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The majority of notifications on his Twitter might be talking about retirement, but that was never a consideration for Dominick Cruz.
The former UFC bantamweight champion said on a media conference call Tuesday that he is completely confident he will be able to return from a third ACL surgery and he never once thought about hanging up the gloves.
"Why can't I do it?" Cruz said. "Why can't I come back and be stronger than ever? There's no question I can do it, in my mind."
Cruz will have surgery Jan. 15 to repair the ligament in his right knee. He's targeting a return to the UFC in six to nine months, before the end of 2015. "The Dominator" came back from nearly three years away due to injury to finish Takeya Mizugaki by first-round TKO at UFC 178 in September. After that, he was granted a shot at the UFC bantamweight title he had to give up while he was out. Now, it'll have to be put on hold.
Cruz, 29, tore his left ACL in 2012 and needed surgery. The cadaver ACL the doctors used to replace the torn ligament was rejected by his body, so Cruz needed a second operation later that year. Just when he was set to come back against Renan Barao in February 2014, Cruz tore his quad and was out another seven months before beating Mizugaki in September. His last fight before that was a win over Demetrious Johnson on Oct. 1, 2011.
"I truly, truly believe after I get my right knee fixed, it'll be stronger than it was before," Cruz said. "It's basically like getting two brand new knees."
This time, Cruz tore the ACL when he threw a left high kick during sparring on Dec. 9 at his Alliance MMA gym in San Diego. Cruz pivoted on his right leg and felt the knee slide out and pop. He knew then that he was injured, but he didn't get the results back until right before he stepped on a plane to Brazil for UFC media obligations late last week.
Cruz said he immediately felt sick to his stomach when he heard the news. But he vowed to not let it get him down. Cruz doesn't know why the injuries keep piling up for him and he said doctors don't either.
"There's people that are waking up -- God bless them -- but they wake up one day and they have cancer and they didn't expect it," Cruz said. "They can sit there and say, 'Why did this happen to me, there's a million people in the world, but I'm the one who gets cancer?' But what does that really solve to think that way? It doesn't do anything. All it does is stress you out and make you think, 'Woe is me, I'm the only one who's got the problem.' I'm not thinking that way. There are people out there going through so much worse and they need support and they need help."
While some are saying he should quit, Cruz thinks just the opposite. When a reporter on the call used the word "if" about his return, Cruz corrected him. He is adamant that he will be back before long.
"For me to retire, for me to think about stopping and to not put my head down and do the [physical therapy] is absolutely insane to me, because this is what I want to do," Cruz said.
"It's another mountain to climb. I'm fully capable of handling this mountain. I have all the tools, I have the age and I have the mindset to handle this."
Cruz believes he has another five or six years left in the sport. He would be interested in fighting for the title right away after the surgery and rehab process is over, but would understand if the UFC did not want that. Cruz likely would have met T.J. Dillashaw for the belt sometime in the spring before the injury hit.
"The path has been chosen for me," Cruz said. "I can sit here and try to blame myself and say, 'How come everybody else can go through surgery with no problems?' Realistically, the way I get through this is I think about the people out there that have real problems. I still have a job, I'm still promoted by the UFC, I still have a job with FOX, I still can be in the gym and help these guys get better, I can still elevate the sport of mixed martial arts, which is my passion. I can still come back and fight and win."
Cruz said he did get down and fall into a depression during the nearly three-year process to return to the Octagon. There won't be any of that this time, because he saw what he could do when he returned, destroying Mizugaki in 61 seconds. The Japanese fighter had never been handled like that in his career. Cruz expects more of the same late in 2015 and beyond.
"I'm not happy about this by any means, but it's also not going to drop me in a funk," he said. "I'm not going to allow it to stop me." |
Ice Cube's 'Barbershop: The Next Cut' and older-skewing action film 'Criminal' open opposite 'Jungle Book,' which already is doing big business overseas, earning $57.1 million to date.
Holy Mowgli!
Jon Favreau's The Jungle Book, the latest offering from Disney's live-action studio, is doing huge business in its debut at the North American box office, grossing $32.4 million on Friday for a projected $87 million-$90 million weekend, one of the top openings of all time for the month of April.
The movie's better-than-expected performance — fueled by stellar reviews and an A CinemaScore — is yet another victory for Disney as it reimagines its classic titles. At this pace, the $175 tentpole will come ahead of fellow Disney titles Cinderella ($67.9 million), Oz the Great and Powerful ($79.1 million and Maleficent ($69.4 million).
Jungle Book is a reimagining of Rudyard Kipling's eponymous book about an orphaned human boy whose guardians are animals. The live-action/CGI hybrid introduces Neel Sethi as Mowgli and features the voices of Bill Murray, Idris Elba, Ben Kingsley, Lupita Nyong'o and Scarlett Johansson.
Disney opens the movie in 4,208 theaters in North America; more than 3,000 of those will offer the film in a variety of premium formats, including 4D, 3D and Imax. Overseas, The Jungle Book already has grossed north of $30 million after opening in a handful of markets last weekend. It opens in other counties this weekend — including China, the U.K., France, Germany and Mexico — and could take in $75 million or more internationally.
The Jungle Book already has grossed $57.1 million from its first foreign markets, including doing record-breaking business in India — where Hollywood entries typically have a tough time — and Russia.
Two other films open this weekend, Ice Cube's Barbershop: The Next Cut and the older-skewing action thriller Criminal, starring Kevin Costner and Tommy Lee Jones.
Boosted by strong reviews and an A- CinemaScore, Barbershop 3 is looking at debut in the $19 million range-$20 million range for New Line and MGM after earning $7 million Friday, somewhat behind expectations but good enough for the No. 2 spot.
Criminal is struggling in its debut, with a projected weekend gross of $6 million-$7 million.
April 16, 8:15 a.m. Updated. |
CLOSE Obama orders 'surge' to border to speed up deportations as thousands of children are crossing into the U.S. illegally. Obama is enacting a plan to help their home countries prevent them from heading to the U.S.
Two young girls watch a World Cup soccer match on TV from their holding area in Nogales, Ariz., where hundreds of mostly Central American immigrant children are being processed and held at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Nogales Placement Center, on June 18, 2014. (Photo11: Pool via Getty Images)
As children from Central America keep pouring across the nation's southwest border, the Obama administration announced Friday that it will respond with a "surge" of immigration judges and U.S. attorneys to speed up the deportation of some undocumented immigrants.
It also announced a series of grants to help officials in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador — the countries where most of the unaccompanied children are coming from — receive the deported immigrants and keep them there.
The actions are part of a busy month for the administration, which has organized a federal task force to care for the flood of young children who have been caught crossing the border and created a federal grant to recruit more lawyers to represent those children in immigration court. On Friday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson toured the southern Texas border to inspect the government's handling of the influx, and Vice President Biden met with Central American leaders to see how they can help stop the flow.
"The question before us is how can we make the process more efficient, given the surge in the number of individuals who are being apprehended," DHS Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Friday.
The response is due to a sharp rise in the number of children crossing the border without their parents, often with the help of smugglers known as coyotes. In 2011, fewer than 4,000 unaccompanied children from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador were caught along the border. So far in fiscal year 2014, that number is over 34,000.
Republicans in Washington laid the blame for the surge directly on the president, saying Obama's lax immigration enforcement record and the program he created to protect some undocumented immigrants from deportation has served as a global invitation.
"The policies of your administration have directly resulted in the belief by these immigrants that once they reach U.S. soil, they will be able to stay here indefinitely," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, wrote in a letter to Obama on Friday.
In the letter, Boehner said the safety of the children caught crossing the border is "of paramount importance" and insisted they should be housed in "clean, safe facilities." But he also called for the deployment of National Guard troops to assist Border Patrol and the other federal agencies that have been involved in the response.
"It is our duty and obligation to enforce the laws of our country while protecting the most vulnerable and ensuring they are healthy and well protected," Boehner wrote.
Mayorkas said the National Guard was not needed since the Border Patrol is already catching the immigrants, meaning the bigger focus needs to be on housing them and processing them for deportation.
"That is not something in which the National Guard is involved," he said.
While the White House did not provide details on how many judges or attorneys will be moved to the border, Mayorkas said they will focus on adults caught crossing the border, and on adults traveling with children. He said they will determine if they have a credible right to remain in the country based on asylum claims and, if not, will be removed from the country "as quickly as possible."
Targeting adults with children for deportation marks a dramatic departure from the Obama administration's immigration enforcement record, said Joanne Lin, a Washington-based attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union. She said White House officials have traditionally called those groups "families" and said the change in tone and enforcement priorities seems to be in response to Republicans critical of Obama's handling of the situation.
"The administration realistically has both a humanitarian crisis at the border, but they also have a political crisis," Lin said. "If this is truly a humanitarian crisis ... how can the administration be responding now by saying, 'We need to lock up these families with kids?'"
But some feel the administration is doing the best it can in a difficult situation. Rep. Joe Garcia, D-Fla., who met this week with diplomats from the Central American countries where most of the children are coming from, said they're balancing the need to care for the children coming alone with the need to send some people back.
"There's only so many people we can absorb, particularly when you know the crisis that's existing," Garcia said. "We cannot create a system where we say 'Don't come' and at the same time we're allowing them all to stay."
The only real solution to the flood, he said, would come if Congress finally passed a revamp of the nation's immigration laws, which has stalled in the Republican-led House of Representatives.
Among the new steps announced Friday by the Obama administration:
• A $9.6 million grant to the governments of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to build and improve their "repatriation centers," where deported immigrants are received after they've been flown back home.
• The creation of a $40 million program run by the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, to improve citizen security in Guatemala. Administration officials say the violence in Central America is one of the main reasons so many kids are racing to the U.S.
• A new $25 million USAID program to curb violence in El Salvador.
• An $18.5 million grant to Honduras to help community policing and gang-prevention programs there.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1irScU0 |
CLOSE A male senior student at Cornell University has filed a Title IX lawsuit against the university stemming from a party that happened the night of Sept. 17, 2015. Chance Cook / staff video
The lawsuit states the student attempted suicide in April 2016.
Cornell University (Photo: File photo)
A male senior student at Cornell University has filed a Title IX lawsuit against the university, a former Cornell Title IX investigator and Interim Judicial Administrator Jody Kunk-Czaplicki following an investigation of physical and sexual misconduct allegations.
According to a complaint filed in U.S District Court for the Northern District of New York, the student claims the defendants failed to offer fair and adequate means for the man to defend himself against allegations. The lawsuit states the university wrongfully suspended him and intentionally inflicted a flawed Title IX investigation process that denied him the right to a hearing and due process. Additionally, the lawsuit claims the university refused to investigate the male student's own accusations of sexual misconduct and physical assault against a female student.
The lawsuit states the male student attempted suicide in April 2016.
Representatives of Cornell University declined to comment on the active litigation, but said Elizabeth McGrath, who was employed as a Title IX investigator, no longer works for the university.
The lawsuit stems from a party that happened the night of Sept. 17, 2015, said Andrew Miltenberg, the male student's attorney.
Documents state at one point both students willingly went inside the plaintiff's room in the Theta Delta Chi fraternity house. The man claims the woman invited the accused to join him on a bed.
The plaintiff alleges they then mutually kissed and the woman began to kiss more aggressively, pushed him and made him feel uncomfortable, reminding him of a previous time in which he was sexually assaulted by a different person.
After telling the woman to stop her "dominating behavior," the woman said,"no," the document stated. The man claims that after seeing no other option, he decided to physically remove the woman off himself.
Almost instantaneously, the fellow student punched him in the testicles, causing residual pain that would last for weeks and cause him to seek medical evaluation, the court record stated. On Sept. 19, 2015, the fraternity president told the man the woman was accusing him of choking and trying to rape her.
According to the lawsuit, the man later learned Interim Judicial Administrator Jody Kunk-Czaplicki was imposing a non-negotiable temporary suspension and issued an order stating he was an unwelcome person, both prior to having a conversation with the plaintiff. She directed the man to appear at her office immediately to be served with the related documentation, notwithstanding that she still had not made plaintiff aware of the charges against him.
The student's temporary suspension was later reversed on appeal, the lawsuit states. After being reinstated, however, the man received no warning that he might again be subject to mid-semester disciplinary action by either the Office of the Judicial Administrator or Cornell policy.
In February 2016, former Cornell Title IX Investigator Elizabeth McGrath recommended a suspension for a minimal duration of a year, the lawsuit states. Attorney Miltenberg said McGrath based her decision without a cross-examination.
Investigators engaged in several procedural errors that violated the man's right to a fair and impartial process, Miltenberg said.
The lawsuit states the emotional distress caused by the incident and the university’s failure to grant the student due process caused him stress, leading grades to drop and preventing him from pursuing graduate studies in physics at a top tier university.
Follow @MSteecker on Twitter.
Read or Share this story: http://ithacajr.nl/2onkPat |
EXODUS 37:10-16
« Exodus 36 | Exodus 37 | Exodus 38 »
Making the Table
10 He also made the table of acacia wood. Two cubits was its length, a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height.
11 And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made a molding of gold around it.
12 And he made a rim around it a handbreadth wide, and made a molding of gold around the rim.
13 He cast for it four rings of gold and fastened the rings to the four corners at its four legs.
14 Close to the frame were the rings, as holders for the poles to carry the table.
15 He made the poles of acacia wood to carry the table, and overlaid them with gold. |
Volkswagen has denied claims that another one of its diesel-powered automobile engines is using hidden software to cheat on emissions tests. The US Environmental Protection Agency filed a notice of violation of the Clean Air Act earlier today, claiming a 3-liter diesel mill used in a variety of VW, Audi, and Porsche models also uses a so-called "defeat device" to cheat on regulatory tests, as is the case with a 2-liter engine in some 11 million Volkswagen vehicles worldwide. In an online statement, Volkswagen says that "no software has been installed in the 3-liter V6 diesel power units to alter emissions characteristics in a forbidden manner."
The news of yet more cars embroiled in the Volkswagen emissions scandal marks a new set of potential complications for the German automaker. Volkswagen is only just now beginning to calculate the full cost of its misconduct, which could hit nearly $90 billion, after CEO Martin Winterkorn stepped down in September. If the scandal widens to include another engine, the consequences could increase dramatically. The 3-liter engine is found in around 10,000 US vehicles, but many more cars in Europe where diesel sales are higher. Yet Volkswagen seems confident the EPA has misunderstood some aspect of its 3-liter engine. The company did not disclose the root of the misunderstanding, but stated it would cooperate with the EPA to clarify the situation. |
Look closer, my friend Cast metal ring transforms to a telescope
Larger lens can be used as magnifying glass
Small magnetic compass in the body of the ring
We love steampunk style. The tiny top hats, the goggles (they do nothing!), the corsets, the leather, the crazy weapons. We love that there's no canon, no official characters to cosplay, so you're free to let your imagination go wild when designing a costume. We're calling this amazing accessory Captain Jules' Extraordinary Telescope Ring, named after... well, actually, we just made him up. It's up to you, geek friend, to invent who Captain Jules is/was, and why you are currently wearing his extraordinary telescope ring.
This cast metal ring is made of lightweight aluminum with an aged bronze finish. The ring itself is a conversation starter, but when you start showing off the features, that's when you'll become the belle/beau of the steampunk ball. The two lenses fold out and then slide apart, forming a small telescope. Prefer to examine things closer to you? The large lens doubles as a magnifying glass. This amazing contraption comes in a tin suitable for gifting to that person in your life who loves classy gadgets and the color brown.
Product Specifications |
Parts of a national forest in California have been evacuated and closed down after a squirrel was found to be infected with the plague.
Los Angeles officials say visitors were ordered to leave the Angeles National Forest as a precaution after the rodent was trapped in a routine check.
They said no people in the area were believed to have been infected with the disease, known as the Black Death.
The plague killed as many as 25 million Europeans during the Middle Ages.
Analysis It sounds like a screenplay for a Hollywood B-movie: bubonic plague-infected squirrels descend on Los Angeles. But despite the excitement among Angelenos on social media about the "Black Death" being found at a California campsite, health officials say this is not a problem for urban squirrels. City conditions do not lend themselves to having fleas co-existing in large numbers as they would in a forested area, they say. Even in this forest area where the squirrel was found on Thursday, only five "plague-positive" squirrels have turned up in the last 20 years or so. This particular squirrel is dead - tests are being conducted to determine if it died of natural causes or the plague itself.
It is a bacterial infection which can be transmitted to humans through the bites of infected fleas.
If not treated with antibiotics, it is usually deadly.
There have been only four cases of human plague in Los Angeles County since 1984, none of which was fatal, according to officials.
Further testing of squirrels in the region will be carried out before the campgrounds are re-opened to the public.
Jonathan Fielding, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, told the BBC that agriculture workers would dust squirrel burrows in order to reduce the flea population.
He said that while the area was closed to camping, people would still be able to hike through.
He advised that anyone who wished to do so should use insect repellent and ensure that any pets they bring have a flea collar. |
Richard Patterson, a 65-year-old Florida man accused of murdering of his late girlfriend Francisca Marquinez, 60, was found not guilty on Monday.
He gripped the nation and almost changed legal history forever with his initial defense of claiming his girlfriend choked on his giant penis during oral sex, and with his lawyers’ proposal to show the courtroom his appendage so the judge and jury could see just how big it was.
A medical expert declared it unlikely that someone could fatally choke on a schlong, leading Patterson’s defense team to change their strategy. They argued that it was impossible to know how Marquinez died because medical examiners didn’t get to her body in time before it decomposed.
Unlike Patterson, the jury wasn’t hung. Though the jurors missed their chance to see a big wang in a court of law, they found Patterson innocent after deliberating for five hours.
Follow Mike on Twitter |
Ever since the announcement that Beyoncé will be headlining Coachella 2017, there's been an understandable excitement for this year's land of flower crowns and Instagram-worthy photo opps. But you might want to know more about the Philip Anschutz, the owner of the event, and his views before you fork over your money for a coveted Coachella ticket.
Philip Anschutz is the owner of a company called AEG, which owns several sports teams and venues. One of those events that's run by AEG is Coachella. According to an infographic from The Washington Post, Anschutz has taken some of the profits that he's made and donated them to groups such as the Alliance Defending Freedom, the Family Research Council, and the National Christian Foundation. All three of those groups have been known to campaign against LGBTQ rights, UPROXX points out. For example, the Family Research Council (one of the groups that Anschutz supports) describes itself as a "Pro-Marriage and Pro-Life" organization. Their website shows that it is anti-gay rights, anti-transgender rights, and anti-abortion.
Anschutz's right-wing ideologies are nothing new; Politico ran an article about his "conservative agenda" back in 2009. A former employee of The Washington Examiner explains that when Anschutz started the paper in 2005, he gave instructions that the editorial page should be "nothing but conservative columns and conservative op-ed writers." Additionally, Anschutz — who also happens to be an oil and gas billionaire — is a "financier of climate science denial groups," according to Greenpeace.
Related: Coachella 2017 Performers Include Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Mac Miller
Check This Out: |
So I did get my original gift a few days after the final notice and it was okay... and I felt pretty bad now because I already was assigned a regifter but.. these things do happen. So I got my gift!! And it looked pretty similar to gifts I had sent before: Handwritten address, fun packing tape, old reused amazon box.
So I open it and find a nice note that wasn't pictured written in the ink of my favorite color: teal!! Instantly I was excited.
The first thing I notice was... no way... it's a WIG! I cosplay a lot and no way would I ever imagine somebody would grab me a wig in my second favorite color, bubblegum pink! Holy crap is it cute. AND they paired it with a lace teal bow. My heart is exploding with joy and squeals!! (honestly where'd you get this from? I like this wig) AND THERE'S MORE!!
In the second box there was a clock!! It's a cute vintage teal clock with a timer and the bell that rings is awesome. REALLY spot on gifts. I have never felt so kindly thought of and considered. This definitely more than makes up for it, J. THANK YOU!! |
Volkswagen is in big trouble over its emissions cheating scandal, but that's not stopping its workers from getting a healthy raise and bonus.
The company said Friday that 120,000 of its workers in Germany will get a 5% raise over the next year and a half.
The pay increase applies to about 20% of Volkswagen Group's (VLKAY) global workforce, and was negotiated by the union, IG Metall.
The union is in the midst of negotiating similar raises with other automakers in Germany.
The announcement comes a week after the same VW workers were awarded an annual bonus of €3,950 ($4,430), though the payout was about one-third less than normal.
Related: New bombshell lawsuit against Volkswagen
Volkswagen admitted late last year that it fitted as many as 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide with software that could cheat nitrogen oxide emissions tests.
Volkswagen shares plunged as much as 40% after the news broke, and the automaker now faces criminal probes by U.S. and European authorities.
At least 70 lawsuits have been filed against the company, which has set aside €16.2 billion ($18.2 billion) to cover costs associated with recalls, car repurchases, criminal proceedings and lawsuits.
Related: Volkswagen owners can choose a fix or buyback
German wages grew by about 2.4% last year and inflation in the country is pretty much non-existent. That makes the latest Volkswagen pay hike an especially good deal for workers.
The agreement does not cover employees at Audi or Porsche, which are also part of parent company Volkswagen Group. |
This year’s Golden Globe nominations have been announced, and of note were two wrestling related nods for John Cena’s “Ferdinand” and the Netflix show GLOW.
GLOW”s lead actress Alison Brie was nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical of Comedy, and “Ferdinand” was nominated for Best Animated film.
Read Also: John Cena On a Possible Rock vs Hogan Rematch in WWE (Video)
The John Cena movie “Ferdinand” will open this weekend against “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”, so it will be interesting to see how the animated film performs at the box office, as both “Ferdinand” and “Star Wars” are receiving favorable early reviews.
Honored and grateful for #GoldenGlobes nomination of @FerdinandMovie…The story of a BIG Bull with a BIG message of being yourself and being PROUD of who you are. — John Cena (@JohnCena) December 11, 2017
What Airs After Raw Tonight?
Immediately following WWE Raw tonight, a new episode of “WWE Ride Along” will air on WWE Network featuring Rusev and Lana.
Total Divas News
Below is the official synopsis for this week’s new episode of Total Divas:
“On a trip to Cabo San Lucas to celebrate Nicole’s engagement, Brie struggles to enjoy herself on her first vacation away from her newborn, but Brie Mode eventually makes a return! Meanwhile, the tension between Nattie and Lana reaches a climax and threatens to ruin everyone’s time.” |
[Editor's note: Dec. 1, 2017. The provincial government announced a public consultation on “professional reliance” in managing natural resources Friday.
The approach, introduced a decade ago by the Liberal government, lets companies hire consultants to approve their plans rather than subject them to review by government scientists and engineers.
The practice has been criticized by independent watchdogs including the province’s Auditor General and Ombudsperson. Critics maintain the process involves fundamental conflicts of interest as consultants prepare reports on environmental and engineering risks for resource companies they rely on for future contracts.
The consultation form can be found here.
The Tyee is reprinting this Andrew Nikiforuk report from earlier in the year to encourage informed participation.]
You’ve probably never heard of a regulatory fad called “professional reliance.”
Announcements, Events & more from Tyee and select partners ‘Punch to the Gut’ Musical on Residential Schools Returns to Vancouver Children of God has been shaped by intense audience reactions, says director Corey Payette.
Yet this decade-old experiment with environmental regulation now dominates every aspect of resource development in the province, including contaminated landfill sites, forest assessments, dam safety and shale gas development.
First introduced nearly a decade ago, the practice now dominates 27 different regulatory regimes in the province.
The B.C. government defines the term as “the practice of accepting and relying upon the decisions and advice of professionals who accept responsibility and can be held accountable for the decisions they make and the advice they give.”
To support PR, as it sometimes called, the B.C. government streamlined regulations, reduced the size of the public service, and gave industry proponents a greater role in monitoring their compliance with environmental rules.
The government said the scheme would save money and result in better governance.
But a growing body of critics, including B.C.’s Auditor General, the B.C. Ombudsperson, and the University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Centre say that’s not what is happening in practice.
They say professional reliance has given industry too much control over public lands without addressing conflicts of interest. They also say it amounts to deregulation and less government oversight.
In particular they are concerned about conflicts of interest. Given that most engineers or foresters are employed or retained by an industrial proponent, an inherent potential for conflict arises between duties to the client and the public interest in environmental protection.
Take, for example, the three-year-old controversy over contaminated landfill site at Shawnigan Lake on Vancouver Island.
Earlier this month Mary Polak, the environment minister, suspended the permit for the landfill due to persistent rule breaking by the operator and off-site water contamination after years of protests and legal action by local governments and citizens.
The problems began in 2013 when Cobble Hill Holdings asked professionals at Active Earth Engineering to do a technical report on whether or not filling a quarry with contaminated soil from around Vancouver Island was an environmentally sound project.
In their environmental assessment, Active Engineering gave the project a thumbs up, and assured the government that the quarry sat on a sound rock basement that wouldn’t leak.
But a string of experts hired by local government disagreed and warned that the location was a bad one due to fractured bedrock. Leaks would contaminate aquifers under the site and thereby pollute the headwaters of a watershed that provide drinking water for 12,000 people, they found.
But the Ministry of Environment only listened to the information given to them by the proponent and their qualified experts, says Sonia Furstenau, regional director of the Cowichan Valley district leading the fight against the Shawnigan Lake landfill project.
“Under the model of PR, they couldn’t disagree with the findings. They only reviewed it,” Furstenau said.
But the professionals writing the technical assessment report had also signed a secret agreement with Cobble Hill Holdings that gave them a 50 per cent interest in the project. This conflict of interest was never disclosed to the Environmental Appeal Board.
A damning judicial review of the whole process, released last month, concluded that conflict of interest biased the decision-making process and undermined the integrity of the approval process set out in the province’s Environmental Management Act.
Justice Robert Sewell added that “An important element in assessing any technical or scientific opinion is knowing whether the professional producing the opinion has any reason to be biased. The existence of a financial benefit to the Qualified Professional from a particular outcome is a clear example of a reasonable apprehension of bias in the person preparing the opinion.”
To Furstenau, the practice of professional reliance not only undermined the approval process for the landfill but is now “creating a mess throughout the province.”
“It is creating huge mistrust in the process. Whenever a government hands over the environmental assessment to so-called qualified professionals hired by industry, it ultimately results in a situation where industry polices itself. It is a race to the bottom.”
But that’s not the only problem. An extensive 2015 review of professional reliance by the University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Centre found that “professional reliance” was undermining the public interest.
After interviewing scores of professionals including foresters and engineers, Mark Haddock, author of the report and now counsel for the Forest Practices Board, concluded that PR frequently “became a rationale for less scrutiny of material submitted by proponents by government.”
Professionals told Haddock that the practice resulted in conflicts of interests that government often ignored and encouraged an erosion of expertise in the public service.
Professionals also noted that the poorly policed practice of relying on professionals working for industry ultimately reduced public involvement in resource management resulting in greater land use conflicts, such as the protests around Shawnigan Lake.
The report concluded “that much of B.C.’s deregulation goes too far in handing over what are essentially matters of public interest to those employed by industry. Proponents should not be decision makers for matters involving the weighing and balancing of multiple, often competing, environmental and societal values.”
Added the report: “This raises irresolvable conflicts of interest and a lack of democratic accountability for many resource management decisions.”
Haddock made a number of recommendations to correct over-reliance on information provided by professionals working for industry, including better monitoring, compliance and enforcement as well as specific criteria for the government to use to decide when professional reliance was and was not in the public interest — any activity that posed moderate to high environmental and safety risks.
With the exception of mining, said Haddock, the government hasn’t addressed any of the problems the 2015 report identified.
“At one level there is always going to be a need for PR because the government is going to rely on information from proponents, but at another level it can been seen as over-reliance,” Haddock told The Tyee. “There are certain things the public expects the government to do as owner of the resource.”
Almost every major environmental controversy in the province now seems to have some tie-in to “professional reliance.”
The failure of a 40-metre high tailings dam at the Mount Polley copper mine in the B.C. interior, which caused widespread environmental damage, illuminated other problems with professional reliance.
In a 2016 report on regulation of the province’s mining sector following the disaster, B.C. Auditor General Carol Bellringer found “almost every one of our expectations for a robust compliance and enforcement program within the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) and the Ministry of Environment (MOE) were not met.”
In particular Bellringer focused on “over reliance on qualified professionals” as a key problem. “It is not MEM’s practice to carry out its own technical review (or to oversee an independent technical review) to confirm that tailings dams are built in accordance with the design.”
The government replied to the criticism by arguing that the auditor’s “concern about over-reliance on qualified professionals is a criticism of professional bodies’ ability to regulate their professions.”
But the auditor highlighted many of the same problems documented in the Environmental Law Centre report: “As professional reliance has grown, we expected that MEM, at a minimum, would be ensuring that reports required under permits were received and reviewed by the ministry in a timely manner, and would put into place policies and guidance about working with qualified professionals. Overall, MEM has not established any policy regarding qualified professionals.”
In addition, the ministry “has not established guidance for its staff regarding what the ministry considers an appropriate level of oversight of the professionals employed by mining companies.”
The Forest Practices Board has heard many of the same complaints: “The Board frequently hears concerns that professional reliance is not meeting expectations. The concerns come not just from the public, but from professionals themselves,” says a 2013 bulletin.
“Where objectives are not clear, or where competing interests and values are in play, it is not realistic to expect professionals working for licensees to define the public interest.”
The effective management of riparian areas to protect fish habitat has also fallen under the domain of PR.
In 2014, B.C.’s Office of the Ombudsperson found the practice wasn’t striking a balance in the public interest.
“The potential for administrative unfairness arises when there is inadequate government oversight of private professionals and project proponents or the level of public accountability for their actions and decisions falls below acceptable standards,” said the report.
The Ombudsperson found that the system did not hold professionals who conducted riparian assessments to an enforceable standard of professional conduct.
The Professional Employees Association (PEA), which represents more than 1,000 licensed professionals such as engineers working in the public service, has also raised alarm bells about professional reliance.
Auditor General Blasts 'Major Gaps' in BC's Mining Oversight read more
At the same time the government introduced the practice, it has decreased the number of licensed professionals employed in the Ministry of Environment by 31 per cent since 2009. Over the same period, professional staff at the Ministry of Energy and Mines has experienced a 21 per cent decrease.
As the number of qualified staff needed to review information submitted by other industry hired professionals has declined, the association also found “that the ability of government science officers to review industry proposals” was “hampered by policies that give proponents the legal authority to withhold information.”
In the end public forests, fisheries, mines and landfills all suffered from ineffective oversight, it found.
In 2006, a Professional Reliance Task Force warned about these very challenges.
It is not a “given that the public has, or will continue to have, sufficient confidence to support the professional reliance paradigm in the long term.” |
Okay, so is this the ultimate time traveller's watch? Well, the battery can't die on you because there isn't one (solar power FTW) and while quartz timing packages and integrated circuits can and do fail, they're largely most vulnerable when there's a greater risk of moisture intrusion and this is a pretty well-sealed watch, so the humidity of a Cretaceous jungle shouldn't be a problem. It's highly impact resistant (obviously) and the sapphire and DLC coatings, plus the anodized aluminum, would give the watch an excellent chance, if a T. rex does chow down on you, of making it out the cloaca intact even if you don't, so maybe its fossil (embedded in a coprolite, no doubt) would be discovered in centuries to come, to clue your friends and fam into what happened to you.
The radio time sync would be of little use, but accuracy could be maintained by using the calendar and a homemade sundial to estimate mean solar noon and you could always re-set by that (accuracy would indeed eventually drift so far off as to be noticeable). |
A little more than a year after a massive wildfire forced the full evacuation of Fort McMurray in Alberta, another set of extreme wildfires in British Columbia is again forcing major population centers to empty. In the region of Williams Lake and Cariboo City, 17,400 people have been forced to flee as a wildfire is threatening the major highway exiting the area. As the fire expands, another 27,000 in the broader province may also be asked to leave. This mass evacuation has been enough to empty large urban centers — turning them into ghost towns as fires rage through the surrounding countryside.
This is B.C.'s Cariboo region. The red is under evacuation ORDER (yellow is alert). The red contains more than 1.5 million hectares. pic.twitter.com/YO7bMbBh9q — Justin McElroy (@j_mcelroy) July 16, 2017
On Saturday, 40 mph winds, hot temperatures in the 90s (F), and lightning strikes fanned flames in the region — considerably worsening the fire situation and spurring more comprehensive evacuation orders. Heavy rains earlier in the year caused rapid vegetation growth. But as much warmer than normal temperatures accompanied by dry, windy conditions entered the region in June and July, the new growth has turned into tinder — adding a serious fire hazard.
(Scores of very large wildfires rage across British Columbia on July 15 — casting smoke plumes that now stretch across most of Canada. For reference, bottom edge of this image frame covers roughly 550 miles. Image source: NASA Worldview.)
Presently, 160 wildfires are now burning across British Columbia. This number is down from more than 200 fires earlier in the week. However, many of the larger fires have grown in size. The result is that the province is still under a very severe alert level 4 with a mass mobilization of firefighting resources underway. On July 15, the fires were clearly visible in NASA satellite imagery (see above).
Precipitation extremes and increasingly warm temperatures are a hallmark signal of human caused climate change resulting from continued fossil fuel burning. And it is these kinds of conditions that have dominated British Columbia over recent months. Both the strong swing from wet to dry conditions accompanied by much warmer than normal summer temperatures is climate change related and has likely served to increase the fire danger throughout British Columbia this year.
Links:
Winds Fan Flames in Fire-Stricken British Columbia
Entire City of Williams Lake Evacuated as Fire Threatens Last Highway Out
NASA Worldview
Canadian Interagency Fire Center
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TORONTO - It wasn't the prettiest effort the Toronto Maple Leafs have put on the ice lately. Against the struggling Dallas Stars, though, it was more than enough.
The Leafs played a turnover, mistake and penalty-filled game, but their offence kept clicking on the way to a 5-3 victory on Tuesday night. Toronto won for the fourth time in the past five games and has picked up nine out of a possible 10 points in that period.
"I think we're just a pretty confident group in here," said Tyler Bozak, who scored his 12th goal of the season 27 seconds in. "Every line's producing, every player's stepping up and playing well and we're getting full team efforts most of the nights."
In addition to Bozak's quick strike, Joffrey Lupul scored twice and Phil Kessel ended his goal drought at five games. Nazem Kadri also scored for the Leafs (13-8-3), who haven't lost at home since getting thrashed by the Nashville Predators on Nov. 18.
Since back-to-back losses to the Buffalo Sabres and Predators by a combined score of 15-4, Toronto has outscored opponents 23-12.
"We still got plenty to work on," Lupul said. "Obviously things are headed in the right direction, but we know what can happen if you get complacent."
The Leafs did get complacent at times, and that led to goals by Jason Spezza, Ryan Garbutt and Ales Hemsky. Coach Randy Carlyle wasn't terribly thrilled with the defensive performance, but he also wasn't eager to poke holes in a two-goal victory.
"We're going to take the two points, but we can't be happy with the sloppiness with which we played," Carlyle said "We cannot continue to play that style of game and think we're going to have success."
The Stars (9-11-5) know that all too well. Predicted to be among the big boys in the Western Conference, they've been unable to find consistency this season. That continued in Toronto, where turnovers led to a third-straight loss.
"It's just not playing the right way," captain Jamie Benn said. "We've got to get it in our heads that it's got to go straight up the ice, it's got to be direct. That's the way we're going to win hockey games."
The Leafs will take winning hockey games any way possible, especially at Air Canada Centre. They jumped out to a 3-0 lead, and they never led by fewer than two goals the rest of the way.
"We were definitely having to play catch-up all night," Stars winger Erik Cole said. "It's hard enough to win games without spotting them two and three-goal leads."
Because of that, players might have subconsciously let up. Goaltender Jonathan Bernier, who stopped 35 of the 38 shots he faced, said it was the Leafs' worst game in their recent stretch.
"When you score that many goals, it's hard mentally to stay sharp and play defensively," Bernier said. "But we got the two points, and that's what matters."
How they got the goals should be a source of positives for the Leafs. Bozak's goal temporarily gave him the team lead, but then Kessel scored on the power play for his first since Nov. 15 in Buffalo.
"He's going to get his goals," Bozak said of Kessel. "I'm sure he's been not happy with the way it's been going for him lately. I'm sure he's going to start streaking here pretty soon and put a pile of them in there."
Stars`Kari Lehtonen gave up five goals on 40 shots in the loss.
Lupul's goals gave him three in three games since returning from a broken bone in his right hand. With him producing, the Leafs have better offensive balance.
"I think the first couple games he was trying to do too much and playing as an individual, lots of turnovers," Carlyle said of Lupul. "I think in some situations he's got to get away from being that individual and let the puck do the work. But it's not because of lack of effort, that's for sure. He's out there trying and you can see his commitment."
The Leafs' commitment has been on display of late, seemingly sparked by the blowout losses in the middle of November. The finer points of hockey may not have been there, but they'll carry a two-game winning streak into Thursday's game against the New Jersey Devils.
"Both coaches aren't going to be happy with their teams," Carlyle said. "Just that we're going to be happy because we got two points and we found a way to score some goals."
Notes — Leo Komarov missed the game three days after taking a hit to the head. The gritty forward did not practice Monday or Tuesday, but coach Randy Carlyle said Komarov's symptoms had subsided and that he didn't believe his absence to be a long-term one. ... Stars winger Patrick Eaves left the game in pain during the second period after blocking a shot. He did not return. ... The Leafs went 5 for 5 on the penalty kill, including 1:30 of a five-on-three Stars power play in the third period.
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Follow @SWhyno on Twitter |
BEIRUT – The Army of Islam has cut the key M5 highway leading from Damascus toward Homs in the northeastern outskirts of the Syrian capital in an operation the rebel group said involved thousands of fighters.
Pro-Syrian regime outlets reported that heavy fighting near the regime-controlled Dahiyet al-Assad suburb of Damascus has forced the closure of the motorway, which provides a key lifeline into the capital from the coast via Homs.
Al-Khabar TV said Monday that “military operations in the area around Dahiyet al-Assad north of the capital are ongoing for the third day running.”
“The Damascus-Homs international highway remains closed on both sides from the town of Harasta,” the pro-regime outlet added.
A Facebook news page supportive of the Bashar al-Assad government also reported Monday morning that “the Damascus International Highway has been cut in Harasta due to the fierce clashes currently underway between the men of the Syrian Arab Army and Eastern Ghouta's terrorists in the area around Dahiyet al-Assad.”
Despite the prevalence of reports of the highway’s cutting—including on a number of opposition news outlets—Syria’s official state media has yet to make any mention of it.
The Army of Islam, in turn, touted its offensive in northern Damascus with a bombastic statement Saturday in which the group claimed thousands of its fighters were taking part in an operation to seize government positions “in the mountainous military area which besieges Damascus Ghouta.”
“The Army of Islam has launched the ‘Allah is Predominant’ battle in the mountain chain [overlooking] Eastern Ghouta after one and a half years of scouting, digging tunnels and training thousands of mujahideen to fight in barren areas,” the group announced.
Dahiyet al-Assad fighting
The Army of Islam’s ‘Allah is Predominant’ offensive has focused on both the Dahiyet al-Assad suburb as well as the town of Adra further to the east along the strategic M5 motorway.
Shelling against Dahiyet al-Assad began on Friday, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reporting that dozens of mortars have struck the regime-controlled area over the weekend.
On Monday, the monitoring NGO said that “fierce clashes are ongoing between regime forces and pro-regime militants on one side and Islamist factions on the other in the area around Dahiyet al-Assad near the town of Harasta.”
“This has been accompanied by heavy shelling by regime forces on the combat zones and around 30 shells have struck areas in Dahiyet al-Assad, causing material damage.”
Pro-government Facebook pages based in the suburb have also admitted that fighting has raged nearby amid a worsening security situation.
The “Dahiyet al-Assad News Network” Facebook group said on Sunday morning that “National Defense Forces are eliminating a number of individuals from terrorist groups infiltrating the outskirts” of the area.
On the same day, the page reported that “schools are [closed] until further notice to preserve the safety of the students.”
A day earlier, the page claimed that “Dahiyet is totally safe and Dahiyet has men to defend it.”
“We have said time and time again: There is no call for concern, God’s men are keeping watch.”
Meanwhile, a Facebook page called “Dahiyet al-Assad in Harasta: The Municipal Council” wrote on Saturday that NDF militiamen in the suburb were working to protect homes of locals after “undisciplined elements” had looted a number of residences.
Al-Jazeera reported that the regime had ordered a number of Dahiyet al-Assad residents near the M5 highway to leave their homes on Friday, after which looting broke out, raising the ire of locals.
None of the Facebook groups active in Dahiyet al-Assad have posted any news since Sunday; however, one pro-regime outlet published a report giving the impression that daily life was continuing as usual.
“Today, Rif Dimashq Governor Hussein Makhlouf inspected the condition of [public] services in Harasta’s Dahiyet al-Assad,” Syrian Days reported on Sunday evening.
According to the report, Makhlouf “heard… the requests and difficulties suffered by some citizens” during a meeting with members of the local council and residents of the town.
“Makhlouf carried out an inspection tour of the backup mechanical bakery and was briefed on the progress of production with regard to quality.”
“He was also briefed on… the availability of water and its delivery according to the applied program,” the report added. |
Whether it is enforcing the terms of the license, educating the public about their rights to use and share software, or promoting software and devices that respect users, the FSF's Licensing and Compliance Lab works hard to keep the GPL's promise and make sure it is shared as widely as possible. We wish to share with you a bit of what we did in 2013 in each of these areas, as well as let you know how we want to do more in 2014.
We hope you will support our efforts and our fundraising goal by signing up as an associate member before the end of January. If you are already a member, please consider gifting a membership to a friend.
Copyright & Compliance
The FSF holds the copyright on a large proportion of the GNU operating system, and other free software. Every year we collect and register hundreds of copyright assignments from individual software developers and corporations working on free software. We register these copyrights with the US copyright office and enforce the licensing terms of the software — typically the GNU General Public License. We do this to ensure that free software distributors respect their obligations to pass on the freedom to all users.
What we did in 2013
We responded and resolved over four hundred reports of suspected license violations and over eight hundred general licensing and compliance questions. We reduced the backlog of old requests substantially, and are now focused on new and important compliance cases. Our corps of volunteers handling licensing questions has grown considerably, thus reducing wait times and improving the depth and detail of the answers served.
How we want to do more in 2014
With the backlog in check, we can now focus on building up our compliance program, work on resolving new cases, and dedicate more time to handling cutting edge licensing questions.
Verification & Certification
The FSF Licensing & Compliance Lab celebrates and promotes free software distributions and computer hardware products that have made a firm policy commitment to only including and promoting free software. Simply put, we want you to be able to purchase computer hardware or download an operating system and be confident that it is designed to respect your freedom and privacy.
What we did in 2013
We awarded Respects Your Freedom (RYF) hardware certification to the Gluglug X60 Laptop on December 18th, 2013. Our goal when launching the RYF certification program was to be able to endorse a complete system built on 100% free software, from firmware to OS, and the Gluglug X60 marked the achievement of that goal. Elated on hearing the news of this achievement, FSF president Richard Stallman stated, "Finally there is a free software laptop that respects your freedom as it comes from the store!"
But, that's not all! We also certified three new models of 3D printers by Aleph Objects, Inc and two wireless USB adapters sold by ThinkPenguin. Learn more about all of these at www.fsf.org/ryf.
How we want to do more in 2014
In order to build the reputation and public awareness of the FSF's RYF certification mark, we need a lot of hardware products that respect your freedom. Our goal is to continue growing, promoting, and certifying more products that respect your freedom.
Education & Support
The FSF Licensing & Compliance Lab has been the preeminent resource of free licensing for free software developers. We publish copyleft free software licenses so that anybody can quickly and easily add terms that ensure the software will carry freedom to every user. But our work doesn't stop there; we also publish educational materials such as licensing recommendations, analysis, and FAQs; we offer a gratis consulting service to the global free software community; and we advocate for legal reform to patent and copyright-related laws that leave free software developers vulnerable to attack.
What we did in 2013
In 2013, we made several updates to the GPL FAQ and our list of software licenses, which received approximately one million unique visitors. Further, we published a number of interviews with free software projects that release their work under GNU GPLv3, and we hosted weekly IRC meetings to support our growing base of volunteers who are working to improve the Free Software Directory.
However, not all of our work is online: the licensing team has also been getting out into the world to add the FSF's voice with policy makers and legal experts, while at the same time staying connected with the free software community.
In March, Josh represented the FSF's position on the elimination of software-idea patents, first at a USPTO-hosted event on patent reform at New York University, and again, later that month at a Harvard Law School conference on patent and copyright law that included federal district and circuit court judges and White House advisers.
Also in March, Donald and Josh, along with FSF board member, Bradley Kuhn hosted a panel titled, Licensing & compliance: a collective effort at LibrePlanet, the FSF's annual free software conference. In May, Donald took part in the Day Against DRM in Seattle. And in September, Josh hosted a Software Freedom Day & Cryptoparty event in New Haven, CT. Lastly, in November, Donald shared the FSF's philosophy and approach to free software licensing at a continuing legal education conference in San Francisco.
How we want to do more in 2014
All this speaking and teaching has geared us up for a big event this year -- one that brings together the free software community and the legal community under one roof: we will be hosting a legal summit running along side LibrePlanet. In the past, the License and Compliance Lab has offered continuing legal education courses on the GPL and free software licensing. With our expanded capacity we are ready to start that program up once again. We hope that this year's legal summit will be the first in an ongoing program to educate and engage the legal community directly on the issues that matter the most when it comes to free software licensing.
