China Guessing
April 1, 2018 Joel Ivre Politics 0
I have never been comfortable with the term "China watcher." It is an awkward expression. It brings to mind a beardy, near-sighted academic in his ivory tower, peering through a spyglass at a country the West has never entirely managed to make sense of. Throughout the last two thousand years China has been romanticized, infantilized, colonized, ostracized and – eventually – recognized by the West as a player on equal terms.
The capricious attitudes of China watchers towards their subject of study have given rise to a body of predictions and prophecies that is rarely precise, sometimes ironic, and often wrong. In 1996, James Baker, George H.W. Bush's Secretary of State, considered it unlikely that there would be "a stable authoritarian China, for the foreseeable future." This was in line with popular American thinking at the time, which considered the violent suppression of student protests at Tiananmen in 1989 to be a sign of the inevitability of Chinese democracy, rather than a sign of its impossibility. Baker went on to predict "internal jockeying," which would eventually lead to a "transition to a more participatory political system." He wasn't even right about the jockeying, let alone the political transition.
Poking fun at such predictions with the benefit of hindsight is easy, and so maybe we should resist the urge. Nevertheless, the enterprise of "China watching" should perhaps better be labeled "China guessing."
Baker's failure to guess the future trajectory of China does not mean that all China watchers have been equally unfortunate. With some benefit of hindsight, one China watcher who did make an accurate prediction was Andrew Nathan. In 2003, after China had spent another seven years constantly disappointing James Baker, Nathan's theory of authoritarian resilience was an explanation as to why democracy had yet to arrive in the Middle Kingdom. The theory noted four emerging themes in Chinese politics: norms of succession, meritocracy, institutional specialization, and increased political participation that strengthened the legitimacy of the Party.
The first three themes can be summed up with one word: "institutionalization." The Party began to form political processes that were crucial to maintaining political stability. Altogether, this reduced the space for political infighting, what Baker termed "jockeying." There was certainly a fair amount of cloak-and-dagger going on still, but the Party still projected and maintained a uniform, public image of technocratic competence.
As for the fourth theme – political participation – this was not the same kind that Baker had spoken of so hopefully. Individuals were allowed, even encouraged, to speak out against injustice, but any attempts at even marginally organized protests by groups of people were harshly repressed. At the same time, Party institutions channeled complaints in such a way that they were mainly focused on "specific local-level agencies or officials, diffusing possible aggression against the Chinese party-state generally." For the Communist Party, political participation was not an end in and of itself, but rather a means to the end of political supremacy. The point was never to transition to a full democracy, but this halting form of political participation was often misconstrued as an indication that the Chinese were coming around to the idea of democracy. Even in 2015, I remember once attending a lecture at a Swedish university where an American professor designated China as "semi-democratic."
As China has now moved from authoritarianism back to totalitarianism, from collective leadership of the Politburo to the supreme leadership of Xi Jinping, it is worth asking the question how the factors that made authoritarian resilience successful in China translates into "totalitarian resilience."
First of all, any norms pertaining to leadership transitions seem to have been thoroughly discarded. Xi Jinping has extended his presidential term indefinitely, and it seemed more like an afterthought when he promoted his ally Wang Qishan, who by previous norms is too old for the position of vice president.
Second, China is still a meritocracy in some sense, perhaps even more than when Nathan penned his theory in 2003. As Cheng Li of the Brookings Institution has shown, the technocrats of yesteryear were political apparatchiks, engineers and natural scientists. By contrast, this generation of leaders are social scientists and economists, well-suited for the challenges that modern China is facing. However, close ties to Xi Jinping has allowed certain officials – such as the Chinese Communist Party chief in Beijing, Cai Qi – to "helicopter" into high positions without following more traditional career paths. The reemergence of such nepotism risks surrounding Xi with a crowd of sycophants, which can have catastrophic consequences for political decision making. Sure, the yes-men are smart and well-educated, but are they smart enough to second-guess Xi when necessary?
Third, at the latest meeting of China's parliament, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a host of state institutions was streamlined and merged. In a sense, this can be read as a corrective response to the "overspecialization" of Party institutions, which has created many overlapping areas of responsibility. At the same time, the Party is putting the State even more firmly under its thumb; at the CPPCC, the phrase "core socialist values" was added to the State constitution. As veteran China watcher Bill Bishop put it in a recent edition of the Sinocism newsletter: "The Party Eats More of the State." The Chinese state has of course always been under the control of the Party, but this consolidation of Party power suggests that we may have to add another theme to Nathan's theory of authoritarian resilience: ideological control.
During Xi Jinping's reign, ideological control has been turned up to levels unseen since Mao Zedong. The effect that this will have on Nathan's fourth theme – political participation – is unclear. On the one hand, censorship and thought suppression are likely to increase (even outside of China's borders), and this may suppress political activities all the way down to the grassroots; on the other hand, Xi Jinping is raising the stakes by taking personal responsibility of the Great Rejuvenation of China. Failure to deliver may spur discontent and cause serious popular backlash against the Party and against Xi himself. Chalk that up as my China-guess.
In sum, in my view "authoritarian resilience" is still a useful concept for understanding the lay of China's political landscape, but the concept needs to be tweaked in order to account for China's new totalitarian developments. In doing so, nothing about China should be taken as a given truth; history should testify to the fact that change is the only constant. Western China watchers in their ivory towers – and I suppose that also includes me – will have to keep scanning the country through their spyglasses and keep on China-guessing.
Joel Ivre
Joel Petersson Ivre is a masters student at Yonsei GSIS. His hometown is Stockholm, Sweden and although he considers it the most beautiful place in the world, he has left it several times to study abroad in China and Korea. Joel is a Young Leader at Pacific forum and and intern at East Asia Institute. He is mainly interested in the implications of China's rise for East Asia and the world.
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Germany: Muslim screaming "Allahu akbar" throws explosive in church during Easter mass, 24 injured in panic
By Pamela Geller - on April 21, 2019
We have come to dread the terror and bloodshed that Easter and Christmas bring. Militant Muslims want to kill the kuffar on their holiest days, their most joyous occasions, so as to maximize the horror and terror of it all. It's in the Qur'an: "We will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve for what they have associated with Allah of which He had not sent down authority. And their refuge will be the Fire, and wretched is the residence of the wrongdoers." (3:151)
CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION AND GENOCIDE IS WORSE NOW THAN "ANY TIME IN HISTORY," REPORT SAYS
Related: 2018: Four Christians Shot Dead During Easter Monday Terror Attack
Female medical student turned jihad homicide bomber planned thwarted Easter Sunday attack on church
Military: Officials foil 'major terrorist attack' on Easter Sunday
Gulf News:
Egypt, 2017, 45 dead
On April 9, 2017 two churches are bombed on Palm Sunday, killing 45 people. The attacks are in the cities of Tanta and Alexandria, where Coptic Pope Tawadros II had been leading a service. He is unharmed.
Daesh claims responsiblity.
Pakistan, 2016, 75 dead
On March 27, 2016, 75 people including many children are killed and hundreds are injured when a bomb packed with ball bearings explodes near a popular park in Lahore where Christians were celebrating Easter.
The attack is claimed by the Pakistani Taliban faction Jamaat-ul-Ahrar.
Nigeria, 2012, 41 dead
On April 8, 2012, 41 people are killed in a car bomb attack on Easter Sunday near a church in Kaduna, a key cultural and economic centre in the north that has been hit by the Islamist group Boko Haram.
Other attacks against Christians
Philippines: At least 21 people are killed on January 27, 2019 in a double suicide attack at a Catholic cathedral in the remote Muslim-majority island of Jolo.
Daesh claim responsiblity. Authorities attribute it to the Ajang-Ajang faction, a group linked to the Jolo-based Abu Sayyaf Islamist group.
Egypt: On May 26, 2017, 29 people including many children are gunned down by masked gunmen in central Minya targeting a bus carrying Coptic Christians travelling to the Saint Samuel monastery.
Daesh claim responsibility for the attack.
Cairo: On December 11, 2016, as Coptic Christians are in mid-prayer at their church in Cairo, a suicide attack tears through the building killing 29 people. Daesh claim responsibility.
Germany: Muslim screaming "Allahu akbar" throws firecracker in church during Easter mass, 24 injured in panic
Apr 21, 2019 7:28 am By Robert Spencer:
Again: "And prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of war by which you may strike terror in the enemy of Allah and your enemy and others besides them whom you do not know, whom Allah knows." (Qur'an 8:60)
"Munich: Dark-skinned burst in Easter service and shouted 'Allahu Akbar,'" translated from "München: Dunkelhäutiger platzt in Oster-Gottesdienst und schrie 'Allahu Akbar,'" PolitikStube, April 21, 2019 (thanks to Searchlight Germany):
A heavily drunken man, dark-skinned and with a beard, entered St. Paul's Church in Munich Theresienwiese during the Croatian Mass (Easter blessing), with a bottle of alcohol in hand, lit a firecracker and threw it in the middle of the church and shouted "Allahu akbar." Everyone panicked and threw the baskets that the Easter meal was in, and ran out screaming. This injured children and adults. The police and its team came and arrested the man. These are shocking pictures that must be shared and not hidden. There were some injured. Many children are in a state of shock.
