bit.ly/c5XIFJ).
Google has around one million servers – (http://bit.ly/cWBHo6) so 600GB of data even in 2007 is not going to set alarm bells ringing. To compare volumes of data bear in mind that today they receive 24 hours of video every minute on YouTube.
Everybody makes mistakes, it’s a fact of life. Web data privacy is a hot topic particularly with the issues surrounding Facebook at this time. Therefore, in the current climate this story is possibly getting more attention than it would normally, despite the risks.In today’s world, if you want to use the web you have to be ready to give up a little of your data, but wherever possible I want to do it on my terms with whom I want. This may be a fading possibility.
What Google have done here, makes me feel a little uncomfortable. I am a Google fan, love the products and the innovation they bring. Do I trust them? This is my dilemma, to a degree yes, but to be honest it’s a case of them and not their competitors. Also, if I want to be on the web as I’ve posted before (http://bit.ly/cEtRKX), it’s becoming more and more impossible to do so without using Google, such is their reach.
As a Security professional these issues are to some extent is manna from heaven. From an awareness perspective if people are hearing stories like this one and around Facebook privacy their security awareness is enhanced without any work from you or I.
Suddenly our network and wireless connectivity policies come to life because they mean something to the people at home. Suddenly, our job becomes easier because people see the merit in what we do. Sad to say Security is at times an unseen art, “if nothing happens are we needed?” Hopefully this attitude is dying out a little, but issues like this help in changing that.
Google’s mitigation from this issue and the new developments they’re bringing to the marketplace, prove this point. Recently they encrypted GMail and within the week they are to offer encrypted search. The Google Buzz launch was a serious error from Google and their perception of the value users place on privacy. If anything this has focussed their minds on privacy and security more than it had been before.
My prediction is, that issues like this one, and the Facebook issue are going to become more and more commonplace over the coming weeks, months and years. It maybe that where information is concerned, there will have to be a paradigm shift in what we are prepared to give up, or potentially give up using the web.From an Enterprise perspective it puts more onus on our outward protection but also potentially on the freedom inside the network.
This blog was originally posted at http://markg1975.wordpress.com |
Now that Game 162 won't determine the St. Louis Cardinals' postseason fate, they'll take it as an opportunity to see what their top pitching prospect can do against major league competition.
Shelby Miller will make his first career start Wednesday night when the Cardinals take on the Cincinnati Reds at 7:15 p.m. CT in St. Louis. The Cardinals will skip Adam Wainwright, leaving their ace available for either Friday's Wild Card play-in game with the Atlanta Braves or for Game 1 of the National League Division Series.
Miller last started Aug. 31 in Triple-A and has allowed two earned runs in 7⅔ innings out of the Cards' bullpen since. He entered the season as the Cardinals' top minor league prospect, though he struggled to a 4.74 ERA in his first season in Triple-A in 2012.
The Cardinals (87-74) clinched a playoff berth Tuesday night when the Los Angeles Dodgers lost to the San Francisco Giants, 4-3. |
Knife-wielding robbers terrorise hikers
Pretoria – Three Tuks students were attacked and held up with knives for more than three hours at a rock-climbing spot near the Hartbeespoort Dam.
Jaco de Villiers, 21, says he and Gert van der Walt, 24, and Dennis Wevell, 22, decided last Wednesday to go for a climb at the John Rissik Estate, on the Brits side of the dam.
“We left our vehicle on a parking area next to the R512 and walked about 1km to the popular Chosspile cliffs. When we got to the picnic area, six armed men jumped out of the bushes and attacked us,” De Villiers said.
Each was armed with a weapon and acted aggressively. The robbers split up into three groups of two who each overpowered one of the students and put a knife to each one's throat.
“We were forced into the bushes. Then they tied our hands and feet with telephone cables. Then they took all our belongings,” De Villiers said.
Kept sharpening his knife
The robbers untied Van de Walt's feet and took him deeper into the bush.
The other two feared they would be murdered.
“Dennis and I started worrying and we wanted to know what had happened to Van der Walt. Then they untied my feet and took me away too. I thought I was about to die.”
De Villiers was taken to a spot where Van der Walt was lying on his stomach on the ground with his face in the dirt. Wevell soon joined them. Their feet were all tied up again.
“Two of the robbers asked for our bank cards and PINs and left to draw money from an ATM,” he said.
Then one of the robbers told De Villiers: “I want your head”, and when the student didn't understand, the man lifted his head and drew a line across De Villiers' throat with his finger.
Another robber kept sharpening his knife and repeatedly pricked Van der Walt's calves with the knife.
“The other two robbers came back after two hours and were furious because they couldn't draw more than our daily limits. They could only draw R4 000 altogether,” De Villiers said.
Before the robbers fled they untied the students' hands. They left the keys to the vehicle, the bank cards and the cellphone SIM cards behind.
De Villiers says the robbers fled with cellphones, watches, cameras and climbing gear worth about R40 000.
Big problem
Dean van der Merwe, spokesperson for the Mountain Club of South Africa, says on December 29 last year two other climbers were also attacked by armed robbers at Chosspile.
“For the past few years rock climbers have been experiencing the same problems with crime as cyclists. More and more climbers are being targeted by robbers. It's becoming a big problem, since the public are losing access to their climbing places,” Van der Merwe said.
According to Neil Margetts, chairperson of the South African Mountain Climbing Federations, criminals have already taken over about four of the more than 12 climbing spots in and around Johannesburg and Pretoria. |
For all the self-deprecating jokes, the expressions of humility at vast crowds and the lists of supporters to thank on primary night, running for president is an ego-mad enterprise. Forget the rhetorical flourishes about creating a movement. A major presidential campaign is inevitably about the "me, me, me" of the candidate rather than the "we" of the voters.
So it is with Bernie Sanders.
Thirty years ago, as the socialist mayor of Burlington, Vt., he came across as self-righteous, humorless and bristling with grievances. Now after enjoying the greatest ride through the primaries of any backbench senator in his eighth decade, Sanders is even more certain of his beliefs, louder in his advocacy and more resentful of his fate. Small wonder that Bernie never wants the Ferris wheel to stop spinning.
And, in normal times, Sanders would be entitled to continue his delusion that he could somehow prevail at the Philadelphia convention. But this year, the Republican candidate on the November ballot will not be a deal-making senator like Bob Dole or John McCain. He will not be an ideologically malleable former governor like Mitt Romney. Or even George W. Bush in 2000 peddling "compassionate conservatism."
Donald Trump is probably the most dangerous presidential contender since the insidious Aaron Burr tried to wrest the White House from Thomas Jefferson in 1800. Never has a modern-day candidate displayed such contempt for the norms of democracy — from not caring about issues to refusing to release his tax returns. The bilious billionaire, the winner of enough Pinocchios from fact-checkers to keep woodcarvers in business for a century, has also been known for his "pathological lying" since his days as the 1980s darling of the New York gossip columns.
[Related: Bernie Sanders' Superdelegate Chutzpah ]
In 1943, Franklin Roosevelt announced that "Dr. New Deal" had been replaced by "Dr. Win-the-War." The same lesson applies to liberal Democrats today. "Dr. War-on-Wall-Street" must immediately hand over his practice to "Dr. Defeat-Donald-Trump."
Bernie Sanders, alas, refuses to recognize that Democrats won't be running against the likes of Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio or even Ted Cruz. The Vermont socialist instead clings to his belief in the cosmic meaning of his victory in Tuesday's Oregon primary and his narrow defeat in Kentucky. But 10 million primary voters can be wrong — especially since Hillary Clinton has won the support of 13 million.
The danger in Bernie going on through the June 7 California primary is not that the left-wing flame-thrower will say anything new about Hillary that either will surprise the voters or aid the Republicans. And certainly, the Clinton campaign is capable of planning for November while the candidate goes through the motions in the final primaries against Sanders.
After a chair-throwing brawl at last weekend's Nevada state Democratic convention, the frightening prospect is that the Bernie Brigades have lost all sense of proportion, all moorings to reality. The only way that the Democratic race was "rigged" was that the party establishment — from the White House on down — preferred a candidate with whom they have worked for nearly a quarter century over a socialist who wouldn't even deign to call himself a Democrat until he ran for president.
[Related: Clinton-Sanders Fight Turns Violent ]
Another myth fostered by the Sanders campaign is that the Pied Piper of the millennial generation would be a compelling general election candidate. In truth, a major reason why Sanders — unlike Clinton or Trump — boasts positive poll ratings is because Bernie has never in his career faced a barrage of negative ads or been demonized by the Republican Party. The news media, too, has been languid about highlighting the weird aspects of his background (like a post-wedding celebration in the Soviet Union) since no one has ever expected that President Sanders would be choosing a Cabinet.
Suddenly, the fear this week is that the Democrats could be facing their most raucous convention since the street fights of 1968 and their most divisive since Ted Kennedy refused to grasp Jimmy Carter's hand on stage in New York 1980.
And what higher cause and larger principle motivates the potential protests? Sanders' ever-shifting set of complaints over super-delegates (except when he's courting them), closed primaries (except when he's winning them) and a shortage of debates (except when he's losing them).
Hillary Clinton is, admittedly, a deeply flawed candidate. It is easy to imagine the prominent GOP figures who would be signing up to join Republicans for Joe Biden if the vice president were the de facto nominee. Instead, too many Republicans who should know better are blessing Trump's takeover because of their ingrained hatred of Hillary Clinton.
But, as Don Rumsfeld might put it, you go to war against Donald Trump with the candidate you have, not the candidate you'd like.
Maybe Sanders — the child of the working class in Brooklyn — might better understand the stakes in the 2016 campaign if they were expressed in terms that he could appreciate.
So here goes:
"Bernie, Trump is a landlord. The kind of guy who makes you bang on the radiators in winter to get heat. He's like the landlord who refuses to pay for maintenance — and then laughs at you in housing court.
"So, Bernie here's the question that you've got to answer right now: Whose side are you on? The landlord's or the people's?"
Roll Call columnist Walter Shapiro is a veteran of Politics Daily, USA Today, Time, Newsweek and the Washington Post. His book on his con-man great-uncle will be published in June: "Hustling Hitler: The Jewish Vaudevillian Who Fooled the Fuhrer." Follow him on Twitter @MrWalterShapiro. Get breaking news alerts and more from Roll Call on your iPhone or your Android. |
NASHUA, N.H. -- Hillary Clinton's once commanding lead over Bernie Sanders in national polls is gone. A new one out today shows they are now in a statistical tie.
Clinton and Sanders clash in fiery New Hampshire debate
And in New Hampshire, four days before the first primary, Sanders leads Clinton by 20 points. After the candidates' feisty debate Thursday night, Clinton talked with CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes.
NANCY CORDES: Madame Secretary, when I talk to voters here who don't support you, one of the reasons they often give is because of your speaking fees, because of donations from Wall Street. How do you change that perception?
HILLARY CLINTON: The Sanders campaign has been running this campaign of insinuation and innuendo. Say it to my face! Show me one view, show me one vote that has ever been influenced. I take my responsibility to people that I serve really seriously, and I have always had that as my north star. But I'm tired of this, you know, smear campaign that they've been trying to get people to buy in to, and enough is enough.
CORDES: But why do you think it's been so successful?
CLINTON: Oh, look -- I think that there is a, a susceptibility for people to be worried, and I get that, and that's why I'm answering questions, and that's why I'm putting out my policies. And that's why Wall Street billionaires are running ads against me. They're not running them against Senator Sanders.
Bernie Sanders' campaign manager on Hillary Clinton's Wall Street ties
CORDES: So if you knew you were probably going to run for president, why leave yourself open to that attack by taking these large speaking fees for -- on Wall Street?
CLINTON: Look ... I didn't know ... Number One --
CORDES: Everybody knew!
CLINTON: Well, I'm glad you did! (laughs) Look, I spoke to campers, I spoke to heart doctors, I spoke, you know, to auto dealers, I spoke to a wide range of people who actually want to hear from former secretaries of state. But that's not what this is about. What this is about is the implication that somehow I'm going to be in the tank for the campers of America or I'm going to really go overboard for heart doctors. Now really, this is so unfair and wrong.
At the debate, Clinton was asked if she'd release transcripts of her Wall Street speeches and she said she'd look into it.
Cordes asked her what there was to look into. Clinton said she didn't know, but it would have to wait until after Tuesday's primary.
Clinton and Sanders will be John Dickerson's guests Sunday on "Face The Nation." |
It is rare for a leader to substantially strengthen his authority over a party in the immediate aftermath of general election defeat. Jeremy Corbyn has managed it because his performance last month did not feel like defeat to his supporters, nor indeed to his opponents, not least because it defied gloomy forecasts. The effects of a good Labour campaign and an abysmal Tory one are impossible to separate. But one thing is certain: there are MPs who owe part of their majorities to Mr Corbyn personally. And many of those same MPs did not show him much allegiance in the two years preceding the poll. So it is unsurprising that some of the leader’s allies seek what might diplomatically be called a rebalancing of opinion in the parliamentary party. The mechanism might be viewed as a move to mandatory reselection of parliamentary candidates, giving constituency parties a bigger lever to prise out incumbents. Such a power exists already, but sitting MPs are not expected automatically to reapply for local approval in advance of every election.
The ostensible reason for the change is democratisation – a transfer of power to party members. It is on these grounds that Ian Lavery, Labour chair, and Chris Williamson, shadow minister for fire and emergency services, advocate rule changes. Mr Corbyn has signalled approval of the principle of empowering members, while not explicitly blessing the proposed means. Labour MPs worry that organisational reform is personally targeted at them. Party democracy can be used by MPs to understand internal dissatisfaction. But threats are not an effective way to convince anyone of the righteousness of one’s position. There are some worries about the demands addressed to Liverpool MP Luciana Berger. She has been told by a section of her local party that she must apologise for past criticism of Mr Corbyn and, in future, defer to the local party when choosing how to vote. “She will have to be answerable to us,” the statement read.
MPs ought to be responsive to members and respect their views. But they are also answerable to the wider pool of their constituents. Disagreeing with the leadership is part and parcel of democratic life – just ask Ken Livingstone (or indeed the backbench incarnation of Mr Corbyn). The current leadership has energised a membership, and it should be tasked with taking the fight to opponents in other parties. There is an element here of overinterpreting every move in a local party as some kind of purge. It is right to expect Mr Corbyn’s parliamentary critics to revise their views in light of the election result. Most have done just that. It is also fair to note that Labour’s national poll share reflected a complex coalition of people who were inspired by the leader and sceptics who backed the party in spite of its leader. The work of holding that alliance together, building on success, is not simply a matter of narrowing views. Engaging with party members and allowing their views to be better expressed in parliament is a fine ambition – and is in keeping with the open-hearted spirit of Mr Corbyn’s own campaign rhetoric, which is what Labour MPs should take to heart. |
CHANDIGARH: The potency of heroin being pushed into Punjab through the border with Pakistan has fallen from 43% in 2014 to nearly one-fourth or around 12% in 2016. This may seem like good news initially, but experts and activists dealing with the drug problem in the state are disturbed. Smugglers will dilute heroin only if they are assured on a large market, they say.The new trend has been noticed at a time when drugs have become a key issue in Punjab ahead of the February 4 voting. Both the Congress and AAP have promised to end the menace in a month in their manifestos. Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) zonal director Kaustubh Sharma says the decline in purity of heroin from Pakistan being seized in Punjab has been a steady one. Pure heroin content in every kg caught in 2013 used to be 43%-44%.It went down to 23% in 2015.Latest seizures have potency of barely 11% to 12%. At the same time the price for a dealer has gone from Rs 3.5 lakh per kg three years ago to over Rs 6 lakh now, leading to a multifold rise in profits.Sharma says, “It could be that smugglers are trying to make more money and at the same time, less potent drug would probably cause fewer overdose deaths and draw less attention.“ Dr Aditya Avinash Kaushik, who is assisting Punjab and Haryana high court as amicus curiae in a PIL in the infamous Jagdish Bhola drug racket case, says, “ Alarm bells should be ringing loudly .The supplier can afford to dilute a drug only if there is permanent demand in the system.There have to be enough addicts around who continue to buy what they can get for such a trend to emerge.““It is disturbing that this is happening at the source of supply. World over dilution in potency happens lower down the narcotic supply chain. There is a case study in the US showing that drug lords push high purity drug which gets watered down along the route. If smugglers from across border are diluting it themselves, it means that they have assured ways of pushing it into the system,“ he adds. In 2015, NCB and BSF had recovered 183kg of heroin and Punjab Police over 307kg of the drug. In 2016, till November end, NCB and BSF seized 135.3kg and Punjab Police 91.3kg till August.BSF IG, Punjab Frontier, Mukul Goel says that they were not aware of any dip in potency of heroin they have been seizing. Goel, who took charge of the post early this month, says they have no way of testing potency.There is no data with any government agency on the number of deaths due to drug overdose. “Quantifying overdose deaths is impossible.We don't even have necessary systems to measure overdose.Besides, the addicts die of different reasons like heart failure. Finding the root important during the autopsy, pathogenesis is important. In every case where an overdose death is suspected, chemical blood analysis should be mandatory,“ says Dr Aditya Avinash Kaushik. |
Addressing a recent rally in Frankfurt, a self-identified Israeli man equated Muslims with Nazis, murderers and rapists, and implored the crowd to “never feel ashamed” of Germany’s past.
The rally was called by Pegida, or Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West, a far-right organization founded last October in Dresden. Its demonstrations initially attracted hundreds of people protesting what they believe is Islam’s takeover of Germany. More recently, the number of people to attend has been in the thousands.
An assortment of rightwing groups, including neo-Nazis, have been taking part. Following the attacks on the paper Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket in Paris last month, a 12 January rally drew more than 25,000 people.
A video, which was posted to YouTube by Journal Frankfurt last week, shows a man, wrapped in a German flag, describing himself as an Israeli with German heritage during a Pegida rally.
“I come from Israel. Germany is yours!” he tells the crowd, to thunderous cheers.
He continues: “Germany’s not Nazis. I am Jewish. My family lived here in Germany for 700 years. And I can tell you that I see here no Nazis. The Nazis are in the left.
“Right here I see only patriots who love their country and want to save Germany from the Islam that wants to take over, to take your traditions, to take your beliefs, to take all of you down. But we will not let it.”
After naming Muslims as the true Nazis, the man goes on to forgive Germany for the Nazi-led genocide of European Jews during the Second World War.
“We will stand together and we will face the real Nazis. The Nazis are inside the Islam mentality and those who want to sell Germany for votes,” he says, adding, “Israel is with Germany. We respect you, we forgive, we love you. You are the best country in the world. Save it.”
“All the world is looking at you now and we are proud. You are the true spirit of Germany,” he snarls. “Islam wants to take you and to drink from the milk of Germany.”
As the hate sermon continues, the man implores the crowd to “Never feel ashamed of yourselves, not even because of the past.”
He then declares himself a proud Islamophobe while advancing a blood libel against Muslims, characterizing them as rapists and murderers who must be feared.
“The Muslims say that we are Islamophobes. Yes, I am Islamophobe because phobia is fear and I am afraid of murder. I am afraid to be raped,” he roars.
“So they can call you Islamophobes, they can call you Nazis and racists. But we are not. We are Germans. We are patriots. We love this country.”
“Antifa [German slang for anti-fascists], fuck you! We are stronger! We will win!”
Mosque defaced with swastikas
As smaller Pegida offshoots spread to other parts of the country, they have sometimes been met with even larger anti-racist counter-demonstrations.
Yet Pegida’s reach is growing as the group held its first demonstration in Austria, on Monday night. In the lead-up to the march, vandals defaced a Vienna mosque with swastikas. This was just the latest in a string of anti-Islam attacks across Austria. “In December unknown culprits left a pig’s head and intestines in front of the door of another mosque in the capital. A street sign was changed to read ‘Sharia Street’ in September,” the news agency AFP reported.
Not a surprise that some supporters of the right-winged Pegida movement (here in Munich) appeared w/an Israeli flag. pic.twitter.com/NLdhhODKVp — Emran Feroz (@Emran_Feroz) January 20, 2015
In recent years, anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant incitement has become a rallying cry of the increasingly popular rightwing elements undergoing a resurgence across Europe. Although many right-wing European parties have neo-Nazi and anti-Semitic roots, they identify deeply with Israel and Zionism, which are often used as vehicles to promote hatred for Islam and multiculturalism in Europe as well as the United States.
In some cases, formerly anti-Semitic political parties have seamlessly projected the anti-Semitic rhetoric they once espoused against Jews onto Muslim communities.
Speaking to the media on the seventieth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Mattias Karlsson, leader of the far-right Swedish Democrats (SD), said, “the threat of Islamism is perhaps greater than it is from Nazism.”
Rooted in fascism and the country’s neo-Nazi movement, SD captured 13 percent of the vote in the last general election, making it the third most popular political party in Sweden.
Kent Ekerot, an SD member and Jewish parliamentarian, has helped forge his party’s close relationship with the Israeli government. Although SD leaders continue to espouse anti-Jewish attitudes, Ekerot insists that anti-Semitism in Sweden is entirely “imported” and a result of “unrestricted immigration” of Arabs and Muslims, which he and his party fervently oppose.
Emran Feroz, a journalist based in Germany, detailed the convergence of pro-Israel attitudes and right-wing European Islamophobia in an article for AlterNet last month:
Right-wing parties like the Austrian FPÖ [Freedom Party] have discovered that it is much easier for them to spread their hatred beneath pro-Israel cover. For instance, the FPÖ made it clear that “supporting the Jewish State against Islamism” has become one of their new political pillars. Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s National Front, has learned the same lesson, scrapping her father’s overt anti-Semitism and opposition to Europe’s special relationship with Israel and replacing it with an aggressively neoconservative outlook. In turn, she has attracted support from right-wing French Jews and cultivated a mainstream appeal her father [Jean-Marie Le Pen] could have only dreamed of. But the seething racism that was a hallmark of her father’s politics remains firmly entrenched in the platform of her National Front. Geert Wilders and his Party of Freedom [in the Netherlands] were among the leaders of the European far-right’s alliance with Israel’s rightist Likud. In an interview with The Jerusalem Post’s Benjamin Weinthal, an American neoconservative operative funded by right-wing billionaire Sheldon Adelson, Wilders declared that Israel is the “only light of democracy in the Middle East.” He then demanded that the European Union and the United States stand by Israel’s side in the clash of civilizations — a war pitting the “Judeo-Christian” West against Islam. Wilders declared that the name of the state of Palestine should be changed to “Jordan,” suggesting that Palestinians either be forcibly expelled from their homes or stripped of national identity. In 2014, Wilders agitated unsuccessfully but flamboyantly for a commemoration for former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon in the Dutch parliament.
This hate is not isolated to the far-right, which only represents the most bellicose strain of an Islamophobia that is entrenched within the supposedly enlightened mainstream.
As The Electronic Intifada’s Ali Abunimah has reported, the French authorities are targeting Muslims, including small children, in a draconian, authoritarian crackdown on free speech.
Nor is the hate isolated to Europe.
From Dresden to Austin
On 29 January, when Muslim men, women and children from across Texas gathered in Austin to meet with lawmakers and learn about the political process during the seventh annual Texas Muslim Capitol Day, they were met with anti-Islam protesters waving Texas and Israeli flags and holding signs that read, “Radical Islam is the new Nazi” and “Go home & take Obama with you.”
Anti-Islam protesters at Texas Muslim Capitol Day screaming “go home!” and “Mohammad is dead!” #txlege pic.twitter.com/SqF27tK1O1 — Lauren McGaughy (@lmcgaughy) January 29, 2015
As group of Muslims gather for Texas Muslim Capitol Day at #txlege, these protestors are nearby pic.twitter.com/Vs5DnmhBEf — Alexa Ura (@alexazura) January 29, 2015
As Muslim schoolchildren sang the American national anthem, the demonstrators shouted in their faces, “Islam is a lie!” and “No Sharia here!”
Prior to the hate fest, Texas lawmaker Molly White took to Facebook to say that despite being away for recess she instructed her staff to subject Muslim constituents to loyalty oaths as a condition of entering her office, where she left an Israeli flag on her desk as an apparent symbol of her allegiance to America.
“I did leave an Israeli flag on the reception desk in my office with instructions to staff to ask representatives from the Muslim community to renounce Islamic terrorist groups and publicly announce allegiance to America and our laws,” White wrote on her Facebook page. “We will see how long they stay in my office.”
This followed a similar anti-Muslim demonstration in Texas last month. As The Electronic Intifada’s Patrick Strickland reported at the time, the Israeli flag was waved alongside the American flag by white Christian extremists to signify their hatred for Muslims.