How you can help
We have shared with you some of the important work that the Licensing & Compliance Lab will be doing this year. In order to accomplish this work and the many other goals we have set for ourselves, we need your support.
If you are interested in becoming a licensing volunteer for the FSF, please email us — we'd love your help! |
Jose Mourinho takes training at Cobham the day before Chelsea's game against Dynamo kiev
Jose Mourinho has rubbished "a very sad accusation" that some Chelsea players are not trying for him.
Cesc Fabregas on Tuesday responded to suggestions he is at the heart of a revolt against Mourinho, blaming "individuals on the outside trying to destabilise the club".
And on the eve of his side's Champions League game against Dynamo Kiev, the Chelsea manager said his players were "giving their best in every minute of every session" to turn around a run of one win in eight games.
"You are accusing the players of dishonesty," he said, in reference to media reports that an unnamed Chelsea player said he would rather lose than win for Mourinho.
"If I accuse you of being a dishonest journalist I think you'd be very upset and probably you'd take legal action. I think it's a question for the players, not for me.
Jose Mourinho was defiant in his latest press conference, saying he's in a stable and strong position to deal with the pressure on him Jose Mourinho was defiant in his latest press conference, saying he's in a stable and strong position to deal with the pressure on him
"[They are] giving their best in every minute of every session, giving solidarity between all of us. [They have] fantastic personal relationships, very good professional relationships, and are training...always with a strong desire to win the next match."
Mourinho refused to say whether he had met Roman Abramovich since a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool on Saturday that left the champions 14 points behind Premier League leaders Manchester City after six defeats in 11 games.
Cesc Fabregas has denied being at the centre of a player revolt at Chelsea
Sky sources say the Portuguese's job is not currently under threat, and when he was asked how long he thought he had to improve results Mourinho said, in reference to his contract: "Four years, or three years and seven months."
He also referred to an interview given in the wake of a 2004 Champions League triumph with Porto in which he predicted "one day the bad results will come".
Chelsea captain John Terry says the players are 100% behind manager Jose Mourinho and stories saying otherwise are 'ridiculous' Chelsea captain John Terry says the players are 100% behind manager Jose Mourinho and stories saying otherwise are 'ridiculous'
"I resisted well to the nature of my job - 11 years waiting for this. It took time, but came in a moment where I am stable and I am strong to face it."
Asked if he knew the reason for this season's poor results he said: "Yes. I know. It's a combination of factors, some of them I don't want even to touch. Yes, I know."
When John Terry was then asked the same question he laid the blame for results squarely at the feet of the players, including himself.
The captain said: "First and foremost the players will stand up. I've not been good enough and performances haven't either.
"What we've seen in the last two or three days, ridiculous stories about what's happening within the club and the dressing room. I can assure you the players are 100 per cent behind the manager.
"He's under pressure because of the way we're performing. He can do all the work he can in the training field and team meetings, but once we step over the white line it's on us. We know we need to be better, collectively, for this club and for him.
"He will take a lot of the responsibility on his shoulders, and that's unfair. It's on all of us collectively, not just on him.
"It's not going to come to [him leaving]. The club have shown faith in the best manager in the history of this football club. He's by far, by a long, long way the very best.
"It's not what ifs. For me we're going to turn this around. I'm adamant we're going to turn this round and he'll be in charge for the rest of the season and long after I've finished playing at this football club."
And on the specific suggestion of a player wanting to lose he said: "In my whole football career I've never heard a player come out with those words. It's ridiculous I even have to sit here and talk about it.
"I've seen the disappointment in players faces after results, us feeling as though we've let the club, manager and fans down. That player wouldn't get out of the dressing room. If players heard that among ourselves it wouldn't go down too well, would it?" |
One of the arguments Creationists love to bring up is that evolution is a lie because we can’t see it happening in real time. We can try to explain that natural selection occurs over many generations and long time-scales, but they can’t handle that sort of nuance.
Thankfully, there are actually plenty of examples of evolution occurring within a lifetime. This PBS video explains one of them:
The science-deniers will say, “Sure, but the species didn’t change!” But this is exactly how species change. Imagine this kind of genetic change happening many, many times over — over the course of thousands of generations — and you’d be seeing a very different creature altogether from beginning to end.
Can someone send this to Ken Ham? Maybe he can finally educate himself on the matter.
(via Vox. Thanks to Randy for the link) |
The California Coastal Commission ruled Wednesday that scofflaw Donald Trump can keep the illegally erected giant flagpole that's been up for nearly a decade at his Trump National Golf Club, provided that Rancho Palos Verdes changes its existing height rules, reports the Daily Breeze. Seeing as how RPV's height limit is 26 feet, issues with the 70-foot-tall, unpermitted flagpole were bound to come up, and they did, shortly after it was raised in 2006. At that time, RPV officials determined that the flag could stay flying, but it still needed to get state approval. Trump did a bit of foot-dragging on getting that paperwork in, and so here we are, eight years later, almost settling the matter.
Now that the pole has the thumbs-up from the CCC, RPV needs to change its height limits and Trump has to resubmit his application in order for the flagpole to be truly legal. All the rigmarole is going to be worth it, though, since the too-tall post has become something of a community landmark, galvanizing two dozen local supporters, who showed up at the meeting where CCC approval was given with their own tiny flags to wave.
Trump had previously gotten in trouble with RPV for illegally planting 12- and 14-foot-tall ficus trees on the course to hide some houses in "horrendous condition" on the other side.
· Coastal Commission lets Donald Trump's giant flagpole stand — for now — in Rancho Palos Verdes [DB]
· Revisiting Trump Vs. Rancho Palos Verdes in Flagpole, Ficus Feuds [Curbed LA] |
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption David Bowie has won only two Brits previously, including an honorary award in 1996
Rock legend David Bowie has been named best British male at the Brit Awards in London, although he was not there in person to collect his award.
Arctic Monkeys won both best group and best album for the third time.
Ellie Goulding won best British female, while pop act One Direction were honoured for their global success for the second year running.
Kate Moss collected Bowie's prize and read a speech on his behalf urging Scottish voters to reject independence.
"I'm completely delighted to have a Brit for being the best male - but I am, aren't I Kate? Yes. I think it's a great way to end the day. Thank you very, very much and Scotland stay with us," were his words - as delivered by Moss.
Overnight figures show an average 4.2 million viewers watched the ceremony live on ITV - the lowest audience since at least 1999.
Last year's show was watched by 6.5 million viewers.
One direction also won best British video, in a public vote.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Watch the highlights from the 2014 Brit Awards
Their win, for the track Best Song Ever, was helped by their 17.8 million-strong Twitter followers.
Analysis With the honourable exception of David Bowie, what's notable about this year's Brit Awards is the sheer youthfulness of the winners. Almost everyone on the podium was in their 20s, with New Zealand goth-pop singer Lorde a mere 17 (she ties with Joss Stone as the youngest-ever Brit victor). And it's a positive thing. The Brits need to represent the vigorous pop and dance scene, because almost every other ceremony almost exclusively rewards middle-aged men. Ultimately, though, it was the cross-generational appeal of resurgent rock rebels Arctic Monkeys that stole the show. Their comeback began with a headline set at Glastonbury last year, and culminated in tonight's historic third "double win". But as frontman Alex Turner humbly noted backstage: "I don't think the talent of a group of musicians is directly proportional to the size of their trophy cabinet."
The ceremony at the O2 Arena also featured a host of performances, including from Beyonce and Katy Perry, who put on a colourful, Egyptian-themed show.
But Perry lost out to New Zealander Lorde in the race for best international female.
Bruno Mars also gave a live performance, just shortly after picking up the prize for best international male.
Bowie's prize came at the expense of four much younger hopefuls - Jake Bugg, Tom Odell, John Newman and Mercury Prize winner James Blake.
At 67, he is the oldest recipient of a Brit Award in the ceremony's history and the award comes 18 years since his last Brits success.
The singer, who released his The Next Day album after a 10-year hiatus, previously won best British male in 1984.
But the star, who spends much of his time in New York, did not attend the gala.
Noel Gallagher, announcing the award, remarked: "You maniacs didn't think he'd actually be here? David Bowie's too cool for that."
The ceremony was wound up with a medley by Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers, who played Daft Punk's Get Lucky, Chic's Good Times and Williams' current feelgood chart hit Happy.
Goulding lifted the first prize of the night and said she was "genuinely in shock" and "shaking".
"This means so much to me, I can't even tell you," added the musician.
Her award, presented by singer Prince, comes four years after she was named the Critics' Choice, a prize won this year by Sam Smith.
Image copyright PA Image caption International female winner Lorde joined Disclosure on stage to perform a mash up of Royals
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Kate Moss accepted Bowie's award along with Noel Gallagher
Image copyright PA Image caption Beyonce performed her song XO live in public for the first time
Arctic Monkeys repeated their best group triumph of 2007 and 2008, and frontman Alex Turner joked that they had put money on rivals One Direction to win.
Speaking backstage, Turner said of their triumph: "It feels wonderful. It's wonderful to receive that acknowledgement on a night that celebrates British music.
"[But] as wonderful as it is to be nominated for something you create, I don't necessarily think the talent of a group of musicians is directly proportional to the size of their trophy cabinet."
"For us, I think any victory comes closer to the conception of the album or the song in the first place," he added.
While One Direction scooped two prizes, they were denied a third by dance group Rudimental, who won best British single for the number one hit Waiting All Night.
From a clutch of three nominations, Bastille were named best British breakthrough act, while French dance act Daft Punk took best international group.
For the third and final time, comedian and actor James Corden presided over the ceremony. |
Against all advice, President Donald Trump is insisting that the Iran nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration is so flawed that it should either be revised or scrapped altogether. He’s flat-out wrong, and dangerously so.
Never mind that Iran has warned all bets are off if the U.S. pulls out of the agreement, or that America’s allies are urging the president to leave well enough alone. It’s obvious to them, as it should be to Mr. Trump and his advisers, that given North Korea’s recent nuclear weapons and ballistic missile provocations, now is no time to unravel an internationally backed accord that may be our last best hope of preventing Iran from becoming the next rogue state bristling with weapons of mass destruction.
Under the terms of the agreement, Mr. Trump is required to certify to Congress every 90 days that Iran is holding up its end of the bargain. So far the president has twice assured lawmakers that Tehran is meeting its obligations. But in recent weeks he has signaled that he may not do so again. That would open the door for Congress to reimpose stiff economic sanctions against Iran that almost certainly would cause it to renounce the pact and resume enriching uranium in its race to build a bomb. That’s exactly what we don’t want to see happen. As long as Tehran continues to abide by the terms of the agreement, we should too, no matter how frustrated we are by its misbehavior in other areas.
Mr. Trump has complained that even if Iran remains technically in compliance with the 2015 accord it has violated the spirit of the agreement by continuing to develop ballistic missiles and by supporting terrorism in the region aimed at destabilizing its neighbors. The president also worries that some of the restrictions the accord imposes on Iran’s nuclear program will begin to expire in 2025. Yet while Iran’s behavior in other areas remains threatening, such concerns don’t justify ripping up a hard-won bargain that’s likely to keep Tehran’s finger off the nuclear trigger for at least another decade. There’s no reason Mr. Trump can’t seek to negotiate his concerns separately, to take effect alongside the 2015 agreement, rather than start the whole process over again from scratch. And there’s no guarantee a second go-round on the uranium enrichment issue would be any improvement over what’s already on the table, even if it did include Iran’s missile programs and terrorism.
Moreover, renouncing the 2015 accord would send a terrible signal that the U.S. can’t be trusted to keep its commitments. Mr. Trump himself has certified that Iran is complying with the terms of the deal, and we are getting what we want, which is for Iran not to build a bomb. Everything else is still negotiable, but it would be crazy to undo what’s already been accomplished.
One agreement was never supposed to solve all our disputes with Iran. The nuclear accord was envisioned only as a first step toward improving relations with that country, which might then lead to greater cooperation on other goals. Mr. Trump’s bellicose rhetoric is making that impossible by strengthening the hands of Iranian hard-liners and diminishing the ability of moderates to argue that better relations with the U.S. are possible and desirable. Mr. Trump calls the deal and “embarrassment” for the United States. It’s not, but throwing it away would be that and worse.
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19 Pages Posted: 28 Jul 2017
Date Written: July 21, 2017
Abstract
Prominent scholars criticize terrorism research for lacking sufficient empirical testing of arguments. Interestingly, one of the most widely-cited estimates in terrorism studies has not been evaluated using the many data sources now available. Rapoport’s 1992 claim, that perhaps 90 percent of terrorist groups last less than one year, has been described as part of the conventional wisdom. This estimate is frequently used to justify studies of terrorist group longevity, a substantial line of research in recent years. Is the estimate accurate? Scholars increasingly publish data sets of terrorist organizations, but no one has analyzed them collectively to see if the 90 percent claim holds up. This article examines the eight largest global data sets of terrorist group longevity, covering 1968-2013. The samples vary considerably, but the percent of groups that do not survive beyond their first year in these relevant data sets is between 25-74 percent. Across all data sets, on average about 50 percent of terrorist organizations do not make it past their first year. There is some variation depending on group motivations, consistent with Rapoport’s “wave” theory. However, overall, terrorist organizations appear to be more durable than the conventional wisdom suggests. |
If you are going to commit five weeks of your life to an event, you want to know what you’re in for, right? In preparation for walking the Camino de Santiago, I thought I had read everything about the Way of St. James. Turns out that there are a few realities on the camino that no one talks about. The author of the best guide book about the camino doesn’t even cover these topics. I want to squash that. So, what are the things they don’t tell you about the Camino de Santiago? Here is my list of the things that they don’t tell you or you don’t learn about the Camino Frances until you get there.
Ten things they don’t tell you about the Camino de Santiago
Everyone walks at a different pace. Maybe that shouldn’t be surprising, but I thought it was certainly interesting. It is difficult and rare to find people that walk at your same pace. Almost without exception, if two people are walking together, at least one of them is frustrated with the speed. You can see it written on the pilgrim’s face. Either their walking partner is going too slow or too fast. The solution is to walk alone. People that walk the camino in groups or couples have a more pleasant time when they walk separately and meet up at the albergue (hostel for pilgrims) at the end of the day. The camino is a solo experience that is dotted by brief conversations with other walkers. It is extremely common to see one person about to overtake another, but instead, they will fall in line for two to three minutes to have a chat before powering ahead. Most people finish their daily walk by one or two in the afternoon which is more than enough time to catch up with friends. If you are in a group, feel empowered to break away and travel at your own speed. You can’t learn to use ear plugs on the camino. If you choose to walk the camino in a traditional manner, you will be sleeping in albergues. That means that you will be sharing a room with up to two hundred other people. Those other people may snore, talk, and just in general rustle and make noise while you are trying to sleep. Everything I read told me to bring a pair of ear plugs. I did. My ears will not stand ear plugs. Every time I tried to use them, they feel more and more uncomfortable. Needless to say, they went the trash really quick.Thankfully, I am the type of person that sleeps like the dead after walking for seven hours a day. That being said, many people use earplugs successfully. You either have the gift of earplug wearing or not. If you’ve never been able to wear them, leave them out of your pack. People take the bus and that’s okay. Not everyone actually walks the whole thing. Many do, but the bus system in Spain is pretty fantastic and many pilgrims make use of it. Whether it is due to injury or time constraints many people ask at the local cafe or albergue how to catch a bus to the next big town. Not every hamlet has a pharmacy let alone a hospital. Injuries happen. Don’t feel guilty about using this transportation system. Just because Martin Sheen didn’t hop on a bus in The Way, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t happen. While I was on the Camino, a gentleman had suffered from some amazingly enormous (fist-sized) blisters. Instead of walking, he took the bus to the next stopping point so he could enjoy the evenings with his friends. He did this for over a week until he could walk again. Your eating habits will change. On the camino, I was almost never hungry. I would have an orange juice an hour into the day and maybe a bite of a bocadillo (sandwich) a little later on, but I never felt like I was starving. Correction, after my fifth day of walking, I was never starving. Up until that point, I ate everything in sight. Many pilgrims get into a routine where you have a small bite of food about an hour or two into the day and then won’t eat again until they have arrived at their destination. A small bite for lunch will be followed by a slightly more substantial dinner around 7 or 8pm. Since bedtime is around 10pm typically (the albergues have lock in times), it all works out. This does mean that you will be at total opposites with typical Spanish food culture. The largest meal for the Spanish is typically around 1-2pm. All the stores and markets will then close for siesta from 2- 6pm. Since pilgrims typically arrive at their destination around 1:30 or so, you might have to race to a local market for groceries or squeak out a lunch right when you get in. Restaurants will reopen for food again at 7:30. When visiting Spain off the Camino, I am a big fan of the siesta system.Siesta really isn’t conducive to the pilgrim’s stomach that starts growling around 3pm after the laundry is done. Due to this, you will find that you eat at restaurants that are geared towards pilgrims or cook your own food. Pilgrim meals are not “normal” local food. You don’t need much and you won’t use much. How many articles have you read that have told you not to carry more than 10% of your body weight? What everyone aught to be saying is – “just don’t pack it.” If you question it, leave it out. There will be points where carrying 2 kilograms will seem like too much. Pack just enough to keep you warm and dry. If you are in the summer or even into solid spring – you probably don’t need a sleeping bag. Bring a sleep sheet instead. I carried my camera and I debated that choice for weeks. Unless you are super into it, just use the camera on your phone. When I asked a group of pilgrims on the last day of the camino to name a thing that they brought that they didn’t use, the list included: flashlight, headlamp, sleeping mat, a “nice” outfit, and make up (namely foundation). Check out my packing list here. Related Articles: Best Small Cities along the Camino and Best Big Cities along the Camino
Ten things they don’t tell you about the Camino de Santiago (cont.)
The last 100km are different than the rest. The bare minimum distance to earn a compostela in Santiago is 100km on foot. That means that the last 100km is the most populated section of the entire Camino. This is jarring for longer term walkers that have been used to having the trail to themselves. This is also jarring because the atmosphere changes. The Camino de Santiago becomes more party like the last 100km. A majority of the population influx is from groups both familial and friend based. Either way, there is more of a “vacation” feel to the walkers in place of the more focused approach of the long term walkers. I grant you that this is a stereotype. One of my favorite people I met on the camino was in just for the last 100km, but she wasn’t a part of a group either. How is it more like a party? Well, they tend to come into the albergue late, they drink more, and their antics approach stag or hen party levels. Everyone’s “way” is different. It’s hard when you are done. After weeks of focusing solely on one goal — to get to Santiago, you are left a little empty when you finish the walk. Frankly, I was surprised by this. I really thought that I was going to walk into Santiago, be overjoyed that I made it, and bask in that feeling for months on end. While the first two points are absolutely true, the next day I pretty much walked around Santiago like a zombie. The routine was suddenly different and the goal was completed. I think that if I didn’t already have another goal preset in my head, I could have wallowed in that feeling for days. My advice: know what you are looking forward to after the Camino. You won’t think about the stuff you think you are going to think about. Will the wonders of the mind never cease? A fellow pilgrim mentioned that she was thinking about all the wrong things while walking. What made it wrong? They were things not on her list. It made me think about my own expectations. She was right. I didn’t focus on the things I had prepared. My “inner journey” went on a SOS trip (shiny object syndrome) just like normal. A seasoned Camino walker gave me some sage advice on the topic, “Don’t try to mange the walk. The walk will manage you just fine.” His advice was dead on. Despite not getting through “my list,” I still finished rejuvenated in mind. Perhaps, the easiest way to sum it up is that “my list” was wrong. The camino new what I needed and it delivered it. It’s more expensive than you would think. Walking the camino can be very expensive. If you are a great budgeter with a constitution of steel you might be able to stick to staying in the cheap municipal albergues every night. My fortitude just isn’t at that level. I found that I needed to splash out every 6 days or so and get my own room. Sure, the private room was in an albergue, but it was 100% mine. I would claim that room like a dog marking its own territory and spread my stuff out over every flat surface available to me. Why? Because those spaces were mine for the next ten hours, and damn it all if I didn’t want some personal space. If this sounds strange, it won’t after sharing both sleeping and bathing space with dozens of other people. Food is another cost that can vary person to person. If you choose not to cook, you are also running on a higher budget than necessary. The average “pilgrim meal” runs about 10-14 Euro, but trust me, you will get tired of pilgrim meals very quickly. For more on budgeting for the camino – read this. How do you get your compostela and see the swinging incense thingy at church? It wasn’t until the night before arriving in Santiago that I learned I wouldn’t be seeing the incense perform its dramatic swing at the pilgrim mass like the movie, The Way promised. Devastated!!! What do you mean they don’t do it at every mass? Turns out, that they don’t. Just on Fridays. I arrived on a Tuesday. Still it was a cool experience, even for a non-Catholic. When you arrive in Santiago, the logistics for your last day might look a little like this. Get into the Santiago (the church square) by 11am. Photo session / celebration. Stash your backpack at either the Pilgrim Office or (more conveniently) at the storage place right next to the church. Backpacks aren’t allowed inside the church, so you will need to do something with it. Attend the noon mass. Run to the Pilgrim office and wait in line to get your compostela. (Seriously, book it to the office unless you want to queue with about 300 other pilgrims.) The compostela is free. If you want a certificate of distance as well, it is 3 Euro. I suggest also purchasing the mailing tube to hold your documents for an additional 2.50 Euro to protect them from the hazards of the celebratory night to come. Retrieve your backpack. Realize you are starving and make your way to a celebratory feast! YOU MADE IT!
The Camino de Santiago was an epic experience. Sure it was filled with the doldrums of monotonous walking, but that is also what made it a great experience. That monotony pushes you to engage in inner dialogue that most folks don’t typically have the time for on a daily basis. I didn’t know about any of the above points going into the Camino, but one of my lessons on the Camino was to push off my expectations and let the days unfold as they would. Roll with the punches. For a look at my my thoughts on what’s cool and not so cool about the camino, read about it in my 6 & 3 post on the Camino .
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Reproduction and genetics Home Facts and fiction about weight loss Published on 3/13/2014 Facts and fiction about weight loss
over 250,000 U.S. children age 6 and under are too fat to use the usual size safety car seats.
Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University, Fifty percent out of 4,000 people said they would give up a year of their life rather than being fat, and five percent said that they’d rather be blind or lose a limb.
From 1991 to 2000, the average weight of Americans increased by 8.5 pounds.
Duke University Medical Center found that women and men who lost 10 percent of their total body weight reported a significant improvement in their sexual quality of life.
Obesity is right after tobacco usage when it comes to preventable death. Turns out, people with two copies of the gene were 40 percent more likely to have diabetes and 60 percent more likely to be obese than those without it. Those with only one copy of the gene weighed more too.
Scientists now suspect that there are lots of fat genes. “There could be as many as 100 of them,
As much as 16 percent of the population has two copies of the FTO gene, and half of us have one copy. A genetic predisposition isn’t necessarily a life sentence,” says Bouchard. Exercising regularly can offset the risk. And the range is enormous, with some people having twice as many fat cells as others have, says Kirsty Spalding, PhD, of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Even if you’ve lost a few pounds (or gained some), your fat-cell count remains, holding tight to the fat already inside and forever thirsting to be filled up with more. (To add insult to injury, the fat cells of overweight and obese people hold more fat too.)
New fat cells emerge during childhood but seem to stop by adolescence. Those of us destined to have a lot of these cells probably start producing them as young as age two. The cells’ rate of growth may be faster, too—even if kids cut way back on calories.
Strangers have written to Spalding, telling her how depressed they are by her research. But she says her news isn’t all bleak. You’re better off with more fat cells, she says, than with fewer fat cells that become overstuffed and enlarged. (New research suggests that the overstuffed group are more vulnerable to obesity-related health complications.) So while you can’t reduce your total number of fat cells, there are things you can do to keep them small. (See next point.) Another Scandinavian team looked into what happens at the cellular level when you gain weight. Kirsi Pietiläinen, PhD, an assistant professor of nutrition at Helsinki University Central Hospital, studied sets of twins where one was fat and the other thin, and learned that fat cells in heavier twins underwent metabolic changes that make it more difficult to burn fat. Pietiläinen’s team suspects that gaining as little as 11 pounds can slow metabolism and send you spiraling into a vicious cycle: As you gain more fat, it becomes harder to lose it. Stress hormones also ramp up fat storage. For our prehistoric ancestors, stress meant drought or approaching tigers, and a rapid-storage process made sense; we needed the extra energy to survive food shortages or do battle. Today we take our stress sitting down—and the unused calories accumulate in our midsection. A mother’s cigarettes increase the risk of low birth weight, and alcohol can damage her baby’s brain. So why wouldn’t unhealthy foods wreak similar havoc? A growing body of science suggests that sugary and fatty foods, consumed even before you’re born, do exactly that. A Pennington study on rodents reports that overweight females have higher levels of glucose and free fatty acids floating around in the womb than normal-weight ones do. These molecules trigger the release of proteins that can upset the appetite-control and metabolic systems in the developing brain.
What’s true for mice is often true for humans too. Doctors from State University of New York Downstate Medical Center compared children born before their mothers had gastric bypass surgery with siblings born later. Women weighed less after the surgery, as expected, but their children were also half as likely to be obese. Because siblings have such similar genetic profiles, the researchers attributed the weight differences to changes in the womb environment. Moms-to-be, take note: You can give your kids a head start by eating well before they’re born. When patients see Louis Aronne, MD, past president of the Obesity Society and author of the forthcoming book The Skinny, they’re as likely to have their sleep assessed as their eating habits. If patients are getting less than seven to eight hours, Dr. Aronne may prescribe more shut-eye rather than the latest diet or drug. With more sleep, he says, “they have a greater sense of fullness, and they’ll spontaneously lose weight.” When Jodi Dixon’s six-foot-two, 360-pound husband lost 125 pounds, she had mixed feelings. She was the one who always watched her weight and exercised; she was always the one trying to get her husband to be more active. Mort, a medical sales rep, was always the life of the party, says his wife, a 43-year-old mother of two in Freehold, New Jersey. But when he lost the weight, it was different. Predictions suggesting that large changes in weight will accumulate indefinitely in response to small sustained lifestyle modifications rely on the half-century-old 3500-kcal rule, which equates a weight alteration of 1 lb (0.45 kg) to a 3500-kcal cumulative difference in consumed energy. However, recent studies have shown that individual variability affects changes in body composition in response to changes in energy intake and expenditure, and in reality, the changes in weight that do occur across extended periods are substantially smaller than the 3500-kcal rule would predict. For example, this rule suggests that a person who increases daily energy expenditure by 100 kcal by walking 1 mile (1.6 km) per day will lose more than 50 lb (22.7 kg) over a period of 5 years, but the true weight loss is only about 10 lb (4.5 kg), assuming no compensatory increase in caloric intake.
Although this is a reasonable hypothesis, empirical data indicate no consistent negative association between ambitious goals and program completion or weight loss. Indeed, several studies have shown that more ambitious goals regarding weight loss are sometimes associated with better outcomes.
Large, rapid weight loss is associated with poorer long-term weight loss outcomes, as compared with slow, gradual weight loss.
Within weight loss trials, more rapid and greater initial weight loss has been associated with lower body weight at the end of long-term follow-up. Although it is not clear why some obese persons have a greater initial weight loss than others do, a recommendation to lose weight more slowly might interfere with the ultimate success of weight loss efforts.
It is important to assess the stage of change or diet readiness in order to help patients who request weight loss treatment.
Readiness does not predict the magnitude of weight loss or treatment adherence among persons who sign up for behavioral programs or who undergo obesity surgery. The explanation may be simple - people voluntarily choosing to enter weight loss programs are, by definition, at least minimally ready to engage in the behaviors required to lose weight. Physical education, as typically provided, has not been shown to reduce or prevent obesity. Two meta-analyses showed that even specialized school-based programs that promoted physical activity were ineffective in reducing the incidence or prevalence of obesity. Studies with good controls for confounding (e.g., studies including within-family sibling analyses) and a randomized, controlled trial involving more than 13,000 children who were followed for more than 6 years provided no compelling evidence of an effect of breastfeeding on obesity. However, breastfeeding does have other important potential benefits for the infant and mother and should be encouraged.
A man weighing 154 lb (70 kg) expends approximately 3.5 kcal per minute (210 kcal per hour) during a stimulation and orgasm session. This level of expenditure is similar to that achieved by walking at a moderate pace. Given that the average bout of sexual activity lasts about 6 minutes, a man in his early-to-mid-30s might expend approximately 21 kcal during sexual intercourse.
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This photo provided by the Alachua County Sheriffs Office shows William Fears. Police say three men, Fears, Colton Fears and Tyler Tenbrink were arrested after a shot was fired after an argument with a group of people following the appearance of white nationalist Richard Spencer, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, at the University of Florida in Gainesville. The Gainesville Police Department said in a news release Friday, Oct. 20, the three men were arrested on charges of attempted homicide. (Alachua County Sheriffs Office via AP)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A man who fired a shot at anti-Nazi protesters following a speech at the University of Florida by a white nationalist has been charged with attempted murder, police in Gainesville said Friday. Two men who allegedly urged him to shoot face the same charge.
A Gainesville Police Department report released on Friday said that Tyler Tenbrink, 28; William Fears, 30; and his brother, 28-year-old Colton Fears, all from Texas, were arrested on attempted homicide charges following an appearance on campus by white nationalist Richard Spencer.
Hours before the shooting, all three men had spoken with the media in support of Spencer’s speech and white nationalism.
The three were in a vehicle Thursday immediately after Spencer’s speech and began making Nazi salutes and shouting Hitler chants at a group of people holding anti-Nazi signs near a bus stop, Gainesville Police Officer Ben Tobias said.
One person in the group of about six people struck the back window of the men’s vehicle with a baton, police said.
Tenbrink, a convicted felon, showed a handgun after exiting the car while the Fears brothers encouraged him to shoot, police said.
“Colton Fears and William Fears were also yelling, ‘Kill them’ and ‘Shoot them,’” the police report stated.
Tenbrink fired a single shot, police said, missing the group and striking a nearby building. He is also being charged as a felon in possession of a firearm, police said.
The men fled the scene and headed north on Highway 75, police said.
Just before 9 p.m. an off-duty Alachua County Sheriff’s deputy who had worked the Spencer event earlier saw the men’s vehicle. A group of officers called in stopped the vehicle and took the men into custody.
Tenbrink admitted that he was the shooter, according to the police report.
Police say two of the three have connections to “extremist groups.”
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'Miracle treatment": Larisa Rule with her parents Jaylene Siery and Peter Rule. Photo: Marina Neil. Photo: Marina Neil
She is blind, partially deaf, has cerebral palsy and can suffer up to 60 epileptic seizures a day. To say 23-month-old Larisa Rule's life so far has been a heart-breaking struggle is an understatement.
Now, after watching her daughter suffer since she was a newborn, Jaylene Siery has finally found something which eases the number and the severity of the little girl's seizures and gives her some much needed relief.
There's just one catch - the "miracle treatment" is illegal. In administering cannabis tincture oil to her daughter three times a day Ms Siery is breaking the law and risking prosecution.
Jaylene noticed an almost immediate improvement in Larisa's condition after administering the cannabis tincture. Photo: Marina Neil.
But the desperate mother is unapologetic.
"We tried 18 different combinations of anti-convulsant treatments before this, and she would still be having dozens of seizures every day,'' Ms Siery says. "Also the side effects of those drugs are severe. She can get a really bad rash and they effect her breathing and heart rate. She is sedated by them, tired and unable to eat.
"Since starting the tincture in December she went from having 60 seizures a day to about five and now they only last about one minute each instead of as long as five minutes. She is also more alert, has more movement, is aware of her body and is eating again.''
Larisa's battles began almost from the moment she was born at Gosford Hospital on the NSW Central Coast on March 30, 2012.
Like most newborns, Larisa's first day of life was filled with feeding, sleeping and cuddles with mum and dad. However things quickly went downhill and Ms Siery and partner Peter Rule now remember those blissful 24 hours with their first baby as the calm before the storm.
At just two days old Larisa's tiny body began suffering uncontrollable seizures which led to her being transferred by helicopter to the Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney where she remained hooked up to monitors for weeks.
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Larisa underwent countless medical tests in her first months of life which resulted in her being diagnosed with panhypopituitarism - due to an absent pituitary stalk - which means her body is unable to make essential hormones.
It was also discovered seizures during the first days of life left Larisa with brain damage which left her blind partially deaf. She has since been diagnosed with both epilepsy and cerebral palsy.
Ms Siery says her daughter has spent much of her short life in and out of hospital. In that time her seizures have worsened and late last year neurologists spoke to Larisa's parents about the possibility of palliative brain surgery in order to bring her condition under control. Although it is believed Larisa's seizures will eventually cause her brain to stop growing, surgery is not something her parents want to subject their little girl to.
Larisa Rule with her brother Eli. Photo: supplied.
In desperation Ms Siery asked doctors whether they thought medical cannabis could help her daughter and if they knew where she could source it.
"They basically just laughed at me,'' Ms Siery remembers. "But I had read about so many other kids being helped by it and we were at a stage where we would try anything to help Larisa."
Ms Siery's research led her to get in contact with Nimbin man Tony Bower who, as the director of his registered company Mullaways Medical Cannabis, is one of very few people in Australia who is open about the fact he produces medical marijuana products.
Mr Bower says his cannabis tincture oil "medicine" is low in THC, the compound which gives recreational marijuana users their high.
He says his oil, which is administered orally through drops under the tongue, is currently being used to treat seizures in about 200 children across Australia.
Mr Bower was imprisoned and sentenced to 12 months jail last year when police found him in possession of 200 cannabis plants. But his conviction was overturned on appeal and he was released after six weeks.
"I get hundreds of emails from parents each week asking if I can help them treat their children but I am unable to take many new patients on as I am limited in the amount of medicine I can produce,'' he says.
While Larisa is the youngest child in Australia whose parents have spoken about her taking cannabis tincture oil, Mr Bower says he has treated much younger babies.
"A lot of the damage which is done to the brain is done during seizures when they are only a few months old, so the younger they are treated the better the outcome,'' he says.
Larisa's family is thankful Mr Bower agreed to add her to his client list after he read a detailed description of the little girl's suffering.
"The results were almost immediate, we noticed an improvement on the second day we gave the cannabis tincture to Larisa,'' Ms Siery said.
Ms Siery and Mr Rule are now parents of two children following the birth of son Eli in November last year.
"Larisa is getting bigger now and her seizures can are harder to handle, and we have to look after our baby son too. Without the cannabis tincture our family life would become very difficult.''
Little Larisa's story is heart-breaking, but sadly it is not unique.
Thousands of parents across the country are constantly searching for new medications to help reduce the number and severity of seizures their epileptic children suffer on a daily basis.
They are calling on state and federal governments to support regulated clinical trials of cannabis oil and medical marijuana products in the hope they will one day be able to treat their children with it under a doctor's supervision.
Their calls are backed by the Epilepsy Foundation with the organisation's Client Manager Wayne Pfeiffer saying anecdotally cannabis tincture was effective in reducing the number of seizures experienced by some epilepsy sufferers.
"About 70 percent of people with epilepsy can control their seizures through the use of medication,'' Mr Pfeiffer said. "But for the other 30 percent who have tried as many as 12 different drugs and are still having uncontrolled seizures, I can see why they would be keen to try anything that may work.
"I particularly understand why parents would want to help their children get the best quality of life possible. We would support more regulated clinical trials of medical cannabis.''
However Australian Medical Association President Dr Steve Hambleton is adamant there is no scientific evidence which proves the benefits of cannabis products to treat epileptic seizures and that the well documented negative effects of long term marijuana use outweigh any benefits.
"A testimonial is not evidence. Because one person thinks it did or didn't work for them, that doesn't mean it does work or that it will have the desired effect for all people,'' he said.
"While it's illegal and highly likely cause more harm than good, parents should stick with known medicines and seek the advice of medical professionals."
Dr Hambleton said that given there are hundreds of chemicals in cannabis, there is a chance that one of them is beneficial in reducing the seizures suffered by epileptic children.
"If one of these chemicals is beneficial let's find out what it is,'' he said. "There are universities doing studies into that, and we are fine with those studies being done."
The concerns of long term effects of marijuana products to treat medical conditions was also noted by NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner last year when the state government rejected a report calling for small amounts of cannabis use be decriminalised so it could be used as pain relief for people dying of cancer and AIDS.
"The government does not support the use of unregulated crude cannabis products for medical purposes as the potency and safety of these products cannot be guaranteed," Ms Skinner said. "The NSW government believes this will not prevent access to appropriate medical treatment for any patient in NSW, given the availability of safe and effective alternative medications".
Despite the fact there are no plans to make medical marijuana legal in Australia any time soon, in America a number of states have recently done just that.
In September last year New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed a bill allowing sick children greater access to medical marijuana. The revisions to the bill, nicknamed "pot for tots," require that at least two doctors, including a pediatrician, approve the treatment and tightened the language to ensure that only minors could get access to edible forms of marijuana besides lozenges.
A Perth mother whose three-year-old daughter suffers up to 20 seizures a day due to a rare genetic condition says she would welcome a move to legalise medical marijuana in Australia.
"My daughter is on three anti-convulsant medications a day, plus a back up medication for abnormal or prolonged seizures, and she can still have anywhere from five to 20 seizures in a normal day.
"We have tried everything, she has been prescribed every type of medicine that she could be and nothing has worked. She is on the last three medications that might possibly work for her."
Due to her condition the little girl has developmental delays and can't walk or talk. Her desperate parents, who don't want to be named for fear of prosecution, are currently researching how to access medical cannabis.
"We are not expecting a miracle, we would just like our daughter to have some kind of quality of life. We would love for her to just have a break from the seizures,'' the mother said.
Queensland mother Christine McKay has been giving her six-year-old daughter Casey cannabis tincture oil since the middle of January and says it has made a dramatic difference to the quality of her daughter's life.
The family's decision to try the controversial treatment followed four years of trial and error with anti-epileptic medication and side effects which robbed the little girl, who began having epileptic seizures when she was two, of her quality of life.
Some medications left Casey unable to speak, walk or feed herself. Others controlled her seizures but led to extreme behaviour problems which meant the family was often unable to leave the house with her.
Ms Mackay hit breaking point at Christmas and told doctors she needed a sedative to control Casey's behaviour in order to make life bearable for her two younger children. But since starting the cannabis tincture oil treatment four weeks ago the family's life has improved significantly.
"We are seeing a happy Casey we haven't seen for a very long time,'' Ms MacKay said. "She is playing with her brother and telling us what she did at school when she gets home each day. We haven't seen her like this for a very long time."
Although Ms Mackay agrees it is too early to be certain the improvement in her daughter's condition is entirely due to the cannabis tincture, she said she would be devastated if she was no longer able to access it.
"The idea that we might not always be able to access it is a major concern. I don't know what we would do if we couldn't get it. We would be right back to square one again."
Larisa's family is equally fearful of losing access to cannabis tincture to treat their daughter.
"It would be terrible,'' Ms Siery says. "If we can't keep accessing cannabis tincture it would probably mean that Larisa's seizures would kill her." |
Facing a(nother) looming budget showdown, conservatives in Congress wasted no time in steering negotiations toward conservative goals, like so-called “pro-life policy” such as focusing on abortion coverage and promoting abstinence-only sex ed.
Nevermind that abstinence-only ed is a monumental failure; nevermind that abstinence educators often mislead and degrade students. It’s part of the Christian conservative social agenda, and legislators are (predictably) pursuing it.
Under a provision added in 1996 to the Social Security Act, Congress allocates $50 million annually in matching funds to states that provide abstinence-only education. Each year, some states reject that money, either because they don’t want to match the funds or because they only want to teach comprehensive sex ed. The leftover money has, until now, gone back to the U.S. Treasury to be spent on other things.
Conservatives propose changing that, however, to allow states that do not implement comprehensive sex education to receive the unclaimed funds — usually between twelve and fifteen million dollars a year. The conditions? States have to implement the entire abstinence education standards, which includes stipulations that a program must, for instance
teaching the social, psychological, and health gains to be realized by abstaining from sexual activity;
And
Teach that sexual activity outside of the context of marriage is likely to have harmful psychological and physical effects.
Now, to be clear, we’re not talking about ensuring that information about abstinence is included with other medically accurate information; this money is available only for those programs where abstinence is all young people learn. This is $50 million we set aside each year to provide incomplete sex education; and conservatives in Congress want to ensure that every penny goes toward that worthy goal this year.
Which is terrible sex ed, but, you know, it apparently makes Jesus happy.
The bill passed through the House 219-206 last night.
(Image via Ekaterina_Minaeva / Shutterstock.com) |
The drivers of some of the busiest bus routes in Phoenix will no longer strike at 12 a.m. Tuesday.
Union officials announced Monday afternoon that the strike would begin at midnight, but just before 10 p.m. they said the strike will be postponed pending the outcome of further talks with Transdev. The city pays Transdev to operate nearly 40 routes in the city; the union's conflict is with Transdev, not the city.
Encouraged to hear that a bus strike has been put on hold. Regular bus service in #Phx on Tuesday as talks continue. Stay at the table! — Greg Stanton (@MayorStanton) January 5, 2016
The looming strike comes one week before the College Football National Championship, which will be held in Glendale next Monday.
The bus drivers' union and Transdev had failed to reach an agreement in contract talks that have stretched since April, according to the union. Sticking points include bathroom breaks, a tiered wage and benefit system, and disciplinary procedures.
The strike was a last resort, according to union's negotiator Michael Cornelius. A comment from Transdev was not immediately available.
Phoenix pays Transev to operate the routes, and Transdev pays the drivers who drive the routes.
Union officials said the strike could go into effect Tuesday morning if they cannot come to a compromise with Transdev overnight.
"As of Monday night, an agreement has not been reached, but with talks continuing all bus service continues to operate normally at this time," the Phoenix Public Transit Department said.
The union, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1433, represents approximately 650 bus drivers in Phoenix, according to Bob Bean, the union president.
Dozens of routes could be impacted by the strike, including ones along Central Avenue, Camelback Road, 7th Street, and 7th Avenue. Click here for more information on possible service disruptions.
See map below of routes that could be affected: |
Airline company Ethiopian highly values the role women play in our society. The organization stands by the “Women Empowerment for a Sustainable Growth” core value. The airline company will do something it has never done before. On November 19th, 2015 an all-women crew will operate the Addis Ababa – Bangkok route. Ethiopia ranked 174th out of 184 countries in the United Nations 2011 Gender Development Index consequently, initiatives such as this one are welcomed with open arms.
Celebrating women’s achievements
This historical flight will be operated by females only. And by females only, we mean female deck members as well as female cabin crew members. On the ground, all operations from ticketing to ramp operations and traffic control will be carried out by women. Ethiopian’s CEO, Tewolde GebreMariam, said:
“Above all, this is an ample opportunity to inspire young African female students to believe in their dreams and embark to fill the skill gap for Aviation professionals. Women are the continent’s greatest untapped resources, and hereby fully dedicated to ensure the increase number of women in decision making positions on top of key operational areas by consistently grooming and mentoring successor female employees for top managerial, technical and operational positions. We invite the whole world to watch our all-female operated long haul flight to and from Bangkok.”
{adinserter CNP5}
Taking care of women
30% of Ethiopian employees are women but they are misrepresented in positions such as pilots and technicians. Haymanot Endale, a 22-year-old cabin technician who has worked with the airline for two years is one of few female technicians. She is encouraging women to join the airline:
“I think that outside of the Ethiopian Airlines, girls think that the work is very difficult, so they did not enter [come work for] this company. But we enter and we see that it is very easy,” she told the press.
Africa’s most profitable airline is pursuing its underlying stance of being an equal opportunity employer. The company put in place a service targeted at new mothers. The company launched a nursing room equipped with modern amenities, comfortable reclining chairs, and refrigerators to store breast milk. Way to go Ethiopian!
A similar initiative was accomplished in Southern Africa not too long ago. Air Zimbabwe made history when an all-women operated flight, commanded by co-pilots Chipo M. Matimba and Elizabeth Simbi Petros, carried passengers from Harare to Victoria Falls.
[interaction id=”564abdd23eaa7f143427dad2″]
SEE ALSO: She Is Fighting Violence Against Women In The Democratic Republic Of The Congo. |
Catherine Dunphy was trained as a Roman Catholic Chaplain before becoming an atheist, and she is now a graduate and board member of The Clergy Project. On May 6th, she delivered the following sermon about her deconversion at West Hill United Church (a relatively Humanistic church) in Toronto, Ontario.
***
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for inviting me to spend this Sunday at West Hill — and for graciously welcoming me. The theme for today’s service is about awakening and new birth, but I am also going to speak about values, as well as a project that is very special to me.
A bit about me — I am a graduate of a Christian seminary and it was during my studies that I began to question my belief in god. It is a bit of a conundrum, that despite the obvious goals of educating religious leaders, most seminaries allow for diversity of theological perspectives; many radically unorthodox.
It should be no surprise then, that by the time I graduated I had let go of god and all the theistic concepts that go along with it. It has only been since about November 2011 that I knew there were other people like me. People who were once ardent believers and now have embraced an atheistic or humanistic worldview. This group that I speak of is called the Clergy Project.