Merkur Online reports that 24 people were injured.


New Jasper elementary school plans continue to develop
Dr. Tracy Lorey, the superintendent of the Greater Jasper Consolidated School Corporation, likened the process of designing and implementing a new combined elementary school to a puzzle.
"The bricks and mortar are one piece of the puzzle," Lorey said referring to the most recent preliminary plans revealed at Monday's meeting. "But we are also beginning the work of trying to marry two schools together and create a unique identity, climate and culture for a new school."
The new elementary school being constructed on corporation-owned property north of the middle school is set to open at the beginning of the 2019-20 school year. Construction on the facility could begin as soon as May. Plans for the construction include contingency funds for site work on the Fifth and Tenth Street Elementary schools for a potential cost that closes in on $30 million.
The new plans show the building will have 28 classrooms, two classrooms dedicated to science, technology engineering and math, 12 small group instruction centers and 11 individualized instruction spaces as well as rooms for art, music and media.
The design incorporates open floorplans as well as extensive use of natural light.
Plans are expected to be finalized by October 31 and a public meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, November 6 at the Jasper High School Auditorium.


December 9, 2017 12:01AM EST
Iran: Imprisoned Foreign Student Threatened
US Citizen Arrested for Historical Research Serving 10-Year Term
Xiyue Wang, a Princeton Ph.D. student and US citizen, was arrested in Iran on August 8, 2016, while researching Persian history for his doctoral thesis, July 18, 2017.
(Beirut) – The Iranian authorities' transfer of an imprisoned US doctoral student within Tehran's Evin prison heightens fear for his safety, Human Rights Watch said today. On December 6, 2017, Xiyue Wang, a Princeton Ph.D. student and US citizen, was moved to Evin's Ward 7 and was threatened by another inmate there in front of a guard, a knowledgeable source said.
On August 8, 2016, Iranian authorities arrested Wang, 37, who was doing research on the Qajar dynasty, Iran's ruling monarchy that ended in the early 20th century. He has since been held in Evin prison. The Mizan News Agency, which is close to Iran's judiciary, reported on July 16, 2017, that a revolutionary court had sentenced Wang to 10 years in prison on charges of "cooperating with an enemy state." In September, a court of appeal upheld the sentence.
"Iranian authorities do not limit unfair trials and mistreatment in custody to their own citizens but impose them on foreign nationals as well," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "To further threaten Xiyue Wang with physical harm is outright cruelty."
The source told Human Rights Watch that after Wang's transfer on December 6, "his life was immediately threatened [in front of a prison guard] by a Taliban inmate who was previously imprisoned at Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan." After the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, the US Central Intelligence Agency held and frequently tortured or ill-treated many detainees at Bagram. The same inmate threatened Wang when they were both detained in Ward 209, which led to his transfer to a different cell.
On November 26, 2017, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Agency claimed that Wang had traveled to Iran to obtain documents from the Iranian Foreign Ministry, National Library, and Parliament on behalf of the US government.
Princeton University has stated that Wang: "was in Iran solely for the purpose of studying Farsi and doing scholarly research in connection with his Ph.D. dissertation… His dissertation topic was not suggested to him by Princeton, the U.S. government, or anyone else… He has no connection to any government or intelligence agencies, and the charge that he was engaged in espionage is completely false. He studied the archival materials solely for his own research, and to our knowledge did not share them with anyone at Princeton or elsewhere."
Over the past two years, Iran has arrested several dual Iranian and foreign nationals on allegations of cooperation with Western countries. In August, a court of appeal upheld a 10-year prison sentence for Siamak Namazi, a dual Iranian-US citizen who was the head of strategic planning at the Dubai-based Crescent Petroleum, and his 80-year-old father, Bagher Namazi, a former representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on similar charges. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a dual Iranian-British citizen who worked for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, is serving a five-year prison sentence and has also been threatened with new charges, her family told Human Rights Watch.
Boris Johnson, the UK secretary of state for foreign affairs, is traveling to Tehran on December 9, and is expected to raise Zaghari-Ratcliffe's case with Iranian officials. On December 8, Alireza Rahimi, a member of Iran's Parliamentary National Security Commission, confirmed that Iran and the UK will discuss the case.
"Iran should stop using the arbitrary arrest and mistreatment of foreign nationals as a component of its foreign policy and treat everyone, citizen and foreigner alike, with respect for their basic human rights," Whitson said.
November 30, 2017 Dispatches
Iran's Child Soldiers in Syria
October 28, 2017 Dispatches
Iran's Guardian Council Trounces Religious Freedom
Lebanon: Syrian Refugee Shelters Demolished
Coercive Measures Intensify Pressures to Return to Syria


Robot & Frank
The Frank of 'Robot & Frank' is a slightly dotty retired jewel thief, rusting away in a remote New England community, a few years in the future. He's played with old-school charm by Frank Langella, who's deserved this kind of lead role for a while now. The robot is an Asimo clone bought by Frank's son (James Marsden) to act as his father's home help and health care worker. But it's not long before Frank is taking advantage of the robot's moral absence to carry out a series of daring cat burglaries in the neighbourhood.
'Robot & Frank' is sweetness itself: the buddy-buddy relationship between Langella and the straightest straight man in history is nicely written, while the new-lease-of-life angle is played with a pleasing absence of sentiment. But the film feels slight – it doesn't quite crack 90 minutes – and never gains much momentum, trundling towards a morose but largely unmoving climax. There are some odd plot choices, too: a budding romance between Frank and local librarian Jennifer (Susan Sarandon) adds heart, until a bizarre final-act twist undermines all that's gone before. Ultimately, it feels as though the filmmakers have settled for the soft option one too many times, and the result is a pleasant but unmemorable watch.
Written by Tom Huddleston Tuesday 5 March 2013
Rated:12A
Release date:Friday 8 March 2013
Director:Jake Schreier


Two Harris County Democrats set to represent longtime GOP districts in Texas House
Jasper Scherer, Staff writer
Democrats Gina Calanni, District 132; and Jon Rosenthal, District 135 are both incoming members of the Texas House of Representatives.
Yi-Chin Lee, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer
When the Legislature convenes in Austin on Jan. 8, Harris County's House delegation will include two new Democrats who flipped seats long held by Republican lawmakers.
Last month, state Rep.-elects Gina Calanni, D-Katy, and Jon Rosenthal, D-Houston, knocked off two-term state Rep. Mike Schofield and 12-term veteran Rep. Gary Elkins, respectively.
Both wins demonstrated the changing political makeup of Harris County's fast-growing west suburbs, areas that played a major role in turning the county solidly blue during the midterms. Republicans are sure to take aim at the seats in 2020 and beyond, though Calanni and Rosenthal say they recognize the conservative constituencies in their districts and plan to focus on issues that work for both sides of the political aisle.
"I won my district with 50.8 percent. The Republican guy got 47.7," said Rosenthal, who considers himself a progressive Democrat. "So, I had a 3-point margin, which means I represent a district that's pretty much 50-50. I feel like, no matter what I have in my heart, I have to represent the district 50-50. That's what the job is."
Both new lawmakers undoubtedly were bolstered by a combination of favorable trends for Democrats, including an unpopular Republican president and galvanizing Democrats running at the top of the ticket and in an overlapping congressional district.
Still, if the political forces of President Donald Trump, Rep. Beto O'Rourke and Rep.-elect Lizzie Pannill Fletcher helped the two Democrats get near the finish line, their campaigns helped them cross it. Calanni, for instance, personally knocked on more than 10,000 doors in the 132nd District and raised nearly $139,000 in the month or so before the election.
She ultimately won her race by 113 votes, or .17 percentage points. Nearby, eight-term state Rep. Dwayne Bohac, a Houston Republican, survived by a whisker: 47 votes, out of more than 48,000, in House District 138.
Rosenthal, meanwhile, won Texas' 135th District by 3.2 percentage points. Though he was far outraised by Elkins, the incumbent was sitting on $334,000 in campaign cash by Oct. 27, a sum that would have been difficult to fully spend by Election Day.
Upcoming session
Calanni, 41, and Rosenthal, 55, both say they will focus on the topic that appears set to dominate the legislative session: reforming how the state funds public education. The two Democrats made it a top issue of their races, with Rosenthal putting "the focus of the campaign" on his calls for the state to kick in more funds for public education.
Calanni, a former bankruptcy and tax paralegal in the Travis County attorney's office, considers herself a moderate and said she previously has voted for candidates from both parties. She was among the numerous candidates who joined the political fray for the first time in 2018 after growing upset over the divisiveness between the two parties.
"I definitely identify as a Democrat, but I think there are a lot of things, especially on a local level, that are not really separated into party issues," she said.
Calanni's campaign focused on topics that fit that description: flood control and mitigation, sex trafficking and, foremost, the need to reform education funding.
"When I'm knocking on a door and talking to people that I know are Republicans, then I talk specifically about public education and that we don't have enough funding for it," she said.
Already, Calanni plans to introduce legislation that would address sex trafficking, a pervasive issue in Houston and one that has drawn the attention of liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans alike. Before she ran for office, Calanni worked for several nonprofits focused on the issue.