Israel is not responsible for the anti-Muslim hatred sweeping the West. But its role as a symbol of and cover for hate reflects shared values and a growing alliance between support for Israel and right-wing hatred for Islam in the West. |
Rated BW OU Usage Stats Code: APR 2011 BW OU USAGE Total Battles: 299644 + ---- + --------------- + ------ + ------- + | Rank | Pokemon | Usage | Percent | + ---- + --------------- + ------ + ------- + | 1 | Ferrothorn | 127997 | 21.3582 | | 2 | Tyranitar | 124735 | 20.8139 | | 3 | Scizor | 112589 | 18.7871 | | 4 | Garchomp | 109670 | 18.3000 | | 5 | Gliscor | 89599 | 14.9509 | | 6 | Latios | 78471 | 13.0940 | | 7 | Excadrill | 78095 | 13.0313 | | 8 | Reuniclus | 76510 | 12.7668 | | 9 | Heatran | 72800 | 12.1477 | | 10 | Rotom-W | 69963 | 11.6744 | | 11 | Conkeldurr | 64134 | 10.7017 | | 12 | Jirachi | 62501 | 10.4292 | | 13 | Politoed | 61688 | 10.2935 | | 14 | Dragonite | 60079 | 10.0251 | | 15 | Thundurus | 57828 | 9.6495 | | 16 | Gengar | 57689 | 9.6263 | | 17 | Jellicent | 54143 | 9.0346 | | 18 | Skarmory | 53975 | 9.0065 | | 19 | Volcarona | 52072 | 8.6890 | | 20 | Starmie | 49991 | 8.3417 | | 21 | Gyarados | 46153 | 7.7013 | | 22 | Hydreigon | 42618 | 7.1114 | | 23 | Forretress | 41393 | 6.9070 | | 24 | Blissey | 40940 | 6.8314 | | 25 | Infernape | 39458 | 6.5841 | | 26 | Ninetales | 37550 | 6.2658 | | 27 | Vaporeon | 35047 | 5.8481 | | 28 | Salamence | 34864 | 5.8176 | | 29 | Breloom | 32410 | 5.4081 | | 30 | Chandelure | 31648 | 5.2809 | | 31 | Scrafty | 31427 | 5.2441 | | 32 | Tentacruel | 31247 | 5.2140 | | 33 | Metagross | 31188 | 5.2042 | | 34 | Terrakion | 31080 | 5.1862 | | 35 | Swampert | 30888 | 5.1541 | | 36 | Haxorus | 29906 | 4.9903 | | 37 | Lucario | 28559 | 4.7655 | | 38 | Cloyster | 28456 | 4.7483 | | 39 | Hippowdon | 28282 | 4.7193 | | 40 | Magnezone | 27769 | 4.6337 | | 41 | Deoxys-S | 27314 | 4.5577 | | 42 | Machamp | 26504 | 4.4226 | | 43 | Landorus | 26297 | 4.3880 | | 44 | Whimsicott | 25583 | 4.2689 | | 45 | Latias | 25340 | 4.2284 | | 46 | Bronzong | 25206 | 4.2060 | | 47 | Mienshao | 24469 | 4.0830 | | 48 | Darmanitan | 23841 | 3.9782 | | 49 | Toxicroak | 23494 | 3.9203 | | 50 | Virizion | 23124 | 3.8586 | | 51 | Venusaur | 21397 | 3.5704 | | 52 | Porygon2 | 20833 | 3.4763 | | 53 | Tornadus | 20586 | 3.4351 | | 54 | Espeon | 19721 | 3.2907 | | 55 | Azumarill | 19118 | 3.1901 | | 56 | Jolteon | 18920 | 3.1571 | | 57 | Zapdos | 18764 | 3.1310 | | 58 | Chansey | 18626 | 3.1080 | | 59 | Zoroark | 17937 | 2.9931 | | 60 | Togekiss | 17508 | 2.9215 | | 61 | Sigilyph | 17463 | 2.9140 | | 62 | Slowbro | 17045 | 2.8442 | | 63 | Electivire | 16999 | 2.8365 | | 64 | Donphan | 16148 | 2.6945 | | 65 | Hitmontop | 15974 | 2.6655 | | 66 | Azelf | 15437 | 2.5759 | | 67 | Kingdra | 15318 | 2.5560 | | 68 | Mamoswine | 15316 | 2.5557 | | 69 | Celebi | 15261 | 2.5465 | | 70 | Quagsire | 15230 | 2.5413 | | 71 | Nidoking | 15004 | 2.5036 | | 72 | Arcanine | 14283 | 2.3833 | | 73 | Milotic | 14053 | 2.3449 | | 74 | Suicune | 13942 | 2.3264 | | 75 | Weavile | 13680 | 2.2827 | | 76 | Mew | 13497 | 2.2522 | | 77 | Aerodactyl | 12415 | 2.0716 | | 78 | Sawsbuck | 12370 | 2.0641 | | 79 | Empoleon | 12179 | 2.0322 | | 80 | Snorlax | 11936 | 1.9917 | | 81 | Abomasnow | 11843 | 1.9762 | | 82 | Missingno | 11698 | 1.9520 | | 83 | Eelektross | 10831 | 1.8073 | | 84 | Ninjask | 10639 | 1.7753 | | 85 | Cofagrigus | 10003 | 1.6691 | | 86 | Gorebyss | 9869 | 1.6468 | | 87 | Dusclops | 9862 | 1.6456 | | 88 | Smeargle | 9862 | 1.6456 | | 89 | Flygon | 9750 | 1.6269 | | 90 | Victini | 9659 | 1.6117 | | 91 | Charizard | 9373 | 1.5640 | | 92 | Spiritomb | 9006 | 1.5028 | | 93 | Shaymin | 8876 | 1.4811 | | 94 | Gastrodon | 8398 | 1.4013 | | 95 | Bisharp | 8202 | 1.3686 | | 96 | Heracross | 8032 | 1.3403 | | 97 | Galvantula | 8009 | 1.3364 | | 98 | Ambipom | 7993 | 1.3337 | | 99 | Umbreon | 7985 | 1.3324 | | 100 | Cresselia | 7783 | 1.2987 | | 101 | Dusknoir | 7740 | 1.2915 | | 102 | Kyurem | 7309 | 1.2196 | | 103 | Roserade | 7260 | 1.2114 | | 104 | Crobat | 7166 | 1.1958 | | 105 | Escavalier | 7047 | 1.1759 | | 106 | Xatu | 7040 | 1.1747 | | 107 | Ludicolo | 6946 | 1.1590 | | 108 | Gallade | 6859 | 1.1445 | | 109 | Krookodile | 6848 | 1.1427 | | 110 | Archeops | 6837 | 1.1409 | | 111 | Raikou | 6762 | 1.1283 | | 112 | Accelgor | 6690 | 1.1163 | | 113 | Alakazam | 6679 | 1.1145 | | 114 | Tangrowth | 6369 | 1.0628 | | 115 | Exeggutor | 6314 | 1.0536 | | 116 | Froslass | 6288 | 1.0492 | | 117 | Blastoise | 6036 | 1.0072 | | 118 | Dugtrio | 6025 | 1.0054 | | 119 | Weezing | 5703 | 0.9516 | | 120 | Yanmega | 5660 | 0.9445 | | 121 | Sharpedo | 5555 | 0.9269 | | 122 | Porygon-Z | 5334 | 0.8901 | | 123 | Rhyperior | 5210 | 0.8694 | | 124 | Rotom-H | 5207 | 0.8689 | | 125 | Sceptile | 5107 | 0.8522 | | 126 | Lilligant | 4902 | 0.8180 | | 127 | Deoxys-D | 4793 | 0.7998 | | 128 | Mandibuzz | 4628 | 0.7722 | | 129 | Honchkrow | 4604 | 0.7682 | | 130 | Staraptor | 4578 | 0.7639 | | 131 | Claydol | 4348 | 0.7255 | | 132 | Carracosta | 4330 | 0.7225 | | 133 | Clefable | 4330 | 0.7225 | | 134 | Shuckle | 4327 | 0.7220 | | 135 | Golurk | 4326 | 0.7219 | | 136 | Crustle | 4220 | 0.7042 | | 137 | Uxie | 4174 | 0.6965 | | 138 | Venomoth | 4092 | 0.6828 | | 139 | Scolipede | 4021 | 0.6710 | | 140 | Cradily | 3903 | 0.6513 | | 141 | Wobbuffet | 3879 | 0.6473 | | 142 | Lapras | 3785 | 0.6316 | | 143 | Walrein | 3724 | 0.6214 | | 144 | Gardevoir | 3683 | 0.6146 | | 145 | Houndoom | 3582 | 0.5977 | | 146 | Absol | 3493 | 0.5829 | | 147 | Drapion | 3420 | 0.5707 | | 148 | Aron | 3391 | 0.5658 | | 149 | Mismagius | 3329 | 0.5555 | | 150 | Leafeon | 3300 | 0.5507 | | 151 | Lanturn | 3253 | 0.5428 | | 152 | Nidoqueen | 3117 | 0.5201 | | 153 | Scyther | 2990 | 0.4989 | | 154 | Durant | 2970 | 0.4956 | | 155 | Swellow | 2880 | 0.4806 | | 156 | Slowking | 2776 | 0.4632 | | 157 | Serperior | 2722 | 0.4542 | | 158 | Stoutland | 2702 | 0.4509 | | 159 | Golduck | 2695 | 0.4497 | | 160 | Aggron | 2622 | 0.4375 | | 161 | Cobalion | 2621 | 0.4374 | | 162 | Typhlosion | 2596 | 0.4332 | | 163 | Probopass | 2568 | 0.4285 | | 164 | Shiftry | 2514 | 0.4195 | | 165 | Omastar | 2472 | 0.4125 | | 166 | Braviary | 2445 | 0.4080 | | 167 | Kabutops | 2444 | 0.4078 | | 168 | Tangela | 2430 | 0.4055 | | 169 | Parasect | 2418 | 0.4035 | | 170 | Gigalith | 2414 | 0.4028 | | 171 | Magmortar | 2367 | 0.3950 | | 172 | Jumpluff | 2328 | 0.3885 | | 173 | Rotom-C | 2245 | 0.3746 | | 174 | Feraligatr | 2219 | 0.3703 | | 175 | Steelix | 2207 | 0.3683 | | 176 | Emboar | 2203 | 0.3676 | | 177 | Manectric | 2180 | 0.3638 | | 178 | Marowak | 2175 | 0.3629 | | 179 | Samurott | 2157 | 0.3599 | | 180 | Registeel | 2119 | 0.3536 | | 181 | Medicham | 2044 | 0.3411 | | 182 | Miltank | 2032 | 0.3391 | | 183 | Drifblim | 2030 | 0.3387 | | 184 | Hariyama | 2028 | 0.3384 | | 185 | Shedinja | 1958 | 0.3267 | | 186 | Altaria | 1929 | 0.3219 | | 187 | Slaking | 1927 | 0.3215 | | 188 | Poliwrath | 1925 | 0.3212 | | 189 | Torterra | 1918 | 0.3200 | | 190 | Alomomola | 1876 | 0.3130 | | 191 | Bouffalant | 1876 | 0.3130 | | 192 | Druddigon | 1864 | 0.3110 | | 193 | Pikachu | 1824 | 0.3044 | | 194 | Gligar | 1808 | 0.3017 | | 195 | Regirock | 1779 | 0.2969 | | 196 | Murkrow | 1764 | 0.2943 | | 197 | Cinccino | 1763 | 0.2942 | | 198 | Glaceon | 1665 | 0.2778 | | 199 | Hitmonlee | 1645 | 0.2745 | | 200 | Lickilicky | 1625 | 0.2712 | | 201 | Ursaring | 1615 | 0.2695 | | 202 | Octillery | 1607 | 0.2682 | | 203 | Butterfree | 1589 | 0.2651 | | 204 | Solrock | 1504 | 0.2510 | | 205 | Rhydon | 1489 | 0.2485 | | 206 | Rampardos | 1482 | 0.2473 | | 207 | Tauros | 1471 | 0.2455 | | 208 | Cryogonal | 1464 | 0.2443 | | 209 | Magneton | 1434 | 0.2393 | | 210 | Hitmonchan | 1367 | 0.2281 | | 211 | Cacturne | 1350 | 0.2253 | | 212 | Luxray | 1346 | 0.2246 | | 213 | Mr. Mime | 1346 | 0.2246 | | 214 | Blaziken | 1340 | 0.2236 | | 215 | Musharna | 1333 | 0.2224 | | 216 | Victreebel | 1324 | 0.2209 | | 217 | Crawdaunt | 1254 | 0.2092 | | 218 | Sandslash | 1241 | 0.2071 | | 219 | Moltres | 1239 | 0.2067 | | 220 | Primeape | 1237 | 0.2064 | | 221 | Floatzel | 1223 | 0.2041 | | 222 | Amoonguss | 1207 | 0.2014 | | 223 | Ampharos | 1201 | 0.2004 | | 224 | Flareon | 1174 | 0.1959 | | 225 | Huntail | 1163 | 0.1941 | | 226 | Sawk | 1161 | 0.1937 | | 227 | Meganium | 1147 | 0.1914 | | 228 | Rapidash | 1146 | 0.1912 | | 229 | Electrode | 1054 | 0.1759 | | 230 | Throh | 1050 | 0.1752 | | 231 | Armaldo | 1047 | 0.1747 | | 232 | Vileplume | 1027 | 0.1714 | | 233 | Raichu | 1024 | 0.1709 | | 234 | Mesprit | 1023 | 0.1707 | | 235 | Vanilluxe | 984 | 0.1642 | | 236 | Muk | 954 | 0.1592 | | 237 | Torkoal | 940 | 0.1569 | | 238 | Regice | 937 | 0.1564 | | 239 | Rotom | 931 | 0.1554 | | 240 | Persian | 920 | 0.1535 | | 241 | Leavanny | 918 | 0.1532 | | 242 | Entei | 905 | 0.1510 | | 243 | Qwilfish | 878 | 0.1465 | | 244 | Cottonee | 865 | 0.1443 | | 245 | Tropius | 865 | 0.1443 | | 246 | Golem | 853 | 0.1423 | | 247 | Kingler | 845 | 0.1410 | | 248 | Emolga | 830 | 0.1385 | | 249 | Kangaskhan | 819 | 0.1367 | | 250 | Garbodor | 781 | 0.1303 | | 251 | Seismitoad | 777 | 0.1297 | | 252 | Mantine | 742 | 0.1238 | | 253 | Klinklang | 737 | 0.1230 | | 254 | Lopunny | 735 | 0.1226 | | 255 | Camerupt | 724 | 0.1208 | | 256 | Stunfisk | 652 | 0.1088 | | 257 | Pinsir | 640 | 0.1068 | | 258 | Sableye | 635 | 0.1060 | | 259 | Zebstrika | 625 | 0.1043 | | 260 | Whiscash | 623 | 0.1040 | | 261 | Combusken | 622 | 0.1038 | | 262 | Bastiodon | 619 | 0.1033 | | 263 | Rotom-S | 607 | 0.1013 | | 264 | Articuno | 604 | 0.1008 | | 265 | Rotom-F | 600 | 0.1001 | | 266 | Basculin | 593 | 0.0990 | | 267 | Zangoose | 577 | 0.0963 | | 268 | Wailord | 563 | 0.0939 | | 269 | Bibarel | 524 | 0.0874 | | 270 | Audino | 513 | 0.0856 | | 271 | Jynx | 506 | 0.0844 | | 272 | Golbat | 501 | 0.0836 | | 273 | Hippopotas | 498 | 0.0831 | | 274 | Banette | 491 | 0.0819 | | 275 | Arbok | 482 | 0.0804 | | 276 | Relicanth | 482 | 0.0804 | | 277 | Regigigas | 475 | 0.0793 | | 278 | Pidgeot | 462 | 0.0771 | | 279 | Gothitelle | 455 | 0.0759 | | 280 | Rattata | 420 | 0.0701 | | 281 | Dodrio | 416 | 0.0694 | | 282 | Hypno | 412 | 0.0687 | | 283 | Lunatone | 407 | 0.0679 | | 284 | Beartic | 389 | 0.0649 | | 285 | Simipour | 384 | 0.0641 | | 286 | Kecleon | 381 | 0.0636 | | 287 | Togetic | 366 | 0.0611 | | 288 | Skuntank | 356 | 0.0594 | | 289 | Noctowl | 339 | 0.0566 | | 290 | Seaking | 320 | 0.0534 | | 291 | Ferroseed | 309 | 0.0516 | | 292 | Heatmor | 309 | 0.0516 | | 293 | Liepard | 308 | 0.0514 | | 294 | Munchlax | 306 | 0.0511 | | 295 | Pelipper | 301 | 0.0502 | | 296 | Delibird | 298 | 0.0497 | | 297 | Dunsparce | 295 | 0.0492 | | 298 | Fearow | 290 | 0.0484 | | 299 | Raticate | 286 | 0.0477 | | 300 | Magcargo | 285 | 0.0476 | | 301 | Haunter | 283 | 0.0472 | | 302 | Dewgong | 273 | 0.0456 | | 303 | Misdreavus | 269 | 0.0449 | | 304 | Girafarig | 267 | 0.0446 | | 305 | Mawile | 263 | 0.0439 | | 306 | Linoone | 259 | 0.0432 | | 307 | Clamperl | 258 | 0.0431 | | 308 | Castform | 255 | 0.0426 | | 309 | Masquerain | 250 | 0.0417 | | 310 | Electabuzz | 249 | 0.0415 | | 311 | Vulpix | 245 | 0.0409 | | 312 | Magikarp | 234 | 0.0390 | | 313 | Nosepass | 234 | 0.0390 | | 314 | Beheeyem | 233 | 0.0389 | | 315 | Swanna | 232 | 0.0387 | | 316 | Squirtle | 219 | 0.0365 | | 317 | Swoobat | 218 | 0.0364 | | 318 | Vespiquen | 215 | 0.0359 | | 319 | Furret | 212 | 0.0354 | | 320 | Lairon | 212 | 0.0354 | | 321 | Onix | 209 | 0.0349 | | 322 | Unfezant | 209 | 0.0349 | | 323 | Swalot | 207 | 0.0345 | | 324 | Wartortle | 206 | 0.0344 | | 325 | Cherrim | 204 | 0.0340 | | 326 | Exploud | 203 | 0.0339 | | 327 | Lickitung | 203 | 0.0339 | | 328 | Grumpig | 201 | 0.0335 | | 329 | Granbull | 198 | 0.0330 | | 330 | Machoke | 197 | 0.0329 | | 331 | Magmar | 197 | 0.0329 | | 332 | Shelgon | 193 | 0.0322 | | 333 | Maractus | 188 | 0.0314 | | 334 | Simisage | 187 | 0.0312 | | 335 | Sudowoodo | 186 | 0.0310 | | 336 | Dragonair | 185 | 0.0309 | | 337 | Gurdurr | 182 | 0.0304 | | 338 | Wynaut | 182 | 0.0304 | | 339 | Piloswine | 179 | 0.0299 | | 340 | Simisear | 177 | 0.0295 | | 341 | Seviper | 176 | 0.0294 | | 342 | Bulbasaur | 172 | 0.0287 | | 343 | Grovyle | 170 | 0.0284 | | 344 | Volbeat | 170 | 0.0284 | | 345 | Purugly | 169 | 0.0282 | | 346 | Duosion | 159 | 0.0265 | | 347 | Lumineon | 158 | 0.0264 | | 348 | Spinda | 156 | 0.0260 | | 349 | Mightyena | 145 | 0.0242 | | 350 | Solosis | 137 | 0.0229 | | 351 | Charmander | 136 | 0.0227 | | 352 | Clefairy | 134 | 0.0224 | | 353 | Ditto | 134 | 0.0224 | | 354 | Bayleef | 130 | 0.0217 | | 355 | Wigglytuff | 124 | 0.0207 | | 356 | Metapod | 119 | 0.0199 | | 357 | Ivysaur | 117 | 0.0195 | | 358 | Pachirisu | 117 | 0.0195 | | 359 | Vigoroth | 117 | 0.0195 | | 360 | Bellossom | 115 | 0.0192 | | 361 | Beedrill | 113 | 0.0189 | | 362 | Eevee | 112 | 0.0187 | | 363 | Sunflora | 111 | 0.0185 | | 364 | Lampent | 110 | 0.0184 | | 365 | Delcatty | 109 | 0.0182 | | 366 | Glalie | 105 | 0.0175 | | 367 | Roselia | 104 | 0.0174 | | 368 | Gothorita | 101 | 0.0169 | | 369 | Gloom | 99 | 0.0165 | | 370 | Scraggy | 98 | 0.0164 | | 371 | Slowpoke | 98 | 0.0164 | | 372 | Carnivine | 97 | 0.0162 | | 373 | Seadra | 94 | 0.0157 | | 374 | Stantler | 93 | 0.0155 | | 375 | Frillish | 91 | 0.0152 | | 376 | Ariados | 90 | 0.0150 | | 377 | Snover | 87 | 0.0145 | | 378 | Graveler | 85 | 0.0142 | | 379 | Sneasel | 83 | 0.0138 | | 380 | Watchog | 78 | 0.0130 | | 381 | Farfetch'd | 77 | 0.0128 | | 382 | Metang | 77 | 0.0128 | | 383 | Jigglypuff | 76 | 0.0127 | | 384 | Ledian | 74 | 0.0123 | | 385 | Buizel | 68 | 0.0113 | | 386 | Drilbur | 68 | 0.0113 | | 387 | Tentacool | 68 | 0.0113 | | 388 | Whirlipede | 68 | 0.0113 | | 389 | Mankey | 66 | 0.0110 | | 390 | Chatot | 64 | 0.0107 | | 391 | Zweilous | 64 | 0.0107 | | 392 | Yanma | 62 | 0.0103 | | 393 | Lileep | 57 | 0.0095 | | 394 | Magnemite | 57 | 0.0095 | | 395 | Mudkip | 57 | 0.0095 | | 396 | Psyduck | 56 | 0.0093 | | 397 | Corsola | 55 | 0.0092 | | 398 | Dustox | 55 | 0.0092 | | 399 | Kadabra | 55 | 0.0092 | | 400 | Lombre | 55 | 0.0092 | | 401 | Swinub | 55 | 0.0092 | | 402 | Chimecho | 54 | 0.0090 | | 403 | Cleffa | 54 | 0.0090 | | 404 | Exeggcute | 54 | 0.0090 | | 405 | Gabite | 54 | 0.0090 | | 406 | Charmeleon | 52 | 0.0087 | | 407 | Eelektrik | 52 | 0.0087 | | 408 | Whismur | 52 | 0.0087 | | 409 | Koffing | 50 | 0.0083 | | 410 | Marshtomp | 49 | 0.0082 | | 411 | Pidgeotto | 45 | 0.0075 | | 412 | Axew | 43 | 0.0072 | | 413 | Luvdisc | 43 | 0.0072 | | 414 | Pupitar | 42 | 0.0070 | | 415 | Pineco | 40 | 0.0067 | | 416 | Kakuna | 39 | 0.0065 | | 417 | Phanpy | 39 | 0.0065 | | 418 | Piplup | 38 | 0.0063 | | 419 | Zorua | 38 | 0.0063 | | 420 | Minun | 37 | 0.0062 | | 421 | Grotle | 35 | 0.0058 | | 422 | Vullaby | 35 | 0.0058 | | 423 | Beautifly | 34 | 0.0057 | | 424 | Fraxure | 34 | 0.0057 | | 425 | Mantyke | 34 | 0.0057 | | 426 | Mothim | 33 | 0.0055 | | 427 | Taillow | 32 | 0.0053 | | 428 | Croconaw | 31 | 0.0052 | | 429 | Shelmet | 31 | 0.0052 | | 430 | Aipom | 30 | 0.0050 | | 431 | Riolu | 30 | 0.0050 | | 432 | Tirtouga | 30 | 0.0050 | | 433 | Trubbish | 30 | 0.0050 | | 434 | Unown-! | 30 | 0.0050 | | 435 | Pidgey | 29 | 0.0048 | | 436 | Sandshrew | 29 | 0.0048 | | 437 | Bronzor | 28 | 0.0047 | | 438 | Meditite | 28 | 0.0047 | | 439 | Caterpie | 27 | 0.0045 | | 440 | Croagunk | 27 | 0.0045 | | 441 | Illumise | 27 | 0.0045 | | 442 | Glameow | 26 | 0.0043 | | 443 | Togepi | 26 | 0.0043 | | 444 | Torchic | 26 | 0.0043 | | 445 | Voltorb | 26 | 0.0043 | | 446 | Darumaka | 25 | 0.0042 | | 447 | Meowth | 25 | 0.0042 | | 448 | Weedle | 25 | 0.0042 | | 449 | Gastly | 24 | 0.0040 | | 450 | Phione | 24 | 0.0040 | | 451 | Boldore | 23 | 0.0038 | | 452 | Diglett | 23 | 0.0038 | | 453 | Treecko | 23 | 0.0038 | | 454 | Growlithe | 22 | 0.0037 | | 455 | Houndour | 22 | 0.0037 | | 456 | Mienfoo | 22 | 0.0037 | | 457 | Patrat | 22 | 0.0037 | | 458 | Smoochum | 22 | 0.0037 | | 459 | Abra | 21 | 0.0035 | | 460 | Herdie | 21 | 0.0035 | | 461 | Roggenrola | 21 | 0.0035 | | 462 | Staryu | 21 | 0.0035 | | 463 | Elekid | 20 | 0.0033 | | 464 | Lillipup | 20 | 0.0033 | | 465 | Lotad | 20 | 0.0033 | | 466 | Starly | 20 | 0.0033 | | 467 | Wormadam | 20 | 0.0033 | | 468 | Bidoof | 19 | 0.0032 | | 469 | Sunkern | 19 | 0.0032 | | 470 | Tepig | 19 | 0.0032 | | 471 | Wurmple | 19 | 0.0032 | | 472 | Chimchar | 18 | 0.0030 | | 473 | Geodude | 18 | 0.0030 | | 474 | Goldeen | 18 | 0.0030 | | 475 | Numel | 18 | 0.0030 | | 476 | Staravia | 18 | 0.0030 | | 477 | Dratini | 16 | 0.0027 | | 478 | Drowzee | 16 | 0.0027 | | 479 | Feebas | 16 | 0.0027 | | 480 | Oshawott | 16 | 0.0027 | | 481 | Plusle | 16 | 0.0027 | | 482 | Snivy | 16 | 0.0027 | | 483 | Zubat | 16 | 0.0027 | | 484 | Cubone | 15 | 0.0025 | | 485 | Kirlia | 15 | 0.0025 | | 486 | Panpour | 15 | 0.0025 | | 487 | Paras | 15 | 0.0025 | | 488 | Totodile | 15 | 0.0025 | | 489 | Tyrogue | 15 | 0.0025 | | 490 | Venonat | 15 | 0.0025 | | 491 | Wormadam-G | 15 | 0.0025 | | 492 | Dewott | 14 | 0.0023 | | 493 | Natu | 14 | 0.0023 | | 494 | Poochyena | 14 | 0.0023 | | 495 | Shellos-East | 14 | 0.0023 | | 496 | Wailmer | 14 | 0.0023 | | 497 | Larvitar | 13 | 0.0022 | | 498 | Servine | 13 | 0.0022 | | 499 | Chinchou | 12 | 0.0020 | | 500 | Cyndaquil | 12 | 0.0020 | | 501 | Ducklett | 12 | 0.0020 | | 502 | Gible | 12 | 0.0020 | | 503 | Porygon | 12 | 0.0020 | | 504 | Snorunt | 12 | 0.0020 | | 505 | Snubbull | 12 | 0.0020 | | 506 | Ekans | 11 | 0.0018 | | 507 | Vibrava | 11 | 0.0018 | | 508 | Cranidos | 10 | 0.0017 | | 509 | Doduo | 10 | 0.0017 | | 510 | Ponyta | 10 | 0.0017 | | 511 | Quilava | 10 | 0.0017 | | 512 | Shieldon | 10 | 0.0017 | | 513 | Duskull | 9 | 0.0015 | | 514 | Flaaffy | 9 | 0.0015 | | 515 | Palpitoad | 9 | 0.0015 | | 516 | Poliwhirl | 9 | 0.0015 | | 517 | Dwebble | 8 | 0.0013 | | 518 | Foongus | 8 | 0.0013 | | 519 | Horsea | 8 | 0.0013 | | 520 | Larvesta | 8 | 0.0013 | | 521 | Monferno | 8 | 0.0013 | | 522 | Oddish | 8 | 0.0013 | | 523 | Pignite | 8 | 0.0013 | | 524 | Shellder | 8 | 0.0013 | | 525 | Turtwig | 8 | 0.0013 | | 526 | Woobat | 8 | 0.0013 | | 527 | Archen | 7 | 0.0012 | | 528 | Carvanha | 7 | 0.0012 | | 529 | Chikorita | 7 | 0.0012 | | 530 | Hoppip | 7 | 0.0012 | | 531 | Pichu | 7 | 0.0012 | | 532 | Sealeo | 7 | 0.0012 | | 533 | Shinx | 7 | 0.0012 | | 534 | Swadloon | 7 | 0.0012 | | 535 | Joltik | 6 | 0.0010 | | 536 | Kricketune | 6 | 0.0010 | | 537 | Machop | 6 | 0.0010 | | 538 | Tranquill | 6 | 0.0010 | | 539 | Tynamo | 6 | 0.0010 | | 540 | Unown-U | 6 | 0.0010 | | 541 | Azurill | 5 | 0.0008 | | 542 | Beldum | 5 | 0.0008 | | 543 | Buneary | 5 | 0.0008 | | 544 | Chingling | 5 | 0.0008 | | 545 | Igglybuff | 5 | 0.0008 | | 546 | Minccino | 5 | 0.0008 | | 547 | Nuzleaf | 5 | 0.0008 | | 548 | Sandile | 5 | 0.0008 | | 549 | Stunky | 5 | 0.0008 | | 550 | Surskit | 5 | 0.0008 | | 551 | Unown | 5 | 0.0008 | | 552 | Wormadam-S | 5 | 0.0008 | | 553 | Klang | 4 | 0.0007 | | 554 | Krabby | 4 | 0.0007 | | 555 | Makuhita | 4 | 0.0007 | | 556 | Munna | 4 | 0.0007 | | 557 | Pansear | 4 | 0.0007 | | 558 | Pawniard | 4 | 0.0007 | | 559 | Pidove | 4 | 0.0007 | | 560 | Prinplup | 4 | 0.0007 | | 561 | Teddiursa | 4 | 0.0007 | | 562 | Budew | 3 | 0.0005 | | 563 | Combee | 3 | 0.0005 | | 564 | Corphish | 3 | 0.0005 | | 565 | Deino | 3 | 0.0005 | | 566 | Happiny | 3 | 0.0005 | | 567 | Mime Jr. | 3 | 0.0005 | | 568 | Ralts | 3 | 0.0005 | | 569 | Timburr | 3 | 0.0005 | | 570 | Trapinch | 3 | 0.0005 | | 571 | Unown-F | 3 | 0.0005 | | 572 | Venipede | 3 | 0.0005 | | 573 | Zigzagoon | 3 | 0.0005 | | 574 | Bonsly | 2 | 0.0003 | | 575 | Burmy-S | 2 | 0.0003 | | 576 | Cascoon | 2 | 0.0003 | | 577 | Cherubi | 2 | 0.0003 | | 578 | Elgyem | 2 | 0.0003 | | 579 | Kabuto | 2 | 0.0003 | | 580 | Klink | 2 | 0.0003 | | 581 | Magby | 2 | 0.0003 | | 582 | Nidoran-M | 2 | 0.0003 | | 583 | Omanyte | 2 | 0.0003 | | 584 | Purrloin | 2 | 0.0003 | | 585 | Shroomish | 2 | 0.0003 | | 586 | Shuppet | 2 | 0.0003 | | 587 | Silcoon | 2 | 0.0003 | | 588 | Skitty | 2 | 0.0003 | | 589 | Spearow | 2 | 0.0003 | | 590 | Spoink | 2 | 0.0003 | | 591 | Unown-C | 2 | 0.0003 | | 592 | Unown-K | 2 | 0.0003 | | 593 | Wingull | 2 | 0.0003 | | 594 | Yamask | 2 | 0.0003 | | 595 | Baltoy | 1 | 0.0002 | | 596 | Bellsprout | 1 | 0.0002 | | 597 | Burmy | 1 | 0.0002 | | 598 | Cacnea | 1 | 0.0002 | | 599 | Drifloon | 1 | 0.0002 | | 600 | Gulpin | 1 | 0.0002 | | 601 | Kricketot | 1 | 0.0002 | | 602 | Krokorok | 1 | 0.0002 | | 603 | Luxio | 1 | 0.0002 | | 604 | Nidorina | 1 | 0.0002 | | 605 | Nidorino | 1 | 0.0002 | | 606 | Nincada | 1 | 0.0002 | | 607 | Rhyhorn | 1 | 0.0002 | | 608 | Rufflet | 1 | 0.0002 | | 609 | Seel | 1 | 0.0002 | | 610 | Skiploom | 1 | 0.0002 | | 611 | Spinarak | 1 | 0.0002 | | 612 | Unown-? | 1 | 0.0002 | | 613 | Unown-E | 1 | 0.0002 | | 614 | Unown-P | 1 | 0.0002 | | 615 | Unown-R | 1 | 0.0002 | | 616 | Unown-S | 1 | 0.0002 | | 617 | Vanillish | 1 | 0.0002 | + ---- + --------------- + ------ + ------- +
Unrated BW OU Usage Stats Code: APR 2011 UNRATED BW OU USAGE Total Battles: 34881 + ---- + --------------- + ----- + ------- + | Rank | Pokemon | Usage | Percent | + ---- + --------------- + ----- + ------- + | 1 | Tyranitar | 13978 | 20.0367 | | 2 | Ferrothorn | 13421 | 19.2383 | | 3 | Garchomp | 12953 | 18.5674 | | 4 | Scizor | 11494 | 16.4760 | | 5 | Gliscor | 9624 | 13.7955 | | 6 | Excadrill | 8605 | 12.3348 | | 7 | Reuniclus | 8494 | 12.1757 | | 8 | Rotom-W | 8298 | 11.8947 | | 9 | Politoed | 7600 | 10.8942 | | 10 | Heatran | 7578 | 10.8626 | | 11 | Latios | 7494 | 10.7422 | | 12 | Conkeldurr | 7070 | 10.1345 | | 13 | Gengar | 6960 | 9.9768 | | 14 | Dragonite | 6696 | 9.5983 | | 15 | Jirachi | 6604 | 9.4665 | | 16 | Thundurus | 6157 | 8.8257 | | 17 | Starmie | 6135 | 8.7942 | | 18 | Skarmory | 6072 | 8.7039 | | 19 | Jellicent | 6016 | 8.6236 | | 20 | Gyarados | 5142 | 7.3708 | | 21 | Volcarona | 5104 | 7.3163 | | 22 | Blissey | 5092 | 7.2991 | | 23 | Hydreigon | 4889 | 7.0081 | | 24 | Missingno | 4733 | 6.7845 | | 25 | Forretress | 4496 | 6.4448 | | 26 | Infernape | 4482 | 6.4247 | | 27 | Ninetales | 4134 | 5.9259 | | 28 | Breloom | 4108 | 5.8886 | | 29 | Metagross | 3972 | 5.6936 | | 30 | Chandelure | 3960 | 5.6764 | | 31 | Vaporeon | 3924 | 5.6248 | | 32 | Salamence | 3883 | 5.5661 | | 33 | Toxicroak | 3632 | 5.2063 | | 34 | Swampert | 3534 | 5.0658 | | 35 | Haxorus | 3523 | 5.0500 | | 36 | Lucario | 3474 | 4.9798 | | 37 | Cloyster | 3407 | 4.8837 | | 38 | Landorus | 3400 | 4.8737 | | 39 | Hippowdon | 3331 | 4.7748 | | 40 | Scrafty | 3146 | 4.5096 | | 41 | Magnezone | 3132 | 4.4896 | | 42 | Terrakion | 3012 | 4.3175 | | 43 | Zoroark | 3012 | 4.3175 | | 44 | Machamp | 2977 | 4.2674 | | 45 | Latias | 2969 | 4.2559 | | 46 | Tentacruel | 2857 | 4.0954 | | 47 | Darmanitan | 2672 | 3.8302 | | 48 | Deoxys-S | 2593 | 3.7169 | | 49 | Zapdos | 2586 | 3.7069 | | 50 | Tornadus | 2567 | 3.6797 | | 51 | Whimsicott | 2543 | 3.6453 | | 52 | Venusaur | 2512 | 3.6008 | | 53 | Bronzong | 2494 | 3.5750 | | 54 | Virizion | 2438 | 3.4947 | | 55 | Mienshao | 2390 | 3.4259 | | 56 | Electivire | 2373 | 3.4016 | | 57 | Arcanine | 2269 | 3.2525 | | 58 | Togekiss | 2211 | 3.1693 | | 59 | Slowbro | 2177 | 3.1206 | | 60 | Jolteon | 2126 | 3.0475 | | 61 | Mamoswine | 2043 | 2.9285 | | 62 | Espeon | 1992 | 2.8554 | | 63 | Chansey | 1966 | 2.8182 | | 64 | Kingdra | 1964 | 2.8153 | | 65 | Snorlax | 1856 | 2.6605 | | 66 | Weavile | 1849 | 2.6504 | | 67 | Milotic | 1776 | 2.5458 | | 68 | Porygon2 | 1754 | 2.5143 | | 69 | Azumarill | 1683 | 2.4125 | | 70 | Aerodactyl | 1669 | 2.3924 | | 71 | Mew | 1621 | 2.3236 | | 72 | Celebi | 1592 | 2.2820 | | 73 | Suicune | 1585 | 2.2720 | | 74 | Azelf | 1556 | 2.2304 | | 75 | Sigilyph | 1543 | 2.2118 | | 76 | Quagsire | 1531 | 2.1946 | | 77 | Charizard | 1524 | 2.1846 | | 78 | Abomasnow | 1500 | 2.1502 | | 79 | Sceptile | 1429 | 2.0484 | | 80 | Eelektross | 1401 | 2.0083 | | 81 | Hitmontop | 1377 | 1.9739 | | 82 | Donphan | 1373 | 1.9681 | | 83 | Ninjask | 1369 | 1.9624 | | 84 | Nidoking | 1342 | 1.9237 | | 85 | Flygon | 1317 | 1.8878 | | 86 | Empoleon | 1270 | 1.8205 | | 87 | Dusknoir | 1168 | 1.6743 | | 88 | Gorebyss | 1116 | 1.5997 | | 89 | Galvantula | 1108 | 1.5883 | | 90 | Kyurem | 1100 | 1.5768 | | 91 | Smeargle | 1097 | 1.5725 | | 92 | Cofagrigus | 1076 | 1.5424 | | 93 | Blastoise | 1072 | 1.5367 | | 94 | Ludicolo | 1033 | 1.4807 | | 95 | Heracross | 1022 | 1.4650 | | 96 | Umbreon | 1018 | 1.4592 | | 97 | Spiritomb | 1007 | 1.4435 | | 98 | Alakazam | 1001 | 1.4349 | | 99 | Roserade | 1001 | 1.4349 | | 100 | Sawsbuck | 986 | 1.4134 | | 101 | Ambipom | 977 | 1.4005 | | 102 | Victini | 942 | 1.3503 | | 103 | Shaymin | 898 | 1.2872 | | 104 | Dusclops | 885 | 1.2686 | | 105 | Archeops | 853 | 1.2227 | | 106 | Krookodile | 846 | 1.2127 | | 107 | Clefairy | 838 | 1.2012 | | 108 | Porygon-Z | 824 | 1.1812 | | 109 | Gallade | 822 | 1.1783 | | 110 | Gastrodon | 786 | 1.1267 | | 111 | Raikou | 761 | 1.0909 | | 112 | Lilligant | 748 | 1.0722 | | 113 | Rhyperior | 745 | 1.0679 | | 114 | Escavalier | 737 | 1.0564 | | 115 | Bisharp | 736 | 1.0550 | | 116 | Cresselia | 722 | 1.0349 | | 117 | Staraptor | 713 | 1.0220 | | 118 | Accelgor | 691 | 0.9905 | | 119 | Froslass | 687 | 0.9848 | | 120 | Exeggutor | 679 | 0.9733 | | 121 | Tangrowth | 657 | 0.9418 | | 122 | Crobat | 649 | 0.9303 | | 123 | Dugtrio | 646 | 0.9260 | | 124 | Gardevoir | 602 | 0.8629 | | 125 | Shuckle | 599 | 0.8586 | | 126 | Deoxys-D | 597 | 0.8558 | | 127 | Yanmega | 595 | 0.8529 | | 128 | Uxie | 590 | 0.8457 | | 129 | Clefable | 579 | 0.8300 | | 130 | Weezing | 572 | 0.8199 | | 131 | Cradily | 565 | 0.8099 | | 132 | Carracosta | 560 | 0.8027 | | 133 | Lanturn | 544 | 0.7798 | | 134 | Claydol | 542 | 0.7769 | | 135 | Scolipede | 521 | 0.7468 | | 136 | Kabutops | 518 | 0.7425 | | 137 | Rotom-H | 509 | 0.7296 | | 138 | Typhlosion | 500 | 0.7167 | | 139 | Golurk | 488 | 0.6995 | | 140 | Lapras | 484 | 0.6938 | | 141 | Serperior | 482 | 0.6909 | | 142 | Samurott | 476 | 0.6823 | | 143 | Walrein | 475 | 0.6809 | | 144 | Nidoqueen | 472 | 0.6766 | | 145 | Magmortar | 470 | 0.6737 | | 146 | Aggron | 464 | 0.6651 | | 147 | Emboar | 463 | 0.6637 | | 148 | Gigalith | 462 | 0.6623 | | 149 | Sharpedo | 462 | 0.6623 | | 150 | Mandibuzz | 458 | 0.6565 | | 151 | Wobbuffet | 453 | 0.6494 | | 152 | Xatu | 451 | 0.6465 | | 153 | Marowak | 447 | 0.6407 | | 154 | Drapion | 437 | 0.6264 | | 155 | Absol | 434 | 0.6221 | | 156 | Honchkrow | 429 | 0.6149 | | 157 | Crustle | 423 | 0.6063 | | 158 | Slowking | 410 | 0.5877 | | 159 | Torterra | 402 | 0.5762 | | 160 | Houndoom | 400 | 0.5734 | | 161 | Leafeon | 396 | 0.5676 | | 162 | Pikachu | 387 | 0.5547 | | 163 | Steelix | 377 | 0.5404 | | 164 | Hariyama | 366 | 0.5246 | | 165 | Durant | 365 | 0.5232 | | 166 | Feraligatr | 347 | 0.4974 | | 167 | Venomoth | 343 | 0.4917 | | 168 | Braviary | 334 | 0.4788 | | 169 | Registeel | 333 | 0.4773 | | 170 | Slaking | 317 | 0.4544 | | 171 | Musharna | 314 | 0.4501 | | 172 | Mismagius | 313 | 0.4487 | | 173 | Victreebel | 303 | 0.4343 | | 174 | Amoonguss | 294 | 0.4214 | | 175 | Aron | 294 | 0.4214 | | 176 | Miltank | 291 | 0.4171 | | 177 | Swellow | 283 | 0.4057 | | 178 | Druddigon | 270 | 0.3870 | | 179 | Manectric | 269 | 0.3856 | | 180 | Shedinja | 269 | 0.3856 | | 181 | Probopass | 268 | 0.3842 | | 182 | Ampharos | 262 | 0.3756 | | 183 | Luxray | 261 | 0.3741 | | 184 | Cinccino | 259 | 0.3713 | | 185 | Cobalion | 255 | 0.3655 | | 186 | Bouffalant | 253 | 0.3627 | | 187 | Golduck | 251 | 0.3598 | | 188 | Floatzel | 250 | 0.3584 | | 189 | Scyther | 250 | 0.3584 | | 190 | Raichu | 248 | 0.3555 | | 191 | Rampardos | 244 | 0.3498 | | 192 | Alomomola | 243 | 0.3483 | | 193 | Glaceon | 241 | 0.3455 | | 194 | Altaria | 238 | 0.3412 | | 195 | Rotom-C | 238 | 0.3412 | | 196 | Shiftry | 235 | 0.3369 | | 197 | Lickilicky | 231 | 0.3311 | | 198 | Tangela | 230 | 0.3297 | | 199 | Ursaring | 230 | 0.3297 | | 200 | Poliwrath | 227 | 0.3254 | | 201 | Golem | 224 | 0.3211 | | 202 | Butterfree | 222 | 0.3182 | | 203 | Seismitoad | 213 | 0.3053 | | 204 | Persian | 207 | 0.2967 | | 205 | Medicham | 205 | 0.2939 | | 206 | Drifblim | 204 | 0.2924 | | 207 | Electrode | 203 | 0.2910 | | 208 | Gligar | 201 | 0.2881 | | 209 | Moltres | 198 | 0.2838 | | 210 | Throh | 197 | 0.2824 | | 211 | Omastar | 195 | 0.2795 | | 212 | Jumpluff | 190 | 0.2724 | | 213 | Wailord | 188 | 0.2695 | | 214 | Hitmonlee | 186 | 0.2666 | | 215 | Cryogonal | 185 | 0.2652 | | 216 | Parasect | 182 | 0.2609 | | 217 | Regirock | 182 | 0.2609 | | 218 | Pinsir | 181 | 0.2595 | | 219 | Rhydon | 175 | 0.2509 | | 220 | Cacturne | 174 | 0.2494 | | 221 | Stoutland | 173 | 0.2480 | | 222 | Hitmonchan | 165 | 0.2365 | | 223 | Gothitelle | 162 | 0.2322 | | 224 | Vileplume | 162 | 0.2322 | | 225 | Sandslash | 159 | 0.2279 | | 226 | Zebstrika | 156 | 0.2236 | | 227 | Murkrow | 155 | 0.2222 | | 228 | Tauros | 155 | 0.2222 | | 229 | Camerupt | 153 | 0.2193 | | 230 | Meganium | 149 | 0.2136 | | 231 | Sawk | 149 | 0.2136 | | 232 | Audino | 148 | 0.2121 | | 233 | Leavanny | 148 | 0.2121 | | 234 | Magneton | 146 | 0.2093 | | 235 | Kangaskhan | 145 | 0.2078 | | 236 | Muk | 145 | 0.2078 | | 237 | Rotom | 140 | 0.2007 | | 238 | Kingler | 137 | 0.1964 | | 239 | Vanilluxe | 137 | 0.1964 | | 240 | Rapidash | 136 | 0.1949 | | 241 | Qwilfish | 134 | 0.1921 | | 242 | Beartic | 127 | 0.1820 | | 243 | Primeape | 126 | 0.1806 | | 244 | Regigigas | 124 | 0.1777 | | 245 | Armaldo | 123 | 0.1763 | | 246 | Jynx | 123 | 0.1763 | | 247 | Tropius | 123 | 0.1763 | | 248 | Mr. Mime | 120 | 0.1720 | | 249 | Crawdaunt | 115 | 0.1648 | | 250 | Entei | 113 | 0.1620 | | 251 | Rotom-F | 108 | 0.1548 | | 252 | Pidgeot | 107 | 0.1534 | | 253 | Flareon | 105 | 0.1505 | | 254 | Octillery | 103 | 0.1476 | | 255 | Blaziken | 102 | 0.1462 | | 256 | Torkoal | 102 | 0.1462 | | 257 | Articuno | 101 | 0.1448 | | 258 | Klinklang | 100 | 0.1433 | | 259 | Stunfisk | 100 | 0.1433 | | 260 | Rotom-S | 99 | 0.1419 | | 261 | Misdreavus | 96 | 0.1376 | | 262 | Bastiodon | 94 | 0.1347 | | 263 | Mantine | 92 | 0.1319 | | 264 | Mesprit | 91 | 0.1304 | | 265 | Regice | 90 | 0.1290 | | 266 | Bibarel | 88 | 0.1261 | | 267 | Zangoose | 86 | 0.1233 | | 268 | Buizel | 85 | 0.1218 | | 269 | Solrock | 85 | 0.1218 | | 270 | Whiscash | 85 | 0.1218 | | 271 | Koffing | 83 | 0.1190 | | 272 | Lopunny | 83 | 0.1190 | | 273 | Relicanth | 79 | 0.1132 | | 274 | Unfezant | 79 | 0.1132 | | 275 | Raticate | 78 | 0.1118 | | 276 | Granbull | 76 | 0.1089 | | 277 | Huntail | 76 | 0.1089 | | 278 | Simipour | 76 | 0.1089 | | 279 | Banette | 74 | 0.1061 | | 280 | Clamperl | 72 | 0.1032 | | 281 | Swanna | 72 | 0.1032 | | 282 | Cottonee | 71 | 0.1018 | | 283 | Basculin | 69 | 0.0989 | | 284 | Hypno | 68 | 0.0975 | | 285 | Kecleon | 67 | 0.0960 | | 286 | Heatmor | 66 | 0.0946 | | 287 | Garbodor | 65 | 0.0932 | | 288 | Magmar | 63 | 0.0903 | | 289 | Rattata | 63 | 0.0903 | | 290 | Electabuzz | 61 | 0.0874 | | 291 | Beheeyem | 60 | 0.0860 | | 292 | Pelipper | 59 | 0.0846 | | 293 | Ditto | 58 | 0.0831 | | 294 | Liepard | 57 | 0.0817 | | 295 | Seaking | 57 | 0.0817 | | 296 | Gurdurr | 56 | 0.0803 | | 297 | Purugly | 56 | 0.0803 | | 298 | Glalie | 54 | 0.0774 | | 299 | Magikarp | 54 | 0.0774 | | 300 | Swoobat | 53 | 0.0760 | | 301 | Emolga | 52 | 0.0745 | | 302 | Noctowl | 52 | 0.0745 | | 303 | Skuntank | 52 | 0.0745 | | 304 | Dunsparce | 50 | 0.0717 | | 305 | Sableye | 50 | 0.0717 | | 306 | Linoone | 49 | 0.0702 | | 307 | Castform | 48 | 0.0688 | | 308 | Haunter | 47 | 0.0674 | | 309 | Hippopotas | 47 | 0.0674 | | 310 | Bellossom | 46 | 0.0659 | | 311 | Dewgong | 43 | 0.0616 | | 312 | Magcargo | 43 | 0.0616 | | 313 | Onix | 43 | 0.0616 | | 314 | Simisage | 43 | 0.0616 | | 315 | Furret | 42 | 0.0602 | | 316 | Golbat | 42 | 0.0602 | | 317 | Farfetch'd | 40 | 0.0573 | | 318 | Mawile | 40 | 0.0573 | | 319 | Exploud | 39 | 0.0559 | | 320 | Mightyena | 39 | 0.0559 | | 321 | Shelgon | 38 | 0.0545 | | 322 | Ivysaur | 37 | 0.0530 | | 323 | Lunatone | 37 | 0.0530 | | 324 | Machoke | 37 | 0.0530 | | 325 | Dragonair | 36 | 0.0516 | | 326 | Arbok | 35 | 0.0502 | | 327 | Girafarig | 35 | 0.0502 | | 328 | Scraggy | 35 | 0.0502 | | 329 | Fearow | 34 | 0.0487 | | 330 | Lampent | 34 | 0.0487 | | 331 | Swalot | 34 | 0.0487 | | 332 | Dodrio | 33 | 0.0473 | | 333 | Stantler | 33 | 0.0473 | | 334 | Bulbasaur | 32 | 0.0459 | | 335 | Charmander | 32 | 0.0459 | | 336 | Croagunk | 32 | 0.0459 | | 337 | Beedrill | 31 | 0.0444 | | 338 | Delibird | 31 | 0.0444 | | 339 | Ferroseed | 31 | 0.0444 | | 340 | Jigglypuff | 31 | 0.0444 | | 341 | Sudowoodo | 31 | 0.0444 | | 342 | Togetic | 31 | 0.0444 | | 343 | Charmeleon | 30 | 0.0430 | | 344 | Cherrim | 29 | 0.0416 | | 345 | Masquerain | 29 | 0.0416 | | 346 | Munchlax | 29 | 0.0416 | | 347 | Vespiquen | 29 | 0.0416 | | 348 | Vulpix | 29 | 0.0416 | | 349 | Grumpig | 28 | 0.0401 | | 350 | Wartortle | 28 | 0.0401 | | 351 | Dewott | 27 | 0.0387 | | 352 | Simisear | 27 | 0.0387 | | 353 | Squirtle | 27 | 0.0387 | | 354 | Combusken | 26 | 0.0373 | | 355 | Pachirisu | 25 | 0.0358 | | 356 | Ariados | 24 | 0.0344 | | 357 | Grovyle | 24 | 0.0344 | | 358 | Eevee | 23 | 0.0330 | | 359 | Minun | 23 | 0.0330 | | 360 | Seviper | 23 | 0.0330 | | 361 | Spinda | 22 | 0.0315 | | 362 | Lickitung | 21 | 0.0301 | | 363 | Nosepass | 21 | 0.0301 | | 364 | Pineco | 21 | 0.0301 | | 365 | Wigglytuff | 21 | 0.0301 | | 366 | Arceus | 20 | 0.0287 | | 367 | Carnivine | 20 | 0.0287 | | 368 | Kadabra | 20 | 0.0287 | | 369 | Pichu | 20 | 0.0287 | | 370 | Plusle | 20 | 0.0287 | | 371 | Vigoroth | 20 | 0.0287 | | 372 | Volbeat | 20 | 0.0287 | | 373 | Zorua | 20 | 0.0287 | | 374 | Darkrai | 19 | 0.0272 | | 375 | Kyogre | 19 | 0.0272 | | 376 | Mudkip | 19 | 0.0272 | | 377 | Gloom | 18 | 0.0258 | | 378 | Ledian | 18 | 0.0258 | | 379 | Lombre | 18 | 0.0258 | | 380 | Sunflora | 18 | 0.0258 | | 381 | Caterpie | 17 | 0.0244 | | 382 | Roselia | 17 | 0.0244 | | 383 | Solosis | 17 | 0.0244 | | 384 | Beautifly | 16 | 0.0229 | | 385 | Pignite | 16 | 0.0229 | | 386 | Trubbish | 16 | 0.0229 | | 387 | Dwebble | 15 | 0.0215 | | 388 | Marshtomp | 15 | 0.0215 | | 389 | Meditite | 15 | 0.0215 | | 390 | Mewtwo | 15 | 0.0215 | | 391 | Pidgeotto | 15 | 0.0215 | | 392 | Sneasel | 15 | 0.0215 | | 393 | Chimecho | 14 | 0.0201 | | 394 | Metapod | 14 | 0.0201 | | 395 | Lumineon | 13 | 0.0186 | | 396 | Maractus | 13 | 0.0186 | | 397 | Tentacool | 13 | 0.0186 | | 398 | Chatot | 12 | 0.0172 | | 399 | Gastly | 12 | 0.0172 | | 400 | Meowth | 12 | 0.0172 | | 401 | Piplup | 12 | 0.0172 | | 402 | Seadra | 12 | 0.0172 | | 403 | Bayleef | 11 | 0.0158 | | 404 | Chikorita | 11 | 0.0158 | | 405 | Delcatty | 11 | 0.0158 | | 406 | Frillish | 11 | 0.0158 | | 407 | Glameow | 11 | 0.0158 | | 408 | Mienfoo | 11 | 0.0158 | | 409 | Porygon | 11 | 0.0158 | | 410 | Dustox | 10 | 0.0143 | | 411 | Gothorita | 10 | 0.0143 | | 412 | Herdie | 10 | 0.0143 | | 413 | Slowpoke | 10 | 0.0143 | | 414 | Tepig | 10 | 0.0143 | | 415 | Watchog | 10 | 0.0143 | | 416 | Corsola | 9 | 0.0129 | | 417 | Duosion | 9 | 0.0129 | | 418 | Kakuna | 9 | 0.0129 | | 419 | Lairon | 9 | 0.0129 | | 420 | Luvdisc | 9 | 0.0129 | | 421 | Mankey | 9 | 0.0129 | | 422 | Mantyke | 9 | 0.0129 | | 423 | Palkia | 9 | 0.0129 | | 424 | Rufflet | 9 | 0.0129 | | 425 | Shelmet | 9 | 0.0129 | | 426 | Snivy | 9 | 0.0129 | | 427 | Staryu | 9 | 0.0129 | | 428 | Darumaka | 8 | 0.0115 | | 429 | Giratina-O | 8 | 0.0115 | | 430 | Illumise | 8 | 0.0115 | | 431 | Paras | 8 | 0.0115 | | 432 | Piloswine | 8 | 0.0115 | | 433 | Poliwhirl | 8 | 0.0115 | | 434 | Snover | 8 | 0.0115 | | 435 | Sunkern | 8 | 0.0115 | | 436 | Teddiursa | 8 | 0.0115 | | 437 | Weedle | 8 | 0.0115 | | 438 | Yanma | 8 | 0.0115 | | 439 | Abra | 7 | 0.0100 | | 440 | Archen | 7 | 0.0100 | | 441 | Cleffa | 7 | 0.0100 | | 442 | Genesect | 7 | 0.0100 | | 443 | Graveler | 7 | 0.0100 | | 444 | Metang | 7 | 0.0100 | | 445 | Monferno | 7 | 0.0100 | | 446 | Oshawott | 7 | 0.0100 | | 447 | Skitty | 7 | 0.0100 | | 448 | Turtwig | 7 | 0.0100 | | 449 | Wormadam-G | 7 | 0.0100 | | 450 | Wynaut | 7 | 0.0100 | | 451 | Cyndaquil | 6 | 0.0086 | | 452 | Elekid | 6 | 0.0086 | | 453 | Gabite | 6 | 0.0086 | | 454 | Groudon | 6 | 0.0086 | | 455 | Keldeo | 6 | 0.0086 | | 456 | Marill | 6 | 0.0086 | | 457 | Omanyte | 6 | 0.0086 | | 458 | Psyduck | 6 | 0.0086 | | 459 | Quilava | 6 | 0.0086 | | 460 | Rayquaza | 6 | 0.0086 | | 461 | Servine | 6 | 0.0086 | | 462 | Swadloon | 6 | 0.0086 | | 463 | Torchic | 6 | 0.0086 | | 464 | Aipom | 5 | 0.0072 | | 465 | Arceus-Ghost | 5 | 0.0072 | | 466 | Bidoof | 5 | 0.0072 | | 467 | Boldore | 5 | 0.0072 | | 468 | Chimchar | 5 | 0.0072 | | 469 | Exeggcute | 5 | 0.0072 | | 470 | Fraxure | 5 | 0.0072 | | 471 | Growlithe | 5 | 0.0072 | | 472 | Houndour | 5 | 0.0072 | | 473 | Lotad | 5 | 0.0072 | | 474 | Makuhita | 5 | 0.0072 | | 475 | Natu | 5 | 0.0072 | | 476 | Numel | 5 | 0.0072 | | 477 | Panpour | 5 | 0.0072 | | 478 | Prinplup | 5 | 0.0072 | | 479 | Reshiram | 5 | 0.0072 | | 480 | Riolu | 5 | 0.0072 | | 481 | Tirtouga | 5 | 0.0072 | | 482 | Togepi | 5 | 0.0072 | | 483 | Tranquill | 5 | 0.0072 | | 484 | Vibrava | 5 | 0.0072 | | 485 | Zweilous | 5 | 0.0072 | | 486 | Baltoy | 4 | 0.0057 | | 487 | Dialga | 4 | 0.0057 | | 488 | Doduo | 4 | 0.0057 | | 489 | Giratina | 4 | 0.0057 | | 490 | Krokorok | 4 | 0.0057 | | 491 | Manaphy | 4 | 0.0057 | | 492 | Phanpy | 4 | 0.0057 | | 493 | Pidgey | 4 | 0.0057 | | 494 | Ponyta | 4 | 0.0057 | | 495 | Roggenrola | 4 | 0.0057 | | 496 | Sealeo | 4 | 0.0057 | | 497 | Shellos-East | 4 | 0.0057 | | 498 | Snorunt | 4 | 0.0057 | | 499 | Spearow | 4 | 0.0057 | | 500 | Staravia | 4 | 0.0057 | | 501 | Totodile | 4 | 0.0057 | | 502 | Tyrogue | 4 | 0.0057 | | 503 | Unown | 4 | 0.0057 | | 504 | Voltorb | 4 | 0.0057 | | 505 | Whirlipede | 4 | 0.0057 | | 506 | Wurmple | 4 | 0.0057 | | 507 | Zekrom | 4 | 0.0057 | | 508 | Axew | 3 | 0.0043 | | 509 | Bronzor | 3 | 0.0043 | | 510 | Cascoon | 3 | 0.0043 | | 511 | Cranidos | 3 | 0.0043 | | 512 | Deoxys-A | 3 | 0.0043 | | 513 | Diglett | 3 | 0.0043 | | 514 | Ducklett | 3 | 0.0043 | | 515 | Geodude | 3 | 0.0043 | | 516 | Golett | 3 | 0.0043 | | 517 | Igglybuff | 3 | 0.0043 | | 518 | Joltik | 3 | 0.0043 | | 519 | Klang | 3 | 0.0043 | | 520 | Mime Jr. | 3 | 0.0043 | | 521 | Phione | 3 | 0.0043 | | 522 | Ralts | 3 | 0.0043 | | 523 | Sandile | 3 | 0.0043 | | 524 | Sandshrew | 3 | 0.0043 | | 525 | Shellder | 3 | 0.0043 | | 526 | Silcoon | 3 | 0.0043 | | 527 | Smoochum | 3 | 0.0043 | | 528 | Taillow | 3 | 0.0043 | | 529 | Timburr | 3 | 0.0043 | | 530 | Trapinch | 3 | 0.0043 | | 531 | Unown-! | 3 | 0.0043 | | 532 | Whismur | 3 | 0.0043 | | 533 | Yamask | 3 | 0.0043 | | 534 | Azurill | 2 | 0.0029 | | 535 | Bellsprout | 2 | 0.0029 | | 536 | Buneary | 2 | 0.0029 | | 537 | Burmy | 2 | 0.0029 | | 538 | Carvanha | 2 | 0.0029 | | 539 | Chingling | 2 | 0.0029 | | 540 | Croconaw | 2 | 0.0029 | | 541 | Deerling | 2 | 0.0029 | | 542 | Dratini | 2 | 0.0029 | | 543 | Drifloon | 2 | 0.0029 | | 544 | Drilbur | 2 | 0.0029 | | 545 | Duskull | 2 | 0.0029 | | 546 | Eelektrik | 2 | 0.0029 | | 547 | Feebas | 2 | 0.0029 | | 548 | Gible | 2 | 0.0029 | | 549 | Karrablast | 2 | 0.0029 | | 550 | Krabby | 2 | 0.0029 | | 551 | Kricketune | 2 | 0.0029 | | 552 | Ledyba | 2 | 0.0029 | | 553 | Lileep | 2 | 0.0029 | | 554 | Lillipup | 2 | 0.0029 | | 555 | Magby | 2 | 0.0029 | | 556 | Magnemite | 2 | 0.0029 | | 557 | Mareep | 2 | 0.0029 | | 558 | Minccino | 2 | 0.0029 | | 559 | Mothim | 2 | 0.0029 | | 560 | Nidorino | 2 | 0.0029 | | 561 | Palpitoad | 2 | 0.0029 | | 562 | Pansear | 2 | 0.0029 | | 563 | Snubbull | 2 | 0.0029 | | 564 | Starly | 2 | 0.0029 | | 565 | Swinub | 2 | 0.0029 | | 566 | Treecko | 2 | 0.0029 | | 567 | Unown-? | 2 | 0.0029 | | 568 | Wormadam | 2 | 0.0029 | | 569 | Wormadam-S | 2 | 0.0029 | | 570 | Arceus-Fighting | 1 | 0.0014 | | 571 | Beldum | 1 | 0.0014 | | 572 | Chinchou | 1 | 0.0014 | | 573 | Colossoil | 1 | 0.0014 | | 574 | Corphish | 1 | 0.0014 | | 575 | Deino | 1 | 0.0014 | | 576 | Drowzee | 1 | 0.0014 | | 577 | Ekans | 1 | 0.0014 | | 578 | Finneon | 1 | 0.0014 | | 579 | Flaaffy | 1 | 0.0014 | | 580 | Foongus | 1 | 0.0014 | | 581 | Grotle | 1 | 0.0014 | | 582 | Happiny | 1 | 0.0014 | | 583 | Hoppip | 1 | 0.0014 | | 584 | Horsea | 1 | 0.0014 | | 585 | Kabuto | 1 | 0.0014 | | 586 | Larvesta | 1 | 0.0014 | | 587 | Larvitar | 1 | 0.0014 | | 588 | Lugia | 1 | 0.0014 | | 589 | Munna | 1 | 0.0014 | | 590 | Nidoran-M | 1 | 0.0014 | | 591 | Nidorina | 1 | 0.0014 | | 592 | Patrat | 1 | 0.0014 | | 593 | Petilil | 1 | 0.0014 | | 594 | Poochyena | 1 | 0.0014 | | 595 | Seedot | 1 | 0.0014 | | 596 | Seel | 1 | 0.0014 | | 597 | Shieldon | 1 | 0.0014 | | 598 | Shinx | 1 | 0.0014 | | 599 | Skiploom | 1 | 0.0014 | | 600 | Slakoth | 1 | 0.0014 | | 601 | Spoink | 1 | 0.0014 | | 602 | Unown-E | 1 | 0.0014 | | 603 | Unown-P | 1 | 0.0014 | | 604 | Unown-R | 1 | 0.0014 | | 605 | Unown-S | 1 | 0.0014 | | 606 | Unown-U | 1 | 0.0014 | | 607 | Vanillite | 1 | 0.0014 | | 608 | Vullaby | 1 | 0.0014 | + ---- + --------------- + ----- + ------- +
Rated Dream World Usage Stats Code: APR 2011 DREAM WORLD USAGE Total Battles: 100387 + ---- + --------------- + ----- + ------- + | Rank | Pokemon | Usage | Percent | + ---- + --------------- + ----- + ------- + | 1 | Chandelure | 38354 | 19.1031 | | 2 | Ferrothorn | 29585 | 14.7355 | | 3 | Garchomp | 26249 | 13.0739 | | 4 | Tyranitar | 22774 | 11.3431 | | 5 | Scizor | 22080 | 10.9974 | | 6 | Conkeldurr | 21822 | 10.8689 | | 7 | Dragonite | 20736 | 10.3280 | | 8 | Breloom | 20000 | 9.9614 | | 9 | Excadrill | 18191 | 9.0604 | | 10 | Serperior | 17523 | 8.7277 | | 11 | Gliscor | 17394 | 8.6635 | | 12 | Reuniclus | 17278 | 8.6057 | | 13 | Heatran | 17023 | 8.4787 | | 14 | Espeon | 15941 | 7.9398 | | 15 | Volcarona | 15852 | 7.8954 | | 16 | Gengar | 15638 | 7.7889 | | 17 | Latios | 15578 | 7.7590 | | 18 | Genesect | 14356 | 7.1503 | | 19 | Zapdos | 14247 | 7.0960 | | 20 | Vaporeon | 13830 | 6.8883 | | 21 | Ninetales | 13799 | 6.8729 | | 22 | Skarmory | 13383 | 6.6657 | | 23 | Politoed | 13107 | 6.5282 | | 24 | Cloyster | 12783 | 6.3669 | | 25 | Infernape | 12732 | 6.3415 | | 26 | Hydreigon | 12351 | 6.1517 | | 27 | Salamence | 12340 | 6.1462 | | 28 | Gyarados | 12018 | 5.9858 | | 29 | Blissey | 11969 | 5.9614 | | 30 | Forretress | 11864 | 5.9091 | | 31 | Scrafty | 11840 | 5.8972 | | 32 | Jellicent | 11598 | 5.7766 | | 33 | Haxorus | 11544 | 5.7497 | | 34 | Starmie | 10771 | 5.3647 | | 35 | Thundurus | 10487 | 5.2233 | | 36 | Jirachi | 10405 | 5.1824 | | 37 | Ditto | 10230 | 5.0953 | | 38 | Whimsicott | 9899 | 4.9304 | | 39 | Alakazam | 9560 | 4.7616 | | 40 | Metagross | 9516 | 4.7397 | | 41 | Darmanitan | 9492 | 4.7277 | | 42 | Lucario | 8421 | 4.1943 | | 43 | Keldeo | 8402 | 4.1848 | | 44 | Sableye | 8277 | 4.1225 | | 45 | Tentacruel | 8219 | 4.0937 | | 46 | Mienshao | 8217 | 4.0927 | | 47 | Hippowdon | 8119 | 4.0439 | | 48 | Zoroark | 8063 | 4.0160 | | 49 | Mamoswine | 7959 | 3.9642 | | 50 | Porygon2 | 7662 | 3.8162 | | 51 | Machamp | 7641 | 3.8058 | | 52 | Venusaur | 7464 | 3.7176 | | 53 | Suicune | 7388 | 3.6798 | | 54 | Landorus | 7123 | 3.5478 | | 55 | Arcanine | 7043 | 3.5079 | | 56 | Swampert | 7037 | 3.5049 | | 57 | Chansey | 6969 | 3.4711 | | 58 | Togekiss | 6608 | 3.2913 | | 59 | Bronzong | 6560 | 3.2674 | | 60 | Rotom-W | 6422 | 3.1986 | | 61 | Charizard | 6380 | 3.1777 | | 62 | Heracross | 6047 | 3.0118 | | 63 | Toxicroak | 5913 | 2.9451 | | 64 | Milotic | 5907 | 2.9421 | | 65 | Electivire | 5863 | 2.9202 | | 66 | Weavile | 5757 | 2.8674 | | 67 | Jolteon | 5702 | 2.8400 | | 68 | Terrakion | 5614 | 2.7962 | | 69 | Latias | 5602 | 2.7902 | | 70 | Empoleon | 5488 | 2.7334 | | 71 | Ninjask | 4937 | 2.4590 | | 72 | Aerodactyl | 4872 | 2.4266 | | 73 | Donphan | 4861 | 2.4211 | | 74 | Feraligatr | 4629 | 2.3056 | | 75 | Azelf | 4623 | 2.3026 | | 76 | Slowbro | 4507 | 2.2448 | | 77 | Sigilyph | 4404 | 2.1935 | | 78 | Magnezone | 4396 | 2.1895 | | 79 | Victini | 4329 | 2.1562 | | 80 | Snorlax | 4319 | 2.1512 | | 81 | Abomasnow | 4277 | 2.1303 | | 82 | Ambipom | 4201 | 2.0924 | | 83 | Golurk | 4074 | 2.0291 | | 84 | Kingdra | 4039 | 2.0117 | | 85 | Galvantula | 4030 | 2.0072 | | 86 | Deoxys-S | 3878 | 1.9315 | | 87 | Cinccino | 3855 | 1.9201 | | 88 | Dusclops | 3828 | 1.9066 | | 89 | Froslass | 3816 | 1.9006 | | 90 | Eelektross | 3783 | 1.8842 | | 91 | Accelgor | 3743 | 1.8643 | | 92 | Gallade | 3641 | 1.8135 | | 93 | Azumarill | 3583 | 1.7846 | | 94 | Nidoking | 3519 | 1.7527 | | 95 | Smeargle | 3519 | 1.7527 | | 96 | Quagsire | 3492 | 1.7393 | | 97 | Hitmontop | 3428 | 1.7074 | | 98 | Umbreon | 3322 | 1.6546 | | 99 | Sawsbuck | 3321 | 1.6541 | | 100 | Cofagrigus | 3234 | 1.6108 | | 101 | Virizion | 3214 | 1.6008 | | 102 | Crobat | 3072 | 1.5301 | | 103 | Hitmonlee | 2943 | 1.4658 | | 104 | Dusknoir | 2929 | 1.4589 | | 105 | Bisharp | 2925 | 1.4569 | | 106 | Gigalith | 2914 | 1.4514 | | 107 | Yanmega | 2911 | 1.4499 | | 108 | Celebi | 2903 | 1.4459 | | 109 | Archeops | 2873 | 1.4310 | | 110 | Missingno | 2872 | 1.4305 | | 111 | Porygon-Z | 2869 | 1.4290 | | 112 | Carracosta | 2843 | 1.4160 | | 113 | Flygon | 2789 | 1.3891 | | 114 | Krookodile | 2726 | 1.3577 | | 115 | Cresselia | 2700 | 1.3448 | | 116 | Blastoise | 2687 | 1.3383 | | 117 | Lilligant | 2655 | 1.3224 | | 118 | Staraptor | 2655 | 1.3224 | | 119 | Durant | 2616 | 1.3030 | | 120 | Sceptile | 2563 | 1.2766 | | 121 | Spiritomb | 2534 | 1.2621 | | 122 | Exeggutor | 2510 | 1.2502 | | 123 | Braviary | 2489 | 1.2397 | | 124 | Tornadus | 2369 | 1.1799 | | 125 | Crustle | 2338 | 1.1645 | | 126 | Clefable | 2323 | 1.1570 | | 127 | Roserade | 2280 | 1.1356 | | 128 | Escavalier | 2272 | 1.1316 | | 129 | Ludicolo | 2248 | 1.1197 | | 130 | Mew | 2246 | 1.1187 | | 131 | Raikou | 2217 | 1.1042 | | 132 | Honchkrow | 2164 | 1.0778 | | 133 | Kyurem | 2123 | 1.0574 | | 134 | Amoonguss | 2119 | 1.0554 | | 135 | Shuckle | 2113 | 1.0524 | | 136 | Emboar | 2105 | 1.0484 | | 137 | Weezing | 2057 | 1.0245 | | 138 | Gorebyss | 2014 | 1.0031 | | 139 | Tangrowth | 2011 | 1.0016 | | 140 | Alomomola | 1914 | 0.9533 | | 141 | Aggron | 1908 | 0.9503 | | 142 | Sharpedo | 1895 | 0.9438 | | 143 | Scolipede | 1878 | 0.9354 | | 144 | Xatu | 1865 | 0.9289 | | 145 | Typhlosion | 1852 | 0.9224 | | 146 | Venomoth | 1842 | 0.9174 | | 147 | Dugtrio | 1780 | 0.8866 | | 148 | Regice | 1761 | 0.8771 | | 149 | Rotom-H | 1729 | 0.8612 | | 150 | Medicham | 1688 | 0.8407 | | 151 | Leafeon | 1646 | 0.8198 | | 152 | Slowking | 1636 | 0.8148 | | 153 | Gastrodon | 1603 | 0.7984 | | 154 | Lapras | 1600 | 0.7969 | | 155 | Shaymin | 1552 | 0.7730 | | 156 | Absol | 1550 | 0.7720 | | 157 | Cradily | 1536 | 0.7650 | | 158 | Poliwrath | 1517 | 0.7556 | | 159 | Drapion | 1511 | 0.7526 | | 160 | Scyther | 1510 | 0.7521 | | 161 | Rhyperior | 1475 | 0.7347 | | 162 | Meloetta | 1423 | 0.7088 | | 163 | Walrein | 1423 | 0.7088 | | 164 | Claydol | 1402 | 0.6983 | | 165 | Murkrow | 1387 | 0.6908 | | 166 | Zebstrika | 1385 | 0.6898 | | 167 | Lanturn | 1384 | 0.6893 | | 168 | Wobbuffet | 1346 | 0.6704 | | 169 | Gardevoir | 1314 | 0.6545 | | 170 | Manectric | 1304 | 0.6495 | | 171 | Mandibuzz | 1295 | 0.6450 | | 172 | Magmortar | 1293 | 0.6440 | | 173 | Samurott | 1280 | 0.6375 | | 174 | Houndoom | 1276 | 0.6355 | | 175 | Sawk | 1261 | 0.6281 | | 176 | Deoxys-D | 1259 | 0.6271 | | 177 | Gothitelle | 1257 | 0.6261 | | 178 | Volbeat | 1240 | 0.6176 | | 179 | Uxie | 1232 | 0.6136 | | 180 | Klinklang | 1194 | 0.5947 | | 181 | Swellow | 1190 | 0.5927 | | 182 | Mismagius | 1186 | 0.5907 | | 183 | Bouffalant | 1176 | 0.5857 | | 184 | Registeel | 1165 | 0.5803 | | 185 | Meganium | 1157 | 0.5763 | | 186 | Probopass | 1117 | 0.5563 | | 187 | Glaceon | 1116 | 0.5558 | | 188 | Drifblim | 1105 | 0.5504 | | 189 | Sandslash | 1083 | 0.5394 | | 190 | Druddigon | 1078 | 0.5369 | | 191 | Liepard | 1078 | 0.5369 | | 192 | Linoone | 1015 | 0.5055 | | 193 | Electrode | 1013 | 0.5045 | | 194 | Seismitoad | 1003 | 0.4996 | | 195 | Aron | 997 | 0.4966 | | 196 | Pikachu | 985 | 0.4906 | | 197 | Steelix | 984 | 0.4901 | | 198 | Garbodor | 973 | 0.4846 | | 199 | Hariyama | 961 | 0.4786 | | 200 | Stoutland | 945 | 0.4707 | | 201 | Miltank | 943 | 0.4697 | | 202 | Rampardos | 910 | 0.4532 | | 203 | Torterra | 893 | 0.4448 | | 204 | Tangela | 891 | 0.4438 | | 205 | Golem | 884 | 0.4403 | | 206 | Shedinja | 883 | 0.4398 | | 207 | Lickilicky | 876 | 0.4363 | | 208 | Shiftry | 856 | 0.4264 | | 209 | Throh | 855 | 0.4259 | | 210 | Nidoqueen | 844 | 0.4204 | | 211 | Cryogonal | 829 | 0.4129 | | 212 | Cottonee | 818 | 0.4074 | | 213 | Flareon | 806 | 0.4014 | | 214 | Slaking | 799 | 0.3980 | | 215 | Simisage | 791 | 0.3940 | | 216 | Golduck | 786 | 0.3915 | | 217 | Zangoose | 745 | 0.3711 | | 218 | Cobalion | 734 | 0.3656 | | 219 | Marowak | 734 | 0.3656 | | 220 | Swoobat | 730 | 0.3636 | | 221 | Muk | 720 | 0.3586 | | 222 | Musharna | 692 | 0.3447 | | 223 | Raichu | 692 | 0.3447 | | 224 | Tauros | 674 | 0.3357 | | 225 | Altaria | 670 | 0.3337 | | 226 | Tropius | 670 | 0.3337 | | 227 | Cacturne | 668 | 0.3327 | | 228 | Omastar | 666 | 0.3317 | | 229 | Articuno | 659 | 0.3282 | | 230 | Moltres | 658 | 0.3277 | | 231 | Gligar | 652 | 0.3247 | | 232 | Parasect | 651 | 0.3242 | | 233 | Victreebel | 648 | 0.3228 | | 234 | Jumpluff | 627 | 0.3123 | | 235 | Jynx | 624 | 0.3108 | | 236 | Hitmonchan | 618 | 0.3078 | | 237 | Regirock | 609 | 0.3033 | | 238 | Ursaring | 586 | 0.2919 | | 239 | Emolga | 580 | 0.2889 | | 240 | Simipour | 558 | 0.2779 | | 241 | Kabutops | 555 | 0.2764 | | 242 | Vanilluxe | 554 | 0.2759 | | 243 | Torkoal | 551 | 0.2744 | | 244 | Beheeyem | 550 | 0.2739 | | 245 | Primeape | 538 | 0.2680 | | 246 | Rhydon | 527 | 0.2625 | | 247 | Stunfisk | 527 | 0.2625 | | 248 | Lopunny | 521 | 0.2595 | | 249 | Luxray | 518 | 0.2580 | | 250 | Magneton | 514 | 0.2560 | | 251 | Butterfree | 510 | 0.2540 | | 252 | Entei | 495 | 0.2465 | | 253 | Blaziken | 478 | 0.2381 | | 254 | Armaldo | 474 | 0.2361 | | 255 | Dodrio | 474 | 0.2361 | | 256 | Ampharos | 473 | 0.2356 | | 257 | Duosion | 459 | 0.2286 | | 258 | Mr. Mime | 450 | 0.2241 | | 259 | Simisear | 430 | 0.2142 | | 260 | Leavanny | 427 | 0.2127 | | 261 | Clefairy | 423 | 0.2107 | | 262 | Basculin | 419 | 0.2087 | | 263 | Swanna | 419 | 0.2087 | | 264 | Floatzel | 413 | 0.2057 | | 265 | Kingler | 406 | 0.2022 | | 266 | Beartic | 405 | 0.2017 | | 267 | Banette | 400 | 0.1992 | | 268 | Crawdaunt | 398 | 0.1982 | | 269 | Persian | 392 | 0.1952 | | 270 | Rapidash | 388 | 0.1933 | | 271 | Pidgeot | 387 | 0.1928 | | 272 | Bastiodon | 372 | 0.1853 | | 273 | Heatmor | 369 | 0.1838 | | 274 | Whiscash | 361 | 0.1798 | | 275 | Rotom-F | 350 | 0.1743 | | 276 | Rotom-C | 323 | 0.1609 | | 277 | Riolu | 320 | 0.1594 | | 278 | Vileplume | 318 | 0.1584 | | 279 | Seaking | 315 | 0.1569 | | 280 | Kangaskhan | 309 | 0.1539 | | 281 | Piloswine | 309 | 0.1539 | | 282 | Rotom-S | 295 | 0.1469 | | 283 | Combusken | 294 | 0.1464 | | 284 | Bibarel | 282 | 0.1405 | | 285 | Wartortle | 277 | 0.1380 | | 286 | Dewgong | 268 | 0.1335 | | 287 | Golbat | 265 | 0.1320 | | 288 | Audino | 263 | 0.1310 | | 289 | Hypno | 260 | 0.1295 | | 290 | Rotom | 251 | 0.1250 | | 291 | Shelgon | 249 | 0.1240 | | 292 | Maractus | 238 | 0.1185 | | 293 | Exploud | 223 | 0.1111 | | 294 | Wailord | 221 | 0.1101 | | 295 | Dunsparce | 212 | 0.1056 | | 296 | Lampent | 212 | 0.1056 | | 297 | Ferroseed | 209 | 0.1041 | | 298 | Sudowoodo | 207 | 0.1031 | | 299 | Masquerain | 201 | 0.1001 | | 300 | Pinsir | 199 | 0.0991 | | 301 | Arbok | 196 | 0.0976 | | 302 | Togetic | 189 | 0.0941 | | 303 | Vulpix | 187 | 0.0931 | | 304 | Furret | 182 | 0.0906 | | 305 | Mantine | 170 | 0.0847 | | 306 | Magmar | 168 | 0.0837 | | 307 | Mawile | 168 | 0.0837 | | 308 | Kecleon | 163 | 0.0812 | | 309 | Qwilfish | 160 | 0.0797 | | 310 | Mightyena | 158 | 0.0787 | | 311 | Hippopotas | 157 | 0.0782 | | 312 | Unfezant | 153 | 0.0762 | | 313 | Machoke | 152 | 0.0757 | | 314 | Raticate | 151 | 0.0752 | | 315 | Fearow | 149 | 0.0742 | | 316 | Servine | 148 | 0.0737 | | 317 | Vespiquen | 148 | 0.0737 | | 318 | Rattata | 147 | 0.0732 | | 319 | Skuntank | 147 | 0.0732 | | 320 | Camerupt | 142 | 0.0707 | | 321 | Castform | 142 | 0.0707 | | 322 | Ivysaur | 141 | 0.0702 | | 323 | Relicanth | 141 | 0.0702 | | 324 | Huntail | 139 | 0.0692 | | 325 | Mienfoo | 138 | 0.0687 | | 326 | Pelipper | 138 | 0.0687 | | 327 | Frillish | 134 | 0.0667 | | 328 | Illumise | 129 | 0.0643 | | 329 | Magcargo | 128 | 0.0638 | | 330 | Spinda | 127 | 0.0633 | | 331 | Swalot | 126 | 0.0628 | | 332 | Gothorita | 124 | 0.0618 | | 333 | Regigigas | 121 | 0.0603 | | 334 | Dragonair | 117 | 0.0583 | | 335 | Octillery | 114 | 0.0568 | | 336 | Electabuzz | 113 | 0.0563 | | 337 | Haunter | 107 | 0.0533 | | 338 | Lickitung | 106 | 0.0528 | | 339 | Bellossom | 104 | 0.0518 | | 340 | Dustox | 103 | 0.0513 | | 341 | Gurdurr | 98 | 0.0488 | | 342 | Purugly | 98 | 0.0488 | | 343 | Noctowl | 97 | 0.0483 | | 344 | Litwick | 95 | 0.0473 | | 345 | Onix | 94 | 0.0468 | | 346 | Cleffa | 93 | 0.0463 | | 347 | Beedrill | 91 | 0.0453 | | 348 | Magikarp | 91 | 0.0453 | | 349 | Munchlax | 91 | 0.0453 | | 350 | Girafarig | 87 | 0.0433 | | 351 | Cherrim | 84 | 0.0418 | | 352 | Mesprit | 84 | 0.0418 | | 353 | Ledian | 83 | 0.0413 | | 354 | Clamperl | 80 | 0.0398 | | 355 | Delcatty | 79 | 0.0393 | | 356 | Boldore | 78 | 0.0388 | | 357 | Dwebble | 78 | 0.0388 | | 358 | Seadra | 78 | 0.0388 | | 359 | Minun | 72 | 0.0359 | | 360 | Scraggy | 72 | 0.0359 | | 361 | Beautifly | 70 | 0.0349 | | 362 | Wigglytuff | 70 | 0.0349 | | 363 | Misdreavus | 69 | 0.0344 | | 364 | Bayleef | 67 | 0.0334 | | 365 | Grumpig | 66 | 0.0329 | | 366 | Yanma | 65 | 0.0324 | | 367 | Purrloin | 64 | 0.0319 | | 368 | Glalie | 62 | 0.0309 | | 369 | Nosepass | 60 | 0.0299 | | 370 | Pachirisu | 60 | 0.0299 | | 371 | Farfetch'd | 59 | 0.0294 | | 372 | Wormadam-S | 59 | 0.0294 | | 373 | Watchog | 58 | 0.0289 | | 374 | Lumineon | 57 | 0.0284 | | 375 | Seviper | 57 | 0.0284 | | 376 | Kadabra | 55 | 0.0274 | | 377 | Whirlipede | 55 | 0.0274 | | 378 | Mothim | 54 | 0.0269 | | 379 | Bonsly | 53 | 0.0264 | | 380 | Lunatone | 52 | 0.0259 | | 381 | Roselia | 50 | 0.0249 | | 382 | Solrock | 50 | 0.0249 | | 383 | Corsola | 49 | 0.0244 | | 384 | Magnemite | 48 | 0.0239 | | 385 | Snover | 48 | 0.0239 | | 386 | Gabite | 47 | 0.0234 | | 387 | Metang | 45 | 0.0224 | | 388 | Jigglypuff | 43 | 0.0214 | | 389 | Fraxure | 41 | 0.0204 | | 390 | Seel | 40 | 0.0199 | | 391 | Delibird | 39 | 0.0194 | | 392 | Lombre | 37 | 0.0184 | | 393 | Stantler | 37 | 0.0184 | | 394 | Sunflora | 37 | 0.0184 | | 395 | Ariados | 36 | 0.0179 | | 396 | Deerling-Summer | 36 | 0.0179 | | 397 | Trapinch | 35 | 0.0174 | | 398 | Larvesta | 34 | 0.0169 | | 399 | Shelmet | 34 | 0.0169 | | 400 | Archen | 33 | 0.0164 | | 401 | Chatot | 33 | 0.0164 | | 402 | Graveler | 33 | 0.0164 | | 403 | Grotle | 31 | 0.0154 | | 404 | Klang | 31 | 0.0154 | | 405 | Meowth | 31 | 0.0154 | | 406 | Houndour | 30 | 0.0149 | | 407 | Charmeleon | 29 | 0.0144 | | 408 | Koffing | 29 | 0.0144 | | 409 | Pawniard | 29 | 0.0144 | | 410 | Porygon | 29 | 0.0144 | | 411 | Sandshrew | 29 | 0.0144 | | 412 | Bronzor | 27 | 0.0134 | | 413 | Bulbasaur | 27 | 0.0134 | | 414 | Gastly | 26 | 0.0129 | | 415 | Gloom | 26 | 0.0129 | | 416 | Drilbur | 25 | 0.0125 | | 417 | Mankey | 25 | 0.0125 | | 418 | Zweilous | 25 | 0.0125 | | 419 | Granbull | 24 | 0.0120 | | 420 | Phanpy | 24 | 0.0120 | | 421 | Starly | 24 | 0.0120 | | 422 | Darumaka | 23 | 0.0115 | | 423 | Sneasel | 23 | 0.0115 | | 424 | Vigoroth | 23 | 0.0115 | | 425 | Eelektrik | 22 | 0.0110 | | 426 | Larvitar | 22 | 0.0110 | | 427 | Mantyke | 22 | 0.0110 | | 428 | Timburr | 22 | 0.0110 | | 429 | Grovyle | 21 | 0.0105 | | 430 | Kakuna | 21 | 0.0105 | | 431 | Kricketune | 21 | 0.0105 | | 432 | Torchic | 21 | 0.0105 | | 433 | Treecko | 21 | 0.0105 | | 434 | Wynaut | 21 | 0.0105 | | 435 | Snivy | 20 | 0.0100 | | 436 | Lairon | 19 | 0.0095 | | 437 | Piplup | 19 | 0.0095 | | 438 | Buneary | 18 | 0.0090 | | 439 | Carnivine | 18 | 0.0090 | | 440 | Phione | 18 | 0.0090 | | 441 | Shellder | 18 | 0.0090 | | 442 | Taillow | 18 | 0.0090 | | 443 | Carvanha | 17 | 0.0085 | | 444 | Cubone | 17 | 0.0085 | | 445 | Drowzee | 17 | 0.0085 | | 446 | Marill | 17 | 0.0085 | | 447 | Meditite | 17 | 0.0085 | | 448 | Squirtle | 17 | 0.0085 | | 449 | Charmander | 16 | 0.0080 | | 450 | Pupitar | 16 | 0.0080 | | 451 | Solosis | 16 | 0.0080 | | 452 | Totodile | 15 | 0.0075 | | 453 | Yamask | 15 | 0.0075 | | 454 | Zorua | 15 | 0.0075 | | 455 | Feebas | 14 | 0.0070 | | 456 | Nidorina | 14 | 0.0070 | | 457 | Wailmer | 14 | 0.0070 | | 458 | Croagunk | 13 | 0.0065 | | 459 | Duskull | 13 | 0.0065 | | 460 | Happiny | 13 | 0.0065 | | 461 | Plusle | 13 | 0.0065 | | 462 | Quilava | 13 | 0.0065 | | 463 | Aipom | 12 | 0.0060 | | 464 | Chimchar | 12 | 0.0060 | | 465 | Chinchou | 12 | 0.0060 | | 466 | Dewott | 12 | 0.0060 | | 467 | Ponyta | 12 | 0.0060 | | 468 | Bagon | 11 | 0.0055 | | 469 | Cranidos | 11 | 0.0055 | | 470 | Mudkip | 11 | 0.0055 | | 471 | Oshawott | 11 | 0.0055 | | 472 | Poliwhirl | 11 | 0.0055 | | 473 | Rufflet | 11 | 0.0055 | | 474 | Turtwig | 11 | 0.0055 | | 475 | Voltorb | 11 | 0.0055 | | 476 | Gible | 10 | 0.0050 | | 477 | Nidorino | 10 | 0.0050 | | 478 | Unown-F | 10 | 0.0050 | | 479 | Abra | 9 | 0.0045 | | 480 | Chimecho | 9 | 0.0045 | | 481 | Eevee | 9 | 0.0045 | | 482 | Lileep | 9 | 0.0045 | | 483 | Shieldon | 9 | 0.0045 | | 484 | Slowpoke | 9 | 0.0045 | | 485 | Buizel | 8 | 0.0040 | | 486 | Dratini | 8 | 0.0040 | | 487 | Drifloon | 8 | 0.0040 | | 488 | Gothita | 8 | 0.0040 | | 489 | Luxio | 8 | 0.0040 | | 490 | Pineco | 8 | 0.0040 | | 491 | Prinplup | 8 | 0.0040 | | 492 | Sealeo | 8 | 0.0040 | | 493 | Swablu | 8 | 0.0040 | | 494 | Swinub | 8 | 0.0040 | | 495 | Tepig | 8 | 0.0040 | | 496 | Cacnea | 7 | 0.0035 | | 497 | Croconaw | 7 | 0.0035 | | 498 | Cyndaquil | 7 | 0.0035 | | 499 | Joltik | 7 | 0.0035 | | 500 | Krokorok | 7 | 0.0035 | | 501 | Numel | 7 | 0.0035 | | 502 | Pidgeotto | 7 | 0.0035 | | 503 | Snorunt | 7 | 0.0035 | | 504 | Staryu | 7 | 0.0035 | | 505 | Tentacool | 7 | 0.0035 | | 506 | Tirtouga | 7 | 0.0035 | | 507 | Deino | 6 | 0.0030 | | 508 | Diglett | 6 | 0.0030 | | 509 | Elekid | 6 | 0.0030 | | 510 | Minccino | 6 | 0.0030 | | 511 | Pansage | 6 | 0.0030 | | 512 | Pichu | 6 | 0.0030 | | 513 | Sunkern | 6 | 0.0030 | | 514 | Teddiursa | 6 | 0.0030 | | 515 | Vanillish | 6 | 0.0030 | | 516 | Venonat | 6 | 0.0030 | | 517 | Woobat | 6 | 0.0030 | | 518 | Wormadam | 6 | 0.0030 | | 519 | Baltoy | 5 | 0.0025 | | 520 | Chikorita | 5 | 0.0025 | | 521 | Makuhita | 5 | 0.0025 | | 522 | Metapod | 5 | 0.0025 | | 523 | Monferno | 5 | 0.0025 | | 524 | Natu | 5 | 0.0025 | | 525 | Rhyhorn | 5 | 0.0025 | | 526 | Skitty | 5 | 0.0025 | | 527 | Smoochum | 5 | 0.0025 | | 528 | Spheal | 5 | 0.0025 | | 529 | Spoink | 5 | 0.0025 | | 530 | Togepi | 5 | 0.0025 | | 531 | Tympole | 5 | 0.0025 | | 532 | Vibrava | 5 | 0.0025 | | 533 | Zigzagoon | 5 | 0.0025 | | 534 | Anorith | 4 | 0.0020 | | 535 | Axew | 4 | 0.0020 | | 536 | Corphish | 4 | 0.0020 | | 537 | Horsea | 4 | 0.0020 | | 538 | Kabuto | 4 | 0.0020 | | 539 | Mime Jr. | 4 | 0.0020 | | 540 | Oddish | 4 | 0.0020 | | 541 | Omanyte | 4 | 0.0020 | | 542 | Poliwag | 4 | 0.0020 | | 543 | Shellos | 4 | 0.0020 | | 544 | Swadloon | 4 | 0.0020 | | 545 | Vullaby | 4 | 0.0020 | | 546 | Wingull | 4 | 0.0020 | | 547 | Wooper | 4 | 0.0020 | | 548 | Zubat | 4 | 0.0020 | | 549 | Exeggcute | 3 | 0.0015 | | 550 | Geodude | 3 | 0.0015 | | 551 | Kirlia | 3 | 0.0015 | | 552 | Klink | 3 | 0.0015 | | 553 | Machop | 3 | 0.0015 | | 554 | Palpitoa | 3 | 0.0015 | | 555 | Roggenrola | 3 | 0.0015 | | 556 | Unown | 3 | 0.0015 | | 557 | Azurill | 2 | 0.0010 | | 558 | Bidoof | 2 | 0.0010 | | 559 | Electrike | 2 | 0.0010 | | 560 | Foongus | 2 | 0.0010 | | 561 | Golett | 2 | 0.0010 | | 562 | Growlithe | 2 | 0.0010 | | 563 | Krabby | 2 | 0.0010 | | 564 | Luvdisc | 2 | 0.0010 | | 565 | Magby | 2 | 0.0010 | | 566 | Poochyena | 2 | 0.0010 | | 567 | Shuppet | 2 | 0.0010 | | 568 | Slakoth | 2 | 0.0010 | | 569 | Spearow | 2 | 0.0010 | | 570 | Beldum | 1 | 0.0005 | | 571 | Bellsprout | 1 | 0.0005 | | 572 | Burmy-S | 1 | 0.0005 | | 573 | Cascoon | 1 | 0.0005 | | 574 | Combee | 1 | 0.0005 | | 575 | Deerling | 1 | 0.0005 | | 576 | Ekans | 1 | 0.0005 | | 577 | Glameow | 1 | 0.0005 | | 578 | Grimer | 1 | 0.0005 | | 579 | Igglybuff | 1 | 0.0005 | | 580 | Lillipup | 1 | 0.0005 | | 581 | Loudred | 1 | 0.0005 | | 582 | Nidoran-F | 1 | 0.0005 | | 583 | Paras | 1 | 0.0005 | | 584 | Patrat | 1 | 0.0005 | | 585 | Pignite | 1 | 0.0005 | | 586 | Ralts | 1 | 0.0005 | | 587 | Sandile | 1 | 0.0005 | | 588 | Shellos-East | 1 | 0.0005 | | 589 | Shinx | 1 | 0.0005 | | 590 | Shroomish | 1 | 0.0005 | | 591 | Silcoon | 1 | 0.0005 | | 592 | Stunky | 1 | 0.0005 | | 593 | Surskit | 1 | 0.0005 | | 594 | Trubbish | 1 | 0.0005 | | 595 | Tyrogue | 1 | 0.0005 | + ---- + --------------- + ----- + ------- +
Unrated Dream World Usage Stats Code: APR 2011 UNRATED DREAM WORLD USAGE Total Battles: 7304 + ---- + --------------- + ----- + ------- + | Rank | Pokemon | Usage | Percent | + ---- + --------------- + ----- + ------- + | 1 | Chandelure | 2284 | 15.6353 | | 2 | Garchomp | 1826 | 12.5000 | | 3 | Ferrothorn | 1785 | 12.2193 | | 4 | Conkeldurr | 1487 | 10.1794 | | 5 | Tyranitar | 1472 | 10.0767 | | 6 | Serperior | 1305 | 8.9335 | | 7 | Dragonite | 1298 | 8.8855 | | 8 | Excadrill | 1294 | 8.8582 | | 9 | Scizor | 1220 | 8.3516 | | 10 | Breloom | 1215 | 8.3174 | | 11 | Espeon | 1211 | 8.2900 | | 12 | Gliscor | 1197 | 8.1941 | | 13 | Volcarona | 1197 | 8.1941 | | 14 | Reuniclus | 1179 | 8.0709 | | 15 | Hydreigon | 1138 | 7.7903 | | 16 | Gengar | 1124 | 7.6944 | | 17 | Heatran | 1076 | 7.3658 | | 18 | Vaporeon | 951 | 6.5101 | | 19 | Infernape | 937 | 6.4143 | | 20 | Haxorus | 931 | 6.3732 | | 21 | Cloyster | 924 | 6.3253 | | 22 | Genesect | 914 | 6.2568 | | 23 | Ninetales | 857 | 5.8666 | | 24 | Skarmory | 848 | 5.8050 | | 25 | Jellicent | 844 | 5.7777 | | 26 | Latios | 841 | 5.7571 | | 27 | Forretress | 811 | 5.5518 | | 28 | Lucario | 809 | 5.5381 | | 29 | Metagross | 800 | 5.4765 | | 30 | Salamence | 798 | 5.4628 | | 31 | Blissey | 794 | 5.4354 | | 32 | Zapdos | 772 | 5.2848 | | 33 | Jirachi | 769 | 5.2642 | | 34 | Thundurus | 733 | 5.0178 | | 35 | Scrafty | 722 | 4.9425 | | 36 | Sableye | 710 | 4.8604 | | 37 | Gyarados | 707 | 4.8398 | | 38 | Alakazam | 702 | 4.8056 | | 39 | Machamp | 663 | 4.5386 | | 40 | Zoroark | 654 | 4.4770 | | 41 | Ditto | 652 | 4.4633 | | 42 | Politoed | 642 | 4.3949 | | 43 | Darmanitan | 638 | 4.3675 | | 44 | Whimsicott | 614 | 4.2032 | | 45 | Mienshao | 602 | 4.1210 | | 46 | Starmie | 599 | 4.1005 | | 47 | Chansey | 569 | 3.8951 | | 48 | Hippowdon | 566 | 3.8746 | | 49 | Charizard | 555 | 3.7993 | | 50 | Swampert | 555 | 3.7993 | | 51 | Mamoswine | 543 | 3.7171 | | 52 | Milotic | 543 | 3.7171 | | 53 | Venusaur | 541 | 3.7035 | | 54 | Keldeo | 537 | 3.6761 | | 55 | Porygon2 | 532 | 3.6418 | | 56 | Bronzong | 509 | 3.4844 | | 57 | Electivire | 498 | 3.4091 | | 58 | Jolteon | 483 | 3.3064 | | 59 | Suicune | 483 | 3.3064 | | 60 | Rotom-W | 482 | 3.2996 | | 61 | Heracross | 478 | 3.2722 | | 62 | Togekiss | 473 | 3.2380 | | 63 | Arcanine | 459 | 3.1421 | | 64 | Landorus | 454 | 3.1079 | | 65 | Tentacruel | 446 | 3.0531 | | 66 | Ninjask | 428 | 2.9299 | | 67 | Golurk | 410 | 2.8067 | | 68 | Missingno | 410 | 2.8067 | | 69 | Weavile | 397 | 2.7177 | | 70 | Eelektross | 395 | 2.7040 | | 71 | Terrakion | 387 | 2.6492 | | 72 | Empoleon | 376 | 2.5739 | | 73 | Magnezone | 376 | 2.5739 | | 74 | Slowbro | 374 | 2.5602 | | 75 | Umbreon | 364 | 2.4918 | | 76 | Gallade | 357 | 2.4439 | | 77 | Galvantula | 356 | 2.4370 | | 78 | Donphan | 345 | 2.3617 | | 79 | Snorlax | 341 | 2.3343 | | 80 | Blastoise | 337 | 2.3070 | | 81 | Sigilyph | 336 | 2.3001 | | 82 | Latias | 330 | 2.2590 | | 83 | Aerodactyl | 329 | 2.2522 | | 84 | Victini | 325 | 2.2248 | | 85 | Kingdra | 314 | 2.1495 | | 86 | Bisharp | 310 | 2.1221 | | 87 | Toxicroak | 310 | 2.1221 | | 88 | Abomasnow | 308 | 2.1084 | | 89 | Quagsire | 302 | 2.0674 | | 90 | Crobat | 298 | 2.0400 | | 91 | Feraligatr | 293 | 2.0058 | | 92 | Amoonguss | 287 | 1.9647 | | 93 | Cofagrigus | 281 | 1.9236 | | 94 | Durant | 273 | 1.8688 | | 95 | Smeargle | 273 | 1.8688 | | 96 | Carracosta | 270 | 1.8483 | | 97 | Accelgor | 257 | 1.7593 | | 98 | Gigalith | 257 | 1.7593 | | 99 | Nidoking | 256 | 1.7525 | | 100 | Xatu | 254 | 1.7388 | | 101 | Ambipom | 252 | 1.7251 | | 102 | Krookodile | 249 | 1.7045 | | 103 | Hitmonlee | 246 | 1.6840 | | 104 | Azelf | 245 | 1.6772 | | 105 | Cinccino | 239 | 1.6361 | | 106 | Dusknoir | 238 | 1.6292 | | 107 | Claydol | 231 | 1.5813 | | 108 | Flygon | 229 | 1.5676 | | 109 | Froslass | 228 | 1.5608 | | 110 | Escavalier | 227 | 1.5539 | | 111 | Braviary | 224 | 1.5334 | | 112 | Deoxys-S | 219 | 1.4992 | | 113 | Archeops | 217 | 1.4855 | | 114 | Dusclops | 217 | 1.4855 | | 115 | Emboar | 211 | 1.4444 | | 116 | Cresselia | 208 | 1.4239 | | 117 | Yanmega | 206 | 1.4102 | | 118 | Spiritomb | 204 | 1.3965 | | 119 | Porygon-Z | 203 | 1.3896 | | 120 | Staraptor | 201 | 1.3760 | | 121 | Sceptile | 199 | 1.3623 | | 122 | Typhlosion | 199 | 1.3623 | | 123 | Shuckle | 198 | 1.3554 | | 124 | Exeggutor | 195 | 1.3349 | | 125 | Azumarill | 193 | 1.3212 | | 126 | Hitmontop | 192 | 1.3143 | | 127 | Drapion | 191 | 1.3075 | | 128 | Weezing | 191 | 1.3075 | | 129 | Alomomola | 186 | 1.2733 | | 130 | Sawsbuck | 185 | 1.2664 | | 131 | Virizion | 185 | 1.2664 | | 132 | Gardevoir | 176 | 1.2048 | | 133 | Crustle | 173 | 1.1843 | | 134 | Ludicolo | 172 | 1.1774 | | 135 | Celebi | 170 | 1.1637 | | 136 | Clefable | 170 | 1.1637 | | 137 | Roserade | 169 | 1.1569 | | 138 | Volbeat | 167 | 1.1432 | | 139 | Lilligant | 165 | 1.1295 | | 140 | Rhyperior | 162 | 1.1090 | | 141 | Kyurem | 160 | 1.0953 | | 142 | Raikou | 160 | 1.0953 | | 143 | Absol | 158 | 1.0816 | | 144 | Steelix | 154 | 1.0542 | | 145 | Hariyama | 153 | 1.0474 | | 146 | Seismitoad | 153 | 1.0474 | | 147 | Tornadus | 151 | 1.0337 | | 148 | Druddigon | 148 | 1.0131 | | 149 | Samurott | 147 | 1.0063 | | 150 | Meloetta | 146 | 0.9995 | | 151 | Scolipede | 145 | 0.9926 | | 152 | Torterra | 142 | 0.9721 | | 153 | Tangrowth | 139 | 0.9515 | | 154 | Scyther | 138 | 0.9447 | | 155 | Moltres | 136 | 0.9310 | | 156 | Swellow | 135 | 0.9242 | | 157 | Walrein | 135 | 0.9242 | | 158 | Leafeon | 132 | 0.9036 | | 159 | Gothitelle | 131 | 0.8968 | | 160 | Gastrodon | 130 | 0.8899 | | 161 | Mismagius | 129 | 0.8831 | | 162 | Aggron | 128 | 0.8762 | | 163 | Sharpedo | 128 | 0.8762 | | 164 | Honchkrow | 127 | 0.8694 | | 165 | Mew | 127 | 0.8694 | | 166 | Houndoom | 122 | 0.8352 | | 167 | Zebstrika | 122 | 0.8352 | | 168 | Lapras | 120 | 0.8215 | | 169 | Cradily | 119 | 0.8146 | | 170 | Electrode | 119 | 0.8146 | | 171 | Magmortar | 119 | 0.8146 | | 172 | Medicham | 118 | 0.8078 | | 173 | Sawk | 118 | 0.8078 | | 174 | Sandslash | 115 | 0.7872 | | 175 | Omastar | 114 | 0.7804 | | 176 | Throh | 114 | 0.7804 | | 177 | Regice | 112 | 0.7667 | | 178 | Glaceon | 111 | 0.7599 | | 179 | Gorebyss | 