The Clergy Project provides an online safe house for unbelieving religious leaders of every persuasion. Inside the virtual walls of our site we are free to interact, to share our stories, to find community, and to marvel at the charade of traditional religions that have so successfully bullied and dictated the functioning of humanity.
When I first became a member of this community, the most amazing thing was to know that I was not the only one. For many years after completing my degree I felt like I was somehow “defective,” as I had to be the only person who went through seminary and came out an atheist. I now know better.
Knowing that the Clergy Project and its members exist may be unsettling to some believers. We may be seen as leaders who have lost their way, or as trouble makers — whatever the opinion, it was the ability to reason that led each of our members to this community. Now we’re working together to create awareness of our existence, to communicate our values and to support our members who need our help in getting out of active ministry.
When it comes to the Clergy Project, we are witnessing the birth of a new grassroots community, which fits in well with the change in season and the theme of rebirth and awakening.
I am always excited this time of year as I see the world once again in bloom, hear the birds chattering and smell that first spring rain. Everything seems so ripe of possibilities and optimism.

I searched a while for a reading that spoke to this feeling, but that also took into account my position as an atheist. Though I have come to accept that our existence is fortuitous I do believe that we are instrumental in creating well-being for ourselves, our families, and our communities.
The reading that I chose for today by Salman Rushdie, I think speaks well to this dichotomy. Despite, its apparent lack of “warm fuzzies” it does inspire and challenge me. When he asks how do we live? And what is right action, and what is wrong? He masterfully calls us to think for ourselves and embrace the articulation of life in all its diversity and see it as it is: A responsibility.
His words challenge me to marvel in the reality of our existence, to know that nothing is ever easy and that we should cherish our opportunity to cross the stage of life!
Physicist Lawrence Krauss said, “Every atom in your body came from a star that exploded. And the atoms in your left hand probably came from a different star than your right hand. It really is the most poetic thing I know about physics: You are all stardust. You couldn’t be here if stars hadn’t exploded, because the elements — the carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, iron, all the things that matter for evolution and for life — weren’t created at the beginning of time. They were created in the nuclear furnaces of stars, and the only way for them to get into your body is if those stars were kind enough to explode.”
Life is not a story of the mundane; it is a radically challenging opportunity for awareness. In this awareness, we learn not only about the nature of our universe and the truly cosmic events that got this billion year old journey on a roll — but also, we learn about ourselves by narrowing our focus to the tangible relationships and life experiences that we each encounter.
… Speaking of which, I want to tell you a little bit more about my friends in the Clergy Project.
The Clergy Project has existed for just over a year and in that short time we have done what has come natural. We have reached out to one another, embracing our diversity and sameness. Because of this support our members who have recently come out have been doing some tremendous things.
My good friend Jerry DeWitt is a former Pentecostal Minister, who not only left the atheist closet, but flung the door wide. Jerry details how his thinking about god changed;
Jerry DeWitt’s 5 Stages (MP3):
God Loves everybody God Saves everybody God is in everybody God is everyone’s internal dialogue God is a delusion
Now that Jerry is out, he has become one of the most vocal members of the Clergy Project. His gregarious nature and his optimism speak to the potential that non-believing clergy have, as well as the opportunity that this community has for impacting the status quo.
There is also Teresa MacBain, a newly minted former minister, and Clergy Project Executive Director, who is working hard to promote our group and to draw attention to the unique challenges that unbelieving clergy face when they leave active ministry.
We also have our supporters, who have, through their efforts, made the Clergy Project possible. Specifically, Dan Dennett and Linda LaScola, who published the ground breaking Tufts study, “Preachers who are Not Believers” (PDF). As well, we owe a great debt to Richard Dawkins and Dan Barker, who have both championed the Clergy Project.
Given this convergence of people and values, it is not surprising that I keep hearing from the members of the Clergy Project that “the time is ripe” for taking a stand, for building a community! It is hard work to cultivate something new, but when you’re inspired it makes the work invigorating!
During this time of year, when new growth is erupting all around us, I think it is only normal that we feel summoned into action. As the Earth tilts and the northern hemisphere once again emerges from hibernation awakened by the sun, it is time to get our hands dirty! Whatever our passion or motivation, now is the time to cultivate it!
A wise old nun from the 12th century once wrote, “Human beings cannot live without the rest of nature; they must care for all natural things.”
Our species are caretakers. That is how we survived and how we thrive, whether that be as gardeners, parents, students, or former clergy — each of us playing a part in this our human story. |
Secret internal reports and memos by one of George Soros’s left-wing front groups reveals the socialist billionaire’s subversive reach within the Obama administration, the United Nations, and the governing structures European Union, especially as it relates to the manufactured refugee/migration crisis.
Among the many noteworthy points made by Soros activists in one report is the assertion that the migrant/refugee tsunami that has already swamped Europe with 1-2 million Muslim migrants should be accepted as “the new normal.” This is not surprising, but it is alarming. It is not surprising because for many years Soros and his minions have been in the vanguard of the Open Borders/Migration Lobby. It is alarming because the radical “migration rights” agenda of the Soros network is being translated into official policy, nationally and globally.
A May 12, 2016 report of the International Migration Institute (IMI), an official project of Soros’s Open Society Foundations (OSF), provides an important window to view the working relationships among the IMI refugee activists and their allies inside the Obama administration and the United Nations. The nine-page report, by top IMI staffers Anna Crowley and Kate Rosin, entitled “Migration Governance and Enforcement Portfolio Review,” is one of many Soros/OSF documents released this week by DCLeaks.com, which describes itself as a project “launched by the American hacktivists” who “believe U.S. citizens have the right to know how domestic and foreign policies of the United States are shaped and who the real policy maker is.”
Quite clearly, when it comes to migrant/refugee policy, Soros and his fellow globalists are the real policy makers. Soros staffers Crowley and Rosin call for “accepting the current crisis as the new normal and moving beyond the need to react.”
Their report also provides revealing details on the Soros/IMI/OSF relationship to Goldman Sachs titan Peter Sutherland, the UN’s top globalist agent in charge of designing and implementing the UN’s chaos-producing migration programs.
“The Columbia Global Policy Initiative (CGPI), which hosts the secretariat for Peter Sutherland, the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative on International Migration, has been able to take advantage of momentum created by the current crisis to shape conversations about rethinking migration governance,” write Crowley and Rosin in the leaked report. The Soros staffers continue, noting the key role played by their IMI “think tank”: “IMI provided project support for the drafting of The Sutherland Report, which aims to set the stage for institutional reforms to global migration governance, and to break new ground on protections for migrants outside the asylum system.”
The Soros/IMI report continues:
When we made the CGPI grant, even we were somewhat skeptical about the appetite for reform of the institutions that govern elements of migration at the international level, and the pace at which it might proceed. Nonetheless, we recognized the importance of starting this discussion, and the political capital Sutherland could leverage to bring high-level attention to the issue. This gamble has arguably paid off: as the September UN and President Obama’s summits on migrants and refugees have taken shape, Sutherland’s team has effectively drawn on work and thinking it had already done to influence the scope and deliverables of these two meetings.
How effective has the Soros-Sutherland tag team been? Crowley and Rosin say:
IMI’s access to the Sutherland team’s discussions has allowed us to keep civil society partners up-to-date on the latest developments, in order to inform advocacy and campaigning strategies prior to the events and to plan follow up actions.
CGPI’s elite-level behind the scenes advocacy through Peter Sutherland, has positioned its team of experts to influence policy and practical follow-up to global events. This has been complemented by MPI’s [Migration Policy Institute’s] neutral voice and ability to generate the policy-relevant research and evidence base needed to shape migration debates. This pairing has worked well and there is a natural collaboration between the experts that both centers engage.
First, a few important notes about the above-mentioned Peter Sutherland. While not a household name, he is very well known in the corridors of power, and he is having an impact on almost every household on the planet. As we reported here last October (Insider Peter Sutherland: EU-U.S. Must Take More Refugees, Get Rid of Sovereignty), Peter Sutherland is an insider’s insider; he epitomizes the uber-rich, globalist-corporatist elite. Here is a partial listing of his internationalist credentials:
• Until this past June, Sutherland was chairman of Goldman Sachs International, the global banking behemoth known to critics as the “vampire squid” for its predatory, corrupt practices;
• he is a regular attendee and former Steering Committee member of the ultra-secretive, ultra-elite Bilderberg Group;
• he was European chairman of the Trilateral Commission;
• he is past chairman of British Petroleum (BP);
• he is honorary president of the Transatlantic Policy Network (TPN), one of the principal corporatist insider organizations promoting EU-U.S. merger through the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP);
• as a principal architect of the WTO, he has been hailed as “the father of globalization”; and
• as a top Eurocrat, he played a lead role in destroying national sovereignty by replacing national currencies (and national monetary control) with the euro, as well as engineering the “borderless Europe,” which the current migrant crisis is now proving to have been so destructive.
In addition, Sutherland and Soros both sit on the Advisory Board of the Global Policy Institute (GPI), a leading think tank promoting world government under the guise of “global governance.” Sutherland forecast much of his current UN refugee agenda in an essay for the GPI journal, Global Policy, in February 2010, entitled, “The Age of Mobility: Can we make migration work for all?”
It is worth noting that the Columbia Global Policy Initiative (CGPI), which the Soros report mentions funding and collaborating with, refers to the organization established at Columbia University that has become a leading force for the radical migration agenda. The CGPI is run by Professor Michael Doyle, who, naturally, is a member of the world-government promoting Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Other prominent CFR members on the CGPI directory include Jeffrey Sachs, Joseph Stiglitz, Carol Gluck, and Lee Bollinger.
Stay tuned for more revelations from the leaked Soros documents.
Related articles:
Refugee Nightmare 2.0 — the EU’s 2nd Migration Tsunami Has Begun
Here Comes the Obama/UN Refugee “Surge” — Rebranded as “Safe Alternative Pathways”
UN, Socialist International, Obama Design U.S. Refugee Resettlement
Refugee Crisis: Using Chaos to Build Power
George Soros Touts China as Leader of New World Order
George Soros Funded by the House of Rothschild |
So you want to grow your own hops, huh? The long and short of it is that the things grow as fast as bamboo and need constant management from April to September. Still want to grow hops? Awesome, here’s one way to set up a small backyard hops garden that yielded almost a pound of wet hops, in year one, and proved to properly hop-up a West Coast IPA for me.
The first thing you need to take into consideration for growing hops is to do the research first. There are a ton of resources right here on Home Brew Talk, and out on the web in general. Here are a few links that I found helpful to resources from pest and disease management to trellis designs outside of this one. Especially start out with the documents on the last link.
http://www.northwesthops.com/Beer_Links_s/37.htm
http://byo.com/stories/item/723-grow-your-own-hops
https://drive.google.com/folderview?usp=sharing&ddrp=1&id=0B7aNkuU_q8iEREdBMkxWcFI2THM#
When considering a trellis, take a look at the surrounding area. Is there a southern exposure? Because hops need a ton of sun! Is there 20+ feet of vertical space? Because these things grow best when given space and structure straight upwards. Do I want to put in the initial investment and care for these plants to use in brewing? It can be worthwhile to track growth and plan a beer around your crop.
My wife is extremely proud of her garden. She typically grows beans, cucumbers, zucchini and squash and does well. I extended the garden space available last year and asked for the northernmost three feet of the garden. Reluctantly, she agrees and I went to work designing a vertical garden to support the hops.
My basic design includes two support poles, a wire, winch, and anchor. It sounds simple, but it takes planning. The more planning you put into your garden, the better off you will be. Don’t rush into this, my first attempt was less than successful. This is the one that worked. |
Chimney sweep's cancer, also called soot wart, is a squamous cell carcinoma of the skin of the scrotum. It has the distinction of being the first reported form of occupational cancer, and was initially identified by Percivall Pott in 1775.[1] It was initially noticed as being prevalent amongst chimney sweeps.
Pathogenesis [ edit ]
Chimney sweeps' carcinoma is a squamous cell carcinoma of the skin of the scrotum. Warts caused by the irritation from soot particles, if not excised, developed into a scrotal cancer. This then invaded the dartos, enlarged the testicle, and proceeded up the spermatic cord into the abdomen where it proved fatal.
History [ edit ]
Chimney sweeps' carcinoma was first described by Percivall Pott in 1775 who postulated that the cancer was associated with occupational exposure to soot.[2] The cancer primarily affected chimney sweeps who had been in contact with soot since their early childhood. The median age of onset of symptoms in one review was 37.7 years, although boys as young as 8 years old were found to have the disease.[3] It was proposed by W.G. Spencer in 1890 that sweat running down their bodies had caused soot to accumulate in the rugae of the inferior surfaces of the scrotum, with the resulting chronic irritation causing scrotal cancer,[4] but this was shown to be an incorrect artifact of the method used to stain his microscope slides.[3]
In 1922, R.D. Passey, a research physician at Guy's Hospital in London produced malignant skin tumors in mice exposed to an extract made from soot, demonstrating the presence of carcinogenic substances in soot which were the likely cause of cancer of the scrotum in chimney sweeps.[3][5]
in the 1930s Ernest Kennaway and James D. Cook of the Research Institute of the Cancer Hospital, London, (later known as the Royal Marsden Hospital) discovered several polycyclic hydrocarbons present in soot that were potent carcinogens: 1,2,5,6-dibenzanthracene; 1,2,7,8-dibenzanthracene; and 1,2-benzpyrene (3) benzo[α]pyrene. DNA consists of sequences of four bases – adenine, thymine, cytosine and guanine – bound to a deoxyribonucleic backbone. Benzo[α]pyrene interacts with deoxyguanosine of the DNA, damaging it and potentially starting the processes that can lead to cancer.[2]
Social context [ edit ]
The disease was principally a British phenomenon; in Germany, for example, sweeps wore tight-fitting protective clothing which prevented the soot from accumulating on the lower surface of the scrotum, whereas boys in the UK were once sent up the chimneys wearing only trousers and shirt, and occasionally naked. In the United Kingdom before the flexible brush was introduced, the master sweeps took apprentices, who were boys from the workhouse or bought them from their parents and trained them to climb chimneys. In the German States, master sweeps belonged to trade guilds and did not use climbing boys. In Italy, Belgium, and France climbing boys were used. Boys as young as four climbed hot flues that could be as narrow as 230 mm square. Work was dangerous and they could get jammed in the flue, suffocate or burn to death. The boys slept under the soot sacks and were rarely washed. From 1775 onwards there was increasing concern for the welfare of the boys, and Acts of Parliament were passed to restrict, and in 1875 to stop this usage. Lord Shaftesbury, a philanthropist, led the later campaign. In the United States, black children were hired from their owners and used in the same way, and were still climbing after 1875.
Sir Percivall Pott [ edit ]
Sir Percivall Pott (6 January 1714 – 22 December 1788) London, England) was an English surgeon, one of the founders of orthopedy, and the first scientist to demonstrate that a cancer may be caused by an environmental carcinogen. In 1765 he was elected Master of the Company of Surgeons, the forerunner of the Royal College of Surgeons. It was in 1775 that Pott found an association between exposure to soot and a high incidence of chimney sweeps' carcinoma, a scrotal cancer (later found to be squamous cell carcinoma) in chimney sweeps. This was the first occupational link to cancer, and Pott was the first person to demonstrate that a malignancy could be caused by an environmental carcinogen. Pott's early investigations contributed to the science of epidemiology and the Chimney Sweepers Act 1788.
Pott describes chimney sweeps' carcinoma thus:
It is a disease which always makes it first attack on the inferior part of the scrotum where it produces a superficial, painful ragged ill-looking sore with hard rising edges.....in no great length of time it pervades the skin, dartos and the membranes of the scrotum, and seizes the testicle, which it inlarges, [sic] hardens and renders truly and thoroughly distempered. Whence it makes its way up the spermatic process into the abdomen.
He comments on the life of the boys:
The fate of these people seems peculiarly hard ... they are treated with great brutality ... they are thrust up narrow and sometimes hot chimnies, [sic] where they are bruised burned and almost suffocated; and when they get to puberty they become ... liable to a most noisome, painful and fatal disease.
The carcinogen was thought to be coal tar, possibly containing some arsenic.
Though Pott wrote no further papers on the subject, clinical reports began to appear suggesting that others had seen it without realising what it was and like Pott had said:
[as it occurs after puberty]....it is generally taken, both by patient and surgeon for venereal and treated with mercurial [salts].
The disease was usually preceded by the development of hyperkeratotic lesions on the scrotum, which was what the sweeps called soot warts. These could be benign; sweeps often removed them themselves by trapping them in a split cane and cutting them off with a pocket knife. For instance:
"he... seized with a split stick and cut off with a razor. He remarked that it was not very painful. He resumed work the following day."
But if the lesion had become malignant it was far more serious. Patients frequently delayed seeking medical opinion, and when they did many were in a dreadful state. A 28-year-old sweep approached Jefferies in 1825, who describes his condition:
"The sore occupies the whole of the left side of the scrotum and the inner angle of the thigh, extending from the anus to the posterior inferior spinous process of the ileum, presenting a surface as large as a man's open hand, with hard indurated edges and irregular margins, discharging a thin sanies, which is extremely offensive; the left testicle is entirely denuded, and projects from its centre; in the left groin is a mass of indurated glands, the size of a goose's egg, which appears to suppurate in the right groin: there is likewise an ulceration, of the same malignant nature, about the size of a half-crown (5 cm)..."
Despite the appearance of this growth, the man was in no pain and his only complaint was that about 10 days before his admission he had bled from his groin and lost about a pint of blood. Even this, however, had not unduly affected his constitution.
Treatment [ edit ]
Treatment was by surgery, where all the diseased flesh was cut out. Before the introduction of anaesthetics this was a simple process for the surgeon but terrifying for the patient. Alternative treatments were also proposed including the application of an arsenic paste poultice. The real cause of this cancer was unproved until the discovery of weak carcinogens in soot by Passley in 1922. Until then the most popular theory was that soot got trapped in the rugae of the scrotum and this caused a general irritation. Sweeps were not known for their attention to bodily hygiene and it was assumed they never washed their genitals. The youngest victim, recorded in 1790 by James Earle (Pott's son-in-law), was 8 years old.
Related diseases [ edit ]
Decades later, it was noticed to occur amongst gas plant and oil shale workers, and it was later found that certain constituents of tar, soot, and oils, known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, were found to cause cancer in laboratory animals. The related cancer, mule spinners' carcinoma, was blamed on the carcinogenic content of shale oil that was used to lubricate the rapidly revolving mule spindles.
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Notes |
Germany plans to send two German Federal Police boats and up to 100 border patrol officials to the Greek coast as of March 1, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said Thursday.
De Maiziere said Greece deserved additional support from Europe on account of its geographic position and the sheer numbers of migrants entering the country.
"Europe has to be able to rely on Greece to contribute its own part," the German minister said. "In return, Greece will be able to rely on Europe to deliver."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras spoke about the refugee crisis during talks held in London
There are currently 50 German police officers in Greece as part of the European border agency, Frontex.
De Maiziere said, however, that other EU nations should also contribute more to Frontex and help strengthen Greece's borders and coastlines.
"The notion of solidarity [in the EU] should not be based on the extent to which each member state is affected by the crisis," he said.
Merkel and Tsipras join talks in London
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras found time to talk on the sidelines of a London donor conference to support Syrians. Syrians account for the largest number of refugees arriving in the EU.
In addition to discussing measures to stabilize the situation on the ground in Greece, the two leaders also touched on the refugee crisis itself. Tsipras said Greece expected the European Union to keep its promise and help the debt-stricken Mediterranean country deal with the ongoing flow of refugees and added that Turkey also had to live up to its pledge to stem the flow.
Greece had previously voted against an aid package to Turkey to the tune of 3 billion euros ($3.36 billion) to assist the EU with the refugee influx, but European leaders approved the financing for the deal on Wednesday.
ss/sms (AFP, dpa) |
© 2014, The New York Times News Service
A Delhi court has ruled that sex between a husband and wife, "even if forcible, is not rape."The judge's decision, which was made public Saturday, upheld section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, which does not recognize "sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age," as rape.Last October, a Delhi woman filed a complaint against a man she accused of drugging her, abducting her and taking her to Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, to register their marriage. Afterward, she told the court, he raped her.The judge in the case wrote that there was "no clinching or convincing evidence on record to show that the accused had administered any stupefying substance."The man accused in the case said the couple was married in 2011 at the woman's home in Delhi in the presence of her family, and that they had decided to register with the court only last year on the insistence of the woman. He also said, according to court documents, that the rape complaint was filed by the woman under pressure from her family members, who were not in favour of their marriage.The ruling in the case was issued by a special fast-track court established after a December 16, 2012, gang rape that sparked widespread protests and led to growing demands for better laws to prevent violence against women.Last March, the Indian parliament passed a series of amendments to enact stricter penalties for crimes against women but overlooked a longstanding demand by women's rights activists to make marital rape a crime.Viranda Gover, a lawyer and human rights activist, said the evidence in the Ghaziabad case forces courts "to reckon with the fact that there is forced sex in marriage and it is not hunky dory." The emergence of similar cases, she said, will strengthen the argument for criminalizing marital rape.It is not the first time an order by the presiding judge, Virender Bhat, has stoked controversy. In an order issued last October, Bhat's comments about girls engaging in premarital sex invited criticism from many quarters."Girls are morally and socially bound not to indulge in sexual intercourse before a proper marriage, and if they do so, it would be to their peril and they cannot be heard crying later that it was rape," he wrote in the judgment.The comments were dismissed as "absurd," by a former chief justice of India, V.N. Khare. |
ANI By
BHUBANESWAR: Defying all odds, an 11-year-old football prodigy from an impoverished area of Bhubaneswar has been selected to train at Germany’s most iconic club Bayern Munich, as an academy player for two months.
Chandan Nayak, hailing from Sabar Sahi slum of the city, endured a tough upbringing and journey in his quest to become a part of the Indian football team and bring accolades for the country.
Now, he has become one of the few who were selected for an all-expenses-paid junior football camp to Munich.
“I am very happy, want to become a player for the Indian team one day. I really want to thank my coach,” said Chandan, who describes Argentina talisman Lionel Messi as his inspiration.
Drawing attention towards the plight of Chandan’s family, his coach Jayadev Mahapatra said that his family was extremely underprivileged, who struggled to make ends meet but added that his resilience against mounting difficulties should be seen as a sign of bravery.
“His family is a broken one. His father had deserted him at a very young age. His mother works as a servant at various places and is able to manage the family. She has sacrificed a lot to ensure that her children are brought up in a proper way. Chandan coming from a poor family stands as a sign of bravery because against all odds, he has proved his talent,” Jayadev told ANI.
Explaining the young football genius’ journey so far, the coach continued: “The boy is a talented played and we spotted him when he was very young. He has been training with us for the last three to four years. In the last one year, we have taken him from some very rigorous training and used modules which we see in international clubs and it has paid us rich dividends. When he was selected in Odisha, he was the youngest (11). The selection criteria says that the age should be between 14 to 16 and being an 11-year-old kid he was not allowed but we asked them to give him a chance, he surprised everyone.
“The same thing happened when he went to Pune. He surprised everyone including Sunil Chhetri, who was the head selector for this academy.”
A visibly elated coach further insisted that his protégé would receive a rich experience once he completes his training in Germany.
“He will be leaving on 25th. In Germany, he will be playing asides greats like Phillip Lahm. The best coaches of the world will train him. Around 120 students from across the world will be coming. The training he will receive there is beyond comparison that we can give him in India. It is a huge opportunity. He will create a huge expectation for the slum kids who play soccer today,” Jayadev said, adding that his pupil has a similar story like Messi, who used to stay in an underprivileged area in Argentina before being scouted by Barcelona at a young age of seven.
The coach was also effusive in his praise for both the Central and State government, saying that all necessary documents had been created in time for his hassle-free travel.
“When he was selected, it came to light that he didn’t have a proper birth certificate. He only had an Aadhaar card. Initially there were a lot of troubles but we got a lot of help from state and central govt. His passport, visa and birth certificates were made within quickfire time. We have deposited his application with German consulate in Kolkata on Friday. We are hopeful that his visa be ready in a few days,” he said. |
Living in space can take its toll on an astronaut’s back, causing the muscles within the spine to weaken over time, a new study confirms. In microgravity, these muscles are prone to atrophy, and that causes the bones in the spine to stiffen and straighten out. Such body changes could explain why so many astronauts suffer from back pain after taking trips to lower-Earth orbit. And fixing this problem may be crucial if NASA wants to send humans to Mars someday.
Fixing this problem may be crucial if NASA wants to send humans to Mars
Up until now, researchers thought that astronauts’ back pain was caused by fluids swelling up in the spinal discs — cartilage joints that cushion the bones of the spine. But after conducting MRIs and other tests of six NASA astronauts, scientists at the University of San Diego found that the discs didn’t change their shape that much while in space. Instead, the paraspinal muscles, which connect the bones of the spine together and control their movement, shrunk by about 19 percent in size, according to NASA-sanctioned research detailed today in the journal Spine.
The findings may mean it’s time for astronauts to make some changes to their daily routines in space to stay healthy. Currently, astronauts exercise for about two hours each day to strengthen their muscles and bones. These systems can weaken in space, since they aren’t working against any gravity. Study author Alan Hargens says core strengthening exercises and neck exercises may be needed to keep the back healthy as well.
"We think that the neck is a part of the spine that is particularly susceptible to this loss of gravity," Hargens, a professor of orthopaedic surgery at UC San Diego, tells The Verge. "So there need to be better exercises for the astronaut’s necks. Right now they don’t have anything as far as we know."
JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata exercising on the space station treadmill. (NASA)
Normally, there is a natural curve in a person’s spine, but in space there is no gravity pulling down on those bones, so they naturally straighten out. And as the surrounding muscles weaken, the bones may stiffen even more, causing the vertebrae to stack on top of each other and erase that natural curvature. That could explain why around two-thirds of people who spend multiple months in space suffer from back pain of some sort, and astronauts have a four times higher risk of herniated discs when they get back to Earth. (Astronauts suffer from a host of other health problems in space, too.)
These back issues also seem to coincide with a lengthening of the spine
These back issues also seem to coincide with a lengthening of the spine. Astronauts usually come back to Earth about two inches taller than before they left. "If all of that curvature is gone, then we think that explains why the astronauts grow," says Hargens. "And with a lot of muscle atrophy around the spine, that makes the spine susceptible to injury when the astronauts come back to Earth."
Today’s study shows all these problems may be due to considerable weakening of the spinal muscles. MRIs and stress tests on six NASA astronauts showed that paraspinal muscles shrunk by about 19 percent in size after spaceflight, and the cross-sectional area of the muscles — key for muscle strength — shrank from 86 percent to 72 percent after spaceflight. Two months after flight, the cross-sectional areas only recovered by about two-thirds.
"It makes sense. With muscle, if you don’t use it you lose it," Dorit Donoviel, deputy chief scientist at the National Space Biomedical Research Institute, who was not involved with the study, tells The Verge. "If you don’t need to stabilize your spine against gravity, it would make sense those muscles would atrophy with time."
Yoga may help with core strength
Given these findings, Hargens and his team are working on recommendations for NASA on the best exercises and devices to mitigate these effects. Yoga, for instance, may help with core strength, Hargens says, and neck devices that simulate gravity could also help, since that’s the area where astronauts experience the most herniated discs. Additionally, astronauts may be lifting too many weights during their workouts in space, Hargens says, which may be hurting the spine even more.
It’s important to determine the proper exercise regimen for astronauts, especially since NASA wants to send humans to the surface of Mars someday. Trips to the Red Planet could take upward of six months to complete, and astronauts will need to be in the best health possible when they arrive. "They have to be ready to do all sorts of things, even possibly quickly evacuate from a space vehicle if they have a crash landing," says Hargen. "We really don’t want the astronauts injured halfway to Mars." |
Maribel Matias of Voorhees never expected little Sophie would be born Wednesday. She wasn't due for another week.
But Wednesday morning Maribel started feeling contractions. Afraid it was a false alarm, she told the baby's father, Valeriano Reu, she wanted to wait to go to the hospital.
The proud new parents spoke to Action News through a translator.
"She asked him to wait until the contractions got a little bit stronger so that she doesn't have to go back home," the translator said, speaking for Maribel.
They did get stronger, and Maribel knew the baby was coming right away.
Valeriano drove the 12 miles to Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center in Camden, convinced his child was going to be born in the backseat.
"She was saying, 'She is coming! The baby is ready to be born. I can feel the baby,'" said the translator. "Her husband said, 'Keep pushing!'"
He pulled up to the front door of the hospital and ran in for help. Security guard Mildred Lisoho came out with a wheelchair.
"So when I ran outside, it wasn't what . . . I expected to help her into the wheelchair," said Mildred. "She was already having her baby. So I told her go ahead and finish it."
Mildred delivered the baby right there, on the sidewalk in front of the hospital, at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.
"I was calm," she said. "Everybody said I was calm. I was a pro. No medical training. I am trained to do security work."
"He wants to thank her personally," said the translator, speaking for the baby's father, "and the doctors and nurses that came to them afterwards."
Wednesday afternoon, the new parents got the chance to thank Mildred, the security guard, and Mildred got the chance to hold the baby she delivered for a second time.
"This is something that I wasn't trained for, but I saved the mom and baby," she said. "It makes me feel good."
Little Sophie joins a baby brother who will soon have his first birthday.
Staffers at Lourdes advised Maribel if she does have a third child, she shouldn't wait. She should head to the hospital right away. |
By the end of the lunch hour on Jan. 2, the highest paid chief executive officers in Canada will have earned as much as the average Canadian makes all year, a new survey of CEO pay shows.
The top 100 CEOs in Canada earned $7.7 million on average in 2011, the latest data collected by an Ottawa-based think tank found.
In comparison, the average industrial wage was $45,488, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives notes.
This is the seventh year the policy group has prepared a database of executive pay based on publicly available documents.
It began doing so in 2005 to help focus public debate on the growing gap between rich and poor, said Hugh Mackenzie, an economist and research associate with the think tank.
“If you make it concrete — here’s a group of 100 people and their available income is $7.7 million — that’s something people can hang onto,” Mackenzie said.
Even at that, he said, few people can easily conceive of what earning $7.7 million really means.
“It means you don’t think anything of getting on a plane Friday afternoon and flying to London to go to the theatre. You don’t think anything of flying to Whistler to ski for the weekend.”
(Total executive compensation includes base salary, bonus, stocks and stock options, and the value of things like pension and dental plans, use of a corporate jet and other benefits.)
But the research also has another purpose: To examine how trends in executive compensation are changing.
Corporate governance became a hot topic earlier in the decade after a series of high-profile corporate collapses — including Enron and WorldCom in the United States, and Nortel in Canada — saw corporate executives pocket millions while ordinary investors lost their life savings.
Since then, some of Canada’s largest institutional shareholders have become a lot more vocal about what they consider acceptable corporate behaviour.
Two years ago, a high-profile group of investors in auto parts giant Magna International Inc. fought a $1 billion payout to the company’s founder and former CEO Frank Stronach in exchange for his multiple voting shares
The multiple voting structure had given Stronach full control of Magna for three decades. He was also the highest paid CEO that year, earning $61.8 million, or nearly four times the next highest paid executive at a publicly traded company.
An Ontario court ruled the payout plan was fair to other Magna shareholders and the deal went ahead. Stronach relinquished control though he remains Magna’s honorary chair and continues to reap fees under a multi-year management agreement.
Stronach was still the highest paid Canadian executive at a publicly traded firm a year later, but his compensation had fallen to $40 million, the policy centre’s latest data show.
Overall, CEO pay for the top 100 earners in Canada had fallen an average of 8.3 per cent in 2011 compared with the previous year, the latest data shows.
Mackenzie attributed the decline partly to the change in Stronach’s pay and partly to the decline in commodity prices from the previous year.
“In 2010, if you happened to be working as a CEO for a company involved in mining gold, you did extremely well because the gold price was hitting record highs. Gold stocks were going through the roof,” Mackenzie noted, “2011 wasn’t so good.”
Indeed, 2011 was a generally grim year for Canadian share prices as investors fretted over debt woes in Europe and political wrangling in the U.S.
Canada’s benchmark stock index, the TSX S&P Composite Index, closed 2011 down 11.07 per cent at 11,955 points.
Boards of directors are paying a lot more attention to how much corporate executives get paid and how they’re paid, said Chris Chen, national director of executive compensation for global consulting firm Hay Group.
Part of it is in response to new tools that have been handed to shareholders, he said, noting the biggest new thing is the advent of “say on pay” votes.
Although the votes aren’t mandatory and their results aren’t binding, they give shareholders a very public way to express their displeasure with a company’s compensation structure.
After pharmaceutical firm QLT Inc., based in Vancouver, became the first Canadian company to lose a “say on pay” vote at its annual general meeting earlier this year, a lot more corporate directors started consulting their biggest shareholders in advance, Chen said.
“Everyone’s thinking about it. How the decision made internally might impact a ‘say on pay’ vote and how that might look on the front page of the newspaper,” Chen added.
More organizations are also adopting a “clawback” provision that allows them to revoke an executive’s bonus — even after the individual has left the firm — if it turns out the financial statements were wrong due to errors or outright fraud.
Chen said he has yet to see a company enforce the provision, but its presence has made corporate executives more careful.
He said he’s also seeing less frequent use of stock options as a form of incentive.
“All of these things are in reaction to things that have happened, whether it’s Nortel or Wall Street or Enron, which have in some way been related to executive compensation or the perception that executive compensation got out of control,” Chen said.
The structure of executive compensation is still highly flawed, said Roger Martin, dean of the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and a prolific writer on the topic.
“I haven’t seen a lot of meaningful change in the past few years,” he said. “What’s changed is we have much more emoting on executive pay.”
The core theory — that companies should tie shareholders’ interests to executive compensation — doesn’t work, Martin said.
Indeed, the use of company shares to reward executives encourages corporate chiefs to manipulate their company’s share value, and has been primarily responsible for the huge growth in executive compensation, he said.
While Martin said few CEOs are singularly focused on maximizing their compensation, a system that rewards them for talking the stock down just after they’re hired and then talking it back up as they’re about to exit the company does not align their interests with the other long-term shareholders, such as pension funds.
The only shareholders who benefit from the increased volatility in the markets are the hedge fund managers, who make money whether the stock is rising or falling.
The problem is hedge funds don’t create any real value for an economy, Martin said. “They simply trade securities.”
Top corporate money-makers
Among the highest paid CEOs in Canada:
• Michael Pearson, head of Montreal-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., came in second, with a pay packet of $36.3 million, most of it in shares. Formerly known as Biovail, Valeant’s products include the antidepressant Wellbutrin.
• In third place, Robert Quartermain, head of Vancouver-based gold exploration firm, Pretium Resources Inc., at $16.9 million. Pretium’s share price doubled during 2011, ending the year at $12.51.
• The top 10 also includes Bradley Shaw of Shaw Communications; Ned Goodman of Dundee Corp.; Rick George of Suncor Energy Inc.; Donald Walker at Magna; Gerald Schwartz at Onex Corp.; Robert Friedland at Ivanhoe Mines, and Peter Marrone at Yamana Gold Inc.
• The heads of the five biggest banks in Canada were all within the top 20 highest paid CEOs, earning an average of $11 million each.
• The former co-chief executives of embattled Research In Motion Ltd. lost their $5-million-a-year pay packet. Instead, co-founder Mike Lazaridis got $7.9 million while Jim Balsillie got just under $4 million.
• Fred Green, who was CEO at Canadian Pacific Railway in 2011, got $5.3 million before being ousted the following year in a proxy battle launched by activist shareholder Bill Ackman.
• Among Canada’s three big telecommunications companies, Telus Corp. CEO Darren Entwistle took home the biggest pay packet at $10.2 million, while BCE Corp. chief George Cope got $9.6 million. Rogers Communications Inc. chief Nadir Mohamed got $8.2 million.
• The only woman on the list was once again Nancy Southern, chief executive of Alberta-based Atco Ltd. Southern ranked 94th with $3.9 million in total compensation.
• Among household brand names, Tim Hortons chief executive Paul House received just under $4.3 million while Shoppers Drug Mart chief Domenic Pilla earned just over $5.5 million.
Dana Flavelle |
These podcasts are sure to make you a better software engineer. They are in no particular order but I’ve found each one useful in their own way. I usually listen to these as I’m driving to and from work. It’s a great time to grow when you aren’t really doing anything else productive or mentally intensive at the same time.
Hansel Minutes
Site: http://hanselminutes.com/
Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/HanselminutesCompleteMP3
One of my favorite things about Hansel Minutes is the host is a great interviewer. He has this interesting technique where he approaches the topics from ignorance and as a result seems to ask all the right questions. Of course you can tell he has put in a lot of research before hand, he just seems to know what you would want to ask if you were giving the interview.
Another nice thing about the podcast is the guests are varied and come from a lot of different backgrounds. For example, he will often interview designers and game developers, but there’s also a lot of guests like Uncle Bob or Joel Spolsky.
There are over 500 episodes to catch up on if you aren’t already listening to it.
SE Radio
Site: http://www.se-radio.net/
Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/se-radio
SE Radio talks about a lot of software engineering topics I don’t see discussed anywhere else. For example, there’s an episode on Developer Anarchy, a topic I never heard of until I listened to the podcast. Each episode goes into a lot of depth with the topic at hand and the topic is usually very specific.
I do have a few complaints about the podcast, though. A lot of the guests tend to be very dry and that can make the podcast difficult to pay attention to. I find myself listening to a few of them because I feel like I should instead of because I enjoy the speakers.
Another issue is that the interviewers seem to be very hands off. They’ll ask a question and let the guest talk for minutes before the next interaction. I feel like I can be really confused by something that the host really should have asked for clarification about but never does.
The Agile Revolution
Site: https://theagilerevolution.com/
Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/theagilerevolution/fxnY
This is an interesting podcast that often has really good guests but I don’t see on a lot of other peoples’ podcast lists. They’ve had a lot of agile thought leaders on their podcast like Mary and Tom Poppendieck.
The problem is the audio quality is not very good and they’re often taking place inside a noisy cafe or a conference hallway. That said, the content is usually very good.
The Cognicast
Site: http://thinkrelevance.com/blog/tags/podcast
Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/thinkrelevance/podcast
This is a podcast that mainly talks to Clojure developers about Clojure topics. Even though I’m not actively developing in that language, I find it very interesting to listen to on occassion. They have a lot of very intelligent guests on the show that are doing all sorts of interesting things you may not have ever heard about if you aren’t working in a functional programming language. Another thing I like is that they often have the creator of Clojure, Rich Hickey, as a guest.
One complaint is that the titles of the podcast only say the guest name, they do not mention the topic of the discussion.
Programming Throwdown
Site: http://www.programmingthrowdown.com/
Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/programmingthrowdown
This is a podcast where each episode, the hosts discuss some details about a different programming language. This podcast is extremely casual. Sometimes the first 50-75% of each episode chit chat and then the last part is left over for the programming language itself. They don’t usually take a deep dive in the language but talk about enough to get you interested in learning more on your own.
I have a weird complaint about this podcast: The two hosts sound kind of similar and it can be difficult to tell who is talking. Also, I’m more interested in learning about the language so I almost always skip the first 50-75% to find the content I’m looking for. I find the idle chit chat to be a waste of my time because I’m not interested, but that’s my personal preference.
The Changelog
Site: https://changelog.com/
Feed: http://feeds.5by5.tv/changelog
This podcast discusses an open source project, framework, library or language each episode. They go into a lot of depth on each topic and at the end they ask a series of questions to the author about how they want the community to help the project succeed and who their programming hero is. I like to listen to this podcast because it helps me be aware of other software out there that I can leverage when I’m working on my work projects. For example, I may not have heard of Zero DB, Kong, or Redux without listening to this podcast because they are in different worlds from what I’m doing on a day to day basis.
Giant Robots Smashing into Other Giant Robots
Site: http://giantrobots.fm/
Feed: http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/271/rss
This is a good podcast with some usability experience issues: The problem is the podcast titles are a weird phrase used at some point in the podcast. As a result, you have to dig into the description to figure out who the guest is and if you’re interested in the topic. Call me lazy, but this is usually enough to put me off.
That said, the host and the guests are often good. The interview style is very casual and the guests usually feel like they’re very comfortable and talking to a friend. They have had famous guests like Uncle Bob Martin and Chad Fowler.
Ruby Rogues
Site: http://devchat.tv/
Feed: https://devchat.tv/ruby-rogues/feed
This is a podcast where a bunch of returning hosts talk to one or two guests about a topic. The title of the podcast is Ruby Rogues, but the topic isn’t always (or usually) specific to the ruby programming language. For example, they’ll talk about “Programmer Education and Skill Development”. They often have famous guests like Martin Fowler, etc. The big group of people discussing brings a lot of different viewpoints into the conversation.
I really like the content of this podcast but the problem is there’s often too many cooks in the kitchen. One of the hosts tends to go off on a rant for a few minutes that has little to do with the topic at hand or someone will interrupt the guest while they’re talking about a topic that I’m more interested in. These are not frequent complaints but they occur often enough to be noticeable.
.NET Rocks
Site: https://www.dotnetrocks.com/
Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/netRocksFullMp3Downloads
This podcast has over 1000 podcasts that are often of interest to me. For example, they have a podcast on “Continuous Delivery” and another on “Learning Haskell”. Although the two hosts are .NET developers, as you can see, the podcasts are general enough for any developer to learn from. If there is something too specific for my tastes, the titles are named well enough that I can identify that without having to listen to it first. Also, the hosts are very charismatic so the podcasts are rarely boring.
Full Stack Radio
Site: http://www.fullstackradio.com/
Feed: https://simplecast.com/podcasts/279/rss
This is a great podcast where the host and guest talk about a single topic in detail. Example topics are, “Unit Testability and the Universal Architecture” and, “Fixing Common API Design Mistakes”. The host comes off as being egoless and is not afraid to ask for clarification if he’s confused.There have been a lot of really good and famous guests on this podcast like Kent Beck and Michael Feathers. My only complaint is I wish the podcasts would come out more frequently.
The InfoQ Podcast
Site: https://www.infoq.com/
Feed: http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:215740450/sounds.rss
This is a brand new but promising podcast. Some of the episodes are titled, “Adrian Cockcroft on Microservices, Terraservices and Serverless Computing” and “Lisa Crispin and Justin Searls on Testing and Innovation in Front End Technology”. As you can see, the host has interviewed some thought leaders in our field. I don’t have any complaints for this one as it’s so new. I look forward to listening to more episodes. |
Airbnb told Portland officials Tuesday that it would block local users from listing multiple properties in violation of city rules.
The website, which allows homeowners to rent their private residence to vacationers, said its new "one host, one home" policy would help protect Portland's housing stock from being converted into vacation rentals and adding to the squeeze on renters in the city.
The company previously introduced the policy in New York and San Francisco.
Document: Airbnb memo to Portland City Council outlining new policy
It would limit hosts to advertising rentals at a single address. That's intended to prevent someone from buying up multiple homes for the purpose of listing them as vacation rentals on Airbnb.
The city allows only Portlanders to advertise vacation rentals in homes that serve as their primary residence for at least nine months of the year.
There are some allowable exceptions, including commercial hotels and permitted rentals operated out of apartment buildings, that advertise on Airbnb. Those could be approved manually by Airbnb employees.
The company said it would also exempt users who manage a listing for a friend.
The new policy comes as Airbnb seeks less rigorous regulation of its business.
The company said its users find the city's requirements arduous. Airbnb hosts are required to undergo a city inspection to receive a permit, as well as secure a business license and a tax certificate. The company said it would like the city to streamline those rules.
The city, however, has found that its rules aren't enough to keep Airbnb hosts in line. Last year, it proposed to increase fines on illegal short-term rentals to $1,000 to $5,000 per day of violation and to do away with a 30-day grace period.
-- Elliot Njus
enjus@oregonian.com
503-294-5034
@enjus |
While I was writing the post comparing the new Qualcomm server chip, Centriq, to our current stock of Intel Skylake-based Xeons, I noticed a disturbing phenomena.
When benchmarking OpenSSL 1.1.1dev, I discovered that the performance of the cipher ChaCha20-Poly1305 does not scale very well. On a single thread, it performed at the speed of approximately 2.89GB/s, whereas on 24 cores, and 48 threads it performed at just over 35 GB/s.
CC BY-SA 2.0 image by blumblaum
Now this is a very high number, but I would like to see something closer to 69GB/s. 35GB/s is just 1.46GB/s/core, or roughly 50% of the single core performance. AES-GCM scales much better, to 80% of single core performance, which is understandable, because the CPU can sustain higher frequency turbo on a single core, but not all cores.
Why is the scaling of ChaCha20-Poly1305 so poor? Meet AVX-512. AVX-512 is a new Intel instruction set that adds many new 512-bit wide SIMD instructions and promotes most of the existing ones to 512-bit. The problem with such wide instructions is that they consume power. A lot of power. Imagine a single instruction that does the work of 64 regular byte instructions, or 8 full blown 64-bit instructions.
To keep power in check Intel introduced something called dynamic frequency scaling. It reduces the base frequency of the processor whenever AVX2 or AVX-512 instructions are used. This is not new, and has existed since Haswell introduced AVX2 three years ago.
The scaling gets worse when more cores execute AVX-512 and when multiplication is used.
If you only run AVX-512 code, then everything is good. The frequency is lower, but your overall productivity is higher, because each instruction does more work.