Calanni said she would aim to provide work programs to teach job skills to sex trafficking victims, similar to an initiative already operating in Harris County. Calanni also wants to provide counseling services for victims and to strengthen business licensing requirements to prevent businesses from operating as brothels.
The 132nd District, which went to Trump in 2016 by about 4 percentage points, runs from Cypress to Katy on Harris County's western border. To its east is the 135th District, which encompasses many of Harris County's northwest suburbs, including Bear Creek, Copperfield, Cypress and Jersey Village. Trump won the district by 2 percentage points.
Rosenthal's run for office can be traced back to Trump's election, after which he founded a chapter of Indivisible, an anti-Trump advocacy group, in Texas' 7th Congressional District. The group began meeting with a coalition of other local progressive grassroots organizations, and somewhere along the line, Rosenthal made the plunge with the understanding that his new Democratic friends would be fully behind his candidacy.
"Just the fact that I came from a group of activist groups started me off with kind of a volunteer base," Rosenthal said. "The original plan was, I'll raise as much as I can, but I'm going to rely heavily on progressive activists to help us."
Around Labor Day, Rosenthal drew support from a handful of local teacher groups focused on public education advocacy. That marked an inflection point in the campaign, he said, because they helped him raise money and ramp up his ground game.
Looking ahead to the session in Austin, Rosenthal intends to play a role in the effort to reform public education funding, but also hopes to introduce legislation to regulate how much interest payday lenders can charge. The measure would reverse some of the regulations lifted by Elkins, who owns several payday lending businesses and authored bills to lift interest caps on payday loans.
Speaker's race
In November, shortly after the midterm elections, state Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, released a list tallying the 109 House members who said they planned to vote for him for House speaker.
Outgoing House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, did not seek re-election; the next speaker will be elected by a vote on the House floor Jan. 8. Calanni and Rosenthal, having just won their elections, did not appear on Bonnen's initial list, but both say they have met with the presumptive speaker and plan to vote for him.
"Right now, this is probably the best guy for the job," Rosenthal said. "He is totally committed to public education finance reform without injecting his opinion into the conversation."
Rosenthal also was encouraged by Bonnen's history of standing up to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the Texas Senate, on issues favored by the House.
"If you're looking for someone to put in the ring with our lieutenant governor, I don't know if you could pick a better person on either side of the aisle," Rosenthal said.
Calanni appeared more cautious in her support for Bonnen, though she said an initial meeting with the Brazoria County Republican left her with a positive impression.
"The reality is that, unless something wild happens, he's going to be the next speaker," Calanni said.
More likely than not, she said, Bonnen will help members work together across the aisle — something she intends to do herself.
"He came across as a very nice man that seemed like he wanted to really get things done, that he was protective of the House and making sure that our bills were not going to get blocked," Calanni said.
jasper.scherer@chron.com
twitter.com/jaspscherer
Jasper Scherer
Reach Jasper on
Jasper Scherer covers Texas politics and government for the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News. He joined the Hearst Austin bureau in 2021 after nearly three years as a City Hall reporter for the Chronicle and a prior stint covering Bexar County for the Express-News. He has also reported on local politics for both papers.
A native of San Francisco, he graduated from Northwestern University in 2017 with degrees in journalism and political science, and has interned for the Tampa Bay Times, Washington Post and Fortune magazine.


The most fundamental geological processes in the Solar System.
Home / Impact Craters
The entire surface of the Moon highlighting the numerous craters that populate the surface. Please note that the polar regions are stretch due to the projection.
The image above shows the entire surface of the Moon. The Moon has an astounding ~30,000 impact craters that can be seen from a backyard telescope, and millions of craters have been counted to date by cameras in lunar orbit! Impact cratering occurs on every planetary body in the Solar System and is the most common geologic landform on other planets. They are a product of masses of rock in space colliding at exceptionally fast speeds with planetary bodies. We call these hypervelocity impacts for this reason.
A simple crater 2.3 km found on the lave plains of Elysium Planitia, Mars. (Mars Global Surveyor image PIA02084.)
As the collisions happen at such high velocity, unprecedented amounts of kinetic energy are released, making the process by which impact craters form truly unique. These collisions also produce truly unique rocks and geologic environments! Impact craters also vary in size and shape depending on the size of the impactor, the mass of the planetary body being hit, and the material they are hitting. Smaller impactors generally produce bowl-shaped craters called simple craters. These craters are exactly as you imagine an impact crater and are fairly small. On Earth, simple craters are mostly less than 2–4 km in diameter, but on Mars and the Moon, where the gravitational field is lower, simple craters can have diameters up to 5–10 km or 15–27 km, respectively.
A Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter image of the complex crater, Tycho, on the Moon. Note the central uplift surrounded by flattened floors in the centre and the slumped walls.
Craters above these diameters no longer take on that simple bowl morphology, rather as the diameter increase uplift of the centre of the crater begins to occur. The rims of these craters also no longer have a simple bowl form, rather the rims become structurally complicated as they break and sink downwards towards the centre of the crater. For this reason, we call these craters complex craters. Due to the uplift of material in the centre of the crater, complex craters provide a unique opportunity to see material from depth on other planetary bodies that wouldn't be otherwise possible.We also find impact craters are much larger in diameter than complex craters. On the Moon, craters over ~220 km in diameter take on a different morphology than complex craters. Two or more rings start to define the crater and so we call these craters multi-ring craters. Due to the lack of erosion on the Moon, the most well-preserved examples of multi-ring basin structures are found there; however, they are also found on Earth and other planetary bodies.
In recent decades, we have begun to study impact cratering in greater detail. Powerful computational models allow us to study this quick geologic process in detail. There is, however, still a lot of work that needs to be done to better understand the impact cratering process. These geologic landforms have the potential to radically alter the Earth very quickly and pose a threat to the Earth. They also form hydrothermal systems that could have hosted early life on Earth and other planetary bodies like Mars. Impact craters are also often associated with rich, economic deposits that are mined to supply our society with the numerous metals and resources we need. We invite you to explore the various pages of this website and learn about a truly unique geologic process that has shaped this Solar System into what we see today.
http://impact.uwo.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/layered_impact-1.mp4
Simulation of the impact cratering process.


First EVO 4G Review Hits The Web!
Chris Dehghanpoor
2010/05/19 6:54pm PDT May 19, 2010
Devices By Manufacturer
EVO 4G (Supersonic)
Looking for a tasty little news snack before the big keynote at Google I/O tomorrow? Well, you're in luck, because it appears that Walt Mossberg over at All Things D dropped his EVO 4G review tonight.
The review's fairly short…it's almost more of a preview than a proper rundown, but I'm sure the usual suspects (Engadget, Gizmodo, MobileCrunch), will cover the device in greater detail in their reviews. Until those start popping up though, what can we glean from Mossberg's?
It's fast. Walt says the phone's 4G capability 'offers the highest consistent downstream data speeds I have ever seen on a cellular network.'
4G use significantly reduces the battery life. This shouldn't be a surprise, as we see a similar problem on 3G networks, but Mossberg notes the battery runs down 'alarmingly fast'.
The phone's massive screen, predictably, makes it a bit larger and bulkier than most
That's pretty much all the review says. He mentions, in passing, the phone's other features, but avoids going into greater detail about his experiences with them. Instead, since the phone's biggest claim to fame is the 4G capability, that's what he focuses on.
While he enjoyed the speedy 4G access the phone provided, he also noted that he didn't see anywhere near the Sprint's advertised speeds:
Sprint claims that average users will see downstream data speeds of between 3 and 6 megabits per second on the EVO when 4G is in use. In my tests, in the heart of Baltimore's popular Inner Harbor district, I averaged 3.4 mbps downstream over 4G, and just under 1 mbps upstream (the upstream speed is capped by Sprint at 1 mbps.) That downstream speed was double the EVO's speed when using 3G, and the upstream speed was about triple.
In D.C., where the Sprint 4G network is still being completed and tuned, downstream streams varied widely, from under 1 mbps to a high of around 4 mbps.
The EVO was much faster than an iPhone using AT&T's network, which in Baltimore never got to even 1 mbps downstream and in D.C. averaged about 1.8 mbps. Verizon's new Droid Incredible, another HTC Android phone, did well in both cities, averaging about 2 mbps downstream, but that was still slower than the EVO.
Sprint explains I never saw anything close to its top claimed speed by pointing out that both cellular reception and test methods can vary greatly, and that my sample was small.
So, while he wasn't seeing advertised speeds, 3.4 mbps down from a cellular network is still mighty fast.
I really would have liked to see more in-depth coverage of the phone's other features, so I'm really not sure why he chose to overlook those.
Not to start a flame war, but it's been mentioned in the past that Mossberg leans more towards the Cult of Apple than most, and while I'm not saying that necessarily had anything to do with it, compare his review of the EVO 4G to his review of the iPhone 3GS. Notice anything?
Source: All Things D
evo4g
Official Sprint HTC Hero Upgrade to Android 2.1 Is Now Available
Confirmed: Official Sprint HTC Hero Android 2.1 Update Is Exactly The Same As The Leaked One ...


Three questions facing Winnipeg Jets
By Adam GretzAug 31, 2018, 4:52 PM EDT
Each day in the month of August we'll be examining a different NHL team — from looking back at last season to discussing a player under pressure to focusing on a player coming off a breakthrough year to asking questions about the future. Today we look at the Winnipeg Jets.