110 | 0.7530 | | 180 | Bouffalant | 107 | 0.7325 | | 181 | Mandibuzz | 107 | 0.7325 | | 182 | Golduck | 105 | 0.7188 | | 183 | Shedinja | 103 | 0.7051 | | 184 | Miltank | 102 | 0.6982 | | 185 | Rampardos | 100 | 0.6846 | | 186 | Venomoth | 100 | 0.6846 | | 187 | Lanturn | 99 | 0.6777 | | 188 | Raichu | 98 | 0.6709 | | 189 | Dugtrio | 97 | 0.6640 | | 190 | Uxie | 97 | 0.6640 | | 191 | Liepard | 96 | 0.6572 | | 192 | Meganium | 95 | 0.6503 | | 193 | Pikachu | 95 | 0.6503 | | 194 | Golem | 93 | 0.6366 | | 195 | Regirock | 92 | 0.6298 | | 196 | Manectric | 90 | 0.6161 | | 197 | Deoxys-D | 87 | 0.5956 | | 198 | Registeel | 87 | 0.5956 | | 199 | Slaking | 85 | 0.5819 | | 200 | Slowking | 85 | 0.5819 | | 201 | Vanilluxe | 82 | 0.5613 | | 202 | Garbodor | 81 | 0.5545 | | 203 | Jynx | 80 | 0.5476 | | 204 | Cobalion | 79 | 0.5408 | | 205 | Stunfisk | 79 | 0.5408 | | 206 | Shaymin | 78 | 0.5340 | | 207 | Probopass | 77 | 0.5271 | | 208 | Rotom-H | 77 | 0.5271 | | 209 | Drifblim | 74 | 0.5066 | | 210 | Ursaring | 74 | 0.5066 | | 211 | Klinklang | 73 | 0.4997 | | 212 | Entei | 70 | 0.4792 | | 213 | Primeape | 70 | 0.4792 | | 214 | Wobbuffet | 69 | 0.4723 | | 215 | Marowak | 68 | 0.4655 | | 216 | Luxray | 67 | 0.4587 | | 217 | Murkrow | 67 | 0.4587 | | 218 | Flareon | 66 | 0.4518 | | 219 | Aron | 65 | 0.4450 | | 220 | Cryogonal | 65 | 0.4450 | | 221 | Torkoal | 65 | 0.4450 | | 222 | Poliwrath | 64 | 0.4381 | | 223 | Stoutland | 64 | 0.4381 | | 224 | Kabutops | 62 | 0.4244 | | 225 | Beartic | 58 | 0.3970 | | 226 | Gligar | 58 | 0.3970 | | 227 | Musharna | 58 | 0.3970 | | 228 | Parasect | 58 | 0.3970 | | 229 | Magneton | 57 | 0.3902 | | 230 | Swoobat | 57 | 0.3902 | | 231 | Altaria | 56 | 0.3834 | | 232 | Armaldo | 56 | 0.3834 | | 233 | Hitmonchan | 55 | 0.3765 | | 234 | Muk | 52 | 0.3560 | | 235 | Tangela | 52 | 0.3560 | | 236 | Victreebel | 52 | 0.3560 | | 237 | Emolga | 51 | 0.3491 | | 238 | Simisage | 51 | 0.3491 | | 239 | Linoone | 50 | 0.3423 | | 240 | Zangoose | 50 | 0.3423 | | 241 | Butterfree | 48 | 0.3286 | | 242 | Dunsparce | 47 | 0.3217 | | 243 | Shiftry | 47 | 0.3217 | | 244 | Cacturne | 46 | 0.3149 | | 245 | Crawdaunt | 46 | 0.3149 | | 246 | Heatmor | 46 | 0.3149 | | 247 | Pinsir | 46 | 0.3149 | | 248 | Articuno | 45 | 0.3081 | | 249 | Lickilicky | 44 | 0.3012 | | 250 | Farfetch'd | 43 | 0.2944 | | 251 | Leavanny | 42 | 0.2875 | | 252 | Simipour | 42 | 0.2875 | | 253 | Ampharos | 40 | 0.2738 | | 254 | Audino | 40 | 0.2738 | | 255 | Jumpluff | 39 | 0.2670 | | 256 | Mr. Mime | 39 | 0.2670 | | 257 | Numel | 39 | 0.2670 | | 258 | Skuntank | 39 | 0.2670 | | 259 | Tauros | 39 | 0.2670 | | 260 | Floatzel | 38 | 0.2601 | | 261 | Nidoqueen | 38 | 0.2601 | | 262 | Persian | 37 | 0.2533 | | 263 | Tropius | 37 | 0.2533 | | 264 | Beheeyem | 35 | 0.2396 | | 265 | Blaziken | 35 | 0.2396 | | 266 | Dodrio | 34 | 0.2327 | | 267 | Kingler | 34 | 0.2327 | | 268 | Rotom-F | 34 | 0.2327 | | 269 | Pidgeot | 33 | 0.2259 | | 270 | Bastiodon | 32 | 0.2191 | | 271 | Simisear | 32 | 0.2191 | | 272 | Unfezant | 32 | 0.2191 | | 273 | Wailord | 30 | 0.2054 | | 274 | Rapidash | 29 | 0.1985 | | 275 | Rhydon | 29 | 0.1985 | | 276 | Kangaskhan | 27 | 0.1848 | | 277 | Rotom | 27 | 0.1848 | | 278 | Banette | 26 | 0.1780 | | 279 | Piloswine | 26 | 0.1780 | | 280 | Dragonair | 25 | 0.1711 | | 281 | Vileplume | 25 | 0.1711 | | 282 | Delibird | 24 | 0.1643 | | 283 | Swanna | 24 | 0.1643 | | 284 | Cottonee | 23 | 0.1574 | | 285 | Sunflora | 23 | 0.1574 | | 286 | Arbok | 22 | 0.1506 | | 287 | Lampent | 22 | 0.1506 | | 288 | Maractus | 22 | 0.1506 | | 289 | Octillery | 22 | 0.1506 | | 290 | Rotom-C | 22 | 0.1506 | | 291 | Tentacool | 22 | 0.1506 | | 292 | Hippopotas | 21 | 0.1438 | | 293 | Huntail | 21 | 0.1438 | | 294 | Hypno | 20 | 0.1369 | | 295 | Riolu | 20 | 0.1369 | | 296 | Bibarel | 19 | 0.1301 | | 297 | Camerupt | 19 | 0.1301 | | 298 | Golbat | 19 | 0.1301 | | 299 | Ivysaur | 19 | 0.1301 | | 300 | Bellossom | 18 | 0.1232 | | 301 | Combusken | 18 | 0.1232 | | 302 | Exploud | 18 | 0.1232 | | 303 | Clefairy | 17 | 0.1164 | | 304 | Delcatty | 17 | 0.1164 | | 305 | Fearow | 17 | 0.1164 | | 306 | Haunter | 17 | 0.1164 | | 307 | Kecleon | 17 | 0.1164 | | 308 | Mantine | 17 | 0.1164 | | 309 | Onix | 17 | 0.1164 | | 310 | Basculin | 16 | 0.1095 | | 311 | Mesprit | 16 | 0.1095 | | 312 | Swalot | 16 | 0.1095 | | 313 | Regigigas | 15 | 0.1027 | | 314 | Whiscash | 15 | 0.1027 | | 315 | Dewgong | 14 | 0.0958 | | 316 | Noctowl | 14 | 0.0958 | | 317 | Sudowoodo | 14 | 0.0958 | | 318 | Vespiquen | 14 | 0.0958 | | 319 | Whirlipede | 14 | 0.0958 | | 320 | Beedrill | 13 | 0.0890 | | 321 | Duosion | 13 | 0.0890 | | 322 | Ledian | 13 | 0.0890 | | 323 | Stantler | 13 | 0.0890 | | 324 | Litwick | 12 | 0.0821 | | 325 | Qwilfish | 12 | 0.0821 | | 326 | Seadra | 12 | 0.0821 | | 327 | Seaking | 12 | 0.0821 | | 328 | Shelgon | 12 | 0.0821 | | 329 | Granbull | 11 | 0.0753 | | 330 | Machoke | 11 | 0.0753 | | 331 | Castform | 10 | 0.0685 | | 332 | Cherrim | 10 | 0.0685 | | 333 | Jigglypuff | 10 | 0.0685 | | 334 | Lopunny | 10 | 0.0685 | | 335 | Magcargo | 10 | 0.0685 | | 336 | Mightyena | 10 | 0.0685 | | 337 | Misdreavus | 10 | 0.0685 | | 338 | Purugly | 10 | 0.0685 | | 339 | Rotom-S | 10 | 0.0685 | | 340 | Bulbasaur | 9 | 0.0616 | | 341 | Charmander | 9 | 0.0616 | | 342 | Mantyke | 9 | 0.0616 | | 343 | Pachirisu | 9 | 0.0616 | | 344 | Rattata | 9 | 0.0616 | | 345 | Relicanth | 9 | 0.0616 | | 346 | Vulpix | 9 | 0.0616 | | 347 | Lunatone | 8 | 0.0548 | | 348 | Masquerain | 8 | 0.0548 | | 349 | Raticate | 8 | 0.0548 | | 350 | Seviper | 8 | 0.0548 | | 351 | Solrock | 8 | 0.0548 | | 352 | Togetic | 8 | 0.0548 | | 353 | Watchog | 8 | 0.0548 | | 354 | Zorua | 8 | 0.0548 | | 355 | Beautifly | 7 | 0.0479 | | 356 | Clamperl | 7 | 0.0479 | | 357 | Graveler | 7 | 0.0479 | | 358 | Gurdurr | 7 | 0.0479 | | 359 | Magikarp | 7 | 0.0479 | | 360 | Smoochum | 7 | 0.0479 | | 361 | Vigoroth | 7 | 0.0479 | | 362 | Wartortle | 7 | 0.0479 | | 363 | Wigglytuff | 7 | 0.0479 | | 364 | Yamask | 7 | 0.0479 | | 365 | Bayleef | 6 | 0.0411 | | 366 | Ferroseed | 6 | 0.0411 | | 367 | Furret | 6 | 0.0411 | | 368 | Gastly | 6 | 0.0411 | | 369 | Koffing | 6 | 0.0411 | | 370 | Lairon | 6 | 0.0411 | | 371 | Magmar | 6 | 0.0411 | | 372 | Munchlax | 6 | 0.0411 | | 373 | Nosepass | 6 | 0.0411 | | 374 | Ariados | 5 | 0.0342 | | 375 | Electabuzz | 5 | 0.0342 | | 376 | Gothorita | 5 | 0.0342 | | 377 | Illumise | 5 | 0.0342 | | 378 | Quilava | 5 | 0.0342 | | 379 | Roselia | 5 | 0.0342 | | 380 | Aipom | 4 | 0.0274 | | 381 | Corsola | 4 | 0.0274 | | 382 | Cubone | 4 | 0.0274 | | 383 | Frillish | 4 | 0.0274 | | 384 | Gible | 4 | 0.0274 | | 385 | Grumpig | 4 | 0.0274 | | 386 | Lickitung | 4 | 0.0274 | | 387 | Mawile | 4 | 0.0274 | | 388 | Metang | 4 | 0.0274 | | 389 | Pelipper | 4 | 0.0274 | | 390 | Pineco | 4 | 0.0274 | | 391 | Shelmet | 4 | 0.0274 | | 392 | Snover | 4 | 0.0274 | | 393 | Wormadam-S | 4 | 0.0274 | | 394 | Archen | 3 | 0.0205 | | 395 | Beldum | 3 | 0.0205 | | 396 | Chimecho | 3 | 0.0205 | | 397 | Darumaka | 3 | 0.0205 | | 398 | Dewott | 3 | 0.0205 | | 399 | Girafarig | 3 | 0.0205 | | 400 | Grovyle | 3 | 0.0205 | | 401 | Kyogre | 3 | 0.0205 | | 402 | Magby | 3 | 0.0205 | | 403 | Marshtomp | 3 | 0.0205 | | 404 | Mienfoo | 3 | 0.0205 | | 405 | Mothim | 3 | 0.0205 | | 406 | Nidorino | 3 | 0.0205 | | 407 | Oshawott | 3 | 0.0205 | | 408 | Purrloin | 3 | 0.0205 | | 409 | Scraggy | 3 | 0.0205 | | 410 | Servine | 3 | 0.0205 | | 411 | Shaymin-S | 3 | 0.0205 | | 412 | Shellder | 3 | 0.0205 | | 413 | Snivy | 3 | 0.0205 | | 414 | Spinda | 3 | 0.0205 | | 415 | Squirtle | 3 | 0.0205 | | 416 | Tirtouga | 3 | 0.0205 | | 417 | Tympole | 3 | 0.0205 | | 418 | Caterpie | 2 | 0.0137 | | 419 | Chatot | 2 | 0.0137 | | 420 | Chikorita | 2 | 0.0137 | | 421 | Corphish | 2 | 0.0137 | | 422 | Darkrai | 2 | 0.0137 | | 423 | Duskull | 2 | 0.0137 | | 424 | Dwebble | 2 | 0.0137 | | 425 | Groudon | 2 | 0.0137 | | 426 | Ho-Oh | 2 | 0.0137 | | 427 | Lumineon | 2 | 0.0137 | | 428 | Mime Jr. | 2 | 0.0137 | | 429 | Minun | 2 | 0.0137 | | 430 | Nuzleaf | 2 | 0.0137 | | 431 | Palkia | 2 | 0.0137 | | 432 | Pawniard | 2 | 0.0137 | | 433 | Piplup | 2 | 0.0137 | | 434 | Rufflet | 2 | 0.0137 | | 435 | Sandshrew | 2 | 0.0137 | | 436 | Slowpoke | 2 | 0.0137 | | 437 | Swadloon | 2 | 0.0137 | | 438 | Torchic | 2 | 0.0137 | | 439 | Tranquill | 2 | 0.0137 | | 440 | Trapinch | 2 | 0.0137 | | 441 | Zweilous | 2 | 0.0137 | | 442 | Abra | 1 | 0.0068 | | 443 | Arceus | 1 | 0.0068 | | 444 | Boldore | 1 | 0.0068 | | 445 | Bonsly | 1 | 0.0068 | | 446 | Bronzor | 1 | 0.0068 | | 447 | Buneary | 1 | 0.0068 | | 448 | Carnivine | 1 | 0.0068 | | 449 | Carvanha | 1 | 0.0068 | | 450 | Charmeleon | 1 | 0.0068 | | 451 | Cherubi | 1 | 0.0068 | | 452 | Chinchou | 1 | 0.0068 | | 453 | Cleffa | 1 | 0.0068 | | 454 | Cranidos | 1 | 0.0068 | | 455 | Croconaw | 1 | 0.0068 | | 456 | Dratini | 1 | 0.0068 | | 457 | Drifloon | 1 | 0.0068 | | 458 | Drilbur | 1 | 0.0068 | | 459 | Dustox | 1 | 0.0068 | | 460 | Eelektrik | 1 | 0.0068 | | 461 | Eevee | 1 | 0.0068 | | 462 | Ekans | 1 | 0.0068 | | 463 | Feebas | 1 | 0.0068 | | 464 | Foongus | 1 | 0.0068 | | 465 | Fraxure | 1 | 0.0068 | | 466 | Gabite | 1 | 0.0068 | | 467 | Glalie | 1 | 0.0068 | | 468 | Gloom | 1 | 0.0068 | | 469 | Grotle | 1 | 0.0068 | | 470 | Gulpin | 1 | 0.0068 | | 471 | Hoothoot | 1 | 0.0068 | | 472 | Horsea | 1 | 0.0068 | | 473 | Klang | 1 | 0.0068 | | 474 | Kricketune | 1 | 0.0068 | | 475 | Krokorok | 1 | 0.0068 | | 476 | Larvesta | 1 | 0.0068 | | 477 | Larvitar | 1 | 0.0068 | | 478 | Lombre | 1 | 0.0068 | | 479 | Luvdisc | 1 | 0.0068 | | 480 | Magnemite | 1 | 0.0068 | | 481 | Mankey | 1 | 0.0068 | | 482 | Meditite | 1 | 0.0068 | | 483 | Meowth | 1 | 0.0068 | | 484 | Mewtwo | 1 | 0.0068 | | 485 | Minccino | 1 | 0.0068 | | 486 | Mudkip | 1 | 0.0068 | | 487 | Natu | 1 | 0.0068 | | 488 | Nidoran-F | 1 | 0.0068 | | 489 | Nidorina | 1 | 0.0068 | | 490 | Paras | 1 | 0.0068 | | 491 | Phanpy | 1 | 0.0068 | | 492 | Pichu | 1 | 0.0068 | | 493 | Pidgey | 1 | 0.0068 | | 494 | Pignite | 1 | 0.0068 | | 495 | Poliwhirl | 1 | 0.0068 | | 496 | Porygon | 1 | 0.0068 | | 497 | Ralts | 1 | 0.0068 | | 498 | Rayquaza | 1 | 0.0068 | | 499 | Reshiram | 1 | 0.0068 | | 500 | Solosis | 1 | 0.0068 | | 501 | Spoink | 1 | 0.0068 | | 502 | Starly | 1 | 0.0068 | | 503 | Sunkern | 1 | 0.0068 | | 504 | Surskit | 1 | 0.0068 | | 505 | Tepig | 1 | 0.0068 | | 506 | Timburr | 1 | 0.0068 | | 507 | Togepi | 1 | 0.0068 | | 508 | Totodile | 1 | 0.0068 | | 509 | Treecko | 1 | 0.0068 | | 510 | Trubbish | 1 | 0.0068 | | 511 | Vanillish | 1 | 0.0068 | | 512 | Vanillite | 1 | 0.0068 | | 513 | Wailmer | 1 | 0.0068 | | 514 | Wingull | 1 | 0.0068 | | 515 | Woobat | 1 | 0.0068 | | 516 | Wormadam | 1 | 0.0068 | | 517 | Wormadam-G | 1 | 0.0068 | | 518 | Yanma | 1 | 0.0068 | | 519 | Zekrom | 1 | 0.0068 | + ---- + --------------- + ----- + ------- +
Rated BW Uber Usage Stats Code: APR 2011 BW UBER USAGE Total Battles: 11135 + ---- + --------------- + ----- + ------- + | Rank | Pokemon | Usage | Percent | + ---- + --------------- + ----- + ------- + | 1 | Kyogre | 7730 | 34.7104 | | 2 | Mewtwo | 6857 | 30.7903 | | 3 | Groudon | 5923 | 26.5963 | | 4 | Darkrai | 4713 | 21.1630 | | 5 | Arceus | 4669 | 20.9654 | | 6 | Palkia | 4547 | 20.4176 | | 7 | Dialga | 4538 | 20.3772 | | 8 | Zekrom | 4268 | 19.1648 | | 9 | Ferrothorn | 3809 | 17.1037 | | 10 | Rayquaza | 3542 | 15.9048 | | 11 | Reshiram | 3414 | 15.3300 | | 12 | Blaziken | 3270 | 14.6834 | | 13 | Giratina-O | 2858 | 12.8334 | | 14 | Forretress | 2826 | 12.6897 | | 15 | Lugia | 2790 | 12.5281 | | 16 | Giratina | 2352 | 10.5613 | | 17 | Arceus-Ghost | 1782 | 8.0018 | | 18 | Chansey | 1614 | 7.2474 | | 19 | Shaymin-S | 1587 | 7.1262 | | 20 | Tyranitar | 1574 | 7.0678 | | 21 | Blissey | 1567 | 7.0364 | | 22 | Ho-Oh | 1519 | 6.8208 | | 23 | Garchomp | 1300 | 5.8374 | | 24 | Deoxys-A | 1244 | 5.5860 | | 25 | Deoxys-S | 1200 | 5.3884 | | 26 | Kingdra | 1017 | 4.5667 | | 27 | Scizor | 926 | 4.1581 | | 28 | Skarmory | 908 | 4.0772 | | 29 | Dragonite | 900 | 4.0413 | | 30 | Kyurem | 878 | 3.9425 | | 31 | Charizard | 868 | 3.8976 | | 32 | Hydreigon | 831 | 3.7315 | | 33 | Jirachi | 821 | 3.6866 | | 34 | Gengar | 783 | 3.5159 | | 35 | Manaphy | 771 | 3.4621 | | 36 | Metagross | 759 | 3.4082 | | 37 | Arceus-Steel | 731 | 3.2824 | | 38 | Gyarados | 698 | 3.1343 | | 39 | Latios | 696 | 3.1253 | | 40 | Salamence | 686 | 3.0804 | | 41 | Missingno | 672 | 3.0175 | | 42 | Heatran | 662 | 2.9726 | | 43 | Electivire | 606 | 2.7211 | | 44 | Venusaur | 595 | 2.6718 | | 45 | Swampert | 590 | 2.6493 | | 46 | Mew | 582 | 2.6134 | | 47 | Deoxys | 571 | 2.5640 | | 48 | Excadrill | 565 | 2.5370 | | 49 | Haxorus | 561 | 2.5191 | | 50 | Blastoise | 548 | 2.4607 | | 51 | Volcarona | 515 | 2.3125 | | 52 | Infernape | 487 | 2.1868 | | 53 | Zoroark | 486 | 2.1823 | | 54 | Lucario | 483 | 2.1688 | | 55 | Snorlax | 477 | 2.1419 | | 56 | Terrakion | 470 | 2.1105 | | 57 | Gliscor | 463 | 2.0790 | | 58 | Thundurus | 458 | 2.0566 | | 59 | Cloyster | 453 | 2.0341 | | 60 | Arceus-Grass | 449 | 2.0162 | | 61 | Arceus-Dragon | 431 | 1.9353 | | 62 | Smeargle | 425 | 1.9084 | | 63 | Wobbuffet | 413 | 1.8545 | | 64 | Zapdos | 369 | 1.6569 | | 65 | Ludicolo | 357 | 1.6031 | | 66 | Bronzong | 347 | 1.5581 | | 67 | Celebi | 335 | 1.5043 | | 68 | Espeon | 335 | 1.5043 | | 69 | Ninetales | 334 | 1.4998 | | 70 | Breloom | 329 | 1.4773 | | 71 | Conkeldurr | 329 | 1.4773 | | 72 | Milotic | 324 | 1.4549 | | 73 | Umbreon | 324 | 1.4549 | | 74 | Whimsicott | 323 | 1.4504 | | 75 | Ninjask | 317 | 1.4234 | | 76 | Victini | 316 | 1.4189 | | 77 | Heracross | 313 | 1.4055 | | 78 | Starmie | 311 | 1.3965 | | 79 | Latias | 299 | 1.3426 | | 80 | Alakazam | 297 | 1.3336 | | 81 | Arceus-Electric | 290 | 1.3022 | | 82 | Sceptile | 281 | 1.2618 | | 83 | Arceus-Fighting | 277 | 1.2438 | | 84 | Togekiss | 277 | 1.2438 | | 85 | Aron | 268 | 1.2034 | | 86 | Jolteon | 266 | 1.1944 | | 87 | Shedinja | 264 | 1.1855 | | 88 | Gallade | 256 | 1.1495 | | 89 | Spiritomb | 256 | 1.1495 | | 90 | Reuniclus | 250 | 1.1226 | | 91 | Magnezone | 249 | 1.1181 | | 92 | Vaporeon | 247 | 1.1091 | | 93 | Cresselia | 241 | 1.0822 | | 94 | Donphan | 239 | 1.0732 | | 95 | Tentacruel | 238 | 1.0687 | | 96 | Weavile | 234 | 1.0507 | | 97 | Samurott | 233 | 1.0463 | | 98 | Kabutops | 232 | 1.0418 | | 99 | Machamp | 231 | 1.0373 | | 100 | Drapion | 224 | 1.0058 | | 101 | Torterra | 224 | 1.0058 | | 102 | Regigigas | 220 | 0.9879 | | 103 | Bisharp | 218 | 0.9789 | | 104 | Arceus-Ground | 211 | 0.9475 | | 105 | Typhlosion | 204 | 0.9160 | | 106 | Arceus-Water | 203 | 0.9115 | | 107 | Flygon | 203 | 0.9115 | | 108 | Chandelure | 200 | 0.8981 | | 109 | Landorus | 196 | 0.8801 | | 110 | Rhyperior | 196 | 0.8801 | | 111 | Xatu | 192 | 0.8621 | | 112 | Deoxys-D | 191 | 0.8577 | | 113 | Empoleon | 191 | 0.8577 | | 114 | Krookodile | 189 | 0.8487 | | 115 | Dusknoir | 188 | 0.8442 | | 116 | Arcanine | 186 | 0.8352 | | 117 | Jellicent | 182 | 0.8172 | | 118 | Politoed | 175 | 0.7858 | | 119 | Serperior | 172 | 0.7723 | | 120 | Galvantula | 171 | 0.7678 | | 121 | Aerodactyl | 166 | 0.7454 | | 122 | Arceus-Poison | 166 | 0.7454 | | 123 | Feraligatr | 166 | 0.7454 | | 124 | Raikou | 165 | 0.7409 | | 125 | Rotom-W | 163 | 0.7319 | | 126 | Suicune | 163 | 0.7319 | | 127 | Magmortar | 161 | 0.7229 | | 128 | Slaking | 160 | 0.7185 | | 129 | Eelektross | 158 | 0.7095 | | 130 | Aggron | 156 | 0.7005 | | 131 | Emboar | 156 | 0.7005 | | 132 | Hippowdon | 154 | 0.6915 | | 133 | Raichu | 154 | 0.6915 | | 134 | Scrafty | 152 | 0.6825 | | 135 | Shaymin | 147 | 0.6601 | | 136 | Escavalier | 146 | 0.6556 | | 137 | Honchkrow | 146 | 0.6556 | | 138 | Pikachu | 144 | 0.6466 | | 139 | Entei | 143 | 0.6421 | | 140 | Yanmega | 143 | 0.6421 | | 141 | Moltres | 140 | 0.6286 | | 142 | Absol | 134 | 0.6017 | | 143 | Lapras | 134 | 0.6017 | | 144 | Leafeon | 134 | 0.6017 | | 145 | Porygon-Z | 132 | 0.5927 | | 146 | Houndoom | 130 | 0.5837 | | 147 | Arceus-Rock | 129 | 0.5793 | | 148 | Articuno | 129 | 0.5793 | | 149 | Shuckle | 129 | 0.5793 | | 150 | Azelf | 128 | 0.5748 | | 151 | Darmanitan | 126 | 0.5658 | | 152 | Tornadus | 126 | 0.5658 | | 153 | Jumpluff | 124 | 0.5568 | | 154 | Virizion | 124 | 0.5568 | | 155 | Weezing | 119 | 0.5344 | | 156 | Archeops | 117 | 0.5254 | | 157 | Staraptor | 116 | 0.5209 | | 158 | Arceus-Dark | 114 | 0.5119 | | 159 | Carracosta | 114 | 0.5119 | | 160 | Toxicroak | 113 | 0.5074 | | 161 | Braviary | 112 | 0.5029 | | 162 | Gardevoir | 111 | 0.4984 | | 163 | Nidoking | 111 | 0.4984 | | 164 | Crobat | 107 | 0.4805 | | 165 | Abomasnow | 106 | 0.4760 | | 166 | Cottonee | 106 | 0.4760 | | 167 | Slowbro | 106 | 0.4760 | | 168 | Gigalith | 104 | 0.4670 | | 169 | Mienshao | 103 | 0.4625 | | 170 | Uxie | 102 | 0.4580 | | 171 | Luxray | 99 | 0.4445 | | 172 | Steelix | 99 | 0.4445 | | 173 | Cobalion | 97 | 0.4356 | | 174 | Rampardos | 97 | 0.4356 | | 175 | Poliwrath | 95 | 0.4266 | | 176 | Meganium | 94 | 0.4221 | | 177 | Tangrowth | 91 | 0.4086 | | 178 | Vileplume | 91 | 0.4086 | | 179 | Arceus-Bug | 87 | 0.3907 | | 180 | Quagsire | 86 | 0.3862 | | 181 | Sharpedo | 86 | 0.3862 | | 182 | Sawsbuck | 86 | 0.3862 | | 183 | Exeggutor | 85 | 0.3817 | | 184 | Registeel | 85 | 0.3817 | | 185 | Slowking | 83 | 0.3727 | | 186 | Accelgor | 82 | 0.3682 | | 187 | Cradily | 81 | 0.3637 | | 188 | Ampharos | 80 | 0.3592 | | 189 | Roserade | 80 | 0.3592 | | 190 | Lilligant | 79 | 0.3547 | | 191 | Golurk | 78 | 0.3502 | | 192 | Sableye | 78 | 0.3502 | | 193 | Scolipede | 78 | 0.3502 | | 194 | Shiftry | 78 | 0.3502 | | 195 | Scyther | 77 | 0.3458 | | 196 | Floatzel | 76 | 0.3413 | | 197 | Arceus-Fire | 73 | 0.3278 | | 198 | Hariyama | 73 | 0.3278 | | 199 | Regice | 73 | 0.3278 | | 200 | Sigilyph | 71 | 0.3188 | | 201 | Manectric | 68 | 0.3053 | | 202 | Probopass | 67 | 0.3009 | | 203 | Qwilfish | 67 | 0.3009 | | 204 | Porygon2 | 66 | 0.2964 | | 205 | Ambipom | 64 | 0.2874 | | 206 | Wailord | 63 | 0.2829 | | 207 | Azumarill | 62 | 0.2784 | | 208 | Pidgeot | 59 | 0.2649 | | 209 | Altaria | 58 | 0.2604 | | 210 | Dugtrio | 58 | 0.2604 | | 211 | Cofagrigus | 56 | 0.2515 | | 212 | Froslass | 56 | 0.2515 | | 213 | Regirock | 56 | 0.2515 | | 214 | Hitmontop | 55 | 0.2470 | | 215 | Clefable | 54 | 0.2425 | | 216 | Gorebyss | 54 | 0.2425 | | 217 | Rhydon | 53 | 0.2380 | | 218 | Cryogonal | 52 | 0.2335 | | 219 | Mismagius | 51 | 0.2290 | | 220 | Crustle | 50 | 0.2245 | | 221 | Dusclops | 50 | 0.2245 | | 222 | Golem | 50 | 0.2245 | | 223 | Gastrodon | 50 | 0.2245 | | 224 | Mamoswine | 48 | 0.2155 | | 225 | Ditto | 45 | 0.2021 | | 226 | Hitmonchan | 45 | 0.2021 | | 227 | Lanturn | 45 | 0.2021 | | 228 | Claydol | 44 | 0.1976 | | 229 | Swellow | 43 | 0.1931 | | 230 | Bouffalant | 42 | 0.1886 | | 231 | Muk | 40 | 0.1796 | | 232 | Omastar | 40 | 0.1796 | | 233 | Exploud | 39 | 0.1751 | | 234 | Glaceon | 39 | 0.1751 | | 235 | Seismitoad | 39 | 0.1751 | | 236 | Victreebel | 38 | 0.1706 | | 237 | Ursaring | 37 | 0.1661 | | 238 | Beartic | 36 | 0.1617 | | 239 | Hitmonlee | 34 | 0.1527 | | 240 | Medicham | 33 | 0.1482 | | 241 | Throh | 32 | 0.1437 | | 242 | Miltank | 31 | 0.1392 | | 243 | Arceus-Ice | 30 | 0.1347 | | 244 | Druddigon | 30 | 0.1347 | | 245 | Electabuzz | 30 | 0.1347 | | 246 | Octillery | 30 | 0.1347 | | 247 | Venomoth | 30 | 0.1347 | | 248 | Arceus-Flying | 29 | 0.1302 | | 249 | Cacturne | 29 | 0.1302 | | 250 | Tauros | 28 | 0.1257 | | 251 | Hippopotas | 27 | 0.1212 | | 252 | Whiscash | 27 | 0.1212 | | 253 | Hypno | 26 | 0.1167 | | 254 | Simisage | 26 | 0.1167 | | 255 | Torkoal | 26 | 0.1167 | | 256 | Bastiodon | 25 | 0.1123 | | 257 | Crawdaunt | 25 | 0.1123 | | 258 | Parasect | 25 | 0.1123 | | 259 | Ariados | 24 | 0.1078 | | 260 | Armaldo | 24 | 0.1078 | | 261 | Camerupt | 24 | 0.1078 | | 262 | Frillish | 24 | 0.1078 | | 263 | Mesprit | 24 | 0.1078 | | 264 | Ivysaur | 23 | 0.1033 | | 265 | Lunatone | 23 | 0.1033 | | 266 | Tropius | 23 | 0.1033 | | 267 | Garbodor | 22 | 0.0988 | | 268 | Musharna | 22 | 0.0988 | | 269 | Cherrim | 21 | 0.0943 | | 270 | Gothitelle | 21 | 0.0943 | | 271 | Kingler | 21 | 0.0943 | | 272 | Nidoqueen | 21 | 0.0943 | | 273 | Rattata | 21 | 0.0943 | | 274 | Sandslash | 21 | 0.0943 | | 275 | Squirtle | 20 | 0.0898 | | 276 | Castform | 19 | 0.0853 | | 277 | Golduck | 19 | 0.0853 | | 278 | Heatmor | 19 | 0.0853 | | 279 | Onix | 19 | 0.0853 | | 280 | Primeape | 19 | 0.0853 | | 281 | Rapidash | 19 | 0.0853 | | 282 | Shelmet | 19 | 0.0853 | | 283 | Vanilluxe | 19 | 0.0853 | | 284 | Rotom | 18 | 0.0808 | | 285 | Banette | 17 | 0.0763 | | 286 | Glalie | 16 | 0.0718 | | 287 | Lairon | 16 | 0.0718 | | 288 | Simisear | 16 | 0.0718 | | 289 | Walrein | 16 | 0.0718 | | 290 | Persian | 15 | 0.0674 | | 291 | Wigglytuff | 15 | 0.0674 | | 292 | Zangoose | 15 | 0.0674 | | 293 | Charmander | 14 | 0.0629 | | 294 | Kangaskhan | 14 | 0.0629 | | 295 | Sawk | 14 | 0.0629 | | 296 | Solosis | 14 | 0.0629 | | 297 | Audino | 13 | 0.0584 | | 298 | Bellsprout | 13 | 0.0584 | | 299 | Clamperl | 13 | 0.0584 | | 300 | Drifblim | 13 | 0.0584 | | 301 | Electrode | 13 | 0.0584 | | 302 | Lickilicky | 13 | 0.0584 | | 303 | Mightyena | 13 | 0.0584 | | 304 | Murkrow | 13 | 0.0584 | | 305 | Natu | 13 | 0.0584 | | 306 | Nosepass | 13 | 0.0584 | | 307 | Amoonguss | 12 | 0.0539 | | 308 | Dodrio | 12 | 0.0539 | | 309 | Ferroseed | 12 | 0.0539 | | 310 | Liepard | 12 | 0.0539 | | 311 | Linoone | 12 | 0.0539 | | 312 | Sunflora | 12 | 0.0539 | | 313 | Unfezant | 12 | 0.0539 | | 314 | Arceus-Psychic | 11 | 0.0494 | | 315 | Beedrill | 11 | 0.0494 | | 316 | Delibird | 11 | 0.0494 | | 317 | Fearow | 11 | 0.0494 | | 318 | Flareon | 11 | 0.0494 | | 319 | Golbat | 11 | 0.0494 | | 320 | Huntail | 11 | 0.0494 | | 321 | Lileep | 11 | 0.0494 | | 322 | Mantine | 11 | 0.0494 | | 323 | Mawile | 11 | 0.0494 | | 324 | Mr. Mime | 11 | 0.0494 | | 325 | Rotom-S | 11 | 0.0494 | | 326 | Simipour | 11 | 0.0494 | | 327 | Tangela | 11 | 0.0494 | | 328 | Durant | 10 | 0.0449 | | 329 | Klinklang | 10 | 0.0449 | | 330 | Magmar | 10 | 0.0449 | | 331 | Mandibuzz | 10 | 0.0449 | | 332 | Marowak | 10 | 0.0449 | | 333 | Monferno | 10 | 0.0449 | | 334 | Rotom-H | 10 | 0.0449 | | 335 | Butterfree | 9 | 0.0404 | | 336 | Dewgong | 9 | 0.0404 | | 337 | Magneton | 9 | 0.0404 | | 338 | Pelipper | 9 | 0.0404 | | 339 | Zorua | 9 | 0.0404 | | 340 | Arbok | 8 | 0.0359 | | 341 | Bulbasaur | 8 | 0.0359 | | 342 | Chatot | 8 | 0.0359 | | 343 | Elekid | 8 | 0.0359 | | 344 | Haunter | 8 | 0.0359 | | 345 | Magikarp | 8 | 0.0359 | | 346 | Mudkip | 8 | 0.0359 | | 347 | Weedle | 8 | 0.0359 | | 348 | Alomomola | 7 | 0.0314 | | 349 | Emolga | 7 | 0.0314 | | 350 | Jynx | 7 | 0.0314 | | 351 | Leavanny | 7 | 0.0314 | | 352 | Relicanth | 7 | 0.0314 | | 353 | Riolu | 7 | 0.0314 | | 354 | Shelgon | 7 | 0.0314 | | 355 | Chimchar | 6 | 0.0269 | | 356 | Grovyle | 6 | 0.0269 | | 357 | Kadabra | 6 | 0.0269 | | 358 | Pinsir | 6 | 0.0269 | | 359 | Piplup | 6 | 0.0269 | | 360 | Plusle | 6 | 0.0269 | | 361 | Rotom-C | 6 | 0.0269 | | 362 | Treecko | 6 | 0.0269 | | 363 | Bidoof | 5 | 0.0225 | | 364 | Dustox | 5 | 0.0225 | | 365 | Golett | 5 | 0.0225 | | 366 | Piloswine | 5 | 0.0225 | | 367 | Stunfisk | 5 | 0.0225 | | 368 | Swanna | 5 | 0.0225 | | 369 | Teddiursa | 5 | 0.0225 | | 370 | Totodile | 5 | 0.0225 | | 371 | Zebstrika | 5 | 0.0225 | | 372 | Beldum | 4 | 0.0180 | | 373 | Charmeleon | 4 | 0.0180 | | 374 | Marshtomp | 4 | 0.0180 | | 375 | Pichu | 4 | 0.0180 | | 376 | Porygon | 4 | 0.0180 | | 377 | Rotom-F | 4 | 0.0180 | | 378 | Shinx | 4 | 0.0180 | | 379 | Skuntank | 4 | 0.0180 | | 380 | Sneasel | 4 | 0.0180 | | 381 | Volbeat | 4 | 0.0180 | | 382 | Abra | 3 | 0.0135 | | 383 | Buizel | 3 | 0.0135 | | 384 | Croagunk | 3 | 0.0135 | | 385 | Farfetch'd | 3 | 0.0135 | | 386 | Grotle | 3 | 0.0135 | | 387 | Lickitung | 3 | 0.0135 | | 388 | Litwick | 3 | 0.0135 | | 389 | Loudred | 3 | 0.0135 | | 390 | Machoke | 3 | 0.0135 | | 391 | Magnemite | 3 | 0.0135 | | 392 | Metapod | 3 | 0.0135 | | 393 | Minun | 3 | 0.0135 | | 394 | Misdreavus | 3 | 0.0135 | | 395 | Nidorino | 3 | 0.0135 | | 396 | Omanyte | 3 | 0.0135 | | 397 | Oshawott | 3 | 0.0135 | | 398 | Pidgeotto | 3 | 0.0135 | | 399 | Raticate | 3 | 0.0135 | | 400 | Seviper | 3 | 0.0135 | | 401 | Solrock | 3 | 0.0135 | | 402 | Stoutland | 3 | 0.0135 | | 403 | Unown-H | 3 | 0.0135 | | 404 | Azurill | 2 | 0.0090 | | 405 | Bagon | 2 | 0.0090 | | 406 | Beautifly | 2 | 0.0090 | | 407 | Bibarel | 2 | 0.0090 | | 408 | Cinccino | 2 | 0.0090 | | 409 | Cyndaquil | 2 | 0.0090 | | 410 | Delcatty | 2 | 0.0090 | | 411 | Dragonair | 2 | 0.0090 | | 412 | Drilbur | 2 | 0.0090 | | 413 | Dunsparce | 2 | 0.0090 | | 414 | Elgyem | 2 | 0.0090 | | 415 | Flaaffy | 2 | 0.0090 | | 416 | Geodude | 2 | 0.0090 | | 417 | Graveler | 2 | 0.0090 | | 418 | Houndour | 2 | 0.0090 | | 419 | Lampent | 2 | 0.0090 | | 420 | Lillipup | 2 | 0.0090 | | 421 | Magcargo | 2 | 0.0090 | | 422 | Meowth | 2 | 0.0090 | | 423 | Mime Jr. | 2 | 0.0090 | | 424 | Nidorina | 2 | 0.0090 | | 425 | Pachirisu | 2 | 0.0090 | | 426 | Pansear | 2 | 0.0090 | | 427 | Ponyta | 2 | 0.0090 | | 428 | Purugly | 2 | 0.0090 | | 429 | Quilava | 2 | 0.0090 | | 430 | Snivy | 2 | 0.0090 | | 431 | Spinda | 2 | 0.0090 | | 432 | Sudowoodo | 2 | 0.0090 | | 433 | Togepi | 2 | 0.0090 | | 434 | Turtwig | 2 | 0.0090 | | 435 | Unown | 2 | 0.0090 | | 436 | Vespiquen | 2 | 0.0090 | | 437 | Vulpix | 2 | 0.0090 | | 438 | Wartortle | 2 | 0.0090 | | 439 | Wooper | 2 | 0.0090 | | 440 | Wynaut | 2 | 0.0090 | | 441 | Axew | 1 | 0.0045 | | 442 | Bayleef | 1 | 0.0045 | | 443 | Caterpie | 1 | 0.0045 | | 444 | Chinchou | 1 | 0.0045 | | 445 | Corsola | 1 | 0.0045 | | 446 | Cranidos | 1 | 0.0045 | | 447 | Deerling | 1 | 0.0045 | | 448 | Deino | 1 | 0.0045 | | 449 | Dratini | 1 | 0.0045 | | 450 | Duskull | 1 | 0.0045 | | 451 | Eelektrik | 1 | 0.0045 | | 452 | Ekans | 1 | 0.0045 | | 453 | Feebas | 1 | 0.0045 | | 454 | Furret | 1 | 0.0045 | | 455 | Gastly | 1 | 0.0045 | | 456 | Glameow | 1 | 0.0045 | | 457 | Gothorita | 1 | 0.0045 | | 458 | Grumpig | 1 | 0.0045 | | 459 | Herdie | 1 | 0.0045 | | 460 | Koffing | 1 | 0.0045 | | 461 | Ledian | 1 | 0.0045 | | 462 | Lopunny | 1 | 0.0045 | | 463 | Lumineon | 1 | 0.0045 | | 464 | Masquerain | 1 | 0.0045 | | 465 | Meditite | 1 | 0.0045 | | 466 | Pansage | 1 | 0.0045 | | 467 | Pawniard | 1 | 0.0045 | | 468 | Phione | 1 | 0.0045 | | 469 | Pineco | 1 | 0.0045 | | 470 | Poochyena | 1 | 0.0045 | | 471 | Prinplup | 1 | 0.0045 | | 472 | Ralts | 1 | 0.0045 | | 473 | Sandshrew | 1 | 0.0045 | | 474 | Scraggy | 1 | 0.0045 | | 475 | Sealeo | 1 | 0.0045 | | 476 | Slowpoke | 1 | 0.0045 | | 477 | Stantler | 1 | 0.0045 | | 478 | Starly | 1 | 0.0045 | | 479 | Tepig | 1 | 0.0045 | | 480 | Togetic | 1 | 0.0045 | | 481 | Tympole | 1 | 0.0045 | | 482 | Tyrogue | 1 | 0.0045 | | 483 | Unown-E | 1 | 0.0045 | | 484 | Unown-I | 1 | 0.0045 | | 485 | Unown-N | 1 | 0.0045 | | 486 | Unown-P | 1 | 0.0045 | | 487 | Unown-S | 1 | 0.0045 | | 488 | Yanma | 1 | 0.0045 | | 489 | Zweilous | 1 | 0.0045 | + ---- + --------------- + ----- + ------- +
Unrated BW Uber Usage Stats Code: APR 2011 UNRATED BW UBER USAGE Total Battles: 2352 + ---- + --------------- + ----- + ------- + | Rank | Pokemon | Usage | Percent | + ---- + --------------- + ----- + ------- + | 1 | Kyogre | 1611 | 34.2474 | | 2 | Mewtwo | 1360 | 28.9116 | | 3 | Groudon | 1191 | 25.3189 | | 4 | Palkia | 1141 | 24.2560 | | 5 | Zekrom | 1039 | 22.0876 | | 6 | Dialga | 1015 | 21.5774 | | 7 | Darkrai | 936 | 19.8980 | | 8 | Arceus | 922 | 19.6003 | | 9 | Giratina-O | 862 | 18.3248 | | 10 | Reshiram | 724 | 15.3912 | | 11 | Ferrothorn | 685 | 14.5621 | | 12 | Forretress | 657 | 13.9668 | | 13 | Lugia | 614 | 13.0527 | | 14 | Rayquaza | 575 | 12.2236 | | 15 | Chansey | 463 | 9.8427 | | 16 | Blaziken | 449 | 9.5451 | | 17 | Missingno | 432 | 9.1837 | | 18 | Giratina | 418 | 8.8861 | | 19 | Arceus-Ghost | 386 | 8.2058 | | 20 | Ho-Oh | 352 | 7.4830 | | 21 | Shaymin-S | 342 | 7.2704 | | 22 | Garchomp | 294 | 6.2500 | | 23 | Kyurem | 267 | 5.6760 | | 24 | Manaphy | 255 | 5.4209 | | 25 | Arceus-Steel | 247 | 5.2509 | | 26 | Deoxys-A | 246 | 5.2296 | | 27 | Charizard | 240 | 5.1020 | | 28 | Blissey | 235 | 4.9957 | | 29 | Deoxys-S | 235 | 4.9957 | | 30 | Tyranitar | 232 | 4.9320 | | 31 | Dragonite | 228 | 4.8469 | | 32 | Skarmory | 205 | 4.3580 | | 33 | Zoroark | 185 | 3.9328 | | 34 | Terrakion | 184 | 3.9116 | | 35 | Gliscor | 183 | 3.8903 | | 36 | Scizor | 182 | 3.8690 | | 37 | Gengar | 179 | 3.8053 | | 38 | Kingdra | 176 | 3.7415 | | 39 | Mew | 166 | 3.5289 | | 40 | Latios | 159 | 3.3801 | | 41 | Heatran | 148 | 3.1463 | | 42 | Jirachi | 139 | 2.9549 | | 43 | Gyarados | 137 | 2.9124 | | 44 | Salamence | 137 | 2.9124 | | 45 | Metagross | 117 | 2.4872 | | 46 | Snorlax | 113 | 2.4022 | | 47 | Blastoise | 111 | 2.3597 | | 48 | Lucario | 109 | 2.3172 | | 49 | Excadrill | 107 | 2.2747 | | 50 | Infernape | 103 | 2.1896 | | 51 | Deoxys | 101 | 2.1471 | | 52 | Haxorus | 97 | 2.0621 | | 53 | Arceus-Fighting | 96 | 2.0408 | | 54 | Zapdos | 94 | 1.9983 | | 55 | Cloyster | 93 | 1.9770 | | 56 | Swampert | 93 | 1.9770 | | 57 | Arceus-Grass | 91 | 1.9345 | | 58 | Victini | 91 | 1.9345 | | 59 | Venusaur | 86 | 1.8282 | | 60 | Arceus-Ground | 85 | 1.8070 | | 61 | Volcarona | 83 | 1.7645 | | 62 | Hydreigon | 81 | 1.7219 | | 63 | Ludicolo | 78 | 1.6582 | | 64 | Espeon | 76 | 1.6156 | | 65 | Thundurus | 76 | 1.6156 | | 66 | Politoed | 74 | 1.5731 | | 67 | Arceus-Dragon | 73 | 1.5519 | | 68 | Arceus-Dark | 70 | 1.4881 | | 69 | Sceptile | 68 | 1.4456 | | 70 | Celebi | 65 | 1.3818 | | 71 | Landorus | 65 | 1.3818 | | 72 | Milotic | 64 | 1.3605 | | 73 | Regigigas | 64 | 1.3605 | | 74 | Jellicent | 62 | 1.3180 | | 75 | Electivire | 61 | 1.2968 | | 76 | Reuniclus | 61 | 1.2968 | | 77 | Rotom-W | 61 | 1.2968 | | 78 | Alakazam | 60 | 1.2755 | | 79 | Starmie | 58 | 1.2330 | | 80 | Arceus-Electric | 57 | 1.2117 | | 81 | Whimsicott | 56 | 1.1905 | | 82 | Wobbuffet | 56 | 1.1905 | | 83 | Aerodactyl | 55 | 1.1692 | | 84 | Ninetales | 54 | 1.1480 | | 85 | Latias | 53 | 1.1267 | | 86 | Krookodile | 51 | 1.0842 | | 87 | Serperior | 51 | 1.0842 | | 88 | Raikou | 49 | 1.0417 | | 89 | Conkeldurr | 48 | 1.0204 | | 90 | Ninjask | 48 | 1.0204 | | 91 | Samurott | 48 | 1.0204 | | 92 | Empoleon | 47 | 0.9991 | | 93 | Feraligatr | 47 | 0.9991 | | 94 | Nidoking | 47 | 0.9991 | | 95 | Dusknoir | 46 | 0.9779 | | 96 | Gallade | 46 | 0.9779 | | 97 | Kabutops | 46 | 0.9779 | | 98 | Breloom | 44 | 0.9354 | | 99 | Cresselia | 44 | 0.9354 | | 100 | Eelektross | 44 | 0.9354 | | 101 | Azelf | 43 | 0.9141 | | 102 | Weavile | 43 | 0.9141 | | 103 | Chandelure | 42 | 0.8929 | | 104 | Entei | 42 | 0.8929 | | 105 | Steelix | 42 | 0.8929 | | 106 | Typhlosion | 42 | 0.8929 | | 107 | Heracross | 41 | 0.8716 | | 108 | Scrafty | 41 | 0.8716 | | 109 | Articuno | 40 | 0.8503 | | 110 | Flygon | 40 | 0.8503 | | 111 | Smeargle | 38 | 0.8078 | | 112 | Absol | 37 | 0.7866 | | 113 | Bronzong | 37 | 0.7866 | | 114 | Hippowdon | 37 | 0.7866 | | 115 | Lapras | 37 | 0.7866 | | 116 | Rampardos | 37 | 0.7866 | | 117 | Vaporeon | 37 | 0.7866 | | 118 | Darmanitan | 36 | 0.7653 | | 119 | Emboar | 36 | 0.7653 | | 120 | Jolteon | 36 | 0.7653 | | 121 | Staraptor | 36 | 0.7653 | | 122 | Tentacruel | 36 | 0.7653 | | 123 | Togekiss | 36 | 0.7653 | | 124 | Aggron | 35 | 0.7440 | | 125 | Arcanine | 35 | 0.7440 | | 126 | Machamp | 35 | 0.7440 | | 127 | Xatu | 34 | 0.7228 | | 128 | Arceus-Water | 33 | 0.7015 | | 129 | Deoxys-D | 33 | 0.7015 | | 130 | Gastrodon | 33 | 0.7015 | | 131 | Moltres | 33 | 0.7015 | | 132 | Rhyperior | 33 | 0.7015 | | 133 | Carracosta | 32 | 0.6803 | | 134 | Uxie | 32 | 0.6803 | | 135 | Suicune | 31 | 0.6590 | | 136 | Houndoom | 30 | 0.6378 | | 137 | Primeape | 30 | 0.6378 | | 138 | Shedinja | 30 | 0.6378 | | 139 | Poliwrath | 29 | 0.6165 | | 140 | Raichu | 29 | 0.6165 | | 141 | Torterra | 29 | 0.6165 | | 142 | Virizion | 29 | 0.6165 | | 143 | Exeggutor | 28 | 0.5952 | | 144 | Umbreon | 28 | 0.5952 | | 145 | Arceus-Fire | 27 | 0.5740 | | 146 | Bisharp | 26 | 0.5527 | | 147 | Gigalith | 26 | 0.5527 | | 148 | Hitmonlee | 26 | 0.5527 | | 149 | Jumpluff | 25 | 0.5315 | | 150 | Magmortar | 25 | 0.5315 | | 151 | Spiritomb | 25 | 0.5315 | | 152 | Abomasnow | 24 | 0.5102 | | 153 | Accelgor | 24 | 0.5102 | | 154 | Arceus-Poison | 24 | 0.5102 | | 155 | Donphan | 24 | 0.5102 | | 156 | Nidoqueen | 24 | 0.5102 | | 157 | Pikachu | 24 | 0.5102 | | 158 | Porygon-Z | 24 | 0.5102 | | 159 | Slowbro | 24 | 0.5102 | | 160 | Aron | 23 | 0.4889 | | 161 | Cobalion | 23 | 0.4889 | | 162 | Leafeon | 23 | 0.4889 | | 163 | Mienshao | 23 | 0.4889 | | 164 | Porygon2 | 23 | 0.4889 | | 165 | Druddigon | 22 | 0.4677 | | 166 | Ambipom | 21 | 0.4464 | | 167 | Arceus-Ice | 21 | 0.4464 | | 168 | Braviary | 21 | 0.4464 | | 169 | Mamoswine | 21 | 0.4464 | | 170 | Registeel | 21 | 0.4464 | | 171 | Archeops | 20 | 0.4252 | | 172 | Luxray | 20 | 0.4252 | | 173 | Shaymin | 20 | 0.4252 | | 174 | Vanilluxe | 20 | 0.4252 | | 175 | Floatzel | 19 | 0.4039 | | 176 | Gardevoir | 19 | 0.4039 | | 177 | Pidg |
OxygenOS, the customized version of Android used by OnePlus on its smartphones, has been found to be collecting data about users -- and it's not anonymized. Telemetry is something that has been associated with Windows 10, but now the Chinese smartphone manufacturer has its fans concerned.