OpenSSL 1.1.1dev implements several variants of ChaCha20-Poly1305, including AVX2 and AVX-512 variants. BoringSSL implements a different AVX2 version of ChaCha20-Poly1305. It is understandable then why BoringSSL achieves only 1.6GB/s on a single core, compared to the 2.89GB/s OpenSSL does.
So how does this affect you, if you mix a little AVX-512 with your real workload? We use the Xeon Silver 4116 CPUs, with a base frequency 2.1GHz, in a dual socket configuration. From a figure I found on wikichip it seems that running AVX-512 even just on one core on this CPU will reduce the base frequency to 1.8GHz. Running AVX-512 on all cores will reduce it to just 1.4GHz.
Now imagine you run a webserver with Apache or NGINX. In addition you have many other services, performing some real, important work. What happens if you start encrypting your traffic with ChaCha20-Poly1305 using AVX-512? That is the question I asked myself.
I compiled two versions of NGINX, one with OpenSSL1.1.1dev and the other with BoringSSL, and installed it on our server with two Xeon Silver 4116 CPUs, for a total of 24 cores.
I configured the server to serve a medium sized HTML page, and perform some meaningful work on it. I used LuaJIT to remove line breaks and extra spaces, and brotli to compress the file.
I then monitored the number of requests per second served under full load. This is what I got:
By using ChaCha20-Poly1305 over AES-128-GCM, the server that uses OpenSSL serves 10% fewer requests per second. And that is a huge number! It is equivalent to giving up on two cores, for nothing. One might think that this is due to ChaCha20-Poly1305 being inherently slower. But that is not the case.
First, BoringSSL performs equivalently well with AES-GCM and ChaCha20-Poly1305.
Second, even when only 20% of the requests use ChaCha20-Poly1305, the server throughput drops by more than 7%, and by 5.5% when 10% of the requests are ChaCha20-Poly1305. For reference, 15% of the TLS requests Cloudflare handles are ChaCha20-Poly1305.
Finally, according to perf , the AVX-512 workload consumes only 2.5% of the CPU time when all the requests are ChaCha20-Poly1305, and less then 0.3% when doing ChaCha20-Poly1305 for 10% of the requests. Irregardless the CPU throttles down, because that what it does when it sees AVX-512 running on all cores.
It is hard to say just how much each core is throttled at any given time, but doing some sampling using lscpu , I found out that when executing the openssl speed -evp chacha20-poly1305 -multi 48 benchmark, it shows CPU MHz: 1199.963 , for OpenSSL with all AES-GCM connections I got CPU MHz: 2399.926 and for OpenSSL with all ChaCha20-Poly1305 connections I saw CPU MHz: 2184.338 , which is obviously 9% slower.
Another interesting distinction is that ChaCha20-Poly1305 with AVX2 is slightly slower in OpenSSL but is the same in BoringSSL. Why might that be? The reason here is that the BoringSSL code does not use AVX2 multiplication instructions for Poly1305, and only uses simple xor, shift and add operations for ChaCha20, which allows it to run at the base frequency.
OpenSSL 1.1.1dev is still in development, therefore I suspect no one is affected by this issue yet. We switched to BoringSSL months ago, and our server performance is not affected by this issue.
What the future holds in unclear. Intel announced very cool new ISA extensions for the future generation of CPUs, that are expected to improve crypto performance even further. Those extensions include AVX512+VAES, AVX512+VPCLMULQDQ and AVX512IFMA. But if the frequency scaling issue is not resolved by then, using those for general purpose cryptography libraries will do (much) more harm than good.
The problem is not with cryptography libraries alone. OpenSSL did nothing wrong by trying to get the best possible performance, on the contrary, I wrote a decent amount of AVX-512 code for OpenSSL myself. The observed behavior is a sad side effect. There are many libraries that use AVX and AVX2 instructions out there, they will probably be updated to AVX-512 at some point, and users are not likely to be aware of the implementation details. If you do not require AVX-512 for some specific high performance tasks, I suggest you disable AVX-512 execution on your server or desktop, to avoid accidental AVX-512 throttling. |
Nagpur: As the new academic session gets underway, private schools say they are facing a financial crunch due to non-payment of entire fees by government for admissions given under Right To Education (RTE) Act. Schools have warned about taking ‘strong steps’ if the state continued to delay payments this year as well.
Jagruti Dharmadhikari, Pune-based academician and founder-member of Independent English Schools Association (IESA) said, “Almost 2,000 schools have shut down this year due to no reimbursements being received. We will wait till August end or September as per RTE Government reimbursements rule. If nothing turns up, the first step will be to boycott admissions and we will not register our name in online process for next year. Majority of our schools have not received a single penny since 2013 and therefore it is very tough to run the school.”
Her colleague in the association, Jalna-based academician Rajendra Dayma said, “We have given a memorandum to education department in most of the districts of Marathwada as a one month warning to provide the complete reimbursements. If funds are not received, we will take out a non-corporation movement against the education department and will later go to court. The government should therefore fulfil its responsibility as clearly mentioned in the RTE Act.”
In Nagpur, the RTE application process received a good response which has frustrated participating schools even more. A city principal said, “The education department is pulling off a great fraud by forcing us to give admissions and making false promises regarding payment. Frankly I think they will never pay us anything and we will have to resort to increasing the fee for rest of the students.” Under RTE Act, schools have to reserve 25% of their seats and give free admissions to students. Admissions are given to students chosen by the education department through a lottery system. Schools submit bills twice a year to their local education department which in turn clears it and forwards to the head office.
Last week the education department completed its eight round of lottery for free school seats under Right to Education (RTE) Act last week, and yet over a thousand seats remain vacant. The total seats available this year under RTE are 7,415 but even after the academic session, only 6,021 have been taken up.
Verification of documents submitted by parents to qualify under the RTE quota is always a contentious issue. This year however, Nagpur division’s top education official Anil Pardhi directed schools not to demand any extra documents from parents. Pardhi’s letter came after reports that few schools in city were asking parents to submit an undertaking, ranging from an affidavit to plain letters, affirming the authenticity of address and income proofs submitted. Pardhi said, “If the school has any doubt over authenticity of these documents then they can directly get in touch with the authority that issued it. Students cannot be denied admission because they refuse to re-confirm the authenticity of documents.” |
Fears of a nuclear meltdown in Japan have subsided after a reactor that was damaged in Friday’s devastating earthquake reportedly emerged intact from an explosion.
A day after the country was thrown into chaos by a fierce tsunami triggered by the largest earthquake in Japan’s history, the country was, for a few terrifying hours, bracing itself for a possible nuclear catastrophe.
Television cameras captured the moment that smoke poured from what at first appeared to be one of four reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, located 150 miles north of Tokyo.
IN PICTURES: Japan's 8.9 earthquake
After a few nerve-wracking hours, however, the government and the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power, said the damage had been confined to the walls and roof surrounding the reactor, sparing its metal casing.
The chief cabinet secretary, Yukio Edano, told a televised press conference that radiation around the plant had, in fact, started to decrease.
A “tiny” amount of radiation had leaked earlier in the day when officials attempted to relieve pressure inside the reactor.
“We have confirmed that the walls of this building were what exploded, and not the reactor’s container,” Edano said, adding, “There was no large amount of radiation leakage outside. At this point, there has been no major change to the level of radiation leakage outside, so we'd like everyone to respond calmly.”
Some exposure to radiation
Tokyo Electric said four workers had suffered minor injuries in the explosion and were being treated in hospital. But Japanese TV reported that three people who were seeking refuge nearby when the explosion occurred may have been exposed to radiation.
The reactor was one of several at two nuclear plants in Fukushima prefecture whose cooling systems failed after the area was shaken by Friday’s 8.9-magnitude earthquake.
Prior to the explosion, officials had detected eight times the normal radiation levels outside the facility, and 1,000 times normal inside the affected reactor’s control room.
As officials attempted to relieve the pressure building up inside the affected reactors, the chilling prospect of a Chernobyl-style meltdown momentarily drew media attention away from the human tragedy unfolding elsewhere in the region.
As a precaution, the government expanded evacuation zones around both of the affected plants and advised residents to leave the area. In all more than 51,000 resident living near the facilities have been evacuated.
Many feared the worst when TV pictures showed the reactor building had been reduced to its metal frame.
Sea water used to cool reactor
The firm said it planned to fill the reactor with sea water to cool it down and reduce pressure, while officials said its core remained intact.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said it was urgently seeking details from Japanese authorities, adding that plans were being made to distribute iodine to local residents.
The incident could call into question Japan’s enthusiasm for nuclear power. The country’s 54 reactors provide 30 percent of its electricity, and there are plans to increase provision to 50 percent by 2030. But the industry has been plagued by accidents and allegations of cover-ups.
Anti-nuclear campaigners said the dangers of a serious accident remained.
“Fukushima remains under threat of a serious reactor meltdown,” said Jan Beranek, head of Greenpeace International’s nuclear campaign. “This would potentially create an iodine cloud, which could spread high radiation levels to both the environment and population over many tens of kilometers.”
IN PICTURES: Japan's 8.9 earthquake |
Writing for his college paper, Cory Booker once admitted that he groped a friend when he was 15 years old.
Now the mayor of Newark and a candidate for New Jersey’s open Senate seat, a college-aged Booker described the experience of grabbing the girl’s breast and having his hand pushed away.
“Telling one’s own personal story is often the most powerful way to make a point, or, more importantly, to make people think,” Booker wrote in the February 19, 1992 column for the Stanford Daily, under the headline “So Much for Stealing Second.”
“When grandiose statements entrenched in politically correct terminology are made, many may listen but few will hear,” Booker continued. “When I hesitated in writing this column, I realized I was basking in hypocrisy. So instead I chose to write and risk.”
“New Year’s Eve 1984,” Booker recalled. “I will never forget. I was 15. As the ball dropped, I leaned over to hug a friend and she met me instead with an overwhelming kiss.”
Things apparently moved very quickly for the young man, who recalled thinking of sex as a “game.”
“As we fumbled upon the bed, I remember debating my next ‘move’ as if it were a chess game. With the ‘Top Gun’ slogan ringing in my head, I slowly reached for her breast. After having my hand pushed away once, I reached my ‘mark,’” Booker wrote.
Booker didn’t elaborate on what his “mark” was, but whatever happened, it was enough to haunt him for years to come.
“Our grouping ended soon and while no ‘relationship’ ensued, a friendship did,” he wrote. “You see, the next week in school she told me she was drunk that night and didn’t really know what she was doing.”
He attempted to explain his behavior. “Ever since puberty, I remember receiving messages that sex was a game, a competition. Sexual relations were best achieved through luck, guile, strategy or coercion.”
Booker wrote about how alcohol lubricated those relations: “Another friend in high school counseled me on the importance of drinking,” he wrote, detailing the slogans he had heard from friends. Booker listed them: “‘With liquor you’ll get to bed quicker,’ … ‘What do you think happened? She invited me back to her room at 3 a.m.’ … ‘I’ve got to find a way to snatch that snatch.’ … ‘The best thing for that girl would be to be tied down and screwed.’”
Booker described how his view of women changed radically after just two years in college — so much so that a female friend “chidingly called me a man-hater,” Booker wrote.
“In retrospect, my soliloquy titled ‘The Oppressive Nature of Male Dominated Society and Its Violent Manifestations Rape, Anorexia, Battered Wives’ may have been a surreptitious attempt to convince her that I was a sensitive man, but more likely I was trying to convince myself that my attitudes had changed,” Booker wrote.
Booker explained that his two years as a peer counselor had revealed to him a culture that leads to rape. “All I have are poignant visions,” he wrote.
“I see that preceding all the horrors of rape are a host of skewed attitudes.
“I see my friends seeking to ‘get some’ or to ‘score.’
“I see people making power plays.
“I see myself at 15 trotting around the bases and stealing second.
“I now see the crowds, no, not the spectators, but the thousands, the millions who are rarely seen or heard.
“I’ve seen enough.
“I spoke to a 40 year old woman who has trouble looking at her self[sic] in the mirror when she gets out of the shower. She can’t make love, she never had an orgasm, she never will forget what happened her first time. She can’t close her eyes.”
Booker would refer back to that column just months later, in a final op-ed for the Daily.
“But my second column, as I raised my noble pen to address the issue of date rape, I realized that the person holding it wasn’t so noble after all,” Booker wrote on May 27, 1992. “With this issue as with so many others, a dash of sincere introspection has revealed to me a dangerous gap—a gap between my beliefs and my actions.”
Booker did not return requests for comment. He is widely expected to win the Democratic primary on Tuesday and go on to the U.S. Senate. |
Zhu spells out the names of his new Genesis Series collaborators through an interactive online word hunt.
Nine collaborators open up about the anonymous artist's creative process.
When ZHU released his Genesis Series EP last September via a cryptic online word puzzle, it was fitting that its focus was on his collaborators. The faceless artist has always eschewed the spotlight ever since first beguiling the blogosphere with a mysterious Outkast mashup a little over two years ago.
How ZHU Scored a Major-Label Deal Using Just His Logo and His Music
Now a rising star sporting a Grammy-nominated hit ("Faded") and a coveted Coachella slot, ZHU was able to enlist an impressive band of confederates to join him in the Genesis endeavor -- including dance heavyweights Skrillex and A-Trak, rising vocalists AlunaGeorge and Gallant and hip-hop veterans Bone Thugs N Harmony.
With his Neon City headlining tour kicking off in Indio and his debut album Generation Why set for release later this year, the six-song collection provided a star-studded preview of ZHU's next career chapter.
ZHU Delivers Audiovisual Odyssey in North American Debut
But how does one work with an anonymous artist? AlunaGeorge readily admits, "It was something that I wasn’t really sure could even happen." Fortunately, she and eight of his other creative partners-in-crime have created a joint oral tapestry to give fans unique insight into the creative process of an artist who believes music should speak for itself.
ZHU Premieres New Track, 'In the Morning,' Announces 'Neon City' N.A. Tour
Skrillex describes how ZHU's studio's proximity to a strip club gave rise to the concept behind their song "Working for It."
"His studio is right across the street from the stripclub. We like made up this concept. He’s like 'What if we actually went over and like rescued the girls? Because she's been working there all night long.' Fun little ditty ditty. Got that kind of little Dr. Dre vibe on the piano. Really fun shoutout for ZHU for playing the guitar; the man, the myth, the legend... the secret of ZHU."
Finally, A-Trak urges dance music fans to "trust him." "You know, I think what he’s been doing lately with delivering songs that each have a bit of a different style or genre but, in the sonics of it, they all tie together as ZHU."
A-Trak Is Becoming Dance Music's 'Real DJing' Evangelist
For full interviews with ZHU's Genesis Series collaborators, listen to the playlist below: |
It is with profound disappointment that we write to express our opposition to your collective vote against Debo Adegbile, President Obama’s recent nominee to lead the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. In a manner entirely consistent with Washington politics, Mr. Adegbile’s failed confirmation vote was plagued by misinformation, ad hominem attacks, and political self-interest. The result was a travesty in which Senate Democrats were responsible for blocking the nomination of an extraordinarily qualified lawyer who has spent the last decade fighting for civil rights.
With his passion for justice, democracy, and equality, Mr. Adegbile embodies both the mission of those Senators’ caucus and the spirit of the civil rights movement. As the President of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, he led an organization that provided counsel to the disadvantaged and impoverished, and advocated tirelessly for voting rights, fair housing, and an end to the death penalty. Mr. Adegbile even defended the Voting Rights Act before the Supreme Court.
But no good deed goes unpunished. Mr. Adegbile’s tenure with the Legal Defense Fund became the target of a shameful Congressional Republican smear campaign that tested the convictions of Democratic Senators who claim to stand behind the African-American community and the ongoing struggle for civil rights in this country. Mr. Adegbile was unfairly smeared because the Legal Defense Fund provided counsel to a death row inmate as part of the organization’s ongoing effort to fight the death penalty — an effort born out of the organization’s unique historical role in combatting a racially prejudicial capital punishment regime that amounted to legal lynching.
Your votes constitute more than just a rejection of Mr. Adegbile to this important post: They are an indictment of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and its mission. They undermine the importance of providing legal representation to our most vulnerable citizens. They provide a perverse disincentive to those who would fight for civil rights and seek to serve in government, and they distance their caucus from the civil rights movement on which it was established.
The seven of you have placed your personal political security above the ongoing struggle for civil rights. We’re aware of the caution that lawmakers take on seemingly controversial votes – but what is the point of serving in the United States Senate if your constituents cannot rely on your courage and resolve on the issues most crucial to the integrity of our democracy? What is the point of caucusing with the Democratic Party if the mere threat of Republican smears is enough for you to divorce yourselves from the very mission of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division?
We do not live in a post-racial society. The enduring challenges that people of color face today depict a sobering reality that many in Washington would like to ignore. In the face of discriminatory new voting laws, persistent inequality in our criminal justice system, and unequal access to quality housing and public education, the mission of the civil rights movement must still be undertaken with great urgency. Debo Agdebile is the right man to advance this mission and lead the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. Your rejection of his nomination is a travesty and a setback for the African-American community – and the historical record shows that harm to African-Americans ripples outward to negatively impact all Americans. Should President Obama nominate Mr. Agdebile for this post again, we implore you to reconsider.
Sincerely,
The Yale Black Law Students Association
This open letter was written and submitted by former Generation Progress intern Graham White, who is also on the executive board of Yale’s Black Law Students Association on behalf of the association. |
We’re always looking for correlations around housing prices and how they relate to various factors, so today we’re looking at racial density to see if it has an impact on Toronto real estate prices. The interactive map above shows the density of visible minorities – the darker the blue, the higher the concentration. Mouseover the regions to see how they relate to real estate prices.
Toronto Races By Selected Groups
Old Money Neighborhoods
Traditionally old money neighbourhoods (Rosedale-Moore Park, Lawerence Park, Forest Hill, etc.) ranked as the least diverse neighborhoods with the most expensive homes. Not a huge shocker, but it is interesting to note that visible minorities represented less than 20% of residents in these neighborhoods, with the city averaging 34% all around. The average home price in these neighborhoods also exceed $1,200,000, whereas the rest of the city averaged $719,785 in June 2016.
Neighborhoods and Visual Minorities
As one of the most multicultural cities in the world, it was also interesting to see that the highest density of visual minorities were mostly located in the outer regions like North-West Etobicoke and North-East Scarborough. Both areas mostly had a visible minority density upwards of 40%, and some of the city’s lowest average home price. In Scarborough-Rouge River you could still score a place for around $460,400 – roughly 36% less than the city’s average.
Thoughts
So, what do you think? Any observations, thoughts, or feelings about the map? Let us know in the comments.
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Sources: StatsCan, Toronto Real Estate Board. |
The United Nations to exempt China from stricter CO2 regulations?
Yesterday Barack Obama appeared at the United Nations climate summit and he said that global warming was such a threat to the world and to our way of life that he was willing to take Executive action in order to help combat the problem.
This Executive action includes the Federal government taking into consideration the effects on the climate while deciding whether or not to assist other countries with development projects.
Here is more:
“We can only succeed in combating climate change if we are joined by every nation, developed and developing alike. Nobody gets a pass,”
The United Nations, like most of the American people, have either stopped listening to what the President has to say or they have decided not to follow his lead if this story is correct because apparently the United Nations is prepared to offer China an exemption to new CO2 regulations. It looks like China will be getting a pass.
And China just happens to be the biggest polluter nation in the world:
They point out that China is not only the world’s largest emitter of CO2 with a 29% share but also now exceeds the emissions on a per capita basis by the 28 countries in the European Union.
But that is not all if this story is correct because China emits more per capita greenhouse gasses than the United States and the European Union COMBINED.
China is for the first time emitting more carbon pollution per person than the EU, birthplace of the industrial revolution. In a notable turning point for the world’s most populous nation, China produced 7.2 tonnes of planet-warming carbon dioxide a head last year, compared with 6.8 tonnes in the EU. Its total C02 emissions outstrip those of both the EU and the US combined, scientists reported.
So what gives? Is climate change a direct threat to our way of lives or is it not? Is the United Nations serious about saving the planet or is this, as I have believed all along, a political issue and not an environmental issue?
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Story highlights A 73-year-old woman called 911 after her fitness tracker showed an elevated heart rate
A scan revealed dangerous blood clots in both lungs
(CNN) Quick feedback from a Connecticut woman's Fitbit confirmed her suspicions that her shortness of breath and rapid heartbeat were cause for alarm.
Patricia Lauder, a 73-year-old retiree from Harwinton, knew that something was seriously wrong in mid-January after her wearable fitness tracker displayed a resting heart rate of 140 beats per minute.
Patricia Lauder, left, was cared for by Dr. JuYong Lee.
She had been battling a sinus infection and suspected a case of walking pneumonia. After several doctor visits, Lauder was awaiting the results of diagnostic tests to determine the cause of her symptoms.
"Finally, my resting heart rate got to the point where a simple chore was a big effort," she said.
Over the next few days, Lauder noticed that her resting heart rate was steadily rising from her normal 60 to 70 beats per minute to over 100. Because of the data her Fitbit had saved, Lauder knew that this was abnormally high for her.
Read More |
A General Motors plan to spend $328 million at its plants in the Town of Tonawanda and Lockport reassured workers at the two sites who once worried about their future.
GM on Wednesday pledged to invest $296 million in the Tonawanda site for a new engine line, committing to retaining 854 jobs and creating 67 new jobs as part of the project.
At the Lockport plant, GM will invest $32 million for new components production. That project will retain 320 jobs, including 13 salaried positions.
Steve Finch, the Tonawanda plant manager, said announcements like Wednesday’s were a welcome contrast to the depths of the Great Recession, when workers wondered if their plant would survive.
“Basically, this takes that off the table, for at least the foreseeable future,” Finch said. “We know what we’re building today and we know what the next generation of engines are. That takes a lot of worry and fear off of people’s minds, and then they can just go to work.”
[Related: Columnist David Robinson says Rust Belt manufacturing is far from dead in Buffalo Niagara]
GM has not shared specifics about the new engines the Tonawanda plant will make, but Finch said it would represent the next step for the plant’s existing “Generation V” engine line.
“They’re going into future vehicle products that we’re not prepared to announce yet, for competitive reasons,” said Kathleen Dilworth, GM manufacturing director.
Dilworth and other GM officials were joined by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and United Auto Workers leaders at the Tonawanda plant to hail the investments.
Along with the Tonawanda and Lockport projects, GM will pour about $6 million into new components production at its plant in Rochester, for a combined $334 million across the three upstate New York plants. All three projects are due to be completed by the end of 2018.
“Let’s be honest, GM is going to spend that much money, they could pick up this plant, they could go anywhere,” Cuomo said. “And they’re betting on Buffalo, and they’re betting on Western New York, and they’re making that investment here, because they believe in Buffalo’s future. They believe in the partnership they have with the state of New York.”
Empire State Development will provide up to $7 million in capital grants and Excelsior Tax Credits in return for job and investment commitments at the three sites.
The investments in the three upstate facilities are part of $1.9 billion GM plans to spend at 12 U.S. plants as part of a four-year contract approved in fall 2015 by United Auto Workers members. GM has made similar investment announcements around the country since workers ratified the deal.
The Tonawanda and Lockport plants are both vital pieces of the Buffalo Niagara region’s manufacturing base, and they rely on new investment to stay viable as older products are phased out.
Both plants have proven their staying power in the face of adversity. The Tonawanda engine plant, which has 1,700 employees, survived GM’s plant cut list in 2009, when the auto industry was in turmoil. The Lockport plant, which has 1,400 employees, was among the few Delphi sites GM took back from the auto parts supplier it had spun off, and had faced uncertainty about its own future.
The Tonawanda plant produces engines for GM trucks, SUVs and cars. Its Generation V engines, which go into vehicles including full-size trucks like the Chevrolet Silverado and SUVs like the Yukon, Suburban and Escalade, are a hit for the Tonawanda plant. To keep up with demand, that engine line runs three shifts a day and two out of three shifts on Saturdays, “and the machining operations are basically running 24/7,” Finch said.
Finch said he did not yet have much information from the automaker about the new engine line, but said it would be the new version of the Generation V engine family.
Preparations related to the new investment are under way, Finch said.
“They’re making the announcement today because we have to do a lot of work to get ready for it, in terms of building the equipment and getting on with the project, but they haven’t released any details of the project,” Finch said.
Chuck Herr, shop chairman of United Auto Workers Local 774, which represents hourly workers at the Tonawanda plant, said the new investment “will help secure our future.”
The workers’ attention to detail and track record of successful product launches helped pave the way for the latest investment, Herr said.
“Remember, there are other plants that are losing shifts and other work that is going out of the country,” Herr said. “So we have many things to be grateful for this holiday season.”
At the Lockport site, the new components will consist of powertrain cooling applications for three different vehicles, but specifics have not been disclosed. Michael Branch, chairman of UAW Local 686 Unit 1, said the Lockport plant will soon launch production of the first of a series of components that are planned as part of the new investment.
Branch recalled the “perilous position” the Lockport site was in about five years ago.
“We had a few issues there, but our plant was really slated to close, and a lot of our members ended up (transferring to GM Tonawanda),” he said. “Yet here we are today, taking part in an investment announcement that nobody thought would happen for Lockport, or I should say, most people didn’t think would happen.”
UAW and GM leaders visited the Lockport plant four years ago and “saw our team working to find unique, non-traditional solutions to the barriers that kept us from pursuing new work,” Branch said.
Branch said union leaders focus on securing production of very competitive products, rather than just a headcount of employees at the plant to strengthen their place within GM.
“We’re looking for products that Lockport makes the best in the world,” Branch said. “There are some that we do. And those are the ones we know we can support GM with and make them a better company. And the headcount will organically follow. You get the work, you’re good at what you do, the headcount comes.”
James Lakeman, a UAW Region 9 representative, said the Lockport plant has “grown leaps and bounds in how they source things and how they bid things.”
Dilworth, the GM manufacturing director, said of the Tonawanda and Lockport plants: “They’re great plants and we’ve got a good partnership, and a willingness to work together to be competitive. In this global environment, that’s critical.”
GM in 2010 committed $825 million to the Tonawanda site to support two new engine lines, and invested a total of $44 million in its Lockport components plant in 2012 and 2013. The Rochester plant has received nearly $200 million in investment since 2011. |
Diagnosing medical conditions can be a tricky business at the best of times, but University of Virginia medical student Ryan Jones recently made the perfect call during a training exercise.
During the simulation last March, medical actor Jim Malloy's job was to accurately and convincingly portray a patient with the symptoms of abdominal aortic aneurysm, a condition in which a small section of the lower aorta begins to balloon.
The university medical facility says the condition is common in men between 65 and 75 years old, adding that such aneurysms can easily go undetected and possibly be fatal if they burst.
Even though it was just a simulation, Jones said he detected the symptoms of a real aneurysm. He felt a mass in Malloy's abdomen.
"I figured [the university] must have found a man with an aneurysm who was willing to volunteer," Jones said.
"I thought it was all prearranged," he said, adding that Malloy even kept in character when he informed him what he had found.
Jones informed an attending physician, who advised Malloy to consult a cardiologist.
A subsequent ultrasound revealed Malloy had a 5.9-centimetre-long aneurysm.
Last August, he underwent stent placement surgery at the university medical centre, and is now doing fine.
Since making that very real diagnosis, Jones has graduated from medical school and is currently applying for residency.
Click the audio at left to hear the interview from As It Happens with Jones and Malloy. |
Sleep Walking into a War The Great Cyber War: Part 1 Tobias Stone Blocked Unblock Follow Following Nov 30, 2017
Russian rioters handcuffed by police, Tallinn, Estonia 2007. Photo: STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images
We are 10 years into a war. A war most people don’t realise is happening, and which our governments are only just beginning to see. This is the Great Cyber War. If this was a conventional war, by now your street would have been bombed, friends would have been killed at the Front, and food would be running short. But this is a new war, a hybrid war, an information war. So instead, you are confused. Whenever you think you are sure of something, someone else will either counter it with an alternative truth, or will disagree with you so strongly that you wonder if your take on reality is correct. Our houses are still standing but our perception lies in ruins. The Great Cyber War started in 2007, and developed into two fronts. The Eastern Front began when Russia cyber-attacked Estonia, and the Western Front when Robert Mercer and Cambridge Analytica used social media to manipulate the Brexit Referendum, and then, alongside Russia, the Trump election. Along the way a smaller South Eastern Front opened up when kids in Macedonia realized they could cash in on the chaos. Other countries and dictators are also carving out their bits of the action, but the main war is Russia in the East, and Mercer in the West. Through highly targeted uses of Facebook and Twitter to disseminate fake stories, these forces have been working to undermine the democratic and open world order that rose from the ashes of the Second World War. In its place they seek to create a state of chaos, uninhibited capitalism, authoritarianism, and nationalism. This is the story of the Great Cyber War. In writing about it I link to articles that go into much more detail about each part of the story. If you want to understand what’s happening right now, you have to read a lot and connect the dots. What should we make of Brexit and Trump when it’s now clear they were the prefered outcomes of the Russian intelligence services, and a coterie of secretive billionaires? Traditionally, war is a noisy thing. Bombs and guns are loud, and tanks and soldiers are pretty obvious wherever they go. When Hitler started to invade Germany’s neighbours, whether they surrendered or fought, in the end either columns of soldiers and tanks rolled noisily along the roads, or planes dropped bombs and the armies made a lot of noise. Wars cause damage. There is no doubt about war; people die, cities get destroyed. It is an ugly, noisy, violent thing. But people slept through the beginning of the Great Cyber War. It made no noise. No one was killed. Cities remained intact. Most people didn’t even realise the Great Cyber War was happening, even when it was happening to them. It began quietly in a small country in North East Europe a decade ago. ESTONIA 2007 In 2007, Prime Minister Andrus Ansip of Estonia decided he would move the Bronze Soldier — a statue of the fallen Russian soldier that stood in the middle of his country’s capital, Tallinn. On the surface, this was a reasonable thing to do. Estonia had been occupied by Russia and Stalin transported Estonians to gulags in Siberia as part of a plan to suppress the Estonian language and culture.
The Medieval Old Town of Tallinn, Estonia. Photo: DEA/De Agostini/Getty Images
But Ansip was also a politician, and the Bronze Soldier was a touch-paper. Estonians, still angry about how they had been treated by Russia, wanted the statue out of the centre of their Capital. Why should they celebrate the heroes of a war that had left their country occupied and brutalised? But for Russians, the removal of the Bronze Soldier was yet another affront, a reminder that since the end of Communism they had been relegated to second-class citizens. Arguably the whole thing was handled badly, but unrest was also provoked in a way that would now be familiar to us, but then was a mystery.
Bronze Soldier Riots, Tallinn, Estonia 2007. Photo: STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images
On the night work began to move the statue, a small number of police encircled it as it was excavated to be moved to a cemetery on the edge of town. Protests turned to riots, and Tallinn fell into chaos for the night. Mysteriously, Russians across Tallinn were receiving text messages encouraging them to take to the streets. Back then, before we knew what we now know, it didn’t occur to anyone to wonder where these messages came from. At the same time, Nashi, a “youth NGO” sponsored by Putin’s Kremlin, formed violent protests outside the Estonian Embassy in Moscow, and the Estonian Ambassador was attacked as she left the building. The riots were accompanied by a serious and coordinated cyber attack against government websites, banks, and the media. Estonia considered it an act of war, and contacted NATO.
Bronze Soldier Riots, Tallinn, Estonia 2007. Photo: STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images |
The demonic skull can be purchased from the Mage of Zamorak in the Wilderness for 550,000 coins after the Abyss (miniquest). When worn, it gives increased experience in certain skills while in the Wilderness. A demonic skull icon is shown above the player's head while it is equipped. It is always lost when killed in PvP situations and 500,000 coins drops in its place.
Having the skull equipped removes the usual Wilderness level rules. Any player can be attacked by any other player, regardless of combat level, making the skull extremely dangerous for some players. Vengeance, Retribution, and Wrath do not work while the demonic skull is equipped.
Contents show]
Effects
Wilderness level restrictions are removed - wearers can be attacked by any other player, regardless of combat level
Vengeance, Retribution, and Wrath do not function for the wearer
Runecrafting experience from the Abyss will increase from 2.5 times the normal amount to 3.5 times the normal amount.
Agility experience gained from the Wilderness Agility Course is given a scaling increase starting at level 50; each level past 50 increases the experience by 4%. This means that at level 75 Agility, experience from the course is doubled, and at level 99 Agility experience is 296% the usual experience. Using agility boosting items such as a summer pie will not earn any additional experience.
The following actions have their experience rewards increased by 20%: Slayer experience from killing monsters for Slayer experience in the Wilderness. This is a multiplicative increase; that means killing monsters while on a Slayer contract (Wilderness) will give 44% experience, not 40%. Farming experience from the herb and flower patches in the Wilderness. Hunter experience from hunting charming moths Divination experience from converting the memories at the cursed wisp Divination colony
The demonic skull must be equipped prior to the player entering the Wilderness in order for its effects to be applied. If the player unequips the demonic skull, its bonuses will be removed until the player re-enters the Wilderness with it equipped or if the player interacts with any skilling activity affected by the demonic skull past level 20 Wilderness.
The Demonic Skull has no effect on Thieving experience from Rogue's Castle.
Store locations
This list was created dynamically. For help, see the FAQ. To force an update of this list, click here
Seller Location Cost Currency Base stock Members? Battle Runes Wilderness 550,000 Coins 100 Yes
Disassembly
Defined properties: All Junk chance: 98.9 Junk chance: 98.9
Trivia |
Monday is the last day for candidates to file for next year's election, and there are 12 candidates in the race to fill the seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Joe Barton. (Published Monday, Dec. 11, 2017)
Candidates Up Against the Last Day to File for 2018 Primary
Monday was the deadline for candidates to file for next year's election, and 12 candidates are vying to fill the seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Joe Barton.
It will be the first time since 1985 that someone other than Barton, a Republican from Ennis, will represent Texas' Sixth Congressional District.
Seven of the candidates are Republicans, and they had to decide quickly to enter the race, because Barton had originally announced plans to run again. But he reversed course after a nude photo surfaced online that he sent to a woman while separated from his wife, and another woman said she had received messages from Barton that were inappropriate.
Tarrant County GOP Chairman Tim O'Hare has not endorsed anyone in the Sixth District race, but he tells NBC 5 he believes former Tarrant County Tax Assessor-Collector Ron Wright is the frontrunner. Wright, who resigned his county job to run for Congress, was also an Arlington City councilman and worked for Barton for 11 years, including time spent as Barton's chief of staff.
Lone Star Politics: Sunday, December 10, 2017
This week, Democrats try to gain ground as the 2018 primaries near. Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez sits down to discuss her campaign for Governor. Longtime investigative reporter talks about his turn to politics, and how he plans to win House District 32. We discuss three Congressmen’s resignations in the wake of sexual harassment allegations. (Published Monday, Dec. 11, 2017)
Wright tells NBC 5 he is not concerned he will be tied to Barton in the race.
"For one thing, Joe Barton had a very distinguished career in Congress up until the latest embarrassment, but I have a public service record going back to the 1980s," Wright said.
Other Republicans who have filed in the race include Deborah Gagliardi, J.K "Jake" Ellzey, Mark Mitchell, Mel Hassell, Shawn Dandridge and Troy Ratterree.
Still, there is optimism at Tarrant County Democratic Party headquarters with the open seat in a traditionally conservative district. Five Democrats are in the race: Jana Lynne Sanchez, John W. Duncan, Justin Snider, Levii R. Shocklee and Ruby Faye Woolridge.
"These aren't red counties, these are non-voting counties. We have an opportunity if Democrats get up off their duffs, and go and vote to win this," said Tarrant County Democratic Party Chairwoman Deborah Peoples.
Peoples thinks the Democratic have an advantage, because their candidates have had a head start on fundraising since Barton left the race so late.
The Texas primaries will be held March 6, 2018; runoffs, if necessary, would be May 22. The general election is scheduled for Nov. 6, 2018. See other key 2018 elections dates here.
"I think the enthusiasm is out there. You have got people who are walking and working, so I think that Democrats have a good shot," she said.
Four Republicans are running to replace Wright as Tarrant County tax assessor-collector: former NBC 5 anchorman Mike Snyder, former Keller councilman Rick Barnes, former Mansfield councilwoman Wendy Burgess and Hurst Councilwoman Trasa Robertson Cobern.
Elsewhere in North Texas, former Dallas television reporter Brett Shipp announced last week he was joining the race for House District 32, while Lupe Valdez (D) resigned her position as Dallas County Sheriff to challenge incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott (R).
Former Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins said he may run for his old office, but announced Sunday that he was going to remain in the private sector.
MORE:To see a complete list of candidates in the March 2018 primary elections for any Texas county, visit the Secretary of State's website. |
Another cop was placed on administrative leave with pay in the handcuffing of a Utah hospital nurse who refused to take blood from an unconscious patient.
Salt Lake City’s mayor and police chief apologized Friday to Utah Hospital nurse, Alex Wubbels, who is seen in body cam video screaming “help me” after Detective Jeff Payne handcuffed and dragged her out of the hospital over her refusal to take the blood sample from the patient, a car-crash victim, on July 26.
The video has caused outrage since it was released Thursday.
Payne was placed on paid leave and prosecutors on Friday announced a a criminal investigation.
Police said Friday a second officer was also placed on paid leave. That officer has not been formally identified, but officials have said they also were reviewing the conduct of Payne's boss, a lieutenant who reportedly called for the arrest if Wubbels kept interfering.
Mayor Jackie Biskupski said Friday she was alarmed at what the video shows, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
“What I saw is completely unacceptable to the values of my administration and of the values of the Salt Lake City Police Department,” the mayor said, according to the paper. “I extend a personal apology to Ms. Wubbels for what she has been through for simply doing her job.”
The video shows Wubbels, an Alpine skier who participated in the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics, calmly explaining to Payne why she could not draw blood from the patient.
She tells him that blood can only be drawn if the patient is conscious and gives consent or is under arrest. Otherwise, she tells Payne she needs to see a warrant, citing a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
Payne is then seen threatening to arrest Wubbels.
“I either go away with blood in vials or body in tow,” Payne is seen saying.
Wubbels is then heard explaining the situation to the supervisor. She tells Payne that her supervisor agrees with her and says to him, “Sir, you’re making a huge mistake because you’re threatening a nurse.”
With that, Payne is seen placing Wubbels under arrest and physically shoving her out the door as she screams.
The video shows Wubbels yelling, “Help! Stop! I did nothing wrong!” while being handcuffed.
Payne was attempting to get a blood sample from William Gray, a reserve officer in Rigby, Idaho, who was burned after being involved in a head-on crash with a pickup truck driver who was fleeing police, the Washington Post reported. The driver died in the incident.
Payne wrote in a police report that he grabbed Wubbels and took her outside to avoid causing a "scene" in the emergency room. He said his boss told him to arrest Wubbels if she kept interfering.
The detective left Wubbels in a hot police car for 20 minutes before realizing that blood had already been drawn as part of treatment, her lawyer, Karra Porter, said. Wubbels was released without being arrested.
Payne initially remained on duty although he was suspended from blood-draw duties.
Christina Judd, a spokesperson for the Salt Lake City Police, said the department was alarmed by what they witnessed in the video.
PHOTOSHOPPED KKK HOODS ON HIGH SCHOOL CLASS PICTURE OUTRAGES PARENTS
Judd said the department was working to investigate what went wrong and is seeking to repair the “unfortunate rift” it had caused between officers and nurses.
“I can’t sit on this video and not attempt to speak out both to re-educate and inform,” Wubbels told The Salt Lake Tribune. Police departments “need to be having conversations about what is appropriate intervention.”
Her bosses have stood by her.
"University of Utah Health supports Nurse Wubbles and her decision to focus first and foremost on the care and well-being of her patient,” said Suzanne Winchester, the hospital's media relations manager. “She followed procedures and protocols in this matter and was acting in her patient’s best interest. We have worked with our law enforcement partners on this issue to ensure an appropriate process for moving forward.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report. |
Even the literature that seems most rooted in one place is animated by writing from elsewhere – and trying to keep that influence out is profoundly dangerous
Culture is not a purely national business. I work as a poet and translator and would find it inconceivable to read Chaucer without being aware of the figures of Dante and Boccaccio in the background, or Shakespeare without Plutarch. Or indeed TS Eliot (himself an immigrant to the UK) without referring to 100 texts from other states in other languages. This form of internationalism is the lifeblood of art. It is rootless, it is cosmopolitan, and it is free thinking.
I began writing at 17 in what was chronologically my second language, having arrived in England at the age of eight as a Hungarian refugee with no English. I cannot tell precisely what inner resources I brought with me at that age, but I was not a clean slate. That slate had already been written on by my family history, my parents, my city, my street and the events of my then short life. I was, like everyone else, a palimpsest.
The literatures of our particular island are many, all constantly being annotated and rewritten by those who arrive and leave to travel elsewhere. We all move, even within the island, if only from town to town. Each move amplifies and modifies our sense of place. The annotation does not erase the local: the palimpsest extends it. Indeed, the assumed stability of the local is created by extensions beyond itself. The village knows itself as village through the knowledge of other villages, as well as of towns and cities. The nation knows itself as nation through the encounter, not just with other nations, but the world. Each extension is a modification, each another layer of the palimpsest.
The government of Hungary has sought for six years to narrow the vista of imagination for its citizens by creating “patriotic” national libraries, “patriotic” art, to increase cohesion on its own terms and exclude those it considers outsiders. That policy locks down, excludes and redefines even its own citizens as loyal patriots or potentially hostile elements. Their patriotism proceeds not through love of country, but the exclusion of others from it. It seeks to define some pure cultural core that is Hungary and Hungary alone.
I had written a few poetry books in English before I began translating from the Hungarian in 1984. I translated fiction, poetry and drama because I was asked to and also because I was fascinated by what would happen when a work in one language was transferred into another. What happens when a poem by, say, Ágnes Nemes Nagy enters the domain of another language? What happens to fictions set in unfamiliar places, like the Budapest seen in Dezsö Kosztolányi’s Anna Édes? How can a work to be translated as the same, yet be different? That question haunts not just translation but migration. How are we different from each other, and how are we the same, especially when our origins and backgrounds differ in dramatic ways? That is the point. The works of foreign writers are not entirely about “them”. They are also about us.
There were not too many Hungarian writers in circulation in the UK when I started. The Hungarian national belief is that literature is the great hidden treasure of the nation but that no one else knows this because of the supposed difficulty of the language. There is so much we don’t know about others but ignorance is not bliss: it is smugness and prejudice. Ted Hughes, who together with Daniel Weissbort founded the journal Modern Poetry in Translation, was much influenced by the Hungarian poet János Pilinszky, whom he translated, and by the Serbian poet Vasko Popa, who offered a model for Hughes’s 1970 collection, Crow. Free movement of experience and sensibility creates new works, new ways of understanding.
My own main work in translation has been with the works of Sándor Márai (the author of Embers) and László Krasznahorkai (author of Satantango, among others). Both are authors of international stature who describe worlds we don’t know at first hand but sense as possibilities, as versions of truth, in ourselves. They reveal us.
My travels as a writer have taken me to many countries. In all of them, there is much that is the same and much that is different. We are in constant contact with each other through communications, through trade, through shared cultures, through political and economic ties. I have collaborated with translators from many languages. The summer before last, I was teaching a translation class that included Bangladeshi, Japanese, French, Italian and Polish students. We learned from each other not just ways of writing, but ways of seeing, and even being.
The Hungarian poet István Vas wrote a poem titled The Translator’s Vote of Thanks. It was composed in a dark time in the 1950s when he was not allowed to publish his own work, only translations. In the poem, he describes how the words of others liberated him. “Translating Nero’s rule of terror, I / Could see before me the equivalent,” he writes, and continues:
I thank you for the view beyond my cell,
That I could trust my message to your page,
Assuring, gracious giants in whom we dwell …
We want out and we want you out. The message is clear enough Read more
Whatever some politicians say, we are citizens of the world whether we admit it or not. We consume and live by that which was once strange and once we close doors and windows we begin to suffocate. The terms in which the EU referendum was conducted extended far beyond normal debate about the movement of peoples, whether refugees or poor workers seeking a better life. They sought and exploited a latent hostility towards the foreign, a hostility that has increased since the decision. What this can lead to is more than a lack of air. It is a kind of aridity that becomes combustible. A few sparks can do it. The conditions for combustibility are already in place in the UK and in other parts of Europe, particularly in the region where I was born, and – especially now – in Trump’s US. Isolationism and patriotism are on the rise, partly as political acts, partly as social mood, exacerbated by whatever means, for political reasons.
Drop enough sparks on dry ground and a fire starts. We have seen such fires before. The view beyond the cell, as Vas put it, is vital: better still to get out of the cell and out into the fertile world, and become its citizen. |
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” swung into theaters and snagged an estimated $73 million domestic debut this weekend from audiences looking for a blockbuster with brains.
The 20th Century Fox release unspooled across 3,967 U.S. theaters and was fueled by a glowing reviews, with many critics calling it the summer’s best popcorn film.
“It’s one of those rare times when critics and audiences agree and the confluence created a perfect storm for a phenomenal opening,” said Chris Aronson, president of domestic distribution at 20th Century Fox. “A lot of the movies over the last couple of weeks have been received on the tepid side, shall we say, so the market was ripe for a high quality, visually stunning film.”
Overseas, the film brought in $31.1 million from 26 markets, most of them smaller territories with the exception of Australia and South Korea.