Three questions for you to ponder regarding the 2018-19 Winnipeg Jets…
1. Who will replace Paul Stastny on the second line?
The Jets made one of the best deadline rentals in the NHL last year when they landed Paul Stastny from the St. Louis Blues, adding to an offense that was already one of the best in the league. Stastny made an immediate impact and proved to be a perfect fit on the team's second line between young studs Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers. During the regular season and playoffs that trio outscored teams by a 24-12 margin at 5-on-5, while Stastny put together an incredible postseason individually with 15 points in the team's 17 games. He turned that performance into a long-term contract with the Vegas Golden Knights in free agency, leaving a vacancy on the Jets' second line.
It is probably expected that spot will once again be filled by Bryan Little, just as it was last season before the addition of Stastny.
That is going to put some pressure on Little because he is coming off of a down year and did not seem to be a great fit between Laine and Elhers (they performed much better alongside Stastny).
If not Little, another internal candidate could be 2015 first-round pick Jack Roslovic.
The 21-year-old Roslovic got his first real look in the NHL this past season, appearing in 31 games for the Jets, scoring five goals to go with nine assists. Expecting him to take over such a big role at this point may be expecting too much, but he certainly has potential and has been outstanding in the American Hockey League the past two years.
2. Will they be able to keep everybody?
The Jets have a significant chunk of their core signed long-term with Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers, Bryan Little, Mathieu Perreault, Dustin Byfuglien, and Connor Hellebuyck all signed for at least the next three years (Scheifele, Ehlers, Little, and Hellebuyck are signed for at least the next five), while some of them are signed to what can fairly be called "team-friendly" deals under the salary cap.
That is all very good.
[Jets Day: 2017-18 Review | Under Pressure | Breakthrough]
But they still have some big contract decisions coming over the next years as team captain Blake Wheeler, prized goal-scorer Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor, Tyler Myers, and Jacob Trouba are all due for new contracts after this season. Wheeler and Myers are set to become unrestricted free agents, while the others are all still restricted.
It is a given that Laine and Connor are going to get taken care of given their age, production, and potential.
The big questions are going to revolve around Wheeler and, most especially, Trouba.
Wheeler has been one of the league's most productive — and underrated — wingers over the past six years and has become one of the Jets' most valuable players. But he is also entering his age 32 season (he actually celebrates his 32nd birthday Today, on Jets' day) and there is some risk with a long-term contract for a player at that age. He is still great now, but will he be when he is 35 or 36?
Then there is Trouba, one of the team's best and most important defenseman whose contract saga has been a complicated one for years. It almost seems like a given that he is not going to be a member of the Jets for the long haul and the only question that remains is whether or not he gets traded before the trade deadline or in the offseason.
3. Will they make another run at the Stanley Cup Final?
After going nearly two decades in their existence without winning a single playoff game (and only making the playoffs twice) the Jets came almost out of nowhere last season to finish with the league's second-best record (a 27-point improvement from the year before) and come within three games of reaching the Stanley Cup Final.
There is every reason to believe that the roster as presently constructed can continue to be a force in the Western Conference.
They are, for the most part, fairly young with a significant collection of their core all still in their peak years, they are incredibly talented (especially at forward) and should have the salary cap flexibility to make another significant splash in-season if they feel they can make a trade to help put them over the top.
The big question is going to be whether or not the goaltending holds out and performs the way it did this past season. If Hellebuyck can continue to be a legitimate No. 1 starting goaltender there is no reason why this team can not be a factor in the Western Conference.
Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.
Tags: Blake Wheeler, Bryan Little, Connor Hellebuyck, Dustin Byfuglien, Jack Roslovic, Jacob Trouba, Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, Mathieu Perreault, Nikolaj Ehlers, Patrik Laine, Paul Stastny, Tyler Myers


Former UFC fighter allegedly murdered girlfriend in Mexico during fight about cheating accusations
Marc J Sanchez/Icon SMI/Icon Sport Media via Getty Images
Former UFC fighter Phil Baroni allegedly beat his girlfriend to death in Mexico after she admitted to cheating on him, according to reports.
A woman was reportedly found dead in a Mexico hotel room on New Year's Day after Baroni informed police that his girlfriend was unresponsive. Mexican news outlet Tribuna de la Bahía reported that the woman was naked and had multiple bruises on her face and body. She reportedly had "no vital signs."
Baroni reportedly told Mexican authorities that he engaged in a fight with his girlfriend after she confessed to cheating on him with another man. During the argument at a hotel room in San Pancho, the New York native ordered the woman identified only as "Paola" to take a bath. The girlfriend refused, so Baroni allegedly threw the woman into the shower. Baroni reportedly told law enforcement that he had been smoking marijuana and drinking beer before the incident.
The Tribuna de la Bahía reported that the woman from Mexico City hit her head after she fell into the bathtub.
Baroni claimed that his girlfriend recovered from the alleged domestic violence confrontation. Baroni allegedly said he helped the woman into bed and put a sheet on her after the woman said she was cold. She later asked the former mixed martial arts fighter to buy her cigarettes and beer. The former UFC fighter allegedly said that when he returned from the store, Paola was unresponsive.
Mexican law enforcement launched an investigation into the woman's death.
Baroni was arrested in Mexico, the prosecutors' office in the Pacific coast state of Nayarit said on Wednesday. Baroni is being held in custody in Valle de Banderas.
The first hearing on the woman's death will begin on Monday.
Baroni – nicknamed the "New York Bad Ass" – has been a professional MMA competitor since 2000.
Baroni started fighting in the UFC in 2001, retired in 2011, and had a record of 13-13. The MMA fighter also competed in Pride, Strikeforce, Bellator, and One Championship. Baroni was knocked out during a World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation bout in 2018. Baroni's final fight happened in 2019 in China during the Rebel Fighting Championship. Overall in his professional MMA career, Baroni had a record of 16-19.
This is the second violent incident for the UFC in Mexico this week.
Video was released this week of UFC president Dana White getting into a physical altercation. The couple, married for 26 years, was celebrating New Year's Eve in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. White was caught on video slapping his wife after she hit him first.
White apologized for his actions and said he was "embarrassed."
"You've heard me say for years, 'There's never, ever an excuse for a guy to put his hands on a woman,' and now here I am on TMZ talking about it," White told TMZ.
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Sadie Frost >
Sadie Frost's Praise For Jude
By Bang Showbiz on 04 September 2010
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Sadie Frost still regards ex-husband Jude Law - the father of three of her children - as the ''love of her life''.
Sadie Frost says Jude Law was the "love of her life".
The former actress - who has children Rafferty, 13, Iris, nine and seven-year-old Rudy -with the actor, as well as son Finlay, 19, with first spouse Gary Kemp - admits she values the time she had with her ex-husband more than any other romance.
Speaking about her new autobiography 'Crazy Days', she said: "Everyone has to remember those early parts of falling in love. They're great memories and I'm glad the children can read them.
"It reminds me how important he was, is, to me. He was the love of my life, and he's been the most important relationship of my life.
"He was a wonderful partner and he's a great dad."
However, Sadie admits she still clashes with her former spouse.
She said: "We get on pretty much most of the time. Sometimes there's a disagreement or we annoy each other but we resolve it quickly and move on."
Sadie - who split from Jude in 2003 after almost six years of marriage - is currently single and though she would "love" to settle down again, she is happy with her independence.
She added: "I think it was important to learn to survive on my own - I'd always relied on other people.
"In a way I had to grow up, not rely on anyone else, not play the victim and be responsible for my own life. Once I did that, things started to fall into place."
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Home News by type Business Support LEP launches growth strategy
LEP launches growth strategy
The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has officially launched its economic strategy with a pledge to "champion the local economy while safeguarding the very things that make Cornwall and Scilly special".
The strategy, which will set the course of Cornwall's economy for the next eight years, was launched via a webcast from the Pool Innovation Centre.
It included a short film showcasing successful Cornish businesses and a live Q&A session with LEP chairman Chris Pomfret and fellow board member Simon Tregonning, chairman of Classic Cottages in Helston.
Explaining the LEP's guiding principle in drawing up the strategy, Pomfret said: "Sustainable development lies at the heart of this strategy because if in increasing the social and economic wellbeing of the people of Cornwall and Isles of Scilly we destroy the environment – the landscape, its biodiversity, its communities, culture and heritage – then we will have failed."
The strategy itself, which follows consultation with hundreds of local businesses and a series of roadshows across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, is based on four key priorities: business growth, skills, knowledge and the environment.
It details what the LEP would like to see happen with each of these priorities, and what it proposes to do to help achieve them.
The strategy has been welcomed by local business leaders. Shaun Galloway, finance director at Ginsters, said: "The draft strategy document is very welcome, balanced and defines a sound overall guiding policy for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly which the Samworth Brothers' businesses in Cornwall support."
Paul Wickes, chief executive of the Cornwall Marine Network, added: "The LEP has produced a strategy that supports skills and innovation to enable economic growth. CMN is delighted to see the focus on marine renewable energy and the opportunity for all businesses to contribute towards sustainable growth."