That a phone collects certain information about usage is not particularly unusual -- it helps to identify problems and speed up software development. But a security researcher's discovery that his OnePlus 2 was sending highly detailed information back to OnePlus without consent has set privacy alarm bells ringing (the issue also affects more recent OnePlus handsets). OnePlus might prefer that you spend your time thinking about the upcoming OnePlus 5T and OnePlus 6, but this tale of telemetry is going to dominate for a little while.
See also:
Last year, Christopher Moore was taking part in a Hack Challenge and decided to run the web traffic from his OnePlus 2 through a proxy. In doing so, he noticed that his phone was connected to a OnePlus domain and transmitting incredibly detailed -- and often very revealing -- data back to the company.
Moore has detailed his findings on his website and he explains that he noticed OnePlus was collecting information about when his screen was turned on and off, when his phone was unlocked, his serial number, details of mobile networks, phone numbers, MAC addresses and even which apps he was running, when and for how long. The logs went as far as recording individual activities that were performed within apps.
Perhaps most concerning is Moore's discovery that none of this data was anonymized: it was all sent back to OnePlus complete with his phone's serial number.
Taking to Twitter, Moore found that OnePlus was no help in explaining what was going on and how to disable it. He looked to Reddit and found an active thread of people discussing the same issue, and people suggested that the OnePlus Device Manager and the OnePlus Device Manager Provider were to blame.
There will clearly be many OnePlus owners who are concerned about what is going on, and Polish developer Jakub Czekański explains that it is possible (although far from obvious) to disable the data capture -- and there's no need to root your device to do so:
@chrisdcmoore I've read your article about OnePlus Analytics. Actually, you can disable it permanently: pm uninstall -k --user 0 pkg — Jakub Czekański (@JaCzekanski) October 10, 2017
Connect your OnePlus phone to your computer and use Android Debug Bridge to run the following commands:
adb start-server
adb shell
pm uninstall -k --user 0 net.oneplus.odm
So what does OnePlus have to say about this? Worryingly, very little. In a statement the company says:
We securely transmit analytics in two different streams over HTTPS to an Amazon server. The first stream is usage analytics, which we collect in order for us to more precisely fine tune our software according to user behavior. This transmission of usage activity can be turned off by navigating to Settings -> Advanced -> Join user experience program. The second stream is device information, which we collect to provide better after-sales support.
What's disappointing is that users are opted into the program without being told about it. It's a highly questionable way to operate, and certainly not a way to maintain user trust. |
If anyone had told Premier Rachel Notley a year ago that she would receive two standing ovations within two weeks — in Calgary and Vancouver, no less — she likely would have enjoyed a good laugh.
But that’s what happened, with the second tribute occurring Thursday following a speech to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade’s Energy Forum where Notley again made the case for Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain expansion project.
And the premier wasn’t the only government official to bring that message.
Federal Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr kicked off the forum by connecting the dots on the importance of a strong energy sector in the transition to a low-carbon economy. He stressed how industry funds investments in innovation, develops new ways to increase the use of clean energy and therefore decrease the environmental footprint of traditional fossil fuels.
“Those who want to close the oilsands down tomorrow overlook both the disruption it would cause to Canadian families and the loss of revenue it provides for clean energy and innovation,” he said. “Those who believe that stopping (the Trans Mountain expansion) is a win, overlook what we have lost: jobs, income, investment in the energy transition and opportunity.”
It could be said Thursday was a watershed moment for not only Alberta but the country.
Name another instance where the federal energy minister and the premier of Alberta — each of a different political stripe — delivered the same message in a province opposed to a project that has received federal approval.
Don’t waste too much time, because it hasn’t happened.
“We delivered a common message that this ought not to be a partisan, political issue. People ought not to be pitting province against province, region against region, and you can make the case — the Conservatives in the House of Commons, the government of Canada, the NDP government in Alberta — all believe that this pipeline is a good thing and there are many millions of Canadians who will agree,” Carr said in an interview.
“To make it a partisan issue on the basis of perceived regional stereotypes is not good for the country.”
Notley and Carr also highlighted the folly of having one customer — the United States — for oil produced in Alberta since it’s subject to a double discount, from the world price of Brent crude and the North American benchmark, WTI.
It remains fascinating, even hypocritical, that B.C. is keen to expand softwood lumber exports to China to broaden its market for that product, but is not OK with that happening for Alberta’s oil.
The discount arising as a result of the lack of access to new markets and reliance on shipping oil by rail means money is left on the table, said Notley.
It means countries less concerned about climate change — such as Russia, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia — get full value for their barrels because they have the access to world markets that Canada lacks.
That message should have resonated with British Columbians, if they truly are concerned about emissions and climate change.
In case it did not, the premier highlighted three very important points — backed by real numbers — to drive home the importance of a strong energy sector to B.C.’s economy.
In 2014, there were 44,000 people living in B.C. who worked in Alberta, earning $2 billion. They paid taxes in B.C. on those earnings and supported local businesses. With the dramatic drop in oil prices — and oilpatch investments — the economic circumstances of those 44,000 people has changed.
Notley also went after the sacred cow of transfer payments.
“Alberta contributes $22 billion per year more to Ottawa than we receive in return, even after the effects of the oil downturn and the recession,” she said. “I raise this only to say that Alberta’s energy industry is a dominant part of what makes Canada tick.
“There is not a school, hospital, bus, road, bike lane or port that doesn’t owe something to a strong energy industry.”
The speech also emphasized what Alberta has to offer Canada.
A strong energy sector that benefits all Canadians, which includes diversifying its markets, ensures a sound and stable economy, particularly in the context of the current uncertainty of the trading relationship between Canada and the U.S.
“Both the long-term trends in the North American energy industries, and recent political developments in the United States, urges us to diversify our markets as quickly as possible … to be economically safe and more secure … to be more resilient in the face of inevitable ups and downs of the energy market,” said Notley. “That is what Alberta is right now offering our country.”
That’s an interesting twist on the messaging; the energy sector presented as something this province can offer the country.
It arguably gives B.C. an opening to save face and find a way to allow the Trans Mountain expansion to proceed unimpeded; that it understands the issue is about Canada.
As Carr said, getting Canada’s oil production to new markets is not just important — it’s imperative.
“Muddling along, hoping the Americans will keep buying our oil is not a strategy. It’s a failure of leadership and a wilful blindness to market realities,” he said.
The federal government is leading. So is Alberta’s. It’s time the B.C. government followed suit — to put the country first and provincial politics second. It really isn’t all that complicated.
Deborah Yedlin is a Calgary Herald columnist
dyedlin@postmedia.com |
Britain to airlift 2,000 Iraqis to new life: report
Updated
Britain will begin airlifting 2,000 Iraqis out of their native country as part of a plan to help Iraqis who worked for the British military to settle in the UK, The Guardian reported today.
Citing documents it had seen, the newspaper said the Home Office (interior ministry) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) were in discussions with the charity Migrant Helpline to help the Iraqis settle in Britain.
Spokespeople for both the MoD and the foreign ministry were unable to immediately comment on the report when contacted by AFP.
"The (Iraqis) will be accommodated for two days in Slough (west of London) prior to being transferred to resettlement areas in the north or in Scotland," the documents cited by The Guardian said.
According to The Guardian, the foreign ministry said some 450 applications for resettlement in Britain has been accepted, while around 450 had been denied, with a further 100 undecided and 100 being processed.
The total of 2,000 Iraqis includes the dependents of the local staff being transferred.
The transfers will occur over a 17-month period beginning from next month, the newspaper said, with flights carrying up to 100 Iraqis every fortnight.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced in October that Britain would help Iraqi local staff who have worked for British forces to settle in Iraq and elsewhere, including Britain under agreed circumstances.
Local staff including interpreters and translators who have worked for Britain for 12 months or more will be eligible for financial and other support, he said in a statement to lawmakers.
-AFP
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, community-and-society, immigration, england, iraq, united-kingdom, scotland
First posted |
Developer Plain Vanilla Games is now taking sign-ups for beta testers to try out an early version of their popular trivia app QuizUp for Windows Phone . The company announced its plans to release QuizUp for both Windows Phone and Windows 8.1 in February .
Beta testers must agree to abide by a Non-Disclosure Agreement which, among other things, forbids them from posting any public screenshots or reviews of the QuizUp Windows Phone beta. From the language of the sign-up page, it looks like anyone who agrees to the NDA will be able to access the beta version.
QuizUp, which reportedly already has 32 million users worldwide, lets gamers play online trivia matches with friends and strangers. The actual development of the Windows Phone version is being handled by Gateway Apps. According to what we were told back in February, the Windows Phone version of QuizUp will have all of the features of the Android and iOS versions, plus Live tile support and possibly cross-platform play to the Android and IOS ports.
Source: QuizUp |
This article is from the archive of our partner .
In one of the more bizarre things you'll read about the CIA today, the secret Romanian prison the agency had been suspected of running has been found -- not in a some remote location tucked in the country's mountainside but in a tree-lined suburb of the nation's capital. While the Romanian government has repeatedly denied its existence and the CIA itself offers no comment, the Associated Press is spilling the details of the clandestine holding center in a Romanian government building outside Bucharest where the masterminds of 9/11 and the USS Cole bombing were once detained. From 2003 to 2006 "the CIA used a government building — codenamed Bright Light — as a makeshift prison for its most valuable detainees," begins Adam Goldman and Matt Apuzzo's report. Despite that cheery, even hopeful name of a facility "a couple blocks off a major boulevard on a street lined with trees and homes," Bright Light was a harsh place for prisoners:
The basement consisted of six prefabricated cells, each with a clock and arrow pointing to Mecca, the officials said. The cells were on springs, keeping them slightly off balance and causing disorientation among some detainees... During the first month of their detention, the detainees endured sleep deprivation and were doused with water, slapped or forced to stand in painful positions, several former officials said. Waterboarding was not performed in Romania, they said. After the initial interrogations, the detainees were treated with care, the officials said. The prisoners received regular dental and medical check-ups. The CIA shipped in Halal food to the site from Frankfurt, Germany, the agency's European center for operations. Halal meat is prepared under religious rules similar to kosher food.
Though the CIA might not like the comparison, Bright Light, hidden in plain sight in some foreign residential neighborhood, seems to remind us of Osama bin Laden suburban compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. How did the CIA facility (like Osama's hideout) go undetected by civilians for years? Detainees apparently were snuck into the prison by van from Bucharest's airport, and "because the building was a government installation, it provided excellent cover," the AP writes. "People wouldn't be inclined to snoop in post-communist Romania, with its extensive security apparatus known for spying on the country's own citizens."
This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire. |
The Paddle in Seattle You have to see these pictures of Seattle’s kayaking climate protesters
An estimated 500 climate activists took to kayaks, canoes, paddleboards, and even a solar-powered party barge on Saturday to tell Shell to get the hell out of Seattle. Rallying cry: #sHellNo!
The oil giant brought a huge drilling rig, the Polar Pioneer, to the city’s port on Thursday, over objections from the mayor, city council, and a whole lot of pissed-off Seattleites. Shell plans to use the port as a staging ground for oil drilling operations in the Arctic over the next two years. The kayaktivists made their objections clear — and made for a pretty spectacle against the blue-gray background of Puget Sound.
Kayaks surround Shell's rigs. This is the fight for the future. #shellno pic.twitter.com/lkShuBhowd — Bill McKibben (@billmckibben) May 16, 2015
Simply packed in Terminal 5, kayak to kayak. pic.twitter.com/z6wWtoGtGI — Sydney Brownstone (@sydbrownstone) May 16, 2015
The crime scene at the center of the climate fight this weekend. #shellno pic.twitter.com/odvFHTSVW9 — Chip Giller (@cgiller) May 16, 2015
https://twitter.com/kittypurrzog/status/599647407010250752 |
ANKARA: Turkey's president strongly condemned the execution of Jamaat-i-Islami leader in Bangladesh.
In a speech in Ankara on Thursday, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country had recalled his ambassador from Bangladesh in protest.
Motiur Rahman Nizami, the 73-year-old head of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party, was executed early Wednesday for his role in acts of genocide and war crimes during the country's independence war against Pakistan in 1971.
Erdogan also lashed out at Europe for not speaking out against the execution.
“Weren't you against executions?” Erdogan said. “There was no noise (from the EU) because the person who was executed was a Muslim.”
Nizami was convicted of three major charges stemming from the 1971 war, including the killings of 480 people.
Earlier on Wednesday, Pakistan's Foreign Office said it was deeply saddened over the hanging of the JI Bangladesh chief Motiur Rahman Nizami after a decision by a controversial war crimes tribunal for his involvement in 1971 events.
"The act of suppressing the opposition by killing their leaders through flawed trials is completely against the spirit of democracy," Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria had said in a statement.
The statement said it is "unfortunate" for the people of Bangladesh who had elected Nizami as their representative in the parliament.
Zakaria added that since the beginning of such trials, several international organisations, human rights groups and international legal figures have raised objections to the court proceedings, especially regarding fairness and transparency, as well as reported harassment of lawyers and witnesses representing the accused.
He offered condolences to the bereaved family members and the followers of Nizami. |
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