Its U.S. debut exceeds the $60 million bow that tracking suggested it would hit and eclipses the $54.8 million bow of 2011’s “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.” Audiences were 58% male and 65% were 25 years or older, with the film skewing slightly younger than its predecessor. Roughly 8% of its domestic total came from premium large screen formats.
Related China Box Office: ‘Wandering Earth’ Reaches $557 Million in Second Week 'Minding the Gap' Chronicles a Boyhood Through Skateboarding
“With the critical response, we think that the older audience that sustained the first one will turn out and that will help give it legs,” said Aronson.
The studio set production costs at $170 million, a figure that the “Apes” sequel should have no trouble recouping when taking into account its international haul. After this weekend, the more-than-4-decade-old “Apes” franchise has passed the $1 billion mark — a just reward for enduring Charlton Heston in a loincloth and Helena Bonham Carter in a monkey suit.
Matt Reeves (“Cloverfield”) directed the sequel, which swapped the bulk of the cast from the previous film, but kept the post-apocalyptic, Bay Area vibe. The picture finds the human survivors of a global pandemic trying to navigate a world where genetically modified simians have the upper hand. Chernin Entertainment produced the film and Fox financed it.
In limited release, Richard Linklater’s “Boyhood” debuted to $359,000 from just five locations in New York and Los Angeles. It also secured the second highest per-screen average of the year behind Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and the highest average of Linklater’s career with $71,800. Filmed over a 12-year period for $5 million, the picture traces one boy’s development into young adulthood — a remarkable cinematic accomplishment that has earned the director rapturous reviews.
“Ever since we debuted the film at Sundance, it’s been such a great trip,” said Jonathan Sehring, president of IFC Films. “Now that the general public is responding to it in a way that, I would not say is beyond our wildest dreams, but is with the same sort of pleasure viewing it that we have, it’s really gratifying.”
The indie label will expand the film into the ten major markets next weekend, representing between 30 to 60 screens, Sehring said.
“We want to keep it slow and not go out on 800 screens in week two or three,” he said. “The awareness is high, the media attention has been tremendous, and the word of mouth in the Twitter-sphere and social media universe is outstanding, so we’re going to continue to build on this.”
Internationally, “Boyhood” has opened in four territories including Germany and the United Kingdom and has picked up $3.2 million abroad. Universal is distributing the film overseas, while IFC handles the domestic rollout.
“Transformers: Age of Extinction” slid into the No. 2 spot on the Stateside box office charts, picking up $16.5 million and pushing its domestic total to $209 million. Internationally, the film continues to be a monster, bringing in $102 million and goosing its foreign tally to $543.5 million.
It continues to perform better in China, where parts of it were filmed, than in the U.S., adding another $25 million from the People’s Republic and putting its record-setting bounty from the country at $262.6 million to date. Because of trade agreements, Paramount will only get 25% of the box office receipts, a smaller fraction than less protectionist countries.
In its second week of release, “Tammy” held well, dropping 40% to $12.9 million, despite poor reviews and a C+ CinemaScore. The film has now earned $57.3 million after two weeks in theaters. Although some coverage has portrayed the film as the death knell for Melissa McCarthy’s brand of humor and its finale numbers will fall short of “Identity Thief” and “The Heat’s” hauls, it’s worth noting the New Line release has nearly tripled its $20 million production budget.
“She really has a core audience that loves her and in those markets the movie is playing really well and enjoying a terrific hold,” said Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros.
Fellman said the film is performing strongly in the South and Midwest and expects the picture to top out at $90 million domestically.
Relativity’s “Earth to Echo” also had good legs, falling 34% to $5.5 million in its second frame and putting its total at $24.6 million. The $13 million production seems to be benefiting from a lack of family product in the marketplace.
Sliding in at the fourth and fifth spots on the domestic chart were “22 Jump Street” with $6.7 million, propelling its total to $172 million, and “How to Train Your Dragon 2” with $5.9 million, pushing its take to $152 million.
Then there were the limited releases. In its third week in theaters, the Weinstein Co.’s “Begin Again” picked up $2.9 million from 939 locations, pushing its total to $5.3 million, while Dinesh D’Souza’s politically charged “America” added $2.4 million to its $8.3 million bounty, a testament to the commercial power of provocation.
Not all the numbers are in, but analysts expect that the summer box office will continue to lag behind last year’s record-setting figures. This weekend was off nearly 25% from the same period 2013, when “Pacific Rim” and “Grown Ups 2” debuted in theaters, and the overall U.S. box office is down 5.2%.
Though this summer lacks a four-quadrant hit on the scale of “Iron Man 3,” there are also fewer films that have grossed between $80 million to $150 million — a club last year that included such members as “The Conjuring” ($137.4 million), “We’re the Millers” ($150.4 million) and “This Is the End” ($101.4 million).
“You need those to fill out the summer and create a more robust slate,” said Phil Contrino, chief analyst and vice president of BoxOffice.com. “You need movies like that to connect. You can’t just rely on tentpoles.” |
We’ve already seen signs of mission creep in Syria. This week, the Trump administration completely reversed its position on Assad’s political future. Having stated that removing Assad was no longer a priority, the administration then announced that there was no place for the dictator in Syria’s future, and “steps are underway” to remove him. After the air strikes, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said the United States was “prepared to do more.” Russia announced that relations with the United States were “completely ruined.” Hawkish senators like John McCain and Lindsey Graham urged a broader mission to ground Assad’s entire air force.
Wars have a habit of evolving in unexpected ways due to a combination of psychology, domestic political pressures, and strategic interactions. Psychologists have found that the act of committing to a decision—like launching air strikes against Syria—can make decision-makers overconfident that they made the right choice. A classic study from the 1960s showed that after people made a bet at a racetrack they immediately became more confident their horse would win. Psychologists Heinz Heckhausen and Peter Gollwitzer later developed this idea into the “Rubicon Model of Action Phases,” named after Caesar’s fateful choice in 49 BCE. When people first weigh up different options, they are fairly objective and clear-headed. But after making a decision, they become zealots of their chosen course of action—and suddenly wildly optimistic it will succeed. As Gollwitzer put it: “Choosing between action goals leads to realism; and implementing chosen goals leads to positive illusions.” After Trump crossed the Rubicon, any doubts he had may have been replaced by confidence—the kind of mindset that could easily broaden the war.
Another escalatory dynamic comes from how the operation is framed. Leaders sell military campaigns to the American people using highly moralistic language. But this makes it difficult to end the war with anything less than regime change. Trump described the chemical weapons attacks as “a disgrace to humanity” and said, “no child of God should ever suffer such horror.” If Assad is so evil that the United States must use force, how can America let this devil stay in power?
And, of course, the other guy gets a vote, which can dramatically shape the course of the fighting. Assad, or one of his allies like Hezbollah or Iran, might conceivably retaliate against the United States or Israel, essentially forcing the White House into further escalation. More likely, however, is that Assad will respond by pushing boundaries and then claiming victory. Limited air strikes rarely cause regimes to significantly alter their behavior for one simple reason—the regime doesn’t want to look weak, either at home or abroad. Assad is engaged in an existential fight. His country is in ruins. Half the population is displaced. He’s not going to bend to America’s will because of a few craters on an airfield. Instead, Assad will probably respond by avoiding an explicit repeat of the sarin gas attack, and returning to tried and tested techniques like systematic torture, barrel bombs, chlorine weapons, or the real weapon of mass destruction, shelling—all the while boasting about his defiance of America. |
Ephraim Katzir (Hebrew: אפרים קציר Efrayim Katsir; 16 May 1916 – 30 May 2009) was an Israeli biophysicist and Israeli Labor Party politician. He was the fourth President of Israel from 1973 until 1978.[1]
Biography [ edit ]
Katzir was born Efraim Katchalski, son of Yehuda and Tzila Katchalski, in Kiev, in the Russian Empire (today in Ukraine). In 1925 (several publications cite 1922[2]), he immigrated to Mandate Palestine with his family and settled in Jerusalem. In 1932, he graduated from Gymnasia Rehavia.[3] Like his brother, Aharon, he was interested in science. He studied botany, zoology, chemistry and bacteriology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 1938, he received an M.Sc, and in 1941, he received a PhD degree.[3] In 1939, he graduated from the first Haganah officers course, and became commander of the student unit in the field forces ('Hish). He and his brother worked on development of new explosives. In May, 1948, Ephraim was appointed commander of the "Heyl Mada" (HEMED) – scientific research and development corps.[4] His brother, Aharon Katzir, chairman of the Department of Polymer Research at Weizmann Institute, was murdered in the Lod Airport Massacre.
Katzir was married to Nina (née Gottlieb), born in Poland, who died in 1986. As an English teacher, Nina developed a unique method for teaching language. As the president's wife, she introduced the custom of inviting children books' authors and their young readers to the President's Residence. She established the Nurit Katzir Jerusalem Theater Center in 1978 in memory of their deceased daughter, Nurit, who died after inhaling gas and another daughter, Irit, killed herself.[5] They had a son, Meir, and three grandchildren. Katzir died on 30 May 2009 at his home in Rehovot.[3][6]
Scientific career [ edit ]
After continuing his studies at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, Columbia University and Harvard University, he returned to Israel and became head of the Department of Biophysics at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, an institution he helped to found. In 1966–1968, Katzir was Chief Scientist of the Israel Defense Forces.[3] His initial research centered on simple synthetic protein models, but he also developed a method for binding enzymes, which helped lay the groundwork for what is now called enzyme engineering.
Presidency [ edit ]
President Katzir meeting with Bedouin sheikhs
In 1973, Golda Meir contacted Katzir at Harvard University, asking him to accept the presidency. He hebraicized his family name to Katzir, which means 'harvest'.
On 10 March 1973, Katzir was elected by the Knesset to serve as the fourth President of Israel. He received 66 votes to 41 cast in favour of his opponent Ephraim Urbach and he assumed office on 24 May 1973.
In November 1977, he hosted President Anwar Sadat of Egypt in the first ever official visit of an Arab head of state. In 1978, he declined to stand for a second term due to his wife's illness,[6] and was succeeded by Yitzhak Navon. After stepping down as President, he returned to his scientific work.
Awards and commemoration [ edit ]
References [ edit ] |
Japan 'ignoring laws' as it starts whale hunt
Updated
Conservation groups have accused the Japanese whaling fleet of ignoring international law as the fleet prepares to head off on its annual whale hunt.
Every November the Japanese whaling fleet heads to the Southern Ocean for its so-called scientific research program.
This year the quota includes 935 minke whales and 50 fin whales.
Three years ago, 50 humpbacks were added to that quota but are yet to be included in the cull.
International Fund for Animal Welfare spokesman Patrick Ramage says humpbacks could be the target this year.
"What they've essentially done is said 'one false move in these ongoing discussions and the humpback gets it'," he said.
"They've used the threat of killing humpback whales to leverage outcomes at the negotiating table.
"Fifty humpbacks remain under threat as the fleet departs Japan this year for the sanctuary."
Mr Ramage says killing whales in a marine sanctuary is illegal under international law.
"It's absolutely unacceptable that Japan is continuing to harpoon them, doubly so that it's in an international sanctuary," he said.
But the spokesman for the Japanese Institute of Cetacean research, Glenn Inwood, has rejected the accusations.
He says the cull is in the name of science.
"A sanctuary doesn't apply to research whaling," he said.
"That's been accepted by the Australian Government, the New Zealand government and also the rest of the International Whaling Commission."
The Federal Government is taking Japan to the International Court of Justice over its whaling practices, but formal proceedings are not expected to be heard until next year.
Topics: whaling, environment, conservation, government-and-politics, foreign-affairs, world-politics, japan, australia
First posted |
Entity Framework and Open Source Thursday, July 19, 2012
The Entity Framework has advanced significantly over the last few years. A little over a year ago we released EF 4.1, which introduced the new DbContext API and EF “Code First” support. Earlier this year we delivered EF 4.3, which provides Code First Migration support that enables developers to easily evolve database schema in a code optimized way. And we are now in the final stages of wrapping up the EF 5 release, which adds enum support, spatial data types, table-valued function support and some significant performance and Visual Studio Tooling improvements.
One of the things the team has done throughout the EF4 and EF5 development cycles has been to involve the community early as we make design decisions and solicit as much feedback as possible. Going forward with EF 6 we are looking to take this to the next level by moving to an open development model.
The Entity Framework source code is today being released under an open source license (Apache 2.0), and the code repository is now hosted on CodePlex (using Git) to further increase development transparency. This will enable everyone in the community to be able to engage and provide feedback on code checkins, bug fixes, new feature development and build and test the product on a daily basis using the most up to date version of the source code and tests. Community contributions will also be welcomed, so you can help shape and build Entity Framework into an even better product. You can find all the details on the Entity Framework CodePlex Site.
Last December the Windows Azure SDKs adopted this open development model, and in March of this year I blogged about how ASP.NET MVC, ASP.NET Web API and ASP.NET Razor were also adopting this approach. These products have all found the open development approach to be a great way to build a tighter feedback loop with the community, and at the end of the day deliver even better products.
Same Support, Same Developers, More Investment
Very importantly – Microsoft will continue to ship official builds of Entity Framework as a fully supported Microsoft product both standalone as well as part of Visual Studio (the same as today). It will continue to be staffed by the same Microsoft developers that build it today, and will be supported through the same Microsoft support mechanisms. Our goal with today’s announcement is to increase the development feedback loop even more, allowing us to deliver an even better product.
The team is really excited to move to this more open development approach. You’ll see some exciting new features committed very soon.
Learn More
Head over to the Entity Framework Codeplex Site to learn more and get involved. Also check out the EF 6 roadmap page on the CodePlex site for more details about features that will be coming in the next major release. And read about the new Microsoft Open Tech Hub and some of the process changes we are making to help enable this and other collaborations with the open source community.
Hope this helps,
Scott
P.S. In addition to blogging, I use Twitter to-do quick posts and share links. My Twitter handle is: @scottgu |
Niketas Oryphas or Oöryphas (Greek: Νικήτας ὁ Ὀρύφας or Ὠορυφᾶς, fl. 860–873)[1] was a distinguished Byzantine official, patrikios,[2] and admiral under the Byzantine emperors Michael III (r. 842–867) and Basil I the Macedonian (r. 867–886), who achieved several naval victories against the Cretan Saracen raiders.
Biography [ edit ]
Under Michael III [ edit ]
Nothing is known of Niketas Ooryphas's early life. Several people surnamed Ooryphas are recorded in sources during the first half of the 9th century, all of them in high naval positions, but any family relation is conjectural.[3]
Niketas Ooryphas first appears in our sources in 860, as urban prefect of Constantinople, when a Rus' fleet suddenly appeared in the entrance to the Bosporus and started pillaging the city's suburbs. In his capacity as urban prefect, Ooryphas made a report to Emperor Michael III, who was campaigning against the Arabs in Asia Minor. At a subsequent date, he was appointed in a position in the Byzantine navy, and in 867 he was in charge of the Imperial Fleet (droungarios tou ploïmou).[1] As such he sailed with 100 ships in relief of Ragusa against an Arab siege which had already lasted 15 months,[2] and restored the imperial suzerainty over the coasts of Dalmatia.[4] It is, however, possible that Ooryphas already had naval experience, as he may be identifiable with one of the commanders of the 853 attack on Damietta.[5]
Under Basil the Macedonian [ edit ]
Madrid Skylitzes. Ooryphas punishes the Cretan Saracens, as depicted in the
Although he had risen to high rank under Michael III and had protested the usurpation of the Byzantine throne by Basil I the Macedonian in 867, Ooryphas was quickly won over and retained in office by the latter,[1] and went on to become the perhaps most successful Byzantine admiral of his age.[6]
In 869, Ooryphas led the Byzantine fleet that sailed in support of Louis II who was besieging Bari, but on arriving there, he found the Frankish army dispersed in winter quarters, and caused a diplomatic episode by referring to Louis, who claimed the title of Emperor of the Romans, merely as "king". As a result of the quarrel, the main part of the Byzantine force left, without participating in the siege of the city.[7]
In ca. 873, Ooryphas defeated the Cretan Saracens in the Gulf of Saros,[8] and soon after followed this success with another: while the Saracens were campaigning off the western coasts of Greece, he had his men drag his ships overland across the Isthmus of Corinth, thereby surprising the Saracen fleet in the Corinthian Gulf and defeating them.[9] Ooryphas subsequently disappears from the scene, although he may have led the Imperial Fleet in its actions for a few years before being replaced by the droungarios Nasar, including the recapture of Bari and, briefly, of Cyprus.[10]
References [ edit ] |
The economist and Glasgow research fellow on why stopping benefit payments is counterproductive and must not be rolled out more widely
The workhouse aside, there’s never been a social security programme that delivered as much pain for so little gain as the “great sanctions campaign” imposed on unemployed people over the first half of this decade, reckons David Webster. The human and financial collateral damage from this most quixotic of policies – the idea that stopping someone’s benefit payments incentivises them to look for work – far outweighs the slender employment benefits it has delivered.
Webster, 72, an economist by training, retired senior local government official and now an honorary research fellow at the University of Glasgow, is arguably the country’s leading benefit sanctions expert. For the past five years he has meticulously tracked and analysed their use, scrutinising fuzzy official statistics and extravagant ministerial claims, and documenting the impact of sanctions in detailed quarterly briefings and academic papers. A longer, analytical history of sanctions is in preparation.
Grenfell residents feared benefit sanctions – they are too used to being ignored | Frances Ryan Read more
The sanctions campaign is now effectively over, he believes. Sanctions were ratcheted up under the coalition government, and peaked at over a million in 2013 in what looks now like an almost frenzied, indiscriminate programme. After a public outcry over the reported cruelties and abuses meted out by job centres, sanctions rates dropped. In 2016, they fell to under 350,000, partly as a result of rising employment. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is still wedded to the principle of sanctions, but Webster believes it now runs scared of bad publicity. It was no surprise, he says, that ministers have suspended the sanctions regime for unemployed Grenfell Tower residents: “Grenfell seems to have evoked public sympathy on a truly dramatic scale and the DWP doesn’t want to be on the wrong side of it. Of course, objectively, the distress suffered by Grenfell residents will often be no worse than that of tens of thousands of sanctioned claimants undergoing different types of crisis.”
Behind the growth of benefit sanctions was the idea that jobless individuals were essentially moribund and needed to be “activated” into work under threat of punishment. Traditionally a penalty for refusing the definite offer of a suitable job, they became from the 1990s onwards a punishment “for not doing something which the state thinks might help you get a job”. This notion gained traction under new Labour, but in 2010 the coalition’s work and pensions secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, took it to another level, influenced by special advisers drawn from rightwing thinktanks. These were people, reckons Webster, “with no experience of social security issues and no idea about what poor people’s lives are like”.
The new regime forced claimants to sign commitments agreeing to spend at least 35 hours a week looking for work. The volume of jobs they applied for was monitored, regardless of suitability or outcome, and failure to meet these often arbitrary targets was punished, often capriciously. Long-term unemployed people placed on the government’s work programme were sanctioned in large numbers. Between 2010 and 2015 roughly a quarter of all jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) claimants saw their benefits stopped for between four weeks and three years, mainly for failing to actively seek work, or missing a jobcentre appointment. Former jobcentre staff alleged at a parliamentary inquiry that they had been threatened with disciplinary action if they failed to sanction enough claimants.
There may be fewer sanctions now but the consequences for many claimants remain catastrophic: destitution, hunger, illness, debt. Impoverishment stemming from a benefit sanction loomed large in the lonely death in 2013 of diabetic ex-soldier David Clapson. Academic research shows that where sanctions levels rise, so does food bank use. By 2015, it was hard to find anyone outside of the DWP who supported sanctions: even the private firms hired by ministers to get the long-term jobless into work declared that for the vast majority of their clients, sanctions were “more likely to hinder their journey into employment”.
Destitution is back. And we can’t just ignore it | Patrick Butler Read more
Indeed, evidence of any positive effects for claimants and taxpayer has been elusive, says Webster. Shortly before he quit in 2016, Duncan Smith claimed that “sanctions are the reason why we now have the highest employment levels ever in the UK”. Such claims are baseless, says Webster. It is striking, he believes, that the DWP has refused to properly evaluate the policy, despite calls from MPs, the public spending watchdog and the minister’s own independent advisory committee. “They are scared of the evidence,” he reckons.
The National Audit Office (NAO) concluded last year that there was limited evidence sanctions actually worked. “What [the NAO] showed was that benefit sanctions in relation to JSA did increase the likelihood of people getting into a job but [it] also pointed out that the earnings weren’t good,” he says. “So the evidence was people were being pushed into jobs, but worse jobs than they would have got if they had taken their time.” It also found that sanctions caused disabled and chronically ill people who claimed employment support allowance (ESA) to spend less time in work, suggesting the effect was to discourage them from getting a job.
“You would think that if government was rational it would have suspended ESA sanctions immediately. But of course it hasn’t done anything of the sort.”
Webster argues that sanctions operate in what is essentially a secret penal system: “The question [it asks claimants] is: ‘Have you done what you are supposed to do? Have you broken the rules?’ It has become a judicial system. It’s not about entitlement, it is about whether you did or did not do what the state thinks you should have done. It’s become an inquiry into your behaviour.” While it is explicitly about punishing people – with higher penalties than those available in magistrates courts – there is no real public scrutiny. Sanction referrals and decisions are both controlled by the secretary of state, with no independent adjudication, hearing or legal representation prior to the decision.
Webster is aghast at “sinister” proposals – currently being trialled by DWP – to subject low-income workers to sanctions should they fail to work what the jobcentre decides are sufficient hours each week. The cyclical and irregular nature of much modern low-paid work means some people will be therefore permanently subject to sanctions. “The problem is if you introduce conditionality for low-paid work as well as unemployment it means some people are going to be living out their whole lives subject to this infantilising regime. You are never going to escape from it. What a terrible situation to put British citizens into.”
He believes there is a good prospect of reform, even if the present government would never dare to change the system (”to do so would open a can of worms and scatter them over the front pages for months”). The Labour party, he notes, is committed to scrap punitive sanctions. His own preference would be to revert to the pre-1986 system, scrapping the compulsory job search and training aspects. “This would not rule out employment support, far from it. It would mean that jobcentres, instead of policing benefit claims, would be offering employment support. Not such an outrageous thing to do.”
Curriculum vitae
Age: 72.
Lives: Glasgow.
Family: Married, grown-up son and daughter.
Education: John Fisher School, Purley; Queens’ College, Cambridge, BA economics; University of Glasgow, MBA and PhD on labour market impacts of deindustrialisation; fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and Chartered Institute of Housing.
Career: 2003-present: honorary senior research fellow, Urban Studies, University of Glasgow; 1981-2010: housing strategy manager, Glasgow city council; 1978-81: associate lecturer in housing, Brunel University; 1976-80: principal research officer, Centre for Environmental Studies; 1972-76: statistician, London Boroughs Association; 1969-72: research officer, London School of Economics.
Public life: Former specialist adviser to House of Commons Environment, Education & Employment/Social Security and Scottish Affairs committees.
Interests: Family, playing the piano, exploring the countryside, politics, urban regeneration. |
Updates from Haiti below -- Follow the latest breaking news via our Haiti Twitter list -- See the latest images here -- Find out how you can help here.
Also note that in order to keep page loading smoothly we've archived earlier posts, which you can access by scrolling to the bottom and clicking on the respective page numbers.
Please email tips, thoughts, information, complaints to me here.
* * * * *
Report on ongoing relief efforts
The State Department tweets that Americans have now donated more than $9 million for Haiti relief via text message.
"It's shattered any record that we've seen with mobile giving before," the Red Cross's social media manager told CNN. CNN said the Red Cross was stunned by the level of digital fundraising. The current figure more is more than double the $4 million that was donated to all charities by text message during 2009, the Red Cross said.
See how much major corporations are donating here.
Wireless companies are responding to the unprecedented number of text message donations by expediting them to ensure they reach their destination much faster than usual, according to the New York Times' Bits blog. Typically it can take weeks, even months, for such donations to reach the intended aid organization, as CNN noted today. But as a Verizon spokesman told the Times:
"We are bypassing our normal financing accounting and checks and balances. We're doing it because the humanitarian need is immediate."
Verizon says it has so far transmitted $3 million in aid to the American Red Cross; Sprint reported having transmitted $1.2 million to a variety of charities.
* * * * *
7:30 PM ET: Fear that time is running out -- The latest from the AP paints an increasingly desperate picture:
Pushed to the far edge of desperation, earthquake-ravaged Haitians dumped decaying bodies into mass graves and begged for water and food Friday amid fear that time is running out to avoid chaos and to rescue anyone still alive in the wreckage. The U.S. military brought some relief, taking control of the airport, helping coordinate flights bringing in aid and evacuating foreigners and the injured. Medical teams, meanwhile, set up makeshift hospitals, workers started to clear the streets of corpses and water was being distributed in pockets of the city. But the task was enormous. Aid workers and authorities warned that unless they can quickly get aid to the people, Port-au-Prince will degenerate into lawlessness.
7:15 PM ET: U.S. General says world has an "opportunity" in Haiti
6:35 PM ET: Photos of bodies being pulled in the streets -- There have been a good number of truly haunting images coming out of Haiti from the many photographers doing essential journalism down there (Damon Winter's on front of the New York Times this morning was particularly striking.) Here's a slideshow from TIME that provides a good overview of the events of the last few days.
6:30 PM ET: Clinton heading to Haiti Saturday -- From the AP:
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says she is heading to Haiti to inspect the damage from this week's devastating earthquake firsthand. Clinton will travel with USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah Saturday. She plans to meet with President Rene Preval and other Haitian officials. She says she will inspect U.S. relief efforts. Clinton says she wants to convey to the Haitian people "our long term, unwavering support, solidarity and sympathies."
6:25 PM ET: U.S. could take larger security role in Haiti -- From the AP:
The top U.S. military officer is leaving open the possibility of a growing security role for U.S. forces if desperation turns to violence in Haiti, a risky undertaking in a country that was chaotic even before this week's devastating earthquake. U.S. forces sent to Haiti to help relief efforts are operating under what two military officials said Friday is an adaptation of standard military rules of engagement that allows for self-defense even though the Pentagon does not expect a need for it. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to characterize the confidential rules.
6:20 PM ET: Search for relief grows more desperate -- From the AP:
Pockets of looting flared across the capital. Small bands of young men and teenagers with machetes roaming downtown streets helped themselves to whatever they could find in wrecked homes. "They are scavenging everything. What can you do?" said Michel Legros, 53, as he waited for help to search for seven relatives buried in his collapsed house. A Russian search-and-rescue team said the general insecurity was forcing them to suspend their efforts after nightfall. "The situation in the city is very difficult and tense," said team chief Salavat Mingaliyev, according to Russia's Interfax news agency.
5:35 PM ET: Obama grants Temporary Protected Status to Haitians The Obama administration, which earlier this week imposed a temporary halt on deportations for Haitian immigrants with expulsion orders, has now granted them Temporary Protected Status, which will allow them to stay and work in the country for 18 months.
5:15 PM ET: Relief work in high gear -- The Christian Science Monitor takes a look at how relief groups are working around the clock to reach victims of the earthquake:
Teams from across the world have been arriving in Haiti since the first hours after the quake. Many have not gotten any more than a few minutes of sleep, if any. The more than 20 countries here - in addition to the UN, World Bank, and numerous private groups - have already pledged aid to Haiti. Brazil is dispatching aircraft with food and water, Cuba has sent 30 doctors, and Israel dispatched a rescue staff of 240. At the Port-au-Prince airport, military planes from Venezuela and Colombia had landed, bringing in supplies.
4:45 PM ET: Should Haitians be given special status due to the earthquake? TIME's Carmen Gentile asks the question:
Unlike undocumented immigrants from similarly troubled countries, those from the island nation detained by U.S. immigration officials have quickly been ordered to be deported back. Now, the catastrophe may lead the Obama Administration to reconsider the controversial policy. Indeed, soon after the earthquake, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano imposed a temporary halt to deportations, allowing 30,000 Haitians with expulsion orders to remain in the U.S. Until the President decides otherwise, however, the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) that grants a semblance of asylum to migrants from six countries will still exclude those from Haiti.
4:30 PM ET: Missing NYU students found -- We wrote yesterday about two NYU students who were said to be missing following the earthquake. Happy to report that they were both found safe today.
As the Washington Post mentioned earlier today, Twitter users are using the hashtag #rescuemehaiti in an attempt to help direct rescue teams to those who are trapped or in need of urgent assistance.
USAforHaiti RT @clarlune: RT @yveno76: URGENT Rescue team needed at lycee Anacaona Leogane students are still trapped.. Please RT... #rescuemehaiti
4:20 PM ET: American doctor rescued -- A 65-year-old American doctor from New Jersey who was trapped in Port-au-Prince's Hotel Montana has been rescued after 50 hours buried in the rubble. Sarla Chand, who is from Teaneck, was freed by French firefighters. CBS has a report:
3:55 PM ET: Miracle amid the rubble -- The New York Daily News has a moving story about a four-year-old boy who was rescued three days after being buried alive inside his home.
3:45 PM ET: France asks creditors to cancel debt -- From the AP:
France on Friday urged Haiti's creditors to speed efforts to cancel the impoverished Caribbean nation's debt, a stranglehold that began two centuries ago when Napoleon demanded reparations for the island's independence. In 1825, France demanded 150 million francs in gold as reparations for lands lost by former slave owners. Haiti took massive loans from American, German and French banks at exorbitant rates of interest to pay back France.
3:30 PM ET: Trapped woman rescued -- Raw video of a woman being pulled from the rubble at a collapsed shopping center by a search and rescue team from Iceland yesterday.
3:20 PM ET: Streets full of bodies -- AP has aerial footage of the streets of Haiti, where bodies can be seen lying everywhere.
Some more aerial footage, this time surveying the destruction as of today:
3:00 PM ET: Americans desperate to leave Haiti -- AP has footage of a tense scene at the airport where people are trying to get out of Haiti. U.S. citizens were frantically waiving their passports as U.S. soldiers who were trying to sort out people to be evacuated.
2:30 PM ET: Pelosi says earthquake may give Haiti "fresh start" -- Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi said today she hopes US aid to the country would help it achieve a "new, fresh start," while acknowledging that it was a "very sad time":
"From my own experience with earthquakes, being from San Francisco, I think that this can be an opportunity for a real boom economy in Haiti," Pelosi said.
2:20 PM ET: Obama says "we will do what it takes"
11:30 AM ET: Update on relief efforts -- A round-up of reports:
--A White House spokesman announced that as of this morning Americans have donated more than $8 million for Haiti relief via text message. The donation system, set up by the Red Cross and the State Department, allows people to donate $10 at a time by texting HAITI to 90999. For more information on how you can help, visit HuffPost's Impact page.
--UN says 6,000 pounds of food is to be distributed, and that earlier reports of looting at its warehouse were overblown
--Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says 9,000 - 10,000 US troops will be in Haiti by Monday to help distribute aid.
--U.N. aid organizations plan to launch an emergency appeal to raise $550 million, a spokeswoman said today.
--Comcast says it will donate $1 million to disaster relief.
--Madonna announced that she has donated $250,000 for disaster relief, and is asking others to match her.
11:00 AM ET: Why it's so hard to get relief into Haiti -- Simply landing at the airport is a major logistical challenge, the AP says:
U.S. military air traffic controllers are scrambling to keep earthquake aid flowing into the Haitian capital without the use of a control tower or radar, and amid struggles over fuel, tarmac space and even staircases to access planes. With all the hurdles facing rescue and relief efforts in this shattered city, it appears the first to overcome are at its major entry point for supplies. U.S. federal officials halted nonmilitary flights for eight hours Thursday at the request of the Haitian government, leaving dozens of planes circling.
10:55 AM ET: U.S. troops arriving -- AP has some raw video of US troops arriving in Haiti this morning, as well as footage of them helping those who are injured.
10:50 AM ET: "We can all do something" -- First Lady Michelle Obama releases a public service announcement telling people what they can do to help.
10:45 AM ET: Donations on track to break record -- USA Today reports that the level of giving to Haiti is on course to exceed the private donations made in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 tsunami in Asia. After Katrina, Americans gave a total of $6.47 billion in private donations.
10:30 AM ET: Where will all the money go? -- AP takes a look at the difficulties in channeling relief money to Haiti:
Haiti has received billions of dollars in taxpayer and private aid from the United States and others, yet is so poor that few homes had safe drinking water, sewage disposal or electricity even before the earthquake. With sympathetic donors around the world sending money, making sure that aid is spent properly will be a challenge. Corruption, theft and other crime and Haiti's sheer shortage of fundamentals -- reliable roads, telephone and power lines and a sound financial system -- add to the difficulty as foreign governments and charities try not only to help Haiti recover from the disaster but pull itself out of abject poverty. It is one of the poorest places on Earth. Most basic public services are lacking, people typically live on less than $2 a day, nearly half the population is illiterate and the government has a history of instability. The public has little opportunity to be sure that aid to the government is used honestly and well. Nor is following the money easy for donors, including the United States, 700 miles away and one of the country's biggest helpers.
10:15 AM ET: $8 million for Haiti relief -- A White House spokesman announced that as of this morning Americans have donated more than $8 million for Haiti relief via text message. The donation system, set up by the Red Cross and the State department, allows people to donate $10 at a time by texting HAITI to 90999. For more information on how you can help, visit HuffPost's Impact page.
10:00 AM ET: Burying the dead -- As mentioned last night, the Miami Herald filed a heartbreaking report about the overwhelming scene at the Port-au-Prince morgue. According to Haitian President Rene Preval, the government has managed to remove around 7,000 corpses from the streets and morgues in order to bury them in mass graves.
Here's a report from Reuters about the bodies piled up in the streets. The narrator compares the scene to that of a war zone.
9:30 AM ET: Reporters reflect on what's gone on -- Jonathan Katz, an AP correspondent in Port-au-Prince, has written a moving reflection on the last few days in Haiti and how they've redefined the country's relationship to tragedy. Here's an excerpt:
The city is a ruin. Fuel, food and water are running in short supply. Mothers have lost their children. Children have lost their families. Entire neighborhoods are sleeping in the streets. People walk miles up and down mountains, carrying everything they own, with no real place to go. But here is what is new: You have perhaps seen the pictures of the national palace smashed into a lurching heap over the grassy Champs de Mars. Or of the collapsed twin spires of the Notre Dame d'Haiti cathedral complex, which claimed the life of the archbishop. Or of the collapsed parliament where the senate president remained trapped Wednesday. Imagine if nearly all the institutions in your life -- flawed, but still the only ones -- disappeared, all at once. In a life where the next meal is uncertain, where the next rain may claim your home, where the next election may happen or not -- where that is the normal. Think of having those institutions smashed all around you. At the very moment when you have lost someone, perhaps many people, you loved.
In the video below, another AP reporter, Rich Matthews, talks about how you "can't escape the death" in Haiti. He says he was unprepared for the chaotic scene he encountered when he landed at the airport. The smell from the dead bodies is so bad that you can taste it, Matthews says: "Today, I tasted death."
9:20 AM ET: Aftershocks -- Port-au-Prince was rocked by a strong aftershock at around 5:00 AM ET this morning, Reuters reports. A video report from the AP:
8:50 AM ET: The ongoing struggle to deliver aid -- Nearly every news account of the situation in Haiti this morning has focused on the difficulty of the relief effort. "Haitian Rescue Stymied Amid Chaos," the Wall Street Journal writes; "Tensions Mount in Devastated Capital as Aid Starts to Reach Haiti," is the headline leading the New York Times' website. As the AP wrote this morning: "More and more Friday, the focus fell on the daunting challenge of getting food and water to millions of survivors."
Among the problems listed by the Journal: "A badly damaged seaport, a congested one-runway airport, a shattered communications system and difficulty coordinating the aid have delayed relief efforts." A spokesman for the UN Mission in Haiti told the AP that Haitians are beginning to run out of patience. "Unfortunately, they're slowly getting more angry and impatient," the spokesman said. "I fear, we're all aware that the situation is getting more tense as the poorest people who need so much are waiting for deliveries. I think tempers might be frayed."
As mentioned earlier, looters have broke into the UN's food warehouse Haiti. And, according to the Times, the Haitian National Police force has all but disappeared.
8:45 AM ET: Aristide looking to return -- The former president, currently exiled in Africa, says he's ready to head to Haiti:
In a rare public appearance, Aristide told reporters at a hotel next to Johannesburg's airport that he and his family are ready to return to Haiti to help with the catastrophe. He said friends, whom he did not name, are willing to provide a plane to fly him to Haiti with medical supplies and other emergency equipment. "As far as we are concerned, we are ready to leave today, tomorrow, at any time to join the people of Haiti, share in their suffering, help rebuild the country, moving from misery to poverty with dignity," said Aristide, his wife Mildred next to him, eyes downcast, twisting a handkerchief.
8:40 AM ET: US military personnel arrive -- This morning's update:
More than 300 troops of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division arrived at the Port au Prince airport overnight and others have arrived in nearby waters on the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, Lt. Gen. Ken Keen told ABC's "Good Morning America." "We have much more support on the way. Our priority is getting relief out to the needy people," he said. About 5,500 U.S. soldiers and Marines are expected to be in Haiti by Monday.
8:30 AM ET: Food warehouse looted -- From the AP:
Looters have broken into U.N. food warehouses in Haiti's crumbled capital, an official said Friday, as security and logistical challenges mounted for groups trying to feed at least 2 million people reeling from a devastating earthquake. The U.N. World Food Program had 15,000 tons of food aid in Haiti prior to Tuesday's 7.0-magnitude earthquake, stocks designed for hurricane relief. Spokeswoman Emilia Casella said local partners reported that the U.N. warehouse in Port-au-Prince's Cite Soleil neighborhood was looted but the agency did not know how much aid was stolen or exactly when it was taken.
FRIDAY, 12:17 AM ET: Two-year-old boy rescued, reunited with parents --
AP photographer Gerald Herbert captured stunning photos that show two-year-old Redjeson Hausteen Claude's rescue. Spanish and Belgian rescuers reunited the boy with his mother and father Thursday evening. The photo of their reunion, the fourth in the series below, is especially moving.
The Houston Chronicle's photo editors led with the photo in a gallery of the day's top pictures.
PHOTO GALLERY Redjeson Hausteen Claude Rescued
11:27 PM ET: Cries grow faint -- The AFP profiles one unorganized group's efforts to rescue a woman crying from beneath the rubble:
PORT-AU-PRINCE - Almost 48 hours after the shattered concrete ceiling of her cousin's dress store crashed down upon her, Maryse's faltering cries galvanised a crowd of rescuers... "They're going to die. They're going to die," spat 30-year-old accountancy student Jean Rald Rocher, fiddling with the paper face mask that was his only protective gear as he dug for rotting corpses under reinforced concrete.... He and others howled with impotent rage as four-by-four trucks with diplomats and aid workers rode past without stopping, neither to help free Maryse nor to gather up the rotting body of her friend Line Louis-Pierre.
10:57 PM ET: Overflowing morgue -- Miami Herald journalists paint a heartbreaking scene at Port-au-Prince's morgue:
An exasperated hospital manager said he had yet to receive authority from the central government to remove the corpses inside the facility. As corpses were placed in the street, a small group of solemn onlookers watched. One woman waited beside a pine box, trying to find her loved one. The mass of naked, swollen dead bodies included toddlers and adults, and made a gruesome scene as flies hovered over their bodies. One woman's body had a red ribbon and a handwritten name tag tied to her left big toe. Lionel Gaedi went to the morgue to find his brother, Josef. "I don't see him,'' Gaedia said. "It's a catastrophe. God gives, God takes.'' Gaedi looked at the mass of bodies exposed to the blazing sun and gave up, sure that he would never find his brother in the pile.
A video shows the effort to help those injured in the quake and its aftermath.
5:45 PM ET: Diplomat identified as first American victim -- From the AP:
The first American reported killed by the earthquake in Haiti was a foreign service officer crushed when her home collapsed. Victoria DeLong, 57, of California, died Tuesday, said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley. DeLong, a 27-year diplomat, was a cultural affairs officer and had been stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince since last year. No hometown was immediately available. Crowley said three other Americans were known to be missing and that the embassy had made contact with nearly 1,000 U.S. citizens in Haiti, a small fraction of the estimated 45,000 there.
A seminary student from Wisconsin named Ben Larson is also believed to have died in the earthquake, his hometown paper reports:
Larson, 25, was in his final year at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Iowa. He had gone to Haiti with his wife, Renee, and cousin, Jonathan Larson, also seminarians, to help the new Haiti Lutheran Church. All three were staying at the St. Joseph's Home for Boys on a mountain near Port-au-Prince when Tuesday's earthquake struck and the building collapsed, according to an e-mail April Larson sent Thursday to members of her parish. Renee and Jonathan escaped. Ben did not.
5:20 PM ET: 'It's literally hell on earth' -- The director of a Christian aid group based in the U.S., HealingHaiti, described the situation in Haiti as "unbelievable," and "literally hell on earth." As the AP reports, many aid groups in the country have found themselves overwhelmed by what's going on there:
"This earthquake is really too much," the Rev. Duken Augustin, a Roman Catholic priest, wrote in an e-mail from his home in Cap Haitien, where he works for the U.S.-based Food For The Poor charity. "No (break). No chance. We will have to deal with new needs, new sufferings, new situation of hunger, new despair, new devastation."
Aid organizations are still rushing to get supplies into the country in time to ensure the situation there doesn't go, as a spokesman for the American Red Cross put it to CNN, from "dire to absolutely catastrophic."
"You have a very limited time to accomplish that before people die and before you start to get into issues of diseases," the spokesman, Jonathan Aiken, said.
5:00 PM ET: 'People were dying below me' -- In this video, Anderson Cooper witnesses the miraculous rescue of a young girl buried in the rubble for more than 18 hours. The young girl who was rescued tells Anderson, "people were dying below me, I could hear them, but I wasn't scared."
4:05 PM ET: Health risks grow -- The Wall Street Journal has a thorough report on the health threats Haitians face following the earthquake. According to the Journal, infectious diarrhea, respiratory infections, and measles all pose a real threat, especially in a country where a large amount of the population have not been vaccinated. To make matters worse:
Even cuts and lacerations that become infected pose a serious risk. "These kinds of infections are a major cause of death" in the aftermath of a disaster, said Paul Garwood, a World Health Organization spokesman.
4:00 PM ET: White House calls Limbaugh's comments "really stupid" -- Robert Gibbs ripped Limbaugh at a press conference this afternoon for urging people not to donate to relief efforts in Haiti. From AP:
Spokesman Robert Gibbs says there are always people who say "really stupid things" during a crisis. He says it's sad that Limbaugh would use the power of his pulpit to convince people not to assist those in need.
3:45 PM ET: Rescue attempt caught on video -- CNN's Ivan Watson reports from Haiti as a rescue team tries to free a 11-year-old girl buried under the rubble. What Watson describes is nothing short of devastating: "The right leg is underneath the concrete - her hands are free and her leg is free and she's talking to us. They only discovered her today. They're thinking about trying to cut her leg....they don't know what to do right now."
Warning: this clip is particularly upsetting, as you can hear the girl crying.
3:30 PM ET: 'Blood into gutter like water' -- An American director of an orphanage in Haiti describes the area around her buildings after the earthquake. She says it looks as if a bomb had gone off.
3:25 PM ET: Brian Williams says Haiti a "colossal calamity." -- HuffPost Media Editor Danny Shea interviews the NBC anchor in Port-au-Prince.
3:20 PM ET: Twitter airline free flights hoax -- Rumors like this were no doubt inevitable, if still unfortunate. From CNN:
Twitter was buzzing Thursday morning with news that several airlines are flying doctors and nurses to Haiti free of charge to help with relief efforts there in the wake of Tuesday's devastating earthquake. The only problem: The rumors are false, an American Airlines spokesman says.
And another similar hoax:
Twitter users also circulated a rumor that UPS would ship for free any package under 50 lbs. to Haiti. In a blog post Wednesday on UPS's Web site, a spokeswoman debunked the rumor and said that destruction of Haiti's roads and communications networks "means our own shipping services to Haiti are on hold."
3:00 PM ET: Those who are missing -- AP has compiled figures for countries reporting people dead and missing in Haiti:
-Canada: Three dead and five missing. -Costa Rica: Five missing. -France: Two confirmed deaths and several missing. -Denmark: Two reported missing. -Italy: About 100 reported missing. -Mexico: 40 of the 80 Mexicans living in Haiti located. -Netherlands: Three injured, including a child; 22 missing. -Norway: One missing. -Poland: Four missing. -United Nations: 36 U.N. personnel confirmed dead and nearly 200 missing. -United States: One dead and three missing. The embassy contacted nearly 1,000 Americans, but an estimated 45,000 are in the country.
The U.S. figure for missing people, based on various reports from across the country, would seem to be low.
ABC New York reports on two missing NYU students:
Two New York University students who arrived in Haiti just before the earthquake have not been heard from since. Nathalie Pierre and Greg Childs arrived in Haiti on Monday. They are both history students, doing research in Haiti as part of their PhD program.
A reader wrote earlier asking us to highlight the CNN iReport pages for Mr. Childs and Ms. Pierce. Do note that the CNN iReports are not vetted by the network.
If there are other cases of missing persons that you would like us to draw attention to please let us know.