To download a copy of the Economic Growth Strategy for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly 2012-2020, and to watch the strategy launch webcast in full, click here.
chris pomfret
cornwall and isles of scilly LEP
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Two steps towards a more resilient world
Christian Mumenthaler, Group Chief Executive Officer of Swiss Re
Buildings were destroyed, homes shattered and nearly 300 lives lost. While the headlines soon faded, the tragic impact of the 2016 earthquakes in central Italy is still all too real for the people who once lived in the now devastated small towns of Amatrice, Accumoli and Pescara del Tronto.
With only 1% of residential buildings in Italy insured, dozens of families are still living in shelters. Without the support of an insurance payout, many people are left wondering how they will ever rebuild their lives.
Natural disasters like this are increasing in severity and frequency. They can occur anywhere, even in places not considered to be at high risk. Christchurch in New Zealand, for example, was not a place readily associated with high earthquake risk before the 2011 earthquake – unlike the country's capital, Wellington, which sits near the main fault lines.
As well as the impact on lives, uninsured losses following catastrophes can influence countries' economic growth for several years. The threat to the future development of our world is very real. To prepare for these challenges both the public and private sectors, including the reinsurance industry, must take bold and decisive action today to create the resilient societies and economies of tomorrow.
Number of events 1970-2015
Image: Swiss Re Economic Research & Consulting and Cat Perils
We need to unlock funds to build robust infrastructure
Roads, railways, ports and other infrastructure are the building blocks for long-term economic and social development. They must be constructed – or retrofitted – to withstand natural disasters. This is already happening in some places: in Japan, actions to strengthen infrastructure long before the 2011 earthquake and tsunami meant damage to the country's key infrastructure was lower than the outcome of similar events in other parts of the world. This saved lives and reduced some of the economic costs.
Stronger, smarter infrastructure requires investment. As governments struggle with high debt burdens, the funding gap for both revamping infrastructure and new projects – currently estimated at $50-70 trillion through 2030 – continues to widen.
Bridging that gap is particularly important for emerging markets, where infrastructure needs are the greatest. As the World Bank has noted, the lack of infrastructure comes at an enormous economic and social cost. Over 1.3 billion people – almost 20% of the world's population – still have no access to electricity; 768 million people worldwide lack access to clean water; and 2.5 billion don't have adequate sanitation.
Humanitarian crises are on the rise. By 2030, this is how we'll respond
21.3 million people are at risk if this doesn't change
Reducing the risk from natural disasters means looking to the past, as well as the future
Tapping into long-term investors' capital could help. Managing around $27 trillion worth of assets globally, and with long-dated liabilities, the reinsurance industry is a natural fit. But despite long-term investors' appetite for infrastructure debt investment, the process remains complex and every project is regarded as unique.
The consequence is predictable: politicians complain that they can't find investors to build essential infrastructure; investors complain about the lack of projects that suit their risk and return profiles. People, both in developed and emerging markets, are left with rundown airports, clogged metro services and power cuts.
The first step to unlocking long-term investors' funds is to introduce a standardized infrastructure asset class on a global scale. The European Financial Services Roundtable has put forward a template for documentation and disclosure, which could serve as a starting point for a shared public-private sector understanding and good market practice.
Despite recent global policy efforts and acknowledgement that a tradable asset class is required, we have not yet seen a great deal of change. Swiss Re is, therefore, developing an infrastructure tradability indicator – a quantitative tool designed to help investors and policy-makers assess the progress achieved, and bring infrastructure debt another step closer to becoming a standardized and tradable asset class.
Such an asset class would make the investment process simpler, giving long-term investors more confidence to invest and taking some of the financial load off governments' shoulders.
Ultimately, the flow of funds to infrastructure would create jobs, provide access to food, water and energy, and lift people out of poverty. With the world population growing, this has never been more important: the concentration of economic and social assets in metropolitan areas will increase in coming decades and the impact of natural catastrophes will rise even more if we don't prepare now.
We need to step up collective efforts to better prepare communities
As well as being important long-term investors, reinsurers are risk absorbers. Our industry provides financial support when disaster strikes, helping communities get back on their feet as quickly as possible. But not all people are protected equally: the global disaster protection gap is estimated at $1.3 trillion. This figure is a reminder of the need for a broad approach, involving international and public institutions, to help increase insurance coverage, allowing countries and their residents to prepare to bounce back faster.
Last year, for example, Swiss Re partnered with local government in China's Guangdong region to launch a pilot insurance programme covering the province against losses from tropical cyclones and excessive rainfall. Guangdong is responsible for over $1 trillion of China's GDP, but is heavily exposed to natural disasters. The programme uses rainfall and tropical cyclone wind speed indices to trigger policy claims, ensuring fast payout to help those affected recover quickly. Super-typhoon Haima triggered the first payout to the city of Shanwei less than a week after the disaster struck.
If we – the reinsurance industry and governments – can step up our collective efforts to strengthen the resilience of cities and design products that are easy to access and affordable, the level of devastation following disasters will be minimized in the future.
Talks at the World Economic Forum this week are an important platform for foresight. But it's the action taken afterwards that will make the difference: funding resilient infrastructure through a standardized asset class and innovative public-private solutions will ensure people, like those in central Italy, are better prepared for future events.
Christian Mumenthaler,


Home›Uncategorized›The NCAA Gets Tough
The NCAA Gets Tough
In a Thursday column for ESPN.com, Andy Katz writes about the sanctions handed down to Baylor University's basketball program for rules infractions. Head Coach Dave Bliss and an assistant coach are banned from the NCAA for 10 and 5 years, and the program may not play any regular season non-conference games next year. All of this comes after Baylor had already placed its program on probation for a year including the loss of post-season play (a big self-imposition because this permitted several players to transfer without sitting out a year). Katz notes
The Baylor case is one of the most extreme since, perhaps, the last death penalty case at SMU in the 1980s. Baylor was close to being shut down for 2005-06 since the committee used that same provision to get rid of non-conference games for the first time ever ...
The infractions committee sent a serious message with this case, one that should be heeded by all institutions, coaches and players in Division I.
The "serious message" sent is open to interpretation. Katz implies that the NCAA signaled schools of its willingness to come down hard on rule-breaking. An alternative (though not mutually exclusive) spin on this message would be Abe Lemmons' great quip, "The NCAA is so mad at Kentucky that it put Cleveland State on probation."
My 1992 book on the NCAA as a cartel with Trey Fleisher and Bob Tollison advances the Lemmons' view more so than Katz's. The book highly simplifies a complex organization. The cooperative-competetive games within the NCAA involve a number of dimensions with a variety of coalitions. Nevertheless, I still think that several of our basic insights hit on key behavioral outcomes. The pertinent one here is that the NCAA does want to send a "get tough" signal but that the SMU's or Baylor's of the world are much more likely to be sacrificed at the altar than the real big boys. High-flying programs such as Notre Dame, Florida State, Miami, Michigan, and Alabama have all had "serious" misconduct both alleged and "proven." One can argue about the "seriousness" of any one episode versus another or about "patterns" of conduct. While Michigan and Alabama received sanctions that were stiff for "big schools," neither received the death penalty of SMU or modified death penalty that Baylor even though the cases involved huge direct payments to players, dwarfing anything in the Baylor case.
The "stick-it-to-the-little-guy" hypothesis is often misunderstood. It does not imply that the Infactions Committee members openly discuss differential standards or even have that kind of idea in mind. Only a "behaviorlist" view of the world requires such. Instead, the Committee members need only to respond to the (strong) incentives to keep the big boys up and running. The makeup of the Committee may itself lend itself in this direction (currently 3 members are from the University of Alabama). Even without membership being stacked, all members are aware that a death penalty or modified version of it for a Michigan or Alabama may send a signal but also imposes huge, negative consequences for the rest of the NCAA schools. In contrast, Baylor's loss of half of their season creates little impact on the NCAA as a whole. One might call it a version of the "too big to fail" kind of incentive sometimes at play in public policy.
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GEOMETRIC APPLICATIONS OF DAVENPORT-SCHINZEL SEQUENCES.
Micha Sharir, Richard Cole, Klara Kedem, Daniel Leven, Richard Pollack, Shmuel Sifrony
Efficient algorithms are presented for the following geometric problems: (1) Preprocessing of a 2-D polyhedral terrain so as to support fast ray shooting queries from a fixed point. (2) Determining whether two disjoint interlocking simple polygons can be separated from one another by a sequence of translations. (3) Determining whether a given convex polygon can be translated and rotated so as to fit into another given polygonal region. (4) Motion planning for a convex polygon in the plane amidst polygonal barriers. All the algorithms make use of Davenport-Schinzel sequences and their generalizations; these sequences are a powerful combinatorial tool applicable in contexts that involve the calculation of the pointwise maximum or minimum of a collection of functions.
Annual Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science (Proceedings)
https://doi.org/10.1109/SFCS.1986.23
10.1109/SFCS.1986.23
Dive into the research topics of 'GEOMETRIC APPLICATIONS OF DAVENPORT-SCHINZEL SEQUENCES.'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Motion planning Engineering & Materials Science 100%
Sharir, M., Cole, R., Kedem, K., Leven, D., Pollack, R., & Sifrony, S. (1986). GEOMETRIC APPLICATIONS OF DAVENPORT-SCHINZEL SEQUENCES. In Annual Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science (Proceedings) (pp. 77-86). (Annual Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science (Proceedings)). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/SFCS.1986.23
Sharir, Micha ; Cole, Richard ; Kedem, Klara et al. / GEOMETRIC APPLICATIONS OF DAVENPORT-SCHINZEL SEQUENCES. Annual Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science (Proceedings). IEEE, 1986. pp. 77-86 (Annual Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science (Proceedings)).
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title = "GEOMETRIC APPLICATIONS OF DAVENPORT-SCHINZEL SEQUENCES.",
abstract = "Efficient algorithms are presented for the following geometric problems: (1) Preprocessing of a 2-D polyhedral terrain so as to support fast ray shooting queries from a fixed point. (2) Determining whether two disjoint interlocking simple polygons can be separated from one another by a sequence of translations. (3) Determining whether a given convex polygon can be translated and rotated so as to fit into another given polygonal region. (4) Motion planning for a convex polygon in the plane amidst polygonal barriers. All the algorithms make use of Davenport-Schinzel sequences and their generalizations; these sequences are a powerful combinatorial tool applicable in contexts that involve the calculation of the pointwise maximum or minimum of a collection of functions.",
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Sharir, M, Cole, R, Kedem, K, Leven, D, Pollack, R & Sifrony, S 1986, GEOMETRIC APPLICATIONS OF DAVENPORT-SCHINZEL SEQUENCES. in Annual Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science (Proceedings). Annual Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science (Proceedings), IEEE, pp. 77-86. https://doi.org/10.1109/SFCS.1986.23
GEOMETRIC APPLICATIONS OF DAVENPORT-SCHINZEL SEQUENCES. / Sharir, Micha; Cole, Richard; Kedem, Klara et al.
Annual Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science (Proceedings). IEEE, 1986. p. 77-86 (Annual Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science (Proceedings)).
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N2 - Efficient algorithms are presented for the following geometric problems: (1) Preprocessing of a 2-D polyhedral terrain so as to support fast ray shooting queries from a fixed point. (2) Determining whether two disjoint interlocking simple polygons can be separated from one another by a sequence of translations. (3) Determining whether a given convex polygon can be translated and rotated so as to fit into another given polygonal region. (4) Motion planning for a convex polygon in the plane amidst polygonal barriers. All the algorithms make use of Davenport-Schinzel sequences and their generalizations; these sequences are a powerful combinatorial tool applicable in contexts that involve the calculation of the pointwise maximum or minimum of a collection of functions.
AB - Efficient algorithms are presented for the following geometric problems: (1) Preprocessing of a 2-D polyhedral terrain so as to support fast ray shooting queries from a fixed point. (2) Determining whether two disjoint interlocking simple polygons can be separated from one another by a sequence of translations. (3) Determining whether a given convex polygon can be translated and rotated so as to fit into another given polygonal region. (4) Motion planning for a convex polygon in the plane amidst polygonal barriers. All the algorithms make use of Davenport-Schinzel sequences and their generalizations; these sequences are a powerful combinatorial tool applicable in contexts that involve the calculation of the pointwise maximum or minimum of a collection of functions.
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Sharir M, Cole R, Kedem K, Leven D, Pollack R, Sifrony S. GEOMETRIC APPLICATIONS OF DAVENPORT-SCHINZEL SEQUENCES. In Annual Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science (Proceedings). IEEE. 1986. p. 77-86. (Annual Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science (Proceedings)). doi: 10.1109/SFCS.1986.23


Never Greener By Ruth Jones
Very GoodGoodWell Read
But that doesn't mean they should always be taken . Ruth's characters will stay with me for a long time.' Cathy BramleyUS THREE, THE NEW NOVEL FROM RUTH JONES, IS COMING IN 2020 AND AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW
Never Greener Summary
THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER, PICKED FOR THE ZOE BALL TV BOOK CLUB `Ruth Jones is excellent on human nature and why we make the mistakes we do. I felt for every character. Unputdownable.' Jojo Moyes ***** The past has a habit of tracking us down. And tripping us up. When Kate was twenty-two, she had an intense and passionate affair with a married man, Callum, which ended in heartbreak. Kate thought she'd never get over it. Seventeen years later, life has moved on - Kate, now a successful actress, is living in London, married to Matt and mother to little Tallulah. Meanwhile Callum and his wife Belinda are happy together, living in Edinburgh and watching their kids grow up. The past, it would seem, is well and truly behind them all. But then Kate meets Callum again. And they are faced with a choice: to walk away from each other . . . or to risk finding out what might have been. Second chances are a rare gift in life. But that doesn't mean they should always be taken . . . ***** In her unmissable debut, actress and screenwriter Ruth Jones shows us the dangers of trying to recapture that which was once lost and failing to realise the beauty of what we already have. ***** 'I love books about gnarly, messy relationships and this one kept me gripped from the beginning. A great read.' Jane Fallon `Heart-rending, provocative and astutely written, Never Greener is a love story about getting what you want and losing everything you need. Ruth's characters will stay with me for a long time.' Cathy Bramley US THREE, THE NEW NOVEL FROM RUTH JONES, IS COMING IN 2020 AND AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW
Never Greener Reviews
"Ruth Jones is excellent on human nature and why we make the mistakes we do. I felt for every character. Unputdownable." * Jojo Moyes, bestselling author of ME BEFORE YOU *
"Heart-rending, provocative and astutely written, Never Greener is a love story about getting what you want and losing everything you need. Ruth's characters will stay with me for a long time." * Cathy Bramley, bestselling author of THE LEMON TREE CAFE *
"I love books about gnarly, messy relationships and this one kept me gripped from the beginning. A great read." * Jane Fallon, bestselling author of MY SWEET REVENGE and STRICTLY BETWEEN US *
"Easy to read and full of laughter - and truth" * Daily Mail *
"A great debut" * Bella *
About Ruth Jones
Ruth Jones is best known for her outstanding and award-winning television writing - BBC 1's Gavin and Stacey, in which she played the incorrigible Nessa, and Sky 1's Stella, in which she played the titular role. She has won acclaim for her performances in BBC dramas Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Little Dorrit and Hattie, as well as comedies Little Britain, Saxondale and Nighty Night. Her debut novel Never Greener was a number one bestseller, and her second - Us Three - is out in 2020.
Ruth Jones
Customer Reviews - Never Greener


Looting history
By Stephenie Livingston - Suwannee Democrat
For countless years divers have searched the pitch-black waters of the Suwannee River for remnants of the area's most early inhabitants.
Authorities warn that collecting Native American and prehistoric artifacts is an illegal activity that has the potential to negatively impact local river ecosystems and archaeological research.
And officials are cracking down on offenders. Two arrests were made in December after two people were discovered collecting artifacts at Little River Springs, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesperson Karen Parker said.
Last year, the agency made a total of 14 cases statewide. So far in 2011, the FWC has made five cases on illegal artifacts digging, four in Alachua County and one in Washington County.
"Archaeological sites consist of much more than the artifacts displayed in museums," Parker said by email Wednesday.
The state's view is that the artifacts are to be left alone - period.
"Also, the artifacts and sites are owned by the people of Florida, and cannot be studied or appreciated if they are removed," said Florida Department of State Communications Director Chris Cate, who spoke in support of efforts by state archaeologists.
Those archaeologists, and others, piece together the past. When one piece is disturbed, such as an arrowhead or pottery shard, the entire puzzle can become compromised.
Parker said where the artifacts lay in relation to others in a site provide clues for archaeologists to follow that can help determine how the object was used, made and lost by Florida's ancestors. Parker added that the fragile surroundings can sometimes provide more information than the artifact itself.
"When artifacts are moved, or the site disrupted, the context is destroyed, and unlike a pot that can be glued back together, when context is destroyed it can never be recreated," she said.
And, most of the artifacts found by amateurs are lost forever.
"Many of the artifacts removed from Florida rivers are sold on eBay and other internet sites, leaving the state for good," said Cate.
"Archaeologists and other members of the public have no opportunity to study or learn from these items. Our agency encourages preservation of artifacts and sites in place."
Suwannee River Little River Springs FLORIDA Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Karen Parker


Rotterdam 2019: Tsitsipas ousted by Dzumhur
A few weeks ago he defeated Roger Federer in the fourth round of the Australian Open, and later advanced to the semifinals where he was ousted by Rafael Nadal:
But today Stefanos Tsitsipas lost to world number 56 Damir Dzumhur – who had not won a match this year – in the first round of the Rotterdam tournament. Dzumhur will meet Mikhail Kukushkin for a place in the quarter-finals against Gael Monfils. The Frenchman booked his place in the last eight with a 3-set win over Andreas Seppi.
In the other matches today, recent Sofia Open champion Daniil Medvedev, who turned 23 on Monday, defeated Jérémy Chardy, while Stan Wawrinka secured his place in the quarterfinals with a straight set win over Milos Raonic.