2:15 PM ET: As wallets open for Haiti, Credit card companies take a big cut -- HuffPost's Laura Bassett reports on the hidden fees that are skimming money from donations to relief organizations and enriching banks and credit card companies in the process:
As a massive human tragedy unfolds in Haiti, relief organizations are soliciting credit-card donations through their hotlines and websites. About 97 percent of these donations will actually make it to the designated organizations -- but the other 3 percent will be skimmed off by banks and credit card companies to cover their "transaction costs." Thanks to this hidden fee, American banks and credit card companies are making huge profits -- somewhere in the neighborhood of $250 million a year -- off of people's charitable donations, according to a Huffington Post analysis. Those profits rise sharply after major disasters, when humanitarian relief organizations such as Oxfam and Operation USA take in more than 85 percent of their donations via credit card -- and the credit card providers, with only a few exceptions, refuse to waive their fees.
1:30 PM ET: White House adviser criticizes Robertson for "cursed" remark -- Valerie Jarrett calls it "a pretty stunning comment to make," and right she is. HuffPost Media Editor Danny Shea has a round-up of the reaction.
Also, in case you missed it, Rush Limbaugh has also chimed in with some less than charitable words.
1:10 PM ET: Missing Americans found -- Some good news out of Florida -- Lynn University officials announced this morning that they have now accounted for 11 students who were on a humanitarian mission in Haiti and were previously reported missing. The school is still searching for one student and two faculty members.
12:45 PM ET: U.S aid starts arriving -- From the AP:
Air Force special tactics officers from the Panhandle's Hurlburt Field Air Force Special Operations Command say their teams are in control of operations at Haiti's main airport. Lt. Col. John Dorrian, spokesman for the command, says airmen have cleared runways, established, 24-hour air traffic control and have weather systems and airport lighting up and running. He says dozens of cargo planes are taking off and landing.
AP also has video of U.S. military cargo arriving in Port-au-Prince.
12:30 PM ET: Death toll figures -- The Haitian Red cross estimates between 45,000 to 50,000 have died as a result of the earthquake, with 3 million left hurt or homeless. The figure is, thankfully, much lower than some of the estimate yesterday, which many reports suggested could top 100,000.
12:25 PM ET: "One of the largest relief efforts in our recent history" -- President Obama said today that the U.S. is initially directing $100 million toward relief efforts in Haiti. "This is one of those moments that calls out for American leadership," Obama said.
More details from the AP:
As many as 5,500 U.S. infantry soldiers and Marines will be on the ground or on ships offshore by Monday, a Defense Department official said. More than a half dozen ships, including a hospital ship with 12 operating rooms, also were heading there Thursday or preparing to get under way, said spokesman Bryan Whitman. Obama said the U.S. government is initially directing $100 million toward the relief effort, a figure he said would certainly grow over the year.[...] Amid continuing efforts to assess the disaster's cost in lives and lost property, the first U.S. Army infantry troops from the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg in North Carolina prepared to leave for Haiti with arrival expected later Thursday. That's a little over 100 troops that will find locations to set up tents and other essentials in preparation for the arrival of another roughly 800 personnel from the division on Friday and the full brigade of some 3,500 by the end of the weekend, Whitman said. They come on top of some 2,200 Marines, also to arrive by the Sunday or Monday, as the military ramped up what Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called "a full court press" to provide security, search and rescue and delivery of humanitarian supplies. Obama said more than a half dozen U.S. military ships were also expected to help, with the largest, the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, arriving Friday, and the Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort expected to arrive by Friday, Jan. 22.
Here's video of Obama's speech:
12:20 PM ET: First American death reported -- It was announced today by a State Department spokesman, who noted that at least 164 American have been evacuated since Tuesday.
12:05 AM ET: UN death toll -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday that 22 members of the organization are now confirmed to have been killed in the earthquake. However, he added that there was still no news on whether or not Hedi Annabi, the head of the UN"s peacekeeping mission in Haiti, was among the dead, as was reported yesterday. Haitian President Rene Preval was among those yesterday who said Annabi had died.
11:55 AM ET: Top officials push for Haiti commitment well beyond disaster relief -- HuffPost's Sam Stein reports on the push to do more:
In the wake of Haiti's catastrophic earthquake, highly respected foreign policy voices -- including American officials who have specialized in Haitian relations -- are calling for a fully revamped approach and commitment from the U.S. to the neighboring island nation. Former National Security Adviser Tony Lake -- who helped spearhead the Clinton administration's relations with Haiti in the early '90s -- made the case that any recovery effort had to be broad in scope and long-term in focus. "When you are doing disaster relief, you need to do it with at least one eye on how you can not only make up for the destruction but help create a better future, because everything you do is starting to set new patterns whether it is in building or in schools or in health care, that can continue into the future," Lake told the Huffington Post.
11:48 AM ET: The aftermath -- CNN has some of the most intense footage yet of the damage and chaos caused by the earthquake.
Meanwhile, this AP video takes a tour through Port-au-Prince to survey the damage and interview a Haitian family whose house collapsed.
11:45 AM ET: Clinton speaks on Haiti -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who cut short a trip to Asia to deal with the ongoing humanitarian crisis, tells MSNBC "we're going to be there for the long term."
11:40 AM ET: 'The saddest place on Earth' -- NBC's Brian Williams reporting from Haiti:
11:30 AM ET: Why Haiti keeps getting hammered -- AP explains why Haiti repeatedly suffers misfortune:
When it comes to natural disasters, Haiti seems to have a bull's-eye on it. That's because of a killer combination of geography, poverty, social problems, slipshod building standards and bad luck, experts say. The list of catastrophes is mind-numbing: This week's devastating earthquake. Four tropical storms or hurricanes that killed about 800 people in 2008. Killer storms in 2005 and 2004. Floods in 2007, 2006, 2003 (twice) and 2002. And that's just the 21st Century run-down. "If you want to put the worst case scenario together in the Western hemisphere (for disasters), it's Haiti," said Richard Olson, a professor at Florida International University who directs the Disaster Risk Reduction in the Americas project. "There's a whole bunch of things working against Haiti. One is the hurricane track. The second is tectonics. Then you have the environmental degradation and the poverty," he said.
10:00 AM ET: Earthquake damage as seen from space -- GeoEye has collaborated with Google Earth to release some satellite imagery of Haiti, HuffPost's Bianca Bosker reports. These recent images, she writes, "detail the catastrophic damage suffered by homes, buildings, and Haiti's Presidential palace; capture people attempting to set up temporary shelter in a soccer stadium away from structures that potentially collapse; and show survivors streaming through the streets of Port-au-Prince." An example of the images is below. You can see the rest here.
9:50 AM ET: Desperation among survivors -- This AP video report from this morning gives a sense of the dire circumstances in which survivors find themselves while they wait around for relief.
9:45 AM ET: First rescue, then rebuild -- The New York Times' editoral board weighs in on what needs to be done this time around:
Whenever disaster strikes, we are reminded that Haiti is the poorest country in the hemisphere. And each time there is a disaster, this country and others help -- for a while. This time must be different. Haiti urgently needs relief to dig out and shelter survivors, and to nurse, feed and clothe people who had little to start with and now have nothing left. But Haiti needs more. It needs a commitment to finally move beyond the relentless poverty, despair and dysfunction that would be a disaster anywhere else but in Haiti are the norm.
9:35 AM ET: Obama calling on Bill and George -- The president has asked former President George W. Bush to join fellow former President Bill Clinton in helping to lead the US's relief efforts in Haiti, AFP reports, citing an official close to Bush.
Meanwhile, Clinton has written an essay for TIME on what it will take to rebuild Haiti. It's well worth reading. Here's an excerpt:
Why is Haiti so special to me? Haiti is completely unique in our hemisphere because of its history and culture. There are other French Caribbean islands, but none of them have Haiti's particular Creole influence. None of them feature Haiti's distinctive mix of West African religious and cultural influences, the most visible of which is the persistence of the voodoo faith, which is practiced alongside Christianity. Unfortunately, ever since the first slave revolt by Haitians in 1791, the country has been beset by abuses caused from within and without. It has never been able to fulfill its potential as a nation. But I think it can.
TIME also has posted an audio interview with the former president about Haiti.
9:30 AM ET: Missing UN staff -- As many as 200 UN staff in Haiti remain unnaccounted for as of this morning, Reuters reports. The UN's headquarteres in Haiti collapses during the earthquake.
9:15 AM ET: Thursday morning in Port-au-Prince -- NBC has some new aerial footage from above the battered capital:
9:10 AM ET: 'This is devastating on every level' -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promised Thursday that the U.S. would to everything it could to help Haiti get past its 'cycle of hope and despair."
9:00 AM ET: Other natural disasters in Haiti -- Here's a timeline of |
Since a number of people state that they will not allow divorce in Malta because it is forbidden in the Bible, I would like to ask them some questions to help me live a better life.
• Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighbouring nations. Since Malta is an island, which countries are our neighbours?
• I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
• I have a neighbour who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?
• A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination, Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality or divorce. I don’t agree. Can you settle this? Are there “degrees” of abomination?
• Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?
• My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread. He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev. 24:10-16. Couldn’t we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)
For anyone who states that this was the Old Testament and not the New Testament, I would like to point out what Jesus himself said: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.” Matthew 5:17 |
Make way! Make way!
Make way! Make way!
Our little purple friend Spyro is upon us! Your eyes do not deceive you and the words you are reading are definitely real! After a long wait and lots of requests from you, the community, Spyro the Dragon is coming to EU PSN on 12th December 2012!
Hugely successful when released way back on PSOne, I am delighted to finally be able to get Spyro the Dragon back out there for all of you to enjoy. You won’t see one Spyro game either! Oh no! The first, second and third game are all coming on the very same day. How’s that?
For everyone that asked and waited patiently, now is the time to bite! Now is the time to relish in the glorious days of distant past! Now is the time!
With your help, let this re-emergence of Spyro open the gates for more titles from the PSOne era that we shall never forget.
Speaking of help, the encouragement drawings from AlexPSN89 were much appreciated. In fact, I even did one myself to celebrate! Here they are for your viewing pleasure!
Note: This product is an emulated version of a PlayStation (PS one) classic. Some functionality may vary from the original PS one version of this product or may not be available. All three Spyro titles are emulated versions of NTSC code. English language only. |
Tea Partiers Explain What Makes Them Boil
With the Tea Party hoping to put its mark on the 2010 midterm elections, the national movement is thriving -- without a central leader. A group of Tea Partiers in Lynchburg, Va., discuss what propelled them into activism -- and, in some cases, placed them at odds with the Republican Party.
In Their Words
Who Is Stirred By The Tea Party?
In the spring, The New York Times and CBS News conducted a poll and determined that 18 percent of Americans claim some sort of kin to the Tea Party.
A far smaller group call themselves activists or financial contributors. Of course, those numbers are likely larger now, as the Tea Party claims success in influencing primary elections.
In Lynchburg -- the home of Jerry Falwell's Liberty University and a town that sometimes identifies itself as "the gold buckle of the Bible Belt" -- NPR met with some local Tea Party leaders, although they all firmly insist that the Tea Party has no real leaders.
Folks like Darriel and Shelby Burnett, of Danville, Va., explained why they felt inspired to get involved.
"I was unaware of what was going on around me until I retired," says Shelby Burnett, who formerly worked at a financial company. "And we started watching Fox News, and getting more informed on what was going on in our nation."
"We were asleep," Shelby says -- but now a sleeping giant has been awakened. The big wake-up call for the Burnetts was the economy. Like Shelby, Darriel is retired from his job; he worked at Goodyear.
"If you look at the entire country, money has got to be the big question," he says. "My wife and I took a hit on our retirement. We lost approximately 12 years' worth of savings in about four months."
Echoing The Nation's Beginnings
These Virginia Tea Partiers also give credit to the country's founders for their own personal political awakening.
"Think about the men that lived here," says Mark Lloyd, a sales representative for media companies. "Patrick Henry is buried about 30 miles from here. I mean, you got Thomas Jefferson ... You've got the Founding Fathers here. And I think what you see happening is, there's a reawakening of that spirit in America."
Ideas of freedom and liberty, Lloyd says, are "hardwired" into America's character. And they've become more important as large crises have hit the country, he says.
"Now, unfortunately, it has taken the financial disaster, along with some other disasters, to wake us up," he says. "But I think we're there."
Kurt Feigel, a website designer who has his own Tea Party blog, Virginia's Fifth District Watchdog, says that for him, the larger issue is government spending, debt and deficits.
"I remember back ... when the national debt -- not the deficit, but the debt -- hit a trillion dollars," he says. "And I tried to do the math, and I was not able to figure out how in the world our country could ever pay back a trillion dollars in debt. And now we're up over 13 [trillion]."
Feigel takes debt personally. He lived in California when the economy crashed, and he had to walk away from his mortgage. He ran up tens of thousands of dollars of credit card debt, and moved his family to Virginia to save money and pay the debts.
"When you have debt, you cannot continue to live like that. You will eventually be bankrupt, or have to file for bankruptcy, or have somebody come and either throw you in jail for fraud or take everything you've bought with that debt," he says.
"And that's what I see when I look at America and where we've gone," Feigel says. "That's what I think a lot of us in the Tea Party are here for… [what] maybe a lot of people can't articulate is, 'I don't know why exactly I'm here -- but I know something is not right, and I want to change that.' "
The Search For Tea Party Candidates
We asked our very small sample of the Tea Party movement if they see a way to vote based on their concerns -- if they see candidates they can support. This group definitely won't vote for Democrats, but they don't seem to like Republicans much better.
"I wasn't particularly enamored with the Republicans or the Democrats at the time, simply because to me, it just seemed like a big group going in the same direction," says Wayne McDaniel, who works for a used-car company.
These Virginians made an effort to work with local Republicans -- and found themselves up against what they called "the kingdom" or the "inner circle." It's an argument that is not yet over.
"We're getting in on their machinery, we're scratching around in their sandbox, and they don't like it," Darriel Burnett says. "But we are people -- and if they had been doing their job, nobody would have to call them to task. But they haven't been doing their job, so here we are."
This group is looking past the Republican Party -- they want candidates who could carry their ideas, even more than they want winning candidates who might help Republicans control the Congress.
"There's a time when we should worry about control, and there's a time where we should worry about doing what's right," Feigel says.
"And I don't know where the line is, but I know that when the choice is a liberal Republican or a liberal Democrat or a conservative Republican versus a liberal Democrat, I'll take the conservative Republican any day, [even] if that means losing. Because if we win a race, if we were in Delaware and we win a race with a liberal, what have we won?"
Looking At Issues, Not Leaders
The activists we spoke to are very proud of the fact that there are no leaders in the Tea Party -- no politicians whom they have to grit their teeth and support. They like the idea of big ideas, a longer view. Although they are clearly socially conservative, for now they're even prepared to set those issues aside.
"Well -- we're not a party. There's no specific Tea Party candidate," says Christina Stringfield, a freshman at Central Virginia Community College.
"The Tea Party is focused on getting back the constitutional limited government, and that is our focus," she says.
"Later in the future, if that comes into play and we feel like that's important, then we'll bring that issue in, and that'll become more of a focus," she says. "Right now, it's ... we've got to get back to basics. I personally don't agree with abortion -- but this Tea Party's focus is constitutionally limited government, not social issues." |
Top 15 Internet Hoaxes of 2014 January 27, 2015
Edgar Allan Poe, writing in the short story “The System of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether,” once said to believe “nothing you hear, and only one-half that you see.” That story was published in 1845, but going on two centuries later, most Internet users still haven’t gotten the message.
That’s why you see so many scams and hoaxes populate your Facebook feed and why many once-respected journalism outlets have been duped by tech-savvy pranksters. Many times doing a little research before sharing something will save one the embarrassment of spreading — or worse, publishing — misinformation. It certainly would have helped in the below cases. Without further ado, we give you the Top 15 Internet Hoaxes of 2014.
1. Legal Drinking Age Changed to 25
In June 2014, most individuals looking forward to their 21st birthday blowout got a rude awakening as a news story — seemingly from ABC News — started making the rounds on the web claiming that the legal drinking age would be changed to 25 starting August 2.
Minimum drinking ages are established by the states (but practically all honor the 21 minimum) so those who knew anything about the law were immediately suspicious. The hoax was started by a site then known as Sunday Times Daily (now Nipsy’s News) that allows users to create their own false news stories. If people clicked through to read the story, they were greeted with a picture of Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) and a message telling them they’d been duped along with the number of others who fell for it.
Lesson: Don’t believe stuff you read on the Internet without first checking multiple sources.
Image: Ecumenical News
2. The Hoverboard Is Real!
Some of the less reputable gadget sites on the web (along with millions of YouTubers) instantly fell for this expertly put-together video from Funny Or Die. However, when some of the more reputable sites did their due diligence, they discovered that HUVr was a phony company and from there, the story unraveled quickly.
It’s certainly hard to blame viewers for taking the bait. The idea of hoverboards first appeared in Back to the Future Part II, and FOD was able to get one of the film’s stars, Christopher Lloyd, along with many other celebrities (Terrell Owens, Moby, Tony Hawk) to demonstrate a convincing board in action. Only thing was, they’d taken out the cranes and wires in post-production.
To date, the original video, entitled “BELIEF,” has had more than 15.5 million views.
Image: YouTube
3. Facebook Privacy Notice & Paid Use Fee
Every time Facebook updates its privacy policy, it seems like a new round of users angrily post a “notice” on their statuses that seeks to claim copyright over their photos, videos, writings, etc. In 2014, the company updated again, and sure enough, the posts followed.
Of course, the attempt has no legal standing since users cannot change the terms of the user agreement they agreed to upon joining the social networking site but that hasn’t stopped the uninformed. Even lengthy debunking stories like this one from cNet hasn’t stopped the madness.
Facebook users also fell for a hoax in September 2014 that claimed the site would start charging users $2.99 per month to access their profiles and make updates. Not true.
Image: PC Advisor
4. Head & Shoulders and Trypophobia
Trypophobia isn’t recognized by the medical community, but across the Internet, it is used to describe one’s fear of small, clustered holes. The “condition,” which usually leads to the afflicted clawing at their skin due to the psychological coercion of grotesque, usually-Photoshopped images, has been around since 2003. However, it enjoyed a rebirth in June 2014 when a Facebook scam started making the rounds claiming Head & Shoulders caused a hideous growth on someone’s shoulder.
“You will NOT use Head & Shoulders shampoo after watching…” reads the headline. Above that is the dream-haunting image with a play button in the center. If users click it, they are taken to a scam that, according to Snopes:
“is to serve as a lure in leading users to yet another survey scam: those who click through on the teaser link hoping to view the Head & Shoulders video are instead taken to a screen that forces them to first share the link with others on Facebook and/or verify their age by completing a survey that promises a $100 VISA Gift Card for its completion.”
The video doesn’t exist, although the continued promise of it does, provided the user continues to take surveys and fritter away their privacy info. The image is also faked — a mashup of a person’s shoulder and a lotus seed.
Image: Snopes
5. Macaulay Culkin Is Dead, and So Are A Lot Of Other Celebrities
Macaulay Culkin, star of the first two Home Alone movies, has kept a low profile since his child stardom. But the Internet brought him back in a big way in 2014 with another of its infamous death hoaxes. Culkin, who is part of the band The Pizza Underground, took it in stride, posting a photo to Instagram labeled, “‘Weekend at Bernies’ with @anchovywarhol #greenroom.”
It showed a bandmate carrying around a “deceased” Culkin trying to convince everyone his “boss” was still alive, as in the referenced film. Though Culkin’s “death” picked up a lot of traction on social media and news sites, it was hardly unique.
Here’s a brief (and incomplete) list of the celebrities who were targeted with a death hoax in 2014: actors Jim Carrey, Wayne Knight (Newman on Seinfeld), Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Jennifer Lopez, Lou Ferrigno (from TV’s Incredible Hulk), Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy), Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes on The Walking Dead), Betty White; and singers Miley Cyrus, Justin Timberlake, and Axl Rose.
Image: Naskah-Drama
6. KFC Tosses out Mauled 3-Year-Old for ‘Disturbing the other Customers’
Kelly Mullins, the grandmother of 3-year-old Victoria, claimed in June 2014 that a KFC in Jackson, Mississippi, had asked her and her granddaughter to leave because the child’s looks were “disturbing the other customers.”
At first, the story won sympathy and thousands of dollars in donations. Victoria’s wounds were real, and they were received in a three-dog pit bull attack. But when it was revealed to be a hoax after police could find no video records of the incident on surveillance footage at the restaurant, sentiment turned.
The crowdfunding page was taken down, donations were refunded, and the Facebook page that initially reported the incident, entitled “Victoria’s Victories,” was inundated with hateful comments until it, too, was removed, the Clarion-Ledger reports.
Image: Clarion-Ledger
7. The Miracle Machine Instant Winemaker
The Miracle Machine “literally turns water into wine with just the addition of a few ingredients.” Just add yeast and the appropriate concentrates, wait three days, and voila!, the taste of Napa Valley is yours to enjoy for a fraction of the price.
These were the claims made in a March 2014 viral video. Unfortunately, it was a marketing scheme ran by a company that sold wine to fund clean-water projects in third-world countries. Noble cause, but as one YouTuber pointed out, “If you think lying to people is the right way to go about a charity then I say – go to [you get the picture].”
Image: YouTube
8. Alex from Target
“Alex from Target” was a rather interesting viral hoax in that Target had nothing to do with it. No, his Twitter popularity was organic and began after an admiring customer snapped a pic and tweeted him out to her followers.
But what was a hoax was the online marketing company that tried to swoop in and claim credit after the fact, the Washington Post reports. The company’s name was Breakr, and while they are still active in this market, Alex, his teen admirer, and the red-dotted retailer had no clue who these guys were.
In a rare moment of Internet authenticity, Alex’s viral popularity was completely legitimate.
Image: Beyond Social Media
9. The Louisville Purge
A teen in Louisville, Kentucky — inspired by the successful horror sequel The Purge: Anarchy — decided it would be fun to tweet about doing a real-life “Purge,” in which for 24 hours, teens of America banded together and carried out any kind of violent act they wanted, as seen in the film.
Twitter quickly made the idea explode, sending adults across America into a panic and causing concealed carry gun-nuts to lick their chops at the opportunity for a justified shooting range. Law enforcement officials investigated the claims throughout Louisville and, soon, linked it to the unnamed teen.
Police in other regions followed up as well, but each “planned, organized date” came and went without incident.
Image: G33KWatch
10. Mohammed Islam, 17-Year-Old Day Trader
Mohammed Islam had Wall Street scratching its head when news broke that he’d been able to amass a $72 million fortune day-trading on his lunch breaks at school.
Some of the more business-savvy were able to run the computations and determine his earnings were impossible, but not before he enjoyed quite a bit of publicity from news outlets that hadn’t dug as deeply as they should have on his claims.
Business Insider has a rather lengthy expose on how Islam was able to scam some of New York’s best and brightest media types for as long as he did.
Image: Business Insider
11. CNN and The End Of The World
No, we’re not talking about the “End of the World” video that CNN created for the sole purpose of its last broadcast should Earth fade or be blasted from existence. That video is very real, and you can watch it here.
But CNN did find itself at the center of an end-of-the-world hoax in May 2014 when its citizen journalism channel, iReport, allowed a member to post that NASA had confirmed a deadly asteroid would hit earth on March 35, 2041.
CNN later took down the story but not before NASA and numerous media outlets latched on and had a field day with it.
Image: Jalopnik
12. iOS 8 WAVE, As In ‘Microwave’
Unfortunately, some people will try anything if they read it on the Internet. That makes pranking these individuals too tempting, and 4Chan was only too happy to oblige when it came up with iOS 8 WAVE.
This was supposedly an Apple-approved iPhone charging technique in which you simply place your device in the microwave and start it up. While most were too smart to fall for it, Twitter was alive with examples of those who did.
Not surprisingly, when you do cook an iPhone in the microwave, it does exactly what you might expect (see image).
Image: Alwasat
13. Kane Zipperman Breaks-up with Cheating Girlfriend through Memes
Kane Zipperman became a hero to every man who was ever cheated on by his wife or girlfriend when he posted a supposedly legitimate text exchange where he tells his ex off using Internet memes. The ruse shot his follower count up over 88,000 within days! (view full exchange here).
But, eventually, the Daily Dot got wise to him and posted an in-depth article showing how he did it. The truth didn’t come, however, before he made headlines and even appeared on a national TV morning show.
Image: Twitter
14. European Newborns will be Implanted with RFID Chips at Birth
Since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) passed Congress, it has heightened fears of government intrusion into the lives of many. Those fears drifted to Europe in January 2014 when a hoax news story emerged claiming that European Union regulations would require all newborns to be implanted with RFID chips at birth beginning in May of 2014.
Snopes blames the disreputable news site Top Info Post for propagating the rumor, which has its roots in the 2010 emails claiming similar actions as a result of the ACA.
Since the May 2014 date has came and went and still no RFID chipping, Top Info Post has changed its disproven claim to becoming effective December 2016.
Image: The Epoch Times
15. FBI Admits Sandy Hook Hoax
Of the hoaxes of 2014 that have been thoroughly debunked, perhaps the most heinous is one that claims the twenty plus souls who lost their lives in the December 2012 massacre at a Newtown, Connecticut, elementary school were all part of an elaborate government hoax designed to take guns away from Americans.
Hoax believers point out that the FBI reported no murders for that year, but they fail to realize that unless crimes cross over into federal jurisdiction, they’re reported by the states where they occurred. Snopes published a more thorough takedown of each Sandy Hook hoax claim — there are many — in September 2014.
Still, the “shocking revelations” continue to turn up on Facebook, usually from gun rights websites and other ultra-conservative blogs.
Image: DavidDicke.com
Do you remember these or any other elaborate hoaxes from 2014 not included here? Share in our comments section, and while you’re at it, tell us here at The Reeves Law Group in your experience, which hoax seemed to attract the most believers. |
Took a while to get this done seeing how there was a good bit of text and that it was 40 pages long and that I have had the coldand cough for about 5 days now, but aside from that, this chapter was pretty darn good. It was funny, interesting and rather entertaining overall. Very excited for the next chapter. However, before that comes the next Mashira which to be honest, doesn't look very good.Well, that's because they're just sitting in the community centre talking about stuff the entire chapter. In any case, I'm sad to say that there still has not been any news of the main series yet. I really want to see where the story is going, but I also hope that the author gets better as we won't get it without him. All in all, they said Autumn so hopefully before the year's end we'll hear something. Until next time. See ya! |
If you plan on hitting the beach this summer, you might want to think about what sunscreen you’ll be using.
Scientists have found evidence that oxybenzone (benzophenone-3), a chemical found in most sunscreen products harms coral reefs.
Read: Climate Change Impacts: American's Health Hurt By Global Warming, Doctors Say
Craig A. Downs, the executive director at Haereticus Environmental Laboratory, told International Business Times oxybenzone causes DNA damage in corals and leads to developmental deformities in juvenile corals. The chemical can also cause bleaching, especially when corals exposed to sunlight. Oxybenzone is also a skeletal endocrine disruptor, Downs said. Juvenile corals shouldn’t have a skeleton at all but the chemical causes it to have a skeleton.
Oxybenzone also harms other DNA damage in sea urchin and fish embryos and sperm, data compiled by Downs for Hawaiian politicians seen by IBT said. The chemical can harm corals and other species when you wear sunscreen while swimming, or through sewage when you wash off oxybenzone when taking a shower. The chemical also gets into your skin and body when you put it on, and some of it is discharged from your body when you urinate.
Oxybenzone And Humans
Oxybenzone is also found in beaches that are not crowded with people, like Alaska and remote Pacific islands. The chemical is also found in the Hudson river, oysters and clams, because of sewage, Downs said.
“Fresh streams and ecosystems are being contaminated,” he said.
Apart from sunscreens Oxybenzone is also found in hundreds of other personal care products. Downs said the chemical also harms humans and can be transferred via breast milk by mothers to children. Researchers found in 2016 a link between oxybenzone contamination in pregnant women and Hirschsprung's disease, which is seen mostly in children. The chemical also causes cell proliferation, which makes cells divide faster, is linked cancer and increased endometriosis in women, Downs pointed out.
“It’s just a bad chemical,” said Downs. “It just contaminates everything.”
A 2015 study labeled oxybenzone as an “emerging contaminant of concern in marine environments.” Meanwhile, a 2008 study published in the journal Nature said ingredients found in sunscreens can lead to coral mortality, and also said the chemical oxybenzone may cause coral bleaching.
Some have been skeptical about how much sunscreens affect corals, but Downs says they’re misinformed.
“They’re wrong,” he said. “The amount of sunscreen is quite large.”
In Hanauma Bay, which is near Honolulu, there is 68,255 kilograms of sunscreen product per year, data provided by Downs shows.
Wilkie McClaren, who lives in Kauai, Hawaii, has been affected first-hand by sunscreens.
“I surf and my eyes are just stinging,” she told IBT. “You can’t avoid these things.”
McClaren runs a website called bantoxicsunscreens.com to spread awareness about how products affect coral reefs. The site lists other chemicals that can be harmful to corals: octinoxate (octyl methoxycinnamate), homosalate, octocrylene, avobenzone, octisalate, homosalate, fragrances and nano-particles (“clear”; TiO2; ZnO).
McClaren and others have been trying to pass a bill in Hawaii that would curb harmful sunscreens. They were recently trying to get SB 1150 passed in Hawaii, which would have prohibited the use of sunscreens and cosmetics containing oxybenzone at beaches. The bill, like previous ones, was shot down a few weeks ago.
“Twelve bills were introduced and like most environmental bills they got killed one by one,” she said. “The lobbyists and chemical companies had the legislators number on speed dial.”
Read: How Climate Change Will Affect Your Neighborhood: Check Out This NOAA Tool.
How To Protect Yourself From The Sun Without Harming Corals
Downs said people should avoid using products that contain oxybenzone, octinoxate and octocrylene. He suggests consumers should use non-nano titanium dioxide products and cover up with clothes.
He also warned against aerosol sunscreen sprays and recommends lotions instead.
“We discovered they can go almost 500 meters so they really contaminate the environment,” Downs said. “Sea turtles dig a nest on the beach and so you have to imagine all that spray and covers the top part of the beach and when it rains it goes to the eggs. Having spray sunscreens in a place where turtles nest is a really bad idea.” |
Comic-Con International announced today that Open Registration for San Diego Comic-Con 2015 will take place next Saturday, February 21, at 9AM PT. Are you prepared?
Just in case you’re not, we’ve put together a guide and tips on making sure you are ready for this weekend.
You can also join us, whether you’re buying a badge or just wanting to see what the process is like for next year, at the SDConCast’s Open Registration Live Coverage. We’ll be kicking things off at 8:30AM PT, 30 minutes before the sale officially starts, and we’ll be updating on any issues we see users having, badge inventory, and more. Plus, it’s a great way to celebrate getting a badge.
What You Need
Above all else, you need to actually be eligible for Open Registration for 2015 (rocket science, right?). This is actually much easier than Preregistration (the sale that happened in November, for those eligible attendees who attended in 2014). Instead, all you need to be eligible for Open Registration is a Member ID (you must have already created one — any Member IDs created after February 13 at 2:30PM PT are ineligible for Open Registration), and to not have already purchased all four days with Preview Night during Preregistration. Easy, right?
If you’ve still got questions about whether or not you’re eligible, you can login to your Member ID to see:
Assuming that you’re eligible, you’ll need to gather a few things:
Credit card information
How many badges you are buying (you can buy up to 3, including one for yourself)
The last name and Member ID of anyone you are buying a badge for
Your personal Registration Code
Your personal Registration Code is what will get you into the EPIC Registration waiting room to participate in the same, and all eligible attendees will be e-mailed that code starting Tuesday, February 17. The code can also be found by logging into your Member ID account and clicking the “Registration Info” tab.
Here’s what that code looks like when you log in:
Price & Payment
Be familiar with the cost of a badge. Single day badges will run $50 for a Thursday-Saturday badge, with $35 for a Sunday badge or $35 for a Wednesday Preview Night badge (only available if you’ve purchased all four days). We have confirmed with Comic-Con International that just like in previous years, if you purchase all four days ($185) or four days with Preview Night ($220), the badges will be consolidated into a single badge during on-site preregistration.
Here’s the breakdown of prices:
If you purchased any combination of badges in Preregistration, so long as you didn’t purchase all four days and Preview Night, you’ll be able to purchase any additional days you need a badge for during Open Registration. If you did already purchase all four days and Preview Night – you’ve already won the golden ticket to Comic-Con, what are you still doing hanging around here? Shoo!
When paying, credit cards and payment can’t be split. Meaning that if you are purchasing badges for multiple people, it all has to go on a single credit card. This is the only downside to using large groups to purchase, as you may not be comfortable “spotting” someone upwards of $200. Again, we recommend only forming groups with people that you feel comfortable being in a financial situation with. If you’re not comfortable, don’t share payment information.
The Process
Although the instructions for Open Registration don’t delve into how you’ll gain access to the waiting room, in the past, CCI has e-mailed all eligible attendees a link to enter the EPIC Registration waiting room prior to the sale. Attendees will be able to enter as early as 8AM, but the sale won’t officially start until just after 9AM PT.
Beginning just after 9AM, EPIC Registration will randomly assign everyone in the waiting room a place in line to purchase badges. This is a completely random process – and those who arrived at 8AM on the dot have as much chance of getting a “good” spot in line as those who entered at 8:59AM. There is no advantage to arriving early. However, there is a disadvantage to arriving late, as those who try to enter after 9AM will not be allowed back in, and the room will be closed to new entrants. For this reason, it might be good to arrive a little early, to test that everything is working properly prior to 9AM.
Once the sale kicks off, in the past, CCI and EPIC have kept people informed with various messages. Here’s a look at one of last year’s messages:
New for this year (but also similar to Preregistration), Comic-Con International has announced that if “at any time you are disconnected from the EPIC waiting room, simply return to the landing page and enter your personal registration code again. You will be put back in the same random group you were assigned. This only applies to registration codes that were authorized prior to 9:00 AM PT.”
When it is your turn to purchase a badge, you will see all of the available badge types. Those badge types are held for you for 15 minutes, while you complete the purchasing process. Again, you may purchase up to three badges, including one for yourself, but you can only pay with one card, each person you are purchasing for must be eligible for Open Registration on their own, and you must have their Member ID and last name.
You should then be e-mailed a confirmation e-mail.
Last year during Open Registration it took one hour and 12 minutes for all badges to completely sell out, compared to less than 50 minutes in the fall for Preregistration — so make sure you’re planning enough time in your day on Saturday for the sale.
The Technical Side
As you may recall from Preregistration, there were a few glitches in the system for several people trying to buy badges. Although technology often can and will have issues, the only steps you can take to try to avoid these issues are to make sure you’re following the technical advice provided by Comic-Con International.
Our first suggestion is to make sure your browser will works correctly in EPIC Registration’s Waiting Room. You can test it here, and assuming that it passes, you should see this screen:
You can read the complete list of requirements on the Toucan Blog from Preregistration, but here is a quick overview:
Have JavaScript cookies enabled. You can test that your browser works with the EPIC Registration Waiting Room here.
No mobile devices or iPads. Get to a desktop. Seriously. Although some users reported being able to make it work last year, if this isn’t a risk you have to take, don’t.
Only try to log into the waiting room once, and do not share your Badge ID. If you have other people trying to log in for you, logging in again will kick off the other sessions. If the waiting room logs you out prior to the sale starting, which happened to some users last year, you should be able to re-enter without it affecting you.
No multiple browser tabs. If you are a family with multiple eligible attendees using the same computer, use a different browser for each Member ID.
Don’t refresh. The waiting room will automatically refresh every 120 seconds. The blue spinning circle is your friend, even if you think it is your enemy.
Don’t use the back button. This could remove you from the waiting room completely.
You can read the entire list of technical specs on the Toucan Blog from Preregistration.
Tips
Although the randomized waiting room theoretically “evened the playing field” for all attendees at having the same chance at scoring a badge, there is still at least one tactic that might give you an advantage: Buddying up.
Theoretically, the larger the circle of people you are working with to try to score badges, the better chance you have at getting one. After all, if you’re working with nine people, there is a better chance at three of those people will be placed in a “good” spot in line and be able to purchase badges for all nine team members, than there is a chance that on their own, all nine individuals will be given a “good” spot in line. The larger the group, the better the odds.
Only work with people that you trust and feel comfortable sharing money with.
It’s also important to be prepared prior to the sale. The new system leaves most of the badge buying process up to chance, but having everything in order and knowing what to expect is important – and hopefully if you didn’t know before, you do now.
Will you be trying to buy a badge next weekend? Let us know in the comments. |
Gyro aiming and touch controls (and perhaps both at once if you play with detached Joy-Cons in tabletop undocked) are excellent assurances, signifying to me that whether or not I pick this up, port quality won't be the barrier. This doesn't clarify anything we've already heard, though. Motion aiming is a hard requirement for me and early press materials didn't make it clear if the Joy-Con mode was just a puzzle-specific pointer gimmick (like a TV mode stylus) or a full replacement for stick aiming in the standard dual Joy-Con controller setup. I haven't played the game and don't know how it all works as is.
This is one of the only Rockstar games to interest me and was in fact my theoretical first pick for a port from them anyway. I don't get along with most of Rockstar's output but I've heard good things about the adventure-game elements and the period authenticity of a setting/genre near and dear to my heart. I missed it when it was current and while I doubt I'll have the room in my schedule to justify picking it up at launch, a good Switch port would bump it way up my list of games I'd like to get around to eventually, but didn't actually expect I would. Receiving it with last-generation visuals isn't an issue for me and I mainly want to hear about performance and controls. |
RIAA
The U.S. Supreme Court has decided not to hear the case of Joel Tenenbaum, who illegally downloaded music during college and now faces a $675,000 fine.
Tenenbaum’s been battling the music industry since 2007, over charges that he downloaded 31 songs online. A federal jury slapped Tenenbaum with a $22,500-per-song verdict in 2009, but a year later, U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Gertner reduced the fine to $67,500, calling the original amount “unconstitutionally excessive.” Then, last November, an appeals court raised the verdict back to its original amount.
Tenenbaum’s lawyer, Harvard Law School professor Charles Nesson, had hoped the Supreme Court would honor Gertner’s decision and prevent an “endless litigation rat hole” for his client, the New York Times reports.
Instead, the case will continue. As WCVB in Boston notes, U.S. District Court Judge Rya Zobel will decide whether to impose the $675,000 penalty, ask the Recording Industry Association of America whether it will accept less money from Tenenbaum or order a new trial. Unlike Gertner, who is now retired from the bench, Zobel must not use constitutionality in her reasoning, under orders from the appeals court.
As far as anti-piracy strategies go, this case is a relic for the RIAA, which stopped suing individual file sharers a few years ago. The industry is now more interested in shutting down sources of piracy and getting Internet service providers to warn and punish subscribers for copyright infringement. The trade group says it’s willing to settle with Tenenbaum, but it’s unclear for how much, or whether the defendant would even agree.
In other words, the case is far from over, and as CNet’s Greg Sandoval points out, it could even end up back at the Supreme Court some day. |
A day after several Seahawks players talked about joining cornerback Jeremy Lane in possibly sitting during the national anthem before Sunday’s opener against the Dolphins — and with Bobby Wagner saying the players might decide to do something as a team — the tenor appeared to change.
On Thursday, players appeared to have taken a team-wide vow of relative silence on the issue, though receiver Doug Baldwin issued a tweet hinting at what may happen Sunday.
In his tweet, Baldwin wrote: “To express a desire to bring people together, our team will honor the country and flag in a pregame demonstration of unity.”
Asked later in the locker room to elaborate on what that tweet meant, Baldwin — who on Wednesday said he had been considering whether to sit during the anthem said “you’ll just have to wait until Sunday.”
Other players also evaded the topic.
Before Baldwin had released his tweet, quarterback Russell Wilson was asked about the possibility of a team-wide action during the anthem and said “right now we’re just focused on the Dolphins. That’s too far down the road right now. I’m just trying to get ready, so that’s kind of our focus right now.”
Defensive end Cliff Avril answered similarly saying “I don’t know what other guys are doing. But I do know that we are here to talk about the Dolphins so that’s what we are going to do today.
Added safety Earl Thomas when asked about Baldwin’s tweet: “I can’t speak for Doug when it comes to stuff like that. That’s Doug.”
Asked if there had been more discussions about what to do during the anthem, Thomas said “I haven’t heard. No one has told me anything. I don’t know.”
CAPTION Sun Sentinel's Omar Kelly and Safid Deen discuss what the Miami Dolphins will be looking for at the NFL Combine. Sun Sentinel's Omar Kelly and Safid Deen discuss what the Miami Dolphins will be looking for at the NFL Combine. CAPTION Sun Sentinel's Omar Kelly and Safid Deen discuss what the Miami Dolphins will be looking for at the NFL Combine. Sun Sentinel's Omar Kelly and Safid Deen discuss what the Miami Dolphins will be looking for at the NFL Combine. CAPTION Offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea discusses challenges of building a new offense. Offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea discusses challenges of building a new offense. CAPTION Sun Sentinel's Dave Hyde and Omar Kelly discuss the Miami Dolphins coaching staff's desire to build a multiple offense and defense, but say it won't be easy to do. Sun Sentinel's Dave Hyde and Omar Kelly discuss the Miami Dolphins coaching staff's desire to build a multiple offense and defense, but say it won't be easy to do. CAPTION The South Florida Sun Sentinel's Safid Deen and Omar Kelly discuss whether the Dolphins have the draft collateral needed to select quarterback Kyler Murray. The South Florida Sun Sentinel's Safid Deen and Omar Kelly discuss whether the Dolphins have the draft collateral needed to select quarterback Kyler Murray. CAPTION Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Patrick Graham explains how he'll build a multiple-front defense. Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Patrick Graham explains how he'll build a multiple-front defense.
However, indications are that the action will be one that does not involve sitting during the anthem, with one source saying it’s something that would be viewed positively.
Former Seahawk and Green Beret veteran Nate Boyer also gave a hint at what may be to come with a tweet reading “Talked to the Seahawks. What the team will do is a powerful sign of unification (plus) respect for theAnthem (plus) those that fight for our Freedom!”
Boyer appeared to give a further indication of what to expect during an interview with FoxSportsRadio Thursday.
“I spoke with the players, and they realize that 9/11 is a very important day in our nation’s history,” he said. “The Seahawks, and probably every team, will be honoring those who serve in camouflage, and also those in blue who served on such a difficult day. Shortly after 9/11 our country seemed more unified than I had ever experienced, and was the most unified it has been since I have been alive. Since that date, we have grown farther apart in our unity. Standing together this Sunday is key to making progress. What the team will do is a powerful sign of unification.”
The team had no official comment.
San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat during the national anthem prior to a preseason game on Aug. 26, saying he was protesting police brutality against African-Americans and overall racial inequality.
Seattle cornerback Jeremy Lane sat during the anthem before a preseason game against Oakland on Sept. 1 saying he was doing so to show solidarity for Kaepernick. Lane then said on Monday he would continue to sit during the anthem.
Baldwin on Wednesday said he had also been considering whether to sit while Wagner said that he didn’t know if he could sit during the anthem but that the team could consider a group action.
“Aything we want to do, it’s not going to be individual,” Wagner said. “It’s going to be a team thing. That’s what the world needs to see. The world needs to see people coming together versus being individuals.”
Sunday’s game falls on the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, which Wagner and Baldwin had said on Wednesday would have to be considered in any action the team or individuals might take.
“I think that anybody should be thinking about that,” Baldwin said. “Even if it wasn’t Sept. 11, the point of the protest is to get people to think. I think it’s very ironic to me that 15 years ago on Sept.11 was one of the most devastating times in U.S. history, and after that day we were probably the most unified that we have ever been. And today we struggle to see the unity. And it’s very ironic to me that this date is coming up. So it’s going to be a special day, a very significant day, but at the same time I am looking forward to the many changes and differences, the changes we can make in this country to make better changes in our country.” |
Though regularly drowned out by the clanging of major developments—I mean, holy crap!—one of the biggest guessing games in Washington right now revolves around Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein and his role in James Comey’s firing. Specifically: What the hell was he thinking?
I was struck by this exchange between reporters and Congressman Jim Himes, who sat in on a briefing Rosenstein provided to the full House of Representatives today. Himes, according to The Washington Post, “recalled the ‘dissonant moment’ when Rosenstein refused to say ‘who had asked him, if anyone had asked him to write his memorandum.’”
“He said, ‘That is [Special Counsel] Bob Mueller’s purview,’ and that was puzzling to a lot of us,” said Himes, a member of the House Intelligence Committee.
It strikes me as fairly revelatory that the question of who was involved in laying the pretext for firing Comey is now a matter for the special counsel to examine.
Rosenstein’s representations here read like a tacit admission that, in the wind-up to the firing, he may have been witness to a crime—the obstruction of justice, perhaps.
And if Rosenstein thinks that’s possible, it’s worth considering both the text of the memo itself, his selection of a Comey ally as a special counsel, and everything he’s told members of Congress in a new context. Remember, Rosenstein has told Congress that Trump made it clear he intended to fire Comey before Rosenstein wrote the memo, and that the memo was “not a statement of reasons to justify a for-cause termination.” Rosenstein is acting like a law enforcer confronted with a subject—who just happens to be his boss—trying to inculpate him in wrongdoing. |
Koko the gorilla can understand 2,000 words of spoken English
Nancy Alperin and Kendra Keller claim they were told to show their nipples to the gorilla, Koko, as a way of bonding.
Sign language requests from Koko, the "talking" gorilla, were allegedly relayed to the women by the Gorilla Foundation's head, Francine Patterson.
The Gorilla Foundation, based in San Francisco, strongly denies the claims.
Expose breasts
Ms Alperin and Ms Keller are seeking more than $1m (£528,000) in damages for alleged sexual discrimination, wrongful dismissal after reporting health and safety violations and outstanding overtime pay.
The pair were among 16 employees at the foundation, best known for the 33-year-old female Koko, who has been the subject of several books and television shows.
The gorilla is said to use a sign language of 1,000 gestures to communicate with humans and can understand 2,000 words of spoken English.
The pair allege Ms Patterson pressured them on several occasions to expose their breasts to the gorilla, at least twice outside where other employees could have seen them.
Allegations denied
Their lawsuit said: "Through sign language, as interpreted by Patterson, Koko 'demanded' plaintiffs remove their clothing and show Koko their breasts."
It went on: "On one such occasion, Patterson said, 'Koko, you see my nipples all the time. You are probably bored with my nipples. You need to see new nipples. I will turn my back so Kendra can show you her nipples'."
The women, sacked in August last year, say they never followed the requests to undress for Koko.
The foundation's lawyer, Todd Roberts, said in a statement: "We unequivocally deny these allegations and are confident that this case lacks merit."
He said the lawsuit was an attempt by the women to "manipulate a purported employment issue and miscast it purely for publicity purposes". |
DHARMAPURI: Outraged by the suicide of a man who felt humiliated after his daughter married a dalit boy in secret, a mob of non-dalits went on the rampage in three villages of Dharmapuri district, looting and burning houses of dalits late on Wednesday, police said.The 2,500-strong mob set ablaze 148 houses in Natham, Anna Nagar and Kondampatti villages. They claimed that the “humiliation” caused by the marriage and the refusal of the dalits to send the woman back home had resulted in the suicide of G Nagarajan (48). The mob looted valuables before setting the houses on fire.Though 300 policemen were present, they failed to control the mob after being grossly outnumbered. The arson and looting continued till 9.30pm when additional police forces arrived on the scene.Talking to TOI on Thursday, IG (west zone) T P Sundaramoorthy said the situation was brought under control after an additional 1,000 personnel were deployed and more than 90 people arrested. Cases had been registered against 210 others, he said.Nagarajan ended his life at his residence in Sellankottai, not far from the Natham dalit colony, on Wednesday evening. The autopsy was delayed because of frequent power cuts, and the body was handed over to his relatives only on Thursday evening. Later, police said, a group of dalits set fire to two houses belonging to non-dalits in Natham.Announcing compensation of 50,000 to each family that lost its house and belongings, chief minister J Jayalalithaa said on Thursday that severe action would be taken against those responsible for the violence. In a statement, she said police had rushed to the spot and were taking necessary measures. She instructed the district authorities to extend all help to the affected in the violence.Police said Nagarajan's daughter Divya, 20, eloped with dalit youth Ilavarasan, 23, about a month ago, and they got married in a temple. As the non-dalits threatened them against entering Ilavarasan's house in the Natham dalit colony, the couple approached the Salem police, seeking protection.Meanwhile, the non-dalits conducted a 'kangaroo' court and directed the dalit family to return the woman on Wednesday. But Divya refused to obey them and made it clear that she would continue to live with Ilavarasan. Dharmapuri SP Asra Garg said the kangaroo court was held at Nayakkankottai village last week and the police were searching for those who took part in it and orchestrated the violence.Fire tenders were not able to reach the villages in time because huge trees had been cut down on the roads to block them. Services of the Rapid Action Force had been requested to maintain law and order, he said.Dharmapuri collector R Lilly said the homeless had been put up in three government schools.In a state that boasts of being progressive, caste divide is rearing its ugly head once again. The violence that rocked Natham in Dharmapuri district on Wednesday has reversed a recent positive trend in the northern districts of Tamil Nadu, once a hotbed of simmering caste tension between Vanniyars and dalits.Activists point out that this is the first big caste violence in the last two decades in Dharmapuri. The last decade had seen leaders of the dominant communities in the region, the Vanniyars and the dalits, campaigning together for communal harmony.“Tamil Nadu is a land of reformation. Usually, political and social leaders of the state advocate inter-caste marriages and successive state governments have encouraged progressive development. But in recent months, this positive trend has changed and a few caste leaders have been openly campaigning against inter-caste marriages,” said writer-politician D Ravikumar, state secertary of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi , a dalit party with a presence in the north. “They have indirectly encouraged killings in the name of honour and even ignited violence. This should be stopped through progressive initiatives,” he said.Caste leaders have gone one regressive step further to warn activists against encouraging the union between couples of different castes and even issuing diktats against love marriages. PMK MLA J Guru, who heads the Vanniyar Sangam, the first avatar of the PMK, shocked progressive groups when he issued an open threat at a community meeting, forbidding inter-caste unions. Similarly, the Kongu Vellala Goundergal Peravai, which claims to represent the community, issued advertisements in newspapers calling a meeting of community members to oppose inter-caste marriages and launched a campaign against it.Activists point out that the violence in Dhamrapuri had occurred in a hamlet which used to have a strong presence of the left movement. “The district was once the headquarters of the ‘naxalbari’ movement. Hence caste violence in such a place has come as a surprise,” said a police officer.Well-known Tamil writer Manushaputhiran pointed out that political parties have been using caste as a tool to improve their prospects. “Caste feeling is not only a cultural issue now. Caste parties have been using it as a powerful political tool as well,” he said.While there is a lack of cooperation between dalit and non-dalit leaders in southern Tamil Nadu to end the divide, PMK leader S Ramadoss and Dalit leader Thol Tirumavalavan made some efforts for communal amity in the northern belt. Ramadoss unveiled dalit leader Ambedkar’s statue in many places and the VCK in turn honoured him by awarding him the Ambedkar Award.The caste tension between Vanniyars and dalits was seen to have ended in the early 2000 because of this truce between the two leaders, who came together under the umbrella of Tamil Protection Movement. But the bonhomie did not last and Ramadoss recently declared that his party would align only with caste parties for elections in the future. |
Scotland drew against Portugal in the Gold Coast Sevens event
Amid the shock of seeing Edinburgh winning and Glasgow losing you may have missed the Gold Coast Sevens at the weekend.
It was the beginning of the World Series that was won last year by New Zealand and the year before by, er, New Zealand and the year before by, uhm, you guessed it.
New Zealand's supremacy in Sevens did not stretch to a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games - South Africa beat them in the final - but in the World Series they are always a safe bet to win the competition outright.
In fact, there are two near-certainties on the circuit - New Zealand will be excellent and Scotland will be disappointing.
You can set your clock by the Scots failing in Sevens. They've done it so often now that nobody bats an eyelid anymore.
The Scots got nowhere at the Gold Coast event. They lost to Fiji and Australia (understandable), drew with Portugal (woeful but predictable), beat American Samoa (not particularly hard) and lost to France (again, you could see it coming).
France are no great shakes at Sevens and yet they walloped Scotland 26-0.
Put those results alongside the last Sevens competition of last season - in England - and the Commonwealth Games matches and Scotland have played 15, won four, lost 10 and drawn one.
New Zealand's Sherwin Stowers in full flight for his side against Samoa at the Gold Coast Sevens
Actually, look at the entire history of Scotland on the Sevens circuit and you would need to be a forensic scientist to find much, if any, improvement despite a vast financial outlay.
And here's the thing. Nobody cares. There has been little or no progress and there is no fallout from failure, because it does not matter to people.
True, huge numbers turned up at Ibrox for the Commonwealth Games but huge numbers turned up everywhere. Thousands watched the bowls and the judo and most of those people will never see a bowler or a judoka perform again for the rest of their days.
A more accurate measure of Sevens' popularity in Scotland came when the world series was hosted here. Ibrox was not required. Nor Murrayfield. They housed everybody very comfortably at Scotstoun and had plenty of space left over.
The Scottish team just chug along to the next glamorous venue and then the next. After Australia they visit Dubai, South Africa, USA, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong before finishing up at Glasgow and then London. They go everywhere but they are going nowhere.
It's hard to get a precise figure on how much this all costs but the Scottish Rugby Union say sportscotland has provided £586,000 in Sevens funding since season 2011/12.*
The SRU has just pulled-off a multi-million pound deal for the naming of Murrayfield and yet they still profit from sportscotland's largesse.
This is done because of a medal-chase. Money shovelled into a sport that already generates fortunes all in the vain hope of winning a medal at the Commonwealth Games.
Scotland haven't even come close in the past. There is nothing to suggest they are getting any closer. So why throw good money after bad?
With the sportscotland funding and however much that is topped-up by the SRU, you have to wonder why.
Stuart Hogg is left dejected after his side fall short during the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow
A medal? If it ever comes, it will be one of the most expensive medals in history.
When other sports with the ability to reach young people from poorer areas of society - basketball and boxing and more - could badly do with an injection of funding it becomes all the more unjustifiable to throw money at a governing body that's just done a £20m deal with BT.
While we're at it, what is in it for the SRU? Nobody at Murrayfield can reasonably argue that progress is being made in the Sevens world. In an ideal scenario Sevens would help produce and develop young players who would then go on to play for Edinburgh or Glasgow and maybe Scotland.
If that was happening regularly, or even semi-regularly, then you could see a rationale. But it's not happening.
If anything, the opposite is the case. At the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, the Sevens team had to rely on the XV-man game to fill its squad with acceptable quality.
If it's not winning anything, or threatening to win anything, and it's not producing players then what is the point? Why persist in funding when it's not washing its face?
Round two of the circuit takes place in December. Expect more of the same from Scotland. And don't expect anybody to get too upset about it.
(* Tom's original estimate was £500,000 to £1m a year from sportscotland) |
A season ago the Indiana Pacers were 31-7, sitting on top of the Eastern Conference standings and looking good in their meetings with the Miami Heat. Lance Stephenson was looking like a possible All-Star as he shot over 50% from the field and averaged 13.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists a game as part of that successful Indiana squad.
A year later, things have changed. Drastically.
Indiana slogged through a doomed playoff run with bad chemistry to blame and fingers pointed at Lance Stephenson. In the offseason Lance packed his bags, bet on himself and signed with the Charlotte Hornets, and soon after the Pacers lost Paul George to a horrific leg injury.
Once the season actually started, it didn’t get any better for either party. Indiana has struggled to win games as they have no one to turn to in the final minutes of games, leading to a 15-26 record. Stephenson is only shooting 38.6% and his name has been swirling in trade rumors for almost a solid month now. He made his return to the lineup after a groin injury sidelined him for 14 games, but many seem to think Charlotte is better off without him. Right now he’s coming off the bench, and that may not be because he’s coming back from injury, either.
At this point it is hard to say if any of the parties involved are happy with the decisions they made.
Would have it been better for Lance to stay in Indiana? It is hard to give a definitive answer. If he stayed in Indiana it seems unlikely his numbers would have slipped as much and he wouldn’t be fighting Paul George or anyone else for possessions like he is currently doing in Charlotte. Last season Frank Vogel took advantage of Stephenson’s aggressive nature by pulling him first when the starters came out and then sending him back in to manage the second unit. This allowed Stephenson to dominate the ball without causing too much of a fuss. Indiana’s bench wasn’t great, but it worked well enough. It kept the egos happy and with less than ten losses at almost the halfway point, why complain?
Then, something happened. Rumors are all we really have, and aside from making conjecture off of parts of quotes we don’t know much, but one way or another, chemistry became an issue. It seemed like Lance Stephenson’s name was at the middle of it all. Was he an easy scapegoat? Or was he really a locker room cancer? When the Pacers hung out with him in the preseason, it only made the situation more confusing. They weren’t quiet ready to go to bat for Stephenson, but they didn’t hate him either.
If he were in Indiana right now, would the situation be any better or worse? With Paul George out would Lance’s ego only grow as he’d be the main workhorse for Indiana’s offense, especially in crunch-time? Is Stephenson even the same player he appeared to be in Indiana or was the drop off in production unavoidable? Maybe the team rallies around Stephenson as their offensive weapon with both PG and George Hill out of the lineup, and he earns more trust from his teammates and sheds the role of little brother. It is hard to say.
In Indiana, players like Roy Hibbert got tired of Lance stealing rebounds to pad his stats and in general, making selfish plays from time to time. His usage numbers weren’t too high in Indiana or even in Charlotte, but now that he’s playing with Kemba Walker and Al Jefferson, but that’s because of how the Hornets’ offense is styled. Both Walker and Stephenson are they type of player that wants the ball in their hands, but Kemba is the point guard and isn’t deferring to Lance as often as George Hill was willing to last season. It isn’t working with him in Charlotte right now in his current role, but Lance isn’t helping himself by getting frustrated when he passes the ball and shrugs when his teammates don’t shoot quickly enough to give him an assist.
Stephenson was always a divisive force in Indiana, to both the fans and the team. The question of Lance Stephenson is always a strange one. Mr. 8 Points, 9 Seconds, Jared Wade, once tweeted, “If you’re 100% sure that you wanna ride [or] die with Lance on a $40M deal, you’re weird. If you don’t want his amazing talent, you’re weird.” If Stephenson stayed, I imagine the Pacers would be closer to .500 as he grew and thrived under Larry Bird and Frank Vogel, but the chemistry would unlikely be any better. Chemistry is hard to gauge though. Maybe they all go fishing with Paul George and work things out. But going off the end of last season, it is hard to think it would have gotten better.
It is all in the past now, and unless the Hornets and Pacers can find a way to make a trade happen, it will stay in the past.
The Betting Line
Indiana is a -1 road favorite, but in what is essentially a pick’em, I’d go with the home team. I’d really advise just staying away from it as Indiana might be poised to have an “eff-you” performance after having last night’s game against the Pistons slip away. I’d take the over on the 186 over/under though.
And for some actual news: George Hill is out tonight. |
Please STFU, Susan Sarandon
Bianca Delarosa Blocked Unblock Follow Following Nov 26, 2017
So, here we go again. Like always, Susan Sarandon is in desperate need of attention, and she knows just how to get it. Hating on Hillary. And for some strange reason, she took a nasty swipe at feminism in general.
To Susan, it’s not enough to simply enable and normalize Trump constantly. No, she also has a desperate need to shield herself from the well deserved dragging she receives from the public for her dilettante nature, and gas-lighting within Democratic Party politics. For now that Susan has “helped bring on ‘The Revolution’” by assisting Trump in his ascendancy to the Presidency, she must double down and pretend Hillary would be much worse. There is no use discussing it with her, debating her, or even listening to her anymore.
It is time for Susan to shut the fuck up. Forever.
From her time in 2000 that she spent Gas-lighting for Nader, to when she was all for Edwards, to this very second, Susan Sarandon has not contributed a damn thing positive to the party or the discussion. Nothing at all.
Today she was back at it.
Susan is so mind-numbingly stupid that she doesn’t realize that we are already at war, and have been in a near constant state of war for decades. I cannot remember a time when we were not involved in military operations somewhere in the world. But even if we ignore her blatant idiocy, the fact remains that she believes that Trump is less warlike than Hillary. All based on Iraq. Which Edwards, who Susan supported, also supported. Susan Sarandon is full of shit. It is time to stop listening to a damn word she says.
I will leave you with a poem I wrote for Susan.
Fuck Susan
Fuck Susan
Fuck Susan
Fuck Sue
And if you like Susan
Then also
Fuck you
Fuck Susan on Sunday
Fuck Susan in the fall
Fuck Susan is a Religion
I say Fuck Susan on call
I think Fuck Susan
Whenever she appears
I say Fuck Susan
Through laughter and tears
Fuck Susan |
Judit Polgar, Jon Speelman and Malcolm Pein are leading a petition to remove the new anti-cheating rule that requires players to inform an arbiter when they want to go to the toilet. The petition argues the rule is absurd, humiliating, unworkable and can help opponents while penalising players who are nervous, older or may have a medical condition. They invite captains and players to sign the petition.
While the venue, accommodation and general organisation of the 42nd Chess Olympiad in Baku have met with almost universal praise, the new anti-cheating regulations introduced by FIDE have proven controversial.
A number of team captains and players have launched a petition to call for the rules to be changed:
To FIDE
We, the undersigned captains and players at the Baku Olympiad (Open and Women’s sections), wish to protest at the new rule regarding notifying arbiters when players need to go to the lavatory, noting that:
1. The lavatories have always been considered part of the Playing Area, rendering the rule absurd.
2. This is humiliating to the players who should not have to discuss their bodily functions with FIDE officials.
3. In order for the process to work the arbiters will have to remain at their stations at all times, presuming that FIDE doesn’t intend that players become unwell in the Playing Area.
Even the arbiters may have to go to the lavatory themselves at some stage and it is quite unacceptable that players under great stress should have to await their return.
4. Indeed, under the stress of chess, many players go to the lavatory repeatedly during their games. This in no way implies that they are cheating, merely nervous. Older players and those with a medical condition may also frequently have to visit the lavatories.
5. Informing the arbiter may give information to the opponent, who may decide to make a move quickly to run down the clock. A player should not be required to perform an action which may aid their opponent.
We respectfully suggest that it is not FIDE’s role to penalise players for their nervousness, age or a medical condition and trust that this noxious rule will be rescinded.
Judit Polgar (Hungary Open Team Captain)
(Hungary Open Team Captain) Jon Speelman (England Women’s Team Captain)
(England Women’s Team Captain) Malcolm Pein (England Open Team Captain)
(England Open Team Captain) Werner Hug (Switzerland)
(Switzerland) Oleksandr Sulypa (Ukraine Open Team Captain)
(Ukraine Open Team Captain) Gabor Papp (Hungary Women’s Captain)
(Hungary Women’s Captain) Anna-Maria Botsari (Greece Women’s Team Captain)
(Greece Women’s Team Captain) Mark Berkovich (Israel Open Team Captain)
(Israel Open Team Captain) Jonathan Tisdall (Norway Open Team Captain)
(Norway Open Team Captain) Goran Dizdar (Croatia Open Team Captain)
(Croatia Open Team Captain) Martin Ballmann (Switzerland Open Team Captain)
(Switzerland Open Team Captain) Arthur Kogan (Italy Open Team Captain)
(Italy Open Team Captain) Michal Krasenkow (Turkey Open Team Captain)
(Turkey Open Team Captain) Adrian Mikhalchishin (Turkey Women’s Team Captain)
(Turkey Women’s Team Captain) Davit Lobzhanidze (Germany Women’s Team Captain)
(Germany Women’s Team Captain) Sami Khader (Jordan Player)
(Jordan Player) Ivan Sokolov (Iran Open Team Captain)
(Iran Open Team Captain) Maurice Ashley (Ivory Coast Open Team Captain)
(Ivory Coast Open Team Captain) Jordi Magem (Spain Open Team Captain)
(Spain Open Team Captain) Bartosz Socko (Poland Open Team Captain)
(Poland Open Team Captain) Elton Mhangaryi (Zimbabwe Open Team Captain)
(Zimbabwe Open Team Captain) David Martinez (Spain Women’s Team Captain)
(Spain Women’s Team Captain) Zoltan Ribli (Austria Open Team Captain)
(Austria Open Team Captain) Svetlana Gerasimova (IPCA Women’s Team Captain)
(IPCA Women’s Team Captain) Yasser Seirawan (US Women's Team Captain)
(US Women's Team Captain) Andrew Burnett (Scotland Open Team Captain)
(Scotland Open Team Captain) Aloyzas Kveinys (Latvia Women's Team Captain)
(Latvia Women's Team Captain) Nick De Firmian (Bermuda Open Team Captain)
(Bermuda Open Team Captain) Roberto Hernandez (Palau Open Team Captain)
(Palau Open Team Captain) Lyndon Bouah (South Africa Open Team Captain)
(South Africa Open Team Captain) Song Jinwoo (South Korea Women's Team Captain)
(South Korea Women's Team Captain) Robert Bellin (Guernsey Open Team Captain)
(Guernsey Open Team Captain) Manuel Weeks (Australia Open Team Captain)
(Australia Open Team Captain) Ian Rogers (Australia Women's Team Captain)
(Australia Women's Team Captain) Bjorn-Ivar Karlsson (Iceland Women's Team Captain)
(Iceland Women's Team Captain) Fiona Steil-Antoni (Luxembourg Player)
(Luxembourg Player) Eduardas Rozentalis (Lithuania Player)
(Lithuania Player) Gregory Lau (Malaysia Women's Team Captain)
(Malaysia Women's Team Captain) Morteza Mahjoob (Fiji Open Team Captain)
(Fiji Open Team Captain) Buenaventura Villamayor (Singapore Open Team Captain)
(Singapore Open Team Captain) Murtas Kazhgaleyev (Kazakhstan Player)
(Kazakhstan Player) Aljosa Grosar (Slovenia Women's Team Captain)
(Slovenia Women's Team Captain) Wendell Meusa (Guyana Open Team Captain)
(Guyana Open Team Captain) Dhamir Jabar Mossa Al Yhya (Iraq Open Team Captain)
(Iraq Open Team Captain) Mihaljo Stojanovic (Japan Open Team Captain)
(Japan Open Team Captain) Adan Mazara (Dominican Republic Open Team Captain)
(Dominican Republic Open Team Captain) Carlos Garcia Palermo (Bolivia Open Team Captain)
(Bolivia Open Team Captain) Pavel Tregubov (Luxembourg Open Team Captain)
(Luxembourg Open Team Captain) Diego Valerga (Argentina Open Team Captain)
(Argentina Open Team Captain) Carlos Del Rosario Moreno (Dominican Republic Women's Team Captain)
(Dominican Republic Women's Team Captain) Vladimir Tukmakov (Netherlands Open Team Captain)
(Netherlands Open Team Captain) Twan Burg (Netherlands Player)
You can see the original petitions and some of the signatures below:
We will be updating the list of signatures above (and many remain to be deciphered). If you are a captain or player at the Baku Olympiad you can add your name by signing a list in person in Baku, write to divis@chess24.com (David Martinez) or, if you have a verified title here at chess24 (e.g. GM next to your name), you can simply leave a comment below this article. To verify your title you can write to support@chess24.com, though some form of identification – e.g. a FIDE certificate, will be required. |
Warner Bros. has gotten shellacked at the 2015 box office, so far. CEO Kevin Tsujihara spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about the studios struggles, which could have been offset by Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice opening up on its original July 17, 2015 release date. Though, Tsujihara can already see the benefit of being patient with the cornerstone of the DC Cinematic Universe.
"It was a tough decision at the time because it was going to create a hole in 2015," Tsujihara told The Hollywood Reporter. "But it was absolutely the right decision for the franchise, for DC and the movie.Having seen the movie multiple times, and again last night, I’m extremely confident it was the right decision to make the movie better. And it’s so important for the studio to get the foundation right on DC."
His comments are important because they confirm that the film has been screened, which was first reported by Den of Geek earlier this month. If you remember, they said WB executives partook in the screening and were so impressed by it that they gave it a "standing ovation."
In Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, fearing the actions of a god-like Super Hero left unchecked, Gotham City’s own formidable, forceful vigilante takes on Metropolis’s most revered, modern-day savior, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs. And with Batman and Superman at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it’s ever known before. |
Hey Shovelers and Shovelettes! It’s been way too long! First, a quick update on our progress. We have been working to square away the last of the business proceedings so we can jump into the game in full. In the meantime, we have been working on Propeller Knight stage and developing bleeding-edge tech like animated tiles and palette shifting! We promise that you’ll see more of this stage very soon... maybe even in unexpected or exciting places...!
Now, as per usual, here’s some way cool stuff!
Mega May Finale! PRIZES WERE GIVEN!
Mega May finished out last week, with playthroughs of Mega Man X, Mega Man V, and even more Mega Man excitement. Over the course of the month, we have beaten all the games in the regular series, plus more. Pizza was eaten, yelling happened, and good times were had... and it’s all been shared with you lovely people! Gameplay forever!
Congratulations to our viewers jres80, mjcabooseblu, tacotouchdown, and sincomics: you have all won Mega Man bobble head things, graciously provided by Mega May MC Mike Herbstar! Thanks to everyone who participated!
Papercraft Shovel Knight!
We want so badly for Shovel Knight to be real, to put on our desks and treasure forever. Well now we can do that, and so can you! All you need to do is print this wonderful papercraft, lovingly constructed by Christopher Beaumont of Cubeecraft fame!
Now that your mind is blown, please take some time to check out his other papercrafts, which are also really awesome!!
http://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Cubeecraft-Paper-Models-Never-Before-Seen/dp/0486492729
http://www.cubeecraft.com/
Introducing... The Black Knight!
As the Yin to Shovel Knight’s Yang, the Black Knight calls nobody master. Clad in obsidian armor, he hounds Shovel Knight to the ends of the Earth, spoiling for a battle. The Black Knight’s skill with the ShovelBlade rivals that of Shovel Knight, or so the Black Knight hopes to prove! While Shovel Knight is confused as to why he has this mysteriously relentless doppelganger, no number of humiliating defeats by Shovel Knight could dampen the Black Knight’s spirit: he will always rise up to fight again!
Pros: persistent, confident, goal-oriented
Cons: slightly inept, squeaky voice |
Vladimir Zhirinovsky's voice recorded May 2013 Problems playing this file? See media help.
Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky (Russian: Влади́мир Во́льфович Жирино́вский; né Eidelstein (Russian: Эйдельште́йн); born 25 April 1946) is a Russian politician and leader of the LDPR party (formerly Liberal Democratic Party of Russia). He is fiercely nationalist and has been described as "a showman of Russian politics, blending populist and nationalist rhetoric, anti-Western invective and a brash, confrontational style".[1] His views have sometimes been described by western media as fascist.[2][3][4]
Early life and politics [ edit ]
Zhirinovsky was born in Almaty, the capital of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, modern-day Kazakhstan. His father, Volf Isaakovich Eidelshtein (or Wolf Andreyevich Eidelshtein), was a Polish Ashkenazi Jew, and his mother, Alexandra Pavlovna (née Makarova), was of Russian background.[5][6][dead link][7][8] His paternal grandfather was a wealthy industrialist from Kostopil,[9] who owned the largest timber factory in (what is now) Ukraine and was head of the Jewish community.[10] His grandfather's mill today has an income of $32 million a year, and over the years Zhirinovsky has demanded successive Ukrainian governments return it to him.[11]
Four of Zhirinovsky's relatives had been killed during the Holocaust. Zhirinovsky's parents split while he was still an infant. Abandoning the family, Zhirinovsky's father, Wolf Eidelstein, emigrated to Israel in 1949 (together with his new wife Bella and his brother), where he worked as an agronomist in Tel Aviv. Zhirinovsky's father was a member of the right-wing nationalist Herut party in Israel, and died in 1983 when he was run over by a bus near Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv.[9] Zhirinovsky did not find out the details of his father's life in Israel until many years later, or even that he had died.[9][10] Zhirinovsky says that he is an Orthodox Christian.[12]
In July 1964, Zhirinovsky moved from Almaty to Moscow, where he began his studies in the Department of Turkish Studies, Institute of Asian and African Studies at Moscow State University (MSU), from which he graduated in 1969. Zhirinovsky then went into military service in Tbilisi during the early 1970s. He would later get a law degree and work at various posts in state committees and unions. He was awarded a Dr.Sci. in philosophy by MSU in 1998. Although he participated in some reformist groups, Zhirinovsky was largely inconsequential in Soviet political developments during the 1980s. While he contemplated a role in politics, a nomination attempt for a seat as a People's Deputy in 1989 was quickly abandoned.[13] In 1989, he served as a director of Shalom, a Jewish cultural organization; unknown in Jewish circles before, he is thought to have been invited to join by the Anti-Zionist Committee of the Soviet Public, but subsequently forcefully opposed its influence in the group.[14]
Founding of the Liberal Democratic Party [ edit ]
Zhirinovsky with Vladimir Putin in 2000
In April 1991 Zhirinovsky, along with Vladimir Bogachev, took initiatives which led to the founding of the Liberal Democratic Party, the second registered party in the Soviet Union and therefore the first officially sanctioned opposition party. According to the former CPSU Politburo member Alexander Nikolaevich Yakovlev, this party started as a joint project of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) leadership and the KGB.[15][16] Yakovlev wrote in his memoirs that KGB director Vladimir Kryuchkov presented the project of the puppet LDPR party at a meeting with Mikhail Gorbachev and informed him about the selection of the LDPR leader. According to Yakovlev, the name of the party was chosen by KGB General Philipp Bobkov. However, Bobkov said that he was against the creation of "Zubatov's pseudo-party under KGB control that would direct the interests and sentiments of certain social groups".[17]
Zhirinovsky in 2004 freely handing out money to the public and random passersby, in a famous gesture.
Zhirinovsky's first political breakthrough came in June 1991 when he came third in Russia's first presidential election, gathering more than six million votes or 7.81%. Afterwards, the LDPR garnered a reputation as an ineffective vehicle for opposition against the government, and one that lacked either credibility or authenticity,[citation needed] particularly given Zhirinovsky's vocal support for the Soviet coup attempt of 1991. This view was further encouraged by rumors, denied by Zhirinovsky,[18] that he was an agent of the KGB and that the LDPR was a farcical creation meant to either discredit or distract earnest opposition to the government. Such impressions would last even as the Soviet Union was dissolved and the Russian Communist Party itself took an opposition role. In 1992 Zhirinovsky made contact with Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader at that time of France's Front National (FN). Eduard Limonov of the National-Bolshevik Party introduced the men to each other and the FN later "provided logistical support [to the LDPR], including computers and fax machines". Zhirinovsky suggested establishing the International Centre of Right-wing Parties in Moscow and invited Le Pen to Moscow. [19]
The Liberal Democratic Party remained an important force in Russian politics. At the height of its fortunes, the LDPR gathered 23% of the vote in the 1993 Duma elections and achieved a broad representation throughout the country – the LDPR being the top vote-getter in 64 out of 87 regions. This fact encouraged Zhirinovsky to once again vie for the presidential office, this time against incumbent Boris Yeltsin. The fact that Yeltsin's candidacy seemed seriously challenged by Russian nationalist groups and a rejuvenated Communist Party alarmed many outside observers, particularly in the Western world, who expressed concern that such developments posed a serious threat to the survival of Russian democracy, already in a very fragile state. Zhirinovsky became a focal point of harsh criticism and seemed the living embodiment of authoritarianism and militarism in modern Russia. While some observers inclined to consider his controversial statements as stark efforts to drum up nationalist support, not viewable as anything more serious than electoral fodder meant for domestic consumption, there was great consternation at the fact that in February 1996, months before a presidential election, Zhirinovsky placed second in opinion polls, behind Communist Gennady Zyuganov and ahead of Boris Yeltsin. In the end, however, Zhirinovsky placed fifth with a 5.7% share in the first round of voting. Since then, the party's fortunes have stabilized somewhat, with the 2003 election seeing a LDPR vote share of 11.7%. In 2004, Zhirinovsky declined to even be nominated by the party, leaving that role to Oleg Malyshkin, who received 2% support from voters.
Zhirinovsky and Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in 2000
For his own part, Zhirinovsky has done a great deal to foster a reputation as a loud and boisterous populist who speaks on behalf of the Russian nation and people, even when the things he says are precisely what many people, at home or abroad, do not want to hear. Zhirinovsky infamously promised voters in 1991 that if he were elected, free vodka would be distributed to all. Similarly, he once remarked, during a political rally inside a Moscow department store, that if he were made president, underwear would be freely available.[20] Zhirinovsky has on several occasions become involved in altercations with other politicians and debate opponents. As a candidate, he also took part in the 2000 and 2008 presidential elections, promising a "police state",[16] and to institute summary executions. A BBC documentary from 1995 showed Zhirinovsky telling the crowd at a campaign rally: "Help us, and you'll never have to vote again! I'm not saying, "Vote for us and maybe in 20 years' time somebody will do something". No, these will be the last elections! The last ones!".[21] Some commentators call Zhirinovsky a fascist or a neo-fascist.[2][3][4]
Views [ edit ]
Zhirinovsky speaking at a pre-election meeting in 1999
Zhirinovsky has expressed admiration for the 1996 United States presidential election contender Pat Buchanan, referring positively to a comment in which Buchanan labeled the United States Congress "Israeli-occupied territory." Zhirinovsky said that both countries were "under occupation." and that "to survive, we could set aside places on U.S. and Russian territories to deport this small but troublesome tribe." Buchanan strongly rejected this endorsement, saying he would provide safe haven to persecuted minorities if Zhirinovsky were ever elected Russia's president, eliciting a harsh response by Zhirinovsky: "You soiled your pants as soon as you got my congratulations. Who are you afraid of: Zionists?"[22] Zhirinovsky repeatedly denied his father's Jewishness until he published Ivan Close Your Soul in July 2001, describing how his father, Volf Isaakovich Eidelshtein, changed his surname from Eidelshtein to Zhirinovsky. He rhetorically asked, "Why should I reject Russian blood, Russian culture, Russian land, and fall in love with the Jewish people only because of that single drop of blood that my father left in my mother's body?"[5] Another frequently cited quote from Zhirinovsky is "My mother was Russian and my father was a lawyer". Zhirinovsky later disowned the statement, after researching his father's life in Israel (where, after leaving Zhrinovsky's mother, he had immigrated in 1949 with a new wife, and worked as an agronomist in Tel Aviv). Discussing the statement, Zhirinovsky says: "Journalists mocked me: for saying I was the son of a lawyer. And I am really the son of an agronomist." Discussing his father, Zhirinovsky says with tears in his eyes: "All my life I was looking for him. I believed that he was alive. I believed that someday he would find me... But there is a silver lining. I tried to imitate him... And I was able to achieve a certain position in life, even without the support of my father."[9]
Zhirinovsky has Israeli relatives, including his uncle and cousin, who he met and befriended for the first time only after discovering more about his family's story in Israel. Zhirinovsky's Israeli family did not know that he was a famous celebrity and politician in Russia, but responded warmly to his invitation to stay with him in Moscow. Zhirinovsky has led a number of official Russian delegations to Israel, on behalf of the Russian government. Visiting Israel, he says that he is concerned particularly about the economic situation for the more than one million Russians living in Israel. He also states that "Russia will never allow any kind of violence against Israel".[9]
Besides expressing his concern for Turks and Caucasians displacing the Russian population from their settled territory,[23] Zhirinovsky also advocated for all Chinese and Japanese to be deported from the Russian Far East.[24] During his 1992 visit to the United States, Zhirinovsky called on television "for the preservation of the white race" and warned that the white Americans were in danger of turning their country over to black and Hispanic people.[25]
In 2004, Zhirinovsky spoke at the City Court of Saint Petersburg, in reference to the assassination of Galina Starovoytova. After accusing Starovoytova of having worked for foreign intelligence, he said "I have always said openly that for democrats of pro-Western orientation there are only three roads: prison, the grave, and emigration."[26]
In August 2016, Zhirinovsky prayed for the Republican presidential election nominee, Donald Trump, whose antics were similar to Zhirinovsky's but different in backgrounds, to defeat Hillary Clinton, whom he considered dangerous, in order to take his party's ideology global. He also expressed his desire to test his DNA to determine whether he and Trump were related.[27] In April 2017, Zhirinovsky promised to drink the champagne for Donald Trump's impeachment, saying: "A half of Americans voted for different foreign policies. Trump breaks his promises, and if he continues breaking them, his impeachment is inevitable."[28]
The Last Break Southward [ edit ]
The Last Break Southward (1995) is the magnum opus of Zhirinovsky in which he expressed his worldview. "Since the 1980s, I have elaborated a geopolitical conception—the last break southward, Russia's reach to the shores of the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean." This is "really the solution for the salvation of the Russian nation … It solves all problems and we gain tranquility."[29] Russia will rule the space "from Kabul to Istanbul."[30] The United States would feel safer with the Russian rule in the region, since wars there would cease under the Russian rule. Perhaps, some people in Kabul, Teheran, or Ankara would not like it but many people would feel better. "The Persians and Turks would suffer a bit but all the rest would gain."[31] The "bells of the Orthodox Church must bell from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean." And Jerusalem becomes close. It is necessary that "the Christian world reunifies in Jerusalem." The Palestinian problem can be solved by partial transfer of the Palestinian population to the former territories of Turkey and Iran.[32] The great Russian language and Russian ruble would wield Near Eastern and Central Asian peoples into one Russian citizenship.[33]
Along the Russia southern sphere from India to Bosporus, other spheres of influence will stretch from north to south in the forthcoming world order, Latin America would be in the American sphere, Africa in the European sphere.[34] and Japan and China will rule Southeast Asia, Indonesia and Australia. Everywhere "the direction is the same—north-south."[35] Geopolitically, it is logical. "Hence, the distribution along such a geopolitical formula would be very beneficent for the whole of humanity, and all over the planet would be established warm and clear political climate."[36]
"On this occasion, we need a man with at least planetary thinking," who would realize "the geopolitical formula, guaranteeing the interests of the majority on the planet … This is the fate of Russia. It is destination, fate … We must do it, for we have no choice … This is geopolitics."[37] We would do it, assured Zhirinovsky alluding to himself, by the efforts of an "honest, perseverant, patriotically inspired President."[38]
Foreign relations and military excursions [ edit ]
Protests against the extradition and pardon of Ramil Safarov , Azerbaijani military officer, who murdered Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan during a NATO Partnership for Peace program, 30 December 2012
Zhirinovsky speaking in front of the State Duma
Zhirinovsky is well known for his boasts pertaining to other countries, having expressed a desire to reunite countries of the ex-Soviet "near abroad" with Russia to within the Russia's borders of 1900 (including Finland and Poland). He has advocated forcibly retaking Alaska from the United States (which would then become "a great place to put the Ukrainians"), turning Kazakhstan into "Russia's back yard", and provoking wars between the clans and the nations of the former Soviet Union and occupying what will remain of it when the wars are over.[39] Zhirinovsky, who encourages separatism within the Russian minority in the Baltic countries,[16] endorsed the forcible re-occupation of these countries and said nuclear waste should be dumped there.[39][40]
Zhirinovsky supports Israel-Russia relations, but says that Israel has to make Russian its official language. He also believes that Israel has to pay more attention to the Russian Orthodox Church.[41] He believes that Russians are endangered in Israel and should come under the protection of the Russian police.[42]
In 1999, at the start of the Second Chechen War, Zhirinovsky, an ardent supporter of the first war in Chechnya in the mid-1990s, advocated hitting some Chechen villages with tactical nuclear weapons.[43] He has also advocated using nuclear weapons and naval blockade-imposed starvation in the event of a Russian war against Japan.[39] In 2008, during the resulting political row between the United Kingdom and Russia, he suggested dropping nuclear bombs over the Atlantic Ocean in an effort to flood Britain.[16]
Zhirinovsky hailed what he described as "the democratic process" in Iraq under Saddam Hussein, whom he supported strongly. The friendship dated from at least the Persian Gulf War in 1991, during which time Zhirinovsky sent several armed volunteers from the "Falcons of Zhirinovsky" group to support the Iraqi president. Allegations have dogged Zhirinovsky closely since the fall of Baghdad that he personally profited from illicit oil sales as part of the Oil-for Food scandal, a charge investigated in 2005 by the Independent Inquiry Committee into the Oil-for-Food Programme (Volcker Commission) and the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI).[44] He is also close to the Serbian nationalist leader and war crimes suspect Vojislav Šešelj.[39]
Zhirinovsky said he is dreaming of the day "when Russian soldiers can wash their boots in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean and switch to year-round summer uniforms"[45] following Russia's conquest of Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey and occupation of the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean.[23] He also declared that Bulgaria should annex the Republic of Macedonia, and said that Romania is an artificial state supposedly created by Italian Gypsies who seized territory from Russia, Bulgaria and Hungary.[46]
Russia's southern neighbor Georgia has been another frequent target of Zhirinovsky's rhetoric. After Aslan Abashidze was ousted from power in 2004 as leader of Ajara, an autonomous Georgian region, Zhirinovsky worried that similar revolutions would occur in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.[47] Highly critical of Georgia's pro-Western line,[48] he is an energetic supporter of Georgia's breakaway republic of Abkhazia; in a high-profile incident in August 2004, he departed on a campaign to promote a tourist season in Abkhazia aboard a cruise ship which was briefly intercepted by a Georgian coast guard vessel.[49] After war broke out between Russia and Georgia in 2008, Zhirinovsky argued in favor of Russian recognition of Abkhazian and South Ossetian independence. "We should have taken the whole territory of Georgia under control," he complained, and "arrested all Georgian officers and taken them here, like to Guantanamo, arrested Saakashvili and handed him over for trial by a military tribunal and gone to the border with Turkey."[50] In 2009, he called the decision to hold NATO military exercises in Georgia during Soviet Victory Day celebrations in Moscow a "total revision of the history of the Great Patriotic War" and suggested that Russia should respond by conducting large-scale joint military drills with Cuba and Venezuela in the Caribbean Sea.[51]
Zhirinovsky with Putin in 2008
Zhirinovsky has been expelled from Bulgaria for insulting its president and was barred from entry to Germany.[52] In 2005, Kazakhstan declared Zhirinovsky persona non grata on the territory of his historical homeland, due to the politician's controversial speech about the change of the Russia-Kazakhstan border, in which he questioned the Kazakhs' place in history.[53]
In 2006, Zhirinovsky became persona non grata also in Ukraine, following his statements regarding the January 2006 Russia–Ukraine gas dispute (this ban was revoked in 2007). In reaction to Condoleezza Rice's criticism of Russian foreign policy during the dispute, Zhirinovsky stated, "Condoleezza Rice needs a company of soldiers [and] needs to be taken to barracks where she would be satisfied."[54] At the premiere of the film Taras Bulba in 2009 he stated: "Everyone who sees the film will understand that Russians and Ukrainians are one people – and that the enemy is from the West".[55] In February 2010 Zhirinovsky claimed that Eastern Ukraine would become part of Russia "in five years" claiming that "the population is largely Russian" and called President-elect of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych "basically Russian" (Yanukovych's father was an ethnic Polish-Belarusian, and his mother Russian).
On the November 2006 death by poisoning of Russian defector Alexander Litvinenko in London, Zhirinovsky said: "Any traitor must be eliminated using any methods. If you have joined the special services to work, then you should work, but to betray, to run away abroad, to give up the secrets you learned while working – all of this looks bad."[56][57] Sergei Abeltsev, Zhirinovsky's former bodyguard and State Duma member from the LDPR, added: "The deserved punishment reached the traitor. I am sure his terrible death will be a warning to all the traitors that in Russia the treason is not to be forgiven. I would recommend to citizen Berezovsky to avoid any food at the commemoration for his crime accomplice Litvinenko."[58] In the 2007 election, political patronage from Zhirinovsky enabled Litvinenko murder suspect Andrei Lugovoi to win election to the Russian parliament and thus obtain formal parliamentary immunity.[59] He also accused Great Britain (according to him, "the most barbaric country on the planet") of fomenting World War I, the October Revolution, World War II, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union.[60]
Writing about Marine Le Pen he said that she could outdo her father because "Instead of saying that Islam is terrorism, she simply insists that France is a secular nation that will not stand for hundreds of thousands of Muslims practicing their religious traditions. With this argument, Marine has cleverly defended the French people's right to a secular nation." In that vein he said that she has the "chance to represent the French majority."[61]
In 2013, when asked about former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, he said, "Yulia Tymoshenko, I'm sorry, is a woman. I don't like them, as it's easier to persuade a woman. [...] Women are more compliant, and it's dangerous."[62]
Controversies [ edit ]
Violent controversies [ edit ]
Zhirinovsky also has a history of igniting personal violence in political contexts. In his notorious debate with Boris Nemtsov in 1995 a "juice fight" broke out.[63] In 2003, Zhirinovsky engaged in a fistfight after a television debate with Mikhail Delyagin.[64] In 2005, Zhirinovsky ignited a brawl in the parliament by spitting at a Rodina party legislator, Andrei Saveliyev.[65] In 2008, he showed himself shooting a rifle at the targets representing his political rivals.[16] During the 2008 televised presidential debate, he threatened Nikolai Gotsa, the representative of Democratic Party of Russia candidate Andrei Bogdanov with violence, saying he's going to "smash his head" and ordering his bodyguard to "shoot that bastard over there in the corridor". Gotsa sued Zhirinovsky in civil court for 1 million rubles (approximately US$38,000) in damages and eventually received a judgment of 30,000 rubles (approximately US$1,150).[66] In April 2014, Zhirinovsky made strong verbal threats against a pregnant journalist during a press conference in the Duma, including ordering his aide to rape the journalist, who had asked Zhirinovsky about possible sanctions against Ukraine amidst the military tensions between the two countries. The ethics committee of the Duma will investigate the incident.[67]
Donkey video for 2012 presidential election [ edit ]
On 6 February 2012, Zhirinovsky released a 30-second election video on the Internet that featured him on a sleigh which was harnessed with a black donkey, which represents the country. The video was widely discussed on the Internet,[68] and received mostly negative reactions from Russian users.[69] International organizations People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and World Society for the Protection of Animals (Now known as World Animal Protection), as well as Russian animal rights activists, have accused Zhirinovsky of cruelty to animals. Zhirinovsky responded to criticism, saying that similar treatment is commonplace in the Arab world and that in fact the animal been treated "better than many people".[70]
Other controversies [ edit ]
He proposed setting up large fans on the borders to blow airborne radioactive waste into the Baltic states.[71]
To eradicate bird flu, he proposed arming all of Russia's population and ordering them and the troops to shoot down the migrant birds returning to Russia from wintering.[72]
He also threatened to remove restrictions on arms sales to Iran and proposed to sell the disputed Kuril Islands to Japan for 50 billion USD.[52]
In a 2003 video,[73] a drunken Zhirinovsky threatened George W. Bush in offensive language. He called the United States a "second-hand goods store" filled with "cocksuckers, handjobbers, and faggots", and claimed that Russian scientists are able to change the gravitational field of the Earth and sink the entire country.[74] In the video Bill Clinton, Monica Lewinsky and Condoleezza Rice are also mentioned. Zhirinovsky calls Condoleezza Rice: "a black whore who needs a good cock. Send her here, one of our divisions will make her happy in the barracks one night. She will choke on Russian sperm as it will be leaking out of her ears ... until she crawls to the US embassy in Moscow on her knees."[74]
In the wake of the February 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor, Zhirinovsky was quoted by the Russian International News Agency as claiming "It's not meteors falling, it's the test of a new weapon by the Americans."[75][76] At the same time, he derided the Russian Academy of Sciences for anarchism, having scientists that are so old that their brains and reproductive organs don't work any longer, and told the "elders" to go home and collect their pensions.[77]
On 4 April 2014, in the wake of the annexation of Crimea, the franchises of the fast-food restaurant McDonald's were unable to continue because they had been cut off by their Ukrainian franchisor. Zhirinovsky suggested that McDonald's "should be evicted from Russia" for the affront.[78]
At a press conference in April, when asked whether Russians should reciprocate the Ukrainian sex strike,[79] he replied that all Ukrainian women were "nymphomaniacs" like the journalist who had asked the question, Stella Dubovitskaya.[80] He then ordered two of his aides to "violently rape" the pregnant journalist for Rossiya Segodnya, who had to be briefly hospitalised for shock.[81] He later apologised with "I spoke a bit rudely when I replied to a young woman".[80]
On 25 July 2014, amidst an armed insurgency in Eastern Ukraine,[82] the Ukrainian Interior Ministry launched criminal proceedings against Zhirinovsky and Communist Party of the Russian Federation leader Gennady Zyuganov for "financing actions aimed at changing the boundaries of the territory and the state border of Ukraine".[83]
On 10 August 2014, Zhirinovsky threatened Poland and the Baltic states with carpet bombing, dooming and wiping out all of them.[84]
What will remain of the Baltics? Nothing will remain of them. NATO airplanes are stationed there. There's an anti-missile defense system. In Poland – the Baltics – they are on the whole doomed. They'll be wiped out. There will be nothing left. Let them re-think this, these leaders of these little dwarf states. How they are leaving themselves vulnerable. Nothing threatens America, it's far away. But Eastern Europe countries will place themselves under the threat of total annihilation. Only they themselves will be to blame. Because we cannot allow missiles and planes to be aimed at Russia from their territories. We have to destroy them half an hour before they launch. And then we have to do carpet bombing so that not a single launch pad remains or even one plane. So – no Baltics, no Poland. Let NATO immediately ask for negotiations with our Foreign Ministry. Then we'll stop. Otherwise well have to teach them the lessons of May 1945.