Photo credit: Andrew Robertson, Marianne Bevis
– Rotterdam 2018: the title and the number one ranking for Roger Federer
– Rotterdam 2017: lucky 13 for Tsonga
Filed under ATP · Tagged with 2019, Andreas Seppi, Damir Dzumhur, Daniil Medvedev, Gael Monfils, Jérémy Chardy, Milos Raonic, ozopen2019, Roger Federer, Rotterdam, Rotterdam2019, Stanislas Wawrinka, Stefanos Tsitsipas
Carlos Moya: "Coaching Nadal is the biggest challenge I will ever face"
January 14, 2017 · Leave a Comment
Interview by El Espanol, translation by Tennis Buzz
Within a year, you took Milos Raonic to his first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon, in addition to helping him climb from world number 14 to number 3. Why split?
One of the reasons is that I traveled too many weeks with Raonic in 2016, way more than I thought. I did about 18 weeks, many, many. In addition, I played several Champions Tour tournaments (the retired players' circuit) and the IPTL (International Premier Tennis League). And it was a bit complicated for me. I traveled too much considering my family situation, being married with three children.
How did the opportunity to train Nadal appear?
Toni Nadal called me when I was playing IPTL. He knew that I was no longer with Raonic and asked me if I wanted to be part of the team and also of the academy. I said that in principle yes, but I needed to talk to Rafa. I wanted to know his level of involvement first. I could imagine it, but I needed to hear it from his own voice. I needed to know if he was willing to do everything to win back Grand Slam tournaments, to become world number one again … And yes, he did have a lot of predisposition, hunger and hope. For me, that was fundamental.
Did you really think you would not end up sitting in his box? I do not believe it…
No, it's the absolute truth. It was always clear to me that he would end his career with Toni and Francis Roig, I never thought I would take the plunge. In any case, I am a person who comes from outside, but I am the least external that Nadal could have found. I think that has been something decisive. Rafa does not like changes, either in his life or in his environment. That's why he accepts someone who knows that environment even before he works with him. Toni, Joan Forcades (physical trainer), Benito (head of press) …
Although I am still an outsider who sees different things, someone who he has trusted in the past as a friend. And I think the year I've done with Milos helps that, to take the plunge. Previously, Rafa could think that I did not want to travel. I think, but I don't for sure, to see that I have traveled with Milos and that he has done well, it reassured him.
You have been a close friend of Nadal for a long time. Have you ever coach him without being his coach?
Never. Obviously we have talked about tennis, but I never stepped on that ground. It was a way for me to respect his team. If he had asked me something I may have said it, but I have not called Rafa to tell him to play a rival in a way or to train something in particular. That was not my place. I did not do it during the years I was alone, nor when I was with Raonic, logically. But of course we were in contact. He is my friend. I have a lot of affection and I want the best for him.
You come from helping to grow a player who has a huge margin of improvement. And now?
The focus is different, it has nothing to do. Raonic has not reached his limit, he has not reached his full potential. And Nadal is the other way around. He has come fully, but he wants to get closer to that higher level. One has not won anything big and the other has 14 Grand Slam tournaments. One has two years in the elite and the other more than 15. It has nothing to do, although the requirement will be the same.
If you miss Grand Slam finals you will see that you are still struggling for those titles. If during the next big eight does not pass eighth … because logically is not going to be good, will not enjoy. Sincerely, I see Nadal to fight for the maximum.
Won't you have problems with all the travels?
I will do between 12 and 15 weeks this season. Rafa knows my family situation and respects it. And he wants me to be in his day to day and that I am part of the academy, which is a very important project for him. In the end, one of the keys is that I am in Mallorca and that will make it easier for us to be together.
Why has Nadal stopped winning?
2015 and 2016 are very different. In 2015, Rafa recognized that it was a mental problem, of pressure, of anxiety. In 2016, those problems were overcome and when he was at his best he was injured. After the injury he hurried up to play the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, but when I asked him about it he told me he would do the same because he won the gold medal.
He came back with pains, doubts, matches he had to win and he lost them … all that took his confidence away. He finished the year a little burned out because he could not have continuity due to those injuries. They are two different cases, although I prefer 2016. What happened last season is different and very surmountable, as long as he is not injured.
During this time, has he lost more edge in his forehand or his backhand?
The backhand can keep you in the game, but what will make you win a Grand Slam is to do the difference with the forehand. He has to recover the pace that he had, with which he suffocated the opponent.
And the physic condition?
He is not failing physically. Those who are playing the best tennis on the tour are older. Murray is being number one for the first time at age 29.
But he runs less than before, much less.
On the one hand, you're less explosive when you get older, but if you're 18, you're number one and if you're still playing at 30, you evolve. The rivals know you and they adapt. What you lose physically you gain with the knowledge of how the game in particular and tennis in general works.
It is also true that when you are older you lose audacity, perhaps because of the unconsciousness of youth, that you go crazy and things come to you. At 30 you think things over. You lose one thing and win in others, it is what is called experience.
Your coaching job officially starts in a few days, despite the fact that it started last week in Manacor. What does it mean to train Nadal?
Training Nadal is the greatest challenge I will ever have, the biggest challenge in my entire coaching career. First, for what Rafa means. Second, because I will never be able to train someone as big as him. And thirdly, for what we have lived together, what we have lived on the court and out of it. No challenge will be able to match this one. And I'm prepared for it, I'm going to impact on many things that can improve on the court, but also out of it.
Photo credit: Tennis Buzz
Filed under ATP, Australian Open · Tagged with 2017, Carlos Moya, Francis Roig, interview, Joan Forcades, Milos Raonic, ozopen2017, Rafael Nadal, Toni Nadal
Only two days to go to the first Slam of the season! Who do you think will win? Check out her Australian Open 2017 preview:
Men's draw:
Contenders:
Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic are once again the big favorites for the title.
5-time Australian Open finalist Andy Murray, who begins his campaign on Monday against 93-ranked Ilya Marchenko, has a quite easy route to the quarterfinals where he could meet Kei Nishikori or Roger Federer.
Novak Djokovic will launch his bid for a record seventh Australian Open title with a challenging first round match against Fernando Verdasco, who missed 5 match points against the Serb in Doha last week. Grigor Dimitrov could wait in the fourth round, before a clash against Dominic Thiem in the quarters.
The only two other players who could, in my opinion, capture the title this year are Stan Wawrinka and Milos Raonic. Unpredictable on the ATP tour, Wawrinka is always consistent come Grand Slam time; while Raonic has improved a lot in the last year and is not a one-weapon only player anymore.
Players to watch:
Rafael Nadal struggled to get back to form since his injury, but had a decent start of the season with a win at the Abu Dhabi exhibition and a quarterfinal in Brisbane. He could face Alexander Zverev in the third round, Gaël Monfils in the fourth round and Milos Raonic in the quarterfinals.
Roger Federer will play for the first time since last year's Wimbledon. Seeded 17, he has not won a Slam title since Wimbledon 2012. He could face Tomas Berdych in the third round, and then Kei Nishikori and Andy Murray.
Projected quarterfinals:
Andy Murray [1] – Kei Nishikori [5]
Stan Wawrinka [4] – Marin Cilic [7]
Gaël Monfils [6] – Milos Raonic [3]
Dominic Thiem [8] – Novak Djokovic [2]
First round matches to watch:
Nicolas Almagro – Jérémy Chardy
Jerzy Janowicz – Marin Cilic [7]
Dustin Brown – Milos Raonic [3]
Tommy Haas – Benoît Paire
Fabio Fognini – Feliciano Lopez [28]
Fernando Verdasco – Novak Djokovic [2]
Click here for the full men's draw
Women's draw:
Unlike the men's draw, there is no clear favorite in the women's draw, and it seems anything could happen.
Angelique Kerber had a dream season last year, with two Grand Slam titles and the world number one spot. She opens up her title defence with a match-up against Lesia Tsurenko and could play reigning Roland Garros champion Garbine Muguruza in the quarterfinals.
Serena Williams, who suffered a shock defeat to Madison Brengle in Auckland last week, will be chasing Grand Slam title number 23. Like Novak Djokovic, she will face a tough test in the first round: former world number 7 Belinda Becic.
The ever consitent Agnieszka Radwanska could finally win her maiden Slam title, while Karolina Pliskova and Garbine Muguruza will be looking to confirm their stand-out 2016 season.
Finalist here in 2014, Dominika Cibulkova claimed her biggest title last October: the WTA Finals. She will look to pick up where she left off last year.
A surprising semifinalist last year, Johanna Konta reached the top ten since then, and won Sydney title, dismantling Radwanska in the final. She could do some damage in the draw.
Like Cibulkova, Svetlana Kuznetsova finished 2016 in great form. On a good day, she can beat anyone.
Louisa Chiricio – Eugenie Bouchard
Mona Barthel – Destanee Aiava
Laura Siegemund [26] – Jelena Jankovic
Ana Konjuh – Kristina Mladenovic
Heather Watson – Sam Stosur [18]
Tsvetana Pironkova – Agnieszka Radwanska [3]
Kirsten Flipkens – Johanna Konta [9]
Yanina Wickmayer – Lucie Safarova
Belinda Bencic – Serena Williams [2]
Angelique Kerber [1] – Garbine Muguruza [7]
Simona Halep [4] – Svetlana Kuznetsova [8]
Karolina Pliskova [5] – Agnieszka Radwanska [3]
Dominika Cibulkova [6] – Serena Williams [2]
Click here for the full women's draw
Photo credit: Australian Open instagram
Filed under Australian Open · Tagged with 2017, Agnieszka Radwanska, Andy Murray, Angelique Kerber, Dominika Cibulkova, Johanna Konta, Karolina Pliskova, Milos Raonic, Novak Djokovic, ozopen2017, poll, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Stanislas Wawrinka, Svetlana Kuznetsova
2016 US Open recap: the good, the bad, the queen
Stan Wawrinka: there's a new champ in New York. The Swiss struggled to get past the first rounds, losing a few sets here and there and saving a match point in the third round. But he stepped up in the semifinals against Nishikori and outplayed Djokovic in the final. 3 Grand Slam finals, 3 titles.
Stan ✅ Stanimal ✅ Stan the Man ✅ And now #usopen Champion ✅ (?: @dcarrollphoto)
Une photo publiée par @usopen le 11 Sept. 2016 à 17h43 PDT
Karolina Pliskova: before this tournament, she had not passed the third round in her 17 previous Grand Slams appearances. She took down Venus Williams and top-seeded Serena Williams to reach her first Grand Slam final.
Amazing two weeks in NY..thank you @usopen..thank you guys for all the support it means a lot to me♥ pic.twitter.com/ukA1HjnRsF
— Karolina Pliskova (@KaPliskova) September 11, 2016
Caroline Wozniacki: she's two years younger than Kerber but it seems she's been on the circuit for ever. She beat Svetlana Kuznetsova and Madison Keys en route to the semifinals.
"I came into this tournament ranked No. 74 in the world and probably people ruled me out, but it's nice to prove people wrong once again."
Lucas Pouille: he reached the quarterfinals after 5-sets marathon wins over Chiudinelli, Bautista Agut and Rafael Nadal. He seems to be the only French player to have both the game and the attitude. A player to watch out next year.
Laura Siegemund and Mate Pavic: they had never met before this tournament. They teamed up to win the mixed doubles title defeating CoCo Vandeweghe and Rajeev Ram in the final.
"It's really kind of a blind date."
Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares: they joined forces at the beginning of the season and won 2 Slam titles (the Australian and US Opens) since then.
Garbine Muguruza: the French Open champion was knocked out of the tournament by Anastasija Sevastova in the second round.
"Today was just very difficult. Everything I was trying to do she was coming back and doing incredible shots."
Aga Radwanska: overpowered by 18-year old Ana Konjuh in the quarterfinals. The question is no more "when will she win her maiden Slam" but rather "will she ever win a Slam".
Andy Murray: beaten by Nishikori in a bizarre match, he seemed mentally tired. He'll now focus on the Davis Cup semifinals against Argentina.
"I tried my best. I fought as hard as I could with what I had. I didn't let anyone down — certainly not myself. I pushed myself as hard as I could over the last few months, and I'm very proud of how I have done."
Milos Raonic: a shock defeat to qualifier Ryan Harrison in the second round. His explanation: cramps due to nervousness, (nervous to play Ryan Harrison?).
Marin Cilic: the 2014 champion looked like a title contender again but surprisingly fell to Jack Sock in the third round.
Gaël Monfils: what on earth was he doing against Novak Djokovic? Not sure he knows it himself. What a waste of talent.
Bernard Tomic: nothing to add.
She started the year ranked number 10 with a large defeat to Victoria Azarenka in the final of the Brisbane tournament. A couple weeks later she stunned Azarenka and Serena to win the Australian Open.
Fast forward 8 months Angelique Kerber is now the new number one and took home a second Slam trophy.
Is it the beginning of a new era for women's tennis?
First selfie + ??! Thank you for your overwhelming support ❤#teamangie #nyc? #usopen2016
Une photo publiée par Angelique Kerber (@angie.kerber) le 11 Sept. 2016 à 8h38 PDT
Photo credit: Satoshi Tsuboi
Filed under Slider, US Open · Tagged with 2016, Agnieszka Radwanska, Andy Murray, Angelique Kerber, Bernard Tomic, Bruno Soares, Caroline Wozniacki, Gael Monfils, Garbine Muguruza, Jamie Murray, Karolina Pliskova, Laura Siegemund, Lucas Pouille, Marin Cilic, Mate Pavic, Milos Raonic, Stanislas Wawrinka, usopen2016
2012 US Open: Andy Murray's road to the final
August 28, 2016 · Leave a Comment
From Andy Murray's autobiography Seventy-Seven:
The two main stadiums here are called Arthur Ashe and Louis Armstrong. One I love, the other I have never felt comfortable on. I just don't like Armstrong and never have. Each time I've played on it I've struggled, and the 2012 championship was a case in point. I started strongly enough, beating Alex Bogomolov and Ivan Dodig in the first two rounds on Ashe and then had to play Feliciano Lopez of Spain over on Armstrong. And the jinx almost held because I couldn't really settle properly. It can get breezy on the big courts; on Ashe it generally blows from the President's Box end and you get used to that, but on Armstrong, where there's no sense of being enclosed, the wind swirls and moves in different directions. You are most exposed to the sun playing day matches on Armstrong, too, and it can be so bright that tracking the ball gets really hard.
The grandstand in the Arthur Ashe Stadium gives more shelter from the wind and it's built so that the sun moves across early in the day, providing plenty of shadow and shade. On Armstrong the sun is on the players for the whole day and it's really intense. That made it difficult for me to settle, but the fact is that Lopez is not much fun to play. He had Alex Corretja, a former coach of mine, in his box.
As a result, I struggled physically, but somehow it was one of those matches that I found a way to win. I didn't feel right at all, but somehow I got through. I used to be able to do that a lot of times in all the regular tournaments I played on tour and managed to get a really high degree of consistency throughout the year. However in the Slams that wasn't necessarily the case. Now I've learned how to cope in situations when the pressure is on. I think about how my opponent might be feeling. I understand it all much better than I did before.
In the fourth round, I played well against a new big gun on the tour, Milos Raonic of Canada. We were playing on Ashe at night, which I really like. The conditions seem kinder in the evening and that was one of those really good nights. I read his serve well from early on and seemed to be able to anticipate everything he was going to do. That night I was quick and in command.
For the quarter-final against Marin Cilic of Croatia, the game was back on Armstrong and the pressure was really on. Cilic made sure that I felt it from the start, taking the first set and going on to take a 5-1 lead on the second.
When I got the first break back in that second set, we both sensed how important the next couple of games would be. And I started to feel that he was getting nervous. After that, I played on pure instinct. I got to balls I hadn't been reaching before, chased everything down and got back into the match the hard way.
Perhaps if he hadn't got nervous I wouldn't have won, but there were nerves for me too. If you sense the opponent is tightening up and think, 'I can get back in here, this is my chance', the pressure increases on you. The guys who are behind aren't the ones who tend to rush. They have all the time in the world, which is why it was surprising to see him hurry and make mistakes. It wasn't as if I was blasting winners all over the court, so much as making as many balls as I could. Little by little, I started to reclaim the middle of the court, and he started to miss. That was it.
The semi-final against Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic on Ashe was a freak show. There were high winds, which it's all about who hits the ball best that day. It was about who could manoeuvre the ball around and come up with the right shots and the smartest shots. I feel like I have a bit more variety in my game than Tomas, so the conditions helped me and hindered him more than me. It was almost comical because of the wind conditions and I was laughing a little inside at how ridiculous the points were. All the same, it was semi-final of the US Open, and it was a great opportunity.
I aced Berdych when the ball bounced twice before it reached him. That has never happened the whole time I've been on the tour, but there was stuff taking place put there that had never happened in my entire life. If you had wanted to, you could easily have spun the ball from your opponent's court back onto your own side because the breeze was so strong.
Playing a proper point became impossible and, in all the chaos, I managed to lose the first set. After that, I felt like I was cruising. I took the second and third sets easily and I had two break points in the fourth. Then Berdych started to serve and volley with much greater consistency, coming into the net more. After that, things changed quickly. I was 5-7 6-2 6-1 up and he had enough break points to put me 5-1 down in the fourth. That was the point when I started the fight back and ended up taking it to a tie-break.
I went 5-2 down in that and realized that I'd gone from a commanding position to win the match to one where it looked likely to go into a fifth. I'd had the momentum with me, and then I was on the verge of blowing it through my bad play and his consistency. The conditions were ridiculous, but that's no excuse because it was the same for both of us. It was so, so difficult, but I was fought back and won, I was just pleased to get it over and done with.
My post-match conference took a surreal turn. I knew that both Sir Sean Connery and Sir Alex Ferguson had been at the match, but I wasn't expecting to suddenly be confronted by both of them. I had spoken to Sean Connery on the phone before the game, but I'd never even met Alex Ferguson. That made it a weird situation and, to be honest, I didn't know what to say to either of them. Both are quite intimidating presences in their own way. I've seen Sir Alex on TV so many times and it seems like he's really intense. You get the feeling that if you say the wrong thing when he's doing his job, he's going to bite your head off.
But he came to the press conference with a massive smile on his face. He was really relaxed – I think he might have had a couple of drinks – so it was cool.
Filed under Books, Slider, US Open · Tagged with 2012, Alex Bogomolov, Alex Corretja, Andy Murray, Feliciano Lopez, Ivan Dodig, Marin Cilic, Milos Raonic, Seventy-Seven, Tomas Berdych, usopen2012