On 23 August 2014, he voiced the opinion that Russia ought to abolish political parties in favour of an autocratic system in which the leader would be chosen by the "five to six thousand wisest people" in the country. He also proposed returning to the Imperial flag and anthem. Putin rejected this proposal.[85][86][87]
In the same year, he threatened Washington with a Russian attack while giving a speech to listeners.[88]
In February 2015, he suggested to "burn all Paris" and "sturm Berlin" during a speech at the Duma.[89]
In May 2015 he stated that former President of Georgia, and then governor of Odessa, Ukraine, Mikheil Saakashvili, should be killed. "We will shoot all of your governors, starting with Saakashvili, then they'll be afraid. And there will be a different situation in Europe and Ukraine. ... Let's aim at Berlin, Brussels, London, and Washington." He then said Ukrainian political prisoner Nadiya Savchenko should be shot and hanged in Belgrade.[90]
In November 2015, after the incident of a Russian jet plane being shot down by a Turkish F-16 after an air-space violation, he stated in a speech to the Duma that Russia must detonate a nuclear bomb on the Bosphorus to create a 10 meters high tsunami wave that would wipe out at least 9 million Istanbul residents.[91]
In September 2016, inspired by Donald Trump's signature proposal, he proposed building a border wall and banning Muslims from entering Russia.[88]
In 12 October 2016, Zhirinovsky warned on Reuters that a vote for Hillary Clinton in the US presidential election is a vote for the eruption of a third World War, leading to Hiroshimas and Nagasakis everywhere. He also noted that, on the contrary, Trump wouldn't care about US interventions in Syria, Libya, Iraq and Ukraine, and thus offering peace.[92]
In March 2018, opposition journalist Renat Davletgildeyev accused Zhirinovsky of sexual harassment[93][94][95].
Electoral history [ edit ]
See also [ edit ] |
A huge THANK YOU to all of our Backers, friends, family, crowdfunding peers, journalists, bloggers, and last but certainly not least, Kickstarter, without whom SIMPLcase would not be possible!
To see what else we're up to, stop by and visit our website: lgcldesigns.com
Thank you for the support! SIMPLcase has been featured by:
"[SIMPLcase] proposes to make keeping track of those SIMs and navigating international border-crossing much easier." - TechCrunch
"A new minimalist iPhone case aims to accommodate jet setters who are constantly on the go." - Mashable (video)
"This is another great example of why Kickstarter is what it is. These guys had a need for something, it didn’t exist, so they created it." - iDownloadBlog
"Unlike most iPhone cases where the focus is on the decoration or "bling" on the outside, what makes the SIMPLcase special is what's on the inside." - Gadling
SIMPLcase is a slim, minimalist iPhone case designed for global travelers:
stores both the iPhone's SIM tray eject tool (provided) and spare SIM cards so they're safe
uses any standard credit card as a stand for using your iPhone hands-free in either horizontal or vertical orientation
With the SIMPLcase, you'll always have the right tool (we provide one with every case) and a secure place to store your SIM cards.
Minimal, Elegant Design
We designed SIMPLcase to be slim, not bulky. All of the iPhone's buttons, audio jack, and charge port are totally accessible.
The front edge of SIMPLcase extends by 0.5mm past the surface of the iPhone's glass display, to minimize the risk of scratching the display when laying your iPhone face down.
Inside, the SIMPLcase has a soft silicone rubber insert that will protect your SIM cards' delicate contacts, and securely grip the SIM cards and the eject tool, but still enable you to remove them with ease.
The Freedom to use iPhone Hands Free
As well as storing your SIM cards, the SIMPLcase can also use any standard credit card / bank card / membership card as a stand to prop up the phone in either landscape (horizontal) or portrait (vertical) orientation.
Watch a podcast and enjoy a burger at the same time!
Have a video conference and take notes at the same time!
Using a card as a stand keeps the case slim and, well, simple. Cases with built in stands are often bulky, and more likely to break thanks to the extra hinges or joints required to fold and extend the stand. SIMPLcase has no moving parts, so there's nothing to break.
The unique designs of the SIM card + tool holder and card stand slot have been filed as a Utility Model and are Patent Pending.
High Performance Materials for Protection
SIMPLcase will be made from polycarbonate thermoplastic resin, which is the same engineering grade polymer used in shatter-proof sunglasses and durable shells for mobile phones and laptops.
The added thickness is just 3 millimeters in the center of the case (no thicker than a nice men's shirt button), and the case tapers to just 1mm at the edge of the case. You won't notice any bulk, and the case is super low profile where you hold the phone.
iPhone 5 and iPhone 4/4S versions
We've already designed and tested our prototypes for both iPhone 5 and iPhone 4/4S. This page is for iPhone 5 while our iPhone 4/4S Kickstarter page is here.
Available Colors
Reaching our Funding Goal will allow us to offer the iPhone 5 SIMPLcase in these colors:
Black shell with Turquoise Blue rubber SIM card and tool holder
White shell with Turquoise Blue rubber SIM card and tool holder
Tungsten Grey shell with Kickstarter Green rubber SIM card and tool holder (limited edition color combination exclusively for Kickstarter backers)
Travel Wisdom Inside Each SIMPLcase
For the love of travel, we want to add a travel related quote inside each SIMPLcase. If you have one you love please message us and we might use it in production. Send us your words, limited to 140 characters (yep, just like a Tweet) – keep it clean, and reference the source if you can.
Free Worldwide Shipping!
We have secured extremely competitive shipping through a global logistics & fulfillment company that services some of the world's top retail merchants as well as some successful Kickstarter projects. We are thrilled to be able to include Free World Wide shipping to all Backers at all Reward Levels – wherever you are!
This makes it easy to pledge at any reward levels since now you don't have to do any math ;-) The amount you see is the amount you pledge.
About Multiple Quantities
Kickstarter is not a store, and the Guidelines prohibit us from offering Bulk Rewards.
If you are a retailer interested in carrying SIMPLcase, or wish to inquire about wholesale bulk orders, please contact us directly.
Why the SIMPLcase?
Mobile roaming fees can be very expensive so we like to save money by buying local SIM cards when we travel internationally. But…
...it can be fiddly to open the iPhone SIM card tray…
…and do you have the right tool with you? We hate stabbing our iPhone with random spiky things…
These new SIM cards are pretty darn small and easy to misplace …
… and if I lose my SIM card my iPhone becomes an iPod Touch!
From Idea to Kickstarter
With this in mind we designed our own solution. After pages of sketches, months of CAD development and several prototypes, we're now sharing our design with the world.
SitRep and Plan of Attack
We have already designed, prototyped, and tested the SIMPLcase.
We have sourced multiple vendors of varying capacities so we're ready to deliver at low, mid, or high volumes, depending on the number of Backers we have. Our multiple vendors also provide us with Plans B & C in case vendor A runs into a serious hitch.
As soon as we reach our Funding Goal, we will begin preparations for tooling.
Crowdfunding Success and Kicking it Forward
We believe in the concept of Kicking it Forward, and it makes sense for us as creators to support other creators.
http://kickingitforward.org
Thank You, You're Awesome!
Thanks so much for hearing us out and being interested in SIMPLcase!
Questions? Comments? Criticisms?
Feel free to contact us directly if you have anything you'd like to say about SIMPLcase. Just send us an email: info@lgcldesigns.com or drop us a line.
Tweet us @lgcldesigns to get our attention |
Friends Shela Lowe and Victoria Osborn taste a beer at the Royal Ale Festival at Scarborough Renaissance Festival in Waxahachie.
Emmett McCanlies gives water to his 8-year-old dog "Rocco" while walking at the Art on the Greene Art Festival at Richard Greene Linear Park near the Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas, Friday, May 26, 2017.
The crowd gathers for singer Leon Russell's performance on the Amphitheater Stage at the 2015 Wildflower Arts & Music Festival in Richardson.
Comment on one of our official threads.
February's showers may bring March flowers, as opposed to the proverbial pairing meant to happen in April and May. Now that the rush of rainfall that hit late last month seems to be drying up, we can turn our thoughts to the new season, and you know what that means: It's spring festival time! Whether you want to discover nature, celebrate your community with an old-fashioned town square party, or recognize your Irish (or Latino or Asian or Hindu) culture, there is a spring festival in D-FW for you. For a more complete list of happenings, go to GuideLive.com/things-to-do.
This week's highlights
Taste Addison
TASTE ADDISON Some of the city's most popular restaurants serve food and drinks at this three-day fest. There's also live music each day of the event. May 18-20 at Addison Circle Park, 4970 Addison Circle Drive, Addison. Entry costs $10-$20 each day, and you purchase whatever you want to eat inside. FREE | TASTE OF IRVING This fest has largely the same concept as the Addison festival. This free event also features family-friendly activities, a movie screening and live music across multiple stages. May 18 from noon to 6 p.m. at Cimarron Park, 201 Red River Trail, Irving. Free. FREE | FESTIVAL DE MAYO Bands Los Angeles Azules, Conjunto Primavera, Los Rieleros Del Norte and more will be there for an all-day celebration of Latin music. Best of all, this festival is free. May 20 from 2 to 10 p.m. at Fair Park Coliseum, 1438 Coliseum Drive, Dallas. Free.
Guests at the Savor Dallas brunch event at the Dallas Farmers Market in 2017. Robert W. Hart/Special Contributor
SAVOR DALLAS This festival of eating and drinking will kick off May 17 with 'Cue It Up. Smoke's Tim Byres and Cattleack Barbeque's Todd David will host the event during which chefs and bartenders will use smoke in their creations. The fest continues May 18-20 with Shaken + Stirred at Fashion Industry Gallery, the Reserve and Grand Tasting at Centennial Hall in Fair Park, and Detox/Retox Brunch at Sixty Five Hundred.
Through May 20 at various Dallas locations. Tickets for individual events are $45-$150 per person. WILDFLOWER ARTS AND MUSIC FESTIVAL This Richardson fest always boasts an eclectic lineup, and this year's is a treat for those who love commercial radio rock from the mid-'90s to mid-2000s with Goo Goo Dolls, Gin Blossoms, Eve 6, Lifehouse, Switchfoot and Jimmy Eat World performing over three days. Wildflower's six stages will also host Kool and the Gang, Spoon, Reckless Kelly, Radney Foster, Max Stalling and Trout Fishing in America, plus tribute bands and lots of local performers. There will also be a craft beer garden, fair food vendors, a marketplace and a children's activity area with face painting, karaoke and a tent full of butterflies. May 18 from 6 p.m. to midnight, May 19 from 11 a.m. to midnight, May 20 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Galatyn Park, 2351 Performance Drive, Richardson. $15-$30 in advance, $20-$40 at the gate, $5 for children 5-12, free for children 4 and younger. Parking is free.
Main Street Fest - A Craft Brew Experience
FREE | MAIN STREET FEST — A CRAFT BREW EXPERIENCE This Grapevine festival combines traditional fair fun, including carnival rides and a midway, with a beer fest featuring 35 breweries, including Deschutes Brewery, Oskar Blues Brewery and locals such as Deep Ellum Brewing Company and Franconia Brewing Company. Craft beer will be for sale throughout the festival grounds, plus the Craft Brew Garden will offer eight 3-ounce tastings of limited-release beers for $15 in advance, $18 at the fest. There will be performances by Kirk Thurmond and the Millennials, Professor D, Micky and the Motorcars, the Stratoblasters, Caroline Kraddick and others, as well as the KidZone children's section, a marketplace with artisans and other vendors, and food and drink. May 18-19 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., May 20 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Liberty Park, 215 S. Main St., Grapevine. $7, $5 for seniors 62 and older and children 6-12, free for children 5 and younger. $15-$20 for weekend passes. Admission is free from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 18.
MALCOLM X FESTIVAL This family-friendly event celebrates the life of Malcolm X, as well as the progress that has been made in African-American culture, health and wellness, political education and economic sustainability. The festival will showcase bands, children's activities, speakers, health and wellness booths, food, a children's oratorical contest and more. May 19 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Pan-African Connection, 4466 Marsalis Ave., Dallas. FREE | ROCKWALL FOUNDERS DAY FESTIVAL Celebrate Rockwall's 164th birthday at a festival in the park. Listen and dance to live music all day and shop with artisan vendors, local nonprofits and merchants. Visit the farmers market, see craft demos and sample offerings from gourmet food trucks. Live music will be performed by WhiskeyHat, Benton Lawson, Josh Abbott Band and others. May 19 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Harry Myers Park, 815 E. Washington St., Rockwall.
A Slideshow of 4 Photos Los Skarnarles plays a set at the Elm Street Tattoo and Music Festival in Deep Ellum in 2015. Alexandra Olivia/Special Contributor
People dance to music by Los Skarnarles at the Elm Street Tattoo and Music Festival in Deep Ellum in 2015. Alexandra Olivia/Special Contributor
Tattoo artists take a break at the Elm Street Tattoo and Music Festival in Deep Ellum in 2015. Alexandra Olivia/Special Contributor
Paul Anthony Dobleman tattoos an festivalgoer's neck at the Elm Street Tattoo and Music Festival in Deep Ellum in 2015. Alexandra Olivia/Special Contributor
ELM STREET MUSIC AND TATTOO FEST Ink Master judge Oliver Peck will bring dozens of fellow tattoo artists to Deep Ellum for three days of body-art sessions at Trees. There will also be a tattoo art show at Hand in Heart Gallery, Sailor Jerry's display of hand-painted Harley-Davidson motorcycles on May 19, punk-rock karaoke on May 19 and nightly concerts at Three Links and other venues, featuring Lucero's Ben Nichols, Riverboat Gamblers, Thin White Dukes, Lower Class Brats and more. Through May 20 in Deep Ellum, Elm and North Crowdus streets, Dallas. $10 for tattoo fest admission, $10-$25 per concert, $50 for a weekend pass. BLOODY MARY FESTIVAL More than 10 restaurants and drink purveyors, including Taverna Rossa, Lucy's Lot, Frankie's Downtown and Republic, will compete for best Bloody Mary titles, but the real winners will be those who attend and get to sample all of the entries. How many ways can a Bloody Mary be made? Find out during the 2.5-hour fest. There will also be additional drink samples, music from D and Chi and a photo booth. May 20 from 1 to 3:30 p.m. at 2616 Commerce Event Center, 2616 Commerce St., Dallas. $45; $65 for VIP, which includes early entry. Must be 21 or older to attend.
Dragon Boat, Kite and Lantern Festival
FREE | DRAGON BOAT, KITE AND LANTERN FESTIVAL Celebrate Asian culture and heritage at this annual festival in Las Colinas. There'll be dragon boat races, a kite-making demo, traditional ethnic foods and more. May 20 from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Lake Carolyn, at Las Colinas Boulevard East and El Lago Boulevard, Irving. dfwdragonboatfestival.com.
FREE | WATAUGA FEST Watauga's annual four-day street festival features live music, carnival rides, vendors, beer, food trucks, performances by local arts groups and a car show on Sunday. Musical guests for the weekend include Left Eye Jumpers, Le Freak, Ashomore, Mullet Boyz and more. If you want to pack in even more fun, carnival wristbands are $25 and provide all-day access to rides. Individual tickets for rides are $1 (3-5 tickets needed per ride).
Through May 20 at Capp Smith Park, 5800 Robin Drive, Watauga.
10 things to know before going to Scarborough Renaissance Festival
SCARBOROUGH RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL Join in the mirth and merriment of the days of King Henry VIII at this festival that runs for eight weekends, with colorful characters such as knights, villagers, fire jugglers, jousters, sword fighters and turtle racers there for you to meet. You can also eat a giant turkey leg, buy a longbow or some jewelry at the shops, watch a village artisan at work or stop in the Elkhorn Tavern or Dirty Duck Pub. April 7-May 28 at Scarborough Renaissance Festival Grounds, Waxahachie. srfestival.com.
ALSO IN MAY |
DC Dispatch Trump’s contradictory promise: Bring back coal and boost natural gas Experts say low natural gas prices are the biggest cause of coal’s downturn.
If there was any doubt that energy and climate change would loom large in the coming presidential election, that was dispelled when Donald Trump gave his first major energy speech last week – on the same day that he cinched his nomination.
He could not have picked a friendlier setting for his speech than Bismarck, North Dakota, a hub of the oil and gas industry. Trump vowed to reinvigorate the nation’s energy businesses, particularly coal mines, which have seen dramatic declines in recent years, triggering layoffs of tens of thousands of miners.
Michael Vadon/CC Flickr
“We're going to save the coal industry. We're going to save that coal industry, believe me," Trump said during a press conference before his speech.
Trump also asserted that he would reduce regulations on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, the engineering technique that has helped spark a resurgence of the U.S. oil industry in recent years.
But many economists and industry experts caution that there’s a central contradiction in Trump’s vision. He pledges to revive the coal industry, and at the same time boost the main culprit that has eviscerated coal, natural gas. “It’s really what’s eating coal’s lunch in the United States,” says Susan Tierney, a Denver-based industry consultant and former assistant secretary of the U.S. Energy Department. “It is nonsensical for him to claim that he can undo the market forces that are undermining the coal industry today.”
Trump’s energy policies stand in stark contrast to the visions of Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Both promote big shifts towards wind and solar power and argue that keeping more coal in the ground is an important way to fight climate change. Sanders has promised to work towards a national ban on fracking.
In North Dakota, Trump contrasted his energy policies with Clinton’s, lambasting a comment she made to CNN in March that she would put coal miners out of business. She later apologized to miners during a campaign stop in West Virginia. “She’s worse than Obama,” Trump said. As he has in the past, Trump blamed the Obama administration’s environmental rules for the coal industry’s suffering.
When a reporter pressed him about how he planned to bring back coal jobs, he stressed that he would do so by getting rid of regulations. “You know, all I can do is free up the coal, which I'm going to totally do. Get the companies back to work, market forces, that's something I don't want to get involved in… To me, a market force is a beautiful force,” Trump said.
But economists and energy experts counter that easing regulations would not be enough to reinvigorate coal, especially not if Trump removes regulatory impediments to natural gas at the same time. That’s because, so far, Obama-era regulations, such as the Mercury Air Toxics rule, have played a secondary role in coal’s precipitous downward trajectory.
Even coal industry CEO Robert Murray – whose company Murray Energy Corp. owns mines in Utah, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky and West Virginia – says he explained this to Trump in a recent meeting with the candidate. "He wants to bring the mines back and I told him that was not possible," Murray told S&P Global Market Intelligence, a research company that publishes market analyses. "I don't think it will be a thriving industry ever again… The coal mines cannot come back to where they were or anywhere near it."
But Trump says he’s hearing a lot of complaints from the mining and electricity industries about regulations. And while many experts stress that low natural gas prices have been the biggest factor so far, the Energy Information Agency says it has not created a specific ranking of the factors contributing to coal’s downturn, including environmental regulations and low natural gas prices. "The two are somewhat intertwined," says Chris Namovicz, the Energy Information Agency’s acting team leader for electricity analysis. "You probably wouldn’t be seeing as big an impact from low gas prices without the environmental regulations, and you probably wouldn’t be seeing as big an impact from the regulations if gas prices were higher."
(Some experts counter that these regulations are in part about saving society money by preventing coal-related air and water pollution, which result in medical and clean up costs. Tierney also points out that Trump says he wants to bring back coal and also protect clean water and clean air – a further contradiction.)
President Obama’s Clean Power Plan, designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector nationwide, would be expected to hurt coal. The Supreme Court stayed that rule pending review, but Namovicz says the prospect of that rule also may be adding to coal’s current troubles.
However, some economists are convinced that low natural gas prices have played the dominant role in coal’s slide. There’s a strong correlation between falling gas prices and the decline in coal production. What’s more, while you can blame the retirements of some older coal plants on regulations, it’s harder to fault regulations for the day-to-day decisions of grid operators to increasingly opt for natural gas instead of coal.
Two economists, University of Colorado associate professor Daniel Kaffine and North Carolina State associate professor Harrison Fell, have been crunching data from every fossil-fueled power plant in four different regions of the country. They’re trying to quantify the relative roles that low-cost natural gas and the rise of solar and wind have played in coal’s negative trajectory.
They found in most of the regions studied that natural gas prices played a dominant role, and the growth of wind played a sizable secondary role. Regulations trail both.
“Banning fracking would be one mechanism to make coal competitive,” says Kaffine. But instead, Trump promises to remove regulations for natural gas too. “That’s just going to put even more downward pressure on coal.”
So the coal industry is still waiting to hear from Trump about how he would bring back jobs. Luke Popovich, a spokesman for the National Mining Association, says, “I certainly would like to hear some details on what exactly a new president might do to undo regulations that are impacting coal, let alone what he might do in the marketplace to restore employment.” He adds, “I don’t think anyone is satisfied that he has a plan to achieve what he promises.” On that, there seems to be widespread agreement.
Elizabeth Shogren is HCN's Washington, DC, correspondent. |
Copyright Trolls Now Threatening College Students With Loss of Scholarship, Deportation
from the sweethearts dept
In all of our coverage of copyright trolls, those rent-seeking underdwellers that fire off threat letters to those they suspect of copyright infringement with demands designed to extract cash without having to actually take anyone to court, it's quite easy to become somewhat numb to the underhanded tactics they employ. Between specifically targeting folks over pornography in order to minimize the chance that anyone might want to actually go to trial, to the privacy invading tactics occasionally used when a court case actually commences, it becomes easy to simply shrug at the depravity of it all.
But there is a special place in hell for copyright trolls who falsely inform students that failure to pay on receipt of threat letters, or who falsely inform foreign students that deportation could result from a failure to pay. According to at least one university in Canada, this is apparently a new favored tactic among some copyright trolls.
According to the copyright office at the University of Manitoba, mainly US-based rightsholders are writing on a regular basis to students demanding cash settlements for alleged infringement. Noting that the university forwards copyright infringement notices to students as they’re required to under the country’s ‘notice and notice‘ regime, the copyright office says some of the letters are “tantamount to extortion.” In addition to cautioning over the potential for multi-million dollar lawsuits, some notice senders are stepping up their threats to suggest that students could lose their scholarships if fines aren’t paid. For visiting students, things become even more scary. According to the university’s copyright office, some porn producers have told foreign students that they could face deportation if an immediate cash settlement of hundreds of dollars is not forthcoming.
Just so everyone is clear, loss of scholarship and/or deportation is not a thing that can actually happen as a result of failure to pay a copyright threat letter. I'm unclear on the implications of these letters coming from the US to Canada, but it sure sounds a hell of a lot like wire fraud to me. The point of wire fraud laws is to prevent one entity from gaining another's possessions under false pretenses. Threats of consequences that will not occur sure seem to fit the description, and I would think the Canadian government would want to say something about the claim that a foreign company could influence its immigration oversight on the basis of downloaded pornography.
Fortunately, the school is not simply taking this without action. Joel Guenette is the Copyright Strategy Manager for the university and he regularly educates students on the true nature of these threats.
“None of these are real consequences that could ever happen in the Canadian scheme of things, but we hear from students all the time – especially international students – who are really freaked out by this,” Guenette says. While being scared is understandable in such situations, Guenette’s department is keen to educate students on what these notices really mean. Particularly, they’re keen to stress that notice senders have no idea who notices have been delivered to, so students shouldn’t believe that copyright holders already know who they are.
Given how flimsy the evidence for any infringement tends to be in these cases, as well as how these accusations have been shown to be wrong in the past, the idea of subjecting this kind of terror to students, particularly foreign students, as purely a business tactic is about as slimy a thing as I can imagine. Hopefully more schools are doing as much as the University of Manitoba to educate their students on the pure BS of the majority of these troll letters.
Filed Under: college students, copyright troll, deportation, scholarships
Companies: university of manitoba |
Dear Senators McCain and Obama:
For our entire lives, America has been polarized by an angry culture war over such divisive issues as abortion and gay rights. It has been a fight marked by sincere passion and principles on the one hand, but also by stridency, vituperation, and lack of respect for the opposing sides’ motives and beliefs on the other.
We write to you from two traditionally warring camps, one evangelical and one progressive, joined in one voice and one vision, to offer an olive branch to end the culture wars. This olive branch is not a surrender, but a new approach that allows each of you to maintain your core principles, just as we have maintained ours, and heal a nation that is tired of the fight. This approach is based on common ground and common values.
In the 35-year fight since Roe v. Wade, it seems there are few common values to be found between our opposing sides. But it turns out that nearly all of us agree on the common value that we should reduce the need for abortions in America.
Supporting that common value is the common ground of dramatically reducing the number of unintended pregnancies in this country that lead to abortions. It means together supporting sex education programs that include accurate information about contraception and the importance of abstinence so that fewer unintended pregnancies occur. It means together supporting programs that teach parents how to communicate better with their children about values and programs that give low-income women greater access to contraception. It means that together we can agree that abortion should never be the only option and that young and poor pregnant women should receive support when they feel they need it to carry their pregnancy to term. The truth is that the most effective way to reduce the prevalence of abortions in America is to actually work together rather than to fight.
Gay and lesbian issues, like abortion, have also been tearing the nation apart. Here again, the differences are real and rooted in theological and philosophical differences. But on these issues too we can find a shared common value and shared path forward. That shared value is human dignity. We can all agree that all human beings are created in God’s image and have and deserve an innate human dignity – even those with whom one differs or disagrees. We can all agree that honoring this human dignity is a high moral and religious calling. And we can agree that any laws we create to expand rights must not abridge the religious liberty of religious communities. Common ground means, for example, that, apart from religious institutions, the workplace should judge you at work for the job you do and nothing more. That would be a careful step along America’s journey to fulfill its national ideals, and also to honor our highest moral and religious beliefs.
Senators McCain and Obama, each of you are running as a different kind of candidate, seeking to bring the nation together rather than to split us apart. Each of you has great potential to model a new type of leadership. Each of you has the power to heal the country and carve a new path forward through our shared common values.
We humbly submit our joint prayer that you, Senators McCain and Obama, help bring a just end to the culture wars.
With great respect,
David Gushee, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Christian Ethics, Mercer University.
Rachel Laser, Culture Program Director, Third Way. |
Bandcamp Embraces Pirate Googlers, Turns Them Into Customers
from the it's-not-so-hard-to-compete dept
A common complaint from the legacy movie and music industries is that when people Google things like "watch movies online," unauthorized sources rank higher than legitimate ones (for some crazy reason, it seems like people prefer comprehensive libraries of unrestricted links over stale selections of geoblocked videos). Moreover, they complain about autocomplete terms like "torrent," completely missing the fact that those are caused by people searching that exact thing, not the other way around.
So it's great to see the people at Bandcamp doing the exact opposite and celebrating the prevalence of those dirty pirate keywords. They looked at their own analytics and noticed a lot of sales being generated by search terms that would send your average RIAA lobbyist running to Congress:
For example, just this morning someone paid $10 for an album after Googling "lelia broussard torrent." A bit later, a fan plunked down $17 after searching for "murder by death, skeletons in the closet, mediafire." Then a $15 sale came in from the search "maimouna youssef the blooming hulkshare." Then a fan made a $12 purchase after clicking a link on music torrent tracker What.CD. Then someone spent $10 after following a link on The Pirate Bay, next to the plea "They sell their album as a download on their website. You can even choose your format (mp3, ogg, flac, etc). Cmon, support this awesome band!"
That last part is another example of how Mike described Louis CK's recent experiment: be polite, be awesome and be human. CK's video was also available on the Pirate Bay, and as someone here pointed out, it spurred several users to comment with links and encourage people to buy, while others offered explanations for their decision to use the torrent. Though there can be no doubt that in both cases some "hardcore" pirates just didn't give a damn, there are far more people who just want to be polite, awesome and human and support the artists who do the same.
Bandcamp recognizes that people who search for torrents and file locker links are, at the core, just fans looking to get some new music. By focusing on serving those fans, they don't need to worry about illegitimate sources -- after all, in most cases they already provide a superior option:
We see these sales as proof that Bandcamp can effectively compete with filesharing and other free distribution platforms by a) giving fans a clear, easy way to directly support the artist, and b) offering them a better user experience. Our favorite recent example of this was an $8 sale that started with the search �milosh flac -torrent.� So here was a fan looking for a Milosh record, wanted a high quality flac, but didn�t want to have to sift through a bunch of torrent sites. And that led them right to Bandcamp, and right to putting money in the artist�s pocket. Beautiful.
Beautiful indeed. When you tear down walls instead of constantly building new ones you can actually turn search terms like "torrent" to your advantage, rather than resorting to SEO-by-lawsuit. Bandcamp is yet more proof that you can "compete with free," if you give people an attractive alternative.
Filed Under: competing with free, infringement, piracy, search
Companies: bandcamp |
Scutellaria baicalensis (SB), a traditional herb with high pharmacological value, contains more than 10% flavone by weight. To improve the biological activity of flavones in SB, we aimed to enhance the bioconversion of baicalin (BG) to baicalein (B) and wogonoside (WG) to wogonin (W) in SB during fermentation using beta-glucuronidase produced from Lactobacillus brevis RO1. After activation, L. brevis RO1 was cultured in milk containing SB root extract with various carbon or nitrogen sources at 37°C for 72 h. During fermentation, the growth patterns of L. brevis RO1 and changes in the flavone content were assessed using thin-layer chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography. After 72 h of fermentation, the concentrations of B and W in the control group increased by only 0.15 and 0.12 mM, respectively, whereas they increased by 0.57 and 0.24 mM in the fish peptone group. The production of B and W was enhanced by the addition of 0.4% fish peptone, which not only improved the growth of L. brevis RO1 (p < 0.001) but also enhanced the bioconversion of flavones. In conclusion, the bioconversion of flavones in SB may provide a potential application for the enhancement of the functional components in SB. |
The Gang of Eight may make a comeback, even if not with the original cast.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who ran in the presidential primary for the 2016 election, says he is intent on relaunching the bipartisan Senate group that drafted a comprehensive immigration reform bill in 2013.
Graham says he will put his plan in action in 2017, because he is sure that the political terrain in Washington D.C. will be ripe for reforming immigration policy, given what he is certain there will be heavy GOP losses in the November election thanks to a fed-up Latino electorate.
“I’ll tell you what I’m going to do in 2017,” Graham said, according to Politico. “I’m going to take the Gang of Eight bill out, dust it off and ask anybody and everybody who wants to work with me to make it better to do so.”
Graham was part of the original group, which included four Republicans and four Democrats. The sweeping measure passed in the Senate, which at the time had a Democratic majority, but stalled in the House, where Republicans were the majority and where a conservative faction holds great sway. The measure sought, among other things, to tighten border security as well as give undocumented immigrants who met a strict set of criteria a chance to legalize their status.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, who could be the new majority leader if Democrats win back the majority in the upper chamber in November, has said he wants to move forward on another immigration reform effort after the election, Politico said.
But at least two GOP senators – Marco Rubio of Florida and John McCain of Arizona – who were part the Gang of Eight and now are facing reelection have backed away from the 2013 measure.
Rubio, who essentially became the face of the Gang of Eight, later said that a comprehensive approach was not feasible and that the thorny issue might best be addressed in a piecemeal fashion.
“I don’t believe that a comprehensive approach can pass, nor do I believe at this point, given everything that’s transpired, that it’s the right way forward,” Politico quoted Rubio as saying.
McCain said he just doesn’t want to talk about the issue right now.
“All I focus on is my election. Then I set the agenda for the next year,” he said to Politico. “I’m very superstitious about that.”
The perception among many lawmakers and political and immigration experts is that an Election Day GOP loss that ends up being linked – even in part – to Latino voters can set the stage for another serious effort to revamp the immigration system, particularly in a way that gives undocumented immigrants a chance to legalize their status.
Many experts and lawmakers believe presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s hard line rhetoric about immigrants and a deportation army could send Latinos and immigrants of all nationalities out to the polls in large or record numbers.
FWD.us, a group started by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg that pushes for immigration reform, has plans to implement an aggressive campaign after the election to Congress to work on another measure.
Some Republicans, such as David Perdue of Georgia and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who were elected to the Senate in 2014 and have large Latino constituents, want Congress to get back to work on generally immigrant-friendly reform measures, Politico notes.
“The hour [when] we can move it, we’ve got to move it,” said Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), another member of the Gang of Eight, said to Politico. “If they don’t [understand the urgency], we’ll do another autopsy after the next election and we’ll determine we’ve got to do it.”
The autopsy was what the GOP called the analysis the Republican National Committee conducted after 2012 nominee Mitt Romney did poorly – 27 percent – among Latino voters. President Barack Obama got 71 percent.
Democratic presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton has said she will move on immigration reform in her first 100 days. She said she would go beyond Obama’s controversial executive actions, which have faced serious challenges in courts.
Sen. Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican who is one of Congress’s most ardent hard liners on immigration and supports Trump, said the November election will play a huge role in determining how the divisive topic will be handled.
“The presidential election is just decisive on the whole situation in the sense that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama seem quite comfortable with the lawlessness that we have and seek constantly to increase immigration lawfully,” Sessions said to Politico.
“A Trump victory means that we will, I think in [a] rather short period of time, end the lawlessness at the border and will bring the country around to what I think a substantial majority favor,” he said.
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An exhibition in Vienna probes our attitude towards nudity - people in the West have become accustomed to the naked female form, but male nudes can still shock. Before the show opened, the museum even covered up parts of its own posters, saying they had caused public outrage.
Five naked male statues on a pedestal confront you as you enter the new exhibition at the Leopold Museum.
The earliest is Ancient Egyptian, and the most recent a figure based on a shopping mannequin.
Tobias Natter, the director of the Leopold Museum, says the opening display is a "walk through 5,000 years of history".
"You have an old Egyptian nude, which is very unusual for Egyptian art, you have Roman art, you have Rodin from the 19th and 20th Century, to a postmodern statue. It tells the visitor the male nude in art has a very long tradition," he says.
The exhibition features a diverse range of styles, from paintings by Peter Paul Rubens, Paul Cezanne, Edvard Munch and the expressionist artist Egon Schiele, to more modern and sexually explicit works by the US photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and the London-based artists Gilbert and George.
There are images of erect penises, and of anuses.
Natter says the museum is breaking new ground.
We are not used to seeing a penis - I think that is the main problem for people Erich Kocina
"It's quite unusual for an exhibition to focus on the depiction of the male nude. Surprisingly we had many exhibitions dealing with the female nude body, but so far never an exhibition which features the male nude. Somehow it is a taboo.
"On the other hand, we see that the male nude is getting a new presence in modern contemporary society. He is now on posters, he is on stages, he is getting more and more normal."
An image of naked woman is still regarded in a very different light from that of a naked man, Natter says.
"We saw with the advertising for our exhibition, there is still a difference between a female nude body on the poster or a male nude body. This makes a cultural difference that is still on-going and needs to be discussed with an exhibition."
One of the posters advertising the exhibit featured a full-frontal photograph of three naked footballers, by the French artists Pierre et Gilles. Shortly before the opening last month, the Leopold Museum said that it had received so many complaints that it had been forced to take action.
It put a red band covering the intimate parts of the footballers, on some - but not all - of the posters.
They are very well-built, they are sportsmen - it's nice to see A passerby comments on the posters
But Vienna is full of posters of naked or semi-naked women and is also known for its relaxed approach to nudity at mixed saunas and sunbathing areas. So did the pictures really cause outrage?
Erich Kocina, from Die Presse newspaper, says the museum expected to provoke controversy with the posters - but it went beyond that, causing serious offence to some Viennese.
"It's a mixture - 30% was marketing and 70% was genuine outrage," he says.
"I think we are just used to seeing naked women because they are used as objects of desire in advertisements and TV. Naked men are not that common - we are not used to seeing a penis. I think that is the main problem for people."
Art historian Eva Kernbauer, from the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, says male nudes have been around for a long time, but the way nude men and women have been depicted has always differed.
Art exposed Western art tends to focus on the naked female form, and expresses sensuality and desire
If we spare a thought for the male nude, says classicist Edith Hall, he tends to symbolise courage and endurance Listen to Edith Hall's Radio 3 essay on nudes In pictures: Nudes in art
"To put it very simply, male nudity was closely linked to strength, invulnerability and heroism, the female nude to beauty and erotics," she says.
"Also, the 'Venus pudica' [the shameful Venus] was already developed in ancient Greece, so the depictions of female chastity and female nudity are historically deeply interlinked. The female nude is not threatening at all - female nudity is vulnerable, because it acknowledges the gaze of the beholder."
This classical model is still powerful today, she says. Female nudity is not only omnipresent, it is also unthreatening. Male nudity is more challenging.
"Male nudity is very often linked to the exposure of sexual organs - the penis - and this is often done in a way that responds to the classical model of aggression and strength.
"While the sexual organ in itself does not necessarily have to appear as threatening or aggressive, the difference from the dominant model of soft female nudity is great."
Despite a long search throughout Vienna, I can't find anybody deeply outraged by the naked posters.
One man tells me guardedly that he is not "highly appreciative" of the image.
"It's provocative, it's true," says a woman named Eva. "On the other hand it is looking back to the old days when nakedness was quite common [in art], so I think we should get used to it."
And others, such as Cecile, a tourist visiting from France, like the nudes.
"They are very well-built, they are sportsmen, it's not like ugly old men with a big belly, so they are pretty. It's nice to see." |
A Republican congressman who served in Iraq and Afghanistan on Sunday looked back at the Iraq war and declared that it was a “just and noble war.”
During an interview on CNN, host Candy Crowley asked Rep. Tom Cotton (R-AR) for his views on the war 10 years after the U.S. invaded.
“The Iraq war noble and just war,” the Arkansas Republican declared. “I would say it was worth it, but it’s also a little too soon to tell because there’s nothing ever certain in human affairs.”
“But if you look at the accomplishments of our troops in Iraq, they deposed an evil tyrant who was an aggressive international dictator,” Cotton continued. “He’d invaded across two boundaries. He had demonstrated the ability and the will to use weapons of mass destruction. He was believed by every Western government — including senior high-ranking officials in President Obama’s cabinet right now — to be developing new weapons, who was in violation of numerous United Nations resolutions.”
“But under those conditions, I think as I said, it was a just and noble war.”
Many in Congress, however, now look back at the Iraq war as a mistake because President George W. Bush’s administration used false information about weapons of mass destruction as a “pretext” to invade.
“You remember World War II, Korea, all the major wars of this nation,” Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) said recently. “This is one that slips into the background, and people are comfortable with it slipping into the background. I think the legacy of this is always going to be that it was a mistake, that it was pre-emptive, that it wasn’t based on real information, and that the whole struggle could have been handled differently.”
Watch this video from CNN’s State of the Union, broadcast March 17, 2013. |
Props: MixFight.ru (via Lowkick.com)
Quoteworthy:
"UFC is a money making machine. The most important thing for this organization is a brand and it's marketing. They have a couple of good fighters and there are also some very good champions; but they are trying to keep everyone at the same level. The most important thing for them is the promotion, not the fighters. I think that they lack a respect for their fighters. As for me, I became a thorn in their side... We are constantly negotiating, but only during recent time the Americans began to show some respect. The dialogue between us is completely different right now. They are more interested in our opinion."
Russian heavyweight uber star Fedor Emelianenko continues his verbal attack on the UFC and their product. Just last week, "The Last Emperor" proclaimed he was no fan of the world's number one MMA promotion. Now, he seems to be relishing in the fact that throughout all the back and forth between himself, M-1 Global's Vadim Finkelstein, and the UFC management, he successfully developed into a prickly thorn stuck in the side of the Zuffa brass. What once seemed like almost an inevitability - Fedor stepping foot inside the Octagon - now seems as unlikely as it ever has. Anyone holding out hope? |
As I write this, I’m sitting in a hotel room in Port St Lucie, FL and my 12 year old son is asleep in the bed next to me. I wish I could just push the “life pause button” right now. He’s at that age of still being my little boy but displaying those great traits of maturing into his teenage years.
Sigh.
Other than the day he was born and I held him for the first time , we’ve never had a better moment together. And by moment, I mean the four hours we spent together this morning at the New York Mets spring training camp.
I am and have always been a huge baseball fan. I grew up watching every Mets game on TV with my dad. I still remember summer nights watching the small black and white TV we had on our screened in porch, hoping I’d never hear those words “Time for bed John”. The Mets were horrific in the late 70’s and early 80’s but I never cared. I just wanted to watch the theater of it all night.
My son’s passion for the game blows mine away. He knows every player in the league, their mother’s name and their Instagram handle. He knows all about the legends who played throughout the 20th century. He owns a hat from 22 of the 30 major league teams. He just recently taught me how to throw a knuckle curve ball. Most impressively, he has received 25+ autographed cards through the mail after sending each player a personalized hand written letter.
Having said all that, I’ve never seen him more prepared, more focused and more passionate than I saw him this morning. He had plans on how to get autographs and followed it to a tee. The sheer joy this typically quiet and laid back boy exuded today was worth every penny we paid for the trip. His smile and nervous excitement literally brought tears to my eyes. To watch my son follow his passion this young warms the heart and I can only hope he continues to do so in the future. Do what you love, do not worry about the money. Is it too soon to teach him that?
So as Jack painted Tradition Field red, I tried my best to document it all. Here are some photos from day 1 one of 3. If the next two days are half as good as today, we are in for more awesomeness.
The full squad meeting at the start of practice.
Mets ace Matt Harvey warming up surrounded by a massive group of onlookers. It is a thing of beauty to watch a pitcher of his caliber. That pop in the catcher’s glove is a true sound of spring.
Another Met stud pitcher of the future, Noah Syndergaard (aka Thor). Color me excited about the Mets future.
Highlight #1. Jack being interviewed for Mets Kids Clubhouse on SNY. He will be on an upcoming episode this season as he answered trivia and asked question of his favorite player, David Wright.
Highlight #2. Yes, that is the David Wright signing and somewhere buried in there is my son. The biggest score and I’m forever grateful for his patience with all of the loonies surrounding him.
That would be David Wright #mets #mlb A photo posted by john markowski (@jmarkowski0) on Feb 27, 2015 at 7:56am PST
Highlight #3. Not only a signature from Daniel Murphy, but a pic for the ages.
I love watching the players interact with each other and talk about important things like batting gloves.
Newly acquired veteran Michael Cuddyer sharing his years of experience with some of the younger players, like Lucas Duda.
As a former bad catcher, I couldn’t get enough of watching their drills. I have no idea how their knees survive the grind.
And there is that familiar swing again.
Yep, baseball is back. |
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